Hey there everyone, this is the story that you chose for me to write, and so here it is.  I hope that you all enjoy the story, and please comment when you finish reading!  And also, please be sure to follow my story so that you can know when it gets updated.  Okay then, without further ado, here is the Prologue. =)

 

Prologue: Innocence Lost

(Start Song Here)

“My life is a mess…” that’s what most teenagers say these days.  They think they have it so rough, they think that the world will end for them.  They don’t even know the meaning of the word mess.  If they were in my shoes and they would live what I lived through, maybe they’d stop being selfish and ignorant.

 

My name is Rose Everdawn, and I’m currently 22 years old.  I was born on December 25th, 1991, at around 1:00AM in Barnet Hospital, New Jersey.  My parents named me Rose, because to them, I symbolized hope, innocence, and purity.  But here’s the interesting thing though…I was born blind.  The minute I was born into this world, all I could truly see was darkness.

 

As a kid, I had a rough childhood, and I also went through hell during this time.  My dad passed away when I was 6 years old.  The loss was too much for me and my mom, and we had a hard time to recover.  And then there was school… I would always be bullied and teased by all the other kids, and I was never at peace.  Everyone treated me badly and would beat me up just for being blind.  At lunch break, I would just go to the corner of the classroom and cry for hours and hours.  I had no friends, not one to call my own.  And so, I had to deal with this crap through most of my life.  But, when I got to middle school…that’s when my life plunged into the deepest hell.  I was in 7th grade, 13 years old.  Things were increasingly rough with me.  Mom had practically given up on me, and her mind retired into her own little world.  Things would get even worse while at school.  Girls would make me trip, and they would play pranks on me, and the boys would harass me…the only way I could escape these perverts was because of the teachers.  They always came just in time to ward them off.  And then I realized to myself, that I had to accept my blindness, and like it or not, I had to adapt to it.  Since no one would help me, I taught myself how to use my other senses and walk around without the need for sight.  I learned to adapt to the world all by myself.

 

Then, one day, when I came back home from school, I felt something strange.  Then I heard Mom talking with a man.  She introduced me to him: “Rose, meet Wade, he’s my new boyfriend!” I was a little nervous, but then I shook his hand.  “It’s nice to meet you Rose, you’re such a beautiful young lady” he said.  And so, as the months passed, Mom seemed to become her old self again, and Wade treated her with respect.  But then a few more months passed, and I felt as if something in Wade had changed.  I began to distance myself from him, and made sure to be careful.

 

Then…one night, the worst thing happened to me.  I felt Wade come into my room, and for some reason, he had the smell of fresh blood…as if he had been bleeding.  Startled, I asked: “What’s wrong Wade?”  He simply said: “Nothing, I just want to talk.”  Then I felt his hand rubbing my legs, and I slapped him.  I screamed, hoping that Mom would hear me, but Wade yelled at me and said: “Don’t bother calling for your mom, she’s in a deep sleep…”then he slapped me and threw me to the ground.  Then, as I struggled to get on my feet, I heard him unzip his zipper.  I cried and tried to fight back, but he just choked me, and I fell into unconsciousness.    When I woke up, the room was silent as a grave, and I felt blood on the mattress and blood all over me.  That bastard took away my innocence, and worst of all, he killed my mother…and to think, that I actually thought that Wade was my friend…

 

Now, at the age of 22, I don’t trust anyone.  I live by myself in an apartment in Chicago, and I receive money from the government due to my condition, but that doesn’t mean that I’m lazy.  I help blind kids master their abilities in a local Institution.  Helping the children is what keeps me sane…it’s what helps me not to think back to that horrible night…

(End Song Here)

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So guys, what do you think?  Did you like the prologue?  I really hope that you all enjoy this story!  I’ll update as often as possible!  Leave your comments and opinions below please! Oh, and by the way, here is a drawing of Rose Everdawn, so that you can see how she looks.  I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter!

What an awesomely epic start to the final fight!

