Ten Years

Cezille07

A little last word.

EPILOGUE: The Start of an Endless Dream

Timothy couldn't hold his excitement; he couldn't just stand at the door and wait—he had to grin. For sure, this day would change history; it will be a day remembered by future generations as the day humans gained the liberty, the freedom to choose to interact with the monster world.

But no surprises. He still had yet to see Greta, Zob, Jeremy, the ghosts and the monsters gasp in shock as they behold the event of this wonderful day. He had yet to find Zick lift from the fever he developed the night Elena left—reason he took to locking himself in his room for days on end, as he did ten years ago. Most importantly, he had yet to hear Elena's elated voice from the other end of the walkie-talkie, perhaps in the same way that she revealed the reason she returned to Old Mill to her family and her fiancé. And even after that, she would have one more response to give.

Ahh, and the Tutors should arrive any moment by now. And everything will go just as planned. It may require control for him, not to show his giddiness or any emotion, or exclaim in glee, before that moment. Also, it requires Teddy to pretend he doesn't know about the plan, conceal his knowledge of the show they will soon have—or embrace Zick the moment they meet again, for that matter. But never mind, the time is nearing! Oh, here is the doorbell!

Ding dong!

Elena finally removed herself from the couch, an activity she had taken to since she woke up, as her parents actively ignored her after her revelation. She had nothing on her to-do list this Wednesday, thanks to her boss allowing her a day of rest from the flight—of course, he didn't know that the flight wasn't really what bothered her. Of course, it had to do with someone she left behind and, despite the fact that she cleared the air with him, someone she may never see again.

Or that was what she thought until the series of events after she opened the door.

"Good morning, Ms. Elena!" the lively Bombo at her doorstep greeted her. "I be messenger Bombo from Bibbur-si! Please follow to transportation monster!"

"Huh?"

"I escort you home."

'Home'? Wasn't that the elusive place she left yesterday? The place where dreams and fantasies meet reality....

Elena barely recovered from the shock of that, when Teddy appeared behind her (successfully avoiding his kiss-on-cheek show to their families) and handed her the walkie-talkie. He had borrowed it after their little heart-to-heart talk; she imagined him listening all night for any sign of Zick from the other end. "Ellie, Head Tutor wants to talk to you," he said.

She received it warily, not even doubting the fact that he knew about the Head Tutor business, of which she told him nothing. But what startled her was the voice on the other end, which wasn't Zick.

"Ms. Elena? Ms. Elena? Good gracious, how do you know this contraption works? Can you tell if she can hear us?"

Carnaby Croth?!

Then another voice, this time familiar as our protagonist. "Most-High Tutor, this is a simpler version of the Signal—"

"Like the ones we confiscated from you?" Carnaby interrupted. "Well, this is certainly complicated-looking for a simple machine. If I'm supposed to be pushing this button, why isn't she responding?"

"Let it go after you talk so we can hear her," answered Timothy.

"Oh, ahem." Carnaby made an anxious, gulping sound and cleared his throat. "Ms. Elena, I assume that our messenger Bombo has reached you. Erm, please respond, I don't know how this works."

Elena shrugged. She looked at Teddy for support, but found none. "Yes, Head Tutor."

"No! I mean, we shall have a meeting in about two hours, or as soon as you arrive here, whichever occurs first. The Bombo will take care of everything for you. We possess Emily's Creature Revealer, so Mr. Teddy may come if he wishes."

Teddy snatched it from her, "You bet I would!"

Elena blinked. "But I just got back."

"There are quite a few matters to discuss," Carnaby declared, "but it needs to be done in person."

Defeated. That described her properly now. "Yes, Head Tutor."

"No!" he coughed, "ahem, I mean, please proceed to your transport. We hope to see you soon."

The Bombo ushered them to the gelatinous creature with four long legs.

Great, this'll be unforgettable, thought Elena.

Little does she know...she's right.

Nothing could have prepared her for this moment.

Everything was once again entirely altered. No more the relief she witnessed last time, and (thank God) it wasn't as strict or rigid as was her first visit to the Tutors' Pod in ten years. Now this third trip here gave her a new surprise, in the form of a small meeting already being held between Zick and Head Tutor Carnaby Croth, both of whom were whispering animatedly but inaudibly, both of whom, looked up in pleasant surprise the moment they laid eyes on her.

"Hey Elena," Zick said—or rather, sighed in relief. His smile warmed her inside and out, but not as much as the feel of his hand when he took hers. She would have retracted as easily, but not now. There was a silent void in her head without his mental voice in the background, yet she couldn't care less. Here, now, they were standing together, free of every obstacle that once loomed over them. Now, they were just two souls delighted to have found its missing half.

