Disclaimer: Well, despite as obvious as this may be, its required I do it, so you can read this and bare with me, or just skip down to the main event. I do not in any way shape or form own any of the wonderful characters, towns, or settings of this wonderful game known as Grandia. Anything that was not in this masterpiece by Game Arts probably belongs to me, so please ask before you use it. Thank you, and enjoy ^__^.



A Fond Farewell?



There they stood, gazing out over the surrounding landscape. Below them, only at a distance of perhaps a hundred feet, were all their friends. Gadwin, Milda, Rapp, Liete, Guido, Sue, Mullen, Leen, and even the "love to hate them" sergeants, Nana, Saki and Mio. Above them stood a gargantuan tree that was once the scourge of the world, Gaia. A living symbol of the friendship between humans and the spirits. From their tiny vantage point high upon a cliff outcropping, Justin and Feena stared out at all of them, with almost serene smiles upon their faces.

"We did it, Justin…we really did it." Feena said in a hushed voice, barely above a whisper.

"Was there any doubt? No one can beat the two greatest adventurers in the world!" Justin said with a wide grin.

Feena turned to the red-headed youth, and cocked her head to the side with a slight smile to her lips. "The two greatest adventurers…" She thought, "It sounds a whole lot better then just the single best…and a whole lot less lonely, too." As cheers rang out among their friends below them, Feena pulled herself closer to Justin to hug his arm slightly and look at the commotion. Justin looked down as well, but with a slightly more serious face on.

They had cheered at seeing Leen was alive. Sure, that was probably the greatest part about all of this. They hadn't even noticed them up here, upon their tiny sanctuary. Justin couldn't help but feel relieved at this. Why would he even feel like that? He could tell by Feena's grip on his arm she wanted to race down and embrace everyone one of them. He turned to her now, and smiled barely.

"You…you better go down their and show 'em you're still alive." Justin said with an almost fake version of his traditional chuckle.

"Yes, let's go down and…" Feena started, before fully taking in what Justin had said, "What…what do you mean by just me..?"

Justin's head lowered to the point where his blue hat covered his eyes with red hair. Gently pulling his arm free of Feena's now even tighter grip, he walked a few steps back, turning himself to face the sky, away from Feena.

"Justin…?" Feena asked hesitantly.

"Do you remember what Liete said in Alent…About their being a Hero that would set things right, and help the Icarians get rid of Gaia?" Justin asked her.

"Of course." Feena said, smiling, "I'm looking at him."

"That's the whole point, Feena…" Justin replied, turning to her now, his face sunken, and very uncharacteristic of him, "Out of all the legends anyone, and we've ever heard about the Icarians, was their ever mention of the hero?"

"Well…no." Feena admitted, unsure where this conversation was going.

"That's because after the hero had done his job…he removed himself from the scene and let the chosen ones of the spirits take the credit, as it was supposed to be."

Feena gasped as all of this finally fell into place. She shook her head, extending her arms to Justin with a look of utter terror.

"Justin, we did it together! There's no reason for you to…"

Before she could finish that sentence, Justin took and a step forward and held her hand in his own. Then, he reached back with his free hand to draw the Spirit Sword. Feena could now see it was shattered half-way down the blade. "It must have done its job," Feena thought, "And then it…!!!" Justin placed the broken blade in her hand, by the hilt of course, and closed her fist around it.

"We changed history, Feena…now its time to do what is right." Justin said, forcing a smile upon his face, "Like the sword, I have done my part…and had the greatest adventure of a hundred life times. That's good enough for me. You have to go back, and make sure no one ever forgets what happened here."

"Where…will you go?" The green-haired girl asked, trying with increasing difficulty to hold back tears.

"Somewhere, I guess. There must be a whole new adventure just waiting for me to discover it." Justin replied, although not sounding nearly excited as usual about a new adventure.

"But we've been everywhere!" Feena exclaimed, the tears finally breaking loose, "Its time to go back…to go home, Justin!"

"You should no by now there is no end, Feena…we crossed the End of the World together…we've been around this whole new place together…and there's more to discover even further on! That's my true role, Feena. To keep on going and never give up." Justin said, placing a kiss on her forehead, "…But out of everything I've done on this journey…the greatest thing was befriending you…"

With that said, he brought her free hand up to his lips and kissed it barely. Then with one more false smile, he turned, and started to walk away, not once looking back. His fists were clenched, and he closed his eyes tightly, to keep from crying. "I…I gotta do what Guido said and follow my destiny…no matter what…but why is it always so hard…?" Justin thought, frowning.

What caused him to stop was the sound of something slicing into the dirt. Turning around slowly, he saw that Feena had thrown the broken Spirit Sword into the dirt and had raced full-throttle to catch up. Before Justin could react, the young Icarian tackled Justin and brought him to the ground. Crying, she embraced him tightly and buried her face in his chest, nuzzling it to wipe the ever-flowing tears. Justin, with a totally flabbergasted face, placed his arms protectively around Feena and held her tightly.

"I don't care what is supposed to happen…I don't care about destiny, or you being the hero…" Feena wailed, looking up to him, "All I care about is being with you! All I care about is being in love…with you…"

"I…I…" Justin tried to choke out, his own tears starting to form.

Feena shook her head to him, and leaned up just barely to place a kiss upon his lips. To an outside viewer, it was nothing that special. Just another kiss, one would say. To them, however, this was the sweetest, most tender moment they had shared in the entirety of the quest. This is what they had been really fighting for: To be together, and to love one another.

"I love you too! Ask me to stay…I'll never leave your side…" Justin gasped out as they broke from the kiss, now taking his turn to cry a bit.

"I have…and you promised you would never leave." Feena reminded him, wiping a tear off her eye with the back of her hand.

"You're right…I promised…and more than that...you're my destiny, Feena!"

Feena smiled tenderly to him, before leaning in to share a kiss for the second time. The two embraced each other tightly, and closed their eyes. Snuggling her nose into Justin's neck a bit, Feena was slowly drawn away to the land of slumber. She was off to join Justin, whom exhaustion had claimed only moments ago. Sure, they needed to see their friends, but that could wait. This moment was all that really mattered. And even if their friends found them, they might not fully understand what they found. They were no longer a Hero and an Icarian, and not even two of the greatest adventurers to grace this world. They were two people who had shared the best part of their lives together. Partners, then friends, then lovers…true lovers, the greatest power of the Spirits.

Fin.



How do you like it? Its my first Grandia fic. Please, feel free to review…in fact, I order you to review! Or I will make you listen to "Rah Rah Cheer" over…and over…and over again! Mwuahaha! But seriously, try to keep the flames to a minimum, but tell me what you think. If I get enough encouragement, I would like to write more andmake a series over what happened during those 10 years after the game…well, until the maybe next time, ja ne!