Epilogue
"WOO-HOO!" Raimundo shouted as he caught one last wave on his surf board before heading back to the beach. He was confident that, after that performance, this surfing competition was practically in the palm of his hand.
Rai reached the beach and rejoined the line up of other contestants as the announcer called the next person up. For the next few hours he stood on the beach, holding his surfboard, watching his competition, and giving mischievous grins to girls that passed by. He actually laughed at himself for that last part. Despite all the looks he threw around and the occasional friendly conversation, he actually didn't find any of them nearly as attractive as Kimiko, who was in Japan with her dad. It had already been a month since the team had split up.
As the last of the competition came back to the beach, the scores were tallied up and a winner was chosen. "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone else who decided to join us here one this fantastic Rio de Janeiro day," the announcer called, "I'm proud to give the gold to Rio de Janeiro native, Raimundo Pedrosa!"
"Yeah!" Rai shouted, punching the air before running up to claim his medal. The announcer wrapped it around his neck and shook his hand and Rai said a few words for his fans to rave over. Afterwards he walked back onto the beach, going slowly to take in the cheers and praise from his fans. At one point two beautiful girls about his age walked up to him and asked if they could "hang out' with him for a while.
Rai just laughed. "Sorry, ladies, but I'm taken." He said proudly.
"Glad to hear it."
Rai recognized the voice immediately and swung around and was more than exhilarated to see Kimiko standing there… wearing nothing more than a black bikini and a purple, ankle length skirt with a slit running up one leg. "Kim!"
"Hey, Rai!" she responded as they embraced in a tight hug, followed by a kiss.
"What're you doing here, girl? I thought you'd be in Tokyo forever after being at the temple for so long."
"Oh, the usual." Kim said, grabbing his hand as they started down the beach. "I convinced my dad to buy a condo here in Rio, so I can basically visit any time I want."
"Best news I've heard all day." Rai said.
"Even better than winning that medal?"
"If there's anything more valuable than gold, you're it?" Rai said. "For the record, this is real gold."
Kim laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "C'mon, I'm only gunna be here for a few days so let's make the most of it."
"I like the sound of that"
"Keep your pants on, big boy. As I recall, we've still go some talking to do. Does Jess right a bell."
"You really know how to kill a moment, you know that?"
They spent the rest of the day together, spending much of their time on the beach and walking around the city. After a few hours they started to get hungry, so Rai took Kim to a restaurant that his older brother owned. Kim couldn't deny that it was great food, despite it being extremely high in fat and calories. After that they went around town for another hour or two, amazingly avoiding the dreaded conversation the whole time. Around sunset they went just outside of town to a cliff overlooking the city. They sat there watching the sunset for what seemed like hours in complete silence, Kim sitting on Rai's lap with his arms wrapped around her waist. "This has been the greatest day I've had in a long time." Rai said.
"Yeah." Kim agreed. "Now about that kiss with Jess…" she continued, ruining the mood.
Rai groaned. "What do you want me to say, Kimiko?" Rai asked. "She kissed me on an impulse, I pushed her away, and she apologized. That's all that…" Kim cut him off by planting her lips firmly against his. They kissed passionately for a moment or two before pulling apart, both breathing heavily.
"Just promise it won't happen again." Kim said, smiling.
"Kim, I'll die before that happens again." Rai said, smiling back.
They sat there for another ten minutes or so until the sunset ended, and then decided to head back into the city. It was then that something crossed Rai's mind. "So… you've got a condo here now, eh?"
"Yeah, but you're not going anywhere near it?"
"Why not?" Rai pleaded sarcastically, whimpering like a sad puppy afterwards.
"Because my dad is there." Kim explained.
"Ah… I will see you tomorrow then."
~PARIS, FRANCE~
"C'mon, Mimi. Why won't you go out with me?"
"I've told you before, Leon, I already have a boyfriend."
