From Far Away Epilogue

Light...

Bright blinding light enveloped him as Duo felt himself falling into bottomless pit. The light was relaxing, making him feel so safe, so contented....

THUMP

"Ouch" Duo groaned as he hit some hard surface with his face. What happened.....

"Duo?" A soft feminine voice called him. It was the voice he knew well, whose owner he loved. Duo rolled onto his back and looked up to a middle aged woman kneeling next to him.

"Sister Helen..." Duo blinked in confusion.

The woman called Sister Helen smiled. "Thank God, you're okay."

Duo sat up slowly, somewhat still feeling confused. He felt he had forgotten something. Something important for him. "Where am I?"

"Not far from the orphanage. I was walking when you suddenly fell down in front of me."

"I fell down?" Duo frowned and looked up to gray sky over him. "Where did I fell down from?"

"That's the question I wanted to ask you as well." Sister Helen answered as she helped Duo to stand up. "You seemed to fall down directly from the sky and surprisingly, you landed on the ground with your limbs intact."

"Oh" Duo scratched her head. He really felt he had missed something. Someone.....

"You left the orphanage only two days ago but you have changed much. Where did you get that strange outfits you're wearing, Duo?"

"Huh?" At Sister Helen's question, Duo looked down and widened his eyes at the clothes he was wearing. Instead of wearing his usually black priest outfit, he got a black tunic and pants with violet waistband. Over the tunic was soft violet vest. Where did he get all these clothes?

While Duo was assessing his clothes, Sister Helen continued on, "Not only your outfit, you look taller and more built. Where have you been, Duo?"

Still deep in thought, Duo answered automatically. "I was with Heero...." Duo blinked at his own answer.

Heero....

Who was Heero?

"You were with Heero? Who is Heero?" Sister Helen asked the same question Duo was asking to himself. "Is he your new friend?"

Friend? Duo frowned. It felt wrong to think Heero as his friend only..... No... Heero was not a friend... Heero was more than just a friend..... Heero was.....

"Heero is..... " Duo frowned deeper, trying to search his forgotten memories.

The brown hair which always looked like it had never been combed.

Prussian blue eyes which were the window of the owner's soul.....

Wiry body which protected him always....

And the smile which was reserved for him only....

.... Heero was .....

"My soul mate....." At his own whisper, Duo found all his memories flooded back into his mind. There was a big battle and they were involved.... The fight against something evil..... and then..... fireballs....

..... explosion...

"HEERO!" Duo shouted as the realization of what just happened to him settled in. He quickly looked around, searching for the person he loved most. <<HEERO! Answer me!>> Duo called again, verbally and telepathically, ignoring Sister Helen's confused look on him. He had only Heero in his mind. He refused to believe that the explosion had sent him back to his world and left Heero alone there, engulfed by the explosion.

He denied that reality.

Duo called and shouted for some time but no one answered him.

"HEERO, Answer me!!!" Duo shouted as loud as he could, almost bursting in tears as he was forced to accept the cruel reality. <<HEERO, please answer me!!>>

No matter how long he called, Duo got no replies. Head bowed, shoulders slumped, Duo hugged himself, not willing to accept the reality.

The reality that his Heero was gone....... That he had left Heero......

~*~

Sister Helen walked into the chapel where she knew she would find what she had been looking for. She walked till she stood next to the still figure sitting on the bench and gazing up to the big cross on the wall. "Duo, it's lunch time." She said to the figure whom showed no signs of acknowledging for her words.

Sister Helen sighed, feeling helpless as she saw the lifeless violet eyes, which once shined brightly. It had been three days since she found Duo falling in front of her. Duo had shouted and called for someone she didn't know and then the braided boy became quiet and looked broken. She managed to move him into the orphanage and then Duo told her what had happened to him with eyes so far away, as if he was lost in his memories.

Duo told her everything and she found it was hard to believe what Duo was telling her, but at the end she believed it. She believed it when she looked into Duo's broken eyes and forlorn expression. She had never seen him like that, not even when the man who once took care of him had died. And after the boy told her everything, Duo Maxwell stopped smiling, stopped laughing.

He had stopped living ....

