A.N.: Don't forget to thank Timeless Dreamer Neo for making this work so well!

EPILOGUE: Towards a new Journey

Warmth and tranquility...

Contentedness and satisfaction...

A sigh for a sigh...

Sakido and I might be two sides of the same coin, yet we were still two entirely different people at the same time. Even then, I would gladly trade anything in this world or the next just to remain where I was now, at the top of this hill, lying beside the one I loved on the semi moist grass. Life was good, and it had been good since we eliminated the last of the rebels. It had been a few days since we defeated the rebels, and they had easily been the best days of my life, with last night easily being the best night of my life. Heh…That night was still the most passionate time Sakido and I had yet to share, far beyond anything else we had done so far...

Smiling as I felt heat pooling into my cheeks, I glanced over and lovingly stroked Sakido's ears a bit, as while we were both lying on our backs, her head was nestled against my chest. While I had learned how sensitive her ears were, I had found that it was to her extreme pleasure to have them stroked how I was doing now.

It was only when she gave a light growl and a slight shiver that I knew she was once again becoming aroused, so all I changed was to be gentler. I rubbed only hard enough to feel the softness of her fur, but even then, I felt warmth. The difference however, was this time; it was slowly engulfing my entire chest.

"Eric...?"

"Yes Sakido?" I asked, and I propped my head up and looked down at her just as she happened to look up at me. When our blue eyes met, hers seemed to soften even more as they glazed over lightly, and the smile I saw on her face grew even more. When I had first met her, she never wore a smile, but now, it was like her happiness only seemed to grow with every single hour we spent in the other's arms.

"I love you..."

Chuckling a bit, I felt my heart leap into my throat once more, before I said softly, "I know you do Sakido. And I love you as well..."

When she pulled her head from my chest, she rolled over, before she moved directly above me, and stared down at my eyes with a burning passion that sent my heart dancing in my chest. She only shut her eyes halfway as she leaned down and gazed into my eyes deeply, and she remained like that for nearly two dozen seconds, before she said calmly, yet with a quiver creeping in behind her words. "I love you more than you will ever know, Eric..."

Smiling a bit, I was going to respond, before she pushed her lips against my own, and slowly rolled her head to the side to deepen our passionate exchange. But while she did that, I slowly snaked my hands behind her neck, and rubbed my way up to her head. She shuddered as I brushed the base of her ears, but while I did, I felt my own body shuddering, but that was because Sakido and I both only engaged in activities like this when we were feeling a bit friskier.

She pulled away slowly, and as she did, I felt my heart get caught in my throat as her hair fell down around me, and the sun and sky created a sort of mystifying and blurry halo around her ears. While I had enjoyed her beauty in the past few days, I had yet to see this level of beauty around her. It was...awe inspiring.

Grabbing her muzzle and pulling her down once more, I actually heard her heart beat loudly as I pressed my lips to the end of her muzzle. She moaned lightly against my lips as I did so, and when she did, I opened my mouth as well. Before I was even able to deepen the kiss though, she giggled lightly.

Sakido pushed me down firmly, before she licked her lips lightly with her eyes closed, but when she opened them she shook her head firmly, before she herself sat up and retreated to lean against the tree. "Not now Eric... I want to relax..."

I sat up and got to my feet, before I joined Sakido beside the tree, and when I did, I looked over the wide expanse of the surrounding land, and a thought crossed my mind. "Sakido..." Turning and looking towards her, I saw her looking at me with a half opened eye, before I asked, "What should we do now? To tell you the truth, I hadn't really thought about what we would do after fighting the rebels..."

Surprise flashed across her muzzle for the briefest of seconds, before a thoughtful expression came over her features. I didn't need to wait long however, before she said, "I promised Buwaro I would find him again... and I don't want to break that promise."

"Buwaro?" Looking up at the sky, it took me a brief pause, before realization dawned over me, and I brightened, though on the inside I cringed a bit. "Sakido... how will we find him?"

"He told me that they were going to a place called St. Curtis before we went separate ways."

Looking towards the horizon, I had not the slightest clue where that was, but with how things happened during my stay here, I knew it wouldn't be long before we would be able to find that town...

-Meanwhile, Russia, Our World-

"Sir, it appears that there is an energy signature originating from the center of the encampment. From my tests, I have gathered that the buildup of energy, while abundant, is not stable. However, what is really interesting about it is that the energy seems to be temporal in nature. It's some kind of wormhole," Said a short, but fit man that was in his late fifties. Surrounding him was a makeshift workshop that had been set up when they had embarked on an expedition to the location of a camp belonging to a dangerous rebel group. However, the whole point of this was not an attack, but rather due to the sudden disappearance of the rebels, along with the currently MIA soldier, Eric Elexion.

Hearing this, the General that the scientist had addressed looked at him skeptically. While he may not be a scientist, the General was NOT dumb enough to believe what he just heard, at least without solid proof, so his response was warranted. "I want to know what REALLY happened here, not excuses, and bad ones at that!"

"Sir, I can assure you that this... wormhole, is by all means not an excuse. While it does not appear to be there, it still reacts to the surrounding energy fields around it, and while it isn't visible to the naked eye, it can be seen through any glass like substance, such as cameras, and scopes on any troops' weapons." He paused, before he turned around, holding a small laptop and was typing rapidly on it. While he worked, the General gave him a critical eye, but before he opened his mouth to speak, the scientist stopped his frantic typing, before he looked up and said, "If my calculations are correct General, due to how unstable it is, this wormhole will eventually deteriorate and close permanently. I don't have an exact time frame, but I'd give it a few months at most, and with no way of knowing how it came to be; this may be our only chance to ever see what is on the other side of that wormhole."

"Well, it seems we are in a bind...the whole point of us coming here was to confirm the situation with the Rebels, and if possible, to locate Mr. Elexion, as he is the only one here that is of true concern that is missing..." He rubbed his chin lightly, but before he got too far, he asked, "Are you certain that this wormhole thing a ma-jig can't be reopened...?" The scientist nodded, but was cut off by the general, "Then what is the point of sending troops into that wormhole? While Eric may be one of my best men, he is still just one soldier. What more, we have no actual confirmation that he is even on the other side, meaning I may just be sending my men on a potential suicide mission for nothing."

While the general continued to ponder his decisions and choices, the scientist merely grumbled, before he returned to a table and began to work once more. There was however, two other people in the room, with one being male, and the other female. They were both soldiers. Yet it was only the male that dared to speak, "Permission to speak, sir!"

The general glanced up, before he looked towards the man, and said with a small nod, "Permission granted. What is it you want, son?"

"Sir, Eric was a personal friend of mine. If you choose to send troops in after him, I would like to be the first to volunteer."

Before the general said anything, it was the scientists turn to cut him off, which earned him a silent glare, "G-General, that wormhole, it appears to be decaying more rapidly than I had originally estimated! At this rate, the wormhole will collapse on itself in a couple of weeks, or maybe a month if we're lucky. Whatever your decision, it needs to be made now, while there is still a chance for our soldiers to make the trip and return."

There was a soft 'thrum' like sound coming from outside, and while the general looked towards the urgent expression of the scientist, he shifted it between him and the soldier.

After he let out a tired sigh, he looked towards the young man, before he said, "Go and find Staff seargent Willis. Tell him to assemble the search and rescue ground platoon, but instead of standard APC, requisition two BTR's."

"Sir, yes sir!"

With that, the young man turned and walked speedily out of the tent, before he thought to himself, Eric... what happened to you buddy...?