Wishes, part 3
Dais, Sekhmet, Kale, and Kayura stood blinking in the living room. The Queen
of Secrets, all swirling black smoke with blue eyes, was behind them. The rest of the Ronins--minus one--stared at the unexpected guests. The unexpected guests looked just as surprised. Kayura turned to face the Queen. "Excuse me, but what was so important that you dragged us from our work?"
~The Darkness Has The Darksword. He Will Be Coming For My Daughter Soon.
The Final Confrontation Will Occur Any Day Now.~
Madoka glared at her mother. She was the only twin present, as her sister
and Sage were still trying to pry Mischief from the jaws of death. Thus, she was in a slightly bad mood. "So? You're the Queen of Secrets! Why don't you just tell us what he's up to?"
The Queen swirled in a disconcerted matter. ~I Can't Do That.~
"Why? Because it 'wouldn't be fair'? Because 'we wouldn't learn anything that way'?"
~No. Because I Can't. I Literally Can Not. Not 'Will Not'. Can Not.~
Madoka just stared. "But...But, that has never happened! You might refuse to share a secret, or ignore it for your own reasons, but you've never just not known! That is, like, totally against the laws of the multiverse or something!"
~Dearest, I Think Perhaps It's Time You Learned That I Don't Know
Everything. Yes, I Do Come Very Close...But I Am Not Omnipotent. If I
Was, Would I Have Screwed Up Raising You As Badly As I Did?~
"You have a point."
The smoke gave the impression of smiling. ~Well, Mother Knows Best.~
"Don't push your luck."
***
Missy opened her eyes. Slumped in a chair beside her bed was Kento. She
smiled tenderly in his direction. 'He was worried about me...How sweet!'
The sound of a door opening drew her attention to the other side of the
room. 'I wonder whose room this is, now that I think of it...'
Alex was the person entering. She peeked out through the mostly closed door and then shut it completely. She then began to mutter under her breath. "Don't know why they have to fuss so much, just pregnant, not terminally ill, damn it. And those two, angst, and angst, and more angst! I cry at the least little thing now, and I'm not supposed to do that until after the baby's born! Honestly. Bad enough being pregnant, try being pregnant, empathic, and stuck in the house with two teenagers in the middle of 'the last great romance'! I hate my life!"
Missy smiled weakly. She was a little surprised how raspy and weak her
voice sounded as she spoke. "Hey, it's better than the alternative..."
Alex spun around to face the bedridden kitsune. She was a lot more
pregnant than she'd been when Missy'd left. "Oh! Missy! You're awake! Sage and
Aristan will be glad to hear it. They were worried when you were still unconscious even though they'd healed you."
"No worries. I feel fine. Whose bed am I stealing?"
"Kento's. He insisted." Alex smirked at Missy's blush. "I think you have a
chance with him..."
"Shh!!!"
"Oh, don't worry about him waking up, he's been watching over you for days! He'll be dead to the world for at least another three hours."
"What were you muttering about?"
"Hmm?"
"'Two teenagers living out the last great romance?'"
"Oh. Blue and Sage are driving me nuts! It was bad enough when they were
repressing everything. But now that each realizes they love the other and
is firmly of the mind the other doesn't love them, they are spiraling into such desperate desperation that romance novelists would cringe. And due to my 'little gift' I get a spectator seat to the whole shebang! It royally sucks!"
Missy did her best not to laugh. It was probably cruel of her, but the
expression on Alex's face was hard to resist. She did her best, though. "Maybe you should just lock the two of them in a closet until they straighten things out."
Alex gave her a long look, then said thoughtfully, "You know, that's not a
bad idea."
Missy watched the blonde woman leave with wide eyes. "Umm, Alex? I was
joking. Alex?"
***
Two weeks later...
Alex sighed, and hit the couch. "Okay. That is it! Enough is enough! I am four months pregnant. I am sore, I ache, and my patience is completely exhausted. I have given them most of three years now! Three years! And I! Have! Had! Enough! Rekkian! Help me up!"
Everyone in the room was staring at her like she'd just lost her mind,
including her husband. However, knowing what was conduicive to his continued good health, he helped her stand up and did his best not to hover over her. That always irritated her, and she seemed irritated enough already!
