Shitza: Wow, I just realised I had little time updating before I am going to my summer cottage, so for this week there will be a lot of updating for this chapter, the epilogue (which has to get through some corrections) and one last little surprise I surely hope you won't mistake for something else since it is more of a FAQ page you just can ignore. It's my last goodbye to you wonderful readers and reviewers. If you want the spoilers you cal always check up the very last chapter I posted in Heirs of the Founders and that explains it.

But we are not there yet so I guess I better go on with this. Anyway, I guess you want to know what Koumori means. Well, there is a fluttery thing that is very much connected with biting creatures that lives in Tr… wait! I can't say that yet. You'll find out anyway. Here is Chapter 42, the Final Fight. I hope you enjoy!

Shitza

Ps: Sorry if this chapter may seem a bit flashy, but I am awfully tired at the moment and even if I know that is not the best time to write on, I just want to finish this ASAP. Besides, this chapter will be mysterious.

Chapter 42 The Final Flight

The night was young, the armies were moving back to their homes and thus the Phoenixes were going back to the shadowy legends they had appeared from. A young spirit sat in her tent looking like a falling flower. She looked so sad, yet there was a slight beauty in her frame. For being a phoenix thus she was she was awfully young and had no experiences in the problems that lay upon her hands. Her powers loomed from her body creating a peaceful area around here were most people didn't even remember the word fight anymore. But her problems didn't lie in what she could do; it was in what she couldn't do.

That very same day the phoenixes had decided to head back to their homes and they had said to bring her with them. But now this young phoenix of Peace had no idea what to say, since it had become obvious for her that she now had two roads ahead in her future. One was to go with them, become whom she was and thus so protect the worlds from more rage. The other was to go with her lover, the white Dragon and protector of the Kohaku river, love him like no other creature could, but also abandon her duty and let the worlds fall. She was confused and had no idea what to say or do. She just couldn't choose.

The sound of someone entering her tent shocked her and she turned to see destiny walking up towards her. The older spirit of the Sights looked worried. It was something in his mind that kept struggling with his own purpose and she wondered what.

"What is it?" she asked.

Destiny took a deep breath as he made himself to, for the first time in his entire life, break the rules upon him. His worries for loosing another sister had overrun his commands upon just seeing and surveying. He couldn't think of loosing Peace again. His family meant too much for him to gamble with them in his own cruel games he saw.

"You can tell me…"

Destiny opened his mouth, but no words came. Fate was cruel, as it had hidden ropes around his throat, preventing him from saying what he really wanted.

"Be prepared, she is here."

The young phoenix of Peace looked questioning at him. But as his mouth couldn't say it they locked gazes exchanging words without vocabulary. The young phoenix suddenly paled at the very thought of what was going to happen. But was it too late to change destiny? Did she still have time to save the worlds once more?

A bat flew silently through the night skies. It didn't seem to be something peculiar with it as it flew towards some lit fires where the guards were sleeping. The bat landed on the ground before silently changing into a more useful form. Koumori, translated: Bat, smirked as she hurried to find her prey. One small white tent among the other phoenixes tents. She hurried inside, one long knife dripping from some unknown poison, hung in her belt.

Koumori listened carefully to make sure no one was following her before tipping over to the bed. She slowly took the knife out from its holder and held it close to the sleeping presence in front of her. One slit would do it and Peace would be no more.

The knife neared the young spirit's throat. Koumori could just imagine all the pain this creep would go through as she awoke in pain. The knife went closer as it cut through the throat, silvery blood seeping up. Thereafter she hurried out from the tent. When they would find Peace she would be dead and herself she would be asleep in some nearby tree.

The scream awaked the whole camp as one of the maid workers for the phoenixes had found a white pale body lying in the tenth. Everyone hurried to see what had happened and to everyone's horror they saw it. Someone had murdered her, someone had murdered her and now they all wondered whom?

Kohaku was heartbroken and it took Lin and Xing all their power to calm him. Lin sat by his side telling him everything would be all right and even in his sorrow he could hear her words and listen. That was the source of Lin's greatest powers; she had a voice that could penetrate everything. Not force it, but make people listen. How else would she have made Yubaba give her the work she had had?

