Whew, I'm back. I would have updated a little bit earlier but a situation arose at school, involving someone dying. Therefore I wasn't really feeling up to it. Anyways, enough excuses, time for review replies. Thank you to kaiserdragon52, (I'm glad you think it was funny) Airess Byrd, (I thought my song wasn't very good, thank you) and Bill (I'm glad you thought it was cute.
To Kenji Shinjitsu, I'm grateful you thought the rest of the story was good, but why did chapter 19 suck? My older brother told me it was Okay, I'm not mad at you however, but do you think you could tell me why it sucked so I could improve it? Was it too corny?
Well, enough talk, I must get on with the epilogue.
Paths of the Heart
Chapter XX: Epilogue
The previous events had our story come to an end. However there was a few last strings to be tied and tangles to be unknotted. This epilogue takes place just a week after the party, dealing with all our characters individually.
X
Ursula returned to Chedo to take up her Grandfather's position as general. But she didn't expect what she found there.
"WHAT!" Ursula cried, "What do you mean the general's position is already taken?"
"I'm sorry captain, but someone with tremendous skill claimed the job this morning, someone with the name of E-" The guard at the palace gate said, but was cut off.
"Shut up! I'll get my grandfather's position back, whether you like it or not!" She said stomping off.
The guard yawned and turned to his partner, "You wanna go out for a drink?"
"Yeah, sure. I could do with a couple dozen glasses of Whisky."
Ursula growled while prowling the palace searching for her next victim. 'How dare he!' She thought, 'nobody is better than me, nobody can replace me!… Can they?'
"Where the HECK is he!" She cried in frustration, attracting a few of the stares belonging to the palace guards. One tapped her on the shoulder,
"Can I help you captain?" He asked.
"Yes you darn well can! Where is that impostor of a general!" Ursula shouted, spit spraying out of her face.
"The general," He stopped a minute to wipe the spit of his face with a hankie, "Is in his chambers, in the east wing." Before he could say any more, Ursula stomped off leaving dirty footprints in her wake.
Ursula stormed into the room muttering dark things that shall not be repeated, when she got the shock of her life. Standing in front of her, was Ershin.
"Ershin?" Ursula asked, stunned. "What are you doing here?"
Ershin bleeped, "I am here to be general."
Ursula gaped, "NOOOOOOO!" But she quickly gained her composure.
She drew her gun from her belt, "Say… Ershin, what do you say to a friendly competition? A… Fight, you know. The winner takes the title of general?"
Ershin bleeped in affirmative.
"Let's get ready to rumble." Ursula said.
She lost miserably and was demoted to palace window-washer.
X
Deis and Cray's relationship had been going surprisingly well. That is until they had an encounter with a familiar, (Though not to them) Black haired young lad. And they discovered they couldn't snog, due to the fact that Deis didn't have a body.
The said goddess was currently residing in her room in Worent, having moved in with her boyfriend. She stood beside her dressing table putting on a diamond necklace, while humming a tuneless song. She was getting ready for her hot date with Cray, she grinned at the thought.
Deis strolled over to the wardrobe at the other side of the room to remove her ten-centimeter mini skirt and very very small top for her date later that day. She didn't expect what was found there.
"AHHHHH!" She screamed in shock falling backwards.
The cavalry, Who happened to be Cray, charged in through the door. "What's the matter, my honey-bunch?" He cried.
Deis just laid on the floor feebly pointing at the wardrobe, "S…S-Sweety-pie… I-I-In….
T-There…."
Cray blinked and went to explore the wardrobe. He slowly opened the latch and let the door creakily slide open. He had to restrain his jaw from dropping to the carpet.
Inside, the boy who Nina and Ryu had met in their time on Earth sat. The boy who I might add had a rather strange obsession with eating people's clothes. For he sat nestled in a pile of half-eaten laced underwear.
"M-M…. My…Clothes, my precious clothes!" Deis sobbed in the background. Cray's eyes hardened nobody upset his girlfriend. Nobody.
"Who the heck are you!" He shouted angrily at the thirteen-year-old.
"I," Said Michael a bit pompously, while stuffing a bra in his mouth, "Mam Mipa Mwill."
"Eh?" Cray asked tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.
"I am Michael Hill, and I'm pleased to meet you too." He said swallowing the last of Deis's bra.
"W…Why are you eating a bra?" Asked Cray in alarm.
"Well," Started Michael, "If you are going to speak English my good friend, then do at least speak it properly, The question is 'Why were you eating a bra,' not 'Why are you eating a bra' After all, I have already finished eating it." He laughed a bit before continuing, "Anywho, these garments," He pointed to the now small pile of clothes, "Yours? I must say they are mighty tasty." Cray slowly went red in anger.