"Sage! Rowan! With me! Now!"
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the two baffled boys.
Aristan, Madoka, and Damiet, meanwhile, had started to understand where she was headed, and were grinning.
"Well?"
The two boys hesitantly stood up and walked over to the upset woman. She
grabbed them each by the wrist and tugged them behind her as she stomped
from the room. "Okay. Enough, as I said earlier, is enough. You are going to get this settled. Now."
She took them both and shoved them into Sage's room. They heard the door
lock, and felt Alex use her power to seal the room. Her voice floated through the door. "There. You are staying in here until breakfast tomorrow morning. You will talk to each other about how you feel, and if this isn't resolved by breakfast, you're going back in there until lunch, until supper, or until you're fifty! I don't care how long this takes, you are going to resolve this before I go absolutely screaming bonkers."
Rowan knocked lightly on the door. "I suppose saying that we have no clue
what you're talking about isn't going to do us any good?"
"If that's true, then A) Madoka and Aristan are right, and you two are the
most intelligent idiots alive, and B) You are not getting out of that room for a long time!"
The sound of an irate pregnant woman stomping down steps drifted through
to them. Rowan sighed and banged his forehead lightly against the door. "I
didn't think it would work."
He turned and gave Sage a slightly weary look. "Sage? Care to hazard a
guess as to what brought that on?"
Sage was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the hands he had folded into his lap as if they were the end-all and be-all of the universe. Rowan blinked. "Sage? Are you all right?'
Sage nodded, his blond hair flopping forward and hiding his eyes. Rowan
sighed. 'I wonder what he's thinking? I know what I'm thinking. The dreams were hard enough, what am I going to do about being locked in a room with him for hours on end? And a bedroom at that! Dammit, Alex! This was hard enough already!' "What now?"
Sage was, quite frankly, panicking. 'Oh god! "What now?" I don't know! I
don't even know how I’m going to get through the next few hours! I don't think I can! Not with our friendship intact, anyway!' "I don't know."
Rowan sighed. 'I've been trying for so long to tell him, but every time, we get interrupted, or I lose my courage...Can I do it now?'
Sage took a deep breath. 'He has that look on his face, he's going to tell me something I'm not going to like. Lately, he's been distant...He must have figured out how I feel. That's it, then. No more friendship, not now that he knows...'
"Sage, I...I think you should know something. Lately I've...that is..." Rowan clenched his fists. 'Courage, Rowan, you can do this. Just spit it out, already!'
"Sage, I...I'minlovewithyou!"
He closed his eyes and waited for his world to shatter.
The entire room was swamped with silence. Rowan hesitantly cracked one eye
open. 'He hasn't hit me yet, that's a good sign...'
He blinked at the look on Sage's face. His expression was full of pure,
unadulterated shock. 'Oh shit. He's just stunned. Any minute now, he'll come
out of it, and then I'm dead.'
Sage was in shock. He couldn't have strung together a sentence to save his
life. The only thing occupying his mind was Rowan's words, stuck on repeat. The words 'in love with you,' over and over again. He blinked. Rowan was staring at him like he'd just lost his best friend. Sage blinked as his Voice of Reason piped up. 'Of course he is, stupid! He thinks he has! Say something encouraging here! Don't blow the best thing that has ever happened to you because you're speechless!'
"You love me?” he whispered. The Voice was not impressed. 'Oh, yeah. That'll really allay his fears! You can be such an idiot sometimes! Reassure him already!'
Rowan nodded slowly. "If you never want to see me again, I'd understand..."
His words were cut off as Sage wrapped him in a hug that was so tight he
was having trouble breathing. He blinked. "Umm, Sage?"
"Don't ever doubt I love you. Ever."
Rowan's brain short-circuited. Then Sage kissed him. For the first time in
his life, Rowan wasn't thinking about anything. Just feeling.
Downstairs, in Mia's living room, Alex looked up at the ceiling and smiled. 'About damn time!'
***
The Queen did not sleep. She never had and probably never would. But she
occasionally meditated. And when she did, she remembered...
