A/N: Well, it has been fun writing this fic. I assume by the hits and reviews you people must have liked it a little as well.

Thanks for those reviews by the way! I always enjoy them. So this is a late holiday/new year present for you all!

The final chapter of the fic! I don't think an epilogue is needed... so this is it!

Enjoy!

Tai could do nothing but watch as Matt stood up. His guns were at the ready and began to fire at the mad man across the room. Tai still could not believe it... things came crashing down on him when he saw Matt get hit.

The wound didn't even stun the blond man. Tai couldn't move when his new and unlikely friend first jumped up, but now.. he was not going to let Matt die. That wound alone would not kill you...

That meant he had to move. Now.

Jumping to his feet he took aim and fired once, twice...

The room reeked of blood and death. Tai's attention went straight to the body that slumped across the room. The mad man was stopped. The barrier and the city had hope of surviving the battle outside.

Throwing down his gun, Tai ran over to Matt.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Tai screamed as he checked the wounds that Matt had suffered.

"And what the hell are you doing? You need to get out of here! You have people to save, right?" Matt said with a smirk.

Tai knew that the blond was right- but he still didn't know if he should leave or not.

"I'll radio in for help. Besides, Izzy will want to get up here and check out the damage."

"Yeah, and probably yell at us for making a mess of his computer room." Tai added trying to make light of the situation.

"So, get the hell out of here. Go, find Sora... make sure she's all right."

Tai was torn. He couldn't just leave, but as another blast hit the building...

"I'll find someone to come and help you. You won't be here for long."

"Sure. Now get going. I'm just going to take a nap for a time."

"Don't die on me... Sora needs her best friend. And I'd actually like for us to try again... I want to not hate you." Tai said with a smile while squeezing Matt's hand.

"I'd like that. And I guess I could try to not hate you either... no promises there."

With that Tai was up and running down the hallways. He grabbed the first person he saw and told them where to find Matt. Now that was done, Tai knew exactly where he was going.

Like he had thought, the streets were flooded with injured people and panicking people. He had little time. Tai knew if they didn't win this fight things were over for humans.

Grabbing troops as he went they went out to the front lines. The modified weapons and the adrenaline running through the men, things weren't going so bad. The front lines were once again the Northern side of the city. He knew that Sora would be there, even though she promised to get out...

'I'm going to have to yell at her when this is all over with.' He told himself as he broke away from the main flank of men and ran off to find his wife.

Her parents house was in a section of town that hadn't been invaded totally, but the damage was great. Arriving at the place they had called home for many months, he was a little worried. The building was still intact... for the most part. Pulling at the rubble that blocked their front door, he entered the house.

Not noticing the small fires that had began when the building next door had collapsed in on it, Tai made his way to the garden. His stomach turned when he thought about the shards of glass that must have come falling down on anything in the room... he hoped that Sora was not in there.

Sure enough the majority of the ceiling and walls were broken and shattered. Walking through the room was literally stepping on broken glass.

"Sora?" He called out, but got no answer. Scanning the room, he didn't find her there, nor were any of her personal belongings there- that gave him hope.

'Maybe she listened to me... maybe she is in a shelter...'

"TAI!" His name suddenly came out of nowhere. He looked around but saw nothing. The voice sounded again and he quickly went towards it. Maneuvering through the now open wall and towards the street he heard his name called out once more.

"Kari?" He questioned finally recognizing the voice. "Where are you?"

"Over here... I got pinned down here when it started..." Kari said with a hiss of pain.

Tai quickly found the brown haired girl pinned down under a large bolder. Finding a beam he helped pry the girl out.

"Where's Sora?" He asked not finding her near Kari as he knelt down to check her over.

"I don't know- that's why I came to look for her... the command center didn't record her coming in... I thought she wasn't going to leave the house, but then I got pinned here when the big explosion toppled the surrounding houses..."

"She's not inside... I've got to find her." Tai said in a panic. If she wasn't at the shelter, and not at their house... where could she be?

"She can't move very fast on her own... so she's got to be around here." Kari deducted.

The two of them quickly got up and began a frantic search. Tai was worried beyond words...

'I've got to find her... Sora... where are you?'

"TAI!"It was Kari. She was standing on the door step of a near by building. "I've found her!"

With inhuman speed he was at her side. Kari was right- there huddled in a corner of the building Sora lay unconscious. In her arms she had tried to save a small child.

"The child is dead, but I've got a pulse from Sora."

The next few minutes were a whiz of emotions and activity. Carefully pulling her out with the help of Kari, he ran towards the nearest working vehicle.

The next thing he knew she was taken from his arms by a concerned looking doctors.

