Silvan Arrow: Um…hi. So…I'm back?
Eri: Hehehehe…you look a little frightened.
Silvan Arrow: Is it that obvious?
Sonja: How do I say this tactfully? Yes. You look terrified for your life.
Eri: So what's your excuse this time for taking so long?
Silvan Arrow: Um…college? Research? FINAL EXAMS?! I about went insane! And then I had absolutely no inspiration!
Sonja: I don't think that will completely fly with the readers.
Readers: DIE!!!!!!!!!
Silvan Arrow: Eep! Um…Eri! Sonja! Disclaimer!
Eri and Sonja: Oh brother… Silvan Arrow does not own Beyblade or any of its characters. She just owns the plot and her OCs.
Silvan Arrow: Before the readers kill me for taking so long, here's chapter 20!
Chapter 20: Aftermath
'So cold…'
All she knew was cold.
Eri had stopped feeling pain long ago. She could literally feel the life seeping out of her in a growing pool of blood as she lay on the unforgiving stone floor of Xhaiden's torture chamber. The warmth of life fled in terror as chilly fingers crept up her broken, bloodied body. Her eyelids drifted shut in silent resignation to accept death's cold embrace…
Then there was warmth.
At first it was just a small touch of warmth, like a caress, on her forehead, but then Eri became aware of another presence, a sentient one, next to her, feeding warmth into her body that seeped through her arms and legs, reaching into her very soul. Her heart beat with renewed vigor, and she felt life returning to her as the cold ice of death started to melt away.
My name is Pyrix…
Her clouded mind vaguely registered a large, furry body curling around her thin, broken frame so she could feel even more of that blessed warmth. A small whimper…the touch of a cold, wet nose…the sound of a faint swish-swish, like a dog wagging its tail…the brush of another consciousness against hers. A soul reaching out directly to hers, like two lovers whose bond transverses time and space so they can be together at long last. Waves of warmth, kindness, and overpowering love swept through Eri's body, threatening to break her heart that was long since dead.
Sleep now, little one…
Powerless to oppose such a gentle tone of voice, Eri resigned herself to the dreams of the living.
The solid stone door of the torture chamber groaned against its hinges as Xhaiden opened it and walked inside, prepared to dispose of the body of his latest failure. Eri watched from a distance, like a disembodied spirit, as Xhaiden walked up to her 8-year old self, which was still lying facedown on the floor, seemingly alone. Sensing something was amiss, Xhaiden knelt down next to the girl's prone form, one that should have been dead hours ago, and reached out to touch her. As soon as his fingers made contact, a consciousness that was not human suddenly rose up in a protective fury and lashed out at Xhaiden's mind, forcing him to recoil his hand as if it had been burned. A faint red aura pulsed around Eri's body in time with her heartbeat, and the image of a fiery red wolf, standing in a protective crouch, flashed through his mind's eye, as did the sounds of her enraged snarls.
Xhaiden suddenly realized what had happened, and a crazed smirk crossed his face. Laughing darkly, he whispered, "Perhaps I underestimated you. It seems you will prove useful to me after all, Eri."
In the hazy barrier between unconsciousness and wakefulness, she was distantly aware of voices, though she couldn't tell if they were coming from her dreams or from real life.
"She's been asleep for a long time…"
"The doctor said her prognosis was good. She just needs time."
"Look! She's waking up!"
The fog in her mind started to clear as reality took hold. Eri cracked open her eyes but immediately scrunched them shut again as the harsh afternoon sunlight burned across her lids.
A fourth voice, a male one this time, rapped out a soft command in Russian. The sound of the blinds closing met Eri's ears, followed by blessed darkness. Warm, calloused fingers gently closed around hers. "It's okay, Eri. You can open your eyes now."
Obeying the softly spoken command, Eri opened her eyes and waited patiently for her vision to clear. She noted Sonja, Nakia, and Hina standing by the right side of her bed, each one bearing a concerned look. She felt a gentle squeeze on her left hand and tilted her head stiffly to see Tala sitting in a chair beside her bed, watching her intently, as if she would vanish if he took his eyes off her. Their gazes locked for several long moments.
Nakia broke the silence first by asking the obvious question. "How are you feeling?"
