I think, at this point, it's useless to say that I don't own Yugioh, huh?

Well, this is it…the final chapter. It's short, I know…and basically wraps things up.

It's still hard to believe that this is the final chapter…there's so much I want to say on it, and so much I'm going to do with this story. For those interested, I'm going to edit it and try to make something similar as an original novel. What better place to start then fanfiction, right?

Well, coming this far, I'm sure you all don't want to hear my ramblings. On with the final chapter, then!

Epilogue

"Niisan! Na, Ryuushin! Get up!!"

"Ungh…let me sleep a few more minutes, Tenko…"

"Nuh-uh! We have school, remember? And you said we'd meet the others first!!"

Ryuushin sighed and pulled the covers off of his head and tiredly glared up into the excited face of his younger brother. Well, adopted younger brother.

"Come on, niisan!" Tenko smiled and opened the blinds.

"ACK!" Ryuushin covered his face and cringed from the sun.

A call from downstairs broke the glaring contest that followed.

"Ryuushin! Tenko! Come down so you can have breakfast before you leave!"

"Okay, kaasan!" Tenko smiled, hopping off the bed, "Come on, niisan!"

"Hai, hai," Ryuushin grinned, stretching and getting up.

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It had been a year since the successful union of Earth and Gaia. We all went back to our normal lives after the people of Gaia got situated on Earth. We found that we no longer had any of our summoning or magic powers, but it was a small price to pay for staying alive and saving the lives of the inhabitants of Earth and Gaia.

Earth knew about what happened…it was explained to them. Though, they didn't broadcast any names since those were kept a secret.

As an act of throwing away the past he spent on Earth with my adoptive parents, the name 'Yugi' was thrown away and I took back my real name of 'Tenko'.

Like promised, Yami had gone to using the name 'Ryuushin' when it was all over…though it took a few weeks to get used to not being called 'Yami' and answering to the name 'Ryuushin'.

We now live happily with Nagisa and Shinbu, and had a chocolate Labrador puppy that we named 'Chip'. Very appropriate, if you ask me.

Maya's family had been invited by Seto to live at the Kaiba mansion since it was huge and there wasn't many people there. Ryou's father had turned up in Egypt without his memories, and was transferred to the nearby hospital. He was slowly regaining them back, however, so it wasn't too depressing when they went to visit him. Jade also stayed in the mansion with them, as did Daisuke, who became her unofficial 'father' since he had been the closest to Washi. Mokuba was thrilled having both Jade and Malik live with him, and between him and Jade, turned Malik into as much as a mischief maker that they were. And Seto could say he was happier then he had ever been in his entire life.

Bakura, called by his real name of Nomu, had been paralyzed from the waist down in Kodai's attack, and resided in a wheelchair…which was a major ego blow to him at first. He snapped and cursed at most of the others, even to Ryou at first, but was slowly starting to open up to them. Ryou worked with him to bring him out of his shell every day. Though, his sarcastic attitude stayed with him for the most part…and he proved that he could still beat up anyone who threatened to bully Ryou even in a wheelchair.

Anzu was able to put Mai up at her house, the two becoming quick friends. The two went out on a lot of 'girl outings' to the mall or other places, and Anzu even showed Mai to the dance arcade game that she loved.

Honda had gone back with his parents, who were instantly glad to see him and wondered what happened to him the entire time he was gone. They were also surprised at how much he had changed. He no longer bullied the kids, and even helped out in the neighborhood.

Jou was moved in with his mother and sister, who he instantly introduced to our group as soon as he could. His family had decided to move closer to where his friends were so he could go to school with us, and so he introduced us to his sister, Shizuka.

We often visited the others from Gaia that they had known from the battle on the Kurayami castle. Zuki, Yunti, Ielmi, Zeyl, and Airi, especially, were visited…as they had been the first ones (after Daisuke) to stand up and say 'I believe' during the last few moments of the fight on Gaia.

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"Hey, guys!"

The group looked up from where they were all waiting by the fountain where they usually met for school recently.

"Hey…it's Tenko and Ryuushin! Finally got up, eh?" Jou grinned.

"Aw, shaddap, you!" Ryuushin grumbled.

"Someone's not a morning person, I see," Mai grinned.

Ryuushin sent her a glare.

"Morning!" Ryou greeted as he stood next to Nomu, with Malik near them.