Within minutes of the two disappearing behind the medical room's doors, Joe appeared, looking worried.

"How is she?" Tai asked needing to know something.

"Tai... I need to ask you a question." Joe began.

"How is she? Is the baby all right too?"

"Tai... she's stable right now... but things are even more complicated with previous injuries and new ones we're are finding... and I...

"What?"

"I don't think we can save them both... you need to tell me... you have to..."

"You want me to choose which I feel is more important?" Tai asked for clarification to Joe's attempted question. A nod from the doctor told him it was true. "How can I chose something like that?"

'Not now... Oh God... how can I make a choice like this... I can't!' He screamed inside as his heart broke at the thought of losing either his wife, or his unborn child.

"I know... I understand, but I need to know.."

"Sora... save Sora." Tai decided. He could deal without having a child. He knew he could. But his life meant nothing if Sora was not there by his side... 'She's my world.'

"But you know what that means... I know you don't give a damn about the prophecy and all... but we have some doctors that would try and save the baby..."

"No!" Tai said grabbing Joe by the collar. "You need to save them both. If not, then save Sora. Joe... I need her..." He said tears welling in his eyes.

"She can't have children after all this trauma... and there's no guarantee that she will survive after surgery either... she's not responding to anything Tai..."

"So you are giving up on her? Just like that? I don't believe this! Save them both Joe! I know you can do it! You said so yourself that she's had lots of close calls... why is this one different?"

"If we cut the baby out now, the baby would most likely survive... but Sora could not handle the trauma of reopening wounds and she would most likely bleed to death before we could save her... I don't see how she can have a normal delivery in the state she is in either... but I'll try... I will..." Joe said as Tai let him go. Just as he did another shock rattled the building.

"When I get back, I want my family... both of them alive. I have something I need to take care of right now..." Tai said with darkened eyes. "If I find out they let her die only because of that god damned story, I'll... I'll..."

Tai was close to losing it... then again maybe he had. His mind couldn't think straight as he was once again on the verge of everything important to him being ripped away... and he knew the cause of it all.

They were the force that was making him bleed inside at even having to be asked the question of who would he want to be saved... why did he have to chose? Why were others so ready to chose for him? Why this? Why now? WHY?

He was at the front lines once again in no time. Finding Izzy, Davis, Tk and a few others trying to lead the fight he grabbed a weapon and took command.

After regrouping the men for a stronger attack, the humans began to see better results... they were winning. Yet a heavy price was still being paid by the minute...

"Tai!" Izzy came running to his side. "This is the new bomb we worked on. It targets their chemical make up, should we use it now while they try to regroup?"

Looking around Tai was burdened with another impossible question. This bomb... it had such a strong power that had never been tested... it could very well be the end of not just the bugs, but them as well... but if he didn't use it, how many more would die before the bugs were defeated?

"Have the men fall back... we're going to end this." His mind was made up. With a nod from Izzy the men fell back and took cover. "I don't like this at all... why must we always have to resort to something this severe? It was a bomb that began this war and killed the planet..."

"But Tai, there can be some good in all this. It comes after the bombs... the peace and rebirth afterwards. That's what mankind does Tai. We mess up a lot, but there is always some hope of good afterwards, right? We'll just have to do a better job this time." Tk said trying to reassure him.

"I hope you are right Tk... let's do this Izzy..."

The beeps of a hospital monitor were the first things that he recognized as he began to wake up. His eye lids felt heavy and his limbs and body ached.

Opening his eyes he found himself in a hospital room.

"What happened?" He asked to no one in particular.

"You were knocked back pretty far after that blast happened." Joe's voice came out of no where. The blue haired man entered the room with his hand held computer scrolling away looking at his patient's data.

"What? The battle...is it over? What happened?"

"Don't worry. They are cleaning up as we speak. You've been out for a good day now."

"A day?" Tai asked trying to sit up. Looking around the room, he noticed there was a tiny bed right next to his... Tai's heart stopped.

"I see you found her. Would you like to hold your daughter?" Joe asked rather cheerfully as he set down his computer and picked up the baby.

Looking around the room for any sign of Sora, Tai found none. His eyes finally returned to the baby that was now handed to him. Taking it in his arm, Tai felt horrible. It was as if a large weight had been pressed on his chest, almost crushing him.

"Remember to support the head... they don't have much for muscle or bones when they are a little premature." Joe instructed and went off on a to do and not to do list for the new father... Tai heard none of it.

The tiny baby in his arms was perfect, however Tai couldn't get past the hidden meaning behind the tiny bundle.

