Here it is minna-chan! The final chapter of Final Awakenings! You know what? This story (with out any authors notes and un- wrapped) turned out to be 302 pages long, 5,013 paragraphs and 134,415 words! My goodness! Can you believe that? Lord knows I sure can't! Well, I hope you enjoy the epilogue. Just a warning though, I wrote this in a hurry cause Ti'ana threatened me at 3:00AM...wait! She was more than insane at that time, so her threat was meaningless! *sigh* Oh well! Thank you to everyone who has written me with support and for those of you that have caught my hints...and Kelly? Remember what I said about standing in the middle of the street waving fire and screaming about those hints? Well, here's where it becomes much more than hints! RATING: G! *faints* I-It can't be! It's rated G?! DISCLAIMER: I own this plot! All 302 pages of it! Quote of the Week: "Don't say goodbye! Goodbye is forever. I'll see you later." - A friend of mine said that to me once, and I live by it now. I miss ya, Derrick! FINAL AWAKENINGS EPILOGUE __________Saying Goodbye__________ Serena blinked her eyes as she slowly woke up. The sun was shinning, and it was a perfectly beautiful day. Tears came quickly as the young girl remembered what she had to do that day. Looking to the small body that slept next to her, she smiled. 'Today is the day. We have to say goodbye today, Rini.' ******************************************************************* Luna sighed as she flipped through the pages of the evening newspaper. "Isn't there ever any good news?" she mumbled to herself. Ilene set down a plate of food in front of Luna on the table. "I know, it's just awful these days." She sighed but then smiled. "But, I hear things are going to get better soon." Laughing slightly, Luna began eating. "I suppose. Trista said that the Time Line wasn't severely damaged, and that Crystal Tokyo is already beginning to rebuild itself." Kent, who was sitting at the table with Sammy, shook his head in amazement. "I always wanted the best for my little girl, but I still can't get over the fact that she is going to be a queen." "Yes," Luna agreed before casting a glance towards the stairs. "Now, if the girl could just learn to wake up with out provoking!" Almost immediately after she had gotten home, Serena had collapsed on her bed and hadn't woken up since. Not that anyone could blame her. There was a knock at the door and Ilene wiped her hands on her apron. "That must be the girls and Darien here to see Rini off." Her eyes saddened at the mention of her granddaughter's farewell, but she hid it well and went to get the door. "Hello everyone!" she said as she opened the door for the nine humans and two cats. Trista had gone back to the Time Gate not long ago. She was awaiting Rini's return to the future. "Good evening, Mrs. Tsukino!" they all coursed together. "Are they up yet?" Darien asked. Ilene shook her head and pointed towards the staircase, already knowing that he was well ahead of her. "Well," Ilene turned to all the others, "who wants dinner?" ******************************************************************* Knocking on the door before entering, Darien peeked his head through and saw that Serena wasn't sleeping. Opening the door all the way, he saw that she was sitting on her bed, fully dressed and smiling softly at their daughter. "I don't want her to leave, Darien," she whispered before Darien even opened his mouth. "It's strange...I don't want her to leave and yet...a part of me wants her to go back and not come here again!" Darien walked up behind Serena and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You love her. But you want her to stay where she belongs and not be missed by the others in her time," he explained. Serena laughed a little at that. "And to think, I used to not stand the sight of her! It's strange that I feel so different now." Her bangs were brushed out of her face and Serena looked up to see Darien smiling at her. "She'll come to us one day, Serene. And when she does, you won't have to let her go." Serena turned back and gazed at her daughter, who was still sleeping peacefully. "Right..." ******************************************************************* Rose hesitated before knocking on the door. She stepped back, breathing deeply and trying to calm herself. Seconds later, the door opened and a very familiar voice said, "Yes? ROSE!" Tim exclaimed as he opened up the door. "Hi, Tim," Rose greeted back. In a swift movement, Tim grabbed Rose and kissed her lips, shocking her. When they pulled back Rose smiled and blushed. "I...it's gone. The evil is gone." "Rose..." Tim stroked her cheek and smiled sweetly at her. "What happened?" "A lot," Rose told him with a sigh. "But...because the war is over, Rini needs to go home. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us to say goodbye?" "Only if," he leaned down so his lips were near her ear, "you promise to tell me everything that happened." "Of course!" ******************************************************************* It wasn't a long walk to the park, Serena had always been grateful for that. But now...she really wished the park was many more miles away from her than now. Rini was holding hers and Darien's hands as they and her parents along with all of the Sailor's made their way to Rini's place of goodbye. The only one who wasn't there was Rose. "Is Auntie Rose coming?" Darien sighed and frowned. "I'm sure she will, but she didn't say where she was going." "Probably to see Tim," Michelle said with a bit of a smile. "He seems like a nice boy." "Oh, you've met him?" Lita asked with her hands behind her head. (AN: You know! That position that they always walk in???) "Yeah, I suppose...he better not hurt her though," Darien said to himself. Laughter rang through the crowed of people and Darien blushed when he realized what he had said. Serena kissed his cheek. "Now, what are