by Lola StVil
“YES! THAT’S RIGHT, MOTHERFUCKER, DIE! DIE! DIE!” Randy shouts as he jumps up and down on Malakaro’s remains. Bex is the first one to start laughing. Soon, it is contagious. We have lost so much, and we will definitely be grieving for Swoop, Dylan, and the thought of Summit. But right now it feels good to laugh. Randy is right, we did it! We. Did. It.
“Thank you for not giving up on me, on us,” Randy says as he kisses Pryor on the forehead and goes back to dancing the worst dance I’ve ever seen.
“We have to get you lessons,” Diana says as she watches Randy.
Pryor smiles as she stands over the ashes. She reaches out her hand. I come close to her, as does the rest of the team. She places her head on my shoulder as we gaze at the Alexi and what will never be. Although it hurts like hell to know we lost Summit, we take solace in knowing at least we killed Malakaro. We made it safe for other parents and their kids. And to make sure that that little fucker doesn’t somehow find a way to come back to life, we stand there and wait, as a team, until a strong gust of wind carries his ashes away.
Peace, at last.
“He’s dead. He’s really dead,” she says, beside herself with relief.
“Yes, babe, he’s gone,” I reply.
“I changed my mind. I don’t think that Vampire Slayers chick has anything on you,” Randy says to Pry as he hugs her again.
“He would have been so proud of you, Carrot,” Death says as she steals a hug from her daughter.
“I didn’t save the Alexi,” she replies tearfully.
“I know, but you saved millions of lives,” Death reminds her.
“But not Swoop, I couldn’t save Swoop. And Dylan, he’s gone and—”
“Hey, my wife just saved the world. Could you back off her, please?” I ask.
She laughs despite herself.
“Pry, they didn’t die in vain. You have to know that,” Diana says.
“That supernova thing, you have to teach me that,” Bex says.
“All you have to do is be filled with hate,” she says sadly.
“Duh, Pry, that’s not it. You’ve hated Malakaro all this time, but that never happened. You went all badass because of love. You love Summit just that much. You love Swoop just that much…you tapped into the same force that Malakaro did. Except you used that to save lives, not take them away,” Randy says.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Bottom line, you were fantastic,” Diana replies.
“I think I can pull some strings and get you to be an Omari. If you ever need a job,” Bex jokes.
“No, you are not working with your ex,” Diana says.
“What makes you think you can tell me what to do?” Bex asks.
“Don’t make me get my cuffs,” Diana teases.
“You are so bad for my image; come here!” Bex says with a goofy smile as he pulls her close.
“Hey, you don’t have a ‘one hug’ policy, do you? ’Cause I’d like another,” Pryor whispers in my ear.
“I can do better than that,” I reply as I take her into my arms and kiss her passionately.
“Hey, Pry, do dead Alexis move?” Randy asks as he looks across the battlefield.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
Randy turns our attention to the Alexi on the ground. She is slowly starting to move her wings. Pryor and I exchange a look. Is it too much to hope for to both defeat Malakaro and save Summit?
“Alexi, come here, honey,” Pryor says in a whisper, as if her voice could somehow scare it away. The Alexi takes flight away from us. Our hopes are dashed—until she dives back down and lands at Pryor’s feet.
“Can this be?” Time asks Death as he comes closer.
“I don’t know. I guess it can…” Death replies with hope.
“Aaden, she made it! She made it here to us!” Pryor shouts in a tearful cheer.
“But how did the Alexi come back to life. Death, did you or Time do that?” East asks the remaining council members.
“The Alexi came back to life for one reason—Summit ordered it to. Pryor, your daughter won’t just be the First Toren; apparently she has the gift of resurrection. That is a gift only given to an Echo,” Time says.
“A what?” East asks.
“An Echo, a being that’s slated to replace another being who has great power,” Pryor says.
“Yes, but…Echos are so very rare,” Death replies in disbelief.
“If she has the power of resurrection, she must be here to replace Death,” East says.