"I. Don't. Wear. Women's. Clothing." He said slowly.
"Hm…" Said Michael deep in thought, "Well then, the new question is, who's are these then?"
Cray pointed to a pile of chewed socks, "They belong to my girlfriend." He said, "And now your gonna die!" He shouted jumping inside the wardrobe to attack Michael. However, the door slammed shut just after and the latch fell back down.
There was a lot of movement from the wardrobe and it seemed a full-scale war was resonating from inside. For the wardrobe rocked and walked as though it was a contestant in a three-legged race.
This went on for quite a while, until Deis had the sense to open the door. As soon as she did, Cray went flying out, skidding right to Deis's feet.
Michael stepped out dusting his hands. "Well, that was jolly good fun, but I must catch the next teleport back home." And he walked right out of the room.
Cray sighed feeling a bruise come up on his forehead. "Oh well…" he said.
"What do you mean 'Oh well' you lost! You can't lose, you just have to have a rematch!" Deis screamed down to Cray. (Who was still on the floor)
"No, not that." He said, staring upwards, a grin slowly working up towards his face, "There's a nice view from down here."
SLAP
Despite all that, Deis and Cray stayed together, and eventually in many years to come, they got married. Unfortunately since Deis was only a spirit, they never had any children, so the girl who kept beating up her brother took over Worent.
X
Scais? Well he moved to Shikk to get a job since he spent all his money losing a bet on two men playing strip poker. Once there, he found his calling in life: Scrubbing the deck on Zigg's boat.
W-where can you find pleasure
Search the world for treasure
Learn science t-technology
Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true
Scais sung one happy day on Zig's boat.
On the land or on the sea
Where can you learn to fly
Play in sports and skin dive
Study 0-ocean-nography
Sign of for the big band
Or sit in the grandstand
When your team and others meet
In the navy
Yes, you can s-sail the seven seas
In the navy
Yes…you can put your mind at ease
In the navy
Come on now, fall in 'n' make a stand
In the navy, in the navy
Can't you see we need a hand
In the navy
Come on, p-protect the… motherland
In the navy
Come on and join your fellow man
In the navy
Come on people, and make a stand
In the navy, in the navy, in the navy (in the navy)
They want you,t- they want you
They want you as a new recruit
If you like…Uh… adventure
Don't you wait to enter
The recruiting office fast
Don't you hesitate
There is no need to wait
They're signing up new seamen fast
Maybe you are too young
To join up today
Bout don't you w-worry 'bout a thing
For I'm sure there will be
Always a good navy
Protecting the land and sea
In the navy
y-Yes, you can sail the seven s…s…s…Seas!
"SCAIS!" Screamed Zig, "Will you SHUT UP! I'm trying to spy out naked chicks with my new telescopee-thingy!"
Scais threw his paw to his forehead in a salute, "Y-Yes s-s-sir!" He cried happily continuing his cleaning. After all, he loved the smell of dish-washing powder.
He stayed there for twenty happy years before he got sent to the Pound for being accused of being a 'stray'.
X
Dawn was still in the same position we left her, except this time, she was in The Wayside mental hospital due to running around naked in the police station.
Now, there's not much to say about her, only that she was going to be there for a very very long time.
X
Erma and Steve, Ryu's companions on his quest to save Nina carried on with their lives as normal. Of course though, Erma was much happier with her brother back, unfortunately it caused many more arguments. Today's argument, was television.
"I tell you Steve, you watch too much TV!" Erma shouted at him.
"What's it to you?" Steve replied grumpily.
"I want to watch it!" She shouted back folding her arms and sticking out her tongue at him. Steve rose out of the sofa and stood against Erma trying to appear tall. It didn't work though; Erma was excellent at that game.
"You looking for a insult fight?" Asked Steve.
Erma gave him a smug look. "Maybe I am."
"Stupid,"
"Twit,"
"Git,"
"Idiot,"
"Pompous moron,"
"Fat cow,"
"Dung-covered toothpick,"
The rest of the conversation was certainly too rude to pin down in words. All I can tell you is that many arguments were to come. But never in their lives did they forget their encounter with the angel-like girl and the dragon-boy.
X
And of course, who can forget Ryu and Nina, our main characters in this story, and in many others. Some of you may be wondering what happened to them, some of you haven't thought about it, and some of you most likely don't care. But this is what happened to them, and this, is the truth.
"Ryu?" Nina asked thoughtfully, putting a finger to her chin, " How long do Dragons live for?"
Ryu turned to her an eyebrow raised. "We're Endless, remember?"
Nina blinked, "Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot." She giggled.
Currently they were in the royal gardens of Wyndia, a most beautiful place only accessed by members of the Wyndian royal family. However, Nina had invited Ryu to look at the flowers.
