Author's Note: Alright, I know that in my last chapter, I left a lot of loose ends. Here's the epilogue, which will not only take care of that little problem, but it sets the changes for my sequel. So, enjoy!
*Disclaimer*: Game belongs to Squaresoft. Story's all mine.
Epilogue
When Margie and Bart finally made it down to the Yggdrassil, almost everyone was waiting outside of the ship, standing in the fresh snow. Many were saying their goodbyes.
Margie spotted Elly a few feet away, standing by Fei who had his arm around her shoulders. The Great Mother immediately smiled and let go of Bart's hand to run ahead and pull Elly away from a protesting Fei.
She laughed as Fei yelled at her. "Don't worry, Fei! I'll take care of your wife!" she yelled back with a grin as Bart tried to calm the martial artist down.
Elly giggled at her husbands reaction. But then she turned to Margie, and studied the younger girls excited expression. "Margie, what happened? You didn't show up to the brunch we had planned for Queen Zephyr. That was pretty rude, you know."
Margie's smile didn't fade as she continued leading the pregnant Solarian around the crowds in her search for the others. When she didn't answer, Elly pulled on the hand that was leading her to get the girl's attention. "Margie, what happened? And where are we going?"
"I want to find Maria and Em," Margie said. "I want them to be hear it, too."
"Hear what? What happened?"
"You'll see."
They finally spotted the two a few feet away, talking in a small group with some other girls. Margie was surprised to see those other girls where Kahr's girls. She was also pleased that they were finally getting along.
"Have they been doing this much?" she asked Elly.
"Since about a week ago. You haven't been able to see because you were stuck in your room, but they've become friends of a sort. Maria and Tolone still tend to argue a bit," Elly added with a grin.
Emeralda spotted Margie and Elly first, and she tapped Maria on the shoulder to point at them. Maria stopped her conversation and turned to them, smiling and waving when she saw them. The other three, which were Kelvena, Tolone, and Seraphita turned too and smiled a little. Well, except for Tolone. She just lifted her eyebrows at them a little. That's about as much greeting as they were going to get from her.
"Margie, where have you been?" Maria demanded as they got withing hearing range. "You missed the brunch and all of us where there, even Dominia."
"Yes, but all she did was mutter about it being too girly and pointless," Kelvena laughed softly. "I'm sure she just wanted to go back to the Commander. I think she misses him after being away from him for five minutes."
The others giggled, too, but they glanced around nervously. If Dominia heard them. . .
"So, where were you?" Maria asked again. The others looked at her expectantly, too.
Margie smiled happily and sighed. "Well, I kinda disappeared on purpose because I didn't want to leave, you know. But then Bart found me and. . ."
"And?" Elly asked.
Margie's smile softened and she pulled up the long sleeve of her coat, exposing her ungloved hand and the ring on it. The others immediately gasped and crowded around, asking a dozen questions at once.
"Oh, Margie, is that what I think it is?" Elly
"Bart actually proposed?" Emeralda
"Deus, look at the sapphire on that thing! And the diamonds!" Tolone
"What did he say? Was it romantic?" Kelvena
"Forget that! What did _you_ say, Margie?" Maria
"Yeah! When's the wedding!" Seraphita
Margie's giggles turned to sobs again as she looked down at the ring on her finger. She began crying and the others quit asking questions and "aww'ed" at her tears before they patted her understandingly. Elly hugged her as Margie's weeping continued, until Margie finally pulled away and wiped at her tears with her gloved hand. She gave the others an embarrased smile, but then they all began giggling again.
"What's going on here?"
They all turned and saw Dominia coming toward them, a questioning look on her face. The giggling stopped and they all looked around sheepishly, but Seraphita spoke up. "Bart proposed to Margie a little while ago," she chirped, smiling.
The giggling started all over and Margie smiled in embarrasement once more, but Dominia surprised them all by nodding in approval and softening enough to say a few nice things to Margie. "Congratulations. Young and he's already making a commitment. That shows strength and dedication. I'm sure you'll be happy with him." Then she looked at her three companions. "Now, you three. Come with me. The Commander was looking for you."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving a surprised group to stare after her.
"Whoa," Tolone breathed, shaking her head. "Either the Comaander's finally looking her way, or she's been drinking a little too early. . ."
That started the others off again, biut they finally sobered up as the goodbye's began.
"Well, we have to go. We'll see you later on the ship, then," Kelvena said, nodding at them. She turned to Margie and cleared her throat before leaning in and giving her a quick hug. Surprised but pleased, Margie hugged the Solarian back. "Congratulations, Great Mother," she whispered.
Margie winced like she had on that day so many weeks ago, but laughed softly. "Call me Margie, Kelvena. All my friends do."
The two smiled at each other, a newfound bond between them before the dark-haired Solarian backed off and waved at the others before leaving.
