Fair warning: I mention another cartoon, Chaotic. This is only because I thought it would be fitting to end the series this way. Enjoy the final chapter of the Dimensional Guards Trilogy.
The days went by quickly. The gargoyles woke every night to see how Eva was. There was little change, but each day was a bit more promising. Once, Eva twitched her hand in her sleep and then later she grabbed Kayla's wrist when she fixed the blankets.
It was Kayla who spent most of her time at Eva's side. The others went on patrol with the gargoyles during the night and did a little sightseeing by day. Odd and Yumi picked out get-well gifts for Eva. Jeremy spent most of his time running interference. As soon as he would get one tower deactivated, XANA would activate another.
"The week's almost up," Jeremy absentmindedly said.
Aelita turned to him. "I know," she said. "Do you think Yin will be able to help Eva?"
"Maybe," said Jeremy.
Kayla stepped out to get something to eat. When she returned to the infirmary, Eva was gone! She looked around before running to tell her friends that Eva was missing.
"She's awake?" cried Yumi.
They scattered and began searching for her.
Odd checked the gymnasium and found Eva. She was doing cartwheels on the mats.
"Hey!" he called.
Eva stopped and looked at him. "I have a feeling I was out for a while."
"A long while," said Odd. "Most of the week. How are you feeling?"
"Back to my old self," said Eva. "The pain's there, my head's clear. Everything's where it should be."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Odd. "Let's go tell the others."
"Eva!" cried Kayla, hugging her friend.
"We're glad you're okay," said Ulrich.
"What a relief," said Aelita.
"Yeah," said Eva. "You mind if I go for a walk? I don't mind you following me, but my legs are numb. If I don't get the blood back in them, I'm going to be more than a little miserable."
The seven of them walked to the atrium where there was a variety of plants, including several trees. They all sat down around one tree.
Yumi made a grunting sound.
"What?" asked Ulrich.
"There's something I always wanted to do," said Yumi. "It's kinda cliche, but . . . " Yumi took the pocketknife Eva gave her and turned around. She began to carve her name into the trunk of the tree.
One by one, the others took their knives from their pockets and carved their names next to Yumi's. Odd finished it up by carving a circle around their names.
"Forever LYOKO," he said.
"Yeah," said Ulrich.
"Did you ever wonder what it's going to be like once XANA's been defeated?" asked Jeremy.
"A little," said Odd. "School will certainly be boring."
"We'll make our own excitement," said Eva.
They all sat there in silence for a long moment.
"We better get back to the hotel," said Jeremy. "Yin comes for us in the morning. We better say good-bye to everyone."
"I'm going to miss those guys," said Odd.
"We all will," said Yumi.
The seven of them started back up to the castle to say good-bye to their new friends.
Yin got up the morning she was supposed to pick up the LYOKO warriors. She got dressed and grabbed her key.
"Where are going?" asked Yang.
Yin smiled. "You know where," she said. "I'll be back in a little bit. Be ready to leave when I get back. There's somewhere we need to go."
Yang smiled back and watched his sister open a portal and step through it.
Yin walked into the hotel room to find the LYOKO warriors were ready to go.
"Did you have fun?" Yin asked.
"You bet we did," said Odd.
"Come on," said Yin. "Let's get you home."
They stepped through the portal and found themselves in Jeremy's room.
"Thanks for the help," said Yin.
"No, thank you," said Aelita. "It was nice to see another dimension. Two, actually."
"You are very welcome," said Yin. "Good-bye."
Yin stepped back through the portal and it closed behind her. The others sat on Jeremy's bed and on the floor.
"Oh, no!" cried Odd. "I forgot about Kiwi!"
There was a bark and Kiwi came running out from under Jeremy's desk. Odd scooped him up and allowed the small dog to lick his face.
"I missed you, too," laughed Odd.
"Hey," said Ulrich. He was looking at his wrist. "Where did our specter bands go?"
They all looked at their wrists and found their specter bands missing. They checked their pockets and their luggage, but they were nowhere to be found.
"Don't worry," said Jeremy, booting up his computer. "I made copies of the files. Just give me a minute to access them. That's strange."
"What is?" asked Aelita.
"The files—they're deleted!" said Jeremy.
"What? How?" asked Kayla.
Eva chuckled from her place on the edge of the bed. "We don't need them anymore. If anything, I'm glad they are gone. They're too much of a temptation to use."
"Aw," said Odd. "I'm going to miss riding the over-board in the night sky."
"It's for the best," said Kayla. "We don't want anyone getting hurt."
"That's true," said Ulrich.
"Come on," said Yumi. "The specter things Yin used are probably gone. We got to get to class."
Yin and Yang stood at the edge of a large lake with a castle rising to the sky. Yang was a little nervous about being here. The place was as peaceful as it was imposing. Yin stood beside him and giggled.
"Don't look so nervous," Yin told him. "You don't have anything to worry about while I'm here."
"Why are we here?" asked Yang.
"You need to thank the man who saved both our lives," said Yin, starting for the path that led to the castle.
Yang followed close behind her.
Yin knocked on the front door and waited. The door did not open, but there was a voice telling them to enter from high above them. She tapped Yang's arm and flew up to the large windows.
"Tale Teller," said Najarin. "Do you have a tale to tell?"
"I always do, Najarin," said Yin. "But first, I want you to meet my brother. Yang, this is Najarin, the man who saved both our lives."
"Hello," Yang said with a deep bow.
Najarin turned to Yin. "It's going to be a long tale, isn't it?"
Yin smiled. "I hope you have a lot of free time on your hands, my friend. This one's centuries in the making."
Finally it's over! I hope you enjoyed the trilogy. Considering the time constraints I adhered myself to, I must say that I am impressed with myself. I thought it fitting to end it the way I ended the other two parts with Yin going to Perim to tell Najarin what happened. Review please.