Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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AN: YAHOO!!! This is the FINAL chapter of this massive chapter fanfic! Haha! I am really going to miss writing this story... but as the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end." And this fic is at the end of its story. ^_^

So, like I did in the last chapter, I would like to thank Arcahan from the Breath of Fire Fanfic Library for hosting this story! Really Archy, you are just awesome!

And thanks Nina Windia, Meeerf, Anime Monkey, Rouge_Kaiser, Lord Kain, Angelkitty1, ZoharKnight, Golden-Black Dragon, yamanana, katana777, Omega Gilgamesh and everyone else that has reviewed! Oh, and thanks to all of those people that have added me to their favorites lists! Whee!

And to Nina Windia and Meeerf once more. Cuz Nina was the very first person to review this story and say that it was good and she just kept on reviewing ^_^ And Meeerf. She hasn't even played this game series, yet she continued to read and review and give out helpful advice on writing tips. ^_^ So thanks guys!

Oh, and thanks for my sister Crystal and my best bud Mana for letting me use their characters ^_~

Right, and for the last time, here are the reviews! Oh, and for those that review for this chapter, I will send a PM in response ^_^

Meeerf : Hee, I completely understand what you are saying. Was having one of those weeks myself. ^_^;;

Yeah, it did seem kinda redundant, didn't it? Hehe, yeah, should have trudged on to the action sooner. I can get a little long winded, eh? lol

Thanks! I was hoping it was easier to follow than my last fight scenes. :)

Ah yeah... about that. I agree with you on that part. I should have left some people dead, like Nina's dad. It was kinda weird that everyone that had died because of Legence was revived at the end. I guess I kinda went a little wild with that scene and ran with it. Maybe I was trying to show a little too much what Sari's powers did at their max with the Gate and Goddess Keys, alongside Ladon and Myria's powers could do. ^_^;;;

Yeah, I thought you would find that funny ^_^;; Really though, with the exception of Nina and Sari, no one there in the party is a Ladonite. Manna IS a goddess and therefore part of his pantheon and Troy follows the Sea God. I don't think I ever gave Wyatt and Hawk a religious preference. Garr followed Deis and Jin and Yuki were mainly agnostic. If you wanted to stretch it, then Jin and Yuki could follow Deis, but all well. Heh, it was pretty damn funny.

I don't think you guessed at it. I was worried a little bit about the ending scene really. I mean you have this big fight scene and revelation thingy going on, and it ending with the remaining group leaving and saying that they would rebuild and stuff... and then you have Deis and Manna talking and that scene happens. Hehe.

Well, glad that you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks!

Here's the final chapter!!!! Enjoy!

Two years later…

Nunnally looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror that was right in front of her. Salla stood behind her and nodded in approval. Salla was dressed in a long red dress that had slits that ran up the side. Over that dress was silver and white armor that marked her as Captain of the Dragoons.

Nunnally herself was dressed in a long sleeved, long pink and white sectioned dress that flared out into a petal design at her knees, with a red bow on the front of the dress. The thing that was still so new to Nunnally was the gold and silver crown that sat on her head.

“I doubt I will ever get use to this, Salla…” Nunnally sighed slightly. She turned her wheelchair from the mirror and looked at an amused Salla. “It just seems so strange that after all these years that I would even be considered in line for the throne, let alone the new queen of Dragnier.”

Salla looked thoughtful for a moment before she responded. “There is an old saying: ‘When one story ends, a new one will always begin.’”

Nunnally gave Salla a confused look. “That doesn’t make much sense, Salla.”

Salla smiled. “Anything that Jin Uzuki says never makes much sense,” Salla said as she placed her hand on her hip. “Besides, the crown looks good on you.”

“It’s been two years now,” Nunnally said. “I would have thought that things would have gotten easier… but it all seems so complicated.”

“Nothing worth gaining is ever easy to obtain,” Salla said.

Nunnally nodded in agreement. Two years had passed since her brother and his companions had defeated Legence and brought peace back to the world. When she had found out what her brother did, what he had given up so they could achieve peace, she felt like her entire world had fallen apart. She had been briefly reunited with her brothers, only to have one of them mercilessly torn from her.