"Yeah, congrats," a sweet voice agreed. Margie looked over and smiled at Seraphita, who came over and hugged her too. Then she went after Kelvena.
Tolone only nodded at her before she followed the other two.
The four who remained looked at each other and smiled in pleasure. They'd made four new friends out of the ones they had once thought of as enemies.
***************************************************
When the preperations were complete and everyone began climbing on the Yggdrassil, Margie was saying her goodbyes to Zephyr.
". . .and I apologize for not attending the goodbye brunch we had planned," Margie continued explaining. "It's just that I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to leave and I still don't, but--"
"It's okay, Marguerite," Zephyr assured, smiling in her serious way. "I understand perfectly. Besides, I hear that something more important happened while you escaped. Something that has to do with the young Bartholomew. . ."
Margie blushed under the Queens penetrating stare. Then both women smiled secretly at each as only females could.
"I thought as much," Zephyr said, nodding in satisfaction. "The young one adores you. So he finally asked you to marry him?"
Margie looked thoughtful. "He told me, actually. No asking."
"Which fits much more with his character," the Queen commented.
"Oh, but it was perfect, Zephyr," Margie whispered, a smile coming back to her face.
"Margie!"
They both turned to see Bart coming toward them. "We're already starting to file in and. . ." he trailed off as he saw the looks the two women gave him. Deus, they both still looked younger than he was, yet they unnerved him with their eyes, which seemed wiser than their years. He hesitated and finally cleared his throat. "Um, as I was saying, we're all getting in the Yggdrassil already, but Maria says she needs to talk to us."
Margie grinned at his obvious nervousness. "Alright, Bart. We'll be there in a minute."
He nodded before quickly hurrying off. Margie chuckled under her breath. "So, Zephyr. Coming along?"
But the young looking Queen shook her head. "No. I belive I have an idea of what Maria wants to say."
"Oh, okay. Goodbye then, Zephyr," Margie said, taking the Queens hands in herown and giving them a squeeze. "And thanks for everything."
"No need for thanks, Marguerite. Goodbye."
Margie waved as she ran towards the Ygddrassil. Once she arrived, she saw that the whole group was there, waiting expectantly as Maria stood on top of a small, little hill so she could be seen. When the girl saw Margie, she finally gave a piercing whistle that got everyone's attention. Everyone looked up at her.
"Alright, everyone. I know that you're all desperate to go." She grinned at the snorts of disbelief that followed this comment. "Anyway, after this visit, I've realized that instead of going back to Nisan, I want to stay here."
Complete silence followed her announcement. Until Emeralda finally spoke up. "You want to stay here? But why?"
"Because this is my home, Em. I know I've been staying in Nisan when we're not searching for refugees, but that was only for convenience sake. Now, I think I should stay here for a while and help with all the things that need to be done. Help is needed here too, you know."
The others began murmuring amongst themselves, until Margie cupped her gloved hands over her mouth and called, "But you're gonna visit all the time, right?"
Maria grinned at her and nodded. "Of course, Margie. I'll visit you all whenever I can. And you guys can visit me whenever you want."
Fei finally spoke. "Hey, Maria, you know we're gonna miss you, right? You're a part of the team."
Maria blushed a little at this, and a smile lit up her face.
"Yeah, squirt," Bart agreed, calling her by the old nickname he used to use. "We're going to have to keep in touch frequently."
Elly stepped forward and gave Maria a hug. The the others followed suit. Margie hugged the girl fiercely, whispering. "You're practically my younger sister, you know. I'm gonna miss you."
"Yeah, me too," Maria whispered back. When Margie pulled away, she saw that tears stood in Maria's dark green eyes. Emeralda hugged her just as tightly and Maria sniffled in her best friend's shoulder. "Take care, Em. Keep an eye on Fei and Elly for me. They need all the help they can get."
"Yes, Maria. I will miss your company," Emeralda said, pulling away. "But I understand that this is your home and you need to do what you can."
Maria nodded and wiped her tears away. The Prim was there to take Emeralda's place. The young girl clung to Maria from the waist and Maria laughed softly as she ruffled her silver hair. The Prim let go and began pulling Maria by the hand towards Billy, who stood a few feet away.
Margie and Emeralda smiled at each other as they saw them talking a bit before she hugged him warmly, her arms around his neck. Billy hesitated a moment before returning the hug.
"Too bad we couldn't hear what they were saying," Margie grumbled as Maria began coming back. They saw the blush staining her cheeks and began giggling, while Maria frowned at them in annoyance. But then she began giggling, too.
Kelvena, Tolone, and Seraphita said goodbye to Maria, too. Two hugs and another nod later, everyone was climbing on to the Yggdrassil, waving at Maria and Zephyr as long as they could see them.
Then they headed back home.
