Epilogue

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Rayne, Blaze, Trip, Kay, Alex, Sage and partially Felix. Xenolord owns Maria, Natalya, and Serras. All the rest do not belong to me or to him.

The sun rose up from the horizon, a pink orb moving higher and higher into the sky. It glowed gently at first, but it became brighter and brighter as the seconds ticked by. It stained the sky and the clouds with its colour, the darkness of the night becoming engulfed in its cotton-candy tint before slowly returning to the blue and white it was during the day.

Its light brightened the horizon, everything on the ground being highlighted, bathed in its bright rays. The light caused everything to create darkness too; shadows were casted from everything the light touched- from the ruins of a city, still smoking even though the fire that had burnt it had ended a week ago, to the tall, wooden structure that hung outside another one, just barely rebuilt from a fire that it itself had experienced years ago.

Shadows came as well from the two beings that were by that structure. One coming from somebody (a man) who was staring at the structure and what was hanging on it- the figure that was held up only by the rope around her neck.

He stared at the figure, not moving a muscle. The pinkish light glinted off his armour, and shone on his face. It made his skin look a tad flushed, but it did nothing to his bandana, still the colour of a dark and crisp red apple, even after all its years. The wind blew, ruffling the messy blonde locks of hair that hung out lying on his forehead. As the wind blew around him, he whispered a name into the breeze.

"Lizzie." Blaze mumbled, staring at the form of his friend: Lizzie Miura or, as she was more infamously known as, The Mourner. Her cloak; Rayne's cloak, Blaze recognized- still hung on her body.

What was amazing was that all and all, she was still as clean as ever; even her cloak was filth free. Human hands were afraid to touch her (considering how all her possessions were still on her) and it looked like nature's forces were too.

"Lizzie." Blaze murmured once again, his eyes sorrowful. Slowly, he stepped up onto the wooden structure. Without batting an eye, he wrapped an arm around Lizzie's still form, pulling his sword from its sheath on his back with a free hand. With a quick movement, he had cut the noose free, dropping the corpse from where it had hung for the previous nights.

Blaze sheathed his sword, and used his now empty hand to properly support Lizzie. Doing so also allowed him to get his first proper look at her. Her skin was as pale as ever, and her eyes were closed peacefully. If Blaze didn't know better, he could have sworn she was sleeping.

"Lizzie." Blaze said for the third time, his voice thickening with emotion. Taking a steadying deep breath, he managed to press a button on the device he wore on his wrist, opening up a portal. Taking another deep breath, and forcing back the burning, sickening sensation in his stomach, he walked off of the gallows and into the portal.

A moment later, he appeared in Aria's pet shop.

"Trip?" He called out, surprised his voice wasn't as shaky as his thoughts and feelings were. "Trip, are you here?"

"Coming!" Trip's voice called out from another room.

"What is it?" She asked, walking in casually. She froze the moment she saw Blaze's face. "What's wro-"

It was then that she saw what... or rather, who Blaze held in his arms.

"Oh Creator." Trip rushed forward.

"I can't... that can't..." She muttered, seeing but not believing. "That- that's not... is it?"

"It is." Blaze turned his head to the side, dropping his gaze to the wooden planks beneath his feet, needing to focus on anything, anything other than the cold body that he had just held in his arms.

"No, no, no..." Trip breathed, dropping to her knees by Lizzie's body. Her breathing grew heavy and rough as if she was forcing herself to breathe. She probably was; the shock was obviously taking its toll.

"Oh Liz." Trip whispered, closing her eyes, her ragged breathing the only other sound in the room.

A few days later, Trip and Blaze stood in the Battleon cemetery. Along with them were Natalya, Aria, Serras, Sage, Alex, Felix, and Kay. They all stood in a semi-circle, surrounding the newly erected tombstone, which read

ELIZABETH MIURA ANASI

A brave kind woman
and
A loving mother
Who shall be missed

There was complete silence as they stood around it, every person (swathed in black) with their heads down as they paid their last respects, and mourned the loss of yet another one. Everyone there was aware of the circumstances; and though they knew what this woman had done, they could not be deterred- for they had all known the true Lizzie Miura, the sweet generous girl that everyone loved, and not the cold killer that was The Mourner.