Though his body moved when she urged him to move but Duo's mind was somewhere outside the body.

Sister Helen sighed again and put her hand on Duo's shoulder. The boy was sitting still, eyes still far away, lost in the past. "Please Duo, you have to eat or you'll be sick."

No answer.

"You can die if you don't eat, Duo." Sister Helen kneaded the tense shoulder gently but still the boy gave no sign of moving. "I'm sure Heero wouldn't want you to die like this, Duo."

The word 'Heero' made the braided boy blink. "Heero?"

"Yes, Heero." Sister Helen answered. "Heero would want you to live, Duo."

Duo blinked again and she could see his mind returned to his body. "Heero...... love.... "

"Yes, Duo. Heero. The one you love."

"My Heero....." Duo trailed, eyes still fixed on the big cross on the wall. "Mine...."

Sister Helen let out a small gasp as she saw the tears fell down silently from Duo's eyes. "Duo?"

"He was denied happiness and anything a normal child would have..... The only thing he wanted was to be with me..... I promised I would never leave him, but yet I left him.... I let him die alone....."

For once, Sister Helen didn't know what to say.

"We promised to be together... in life and death...." Duo continued on, not realizing he was speaking at all. "I was supposed to sacrifice myself only, but he wanted to be with me. He wanted to die together with me........ but yet, I am alive and he was...."

"Stop it, Duo."

Sister Helen squeezed Duo's shoulder soothingly but Duo suddenly shoved her hand away and stood up abruptly. "It's not fair!!" The braided boy shouted as he glared at the big cross in front of him. "All I wanted is to be with Heero. I don't ask for gold. I don't ask for glory. I don't ask for anything but to be with him and yet I'm denied of the only thing I ever ask for."

"Duo, calm down...." Sister Helen tried to make him sit down but Duo stood still.

"I want to be with Heero. Dead or alive, I want to be with him." Duo spoke to no one angrily, eyes still fixed on the big cross and tears slid down on his cheeks. He bowed his head down and whispered brokenly. "Is it too much to ask?....... "

Before Sister Helen had time to say something, a yellow light suddenly radiated from Duo's chest, filling the chapel with its light. She tried to see between the lights and let out a surprise gasp as she saw a golden cross float in front of Duo and a boy with golden hair emerged from the cross.

"Solo....." Duo whispered in surprise and disbelief, somewhat feeling a hope to be with Heero once again.

"Me and the other kids can't stand watching you look so sad like that, Duo. Do you really want to be with Heero?" The golden haired boy asked Duo. He seemed to talk in strange language but strangely Sister Helen could understand what he meant.

Duo nodded. "Yes, Solo. I want to be with him."

"I can send you back, but I can't alter the time. You will arrive at the same time you disappeared from him, in another word, you will arrive at the time the fireballs are about to explode and you'll die as soon as you meet him." Solo pointed out.

For the first time in three days, Sister Helen saw Duo smile and she heard his peaceful voice answer Solo calmly. "I don't care, Solo. If I die, I will die together with him. We won't be separated then."

"You are alive, you still can find another boy in your world that..."

Duo cut Solo's words. "No Solo. I don't want anyone else but Heero. I'm as good as dead right now. I can't function without Heero with me." The braided boy looked at Solo and spoke with a final tone that couldn't be argued. "He is my life."

Solo sighed. "You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes." Duo answered it without hesitation.

Solo smiled sadly. "I'll take you back to our world then, Duo."

Sister Helen could see Duo brighten up at the sentence. "Thank you, Solo." Duo smiled.

The boy seemed to glow into life once again. She was happy for that, but still what the golden boy said was absurd for her. Sending Duo back, only to die there was something she wouldn't allow. "Duo, no! Don't listen to him."

Duo turned to her and she was stunned as the braided boy smiled warmly and hugged her. "I love you and the other kids here, Sister Helen, but I love Heero most. I can't live without him and I choose to die with him rather than being separated from him forever." His whisper sounded so final to the woman that she found her tears rolling silently, realizing she could do nothing to stop the boy. She could feel a soft kiss on her tears stained cheek "Don't be sad, I'm happy to be with him, Sister Helen. You should be happy for me too."

