CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

One World

"CELESTIAL MOTHERS!" Saya and Link shouted. "NOW!"

With Ganon pinned down, the three divine women raised their hands, a translucent barrier encircling the dark beast and raising him high into the air. The wind picked up once again, whipping about as Ganon screamed and roared and bucked about helplessly. A light enveloped him and he shrank back into his human form, snarling at each of his captors and especially at Saya and Link.

"It won't do you any good." said Rosalina. "You kept your disgusting hopes of conquest going and now you will pay for it."
"Spare me your poetic talk, you wench!" Ganondorf spat. "You can do whatever you want with me! I will return so long as I have this power!"

"Then take that power with you to the depths of hell!" Amaterasu growled. "But first, away with that which you stole long ago!"

"NO!"

The three extended their hands, each unleashing a blast that struck Ganondorf's hand. They pulled, the evil king presenting a great deal of resistance as he desperately tried to cling to his piece of Hyrule's divine relic, but in his weakened state, he was no match for them. The Triforce of Power surrendered to the Celestial Mothers and abandoned its host, and they began to speak in unison, their voices loud and booming.

"Powers that be, here us! Wash this evil from the face of this world to a prison from which it cannot escape! May it never lay waste to another pure soul again!

Ganondorf roared again, his rage filling the air as the spherical barrier closed in on him. He thrashed about, but without the Triforce of Power, he had no chance of escape and he knew that now. In his last moments, he reached for Saya, his teeth gritted hard and his hand quaking. She wasn't intimidated. She had no reason to be anymore.

"I will return one day, Saya Kusanagi!" he bellowed. "And when I do, your head will be the first I seek!"

To the dark lord's surprise and fury, she scoffed.

"And I'll be waiting for you!"

And then Ganondorf was finally gone, the light spreading and flickering out without a trace. The twin Master Swords planted firmly into the ground where their wielders retrieved them. Link took that moment to give Saya an approving smile, getting one in return. Neither one spoke, but both knew exactly what the other was thinking, and once they were sure of it, they settled for a high-five.

"Now I think we oughta clean this mess up, huh?" said Link, motioning toward the still-craggy and sickening landscape.

The Triforce of Power still floating high above, Link raised his hand, as did Zelda as she came up behind the two of them. The army watched in awe as the final two Triforce pieces joined their counterpart, and as the three pieces joined together, they began to hum and spin and flash. The full Triforce was truly a sight to behold in all its divine glory, but the wonder had only just begun when the droning grew louder and louder before the relic released a giant blast of light. As it expanded outward and washed over the landscape, the numerous fissures began to close up with the disgusting black tendrils slipping out of view and presumably out of existence altogether. The dark clouds parted and vanished, revealing the rising sun on the horizon, and with one final flash, all the vegetation returned from the tall grass to the lovely flowers.

The land had healed, and the warriors all let up another thunderous cheer. Saya herself smiled at what the golden relic had done, relived that this nightmare of a war was finally over, but there remained another surprise.

"Anyone who touches the Triforce in its completed state will be given one wish." said Zelda, turning to Saya with a smile. "And I believe it would be only appropriate for you to have that wish."

"You mean it?"

"Yes. Envision a desire when you touch it. Any desire, and the gods will answer you."

Everyone watched Saya in excitement as she stepped forward, the Triforce descending close to the ground and floating in front of her as though it was asking her to touch it itself. Then came a dilemma: what could she wish for? There was a rather obvious one that everyone likely thought she'd want, but she wasn't sure about it anymore. It would make sense if she weren't several hundred years old. She looked around at all of them. They all watched intently, waiting for her to make her wish and see the result.

Her eyes finally settled on Lucas. He too stood there waiting for her to make her wish, but did he have any idea what had just popped into her head? She had a big chance to make him happy beyond his wildest dreams, and he'd clearly been hit with the tragedy stick far worse than she had.

"Yes. He deserves this way more than I do."

She closed her eyes and let her wish ring through her mind, praying that the powers that be would hear her. The moment she removed her hand, the Triforce began to spin and spin until it rocketed into the sky, leaving a column of heavenly light in its wake. The column remained, and the army watched as two shapes began to take form from little more than dust.

At last, when the light faded, there stood two figures, but neither were the ones anyone had expected. One was a young woman in a magenta-colored dress, and the other was a young boy in a striped T-shirt and shorts. No one knew who they were or where they came from. No one but Lucas.

His thoughts and heart racing, he took cautious steps toward them as they rubbed the light and stars from their eyes. His hands trembled in disbelief and anxiousness, and the closer he came, the more he started to sweat until he finally spoke.

"It can't be…this is impossible!"