"She's dead then..." He whispered as the tears that had been pooling in his eyes finally escaped. He wanted to hate the baby in his arms at that moment. That it had been deemed more important than her... and he also wanted to hate himself... it wasn't the baby's fault. In fact he knew Sora would have rather had the baby live... but what about him?

"Ah, and it looks like we have the rest of the family right here." Joe said interrupting Tai's internal depression.

Looking up, Tai saw a hospital bed being brought into the room. He nearly lost his hold on his daughter when he saw the red hair of the bed's occupant.

"Sora?"

"She's asleep now. She regained consciousness for a little while only to ask about you and the baby. She's tired, but should be all right."

Tai cried new tears. Holding his baby, he cried as Sora was placed right next to his bed. They were no longer tears of utter sadness, but of joy.

"Thank you Joe." He said trying to get a hold of himself.

"I didn't do much. It was their will to live that brought them back from the brink... I was about to give up on Sora for a minute there... but right as that explosion hit, her heart jumped right back as if it never stopped."

"Izzy and Tk were right... good things can come from war and destruction."

"Like a new chance at life, not just for you and your family, but all of the human race... together." Joe smiled as he looked out the window. "But the city will be an awful mess for a time to come."

"Yeah... but we'll make it beautiful again."

A few days later he was still in the hospital. Not that he needed to be hospitalized or anything, it was just that he was not going to leave his daughter or wife's side. He wanted to be there when she woke up. He needed to be there.

"So little one, what shall we name you? Seeing as you have your mother's temper and stubbornness, Sora would be a good name." The baby cried. "Ok, not liking that, huh? Well, how about... Sally." Again the baby cried with disapproval.

"I can tell you are going to give your momma and me a lot of troubles, aren't you?" Tai sighed.

Things had changed. There was no more fighting... both the people from the city and the outside clans people were finally getting along as they city began to rebuild... and he was a father.

"Well, what kind of a dad am I if I can't even find you a good name?" He asked as he looked at the baby who was now staring back at him.

"Grace?" Rejected...

"Mary?" Nope...

"Katherine?" Definitely not Katherine...

He kept naming off his favorite girl names, then some that just came to mind... he was almost about to give up.

"Faith." Came a weak murmur from his side. The baby's happy coo made Tai stop. He hadn't said that... Turning quickly he saw a sight he had longed for...

"Sora! You're awake! Baby, are you in pain? Should I call Joe?" Tai asked as he sat up holding the baby to his chest and moving closer to his wife.

"No, I'm fine... it just stings a little." She smiled up at him. Tai was relieved to see her smile. He had missed it. "Is that our baby? My she's gotten so big." Sora smiled again.

"Have you held her yet?" He asked moving to hand her the baby. Instantly the little girl calmed down and yawned, ready for a nap with her mother. "It seems she likes you best."

"Of course. I know how to find a name she likes." Sora said as she held the baby against her chest. "I thought I had lost her... I was so scared... but it's over now? Right?"

"Yeah... it's over. No more bugs, no more prophecy, just you... me... and Faith here." He smiled as the baby didn't fuss with the name choice.

"I like that..." She sighed as she drifted back to sleep with her child in her arms. Tai enjoyed just watching them for a time. He was relieved that the large scale fighting and bloodshed was over. But there were still things to be done, and minor battle to still be fought.

With Matt on the mends, and Ryo and the other's continued help, Tai felt that the new city, the new future they built would be just fine. Especially with Sora expected to be back up and about soon, he felt as if nothing could hold him back.

This was his world now. It had been since the moment he met Sora... he laughed a bit. If it wasn't for that insane decision they had asked him to make, he probably would have not been able to muster the courage to fight like he did...

"You know, it was you who saved this world, not me... without the two of you, I wouldn't have cared if I lived or died..." He smiled as he carefully crawled into the bed with Sora. Sure it was a little cramped, it was a hospital bed after all, but he didn't mind being so close to her.

He continued to watch the two until he too fell asleep. Dreaming of a better future the last thing he thought of before going to sleep was that nothing was over. Instead it was just a new beginning. A second chance for his life, and the world.

A/N:

Well, it sure took me long enough to finish this fic. Sorry about that. Not much else to say, so...so long forever!

J/K! I can't bow out from Taioras now!

I think I will be starting the next Taiora on my long list of "To Write" stories pretty soon, so check in from time to time to see what new randomness comes out.

I do have one Inuyasha fic I need to get written so it will stop bugging me... so if you like Sango and Miroku- check that out when it is up.

Anyway, my next Taiora looks to be another AU story set in the past... but I could be wrong, we'll see what muse hits stronger...

I'll be back if you will be too!