Alright, this is it. The final chapter of this series. I can't believe how much support you've all given me, and I'll be sure to talk more about that in the author's note conclusion. Thank you all so much for reading, and without further ado, here's the last chapter.

Point of View for this chapter is...Qibli.

I don't own Wings of Fire, but I can happily say that it's made all this...possible.

It's finally over...it's time to go back to a normal life. Or as normal as you could get.

Ash and Winter had had their respective funerals, and everyone was staying in the school. Moon had convinced her mother that Ash had wanted her to stay, and that she was finally safe. Qibli couldn't help but cry during Winter's. His best friend, gone. It was going to be tough. Winter had died so young, but he had died getting what he wanted. He had proved himself to his family. He'd finally become as recognized as he wanted to be. His family was there, in the front row with Qibli. His mother, Tundra, father, Narwhal, sister, Icicle, brother, Hailstorm. Even Glacier was there, and they all looked proud and broken at the same time.

Icicle turned to Qibli at the end of it, and said, "So, you're that Qibli that Winter was so fond of?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you for keeping our little brother safe for so long. I'm sorry it had to end like this."

"It's...nothing…"

Qibli had to leave right then, and ended up in his room after, not knowing what to think.

He'd become pretty reclusive since then, not wanting to leave his room, only going outside to eat. And even then, that was rare.

Frostbite had tried to come and talk to him, but all Qibli could hear from him were some choked words.

He only talked with his friends through computer messaging. And one night, about a week after the funeral, almost a month after the Jade Scarlet Escape, he got a message from Kinkajou.

'I want you to skype me, right now.'

He called her, and she answered, but it wasn't Kinkajou he saw, it was her, Moon, Frostbite, Umber, Turtle, and Carnelian.

"You...look...terrible." Turtle observed.

"I feel terrible." Qibli replied.

"Alright, Qibli, we need to talk face to face, so can we meet somewhere?" Moon asked, she looked much better than Qibli did.

"Sure, I haven't seen natural sunlight for days." Qibli said, actually relieved that they'd asked him first.

"Come on! We need to see you aga-" Kinkajou started, "Oh, wait, you said yes, that was easier than we thought it would be, where should we meet?"

"Let's go to Mangrove and Orchid's cafe, I need some nostalgia right now."

"Okay." they all said as the computer turned off.

Well, this was going to be tough, Qibli grabbed his keys, and started walking off towards the parking lot.

He must have taken a long time, because they were already there by the time he was even in sight of his car.

"So, off to the coffee shop?" Qibli asked when he got to his car.

"Sure, do you want to drive?" Moon asked.

"I don't think I can, Moon." Qibli replied.

"Alright."

Qibli threw the keys to Moon, and got into the passenger seat. Umber, Turtle, and Kinkajou got in the middle, and Carnelian and Frostbite got in the back.

"You know, you guys have made this year both one of the best, and one of the worst years of my life." Qibli said, needing to get these things off of his chest.

"Why's that?" Moon asked.

"Well, you took me away from the guardian I was protecting, you took me away from solitude. You gave me a best friend, you took away that best friend."

No one said anything.

"But then, the beautiful things came as well. You showed me friendship and working together. You showed me how to lead, and how to follow. You showed me how to care about more than just leaders, you showed me how to love."

No one said anything.

"You showed me both the greatest, and worst times of my life. And no matter what it was going to be the greatest and the worst, because that's how life is. It's this roller coaster that doesn't stay the same, ever. You showed me how to care about others. Thank you."

"Wow, Qibli, that's probably the best thing I've ever heard from anyone." Umber said, in awe.

"Thanks."

"So, is Qibli back, now?" Moon asked him.

"Back as ever." Qibli said, smiling for the first time in weeks.

They pulled out of the school. They were on the highway, into the city, into the shopping district.

"So, now that you're back, are you ready to enter our robot into the competition in April?" Moon asked.

"Of course."

"Oh! So that's what your pet project was!" Kinkajou exclaimed.

"Yep."

They pulled into the parking lot, and got out of the car.

"So, Qibli, we're both alone in our dorm rooms right now...right?" Frostbite asked as he got out of the car.

"Yeah?"

"So do you want to be roommates with me?"

"Yeah, some company would do us both good."

They walked into the store, and Mangrove took their orders.

The sky was a nice shade of Jade in the evening. The world was at peace. Scarlet blood was not going to be shed. Jade Academy would keep it's doors open.

"I'll have a vanilla steamer."

And with that, the series comes to a close. There's just one more thing for next chapter, the author's note finale. Where I want to level with you all. I'll see you on Sunday for the final chapter of this story.