Prologue of the Beginning and the End

"Infiltration commencing."

We were about to infiltrate deep into enemy territory.

"You talking to someone?" Ashley questioned.

Yet despite the imminent risk of ****, there was no hint of tension on Ashley. I covered my phone's mouthpiece and turned to Ashley with an index finger to my lips. I nodded and put the phone back in my ear, still no sound from the other side. My contact was wise to remain silent as the whole area could have been bugged.

"No, I was just talking to someone," I said. "Everything's fine. I'm about to infiltrate the assembly hall."

Still no reply so it looked like they just wanted my report. It was too dangerous to waste time here anyway.

"Yeah, Doctor Storm got the jump on us but I'll make sure she tells us everything," I continued. "What!? Organisation is already on the move!?"

I opened my eyes to match my shocked tone. Ashley turned towards me in surprise. I sighed, shaking my head as I rubbed my temples.

"I see... so that's the choice of Dragons Gate." I spoke the departing words and pocketed my cellphone.

Dragons Gate, some know it as fate, to others it is the will of god. You could count on one hand the people who are of it's true nature. In any case, we advanced to the building just across the street from the train station. Of course this is enemy territory, we couldn't just stride through the door like average people. We bypassed the elevators and escalators and went to the 8th floor by stairwell but I only made it to the 7th floor before I had to stop and rest.

"Who was that on the phone?" Ashley questioned, resuming our conversation.

She had gone all the way up the stairs with me and she wasn't short of breath but I, on the other hand, was gasping for air with my hands on my knees. Who would have thought an 8-story building would be so tall? I turned to Ashley while wiping the sweat off my brow.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." I said.

"Oh, wow. Thanks, Ocy!" Ashley said, smiling happily.

She did not pry any further. As always, she was quick to understand my position. We continued to the 8th floor and entered the assembly hall where the conference would be held.

In front of us stood a cheap looking stage with a podium and a sign reading "Doctor Richards' Multiverse Press Conference".

"Ooh, multiverse, neat." Ashley said.

"Ocy! Ocy!"

Ashley insists on calling me "Ocy" but it's neither my real name nor my codename, it's just one of those annoying nicknames people use.

"How many times must I tell you? Don't call me Ocy." I said.

"Huh, but I've always called you that." Ashley stated.

"That was then! I have since become Phoenix Fortune, the insane mad scientist hunted by secret organisations the world over. Muhahaha!"

"But that's too hard to remember."

I any case, Phoenix Fortune was my true name.

"And besides, it doesn't even sound like Ocarina Hill. You're weird!" Ashley laughed.

Ocarina Hill may be my real name but I have rejected it for it is stupid. It sounds like Link's blue pipe thing.

And I also hate "Ocy".

"The place is a mortuary. Organisation stink is all over this." I stated.

"So, Ocy, can I ask you something?" Ashley questioned.

She's been calling me that for five years now so maybe it's time to give up.

"What are we doing here?" Ashley asked me.

"Wait, you followed me here without knowing why?" I asked.

"Yup." Ashley answered without dropping her smile.

"We're here for Doctor Richards' press conference. You're here because I permit you to be." I stated.

Doctor Richards is an inventor who appears on TV from time to time but mostly she has been treated as a curiosity.

"It seems the good doctor has beaten us to the punch, oh devoted one. She and her unqualified hubris has broken ground on the invention of the millennium and I'm morbidly curious to see where our theories intersect if at all."

That's why I was here, blowing an afternoon of my precious summer holiday. Ashley pondered my utterance for a while before finally turning her head.

"Press conference? But where are the reporters?" Ashley questioned.

She was right. I'd scanned the entire hall but there was no one who looked like a reporter or cameraman. There were only about ten of us waiting in the hall including the two of us.

Considering Richards' moderate media presence and the fact she claims to have invented a machine to travel to other universes, I would have expected more.

