"Ok, let's get this party started!"

A large pop resounded through Ness's apartment, as a champagne cork sailed through the air, stopping as it crashed into the star atop a tall Christmas tree, knocking it to the ground. The guests cheered as Ness began to pour out the champagne.

"Wow, Ness, good aim! Hah, you knocked that thing clear off!"

Ness laughed. The guests gathered around him, grabbing their drinks. It had only been several days since they had defeated Golgothas; the party was some much needed celebration of their victory.

The apartment was rather small for the large group gathered there, but they all managed to fit. Ness used his PSI to float the star back to the top of the Christmas tree.

"mmm...Great party, Ness!" Dan said, taking a bite out of a large piece of chicken. "My compliments to the chef!"

Music began to fill the room as Ness turned on the stereo, increasing the liveliness of the party as the guests exchanged conversation.

----

Eric left his house in his normal trenchcoat a few days later, telling his mom about the party. He walked most of the way to Fourside from Threed, and when he got the Three-Four Bridge, he looked around for onlookers, and used a PSI-boosted jump to get across. He landed and continued walking, making his way to Ness' apartment.

At the party, he was open about himself and why he ended up in that coffee shop. He made his way around the party, making sure that he could say that he was acquainted with everyone.

As he made his way around, he saw Riley. "Hey, what happened to you and PikaChan? I thought you two had died."

"No, but it's a long story I'll tell you sometime. Luckily, Seong-un wished himself to us and got us up to speed after he dropped you off in your hometown.

He walked up to Talus last. "Hey, got your glasses fixed, huh? Cool."

Talus frowned. "...do I know you?"

Seong-un stood against a wall in Ness' apartment, slightly aloof. He hadn't intended for things to happen this way. The plan was that he would find his birth parents the first day, and just vacation around Eagleland until he was due back home.

But he had got caught up in a mystery. And then this entire Horsemen of the Apocalypse issue came up. Suddenly, his objective was secondary. However, Fate wasn't content at that; she sought to make his objective intertwined with his reality.

It hurt his head thinking about it.

Yet his heart hurt most of all. When he had returned to Altus, after Golgothas was sealed...

"I'd love to rejoin the Royal Family," he had explained to Cirra, "but I can't ... it wouldn't feel right. I could learn royal protocol and all that, but I'd feel like an interloper. Even the trauma of those years, the joy that I would feel, couldn't veil these sentiments of mine. Sentiments that I don't belong."

"I understand," Cirra had replied. "However, if you ever want to return to your roots, the offer still remains."

"Thank you, sister," Seong-un had answered back as he walked out. When he had used his ring to return back to the ground, he had wished that the ring return itself to its proper owner. The ring had not responded. Seong-un had accepted that perhaps the ring's magic had finally run out, but inwardly, he suspected...

Seong-un shook his head. This was a party.

I shouldn't berate myself for what I've done. That's the past. What's the point of living in the past? He eyed a strained game of charades being started in the far corner. I've finally written the first chapters of the book that is my life. Time to start taking notes for the next chapter!

"Hey, wait for me!" he yelled, politely shoving his way through the crowd.

Ness slumped down into a chair. The stereo was blasting at full volume. He wished he could turn it down so he could focus better, but it would ruin the mood of the party. The final battle had got him to thinking.

He had been behaving irregularly. He hadn't been behaving like he should have. The Protector of the Earth. He was too obsessed with literalism.

He thought he was supposed to protect the planet. As in the globe itself. Not its inhabitants.

What Death Knight Neo had said had gotten to him.

Tracy's sacrifice, doing what she had done, had outweighed any million sacrifices he could have made, doing what he thought he should do.

Thank you, Tracy... Ness whispered in his thoughts. I can't thank you enough.

----

Chase, though feeling rather nauseous and dizzy, decided to attend as much of the party as he could. He knew it wouldn't be long before he disappeared completely, and he supposed it would be best to enjoy his last hours of existence. Despite the knowledge that he only had a couple of hours left, he was content to know that his actions had helped set the state of the world right. A matter as trivial as the existence of a single human being was meaningless, compared with the safety of the world.

He mingled a bit with some of the others, even though his dizziness prevented him from moving about very much. At some point he sat by himself and let his thoughts wander.

It's too bad I couldn't see my father again before I...

