Title: Is It Really You?

Summary: A long-lost love returns from the grave and secrets are revealed. Will Martin risk everything to get her back after she leaves him again?

Rating: T for violence, and possibly some language too

PP: And so, the fic draws to an end!

FF: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

TT: All good things must come to an end.

FF: But I don't participate in your other stories. sobbing

PP: No, you don't. Maybe you should play Tales of Symphonia then.

FF: OR you can write more stories on topics I know and love.

PP: Sorry, fresh out of ideas.

FF: But… but… cries more

TT: You made her cry! Apologize!

PP: NEVER! BWAHAHAHA! THE EVIL AUTHORESS STRIKES AGAIN!

FF: stops crying FINE! But remember, I have Teddy. Mwahahaha!

PP: Teddy! No, not TEDDY!

TT: How about we just get on with the chapter?

FF: But then it will be over sooner. : (

PP: Well, in that case, here's Chapter 14!

TT: We don't own anything that someone else owns, but we do own Rachel, Daniel, Azrael and the plot!

FF: (Don't forget Serafina and Artem.) I don't wanna leave! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

PP: Boohoo! On with the fic!

TT: You're a meanie.

Chapter 14: It's All Over

The light cleared and Martin found himself in Daniel's castle again, the light from his and Azrael's combined attacks filling the room. Time returned to normal, and the energy burst outward, shoving Martin backwards. He felt like he was being ripped apart and was put back together again somewhere else. The light cleared and he fell to his knees, recovering from the force. He realized he was in a grassy field now, with Azrael on the other side of the field. As he watched, she completely collapsed, lying on her face in the grass. It completely surprised him.

Because of that, he almost wasn't quick enough to get out of the way of Daniel's swing at him. He jumped backwards, horrified by the crazed look in Daniel's eyes.

"You! It's all because of you that everything fell apart! All my plans, my ambitions! It's all because of you!"

All Martin could do was jump away from him, hoping to dodge each of his attacks until he wore himself out. His hopes were dashed though when he tripped over something, his wings failing to keep him balanced. He looked up to see Daniel standing over him, his blade raised over his head for one final blow. The smile on his face just helped reaffirm in Martin's mind that the man had gone completely insane.

"You don't look so brave now boy. Did that blow damage you so much that you can't even properly defend yourself anymore? Oh well, it just makes it easier for me to finish you off."

Martin started panicking. What caused Daniel's sudden change of heart? Just a moment ago (in actual time) he had been peacefully standing off to the side, assured of his victory. Martin cast a glance at the Luciendar, lying off to the side. He had thrown it there while he was evading Daniel, hoping that losing the extra weight would give him a higher chance of success.

"What are you talking about? It's not over yet. Azrael's still there, so you haven't lost everything!"

"Don't you see her? She can't take a blast of pure spiritual energy! She may not be dead, but she won't be any good to me like this! It's all over, because of you!"

Martin looked over at where Azrael was lying, but didn't see her anywhere in the vicinity. Maybe he was just looking in the wrong spot. He failed to notice that the Luciendar was no longer lying where he had left it. Sunlight glinted off of the Morthoseth as Daniel triumphantly swung it down towards him, but he suddenly stopped, his eyes glazing over. His mouth opened in surprise as another sword appeared in his stomach. He fell to his knees, exposing the wielder of the weapon that killed him.

Her hair covered her face, but Martin didn't need to see anything but that to know who his savior was. The shade of red said more to him than any other physical feature ever would. She looked up, breathing heavily as she pulled the Luciendar out of Daniel, revealing that one of her eyes was a startling shade of red, the other a grayish-blue. She sat back, dropping the Luciendar to the ground beside heras Martin quickly crawled to her side.

"Rachel? So is this why you were pulled away from me?"

She looked up at him, a smile crossing her features.

"Yeah. I was being returned to my own body, while you were being returned to yours. It was rather freaky though, huh?"

"It was. I thought I'd lost you again."

She snuggled against him, enjoying being next to him again.

"You're not going to lose me again Martin. There's just one more thing I've got to do before I can relax though."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with your eyes, would it?"

She stood up, while reaching up to her eyes, confused by his question. When she understood what he was talking about she quietly chuckled to herself.