This had been going on for a few days now. After returning home to Paris, Mimi sat down and had a talk with her parents, convincing them that she should go to a public school instead of the preppy all girls school she'd been attending. Amazingly, they agreed and she now went to said public school. It was there that she met Leon who took an immediate liking to her and had been asking her out constantly ever since. For some reason he didn't believe that she was involved with anyone, probably because he never saw her with a guy anywhere at all, even around town. She kept telling him that Omi was in Tibet (as far as she knew) but he still didn't believe her.
At the moment they were sitting at a café, Leon refusing to leave her alone while Mimi tried to tolerate him without making a scene. "And where is he?" Leon demanded. "Oh, right, Tibet… like I'm going to believe that."
By now Mimi had tolerated him enough and she slammed her fist on the table. "All right, listen you. I'm done playing games. So I'm telling you right now, you have about ten seconds before I kick your ass into the next country." She snapped at him, still trying not to draw attention. "Nine… eight… sev--"
"Mimi, is there a problem?"
Mimi recognized the voice immediately and swung around in her chair. She was absolutely ecstatic to see her favorite pint sized Asian boy standing just behind her with a grin on his face. "Omi!" She jumped out of her chair, kneeled down and pulled the little monk into a tight hug. "I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad to see you!"
"Choking… can't… breath…" Omi gasped.
Mimi giggled and let him go. "Sorry, Shorty." she said, scratching the back of her head.
By now they could hear Leon laughing hysterically in the background. "You've got to be kidding me!" he managed to say. "This shrimp is your boyfriend? He's got to be half your age!"
Mimi turned around and glared at him. "I'll have you know that Omi is a few months older than me, thank you." she growled.
Leon just laughed. "Ok, I'll believe that." he chuckled. "But now I'm wondering if you really went to China, or the north pole instead."
"Are you implying that I am an elf?" Omi questioned.
"Either that or rein deer droppings."
"I find that offensive."
Leon laughed again and got up from his seat, crouching down in front of Omi to get to eye level. "What're you gunna do about it? Beat me up?" he asked sarcastically.
"No." Omi said calmly. "I believe she has that covered."
Leon gave him a confused look and realized too late what he meant. Mimi slammed her fist into his jaws, not caring about the resulting looks from the others in the café, causing him to topple over and hit his head on a nearby chair. "I suggest you disappear." she ordered. "For good." Leon didn't hesitate to leave, running out the door as if they were chasing him.
Mimi paid her bill after that and she and Omi left, going the opposite way that Leon did. She showed him around the city for a while, showing him all of the major tourist attractions, and briefly considered introducing him to her parents, but decided against it. Omi told her about what he'd been up to since the team had separated, apparently he and Saya had been spending a lot of time working their way across southern Asia. When asked what he was doing in Paris, he quickly flashed the Golden Tiger Claws and explained that Saya was in Texas with Clay. They ended up back in the same café as before, surprisingly without any trouble from anyone who was still there from before.
"So, how long are you going to be here before you and Saya head back to Asia?" Mimi asked, taking a sip of coffee.
Omi pulled one of the Skulls of Mento, the ruby one, out of his sleeve. "Whenever Saya or I feels like heading back, we simply contact the other. I intend on staying as long as I am welcome… and knowing Clay and Saya…"
"They probably have the same plans." Mimi finished for him. She then quickly got up, paid her bill again, and went back to the table. "C'mon." she said. "I'm pretty sure there are a few amusement parks around here that'll keep us busy until Saya calls."
Omi agreed, grabbed her hand and they headed out the door.
~BARCELLONA, SPAIN~
"What's wrong, honey?" Julia asked. "You seem sad."
"I don't know." Elena sighed.
The two girls were lying on the beach, just spending the day relaxing with each other. The last month had been… a bit difficult, put simply. At first they were both overly excited to be living in the same city and, by dumb luck, going to the same school. But they'd decided to keep their relationship a secret for the time being since Elena still wasn't quite comfortable with telling her parents or anyone else, even if Rai, Kim, and the others already knew. Despite this, however, Julia had already come out to her parents, both of which accepted her, most of the others at their school knew they were at least close friends. There had even been a few instances where their friends at school had tried to set them up with random guys.