Well everyone, the moment you’ve all been waiting for is almost finally here!  The battle for the fate of the world and for the future of Vincent and Rose’s relationship hangs in the balance!  What will happen, and who will win the battle?  Find out for yourselves, and read on!  And remember that this chapter is from Rose’s perspective!

 

Chapter Forty Eight: Redemption

 

(Start Song Here)

I can feel my heart thumping, thumping so fast that I can barely stand on my feet.  My breaths are harsh and heavy, as this battle begins to take its toll.  Hakufen has proven to live up to his title of Demon Lord, for he’s given us quite the pounding.  But now is not the time for thinking of what’s past, now is the time to take action.  And with that in mind, I quickly scale up Hakufen’s tail and I strike him with my daggers right in his forehead, trying all in my power to make him fall.  But for some reason though, his forehead is as hard as steel, and I can’t even put a dent on it.  “Damn it!”, I think to myself, and then I look below and I see Vincent dodging a few trees falling his way, while Derek and Wade hack away at Hakufen’s legs.  Then I hear a menacing and disturbing laugh, coming from none other than the Demon Lord himself.  “You have put up an admirable fight, of that I’ll give you credit…but your struggle ends here, warriors of light!”  All of a sudden, shards of darkness appear out of thin air, and one of them slices my skin and I feel the sting of the shard, and then I see the rest of the shards rain down on Vincent, Wade, and Derek.  I’m about to shout out to warn them of the incoming assault, but they’re already on the move, dodging and blocking as much of the shards as they can.  I keep striking Hakufen’s forehead when I feel his claws tighten around my waist.  “Well, well, what do we have here?”, he laughs as he opens his giant mouth.  I then scream and kick one of his teeth, causing it to go down his throat and making him choke.  I smirk and land on the ground and say: “I won’t be your dinner Hakufen, not when I’ve got better things to do!”

 

Vincent puts his hand on my shoulder and he smiles at me reassuringly.  “Are you all right?”, he asks me in a sweet tone.  I nod and reply: “Never better.  Just stretching out the kinks.”  Vincent smirks and then we both get out of the way as a giant boulder is thrown our way.  We then see fire coming from the distance, and then we quickly evade the flames, but then we see flames coming from all sides.  Wade then quickly teleports in front of us along with Derek and they block out the flames and make sure that we are okay.  We then nod and we keep running, making sure to lure Hakufen deeper into the woods.  So far, our plan seems to be working, and Vincent goes to my right and aims his arrows for the Demon Lord’s wings.  Wade and Derek shoot spells and use their Dark Blades to bash away at his legs, but Hakufen doesn’t flinch, and he doesn’t even show any sign of falling down.  “This is even harder than I would have first expected.  I need to think of something, and fast…”, I think to myself, and then all of a sudden, the ground opens out, as if it itself was a giant creature, and it was about to swallow me whole.  This must be Hakufen’s doing, no doubt, that’s the first thought that comes into my mind.  I see Vincent rushing towards me and he yells: “Rose, behind you!!!”  When I look back, I see dozens of trees and boulders heading my way, and just as they’re about to hit me, Vincent turns his weapon into a scythe and slashes all the objects out of my way.  I sigh of relief and smile at him, but our brief rest is cut short by Hakufen’s relentless attacks.

 

As the battle continues to wear on, I can feel myself getting heavier, and with each step that I take I feel ever more tired.  “What kind of sick trick is this?”, I think to myself, trying to push myself forward, trying to stay alive to take care of this once and for all.  Hakufen then soars over us and he laughs at us mockingly and he roars with great might.  “I may not see you, but I can still sense your auras, and as long as I can sense your auras, I can kill you!”, he says, and he breathes fire over us, but we dodge the flames and continue our assault on him.  Vincent then lunges forward and shouts: “Enough of this!  Perish now Hakufen!”, and with that, he turns his weapon into a scythe and he mows down at Hakufen, and for once, the great Demon Lord finally falls down, and we all head in for the killing blow.  But just before that happen, he swoops his tail and sends Vincent reeling towards a nearby rock wall, causing him to be knocked out cold.  I scream out to him, calling his name in desperation, as Hakufen swoops his tail again, causing me to fall beside him.  Wade and Derek are desperately trying to finish off Hakufen once and for all, but the Demon Lord is just too powerful.  I then look at Vincent and notice that he’s bleeding from his head.  “Vincent….Vincent!  Vincent please, don’t die on me now!  Please fight to stay alive!  I couldn’t bear to lose you!  You made my life worth living, please don’t go, I love you!”, I cry out to him, my tears rolling down second after agonizing second.  I then look back and I see that Hakufen is about to strike me with his giant claws, and I close my eyes, ready to receive the killing blow.