She had mourned for days before she had been able to pick herself back up. Demus had told her that he would not take up the throne again. He had said that his entire reason for tracking down Ryu was to give him the throne. With Ryu…gone… Dragnier was left without an heir.

She had lost her brother, but in the process she had been given her parents back. Gideon had told her that he was no longer fit to rule over the Dragons. He said that even if Legence was controlling him the entire time, it was still his hands that had done the killing. He was not fit to rule with all the sins that he had committed.

Gideon had told Nunnally that he was going to disappear for a while, at least until Dragnier could recover from the damage he had done. Valerie had agreed to go with him. She had said that she had been indirectly part of the reason that Gideon had sought out Legence in the first place.

Nunnally had begged both of them to stay, but their minds were made up. They told Nunnally that if she ever needed them, to just call for them and they would come.

Nunnally was overjoyed when Salla had mysteriously reappeared and took up the role of advisor for the newly crowned queen of the dragons. Nunnally had been surprised that the people accepted her so quickly and without question. But she figured that after all the chaos that had been caused, they needed someone to lead them and were not about to ask questions.

So, Nunnally found herself in a position that she had never thought possible. She was now queen of a world power… and she had no idea as to what she was doing. But she knew as long as she had Salla to guide her, then she would somehow find a way to lead her people into the future.

“We all have our roles to play,” Salla said, snapping Nunnally out of her musings. Nunnally looked up at Salla with a questioning look on her face. Salla laughed. “It was something that Lady Deis had once said. But at the same time she also said that life is what we make it.”

“Yes,” Nunnally said in agreement. “My role is to lead Dragnier into a peaceful future. I am thankful to Ladon that the other nations are willing to listen to me.”

“You promote peace and harmony. Who wouldn’t want to hear that message after all that has happened?” Salla said. “Besides, you are young, pink, and cute. It just makes it easier for people to open up to you.”

Nunnally let out a small eep and blushed. “Uh… what?”

Salla winked. “I am just teasing, my queen. Besides, life can’t be all work, can it?”

Nunnally smiled and giggled. “I suppose not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So… if I adjust the arms, then…” Wes muttered to himself. He was trying to work on his latest project, but so far it was not panning out like he had planned.

Shelley and Seth gave him both amused looked. Wes grumbled something under his breath and shook his head. He was trying to keep the promise he had made to his former teacher, but the damned robot did not want to seem to be built.

He had been surprised when Master Wyatt had approached him with some kind of blue prints to an ancient looking stone robot. Wyatt said that he wanted a robot along those lines. Apparently the (former) Little Master had odd ways of spending his money.

Wes didn’t care. He got to work with Jonothan Godwin’s hot assistants and have the money to fund his work. He also had his teacher’s legacy he had to carry on. He had promised, after all.

“Perhaps you should take a break?” Shelley asked. Always the sensible one, that woman was.

“Nah, all he has to do is drink another cup of coffee or five and he will be good to go!” Seth laughed.

Wes merely glowered at the two women. How did Master Godwin ever put up with those two?

There was another reason that the MacCallahan sisters were currently in his shop. Because of all the destruction that had been wrought upon the city two years ago, the city had pretty much been in ruins. Master Godwin had approached Wes in using his eccentric ideas to help in the reconstruction of the city.

Wes had been doubtful that he could help at first, but after he started brainstorming with Seth and Shelley, he was surprised to come up with all kinds of ideas. The most shocking was that some of them were the Professor’s very own ideas.

After two years, the city was almost back to its former glory. He knew that things would never be the same. For starters, many people had been killed during the attack on the city. For some reason, they had all been revived. Most people said that it had been Ladon himself that had revived the people. Those of the Urkan Tapa said that it was the Holy Mother Myria that had taken mercy upon her children.

Wes, however, knew better. It had been Saria la Crosse that had revived all those people. He didn’t know how she had done it, but it had been done. He was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Wes also knew why the Little Master was not currently at the Foundation. Wes knew that Wyatt was probably visiting Shevat to see a certain governess. Hehe.

Wes knew that there wasn’t much he could do for the world, but if even one of his inventions could help someone, he would continue to do what he did best. Even if his best was playing with giant robots.

