Epic Epilogue Time

Episode Final: Uneven Odds

It all went pretty well after Roger left; a little too well Jack's parents backed off...which is one way of putting the complete and total disownment of a child. At least they didn't give the boys trouble anymore. And, after a while of distance, Jack's da started to call again. He and Jack were on pretty good terms now.

I once knew your father well

He fought tears in his eyes

as he spoke of

your mother's health

Bill and Maurice got started at the Uni's radio station, hosting the hours between music on the holiday breaks. After a while, they took turns with the regular time slots.

I guess a part of him just couldn't return.

Forgiveness is a lesson he cursed you to learn.

After their double debut on college radio stations across England, Bill and Maurice moved onto accept a job offered by a massive broadcast center right north of their very first University. How could they refuse? Maurice loved the attention and knew the city well, and Bill and Melissa wanted to start saving for an old house in the countryside. Their first live performance that aired was a hit starring some up-and-coming street artist who'd been homeless for the past three or so years. He'd been growing in popularity lately. Roger was now quite notorious for his hard-crafted tunes and his improvised lyrics.

As your guardian I was instructed well

to make sense of God's love

in these fires of hell

At 5:00 in the afternoon, Hale Griffiths was driving back to her apartment from her day job. She was making things work with her life-middle class living was alright, she guessed. Especially when her awesome friend from seemingly forever ago had loaned her his kick-ass car. Stopping at a red light, Hale took the time to switch on the radio and turned it to the station her friend's husband hosted for.

"This is Maurice and my good buddy Billy boy here, kickin' back with the tunes a tick for a quick wind-down hour. How's about some live-entertainment Bill?" The main host began.

"Sounds cool to me, Maurice." The co-host and newly-wed responded, bored sounding as usual. But Hale was used to it by now. She'd had to sit through his entire wedding ceremony.

No, I don't expect you to understand.

Just to live what little life

Your broken heart can

"To celebrate our new occupation and give the channel a little somethin' sweet, I called up an old chap o' mine who doesn't even work!" Maurice introduced through the tinny speakers of the mustang. "Give a good welcome to my childhood friend and neighborhood weirdo, Roger Williams!"

Hale slammed on the brake and stared at the radio as if she could see him smiling there.

Maybe your light is your seed

and the darkness the dirt

"It's nice to be here, Maurice." The familiar voice politely responded, "Long time no see."

"I bet it's nice to be here, eh?!" Maurice quipped back in that friendly way all radio host knew, "In the air conditioning at last!"

This was received with static-y laughter. The show went on. Hale listened the whole time.

In spite of the uneven odds

beauty lives from the Earth.

Jack Merridew, in the meantime, had put any notions of what he'd been planning to do with his life aside(Which, in reality, was nothing) and helped Ralph pursue his life goal-being a Marine Biologist.

He glanced off the edge of the boat dubiously, into the crystal-clear water below and grimaced at the multitudes of meandering sharks.

From the Earth

From the Earth

Ralph leaped past him in a blur, pulling Jack in as he went, and both of them went tumbling into the sea of sharks.

It was quite beautiful down there, once Jack grew accustomed to it. Sparkling bubbles with facets and uneven, slopey sides crawled up, catching the light just right. A gorgeous pacific sun drifting into the aquamarine. At least Ralph looked at home here, trailing his left hand across spiraling sharks and letting them feed from the bait in his other.

Then they both remembered about air. The blonde tapped Jack in the stomach with his foot; that was enough of a reminder.

As the years go by, these questions take shape

Are you getting stronger or is time shifting weight?

Encircled by the flurry of carnivorous fish, Jack and Ralph broke the surface, gasping and gesturing to the far-off boat.

"Rob!" Ralph called, "Come on, we need our gear! What are you still doing over there!"

"I'll bring the boat around!" Captain Robert shouted back over the drone of the waves.

"Preferably before we're eaten!" Jack added. Robert disappeared behind the wheel and the speed-boat listed towards the two boys in the water. The captain motioned to his fiancé on the deck.

"Em, get the cage!"

"O-okay Rob! Got it!"

Ralph pumped at the water with his feet, checking for any stray fish from the pack, and then suddenly remembered something. He dunked underneath the ocean a bit as he reached into his shorts pocket and brought out a camera. Jack saw it and instinctively struck up a smile.

"Say cheese!" The blonde urged cheerfully. The camera snapped and flashed. Ralph took a moment to examine the screen before bobbing under the saltwater entirely. After coming back to the surface he gasped: "I think this one's good!"

