An Unsolved Mystery

((Lyrics courtesy of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Epiphany.))

“The silence (in Khmer)
Don’t go
Does it have to be this way?

Can't we have just one more chance?

Those who know
They will not say

Must this be the final...

Dance in our lives?
As time just moves on
Yesterday's years
Are too quickly gone

All visions fade
As worlds fall apart
Decisions are made
But there in this dark now
There in this dark now

Somewhere on this night
A life is out there
And can someone tell me how

Here on this night
So far away
Bits of starlight
Fall where they may

I never wanted to go
I never wanted to stay
I never wanted to be afraid
But still
Childhood sees what childhood will
But nothing ever stays the same

I fear the night
I fear the dark
I need this light
That distant spark

I know that...
Somewhere
Someone's looking to deceive and
Somewhere
Young men die and children bleed and
Somewhere
Some have too much while others need and
Somewhere
Someone's looking to believe and...

Somewhere
Somewhere
Somewhere
Somewhere

And the night and the dark
And the hopes and the dreams
As we all play our parts
While ignoring the screams

So we lie to ourselves
And we just carry on
Never stop, never turn
Don't admit what is...

Gone in to this twisted story
All these things so clear before me
Every path we've ever taken
Can't admit we were mistaken

In this night
Of my devising
Never live
And never dying

Each escape
I've never taken
Never dream
And never waken...

Somewhere
Someone's looking to deceive and
Somewhere
Young men die and children bleed and
Somewhere
Some have too much while others need and
Somewhere
Someone's looking to believe and...

[He sees himself as a snake oil salesman selling the same lies that he was sold in a carnival barker's voice.]

Come one come all
Welcome to the world's greatest entertainment since the fall of Rome
Life, death
Victims, voyeurs
The best of society
The lowest of plebeians
And to keep it all in extremely interesting, today's patrons
Could very easily be tomorrow's entertainment
All compliments of the ultimate showman fate
All that's missing is the coliseum

[He turns away from the apparition of himself as a snake oil salesman, and once more looks into the abyss.]

Did you ever walk up
To the edge of a cliff
Stare into the abyss
As your mind wonders if

You should take one more step
Further into that night
Well your mind says you won't
But your heart says you might
Would you fall through the dark
Feel the wind in your hair
Would you embrace the ground
And end your life right there

Or would God reach His hand
And that moment you fly
Or if He chanced to blink
And then, that moment you die
You die
You die
You die
You die
You die
You die
You die
You die

Stare into the dark
As the abyss keeps calling
Try to take a step
But then the mind keeps stalling

Can a single question
Just go on forever
As a single thought goes on
It's now or never

Stare into the dark
As the abyss keeps calling
Try to take a step
But then the mind keeps stalling

Can a single question
Just go on forever
As a single thought goes on
It's now or never

Never really took much
Never really had to
Only had a small crush
Problem was that it grew

Never really took much
Never really had to
Only had a small crush
Problem was that it grew

Be who you are
What you were
What they see

From eternity's view
Tell me
Which one is me
Can you...

Be who you are
What you were
What they see

From eternity's view
Tell me
Which one is me

On this night
Keep me close
On this night
Breathe my air

On this night
Hold me tight
Feel my heart
Beating there

On this night
Keep me close
On this night
Breathe my air

On this night
Hold me tight
Feel my heart
Beating there

On this night
Keep me close
On this night
Breathe my air

On this night
Hold me tight
Feel my heart
Beating there...

Did you ever walk up
To the edge of a cliff
Stare into the abyss
As your mind wonders if

You should take one more step
Further into that night
Well your mind says you won't
But then this all is your life

Your life
Your life
This all is your life
Your life
Your life

This all is your life
Your life
Your life

This all is your life
Your life
Your life
This all is your...

Is your life
Is your life
Is your life
Is your... life.”

The words from the old song pounded in his head, relentlessly echoing on. The falls crashed around him, the warm water engulfing him and soothing his aching bones. He had a faint idea of what the song could mean for him, appropriately named Epiphany. Laying back and floating in the water he smiled to himself, feeling rather wonderful. As long as some idiot didn’t come around and tick him off he’d be fine. Staring up at the cloudless night sky he sighed and tucked his hands behind his head.

There were two things in the world; good and evil, peace and chaos, joys and sorrows... He tried to fit himself into one of these categories but failed to do so. He wasn’t one-hundred percent aligned with either of good or evil, occasionally preferred chaos, and was plagued by inexorable sorrows. In his mind it sucked to be whom he was, but he couldn’t change that. If things were meant to be they would be, right? Lucien stood back up, looking down and studying his clothing.

