Not quite... [wink]

*****

FINAL EPILOGUE

Pete "the Chimp" Glover's Wake and Memorial service the next morning was a small and unassuming affair, just like the man had been in his life.

A few of his partners in MBL Consulting were present, such as Kristofer, Danny, Mick, and Shirley but most of the newcomers neglected to pay their respects. Pete was a stranger to them and hadn't worked with them enough to really get to know them. Edulcore was the sole exception to this, and he came out of respect for this little man who was (ironically) labeled the "world's luckiest man." And the others who knew him somewhat, if not all that well, such as Tobias, Larry, and Kristogar, had been on leave when Pete "died" and still didn't know the news. And Sam was nowhere to be found. Of course, Pete was just such a weirdo to most that few saw him as little more than comic relief.

Dr. Henry Quantos said the Eulogy for poor Pete, followed by a few brief words from Kit Piper. Then the seven broke open a couple of bottles of Guinness and drank to Pete's memory. There was no body, but a gravestone for Pete was bought with the money Pete left behind for the team, as stipulated in his will.

The day was a rainy, windy one as the six left the Puerta Mibela cemetary and headed back home to their apartment home. And as Chance turned back to look at Pete's little grave marker one last time, he could've sworn he caught a shadowy glimpse of a little figure walking the other way. He wondered if he would ever see Pete again.

Chance had told the others that Pete was dead and that there was no way to bring him back. Yet, Dr. Quantos had believed the same thing about him, and here Kristofer Schanz was. Not the same Kristofer Schanz, but in a way he had returned from the dead. He wondered idly whether his own ghostly counterpart was now living in the timeline he had come from. And he wondered whether the ghostly Pete of his timeline now possessed a body... If so, that meant that there was still a chance, however remote, that the Pete of this world could still return to life, even if it meant denying his own Pete the chance of being alive again. This was too big a decision to make in one day, but he knew he had to decide it himself. Pete was his responsibility, and his alone; and it would be his own private, secret mission. There was no way he would burden his teammates with the knowledge that Pete might somehow come back to life. But as long as he lived he would never stop looking for a way to bring him back... it was only fair...

THE END.

[ 10-10-2002, 03:50 AM: Message edited by: TheTimeTrust ]