Fate smiled as he watched their faces change from happiness to simmering hate. He got up from the rock he was sitting on and slowly continued where he had left off. "Like I just said, I owe you a reward for getting here. What your reward is will be something none of you expect and yet, once you get it you will see it has been so obvious." He smiled and slowly paced as he spoke, arms behind his back. "You see when this all began I was merely seeing how you would react to it all. Observation and nothing more, but I found you lacking a certain something. Something that would have driven you far past your original bounds. You see, this was all just a game."

Setsuna yelled at him, in a rage at hearing Fate's words. "How dare you call all of this just a game! We all have almost died in our fight to get Konoka and Chizuru back. For you to call this a game is just sick Fate."

Kotaro held her back as she lunged at Fate. "Let's hear him out Setsuna. He's obviously not done showing off. I've seen his schemes now from both sides and I can assure you they are as complex as any magical spell I have ever seen."

"Wise words Inugami." Fate said, "You're right of course, that my plan goes so much farther than any of you could have seen. Even Tsukuyomi doesn't know all of it. You see I have seen you and Konoka grow as a couple. I could even tell you what happened that night on what your school calls Library Island. The High Daylight Walker apparently didn't give you enough training it seems. So I went to test your bond out and found it weak."

Setsuna seethed at his comments. Kaede and Kotaro were holding her back from tearing Fate apart. "You had no right to test me or my bond with Konoka. It is far stronger than even you could realize." She said to Fate in an icy tone.

Fate smiled and said, "Yes, it is indeed strong but not strong enough. I may be what you think of as evil but I am not without reason. I had a purpose for doing this. Had I really done this you would all be dead on the beach where we fought. I held back in that fight and was actually surprised you could hold your own so well. I had no intention of permanently stealing Konoka. After all she has no place in my plans any more. Although do say I know of a few who still do, despite their weaknesses. Take Tsukuyomi for example. She asked you to do something unthinkable and you almost gave into it. If not for you friend, the ninja you would have failed that part of my test and this 'madness' as you call it would continue to go on until you found it's true purpose."

Setsuna stared at the ground and then at Fate. It was Kotaro who voiced everyone's thoughts. "Why test all of us? Even though Kaede didn't have anyone here with her, you still tested us all. I was tested by seeing Setsuna's heartbreak myself when you took Chizuru. I was made to understand. You wanted me to feel what someone else was feeling."

Fate smiled and said "Correct. Kaede, was it? What purpose do you think I tested you for?"

Kaede spoke quietly, "I was tested as being the supportive one. I was not to totally understand but my natural empathy was supposed to make me the caring one. It was also to help me see how I should deal with the one I care for most and how to approach my feelings to her."

Fate said, "Correct once more. Setsuna. I will tell you the reason you were tested and I hope you take my word for it. I'm being honest here. You were being tested to see if you could rely not only on your resolve to see Konoka returned to you but also to see if you would rely on your friends. I may not seem like a person who would knows this but I am. Those around you are often the most helpful and the world around you would fall apart without them around. I did not do this without telling anyone. Negi knows full well of my plan here. It was I who suggested he send Kotaro and the two girls along. He told me he did not trust me at all but I told him it was the only way his friends would see the light of their failures. He made me swear in a magic oath not to kill you. It was Evangeline who cast that spell and told us both that if it were violated the consequence was death. Negi couldn't interfere with my plan and I couldn't kill any of you. It was that simple."

The three of them looked at Fate in shock. Setsuna didn't believe him at first. Negi couldn't have let this just happen, but it did explain why none of them were dead. She knew that they could never have won against Fate in an even fight. Things that hadn't added up in her head before now were. She couldn't believe it had all been planned and thought out. She had thought that Fate had simply captured Konoka for one of his twisted schemes. She spoke and controlled herself well enough so that Kaede and Kotaro no longer had to hold her back. "You might say it was simple but that is a really complex plan Fate. It must have taken some time to plan it all out. I don't think I'll forgive you for stealing Konoka away from me no matter what the reason is. You might have just given us all the mightiest weapon of all against you. Did you think about that?"

"Oh yes, I did." Said Fate, "I thought out every eventuality of this. I had plans for what I would do if you failed on certain parts or succeeded in earlier ones. Had you realized what I had been up to earlier I would have not needed to take Chizuru hostage. Kotaro would have gained nothing of course and would have been none the wiser afterward, Kaede may have gained something by that point but you hadn't realized why everything was happening. So I gave you an option. Stay and fight or retreat and train, relying on your friends to help. You chose the correct one. Had you stayed and fought I would have beaten you senseless and it would have left you unable to finish the test for some time. However by choosing to retreat and train you gave me the opportunity to take Chizuru and test Kotaro. I interrupted your training because I wanted you to at least learn where I had relocated. Had you lost you would have gained nothing and I would have come back the next day to fight again and would have repeated it until you got the point of it. You had to rely on those around you to win. You did and so I told you where we were hiding."