Being in human form he had his scrawny little legs that his shorts revealed and his t-shirt didn’t do much to protect from the bitter cold wind. The water was warm and comforting; protecting whichever was below its surface from the chills. Yellow eyes went over to the large rock where he and Trinity had once sat, noticing that his heavy cloak and other warm clothing still lay beside it. He still had time to mess around in the water and ponder about the song and its meaning, the journals and their entries, and what he would do tomorrow.

Lucien dove under the water and scanned the area, noticing a faint shimmer coming from over by the falls. Emerging at the top he took a deep breath and went back to underneath, pushing closer to the falls, trying to reach the shimmer. Finally having to go up for another breath he realized that he was only a few feet away from where the waterfall met the little hot spring. Lucien shifted to his vampire form for safety reasons and pushed even closer to the waterfall and the glow.

As he approached the glistening spot he reached out for it, touching cold metal. This drove his curiosity to its maximum, causing him to get even closer. Snatching up the chain to what seemed to be a necklace he gripped it tightly and returned to the surface. He emerged as a human again, gasping for air. After getting satisfied he brought the gold necklace up to his face and wiped the grime from it, revealing the surface of a key shaped pendant. Lucien searched for an inscription of some sort but found none.

Holding the pendant closer to his face he thought about throwing it. Something in the back of his head told him not to, to hold onto it. Thinking about this he walked out of the water and back to land, smiling to himself. What a nice discovery. Perhaps it could uncover a few past secrets, or maybe there was something about it in the journals? Thinking this over he went over and shed his shirt, replacing the soaked black one with a long-sleeved Under-Armor shirt and a heavy woolen sweater. Putting on the traveling cloak first he then took off his shorts and replaced them with his jean-like black pants.

Sitting on the rock with his teeth chattering quietly Lucien studied the golden key, consulting his journal for answers. He was too absorbed in reading and thinking to hear anything around him, unless someone appeared and talked to him. In which case he’d probably be startled, but for now, he was calm and ready to study.

"Grand Pa!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ying yells when she sees Lucien. She then tackles him playfully. It has been a while since she seen him. Her and her brother came here once and a while as a mini vacation. She really didn't expect to see anyone here.

Yang stops and watches his sister a smile on his face. It was always funny to see her reactions to people, especially ones they haven't seen in a while. But even so he still was mistrustful of other people, even if his sister liked them.

(( I feel so dumb replying to your massive post with my puny one. ))

Lucien was taken by surprise as Ying tackled him, the book flying out of his hands and landing in the dirt. Sighing lightly he allowed himself to chuckle. Grandpa was a rather strange nickname, sure, but he could live with it. Smiling to himself he retrieved his book and dusted it off. There was nothing about the key in this one, so he would have to look in some of the other ones back at his little shack.

"I didn't expect you two to be out here in the middle of the night." Lucien smiled lightly and tucked the key into his pocket. He looked something like a scholar; his cloak framing his body and his sweater adding emphasis to his scholarly appearence. He looked smart with his apparel, even though he felt rather stupid. He was also wearing a pair of spectacles that he had found, helping his eyesight while making his eyes seem HUGE.

Ying giggled helplessly when she saw how he was dressed. "Yang........I.....can't.........talk." She said through fits of laughter.

"Well thats a first..." He commented teasingly. He looked at Lucien and shrugged. "Just because were kids doesn't mean we don't go out at night. Actually i like it a lot better then the day time, it's more quiet."

After a while Ying manages to get control of herself. "So what are you up to?" She looked around and noticed a pile of journals and a strange key necklace. "You know i don't think grand parents need to study so much. It's bad for their health."

Lucien pouted as he noticed Ying laughing. It wasn't his fault that it was cold outside and he wanted his wool sweater. The glasses helped him see! He didn't care about how much he looked like a nerd. It was comfortable. Letting it go he sighed and looked to Yang, listening to him as he spoke. "In some ways it is, but it is a bit more dangerous at night." Lucien said this quietly, studying Ying for a moment.

As she commented on the journals he grinned lightly and removed his glasses. "Actually I just got done with my weekly bath."-Lucien laughed a little here-"And I wasn't really studying. I was trying to find if this necklace had anything to do with me." Lucien held up the necklace and smiled lightly. The gold chain sparkled in the moonlight. It was kind of entrancing. He liked sparkly things. Tucking the necklace back into his pocket he smiled again.

Ying giggles when Lucien mentioned the whole being out at night being dangerous thing. "Actually he is just saying that to seem cool. He is only here because he didn't want me to go out alone. If not for his concern over me he would have stayed behind."