Eri craned her stiff neck back around to regard her teammates with a weak smirk. Reality was quickly becoming sharper, as was her personality. "Would you rather hear what you want to hear or the truth?" she asked hoarsely. In all honesty, she felt like road-kill that had been pulverized by an eighteen-wheeler and then sent through a street sweeper. Bandages covered every inch of visible skin on her arms and legs, with more bandages covering half of her body that was hidden under the blankets. Half a dozen needles lay under the skin of both her arms to give her fluids, blood, pain medication, and who-knows-what-else. Finally, a plastic tube was attached to her nose to help her breathe. Her head and face had escaped with only a few cuts and scratches, but of course that was at the expense of every other part of her body. 'On second thought, make that two street sweepers…'
Nakia reconsidered. "Then again, maybe I don't want to know…"
"How long have I been out?"
"Three days," Sonja supplied. "You lost a lot of blood due to severe internal and external injuries. They had to perform emergency surgery as soon as you arrived and then kept you unconscious with morphine so your body could start to heal."
"Sounds charming," Eri replied sarcastically. She thought back to the battle that had brought her here in the first place. The painkillers were dulling her senses, and the events from three days ago felt like a fleeting memory, perhaps from a dream instead of reality. "What…happened after the battle? Raina and Xhaiden…"
A knock at the door drew their attention. This time, Hina was the one that spoke. "Maybe it would be better to have someone more qualified explain the situation." She opened the door to reveal none other than Mr. Dickenson.
"Oh, Eri! It's so good to see you finally awake!" he exclaimed.
Noting her captain's puzzled look, Sonja explained, "Mr. Dickenson came by many times to check on you while you were unconscious."
Slight flags of color marked Eri's cheeks. "T-thank you…" she replied, mildly embarrassed from the attention.
Mr. Dickenson chuckled good-naturedly. "If you want to thank someone, you should thank these four right here," he said, indicating Tala and her teammates with a sweep of his hand. "They haven't left your side."
Before Eri could say anything, Tala gave her hand a careful squeeze. "All that matters is that you're all right." Too weak to move her head, she simply nodded once in acknowledgement while keeping her gaze on Mr. Dickenson.
"Now then, I'm sure you're wondering what became of Raina and the others after your battle," Mr. Dickenson said.
"Yes, I am curious. But first, where's Xhaiden?"
"Behind bars, where he belongs." Everyone turned his or her heads in unison to see Kai walk through the open doorway. "Tala and I made sure of that."
"Yes, you did indeed," Mr. Dickenson agreed. Noting the girls' confused expressions, he explained, "Two nights before the semi-finals, Kai and Tala brought Vala Arnordottir to my office at the BBA headquarters. Apparently, Xhaiden had been about to shoot her for losing an unsanctioned battle against Hina."
Nakia scoffed and crossed her arms angrily over her chest. "A battle? It was more like an ambush."
Eri changed the subject by turning an accusing glare toward Kai. "You tailed Omega Platoon?! What were you thinking?"
Kai smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't look at me. It was Tala's idea."
Before Eri could spout flames at Tala, Mr. Dickenson unwittingly came to his rescue by continuing. "I called in the police that same night, and her testimony, along with the boys' eye witness reports, gave them all the evidence they needed to secure an arrest warrant."
"I don't get it. If you secured the arrest warrant that night, then why did you let Omega Platoon compete in the semi-finals?" Hina asked rationally.
"We knew it would cause a massive panic if we disqualified Omega Platoon, arrested Xhaiden out of the blue, and then brought forward charges of abuse and murder. We hoped you girls would defeat Omega Platoon to make it easier for us to keep the whole situation quiet," Mr. Dickenson explained.
"Besides," Tala spoke softly, "we knew you wouldn't forgive us if we didn't let you settle your differences with them."
"Of course, Xhaiden didn't exactly go quietly," Kai remarked. "Raina and the others surrendered as soon as the police showed up, but we had to use some…aggressive negotiations…to get Xhaiden to cooperate."
Flashback
How could his plans have gone so wrong?
No matter how many times he replayed the events of the past few months in his mind, Xhaiden still could not figure out where he went wrong. The timing was perfect. The execution was perfect. His beybladers were supposed to be perfect. And yet, in spite of all his careful planning and manipulating, those accursed girls who called themselves the Temporal Knights had defeated him once again.
