~MAKOTO~

"We totally have time to pass by the festival before we head to the transport ship and go home!" I argued, crossing my arms and glaring at my knights who stood around my bed.

They gave me worried looks causing me to huff in frustration.

"Where's Scarlet? I need someone in my defense!" I whined.

A knock came from the door; Scarlet's orange locks came into view as she opened the door – her face framed with black glasses.

"You rang?" She had a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Wait a minute. Weren't you not allowed to leave the hospital room?" Daniel pointed out.

Scarlet grinned, slipping through the small crack in the door and locking it closed before skipping to my side. "What's up, Mako? Are your boyfriends being all worried and wanting you to miss the festival too?" she asked.

I beamed, shuffling over so Scarlet could slip between the sheets and sit next to me. "YES! They're trying to stop me from enjoying my last moments here because I'm a little tired. LITTLE. I promised I wouldn't faint, or trip, or fall to my demise. Even Nightmare said I can go, but NOOOO," I expressed, pointing to my familiar who slept at the edge of the bed – Moonlight cuddled up next to her.

"When did Moonlight get here?" Scarlet pondered.

"I don't know. When I woke up they were already snuggled up,” I pointed out.

"Ah. Well, tough luck boys. We're going to the festival!" Scarlet declared.

Kai sighed, while the others frowned.

"Scarlet. You shouldn't be talking. Wait till the others realize you snuck out of your hospital room. They're gonna freak," Kai noted.

I noticed the light glow of the intricate markings on his hands. "You just saw the future didn't you?" I pointed out.

He shrugged. "Maybe," he replied, giving me a playful grin.

"They won't find out. I left the perfect disguise,” Scarlet stressed.

Before I could reply; the door opened – five pissed off shifters walked in. Scarlet frowned as I gawked at them. I leaned over to the side.

"I thought you said they wouldn't find out," I whispered.

"I thought my disguise was perfect," she replied.

"What did you do?"

"I left a whale onesie under the sheets."

"Wouldn't that be rather flat?"

"I stuffed it with the patient on the other half of the shared hospital room. I borrowed the old man’s blankets and put my whale stuffed doll on top to give it shape. The old man said he'd even imitate my voice, so they wouldn't grow suspicious," she explained.

"Darn. Maybe he didn't use a high enough pitch?"

"Maybe."

We both nodded in deep thought – the guys stared at us like we were speaking another language.

"Really. A whale onesie!" Jaxson stressed, lifting Scarlet's orange whale onesie.

"I thought you, out of all people would like it," Scarlet mumbled.

He groaned.

"Alright, why don't we take a vote?" Daniel proposed.

"No," Scarlet and I said together.

"It's only fair. Now, who's in favor of Scar and Mako going to the festival?"

Scarlet and I raised our hands, waiting for the others to follow. I turned to my knights.

"But...but..." I began, blinking my eyes as they began to water. The boys exchanged glances as they fidgeted in place. I sniffed, ready to start the waterworks when Marcus sighed, raising his hand.

"I can't do it. If she starts crying we're done for," he confessed.

Kai raised his hand. "As long as they promise not to leave our side, especially the Princess." He gave me a stern look.

"I don't leave your sides," I argued.

They all stared at me; even Scarlet glanced my way.

"Oh c'mon. I just get distracted!" I continued.

They shook their heads, but Elias raised his hand.

"It is her last evening here and we didn't get to do anything as a group, so I guess we can go," Elias commented.

Daniel glanced my way and smiled. "I guess she did work hard and took out a bunch of those lackeys with ease. A little festive fun is a good reward," Daniel chipped in, giving me a wink.

"As long as I get first dibs, I don't care." Ryder shrugged.

The guys groaned.

"You always get first dibs," Marcus complained.

"Do I need to remind you I'm the leader?" Ryder smirked.

"YEAH! So that makes seven against four." I grinned in triumph.

"You blackmailed them with your tears!" Ethan pointed out.

"But it worked," I announced, proudly.

"I love you, Mako." Scarlet hugged me.

"I love me, too." I beamed, giggling.

"BREAK IT UP YOU TWO! Don't go forgetting about me!" a high-pitched voice announced. We all turned to see Cece and Vinzent, her boyfriend, at the doorway.

"You two need REST! I'm with Team Seven! And so is Vinzent,” Cece declared. Vinzent sighed.

"I don't get a say?" he mumbled.

"No," Cece argued.

Kai grinned. "For the safety of your relationship, we don't blame you."

The others nodded in agreement; Cece rolled her eyes.

"Whatever! You have to rest!" she pointed out, placing her hands on her hips.

