Well, this epilogue has been done, and redone, and then done some more. We could also title it, The Epilogue That Would NOT Cooperate. But that would sound retarded, so I'm not going to do that. :/

You can expect to see Beneficial at some point in April. I've made the bold decision to jump right into grad school as soon as possible, and also to look for a new job. Lots of adult things going on in my life right now... My mind is so far beyond boggled...

Which gives me ideas for the impending sequel...! But then, I've already got tons and tons of ideas for that. ;D

Yes, I've glanced over yet another wedding, and I know that a certain young lady is going to be rather dissapointed. What can I say? I'm terrible at them. Is it weird, or favoritistic, that I've managed to end a story about 5 with 9's POV? Meh. I've already struggled enough with this ending. It has to end. It must end. I'll take what I can get.

Blah, blah, blah, enough about me. I know who you all really want to hear about. Foreshadowing will be epic, and hearts will be warmed. Also, blatant references to Of Knots and Loose Ends, which I wrote over Christmas. Go read it, if you haven't yet!

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Epilogue: Perfectly Free

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It was the second day of the gathering, with a good three or four still to come, and 9 had already seen several amazing things happen. Even the short journey to the ruin of town hall had been magical, if only to see his beloved brother marching proudly to his wedding day. It had been a long time since anyone had seen 5 so happy, let alone so full of joy. The incredible change in him was a triumph by itself.

That whole first afternoon and evening of the gathering had been so busy, 9 only remembered a few, important things with certain clarity. So much had suddenly happened in those few short hours. All of a sudden, he had two new sisters in his fellow Bearers-Lydia and Chamomile. Adar had spoken vaguely of them once before, and 9 had hoped to meet them one day. And now, here they were. Chamomile was very tall; but her bubbly personality betrayed the fact that she was still a child, really. Lydia was calm and mature, like her Bearers-brothers, a fine young woman with her own personal mysteries, sorrows and joys. As it was, she also had many reasons to be glad-she found herself recently engaged to be married, to her own clan's Warrior.

"No way!" He had exclaimed when she mentioned it. "I'm married to my clan's Warrior!"

Lydia had smiled and laughed."I guess we both have good taste, then."

All five of the clans had sectioned themselves into small cliques of four or five, depending sadly on which of the first clan were still alive. As soon as they had arrived, 1 had been accosted by his fellow Elders with an enormous group hug that he hadn't wanted, but had no prayer of escaping from. They had spent the rest of the day and most of the night in deep, serious discussion of all their adventures over the years. 1 had spent the trip there complaining that he didn't want to go, and that he didn't want to see any of his former comrades; however, once they dragged him off, he didn't seem to mind anymore. In fact, he seemed to be quite happy.

2 ended up in a group of youngsters, which happened to include Gamma and Av. They were the Creators-ingenious and inventive, always seeking to work with their hands to make something new out of nothing. 2, of course, built technology; Gamma created music, and Av used paint to create art. Adam of the second clan, they soon learned, was a weaver of cloth; and 9 quickly got the impression that he would be dealing with the man a lot in the future. However, there was one member of their group whose speciality was yet unknown: vicious Rosemary, instantly recognizable from the week before. Whatever it was she preferred to create, she refused to say.

The twins found themselves separated, which was little surprise. 3 found himself with Theta and the other Seekers-the curious ones, always looking for answers and questioning facts. They were unusual, in the fact that they had six, not five in their group. No one was quite sure how, but the fourth clan had two Seekers: Thyme, and his slightly younger twin, Dill. That was not surprising at all; their creator had been a twin, himself. But somehow, unlike 3 and 4, who were separate pieces of the same soul, Thyme and Dill each shared a half of the same piece.

I wonder how that happened? 9 had thought, immediately curious as usual. He made a mental note to do some research on that when he got home.

Great as it was that his adopted children had found their proper places, he tried not to be too alarmed when 4 found herself surrounded by the Nurturers-the parental figures, whose ultimate calling was to raise and teach the next generation with gentleness and humility. Keslev was among them, and she was certain to look after their youngest member, by dint of her nature. Still... She was only a child. Could it truely be, that a Nurtuerer lay beneath her skin?