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“Today has been a glorious hunt!” Mardeia yelled as she raised her fist into the air. Cyrus merely watched his mate as the other Woren warriors cheered in response.

He had decided to come and check up on his mate and his homeland. He was pleased that Mara had been more willing to make alliances with other nations within the two years since Legence’s defeat.

It was good for Worent to be on the world stage at last. He had been worried about his nation been Mara had been xenophobic. He worried about how the proud nation of the Woren would fair once more if someone decided to try and conquer them again. The last time they had the Destined Child to save them.

They might not be so lucky the next time.

He enjoyed being in his native land, but he knew that as a Ranger, he had to go where he was needed. Apparently that job was currently leading him all around the world to other nations and assisting them in whatever they needed.

He was only sad that Yuki had retired from being a Ranger. She had said that she had found what she was looking for. He finally figured out that had been Ryu she had been looking for. He figured that she had quit due to the fact that she had found Ryu and his loss had unnerved her.

He only later found out how wrong he had been. It was in Yuki’s blood to help others. However, it was not the loss of Ryu that caused Yuki to quit. It was the simple fact that she had found out she was pregnant shortly after the final fight with Legence.

Imagine his surprise when he had found out that the father was the one that had contacted him to talk with Yuki in the first place.

He was happy that Yuki was doing well. He was happy that his people were growing stronger. He knew that one day he would be able to return home and stay there. Until then, he would go and do what it was that he was good at.

Helping people that are in trouble.

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Bunyan growled as he slammed his axe against the curr. He quickly withdrew and kicked the wolf monster into the bushes. The mangy beast had attacked a young woman and her two children as they had came into the forest to pay tribute to the Yggdrasil.

He hadn’t seen too much of Rowan lately. He knew that the young Grassman was going to be taking root soon. All of his clan did that in order to reach the next stage of their development. Maybe one day, Rowan himself would become the Yggdrasil.

After all, were not the Grassmen part of the Yggdrasil Collective? It only made since as that the “avatar” of the Yggdrasil that Rowan would become one himself.

The woman thanked Bunyan. Bunyan smiled and decided to escort the woman and her children the rest of the way to see the Great Tree, just in case any more beasts thought they would make a good snack.

Usually being in the forest gave Bunyan peace of mind, but for some reason he just could not find it that day. His mind would always drift back to Ryu. He had been sad that his adopted son had given his life to save the world, but he knew that Ryu would have it no other way.

Ryu had died… but Bunyan knew that Ryu had an uncanny knack of defying the odds. He still had the feeling that Ryu was alive and out there somewhere…

Until then, Bunyan would continue to protect the great forests.

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Rekks watched as Harmony stared up at the sky. He knew that while Harmony could not see the physical world, she could see beyond. She could see things that only she could fathom. The child was many things, mysterious was among them.

And he would not have it any other way.

He had been devastated when he had learned of Ryu’s death, but part of him knew that it was necessary. Ryu had done what he had to in order to bring peace. And thanks to Ryu, they could all enjoy that peace once more.

Harmony looked over at Rekks and smiled. “What are you thinking about?” Harmony asked.

What was he thinking about indeed. In the past two years, thinking was all Rekks had been doing. He knew that he had betrayed the queen’s trust. He had never taken into consideration Harmony’s feelings. He had done many bad things and was only beginning to understand why they had all forgiven him. He still didn’t know what was going on or what he would do. The only thing he knew that he would never leave Harmony’s side again.

“Oh, nothing much,” Rekks said with a small smile.

Harmony screwed her face up in confusion, but she smiled nonetheless. “Yes, I know,” Harmony said. “He gave his life to save our world.”

Rekks nodded. Leave it to Harmony to figure out what he was thinking. “Yes. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure that peace lasts and what he did was not in vain.”

Harmony smiled. “Yes, and I will be with you, by your side, as you protect this world that Ryu gave his life to save.”

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Hawkeye stood on the balcony of his room in Navare. He didn’t even flinch when he heard the door open and the footfalls of someone approaching him. He didn’t need to know who it was, for only Karn Danc himself could undo the lock on his room.

Both men stood in silence as they watched the clouds roll by. Two years still could not get rid of the memory of his ally giving his life to bring back Ladon. The only solace that he had was the sole fact that his home and his people had not been destroyed after all.