Setsuna, Kotaro and Kaede had all taken a seat as Fate talked. Fate had done the same and his eyes watched them as they listened intently to his grand scheme. Kotaro was amazed by how well thought out the whole thing was. Kaede just sat there and contemplated the whole thing, mulling it over in her head. Setsuna quietly said, "So you had every move planned out and had even planned for all outcomes? How long had you had this all planned? It had to have taken weeks."

Fate smiled and said, "No. I had the whole thing planned out the day I took Konoka. I wanted it to seem as real as possible for you. I didn't want you to catch on to my plan too early. After all, it works better the longer it lasts. You and your friends came up with the realization while on the way here right?"

Setsuna nodded her reply and Kotaro said, "Yeah, we all realized it when Tsukuyomi attacked us. We beat her so quickly that it seemed to us to be all a part of some plan. That and the fact that you told us you would tell us the whole reason behind this. Of course we immediately all thought it was going to be another one of your 'take over the world' schemes, but as we finished beating Tsukuyomi I think we all realized that that couldn't be the real reason. That, there had to be more to the whole thing than met the eye. Now we know we're right. "

Fate nodded and said, Now that you all have realized what relationships really are and how it is not just hose you love but your friends that you need around you I can say that you did well in this test. As I promised, Konoka and Chizuru will be released. One more thing though, before I leave. Setsuna, you have grown the most out of all of you. Kotaro, work on searching out how others feel. Finally Kaede. Trust is hard to give and receive but you have to be willing to give before you can receive. Use your heart and then your head and you'll be just fine in life. They're released to you now and a warning to you all. Next time I see you there will be no kid gloves. You will face me at my strongest and receive no mercy from me."

Setsuna spoke, smiling for the first time in a while, "Thanks for the warning Fate. The same goes to you. I also thank you for holding up your end of our bargain."

Fate snorted at her comment and vanished, the spells he had placed around Chizuru and Konoka vanishing with him. Konoka ran across the courtyard and jumped into Setsuna's arms kissing her fiercely. "Se-chan I've missed you so much. I knew that everything would turn out ok in the end but there were times I wasn't sure. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's ok Konoka." Setsuna said with a big smile. "We're all back together now. I think this calls for a night out on the beach when we get back to town."

Kotaro and Chizuru were lost in a kiss and Kaede was lost in thought as they all stood there in the evening light. The sunset painted the town a shimmering golden red. Konoka and Setsuna kissed and hugged each other tightly. Their ordeal was finally over. They had finally been reunited and now the sunset was showing them the most beautiful scene any of them had ever seen. As they all sat in the courtyard watching the sunset, Kaede walked a little ways a way an pulled out her cell phone and slowly dialed a number. It rang four times before someone picked up. Kaede tried her best to keep her voice even and smooth, "Hey, Yuna, This is Kaede. Look, I've been meaning to ask you something. I know this is going to sound odd, but, when I get back. Would you go out with me on a date?"

A few minutes later and Kaede returned to where everyone was watching the last of the sunset. She got their attention and said, "I just called Yuna. I asked her out and then told her how I felt about her. She said she'd be delighted to go out with me on a date and let me tell her in person how I feel. I'm nervous about the whole thing."

Setsuna smiled and said, "Don't be Kaede. The first date is always the hardest but it gets easier with time. Just be yourself and nothing should go wrong."

Kaede smiled and thanked her. They all got up and walked down the trail in the moonlight. The walk back to the hotel was going to take a while but tomorrow was going to be fun and for once they didn't have to worry about Fate hanging over them. The night air was cool and the breeze gentle. Everyone thought about their experience over the past few days and then realized Fate had been right. His plan had been obvious once they had seen it. It was close to sunrise by the time they made it back to the hotel. Setsuna smiled and told them as they walked into the door. "Tomorrow, we're going to go out on the beach and have fun. We can finally just relax."

(Author's note: This one wrote itself in a hour or so. Much faster than the previous two. I think it just all fell into place one Fate started to explain it all. Fate leaves the story but it won't end here. I've only got plans for about four more chapters though. Obvious things to come. Hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.)

Shinobi of the Onyx Sands.