The figures looked toward him and surprised smiles lit up their faces just before Lucas ran headlong to them and pulled them both into tight hugs. He knew now that the Triforce truly could work any miracle. It had to if his lost family was standing before him once again.

"Luke…what happened?" Claus asked. "I remember the two of us…we were fighting in front of the Needle and…Mom, you…"

Lucas tried to muster up something, anything to say, but there was nothing. Nothing could be said for him to show how happy he was. He hugged them tighter just to make sure they were really there, and once he was sure, he let his tears start to leak out. By now he was sick of crying and just wanted to be happy, and he was. If anything could make him happier than Saya coming home with him, it was this.

"I just…I…" he started.

"It's alright, Lucas." Hinawa said softly. "We're back. That's all you need to worry about."

Lucas finally broke from his hug with his long-lost family and looked over his shoulder at Saya, a smile planted firmly on her face as she gazed at him. Lucas didn't understand what he had done to have Saya come into his life (well, other than the one obvious thing), but he was glad she did. She just kept working miracle after miracle for him.

"Mom, is it okay if we bring someone home with us?"

Lucas took a few minutes to introduce Claus and Hinawa to Saya, as well as explain what had happened. Hinawa and Claus listened intently, intrigued by the story and promise that Lucas and Saya had made to one another, and their response was just the thing to make this moment perfect.

"Well, I certainly don't see why not." Hinawa said with a smile. "I'm sure we've got plenty of room back home."

"Yeah!" Claus beamed. "She'll be like an older sister!"

Saya stifled a laugh, but then stopped for a moment when she let one single thought ring through her mind. The Nowhere Islands existed a millennium in the future, so this was the point of no return. She turned to the army, particularly the Celestial Mothers as they stood at the front, and said the one thing she'd forgotten she'd have to say to them eventually.

"So…I guess this is where we all go on our separate ways."

The three Mothers cast several lights across the landscape and into the sky, similar to the gateway Lucas had conjured when Saya and Mario's group had escaped from Limbo. Saya assumed these functioned the same way, and that once the warriors jumped through them, she'd never see them again. It was a sad thought, made even sadder when she informed it had to be done.

"Yes." answered Rosalina. "Each of these brave warriors must return to their rightful places in time lest it all be twisted out of alignment."

"I know…it's just kinda sad to think that after all we've done together, we're about to part ways. That would be fine if we all lived in one world, but…"

In that moment, Marth was the one to speak.

"I don't claim to know anything of how manipulating space and time works, but the fact that we're all here in the first place is truly a wonder. Warriors from different worlds and times all came together for one cause."

"Yes." added Mewtwo. "The walls between our worlds were thin enough that we were all able to cross over fairly easily, so in a way, we all truly do live in one world."

Saya smiled as she saw all the warriors nod in agreement with the two and breathed out. They were both right. There had been no limits in their coming here. All worlds had evil, but all worlds had heroes willing to stop such evil.

"Without all of you I would have fallen, failed, and died trying. Everyone…thank you."

"No, Saya, thank you for making all of this possible. And don't any of you worry." said Morrigan. "I'm gonna start taking more responsibility as a ruler."

"You mean it?" asked Saya.

"Yep. Whether it hurts me or not, I refuse to let anything like this ever happen again…if I can help it. God forbid someone like Maximoff pulls off a stunt like this next. So do you still hate me?"

Saya smirked and shook her head.

"No. I forgive you. You're pretty annoying, but it's kinda impossible to dislike you. I'm sure even Pit likes you deep down."

"Aw, that's what I like to hear, sweetie. You take good care of her, okay, Lucas?"

Lucas was a little preoccupied trying to get out of Lilith's bear hug for a brief moment, giving the elder succubus a nervous smile once he finally managed it.

"Of course. She's worth it."

"That's a good boy. C'mere. Kisses."

Lucas groaned when Morrigan pulled him into her own loving embrace and planted soft kisses on his cheeks, even more so when Felicia opted to join in for whatever reason.

"What am I, a one-man boy band?!" he grumbled, looking away when he saw Claus, Saya, and even Hinawa starting to laugh.

"Hey."

The soft voice that called out to Lucas caused him to turn, and there he saw Ness. He was so used to seeing Ness all happy-go-lucky, but now here he stood looking downcast. Still with a smile, but it was a smile filled with sorrow. Neither one had to say anything. Lucas knew exactly what Ness was thinking, and the two acted off each other. They stepped forward and threw their arms around each other in a brotherly hug, both appreciating the time they'd spent together even if it had been really short.

"I'm gonna miss you, man…" Ness said in a choked voice. "I…oh, God, I didn't think this was gonna be so hard."

"It's okay." said Lucas. "I'm gonna miss you, too, but we'll see each other again. I don't know for sure, but…I really hope."

