Epilogue

Maya came back to consciousness an unspecified amount of time later, squinting until her eyes got used to the light. She sat up on the pallet she was on, and looked around to realize she was in a tent belonging to the army of the Redakai. She reached up to touch where the flying shard from the door had slashed her face. The wound extended down over her right eye, from forehead to cheek, and she considered herself fortunate that her eye had escaped harm. The wound had been stitched and was already on the mend, but she knew that she would have a scar there for the rest of her days. She got to her feet with a sigh, and then she pulled aside the tent flap and exited.

The scene that greeted her outside was not pretty, but it was what was to be expected after a battle such as the one that had taken place. The tent she had been in was across from the black fortress, in a camp of many more such tents. Wounded soldiers from the human armies were everywhere. Most were sitting or standing, with bloody bandages tied about them, but those who were more grievously wounded lay on pallets, such as the one she had been on. Far to the side she saw lines of forms, lying very still under blankets, and the sight brought her grief.

Maya walked through the camp, giving encouraging words to those she passed, and helping several wounded soldiers. She noticed soldiers moving about, searching for and finishing off those few gihox lying about who still clung to life. She was looking forward to getting out of this place, which had seen so much pain and death. She also noticed that the landscape was no longer wilted and dying. The color of life had returned, and she could feel kairu energy all around her. She walked around a corner and came upon her friends, where they were engaging in a conversation.

''You did it!'' Ky exclaimed as he noticed her, and he rushed over. ''You defeated Malice.''

''I couldn't have done it without all of you,'' Maya replied modestly.

''The war is over,'' Cat remarked. ''Now I can start my training.''

Maya arched a questioning eyebrow.

''I asked the Redakai if they would take me on as a student,'' Cat said. ''And what do you know, they agreed.''

''My dad will train her,'' Ky said. ''She will take Dusibol's place on Team Tuatha.''

''That's awesome,'' Maya exclaimed with a beaming smile, for she had not been looking forward to saying goodbye to Cat. She had come to realize that it was nice to have a female friend. For as awesome as her other friends were, there were certain things she would never be able to talk to them about, not even to Ky.

''And that's not all,'' Boomer said. ''Cat and I are in a relationship.''

''That's great,'' Maya exclaimed.

She noticed from the corner of her eye as the Redakai approached, their gray and orange robes covered in blood and dirt. Their expressions were stoic, giving no indication they had just taken part in a battle. They stopped before the friends, master Boddai at their head. The three kairu warriors dipped a respectful bow to the masters, and Cat did the same.

''There is no need,'' master Boddai said with an upraised hand, and the friends straightened. ''The Redakai have been talking, and have come to the unanimous decision that the three of you shall be rewarded for your part in saving the world from Malice and her minions.'' The old man paused, letting the words sink in before he continued. ''As of now, the three of you have been elevated to the rank of kairu savant.''

''Kairu savant,'' Maya said in wonder.

''Awesome,'' Boomer exclaimed.

''And with that coveted rank you get this,'' master Boddai extended his x-reader, and three x-drives appeared in the air. They stared in wonder at the monsters before them, all three of which were dragons of one type or another. They took up their own x-readers and absorbed their respective monsters, and an image of their chosen monster appeared on the screen of their device. Maya picked a small and slender beast with green scales and feathered wings. Ky selected a mechanical dragon that gleamed silver and black, and Boomer picked a huge and bulky creature, with scales that were brown in color and leathery wings that were far too small to enable it flight.

''I don't know what to say,'' Maya clutched her x-reader to her bosom.

''There is no need to say anything,'' master Boddai said. ''You have earned it.''

''So what do we do now?'' asked Boomer. ''I mean, Malice has been our focus for so long I don't know what to do now that she's gone.''

''Wait for the next bad guy, I suppose,'' Ky replied with a shrug.

Maya spoke up. ''Malice and Zane are dead and in hell where they belong, and their army has been destroyed. Lokar has lost his ability to channel kairu, and he is presently in the custody of the Redakai. Who else is left to be the bad guy?''

''You could go on a vacation,'' Baphamel suggested. ''A promotion to kairu savant and a dragon to go with it are all well and good, but you are in need of some rest.''

Maya looked at master Boddai, who was smiling and nodding his agreement.

''Alright then,'' Ky said, rubbing his hands together. ''Where do we go?''

''Someplace warm and sunny,'' Maya said. ''Hawaii perhaps?''

''Cheers to that,'' Boomer said, a broad grin splitting his face. ''Would you like to come with us, Cat?''

''Sure,'' the fire-haired woman said. ''But I'll have to tell father first.''

Maya and her two team mates walked over to the X-caper, which stood in the middle of the camp. One side of the craft was dented from where it had slammed into the dragoness during the initial stages of the battle, and Mookee was already at work smoothing out the dents in the hull. The tangerine colored alien paused his work to greet them, and he was overjoyed to hear that Malice was finally dead. He even promised to make a dish that had traditionally been eaten on his home planet in times of celebration. The three friends just backed away and ran into the ship. Cat joined them a short while later, and when Mookee was done working on the ship he got inside, and Boomer took his place in the pilot seat.

''Next destination, Hawaii,'' Maya said as the X-caper lifted into the air, and then it sped away into the sky, leaving white contrails.

The end.

And that's a wrap. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and it'll be weird not to have a fanfiction project to work on for the first time in two years. So thank you for reading this story, and have a good day.

I don't remember if I said this before, but for those who are interested, I also have an account on Fictionpress (I write under the name of Evilboygenius there as well).