Well everyone, here's the epilogue. I know it's been a while in coming, but I wanted to make sure it came out as good as possible. I hope you like it.
Six months later, everything was back to normal, as much as was possible with all that had transpired. Once everyone was back to their respective homes, after a day of rest, the world over treated the G-Revolutions, White Tigers, All Starz, and even the Saint Shields with a big celebration for the destruction of Black Dranzer and the permanent dissolution of Biovolt. As Kai had said, no one blamed Hilary for releasing Black Dranzer.
Now that things had calmed down, everyone was starting to settle back into their routines, but a few important changes had taken place as well. Tala, Spencer, Ian, and Bryan had reformed the Demolition Boys but now they competed for the challenge of the sport rather than for conquest and power. The boys who had been students at the Abbey were mostly in protective custody, thanks to Mr. Dickenson and the BBA was trying to track down their individual families.
Ray had gone back to China to rejoin the White Tigers X and to further his relationship with Mariah. Max and Mariam had become an official couple and Mariam had moved with him to New York, though she still kept in contact with her teammates. Kenny and Emily still kept in contact through e-mail and had been on a few dates, for which Kenny was teased endlessly. Daichi was still a part of the G-Revolutions and seemed to take a liking to Ming-Ming.
Tyson and Hilary were still a couple and Hilary still spent a good deal of time at the Granger dojo, so much so that at one point, Tyson had asked her to move in with him permanently. Hilary had graciously refused, saying that she didn't want to impose on his family and that she still felt more comfortable living with her mother. Mrs. Tatibana had made a full recovery from the gunshot wound she suffered and was back to living with her daughter.
Kai was in a difficult position. In the time between Black Dranzer being released and the Abbey being blown up, which was about a month, Kai had discovered that he too had romantic feelings for Hilary. He had wrestled with the issue of whether or not to tell her for the past six months. Doing so could jeopardize the friendship he had with her and from what he had seen during the Black Dranzer ordeal, Kai was fairly certain that Tyson would kill him if he ever tried anything.
Though he hated to admit it, even to himself, Kai needed advice, so he was at this moment on the phone in the kitchen at the Granger dojo with one of the only people who could understand him.
"Ray? It's Kai."
"Hey man, what's up?" he asked.
"I need some advice," Kai said, somewhat softly so no one in the dojo would hear him.
"Sure. What's the problem?" Ray asked.
"I…I think I love Hilary."
Kai expected a more powerful reaction than the "I see," he got.
"I don't hear any gasping," Kai half-joked.
"I'm not that surprised, to tell you the truth. Your behavior kind of gave it away. Have you told her yet?"
"Are you kidding? I'd be lucky if Tyson was as merciful with me as he was with Boris."
"Oh come on Kai, you're exaggerating."
"Exaggerating or not, I know saying anything would disrupt my relationship with Hilary and it would disrupt her relationship with Tyson."
"True."
"That's why I need your advice. Should I tell Hilary?"
"Well, what you just said to me was 'I think I love Hilary'. You either love someone or you don't. Do you or don't you?"
Kai sighed. "I do."
"Okay. If you really love her, you'd want her to happy, regardless of what that takes, right?"
"Yeah,"
"Do you think telling Hilary of your feelings, given the situation, would make her happy?"
"No."
"Then you have your answer. Just be sure you can handle keeping those feelings inside."
Kai actually chuckled. "Ray, have you forgotten who you're talking to?"
Ray laughed. "Oh yeah, sorry. Well, anyway I'm glad you came to me. Call me up anytime you need to talk."
"I'll be sure to do that."
Tyson and Hilary were in the living room, watching TV. Tyson had his arm wrapped around Hilary's waist and she had laid her head on his shoulder. A news report came on.
"It's still hard to believe that Biovolt is truly gone. A point of debate in the aftermath of the Abbey's destruction was the status of its leader, Boris Balkov. No one knew whether or not he perished in the explosion. Reports from the BBA have confirmed that the scientist is dead and that he was in the building during the explosion. However, it is unknown if he was killed as a direct result of the blast or if he was already dead before-hand."
Hilary looked at Tyson and smirked. "It looks like Mr. Dickenson has kept his promise so far," she said.
"Yeah. Mr. D doesn't want anything tarnishing the reputation of the G-Revolutions, so I know he won't rat me out."
"Even if he did, I doubt anyone would care."
"You're probably right."
The man on the TV continued. "Another mystery in this saga is just who or what set off the explosion. The BBA has declined to launch an investigation, and the Russian government has given no comment on the matter."
Tyson turned the TV off. "I think I've heard enough about that to last me a lifetime."
"Same here," Hilary said. "It certainly has made for an interesting story with our classmates, though. Not every girl gets kidnapped, dies and subsequently gets brought back to life twice in two days."
"Hil, you know I hate it when you or anyone else mentions that part of the story."
"Sorry."
Daichi walked in from outside and immediately frowned upon seeing his teammates.