***
The universe was as new as a shiny penny. At least, that is what She would have thought, if there had been pennies. If there had been the concept of 'shiny'. For that matter, if there had been the concept of 'universe'. Everything was new, everything was sitting, waiting to be discovered, and They were going to find it. There were not many of Them. There did not need to be. They were eternal. They were unending. And They were just as new as everything else.
She turned to her companions. They had no names. Neither did She. They had
not come up with the concept of 'names' yet. They would, though. And when they
did, She would be Sarendet, and He was Keail. He. He was Her friend. He was Her companion. And He was Her Love. They were the ones who invented that concept, She and He. And for the lifetimes of stars, They were happy. Then He invented something new. A whole new idea. He had always been so good at that. He invented Death.
She remembered clearly the shock, the surprise, the pain. There had been no fear. The Others, They hadn't known to fear. They hadn't known what this 'Death' was. Neither had She. She watched, as He 'Killed' Them. She didn't worry at first. They would come back, and then They would all laugh at this new concept. Just as They had always done before. But They didn't. They didn't come back. They never came back. She turned to Him. ~They Aren't Coming Back, Keail. When Will They Come Back?~
~They Won't. Don't You See? That's The Beauty Of It. They Won't Come Back.
Not Ever! We'll Be Together Forever. Just You And Me. I've Made Something
Permanent. Forever. They Won't Come Back!~
She stared at Him in shock. 'They Won't Come Back?! Ever?! He's...Made Them Go Away Forever?! No! No! No!'
She knew, then. He had created something that was not supposed to be. He had torn a RIFT in the fabric of what WAS. This could not be allowed to go on.
She had to fix things somehow.
She had to find a way to...She discovered a new concept. She had to HEAL
this RIFT. And She had to SEAL away her beloved so that he could never do this
again. She had to...She had to...had to.
***
"Mother? Mother, are you all right?"
Hashiba Sarah opened her eyes and smiled at her son. "Yes, Rowan. I'm fine. Just a little woozy."
"You're sure?"
She nodded. "Yes. Would you like some tea?"
Rowan blinked at her. "Umm, sure."
Sarah/Sarendet stood up and brushed off her slacks. 'Oh, Rowan. I Hope You
Can Do This...You Will Have To Be The One. You Have To Bear The Burden. You Have To Pass The Torch...'
***
Rekkian paused on his way to his room. The section of the attic he had
portioned off as a workroom was lit up. He checked his watch. It was three in the morning. He poked his head around the door. There was his wife, reading what he had come to call 'The Book', the book of the Prophecy that had been left to Alex by her father.
"Alex?"
Without looking up she answered the concern in his voice. "It's all right,
'Kien. It's just...I feel in my bones that we don't have much time left. The last few grains of sand are running out...This is important. I have to understand what this means. I have to know what to do when the time comes. I'm supposed to guide. What I'm supposed to guide they never say, the bastards! Whoever wrote this Prophecy deserves a slap upside the head!"
Rekkian chuckled. "You're right. I've never been able to understand that
part. How does it go again? Something about, '...and thus Speaks the Guide in the Passing...'?"
"This is the last page in the book. No matter what else may change in these pages, this page is always the same. It says, 'And thus Speaks the Guide in the Passing on. From the Bearer to the Healer. From Life to Death. Thus Speaks the Key from one Door to Another: And from the Symbol of the Third Seal, the Seal of Final Healing...' Hey! Isn't that what Aristan's name means? Final Healing?"
"Yeah. Back when I was a kid, that was a euphemism for death."
"Scary thing to name a kid. I wonder if they are named after the Seals, or
if the Seals are named after them...Oh well. '...the Seal of Final Healing, the Seal of Death, shall the Rift be Mended, shall the Rift be Broken, shall that which Has Been end, and that which Shall Be begin...' That's it. Then there's just an ellipsis. Three little dots. Like the prophet is saying 'To Be Continued', only it isn't. What are we supposed to make of that?"
Rekkian had a glimmering of an idea. He was rather reluctant to mention it, though. He knew his wife hated harping on the more esoteric of her powers, and she was irritable enough already...
Alex looked up at him. "Spit it out, love. I'll nag it out of you sooner or later, anyway."
He sighed. When did she get to know him so well... "Well, you were left
that book for a reason, you know."
"Yeah. I'm the Chosen Key. I know, I know."
