[Ali] Ali's customary black suit is rumpled and she is sprawled in the undignified posture of sleep. An older man similarly dressed, leans over her and waves a vial under her nose. She wakes up, sputtering, as Agent Smith puts the vial back in his pocket. "Are you okay?" She nods to him as she struggles to sit up. "The operation went off smoothly?" Agent Smith nods. "Kelly was given the antidote a few minutes ago. Burke and Corcoran are in holding cells. What do you propose to do with them now?" [Niccolo] Niccolo pulls up to a gate, leading to a Greenwich mansion. A large "G" is emblazoned in the metal work. He rolls down the window and presses the talk button on the intercom. "Tserovich, to see Antonio Giovanni." There is a buzz and the gate begins to swing open. "Come on in." the box says. Niccolo drives onto the estate. The house is set well back from the road. Niccolo parks and goes up to the door. Again, "Niccolo Tserovich to see Antonio Giovanni." An older man opens the door for him. "This way." he says. "Mr. Giovanni will be with you in a few minutes." Niccolo is left in the library. As he waits, Niccolo extends is senses. Eight living beings in the house. It is not clear how many vampires. A man in his early thirties enters the room. "Mr. Tserovich?" Niccolo turns to face the man. The other man continues. "I am Antonio Giovanni. I understand you are here representing the Antonucci family?" "Yes." he says. "You've been having members of my family killed. Why?" Giovanni starts to answer, but then a surprised look crosses his face. He frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but only smoke comes out. Niccolo, with a grim look, says, "You have made a serious mistake, Mr. Giovanni. You have chosen to attack a family with not one but three mages protecting it." Giovanni bursts into a pillar of flame and goes flying back into the fireplace. "I came to send a message." Running feet are heard as Giovanni's servants come flying to his aid. Niccolo ducks behind a suit of armor and pulls the guns. One person after another runs past him. And then someone notices him. The first shot blasts the man across the room, the second turns his head into a fine spray of bloody mist. Now, Niccolo is noticed. He turns and runs through the burning library and he dives through a window, hitting the ground on the other side rolling. Above, on the second floor of the house, people are trapped as they try and get the windows open but find them jammed. Niccolo walks around the house to the car and opens the trunk. Waiting in there is the second incendiary bomb that the cabal bought a little over a month ago. He sets it for a ten minute delay, picks it up, and then lets it drop. Before it hits the ground, it is gone. Calmly, Niccolo gets in the car and drives off the estate. As he pulls out of the gate, his tail pulls out of the bushes and joins him. In their rear view mirrors, a mushroom cloud erupts. Niccolo hits the speed dial on his cell phone as he drives through the twisty Connecticut roads. "Message sent." [Ali, Ryan and Burko] Half an hour after waking up, Ali is sitting bemusedly in her brand new office. A few well placed phone calls started the cover story for the bar going. Now, she needs to get her thoughts organized to get the next step in this operation in place. There is a knock on her door. Before she can call out, the door opens and Smith comes in, followed by Ryan. Smith skips the preliminaries and gets straight to the point. "Burke and Corcoran are in holding cells but we need to move on them soon." He nods at Kelly, "He has a suggestion on what to do with Burke." Ryan nods. "A great many children died in the fires. A great tragedy. One of them will live again." Ali still doesn't get what Ryan does, but she knows it works. "You can do this?" A stupid question. Ryan nods. "I will need a place to work. A place where I will be undisturbed." "Of course." Ali tries to think of somewhere suitable for Ryan to work, but Smith beats her to it. "Let's go down, then." They go down to the holding cells and look through the window at Burko. Then, they go into a neighboring empty cell. Smith looks at Ali, "Will you stay with him?" Ali nods and Smith leaves. Ali looks at Ryan, "Do you need anything?" "I don't suppose you have meat hooks?" Ali shakes her head. "I don't think we stock those." "Anything like that?" Smith sticks his head back in the room. "You have a colleague who fishes." he suggests. And then Ali remembers seeing Agent Holloway at his desk, carefully winding a fly. "Right." she says and goes down the hall to his office. The fly kit is set neatly off to one side of the office. She picks it up and leaves a note. She is going to owe Holloway big for this. Back in the cell, Ryan attaches the hooks first to the wall and then to his chest, slowly leaning back into them. Ali watches for a moment and then turns away, pacing down to see Burko and then back to Ryan. For two hours she paces. In the tapestry, Ryan reaches out for a thread that ended too soon. A fourteen year old boy. Robert Edwards. Carefully he grasps it and tugs it forward, to bridge the few weeks between when the boy died and now. He struggles to weave it into the loop that is Burko. The loop resists for a long time until finally the connection is made seamless. Ryan takes up the shears and starts to try and cut the loop, but the shears are not sharp enough and they slip off. Ryan wakes up, taking the weight off the hooks. Ali has been watching, worried about the volume of blood that Ryan has been loosing. "I rewove his past, but I can't break the loop." Ali nods. "Well, we've got time then. We can get him into the hands of the specialists, later." She watches as Ryan unhooks himself. "I'm going to need medical attention." Ali