[COLOR=GRAY][INDENT][COLOR=silver][sup][b]| Epilogue[/b][/sup][/COLOR]
[INDENT]The smell of freshly cut grass wafted over the fields surrounding the once derelict building. Newly washed stone complete with brand new mortar and glistening modern windows reflected the light of the morning summer sun. A year ago, Lorcán had been sitting on a beach, wondering what his life would look like beyond Dundas Island and now, here he was, a man in charge of his own destiny. 

His muscles ached and he felt pain in places he hadn’t experienced before. They had spent months turning Mather Memorial into a modern facility, using the best of Pacific Royal but in a way that fit the vision. The sun reflected off the crimson aviators that adorned Lorcán’s face.

Of course, like any new venture, there had been some resistance. Crestwood Hollow wasn’t exactly thrilled to be the home of a Hyperhuman school, and the smaller campus meant they had essentially no housing available for students to board on, meaning they did have to procure actual apartments meaning tuition couldn’t be offered for free. The limited space also meant they had to turn away more applicants than they could ultimately accept. For everything they had accomplished with Mather Memorial, it still wasn’t Pacific Royal.

And maybe, [i]maybe[/i] that was a good thing. 

They had just finished the outbuilding, a small space for the arts. Aurora had suggested they call it the ‘Galahad’ after Gil. Lorcán happily agreed, looking towards the sky, sadly smiling, knowing that somewhere, beyond a Conjunction, his friend was still watching. His thumb twirled the rose gold band that adorned his left ring finger, before opening the palm of his hand and looking at the rune still etched into his skin. Ünterland had left its impact on all of them, but it had given Lorcán the blessing of meeting his sister.

For that, he felt more whole than he ever had, even if Ünterland had also taken from them. 

Amma had returned to Ünterland after it was all said and done. She had led the charge to finish Daedalus off once and for all. Saved by Gil's sacrifice and returned from the hell the Chernobog had exiled her to. But her powers were too vast for this world, and so Ünterland was the only place that could keep her and those around her safe. Back to the world below, she went, reunited with Gil. 

It was bittersweet; she would know happiness with Gil. But Amma and Gil wouldn't be able to experience the next generation of Hyperhumans. They wouldn't meet any children Lorcán and Aurora had. They wouldn't grow old with their friends or classmates. 

But they would have each other. 

Lorcán looked towards the new coat of arms they had placed on the school. [i]Tiamat[/i], once a name used to control Amma. It was now the symbol of their perseverance and the school's mighty dragon mascot. 

[color=#ffffff]“Would you do it all again to end up here?” [/color]

Lorcán turned towards the familiar voice, removing his sunglasses, a smile forming on his face.

[color=#fe650d]“Jonas!”[/color] He exclaimed, running towards the man. Jonas was younger than Lorcán was used to, clearly an apparition of a time before Lorcán was born.

[color=#ffffff]“Hello, my boy.”[/color] Jonas replied, [color=#ffffff]“The school looks exactly as it should. You’ve done well, you, Cassander, Aurora. I’m very proud of everything you’ve become.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“I really wish we had found the deed,”[/color] Lorcán noted, looking West, imagining for a second he could see P.R.C.U. again. [color=#fe650d]“That island was my home.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“But now it’s not.”[/color] Jonas smiled, placing a hand on Lorcán’s shoulder. [color=#ffffff]“Your home is with your heart. Whom I believe is on a refreshment run.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Yes, Aurora is in town.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Treasure the moments you have,”[/color] Jonas stated, [color=#ffffff]“Winds are blowing, Ünterland is changing and soon that will come to you.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“What do you mean?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“This story is written, but there is a force out there seeking to alter time, and through it, changes will ripple. I do hope we meet again, dear boy, but I fear the next time we meet, you will not be as you are now.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Jonas,” [/color]Lorcán pleaded, [color=#fe650d]“Please, speak to me directly.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“I am Jonas.”[/color] He replied,[color=#ffffff] “But I am not the Jonas you know. Your Jonas, Dr. Lehrer, he has ceased to exist within the turbulent tides of Limbo, and instead I find myself in his place. Crestwood Hollow has changed and I am burdened with the memories of multiple lives. I can see this timeline, messy and chaotic as it is, it also brought a lot of joy and life to those who were part of it.”[/color]

Jonas paused.