And the worst part was that he had been so close! Eri had been on the verge of defeat, with one foot in the grave, and even then she had managed to come back and beat Raina, the perfect soldier that he had created over years of research and harsh training. All his ambitions had been shattered in that one single instant, and now he had nothing left.
Boris would not be pleased.
What surprised Xhaiden the most was how quickly things had happened once the match was over. Two-dozen fully armed policemen in bulletproof vests had stormed the stadium as soon as Eri had collapsed. Raina, Alanna, and Ramona had let the police take them into custody without a struggle, though, Xhaiden had noted, Brooklyn had looked rather upset, for him at least.
And what had he done? He had turned tail and fled like the coward that he truly was.
The long, endless hallway never seemed to get any shorter no matter how fast he ran, and the fluorescent lights in the ceiling ensured that he could no longer hide in the shadows.
Xhaiden skidded to a halt as Mr. Dickenson stepped around the corner, flanked by Kai, Tala, and half a dozen police officers. One of them spoke in a grave voice, "Xhaiden Chesnokov, you're under arrest."
Xhaiden growled under his breath and turned around to flee in the opposite direction, but Bryan, Spencer, and more policemen blocked his way. Xhaiden's eyes widened. Where did they come from? The four Blitzkrieg Boys looked ready to lunge for his throat at any second.
"Game's over, creep," Bryan snarled, cracking his knuckles menacingly. He looked more ticked than any of them. Spencer loomed behind him, his silent bulk almost as intimidating.
"Yeah, so why don't you just go quietly?" Tala added harshly.
Mr. Dickenson spoke next. "Xhaiden, your evil ends today. We have enough evidence to make sure you stay behind bars for a very long time."
"And don't even think about running to Boris. We've got him too," Spencer stated.
The policemen behind Bryan and Spencer took a step forward. "S-stay away from me!" Xhaiden shouted, pulling his pistol out of his jacket and pointing it at Bryan.
The next moments were a blur. Before anyone else could react, Kai and Tala leaped forward and secured Xhaiden's arms in a painful death grip, forcing him to drop his weapon.
"You're never going to hurt them again," Kai growled in Xhaiden's ear, knowing the madman could guess to whom he was referring.
"Yeah, and here's a little payback!" Before anyone could stop him, Bryan stepped forward and lashed out with a lightning-fast punch that connected with the side of Xhaiden's face and added a black eye to his set of scars. He groaned in pain and slumped forward unconscious.
All the policemen turned their attention to Bryan. Instead of apologizing, he just smirked and said, "Hey, all I did was apprehend the criminal."
End flashback
"Even though Xhaiden's in custody now, it's still not fair," Nakia said. "I never would have chosen to fight Omega Platoon if I had known this would happen. If the police had arrested Xhaiden sooner, Eri wouldn't have gotten hurt, and Pyrix…"
"Nakia!" Sonja and Hina exclaimed in unison, the younger of the two jabbing Nakia with her elbow.
"Oops…"
"Huh? What about Pyrix?" Eri asked, genuinely confused. True, she hadn't felt Pyrix in her mind, but she had just assumed that it was from the painkillers clouding her senses and messing with her head. But now that she thought about it, the place in her mind where Pyrix usually resided was strangely empty. Even more alarming was the dull cold ache in the hollow of her heart that had never been there until now.
Her eyes widened as another memory flashed across her mind's eye.
Then Eri's legs buckled, and she sank to her knees before falling face first to the ground…
…at the very same instant that her beyblade and bit chip shattered.
Eri gasped, which came out as a choked sob. "N-no…it can't be…" Sonja, Nakia, and Hina glanced guiltily away from her, refusing to make eye contact. She looked desperately to her left. "Tala?" She searched desperately for some indication in his eyes that she was wrong, that her memory was flawed, that Pyrix was…
Instead of the reassurance that she was looking for, Tala simply closed his eyes and sighed. "Wolborg searched for hours after the battle, but he couldn't find her. I'm sorry."
At that instant, Eri's heart shattered into more pieces than her beyblade as the cold hand of despair clenched her chest in its icy fist. She scrunched her eyes shut and willed the tears not to fall. 'Not hear…not in front of them…' She now knew why Tala had been watching her so guardedly. He had been waiting for her to remember…been waiting for her reaction…
Mr. Dickenson broke the tense silence. "I know this is a lot of information to process at once, but we also have to consider how to proceed with the tournament. Currently the semi-finals are suspended until further notice, but your team did defeat Omega Platoon fairly. Therefore, you have qualified for the finals and…"
"We won't be competing in the finals," Eri stated firmly, cutting him off. "The Temporal Knights are withdrawing from the tournament."