"I guess I'm just starting to get tired of hiding who I am, you know." she said, taking Jewel's hand in hers.
Jewel smiled. "Are you saying that you're finally ready to tell people about us?" she asked.
Elena looked out to the ocean and sighed. "I guess… I just wish I knew how everyone would react… especially my family."
"I don't know what to tell you, Elena." Julia said, letting go of her hand and opening the cooler they'd brought with them and pulling out a can of soda. "All I know is that if I hear one more guy ask you out, I'm going to flip."
"Same here." Elena agreed.
Oh, the irony. Right then and there one of they boys they knew from their school walked over to them, the look on his face giving away what he intended on doing. "Hey, Elena. I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie some time."
Elena was about to snap, but she controlled herself. Despite what he'd just done annoying her to no end, she'd known him for a while and knew his was a nice guy. "Sorry." she said, grabbing Julia's hand and lacing their fingers together so that he could clearly see. "But I'm already involved with someone."
They could tell he was surprised and were glad to see he didn't make a big deal out of it. "All right." he said. "See you later then." And he walked off without another word.
Julia smiled and leaned over, kissing Elena on the cheek." Way to go." she said happily.
Elena turned to her girlfriend and returned the kiss, this time on the lips. "Couldn't have done it without you." she said.
"So, what now?" Jewel questioned.
Elena turned back to the ocean and thought about it for a moment. "… feel like meeting my parents?" she asked.
An hour later they found themselves standing in front of Elena's house. They would've walked in five minutes earlier, but Elena's nervousness got the better of her. "I'm sure they won't care. Everything's going to be fine." Julia insisted.
"I heard you the first time." Elena growled. "I'm just building my confidence, all right?" With that she reached out, opened the door, and they walked in. "Hello? Mom, Dad? Are you home?"
"Easy on the yelling, Sis." Elena's younger brother came out of the other room with his skate board. "Mom and Dad went shopping three hours ago."
"Any idea when they'll be home, Diego?" Elena asked.
Diego shrugged. "Fifteen, maybe twenty min…" he paused when he noticed Julia standing behind his sister. "Well, well, who's this?" he asked.
"I'm Julia." she answered.
Diego glanced between the two girls for a moment before his eyes went wide and he laughed. "Oh my god! You two are--" He stopped talking when the door opened again and their parents walked in with grocery bags. Elena and Julia snuck into the living room quickly.
"Does he know?" Jewel asked.
"Yeah. I think he's got ESP or something."
"Elena." Her mother said as she and her father entered the room. "Who's your friend?"
Elena's face went white with fear and she froze. "Uh…" Julia instinctively grabbed her hand, silently reassuring her as they sat on the couch, the parents sitting in two chairs across from them. "Um… Mom, Dad, this is Julia Marsh… She's my girlfriend." She sighed, tightening her grip on Julia's hand. "We've been dating for a while now."
Elena's parents just stared at them in disbelief for a moment before looking at each other quickly. But when they turned back, they were both smiling and nodded in approval. "Nice to meet you." her father said. Elena got up and hugged them both, thanking them over and over again with tears of joy in her eyes.
"Told you." Julia laughed.
~TEXAS, USA~
"Work, work, all week long! Punchin' that clock, dusk 'til dawn. Countin' the days 'til Friday night! That's when all the conditions are right for a good time… I need a good time." Clay happily sang along to Alan Jackson's "Good Time" as he drove his truck down the road. He was heading into the city to meet up with Saya. She'd called (very long distance call from Asia) him the day before and they agreed to meet that day to catch up. The grin hadn't left Clay's face since he hung up the phone.
"Havin' fun, bro?"
Clay looked out the drivers side window to find Jessie riding her motorcycle along side his truck. "Jessie, you realize you're on the wrong side of the road, right?"