REALLY THE END. . . UNTIL THE SEQUEL. . . ^_^
*There. That should hold you all until the sequel.
*Disclaimer*: Game belongs to Squaresoft. Story's all mine.
Epilogue
When Margie and Bart finally made it down to the Yggdrassil, almost everyone was waiting outside of the ship, standing in the fresh snow. Many were saying their goodbyes.
Margie spotted Elly a few feet away, standing by Fei who had his arm around her shoulders. The Great Mother immediately smiled and let go of Bart's hand to run ahead and pull Elly away from a protesting Fei.
She laughed as Fei yelled at her. "Don't worry, Fei! I'll take care of your wife!" she yelled back with a grin as Bart tried to calm the martial artist down.
Elly giggled at her husbands reaction. But then she turned to Margie, and studied the younger girls excited expression. "Margie, what happened? You didn't show up to the brunch we had planned for Queen Zephyr. That was pretty rude, you know."
Margie's smile didn't fade as she continued leading the pregnant Solarian around the crowds in her search for the others. When she didn't answer, Elly pulled on the hand that was leading her to get the girl's attention. "Margie, what happened? And where are we going?"
"I want to find Maria and Em," Margie said. "I want them to be hear it, too."
"Hear what? What happened?"
"You'll see."
They finally spotted the two a few feet away, talking in a small group with some other girls. Margie was surprised to see those other girls where Kahr's girls. She was also pleased that they were finally getting along.
"Have they been doing this much?" she asked Elly.
"Since about a week ago. You haven't been able to see because you were stuck in your room, but they've become friends of a sort. Maria and Tolone still tend to argue a bit," Elly added with a grin.
Emeralda spotted Margie and Elly first, and she tapped Maria on the shoulder to point at them. Maria stopped her conversation and turned to them, smiling and waving when she saw them. The other three, which were Kelvena, Tolone, and Seraphita turned too and smiled a little. Well, except for Tolone. She just lifted her eyebrows at them a little. That's about as much greeting as they were going to get from her.
"Margie, where have you been?" Maria demanded as they got withing hearing range. "You missed the brunch and all of us where there, even Dominia."
"Yes, but all she did was mutter about it being too girly and pointless," Kelvena laughed softly. "I'm sure she just wanted to go back to the Commander. I think she misses him after being away from him for five minutes."
The others giggled, too, but they glanced around nervously. If Dominia heard them. . .
"So, where were you?" Maria asked again. The others looked at her expectantly, too.
Margie smiled happily and sighed. "Well, I kinda disappeared on purpose because I didn't want to leave, you know. But then Bart found me and. . ."
"And?" Elly asked.
Margie's smile softened and she pulled up the long sleeve of her coat, exposing her ungloved hand and the ring on it. The others immediately gasped and crowded around, asking a dozen questions at once.
"Oh, Margie, is that what I think it is?" Elly
"Bart actually proposed?" Emeralda
"Deus, look at the sapphire on that thing! And the diamonds!" Tolone
"What did he say? Was it romantic?" Kelvena
"Forget that! What did _you_ say, Margie?" Maria
"Yeah! When's the wedding!" Seraphita
Margie's giggles turned to sobs again as she looked down at the ring on her finger. She began crying and the others quit asking questions and "aww'ed" at her tears before they patted her understandingly. Elly hugged her as Margie's weeping continued, until Margie finally pulled away and wiped at her tears with her gloved hand. She gave the others an embarrased smile, but then they all began giggling again.
"What's going on here?"
They all turned and saw Dominia coming toward them, a questioning look on her face. The giggling stopped and they all looked around sheepishly, but Seraphita spoke up. "Bart proposed to Margie a little while ago," she chirped, smiling.
The giggling started all over and Margie smiled in embarrasement once more, but Dominia surprised them all by nodding in approval and softening enough to say a few nice things to Margie. "Congratulations. Young and he's already making a commitment. That shows strength and dedication. I'm sure you'll be happy with him." Then she looked at her three companions. "Now, you three. Come with me. The Commander was looking for you."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving a surprised group to stare after her.
"Whoa," Tolone breathed, shaking her head. "Either the Comaander's finally looking her way, or she's been drinking a little too early. . ."
That started the others off again, biut they finally sobered up as the goodbye's began.
"Well, we have to go. We'll see you later on the ship, then," Kelvena said, nodding at them. She turned to Margie and cleared her throat before leaning in and giving her a quick hug. Surprised but pleased, Margie hugged the Solarian back. "Congratulations, Great Mother," she whispered.
Margie winced like she had on that day so many weeks ago, but laughed softly. "Call me Margie, Kelvena. All my friends do."
The two smiled at each other, a newfound bond between them before the dark-haired Solarian backed off and waved at the others before leaving.