"Could this be the Organisation working it's twisted influence?" I questioned, twisting my lips into a sneer. "Keep your guard up, Ashley. I suspect this won't be a normal confer-"

I didn't have a chance to finish my sentence before the floor violently shook. Were we under attack? Was the Organisation trying to fry our brains with electromagnetic waves? Dust fell from the ceiling so we were definitely under attack and it was coming from above but we were on the top floor. All that was above us was the roof.

"An earthquake?" Ashley questioned.

There was no time to deal with Ashley's confusion. Something was not right about this.

I bolted out the conference room and ran up the stairs to the roof, ignoring the "no trespassing" sign in my way.

The door was already open. Upon closer inspection, I realised that the lock had been broken. I opened the door and saw a cloud of black smoke.

"An explosion!?" I questioned.

I couldn't believe it? Was there really an explosion? My heart was racing. Damn, I didn't know what to do. Should I run away? But why an explosion? Terrorists? No, that doesn't fit. I mean how do you explain that?

"What the hell?" I muttered.

A strange machine was sitting in the middle of the roof. It's huge, maybe three meters tall and looked kinda like a satellite. Did that thing cause the shaking just now? Who put it here? Was it Doctor Richards? Was this part of her presentation? Impossible, even if they the case, how the hell would she get it up here? My head was bursting with questions. As I searched for the courage to approach the machine, a group of reporters and building staff burst onto the rooftop, looking as confused as I am.

A woman with pale toned skin, long blonde hair tied in braids and a slim profile, who I assumed was a staff member, appeared to wave us back.

"Please stay back, everybody! The press conference will proceed as scheduled!"

Was she trying to hide something? Her response was unusually quick, almost like she was trying to keep me away from the device. I've got a nose for conspiracies and this stinks of a cover up. What are they hiding? What was that explosion? I wanted to know but I knew I shouldn't risk getting any closer so I turned and left but not because I was scared or anything like that. Staff members led us all back to the 8th floor. Ashley was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't in the event hall either. I found her on the 7th floor where her gazing upon several capsule toy machines that were lined up. I breathed a sigh of relief, then took out my phone.

"It's me. I've got a bad feeling about this. Something's happening and I have no idea what it is. Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I won't do anything to jeopardise the mission."

After I spoke the words and hung up, I wiped the cold sweet from my forehead. Half of me hoped something would happen, the other half feared the same thing. I put away my phone and looked back at Ashley staring at those toy capsules, not seemingly to be worried about the explosion at all.

I couldn't decide if she was level-headed or just air-headed.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Hmm? Well, I really want one of them Pikachus," she stated, pointing to a Pokemon capsule machine. "These are really, really rare and I'm broke."

Just as I thought. Pokemon is a popular anime series with it's own card game spinoff. They even hold international tournaments. I admit some of those Pokemon are cute but a lot of them are just ugly. Ashley has one of those owl type Pokemons, Row-let, I think it's called.

"Then go for it. I can't guarantee you'll get a Pikachu, though." I stated.

Ashley gave me a troubled smile.

"But I'm all out of coins," she complained. "So can I borrow one, please?"

She held her hands with the look of a begging puppy. It looked like she was planning this from the very beginning.

Well, at least she didn't say 'gimme'.

"Do I look like an ATM to you?" I questioned her. "Too bad, so sad, life lesson."

"Awww!" Ashley whined.

I pushed a coin into the machine's slot and spun the lever. I opened the capsule and took out the contents. Ashley leaned forward eagerly to see what I got.

"It's a Pikachu and it's metal! I don't believe it! A metal Pikachu!"

"Is it rare?" I asked.

"Super rare!"

I turned to see Ashley's sparkling eyes were also fixed on the Pikachu. Hey high school girl, you're acting like a little kid.

"Hmph, I give this creature of mine to you, Ashley."

Honestly, I don't want it.

"Really!? Are you sure, Ocy?"

"The name's Phoenix Fortune!"

"Thank you, Ocy, you're the best."

Is she doing it on purpose?

"My name is a matter of-" I was interrupted by an announcement from the floor above.

