June 27th, 2006

My eyes slowly adjusted to the room and objects around me. Tara was sleeping on my stomach and Jason and Cree were lying against each other on the bed. I leaned my head up a ways to see what time of day it was…night. I leaned over without moving my stomach to see where Deku was. Since I couldn't see out the window I just put my head back down and closed my eyes hoping it was all a bad dream.

"Tara…Tara are you awake?" I was the first one to get up.

Again it felt like I slept only for a few hours.

"Eh, not now Brian, it's too early…Brian!"

I looked at her with loving eyes and stroked her hair slowly, "Yes I'm alright, how are you feeling?"

"Oh I'm fine, just a little bump on the back of my head. That's enough of you scaring me like that. I don't think my heart can take any more of this! Brian you were out for nearly thirteen straight hours. Deku brought you back but he left right afterwards. I just hope you're ok baby, you know how much I worry about you."

"Yes I know sweetie, where are Jason and Cree?"

She pointed to the bed, "For some reason they've been sleeping ever since you got back. I guess they didn't have anything else to do."

I sat back against the bed, "Well since they'll be out for a while still what would you like to do in the meantime?"

"I'm not sure; you gave me quite a scare there. I think I should rest for a while then wait to see how I'm doing later on."

I nodded back and lay against the bed thinking again. Pretty soon I forget about what I was thinking of since I had so many thoughts going through my head that I went outside and looked up at the sun. My eyes weren't used to the brightness so it took a while for them to adjust.

The first thing I noticed was that Deku was indeed alright. The second thing was that my clothes were still glowing from the key in which I tried to remember what happened to it after the fight. The ship was still parked in the water where it had landed.

"Deku took the key out of your hands when he rescued you from the water…he said it was too much for you to handle after that."

"I'm surprised I survived…the impact that the blast had on my body was extraordinary! Something though that's still bothering me was my dream that I had last night."

"Really what was it about?"

"Well there was an angel in front of me who announced that…I had three days to make the island back to normal…do you have any idea what they mean?"

"No…though I have find Deku right away if he knows anything about it!"

"That may be a good idea for once…I guess I've never given him enough credit for what he's done for us."

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Deku just getting up from the ground.

"Deku we need to talk now! I have something I must tell you right now!"

"Ok Brian what's the news of the day?"

"Enough with the sarcasm, I had a dream last night about an angel."

"Let me guess, you have three days to make the island back to normal."

"Well of course you're going to know that, you've been here hundreds of years!" I yelled.

"Ok calm down this is what you need to do…" he paused for a moment and looked around, and then he said in a quiet voice, "First you need to get that ship off this island by any means! When you're done with that you must clear all the bodies from the island."

"How will I do that?"

"Easy, just put them onto the ship. Then your final task will be to ask Tara the big question."

"You mean?"

"Yes that's right Brian; I've been keeping a sharp eye on you. This is one of the few times that I'll ever get to witness a proposal!"

"What if I'm not ready?"

"Don't worries you'll be quite a hero when you're off this place."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" I hung my head low.

"Brian…I know being a hero is hard for other people to accept but you must look at the bright side. It gives people a reason to believe in you. More so with Tara, I know you guys had your rough spots. It's all over now with that."

I nodded my head.

"Ok looks like you've got some cleaning up to do."

"Am I allowed to ask the others to help out?"

"Only if they agree to it, I know right away Tara will. Jason and Cree however may have different plans."

"Fine one last question, where are Scott and Beraht?"

"Don't worry about them; they are still recovering from the blast."

"Did that destroy the power that the lord had over them?"

"Yes it seemed as though he was controlling them since they came here."

I looked around the island briefly and thanked Deku for all his wisdom and advice.

"After I get off will I see you again?"

"Absolutely Brian, I'll be all around you. We trees share the same personalities and knowledge! Now go before it's too late!"

I waved back to him and headed back to the hut.

Tara was outside getting breakfast ready.

"Tara you'll have to hold up on the food and let Jason and Cree get their own. We have work that needs to be done!"

"Brian what are you talking about? I thought you said everything will be ok?"

"It will be; we just need to do a little cleaning around the island. You go get started while I ask Cree and Jason."

She didn't argue with me for the first time. Instead she got busy cleaning up as many bodies as she could carry.

I smiled and turned back into the hut, "Jason! Cree! Get up I need you guy's help!"

