This is it, everyone. The final chapter! I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, faved and followed. I'm going to miss working on this :)

xxxx

Lightning flashed.

Wake up!

A strong hand made of stone reached out towards me.

Please don't do this!

Before the hand could wrap itself around me, it shifted and melted into an ominous black shadow...

"You betrayed us," a dark and cold voice hissed. It sounded so frightening and familiar...where had I heard it before?

"Please let me go," I begged, desperate to escape an endless green and black space I suddenly found myself in.

"You're not going anywhere," the voice proclaimed.

You have to get up!

"You will never see your Companion ever again."

The black shadow shot straight towards me—

I jolted awake gasping, eyes wide in panic. Breathing harshly in and out, my head turned every which way to try and make sense of my surroundings. When the blurriness cleared, I could see...a head floating over me? No—standing. There was a person standing over me, her green eyes wide with worry.

My best friend.

"Are you okay?" She asked, still panicked yet relieved that I was finally awake. "I tried knocking on the door a few times, but you wouldn't answer. I had to use the spare key to get in!" she said in a rush, dangling said spare key. Well, that explained how she'd gotten into my apartment.

Wait...my apartment.

I was home. There was the TV in front of me, and the couch where I had been sitting and playing the game before it had happened.

I should be happy...why wasn't I?

The realization was quick that the greatest, most exciting thing that had ever happened to me was done and over with. I had disappeared from The Last Guardian world...I was never going to see Trico again.

A second realization was just as quick. I was home! Nothing looked out of place, but just to be sure...

"What day is it? What year?!" I asked my friend, trying my best not to sound as panicked as I felt.

"Um...it's 2017 now, remember? January 10th. Are you okay?" She repeated the question with extra force.

The Last Guardian had come out on December 6th, 2016, and I'd bought the game about month after its release.

Good. So time hadn't passed at all in the Real World, just like I suspected it wouldn't have. I sighed in relief, tense shoulders slumping. Looking out the windows near the front door, I could see that it was daytime now; late morning, to be exact. The storm from 'last night' was over, leaving behind clear skies dotted with gray clouds and a rainbow that was just beginning to form. I glanced back at my friend, giving her a shaky and unstable smile.

"What were you doing all night?" She tried, since I obviously wasn't going to answer the 'are you okay' question anytime soon.

"You did talk me into getting The Last Guardian," I said. "I must have fallen asleep without realizing it while I was playing." Or lightning had struck at just the right moment when I'd placed my hand on the console.

"I didn't talk you into anything. You went online yourself and got it. I knew you would cave in eventually," she responded with a smug grin. "No one can resist Trico's cuteness." Yep, this was my best friend, all right. Same brown, short hair, same green eyes and the same sass and even the same, blue sweater she wore with Trico's head and the boy standing on top. But it was true; Trico's cuteness was pretty hard to resist. I knew that first hand!

I sighed again, getting ready to struggle to my feet. The first thing I noticed was that my body felt heavier. Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my hands that were no longer littered with black tattoos; they were plain and bigger, unlike like they had been while I was stuck in my child body during the game. In fact, my entire body was bigger and taller. I was even back in my pajamas that I'd worn before everything happened! Not ready for the sudden change I swayed, expecting my friend to catch me before I could tumble to the carpeted floor.

Instead she simply allowed me to fall and I stumbled back down into a face plant, finding it awkward that I could depend on Trico now more than my best friend when it came to trust falls.

"Oh my goodness...is that you?"

Her shocked tone rang in my ears and I glanced up, shaking off the fall. She moved out of the way so I could crawl over to sit next to her, and we both stared at the TV screen ahead. Her jaw opened, frozen in place and unable to close. I was only able to stare with wide eyes, hardly daring to blink in case I missed anything.

She was right.

It was me.

The end credits of the game were playing clips alongside names of the creators, somber piano music setting the mood. The clips themselves took on an 'old film' effect, flickering as they came on the screen one by one, fading into the next. An image appeared of me waking up in the cave, eyes wide and fearful of the massive beast that rested before me, melting into the next scene of me attempting to feed Trico 'toothpaste' for the first time.

Even amid my shock I let out a light chuckle, tears already beginning to form. Trico was stretching like a dog and laying down, getting ready to go to sleep. I was sitting next to him, sleep being the last thing on my mind. It was the first night we'd slept together under the stars, after the terrifying dream I'd had of the Master when I was eaten by Trico for the first time. The scene changed to me standing on the slim wooden ramp with Trico stretching his leg out, encouraging me to jump. I had just begun to put my full trust in him, and so I made the leap of faith.