“Easton!” Diana says.
“It’s okay. I am more than happy to move aside for my granddaughter,” Death assures us.
“We won’t know for sure until after Alexi takes in the Sib,” Time replies.
Pryor then explains that the color the Alexi turns will tell us who on the council she is born to replace. Death is onyx, Time is ruby, and Fate is sapphire.
We help Pryor lie down on the battlefield, and I hold her hand as the Alexi gets on top of her chest. She looks over at me. I have never seen her so happy and so content in my life.
“This is really happening,” she whispers, overjoyed.
“It’s really happening,” I reply.
“What if we suck as parents? We don’t really know anything about kids,” she says.
“We raised East. We know all there is to know,” I remind her with a smile.
“Hey, I have matured greatly during these past few years,” East says, offended.
“East, what did we have to do to you last month, in the middle of our meeting?” I ask.
“I was on a time-out,” East says, avoiding eye contact.
“And why did you need a time-out?” Death asks.
“I was not making good choices,” East says as he lowers his head.
“Like I said, we can handle anything,” I assure Pryor. She and I share a laugh.
“I love you.” She lays her head down on the ground.
“I love you too. Ready?” I ask.
“Hell yeah,” she says.
The process doesn’t take long at all. And if it hurts, Pryor does a good job of not letting us in on it. She lies there perfectly still and lets Alexi suck up the small Sib inside her.
We watch in awe as Alexi turns sparkling gold. Time and Death exchange a look. I can’t read what they are feeling; is it alarm or amazement?
“The Alexi turned gold. What does that mean?” Pryor and I ask.
“Oh my…” Time whispers in wonder.
“Mom, what does the gold Alexi mean?” Pryor asks.
Death is too busy admiring the bird to reply. I take Death’s hand and beg her for an answer.
“Emmy, tell us what you know. Summit is an Echo, meaning she is going to replace someone very powerful. But who? Who is Summit going to replace?”
“Omnis.”
All our questions had to wait while we helped put the world back together. The aftermath of Malakaro’s rampage was felt worldwide. It took almost a year, but the angel world was able to get everything back to the way it was. They rebuilt cities, revitalized nations, and held large parties where the humans unknowingly drank mixtures to wipe their memories.
We worked night and day along with the Quo to put things back together. The only time we took off was to have a passing, otherwise known as a funeral, for Swoop and Dylan. Losing Bird was harder than I can put into words. And Dylan was only a friend for a few hours, but he made a lasting impression. We were sorry we could not save him.
At first we were going to have the passing the way angels always did: with Paras on the mountaintop, singing a song of remembrance. However, East had another idea.
“Swoop would not want us standing on a stupid mountain, singing sad songs. She found a reason to dance and celebrate no matter what evil was after us. If we want to honor her, let’s do it right. Let’s throw a party!”
“You want to throw a big bash with drinking, dancing, and loud music?” Bex asked.
“Yeah, is that stupid?
” East replied.
“No, Swoop would have wanted that kind of send-off,” Randy said.
“And I know exactly where the party should take place,” Bex said as he turned to his queen and smiled mischievously.
The party to celebrate Swoop’s life took place in the Kon’s newly formed castle. It lasted seven days. Some of Swoop’s favorite bands played; they featured a pretty amazing laser light show, fireworks throughout the sky, and lots of drinking. I have never seen so much booze in my life. The party didn’t just celebrate Swoop’s life—it was for Marcus, Sam, Key, and all the other beings who gave their lives to stop evil from spreading. The party was just like Swoop: epic and over the top.
We also held a small ceremony so that Swoop’s parents could say good-bye in their own way. We all joined together to help them as they mourned their daughters. The team bought the house next to the Guardian home so that Jay and Miku could literally live next door. Emmy and my father were also instrumental in helping Jay and Miku. They made it their mission to remind the parents that all was not lost.