Duo then withdrew, still smiling at her as golden light enveloping him. "Good bye, Sister Helen."

And then the golden light became brighter and brighter that Sister Helen had to close her eyes. The chapel was empty at the time she opened her eyes. No sign that Duo had ever been there. He had gone to meet Heero. She was shocked at the reality that Duo had gone forever from her side.

She didn't know how long the time had passed until a soft tug on her robe snapped her from her shock. Quickly wiping away the remainder of her tears, then turned and saw one of her boys. "Yes, Gary?"

"Sister Helen, where is Duo?" Gary asked her.

Sister Helen scooped up the boy. "Why do you ask for him?"

"We are worried about him, Sister Helen. He looked so sad since he returned back here so the other kids sent me to ask him what made him sad." The little boy answered.

Sister Helen hugged the boy affectionately. "He has gone to a place far away from here but he is happy now."

"Really?" Gary blinked. "Is there something that makes him happy at that far away place?"

An image of the smiling violet eyed boy flashed before her eyes and Sister Helen found she smiled. "Yes... someone he loves....." She wouldn't cry again. Duo had said he was happy and she would be happy for him too.

~*~

As the golden light engulfed him, Duo found himself falling once more. However, this time he kept his eyes open. He could see a black dot far down there and as he got closer the dot became a figure he had known so well.

Only one person had messy brown hair, Prussian blue eyes, and white wings and it was his soul mate.

It was Heero.

Although time seemed to stop for Heero and the fireballs before him, but Duo didn't care. He smiled happily as he fell right into the spread arms of his lover and hugged the boy tightly. "I'm home, koi." He whispered contentedly

Right after Duo wound himself with Heero, the time ticked once again. The fireballs exploded but they would never be separated again.

~*~

Three days later

Relena sat in her chamber with Wufei and her guards around the table. The soldiers and her people were overjoyed when they returned and announced that the Prophecy had been fulfilled and they would build a new world with peace as what the other rulers had agreed. They were discussing about building and repairing the area that had been attacked by Heero's impostor when Wufei cried out in pain.

"Wufei, what happened?" Relena looked worriedly at her fiancée.

"Something hit my head." Wufei rubbed his head and held up a small wooden chest, which usually would have been used to keep an amulet. "What is this...." He grumbled as he opened the chest and promptly dropped his jaw. Relena was surprised and looked inside the chest as well. She gasped in surprise and widened her eyes.

"What's up, Relena?" Quatre asked curiously. Sitting beside Wufei, he tilted his head to see the chest as well and promptly cried, squeezing his lover's hand tightly as he recognized the item inside it.

"Quatre?" Trowa was worried.

"What's inside the chest?" Hilde asked curiously.

"See for yourself." Wufei, who had finally regained his composure and closed his jaw, turned the chest to the others. He wasn't disappointed to see Hilde, Sally, and Noin gasped in surprise.

Trowa also looked into the chest and saw a golden cross that looked fractured and very fragile and a patch of paper, which contained two sentences and a sign.

Please take care of Solo's cross.
We will visit you all someday.

D & H

Trowa widened his eyes, blinked, and then smiled. "So they are alive."

"YES!!" Came a loud chorus from the other six that almost made Trowa jump out of his chair because of surprise.

~*~

A slender figure with long chestnut hair watched as his lover knelt and put the flowers on the gray ground that used to be Elwan village, muttering telepathically. <<They don't deserve your flowers, Heero.>>

The short haired boy stood up and walked toward his pouting husband. <<They were my parents, Duo.>>

Duo sighed and gathered his koi into his arms. <<This will be the only time you do this, kay?>>

Heero nodded. <<I think I have to thank them for bearing me or else I wouldn't have met you.>>

Duo snorted. Heero was too kind for his abusive mother and ignorant father. <<Better thank Solo and the kids for saving us>>

He still could remember three days ago when he found a barrier around them that protected them from the explosion. Heero's barrier had been destroyed by the explosion but this unknown barrier was strong enough to keep them safe. He then heard Solo's weak voice and learned that Solo and the other children had made the barrier from their souls, taking the risk of destroying their souls because they didn't want them to die like that. Thankfully their souls were strong and they only needed a long rest inside the cross to heal their souls so Duo sent the cross to their trusted friends to guard.