"But...we have enough votes!" I countered.

"You two don't count in the voting. So, it's six against five," Cece announced.

"We should bribe the nurse," Scarlet whispered.

"You think she likes chocolate chip cookies?" I asked.

"I love chocolate chip cookies," Scarlet replied.

"Me too," I agreed.

"No blackmailing the nurse with chocolate chip cookies," Cece countered.

We both frowned.

"Now what?" I pondered.

"Mew!"

"Meow!"

We all glanced down to Nightmare and Moonlight who bounced up and down in excitement.

"See! Nightmare and Moonlight count too. Nightmare. Moonlight. We'll buy you lots of bacon and catnip," I bribed.

They both froze, turning to face us.

"Yup. Extra catnip and I'll get customized plushies for you. Wouldn't you want a plushie of Moonlight, Nightmare?" Scarlet recommended, grinning.

"MEW!" Nightmare jumped up and down, racing to our side and walking onto Scarlet's lap, sitting down as her tails wagged quickly – glowing bright pink.

"I can't believe we're letting their familiars decide," Christian commented.

"Moonlight. Just come on this side. You want Scarlet to be nice and strong, right?" Junho cooed.

Moonlight looked back and forth between the two groups; his eyes lingered on Nightmare.

I'll make you a plushie of Nightmare.

"Will it look like her?"

Yes. White, soft fur with three fluffy tails and I'll even make sure they dye the tails pink.

"And she has to have a nice bell..." he mumbled.

As you wish.

He hopped over on our side, sitting next to Nightmare, who purred happily.

The other group groaned as my knights chuckled.

"The moment the familiars got involved, you should have accepted your defeat," Elias announced.

"At least we tried," Christian shrugged.

"YEAH! Seven against six! We can go!" I cheered.

"Just don't push it. Either of you!" Cece reminded.

"Yes, Mom," Scarlet and I said together, causing the guys to all laugh as Cece blushed.

"Let's go!" we cheered.

"Mako, stop jumping," Kai prompted; his arms wrapped around my waist to stop me from jumping over and over again as I held the rail.

"But, I'm so excited! The show is about to start!" I stressed.

We stood at the highest peak of the hill, waiting for the firework show to start. Scarlet stood next to me, having a discussion with Christian – his arm wrapped around her as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Yes, but I don't want you falling over the rail," he pointed out.

"I'm not that clumsy," I argued.

"You’re not, but when it comes to you, anything can happen," Kai joked.

"You're just jealous of my awesomeness," I mumbled.

"Uh huh. Totally jelly." He grinned, kissing my neck.

"Hehehe, that tickles. And you did not say jelly." I lifted my head up to look at his amber eyes that twinkled in the light that shone from lanterns hosted across the park.

"I did. I bet the others are jelly you’re in my arms." He grinned.

I shifted in his embrace, going on my tip toes to glance over his shoulder, noticing Ryder and the others a few rows down. I laughed at their sour expressions as they stared daggers at Kai. I turned to Scarlet's men; all of them had similar expressions as they stared at Christian. I focused on trying to pick up their conversation.

"That's so unfair." Daniel sighed.

"Kai and his favors. Why did we do this to ourselves?" Marcus commented.

"His favors seemed appealing at the time," Ryder commented.

"If only we knew, all those cycles ago it would hinder us from Mako being in our arms as we watched the fireworks," Elias commented.

They all nodded as if reminiscing about their past life decisions.

"Better than us. Christian just blackmails us all the time," Ethan huffed.

"We all did get time with Scarlet except for him," Jaxson reminded.

"And he did drive us everywhere," Junho pointed out.

"I think it's just safer to give him what he wants," Cece sighed.

"One less mysterious death to worry about," Vinzent voiced.

They nodded in agreement.

I smiled, returning my attention to the phoenix shifter before me.

"Can we come down here again?" I asked.

"Of course. May take us a while, but maybe we can plan something for Christmas?" he proposed.

"Really?"

"Yup. Christmas, Valentine's Day. Hey, maybe we can celebrate that holiday where everyone wears green," Kai mused.

"You mean the patty day?" I asked, remembering reading something about the holiday where humans went out to party and dressed up in green.

"Yes, but no drinking for you," he announced.

"Aww, you’re no fun." I blinked my eyes.

His stern look softened. "Just a little. But don't tell the others I gave you permission."

I giggled, hugging him. "And my birthday?" I whispered, looking up at him.

"You want to celebrate it down here?" he asked.

I nodded. "I don't need anything big. I never celebrated it back in the facility...so I wouldn't mind something with just us and maybe Scarlet and her guys if they're free," I suggested.