"Brian, why must you ask so late?" Jason asked.

"We have to work to do on the island. I'll explain it to you later!"

They didn't want to budge so I had no choice but to tip the bed over.

"Damn it Brian, ok this had better be worth it!" I laughed and ran back outside helping Tara along.

"So Brian are they coming?"

"Yes they are, I had to tip over the bed just to get a clear answer out of them!"

She laughed and continued getting the bodies into the ship. They weren't heavy or long. I was very fortunate to have the outer island cleared.

"Ok Brian what's next?" Jason asked tired.

"Next we head to the middle of the forest and check for anyone there!"

He nodded back and followed me in.

"Say Jason, is Lucia still alright?"

"Yes Brian she's in the hut in the crib. I think she really missed you as well."

"You think so? It looks like I have no choice but to take her in as my own. Well with Tara's help as well."

Tara and Cree split up with us to cover more ground.

"Jason can you keep a secret for now?"

"Sure what is it?"

"I'm planning on proposing to Tara."

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me in awe.

"Well Brian I must say congratulations. How do you think she'll talk to that?"

"I'm not sure…I hope she won't object to it."

"Why would she, you two are in love!"

I nodded and continued working.

By the time the four of us met back up all the bodies were taken care of.

"Ok what's next?" Tara asked.

"Now we need to get this hunk of metal off our island!"

I looked to Jason and gave him the heads up.

"Brian you're not going to use the bat…are you?"

"Hell yes Jason, now that I'm powered up nothing is too strong to hit!"

Tara and Cree laughed along.

"Jason do me a favor and get my bat out of the hut, I can't do this without the person in charge!"

He smiled and laughed. "Gosh Brian I guess being in charge is too much for me, maybe you should be the one who is instead."

I shrugged and replied, "Either way it's good. Here I'll get it."

Cree nudged Jason on the side.

I ran off to the hut quickly but before I got the bat I went in to see Lucia.

Her eyes matched mine in a way that looked nearly breath taking.

I said to her, "Well it looks like you're mine now, well Tara's s well. You don't need to worry at all…you can bet I won't let anything happen to you."

I grabbed my bat while holding her and ran back towards the group.

"Tara you hold her while Jason and I show you how we do things our style!"

"So Brian how do you expect me to throw you the ship?"

"Easily, just pick it up at the front because it has the lightest mass there."

He nodded and ran into the water.

"Like this Brian?" he asked.

"You're a natural Jason; now throw me that wicked fast ball you got!"

He laughed and threw me one high and outside.

"Thank you!" I shouted as I took one swing and saw the ship blast away in less then a microsecond.

"Holy shit Brian; how did you do that!" Tara and Cree yelled.

"Ha it was easy! After ten years of playing in the front yard I'm used to this kind of exercise!"

Tara pointed at the sky for Lucia telling her what had just happened. Lucia cooed and pointed her finger up there as well.

I yelled and ran about the sand looking up at the sky yelling, "It's our island in the sun and no one else's. It's our island and nobody cares!"

"Brian take it easy, we know what you have you to do now." Jason said motioning over to Tara.

"We? What are they talking about Brian?" She asked curiously.

"Don't move I'll be right back!" I shouted heading towards the hut. I spotted Deku just as I got inside.

"Deku, I'm all done! Well except the proposing part."

"I see you've done a good job out here Brian, here's the ring that she wants. Don't be nervous, you'll do fine!"

The rest of the group waited around for me while I got myself all ready. I knew that my clothes were fine but I needed to smell good. I splashed some cologne on me and headed back.

"Brian what's going on? How come you're running around all so suddenly?" Tara asked impatiently.

"Don't worry baby, you're going to love this!"

"Love what?"

"This!" I pulled the box out of my pocket and opened it up before her. "Tara…will you stay with me forever?"

She screamed and burst into tears. "Oh my god Brian I can't believe this…" She couldn't seem to control her emotions but she managed to say, "Yes I will!"

I screamed as well and picked her up and hugged her. I knew this is always what she wanted. When we got back we would be wealthy enough to start our own family.

Cree was also crying from her emotions getting the better of her, "Well now that you two are officially a couple now what are you going to do?"

I looked at her with a smile on my face, "Well I think she knows what to expect…"

"Is this true Tara, are you really going to do it?" Cree asked.