What's going to happen...

I hope... Mother will be happy...

"Talus!" he blurted suddenly. He made his way wearily to where Talus was standing, not far away. He grabbed him by shoulders. "There is... another... Skywalker..."

"Hey, man..." Talus said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay?"

Chase smiled and composed himself. "I've been better," he said with a grin. "It was nice to have met you, though."

"Uh... thanks."

Chase almost sighed, then walked slowly toward the other end of the room. As he approached the door, a thought suddenly entered his mind. He had left the Phase Distorter in the woods near Onett... he had promised Jeff Andonuts that he would return it.

Hastily he wrote down a little note on a piece of paper Ness had lying around in his apartment. He searched for an envelope to place it in, and finding one, did so. He handed it in passing to Dan, with the instruction "Open it later."

He opened the door and waltzed out of the party. It was the end. Time to say goodbye, Chase. He walked toward the end of the hall, not expecting to even reach it. His body began to rapidly disappear, and before long there was no trace that he had even been standing in that apartment hallway.

----

PikaChan stood at the window, looking down at the city below her. She was oblivious to the music being played, and the laughter that shook the room. Many memories of the events that had taken place during the last few days swarmed her mind, but they kept trailing back to one single thought.

She idly twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, not noticing the subject of that thought approaching her from behind.

"Hey, what are you doing over here by yourself?" Riley's voice said from beside her.

PikaChan looked to her left to see him leaning against the wall next to her. "Nothing. Just thinking."

"About?"

Her face flushed slightly. "Stuff. Like everything that's happened in the last few days..." She sighed, remembering why she had left Summers before the whole thing had started.

As if he had been reading her thoughts, Riley asked, "If you don't mind me asking... why did you leave yourself out in the cold in the first place? You knew that if you were out there for too long, you could have died."

PikaChan sighed again. "I know... well, I just got fed up with everything, y'know? People making fun of my ears and tail, and my psychic powers... I... I guess I just couldn't take it anymore. I was even getting negativity from my father and my sister." She lightly pounded her fist on the window sill. "Sometimes I just wish I could be normal."

"You know, normal isn't always the best thing," Riley said. PikaChan looked at him, a confused expression on her face. "Do you remember when I said that your ears and tail were cute, back in the cafe?"

PikaChan nodded. "Yeah, that kinda sent me for a loop."

"I meant it."

This really got her attention, as her look of confusion turned to one of surprise. She looked down at her feet, her face turning a little red. "Th-thanks..."

Riley placed his hand under her chin, lifting her head up. "Don't worry about what other people think about you, but what you think about yourself. Have some confidence, will you?"

PikaChan blinked, realizing that he was right. It was then that she noticed how close they were. "Erm..." She then remembered what the voice had said before their fusion.

*The other person needs to be very special...*

She smiled somewhat nervously, then looked towards the floor. "What the voice said before we merged, about the other person had to be very special ... what did it mean?" she asked. When she didn't get a response she looked up, and found herself looking directly into Riley's pale violet eyes.

"It meant you're more important to me than anything else in the world." PikaChan blinked and her tail rose. Riley put his hand behind his head. "Eh heh ... sorry, I think I inherited my parents' directness."

"Do you really mean that...?"

"I know my mother and father got off to a rocky start at first, but mom and dad always loved each other dearly, even when they were younger than I am now. The only ones they love more are my brother and sister, and me. That's how I feel about you..."

"Riley..." started PikaChan, at a loss for words.

"PikaChan, would you give my the happiness of being my girlfriend ... my better half?"

Looking into his eyes, PikaChan could see them burn with a cold fire, and she could see his sincerity in them. And yet, she could barely believe what she was hearing. How could anyone love her... "I ... yes, I will, Riley."

He drew her into an embrace, holding his newly won prize tightly. "I guess I did find something better when I started looking." Riley chuckled quietly. Then PikaChan took the initiative and pulled him into a kiss.

They separated for a moment and PikaChan turned back to look out the window. Riley put his hands around her waist and rested his chin against her shoulder. "So I guess that's our world now, ready for us to explore together ... to explore properly," said Riley. Even though his voice was muffled, PikaChan smiled more brightly than before. She'd found her place in the world, finally.