"Your attention please. Doctor Richards' conference is about to begin on the 8th floor lecture hall. All who are interested are welcome to attend."

"Sounds like they're starting." I said.

I headed to the stairs but Ashley didn't follow.

"Let's go, Ashley."

"Mm, just a sec. I gotta write my name." Ashley said, preoccupied with the metal Pikachu.

I just went on ahead.

"Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce the inventor, Doctor Richards! Please welcome her with a big round of applause!"

43 year old Doctor Richards entered to sparse applause and walked up to the podium, already wearing a frown for some reason. I could feel her irritation from here.

"I am Doctor Richards. Thank you all for coming."

She took the microphone and began to speak, her voice brimming with confidence.

"New then, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to begin with my theory of the multiverse, the greatest scientific breakthrough of the century."

"Did she really say multiverse?" Ashley questioned, appearing in the room, presumably having written her name on the metal Pikachu.

She was a bit late in more ways than one. What did she think a multiverse presentation would be about?

"Printed on the handouts there in front of you is more or less the hard blueprint for one of mankind's oldest ambitions," said Doctor Richards. "Of course, the theoretical scaffolding begs some explanation as I'm sure you're aware mainstream science currently boasts something else..."

I took another look around the room to see there were twenty people now, including us, but still no media presence to speak of. So this was the extent of Doctor Richards fame. No one believes her. I was interested in what she had to say, true, but my expectations were no higher than the rest of the onlookers and a good thing they weren't. I continued reading the handout. Wait a minute? The inter-dimensional vectors of multiversal travel? As Doctor Richards proceed to explain her multiverse design, my curiosity quickly turned to disappointment, then anger.

"DOOOOOCTOOOOOOOORRR!!" my roar silenced Richards and drew the eye of every person in the room.

"Save your questions-" Doctor Richards said.

"I have none, madam!" I exclaimed. "I throw down the gauntlet as to your theory's authorship! Do you take us for fools!?"

"Who the hell are you?" Richards asked.

"Who the hell am I!? Someone who knows you for a fraud, that's who!" I exclaimed. "Please, World Lines, black holes, two words, John Titor! Oh yes, I submit that you have shamelessly plagiarised the decade old scratchings of an internet meme! And you call yourself a scientist!?"

"Oh please, far from it, my friend!" Doctor Richards said defensively. "Titor's so called theories are borderline schizophrenic!"

"Well, you'd certainly be in a unique position to know!" I stated. "I wonder if you might indulge us with a brief overview of just where your views diverge!"

"Someone throw this girl out!" Doctor Richards said.

"You're the one we should throw out, Doctor! Have you no shame!? You have no right to call yourself a scientist!"

"Shut your mouth, you little pest!"

Just then, someone grabbed my arm from behind.

"Excuse us." he said.

Quite convinced it was an official here to throw me out, I turned round to glare him down.

"Unhand me, you... huh?"

It was a black haired boy about my age who's intense stare seemed to challenge me. I took a step back.

His face looked somehow familiar. Where have I seen him before? We hadn't met but I knew his face.

A year ago, my friend, Tom Weaving, showed me a magazine article titled "Boy Genius Gives Lecture in New York".

The article was about a then 17-year-old-boy, he'd be 18 now, who had just graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His thesis was even published in a major scientific journal.

Boy genius, Chris Shepard. I recognised the stubborn looking boy from his photograph. He was even wearing the exact same scowl. What business could such a genius have with me? He took a quick look around the room, then turned back to me with a stern expression.

"Could you come with me for a moment?" he asked.

What's with the attitude? He's obviously not staff and there's no way that Chris would be working with someone like Doctor Richards. Which means...

"You're with the Organisation!?" I exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"If they've gotten this far, then I'd made a grave mistake." I stated.

"Stop fooling around and come with me."