“Are you not going to the celebration?” Karn asked. “I figured that you would not turn down an opportunity for free booze.”

Hawk laughed slightly. “Nah. I’m not much in the celebrating mood right now. Besides, it more like a reunion for those guys… and I’d just be getting in the way. I’m just an ally, they’ve been friends for a long time before I came around.”

Karn shook his head. “Alliances… friendships that are born on the battlefield usually end up being the strongest bond that there is. Don’t underestimate those bonds.”

Hawk nodded. “Yeah, I know… but, I figured that I would stay a little close to home right now…”

Karn nodded. “I understand.”

“Yeah…” Hawk said. He continued to look at the sky. “I joined them to defend Navare… but after I thought Navare fell, I stayed with them in order to stop the bastard from doing that to anyone else. Then Ryu goes and gives his life and brings peace. It almost seems anti-climactic.”

Karn merely smiled all knowingly. “Sometimes things turn out not like what we expected. Ryu has a habit of showing up when you least expect it.”

Hawk grinned. “Yeah…”

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Two years without seeing ones friends can have a weary effect on a person. Nina was glad that almost everyone was able to show up for their reunion. It was also something of a celebration for the victory against Legence.

Nina had been very busy in the past two years. There was the rebuilding of her kingdom that she had to deal with. She was overjoyed when she had discovered that her father was alive once more. It was a little creepy, but cool nonetheless. The rebuilding of her kingdom had taken some time, but everyone was almost back to the way it had been before Transell had destroyed almost everything.

It was not Wyndia that everyone was meeting at today, though. It was the almost complete rebuilt city of Shevat. The tropical island nation had been something of a headquarters for the group as they fought on to rid the world of evil.

Besides, the place held dear memories for Nina. It was the place where she and Ryu… well, yeah. It was the place where she gave Ryu her entire being. Nina blushed at the thought of all those nights of her and Ryu’s… love making…

Never mind that when Strife had found out, he went off the deep end. Although when Nina’s half brother had found out, it was after the final battle and Ryu was already dead…

Nina shook her head. This was a time of celebration, not to dwell on the past. She was currently sitting in the water gardens of the governor’s manor. Sari spared no expenses when it came to recreating this place. Nina was glad, this was always her favorite part of Shevat.

Nina glanced up and noticed that Strife was watching her closely. Nina blushed slightly and giggled. Her brother was always overprotective. Even more so now that in a few years, she would be taking the throne of Wyndia. Her parents had declared that their time for ruling was to soon come to an end. They said that Nina had saved the world… that she was now more than qualified to rule.

Nina knew, however, that she still had a lot to learn. She wondered how Nunnally felt when she was practically shoved onto the throne of Dragnier. She knew, however, that whatever came her way, that her family and friends would always stand by her and support her.

Nina watched as their hostess chatted with Wyatt. Wyatt was still as handsome as he was two years ago. She noticed that he still wore that long black trench coat and his hair was still as wild as ever. Though she did noticed that it seemed to hang a little more in his face than she last remembered.

Sari herself had grown as well. She still wore her green hair long and she still wore dresses, but there was something mature about the dragon hybrid than there was before. She had barely noticed that the two had taken a liking to each other back before the final fight, but now it was so obvious it wasn’t funny.

Yeah, the two of them were currently dating and Nina was having all kinds of fun messing with Wyatt. Especially after she found out that he was actually a virgin. Bio-android or not, Wyatt was still able to feel and… hehe. Yui did say Wyatt was atomically correct.

There was a running gag about what would happen first; would Nina take the throne or would Wyatt and Sari tie the knot? When that little thing was brought up, Sari would giggle, Wyatt would blush like mad, and Nina would laugh her ass off.

A little farther to the left of the two lovebirds were Yui and Jin. For the most part, Yui and Jin looked the same, if a little older. Nina did take note that Yui had let her hair grow out and Jin’s was actually shorter. Jin’s hair was messy and seemed to fall in his eyes. It was also weird to see Jin in anything other that a robe, for what he was wearing was a pair of khakis and a white button down shirt. Casual wear really looked weird on Jin.