"Good morning!" Tenko greeted with a big smile.

"You seem happy today," Anzu stated.

"Well…why not?" Tenko blinked, "I mean, we all got out with our lives…"

Seto sighed, "We finally found out about our summoning powers and magic…and now it's gone, though…"

"It's for the better, I think," Ryou shook his head, "I mean, just imagine the trouble it would cause here. This isn't Gaia. Magic isn't as accepted."

"Magic still exists!" Tenko protested.

They looked at him oddly.

"But, Tenko…"

"It does!" Tenko smiled, "In our hearts! When everyone told us the story of how the two planets merged together…some of those people had no magical abilities what-so-ever! But because of their willpower and the wish, they were able to help! Magic is in our souls and hearts!"

"I'll believe it," Mokuba grinned.

"Ya!" Jade agreed.

Seto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'troublemakers' under his breath when he glanced at the two kids.

"Okay, enough with the cheesy speeches…lord knows we've heard enough of them…"

Jou whacked Honda upside the head, "Be nice, Honda!"

"I was just joking around…!"

"Come on, guys," Anzu laughed, "We have school to go to."

"Normal lives…feels so weird," Tenko commented as they walked (and Nomu wheeled himself) towards the schools.

"Yea…we were on that adventure for so long…"

"And then the aftermath took some getting used to…"

"Why worry about that?" Jou looked freaked, "We have a test this morning, remember!?"

Shizuka giggled, "And, as usual, niisan didn't study…"

"I'm so dead!!" Jou wailed.

The group exchanged looks, then laughed.

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It feels weird that things went back to 'normal' afterwards. The adventure was definitely something we'd never forget. Yet, we went to school, got homework……

Well, Jou got detention, but that's normal…

Now that he and Honda aren't fighting, they seem to be a duo in crime.

Much like the trio in crime I hear about from Seto when he talks about Mokuba, Jade, and Malik.

Malik's really changed from the shy little boy we all knew. He's not as open as Mokuba and Jade, still, but still just as hyper when he's with them.

Jade seems to be doing well, and seemed to have accepted Daisuke as her adoptive father. She said that nobody would ever replace her real father, so he's adoptive.

Interesting how time flies. Just a year ago, we were in a desperate struggle for our lives and trying to figure out who we really were. Now…we're normal school kids again.

Well…not completely back to normal. We've all grown up from the experience. We've seen things that most people haven't, and went through a lot to get to where we are now.

Being a kid afraid of his own shadow is something of the past…when I look back on it, I can't believe I used to think like that. After all the battles and monsters……it's hard to believe that I once was a scared little boy who clung to anyone nearby.

As for Duel Monsters…we still play the game. It isn't as exciting, I have to admit, without the monsters really coming to life. Seto is developing something he calls Duel Disks…which projects holographic images of the creatures, traps, and magic cards so it's like the real thing. Everyone agreed with his invention, and even offered to help.

I think we all miss the monsters actually coming to life.

Especially when they're not trying to tear us apart……we dual for fun now. That and tournaments. Ryuushin doesn't dual in the tournaments, and Seto used to dual but now spends a lot of time developing his ideas. He's got an entire cooperation going! They're trying to create a Dual Monsters theme park……how cool is that?

He said that when it opens, we'll be the first ones to have the entire thing to ourselves for the day.

I can tell that dad misses Chip the Kuriboh. But it's for the best, I suppose. Chip the Kuriboh would have disappeared with the other monsters when the planets merged. It only seems fitting that he went out with a bang, putting his entire being into the fight.

Chip the puppy reminds us all of the Kuriboh. He's playful, energetic, and seems to know who friends and enemies are. He's very protective of us…and sticks to us like glue sometimes.

We all made a special part of town a cemetery for those who died on Gaia during the battle with the Kurayami from start to finish, putting their names on a giant epitaph made of the finest stone we could afford. Even people who weren't involved with the battle went to visit the grave, and paid their respects. That surprised us.

Right now…it's hard to believe that we even had such an adventure. I mean, we're back in school, fighting against bad grades and bullies instead of monsters and Kurayami soldiers. Mai once asked us what we plan on doing in the future. Our response?

We have no clue.

Who knows what will happen in the future? The future to us is like a sun…a golden beam of light just waiting for us to step into it. But for now, I think we'd like to go back to being normal, everyday kids.