Behind her, Teddy blushed furiously, turning to the color of a tomato.

"Alright, alright," said Carnaby. "Let us proceed to the E-wing and begin."

Inside the E-wing was a long hall, where the rest of the Tutors were found giggling, Timothy wearing the largest grin of all. It was dimly lit, save for a small torch at the end of the hall, which illuminated a small wooden door and the three golden stands in front of it. These stands carried three golden trays, all covered in a thick cloth similar to the one of the Device, and basked in each their own spotlights.

"Friends, I welcome you to this glorious day! Nothing shall rival its greatness, even for the centuries to come. For this day brings triumph not only to Poddum-si, but to the world of humans as well.

"Ten Years ago, an Anguana began work on her second most dastardly deed, nearly succeeding in her attempt to gain Mr. Zick's Taming powers, with which she would have easily controlled Bibbur-si. It was Ms. Elena who rescued her friend, and us, at the expense of her life. She was revived by the Cure, a remedy to all ailments even death, more ancient than the Essence of Hate, and more powerful than any other treatment. After she became a Keeper, her parents forbade her to ever mingle us, as we also forbade her. Meanwhile our Anguana was imprisoned but unhindered; armed with her Essense of Hate she put into action her most evil, unspeakable, foul, evil—" he coughed, realizing he already said the word twice, "—plan, to control her clueless guards, certain that eventually her influence would reach us. She managed to infiltrate even our tightest defenses, hypnotized us, put me in charge of everything, fired my colleagues, instated the worst of our breed as replacements...until we even took to poisoning an innocent, young boy for fun."

He paused again. For the first time Elena realized that the three mean Tutors were nowhere in sight, and the old folks—Bartleby Bath, Deputy Deth, and the rest—were among the giggling group. For the first time, she smiled at them, unafraid; it was inexplicable, she felt nothing against them anymore.

Carnaby continued, "A long decade was spent in turmoil. It was long and nearly endless, until the day two weeks ago when once again, our little misfit reentered the picture. More trouble, our dazed minds feared. But lightning strike if I don't admit I missed Ms. Elena! For she would be our savior. She would learn the difficult art of the Dom and so much more in three days...and on the third, she would rid us of Emily, perhaps forever."

Applause from everyone.

"Suffering for reward, it is true. So it is my pleasure to be the one to host this ceremony, even though I no longer bear the prestigious title of Head Tutor. It is my pleasure to present to our heroes, three tokens of our gratitude." Carnaby stood aside to show Elena the three stands. "Our initial ideas were too infinitesimal to award to someone like Ms. Elena. These three, I hope, would be worthy of your great deeds, display our thanks, and show you're welcome here. You are no longer a spectator, my dear, you are a part of our history now."

Elena felt like dissolving into the floor at these words. Zick gave her hand a squeeze. She looked at him; he was smiling, albeit nervously.

"Moving on," resumed Carnaby, making his way to the first stand. The spotlight died as he unveiled the first tray: beneath the linen was a small vial of familiar 'liquid' glowing a pure, brilliant blue.

"It's yours," and Carnaby handed it to Elena, whose eyes widened as she realized what it was.

"T-thank you," she stuttered, half to the Tutors and half to the flask, "I...I don't know what else to say."

"Don't worry, save it for the last one," Timothy winked. She could feel Teddy grimacing behind her. Her eyes darted to the second tray.

"Now, the second gift," Carnaby stated. The linen fell like silk at his touch, and the spotlight died in time for the jingle of golden keys. "These can open any door in the E-Wing, especially the E-Room."

Elena took the keys uncertainly. "What does E-Wing and E-Room mean?"

"You'll find out if you open the E-Room."

She shook her head. Why is everyone treating me like this? Why are they all giggling like this was some show? Teddy was mumbling something under his breath that sounded like, "Just do it, just get it over with, please." Ignoring it, she stepped over to the door, found a likely candidate among the keys to unlock it, and—

The only word she could form was "WHAT?"

The E-Room was everything the E-Wing wasn't: bright, decorated semi-formally, wide open windows that let in the fresh, morning breeze, two shelves off to one side of the room, and a large, linen-covered frame on the other.

"Behold...the E-Room." Carnaby exhaled in a satisfied manner. "I find my duty of unveiling every linen-covered item amusing. What I like more is your reaction. Over here, Ms. Elena." He beckoned her to the frame, and said, "Now you try this."

Elena looked to Zick for any enlightenment, but his smile only confused her all the more. She followed to where Carnaby was and tugged at the end of the cloth, which fell to the floor to reveal a portrait of...her.