7 had gone with the Warriors, who only numbered four. Mu would have represented the first clan; they were all quite happy that she wasn't present, after all. In the meantime, 7 certainly did have the youngest child of all the clans; she very proudly showed her baby off to all her new friends, who were all enchanted at once. Daniel got to meet her then; he had followed Cheshvan to be with the Warriors, for he refused to leave his father's side. It suited them fine-Daniel promised to become a very talented Warrior in time, and they would be proud to have him in their ranks. Samson, Lyida's fiancée, had taken heart watching the two children, who had definitely inherited their parent's strength of body and spirit; he looked forward to rearing his own children, with the woman he loved so much.

6 had wandered off on his own, and had instinctively drifted into the circle of Prophets without needing an invitation. He had been received warmly, if not somberly; they were still deep in mourning for the one they had lost so painfully. Nonetheless, Nisan had been there to welcome him with a hug. It was like they already knew him somehow. After that, they had sat in solemn silence, occasionally glancing at one another as if to make sure they were all still there. It seemed that they were, in fact, carrying on a meaningful conversation, only needing to speak with their faces. Whatever they were discussing was a divine mystery. Surely, 6 felt right at home for the first time.

Then there had been the Giants, also numbering a mere four. Kappa had been killed in the early days of the war, and no one really knew much about him; even his family lamented that they had only come to know little about him. There was little to know about them, anyway: they were all big and brawny without much to say, prone to think way more with their muscles than with their minds. But their strength, inability to be moved, and always-sturdy presence were assets that everyone could appreciate. 8 had quickly gravitated to Iyar, who he already knew and was obviously intrigued by. He had never met a woman as big as he was, after all; and her folksy way of speaking amused him. It was nice to see that he was making friends.

Then finally-absolutely not surprising at all-5 had found his place in the circle of Innocents, right next to his lovely bride-to-be. He had turned out to be the oldest of this group, as well; most of them were young children, including weary-looking Sivan, and small but well spoken Peppermint of the fourth clan. The happy couple had been perfectly comfortable entertaining their littlest new friend; Pi quickly turned out to be very good with the little ones. But that evening, 5 had returned to his family with some interesting and unsettling observations.

"Sivan's in bad shape," he had said sadly, shaking his head. "Her body's been patched up a little, but she still needs a lot of work done, especially on the inside. She tries to out on a cheerful face... But she's in a lot of pain. She's such a brave little girl; she doesn't deserve this."

9 had paused to process this. Sivan's body had been left to deteriorate in that pit for a very long time. Her pale yellow skin had looked enough of a fright-blotched with green and gray mildew stains, and even ripped in one or two places-but it was nothing a skilled hand couldn't fix. Her wiring, however... It wasn't surprising that she should be as much a wreck on the inside as she was on the outside. 9 had sighed to himself, weighing the options she had.

"The third clan can't fix her. It's beyond their skill," he decided. "I need to talk to Adar about this, then. But-between my research and your tools-I think we can help her."

"There's more. Peppermint needs work done, as well. Her soul is entirely too big for that small body. She needs a new one. Soon."

"She must be uncomfortable. Poor kid..."

"Yeah, she is. But, again, she puts on a smile and takes it one step at a time."

At this, in face of all the work that lay ahead of them, 9 smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Kind of reminds me of a really terrific guy I know. I really admire that about the five of you-you're always so optimistic. And you never forget to hope for the impossible. You all share this wonderful childlike belief in things, but it isn't childish at all. The rest of us should never take that for granted, like we do."

"I had forgotten how to hope like that once. You were the one who taugh me how again. 9... You knew there was hope for me all along, didn't you?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Trying to get the message across without breaking my word was hard. I thought I had failed miserably."

"I didn't understand for a long time. I wish you could have just told me."

"But you see now why I didn't, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of that power, either. All that time we were in that garage, battling a monster, there was something in there with us, fighting right alongside us. It saved us. Seeing how easily It allowed Alpha to be destroyed... It could have turned on us just as easily. I don't blame you. I would have done the same, in the end."

After a moment in reverent, reflective silence, 9 tried and failed to stifle a yawn. It was infectious, and 5 also couldn't help a yawn of his own.

"You need to get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"I know... I still can't believe I'm getting married in the morning. It's like everything I ever hoped for just came true in the blink of an eye. It seems like its too good to be true; only this time, it's really happening."

That brief parting had been the end of the first day. Now it was early in the afternoon of the second day, and the sounds of great celebration had filled town hall. Thanks to Gamma, there were only rare moments without music-she played away on her flute, while her twin accompanied her on a tambourine, and occasionally with her high, pretty singing voice. Pi had been right about them before, they made a wonderful musical duo. In spite of loosing one dear sister, the marriage of another had raised their spirits greatly.