----

Teddy half-sat, half-lay on Ness's massive blue couch. "I thought you said they'd be here soon."

"Well, they said they'd be an hour or so," Raven replied. "I don't know what's taking them so long."

"I think I got an idea." Jimmy winked and grinned and then Raven hit him in the face with a pillow.

Under the pillow was the missing remote control. Raven held it up and showed it to Ness - "Found it" - and then turned on Mysterious Mysteries.

"This week on Mysterious Mysteries: One side was a grassroots painting movement; the other was a faction of high technologists. But when they fought, their war was stopped by someone - or something! Tonight, we expose The War that was Stopped Anonymously!"

"These guys so need better writers," Teddy complained.

The show continued, giving its viewers a brief history of both the Cultists and the Scientologists. It had just gotten to the bit about the giant forest fire that had started when a misplaced laser beam agitated a Hostile Oak, causing it to burst into flames. "But just as tragedy threatened to engulf the entire Peaceful Rest Valley, a benefactor appeared on the horizon." The collected audience, which now included most of the rest of the party, gasped in mock surprise.

An amateur video showed what appeared to be four men, three in assorted dark clothes and the fourth in a white trenchcoat, running around with guns and swords, smashing Scientologist equipment and Cultist paintbrushes alike. Out of the corner of the screen, what looked like a giant paw could be seen knocking over a few of the blue-clad Cultists.

"Hey, Raven, there's you!" Jimmy whooped, pointing at the screen.

"Argh!" Raven groaned, pretending to be agonized. "They could've at least gotten my good side!"

"Finally, the carnage was over." One last camera sweep showed the piles of useless machinery and dead or wounded soldiers. "But who were the mysterious men who put an end to the conflict? We may never know the answer." The screen dramatically zoomed in on the back of a white-trenchcoated man walking down the far side of a grassy knoll, much to the delight of the amused party audience.

"Why do you watch that stuff?" a voice asked from the back.

"Yeah, it's all lies anyway," a second voice agreed. Everyone turned and saw Amber standing there, her arm around Simon's shoulder. "What are you guys lookin' at?" Simon asked, grinning. "Someone get us something to drink!"

Eric was about to sit down as Teddy turned on the TV. He stood for a second longer and watched the show, looking for Amanda. He didn't see her. "Hey, Raven, did you happen to see this," he pulled a copy of Amanda's picture out and waved it in front of him, "girl while you guys were taking care of that?" He nodded his head to the TV. Raven was too busy talking to Teddy though, and ignored Eric. Then the others walked in.

"Hey, Raven, did you see this girl?" He waved the picture again. "While you were in Happy Happy Village?"

Raven picked up on Eric this time, and the group passed the picture around. They all shook their heads in negative though. "Any reason you want to know?" Simon asked after they all looked.

"She's a friend I knew that was there. I'm just worried." Eric was a bit somber, but picked up his spirits and dropped the subject. I'll just check up on her tomorrow. I'm sure she's fine. She's not stupid enough to get involved in a big fight. But, then again, I thought I was the same way until a couple days ago, he thought. "Hey, Ness, cool party. I hate to leave it before it really picks up, but I got stuff to do tomorrow morning. See ya."

With that, Eric walked out and down the hall, officially done with his adventure. He knew he'd have at least one more before he died, his quest for absolution, but it could, and would, wait. The day and quest were done, and tomorrow he could start anew, although he had new friends to start with.

----

Simon sidled up to Amber. "...Hey," he said as Amber turned to look at him. "Um, this is kind of hard for me to say..."

Instead of saying it, however, he broke off and turned away, muttering along with the Rap Masta Pirkle CD that Raven had put on. He was making his way to the door when Raven stopped him.

"Simon, you're talkin' to that girl or I'm sendin' you back to Hell. Dig?"

Simon nodded and went back to Amber. "Err."

He swallowed. Just take it easy and SAY IT, he ordered himself.

He took a deep calming breath.

"Would you like to go for coffee after this? There, I said it!" He turned and bolted past Raven into the hallway. Amber watched curiously as he went.

Raven smiled apologetically. "He's just a little afraid of commitment. I'll just go tell him you said 'yes,' shall I?"

"Tell him I'd wait for him if he were tied to a cactus for a decade," Amber suggested, smiling back.