[color=#ffffff]“But I see another timeline, I see a different P.R.C.U. One free of the struggles of the Alexandria Foundation, one who is caught between two worlds. Lorcán, my boy, this world already ended long ago, but I needed to prepare you.”[/color] He took another breath.

[color=#ffffff]“Something new is coming.”[/color]

Lorcán opened his mouth to speak but Jonas stopped him.

[color=#ffffff]“When it does, none of this will exist. You won’t realize you’re gone and in some ways, you will likely live on, having further adventures. Your Jonas would want that for you, I do too.” [/color]Jonas continued, approaching the Mather Memorial building. His hand tracing the original name plate, hung exactly where he had left it nearly fifty years prior.

With a swift, and directed tap, Jonas struck the plate, displacing it from the wall and revealed a sealed envelope behind it. 

[color=#ffffff]“I believe you were looking for this.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“But everything you just said,”[/color] Lorcán retorted as Jonas handed him the envelope.

[color=#ffffff]“Doesn’t negate the need for a happy ending here. You will be an amazing teacher, a great husband and an even better father. Pacific Royal will live on through you, Aurora, Cassander and all else who want it to.”[/color] Looking up at the restored building, Jonas smiled softly.

[color=#ffffff]“Now you have a satellite campus.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“But what good is any of that if reality is changing?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Reality might change, stories might repeat. But that doesn’t mean this doesn’t continue. It might no longer be a focal point, but we can’t deny that it happened. We can’t deny the ups or the downs. My old self treasured these moments with each and every one of you.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Do you always speak in riddles?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“When it serves me,”[/color] Jonas replied cheekily. [color=#ffffff]“P.R.C.U. is eternal, it has had many forms before and I’m sure it’ll have many more. Each is just as special as the last.”[/color] He paused.

[color=#ffffff]“Except for that one time, but we don’t talk about that.”[/color] He chuckled.
 
[color=#ffffff]“We’ve had numerous freshmen adventures, we fought against Hyperion and Daedalus, we’ve pushed the very lore of this campus to the very brink, and while I believe P.R.C.U. has more stories to tell, I think it’ll be a long time before we return to that island.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“What of Crestwood Hollow?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“That story is still being told, in fact,”[/color] Jonas held out a hand to Lorcán, [color=#ffffff]“I think you should see something.”[/color]

Lorcán hesitated, taking a step away from Jonas. 

[color=#fe650d]“What do you mean?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Take my hand, son, you can trust me.”[/color]

Cautiously, Lorcán reached out his hand until he took hold of Jonas. All at once the world around him disappeared into a vacuum. The darkness was unlike anything Lorcán had ever experienced as he was pulled through the very fabric between time and space. Even Limbo hadn’t been this disorientating. 

Flashes of his life appeared around him, future moments with Aurora and their daughter. Instinctively he immediately knew her name was Bridget. He could see her stepping off the ferry onto Dundas Island. Her first year at Pacific Royal. 

Lorcán’s heart swelled with pride for the daughter that he didn’t yet have. He saw Rory and Haven, he saw Cassander, Luce and Alyssa. Cleo, Lucas and Manny too had gone on to live happy and full lives. Some even with children of their own at Pacific Royal.

But then he was suddenly in the past. The Foundation flotilla was sinking, Haven’s final struggle with Daedalus finally ending victorious as her and Rory embraced before her wings took them to safety, finally free. Banjo and Harper both sacrificed themselves for their friends and Lorcán felt himself cry out at their deaths.

Amma's triumphant return from Ünterland in all its chaotic glory. Tendrils of crimson and silver exploded from her fingertips as she let loose a cry of war upon Daedalus, initiating the final assault on the Foundation's flotilla. 

And then suddenly he was even further back. All over again, he got to experience his first night with Aurora, and then his first kiss. He re-experienced his first interaction with Amma, the bonding on their HZEs and the start of their unorthodox relationship. Suddenly he was a freshman again and then a boy. He saw his parents mourning Bridget’s stillbirth, he saw their joy upon learning they were having twins. 

Lorcán saw Aiden meet Tori for the first time and he saw him mourn Vanessa.

No. Veronica.

No. It was Vanessa.

