Final Chapter. Thanks to everyone who have been reading, and a special thanks to those who reviewed. You should know that beacuse of you guys, my grade went from a 4 to a 6 (from a C to an A) in English. I'll be back with a new story very soon, just not this long, I promice. My math examn is tomorrow, so wish me luck! I'm going to need it.
Its strange, really, waking up and see that you're still asleep. Because how could the ocean of flames around him be nothing but a dream. No heat, no scent of smoke. Just colours. And the light. That amazing light that shone right next to him. Kai reached out his hand and picked Dranzer up from the floor. His element. Kai rose to his feet and held Dranzer close to his heart. His element; he was finally surrounded by it.
He started walking towards the entrance doors. Parts of the ceiling fell to the floor all around him, and the thick, black smoke seemed to fill the air, poisoning it entirely. He felt, nor heard any of this. He didn't even notice when his shoes caught fire, and the flames started making their way up his pants and his white scarf. Kai could no longer see the entrance doors. The Abbey was no longer a building of stone and concrete, but a cage of heat and smoke. And he was caught on the wrong side of the door. For a second he could see distant shadows through the fire, but he didn't much care. He felt the flames on his skin, but he had even lost his sense of feeling, or the fire was unwilling to hurt him. He could no longer see, only the colour red filled his vision.
As the legend goes, Kai thought, as he walked right out of the now visible entrance doors, the phoenix shall burn....
Max could nothing but stare, as Kai opened the entrance doors, and stepped out from the fire. For a moment he seemed surrounded by flames and smoke, but then, the fire withdrew, and only he was left. The light of his Dranzer broke through the air, and lit up the night like a star. And he who held the star, was protected by that light. The power of the pure, white light filled him with a feeling he would never be able to fully explain. Maybe it was the feeling of being protected from harm, maybe the feeling of meeting someone you care about after years of departure. Or it was the feeling of being close, close to part of your heart that summs up all other good feelings. And it lasted for only a moment. The light faded, and suddenly he felt a longing in the depths of his soul. A longing for her, she who was and had allways been a part of him. And still was.
But he wasn't alone. Someone suddenly wrapped their arms around him in a tight embrace. No, not one; two, three... And then he heard their voices, distant at the beginning, but then closer. He still hadn't opened his eyes, but he did now. Who were they? They were nothing like her, they weren't children of fire. They were water, air, earth and light. They were friends... Tyson, Max, Ray, Runa, Loki, and hundreds of unfamiliar faces, staring at him in awe, or was it surprise?
....and from that fire and ashes, the phoenix rises once more.
What happened after, seemed to him to blur together into a dream. An ambulance, a room of pure white, a soft bed, sleep...
Was it becoming a habit? Hospital, I mean. Because he knew that was where he was, even though he no plan of opening his eyes just yet. He comfortable warmth of the soft sheets, the feeling of th thick pillow to his skin, it felt like it was sendt from heaven. He felt so heavy, how could he ever get up anyway? But something in th edistance made him concentrate. Voices? Was that it? He llistene hard to hear, to recognize them.
"...not gonna wake up just yet."
"Let the poor guy sleep, already."
"But I want revenge!"
"Tyson, you're not gonna throw a bucket of ice cold water on him! Now sit down, and shut up."
"But he-"
"Tyson. I'm not gonna ask you again..."
If he could, Kai would have smiled. He had to remember to thank Ray for that one. He could hear more now. Doors slamming in other rooms, people talking in a hallway, the sounds of someone shifting in their chair.
Slowly, very slowly, Kai turned his head, tried moving his hands, opened his eyes. The same white room, the same familiar faces. Same feeling of safety.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Such a simple question. But how an effort it took to just smile and tell them he was fine. How had he been before all of this? Oh, he remembered. No smiling, no laughing, just act like you're in control. Now he lay in a hospital bed, smiling, with Tyson, Max and Ray sitting beside him, talking about all that had happened. And then it dawned on him: it was over. It was all over. He had nearly forgot what it was like, walking into a restaurant without looking over his shoulder, buy somthing without being afraid anyone could trace his card. Now, he'd been given another chance. Another beginning. But how weird it felt. Kai stopped listening to Tyson, who said something about ... something, and looked out of the window next to his bed. He remembered doing the exact same thing last time he'd been there, just stopped listening, and lost himself in his thoughts. The sun just rose above the horizon, colouring the sky in golden and bright blue.
He could go anywhere he wanted. He had allways wanted to walk the Chinese Wall, and now he could, without being watched. He could get a motorcycle and travel around Europe, just him, and the open road. He could get a diwers licence, he could become an artist and start painting. He was ... free. Kai nearly laughed at the thought, and then he noticed that laughing was the one thing he wanted to do right now. So that's what he did. Tyson had just said that after hearing he was okay, Runa and Loki had left the country for a while, and so no one understood what he was laughing at. But they joined in just after. Kai felt tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks. He felt so light, just like he could jump out of the window, towards the sunrise, and never fall.
They suddenly heard footsteps right outside the door. Max's smile widened, as the door opened. They all fell silent, as Kai recognized the woman and the girl in the doorway. His mother, and his little sister. She was skinny and little, but a lot cleaner, and with shades of pink in her cheeks and lips. His team moved a bit out of the way, as Anya ran forward, and into Kai's arms. He leaned his forhead into her hair, and closed his eyes. The feeling he'd had for a brief second when he held the star that had been Dranzer, his heart, came back, and he didn't know if he was going to cry or sing with joy. In a second, something had changed deep inside him, and he started to cry.
Everything was right. For the first time in years, the world made such perfect sense. Something I like to say, is that when the end is good, everything's well. And just then, when the first rays of sunlight entered the room, and he stroke a hand over his sisters soft hair, Kai thought that, the way things are right now, must be just like it is in heaven.