Slowly, one by one, they each left, until only Blaze, Aria, Trip, and Kay were left.

Soon, Aria sniffled and wiped her reddened eyes- she and Lizzie had grown close over the years, and they had become good friends, helping each other out with things that even Trip and Rayne couldn't. As she steadied her breathing, she looked over at Trip, her hand outstretched slightly to the woman.

Trip glanced upwards, and gave Aria a little shake of her head. The pet lover dropped her hand and nodded, knowing exactly what the brunette meant. Trip nodded her confirmation, and smiled a small, sad smile that reached her normally joyous eyes.

'Go on.' She mouthed, and Aria left, knowing Trip would need a little more time to say goodbye to another one of her best friends.

As she left, Kay looked up at Blaze and Trip. She stood up, and left the gravesite, jogging to catch up with Aria. She would come again later, after they were gone; for right now, the woman knew that Trip and Blaze needed this time alone.

The silence that had reigned over the crowd of mourners before still stood, with neither the blonde nor the brunette making a sound to break it. They stood, both staring at the marker, in a tension so thick that it felt like it could be cut apart with a knife. Talking would rid them of both tension and silence, but it seemed like both were still needed, at least for a few more minutes.

So, minutes later, Trip spoke up.

"She's... She's really gone, isn't she?"

Blaze didn't answer aloud, but he nodded. His words weren't needed; it was Trip who needed to speak. They fell into another pause, before Trip spoke up again.

"I knew it was her, you know."

Blaze's head rose, and he turned to gaze at Trip. Trip didn't meet his eyes- hers were trained on the gravestone, reading the words engraved but not really seeing. Still, she focused on the words, and not on him.

"Actually... that's a lie. I knew something like this would happen the minute that I heard the letter that she left Kira."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked. While his words were not required, perhaps not even wanted, he knew the only way he would get the full story was to make sure that Trip kept speaking.

"In it, she said that she had to do something alone, by herself." Trip mimicked. "Of course, everyone assumed that the pain had become too hard to bear, and she had gone on a personal mission to find herself again."

It was true; Blaze knew so. While he had shared friendship with Rayne, Lizzie, and Trip, the three had been friends since even before they had met him. Even as teenagers, just barely over the age of childhood, they had been inseparable.

"Liz wouldn't go and look for herself." Trip explained, crossing her arms, finally peeling her eyes off of the headstone and staring down at her feet.

"She couldn't; I could tell. She was too far gone- too lost. So when she left, that was when I knew she would do something. My suspicions were confirmed when the reports of the first killings came in."

Blaze began to think about what had happened in the five years; relating to what Trip said. He wasn't there when Rayne was killed, but he knew it had been a Drakel who had fired the gun that had ended up killing Rayne. Some months later, Lizzie disappeared, due to unspoken things she said she needed to do herself. Soon after that, a killer dubbed 'The Mourner' (due to the jet black armour and cape) appeared.

The more the bandanna-clad man thought about it, the more blatantly obvious it became. It was hard to believe though; Lizzie had always been the sweet one, the kind woman who almost never angered and had never judged even the worst of criminals before laying eyes on them. Was she really capable of committing such acts that wiped out so many of the Drakel people?

No matter how tough a pill it was to swallow, it was true. Still, he wondered if anything could have been done.

"Trip..." He said, carefully choosing his words. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea. "Do you think... that anything could have been done?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"I don't think so, Blaze."

Blaze opened his mouth to speak again, but the younger woman cut him to the quick.

"Blaze."

The man shut his maw tight; he was needed to be the listener, not the one to try and argue.

"I know it sounds off, but... I think that the chance was gone before we; before anyone... realized it was even there."

"I was there when Rayne breathed her last, Blaze. And the moment that she did..."

Finally, Trip raised her head, and let her eyes meet Blaze's. They were filled with sorrow, and Blaze could tell she was trying her hardest to choke back tears.

"Lizzie was so devoted to her, Blaze." Trip whispered. "And Rayne to her in turn. They were so in love; so devoted to each other. When Rayne died..."

Trip took a shuddering breath.