"Like I care." Jessie said, rolling her eyes. "So, where're ya headed?"
"I'm meetin' Saya in town for a movie." Clay said. "What about you?"
"Meetin' the Vipers for our Saturday night ride through town." Jessie said.
Clay smirked and raised one eyebrow. "I thought your weekly ride was on Sunday." he pointed out.
Jessie's face went red and she pulled her hat down slightly. "All right, ya caught me… I've got a date too." There was a brief pause, the sounds of their engines taking up the silence. "Different movies." Jessie finally stated.
"Deal." Clay agreed. With that, Jessie pulled ahead of him and they continued on down the road.
Clay and Jessie parked their vehicles next to each other in the multiplex parking lot and walked in together, being sure to keep a safe distance. It didn't take Clay long at all to spot the golden haired Asian girl, but in the crowd of cowboy hats, she had a harder time spotting him. "What movie are you seein' again?" Clay asked his sister.
"Somethin' with a lot of explosions… probably Valkyrie." Jessie said.
"Right. Later then." They split up.
Clay approached Saya and called out her name. Saya turned around, smiled, and waved when she spotted him. They embraced and kissed quickly before choosing the movie. As promised, Jessie and her date ended up seeing Valkyrie, so he and Saya went to see Yes Man instead.
"So how've you and Omi been doin'?" Clay asked as they took their seats.
"We've been great." Saya said. "You should've seen how much Omi loosened up while we were in Tibet… those monks sure throw one hell of a party."
"Wish I could've been there." Clay said.
Saya just laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry about it… we'll be having our own party tonight." she said as the lights dimmed and the movie started.
After the movie, they headed into town for something to eat. Before leaving, however, they witnessed Jessie and her date kissing outside of the theater and couldn't help but laugh. What was there not to laugh about? Jessie was the leader of a biker gang, so the sight of her and some guy making out like any couple was a novelty.
They went to a local diner, ate quickly, and spent a few hours just talking after that. "So, long story short, Omi and aren't aloud within a kilometer of Bangkok. We're pretty much avoiding Thailand anyway."
"Wow… and to think all I've been doing is school, football, and working on the ranch." Clay said, folding his arms. "I can't believe how boring life is now. Without the temple, Master Fung, you and the others… I'm bored out of my skull!"
"Take it easy, big guy." Saya said. "Remember, Chase, Wuya, and Hannibal, not to mention Jack and all the other crackpots are still out there, no doubt back to their villainous ways. The world's going to need heroes soon enough, and when it does…"
"Then the eight of us will be there to show them jackasses who's boss." Clay finished for her.
"Right." Saya agreed. "But until then, we're taking a well deserved vacation. Take it easy and enjoy yourself."
"What part of school, football, and ranch work don't you get?" Clay asked rolling his eyes.
"Hm… good point." Saya agreed. "Well, think of it this way." She left some money on the table to pay their bill and then got up, grabbing Clay's arm and pulling him out the door. As soon as they were out the door, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. When they pulled apart, she finished what she wanted to say. "Thank your lucky stars that you're getting laid tonight." she said bluntly. "I'm guessing that you have somewhere outside of your house for us to sleep, right?"
"Set up a tent near the river last night." Clay explained.
"Good."
With that the got back into Clay's Truck and made their way out of town. As they drove off, Jessie and her date flew passed them on her bike with a loud "Woo-hoo!" After that, Clay turned on the radio and, strangely, the same song as earlier was playing, about half done already. On an impulse, they both started singing along.
"Shot of tequila. Beer on tap. Good looking' woman, to sit on my lap. G with an O. O with a D. T with an I. An M with an E, that spells good time! A good time… Oh, I've been working' all week and I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep, I wanna have fun. Time for a good time!"
~LOCATION UNKNOWN~
Nina smiled as she watched a small bird fly overhead, then went back to flipping through the pages of her magazine. After the final battle with Pride, she and Jack had returned to his home and did what repairs they could do on their own on the house. At the moment Nina was sitting in a chair on the back porch reading a magazine she'd found lying around. She was content with just sitting there for as long as she could, until she heard a soft groan coming from inside. She sighed, but smiled and went inside to check on Jack. "Jack? You awake, honey?"