[i]Veronica Rose-Marie Bordeaux.[/i]

[color=#ffffff]“I tried to tell you,” [/color]Jonas’ voice seemed to come from all around Lorcán, [color=#ffffff]“Time is changing.”[/color]

Lorcán hit the ground hard as the world around him suddenly became solid. The full moon overhead illuminated the damp forest surroundings. The smell of pine and hemlock washing over his already disorientated senses. 

[color=#fe650d]“Where am I?”[/color] He asked Jonas who crouched beside him. Raising a finger, Jonas pointed as Lorcán’s ember-like eyes followed his direction. Atop a nearby cliff stood a man draped in robes darker than the night itself. He cursed the moon above, chanting in a language unknown to Lorcán.

[color=#fe650d]“Jonas,”[/color] Lorcán hissed,[color=#fe650d] “What is this?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“A new beginning.”[/color] Jonas whispered back the outstretched cloak suddenly collapsed to the ground, void of the body that had once been inside it. The moon above turned an ominous crimson as aurorae danced across the dark horizon. In the distance sirens began to echo as the far off lights of cities and towns disappeared into rolling blackouts. 

[color=#fe650d]“This is the Dark E-”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“The Long Night, this is the night Hyperhumans were born.” [/color]Jonas interjected. 

[color=#fe650d]“But I thought it was an accident.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“No,” [/color]Jonas shook his head. [color=#ffffff]“You were created. For what, I don’t know. You are not the result of a freak mutation. You are the direct result of intervention by one seeking revenge.”[/color] He paused, looking towards the blood moon above.

[color=#ffffff]“Lorcán, you are Wraithborne.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Jonas,” [/color]Lorcán pleaded again, [color=#fe650d]“Please, explain this to me. Why do you show me these things?”[/color] He stammered, grasping at his chest as he suddenly felt a sharp pull.

[color=#ffffff]“That’s your body attempting to return to your time. I wish I could accompany you, but I must stay here. Your father is going to need me.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Jonas!”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Lorcán, you were always my favourite. Take care of my school, I’ll see you in the next life.”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“Hey,”[/color]

Lorcán’s eyes slowly opened to find Cassander standing overtop of him. The bright afternoon sun nearly disorientated him as the pungent smell of pine was replaced with the smell of newly cut grass again.

[color=#8aaceb]“I didn’t think you could get heat stroke.”[/color] Cassander snarked, reaching a hand out and helping Lorcán to his feet. 

[color=#fe650d]“I think I had the weirdest dream,”[/color] Lorcán muttered, lifting his hand to rub the back of his head only to notice the envelope clutched tightly within it.

[color=#8aaceb]“What’s that?”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Uh,”[/color] Lorcán hesitated before opening the envelope to find the deed to Dundas Island.

[color=#8aaceb]“It’s the deed to Pacific Royal-”[/color]

[color=#ffe599]“Lorcán, Lorcán Roth?”[/color] A woman’s voice called as she stepped out of a car that Lorcán didn’t recognize and walked towards him.

[color=#fe650d]“Yes, that’s me.”[/color]

[color=#ffe599]“I’m glad I found you, my name is Christine Chapel, I was actually a classmate of your father’s back in ‘84 here at Mather Memorial.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Did my Dad send you?”[/color]

[color=#ffe599]“Actually,” [/color]Christine paused, [color=#ffe599]“A different mutual acquaintance did.” Her eyes darted between the two young men. “Dr. Jonas Schechter.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“I don’t know a-”[/color] Lorcán began before a signature on the deed caught his attention.

[i]Jonas Levi Schechter.[/i]

[color=#8aaceb]“Did you hit your head?”[/color] Cassander asked dryly before turning back to Christine. [color=#8aaceb]“Sorry about him, he’s all sorts of off today.”[/color] He extended a hand,[color=#8aaceb] “Cassander Charon, looks like we should start an alliteration club.”[/color]

[color=#ffe599]“So it would seem,” [/color]Christine smiled, [color=#ffe599]“Speaking of which, I’d actually like to introduce you to some,”[/color] She motioned as a dark haired man stepped out of the car. Sunglasses covered most of his face, but he was dressed very sharply.

[color=#ffe599]“This is Charles Callaghan, and he’d-”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“I’d like to invest in your school. Both the satellite wing here in New Hampshire and of course, P.R.C.U. proper. When I heard that you were expanding to set the H.E.AT. program up here, I knew I wanted to be involved.”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“You’re the Charles Callaghan?”[/color] Cassander replied as Lorcán looked dumbfounded again. 