"Lizzie looked so lost; so gone. She was completely, totally, shattered; broken beyond repair."

No matter how clichéd, how overly dramatic, and exaggerated it sounded, Blaze knew this to be the truth. Trip was speaking from her heart.

"The sparkle in her eyes... the life they once held left her, right then. She looked dead inside, Blaze; all because of Rayne's death. There was nothing we could have done."

Trip's voice progressively became rougher and rougher. The tears filled her eyes completely, no doubt obscuring her vision. Blaze didn't even think she was talking to him anymore; more the likely, she was just getting everything that she had longed to for five years off of her chest and mind.

"Why did this have to happen?" The brunette croaked. "Why did Rayne have to die? Why did Lizzie do what she did? Why!?"

Finally, Trip broke down. Squeezing her eyes shut, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tears that the woman didn't bother to wipe away.

"My two friends... my two very best friends are gone." She whispered.

It clicked into place for Blaze, right then.

Rayne and Lizzie were famous for having such a strong friendship, and being extremely loyal to each other. What many people didn't realize was that Trip was their third, and the two women had as strong a relationship with her as their own was. She loved them just as much as Rayne and Lizzie loved each other, and they loved her with such intensity as well. Just, in a different way.

She was the silent third, the one who completed the trio, who had stood by her friends through thick and thin, who would love them both for all of their lives and her own, and even beyond.

It hurt Blaze to see Trip like this- all three of the girls were like younger siblings to him. Yet there was nothing he could do; nothing but hold Trip close as she cried, repeating the same words over again. "They're gone, they're gone, they're gone."

"And I'm the only one left."

Two women stood behind the pair, watching their every move. Blaze and Trip didn't realize that they were there- both were too preoccupied with their own tears.

They stood next to a wooden post in the ground, not a toe even crossing the invisible line that the post marked. They stood behind it, as if there was a barrier preventing their entrance. They were on the outside, looking in.

"So Lizzie's finally gone too." One murmured.

The other nodded. "After five years, she's finally left us Maria."

Maris smiled grimly. "And what a five years those have been, Safiria."

Safiria made no response. They faded into silence once more, the quiet only punctuated by the softening yet still audible sobs and sniffles from Trip.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Safiria murmured her eyes sorrowful as they watched the crying Guardian.

"To see her so hurt. Yet I can't help but wonder..."

"Wonder what?" Maria asked.

"About what Blaze said." Safiria explained.

Maria's breath hitched.

"He asked if there could have been any way to stop the slaughter beforehand; if anything could have been done to save her, and all those people."

Maria sighed heavily. "It's just like Trip said, Safiria. The chance... the chance of preventing this from happening passed by before anyone knew it was there and could grasp it."

'I'm not even sure if it was ever there.' Maria thought to herself.

"Maybe... maybe this whole thing could have been prevented if Rayne hadn't died?" Safiria asked quietly.

There was a clear change in Mari's demeanour. A moment before, she had been sad and pensive, her emotions barely expressed on her face. Now, they had been magnified and they were clearly showing; each feeling, plain as day, along with a new one that had not been there before- pain.

Maria chuckled darkly. "It's funny you should mention that."

Safiria's brows furrowed and she became increasingly worried as Maria's low laughter didn't stop.

"Kitten?" She asked. "Are you alright?"

Maria's haunting laugh slowly died out, but she didn't answer the Vampire Queen's question. It was only after Blaze and Trip had left (a few minutes after he had stopped laughing) that she said anything else.

"It's so funny that you should mention this being prevented by Rayne's death." Maria repeated, looking away from Safiria.

"Maria..."

"Did you know that I offered her The Embrace?"

Safiria's eyes widened, but she didn't say a word.

"It's obvious what the answer was." Maria laughed. Before it was borderline insane. Now, her laughter was hollow, bitter. "And it was so ironic that I did! For the next day..."

Safiria put two and two together.

"Oh Creator." She breathed.

Maria, however, just kept going.

"She asked me to lunch that day." Maria said. "I told her no, because Artix von Krieger asked me to do him a favour. When I said that to her... a look appeared in her eyes."

Maria turned to Safiria again, and the vampire queen could see tears shining in her crimson orbs.