Mr. Dickenson was taken aback by Eri's statement. "B-but Eri…this isn't necessary. You can take as much time as you need to…"
"Mr. Dickenson, may we speak with you privately?" Sonja suddenly asked, cutting off his protest.
"Oh…o-of course." He and the rest of the Temporal Knights filed out of the room. Kai followed suit, which left only Eri, Tala, and a tense silence.
"Eri, I…" Tala began.
"I need to be alone," she said numbly.
Tala squeezed her fingers again, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Eri, you don't have to deal with this by yourself…"
"Please…just go. I need you to go," she pleaded softly, turning her head away from him.
Tala sighed in defeat. He knew he couldn't change her mind now. She was far too stubborn. "All right…" He gave her hand one last squeeze and then got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Only then, when Eri was certain no one was around to hear, did she let the tears fall.
"So you're really withdrawing from the tournament?" Mr. Dickenson asked. He and the other Temporal Knights were discussing matters in the waiting room while Kai leaned against the opposite wall in his typical Kai pose.
"Yes, that's correct," Sonja confirmed.
"You know, you don't have to take such drastic measures. We still have the second semi-final match, and then we can postpone the tournament while Eri recovers," Mr. Dickenson objected.
"That's not the only reason, though Eri's injuries are probably enough of a reason in themselves," Hina said. "Our beyblades are completely trashed." Mr. Dickenson's eyes widened as the girls held out their beyblades for his inspection. Claw and fang marks covered the attack rings, the bases were half-demolished, and even the weight disks were crushed. The only thing intact on each blade was the bit chip.
"Yeah, and Eri's usually the one who repairs them," Nakia added. "But even if we could get them repaired, Eri wouldn't be able to fight wholeheartedly, now that Pyrix is…" She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, as if not saying it could somehow hold back reality.
"We knew all along that, if we got the chance to face Omega Platoon, it would most likely be our last battle in the tournament," Sonja concluded. "And if withdrawing is Eri's wish, then we will stand by her as always."
Mr. Dickenson sighed in defeat. He could tell from their expressions that they had made up their minds. "Well…if this is truly your desire, then I will formally withdraw your team from the finals."
Sonja nodded gratefully. "Thank you for understanding."
"As much as I would like to stay, I really must be going. I have to try and sort things out related to the tournament." Mr. Dickenson bid the girls farewell and took his leave.
Sonja, Nakia, Hina, and Kai were the only ones left in the waiting room. "So…what do we do now?" Nakia asked, suddenly feeling lost and out of sorts. With their captain out of commission and their team out of the tournament, the future suddenly looked very uncertain.
Just then, Tala shuffled into the waiting room, his eyes downcast and his hands shoved in his pockets. He stopped next to Kai, who rested a hand on his shoulder in wordless apology.
Sonja turned back to her teammates. "There's nothing left to do but wait."
'How did I…get here?' Eri wondered in confusion. She stood on top of a snow-covered hill, staring out in bewilderment at the vast, white landscape before her. Frigid winds laden with snow roared and danced across the desolate expanse in a swirling, dizzying pattern that obscured her vision. Everything was in shades of black and white, as dark gray clouds covered the sky and obscured the sun's life-giving rays.
And yet, Eri barely noticed the cold. Her heart and mind were already so numb from grief that she felt nothing from the raging blizzard. With every passing second, the ice grew thicker as it gained more and more of a foothold. No warmth was left to hold back the chill.
She had been here before, in the wilderness of her own soul. For the first eight years of her life, this was how she had existed, dwelling in the empty numbness of a lifeless heart that continued to beat without a purpose.
'No…I don't want to go back there. Please…I can't go back… I can't…'
Suddenly, the haunting melody of a howl echoed over the roar of the winds and snapped Eri to rapt attention. Even without the use of words, the message it conveyed was as plain as day:
Where are you?
Without stopping to think about it, Eri cupped her hands around her mouth and tilted her head back, lifting her own hoarse imitation of a howl to the heavens. She forced the sound from her mouth until her lungs burned and she was gasping for breath. She strained to hear above the whining gales, and within seconds another howl answered her.
