Rise in Revolution (Epilogue)

[tanadin]

 And thus the final part of RiR was posted.
This is a really exciting moment for me, as it's the first time I've finished a full book-length story without it originally being a fanfiction. Thank you all for sticking with me this far and I hope to see you for Descent of Nightmare. <3

Chapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
World map: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/Kaldriel-RiR-map-594639189

Epilogue

Outside the fourth ring, Mainframe. April 24, 2272. Time instance 842N.

When the Mainframe shut down, the nine thousand units exploded. Every single one that was set to defend the Mainframe that wasn’t inside the first ring exploded, including the corpses that still could. The other cyborgs were instantly freed of Mainframe control, left confused and disoriented in the aftermath. Out in the sectors, the nine thousand units went onto high alert mode, destroying anything that got too close to the control centers. The other cyborgs were also freed, and the control centers mostly shut down, lacking the connection to the Mainframe that they required.

Cap knew none of this. She only watched as the nine thousand units exploded, killing dozens of the rebels, and as enemy cyborgs stopped, stumbling and holding their heads, disoriented. A ship- a spaceship- swooped down and hovered over the Mainframe for only a moment before flying back out of the atmosphere, leaving no trace that it had ever been there except in the memories of the rebels.

Moments later, a cyborg- one that quickly revealed himself to be Nine- took off from the roof of the first ring, shouting something that was impossible to hear but was quickly taken up by the rebels in a shout, a cheer, a cry of victory.

“We have won! We have won! We have won!”

Cap raised her rifle and cheered with the rebels, grinning wider than she could ever remember. To her right, Fan grinned and laughed. To her left, Sheva smiled but remained silent, crossing her arms contently.

As the rebels split up to get their wounds treated or celebrate, the golem that contained Atar shambled towards her. The clay that made of his form was beaten and riddled with bulletholes, threatening to fall apart at any second. He paused in front of her, looking down.

“Cap. My business here is concluded. With the Mainframe gone, Fan will be safe. She has forgiven you for not telling her about your powers, and while she may not forgive me for leaving, it is necessary.”

Cap nodded. “I understand. It was an honor knowing you, Atar.”

“I will see you in the afterlife.” The golem froze, lifeless, as Atar’s ghostly form pulled itself away from the clay. He waved and faded, replaced by a pale blue light that shot away, up into the sky.

Cap watched it go, smiling, before turning to Sheva. “What about you? Are you passing on?”

Sheva slowly shook her head, eyes locked on the first ring. She turned to look at Cap, watched her for a moment, and then shot off into the sky, vanishing quickly into the distance.

Cap watched her go, confused, but knowing that she would probably never understand.

~~~

Portal to the Plane of Fire, Infinity Cascade. April 26, 2272. Time instance 842N.

Tanadin rolled her shoulders as she gazed up at the immense portal frame before her. She hadn’t thought to ever see the Infinity Cascade again, and yet, here she was, looking at her way home.

Well. ‘Home.’ Kaldriel had really become her home, as, over her hundred years of life, she’d spent more time here than in the Plane of Fire. But her family and many of her friends were still there, and after twenty years, the portals would finally be reopened. On other sides of the island, elementals swarmed the other eleven gates, preparing to channel their energy to open the portals and bring them home. Outside of the main ring of portals, demons gathered in preparation to open the main gate to Hell once more.

Tanadin took a deep breath, flaring her flames. Clash hovered overhead and she extended her arm outwards, holding the other hand palm up. He dropped the box into her hand and landed on her arm, folding his wings.

Tanadin ran her fingers over the surface of the box that contained the heartfeathers of both Vor’estra and Flarefire. They would be returned to the Plane of Fire, even if they weren’t alive to see it.

As she watched, the device clamped to the top of the gateway opened its jaws and fell to the ground with a resounding crash, followed by twelve more identical sounds.

“Now!” Elementals and demons of all kinds focused their energy on their own portal, relighting them easily and opening the magical channels between the worlds once more. A shiver went through Tanadin as magical energy glowed from the portals, encompassing the Infinity Cascade. Kaldriel had felt dull with its limited magic since the closing of the portals, but now the gates were open.

Clash took off and Tanadin handed the box back to him, surging forward with the other fire elementals through the portal. Stepping through was disorienting, as always, but arriving made her feel better than she’d felt in decades. Power swirled around her and poured into her core, brightening her flames and straightening her back. She spread her arms, threw back her head, and laughed, feeling like all was finally right with the world.

Nearby phoenixes and kirinax stared at the portal open, dumbfounded, but charged forward, shouting greetings to old friends. Two phoenixes flew off, shouting through the Plane of the return of the lost ones.

Clash carefully landed on the ground, opening the box and dipping his head to the feathers. He lifted first Vor’estra’s, then Flarefire’s, and released them into the Plane of Fire, watching them melt into the golden and pulsing ground. He set the box ablaze and took off once more, circling overhead and stretching his wings fully.

Tanadin smiled as those they hadn’t seen in decades moved towards them, laughing and racing forward as familiar kirinax came into view. Phoenixes approached Clash and they circled each other, cawing happily even as Tanadin embraced her friends and relatives and cried liquid flame in pure joy.

The link was restored.