"Umm, no. That's not it. Just being the Chosen Key wouldn't get you taught
the Prophecy."
"Just?! I'd like to see you try it!"
"That isn't what I meant. Do you think just anybody can learn prophecy? Much less one as obscure and vague as this one? And yet, you not only know it backwards and forwards and in between, you've also interpreted it correctly so far. What does this tell you? For that matter, how do you think your father got hold of that book to start with?"
"Umm..."
"Alex, you're the last of the Prophets. Your father's father's father
is the one who wrote that book. Before I was born, might I add. You will finish the Prophecy. Or begin it again. Or whatever. Spiritual metaphysics was never my strong suit. Regardless, the ellipsis is where you’ll have to start improvising."
Alex scowled down at the book. "Why couldn't I have been born to a
librarian and a plumber? My life would have been so much easier."
"But you'd have never met me."
"Point." Alex placed 'The Book' down on a table and headed towards him and
the door. "Ease is overrated anyway. Come on, love. Let's go to bed..."
Rekkian let her drag him down the hall, smiling.
***
The Queen never sleeps, but she had been meditating more often than usual
lately. She needed to remember the beginning. Because it was the end as well...
***
She faced Him; Keail no longer, He was now the Darkness. The RIFT He had rent in the stuff of the universe had overtaken Him. He was no longer the
gentle, curious Love She had spent her first millennia with. He was now something Else.
Something Evil.
The RIFT had taken Him, and Keail was gone. So She had to stop this RIFT
before it took over everything. She had to. And She had a Plan.
~Love? Do You Want To Play? I Have A New Game. I Just Invented It.~
~What Game Is That, Love?~
She watched as He absently wandered close. Too close. Just close enough.
She released the POWER she had gathered. He screamed as it tore about him,
separating the very pieces of HIMSELF from each other.
~Sarendet! How Could You?! I Love You! I Spared You From 'Death'! We Were
Supposed To Be Together...~
She stared down at the separating man. ~Do You Like My New Game? It's
Called 'Betrayal'.~
The POWER was rending Him, separating Him, weakening Him. His screams
grew fainter. But She still heard Him. Heard Him clearly.
~I Will GET You. You Will Be Made To Suffer As I Am. You Will Pay!~
She focused Her POWER, the POWER given Her by THE ONE to HEAL the
RIFT. She Sealed him away, behind three Seals, and scattered them through
Time.
She stared sadly at the space where once Her Love had been.
~I Already Am Suffering, Love. I Already Am.~
She had invented another new concept. For the first time, She knew what it
was to be 'Alone.'
***
The Queen sat quietly in a corner of the noisy living room. No one was
paying attention to her; she had been sitting there, unmoving, for hours. No one saw the single tear that slid from her closed eyes.
***
Rowan looked around. "Hey? Guys? Have any of you seen the twins?"
Kento shook his head. "No. But I've been with Missy all morning. She needed cheering up. Maybe Ryo?"
But Ryo hadn't seen them either. Neither had Mia, or Yuli, or Sai, or the
winged duo, or the warlords, or Alex...
"Has anybody seen the twins?"
The Queen was suddenly among them. Unlike normal, she was in her swirling
smoke form. Her blue eyes focused on the gathered warriors. ~It Is Time. The
Darkness Has My Daughters. The End Of The Prophecy Has Arrived. Come with Me.~
***
Madoka and Aristan were huddled together in a cage of bones. Akenti was
half-hiding behind it, looking terrified. Aristan managed to feel a little sorry for her. Psycho she may be, but nobody deserved to be left at the mercy of the Darkness for three or four months.
She couldn't get used to it, to seeing her beloved's face with such evil in it. It was twisted, wrong, and terrifying. She felt ill every time His eyes landed on her.
He walked over to the girls. "Do you know how much trouble you two have
caused Me? The other one wasn't half this hard. It must be your blood. SHE bore you. Thus you are irritating."
Madoka blinked. "You know our mother?"
Aristan flinched. Madoka just had to satisfy her curiosity, didn't she. She just couldn't be content to keep her mouth shut.
The Darkness started laughing. "Know Her. Know Her! She wants to know if I know HER?! Oh, that's funny!"
