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"Vyse, are you ok?" asked Fina. "You look upset."
Vyse turned to her and smiled. "Nah, it's nothing Fina. Just thinking."
Fina smiled back and returned to what she was doing.
He was only partially lying. He was thinking, but there was something wrong: he couldn't stop thinking about Aika.
Vyse emerged from a door leading into the Crusader and began to pace around on the deck. A million thoughts swam through his head as he did so. "Did I do the right thing? Was this the right way for me to honor Aika's memory? In the rift, it just didn't matter to what happened to me in my mind. The only thing I could think of avenging Aika's and what I thought was Fina's deaths. I don't think she would've wanted me to attack so recklessly, but…"
He gazed into the late afternoon sun, which was just now showing signs of setting. The battle within the rift had been long and arduous, leaving Vyse and company extremely tired. He walked back to the door and took one last look at the sun. "Aika, I'm sure you think what I did was foolish but… I only did it because I cared so much for you. I hope you understand." He went through the door and closed it slowly behind him.
Vyse stopped dead in his tracks once he was halfway up the stairs. "No. Right or wrong, Aika wouldn't want me to dwell on this, not even for a minute. If the same thing happened to her, she would find some way to move on and live her life." He paused for a moment and began climbing once again. "I guess I'll just have to do the same thing."
"There's still so much left to do in this big world of ours. If I let the past overcome me, then I'll never be able to enjoy the rest of my life. Heck, I'm only eighteen years old now! I've still got quite a life ahead of me!" He smiled before he opened the door leading back into the bridge. "I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to pay my last respects to Aika and do my best to carry on. Maybe a last goodbye is all I need."
He walked into the bridge to see hat nearly everyone was looking down. Deciding to take in his own advice, he threw his arms and happily asked, "Hey, hey, why's everybody so down for? We won, didn't we?"
Clara turned to him, a single tear running down her cheek. "Ah, I'm sorry Vyse. I was just thinking of Aika."
Gilder nodded. "Same here. It's just not gonna be the same around here without that fiery redhead."
Vyse put his hands on his sides and grinned. "I know what you mean, but you know…"
"…we have to find a way to move on. I think Aika would want that, don't you?"
Fina stood up and nodded. "Y-yes. She would never want us to be sad."
"Exactly," said Vyse. "So, once we get back to Crescent Island, we're going to throw a huge party, not only to celebrate our great victory, but to honor the memory of Aika! We can say our final goodbyes and move on from there."
Gilder grinned. "Heh. Well said Vyse. If nothing else, I'm always up for a good party."xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Vyse and Fina stood alone at Aika's grave while all of the other Blue Rogues ate and made merry behind them. Truly, there was no better way to honor the memory of such a vibrant and positive young lady such as Aika. Fina leaned down to lay a bouquet of flowers at the bottom of Aika's headstone. After kissing the stone, she stood back up and returned to Vyse's side.
"Farewell Aika," she said. "I'll never forget you. You'll always live on in my heart."
Vyse came next. He kneeled down in front of the grave and ran his hand along the smooth, marble surface of Aika's headstone. "Aika… I don't know where to begin, but I'll try my best to talk to you."
"When I first found out that you had passed away, I didn't know what to think." He paused for a moment as Fina kneeled back down next to him. "An incredible amount of sadness and anger had clouded my heart and I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. I eventually came to the conclusion that your death had to be avenged. Not only did we accomplish this, but we also perhaps saved the world once again from the Valuans."
Vyse gently held one of Fina's hands with his own. "I'm not sure how I would've fared had Fina not been at my side. She saved me, not only from an almost certain death, but from my own darkness. Were it not for her, I might've truly lost myself in my quest to avenge you. Recently I, uh, heh…" He scratched his head sheepishly with his free hand. "I… we confessed our feelings for each other. I hope you approve of us being together and will grant us your blessings from heaven."
"So anyway, I just wanted to say my last goodbyes to you. Don't take this the wrong way, but I have to put this part of my life behind me. If I don't, I may dwell on my past forever. I want to live out the rest of my life, not just for myself or Fina… but for you as well. There's such a big world out there and much of it still remains to be seen by us." Breaking away from Fina momentarily, he leaned over and hugged the headstone, a lone tear running down his face as he did so.