They parted but kept one hand locked together, both smirking and jumping apart. Their energy built up, and they cast their hands forward with loud shouts.

"PK ROCKIN'!"

"PK LOVE!"

Two intense blasts shot inward and slammed against each other, releasing a colorful explosion that brought wonder to those who saw it. Ness and Lucas themselves shared enthusiastic laughs before the former gave a two-fingered salute.

"See you on the down road!" he called. "Say hi to Kumatora and Duster for me!"

"Got it!" Lucas said back. "You say hi to Paula, Jeff, and Poo for me!"

"PK TELEPORT!"

Ness got a perfect stretch of land in front of him an took off running, his legs moving faster and faster until he sprinted at the speed of light and left thin trails of fire in his wake. Once his speed had reached maximum, he jetted forward and vanished through his one rip in space, leaving a call of "GREAT SCOTT, WE"VE HIT EIGHTY-EIGHT!" floating on the air for a few moments, replaced by the loud droning of the four Arwings as they all started up, their pilots hopping and making the necessary preparations for lift-off.

"It was good working with you, Saya!" Fox called.

"Lucas, you take good care of her, alright? You promise me?" Krystal said, chuckling to herself when Lucas groaned as he heard something along those lines for the umpteenth time.

"Slippy!" Falco shouted. "Hop in your Arwing, man! We gotta get going!"

"Just a minute, aaaaaand…alright, buddy! You're all set!" beamed Slippy. "Saya! Got a little present for you!"

Said present drove itself toward Saya, whirring with excitement and pumping its arms skyward.

"Main power supply functioning at one hundred percent!" ROB blared. "How may I be of assistance, Saya?"
"Yep, he's sure a piece of work." Slippy said, grinning with satisfaction as Saya inspected ROB in delight. "Never thought I'd run into a Classic ROB in my lifetime!"

Less than an hour ago, ROB had just been a pile of scrap metal on the ground, and here he was now looking good as new. ROB looked over Saya's shoulder at Lucas and his family and quickly analyzed them, coming up with nothing in his databanks.

"Unidentified. May I ask the two of you to introduce yourselves?"

"This is Hinawa and Claus." Saya answered. "They're Lucas' mother and brother."

Lucas stepped forward the second a brilliant idea popped into his head.

"Saya! Why don't take ROB with us? We're not really what you'd call technologically advanced or anything in Tazmily Village, but we could probably take him in!"

"I never thought of that…" Saya said in deep thought before turning to her robotic companion. "Would you like that, ROB?"

ROB nodded.

"My emotional indicator directs me to say that I would most enjoy that."

"Alright!" Claus cheered. "Our own robot!"

"Take good care of him, though!" Slippy called as the four Arwings started to lift off. "He might be prone to glitches every once in a while, but I'm sure you'll manage!"

With one final wave, the Star Fox team took off into the sky. Dante Alpha and Trish smirked at the charming exchanges between human and robot before them, the former remembering a time when he felt that kind of innocence before becoming a devil-slaying mercenary.

"The world's a weird place, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah." Answered Trish, smirking over her shoulder at Dante Omega. "A weird place full of demons, angels, and clones."

Omega rolled his eyes, but smirked nonetheless.

"Yeah. We definitely gotta get that figured out. In due time, though. Anyway, so long, older and less cool heroes!"

"Old?" Shulk laughed. "Hey, I'm from the future! You're all ancient history to me!"

"It's just good to know that there still is a future." Hiryu said solemnly. "And heroes like all of you to carry on the good fight."

The rest of the heroes continued to disperse, saying their goodbyes and hoping that they'd run into each other again someday. Some took special care to make sure they left an impression, Samus and X swapping contact information ("So I can give you a yell if I could use your help with a hunt. Don't get the wrong idea here."), Pit begrudgingly letting Morrigan and Lilith smother him with hugs and kisses at the request of Palutena, Sonic bidding Mario and company farewell before winding up his legs and blasting off across the field, Chun-Li and Chris loading the handcuffed and still-unconscious Juri into an armoured vehicle while letting Poison and Hugo off with a warning (They would be arrested on sight if Interpol, the BSAA, or really any other organization dedicated to law enforcement caught them committing any form of federal offense), Hiryu and Vergil silently exiting the area though giving short waves to Saya and Dante Alpha respectively.

Out of the corner of her eye, Saya spotted Ryu heading off across the field, the important lesson of power he taught her still flowing through her mind. He turned to look at her one last time and gave her a smile and salute before carrying on. A travelling warrior who always sought to be the best he could be. Ryu in a nutshell, and she wouldn't have it any other way. With their duty completed, Link and Zelda proceeded toward a nearby gate, giving Saya the same salute.

"Keep the Master Sword close, Saya!" Link called. "You never know when you might need it again!"