 

When I open my eyes, I see that Wade and Derek cast a protective force field around us, to prevent Hakufen from hurting us.  I sigh of relief and then Derek says: “Quick, you have to go now Rose! Take Vincent somewhere safe so we can finish this once and for all!”  I then look at them both and say: “But what about you two?”  At that moment, Wade pushes me and Vincent back with his darkness, and I try to go back into the force field, but they block it so that I can’t go in.  Derek looks at me and says: “You have to go now, we’ll cover you!”  I then shout out: “But you’ll die!”  Derek then shouts out: “You listen here Rose, you have to take care of Vincent, and the only way you can do that is by going now!  All that we know is at stake, so just go!”  Tears swell up my eyes, and I hesitate.   I can’t leave them…not when they’ve done so much to help us.  Sensing my sadness, Wade looks back and says: “We’ve done all we can…now it’s your turn.  And Rose…I hope you can forgive me for what I’ve done.”  I nod and say: “Of course I forgive you.”  He gives me a nod of approval, and then he looks at Derek and says: “Our time of redemption has finally come my brother.”  Derek nods and shouts: “This is for our mother!”  Immediately sensing that a powerful attack will be unleashed, I start running quickly while carrying Vincent, who’s still unconscious, and I run as fast as I can and take cover behind a large boulder, and just when I’m about to check on Wade and Derek, a giant explosion shakes the entire forest, and I can feel all the power and aura emanating from it, and all I can hear besides the explosion are the painful roars of Hakufen.  I then gasp and look down and cover my face with both my hands and I start to cry, crying so many tears for my fallen friends, who have given their lives for us.  I then look at Vincent, and I can then sense his aura.  “He’s alive, thank goodness.”, I think to myself as I wipe off my tears and slowly stand up.  Seeing as how I can’t heal him, I decide its best that I protect him until he wakes up.  I look at him and then I look to Hakufen with determination in my eyes, knowing that this is all about to reach its end, an end that was bound to come.

 

Hakufen laughs mockingly and he looms over me and says: “Your comrades have all but perished, and now your beloved Guardian Angel stands on the brink of death.  You have lost everything Rose, and now you will be mine!”  I look at him in fury and I shout out: “You bastard!  You took away everything that was important to me, and you killed so many people that I cared about!  You killed little Tyler, who had nothing to do with this!  You killed Lucius, who was a better demon than you’ll ever be!  And you killed Wade and Derek, my two friends!  I won’t let you take Vincent away from me!  I’ve had enough of you and enough of this!  You’re going to pay for every moment of pain that you caused me!”  Hakufen allows himself a smirk and then he says: “Yes, that’s it.  Lose yourself in your anger and hatred towards me, and turn it into a devious and devilish darkness!”  I look at him and then I slowly say: “This power is not hatred…it’s not anger…not any of those negative feelings…but rather, they are determination, hope, perseverance, and light!  With this, I’ll have a power greater than any I’ve ever known, and you’ll regret the day you were born Hakufen!  I will protect the man that I love!”  And with that, I feel my energy burst out of me, and when the blinding light fades, I find myself clad in armor and with a long, silver sword.  Hakufen looks at me in shock and says: “No…no, it cannot be!  You are the living embodiment of Ayleda!  You can’t be her descendant, you just can’t!”  I think to myself of everything I’ve been through, and I can feel a powerful energy tugging at my heart.  I then say: “I am Rose Everdawn of Sablewind, and I will cast you away from this world and cleans you once and for all!”