"The Elena Commemoration Room was recently inaugurated—"

"You mean 'Just inaugurated', you only declared it now," Teddy whined. "Please don't exaggerate."

"—to celebrate the victory we won because of you," resumed Carnaby as if no one had interrupted. "Now here. You open this too," he added to Elena.

"Oh great, what could be next?" sighed Elena, but she ambled over to it all the same.

So you think I give up now?

Teddy gave another impatient shake of the head and crossed his arms tighter. You think I don't love you anymore because I helped plan this? You think this is easy for me, pretending I want you and your little girlfriend to have your moment?

He was only lucky Elena never saw through his cover when he accidentally mentioned the words "Head Tutor", something he supposedly didn't know. Was it worth staying up all night to polish the plan with Timothy? Tutors, darn it, they think they're perfect, that they know everything. Yes, the plan was an excellent scheme like Timothy thought it would be, but they'll never know his part was the most difficult of all.

Why he ever agreed to help was beyond him.

"Teddy, you're our link there. You're perfect for the role; you can slowly mold Elena into the plan. All you have to do is hand her the walkie-talkie when the Bombo appears," instructed Timothy. "Just don't give away any details. And I have to warn you, when you see him you have to be careful not to do anything rash. If anything goes wrong, nothing right will ever come again!"

"And why would I help you?"

"You want him to be happy, right?"

That was the most stupid decision he had ever made! Giving up his powers seem only second to that choice.

A nudge on his left arm brought him back to present. "What?" he said, attempting a poker face as he spoke.

"Teddy, I want to thank you for this," whispered Zick.

"Don't. Thank. Me," he replied rigidly. Any second now and he'd kiss him.

"But I need to! You've made this day really great for me—"

"'For you'? Is that all there is?!" he finally yelled, "I hope you enjoy your little victory as long and good as you can! I'm out of here!" He removed the Creature Revealer and threw it on the floor, off into the E-Room.

Suddenly the world around him vanished. There was nothing around him, above or below, that explained the giggling he heard from the seemingly many entities with them, or why Elena would gasp that loudly—perhaps she already saw what the Grand E-Shelf showcased, a collection of everything that had to do with Elena, the several confiscated knickknacks, the rest of the 'liquid' Dom sample, and the Canned Emily—but he can no longer see the shelf or its contents. It was just the three of them, floating in the air in a mysterious, invisible city now true to its name.

I love you forever...but not now.

Thank heavens he never forgot where the elevator stood. But he ought to forget this. He ought to forget the day he wanted Zick to be happy while he watched from the sidelines.

"What's with him?" asked Elena.

She had the right to wonder, but not him. While Timothy's grin reached his ears at the question, Zick felt but a hint of guilt for what happened. Of course he knew, he had always known about Teddy's affection for him. But no, not now. He can think over it, or even be sorry about it, some other day. Not now. This was going to be his day. Their day.

"Most-High Tutor Carnaby Croth, shall we proceed with the event?" suggested Timothy.

"I believe so. Back to the E-Wing," replied the old Tutor.

They filed out of the E-Room and gathered around the last tray. Zick stayed behind, watching Elena fidget uncomfortably.

"Sir, does E-Wing have anything to do with my name too?" she asked.

"If you like, we also call it Ezekiel Commemoration Wing." Carnaby smiled, "Ah, and you're calling me 'Sir' again?"

"I suppose that's how it should be," she answered.

"Then I shall no longer call you 'Ms. Elena'."

"Why?"

"The Final Gift...."

He gracefully lifted the cover off the third tray. It was—

Elena shot a puzzled look at him. "A heart?" It was a real, beating heart. Of what, she didn't want to know.

Applause filled the room once more.

"Uh, that's...sweet," she said carefully, and laughed. This is getting out of hand, he heard her think. "Just like the California-si authorities. Always the best in gift-selection."

Carnaby spoke again, "No longer a spectator, no longer 'Ms. Elena', my dear child—"

"Because today...." Zick continued for him. He saw the pleasant surprise in her eyes as she turned to look at him, and the glint of excitement on Timothy's, that he couldn't help but smile. "Because today is the start of an endless dream."

He already knew how Elena might react, envisioned a million ways in which she could respond. But no Empathy can predict her actual answer when he whipped out a small velvet box, knelt in front of her, and showed the golden ring with a drop of 'liquid' Dom Energy embedded in the diamond.

THE END.

As a writer, these two words were the most difficult to present. But for now, Zick and Elena have conquered the world of monsters yet again; Emily has taken her downfall (at last!); and both families are now coming together for a lifelong bond.

What's sad about story endings is that it stops there. However, I promise you that, while Ten Years is finally finished, many decades for Zick and Elena...have now begun.