III – V
Final Fanfare
Part II: Forevermore

Melchior laughed as his body began to change. He was now about 11 feet tall, and had large horns and spike all over his body, as well as invisible barrier. His eye had disappeared, as did his hair, and a large sword made from his victims' bones materialized out of his left hand. Rotting flesh and torn muscle encased his bone, as well as beat up armor and a cape made of what was left of his victims. The only bone left uncovered was his skull, which now had horns around the top of the skull as a crown. "I am invincible… I am immortal! I… am… KING! THIS WORLD IS NOW UNDER THE CONTROL OF MELCHIOR SUTAH, GOD OF DESTRUCTION!" His voice echoed. Rose, Kaje, Hannah and Kaelyn stood beside Yin/Jake. "MORTALS! YOU DARE OPPOSE MY COMMAND?"

"You are not in command!" Hikaru looked to his left, where Kibou stood, sword drawn. "I'm here, brother." He said.

"YANG?"

"It's Kibou."

"BAH! FOOLS! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY STOP THIS GREAT POWER! GAH, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! I AM INVINCIBLE! MY POWER IS LIMITLESS!"

"Let's go!" Chaos yelled, with Dan next to him. "Let's take this devil down, once and for all!"

"F, FOOL!"

"Now!" Yin/Jake screamed in unison. The Council rose through the ground like ghosts, and the entire Yin Army, Yin/Jake, Hannah, Kibou, Chaos, Dan, Rose, Kaje, and Kaelyn attacked Melchior all at once.

"WH, WHAT IS THIS POWER! NO ONE HAS EVER… BEEN ABLE TO… NO! IMPOSSIBLE! I… CAN'T… DIE!" Melchior screamed. "I AM THE DARKNESS, I AM VOID OF WEAKNESS……… I CANNOT… BE… DEFEATED…. BY SUCH WEAK……… MORTALS!" Melchior screamed in pain from the top of his lungs as his new body was destroyed. He was now nothing more then a rotting corpse.

"We… we did it…" Hannah said. "I don't believe it…! We won… WE WON!" Dan ran toward his girlfriend and hugged her, and Yin/Jake were separated.

"H, huh? Hikaru? What happened?"

"I shouldn't be alive… neither of us Council members should be. Our purpose is complete." He said. Jake looked around. All of the Council was beginning to fade away. "Without Melchior, this world can finally work out peace."

"But… we have one more gift before we go." Kibou said. There was a bright flash, and the earth returned to its previous state. "Its up to you whether The Darkness returns. If humans become cold again, he will have something to feed off of. Don't stray way from peace…" He said as he faded away. "See ya."

"Its really over then… for good… right?" Rose asked.

"Yes… I think it finally is over." Jake replied. "All the sacrifices… the battles… are finally over… forever…"

"We finally did it then… we finally achieved our goal."

"Now we can actually have normal lives. No more fighting. No more Yang. No more darkness."

"Not exactly." Dan said. "Darkness resides within all of us. Knowing to control it is the only way to have peace. Soon, someday, this world will fall into darkness again… because of the darkness we all have within. When that day comes, heroes will be needed again, and this whole thing will repeat."

"But hopefully, that's beyond our lifetime." Jake said. "Let's head home…"

… … … … …

Jake and Rose sat at the beach, staring at the sunset. "How long?" He asked.

"How long what?" She asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"How long has it been since we actually had time to be alone, just you and me, in peace?"

"I don't know… it's been so long."

"Yeah…" Jake said. "… Rose? I need to tell you something… something that I've been meaning to tell you for a while now…"

"What is it?" Jake pecked Rose on the lips for a second, before looking at her. "J…Jake…"

"I… I love you…" 'That never gets easier…' He thought. Silence. Neither could think of what to say. Their faces began to get closer, until they were only inches apart, when Dan came in.

"Okay you two lovebirds, Hannah sent me to tell you that dinner's ready." The two blushed for a moment.

"Alright." Jake said. The two headed in with Dan.

… … … … …

"Ah… rest!" Hannah sighed. "It's been so long since I've actually had time to just sit back and relax." She said. "To tell you the truth though, I've gotten so used to fighting, I kinda' miss it."

"I don't." Dan said, sitting next to his girlfriend. "Hey, as anyone seen Ash?"

"Yeah, after the battle she and Al ran off… said they had some business to take care of."

"Hmm… Wonder what."

"Who knows?" She said.

… … … … …

"QUICK! Snatch the doughnuts!" Al yelled.

… … … … …

"Jake, you coming?" Rose asked her boyfriend. Jake looked at her, puzzled.

"Huh?"

"The picture! Hannah's got everything set up."

"Oh, right! Coming!" He said. He quickly got up from the chair he was sitting in and dashed out the door.

"Alright, everyone say cheese!" Hannah said, setting the timer.

"Cheese!" Everyone said.

"Where?" Dan said, turning his head as soon as the camera took the picture.

Jake's POV

Days were much better after that last fight with The Darkness. We weren't called upon much, and no wars have been waged recently. It seems things have finally settled down for a bit. I was glad. In the immortal words of Albert Camus: "The war for peace is the only war worth waging." As for Melchior and the Council, they haven't come back, so things must be good. I just can't stop wondering though… how long will this last? Bah… what am I saying? I should enjoy today! I should enjoy the time of peace we have now. I finally have what I've been wanting for my whole life… I should enjoy it, while I have it, because, you never know what you've got, until its gone.

"Jake, come on!" Rose called for me.

"Coming!"

… … … … …

From within his prison, Melchior gazed upon the earth. "Soon… I will regain control… you'll see…. You'll all see! GAH, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"

Fini

Okay, to answer a big question, the reason why I haven't updated my revised AD: JL stories Is because when my website is complete, they will be permanently moved to there. Kind of an exclusive thing, you know? Anyway, The ending doesn't mean anything. In fact, I just threw that in for a little fun. Its merely stating that the peace won't last forever, and that he would soon be able to return. Anyway, thanks everyone, I guess this is goodbye in the AD: JL section… for now. I will not stop with my AD: JL fics forever, I will have a few stories here or there, but this is the end of my current series. Its been fun, but, till next time, see ya.

"The war for peace is the only war worth waging." – Albert Camus.