Before I could stop them, the tears were flowing. My friend just stared, unsure of what to do. She allowed me to continue crying without asking any questions, keeping one eye on me and the other glued to the screen, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

The next clip flickered to life, featuring Trico and I resting amongst the golden glow of fireflies, the beast sneezing and nearly blowing them all away. Trico sneezing onto me next, playing hide and seek, splashing each other in the small pool, using my visualization ability for the first time to get him to dive, and reuniting after he'd found me when I couldn't hold my breath underwater any longer. Flying miraculously with only one wing, and then saying goodbye...

"I don't get it...how are you there? Is this some kind of prank?" My friend asked, becoming increasingly worried that she was either going crazy or that something was really wrong with the copy of the game I'd bought online.

I ignored her as the sad music changed to something bright, something more hopeful and inspiring with an angelic choir. The old film effect faded and the game's camera took over, zooming into fluffy white clouds.

The ruins that appeared underneath the clouds didn't look so much like ruins, and my breath caught in my chest when it seemed that the empty courtyards weren't so empty—the entire Nest didn't look so empty, once torn and battered structures now strong and stable. Children that appeared didn't look fearful of the "man-eaters" but played lovingly with their newfound Companions who had returned to their home, laughing and running through new, open fields in the Nest with delight.

The white tower was still standing...and sitting on the very top was a shining, blue pool in place of the Master's mind control antenna that had once sat in the same spot, the bird feeder statues no more. I instantly recognized the pool as Bond Energy—the physical form of the Bonds between children and their Companions, the Energy that had been contained inside the barrels all along. It was like a bird bath—the Tricos came and played, splashing their kids with unhinged joy, and even bending down to take sips of the life-giving substance.

They could thrive with what the land gave, but with the special Energy our Bonds created, they were able to live...the three Chosen Ones' voices echoed.

"Look!" My friend suddenly gasped, pointing at the screen like I wasn't already giving the TV my full and undivided attention.

My eyes were getting difficult to keep open from the tears that stung, but still I didn't blink; they only grew wider when the white tower faded into a different scene.

A village.

The boy's tribe. My Trico...no, his Trico (our Trico) was playing happily with the village children. They were laughing, completely unfazed that there was a huge feathered man-eater chasing after them. From what I could tell, Trico was absolutely spear-free, not a spot of red on his feathers.

The beast stopped in his tracks suddenly, ears twitching like he'd heard something. His head perked up, and much to my surprise...he looked in my direction?

"...What's he doing?" My friend asked, backing away from the screen. "Why is he coming towards us?"

...Could he see me through the screen?

I held my breath as Trico stepped forward, his dark eyes twinkling like he knew something the other villagers didn't. He rumbled and stepped closer, causing my heart to pound ten times faster.

Then he pushed his nose up against the screen. I choked back a sob, smiling warmly as my tears allowed and lifting a shaky hand to press it against his nose in return. I couldn't feel his soft feathers, but physical touch didn't matter. Our Bond Energy flared between us, sending jolts of the same pleasant warmth that I had come to know rushing through me.

I will always be there, a faint voice whispered in the back of my mind.

But then he moved away slowly to reveal another shape behind him. It was a tiny shape that was strikingly similar to the giant beast...

Two dark, yet bright eyes filled the TV and I almost squealed with delight, but my friend did the job for me. She squealed so loud my eardrums nearly burst, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "A baby Trico!" She shrieked.

The baby Trico, I realized.

He and his mate had their baby! A baby that certainly rivaled its father's cuteness with fluffy and soft gray feathers, large ears much too big for its head and large, pink talons that it was going to have to grow into.

"Hi," I couldn't help but laugh in a childish voice, waving. The little baby squeaked, quickly following the movements of my hand and getting dizzy. Soon enough it was distracted by a blue butterfly, pawing at the tiny fluttering creature and taking off in the other direction to follow it.

"Trico!" The voice of an older man suddenly shouted. Trico's ears perked and he turned his head away from me...and back to the boy who wasn't exactly a boy anymore. He was a man now, wearing an orange robe with black tattoos still intact unlike my own. The green mirror was attached to his back, glowing its strongest. Trico stampeded to his side, throwing his front feet out to stop himself from crashing into him. The man smiled, leaning his head respectfully against his best friend. All the years that had passed in the game and the two were still together, taking care of one another just as the boy had promised.

The village was no longer afraid, welcoming the creatures that they had once hated and feared. I kept my eyes locked on Trico and the man for as long as possible, the camera fading into black until I could see them no more.

The words 'The End' appeared, then faded into the game's original menu.

My hand slid slowly down the TV screen, and I turned to my friend who was still frozen in place, but not for long. She turned to face me, her eyes wide with confusion at what she had just witnessed.

"You want to tell me what just happened?" She asked, motioning towards the playstation. "Why was the ending different?"