Another thing everyone noticed was that there was another phoenix missing. Destiny had seemed to vanish from thin earth and now the remaining eight of them started to get worried there was more in the air then it seemed.

But as everyone cried, Tatia and Chip disappeared of somewhere. Kohaku was the only one to notice and from the looks of them they had seen something. Excusing himself he hurried after them, wondering what they were up to? He knew they couldn't be thinking of playing around at times like these, nor steal anything since there wasn't anything of value to steal that they already hadn't stolen. By the look of them they had sniffed something was oddly wrong with everything.

The two foxes hurried after one and the other towards the edge of the forest. Now Kohaku could see what they had sniffed. It was a powerful magic veil and whoever had created it had created it for something to hide. Something valuable.

The two foxes ran forward and Kohaku had a hard time to catch up. It his surprise the two of them went through the veil, which was odd since these kinds of protective shields were set not to let intruders through. Whoever had made it knew these two.

It surprised himself why he was following them. After all his Chihiro was dead and he was here chasing two foxes. But the more he thought about it the more he wondered about it. After all, the body they had found had no damage upon it, so how had she died? Phoenixes are immortal, how could she die?

His answers came as he too stepped through the veil. He saw through the illusions behind it where the two foxes stood hugging someone. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Chi-Chihiro!"

The young spirit looked up and smiled warmly at him. Her hair was loose and her clothes were dirty from the run she had. One of her fingers was cut. He guessed she had cut herself and used to blood for an illusion. She had known this would happen and thereby hurried out of sight raising this shield to protect her from dangers. That would also tell why Destiny had disappeared since he could have been the only one to know about this. Kohaku made a note to thank the phoenix later. Right now he was too happy to care about anything more.

"Kohaku" she said. "Please tell the "others" to come. I have something to tell them."

Moments later everything was told. How Destiny had warned her. How he now had to stand in front of the roads himself to choose without knowing. How he would have to pay for even opening his mouth, thus he had saved her. The eight phoenixes of Fire, Ice, Love, Lightning, Earth, Water, Wind, and Life too the matters in their own hands and whatever happened to Koumori was never shown into the light. Her disappearance became one of many strange legends around the cruel phoenixes.

But now the fate had to be chosen and now Chihiro knew what she would choose.

Her close to death reminded her that even thus she was reborn the evil still lurked around the corners.

It would be her job to take care of these matters and make sure that the worlds stayed peaceful. Most her attention would have to turn towards the spirit world as it was still corrupted by a lot of darkness, but sometimes now and then she even did good things in the Human world.

In her old world she was told to dead and her parents did sorrow for her. A shrine was raised for her near the little blue house, the one she had most liked. They guessed she was in a better world now, they had no idea how right they were.

But even so, as the rainbow of light spread through the world one spirit would have to remain sad and empty. For Kohaku there existed no cures and so he returned to the old Bathhouse to remain there for a very long time.

But can destiny and fate change once more? Could a lost heart find its way in the strong love?

Perhaps…

TBC

To Reviewers: One more chapter left, the Epilogue. I will probably post it tomorrow anyway since the majority is written.

angel61991: Wow, (Blushes) Thank you for those nice comments. I am happy you have liked it so far and hope you liked this as well.

Amin Vanim Mellonea: O.O I hope you weren't completely serious when you said 95degrees because that is almost boiling. I hope you liked the chapter and this story. Thank you for reviewing.

Storm-Maker: Oh, have to say Destiny is clearly one of my favourites, next after Peace and a little before Fire. There was more planned with fire, but I guess I never got that far. Oh well, anyway. I am so sorry I never wrote what happened to the bat, but Koumori was a simple symbol for Chihiro to make her stay together with the other phoenixes. She had to realise that the jab was barely done even if she had stopped one war. But if you believe in Happy Endings then you will see, there is one more chapter to post.

To Reviewers other chapters:

Winter –iel –o burzum: No worries, it takes time catching up on a fic. I a just thankful for the three reviews I got. (Big hugs)

End Notes:

If there are any questions, any confusion, any worries or something more you would like to say either review, which is easiest, or e-mail me.

I am too tired to comment further as I am close on falling asleep on the keyboard.

Shitza