(End Song Here)

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And so, the battle has reached its ultimate stage!  Prepare yourselves for the next chapter, which will be the final showdown between Rose and Hakufen!  Don’t miss it!  And as always, be sure to leave your thoughts and comments below!

AWESOME FIGHT! Poor Derek and Wade   Don't you dare die Vincent! And I did NOT see that ending part coming. Rose is Ayleda's descendant?! No wonder she's so awesome!

Edited July 3, 201312 yr by Keyblade101

Thank you for the comments, I always appreciate them and they make me smile!  Now then, without further ado everyone, here is the time you’ve all been waiting for!  The final battle between good and evil is finally here!  I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 

Chapter Forty Nine: Ultimatum 

 

(Start Song Here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KgwnezFssM

For a moment, I can’t believe what I’m feeling.  I can clearly see that I’m clad in armor and that I feel an immense and powerful energy that I hadn’t felt before, but Hakufen’s words shook me.  I’m a descendant of Ayleda of Sablewind?  Even I’m finding that hard to believe.  But I cast all doubt aside and I stretch out my hand, and from it, bits and specks of light coalesce and form a sword of light that serves as my power and strength.  I then look back at Vincent to make sure he’s all right, and then I look at Hakufen, who’s still in shock at what’s happened.  He may be blind, but he can feel the power emanating from me, which causes him to take a few steps back in fear.  “I’ll get us out of this Vincent my love, just hang in there.”, I say to myself in a soft whisper, reassuring myself that everything will be okay.  Hakufen then shakes his head and starts to breathe fire at me and he shouts: “It matters not whether you are Ayleda’s descendant or not!  I shall vanquish you all the same!”  I then smirk and disappear and then I reappear by Hakufen’s legs and I start slashing at him  and then I perform a backflip and throw my sword into the air, and then I leap up and catch it and perform multiple strikes with precision and skill.  All I can hear is Hakufen’s screams of pain and his constant gasps of fear.  Just when I’m about to strike the final blow, a huge explosion takes place, and I’m sent back reeling.  I stand my ground and look to the horizon, and when the dust clears, I see Hakufen, reverted back to his demon form, but in a more powerful and better equipped form.  He then stretches out his arms and spawns swords from them.

 

I look at his eyes and notice that he can see again, and then he utters in his deep voice: “This ends now!”  I then shout out to him: “My thoughts exactly!”  At that moment, we run quickly towards each other, and when our blades clash, violent sparks fly around each time blade is stricken against blade, weapon against weapon, power versus might.  We attack and block each other’s attacks, and I find that Hakufen is a surprisingly good swordsman.  We keep on attacking each other, but we keep blocking our attacks, and we find ourselves evenly matched.  I then decide to jump back and summon orbs of light and pillars of wind, and Hakufen tries to break through my protective wind pillars with his dark hammer, but I quickly subdue him with my orbs of light.  As we continue battling, the trees around us sway back and forth violently, as they are being crushed by the weight of our powers.  “Hakufen, your worst nightmares have come to pass, and now you will finally perish and pay for all you’ve done!”  Hakufen simply laughs mocking and he uppercuts me, sending me high up to the sky.  “Ha, is that what you think?  You are so naïve and simple…just like Ayleda was.”, he says as he leaps towards me and grabs me by my hair and he slams me against the ground.  I shout and moan in pain as I feel my bones crack, and then I stab Hakufen’s hand, and he has no choice but to let me go.  I go back towards Vincent to make sure he’s all right and I lay beside him, trying my best to heal my wound so I can keep holding Hakufen back.  “Please hang in there my love!” , I say to Vincent in my calmest voice.