I could only chuckle, shrugging my shoulders and smiling sheepishly. Was this going to be the ending of the game for every copy of The Last Guardian, now? I was going to have to play the game again to find out, and I wasn't really sure about taking on the challenge. It was going to be so different than actually experiencing the journey I had found myself thrust into.

"It's a long story," I eventually settled with.

"I have time," she said. But should I really tell her? It's not like she wouldn't believe me since she had seen the proof with her own two eyes. Should I really tell her that I had once been a Queen in a past life, that there were other universes? She did try to keep an open mind about everything. I knew I could trust her to keep a secret.

I had just returned from the greatest adventure of my life, but I was far from tired.

So I told her everything.

xxxx

The apartment was hauntingly quiet—so quiet that I could hear the wind whistling from outside and cars as they drove by. My friend had suggested pesto pasta and garlic bread for dinner to celebrate my supposed 'return' that she was still wrapping her head around, since it was one of my favorites. She was my friend, so of course she was understandable, trusting and believing of what I'd told her. She was honored at first to meet the 'Queen' from another universe, bowing and laughing; I didn't really mind that she'd made somewhat of a joke out of it, that I was far from being a Queen in any universe; I just laughed along with her. She was jealous most of all that I'd gotten to meet Trico. She wanted to know every last detail about the great beast, especially how it had felt to pet him. She was amused that I had actually called the barrels of Bond Energy 'toothpaste' as she herself had always called them, and the fact that Trico would respond whenever I mentioned the silly name for the barrels.

Not really thinking, I agreed to the pesto pasta dinner, aching yearning and nostalgia battering my senses when the scent of garlic began to make itself known. Garlic would forever remind me of Bond Energy, recalling the big pot I'd had to shut. Also the fact that it tasted like sugar didn't help matters, considering that sugar was a part of every day life. I was just going to have to deal with it. While we ate dinner and I told her about using one of Trico's many feathers to point him in certain directions, I noticed with a start and a horrible sinking feeling as I reached a hand to my head that my feather wasn't attached to my hair anymore; it had disappeared along with my robe and tattoos.

Now that my friend had left after convincing her that I was indeed okay, I realized just how utterly alone I really was. To try and distract myself, I went on the internet and looked up the ending of the game on youtube—just to be sure that my ending had only been a once in a lifetime thing and that it hadn't been transferred to other consoles. I wasn't about to try playing the game again, though I knew that with the Master gone now, I didn't have to worry about getting sucked inside. I had actually, really lived through the adventure, and simply playing the game wasn't going to be enough anymore, especially when Trico was so close, yet so far. Just like how it had been weird to actually experience the game first hand, it would now be weird just watching and controlling the boy through a screen; I wasn't ready to play it again and I didn't know if I ever would be ready. Maybe I should just plug in my trusty Nintendo 64 again...

Much to my relief, I found that the ending of the game was the same as it had always been with no extra cutscenes in sight. I could relax; the ending of the game was the same in this universe, but in its own separate universe, it was different.

A good different.

xxxx

It took a long time to fall asleep my first night without Trico, closing the window blinds so I wouldn't see the many universes shining above. I lay in my soft and cozy bed, but instead of relishing how soft it really was and feeling grateful that I no longer had to sleep on hard ground or grass, I wanted the exact opposite. The only thing I could do was hum the one tune that had comforted him in a pitiful attempt to comfort myself that he wasn't there anymore to hear it.

Trico had comforted me that he would always be here in spirit, but in spirit wasn't enough. I wanted to feel his feathers, to snuggle up against his chest and to put my full trust in him that he would catch me as I fell hundreds of feet again.

I tried to reach out with my Bond Energy, concentrating on sending images of my apartment to him so he could at least see where I was now, but clutched at never ending emptiness instead, unable to feel the familiar warm and pleasant sensation that came with the special Energy. It was only cold...it was only empty, and there was no way I could try and get back and nothing I could try and do that would fill the gaping hole in my chest.

But suddenly and without warning, a sharp poke penetrated my side. Eyes widening, I reached under the bed covers to feel for the culprit when my hand wrapped around something...soft? Pulling my hand back out, I discovered that—

It was a large, gray feather; the very same feather that I had tied to my hair.

My heart stopped, and it was all I could do to just hug the feather close to my aching chest and never let go. When I managed to get myself together I stood up, going into the kitchen to find a good-sized glass. I reopened the blinds in my room so the shining universes could peek down onto the feather that I placed atop a small desk next to my bed, crawling back under the covers.

I smiled in my sleep.

xxxx

Going back to work was...disorienting. And boring. After all the adventure and excitement in The Last Guardian that had taken place, a simple office job was no longer satisfying, and difficult to get through every day.