The two of them were watching as nine-year-old Momo chased after Honey in what appeared to be a game of tag. What was really amusing was that Mina, who was dressed in a white sundress, was chasing after Momo and Honey. The girl was thousands of years old, yet she still acted like a child sometimes.

Nina was glad that Mina could still have fun. She did often worry about the former princess of Windia. She was glad that Mina was staying at Angel Tower. Garr had become fond of the young looking princess. He was still a Guardian at heart, even if he didn’t serve Myria anymore. He protected Mina like she was his daughter. In many ways, Mina was.

Nina had to stifle a giggle as she watched Troy’s twin teenagers, Oceana and Skylar, trying to run after Honey. Oceana was a 16-year-old girl with long white hair and Skylar was a boy with short white hair. Both of them seemed to be dressed in casual clothes. Their mother, however, was dressed in a blue dress with her long, white hair done up in a bun.

Troy laughed as the twins ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Nina noticed that even though the two of them were running around the water gardens, they seemed to be acting like they were having fun. Momo apparently had a special gift of having people open up to her.

The Pearl Kingdom itself was helping out a lot with the reconstruction of other nations; Shevat and Wyndia included. Even though she hadn’t taken Troy very seriously when she had first met him, she had learned that it was just Troy’s way of making people laugh. He really was a serious individual when he needed to be. Troy was a very generous ruler. Maybe that’s why more people were pulling with alliances with the Pearl Kingdom.

Nina watched as Yuki seemed to have a bit of a time with her two-year-old daughter. Leon himself was merely standing right beside Yuki and laughing. It amused Nina that Leon still wore his hair long, but not as long as before. Now it was only shoulder length.

When Nina had found out that Yuki was pregnant, she had thought that Yuki was simply joking. Then, while Yuki was on the phone, she had heard Jin shout out death threats to the father of the child.

It later turned out that Leon was the father. Leon looked like he had wanted to faint. Not because he was going to be a father, but because Jin aimed that really sharp katana of his right at Leon’s… jewels… and threatened that he was going to make sure that the child was going to be an only child.

Nina had never seen anyone run that fast in her entire life. It was actually kind of funny in a sense. Yuki had actually quit being a Ranger and had taken up a job as a writer. Apparently Leon was still doing the bodyguard thing, but he was no longer Sari’s. Shortly before the child had been born, the two of them moved back to Crete to be closer to Yuki’s remaining family.

Miyuki Masters seemed like an odd name, but Leon was not about to take on Uzuki for his last name. Seeing that after two years, Jin was still out for Leon’s blood. The mere thought made Nina want to laugh.

The child in question was a little girl with black hair and green eyes. The child had been named Ren, the Ceres word meaning love… or something like that. Maybe it had been for lotus. Nina wasn’t good at the symbol language of Ceres. Jin had nicknamed the child Rue, though. For as he said that he rued the day that he let Leon anywhere near his little sister.

Nina was sad that Hawkeye had not made it out to their little gathering, but she understood why he didn’t show. Hawk was a thief by trade and he was a very private person. He had gone back to Navare in order to train once more in the art of the Phantom Thief. Nina knew that like everyone else that had fought along side Ryu, he was just trying to move along with his life.

Hawk was an odd person, and an even odder Destined. He had joined them at the last of their quest, but in the end he proved to be just as important as the rest of them. Hawk did send back his invite with a letter that explained that while he could not make it to the party, that he was glad that they all considered him a friend and hoped that they were all doing well.

For the most part, Nina herself was happy. She had managed to get close to her brother and her parents during the two years. She still argued with her parents and sneaked out, but she always allowed Strife to come with her. It was just part of her nature not to want to be caged up.

She was only glad that her parents weren’t so controlling anymore. As far as religious beliefs went, she was no longer a Ladonite. The Dragon God had her respect, just not her worship. She didn’t follow Myria either. There was just something about meeting the two gods and trying to get them to stop fighting. Maybe Deis had the right idea to begin with…

Whatever that idea was. Nina was still trying to figure it out. Yeah, that was a little shocking to discover that Jin was a follower of DEIS of all gods. When she went back and thought about it, it did make a lot of sense.

Nina looked up and noticed that Manna seemed to be missing. She stood up and walked over to Jin and Yui and gave them a questioning look.