My outburst had already attracted too much attention. Richards in particular looked like she wanted to rip my head off. It must have been mortifying to be exposed as a fraud by a bright young woman like myself. Anyway, I knew I mustn't draw any more attention to myself. If the Organisation got wind of my presence here, it could endanger Ashley, to say nothing of these ignorant civilians. I let Chris lead me out of the assembly hall.

"Try anything and people are sure to notice. What will your superiors say then?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Chris questioned.

He glared at me and quite fiercely at that. Attractive as though he may be, there is no innocence in his eyes. A handsome agent, unmatched in cruelty. My heart beat in exhilaration from the danger.

Looks like chaos really does get my blood pumping.

"I just need to ask you something." he said.

"And you're a fool to expect I'll talk." I stated. "I know how the Organisation operates."

"What's with this 'Organisation' stuff?" Chris questioned.

Instead of answering, I took out my phone and put it to my ear.

"Red alert, I've been caught by a Organisation agent, possibly a sleeper."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Yes, it's Chris Shepard. He's a dangerous one. Fear not, I'll give him the slip somehow. Perhaps, I'll find a way to--"

Chris suddenly snatched the phone from my hand with such skill, I didn't have time to react.

"What are you doing!?" I questioned.

"Huh? Your phone's off. Who were you talking to?" Chris questioned, his eyes piercing deep into my soul.

I quickly looked away. Chris' good. Is he trying to attack my sense of identity in order to cause a mental break? Still, this isn't enough to sway me.

"Mwhahaha! Your techniques don't work on me but I'll tell you anyway. That's no ordinary phone," I stated. "It's designed to deactivate the moment it leaves my hand thus preserving the integrity of my communications!" I laughed.

Such measures are necessary to maintain secrecy as I know things that could get me killed. I quickly retrieved my phone and wiped the cold sweat off my forehead. That was close.

"Great, so you talk to yourself." Chris stated.

This is bad. Ordinary methods won't work on Chris Shepard, the genius boy. On the contrary, he was the one psyching me out. It looked like I'd have to make a tactical retreat. If I could just find an opening. Suddenly Chris stepped up to me with a serious expression, staring right at me, his eyes blazing with strength of will. Such fire, I could not look away. Could someone with such pure eyes really be an Organisation agent?

"What were you trying to tell me earlier?" he questioned.

"Earlier? What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"About fifteen minutes ago, before the conference started."

Nonsense, this is the first time we've met. I was with Ashley and that Pikachu toy fifteen minutes ago.

"They tell you out of the nuthouse?" I asked.

"Clearly this is asking a lot but I need you to summon up whatever focus you can spare. Think back fifteen minutes. You were trying your damnedest to tell me something and going by the look you had on your face, it was worth hearing."

Is this a trap? It does seem like one of the Organisation's dirty tricks but would this boy do something that underhanded?

"You looked like you were going to start crying any second. Why? Have we met before?" he questioned, seeming sincere which made him even more suspicious.

That's right, don't let his looks fool you, he's a cold, calculating agent. If I show the slightest vulnerability, I'm done for.

"And how do you know my name?" he questioned.

"Nice but don't think to ensnare me with this gambit and rest assured when next we meet I shall not be caught off guard so easily. My knowledge has no limits." I said.

I am a mad scientist after all.

"Genius boy, our next meeting shall be as enemies!"

"Huh?"

"Farewell! Muhahaha!"

I span round and took off down the stairs, ignoring his call to stop. Like I'd listen to the enemy.

Damn the Organisation. They must be serious if they're sending in agents like him. I ran all the way down to the 4th floor and checked behind me. Once I was convinced Chris Shepard wasn't tailing me, I sighed while rubbing my temples. He was clearly a lunatic, I'd remember meeting him.

But I can't let them capture me yet. Well then, what do I do now? My mission was to attend the conference and evaluate Doctor Richards' research. Now that I know she's a fraud, there's no real point in going back. I guess I'll just go home. But wait, aren't I forgetting something important?