[color=#8aaceb]“Seriously cuz? He’s the most renowned philanthropist in all of New Lilith.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Is that a city?”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“Again, you’ll have to forgive him,”[/color] Cassander apologized to Christine and Charles, [color=#8aaceb]“I thought when you stopped the surfer speech you maybe had gotten smarter. Yes, New Lilith is a city, basically a real world Gotham.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“And this guy is Bruce Wayne?”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“Without the alter ego,"[/color] Charles interjected with a chuckle.[color=#3d85c6] “Though our city does owe a lot to the Mavericks. That said, I'd rather see people with gifts receive the kind of training that can only be provided by Pacific Royal.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“Mr. Callaghan-”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“Please, everyone calls me, Chuck.”[/color]

[color=#ff7514]“Chuck,”[/color] Lorcán stated, [color=#fe650d]“I would love to discuss some opportunities for investment, we can definitely use more people with a vested interest in helping the Hyperhuman population.”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“Us Wraithborne have to stick together,”[/color] Cassander replied only for Lorcán to look at him in horror.

[color=#8aaceb]“What?”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“What’d you call us?”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“Wraithborne, Lorcán that’s like history 101 at P.R.C.U. Y’know how your Dad and Jonas-”[/color]

[color=#ffe599]“And me,”[/color] Christine interjected.

[color=#8aaceb]“And Ms. Chapel all worked together to find the Crestwood Killer and in the process discovered that Hyperhumans were created by a vengeful Draoi to destabilize the ruling classes of Ünterland. That’s why the campus exists in Terra Umbra.”[/color]

[color=#fe650d]“The campus is what?”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“C’mon, you know very well the P.R.C.U. campus lives in Ünterland. It’s why Mather Memorial is focused on the Hyperhuman Enforcement Advanced Training program. That’s something that happens here on Terra Mundus, but the main campus is in Terra Umbra. I still remember the time that you picked a fight with a Lycan who offered to buy Aurora a drink. Or did you forget how you got your scar?”[/color]

Lorcán suddenly held a hand to his face, tracing the scar over his right eye.

[color=#fe650d]“No, this is from Raze.”[/color]

[color=#8aaceb]“I’m seriously starting to worry about you.”[/color] Cassander shook his head. 

[color=#ff7514]“Maybe you should go on without me, excuse me Ms. Chapel, Mr. Callaghan.”[/color] Lorcán stated apologetically before walking around to the front of Mather Memorial. Maybe if he clicked his heels together and said “There’s no place like home” three times, this nightmare would end. 

If Jonas had transported him to an alternate universe, he found himself with more questions than answers. He looked at his hand, noting his wedding band still intact, but the rune of protection was gone from his palm.

[i][color=#fe650d]Was Gil alive?[/color][/i]

If the campus were in Ünterland, then it wouldn’t have been a death sentence to be dragged there. Passage wouldn’t come at the same toll. Lorcán clenched his jaw. If his dad’s class had changed, had his? He had never heard of Christine Chapel until fifteen minutes ago.

His hand fumbled for his phone before he unlocked it, opening his messages. A family group chat brought a smile to his face as he opened “Wolfpack4Life”.

One unread message.

[i][color=#fe650d]Gil.[/color][/i]

A tear streamed down Lorcán’s face. Gil was asking what shenanigans they had planned for his bachelor’s party. Laughter echoed from Lorcán mouth over the empty field surrounding Mather Memorial. 

If Gil were alive, then maybe everyone else got their happy ending after all. If Gil's course had been changed, was Amma's as well? Were they still together? Or did the ripples go back even further? Lorcán couldn't help but wonder if the Amma of this world was spared Daedalus' torture. Maybe even allowed to live with her mother and father. Maybe the Amma of this world retained the power of life instead of the chaos sewn into her by Daedalus' manipulations.

No matter, his friends were alive. His school was restored, and the Lorcán of this world seemed to be doing just fine.

Even if he did pick fights with Lycans, whatever that was.

He leaned back against the cool brick wall, the rough edges poking his skin through his sweat-stained shirt. He had a lot to learn about this new world, but he was excited to find out everything that had changed.

It was good to be Wraithborne.[/indent][/indent][/color]