"Do you have to ruin my fun all the time?" Yang asked irritatedly.

Ying turned back to look at Lucien ignoring her brothers remark. "So did you find anything?

"No, not really. Nothing about important jewlery. Mainly just confusing riddles and funny stories." Lucien smiled, gesturing to the journals. "They were written by my Grandmother and my parents." The books were ancient. Most were over 100 years old. Lucien hadn't spent much time reading them unless he had to. They were falling apart and you had to be careful with them or else the binding would come loose.

Those books were the only thing that had allowed Lucien to know that he was the heir to the human throne. His smile faded as a wind came along and blew one of the covers open. Hustling over to the book he closed it and placed a small rock on it. That should keep it from opening.

Ying gave Lucien a funny look. "Just how old are you?" She asked in a confused and slightly whinny manner.

Yang covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt to hide a smile. Thats rude you know.

Well i really want to know. I tease him a lot calling him grand pa but it's no fun if he really is one....And besides how can someone that cute be so old?

Yang blinks silently not even attempting to answer Yings question. His sister had the weirdest ideas sometimes.

Lucien had to think about how old he was for a moment. "I'm a hundred and nine. I'm older than dirt." Lucien smiled and shook his head. He really wasn't all that old, but there was no use in arguing about it. Raising an eyebrow at the twins for a moment he stopped soon afterward. "How old are you two?" Since they were asking how old he was, Lucien decided it was only fair to ask the twins how old they were. It was actually nice to know these random little tidbits.

Thinking for a short minute Lucien decided to ask another question. "What are your favorite colors?" Lucien smiled and began to think of another question. Favorite animals would be good... There reall wasn't anything else. The favorite foods had already been established...

Ying smiles lightly at his comment. "I suppose that is not too bad. Me I'm fourteen like my brother."


"I think he means our real ages and not the ones we appear as." Yang said in a light tone.

Yings smile broadens. "alright ....well...i never thought about it before but i think were actually around twenty. And my favorite color is blue, like my dress."

"Black"

"Thats a shade not a color, moron."

"fine....Red"

Lucien smiled and shook his head. "I look 17 so I really don't have a problem with my real age. My favorite color is yellow. It's a happy color. And to be honest I did think that black was a color." Lucien rubbed the back of his head and smiled. Despite his appearance he wasn't all that brilliant. Sure over the years he had gained a little more knowledge but he really didn't have that much brain capacity. Thinking about this he looked to his feet and let go of that thought. It was confusing him.

"Alright so we went over food, except Yang.. then color, now what?" Ying asked Lucien.

"Ha! see he agrees with me about black being a color." Yang said to his sister in a happy manner.

"Well he is an old man with a failing mind, he doesn't know what he is talking about."

You really have the nerve to keep saying stuff like that out loud about him? We don't even know the guy, he'll get mad and rip you apart eventually.

Lucien shook his head. She wasn't going to let go of him being 'old', was she? Sighing lightly, Lucien shoved the Vampire to the back of his mind. That thing wasn't going to get out and attack Ying. Not if his other half could do anything about it. "Why not favorite animal?" Lucien forced a smile that was authentic and looked to the twins again. He really wanted to consult the books again. The key was driving him insane. He needed to figure out what it was for.

Ying looked over Lucien. "What about that necklace didn't you want to keep looking. We can help."

Yang sat down on the ground. He really wasn't all that interested in this pointless conversation they were having. He played along for a bit because it was funny. But now it was just getting boring. Although it was useful for getting information on people. Maybe he would learn something about Lucien to confirm or deny that he was an acceptable person for his sister to be friends with. Right now he wasn't so sure, there was nothing in favor or against Lucien yet for him to make a decision.

Lucien raised an eyebrow and dug the necklace back out of his pocket. Walking over by Ying he held out his necklace for her to observe it. "I found at the bottom of the falls. It's interesting. I.m curious to see if it has a lock it fits into." Lucien messed around with the key with his fingers before walking over to the stack of journals. "If you want to read one, go ahead. I haven't ready any by my grandmother yet." He had a strange and haunting past that wasn't going to leave him alone until he claimed his rightful place in society.

"Never seen it before. But i guess books are a good place to start. Thats where most people find out old forgotten things." She said as she went over to grab a journal, she also tossed her brother one. "Make yourself useful and analyze this instead of whatever else your thinking of."

Yang didn't notice and got hit in the head by the journal. Your lucky it wasn't big or hard covered. Yang muttered to himself and grudgingly started reading.