Auren looked down at himself. "Must be getting close to time then."
"For what?"
Auren looked back up at Darren. Darren swore his expression almost looked... sad. "For you- for us- to return to how we were 16 years ago..."
"Huh?"
Auren looked back down at his hands. "I meant it's time for me to fade away-."
"And me to become whole..."
Auren nodded. "I thought I'd be angrier. But.. I'm calm. I'm dying and I'm calm about it."
"You're not dying. Just... returning to your origins."
Auren laughed bitterly. "You're just full of cliché crap today."
Darren said nothing.
Auren looked back at Darren, he was almost gone. "I hate you so much." And that was it. Auren faded away completely.
Darren could have sworn he saw a tear fall down his other half's cheek. "Yeah, I know." The room faded to darkness. He felt cool grass beneath him and opened his eyes. The night sky lay above him. I'm alive...
"Yo! Aya! He's awake!"
Dan? Darren blinked and sat up. He saw the remains of a building with black smoke billowing out of it. The EDC? He lay back down and looked at the stars above him. Then his view was blocked by someone over him. It took him only a second to recognize the face. Aya...
"Hey," he said, giving a weak smile, "I'm home."
Aya smiled back at him. "Merhaba beyfendi Darren. It's nice to see you again."
Dan came up behind her followed by Makari. "Well, look who finally woke up."
"You look like hell," Makari said.
"I feel like hell," Darren replied, sitting up again.
"Darren! Your arm!" Aya gasped.
Darren looked down at where his right arm used to be. All that was left was his shoulder and broken scraps of metal. "Yeah... That's not all that's gone." He spent the next half hour telling his friends about his fight with Roln, how Roln became consumed by the power he craved, and how he stole Darren's Elements.
"So, you're just a normal guy now?" Dan said.
Darren shook his head. "He just took my fire and wind. I still have crystal."
Aya knelt next to him and placed her hands on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Darren watched as she moved her hands down, the metal wiring sparked and extended out as metal plating formed and covered them. It took all of five minutes but she succeeded in making an exact replica of his old arm. He tried to move it and was pleased as it obeyed his thoughts.
"Aya, thank you."
"As usual, you take the hardest road you can," she said, placing her hand over his own.
"What are you going to do now?" Dan asked.
"Well, I was thinking of going back to the bar. I have a life there and the pay is good. Besides," Darren glanced at Aya, "there's someone back there who's waiting for me to bring her sister home."
"Amura will definitely be pleased," Makari said, smiling.
"What about you two?"
Dan looked at the ruins of the EDC. "I saw the plans for this place, and saw that it was linked to other facilities around the world all trying to do the same thing. That means that there's a chance one of those will manage to recreate this thing. I'm going to go to every one and put a stop to it. Plus, there are a lot of families waiting for their children to come back to them."
"And he'll have me to make sure he doesn't get in over his head," Makari grinned.
Darren stood up and held out his hand to his friends. "Then when you two finish, come visit the bar. I'll whip you up something on the house."
"I look forward to it." Dan grinned and clasped his friend's hand.
Makari placed her hand on theirs, followed by Aya.
"No matter what the future holds for us, we'll all meet again," Darren said.
"Of course," replied Makari.
"It's a deal," agreed Dan.
"Absolutely," smiled Aya.
"Until then," Dan said, turning and waving over his shoulder to Darren and Aya. Makari waved at them before running after him.
Darren turned to Aya. "Well then, shall we go?"
She nodded. "Yes. It has been years since I last saw Amura and there is much catching up to do. And much to talk about with you."
"Well, there's plenty of time on our way to Ava's bar."
"Indeed." Aya smiled at him and took his hand, then surprised him by leaning forward and kissing his cheek.
Darren blushed and returned her smile. His mother was right. He and Aya had a lot to talk about, and while he was sure he wouldn't like all of it, he knew that no matter what the truth would make things stronger between them. They may have no idea where the future would take them, but as long as Aya was by his side he could handle it.
The End
[[Merhaba beyfendi- Greetings]]