So I took a little 'vacation' until I figured out what to do next. I even stayed with my parents for a few weeks, hugging them tightly when they came into view and telling them how much I loved and missed them, relieved that they and every other person in the Real World was alright—that the Master hadn't somehow destroyed them all. Confused a bit at the 'I missed you so much' statement, my mom and dad nevertheless welcomed me with open arms until I was ready to go back to living on my own.

"I know it's your birthday and you got to pick where to go, but why did you want to come here of all places?" My friend asked. It was a hot day in June, and screams of fun-filled terror pierced the air at the amusement park I told her I wanted to go to, an assortment of different smells from different foods wafting through the air. It was just the two of us on the weekend—I wasn't the fondest of parties or doing anything big to celebrate, so we had decided to simply spend the day at the last place on earth where I wouldn't normally be found.

"There's something I need to do," I said, nodding towards the ride that my cousin had once tricked me into going on by only filming the smooth parts. I stared at the last drop that was visible at the very end, determined to face one of my worst fears...but this time willingly, and of my own accord.

Just because I could. I was turning twenty six today, after all.

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" She questioned lightly, completely surprised that I actually wanted to go through with it. But since telling her everything about my adventures with Trico, understanding had passed between us that I wasn't quite the same person I had been before getting sucked into the game.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," she said quietly.

"I want to," I reaffirmed, giving the waterfall drop a hard stare. A group in a large, circular raft came speeding down, screaming and laughing and getting soaking wet.

I needed to. I needed to feel the thrill of falling, the thrill of flying that just couldn't be matched by a silly amusement park ride. It wasn't the same at all, yet it was as close as I was going to get...

We waited in the long line, stepping onto the ride together, and I had the time of my life falling in the raft down the dreaded three drops.

xxxx

She said she had a present for me when we returned home, and that I should close my eyes so I wouldn't see her gift when she went to get it.

"Well, I know you're taking a break from work and you've been down lately. I also know you miss...him. So I figured you could use a friend."

Him. She knew I missed Trico, that every day in the months that we had been apart was another day when my soul felt like it was being ripped to pieces by the Master himself...now I knew exactly how the boy felt growing up an entire lifetime without his best friend.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned suspiciously, doing my best to keep my eyes squeezed shut.

"Wait here," she said, her voice growing ever more excited. "And no peeking!" She shouted in the distance.

I shut my one eye quickly that I couldn't resist opening, waiting (im)patiently in the living room.

"Okay. You can open them now," she said. I could almost feel the excitement leaking from her voice. I opened one eye slowly, and then the other.

She was holding...a crate? She set it down on the soft floor, opening up the entrance so that whatever was inside could come out. At first I couldn't see anything, just a dark space. But then two little eyes appeared, and a small creature with paws made its way out.

I couldn't say anything. It seemed my mouth had gone numb, unable to move.

It was a puppy. A little fluffy, gray puppy with a white chest and floppy ears. I couldn't tell what breed it was; probably a mix. But it had to be a small breed, or else the apartment complex wouldn't allow it.

"I was keeping an eye out at the shelter for a dog that would do well in an apartment," she explained. She worked at the local shelter, and I was stunned and grateful that she had ever considered choosing a puppy just for me; the thought had never even crossed my mind.

I still couldn't speak, even when the little ball of fluff tripped over itself to try and get to me. I could only laugh as it lost its focus, its own tail capturing its attention. The puppy swirled around and around in vain trying to catch it, only succeeding in tumbling over into my lap.

"He's a boy and doesn't have a name yet. Since I was already waiting for a puppy like him, I wanted you to think of one first."

"Hey there, little guy," I said softly. He yipped, pawing playfully at my shirt. I rested a hand on his beautiful, shiny fur, an image of gray feathers flashing in my mind. It was just so soft and almost exactly the same as...

"Raising him is going to take a lot of patience," my friend laughed as the rambunctious pup sneaked off of my lap to try and chew on the carpet. I wrapped my hands around him gently as I could to pull him away, bringing him back into my lap.

"I think I can handle it," I chuckled lightly when he lifted his head up to lick my face. Heck, I had experience with a giant, feathered cat-dog-bird! A tiny pup like this was going to be a cinch. "Thank you so much. I love him."

"So...what are you going to name him?" She questioned curiously, smiling at the puppy's clumsiness.

A grin crept slowly across my face, and I could tell that she knew I had already picked one out from the moment I saw him.

"Trico."

xxxx

"There's so much on my mind
I don't know where to start

There's that light in your eye

Filling up the dark

Though I lost myself

I know it's not the end
You're my shooting star
You make my heart ascend."

-Levitate, Imagine Dragons