Guardians: The Triplex Part 28

Nothing happens.

"d.a.m.n IT!" I shout turning away from the sky.

"Marcus-" Emmy begins.

"No, this is wrong. After everything-"

"Marcus-"

"No, don't tell me to calm down. This is c.r.a.p!"

"Marcus!"

"WHAT???"

She points her index finger towards the sky. And there, standing in a pool of brilliant light, is the third Para. The light from of all three bathes the entire sky.

We rejoice so loud, we scare every living thing in the garden. I take Emmy up in my arms and throw her high up into the air. Jay and Rio embrace as does Miku and Ameana. We're so euphoric, Rio jokes that our happiness is going to kill him.

"We did it, baby!" Jay says picking Emmy up. She laughs and hugs him back. By then, all of us are spread out into the garden filled with a ridiculous amount of glee and energy. The sisters watch as we celebrate.

Emmy and I look at each other from across the garden. We don't need to use words. We know what the other is thinking and feeling.

We proved everyone wrong. We loved the way we wanted to and we never gave up. Everyone was wrong about us; our love didn't destroy us. It kept us alive...

We are so insane with excitement, we almost forget about the Amulet. But as promised, I hand it over to Chance and she thanks us.

"When will you be making your introduction to the Angel world?" Emmy asks.

"Soon. It's a delicate matter. We want to make sure it's the right time," Chance says.

"Well, good luck," Miku replies.

"We're sure you'll want to celebrate," Charity says to us.

"I'm so ready to party. Let do this!" Jay announces.

"You're taken now. You have to ask Isabelle's permission to party," Ameana jokes.

"Wait, seriously?" he says, fear inhabiting his face.

All of us laugh mercilessly at Jay.

I pull Emmy against me and wrap my arms around her from behind, and together we look out onto the most beautiful thing we've ever seen: A world no longer in danger.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: REPLAY.

By the time we get back to New York City, every single Angel on earth has left us a Facebook message, text or voicemail. That is if they weren't coming by our hotel in the plaza every five minutes. We've even had gift baskets filled with Snaps sent by the Original Paras.

In addition, Angels visit us from every corner of the globe: London, Haiti, j.a.pan, and Tibet. The Splash features all of us including Emmy, Wolf, Tony, and Isabelle. It was front page news: "THEYACTUALLY DID IT!!!

The Sage dropped by to congratulate us on a job very well done. He said how happy he was that things worked out differently than he saw it. He asked when we were planning on going back to the Light.

"We can stay until midnight of the New Year, so in a few days," I tell him.

"Enjoy yourselves," he says kindly.

There's a party thrown in our honor just about every other day. I told the team that they could go to as many as they wanted. After all, work is over. We had found the map and eliminated every Akon. And Rage, if he survived the stabbing, would have his hands full with Lucy for failing to stop us.

Emmy wanted to join in the parties, but I made her go to Daraquin and get a full checkup. It took only a few hours to return her to perfect health. Even so, she was made to stay in bed by the healers for a full two days.

So what does my girl want to do now that she is healed and rested? Go to a romantic city? Go on a shopping spree? See the pyramids?

No, Emmy wants to eat a gallon of rocky road ice cream on top of the Green Mountains. She dives into the container with gusto. I can't help but laugh at her.

"Hey, I have earned this! Don't you dare make fun of me," she warns.

"You teeth are chattering."

"I do that so I can snuggle with you."

"You never need a reason to get next to me, you know that," I reply.

She moves closer and rests her head on my chest.

"Seriously, we should fly down from here."

She pays no attention to me. After she downs half the gallon, she pushes for us to do the other thing she came up here to do.

"This is crazy, Emmy. Christmas already pa.s.sed," I protest.

"Well we were busy killing Demons then so we have to pretend like it hasn't pa.s.sed. Please, Marcus!"

"I didn't bring your gift with me."

"But you said--"

"Okay, I may

have remembered it," I smile.

"Yes!" she says, snuggling up to me.

"Sitting here on the edge of these mountains with you...this is the happiest I've been."

"Marcus Cane don't you use sweet words to distract me. Where's my gift?" she says, bursting with excitement.

"Okay, okay. Here."

I hand her a small black box tied with a gold ribbon. I told her we Angels don't celebrate human holidays but she insisted that I share it with her. The last time I cerebrated Christmas was back when I was human. I spent it with my family. I didn't know at the time it would be our last Christmas together.

"Now if you don't like it-" I start.

"I don't care if it's sand. I just like that you thought about me."

"I'm always thinking about you. You're hard to forget."

She kisses me and it feels like falling off the tallest mountain in the universe. It's exhilarating. It's intense. It's like being alive again.

Omnis, I will surrender all my lifetimes to have an extra day on earth with her...

She pulls away from me gently and begins to unravel the ribbon. Watching her open the box, I suddenly start to miss the Christmases I won't get to share with her. Then I think about the birthdays and New Years I'll miss, too.

When you die those things stop mattering, but then I fall for a human, and now, they're all that matter...

"It's a Splash," she says, before she lifts the globe out from the box.

"It's not a Splash because it's not empty," I correct her.

She picks it up out of the box.

"It's a snow globe of a car in the snow."

"Whose car?" I ask her. She studies the orb closer.

"That's Jay's car. Wait! That's us inside the car!"

"It's called a Replay. It's like a snow globe, but it's alive. It's been constructed from memory. That memory is then played out by mini Shadow Servants made to look like the people in the memory."

"That's a mini Emmy and a mini Marcus inside Jay's car. And over there is my apartment building," she says tuning the grapefruit-sized orb in her hand.

"I had them reconstruct my favorite night: the night you kissed me."

She studies the Replay. The mini Shadow Servants interact and then kiss. The scene repeats itself as if on a loop.

"This is so crazy. It's even snowing like it was that night. The snow never stops falling. I don't even have to shake it. And they are wearing exactly what we were wearing that night!" She is completely taken with the Replay.

She runs her fingers over the dark wooden base of the orb. It has the date that she kissed me etched on it. I see her start to get weepy. The sight of her crying, even happy tears, really messes with my head. So I try to snap her out of it.

"I know I could have gotten you jewelry. I still can."

"Marcus, the most important thing you can give me is your Rah. I already have that."

"You really like the Replay?"

"I love it and I love you. Thank you so much."

She hugs me and whispers how happy she is.

"Okay, your turn," she says, handing me a red envelope. There is a handwritten message on the back.

"Let this bring you what your love brought me: Peace."

"What's in this?" I ask. She delights in the curiosity in my voice and tells me to open it. I tear into the envelope and find the most valuable thing I now own.

"Emmy, how did you...?"

I pull out a photograph of my parents and a little boy. They're smiling brightly with a Christmas tree in the background.

"That's Antony. Your little brother," she informs me. I can't stop looking at the picture even as I talk to her.

"Brother?"

"Yeah, he's a cutie."

"How did you get this?"

"I asked the Twins and they did their Tech magic and found out where your family lives now. And since you wouldn't let me out of your sight these past few weeks, Jay went to their house and took this from their mantel."

"My mom, she looks so...happy."

"She is. She has a blog about coping with the loss of a child. It gets a ton of traffic. Also, Jay found a certificate of completion from a rehab center on the wall."

"She's clean now?"

"She has been for a while now. Your death wasn't in vain."

I look at the picture again and fall silent.

"I know it probably brings up a lot of stuff, seeing them again."

"It does."