The floor of what had once been the city's senate was alive with couples dancing to a waltz the girls were playing. 5 had chosen many of the songs himself. Upon hearing his requested soundtrack, Gamma's whole face had lit up.

"I love Beethoven!" She had answered right away. "I know all his waltzes by heart. Of course I'll play them for you!"

5 had spent a lot of the previous week learning to dance from his brother and sister. They were already very good at several basic dances-especially the waltz-and had been glad to teach him. And now there he was, waltzing with his new wife. They were so charming together, and they suited each other so perfectly. Watching their first dance had been nothing short of beautiful.

The dance floor had long since been opened to anyone who wanted it; now there were several couples from every clan dancing together. Epsilon and Sigma had jumped in right away; Lydia and Samson had soon followed, followed by Adam and his own wife, Eve. Cheshvan had finally convinced Keslev to dance with him, even though she had been shy about it at first. 4 had even hauled 6 into the last few dances; he had seemed to enjoy it, even though he was a terrible dancer.

7 had wanted to dance; alas, her arms were already full of Dixie, who shared everyone's excitement. 9 would have been happy to dance with both of them, as he often did at home, but she had insisted it was alright. However, when 2 offered to relive her for a while, she didn't refuse. They didn't even wait for the next song, and spun right into the dance with everyone else.

After dancing in silence for a few minutes, she made a thoughtful face and smiled.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I was just admiring your scar," she answered, moving her hand from his shoulder to trace the black stitches on his face. "It becomes you. It makes you look dangerous."

He laughed softly at that. "Because dangerous is the last thing I am. You know something? I really like all this. All the clans together, celebrating. I wish our wedding could have been this big."

"Maybe... It would have been very nice. But I loved it exactly the way it was. You know what I really liked? The vows that 5 chose."

"They sounded familiar..."

"Think about it for a second. It'll come to you."

"Hm... 'I want you to know,'" he repeated slowly, "'I've done all this because I love you. I always have. From the moment I saw you, I have loved you. And I always will.' Oh... I know I've heard that somewhere before..."

"Yes you have, because you were the one who said it first," she laughed. "That's what you said to me, the first time I told you I loved you. Almost word for word. I'll never forget that. How could you forget?"

He mentally smacked himself in the face. "That's right! How could I forget? I wonder how he knew...?"

"Well, they weren't his own words... But they were perfect. It was such a wonderful secret of ours; but it was a shame that such beautiful words had to go unheard for so long."

"Aw, 7, stop it. You're making me blush."

"And it sure made Rosemary shut up," she added dryly. "I don't think I've heard two words out of her all day. And after she spent all yesterday complaining about it. I'd like to see anyone try to challenge them, now."

That was a lovely truth. Rosemary had proven her unpleasantness yesterday; 2 had returned being a bit frightened by her, and also concerned about her state of mind. He said she seemed unstable and manic, and that it was no surprise that she and Mu had been friends. He had warned everyone to stay away from her, not that they really needed that advice. She had been unrelenting and very loud in her opinion that anyone who dared to trust Pi was stupid and probably deserved to die as much as she did. The fifth clan was glad to avoid her. It might have eventually come to blows if they had tried to confront her. It sounded like a lot of people were ready punch her in the face.

Yet she had been unusually quiet all day, and had in fact made herself quite scarce. The festivities were all the better for her absence, and no one gave her a second thought. The occasion was too good to let her get anyone down.

"Hey, 9, do you think we're finally safe?"

"That's a hard question to answer," he admitted. "It's still a very big world, for such small folk."

"And anything can still happen?"

"Yes. But for the time being, I think most of those things will be good. We have a lot to look forward to."

"I never thought of us as small. Just that the world is bigger than we are. Humans weren't all that different, that way. The world must have seemed very big to them sometimes, as well."

"Then we'll all take it one step at a time, until the world is charted again, just like they did. Now that there isn't just the nine of us to do it alone, maybe it won't be as difficult anymore."

7 smiled again, with a rare hopeful look on her face. "Sounds like an amazing adventure. I can't wait to start it."

As the steps of the waltz turned them, 9 looked over at his brother and new sister, oblivious to everything but each other and the lilting music. But when they noticed him watching them, they gave him a pair of grateful smiles.

"7, my dearest, I think that adventure's already begun. From now on... It's only what we make of it."