~~~

Lu’ann household, Akrar (Formerly Sector IAL). May 17, 2272. Time instance 842N.

Kyir’s head snapped up as someone knocked on his front door. He still hadn’t moved his workshop back down to the basement- he couldn’t quite bring himself to dismantle the Black Market- and thus was still within earshot. He exchanged glances with the others and reluctantly set down his screwdriver, moving out of the room and opening the door to see a familiar face, a man as tall as he was with bright blue eyes and white hair.

“Grandfather?!”

“Kyir!” Nathan grinned and hugged him tightly. “You haven’t changed a bit!”

“Neither have you! Actually, you look, like...forty. You look younger, except for the white hair.”

Nathan waved it off. He was wearing dark clothes and a black cloak, which was typical, and a skeleton followed closely behind him, bright green lights in its eye sockets. “I’ll tell you all about that in a bit. But first- Ah! Jase!” He pushed past his grandson in order to hug Jase as well. “It’s good to see you! How have you been?”

“Well, I was stuck in an automated sector for twenty years, but after I found Kyir we saved the world and it was fine. What about you?”

“I’ve been great. Hiding in an automated sector, myself. Who else is here? Dare! Hello, dear, I’m happy to see you. And Cataclysm!”

“Nathan? You’re still alive?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking. It’s a bit complic- who is this?”

“Err. Nathan, this is Emma. Emma, this is Kyir’s grandfather, a necromancer.”

Emma waved and Nathan smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you.” He shook her hand and moved into the living room, sitting down on the couch. “It’s good to see all of you, but I’m here for a very important reason.”

Kyir sat down beside him, raising an eyebrow. “What’s going on?” If Nathan wanted something, he was sure it was important.

“Well… Kyir, do you remember last time I visited you and Corvus? I cast a spell on you then, although you didn’t know it, that bound your souls to me, in a way.” He waved a hand, mumbling a few words, and their eyes were opened to another presence among them. “And so, therefore, you might not have lost what you think you have.”

Kyir’s eyes widened, taking in the sight of the spirit floating before him, heart missing a beat.

“Hey, Kyir. Been a rough ride, hasn’t it?” Corvus smiled at him, then- a slow, pained expression, but a smile nonetheless.

If anyone asked, Kyir didn’t cry, but everyone there knew that he absolutely did.

They contacted Mark to start making them a golem- a really nice golem, Nathan insisted- for Corvus. It would take awhile, but Kyir would have his brother back, one way or another.

And a hole in the group’s heart was filled once more.

~~~

Apartment 8, Akrar (Formerly Sector IAL). May 18, 2272. Time instance 842N.

Shawn looked up as someone knocked on the door to his apartment. He’d returned to the room the Mainframe had assigned him once he’d gone back to IAL, having nowhere better to go. He wasn’t expecting anyone to bother him- after all, they’d reclaimed the sectors and his job was done, as far as he was concerned.

He got up and opened the door, raising an eyebrow at the unfamiliar man on the other side. He was about the same height as Shawn, with piercing blue eyes and unnaturally white hair. He wore dark clothes and a skeleton stood behind him. A necklace hung around his neck, a faintly glowing blue crystal dangling from a metal chain.

“Hello.” The man’s voice was pleasant, but not unusually so. “I hate to bother you, but are you Shawn Hite? The zombie?”

“Yes?” Shawn wished he had his shotgun on hand, but it was on the other side of the room. His paranoia had decreased lately, so he’d stopped carrying it constantly.

“Oh, excellent. I’m Nathan Narron, Kyir’s grandfather.” He extended a hand and Shawn shook it, tilting his head in confusion. There was no way this guy was older than forty.

“I’ve come both to see you for myself and to inform you that you’re neither the first nor the only self-sufficient undead, that is to say, an undead with an active level three core and with a will and soul of your own.” He released Shawn’s hand and brought his fingers to the crystal that hung around his neck. It flashed, once, and his appearance changed, skin instantly rotting away to mere patches and revealing the bone underneath.

“We’re two of a kind, you and I.”