reaches for her phone. "Can you walk?" "A wheel chair would be good." She nods and makes the call. [Niccolo] It is two or three AM when Niccolo gets home. The house is quiet and no one is about. That is only slightly unusual for the cabal. He ignores it and flips on the TV and finds the news. Two stories of interest. A explosion in Greenwich, Connecticut destroyed the home of a prominent family. An investigation of the cause is underway. It is unknown how many dead there are at this time. A terrorist attack on a Central Square bar left several dead. At the moment, no one is claiming responsibility. Police are on the scene. After the news, Niccolo then finds an action flick and, perhaps, falls asleep to the flickering light and gunfire on the screen. [Leigh and Ali] Leigh lays in her cell, just down the hall from where Burko is being held and where Ryan is working. While that is going on, two men in lab coats come in and start setting up their equipment. When they are ready, they start the treatment. For two or three hours, they struggle, but Leigh's will is strong and her dedication has been affirmed recently. It is not easy to bend her mind to their will. In frustration, they call Ali. "Jones." "Can you come down to Corcoran's cell?" Ali checks to be sure Ryan is being taken care of and then says into the phone, "Be right there." A few minutes later, she enters the cell. "We are having problems getting her to accept the conditioning." Ali nods and lets the agents continue. "You know her better than we do. Perhaps you could give it a try." Ali thinks about it for a minute. "It's not my forte, but yeah. I can give it a try." She settles down at the controls of the equipment and begins to work. After another hour, she gives up in frustration. "Do you want to authorize a stronger method? It is possible it will leave her damaged." Ali hesitates and the man in white looks at her, "It's your operation, ma'am." Ali nods. "Can you keep her safely sedated for another few hours?" The man nods. "Do it then. I want to get a few hours sleep and then I will try again. If that fails, we'll go for something stronger." "Yes ma'am." [Burko] The boy wakes in a sunny hospital room, bruised and slightly sore, but otherwise intact. There is a pile of clothes next to the bed. He pulls on his pants and goes out into the hall. He only gets a few steps out into the hall when a nurse sees him. "You shouldn't be up, honey." she says. He looks at her, "What's wrong with me? Why am I here?" She just shoos him back into the room. "Go on in. I'll send for someone." He goes back into the room and starts to play with the TV when a man in a black suit comes in. "Good morning, Bobby." he says. Bobby looks at him. "May I sit?" Bobby shrugs. The man sits. "I am Agent Smith." he says. Bobby asks, "Why am I in here? When can I see my parents?" "Do you remember what happened last night?" Bobby shakes his head. Smith sighs. "I am sorry, Bobby. There was a terrorist attack on the bar where you were having dinner. You're parents were killed." The boy stares at him, in shock. Smith continues. "You defended yourself, showing some special abilities." "You mean I am some kind of super hero?" Smith smiles slightly. "Something like that." "Oh." "You are going to be a ward of the state for some time, as the legalities are sorted out. We are going to have you sent to a special school for gifted children called Curie, in upstate New York. But you will still be able to come back and visit and see your friends. David is very concerned about you." "Oh." "Are you feeling well enough to get up?" Bobby nods. "Well, get dressed and wait here. I'll be back for you in a few minutes." "Okay." Agent Smith leaves. A few minutes later a woman in a black suit comes in. "Are you ready to go?" Bobby, who is now dressed, looks at her. "I am supposed to wait for Agent Smith." "Don't worry about that." "I'm ready." "Come on then, follow me." They go out of the room and down the hall. The elevator comes and as the door is closing for them to go down, the elevator across the hall opens to give them a glimpse of Smith. Then the door is closed and the elevator goes down. "Hi," the woman says. "I'm Anna Marie." [Ali and Leigh] After a few hours of sleep, Ali has an idea. Instead of starting with trying to force her will on Leigh, she will start with something familiar. Then Leigh will relax. She heads down to Leigh's cell, turns on the equipment, and begins to work. **** The starting place is somewhere familiar. Leigh finds herself to be Yin Chow, a student of O'Malley's. The dream that she had once before unfolds around her again. She is with O'Malley when the independent Alexandra brings a promising child to O'Malley for teaching. The attack. O'Malley being taken off. Her, Chris and the undependable Alexandra to protect the child. The Maelstrom. The terror. The need to protect the innocent. The story unfolds as it did before with only the emotions intensified. There is terror in the face of the storm. There are the innocents who would be destroyed by it. Protect them. Then, the dream shifts, as dreams do. She is back in the bar with Burko, Ryan and Ali and they are talking. Across the bar, something black and fierce, something very like the storm, opens. Something like Trinity church. The innocents, the helpless in the bar, start to scream and panic suffuses the air. The cabal throws itself between them and danger. Something starts to come out of the portal and Ryan leaps at it, grappling with it and knocking it over. Both of them plunge into oblivion. Burko brings fire to bear, striking down those that come through. Ali calls for backup and tries to usher people out. Then, Burko's fire backlashes on him and he screams. Leigh rushes to him, trying to keep