No one expects you to understand

Just to live what little life

your mended heart can

At around six PM, a month after his debut on the radio, Roger was giving his usual routine at the corner of fourth and Royal. Nothing but a stool, his guitar case, and the acoustic he'd traded in the electric for. The normal crowd made their appearance, as well as some others. Just faces; smiling faces. And as long as they did that nothing else really mattered to him. The people in general were not what he was working for. He didn't really know what he was working for. It was something he couldn't attach a name or a label to. Something that exuded from things like the pictures and postcards Jack and Ralph sent him weekly from their trips around the world.

You'll always remember the moment God took her away.

About and hour and a half later and the busy crowd was gone-albeit a few stragglers. Roger finished up with the song he always ended on-Find Me-and began to pack up his meager belongings. He was just about to move on when a coin clattered to the ground at his feet. Roger glanced up at its giver.

For the weight of the world was placed on your shoulders that day.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hi." He said back. "Hale?"

"It's been a while." She laughed back, clicking on something in her palm. A few meters away, an antique of a mustang blinked its orange eyes at them. A moment later, the keys arched through the air and on instinct Roger caught them. "Do I win?"

Roger felt his lips prick up in the beginnings of a grin.

"Yes."

Maybe your light is the sea

and the darkness the dirt

Flash forward a few years. Bill and Maurice still run the radio station, giving competitors quite a challenge. Melissa and Hale are looking at paint swatches.

"Which one for the nursery?" Hale asks nervously, "I want to get it just right."

"That one." Melissa points to the lavender slip of paper trembling in Hale's outstretched hand. "I wish I could have children. You're so lucky."

"I thought you were adopting." Hale frowns.

"We are."

"What are you two scheming about in there?!" Roger shouts from the small kitchen a couple of feet away, obviously teasing, "You're making me nervous!"

"Nothing~!" Melissa says with cheery verve, "Don't you worry yourself, Mr. Williams! We're not talking about babies at all!"

"Melissa!" Hale hissed quietly, prodding her best friend with her elbow. In return, Melissa just snickers and ducks her head in friendly challenge.

"He was going to notice sooner or later." She whispers.

In spite of the uneven odds beauty lives from the earth.

Four more years. Hale walks into the play room to find Roger in a crown and too-small, plastic high-heels, sitting down to a tea party he'd been invited to for quite a while now. Unfortunately, due to studio recording time and touring, he'd had to skip out on the past few occasions. However, he was free today, so the little princess insisted on a tea party.

"Daddy's the queen!" She announced to Hale from her seat opposite of Roger, "Bow down, momma!"

"You heard the misses, Hale!" Roger mocked, "I'm the queen!"

"You look like you're having fun." Hale responded, "How's the tea treating you, Queenie?"

"Oh, it's splendid."

That night, like all others, Roger remains awake later than the others. While they are snoring softly and his new-old house is gently groaning under his feet, shifting with the weight of things, shifting with the change, he sits on the staircase and looks up and down the wall. Pictures of the past and the present and something that defines a very bright future lines that wall; photos that Jack and Ralph had sent him over the years, now able to be properly framed and cared for-though, they hadn't seen each other since he left them all those years ago. Only letters. That's all Roger knew of them. To his knowledge, those two idiots were exploring the coast Africa as of now. Alongside of their pictures and interlaced between were others'. A picture Hale decided to offer to the mighty wall of Melissa and Bill's wedding. One of Emily's son. One of Rob's funeral procession; he'd died not too long ago after being caught out at sea at the wrong time and place. There was one that Roger had found in the attic of the house; it was an old black-and-white photograph of his mother and his brother and he sitting on the front porch before going to church on a Sunday.

Yes, he'd bought his old house. He didn't know why. But he figured why not? Since nobody else had and nobody else probably would, and the neighborhood or lack thereof was familiar and comforting and the structure still had meaning. He'd set right the wrongs done in this house and he'd make better memories than what he'd had in the days before.

He'd make his mother proud.

You're much too young now, so I write these words down.

The night's vigilance would always end at the top of the staircase, right before the master suite, with Roger stopping at the last framed reminder and smiling to himself. It was one that he'd thought ridiculous and utterly embarrassing at the time, but he was glad now that he had it.

The old college photo of his roommate's and himself. That seemed so long ago.

Sighing, he switched the hall light off and disappeared into the house's shadows.

Darkness exists to make life truly count.

Hey guys...so, it's over.

How do you feel about that? I mean...I feel...pretty...sad. Sad but accomplished.