you going to do when Rini starts dating?" she asked, causing more laughter. Darien glared at her and Serena smiled sweetly. "Wait up, everyone!" Rose cried out as she and Tim ran as fast as they could toward the group. "Nice of you to join us," Raye sarcastically bit out as she crossed her arms. Rose sighed and rolled her eyes at Raye. "Come on, Raye! I just went to find Tim! My boyfriend doesn't live at my house like yours." The rest of the trip to the park was silent as each of the people collected their thoughts and prepared their good byes. It didn't take long, but they finally reached the pier that Rini had first arrived on three years ago. Letting go of her parents' hands, Rini stepped up to the edge of the pier and smiled at all of them. "Thank you all, again. You saved me and my home again," she smiled. "We would anytime, Rini," Serena told her. "We'll miss you." Rini nodded and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to say goodbye...because goodbye is forever." Rini looked up and they could all see tears in her eyes. "So I'll see you all later!" "Later, Rini!" Lita said with a wink. "Find yourself a great boyfriend, okay?" she giggled. "Don't wimp out on your training like Meatball Head," Raye smirked. Serena glared at her and pouted. "Remember, if you're ever sick, Nurse Mina will take care of you any time!" Rini winced and nodded, trying to make it look like she agreed with her. "Always study!" Everyone groaned and Amy looked at them. "What? It's good advice!" Rose reached into her dimensional pocket and handed Rini a book. Winking, she told her what it was. "Just incase you need a little cheering up." Reading the title, Rini laughed and nodded. "But um...don't tell your dad you got it from me!" she whispered. 'One Thousand and One Tricks to Play On Your Dad.' Rose shook her head at herself. 'Yeah! I'm sure he'll know you had nothing to do with it!' Tim ruffled Rini's hair. "It was great meeting you, kid." "It was great to meet you, Rini," Hotaru said as she gave the girl a small hug. "Come back one day, Little one," Amara voiced softly. "Train hard, Princess, and always listen to what the other's tell you," Michelle smiled sweetly. The Tsukino's said nothing and Rini just ran up and hugged them. "I'll never forget you!" she whispered as she let go and walked to her parents. They stood, facing each other for a moment before Serena went down on her knees and opened her arms. Rini rushed into them quickly and hugged her mother. Darien kneeled down too and held them both. "I love you mommy, daddy!" she cried as she forced herself away and back to the dock. Pulling out the Time Key, she took a deep breath. "Guardian of Time...Let the Door of Time split the heavens and open to me...I call you by your true name, the all knowing God of Time and Father of the Guardian, Chronos! Lead me! Protect me! Send me the path of light!" A beam of light came from the key and around Rini. Smiling and waving as she disappeared into the clouds, Rini called one last time. "Bye!" Serena swallowed back her tears and felt Darien's hands come around her waist. "Don't worry..." he whispered to her. "We'll see her again," he told her, on the verge of his own tears. Serena looked up at the sky. "I know..." Turning around in Darien's embrace, Serena wrapped her arms around his neck and quickly kissed him. Some signing and gagging was heard as the kiss deepened and Serena and Darien quickly forgot about their friends. ******************************************************************* Rini pushed the door to Crystal Tokyo's time open and smiled when she saw the brightly-lit room of the palace. Then she saw someone that was even better than seeing the Crystal Place back to normal. "MOMMY!" Neo-Queen Serenity went down on her knees and caught her daughter. "Oh, Small Lady..." she whispered as tears trailed down her cheeks. "I've missed you! Oh, I've missed you so much!" she cried. "Mommy..." Rini cried silently before her mother pulled away and she was hugging her father instead. "There's someone else who wants to see you too, Small Lady," Sailor Earth said with a grin. "He wasn't allowed to come out when you came back last time, the others might have seen him!" Rini looked up and saw a boy standing by her aunt. He was about two or three inches taller than her, and his blue eyes smiled when he saw her. "I still say you're a spore!" he exclaimed. Rini grinned at her the boy, for once not caring about his teasing, and ran to him. "ALEC!" ******************************************************************* "NO!" a woman's voice screamed as she watched the Sailor Soldiers return to their daily lives. "This shouldn't be happening!" Her eyes flashed red as she watched Serena and Darien kiss. "They should all be dead for what they've done..." she hissed. Picking up the nearest object, a small statue, she hurled it at the viewing widow and smashed both of them to a million pieces. Her breathing was ragged and she laughed. "Well then, I guess it's my turn, isn't it? Both of them have failed now and Serenity and her pathetic warriors must pay. All of them..." she laughed evilly, "THEY WILL PAY!" She whirled around, her black robes swirling around her as she did so. "And what better place to destroy them then where they are most vulnerable?" she asked herself. THE END!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEQUEL TIME! *groans* Can you believe it took me one full year to write this? I started it while I was writing "Nowhere to Run, Unable to Hide," and now look at it! Thank you all and I'll see you next time with either "Truths, Family and Friends" (Still have writers block!) or "Final Awakenings: Past Vengeance." And to the people who got my first hint back in chapter 16 or 17... Thank you! THANK YOU!!!! Stef-chan Quote of the Fic: "I think I did pretty well considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper" -Steve Martin