"Do you two ever spend more than five minutes apart?" he asked.
"Not if I can help it," Tyson said smirking.
"Shouldn't you be training now, Tyson?" Daichi asked.
"It's Saturday. You know I don't train on the weekends."
"Forget it. You're hopeless." He walked back outside, grumbling the whole time.
"I'll be right back, Hilary," Tyson said as he got up from the couch.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Just need to ask Chief a question," he said. He threw her a smile before walking outside.
Tyson found Kenny on the dojo porch, on his laptop as usual.
"Hey Chief, can I borrow your laptop for a bit?" he asked.
"What for?" Kenny asked, looking at his friend suspiciously.
"I wanna look up how much a diamond ring would cost."
Kenny raised an eyebrow at Tyson. "One, why? Two, there are many different kinds of diamond rings, which kind are you looking for? Three, do I know you?"
Tyson laughed and sat down next to Kenny. "In order, it's for Hilary, something in fourteen to eighteen carat range, and yes Chief, it's me."
"Is this a present?" Kenny asked.
"Engagement ring," Tyson said.
"Engagement? Tyson, you just turned eighteen last month. Aren't you a little young to be thinking about marriage?"
"Who said I was gonna give it to her right away? I plan to wait a couple more years before I pop the question. I just want to do my homework ahead of time so I can get exactly what I want when the time comes."
"Alright Tyson, you can use my laptop but make it quick."
While Tyson was looking up a price comparison chart, Kenny decided to ask a couple more questions.
"What's your budget on this ring?"
"No less than five-hundred dollars, no more than fifteen-hundred dollars,"
"Or in our currency, between forty-eight thousand and one-hundred and forty-three thousand yen," Kenny said. "Can you afford that?"
"Of course I can, I'm the world champion. I have money from the championships, and I've been saving ever since I asked Hilary to be my girlfriend for this very reason."
"Tyson you do know that carat pertains to the weight of the diamond in addition to the purity of the gold used right?"
Tyson turned to Kenny. "No. What does weight have to do with it?"
"The more a diamond weighs, the more a diamond ring will cost and it might put some strain on Hilary's finger too."
"So something that says .57 carats means the weight of the diamond?"
Kenny nodded. "What about the cut or the color?" he asked.
"Well, the color I want is white and what about the cut?"
"A good cut diamond reflects more light and makes it shine brighter. If you can afford it, I would get a very good cut or a premium cut. Look, let me help you."
Kenny took Tyson to a store that allowed one to customize a ring. Kenny customized the settings for him and after about five minutes, Tyson had gotten the ring he wanted. It was a four-pronged 18-carat white gold band with a princess cut .45 carat diamond. The diamond was a Very Good cut and colorless or white as Tyson had wanted.
"Well, you stayed within your budget. With the band and the diamond, the ring costs a little over twelve hundred US dollars," Kenny said.
"Great. Order it." Tyson said.
"Order it? Tyson, I thought you said you'd wait before giving it to Hilary."
"I will. I'm gonna keep the ring in a safe place where Hilary won't find it."
"Alright Tyson." Kenny clicked the order button, filled out the necessary payment information and got off the site.
When Tyson finally came back inside, Hilary turned to him and asked, "What took you so long? I thought you just wanted to ask Chief a question."
"Yeah, I asked if I could use his computer."
"Oh. What did you need it for?"
"So I could get something for you," he said, grinning.
She smiled at him. "Tyson, you didn't need to get me anything. It's very sweet of you though." She kissed him on his cheek.
"I wanted to. It's something really special. But I wanna surprise you, so you're gonna have to wait for a while."
"So it has to get here first. Alright,"
"I mean wait until I decide to give it to you. I wanna wait until the perfect time."
She looked at him with a confused expression. "How long is this wait going to be?"
"Your birthday, two years from now," he said.
Hilary's eyes widened in shock. "Two years? Why that long?"
"Just trust me. I promise it'll be worth the wait."
She sighed, and nodded her understanding.
Two years later, on the day they had agreed on, Tyson took Hilary to the park. They had spent the whole day together and now it was late afternoon.
"I had a great time today Tyson," Hilary said.
"So did I. Well, I think you've waited long enough, so it's time I give you your present."
"Oh what is it?" she asked excitedly.
He took out a small black box and got down on one knee. He opened up the box, revealing the ring he bought for her. Hilary gasped and started to tear up as Tyson spoke.
"Hilary, I love you more than anyone else I've ever known and I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes! Of course I will!"
Tyson put the ring on his fiancé's finger and Hilary immediately pulled him into a loving embrace.
Unbeknownst to the joyful couple, Kai had been following them throughout the day, not because he was stalking them, but because he wanted to see the unfolding scene for himself. He smiled from his hiding place behind a secluded tree. Despite his own feelings for Hilary, he was truly glad for them.
You be sure to make her happy Tyson
Once he was sure he wouldn't be noticed, Kai made his exit.