"Barely…" she heard him mumble from the couch.
The redhead went over to and kneeled next to him, running her fingers through his hair. "How're you feeling?" she asked.
"Like I just had a chunk of metal attached to my nerves in order to have it replace my leg." Jack choked, almost sounding like he was trying to laugh.
"Sounds about right." Nina said, looking down to the shape of Jacks new, mechanical leg underneath the blanket. "Just consider yourself lucky I understood everything you taught me about this stuff… otherwise you might've ended up needing more metal and having less flesh and blood."
"Don't joke about that." Jack choked, again sounding like he was trying to laugh. "I don't plan on needing anymore metal parts, thank you."
Nina laughed. "Lucky me." Jack smiled and shook his head. "I'll get you some water." Nina offered, getting up and heading for the kitchen.
"How about pain killers and sleeping pills instead." Jack suggested, joking of course. Nina just shook her head and got a glass from the cupboard, filling it from the sink.
Jack was still going to be pretty weak for the next few days, probably not even able to walk. He'd be fine eventually, able to do everything he used to do and then some, so long as he did proper maintenance on his arm and leg regularly. He'd defiantly go back to being the same old Jack Spicer… though Nina hoped he'd drop the whole evil thing for something more productive.
Jack drank his water quickly and it seemed to help him a lot. He could still barely move, but he could speak clearly and keep his eyes open at the least. Pleased with this, Nina decided to sit at the other end of the couch and watch TV with him, rather than going back outside. They sat there quietly for about a half an hour, flipping channels, before Jack finally spoke up. "Say, Nina, I've been thinking…"
"There's a first." Nina said, cutting him off.
"Not funny."
"Yes it was."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I was just wondering… What is it about me you like so much?"
"What do you mean?" she questioned.
"I'm mean… well… there's so many ways to say this, but to put it in the simplest way I can, I'm comedy relief.
Nina laughed and then thought over the question. "Well, I guess when we first met, when I was the Sin of Sloth, I saw that you were diligent, hark working, unwilling to give up… and happy. You were everything I wasn't at the time, but also everything I wanted to be. After that, once I gave up that life, I got to know the real you and… I just love you. What more is there too it?"
Jack shrugged as best as he could. "Good enough for me."
"Good." Nina said. "Now hurry up and get back on your feet. You need to test out that new leg before its rusts off."
~HAWAII~
It was a beautiful day on the beaches of Hawaii. Surfers were out riding the waves, lovely women in bikinis were sunbathing, tourists were walking around in their goofy shirts taking pictures… and Dojo the dragon had found a secluded spot on the beach for himself to relax. "Ah…" he sighed. "This is the life… now if only there were some ladies here to keep me company."
As if a gift from the gods, two more dragons swooped down at that moment and shrank to match Dojo's size. One was pink, the other yellow… and both were girl. "Hey, hot stuff." the yellow one said.
"What's your name?" the pink one asked.
Dojo just grinned, slithered over, and put his arms around both of their shoulders. "The name's Jo… Dojo."
(a/n) there it is, the epilogue and finally chapter. I originally planned for a second epilogue that could possibly lead into another installment of this series, but decided against it because I still have yet to decide if Im continuing this. anyway, I hope youve enjoyed my trilogy, I look forward to the reviews, and I hope you continue reading my other works now that this is over.
before I go, Id like to thank Janey1097 and xxFireWarriorxx for following this trilogy from the begining and reviewing almost every chapter as well as ktd123 who did almost as well as they did, but seemed to have disappeared after chapter 13. Id also thank anyone else who reviews, or even read my story... but there are so many of you that I cant name you all. so basically, thanks to anyone who read even one chapter of this trilogy and enjoyed it. and before I go to work on whatever I feel like next... ROCK ON!!!