"She knew." Maria whispered her voice cracking. "She knew that something bad would happen to her right after I told her that I couldn't go."

Safiria was stunned. Maria hadn't cried since the day that Gale had been declared dead. To see her Kitten in such pain again, in such guilt...

It hurt them both.

"It's my entire fault." Maria whimpered her voice heartbreaking. "If I hadn't gone... I could have saved her. I could have saved her life. I could have saved a woman from being broken, could have saved our friend from lying in that Creator damned casket before her time!"

Safiria wanted, wished that she could comfort Maria. Yet she couldn't. It wasn't that she didn't have the ability.

It was just that she didn't know how.

She knew how Blaze had felt earlier, as she did the only thing she could; follow Maria away from the town border as the proud warrior grieved for those who she hadn't been able to save in time.

Hundreds of years later, in a place that could truly be called a paradise, a young woman stood, staring into a pool of water. Normally, this would not have been very significant, and it would simply look as if she was just checking her reflection; but that was not true. In fact, she was seeing something that was far more extraordinary than her face mirrored in the water; she was looking down on Lore itself.

In the time she had spent in this amazing place, she had realized that she could see the world from that little pool of water if she wished to. All she had to do was think of what (or who) she wanted to see, and the water would smooth out, becoming as still as glass, with the image appearing instantaneously.

"It's almost time." The woman whispered, gazing seriously, deeply into the image that peered up at her.

Soft arms wrapped around the woman's waist suddenly, pulling her close. The woman, instead of stiffening up and trying to break free, just smiled, and leaned back into the embrace; she knew this touch without even having to turn to look.

"Exciting, isn't it?" A voice murmured into her ear.

The woman nodded.

"Very." She said, eliciting a chuckle from behind her. She turned around; facing the person whose arms encircled her waist.

"Hundreds of years and thousands of relatives later, and the day has finally come, huh Rayne?" Lizzie grinned.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Rayne quoted, turning back around. Lizzie swatted at Rayne's arm, even though her smile grew larger and larger.

They stayed in that comfortable silence, Lizzie's arms wrapped around Rayne, her chin on the slightly taller woman's shoulder. "Can you believe it's actually happening?"

"Barely." Rayne mumbled back to her, placing her hand atop of Lizzie's, stoking the back of the woman's hand gently with her thumb.

"We've known for so long." Lizzie softly said.

Rayne nodded soundlessly, and stopped stroking the redhead's hand. With a wordless agreement, they both slowly lowered themselves to the ground and Rayne slunk down in Lizzie's lap.

"Do you think our lives will be as good as they were in the Lore that we used to have, Rayney?" Lizzie asked, her voice wondering as they stared into the distance of their personal utopia.

"Every life is different, Lizzie." Rayne responded, her voice quiet. "It will never be the same as those years; time has changed the land, and the people. Our new life will be good, in its own, new and unique way."

"I suppose you're right." Lizzie admitted. Raising her hands (which had still been tucked protectively around Rayne's torso) she tangled them into the woman's long, dark mane, combing the non-existent tangles with her fingers vigorously.

Rayne looked upwards, peering at Lizzie with concerned eyes. Lizzie playing with Rayne's hair had always been a sign of affection between the two women, but it was rarely done. The only time's her lover did the act as she was doing so now (with such force, though not enough to hurt) was when something was troubling her.

"Lizzie?" Rayne asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"Do you think we will meet each other in our new lives?" The redhead asked, withdrawing her hands from Rayne's hair.

"I... it's just..." From behind her, Rayne heard a heavy sigh.

"To think that there's a chance that I might never meet you... I can't imagine it." Lizzie explained. "I don't want to live without you love. I can't. You saw what happened when..."

Lizzie trailed off, and Rayne whipped around, now sitting up so that she faced Lizzie.

"That was a long time ago, my sweet." Rayne mumbled her hand up to cup Lizzie's cheek, more as an act to soothe rather than an act of affection.

"I know." Lizzie said back, placing her hand on top of the one hand that Rayne wasn't touching her with. "Still..."