Madoka scowled. "Glad to know You're amused."
A Shade had arrived and was whispering to Akenti. She hesitantly stepped
forward. "My Master? They have arrived, as you desired."
"Really? Oh, good. Then I suppose you are no longer needed here."
The woman looked vaguely relieved. "As you say, Master."
He blasted her. She never even had time to flinch before she was just...gone. Aristan and Madoka just stared in horror. They had never seen anything like that. Ever.
He smiled at them, looking quite proud. "Did you like that? I invented it,
you know. It was all my idea.” His smile died. "SHE didn't like it. So SHE invented another game. I didn't like that one at all. No, not at all. Mine's more fun."
Aristan gazed at her twin out of the corner of her eye. 'Is it just me, or
is he starting to sound less and less "hinged?"'
She got an slight nod from her sister. Right. So, his sanity level had
slipped significantly in the last half hour. That wasn't good. Not good at all. Nearly omnipotent bad guys are bad enough. Half-insane, nearly omnipotent ones...
The Darkness' attention was caught by something else. A slight movement
near the entrance to the throne room. It was their mother.
"You! You! You betrayed Me! I loved You! I spared You! And You ripped Me! You shredded Me! You trapped Me! Never whole, never One! All Alone! I hate You!"
~Hello, Love. I Take It You Are Not Happy To See Me.~
"You betrayed me!"
~Yes. I Did.~
"You hurt Me! I loved You, and You hurt Me!"
~Yes. I Did.~
Aristan heard movement behind her. She tried her best to see without moving too much. Her sister was picking the lock. Aristan had to grin. 'Three years among kitsune, and she's already acting like a trained thief. My sister the quick study.'
The two of them crept out of the cage, only to find themselves surrounded
by friends. Rowan was right next to Aristan. "So what's going on?" he
whispered.
"I'm not sure. It seems Mom and he know each other from way back."
~But Don't You Want To Know Why I Did It? Don't You Want To Know
Why I Betrayed You?~
"Why?"
~After You Invented Death. After You Made All The Others Go Away...THE
ONE Came To Me. He Said He Could Fix The Wrong You Had Done. But I Needed To
Follow The Rules. I Agreed. I Had Done Nothing To Stop You Before, It Was My
Duty To Help Rectify That Error. So I Did As He Said. I Made The Deal. He Would Give Me The Power To Do As I Have Done, From The Day I Sealed You Away. I Would Make The Prophets To Ensure The Prophecy. I Would Make Talpa To Ensure The Ronins, I Would Allow The First Seal To Be Broken Without Interference, To Ensure All Would Happen As It Has. I Would Do All This, And Then, When It Came Time, I Would Do Nothing. For He Gave Me The POWER To Defeat You, To Seal You, And To Ensure That You Would Not Be Released Before Time. He Made Me Queen Of Secrets, And Left Me With But One Price. I Can Not Help Or Hinder The Final Act. So Now, The Bargain Has Been Kept.~
The Queen retreated from the center of the room to swirl quietly behind
the group of startled warriors. The Darkness looked just as surprised as they did. "You mean You won't interfere?"
~No. I Can Do Nothing. That Was The Price. Now I Pay It.~
The Darkness darted forward, too fast for Aristan to see. There was a
blast like the one that had vaporized Akenti. Aristan screamed. 'No! They have to be all right. Please, God! Let them be all right!'
She felt an arm lock around her, and a cold burning against her throat. The Darkness had her. And He had the Darksword.
***
They all stared in horror at the scene before them. Rowan could hear Madoka murmur, "Oh, Ari...No. Please, no..."
The Darkness within Zaren had the Darksword firmly to her throat. "Now, at
last, I will be free!"
Rowan stared in despair at the girl who had become family. His sister. His
gaze went from her to Madoka, Sage, his friends, his beloved. They all would
suffer if the Darkness won. He had to stop it! He had to! But how? He closed his eyes, searching his mind for anything, a clue, a hint, anything at all. Then he remembered something Sage had told him, months ago. Right after Madoka's rescue from the Dreamworld...
Rowan blinked up at Sage, who was sitting beside his bed. No, it wasn't
his, it was Sage's. His room had become a library when he'd moved to his new
apartment. "Sage, what happened?"