Let's see now, what is it? Damn, I left Ashley behind. I knew she'd be an liability. I shouldn't have brought her alone. I was trying to prioritise her safety but got careless. I'll try calling her first. If she'd alright, then I can just have her meet me here. With that thought in mind, I took out my phone and turned it on. Just as I did, my phone rang. An email. It wasn't a regular email. There was a video attached and it was from an unknown address. I opened the video file to find there was nothing but noise. Was this a prank or some sorta Chris Shepard style attack? Maybe the noise is some sorta make people go crazy frequency. No, wait, I don't remember giving her my email address, so I'm probably just thinking too hard. I cursed myself for being gullible enough to play the video. I had more pressing matters to deal with anyway, so I stopped the video and called Ashley's phone from my address book. Dammit, Ashley.

Why won't you pick me? It looked like I'd have to go back to the assembly hall but things would get messy up if I bumped heads with Chris Shepard again. Wait, did that... whatever the male version of a fem fatale is kidnap Ashley? Damn, is that how the Organisation operates? Leaving without Ashley wasn't an option. Call me overprotective but she's like a little sister to me and there's a very real danger that she might wander off somewhere the moment I let her out of my sight. In a sense, that's why I became Phoenix Fortune. I head to go back for her. The thought of climbing back up to the 8th floor was depressing but I had ****.

When I got back to the assembly hall, Doctor Richards' conference had just finished. Nobody was on the stage and the phone inventor had already left. The twenty or so members of the audience were starting to pack up. I found found Ashley in the corner, looking lost. Well, at least she wasn't kidnapped. Even better, I didn't see Chris Shepard anywhere. It looked like I scared him off.

So be it, I'll let him go this time. Still, I kept my eyes peeled as I ran up to Ashley.

"Ashley, why didn't you pick up?" I asked. "We're leaving."

"Ocy, my metal Pikachu ran away," she turned to me with a forlorn expression. "I wrote my name on it and everything."

"Ran away? What? It's alive?" I questioned. "That's a little hard to believe."

"I think I dropped it." she stated.

I see, I think she was looking for it, not like it really matters.

"Such is life. You can always get another one." I said.

"No way, do you have any idea how much a Metal Pikachus goes for on eBay? We're talking 10,000 dollars, you know?"

"Wait, what? 10000 dollars?"

"Yup."

That toy was worth that much!?

"Well, don't just stand there!" I exclaimed. "Think, Ashley, where did you drop it!?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm looking and even if we find it, I'm not gonna sell my friend, okay?"

"Muhahaha, that 10000 dollars will fund my research! Just imagine all the gloriously wicked experiments we could get off the ground with 10000 dollars."

"I said I'm not gonna sell it! It even has my name on it."

Thus began our search for the Metal Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Pikachu, come out, come out, whatever you are!" Ashley called it's name.

I don't know if she truly expected a response. The Metal Pikachu was nowhere to be found. Maybe she didn't drop it in the assembly hall but on the 7th floor landing near the capsule toy machines or someone with an eye for rare items pilfered it. Just imaging the smug grin on that person's face made me writhe in envy.

"What kind of man steals a helpless girl's toy? Is there nothing in his heart but a lust for money!?" I exclaimed.

"Sounds like you, Ocy!" Ashley said.

Whoa, wasn't expecting that from Ashley.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

What was that?

"Was that a scream?" Ashley questioned.

Only the presenter and a few other people were left in the assembly hall.

Including Ashley and me, less than half the audience remained. Everyone looked at each other anxiously, startled by the scream. Even I could not suppress a shiver. First the explosion on the roof, now this? What's going on here? Ashley squeezed my hand tight.

"Stay here, Ashley!" I ordered.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself and head in the direction of the scream. The echoes led me down a dark empty hallway on the same floor. I was pretty sure it came from around that corner. I crouched down and turned the corner slowly, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any sign of danger and there at the end of the passage, I saw it, something on the ground.