 

As I keep myself wary because of Hakufen’s imminent attacks, I see that Vincent starts to open his eyes, and my face turns into one of joy and I hug him and kiss him until I remain breathless.  I cry and hug him and say: “Thank goodness your alive!  I was so worried, I thought for a second that you were-“  But I’m interrupted by Vincent, as he touches my face and he says in a soft, almost inaudible voice: “Rose, I love you.”  I smile and touch his face and kiss him.  “I love you too.  Please hang in there.”, I say to him, and then I feel Hakufen behind us, and I quickly disappear then reappear behind him and manage to pierce my sword through him, but he simply laughs and hits my face with his elbow and then he punches me, sending me to the ground hard.  “I’ll admit that you have quite the remarkable skills Rose, but that alone will not be enough to save you!  You shall feel my ultimate wrath, and your destruction will be definitive!”,he says as he walks towards me calmly.  I see Vincent try to stand, but I immediately summon beams of light and attack Hakufen and I make Vincent stay motionless so that he doesn’t do anything hasty that would kill him.  Hakufen and I clash blades again, and each strike if felt with tremendous force, and the environment around us reacts with even harsher winds and creaking trees.  Hakufen spews fire from his hands but I summon the winds and form a tornado and I make the fires dissipate.  I smirk and taunt him and then I quickly throw my sword up into the sky.  The instant I throw it, I use my quick reflexes to kick and punch Hakufen while my swords slowly starts to plummet down.  When it’s just about right, I jump up and instantly split my sword into four and I start throwing them at him, and each blade hits it’s intended mark.

 

Hakufen screams of pain and the more he gets wounded, the angrier he gets, and then he shouts out: “I’ve had enough of this you wretched mortal! Die now!”  With that, Hakufen swipes the floor with his swords and draws what seems to be some kind of strange symbol, which then summons a powerful and mighty cyclone of flames that surround us.  I suddenly feel suffocated, and I look around to see if Vincent is all right, and then I see him close to the flames, and I teleport quickly in front of him to protect him from the flames.  “It’s all right, I got you.”, I say to him while smiling.  He nods weakly as he tries to recover his full strength.  I need to buy him some time.  He won’t be able to recover quick enough at this rate.  With that, I start running around Hakufen in circles, using the flame cyclone to my advantage and slowly making the cyclone so powerful that even Hakufen can’t hope to control it.  And just as I planned it to, my actions start bearing their fruits, as Hakufen starts to lose his footing and he falls to his knees, and then he falls unconscious.  I then gasp of relief and say to myself: “At least now Vincent can be able to-“ but before I can even finish the thought, I see a giant tentacle with spikes heading towards Vincent.  Desperately, I run towards Vincent and then, I feel like my body is broken.  When I look to my stomach, I see that the tentacle has pierced through me, and I’m bleeding out.  Vincent’s eyes widen, and my vision begins to blur.  “Vincent my love…I’m sorry, for not being able to protect you…” and then, after that, all I can feel is darkness.  My vision then blurs completely, and I feel as though all my blood has been drained from my body.  I suddenly feel so cold, as if all the warmth from my body is being seeped away, slowly but surely…

 

All of a sudden, my thoughts swirl with the memories of my dear little Tyler, and of all the wonderful times that Vincent and I spent together.  My thoughts swirl on all the hope he gave me in the face of my adversity, and the night where we embraced each other with such passion.  Those thoughts drive me through the darkness, and I can feel a tiny trace of warmth left in me, a tiny bit of life…but it’s almost done.  All my life I’ve wondered what my purpose is, and now, as I stand on the brink of death, I can see now that maybe this was what I had been chosen for all along, to save the world from a tyrant that threatened to have dominion over it.  Then my thoughts center on my love, Vincent.  I smile and then feel colder every second.  I find myself in a pitch black space, and in the distance, I see someone familiar.  “Bertram?”  And as it turns out, I’m right.  For indeed it is Bertram, holding out his hand, waiting for me to reach out for it.  “The time has almost come Rose.   Shall we go now?  Or will you wait?”  I nod slowly and say: “I’ll wait, until the very end…”  Bertram then nods and he disappears with the darkness, and I find myself feeling colder and colder.  This is it.  In just a few moments, death’s cold embrace will take me, and I will go to the afterlife.  But before I go, I need to be able to be there for Vincent, just one last time.  One last time is all I need, and I can be able to go from this world in peace.  Yes, that’s all I’ve ever needed.  My dear Vincent.  My hero, my lover, my guardian angel…even in the deepest of darkness, he’ll always guide me back to the everlasting light.