"I'm not sure. When Damiet didn't come back from the Dreamworld, you
somehow helped Madoka pull him back. You were glowing, like when you use
your armor, only different. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it was like you'd tapped a new level of power. The same, but different. Anyway, Madoka called it a 'full manifestation."
Rowan blinked. That was it. He knew what to do. He just hoped he could do
it right...
He addressed the smug Darkness. "Don't be so sure of that."
Everyone turned to see Rowan, surrounded yet again by his deep blue aura.
The Darkness laughed. "Recharged? It will do you no good. Haven't you learned by now that your blast can not hurt Me?"
~'Don't Be So Sure Of That.' This is My Son, And Don't Forget That He Has Something You Don't, Dearest. He Has Friends, Allies, People Who Love Him. Which You Are Sadly Lacking In...~
The other Ronins exchanged long glances and nodded. Sage stepped up to
stand by his beloved. "Wisdom." His kanji flared green, and his aura meshed with Rowan's. Ryo stepped up to Rowen's other side. "Virtue."
Sai and Kento moved to stand behind him. "Trust." "Justice."
Now Rowan's aura flared with orange, blue, green, and red. The Darkness
raised an eyebrow. "There is still no chance you can save her, or your world. I am going to finish what I started all those millennia ago. And this time I will spare no one!"
Kayura stepped up. "Loyalty."
Sekhmet: "Piety."
Kale: "Obedience."
Dais: "Serenity."
Now Rowan was completely hidden by the flare of colors surrounding him. The Darkness clutched Aristan closer to Him as the sheer force of the power started to blow back His hair and clothing. "It doesn't matter! You won't win! I have the Third Seal! I will be free!" He faced the Queen of Secrets, who was hovering over her collapsed daughter. "You will not win! I will beat you!"
The deep blue eyes gazed sadly at him out of the swirling smoke. ~Will You? Watch...~
Damiet, still cradling Madoka in his arms, stared solemnly down at the face of the woman he loved more than life. She smiled up at him. Then his gaze moved to the being who wore the semblance of his brother. He stared at the alien personality behind those eyes and smiled. Holding his arm outstretched, palm facing the pillar of light surrounding Rowan, he whispered: "Confidence."
Madoka held her arm parallel to Damiet's. "Faith."
Now amber and gray joined the rainbow pillar, which had grown to engulf all Nine of the Rings, all the armor-bearers. The Darkness shot a confused look at the Queen. "What is happening?! How are you doing this?!"
~I'm Not. The End Will Come, As It Will Come. I Cannot Change It. If You
Win, You Win. If You Lose, You Lose. I Cannot Interfere. That Was The Price
Of The Prophecy.~ Her tone turned wry. ~Typical Of Me. I Just Had To Go With Poetic Justice.~
Rekkian, shielding Alex with his wings, stepped up next to Madoka and
Damiet. He and Alex raised their linked hands and spoke together. "Empathy." and "Forethought."
Black and rose light twined around Rowan's pillar, which now stabbed miles
into the sky. Alex spoke. Her voice was quiet, but seemed to ring above the
howling of the power that twisted around the room like a gale. She was quoting from the Prophesy. "And from the Symbol of the Third Seal, the Seal of Final Healing, the Seal of Death, Shall the Rift be Mended. Shall the Rift be Broken, Shall that which Has Been end, and that which Will Be begun."
Rowan began to move forward, his steps in time with Alex's voice. Within
the pillar, all was calm. He could clearly see his sister's eyes, reflecting the rainbow of the power moving through him. He could clearly hear Alex's voice. She was telling him what he needed to do with all this power, he knew that. He just had no clue what it meant. The power was starting to burn through him, throbbing in time with his heartbeat. Pain that was so far beyond pain, he wasn't really able to feel it. He smiled wryly. 'This is really going to hurt if I live through this...'
Alex's voice was rising, she was almost singing, the rhythm of her words
matching the power's throb, the notes of her voice harmonizing with the howl
of the winds.
"By the Symbol. By the Breath of Life. By the Seal. By the Circle. By the
Bond. By the Passing of the Torch. By Everything and Nothing. By Air. By Breath. By Life. Pass the Torch. Pass the Torch. Pass the Torch!"
