“I…” Shell said, falling to her knees with tears, “I let Crow die?”

She slammed her fist into the ground, weeping as she pounded it over and over again.

“No, you did no such thing!” Robyn shouted, now standing behind her, “The only reason you did what you just did was because you were pushed to a point nobody could imagine.”

The thunderess looked up to her, and was given a smile.

“And he still would have done it, the impulsive blockhead,” the raven said while placing a hand on her shoulder, “You know it.”

“Robyn is correct,” Zenith said while folding his arms, “But regardless, the truth is the truth. Crow is no longer among us, which only makes our journey all the more difficult.”

He looked to the skies, which struggled to keep the darkened clouds from completely covering the rising sun.

“You’re right, although…I feel like he is with me, even now,” Shell said, looking at the gun in one hand, and a pair of crushed sunglasses, “Dammit…I wrecked them…”

“Hang onto those, and keep them close,” Robyn said while strapping her sword to her side, “That way you’ll always have a piece of him with you.”

Shell began to rise, to her feet, “I will.”

“And that is one issue solved…” Zenith said while facing the women, “But now for the next problem…”

“What do we do now?” the raven asked, “I have no idea…”

“I will head to the library, if there are any clues regarding our next move, they can be found there,” the mage replied.

“I’m coming as well,” Robyn said, before looking to the thunderess, “How about you?”

Shell looked herself over, then shook her head, “No, for now we part ways.”

She turned around to look over the area.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind…” the thunderess said, “And I’d rather be alone anyway. You understand, right?”

The raven slowly nodded.

“We’ll meet again, I’m sure,” Shell said while looking back at the two, “So go ahead.”

“Very well. I will leave the boat behind for you to take,” Zenith said while raising his staff, “May we meet again. Please take care.”

“You too,” the thunderess said as smoke began to rise up, “And goodbye.”

Robyn waved to her, before running to Zenith and weeping. Within seconds, the couple had vanished. Shell turned around and looked down at Mulls’ battered body, and Crow’s lifeless form.

‘Even though things are at their worst…I’m not going to give up,’ she thought while putting both men on her shoulders and turning to face the mountain path the group had taken earlier, ‘You taught me that Crow, to fight on against all the odds.’

She looked to her hand, which held the pistol.

‘Crow…you’ll always be with me, my love,’ she thought while walking forward.

Nearly an hour later, she left the mountain with Mulls in tow, leaving the Blue Star in the Chamber of the Sun with the Millennia Blade in his hands. She looked back once more at the mountain, before walking forward.

‘Always.’

The End

Author’s Note: And that’s it, the revised Dark Hour is finished. Overall, I like the changes made, as it’ll allow me to do a few things in Dark Wars that I couldn’t beforehand. The subtle changes here have also allowed me to expand and refine the cast a little, which adds more to the second story overall.

Either way, the biggest point of Dark Hour remains the same, in that there is no happy ending. Crow Ravenwing has died and the apocalypse that is Dragonia’s rebirth has begun. This story ends on an ominous note. However, despite all of this, Shell and the others will continue to live to the best they can.

See you all in Dark Wars, and thank you for reading this story.