So, first some explaining to do on my part. I forgot to mention a song in the last episode that was included, and that song was Turning Page by Sleeping at Last. What a co-eenq-ee-dink. (That is, Coincidence). The song from this chapter is called Uneven Odds, by the same person/group, Sleeping at Last. If you have no idea who they are, I highly recommend them. Try the song Homesick or Snow or Interlude. I love all their songs. Seriously. There's not a single bad song in their track record.

Anyway, speaking of songs, if you liked this fanfiction of mine or others, you should check out my profile page real quick for the soundtrack lists. Not trying to sound pushy. The songs listed there are just some of the songs that helped me write the damned things, so I might as well give a shout-out to those awesome bands. Credit is given where credit is due.

And, I might not seem like it, but I'm a believer. So, I gotta give credit to God as well. For a while we were slipping there a bit, but I'm trying to get back on track. Sorry, God. I don't pay quite as much attention to your rules as I should. People, if you're Christian or thinking of becoming one, don't follow my example. I'm still struggling. I'm willing to talk to people about it though...if they're curious. I don't bite C:

Also, a few inconsistencies. In one chapter I mention that Jack's sister is named Emily. Jack's sister Emily and the Emily named in the past two chapters are NOT the same person. Sorry for any confusion. And also, I think I mention that Ralph's parents picked Jack up at Roger's house once. But that's impossible, considering they were both allegedly traveling around the frickin planet at that time. So, yeah. Ignore that. Ralph's lying at that point. His parents never picked Jack up at Roger's sucky house.

Also, I mentioned Roger's twin Brother, the other Ralph. So, just as an FYI, I was originally going to end this in a much darker way-by making all of the boys' adventures a figment of Roger's twin's imagination, and that in reality, all of the boys died on the island and never came home. That Ralph-twin was making this up to pretend like he was the one who died and not them. I was going to end it with him talking to the therapist and concluding their tales happily. However, I changed my mind (Which was the wise choice, I think) and ended it a little less dark. I'm happy with my descision, but I just wanted to make it known that Roger's twin was mentioned for a reason~~

A terrible reason, but a reason nonetheless. That alternate ending would also explain why Simon just vanished and re-appeared like he did, and the fact that I pretty much never mentioned Piggy in here, because Roger-twin-Ralph-person wouldn't have known piggy...although, he wouldn't have known normal Ralph either, so forget that. I was just looking for an excuse for why I didn't include piggy in on this hullabaloo on that last note...hehe.

Also, in my upcoming Oneshot series, I was thinking of adding some EPT OVA's. What do you guys think? Should I? There are actually episodes missing from this, little do you know. One I found too offensive and the others were unnescaserry (OhMyGod that's spelled horribly wrong..) They would have introduced the girls more gradually and given some more Jalph backstory. Oh, and the rated-offensive one just had sparkles and nonsense. I might include that in the oneshots. We'll see. I'll have FangaKat on the site review it first. lol. Fanga, look out. *evilfais*

Also, both Hale and Santha are alternate reality versions of OC's in a different fic I wrote quite a while back. I'm not saying which, because later in this AN a plug a different story of mine. But, You can probably just ask cocolada. XD

Sorry, cocolada. Didn't mean to call you out like that.

So, yeah. Big shout-out to anybody who reviewed or followed this story. I was going to list all of you guys, but they're are a FRICKING LOT of you! So, sorry...XD I hadn't expected to find that many people liking my story. You guys are awesome, and I hope you like the ending and will stick with me through my next projects.

Speaking of that.

Next comedy one I have lined up(Don't steal my idea or I will FIND YOU)

A Lord of the Flies and Survivor parody. It is technically a crossover, but I'll be posting it on the normal page because not many of you regularly check the crossovers page. No hard feelings. I don't either. It's sad. This fic is already in progress and has been for a while, but I don't want to get started on it until I get a few more of my fics smoothed out (if you haven't noticed, I have WAAAY too much going on). SO, stick with me, please! I'm srry if it takes a while...

In the meantime, why don't you check out Barton Hollow?

Sorry...I'll stop plugging now.

Anywho.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I FEEL SO GREAT KNOWING THAT WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS FIC AS MUCH AS I DID, AND REMEMBER, IT'S ALWAYS EPIC PARTY TIME!

Sorry for this horribly long AN, thanks for the 65 PLUS REVIEWS! Over the past year of writing this, I've made new friends and aquaintances, new ideas, and met awesome people. Anyone who reads this is included somewhere in there. This fandom is awesome, and very unique. In my whole time here, not one of you guys has been rude or mean or overly harsh. Constructive criticism FTW, am I right? Anyway, you guys are amazing. and, last but not least...

...Write ya later... ;)