(End Song Here)

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And so, Rose is on the verge of death, and now only Vincent stands in Hakufen’s way.  Will Vincent be able to finish Hakufen off, or will Hakufen gain dominion over all of humanity?  Find out in the final chapter!  I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please leave your thoughts and comments below!

OMG!!!! What a fight! I almost started crying when Rose was stabbed! Please don't die!

Well everyone, the time has finally come for this story to reach its conclusion.  I have to say that I had a lot of fun experimenting new ideas and eventually forming them into this story. And the main reason I wrote this story is to prove to all of you that I can make good stories that don’t necessarily have to be Kingdom Hearts related. I hope that you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.  And so, without further ado, here is the final chapter of my story Seeing The World With Brand New Eyes!

Chapter Fifty: End
(Start Song Here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O12_eo_urM
 My mind fills up with uncontrollable rage and sorrow.  The first thing I see when my eyes open is Hakufen’s tentacle going through Rose, instantly making her bleed out.  As I prepare to scream out Rose’s name, I feel as if my voice is taken away from me, and then tears start to roll down my cheeks, and then I look at Hakufen angrily and I can feel the power within me surge into great scale.  “Rose, no!!!”, I scream out.  I run towards her, but Hakufen swipes me to the other side of the battlefield, and I can hear his sickening laugh, mocking me.  “So, it looks like after all your hard work protecting your little light, you failed to live up to your task, Guardian Angel.”, Hakufen says as he smirks and looks at me dead in the eye.  I then feel as if something snapped inside me, and I go all out at Hakufen with nothing but pure rage and hatred, heading towards him and thrashing my weapon at him, but all he does is block and laugh mockingly at me, taunting me with every strike that I deliver to him.  “It wasn’t enough for you to kill hundreds of thousands of innocents…but you had to take Rose’s life too!?  You sick bastard!”, I scream while crying desperately and unleashing all my power at Hakufen.  I then do a back flip and turn my weapon into a scythe and I quickly assault him, showing no quarter.  Everything that I’ve gone through has come to this.  Now I stand alone, here, in this, the final battle against the Demon Lord Hakufen.  Rose is in the fangs of death, and I’m the only one that can stand up to Hakufen.  I’m the last line of defense.

 Without thinking it twice, I plunge myself into the battle, and as I battle against the Demon Lord, I feel as if the world is freezing around me, as if time itself is taking a hold of me.  All I can think of is Rose.  She means everything to me, and I can’t bear to lose her.  Not now, not under these circumstances!  Hakufen swipes his blades, and they clash with my scythe, and our weapons are flashing with the might of our power.  “So Vincent, it has all come to this.  Now you know better than to mess with a Demon Lord such as myself.  Now die!”  And with that, he unleashes a great and ominous mist that spreads through the forest, and then all the trees are suddenly lit on fire, and then I see what’s going on.  He plans to burn everything to the ground. “I won’t allow it!”, I think to myself, and I leap forward and we clash blades again, this time with much greater speed and strength.  We take the battle to the steep hills of the forest, and then I sprout my wings and I feel my body clad itself in my armor, and then I strike faster and with even more accuracy. As I look around me, the trees keep burning down, but the one thing I have on my constant watch is Rose.  I need to get to her, and fast.  She’s just laying there on the ground, eyes barely open.  I then summon up my strength and I push Hakufen back with arcs of light that render him immobile.  I then quickly rush to Rose’s side, and I hold her in my arms, and tears start to roll down my face again.  I touch her face gently and I whisper her name.  She then touches my hand and she tries to speak, but before she says anything, I feel Hakufen’s hands touch my arm, and when I look back, he sends me flying back towards a burning tree.

