Charlie, Inspector Vergier, and Isaac were all seated on a plane bound for France. "So, Isaac," Charlie quietly began, "how did you get tangled up in this Napoleon business anyway?" Inspector Vergier glared at his daughter, nudging her as a means to remind her to respect those who were in authority over her. She wasn't on a first name basis with the rhythm thief's father, after all.

Isaac smiled sadly and looked out the window at the clouds they passed over. "Once they even considered me as a candidate to work on the project, I knew I had to be a part of it. It was the only way I had any hope of controlling it."

Vergier leaned forward and gave Isaac a curious look. "You weren't the one in charge of the Mystère Incident?" he asked incredulously.

Isaac shook his head. "In truth, I have no idea who began the entire fiasco. All I know is that my reputation as an art thief got around the criminal world, and I was asked to help steal Napoleon Bonaparte's body. I didn't think of it as a big deal, until after the deed was done. We were told about the plans to resurrect the emperor and use him to take over the world using the Hanging Gardens of Babylon."

"So why didn't you leak information out? Let us know sooner?" Charlie asked. "Why did you stay and help them?"

Isaac sighed and looked over at the girl. "I couldn't, Charlie. Since I was part of the project, I could monitor everything that went on and all of the places we were going to attack. I had always hoped that, this way, I would be able to keep those I cared about out of trouble. At least, that's what I told myself…" he trailed off and looked back out the window. "The farther I got into the project, the higher I climbed in ranks, and the more power I thought I could get if the plan succeeded. Only after Raphael decided to get involved did I start to question everything I had been doing…"

Charlie rested her hand on Isaac's shoulder. "But like you said, now that Napoleon is gone, there's no project left. There's no more threat, right?" she asked with a small smile.

Isaac nodded. "Napoleon and his knowledge was the main thing that glued all of his followers together. The Chevalier armies are going to fall without a leader and without a purpose. We have won, finally, and we won't have to worry about Napoleon or these symbols anymore." He was relieved beyond belief.

"You were worried about your son then," Vergier said quietly, casting a glance Isaac's way. "You thought that by being part of this project, you could protect him and spare him from the destruction that was inevitably coming."

Isaac nodded again. "I wasn't necessary for the project's completion. But by me being there, I definitely had a better chance of figuring out a way to keep him safe, but I ended up tangling him in everything anyway. I don't even know if he's going to want to look at me again after what I've done."

"He's going to forgive you," Charlie said quietly. "That's the kind of person he is. I bet he will be happy you're not serving Napoleon anymore." The plane touched down, but they weren't in Paris. They had touched down in a city outside which housed another airport. Vergier immediately made his way to the front of the plane to ask the pilot why they couldn't land. He came back with a solemn expression.

"Paris has been completely overrun, and they aren't letting any planes land there," he said darkly. "And if this is the case, Napoleon's forces have not stopped."

"That's impossible!" Isaac quickly said. "Their leader is dead!"

Vergier shook his head. "Someone else must be leading them, and I think I know who it is."

Raphael and Marie had slept on the airplane, and they were refreshed and ready to go once they reached New York City. The Statue of Liberty was a national landmark, and people could visit as they pleased, so the teenagers had no trouble making their way there and beginning their ascent to the top of the structure. The walk took a few hours, but they knew it would be worth it. "The United States houses the last symbol, so this mystery is almost solved!" Phantom R said with a smile on his face.

Marie nodded in agreement as they finally made it to the top of the stairs and found themselves inside the crown of the national icon. "Look at the harbor!" she said excitedly, pointing out through the holes in the crown and seeing the water below.

"I've got something better than the harbor, Marie! Here's the symbol!" Phantom R told her, pointing up at the ceiling where the symbol was engraved in the middle of everything. Marie whipped out her violin to play Phantom Notes one last time, and just like before, the symbol glowed. "So…what is the huge secret?" he asked after a bit. From what he could tell, nothing had happened, even after Marie had finished her song.

"Imbeciles like you obviously don't know what you just did, so I am going to take the reins from here," a voice echoed throughout the crown. Phantom R and Marie both whirled around to see Jean-François's smug face. "You two have just activated the ultimate power. I should thank you, but I'm sure you are going to try to stop me like you always do. Too bad. It's too late."

A/N: Oh hi. I still exist. I guess I should cut to the chase: I graduated high school, and therefore, I won't have any scholarly responsibilities until college. I really, really hope I can finish this before then, especially after making you all wait so, so long for each update! All of you are really amazing, continuing to go back and scroll through this story even though I haven't updated in ages (I know…I've been checking the traffic stats every now and then!) I hope this was satisfying enough, explaining why Isaac had helped Napoleon and bringing everyone closer to the final showdown! Hopefully, next time won't be six months away! Daisy out!