Rowan was close enough that he could have touched Aristan's hand, if only he could gather his thoughts enough to remember where his hand was. The power was too much, it was getting too strong...He was everyone, everywhere, he was no one and nothing, all at the same time...He was...staring into his own face, feeling a strange mix of terror and hope. -My Lady! Save My Lady! Destroy the Other! End this! End this! Help! Save her! Save her! Pass the Torch!-
Through Zaren's eyes he saw himself surrounded by the pillar of rainbow
light. No, not light, fire. Not a pillar, a torch! Suddenly Rowan understood. 'I will. Thank you...'
The Darkness knew nothing of the conversation going on in His mind. He
knew only that He could not lose! He couldn't! He'd come too far! Gotten too close! Failure was unacceptable!
He stared into Rowan's eyes, nothing in His expression but rabid hatred and insanity. "No! No! I will be free! I will win!"
He pulled the sword back and drove it toward Aristan's throat. Aristan's gaze locked with Rowan's, and she blinked. Within Rowan's eyes was Rowan, but also so many others. She stared. 'Everyone. Everything. All reflected in his eyes...'
Centuries later, she could still remember that moment, when she saw the
universe in her brother's eyes.
Rowan smiled at her. "I pass the Torch."
His hand reached out and touched hers. "Life."
The Torch, the pillar of power, transferred to Aristan.
All this had occurred in seconds. The Darksword was still raised high in
the air, just barely starting its descent. Aristan turned and looked into the red eyes of the Darkness.
"Zaren. I love you." She reached up and cupped her hands around his face,
her brilliant silver aura taking the flashing rainbow flames of light, and
melding them, braiding them, into a whole. She whispered, "Acceptance," and kissed him.
The pillar of light exploded.
***
The Queen watched quietly, as She had before. As She would again. She had seen this in the Beginning, She will have had seen this in the End, just as She saw it Now. This one moment in Time somehow ended up being all of Them, as the Torch, the pillar of power which contained all the hopes, fears, and dreams of LIFE, of EXISTANCE, exploded outward through Time and Space. The RIFT that had been created by the Darkness, that was the Darkness, had been HEALED. There was no more Darkness now, just Life.
The Queen smiled. ~Farewell, Keail. Farewell, My Love. Farewell.~
***
Rowan hesitantly opened his eyes. 'Well, that was an experience! So. Am I
still among the living here?'
After blinking away the tears, and slowly focusing past the flashing blobs
of light that were the afterimages of the explosion, he saw...Sage's eyes, staring down at him. They looked worried.
Rowan smiled up at his beloved and, with no little difficulty, whispered: "Hello, Sunshine. Did I miss anything?"
Sage smiled brilliantly down at him, reassured that his Rowan was still
there and all right. "Nothing much, 'Blue,' nothing much."
The two boys picked themselves up from the rubble of the Darkness' throne
room and looked around. There was Kento, helping Sai up and cracking jokes about 'flying fish.'
And there was Damiet, supporting a still-somewhat-stunned Madoka. And Alex
and Rekkian, kissing in the middle of all the destruction with the Queen suggesting they
~Get A Room~.
And there was Aristan, staring down at the figure huddled in her arms,
tears in her eyes. Madoka and Rowan stepped forward hesitantly and exchanged long glances.
Madoka spoke. "Ari? Is...is he...are you...?"
Aristan looked up, the sheen of tears overflowing and running down her
cheeks. She smiled brilliantly up at her siblings. "Look! He's okay!"
They gazed down...into eyes that were pure silver, like a mirror. Zaren
smiled hesitantly up at them, his eyes full of bewilderment. "I'm not sure what's been going on, but I feel like someone is trying to pry my skull apart with a crowbar. From the inside."
Aristan laughed, and hugged the confused man to her chest. She kept
chanting, "You're okay. You're okay. You're okay," under her breath. Zaren gently stroked her hair. "Shh. Don't cry, my Lady. Shh. It's all right."
Madoka smiled at her siblings. "So, everyone has their 'happy ending.' Can
we go home now?"
The Queen smiled. ~Home. Yes. Let's All Go Home.~
Wishes, part 2
Wishes, Epilogue