<<Talking about Solo, do you see any ghosts around here?>> Heero asked hesitantly, breaking Duo's musing.

<<No, I don't see any of them right now.>> Duo answered reassuringly. He knew Heero would feel guilty if the villagers didn't rest in peace and became ghosts. Duo didn't lie of course. He didn't see any ghosts at the moment, but he knew there was a ghost floating at the entrance of the village they had passed. A ghost of a man whose face Duo had remembered from Heero's dream. Duo ignored him and pretended not to hear him. He had no intention to help the abusive-and-would-be-rapist-but-got-killed-old-man-ghost.

It was a perfect revenge to let the man's ghost wander in this burnt village and watch as he was the one who got the boy the ghost once wanted. Duo knew he didn't need to do anything to show the ghost since the bonding bracelets on their wrists were more than enough to make the ghost scream angrily. Those bracelets were made from the chains of Solo's cross as their signs of gratitude of what the children had done for them. If not for them, he and Heero wouldn't have lived.

Duo kissed his husband gently. <<Let's get out of here.>>

<<Where do you want to go?>> Heero raised an eyebrow.

Duo grinned. <<How about finding a place where I can ride you?>>

Heero snorted and broke their embraces. A pair of angel wings emerged from the short haired boy's back. Before Duo had time to do something, Heero had flown up to the sky, leaving his mate on the ground. <<You have to catch me if you want to do that.>>

Duo chuckled loudly. << Oh, ride you I will.>> After saying the words, he disappeared from the burnt village, leaving one ghost which would surely haunt that place.

Laughter echoed from the sky above as the braided boy literally tried to ride his winged mate.

<<I think it will be easier to tame you than a Pisces, Koi.>>

<<Duo!! Omae o korosu!! >>

Wind blew lazily, birds chirped happily, and the sun shined softly over the land as the couple flew higher and disappeared into white clouds, ready to begin their next adventure.

Together always.

OWARI

Author's Final Note:

Thanks to Oceana for the idea of the scene on Heero's village. Yes, this fic finally meet the end. It has almost been a year since I first post the first part and at that time I never thought it would reach over 200 pages in my Word document. I really love writing this story and this is maybe the longest fic I ever write. This fic is based on Kyoko Hikawa's Kanata Kara for some early parts and got mixed with the ideas from my twisted mind. So at the end, this fic had strayed faaaaarrrr away (just like its name ^_~) from the real story. If you are interested in the real story, you can find it in http://kanata.tsx.org where I got a lot of information about it.

I want to thank to Syn-chan and Ume for encouraging me to write this story. This story will never be as good as you all read right now if not because of them. Thanks to Snow Tigra, Misuzu, Sarah Star, Caroline Proulx, and Hazard Blue for lending their time to beta some parts of it. And many thanks to Jana, Lady Tora, Dacia, Saphire Kitten, Bella, Lady Nagisa & Cloudy, Chiaki, FireHeart, Ruby Moon, Lena, Ox King, Lil Lady and the others who archive this fic on their sites. Lastly, my biggest thank to all of you who have read and commented on this fic. I'm so happy to receive over 900 messages for this fic. I always reread them when I'm down or stuck with storyline. They all enlighten my mood and help me in continuing this fic and ending it well. Thank you very much *bows down*

Many of you ask me about the sequel. I can guarantee that the sequel is in my list to write, but I can't tell you when I'll write it. I have so little time to write two fics at the same time and I still have a couple of long fic ideas in queue. Let's let Duo and Heero in this story rest for a while and someday we will meet them again in the sequel. (With Heero in his always-sore-ass, of course *gets thwapped by sore bottomed Hee-chan*) If you have any ideas of what you want to read on the sequel, feel free to email me about it. I'll see what I can do ^_^

See you in another story.

Hee-chan: Finally my ass can rest!
Akuma: hmm.... The next fic will always have you in sore ass condition in every part of it, you know.
Hee-chan: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

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