The Never Ending Tails
Fade to Black

Panchi andMark changed a lot after their breakup. Panchi on one hand fully committedherself to her new status of religious leader and stopped any direct contactwith Mark. Mark on the other hand formed his own church that was considered bymany as more of a sect. He claimed that his scientific way opened all the gatesof human fulfillment and masses crowded around him.

Panchiestablished her main church in India, her land of origin and controlled all theother churches that opened around the world under her authority. Her followersbecame the majority in many eastern countries such as India, Russia, China andJapan.

Mark choseto establish his institution as he liked to call it in Roma, his birth city. Hefinanced the construction of an immense building even bigger than the church ofthe eclipse and made it equipped with the latest technologies. His church was aliving and cunning community that made incredible advances in science andlifestyle in general. He had many other smaller institutions with lots ofadherent all over Europe and in the American continent.

The twogroups soon became the most powerful and most followed philosophies on theglobe. The other churches struggled to keep a fading minority that was becomingsmaller and smaller every day.

Aninvisible war was raging between the followers of the Sacred Optimus and theCounter Random theory. A war that influenced the very equilibrium of the planetas communities and countries following one way would stop their cooperationwith countries following the other way. Economy started to show signs of crisisdue to those massive conflicts and Chaos was upon the two churches.

BothPanchi and Mark knew that the conflict their churches were creating by clashingwere pushing the world into Chaos and negating the power of the Order theytried to establish each on their one way. They both got to the same conclusion,they can’t both spread contradictory applications of the same principle, andonly one way should be allowed to exist; the other church should disappear.

They boththought that the best way to collapse the other’s church would be to kill thehead of it. By some strange coincidence, they both hired the same hit-man tocarry on the operation; a faceless killer only known under the pseudonym of S.

Nobodyever entered in direct contact with S. Information and money was passed on tohim through a very complicated and esoteric method, then the person designedended up dying in mysterious conditions that the police never understood.

The twocult leaders thought of the same plan, the same symbolic gesture; they bothordered the murder of the other during another Gala of the Simon Dicefoundation. It was the first time they were to meet in public again since sixyears, and they chose the same event where they met the first time.

A strongfeeling of Déjà vu haunted Panchi as her Jet, a bigger one this time, landed inthe airport of Roma, this time around, only a few journalist were there to meether, and most of them were pretty harsh toward her. She didn’t care much aboutit, she knew that Italy was under the dominance of Mark and it didn’t reallybother her.

He won’tbe a problem after tonight, shethought smiling to herself. This time around, she went directly to the Gala andsurrounded herself with her crew to avoid any boring talk. She went straight toher table where she sat surrounded by two immense body guards.

Markentered alone; Panchi knew that he didn’t need body guards, it was his land; hewas untouchable around. He came to the table and sat next to Panchi not caringa bit about the two giant men on both her sides.

“It hasbeen a while, I see that you are still as beautiful as the last time I sawyou.” Mark said in a detached manner.

“I seethat you are still the same as well.”

“Should Itake this as a compliment?”

“You cantake it as you like, but yes, it is a compliment indeed.”

Even ifthe two seemed to flirt, tension was in the air. They both were two focused ontheir persona to notice it.

“This bring us way back, I had a strange déjà vu all day.” Panchi said after afew seconds of silence.

“Yes! Itwas quite the night I believe. One of the best ones I ever had.” Mark said in awhisper.

BeforePanchi could add anything, a waiter brought a bottle of wine and pored twoflutes that he offered to the two. Panchi gently thanked him and took a sip.She stopped then as she recognized the flavor. She reached for the bottle andread the name before looking at Mark and smiling.

“CastelRouge, 1878. The same good wine we had that night! I see that you have a keenliking for the details.” Panchi said taking another sip.

“Well, Idon’t see you much lately my dear; I thought that some good wine would be theleast I can offer you to apologize for this very long missed time.”

He took asip himself.

“I forgothow charming you were.” Panchi said out of the blue.

“I didn’tforget how beautiful you are!” Mark responded.

As hefinished his words, a waiter came to take away their bottle, Mark immediatelyreacted.

“We aren’tdone yet with this bottle!”

“Yes,”Panchi concorded, “We will keep it.”

Panchi andMark both raised their heads to look at the waiter. Both of them lost theirsocial mask as both were shocked to see his face.

“You…”Mark whispered.

“Impossible…”Panchi followed.

Beforethey could realize it, the waiter left the bottle and took out an polaroid camera. He triggered the flash, an intense light bursted out overwhelming Panchi and Mark's visual sensor, leading them to close their eyes.

Panchiopened her eyes and only saw blurry lights for the first few seconds, than hervision adapted to the room. The first things she noticed were flakes of lightcoming of a small window. She then felt a terrible headache; she tried toremember how she got to that room but the only thing she could recall wasmeating with a mysterious person who gave her a memory drive. She couldn’trecall his name as hard as she tried to.

Panchi wastaken off her thought when she noticed someone moving on the couch in front ofher. It was a young man that she never saw before.

“Sleptwell? Do you have any idea of where we are?” Panchi asked.

It tookMark a moment to answer, his mind was as blank as Panchi’s and he also sufferedfrom a strong headache.

“No…Sorry,I don’t know how we got here, the last thing I remember was that man…”

“With thememory drive right? Can you recall his name?”

“No…Notreally…”

“It’sokay; I think we were in some kind of experiment. My name is Panchi by theway!”

“Iam Mark. I think you are right; we should probably go outside and see where weare.”

“Absolutelywhat I was thinking!” Panchi said with a smile.

She tookhis hand and led him out to the door; she didn’t really know, but she felt thatshe could trust him. Mark felt a little embarrassed at first, but he also felthappy; he didn’t knew what, but something seemed familiar to him about Panchi.

Outside,the two realized that they were in a house by the sea; they walked a bit beforeseeing people in roller blades and beach clothes. Panchi asked a bunch of guyswho were playing basketball about the place they were in; they told her that itwas Venice beach, Los Angeles.

“Whatshould we do now?” Marked asked Panchi.

“A coffeewould be nice, and maybe some food! I am starving.”

Mark laugheda bit.

“What?”Panchi asked smiling.

“I amstarving too, so yes! We should seek a café! Or a restaurant.”

Panchitook Marks hand and both of them walked on the shore toward the city of angels.