"Don't worry about it." Rayne whispered. A corner of her mouth upturned, and she half smiled. "Besides, I don't think we have to be concerned about not meeting."

"...Huh?" Lizzie leaned back, making Rayne's hand drop off of her face. She looked bemusedly at her lover, confusion evident in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Rayne's wry smile didn't leave at all. "Did you ever encounter a dream? One where somehow, something asked you what you truly wanted?"

Lizzie was just about to answer no, when she remembered. She recalled the voice, the booming, thundering voice, and the white abyss that surrounded her completely.

"Yes." Lizzie answered, nodding slowly. "Yes, I did."

"Well... I had one too. When it asked me, I told it that..." Rayne's smile turned from wry to sad.

"I told it I wanted to be able to be with all of my friends, and you, forever. Including Maria and Safiria."

"But... they're still-"

"I know." Rayne whispered. "I know. But if anyone deserves another chance at life, it's those two. I don't know exactly how it will happen, but Creator knows that it will happen somehow."

"They need this Liz. They need it. All they ever wanted was their friends. That's why Maria..."

"...Why Maria offered you The Embrace." Lizzie finished.

Rayne nodded. "Exactly; in a way, my sweet, this wasn't just for the two of us. It was for everyone, and especially for them. They don't know it now, but they will learn, and somehow all of us coming back will help them."

"I understand." Lizzie responded, and this time, it was her who cupped Rayne's cheek. They pulled each other into an embrace, holding on tightly, keeping their eyes closed, knowing that with each passing second, their rebirths were coming closer and closer.

Suddenly, Rayne spoke up. "Lizzie?"

"Yes, love?"

"What... what did you...?"

Lizzie slowly opened her eyes, meeting questioning chocolate amethyst. She slid her arms from around Rayne's midriff to her neck, linking her hands loosely as she rested her forehead against the taller woman's.

"What did you wish for?" Rayne asked, their eyes locked onto each others.

Lizzie was silent. "I wished..." She paused there for a long time.

"It's okay." Rayne searched her eyes. "You don't have to tell-"

"No love." Lizzie shook her head slowly. "You deserve to know."

"I wished that somehow, in some other dimension, everything... everything that happened to us, to all of our friends..... I wished none of that ever happened. Not your death, not The Mourner, not anything."

"Everyone deserves it, Liz." Rayne said. "Everyone's lives were cut short, all of us gone before we should have been."

"Just like you said, everyone deserves a second chance; if not here, then somewhere else." Lizzie smiled. And just like Rayne's was before, her grin was tinged with melancholy. "Call it ridiculous, call it selfish, call it stupid-"

Lizzie was cut off, as Rayne suddenly brought a hand up and placed a finger on Lizzie's lips.

"Shush." The brunette said, before tipping Lizzie's head up slightly, and placing a chaste kiss on her mouth. "It's not stupid, not ridiculous, not whatever else you were going to say."

"It's perfect." She whispered, before kissing her again, this time on her forehead.

Suddenly, they both raised their heads, and rose to their feet.

"It's time." Rayne said.

"It's time." Lizzie echoed, nodding.

Hand in hand, they walked along through the grasslands. Their pace was slow and they didn't talk much. Their silence was peaceful, and they both drank in the sights of their haven for over millennia.

Finally, they stopped. Right in the middle of it all, with the shore in one direction and the mountains in another; right in the spot where they were reunited, after five years of grief, pain, and sorrow.

With their hands together, they turned, melding to each other in a last hug. Their bodies fit perfectly against each other, and they both smiled, relishing the contact.

"How long do you think it will be?" Lizzie murmured, "Before I go as well?"

"Oh..." Rayne rested her chin on the other woman's shoulder, thinking, before raising her head so that their eyes met again. "Only a couple of minutes, I think. Not very long at all."

"A second of time with you gone is like an eternity, love." Lizzie mumbled, burrowing her face in Rayne's neck. She felt the vibration in the taller woman's throat as Rayne laughed softly.

'You sap." She teased, feeling Lizzie smile against her skin.

"Can you blame me?" Lizzie asked, beginning to place tiny kisses all over the juncture of Rayne's neck, slowly moving upwards and mumbling loving words between each little group of kisses, not so much kisses now but Lizzie merely pressing her lips to Rayne's throat.