In the end, what really helped the grieving parents was their grandson, RJ. He kept them on their toes every moment of the day. He had Jay’s love of cars and Miku’s love of destruction. He once flew in a car window and managed to start it. He lifted his hands in the air as the car took off. He beat down on the steering wheel as if it were his drum set. Miku and Jay had to zoom down the driveway to catch up with him. When they pulled him out of the car, the first thing he said to Miku was, “Again, Nana! Again!”
Although RJ is safe, there is an evil being chasing him; his name is East. And he insists on turning RJ into a miniature version of himself. He has bought that kid over fifty fedora hats. And every outfit East owns, he buys a replica for RJ.
“Would you leave RJ alone? Stop trying to make him your clone!” Mel said as she watched him place yet another hat on the toddler’s head.
“Hey, I have to make sure that kid is dressed right. His mom is gone. It’s up to me. If not me, who?” East said proudly.
“Are you sure you want to marry him?” Randy asked Mel.
“I was, but now I’m rethinking it…” Mel teased as she kissed East.
“Well, I’d love to help you rescue RJ from the cult that is ‘Easton,’ but I can’t. I have a date,” Randy said proudly.
“So things are really serious with you and Megan?” Pryor asked.
“I took her to a Star Trek convention. You can’t get more serious than that,” he informed us as he grinned and headed out the door.
Randy has changed since being the Alago. He’s more confident than he was before. He’s more certain about who he is and how much he matters in the world. He’s still dealing with having killed his mom and the fact that we had to take out his father, but considering what he’s been through, he’s doing really well.
Pry and Randy went back to their friendship as if no time had passed. Randy comes over so often, she made sure that he had a room in our house just for him. It’s easy to tell which guest bedroom is his. It has a sign on the door that reads:
“Keep calm and use the Force.”
After Randy left, the Face joined us at Jay and Miku’s house. She spotted the hat on RJ and came to the little boy’s defense. “Leave that child alone. He should be influenced by sensible beings,” the Face scolded East.
“It’s okay, brilliance is never appreciated in its own time. You’ll see, hundreds of years from now, my genius fashion sense will be celebrated,” East vowed.
“I can see the future, Easton, and no, it won’t be,” the Face said with a smile.
“So now that you’ve been chosen to be Fate, does that mean no more teaching for you?” Mel asked.
“Certainly not. I intend to do just as Death does; I will have two jobs. I will be in school part time and on the council. There is no getting rid of me, Easton,” she warned playfully.
“Great! I’m so happy to hear that,” East said, clearly lying. We laughed at him and took the silly hat off RJ’s head. He cried out in dismay; apparently he liked the hat. So we put it back on. RJ smiled and ran into the playroom, where his best friend, Nix, awaited him.
Over the past few months the two of them have been inseparable. Their friendship feels natural. After all, they will grow up to be on the same team. Bex and I were on the same team and things got complicated with us. I hope the future is better for RJ and Nix.
Amazingly enough, everyone’s future seems to be moving towards a brighter path. My dad and Winter officially moved in with each other. She wanted to get married, but I just don’t think my dad could ever do that with anyone who wasn’t my mom. So Winter settled for living together. There are times I can see she’s unhappy, but that’s rare. For the most part, the two of them laugh a lot together.
Emmy suggested to my dad that it would be good to spend father-son time with Easton. So now the two of them go on demon-hunting trips once a month. East asked me to come along, but I declined. I think he needs to spend time alone with my dad. He needs to make up for all the times his adopted father, Frank, let him down.
Emmy hasn’t fully recovered from losing Marcus; I don’t think she ever will. However, knowing that she will soon be a grandmother has given her a lot of joy. She and Miku shop way too much for Summit. In fact, we would have to get another house in order to have enough space to put all the things they bought. Finally Jay and my dad had to sit the two of them down and beg them to stop buying clothes.
One of the most unexpected things to occur post Malakaro is the willingness of the Paras to accept their queen. They heard about how Diana fought for them and how she risked her life to save the Paras who came with us in the graveyard. They set aside their reluctance and welcomed her—for the most part.
