Kiara stared at Hunter's body as the flame was pressed into his chest. The white fire caught onto the wound in his stomach, burning up the blood and spreading along his body. She gave Stoke a worried look, "Are you sure this will work?"

     "No," he replied, stepping back as the fire leapt higher, sending blue sparks from its white core. It blazed brighter, making Stoke shield his eyes with a hand and Kiara step back away.

    Then the fire began to diminish, shrinking and crackling, shooting out more sparks like blue shooting stars. Then the fire blazed a bold scarlet as it flared up one last time, then it faded out into a pale smoke. Hunter's body was left limp on the ground, undamaged but smoking. There was no sign of any damage on him anymore, but he wasn't moving.

    Kiara crouched hesitantly beside him, resting a hand on his forehead. She pulled back as if burned, flexing her hand, "H-he's burning hot!"

    "Give it a moment," Stoke said, brushing off the rubble from his cloak, letting the dust drift off of him to the ground, "He was pretty far gone."

    Kiara bit her lip anxiously, looking for any sign of movement. Her sister had given up so much to bring him back, she didn't know what she would do if it was all for nothing.

     Elsewhere...

     Everything had been black for so long, the light ahead was welcoming to him. He drifted forward as if levitating in the dark, nearing the light as he had been doing for as long as he could care to remember. Then the cold around him began to fade, growing pleasantly warm.

    He twitched a finger in the silence, and the movement felt odd. The warmth continued to spread, growing hotter and hotter. He fidgeted uncomfortably in the sudden blaze of heat, but as he twisted around, he saw the light. He realized with a surge of panic that he was returning back to the shadows of the unknown. He didn't want to lose the light.

     The heat faded, but not back into the icy stillness that had consumed him before. Instead, he remained warm, comfortably so. It felt almost relaxing now, as if he was only asleep.

     Then he felt something hard pressing into his back as if he was no longer suspended in nothingness but lying down on a solid surface. Then he realized he couldn't breathe.

    He opened his mouth, trying to gasp for air, but couldn't. His mouth felt horribly dry and sore, but he forced a deep breath in. It hurt, tearing at his aching throat and making the dryness worsen. But air filled his lungs, satisfying his previous panic. Then he heard something move beside him.

     He opened his eyes slowly, blinking hard in the bright light that filtered through his eyelids. Then feeling returned to the rest of him, and memories flooded his mind. Carnirus, All Hallow's Eve, the shadowbeasts, ghosts, Kiara... and his own name, Hunter.

     Hunter let out a ragged breath, moving his hand to press into the ground beneath him. He was alive.

     "Hunter!" a voice gasped, filling with joy and disbelief, and he turned his head to see Kiara kneeling beside him, sitting on her heels. He tried to sit up, but she tackled him back in a hug. He winced, but didn't have the heart to pull away from her.

   "Surprise," he said weakly, trying for a faint smile. He supposed he failed pretty miserably, but she pulled him to his feet. His knees buckled and he fell on his face, "Ow."

     "Sorry!" she gasped, helping him sit up, "Hunter, you were dead! If it wasn't for Stoke and Melody..."

     "Melody's here?" Hunter's voice was hoarse, so he swallowed hard, "And where's Stoke? Who is that dude?"

    "That's Stoke," Kiara told him, wiping back the tears of relief that fell freely from her face, "He was really the true ruler of the shadow kingdom, Carnirus took over and... and Melody... she... she's gone."

    Hunter noticed the sad tone in her voice and shrugged, "She tends to come and go, doesn't she?"

    "No, she's gone," Kiara said quietly, her eyes clouding over, "Really gone. She gave up her spirit to bring you back, Hunter."

    "Oh," Hunter lowered his gaze, avoiding her eyes, "Why would she..." he looked up at her again, "Why would she do that?"

     "She didn't want me to be alone again," Kiara told him with a shaky sigh, "Because she... she was my- "

    "-your sister," Hunter finished, surprising her, "She told you?"

     "How did you-"

    "She told me while I was in the crystal," Hunter closed his eyes with a weary sigh, "She didn't want to tell you because she was worried it would hurt you. When her name was mentioned your head hurt, so she didn't want to make anything worse."

    "When she told me... it did hurt," Kiara tilted her head back to look at the dark sky, "But... I can remember everything now. I had a whole life, Hunter, a family." She let her gaze fall from the stars to meet his. And she smiled, "It was amazing."

     "Yeah, sometimes," Hunter sighed bitterly, "I-I mean, don't get me wrong,  I'm really happy for you, that's awesome... but families are messy. My Dad's probably going to kill me when I get home."

    Kiara smiled warmly at him, "Well, if you die, you'll still have me."

     Hunter laughed lightly, sounding amused, "Now I have nothing to fear, do I? I've got friends on both sides."

     "The shadowbeasts are growing restless," Stoke said, and they both looked up at him, "It's about time I take my place as the Shadow Lord once again."

     Kiara bounced to her feet, catching the former dragon in a hug. He looked startled, but she stepped back, saying, "Thanks for all of your help! We owe you too!"

     "Then consider us even," Stoke rested a hand on her head, "Maybe I'll see you soon."

    "Maybe," she replied, and he let out a piercing whistle. A sleek shadowbeast bounded up, and he vaulted onto its back. With a swift bark, the other beasts followed Stoke out of the streets and into the shadows of the night.

     Kiara helped Hunter stand again, more slowly this time so he wouldn't fall over again.

    "I'm sorry about your sister," Hunter said quietly as she pulled his arm over her shoulder to help him walk home.

    "I am too," Kiara replied quietly, "And I won't forget her. Not again."

     Hunter cracked a smile, "I know."

     They walked in a long moment of silence, and after what felt like forever, when the pink rays of sunrise began to tint the horizon, the arrived back at Hunter's house. The lawn was still muddy and torn up, and the side of the house was being repaired by a group of workmen, but it was still home.

     Hunter couldn't help but to smile. Home. It felt like years since he had seen it.

    "Hunter?" an uncertain voice called from behind them, and they both turned around to see Hunter's father, staring at him stunned from the porch.

    "Dad," Hunter stepped away from Kiara, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "Sorry about... well, everything. Breaking the window, running away..." The breath was knocked out of him as his father crushed his son into him in a bone-crushing hug.

     "I don't care about that," his father promised, "Where have you been? No, I don't care, you're back... Hunter, don't you dare leave this place without telling me where you're going again!"

    Hunter was startled by his reception, and he glanced over his father's shoulder to see Kiara smiling at him.

     "I guess he won't kill you after all," she joked, and he grinned at her.

    When his father released him, he asked, "Are you hungry? Thirsty? What can I do?"

    "I'm pretty hungry, "Hunter realized, "Actually, I'm very hungry."

    "Sandwiches sound good?" his father towed him inside as he nodded, and Kiara followed happily behind. Hunter's father disappeared into the kitchen, and Hunter grinned at Kiara, sinking down onto the living room couch.

     "So now what?" Kiara asked him, "Carnirus is gone for good, and so are the majority of the shadowbeasts."

     "Now's the good part," Hunter told her with a bright smile on his weary, blood-smeared face "This was an adventure, right? And everyone knows what happens to the main characters after the adventure ends."

    "And what's that?" Kiara asked with a curious smile, sitting down beside him.

    "Now, Kiara," Hunter smiled back, "Now we get to live happily ever after."