----

Two figures stared out from the shadowed doorway, watching Pikachan and Riley in their embrace. The male one turned to his partner, his brown eyes having seen more than they could take. He shifted uncomfortably in his spot - Why had she brought him here, anyway?

"Anna, why do you keep watching them?" He asked, shielding his eyes. Anna's lips pursed thoughtfully as she gazed at the couple, the wheels turning in her head.

"Well, Toma," Anna finally responded, casting a quick glance at the fellow Fire Shaman, "It's because I see something familiar in the boy - I'm not quite sure, but there's got to be some sort of connection." Her ruby eyes combed critically over the boy - the same arrogant expression, accented by a cruel smirk that masqueraded as a smile; that same aura of festivity that clung about his every cell. Even the attire was fitting - a black shirt with the words 'Tux <3's Lunix' emblazoned on the front, matched with a pair of dress pants. Anna shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake off the image of the horrible fashion.

"Yes, it's got to be him." Anna stepped forward to implement her first plan, but Toma put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Anna," He cut in, "Did you ever tell them how you knew Rasheed and Dio?"

Anna stopped in her tracks, her expression becoming thoughtful once more. Her hand combed through her hair idly as she thought back to some of her earliest memories, after the death of the man who had first brought about the Fire Shaman race. Countless marauders had ravaged the Ember Temple, the place of their birth, but two traveling mystics - Rasheed and Dio, had delivered the most devastating blow.

Back then, Rasheed and Dio were still preparing their demonic spell that would induce their transformation. The spell required the power of all of the planet's elements, including those guarded by the elemental shamans. Knowing full well of the chaos within the temple after the death of their leader, the two mystics snuck into the temple and stole the power at its very core, the physical embodiment of the element of fire. The power of fire was stripped from the temple, forcing all of the Fire Shamans to abandon their home at a young age.

Anna shuddered softly as she thought about the day of the raid. Rasheed had used Dio's power to sneak them in, unnoticed, and steal the temple's fire before anyone could notice. By the time they knew the power was gone, it was too late; Rasheed uncloaked himself and used the power to level the temple, crushing all those who got in his path. He boasted of it as he left, but Dio's reaction was different. Her expression was drawn, and all of her energy had been drained. It was clear that she had put up a fight to convince Rasheed to save the temple, but by some unknown means, he had overpowered her.

Incidentally, Anna remembered, it had been Toma, her guest to the party, who had given Anna the chance for happiness after Rasheed and Dio's destruction. When the Fire Shamans formed their own alliances to survive, eventually selling themselves out for mercenary work and contract killing, it was Toma who forced Anna to go out on her own. He stayed behind himself, willing to do the soulless work just so long as Anna could be free.

"No, I never told them," Anna finally replied, bringing herself back to the present. She could never have told them about that terrible day; they couldn't have understood.

Shaking her head again to rid herself of the haunting memories, Anna turned back to the embracing couple.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Toma," she commented as she stepped forward, "I have some business to attend to."

Anna grinned wickedly as she strode toward Riley and Pikachan, eagerly awaiting what would happen next. Once she was in close range, she tapped Riley gingerly on the shoulder. He pulled away from his partner and scowled fiercely at Anna.

"Yes?" he snapped, glancing towards her with an annoyed/bored look. Anna grimaced inwardly. Oh yeah, she laughed to herself. They've got to be related.

"I have a simple question to ask you. Are you in any way related to Cyan...Cyan something. I was too busy to learn his last name, but how many people do you know with the name Cyan?"

Riley's gaze didn't waver was he replied, "Cyan...? No, don't know any. Why?"

He must be lying. He's got to be related to Cyan, Anna said to herself.

"What's the point of this intrusion, madam?" Riley snapped in a sarcastic attempt at formality. It startled Anna enough to abandon her train of thought. Managing a quirky grin, she pointed to the door.

"Well, Riley, there's a package out there addressed to someone related to Cyan. You'd better come get it!"

"Who in the world addresses a package to 'someone related to a person'? Anyway, it's not for me I'm afraid." He paused for a moment. "But since you obviously want me out of here, I'll just go." He looked over to PikaChan. "Coming dear? He then got up from his seat and walked to the door, his girlfriend in tow.

Anna snickered mercilessly, pausing only to pull Toma in at the last second. "You're gonna want to see this," She grinned, yanking him through the doorway.

