Black Coffee

Epilogue

"Where there is life, there is opportunity. I have been to the edges of life and have stared death in the face, yet I continue to live still. I knew I wasn't going to die that day, which was the only thing that kept me calm in the middle of all the madness. I knew I would return someday...but I needed time.

The lands of Omega Land had been devastated by the Black Crystals and Obelisks. Deserts and wastelands now covered what used to be green and grassy hills, and barren, ugly trees now exist where the flowing lush green forests used to stand proud.

There was no life...and that was my plan. To atone for all my sins, was to restore the planet to its former glory. I know I could not care less for the state of the lands...but everyone else would. The environment is something that everyone holds in the highest regard, and there was no mistaking that Von Bolt took it all away from them. And it became increasingly obvious that famine would distress and endanger the lives of everyone.

I knew fighting with the Allied Nations never really made me feel better about my dark past with Black Hole. After all, the only thing I was doing was killing even more. Perhaps it may have given some a sense of self justice, but for me, it was still the same mindless killing, except this time, I really had an excuse.

I wanted to save lives. To save just as many lives as I had taken. Only then would I feel that my conscience was clear. And I knew how.

I could feel the tremendous power that emanated from Von Bolt's chair. He was leeching the land's energy to stay alive and remain strong. During the final battle, where he became a mighty version of himself...that was what he wanted to achieve. It seemed that all the energy was stored in that chair, and Von Bolt only needed a fraction of it to repair the Grand Bolt. It was lucky I managed to sever the cable feeding the energy into him, and yet not damage the module that contained all the energy.

I admit, it was a last minute decision to stay behind. I never make last minute decisions in reality; it has always been against my personal code. But at that point, what else could I do? See famine take the lives of many more people, when I knew that I could prevent it? It would drive me to suicide.

So I stayed with the chair, and as the base collapsed around me, I knew I could survive. I always survive. I am Hawke, and I laugh in the face of death.

I managed to find the blueprints for the Black Obelisk, and having been around Lash for so long, I have learnt a little about technology. So using what knowledge I had, and gathering scattered troops to aid me and my cause, we built another Black Obelisk, but with a few...modifications, shall we say. In short, we reversed the energy draining module and installed the chair's energy container within it. We built it to be ten times the size of a normal Black Obelisk, and it took a few months, but we got it done eventually. Soon, we activated it, and we watched as the energy swiftly returned to the land around us.

I sent recon troops to evaluate the progress, and it seemed that the energy was spreading to wherever there was a lack of it. Even the places that were originally deserts seem to have gained some energy, and more cacti and weeds grow there now. But I had done what I set out to achieve, to bring life back to the land, and back to the people.

Therefore, my sins have been atoned for. I have essentially rescued millions from death due to the coming famine. So what is left for me to do now?

I would rather remain somewhat unknown. I've had it with living such a prolific life, where everyone saw me as a man to be feared and fabled. I am thirty one, and I have plenty of life left in me. I am highly qualified; therefore I have the makings of the common man. I was just lucky, that was all. There's a whole world out there for me though, and I cannot wait to begin my exploration of it. I guess a few of my traits will stay with me, and I will always seem to assess certain aspects of my life like a battlefield. But then again, some people wouldn't have me any other way.

But there's one last thing I must do before I begin my new life..."

He sat on a log in the middle of a grassy knoll within the trees. He waited patiently, and he had faith and confidence that she would arrive.

And arrive she did. From the trees came a familiar figure, dressed in the same tank top shorts and large overcoat. Hawke stood up and watched as she calmly approached him.

"...I always knew you were good at following coordinates" he said.

"I know..." she answered. "And I recognized the signature"

"It's an official one Lash...it could fetch quite the coin in an auction if you were to try and sell it off as a memento from the past war"

"You think?" There was a silence as the two looked at each other. It was time for Hawke to unveil his plan.

"...We never really paid attention to the money we were paid, didn't we?" he pointed out. Lash gave a shrug.

"Nah, didn't cross my mind by the end of it" she answered, smiling. Hawke then pulled out his wallet and showed Lash a large wad of cash he had inside.

"I took the liberty of examining how much I had saved over the last two wars" he said. "This is only a very mere fraction of my full savings. I have a proposition" he explained. Lash brought up her hands and mimicked shooting guns with them.

"Fire away, Commander" she said. Hawke loved the nostalgia trip for some reason. Hawke took a deep breath.

"Sell your house" he said. "We can pool our money and buy a mansion. I know a few great beach houses in Green Earth we could live in" he said. He then picked up Lash in his arms like a baby, considering her size, and looked at her in the eye. Lash smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"And maybe get married?" she asked.

"Perhaps..." Hawke answered, smiling deeply. "And we could start a family while we're at it. I always considered you'd be a pretty good mother, as long as you let me teach the manners" he said. Lash playfully hit him on the arm, giggling quietly. They then kissed each other softly before pressing their foreheads together and looking into each other's eyes again, breathing softly. There were no nerves.

"Then shall we? Without an ounce of prevention, as they say" Hawke said. Lash gave him another kiss on the cheek before she wrapped her arms around his neck. Hawke then begun to walk away from the grassy knoll, vanishing with Lash within the trees. A new life awaited them.

END OF PART 2/THE PROPER END, YEAH!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that story! I don't think there are enough variety of pairings with in depth stories when it comes to Advance Wars, so I thought I'd launch the campaign for that with this story. I don't think I'll be writing anymore AW stories after this one, but I won't stop writing just yet? There could be something else popping up in another genre, so check my profile and stuff to see if any new stories and such turn up! Ciao Ciao for now!