"Yeah, congrats," a sweet voice agreed. Margie looked over and smiled at Seraphita, who came over and hugged her too. Then she went after Kelvena.
Tolone only nodded at her before she followed the other two.
The four who remained looked at each other and smiled in pleasure. They'd made four new friends out of the ones they had once thought of as enemies.
***************************************************
When the preperations were complete and everyone began climbing on the Yggdrassil, Margie was saying her goodbyes to Zephyr.
". . .and I apologize for not attending the goodbye brunch we had planned," Margie continued explaining. "It's just that I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to leave and I still don't, but--"
"It's okay, Marguerite," Zephyr assured, smiling in her serious way. "I understand perfectly. Besides, I hear that something more important happened while you escaped. Something that has to do with the young Bartholomew. . ."
Margie blushed under the Queens penetrating stare. Then both women smiled secretly at each as only females could.
"I thought as much," Zephyr said, nodding in satisfaction. "The young one adores you. So he finally asked you to marry him?"
Margie looked thoughtful. "He told me, actually. No asking."
"Which fits much more with his character," the Queen commented.
"Oh, but it was perfect, Zephyr," Margie whispered, a smile coming back to her face.
"Margie!"
They both turned to see Bart coming toward them. "We're already starting to file in and. . ." he trailed off as he saw the looks the two women gave him. Deus, they both still looked younger than he was, yet they unnerved him with their eyes, which seemed wiser than their years. He hesitated and finally cleared his throat. "Um, as I was saying, we're all getting in the Yggdrassil already, but Maria says she needs to talk to us."
Margie grinned at his obvious nervousness. "Alright, Bart. We'll be there in a minute."
He nodded before quickly hurrying off. Margie chuckled under her breath. "So, Zephyr. Coming along?"
But the young looking Queen shook her head. "No. I belive I have an idea of what Maria wants to say."
"Oh, okay. Goodbye then, Zephyr," Margie said, taking the Queens hands in herown and giving them a squeeze. "And thanks for everything."
"No need for thanks, Marguerite. Goodbye."
Margie waved as she ran towards the Ygddrassil. Once she arrived, she saw that the whole group was there, waiting expectantly as Maria stood on top of a small, little hill so she could be seen. When the girl saw Margie, she finally gave a piercing whistle that got everyone's attention. Everyone looked up at her.
"Alright, everyone. I know that you're all desperate to go." She grinned at the snorts of disbelief that followed this comment. "Anyway, after this visit, I've realized that instead of going back to Nisan, I want to stay here."
Complete silence followed her announcement. Until Emeralda finally spoke up. "You want to stay here? But why?"
"Because this is my home, Em. I know I've been staying in Nisan when we're not searching for refugees, but that was only for convenience sake. Now, I think I should stay here for a while and help with all the things that need to be done. Help is needed here too, you know."
The others began murmuring amongst themselves, until Margie cupped her gloved hands over her mouth and called, "But you're gonna visit all the time, right?"
Maria grinned at her and nodded. "Of course, Margie. I'll visit you all whenever I can. And you guys can visit me whenever you want."
Fei finally spoke. "Hey, Maria, you know we're gonna miss you, right? You're a part of the team."
Maria blushed a little at this, and a smile lit up her face.
"Yeah, squirt," Bart agreed, calling her by the old nickname he used to use. "We're going to have to keep in touch frequently."
Elly stepped forward and gave Maria a hug. The the others followed suit. Margie hugged the girl fiercely, whispering. "You're practically my younger sister, you know. I'm gonna miss you."
"Yeah, me too," Maria whispered back. When Margie pulled away, she saw that tears stood in Maria's dark green eyes. Emeralda hugged her just as tightly and Maria sniffled in her best friend's shoulder. "Take care, Em. Keep an eye on Fei and Elly for me. They need all the help they can get."
"Yes, Maria. I will miss your company," Emeralda said, pulling away. "But I understand that this is your home and you need to do what you can."
Maria nodded and wiped her tears away. The Prim was there to take Emeralda's place. The young girl clung to Maria from the waist and Maria laughed softly as she ruffled her silver hair. The Prim let go and began pulling Maria by the hand towards Billy, who stood a few feet away.
Margie and Emeralda smiled at each other as they saw them talking a bit before she hugged him warmly, her arms around his neck. Billy hesitated a moment before returning the hug.
"Too bad we couldn't hear what they were saying," Margie grumbled as Maria began coming back. They saw the blush staining her cheeks and began giggling, while Maria frowned at them in annoyance. But then she began giggling, too.
Kelvena, Tolone, and Seraphita said goodbye to Maria, too. Two hugs and another nod later, everyone was climbing on to the Yggdrassil, waving at Maria and Zephyr as long as they could see them.
Then they headed back home.
REALLY THE END. . . UNTIL THE SEQUEL. . . ^_^
*There. That should hold you all until the sequel.