Finally, she reached Rayne's mouth, where she gave her a little peck. "I mean, this is our last time together, until..."

"I know." Rayne said, her voice loosing the jovial tone she had kept till now. Still, a small smile appeared. "Let's make these moments last, yeah?"

Though they didn't know why, they took each other's hands again, and led each other into an elegant ballroom dance. There was no music, no instruments to accompany their waltz, just the harmony that came from the nature around them.

"Maybe, maybe now I'll learn to dance." Rayne laughed, as Lizzie pressed up against her. Now every movement, every motion was affectionate as their final minute together (for the time being anyways) came closer and closer. "Even in life, I was never a good dancer. I always thought-"

"Hush, you." Lizzie interrupted, though not rudely. Rayne blinked in surprise, and looked down at the redhead, who was smiling teasingly.

"When you dance, you're not stupid." She said Rayne's earlier words now on her lips. "You're not ridiculous, you're not whatever else you were going to say."

"You're perfect." She finished, eyes sparkling as they had for all but the last five years of her life. Rayne tilted her head down, and inches away from Lizzie's mouth, Rayne let herself smile as she only did for Lizzie.

"I love you, Lizzie." She murmured, words uttered with utmost affection. Their lips met, and they held on for as long as they could. It was a scene that could be taken out of any trashy romance movie, and bad and sappy love novel, but for them... it was perfect.

Lizzie tightened her hug on Rayne, and held out... but it wasn't enough. For soon, Lizzie's mouth was pressed against nothing, and her arms held but air.

Lizzie dropped her arms, and put them around herself. They were no substitute for the ones that had been encircling her moments before, but they would do while she waited.

Rayne had left now. Soon, in a few minutes, she would be whisked away as well.

Lizzie sat down in the grass, her hands behind her as she stretched her legs out. Just like the day of her death, she thought, and she remembered. She remembered all her friends, and all her family. She remembered the good time; she remembered the hard times. She remembered their times of laughter, and the constant attacks and wars they had lived, and sometimes barely stumbled through, always returning home together.

When almost all her memories had flashed by, Lizzie asked herself a question.

Would they ever have times that matched up to her memories in their new lives?

When her last thought, the image of her friends, appeared in her mind, Lizzie had her answer.

"No." She said to herself aloud, as she slid down and lay spread eagled in the grass. "No, they won't."

"These new times, will be even better."

With that, Lizzie closed her eyes, Rayne's face appearing beneath her closed eyelids. She smiled back at the image, and let the warmth of the sunshine engulf her.

"Rayne... everyone, I'll see you soon." She whispered. Her vision became a tunnel of white light, and right before the end, she saw all of her friends; from Robina to Trip to Felix, to even Maria and Safiria. She saw that they all, each and every one of them, had their hand outstretched warmly to her.

Lizzie smiled once again, and reached out to them as well.

"Let's go." She said, as they all headed into the light.

At that very moment, on April 18th at five in the morning in the Rendd capital hospital, Elizabeth Miura came into the world.

Also, at that moment in Rendd (though in a different place) two month old Rayne Anasi opened her eyes and smiled, her grin matching the one on the newborn Lizzie's face.

And somewhere, far, far away, in a place where no one on that Earth could reach; places that we can only dream of going to, places we can only imagine to exist, something happened.

A woman bearing the same name as the two month old infant's life was spared, for a bullet, fired haphazardly by a drakel scientist, missed her completely.

"Will you read to us?" A little boy inquired, looking up at her with baleful, pleading eyes, a pout on his little face.

"Will you?" A little girl toddled up, grabbing the older girl's hand with her own smaller, slightly sticky one, tugging her arm in the direction of the cozy chair that sat in the corner that was made of two bookshelves. The bookshelves were filled with plenty of books, the brightly coloured carpet inviting them all to come to sit and read.

As more and more children begged, a teenage Lizzie could only laugh and give each one an affectionate, almost motherly pat on the head.

"Okay, okay." She grinned. "But only a short one; I have a project to do, guys."

She nodded to Rayne, who was watching from afar, an amused smile on her face.