There are still asshole Paras out there who hate her and would like nothing more than to kill her. But they’d have to get past the Kon. And the fact is, Bex is very much in love with Diana. He would never allow anything to happen to her. They may have started out as a “fake” couple, but now they are the real deal.
As for Pryor and me, things have been kind of…amazing. After helping put the world back in order, she gave the team some much-needed time off. We had plans to travel to these odd and interesting places around the world while we waited for Summit to be born. We talked for hours about the places we would go and what we would do there. However, we never left Roslyn. That’s right, instead of traveling the world, we stayed in our new home on the mountain, doing two things: making love and preparing for Summit.
Over the next few months we found out more about what it meant that our child was an Echo. It turns out Omnis had given himself an end date. At that point he will cease to exist. No one knows what that date will be. However, he has chosen three beings that have the potential to grow powerful enough to replace him.
These three Echos are located throughout the world. For their safety, no one knows where. In fact, no one knows Echos exist. It’s just a myth in some journal. That way, Summit and the other two Echos can lead normal lives until Omnis chooses which of them will take his place.
Summit’s power as an Echo is resurrection. However, it’s such a complex power, it will take her years to master. Her bringing Alexi back to life was just her way of fighting for survival. She won’t be able to repeat that kind of power until she’s older.
Until then, she has more than enough power from Pryor and me. Summit is the child of a Noru, which makes her a Toren. But because she is the only one with both a mother and a father who are Noru, her powers exceed the others’. She will be the First Toren. She has already started to show her Toren powers.
Pry and I were in her nursery one night, trying to decide on the color of the walls. We set out two cans of pink paint and placed them on the floor. Summit used her mom’s body and sent a surge of purple lightning at the paint cans. They exploded on impact.
That was our daughter’s subtle way of saying she’s not into pink. We should have scolded her, b
ut we were too busy laughing at the fact that Pry moved out of the way in time, but I was covered in pink paint. Pry sent a picture of me bathed in pink to everyone on the team. East now uses it as his Facebook photo and screensaver.
Pry told Summit she had to find a nicer way to communicate and tell us what she wanted. It took her a few days, but she finally figured out a way to talk to us. We were in the paint store when Summit used her powers to move a dozen blue paint cans across the store and place them at our feet.
“Wow, that is such a good choice. And you told us what you wanted without blowing anything up! Good job, Winnie,” Pryor said.
Ever since Emmy came over and watched Winnie the Pooh with her on TV, it’s all Summit wants playing in the house. When she’s fussy and unhappy, she shows that by moving things around the house like a restless ghost. But then Pry will put on Winnie the Pooh and she’ll settle down. Her favorite character is the big bear named Winnie on the show.
She loves when he says his popular phrase “oh bother” when he gets in trouble and can’t access the honey he worked so hard to get. And when the bear laughs, Summit lights up. So we nicknamed her after the cartoon bear.
It’s hard enough being the leader of a team, but being slated to be one of three that may replace Omnis…that’s just too much to deal with. Pryor and I have stayed up many nights, trying to figure out how we can protect her.
In the end, all we can do is train her and do whatever it takes to keep her status as an Echo a secret. It sounds crazy to say, but we hope she isn’t chosen to be Omnis’s replacement. We want her to live a normal, happy life. We want her to be as safe as possible. And we will do anything to ensure that.
“Silver, you are going to pace through the hardwood floors and fall right into the basement,” Death scolds.
“I should have gone with her,” I reply as I continue to pace.
“When babies come out of Noni, it’s like coming out of the womb; they need to be greeted by a calm parent,” Randy replies.
“I AM CALM!” I shout before I can catch myself. Everyone in the house laughs at me, even my dad. Today is the day I have been waiting nearly a year for: Summit is ready to come home. She’s reached the maturation point where she is ready to come into the real world. In other words, my daughter will be born today.