~~~

Tanadin’s house, Akrar. May 20, 2272. Time instance 842N.

Tanadin leaned on the doorframe, raising an eyebrow. “At this rate, we’ll have to plan weddings for half of the Black Market.”

Tac and Shawn quickly shuffled away from each other, glaring at her. “We’ve barely been together a month, Tanadin!” Shawn protested.

“Not even,” Tac mumbled, crossing her arms.

Tanadin shrugged. “You guys were literally snuggled on my couch gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. Sue me for saying the first thing that popped into my head.”

“We were not-”

“Yes you were,” Nine called, glancing over towards them and away from Seven.

“You weren’t even looking!”

“But I was.” Seven raised an eyebrow at them.

“Yeah, well, Tana, you and Seven live together, so-”

“With Nine!” Tanadin protested. “They’re probably moving out soon because this is my house.”

“Yeah, well-”

“Are you guys here for a reason or is my couch just the best one in Akrar?”

“Well, I was here to ask when we think the aliens will be back, but Seven won’t talk to me.”

“And Tac came with you…”

“Because I wanted to know.”

“Right.” Tanadin walked across the room and gently pushed Seven out of his seat onto the floor. “When are we expecting the aliens?”

“I have no idea. We need to keep our eyes open, which is why we can’t-”

“-be planning ‘trivial’ things like a wedding, yada yada. Calm down, Seven, they’ll wait until we scare them off.” Tanadin rolled her eyes and helped him up. “It’s just an important thing for them.”

“I don’t understand.”

Tanadin patted him on the head. “You wouldn’t.”

“How’s Xela taking it? She’s practically adopted them.” Shawn crossed his arms.

“I have no idea. She’s probably quite proud.”

~~~

Xela hugged Clash for what felt like a hundredth time since they’d told her the previous day. She smiled at him, fangs flashing. “I’m going to bed. I’ve been awake for far too long again.”

“Okay.” Clash nodded. “Good night. Day. Um. Whatever.”

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Xela waved to him and picked up her laptop, tucking it under her arm before leaving the room. He watched her go before glancing back at the couch, where Scott was passed out once more. He sighed quietly and stepped over, carefully picking him up and carrying him into his room. He set Scott down on his bed and pulled the blanket over him, smiling, before quietly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

He needed to fly, and now was as good a time as any. He left the building, barely shutting the door behind him before shifting into his phoenix form and flinging himself into the morning sky.

He circled over Akrar, stretching his mismatched wings to their fullest extent and gliding on the winds. It felt good to be free. No work schedule, no oppressive cyborg police, no Mainframe watching over them. The world was free. The first couple of weeks following the fall of the Mainframe had been dedicated to getting the Infinity Cascade working again and freeing the last of the sectors completely, shutting down the control centers and informing everyone of what had happened.

A warm pulse ran through him at the thought. People weren’t suffering like they had been. His mind drifted to Scott and, had be been in his human form, he would have smiled. He wasn’t in danger anymore- none of his friends were.

It was a good feeling, one that he’d almost forgotten over the years. He didn’t remember the time before the Mainframe very well, but it was coming back to him now, clearer and clearer with each passing day.

His thoughts were put on hold as a phoenix, blazing a deep blue, flew up to him and hovered, cawing for his attention. The phoenix shifted into the elemental language, asking for directions. He provided them and the phoenix thanked him before flying down to the ground, following the streets.

Clash watched him for a moment before shaking it off, continuing to circle high over Akrar.

This was something he could get used to.

~~~

Remnants of the Mainframe, Salvek. June 30, 2272. Time instance 842N.

“It’s nothing personal,” M’s voice crackled over the speaker on the terminal, his image flickering. Silver scales and yellow eyes shifted, raising a hand to gesture. “Kaldriel was a test of the new system, one that didn’t require our monitoring. Now that the test is complete, we need to reclaim the planet.”

Seven raised an eyebrow. “And how, exactly, are you going to do that?”

“The same way we did originally. We took Kaldriel in twenty-four hours. We can do it again.”

“We weren’t prepared then.”

“I don’t think it’ll make that much difference.”

Seven shrugged. “Fine. You want to take Kaldriel?” He pushed a button on the terminal, switching the image it was broadcasting to M from Seven’s face to a live feed of the Infinity Cascade, of the elementals and demons pouring from the portals. He left it there for several seconds before flicking it back.

He leaned closer to the camera, mechanical eye glowing brightly in the darkness. “Come and try.”