“Manna’s not here,” Nina said.

Jin smiled slightly. “She said that she was going to be late. That there was something that she had to do.”

“Okay,” Nina said.

Sari cleared her throat, causing everyone to stop and look over at the hostess. “I think that its time that we got down to why we are gathered here in the first place.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Nina smiled sadly as she watched everyone stand at attention. Sari nodded her head and cleared her throat once more, Wyatt’s hand on her shoulder.

“Everyone, thank you for coming out all this way,” Sari said. There were various nods in Sari’s direction. “Two years ago, we fought against Legence and were able to defeat him. And in the end, we managed to stop Myria and Ladon from destroying each other. We also were finally able to break the Cycles once and for all.”

“Hooray to that!” Yuki laughed. Ren giggled at her mother’s hyper behavior. There were various cheers from their other companions.

Nina cleared her throat and got everyone’s attention on her. “Thanks Sari. Although we brought peace back to the world, we all lost a dear comrade…” Nina hung her head as the tears threatened to spill once more.

Jin patted Nina on the shoulder. “Ryu was a great leader and ally, but more importantly, he was a valuable friend.”

“Yeah, he made all of this possible,” Wyatt said. “If not for him, then we would probably be facing another Cycle.”

“Or complete destruction,” Troy said with a nod.

“So, we honor our fallen comrade and friend,” Leon said in a bitter voice. “And we can only hope that we can all meet again in the next life.”

Everyone looked rather dejected as they all hung their heads in a moment of silence. Nina felt like part of her heart was being ripped out once more. Two years later and the pain still hadn’t gone away. She doubted that she would ever get over the lose of Ryu.

Everyone stood in silence, possibly remembering their fallen leader. No one dared to say anything, as if afraid to break the silence.

“Wow,” Manna said from the entrance of the water garden. “Why does everyone look like their best friend just died…. Wait. Don’t answer that.”

Everyone looked up and spotted Manna enter the water garden. Behind her was a tall, muscular, bald, man with tanned skin, dressed in black. Manna gestured at the man and smiled slightly.

“Guys, this is my boyfriend, Vin.”

The man in question, Vin, merely gave everyone a nod. Yuki and Sari blushed like mad and Mina giggled. Leon and Wyatt looked rather dejected.

“He’s so hot!” Yuki laughed. Vin gave Yuki a look. Yuki let out an eep and shut her mouth.

“So, that’s your boyfriend,” Sari said. “He looks really strong.”

Manna nodded in approval. Vin merely looked down at Manna and shook his head. “You said you kept odd company,” Vin said in a deep voice. “But I didn’t know that some of them were crazy.”

Manna laughed as Yuki looked like she wanted to scream. Nina giggled and shook her head.

“I’m glad that you could make it,” Nina said. “So, what took you so long?”

“Well,” Manna looked amused. “My apprentice was being a smart ass, so I decided to kick his ass.”

“You have an apprentice?” Jin asked. “Since when?”

Manna laughed. “Oh…”

There was a figure that appeared at the entrance to the water garden. Everyone froze. Nina couldn’t even believe what she was seeing. Standing before them was a man that looked like Ryu himself.

Nina turned her attention to Manna. Manna merely shrugged and giggled. The man walked into the garden and right over to Nina. He looked down at Nina and smiled. He offered his hand and Nina took it without question.

“Hello… Nina…” the man said.

“Ryu…?” Nina asked in a cracked voice.

The man’s smile grew bigger. “Eh…? Come on Nina, don’t tell me that you forgot me that easily?”

Tears started to spill from Nina’s eyes as she screamed with joy and threw her arms around the young man. “RYU! Oh my god! It’s really you!”

Ryu laughed as he returned Nina’s embrace. Nina cried her heart out as everyone rushed over and crowded around Ryu and Nina. Manna, Vin, and Jin hung back and watched the teary reunion.

Nina looked up at Ryu. “You’re really here?”

Ryu nodded and smiled. “Yes. I said that I would never leave you… that I would find a way back to you.”

“You’re never leaving me again?” Nina asked.

Ryu nodded. “I will be by your side, always… I love you Nina.”