Riley and PikaChan were just approaching the stairs as Anna and Toma went out. When Riley started down the steps, Anna released a fireball which Riley never saw coming. PikaChan noticed it in the corner of her eye, but before she could react it hit Riley square in the back, sending him toppling down the stairs. Pikachan held her hands up to her face in shock and ran after him. With a final grin, Anna tossed a lone barrel down the stairs at Pikachan's legs, but she jumped over it just in time.

"What?" Anna snarled, "How dare you dodge the barrel!" Despite her best intentions, a firm hand on her shoulder prevented her from throwing any further articles.

"Anna," Toma cautioned, "You've done enough damage for one night. Although," He paused here to tussle his brown hair slightly with his free hand, "It was pretty entertaining."

Anna nodded in agreement as she held open the doorway, allowing them both entry to the apartment. Once she closed the door behind her, Anna cupped her hands together and let her proclamation ring around the apartment.

"Attention: Riley has gone down the stairs!"

"Pak chooie unf!" Dan shouted, raising his glass in the air in a toast.

Back in the doorway, Toma chuckled gently as Anna approached him with a grin plastered across her face.

"And to think," He grinned, "I call you sister."

Anna ruffled his hair slightly and spit out her tongue. Her ruby eyes glittered mercilessly as he did his best to knock his hair into its typical state of disarray.

"So Toma," Anna said suddenly, her brain switching gears, "How's your lovelife been? You realize, you only just appeared on my doorstep a few weeks ago, and we've got a few millennia of catching up to do."

"Not good." Toma let out a forlorn sigh, his brown eyes flickering with a sudden sadness. "All my life, I worked as a fighter-for-hire, and all the women in that trade are cutthroat and heartless. They don't care about relationships any more than you care about what happened to Riley when he hit the bottom of those stairs." He paused to allow Anna a slight giggle. "You know, Anna, you're really lucky - you wandered around for a long time, but you finally met up with the guy of your dreams. I wish I could get a happy ending like that. After all, all I really want is a nice girl who'd like a little affection, just like me."

"Hey Toma," Anna cut in suddenly, spotting a certain someone approaching the appetizer table. It was time to put her carefully laid out plan into action. "Did I ever repay you for taking my place in the mercenary group?" Toma laughed and shook his head.

"Anna, you don't need to repay me for that. I did that because I didn't think you deserved that kind of fate, that's all."

"Oh," Anna said hurriedly, watching the appetizer table with a keen eye. "Hey Toma, could you get me some potato chips? I'm starving!"

Toma raised his eyebrow, unable to quite keep track of Anna's train of thought, but nodded nonetheless.

"Sure thing - I'll be back in a second." As Toma approached the appetizer table, Anna let out a mirthful giggle.

"Finally, after all these years," She smiled, "I get to repay the debt. Plus, I get to make someone else a whole lot happier in the process!"

Over at the appetizer table, Toma was reaching across the tabletop to get Anna's chips when his hand bumped into the hand of the young woman across from him. Surprised, he traced the line of the woman's arm with his eyes until he met up with her face.

The woman's blond hair framed her soft face perfectly, which was lit up by a set of glowing purple eyes. In the center of her forehead was a tiny black marking - a cross with a northern arrow.

Toma blushed hotly as he withdrew his hand, caught off guard by the mystery woman. He had expected to go get Anna a plate of chips, not to meet a looker like the girl in front of him, but that was no reason to let an opportunity like this go. He was about to ask her name when he noticed that she had the same blush on her face.

"Sorry about that," She stammered, withdrawing her hand from the tabletop. Toma stumbled over himself awkwardly, sure that unless he said something she would get away.

"It's ok, it was my fault. I wasn't really looking where I was going." He mumbled, his words rushing together. The two paused for a moment before Toma pulled up the courage to ask her name.

"So, who are you?" He queried, trying his hardest to pull off a suave smile. The woman blushed even brighter, but she managed to pull together a response.

"My name is Indigo, but what's yours? How come I haven't seen you around before?"

"Oh," He replied, unable to believe how well this was going, "I'm Toma. You probably haven't seen me around because I just got into Altus a week or two ago. I'm Anna's guest for the night - we go way back, you could say."

