Title: "At Last"

Author: Trinity

Fandom: Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger

Pairing: Rio/Mele

Rating: G

Spoilers: Gekiranger 48

Summary: At last, Rio has found what he desired…

At first, all he could see was darkness and rain. It was like all those times before in his dreams, except, in his heart, he knew this was no dream. This was his fate. For his sins, he'd be doomed to spend forever in the darkness, in the rain and in the place where he had not only lost everything, but also in the place where his path to darkness and evil had begun.

This isn't what I wanted… but it's what I deserve. He thought. This is what happens when you let your obsessions and desires consume you, I guess… He was convinced… this was hell.

But then, the rain began to stop and the darkness seemed to fade away. He looked around for a moment, and wondered just what was going on. He was in the afterlife, he knew that much… but was it hell?

As the forest cleared, he suddenly realized that this was a very different place. Something was coming towards him out of the mist. As it got closer, he could make out it was green and vaguely female shaped and suddenly, his heart soared. It was his beloved Mele. He'd done it! He'd made it to her and he was going to spend forever with the only person who he could truly remember ever loving him.

Mele smiled at him and slowly, her eyes shining, she extended her hand to him.

Rio returned the gentle smile and placed his hand in hers. It seemed to fit perfectly, making him smile even more. He forced his voice to work. "Mele…"

She placed a finger to his lips. "Don't say anything, Rio-sama…" She murmured. "Your eyes say it all."

He kissed her forehead gently, finally feeling at peace with himself, with her… with everything. Everything was perfect now. The darkness was gone, he was no longer twisted by Long's influence and he had Mele's love.

At last, everything was as it should be which made him smile as she gave him an even bigger smile and they headed off into the warm light… content.

At last, he finally had what he had truly wanted all along.