“I love you too!” Nina shouted as she leaned in close and kissed Ryu on the lips. Ryu smiled and returned the kiss with just as much passion as she remembered.

She didn’t know how it had happened. She didn’t care. Ryu was back with her and their friends and she was never going to let him go ever again. Happy endings really do come true. Nina had never been so happy in her life as she was at that moment.

She didn’t know what exactly would happen now, but now that Ryu was back with her, she didn’t care. She would be able to face whatever life threw at her. Ryu had returned to them. He was… home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jin looked at Manna while the others started to play a game of twenty questions with Ryu. Manna merely looked amused and Vin looked board. Jin looked back over and Ryu and Nina and smiled.

“So, how did you do it?” Jin asked.

“Do what?” Manna asked, a coy look on her face. Vin said nothing and slid an arm around Manna’s waist.

“How did you bring him back?” Jin asked. “That IS Ryu, isn’t it?”

Vin nodded his head and answered for Manna. “That is the former Destined Child, Ryu. From what I gathered, he was part of Ladon and when he sacrificed himself, he was able to revive Ladon.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Manna said. Jin rolled his eyes. Manna smirked and took up where her boyfriend left off. “Well, with Ladon whole, Ryu’s consciousness was consumed by the Dragon God, returned to him if you will. He gave his life for the greater good.”

“And… that’s what made you take him on as a student?” Jin asked as he scratched the back of his head.

“Well… it’s kinda complicated. You see I could not retrieve Ryu’s consciousness once Ladon consumed it. Well, not without help. I asked… my mother…” Manna gritted her teeth in annoyance. “For help…”

“The thing was,” Vin said. “It was Deis’ plan from the beginning. Her ‘promised plan’ if you will. Yes, her aim was to revive Ladon and balance Myria out once more, but she was also aiming to free the Destined Child from the Cycles as well.”

“Yeah,” Manna agreed. “The only way to call Ryu back was to take him on as a student. I mean, Deis’ plan worked. A little too well, if you ask me. The Ryu you see before you is the same one that you traveled with two years ago, but there are some changes.”

“What kind of changes?” Jin asked as he crossed his arms.

“Ryu’s no longer a dragon,” Manna said. “He’s human… mortal if you will. He doesn’t have his powers anymore. He also doesn’t really remember much of what happened during the past sixteen years. I mean, he remembers all of you and the quest that we were on, but he has trouble remembering that he was the Destined Child, or any of his past lives.”

“It’s for the best, I suppose,” Jin said after he thought about it for a moment. “Deis’ plan was fulfilled in the end in the very least. The world is at peace once more, the Cycles are broken, Myria and Ladon are balanced once more…”

“And Nina will be getting nookie later tonight,” Manna giggled. Jin and Vin gave Manna a look. “Yeah, I know… but its been like two years for the both of them. What did you expect them to do?”

“Just because that’s what you would do…” Jin said. “…and I would do…” Jin shook his head. “Okay, fine. I get it. It’s been far too long for either one of them.”

Manna nodded. “Yeah. Besides, it’s a fitting end for the ones that saved the world. We can all move on with our lives now that the past is behind us.”

“A bright future to look forward to, eh?” Jin asked.

Manna nodded. “All part of Deis’ plan, after all.”

“So, Deis had all of this planned out from the start…” Jin mumbled. “How did she manage to pull all of this off, anyway?”

“She’s God,” Manna said simply. “She can do whatever the hell she wants…”

“Eh…?” Jin looked confused. It suddenly dawned on him and he slapped his hand to his forehead. “You mean to tell me that DEIS is actually… oh boy…”

“The true Creator… the one that Myria and Ladon represent? Yeah, I know. I still can’t believe it either,” Manna sighed. “It’s just something that I try to forget.”

“Well, all things have worked out for the best…” Jin said with a smile. The three of them heard Nina call over to them. Jin nodded and turned his attention to Manna and Vin. “I think that they have broke out with the alcohol. After all those nice little revelations, I think I will need some. Coming?”

Manna laughed. “Who am I to turn down free booze?” Manna said. She grabbed Vin and Jin’s arms and pulled them forward. “Come on! Let’s go get wasted!”

 

THE END!!!

Thanks for reading!