However, the sound was fainter and farther away.
Eri took off running in the direction of the sound, plowing through the foot-deep snowdrifts with no thought to finding her way back.
The rolling landscape gradually gave way to a straight path running between two tall snow-covered hills. Eri looked down and noticed a line of paw prints running down the middle of the path. However, a fierce wind behind her erased each paw print as she passed it. A new sense of urgency spurred her to run faster until she was gasping for the frigid air that seared her lungs like fire. Now she was racing against the wind, against the forces of nature, even against time, but for what purpose?
The path she was following ended abruptly, and Eri found herself standing on the shore of a vast, frozen lake. She brought up one arm to shield her eyes and strained to see through the blizzard. To her utter disbelief, a ball of fire about the size of her torso hovered above the middle of the lake, defying the weather and death itself as it struggled to keep burning.
As Eri stood there in confusion, the fierce wind she had been running from blasted her from behind with shards of ice and snow and tore across the lake, making a beeline for the fire to forever extinguish its light.
Eri took off running again, this time across the frozen lake, heedless of the slippery ice that threatened to trip her at every second. She could care less about her safety. All she knew was that she couldn't let that fire die; she had to reach it, no matter what.
Even though she was running at full speed, she couldn't seem to get closer to the fire, so she ran faster. Faster, faster, pushing herself past her limits, past the limits of human endurance, reaching, straining, pleading that the fire wouldn't die.
She could feel the distance slipping away beneath her feet, and, as agonizing seconds passed, she watched in horror as the fire grew smaller and smaller. Then she was a mere two yards away, and the fire died down to its last ember. In desperation, Eri leaped forward and reached out as far as her arm would allow. A single word wrenched free from her throat.
"PYRIX!!!!!"
Then she made contact. As soon as her fingertips touched that last dying ember, the fire roared back to life in a swirling, towering inferno that reached out and encircled her with blazing arms, yet it did not burn her. The sound of a howl, vibrant and full of life, echoed through the tempest and pierced straight down to the cold, hollow ache in her heart, melting the ice and filling it with all-encompassing waves of compassion, gratitude, and love.
Thank you…Eri…
Eri's eyes flew open as she woke with a start, gasping for breath. 'What in the world…?' She lay in silence, a silence only broken by the frantic beeping of the machine that kept track of her heart rate, trying to make sense of her dream. 'It was almost as if…she was calling me.' Eri sighed sadly. "Pyrix…"
A gentle laugh flitted across her senses. You called?
Eri gasped in disbelief, not trusting her senses. "P-Pyrix? Is…that really you?"
Of course, Eri. But I'm only here thanks to you.
Just then Eri looked down at her left hand to find a small red piece of metal clenched in her fist. Mindful of the needles and wires still connected to her arm, Eri carefully brought her hand closer so she could get a better look. A bit chip lay in her palm, with an all-too familiar red and orange wolf dominating the center. The bit chip was strangely warm and glowed slightly, reminding her of red-hot metal that had just come out of a forge. Eri noted that the image had changed once again. Now, instead of standing still and howling, Pyrix's body was frozen in mid-leap, her jaws open in a silent battle cry.
'But I…thought that you…everyone said that you were…'
Yes, I was fading quickly. But you reached out and brought me back, and for that I am eternally grateful. Your heart is strong, Eri. Never forget that.
Eri managed a weak smile. 'Only if you promise never to leave me again.'
You have my word, Eri, Pyrix replied sincerely. Sleep now, little one. I promise I will be here when you awaken.
'Thank you…' Comforted by her bit beast's words, the same ones she had spoken all those years ago, Eri drifted into a peaceful sleep, this time with a smile on her face and grateful tears in her eyes.
Tala stopped in his tracks in the middle of the crowded sidewalk when Wolborg suddenly let out an ear-shattering howl that reverberated through his mind. He actually paused and looked around to make sure no one else had heard his bit beast's outburst. Waves of joy and relief washed across his senses. 'What is it?'
She lives, Wolborg replied simply.
A genuine smile broke out across Tala's face as he allowed himself to share in his bit beast's happiness. 'Thank goodness. Now both of them will be okay.'
While life continued normally in the outside world, the flow of time seemed irrelevant within the confines of the tiny hospital room. Eri's time was split into two sections: sleeping and wakefulness. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so much, and even her wakeful hours were shrouded in a fog thanks to the constant flow of painkillers coursing through her bloodstream.