I'm writing a book, currently, which deals with our adventures in Gaia…and everything leading up to it. Of course, leaving out some unnecessary details…Ryuushin is helping me with it, and so are the others.

And I think I know what I'm going to call it. It's a good title, too! Very fitting for our adventures.

"The Past, Present, and Future"

Definitely fitting.

"TENKO! Turn off the lights! It's time for bed!"

Tenko blinked and closed the journal that he was writing in, and stood up from his desk and stretched, then called back down, "Okay, dad!" And I love my parents very much. Sometimes I wonder what things would be like if Kodai never had his mad ambition. But it's not worrying over, because it won't be changed. What happened has happened, and we can't change it. But we can change the future.

A pillow hit him in the face.

"Niisan!" Tenko wailed.

Ryuushin laughed and indicated to the bunk bed, "Some of us need to get up early for finals tomorrow…"

Tenko stuck his tongue out, but reached over his deck and turned off the light, then climbed up the ladder and got into bed (after saying goodnight to his parents for the third time, of course).

"Night, Ryuushin-niisan."

"Night, Tenko."

Tenko smiled and watched as Chip bounded in and curled up on the doggie-bed. "Night, Chip!"

For a moment, with the dim light in the hallway reflecting off his deck, he thought he saw the Kuriboh on the top wink. He blinked and looked over at the puppy, who was looking up at him, tail wagging. Tenko blinked, then shook his head and wondered for a moment if their puppy was actually Chip…

Tenko shook his head. Nah. He closed his eyes and was fast asleep, not seeing the puppy wink at him before it went to sleep, itself.

THE END

It's actually FINISHED!

::cries!::

Sorry about that…this has been my work for over a year. Ups and downs…like it being wiped out of ff.n existence right afore hitting 2k in reviews…having to upload every chapter all over again.

It would take way too long to thank everyone individually, so I'll just thank everyone as a whole (and this way, I'm sure I won't be forgetting anyone or leaving someone out).

Thank you to everyone, my friends, and my faithful readers, for sticking with the story to the end and offering your opinions, thoughts, and interesting…er…threats, should I not update for a while or leave it in a cliffhanger.

I've had this all planned out, and suddenly, I don't know what to say.

I guess the only thing I can say is 'thank you' for being faithful readers…thank you for being patient with me as I got distracted with other animes or real-life nuisances and couldn't update or work on the story.

And, thank you for your support and kind reviews. I must say that this might be the last Yugioh fic I write (unless I get inspired for some reason or another, so no promises on either end), but I won't stop writing. I have other works, for those interested.

Most of them are crap, though.

::laughs::

Especially my early Digimon fics and some of my Rurouni Kenshin fics. They're positively cavity inducing.

Lately, I've been into Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist…in fact, my latest fic was an FMA fic. I have another AU planned for that series, but it needs a jump-start at the moment.

Going back to PPF…it's hard to believe that it's actually over. And that this "author's notes" section is prolly longer then the entire chapter itself! Looking back, I actually shake my head at how weak I made Yugi in the beginning…it's something I'm not too proud of.

As for the origin of it…it started out as a simple fic that I didn't plan on showing to the public. But after reading chapter one, a couple of my friends said "go for it", and there it went. I had no idea that it would become so popular…that word isn't something I typically associate with myself, so I'd like to thank everyone who's taken their time to read this fic…and I'm very pleased to know that my readers enjoyed it.

Yes…after seeing the positive feedback from the first couple chapters, I went with the flow and a simple "rescue Yugi's grandfather" turned into an elaborate plot that even I didn't know where it was going until I reached that point.

Once again, I want to thank everyone for staying with the story and for being patient with my (less then frequent) updates. I may go back and edit the story a bit…I've noticed quite a few typos, as have some of my readers, if I remember correctly.

I would like to say that I'd put what I wrote above in a separate 'chapter', but that may go against ff.n's rules on chapter posts. That's why it's here.

Also, if anyone has any questions about the story, I'll be happy to answer them. Just email me

I don't check my mail that often, but I will respond if I get a question. Just put something related to the story in the heading so I don't write the email off as spam and delete it (something like "PPF" or "Past, Present, and Future question" or the like will get my attention).

Once again, thank you, and I hope you've enjoyed it. I know I've enjoyed writing it…and I'm glad that it was a worthwhile read.