"Of course it is. I can't even tell you how happy this has made me.

I gave her another hug and asked everyone to come back to the hut.

"I wish we had some wine or something to celebrate with!" I sighed.

"Don't worry Brian; we can still have fun with some pineapple juice." Tara said smoothly.

"Oh you certainly know how to turn the tables Tara!" I replied.

When we got back Tara put Lucia back into her crib for her nap.

I put on some music from my iPod so everyone could get up and dance. Tara and I were the first ones to break the ice. We were bumping and grinding all afternoon. Even after we were exhausted we still were moving around.

By night fall Jason and Cree went inside closing the doors and windows.

"You think they did that on purpose?" Tara asked.

"Ah I'm sure they have their own things to be doing…like what we're doing!"

She laughed and put her arms around me. "Brian I'm proud of you for what you've done for not only me, but for Jason and Cree as well. You've done so much for me that I deserve to be with you…you know?"

"Of course I do, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So should we get started now? Or wait a little bit longer?"

"I have an idea, let's do it somewhere else. How about down the ways from here, we were going to the other night."

She agreed and we got up and started walking down towards where the ship used to be.

"Brian do you really think everything will be ok?"

"Of course I do, I don't know what else could cause us as much problems as we've been through on here!"

I started walking slower in making it more interesting.

"So you want to go slowly I take it?" she asked.

"It'll make it more interesting that way!" I said.

We continued on until we finally got by the edge of the water.

"I like your taste in places Brian, and speaking of tastes…I brought some pineapple juice just in case you get thirsty…if you know what I mean."

"I think I have an idea." I said shaking my head.

"Let me help you then…just hold still for a moment." She instructed.

Though just as she was about to take my shirt off the jellyfish that I met a while ago made his way onto the shore.

"And what exactly are we doing here this time of night?" he asked.

"Ah bad timing man, you've missed out on an interesting week here. I'll explain it to you later."

"Great now I have to make my way back to the water, and it took me half a day just to get onto shore!"

I smiled and thanked him for his patience as he slowly but surely made his way back into the water.

"Now where were we?" I asked.

"Right about here baby." She said pulling my shirt off.

Soon we were both unclothed and on the beach kissing each other gently and caressing each other.

"Brian you are an excellent kisser, have I told you that before?"

"I'm sure you have, but you better tell me again before I forget!" I laughed softly.

We continued making love on the sand for a few hours with breaks every so often.

The energy that I felt coming to me through Tara's body was unreal. I knew I had found more than a lover, but a friend who would die by my side if it ever came to that.

"Brian do you think Jason and Cree are ok?" she asked right before we were done.

"Yes, and soon Scott and Beraht will be up to visit us one last time."

"One last time, what do you mean by that?" she asked confusingly.

"Well Deku suggested that they get going before something else gets a hold of them again. And I believe that was good enough for them. So when we get back we're having a little good bye party for them. Don't worry though we'll be seeing them again in the future."

She nodded slowly and looked at me seriously, "Brian how are we going to tell this to our families if we ever see them again?"

I hadn't counted on her asking that so I didn't reply right away.

"Brian please tells me you'll take care of this."

"I will, I don't think they'll be as concerned about that as just seeing us again. I think this is going to be a huge story when we get back."

"What if it isn't, what if people act like we weren't even gone?"

I stood up and put my clothes back on, "Whatever happens will have some sort of reason behind it. If people have noticed that we've been missing for a whole month the let it be, if not then we'll just have to continue on our way through life."

I could tell she was getting worried by what I said. "Let's head back now and get some sleep."

She agreed and followed me. We held each other's hands like it was our lives that we were holding now.

When we got back Jason and Cree were sitting around the fire with Scott and Beraht. Scott was the first one to approach me.

"Brian, I can't even begin to tell you what I'm thinking right now about you. I know that my emotions passed me when we last interacted with each other. I want you to know that we are indeed…friends again." I thanked him and looked down at Beraht.

"So I guess this is a new friendship?" I asked.

"I guess you could say that, it's not like I've forgotten all the fun times we had together. What we have here is more of a reincarnation rather than starting over. I'm just glad that you had to do what it took to get us back together as friends. Remember…Edgehaven for life!"

I nodded and sat down, "Well this may be our last night together. After this we won't remember a thing."