"It has everything to do with my eyes. I have to get rid of Azrael and Serafina. It's time they were put to rest."

Martin watched as she picked up both the Luciendar and the Morthoseth. She paused for a moment then turned towards him.

"You know, you could help if you want."

He smiled and stood up to join her.

"So what do I do?"

"Act as my support again. Lend me your strength."

He wrapped his hands around her waist from behind as she shut her eyes, placing the two swords side by side in front of her. She began chanting in a language he couldn't understand and he tightened his hold on her. A circle of light appeared below them, slowly widening as she prayed. It eventually filled the clearing, and began swirling upwards around them. Martin's wings appeared, blending with the light, as Rachel began speaking in English.

"Heavenly saints, hear my prayers. May the swords that have long been divided be reunited once again, and their power never used again for evil. Allow the souls of those bound to the sword to finally rest in peace, never again to trouble the mortals that walk this fair land. Allow us to live peacefully, with no reminders to keep us clinging to the past."

Rachel was sitting off by herself, and Martin was examining the Lionheart. Rachel had sworn that it was just a normal sword now, but it still looked like it was fueled by a hidden flame. Looking into it, you could see that it had once been a very powerful sword. It was really light too, which Martin had found out the hard way. When he had picked it up, he had been expecting it to be much heavier, so its lightness surprised him enough that he nearly threw it backwards over his head. Rachel had gotten quite a laugh out of it.

Her eyes had returned to normal, but she still had all the powers she had before. It made sense though because she had received them when she was born because of her father. She was feeling weak though, having been more used to Serafina and Azrael's presence than she had thought, so she was resting on her own. She also said that she needed some time to get her thoughts in order.

"Hey Rachel."

"What is it Martin?"

"Does this mean that it's all over? Can they come back again, or did we lock them away for good?"

"It's all over. They can't come back again. We stripped the Lionheart of all its power when we reunited the swords, therefore taking Serafina and Azrael away from it. They're gone for good."

"And Daniel?"

"He was tied to the Lionheart as well. Actually, I suppose he was tied to the Morthoseth, but close enough. He shouldn't be able to come back."

Martin turned to face her, the way she had said that bothering him.

"He shouldn't be able to come back? Rachel, can he still come back, or can't he?'

"I don't know. I never knew much about Daniel in the first place, so I honestly don't know."

Suddenly a chill wind blew through the clearing. Something about it bothered Rachel, so she stood up, looking around. What she saw behind Martin nearly caused her to faint.

There was a shadow of Daniel standing behind him, dark energy gathering before him… pointed straight at Martin.

"You took everything away from me Rachel. I think I should return the favour. He is everything to you, right? Do you really think you can live without him?"

The fear in Rachel's eyes combined with the familiar voice made Martin whip around to face Daniel just in time to see him release the energy he was building up. Martin began panicking again. Who would have known that he would end up being the one to leave her? He thought of the fear in her eyes, and wondered if it wasn't partially fear of losing him. There was nothing he could do though, because it felt as though his feet were glued to the ground. He closed his eyes, feeling a gust of wind pass by him.

It's going the wrong way…

Daniel's blast was coming at him, not coming from behind him. He opened his eyes and saw lilac feathers in front of him. He felt shocked that a complete stranger would save him, before he saw the red hair. Then the gust of wind that had blown by him took on words.

"I won't let him take you away from me."

The blast connected with her body.

PP: Cliffhanger!

TT: You like them WAY too much.

FF: I like the PLOTHOLES! grinning ear to ear

TT: I prefer the happy endings. There seems to be a shortage of them around here.

PP: Sad endings!

FF: No endings. smiles

PP: No spoilers!

TT: At least you should be able to get the sad ending up soon.

FF: Really? still smiling

PP: It's already typed. I nearly cried writing it, and I've known what was going to happen all along!

TT: But the surprise ending will take a while, right?

FF: Longer? Since when is there an ending? toothy grin

PP: Denial!

TT: It has to end sometime, so why not now?

FF: But all stories connected to the great story never end, there is always the next 'chapter'. smiling peacefully

TT: Well, not with this story!

PP: End!

TT: She wants to end the chapter.

FF: But the next chapter is SOO sad. smiling

PP: Oh well. Get used to it, and quit making it look like you're being sarcastic! See you next time!