him alive, trying to force his heart to keep going. She barely keeps him alive as she lifts him and runs from the bar with him. She finds Ali outside and demands an ambulance. Ali explains one is on the way. Leigh wants one NOW damnit. An ambulance does come and takes Burko away. The MIB shock troops rush in to lock down the anomaly. Leigh and Ali keep working until they collapse from exhaustion. [Leigh] Leigh wakes up, slowly, her head hurting. She is in a hospital room and there is a bouquet of flowers by the bed, along with her clothes, piled neatly on a chair. She reaches for the phone by the bed and tries to get an outside line, but the phone won't do it. She presses the call button for a nurse. "Can I get a phone?" [Ali] Even more rumpled, Ali wakes up for the third time in this set of clothes to her cell phone. "Jones." "Corcoran is awake and asking for a phone." Alvin says. "Oh. I'll be right there." [Leigh, Ali and Niccolo] A few minutes later, Ali walks into Leigh's room, trying to wake up and sort out her conflicting memories. "How are you feeling?" Leigh shrugs. "Burko?" Ali shakes her head. "I'm sorry Leigh. We did all we could." "When can I go?" "I don't know. I'll check." "Has Niccolo been told?" "No. I haven't had time." "It is my job anyway." "Okay." "Can I get a phone?" "Of course. You're cell phone is just down at the nurses' station. I'll get it." Ali goes out of the room and goes to pick up the phone. When she comes back in she hands the phone over and says, "You can be discharged when you feel ready. I will drive you home if you want." "Where am I?" "New World Order HQ. This is a special unit for agents who get injured in the field." Leigh nods and hits the speed dial on the phone. "Tserovich." "Nic?" "Leigh! Where are you?" "New World Order HQ. In their hospital. I am ready to be discharged." "I am coming to get you. I will be there in five minutes." Leigh clicked off the phone and looked at Ali. "Niccolo is coming. Can you give us some privacy?" Ali nods. "I don't know if he can come up here, but I can find you a conference room in the unsecured area." "That is fine. Turn off your damned listening devices while you are at it." Ali smiles wryly and walks out to meet Nic. [Leigh and Niccolo] "What happened? Are you okay?" "Yeah. I just have a concussion and some bruises. I'm okay but...Ryan and Burko...they are dead." "What?!?" "We were at the Field in Central when one of those things like at Trinity opened up." "That's not possible!" She shakes her head. "It is true, Nic. Ryan...he dove into the void, to keep one of the things from coming out. Burko fought it with fire. I tried to keep him alive but....he was too far gone. But Ryan...He's gone...but if he is still alive..." "We owe him his death." "Yes." [Epilogue] A few days later at Ryan's funeral, Smith, Jones, Holland and another man in black stands in the back of the church, looking somewhat out of place. After the funeral, Ali stays around for a few moments after the other agents have left. She approaches Niccolo and Leigh when there is an opportunity. "I just wanted to say good bye." she says to them. "It has been an honor working with you." Leigh asks, "Where are you going?" "I've been promoted. I am off for some advanced training, with eventual reassignment back in Boston." "Oh." "I hear you are going after him. You will be working with the Voidies." "Yeah." "Good luck." she says softly. "Thank you. You too." Ali smiles slightly and inclines her head to both of them. "Take care, both of you. And maybe our paths will cross again, some day." **** When Leigh and Nic return home, Leigh goes to Ryan's room. She touches the chains dangling from the walls, runs her fingers along his CDs and the abandoned drum in the corner. She turns to his typewriter - the regular ink one - and notices that it has a piece of paper in it. She twists the knob and pulls the paper free. On the paper she reads: "The duty of the Oracle has always been to lead the tribe." [Endings and beginnings....] Anna Marie takes Bobby Edwards, aka Burko, to the Arizona desert where there is a surviving Hermetic chantry. He is trained and he chooses to join House Flambeau. Twenty five or thirty years later, he is in a violent battle with demons and the cycle begins again. Ryan disappears. A month later, he has a talk with the Three and his vision returns. He never sees them again, but he gets to keep the shears, the spindle and the measuring tape. Ten years later, he crosses paths with Ali again. By this point, both of them are wearing white suits. When word gets out that the Antonucci family was responsible for the explosion at the Giovanni estate, they become the preeminent crime family in Boston. Anna Marie sends an Akashic to take her place and she does not return. The Giovanni give up their efforts to take over the north east. Leigh and Niccolo join forces with the Void Engineers for a while, venturing into the blackness, into the dimensional rift. They battle with the darkness there, but they find no trace of Ryan. In time, Leigh comes to accept Ryan's death and she takes on the path of the Oracle, embracing the pain and responsibility that goes with that road. She and Niccolo remain a deadly team - allies of the New World Order, but always apart from it. Angels of death, protecting the innocent. **** Protect and Serve. Good, evil and the fine line between. We each create our own destiny. You will not contain us! **** And so ends the Chronicle of the Twilight War. Two Mages changed allegiances. Three of eight Mages died, two at their own hands. One tenth of the population of Boston died. World War III was averted by the same Mages which almost caused it. The cost of the Twilight Ascension War was, perhaps, too high. There are always better ways.