After they had returned from Earth, the king- Nina's father had invited all the gang to stay in Wyndia. But Ryu was the only one who took up his offer; after all he didn't have a home. Plus he was eager to get some private time alone with Nina. (Not for what you're probably thinking though)
Nina giggled harder, suppressing a snort- after all, it was not like a princess to snort. But her face was slowly going red.
"Uh, Nina, What's so funny?" Ryu asked, his mind completely boggled.
She didn't reply but rather continued to giggle.
"Nina?"
She snapped out of her trance of laughter. "Huh? Oh sorry, I was just thinking,"
"About what?" Ryu asked.
"Deis's letter,"
"Deis's letter?"
"She just sent it me earlier, here look," And with that, she shoved the piece of post, with the royal wyndian emblem as the stamp under Ryu's nose.
"Hmm…"
Dear Nina
How are you?
I'm fine, you don't need to ask. Cray and I just came back from our date before I write this letter. He has a wicked sense of humor; he spiked the punch at the party we went too. Mind you, I did too. I spiked the Elder's drinks, they were singing 'Old MCDonald had a farm' naked for hours. I wore my ten-centimeter skirt there. All the boys were absolutely falling over for me. Problem was, they kept getting under my feet. Kept looking up, for some reason. Cray seemed jealous though…
Wishing you the best,
The most ravishing and beautiful, Deis.
Ryu snickered, "falling over eh?"
Him and Nina then fell into a bout of laughter, they were almost rolling around on the floor. The sound seemed to echo, even thought they were outside, there was no other noise. Apart from the constant sound of the sprinklers.
It seemed too quiet, and after a few moments, they fell silent.
Sniffle
Sniffle
Sniffle
'Huh?' thought Ryu, 'where's that sound coming from?'
Sniffle
He realized where the noise was coming from, "Nina? Nina? What's the matter?"
She sat down on the wooden bench behind her, brushing the tears away with her sleeve. But if was no good. More continued to fall, cascading down like a waterfall.
"Nina?" Ryu asked again, he didn't like to see her like this. It made him feel sad too.
She wiped the tears away again, her sleeve getting rather stained. "I-I'm sorry… I'm… I'm being silly." She stuttered.
Ryu shook his head, "You're not silly Nina, you're the least silliest person I know. Now, what's the matter? Tell me, and I can help you."
Nina gave him a small smile, "You know Ryu, you've changed."
Ryu shook his head, 'I know I have, thanks to you.' He thought, but he said something different, "What is the matter?"
"You're a lot… Nicer now, don't you think? But you're still very noble. You think of everyone before yourself…"
Ryu rolled his eyes.
"Well that would be very Noble of you..."
"Enough reminiscing Nina, now what is the matter?" Ryu repeated, getting slightly annoyed.
Fresh tears sprang out of Nina's eyes again.
"…Well, Dragons… they live forever, right? So…" She stopped to sob, "One day, I'm going to die… and you're… you're going to forget all about me…"Nina was stopped by Ryu placing a hand over her mouth.
"Nina…" He sighed, "That is very true, I will live on after you… but believe me, never will I forget you, never. I couldn't possibly forget you. You're the first person I met after coming to this world, you were the one who was kind to me, and wanted to help me regain my memories. I will never forget what a kind beautiful soul you are."
Nina lifted her head, stunned by Ryu's words, "But…I…"
Ryu smiled, "It's sad that we won't be together forever, if I could have one wish, it would be exactly that…. I don't ever want to lose you. I love you too much to say goodbye to you…"
For a moment Ryu looked as if he was about to cry as well, but the tears never left his eyes.
"Nina, we have to spend the time we have now together… we don't have forever. But… We have now, this second, this minute. This moment is so very precious that it can never last forever. But… this moment is enough for me."
Nina smiled through her tears, wiping them off with her sleeve, "I…I understand. You're right Ryu, I can't waste this precious moment on tears and wondering. I really love you, you know?"
Ryu kissed her softly, "I know, I love you more than anything else in this world. Which… is why…" He leant down onto one knee and held one of her hands, "I want to make this moment even more special."
"Nina, my sweet angel, will you marry me? I have no token or object to offer you, but I do offer you my love, my trust and my heart."
Nina knelt down with Ryu, gripping both his hands furiously, giving him the biggest smile he had ever seen, "Yes, Ryu. Yes!"
It seemed at those words, the garden came to life, birds chattered and squawked as if they were happy too. The planted shined and sparkled in joy and even the roses danced with happiness.
But, nobody could have ever been happier at those moments than Ryu and Nina.
…
…
…
Author's notes: Well guys, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I must say, I have never written a story as long as this before and I feel rather proud of myself. I feel that I can accomplish things if I try hard enough and writing this story has raised my confidence dramatically.
Please review