"You know Anna? She's married to my brother! I wonder why she didn't introduce us before?" Indigo replied, flashing a small smile. Toma looked back at Anna over his shoulder with a sudden bewildered glance. Had she been planning this?

"Yeah, I wonder that too..."

Anna leaned against the door with a broad grin on her face. If there was one thing she was good at, it was playing Cupid!

-----

"I don't know if this is the best time to be doing this..." Talus murmured. Venus placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Aw, you'll be fine. Just relax and take a deep breath." The youth nodded and shuffled his hands about in his pockets. His eyes were locked on Luna across the room. Talus bit his lip and inhaled sharply.

"All right, here goes."

The length of the room seemed like miles to Talus, time stretching into eternity. He was barely conscious of his own movements as he put one foot in front of the other and forced himself forward. His body reacted almost mechanically as his mind had drifted elsewhere. After what seemed to last into infinity, he was beside her at the buffet table that Ness had set up.

"...hey." He intoned in barely a whisper, following it up with a cough. Luna looked up at him, smiled briefly, and went back to picking out appetizers. Talus frowned and tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I...well...talk to you?"

Luna turned to him and smiled brightly. "Sure. What's up?"

"Well...in private, actually." He coughed again.

"...oh." Talus slipped his hand around her waist and quietly led her out of the crowded room. He stopped in the building's hallway, near the banister rounding the staircase. He smiled nervously and looked down. Luna looked at him expectantly, as if waiting to cling to his every word.

After a long pause, Talus spoke. "Well...this is a little hard for me to say. And now that I finally want to, I find myself losing my nerve." He laughed anxiously and looked into her eyes. "What I'm trying to say is...well." He looked down again and began shuffling about in his left pocket before producing a small velvet box. Luna's eyes widened. He held it before her and slowly opened it. Glistening inside was a tiny ring, the band a golden hue, the stone cut from the purest Altian diamond. Luna gasped and held her hands to her mouth, and then slowly she clasped her hands around his.

"Where...how were you able to buy this?" Was the first question out of her mouth. Talus grinned uneasily and scratched his head.

"Ah ha, well you see, it's a funny story...I went to the jeweler's today and I wanted to get you something really nice, but I didn't have anything on me. Then this big-headed kid comes along and gives me all his money in exchange for an autograph. I'm still wondering why a kid would have that much money on him anyway." Luna smiled and took the tiny box into her own hand.

Tears of happiness began streaming down her face, and she leaned into him. Talus wrapped his arms around her in return. "Is that a yes?" Luna looked up into his eyes and smiled between tears.

"Of course."

"Ah, yes! Shall you kiss her, Young Master? It is tradition!" Raltise popped up from the staircase, startling them both, and he held some Mistletoe over them. Talus rolled his eyes and looked at the Nightmare Demon, clearly unamused.

"Very funny, Raltise." Talus shook his head and looked back to Luna for a second before eyeing the unearthly one once again. "What are you doing here? I thought you decided to go back to Hell after that whole...incident."

"And serve espressos at the Café? Hardly. Besides, I don't think the Warden of Hell would be too pleased to see me. Yes, yes..." His eyes darted about the hallway suspiciously. "The demons are everywhere."

Luna shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"

Raltise turned back to her, his expression quickly changing to a smile. "Oh, nothing at all! Do not mind my ramblings." Talus let go of Luna and leaned his weight on the banister.

"I have to say I'm impressed, Raltise. Back when you led that group into Hell, you had the chance to kill them all. But you didn't. And I heard you even saved Paula's life. That's remarkable coming from the man who tried to kill us all years ago."

Raltise saluted. "Well, I try my best. And, Young Master, you would be wise to note that my goal from the very beginning was always to disobey my superiors. I'm sure you would know much about that as well."

Talus shifted from one foot to the other. "Errr...right." Raltise nodded.

"Well, I did not intend to stay for the party, so I bid you both adieu." He turned and descended a few steps before Talus halted him.

"Wait!" He shouted, then pausing. "Where will you go?"

Raltise spun around, grinning. "I may just wander a bit for the rest of the night, but I'll return. Yes..." He mused, licking his gums. "As you two intend to be together...perhaps I could be a butler of sorts." The Nightmare Demon laughed at his own joke.

