Cloverfield Magic

Epilogue: Time to Say Goodbye

After all was said and done, Issac's never got his own soulstone back. According to Augustine, the Bureau deemed his magic too dangerous and decided by majority vote to have it shattered.

As compensation, Augustine signed Issac up anonymously for a lifetime supply of the red vials to help him cope with the pain. He also returned the sea-green Sacred Fire soulstone to Issac without the Bureau's knowledge, so all things considered, Issac's situation could've ended worse.

"We can try to get you listed for a soulstone transplant surgery if you want. I hear the success rate for the procedure is at an all-time high of 20%. The waitlist is usually only a couple of years or so." Augustine offers apologetically.

Alice was furious on Issac's behalf, threatening again and again to kill all the Bureau members who approved of the action, but Issac stopped her with a gesture of sad resignation. "It's fine, I'll just take the drugs."

At the very least, Issac got the satisfaction of being in the room when Augustine announced to the Hill family that Rowen was no longer recognized as a registered spellcaster for the indefinite future and that his emancipation petition was currently being processed.

Rowen had looked at Issac and Alice in wonder, as if he couldn't believe his own ears. He left with Issac and Alice that afternoon with nothing but the shirt on his back, and no matter how much John threatened or Moria pleaded, Rowen found that they held no power over him anymore now that the Bureau was off his back and his newfound family by his side.

When Issac finally returns home to his parents, he asks if Rowen can stay with them for a little while, and his parently reluctantly agreed once they heard about Rowen's situation.

For the remainder of the spring semester, the trio spend their time between school and fixing up the shop. Alice takes on most of the heavy lifting with the repairs, selling trinkets from the shop at underground spellcaster markets and trading posts to fund the remodeling, repairs, and restocking. The "strange tornado" that destroyed the Lucky Rabbit caught the attention of the local media, and the publicity from the article helped bolster the shop to local hotspot status once the shop was finally reopened for business. During the better weather, the clover flower garden patio was almost always fully booked.

Rowen eventually moved out of the Andersons' and took residence in the upper floor of the Lucky Rabbit. When Rowen inevitably asks about Circe, Alice sits him down and tells him the full story from beginning to end. Alice tells him about her escape from the lab, her entanglements with the Doves and the Circle of Sacred Fire, Issac's sacrifice, Circe's surrender, and the monstrous mastermind behind it all.

Alice isn't sure what to expect - perhaps anger, or hatred. Alice did admit to killing many of his family's Coven members after all. Rowen tells her he needed space, and cuts all contact for a couple of worrisome days to process what he had learned. Eventually, he reaches back out again and tells Alice that he will need time to truly forgive her, but he doesn't bear a grudge. After all, she was only doing what she thought was best for her Coven at the time, and that people are allowed to change for the better.

Alice says that she won't rest until she takes down Hemlock and the rest of the Bureau - the proper way, and Rowen smiles. "I don't expect you to. In fact, I hope you succeed."

One day a couple of weeks later, Issac asks them, "I don't know if you guys remember my promise to you a long time ago, but do you still want to meet Evelyn?"

"Of course!" Alice exclaims. "Did you even need to ask?"

"Alright, this weekend then?" Issac offers tentatively.

"We'd be honored. Just let us know when," Rowen smiles.

That weekend, Issac borrows the family car to drive several hours to his hometown, the city of Eon. The three of them bring flowers for Evelyn from the tea shop's blossoming garden and place them on her modest headstone. Closing his eyes, Issac can still remember the day they put her into the ground.

It would've been six and a half years ago on a bright blue afternoon, the kind that Alice likes. A gentle breeze had blown through the air that day, carrying with it the beginnings of spring. There'd been a small crowd gathered around his sister's headstone, but his ten-year-old self had been too absorbed in his own grief to notice anyone else around him until he finally broke down when they started shoveling the dirt over the coffin.

Issac clenches his fist so hard that his knuckles turn white. Circe was willing to risk the world as it was for Artemis. Had the Bureau not destroyed his gift, would he have put the integrity of the world above his sister? Or would he have eventually come to the same as her?

In a way, he's glad that the decision was taken away from him, because unlike what some might think, there is truly no easy way to say goodbye.