Luckily, Eri never spent those hazy conscious hours alone. Sonja, Nakia, and Hina were constantly in and out of the hospital, to the point where the receptionists didn't even bat an eyelash when they walked straight into the patient wing. In fact, Eri often had to force them to leave through a liberal use of threats so they could eat and sleep. Hina in particular needed the rest, since she was still recovering from her own injuries. The hospital had no choice but to discharge her after she and Spencer had staged a jailbreak to come support Eri during her battle against Raina. However, the doctor had struck a compromise that Hina would take it easy until she got her strength back.
Eri quickly discovered that arguing with Tala was a lost cause. He refused to leave her side while she was awake and waited until she was asleep to get food from the hospital's cafeteria. However, she found it hard to complain when she secretly enjoyed having him around. Even the other Blitzkrieg Boys dropped by from time to time, but Eri could tell they came to check on their captain as much as to check on her. And of course Pyrix was a constant, comforting presence in wakefulness or sleep. A week passed in this manner.
Tala quietly opened the door to the hospital room and slipped inside, thinking that Eri was still asleep. The nurse had given her some pain medication earlier in the afternoon, along with a sedative to help her sleep, and Tala had taken the opportunity to actually leave the hospital and grab some dinner. He had finally exhausted the options in the hospital's cafeteria and was desperate for some real food and fresh air. To his surprise, he found Eri out of bed, fully dressed and free of all the wires and needles, gazing out the window, lost in thought. Her back was facing him, but he knew she could sense his presence.
Tala walked up behind Eri and wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her back to rest against his chest. "Hey, are you sure you're well enough to be out of bed?"
Instead of answering his question, Eri asked with a smirk, "Since when did you become such a mother hen?"
Tala chuckled softly at her comment. "Well, your sarcasm seems to be back in full force. You must be feeling better." He lowered his head so his chin rested on her shoulder, and a comfortable silence settled over the couple. He pressed a kiss onto the nape of Eri's neck and smirked against her skin as she shivered against him.
Eri gave a breathless moan and let her eyes drift shut as Tala trailed slow, lingering kisses up her neck and jaw line. She could never resist a touch like that. The pleasurable sensation sent a fresh wave of shivers down her spine. Tala turned her around so that she faced him and took her lips in a gentle, loving kiss. Eri moved her hands up his chest to wrap around his neck as she eagerly returned the kiss, this time matching his passion with her own. Getting bolder, Tala dragged his tongue sensually across Eri's closed lips, seeking an entrance. The brunette opened her mouth to his, letting Tala reacquaint himself with his territory. Despite Eri's eagerness, Tala took care to go slowly and restrain himself so he didn't hurt her by accident.
A sudden bout of exhaustion doused Eri's passion, causing her to pull away and lean into Tala's strength. Without hesitation, the redhead gently lifted her into his arms bridal style. Eri yelped in surprise; she knew she was tall for a woman and hadn't expected Tala to have enough strength to lift her so easily. He laid her on the narrow hospital bed with infinite care, mindful of her fragile condition, and surprised her again by crawling under the covers next to her.
"You do realize you're probably violating every hospital sanitation code in existence," Eri remarked.
Tala just shrugged. "The nurses can fuss all they want. It doesn't make a difference to me because I'm not leaving you no matter what." Tala's declaration brought a serious blush to Eri's face. He tenderly caressed her cheek with the crook of his finger and murmured, "Get some sleep. You need it."
Too tired to argue, Eri rolled onto her side so she faced away from Tala and sighed in contentment as he draped an arm over her waist and carefully pulled her back against his chest. His presence was so comforting, and before Eri knew it she had drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Tala smiled into her hair, breathing in the familiar scent of mint, and soon fell asleep as well. And later, when the nurse came in to check on Eri, she smiled at the sight of the young couple asleep together and couldn't bring herself to wake them up.
End chapter 20
Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter! I'm sorry if it was a little shorter than usual, but I'm quickly coming to the end of this story. The next chapter will be the last one, and then I'm going to take a break to plan the sequel and focus more on a beta project. I just want to thank everyone for sticking with me to this point and for your constant support! I couldn't have come this far without all of you! Please review and tell me what you thought!