He took a moment to think about it.

"Okay. We’ll work on something. No promises because we don't know what's going to happen when we get to Heila, but if the Princess wants to celebrate on Earthala with her friends and knights, we'll try to make it happen," he approved.

"Thank you, Kai," I whispered, leaning up to kiss him.

He smiled against my lips, returning my kiss. The moment we broke apart, the first set of fireworks burst through the dark sky, catching our attention. I squealed, shifting around and pressing myself to the rail to watch the spectacular explosions of different colors.

Kai chuckled; his arms wrapped around my waist once more, resting his chin on my head as we watched the show.

"Mew!"

I felt Nightmare cling to my leg, climbing up to my shoulder. I laughed; Kai moved back so she could wrap her tails around my neck before I settled back into Kai's embrace.

I glanced at Scarlet who was kissing Christian; Moonlight relaxed in her arms as he stared up at the fireworks.

I smiled, returning my attention to the bright sky above.

I don't know what is ahead of me, nor do I wish to know. All I pray is that regardless of what happens, both good and bad, I'll be surrounded by my loved ones and remember that there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

~ SCARLET~

"You have my number?"

"Yup."

"You promise to keep in touch?"

"Of course!"

"Mako. I'll miss ya," I confessed, smiling at my new best friend.

She smiled back, blinking back tears that began to form in her turquoise eyes. "I'll miss you too, Scarlet. But I'll be back soon. Maybe once I get settled in Heila and we get used to our schedule, I'll come down. Kai said we can come down during Christmas if we get a chance," Mako explained.

"I'll be here! I'll try my best to get time off, and we can have dinner together," I confirmed.

She nodded. "Deal."

I lifted my hands up, opening them up for a hug. Mako laughed; tears rolled down her cheeks as she jumped into my embrace.

"Don't get into trouble, Mako. If you ever need me, I'm a call away. Okay?" I reassured her.

"Okay, and right back at ya. I'm getting used to this phone thing, but Marcus said he'd teach me." Mako pulled back to stare at me with a wide smile. "We have to drink together."

"It will be a new mission," I vowed.

We giggled, hugging each other one more time.

"Now, get to the ship before you fall asleep," I suggested.

"I'm not that sleepy," Mako said before she yawned.

"Uh huh. At least you can nap on the ride home."

"I'll wave to you!" She yawned again, causing me to giggle.

"Okay. I'll wait down here till you leave okay?"

"Good." Mako nodded in agreement. She took a deep breathe, staring at me with a hint of power flickering in her eyes.

"Till we meet again, Princess of Feminara." She raised her left hand – a marking of different colors glowed lightly.

I felt a wave power flow around me, making me feel whole as I felt my back grow comfortably warm. I lifted my hand to grasp hers.

"Till we meet again, Princess of Heila."

"Don't get into trouble." Mako grinned.

"Promise?" I questioned.

"Cross my heart," she began.

"Hope to fly," I continued.

"Poke a flower in the sky," we said in unison.

We laughed, pulling apart. Mako glanced at her knights who waited for her in front of the transportation ship on the outskirts of LA, away from any humans.

I looked back to my row of men who stood to wait for me.

"Farewell, Makoto."

"Farewell, Scarlet."

Mako waved goodbye, turning around and walking towards the others. Daniel met her halfway; his hand slipped into hers and they looked like they were talking. Mako yawned, rubbing her eyes.

Daniel looked like he chuckled, preventing Mako from walking further by lifting her up. He joined the others, and they all boarded; the ship's gate began to close.

"I always show up late and miss everything."

My eyes grew wide as I glanced over my shoulder to see Michael looking at the ship. "Michael? Where did you come from?" I asked.

"I was on that ship. Just got back. I thought I'd get a chance to say bye to my brother and Makoto, but it seems I just missed them." He sighed.

"Oh no. Can you visit them?" I asked.

"Hah, it's okay. I got to talk with Daniel before I left. I'll bother him later once he's settled in Heila." Michael slipped his hand into mine. "Let's go home?" he asked, looking down to meet my gaze – his gold eyes filled with happiness.

"Yes. Let's go home," I whispered.

I waited till the ship left, knowing Makoto was asleep, but wanting to keep my promise to wait for her departure. I didn't know what our future had in store for any of us, but as my powers began to awaken, I was ready to learn about my background and become stronger.

No matter what was to come, I would grow with my men and rid the realms of anyone who didn't want peace. It would be a hard journey, with trials and challenges, but these five days showed that regardless of race, we could all get along and find common ground.

Peace and unity would come with time, and it would be possible. All we had to do was believe.