No, someone, motionless. Who was it? The clothes were familiar. It couldn't be. Chris Shepard, his face was turned away but I knew it was him. The impertinent genius boy I just fought with ten minutes ago was now face down, dead in a pool of bright red blood.

"Not, but why?" I asked.

Suddenly, I realised I was shaking. I wanted to run away. I shouldn't have come. This is wrong.

Someone killed Chris Shepard. There was no other explanation. Who would do such a thing? There was no one else here. I twisted around in shock. Some other men had followed me and everyone of them was vastly pale. They must have seen the body.

"Call the police!" a man cried out in panic.

At this, everyone else started screaming and running away. I followed them of course. There was absolutely no reason to stay here. Concern for Chris Shepard was superseded by my instinctive urge to flee. When I got back to the assembly hall, Ashley was waiting for me with tears in her eyes.

"What happened, Ocy?" she questioned.

"We're leaving!" I exclaimed, grabbing Ashley's hand and running away.

I raced down the stairs, trying to drive the image of Chris' dead body from my mind but I couldn't.

The redness of his blood was burned into my mind more than the sight of the body itself. This was my first time seeing a dead body. Is this what it's like? When I realised he was dead, I felt chilling terror and a surge of nausea but that was all I felt, fear and disgust. Shouldn't there be something more? I guess I just didn't know him that well. I finally stopped once we got out to the Main Street.

My chest pounded, my breathing laboured from running down the stairs at full speed.

"Hey, what happened?" Ashley questioned. "You look really pale."

She didn't seem to comprehend the situation. I guess it was because she didn't see the body. She wasn't not even breathing hard. She looks slow but she's pretty fast on her feet.

"Someone died." I told her.

I took several deep breaths, the colour of that blood still stained my brain but I'd calmed down a bit. Chris Shepard is dead and I don't know who the killer is. I could heard sirens in the distance. I guess the ambulance will be here soon. Then the police will arrive and this area will become a crime scene but for now, the crowds have no idea what has happened. Everyone is going about their business as usual, the never-ending search for electronics and porn. I took my phone out my pocket, perhaps out of reflex. I wasn't sure what I planned to do with it.

Oh, I know, my friend Tom, I'll tell him what happened just now since he knows about Chris Shepard. I suppose it might be disrespectful to the victim but my adrenaline was pumping. I can't make calm decisions after witnessing something like that firsthand. That's how humans are, after all, we're not as special as we like to believe. At the end of the day, we're nothing but dirty, slime like flesh and our souls fester like semen left to rot in the womb. While wallowing in a bit of angst, I begin to type on my phone.

[Someone stabbed Chris Shepard. Don't know who. Looked bad. Hope he's okay.]

I didn't know if he was stabbed, that seemed like the most logical explanation, given the amount of blood and the absence of a gunshot. On the other hand, I didn't write that he was dead, even though I'm pretty sure he is. I can't exactly explain why I didn't. If I had to say, I guess I felt like writing it down would set it in stone. It might make me feel guilty as well. The thought brought a smirk to my face, it's not like I'm the one who killed him. Why should I feel guilty? I just saw someone's **** up close and only a few minutes later, I'm smiling. Am I really that cruel and cold

Well, I am a fiendish mad scientist, so it suits me. I finished typing, put my thumb over the send button and pressed down. Sending. What was that? I looked around. Everyone was gone. Summer break, noon, the busiest street in town. Just now thousands of pedestrians vanished into thin air. Is this a dream? Am I hallucinating? I don't know but they're gone. I saw them vanish with my own two eyes. I stood petrified, speechless and on the empty street.

Ashley rushed over with a Dr. Pepper.

"What's this?" I questioned.

"Um, a drink." she stated.

"No, I mean everyone just disappeared."

"They did?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, a moment ago, there were people here." I stated.

"Really?"

"Stop kidding around. You had to have seen it too. Tell me you saw it too."

"I didn't."

"This is ridiculous."

**** to find someone, anyone, I looked up and there, at the top of the building, sticking out of the 8th floor event hall where we just were was a crashed satellite.