Talus grinned, nodding his head. "Any time. Have a good night." This said, Raltise saluted once again and turned, descending the steps into the cold night.

It was nearly midnight as Raltise stepped out onto the nearly barren street. The city was still recovering from the ravages mere days before, and many were deciding to stay indoors rather than risk the cold and the unknown. Raltise exited the building, the door closing behind him with a slam, and his boots sloshed in the wet snow. He stepped out into the road, and paused. He shuffled about in his pocket before producing the Dali's Stopwatch.

The face of the watch had been shattered; the mechanism as a whole had ceased functioning. It was in this state that Raltise found it on the ground beside the altar after Tracy had used it to seal Golgothas away in Hell. This watch was symbolic of his very Demonhood, imbued with the dark power to which he had sworn loyalty. But that power was gone now. The Nightmare Demon was no longer the wielder of chaos. As the hands of the watch stopped moving, so too had the powers that sustained him come to a standstill.

"And yet..." Raltise frowned, cradling the watch in his right hand, and he gazed into the night sky. His thoughts wandered to that woman. Scarlet. He had heard her sister say her name. She had saved them all in Hell. And, Raltise knew, she was the one responsible for his power when he battled Golgothas. But who was she? She fascinated him beyond comprehension. She seemed to project an aura of sadness and suffering, yet at the same time her ice blue eyes held an inner fire unlike anything Raltise had ever known. For the first time in his life, the unearthly one found himself captivated by another, as if she was the true puppetmaster, holding the strings to his heart.

"But it was all very fleeting. And it's doubtful that I'll see her again." He muttered, gazing at the watch in his hand. He no longer needed it. Raltise the Nightmare Demon had become something else. He slowly let the watch drift from his hand, and the golden object tumbled through the air, coming to a halt in the soft snow below.

"I'll keep a vigil, though." He murmured. Snow had begun to fall. Raltise stared into blackness of the sky, the tiny beads of white caressing his pale skin. His crimson pupils gazed at the moon, the night's single unblinking eye, and he realized that it, too, knew not what may come.

----

Luna was standing beside Talus protectively when she noticed Venus sitting by her lonesome on the couch, staring ahead sadly. Excusing herself for the moment, the girl ran over to sit beside her friend.

"Venus, what's wrong?" Luna asked, throwing her arm over her friend's shoulder. Venus sniffled slightly, trying to control her tears.

"We've had this great adventure, but I never made it on my own - I'm right back where I started."

"Oh Venus," Luna mumbled, stroking the woman's back softly, "I'm sorry I never got to teach you PSI. It's just that thing were moving so quickly on this adventure, and I never got the chance."

"It's ok," Venus shrugged, looking down into her lap, "I probably wouldn't have been any good anyway."

"Sure you would have! After all, you had the potential! You did open the Null Gate all by yourself! Most people could never do that on your first try!" A sudden thought occurred to Luna, and she flashed her friend a quick grin.

"You know, there is a place you can go to learn PSI, and you'll be taught by people with much more skill than myself!" Venus leaned up in surprise.

"Where?" She asked, brushing away a quick tear.

"In Dalaam, in the Far East, there is a place called Mu where you can receive training for all sorts of Psionic ability. I'm sure that they'll be willing to teach you there!"

"Really? You think?" Venus gushed, a smile threatening to break through her cloudy expression. Luna threw her arms around Venus in a quick hug.

"I'm sure."

The sound of a door crashing open echoed through the room, and all eyes turned toward the entryway to the apartment. Poo spoke first, his voice frantic with excitement.

"We have just returned from the best vacation ever! Man, do we have a story to tell you guys!" In the most shocking turn of the events of the evening, Jeff and Poo stumbled through the doorway, dressed in the most outlandish outfits possible. The young Dalaamese prince was decked out in a complete beach ensemble, with everything from sunglasses to a bright blue shirt with tiny suns printed on every spare piece of fabric. Jeff's outfit was typical, with no more change than the addition of sunglasses, but attached to his back was a bizarre tool that no one had ever seen - it could only be described as a gigantic water vacuum.

"Oh man," Jeff continued, "It was so cool! Professor Ivy at school sent me to go talk to this one guy, Professor Gadd, on Isle Delfino, but when we got there, this guy had stolen all the town's shines! It was madness!"