He stood back up with Fina and the two stood silently as they stared at the headstone. After a few minutes, they finally turned away and began to walk towards the party. Vyse took one last look back to say, "Goodbye Aika. The Blue Rogues will never forget you. Please watch over us in the days to come. We all love you so very much." He turned back around and walked with Fina once again.
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Around midnight, Vyse and Fina made their way to the very tip of the island while holding hands all the while. They stood silently as they gazed at the beautiful light projected by the Red Moon. It felt so good to finally be able to relax, given the events of the past week. It had been hard on everyone and they were all just glad it was over. Now, with nothing looming over the horizon to ruin their time together, Vyse and Fina could finally have some time to appreciate each other's love and company.
Vyse turned to Fina and wrapped his arms around her hips. "Fina?"
Fina turned to him and smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yes Vyse?"
"I love you," he said both plainly and meaningfully.
"I love you too Vyse. I'll always love you until the day I die and beyond," she said.
As the moon passed beyond their vantage point on the tip of the island, the lovers' lips met in a kiss that they would never forget.
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Epilogue
Vicente sat on his island, lost in thought as he chewed on a piece of very nasty tasting Rift Trout. Given the equipment that he had, it was the only thing he could catch other than pieces of sky moss that happened to float by from time to time. It had been nearly a week since he had been trapped within the rift and he thought as if his nightmare would never end.
"Hmph," he said, grunting to himself. "If I ever get out of here, I'm gonna-"
"You're going to what, Vicente?" came a voice from seemingly everywhere around Vicente.
The Valuan stood up and looked all around. "Who's there! Show yourself!"
From behind him appeared four Silvite men, all wearing white clothes but looking nothing alike otherwise. One was short and fat with very short black hair. Another was tall and lanky with long, blond hair. Yet another was very muscular and powerful looking with spiked white hair. The last one was of an average build with shoulder length silver hair. Vicente turned around and immediately knew who they were.
"The Harbingers of Disaster," he said. "Huh. What brings you to my "humble abode"?
The tall one spoke first. "Vyse still lives, does he not?"
Vicente grunted. "That's right. I didn't expect that Silvite girl with him to be so powerful."
The short one came next. "We don't need any of your excuses Vicente. If you wouldn't have gotten so lost in the moment and cut the dramatics, you could've killed the girl in the hanger of Dangrel Island. Then, the boy would've been no problem, right?"
Vicente threw his piece of meat aside, obviously irritated with these Silvites. "Give me a break. I still got one of them: that annoying little red-headed girl."
The bulk one stepped forward and glared at Vicente. "And by doing this, you have only strengthened the resolve of Vyse and his Blue Rogues. Not only that, there is no an unbreakable spiritual bond between Vyse and the Silvite girl. So tell us Vicente… just what have you accomplished?"
Vicente froze. He was dead meat and he knew it. "I-I…give me one more chance! I'll take care of those Blue Rogues once and for all!"
Finally, the one with an average build spoke. "Hmm, I don't know Vicente. I'll tell you what. If we ever need you again, we'll come calling. How does that sound?"
Vicente nodded. "Heh, sure, of course. Can you please get me out of here?"
The Silvite shook his head and smiled. "Sorry, no. I think it's best that you stay here for a while. Think of it as "timeout". Maybe now you'll have time to contemplate just why you are so incompetent. Farewell Valuan." With that, the four Silvites vanished.
Vicente fell to his knees, now completely devoid of hope. "No, I… I don't want to be here any more! No! No! No!" He threw his arms toward the sky and screamed at the top of his lungs, "NOOOO!" Sadly for him, in the Dark Rift, no one was there to hear his screams.
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And that's that! Under the Sky So Blue may be over, but the Silver and Blue Saga has only just begun! I'm going to take a short break from writing SoA fanfiction and take some time to make plans for Book 2 of Silver and Blue and some other fanfics I wanted to write. Since I know that all you want to see a sequel, I would lie for all of you to take the time to read my profile. In it are several ideas for stories that I want to write, including a short one for Lawrence of SoA that I had planned. Anyway, in your review, if you would like to see me begin work on any of these other stories, please let me know in your review. Finally, I hope that you all enjoyed the first book of Silver and Blue, and I look forward to making the rest of what I hope is someday the greatest SoA saga ever written.