 I quickly stand up, and just when Hakufen is about to strike Rose, I teleport right in front of him and slash him with my scythe, and I manage to make a clean cut, and for the first time since I’ve seen him, I can actually see him bleeding.  He then gasps and stutters: “I-impossible!  No mortal has ever made me bleed!”  I then growl and say: “There’s always a first time.”  With that I shout out and start bashing at him with my scythe and our blades clash again and again, and now, as I fling him skyward, I start slashing him repeatedly from all sides, and just when I’m about to deal the final blow, he repels me with his strength and then he lands on the ground and digs his claws into the earth, and then, as he slowly lifts his arm up, the trees begin to fall down rapidly, and the earth itself is giving away to Hakufen’s might.  When I look at him, I see that he’s on top of a pillar made from the very earth I’m standing in.  I then scale the rising pillars and use them as platforms, and I head quickly towards him, and he sends down projectiles at me, trying to block my path, but I quickly take care of all my obstacles thanks to my scythe.  I then jump up and soar above him with my wings, and then I shout: “This ends now Hakufen!”, but then I feel as if my very spine was broken in half, and then I cough up blood, and I realize that he pierced his blade through my stomach, but then I unleash my power and I feel my eyes blaze with intensity, and I strike him with my scythe, severely wounding his neck. We both plummet down to the ground below us.  For a moment, I feel as if I’m dying, but then I brace myself for the landing, and remind myself: “Rose!”
(End Song Here)

(Start Song Here)

 We both land on the ground harshly, and I can hear the sickening thud of Hakufen’s body crashing against the ground.  I slowly make my way back to my feet, and then I see him there, just a few feet away from me.  Hakufen then says: “Humans are truly pathetic.  Knowing that you’ve lost everything, you still cling on to false hope.  You are truly worthless beings to the very end.”  I smirk and try to stay on my feet.  “So, you really think of us as pathetic.  Well, let me tell you something Hakufen.  Your right.  We cling to what we love, even when it’s all but lost.  But, as long as you have a reason to live, you keep fighting.  And my reason to live is Rose, and I’ll fight for her, and for everyone!”, I say to him.  Hakufen smirks and then he says: “Such are the sentiments of humans.”  He readies his weapon, but before he can even raise it, I summons multiple copies of myself and we strike him all in rapid succession, until at last it comes down to me.  “You’ve made so many people suffer.  But, no more!”, and with that, I deliver one final swipe of my scythe, and when I turn around, Hakufen falls to his knees, bleeding excessively.  He then looks up at me and gasps for breath.  He clings to my leg, and I hear him say: “No…this cannot end like this!  I had the world in my hands!  It was all going to be…so…perfect…Ayleda…” And with that, his body withers away, and the fire that was burning the trees runs out.  I then look towards the city, and I see the spirits of the demons withering away, and the cries of victory from the people.  Breathing heavily, I quickly make my way back to Rose’s side, and her eyes are still open!  Just barely, but at least she’s still alive.  I hold her in my arms once again, and then I whisper to her: “It’s going to be all right.  I’m here now, you don’t have to be afraid.  Rose, please hang in there, you have to hang in there, for me! Please my love!”  I can feel her hand getting colder, and I start to panic, and I find myself helpless, not knowing what to do.


 Sensing my desperation, she touches my face and makes me look into her beautiful green eyes.  She then whispers to me: “It’s all right.  There’s no need to worry Vincent. The time has come.”  Finding myself speechless, I gather up the courage to ask: “T-time for what?”  She smiles and she leans up to me, and I lean into her, and we kiss each other passionately and lovingly, and then we pull away slowly.  “It’s time for me to go Vincent.  My purpose here has been finished.”, she says in almost a whisper.  I then open my eyes wide and say: “You don’t mean that!  No, y-you can’t just die!  After all we’ve been through, we finally defeated Hakufen, you can’t die!  Please!”  I feel the tears swelling up my eyes, and I cry silently, and she touches my face and wipes off my tears.  She smiles and looks into my eyes and says: “Vincent, before I met you, I was lost, I had nowhere to go.  I couldn’t find myself, and I couldn’t make my way to the light.  But when I met you, you changed my life forever.  Not only did you make me see the world in a new way, but thanks to you, for helping me when I was in my darkest hour, you made me realize that I could be strong.  Because of you I got the gift of sight.  Because of you I got to know what true love is.  Because of you I had a reason to live.  And now that we’ve finished this, now that we’ve finally laid to rest all worries and doubts, now I feel my body going numb.  My vision is starting to blur.  I’m on the brink of death Vincent.  It’s time for me to go to the other side.”