Saya smiled and waved the two of them goodbye as they slowly faded through the gate, but this smile faded when she was approached by Takamaru and Amaterasu. All the memories she had of them looking after her as some of her closest friends…in a few moments, they would become just memories.

"I think I'll miss the two of you most of all." she said, cursing herself when she started to cry again. "You've done so much for me, and…I can't repay you for it."

The goddess and samurai smiled, the former clasping Saya's cheeks with her hands as their gazes locked

"Live, my dear Saya. That shall be your compensation. In truth, I find your forgiveness for my keeping secrets from you enough. All I ask other than that is just keep me in your memory. Think of me not as a goddess, but as a friend."

"I second that." said Takamaru. "Don't worry. I'll try not to think of you as the one that got away.

Saya closed the distance between them with a tight and warm hug, and as Takamaru began to fade away into the light, he gave Saya one final wave that she returned. It was a pity to leave her behind forever after only just reuniting with her, but that was the duty of the samurai. Making sacrifices was just part of life, and he could already tell she'd have a much happier life.

"Her happiness…that is my greatest reward."

Amaterasu gave Saya a light kiss on the cheek as she, Rosalina, Palutena, and Pit all lined up side by side.

"Fear not, Saya." Rosalina said softly. "No matter where you will travel from here on out, we will watch over you and Lucas as we always have."

"And if you ever need our help again, feel free to call for us." Pit said with a thumbs-up. "We'll be there. I swear it."

Saya nodded and gave the four one last wave goodbye as they ascended higher and higher until she couldn't see them anymore. She already missed the sun goddess, but she didn't have much time to brood. She had a whole new lifetime of happiness ahead.

"Alright, Saya." Hinawa called. "We better get going. Are you coming?"

"Yeah. Just needed to say my last few goodbyes."

She caught up to them as they approached the closest gate, glowing and humming brilliantly. She was excited, and clearly so were the four accompanying her, but one member had one last doubt.

"So you're not going to miss all of this?" Lucas asked. "Leaving this all behind and parting ways with everyone?"

"I'll miss it, yeah, but there's more for me to see in your world." Saya replied. "And sure, we're parting ways with all of them, but…I don't know…I've got a good feeling we'll all be together again someday."

"I hope so…but there's something else. Why did you do this for me?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you bring back my mom and Claus? You could have wished for anything. Heck, you could have brought your own parents back, so why did you waste it on…"

She pressed her finger to his lips and smiled.

"It wasn't a waste, Lucas. I'm sad my parents are gone, but they lived long and happy lives. They were both nearly a hundred years old when they died and they never wanted anything more than for me to be happy. Seeing you happy is what makes me happy."

"Saya…"

"If anyone deserves a happy ending, Lucas, it's you."

Lucas felt a smile stretch across his face and was about to respond when he heard a loud call from high above, and the five immediately directed their attention to the clouds thinking it may have been Amaterasu again. Instead, there drifted a massive white shape, floating softly through the clouds until it descended low enough for Saya to see it. The creature spotted her standing there gazing up at it and seemed to smile before it opened its mouth and let out its call. A call that sounded much like a majestic song.

"Lugia." she thought to herself as she smiled. "You came to say good-bye?"

As if Saya was delighted enough by the presence of one of these legendary creatures, another one descended alongside, this one somewhat stockier but still looking as beautiful as its counterpart. The two circled around each other and touched each other's wings lightly in a sort of dance. They looked at Saya again and called to her, and she steadily realized what they were here for.

"There was a legend in my village." Saya said to Lucas. "It said that when a man or woman had far too much love for them to fully contain, the gods would transform them into a beast of the sea after their death so they can always be there for their still-living friends and family."

"So…those two Lugias are…"

Saya found it hard to believe it herself, but it wasn't impossible. Why else would these two creatures of legend have appeared to her just before she left this world behind? She slowly waved to them, and they called to her again, their voices meshing into a beautiful song. She waved to the two, and they seemed to wave in turn before flying away into the clouds once again, their song still carrying on the wind. Don't be afraid, they said. They would be there for her always, and she believed them just as she always had.

"This is the end of something beautiful." Saya said. "But it's also the beginning of something even better."

"And I'll be there to make sure it's better." said Lucas as he took her tender hand. "Whatever we do, we do it together."

They smiled and said "And that's a promise" in unison, forever knitting their hearts into one. Saya looked into the gate. She could see a beautiful world beyond it. A world of pristine land, sky, and sea, and she couldn't have been any more excited.

"For the first time…I'm not afraid of the future anymore. Whatever happens now…I'll be ready."

And with her newfound family in tow, Saya stepped into the light. She had no regrets. She felt no remorse or sadness. There was nothing for her to fear anymore.

A whole new world was waiting for her.