Rayne nodded back, and went off to go find the books that they needed. Lizzie sat down in the chair, pulled a book out of the shelf at random, and began to read out loud as the children drew in closer.

"A long, long time ago..."

"Goodbye!" Lizzie waved to the few kids who had watched her leave the library. She jogged over to Rayne, and the two began to walk.

"Trip, Maria, and everyone else said they would meet us at the penthouse." Lizzie remarked cheerfully. "Do you mind if I stay there until then?"

"Not at all." Rayne replied, hoisting the backpack higher on her back. They walked in a comfortable silence, until they reached the building and the lavish suite.

"Is there anyone here?" Rayne called out as she opened the door, Lizzie in tow. When there was silence, Lizzie peered in. "I guess Felix and Faust went out."

"I guess so." Rayne shrugged. She kicked her shoes off and went inside. Lizzie sat down on the couch, and Rayne sat down beside her.

"Did you have fun?"

"Hmm?"

"Reading to those kids."

"Yeah, I did." Lizzie smiled. "I like reading, you know? I love all sorts of books and stories; especially fairy tales."

"You sure you read to those kids because of the fairy tales and your own love for books? I just thought you liked listening to the sound of your own voice." Rayne teased.

When Lizzie gave her a push, she grinned.

"There's no reason to deny it. 'Cause you know, I like the sound of your voice too."

"You sap!" Lizzie laughed. "You want me to read to you, don't you?"

"Why, Miss Miura!" Rayne gasped, dramatically clutching her heart. "How did you ever guess?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but patted on the spot right next to her. Rayne, sitting pretty close, scooted in even closer and leaned on the redhead, putting a smile on Lizzie's face. Lizzie loved it when Rayne- quiet, cool Rayne, would let her be the stronger one.

Lizzie took out the book of stories she had borrowed, and flipped it open.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl had no parents- she was an orphan."

As Lizzie continued on to tell about how the orphan girl had met a new girl, she felt an odd feeling overtake her.

"Some say that opposites attract, but that wasn't what drew the orphan girl to this new person. It was her eyes – a mix of chocolate brown and amethyst..."

Lizzie trailed off, and Rayne sat up straight and turned to face her after the pause grew unnaturally long.

"Lizzie?" She asked. "Lizzie, are you okay? Is there anything-?"

Lizzie cut Rayne off, as she caught the taller teen in a kiss. Rayne closed her eyes immediately, knowing Lizzie was doing the same, as they both always did. But this kiss... it was different somehow.

It was deep, tender, and passionate as ever, but the passion was not what it usually was. It was almost... desperate, and laced with sadness, as it this was their last lip-lock ever. As they broke apart, Rayne opened her eyes to see Lizzie still close to her. Lizzie raised a hand, and cupped Rayne's cheek, a motion that was affectionate as ever, but like their kiss, seemed different.

"Love." Lizzie breathed, eyes down, tears that could not be shed suddenly, unexpectedly, building up in her eyes. "Please.... please don't ever, every leave me."

Rayne felt a wave of nostalgia crash over her, and for reasons unknown to herself, she titled Lizzie's head up, and met her gaze with half lidded eyes.

There was no confusion in her gaze. No questions.

There was just pure, unadulterated love.

"I promise that I never will." Rayne murmured. "I promise, my sweet."

Deep down inside of Rayne, deep down inside of Lizzie, the women whose souls had had another chance at life-the women they once were, the women they would be again- smiled.

For they knew, that no matter what, whether it be the prejudice of the world, the insistence and jealousy of others, or even the boundaries of life and death itself, nothing would get in between them.

Nothing would ever break the promise that they had renewed once more, and would renew for every day of their time together- whether they be living, or dead.

THE END

This is the epilogue of revenge, guys.

I'm sorry that it might have taken so long. But... I hope you enjoy. This will be the one of the only times I ask you guys to review- because Revenge means a lot to me. It's my current masterpiece and my favourite piece of work so far. TO me, it symbolizes my turning point as a writer, for before Revenge, I had never attempted such a fic of this size, nor of this genre.

I want to thank everyone who was reviewed, and everyone who's read it from start to finish. You all mean a lot to me.