"Uh, Jeff?" Skulryk, who had been listening to the story in amazement, stood up suddenly. "I think you guys need to lower the volume and listen to what we have to tell you - it's been a long week, and a lot of stuff's happened."

-----

The clock ticked rhythmically in the kitchen, giving a small amount of comfort to the lone person within its walls. Shadows bounced around the room as the figure slumped over the kitchen table, absorb in its thoughts.

"This is all my fault. I should have done something sooner, I shouldn't have suspected her of trying to hurt people. I should have paid attention, I should have done something! Anything!"

Ness Lee slammed his fist down on the table, knocking over a shaker of salt. Tiny crystals streamed out the opening and flew through the air, flickering in the little light that had been allowed to enter the area. A few landed below Ness' arms, only to be met with the tears that fell from above.

Everything in his life that he had worked so hard for was taken away in an instant, all because of his foolish ideals. His sister was dead, his friends hated him, and he had lost Paula.

Dear, sweet Paula. She had moved out the instant they returned to the apartment. He had argued for her to remain, even going so far as to beg, but she had declined. In a firm, yet gentle voice, she had told him that she was going to go out on her own for a while, and maybe find someone out there who she could be sure would always love her, no matter the circumstances. Despite his greatest hopes, something in her voice told him she wasn't coming back.

Ness stared ahead sullenly, flicking a grain of salt with the edge of his finger. Someone had once told him that there were plenty of fish in the sea. But what did it matter, he reflected bitterly, if there was only one fish he wanted. She said he'd get over it, and that he'd find someone new in time - After all, everyone had someone out there for them. That was how the world worked. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that his someone had just walked out of his life, just when he needed her the most.

Ness knew for a fact that Rasheed had killed his sister; although he did it through Dio's body, they were not Dio's actions. Yet he felt that the sole responsibility for her death lay with him.

All of his life, he had minimized Tracy's importance, never comforting her in her hours of need, but she was there for him just the same. It took a lot of courage to love someone whom you could never be seen as equal to, he thought suddenly - more than he would have in 10 lifetimes. Yet Tracy had done just that, and so much more. Everyone had seen Ness as a wonder boy, a messiah, and so much more. Tracy had always been the messiah's little sister. What a horrible life she must have led, he realized with a start.

She had been living in his shadow all of her life - no wonder she wanted to kill him. Had the situation been reversed, he thought bitterly, he probably would have killed her much sooner. Ironic, since that made her the better one in the end.

Ness allowed his the silence to envelope him as another tear splashed into the pile of salt, merging with the tiny crystals in a microscopic pattern. He may have opted out of going to Hell for this adventure, he thought with a surge of sarcasm, but now it was certain that he'd see it in the end.

"Ness? What have I told you about sitting in the dark! You're going to hurt your eyes like this"!

Ness looked up with a start to see the frame of his mother in the kitchen doorway, outlined by the streaming light from the adjacent room. He recoiled slightly, repulsed by the light's power.

"Fine, have it your way." Mrs. Lee walked into the kitchen and sat beside her son at the table, putting her arm around his shoulders tenderly.

"Oh Ness, I'm sorry I wasn't able to reach you sooner. I know how you must feel."

Ness looked up at his mother in shock, too surprised to wipe the trail of tears off of his face.

"You know - You know what happened to Tracy? But how? I kept trying to leave you a message on the machine at home, but you never called back!" Ness' mother looked at her son sadly, sparkling tears of her own forming at the edges of her pool blue eyes.

"Ness, a mother knows these things. When something happens to one of your kids, you can feel it. I felt it when Tracy died - And I felt it when you were in here, all alone."

Ness looked at his mother for a moment before bursting out into tears. All of the pent up emotion, all of the hatred and rage, all of it came flooding out as he embraced his mother in a tight grip.

"Oh mommy," he bawled, "it's all my fault! This all happened because of me!"

"Shh...." Mrs. Lee whispered, comforting her son, "These things happen. It's no one's fault at all. Besides, you don't need to worry. Tracy's always going to be looking out for you, just like she did in life. I'm sure of it." Smoothing out Ness' hair protectively, Mrs. Lee looked up toward the ceiling, as though she could see through it and straight up into the heavens above.

"Everything is going to be ok, I promise."