"Indeed Brian, let's just be glad that we're spending it together!"

"Well what should we do then?"

Jason was in deep thought when I said this and replied, "I say one last friendly game of soccer. While you and Tara were off doing your thing Cree and I were making teekee lamps for this kind of occasion."

I laughed and gave him a hug, "Sometimes I wonder how you can be so amazing all the time!"

"Well it wasn't much really, just a little hard work never hurt once in a while."

As we headed to the field I asked Scott who happened to be by my side, "What ever happened to those two girls that were with you before?"

"Oh Amanda and Brianna? They were rescued before us and taken safely back to the states."

"I knew I recognized Amanda, but I still can't put my finger on where I met her before."

Jason threw out the ball to us, "Let's get this party started before the sun comes up!"

I gave out a scream and got into gear to score some serious hard core goals. Since we were playing on sand I knew it'd be easy to try a bicycle kick rather than doing it somewhere hard.

"Jason pass it to me I'm open!"

He could tell I wanted to try the bicycle kick so he threw it up just over my head so I had enough time to line up and make a perfect strike. Unfortunately the ball missed by a few feet.

"Brian that would've been awesome had you made that!" Jason yelled.

I gave him credit for the pass and jogged around trying to get the ball from Beraht who practically glided across the sand playing like Roberto Carlos.

"Yea man you go Beraht!" I yelled.

He wasted no time in scoring the first goal on me.

"Remember who everyone is!" Scott commented. "Brian you're Christian Vieri, Beraht's Roberto Carlos, Jason you're Ronaldhino, and I'm Ronaldo!"

"Also Brian new rule, you can't stand in front of the goal like that!" Beraht declared.

"What, just because you guys can't score on me? I didn't think I was that good at goalie!"

"You aren't, you're just getting lucky!" Jason complained.

I laughed with him and threw the ball in off a free kick. "Jason go deep, I'm going to kick this one near the water!"

We played right next to the ocean so whoever kicked it in the water had to go fetch it.

"Brian if you kick it over the goal net I'll be amazed!" he said.

We put aside all our hard times we had together and had one night of no worries or fears.

"Hey Brian shouldn't you be concerned about your health?" Beraht asked.

"Yea really, don't forget about the baseball game." Scott added.

"We have no reason to worry, even ask Jason. A good friend of mine gave me some medicine that'll keep me from never having one again!" I bragged.

No one kept track of goals, only if you wanted to you could. Beraht seemed to be doing that in which by this time he shouted, "Number four, it's been done only so many times!"

Everyone laughed at him as he ran around the field with the front of his shirt covering his head. He nearly ran into a tree because he went a bit off course!

"Look out Beraht, the last thing we need is someone else getting hurt."

He laughed hard and went for the ball again. He was good at faking people out and spinning. As he was down at the other end with the ball I went up behind Tara and put my arms around her waist.

"Brian doesn't surprise me like that, how's Lucia doing?"

"She's good; I haven't seen a healthier child in all my life. Plus we have one more coming in with us" I said patting her stomach.

"Brian, please, not in public!" she said jokingly. "You'll embarrass me; do your friends Scott and Beraht know about this?"

"Nah, I'll let them figure that out on their own!"

The ball came back down to us and I had to let go for a bit so I could do my famous "Split through the defenders trick"

"Oh Scott you just got owned by Brian!" Jason yelled.

"Hey what can I say? He's a good ball handler." He said back.

The only person in front of me now was Cree.

"Cree, don't let him score." Scott said weak. "Don't let him fool you and try to take him out!"

"Why would I do that!" she asked trying to cover me at the same time. She actually did try to trip me on several occasions but I lucked out and jumped over each attempt.

"Ah Brian you're doing it again! It looks like you haven't lost a bit of your mystic powers at all!"

Tara looked at me in confusion.

"Brian you have powers?"

"Yea…I am the mystical striker you know!" I said jokingly.

She stuck her tongue out at me and continued trying to get the ball so she could score as well.

I raced ahead of her and called for it by the goal. "Tara over here I'm open. Pass it and make a run for other side of the goal!"

She did what I said and when I got it I flipped up in the air far enough over everyone else that she easily headed it in.

"Woohoo a goal for yours truly!" She yelled. "I'm the best in the game, even better than you Brian!"

I rolled my eyes and laughed.