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Epilogue: Final Promises

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"Dai-chan! You're late for school again!" called Emiko in a singsong voice the next day and the young redhead groaned.

"Five more minutes..." he muttered unconsciously while he pulled the covers over his head to block out the morning sunlight that was pouring into his room.

Five more minutes and you'll be really late, Dark told him, You forgot to set your alarm yesterday, didn't you?

"Wha--?" pushing the blankets away, he caught sight of the time and jumped up in panic.

"I'm going to be late!"

He rushed out of the house in a record of five minutes exactly, still trying to get his mind to work straight. As he continued down the road, he caught sight of a person with bright red hair done up in a plait and called to her.

"Takada-san!"

"Morning, Niwa-kun," Akane smiled and waited until he had caught up with her and they continued towards school together, "Woke up late, did you? Not that I blame you."

"Uh, yeah..." he laughed nervously while he tried to catch his breath again, "Mum was so hysterical with all the information that she kept me up. But, you know last night? Well... were you eavesdropping on me and Riku-san the whole time we were there?"

Her smile widened as he blushed and shook her head; "I was only there when Riku-chan asked about the two of us. You dealt with it pretty well, I have to admit."

"Ah..."

"Niwa-kun, when you first met me, what did you think of me?" Akane inclined her head curiously.

"When we first met?" Daisuke blinked, "Well... you were a mystery, I guess. But you were friendly at the same time, if not a bit cold at first..."

"Well, after a long time in a prison, who wouldn't be?" she chuckled sourly until they reached the school, "Oh yeah, one more thing that I have to ask you and Hiwatari-kun to do for me..."

"What is it?" the redhead asked.

"After school today... can we meet up at the school roof? There is one more thing that I have to do to make sure that nothing like this happens again."

At this, Daisuke smiled, "Sure."

---

Satoshi took a glance at his watch while the students moved out of the school building, chatting happily among themselves as the school day commenced. Ignoring the people around him, the blue-haired boy made his way towards the school roof.

Akane turned slightly when she heard the door open and Satoshi step out, "You're early."

"Whatever," he replied shortly as Daisuke suddenly burst onto the roof, apologising.

Both Satoshi and Akane waved his apology aside and then the red-haired girl stepped to face both of them calmly, her back against the railing.

"So we all know about the Flame and my connection towards them, correct?"

They both nodded. Smiling slightly, Akane once again took out the necklace and them began to explain.

"Because we managed to get all Thirteen Elements back together, we now have to acknowledge them as part of our being, and the source of our existence and the world's."

"... Can't you do that by yourself?" asked Satoshi, as he took another look at his watch, "I have a job to do tonight."

Daisuke laughed nervously at this, as the blue-haired boy gave him a searching look, and turned away to avoid anymore eye contact. Akane nodded at his question before answering it.

"I could do this by myself, true, but since you two, as well as Dark and Krad, were involved with the recovery of the elements, it's the right thing to do," she said. "All of us, including the people around us, we all hold the elements within us, but we just don't know it. Some might not be present, but... it's there.

All four of you helped me, and this is the last thing I'll be asking you to do."

"... Fine."

"It's okay with me."

At this, Akane smiled again, before giving the necklace an experimental twirl. Colours flashed in the sunlight as she continued, and the different spirits seemed to materialise around them.

"The Thirteen Elements, the very souls... Time... our past, presents, and futures..." she intoned.

"Wow..." the redhead said in wonderment, Dark? Isn't this amazing?

Nah, Dai-chan, replied the Thief sarcastically, But can you feel how much power is being released?

... Yeah...

::This power...::

:What are you talking about this time?:

::If I had it, I could destroy everything.::

:You're sick.:

The coloured lights surrounded them until it all faded off slowly, and Akane nodded, slipping the necklace around her neck and tucking it away from sight.

"Your presence allowed the Spirits to believe in the beauty of mankind," she said calmly, "And now you no longer have to worry. The Flame will stay alive and the Elements are all together again."

Daisuke returned the smile, while Satoshi merely muttered under his breath before leaving the building. As the other two followed the blue-haired boy out, Akane turned her head slightly, smiling at what she saw.

Three separate feathers – black, white and a white one with a golden tinge – fluttered against the gentle breeze and the tips touched lightly. At the contact, a bright red aura began to emit from it before the three separated again and were swept away.

Daisuke, seeing the strange occurrence, turned to her with a questioning look. She nodded towards the three feathers that had been swept out of sight.

"It's a promise," she said softly, as the breeze began to stir once more, "A promise that will never be broken, ever again.

Finally... Time will be free."

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Okay, that was a cheesy way to end it, in a way, but I like it. And, yes, Akane did take the spolight near the end, but only 'cause she was the only one capable, no? Anyway, I think this turned out pretty well as a story, so... what did the rest of you think? Was it okay?

... About Akane... I think she started to sound a bit... iffy after a while. Why? Well, think of those Mary Sue characters and run! I think she started to slip there once in a while, so that scares me a bit... what do you think on that matter? Is it just me or DID she sound a bit too... you know...

And now the great news! And not only about finishing this in about three months! There's a sequel! Yep! I have no idea what it's gonna be called, but hey, it'll be fun, I'm sure! It involves Riku more, though, and it's definately fantasy/action based, so look forward to it! It kinda moves more into what happened to Chester and probably about Celes as well! So I hope you'll be back for more!

And ONE more thing about Akane and Scarlet. Sorry about my crummy explanation, but I didn't want her to be like Daisuke and Satoshi, so I just gave her a nickname in the end. Since Akane seems to mean 'red' or something similar to that, I gave her Scarlet. I was gonna give her Crimson, but since there was already Celes and Chester in the same room... you know what I mean, right? Just thought I'd tell you that.

Thank you all! I love you! And now for me to disappear off the face off the earth! (Not) I too many things to finish already. Heh heh!

And so The Flames Of Time finally comes to a conclusion... or you'd hope so at least... (waves) Bye and thanks for the support!