 As she says all this, I cry without rest, I cry for this moment in which I can do nothing.  But then I remember that I’m a Guardian Angel, and for a moment, I feel hope, but I look at Rose, and as if she read my thoughts, she says: “Even though you are a Guardian Angel Vincent…you can’t break the rules of life and death.  You can’t go against the way of life.”  I cry and say: “But I don’t want to lose you!”  She smiles and touches my face and says: “You never will.  Because I’ll always be right here.”  And with that, she points her finger to my chest, and I hold her hand tightly, as if with the touch of my hand I could bring her back to life.  I then smile and look at her as tears roll down my face, and she says: “You allowed me to see the world with brand new eyes.”  Then I feel footsteps approaching, and when I look back, I see Agito and Hoshi and the others and many other people, as they bow their heads in respect and they stay silent in this, our hour of sorrow.  I then look at Rose and she says: “I love you Vincent.”  I smile and nod and touch her face and say: “I love you too.  So much.”  With that, we kiss each other passionately again, but this time, when we pull away, I feel all the warmth go out of her body, and there she lies, motionless and lifeless, in my arms.  I then cry uncontrollably, unable to do anything to make this all better.  Then I feel Hoshi cuddle up in my arms and she says: “Mr. Vincent, I’m so sorry!”, and she cries and hugs me.  Then we see Bertram appear in front of us all of a sudden, and he says nothing, and he puts Rose over his shoulder, and then he nods and he slowly fades away.  It’s only natural for Death to come take the body of the fallen.  I wipe off my tears and stay silent, and I stay there for hours, watching as everything is silent.  I then feel Agito put his hand on my shoulder and he asks: “Vincent, what will we do now?”  I then look at him and smile and say: “What Rose would have wanted.  A new beginning.”  And with that, I look to the distance, and I can feel Rose in the wind, assuring me that the future will no longer be veiled in darkness.  We can finally have hope by seeing the world with brand new eyes.
(End Song Here)
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THE END
 



Epilogue: A New Future

 It’s been five years since all this happened.  During all this time we’ve rebuilt all the damage the demons have done, and now everything is finally back to normal.  Now everybody is doing their best to make a better world.  Agito works as a soldier in the U.S Marines, protecting our country and way of life, the men and women who had fought alongside us so long ago are now hardworking people who have hopeful smiles on their faces, for they know that the future that we fought to keep safe is possible.  As for myself, I’ve settled down and retired from being a detective, and I even adopted little Hoshi.  She’s in school now, and she’s quite the smart little girl you know.

 I guess, that when it comes to me, I’ll never forget all that I lived through five years ago.  You changed my life Rose, and you made me realize that there’s so much more to this world than what there seems to be on the surface.  There are so many things to value and protect, and all we have to do is stop for a moment and take a look around us.  Some people go in life never knowing what their purpose is, but I say that they have their reason to live right in front of them.  Only by standing up and fighting for what you believe in can you understand life’s true meaning.

 And so, I’ve done my best to provide a good life for our little Hoshi.  I know that she’ll grow up to be a responsible and strong hearted woman, just like you.  I thank God for having allowed me the chance to meet you, and right now, I know that your smiling down on me.  Thanks to you, I can keep pushing forward.  Well, I’m off now, Hoshi wants me to meet her teacher, so I’m guessing this must be some kind of blind date.  Ha, wish me luck Rose.  Let’s see if this old man still has some charm left in him.  Thank you so much Rose.  For everything, I’ll never forget about you.  You allowed me to see this world with brand new eyes.


 

Oh... My... God... No! Rose!!!!! No, why'd she have to die! I swear I almost started crying near the end.

 

This was an amazing story, and I'm happy for Vincent and Hoshi and all of the other survivors, but Rose!

Thank you all for reading my story and thank you for your comments! I'm glad you all enjoyed the story! I'll write more stories soon! So stay tuned for my next story called: A Reason To Fight.