There was a bright light on the other side of my eyelids. If only I could open then and see what was going on. Did it work? Did I crush the orbs? Was I able to save the world from dark magic?

My eyes creak open very slowly and I had to blink to focus on my surroundings. I wasn't in the cement walls of the Demonic castle. I was in a small square room with white walls underneath blue covers on a comfortable bed. I blinked a couple of times more to make sure this wasn't a dream.

I began to laugh as I jumped off the bed and raced around the small room. I began hugging anything I could get my hands on: my comforter, a teddy bear from the shelf in the corner, and even the PS2 system sitting in the corner. I was at home! I was at my home! I was in my room!

I ran out of my door and into the hallway of my house. I felt my face and my body making sure that I was really here. I was here in my house safe and sound. I laughed lightly as I began to race down the stairs. Then I heard another door open and I stopped in my tracks. The clicks of heavy dog feet sounded on the wooden floors of my hallway. I turned toward the sound only to see an overweight basset hound making her way down the hall.

"Sassy!" I rushed over to the big dog that was wagging her tail. I hugged her and attempted to lift her up but that wasn't going to happen. I began to pet her head and she returned my attention with a lick to my face.

"Ew," I muttered pushing her away. She continued to trot down the stairs and she was probably headed for her food dish in the kitchen.

Down the hall, my brother's bedroom door opened and he came out in a daze. He was wearing a muscle t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Lance!" I shouted running over to hug him.

"Oh my God Mel," Lance mumbled as he quickly hugged my back. "Did it work?"

I pulled away from him straightening out my pajamas. "I don't know. I think so. Why else would we be here?"

"I guess so but-"

"Kids? Are you awake?" A soft comforting voice rang from downstairs.

Lance and I both exchanged glances before we both simultaneously yelled, "Mom!".

We ran down our stairs and into the kitchen both of us out of breath. I spotted my mother's familiar blue-eyed brown haired figure.

"I thought I heard you two talking upstairs," she greeted as she moved some food into a frying pan. It looked like pancakes and made the kitchen smell like Heaven. I rushed forward without a second thought and ran over to hug my mom. She was so taken back that a bit of pancake batter fell on the floor.

"Well Melody," she commented with a huff. "I missed you too sweetie."

Lance came over more calmly and also gave her a hug.

"Goodness you two," my mother said. She set down her cooking stuff to give us each a hug. "Are you alright?"

We both nodded and smiled widely. "We just missed you," Lance spoke for both of us. I agreed quickly.

My dad walked in the kitchen a moment later and immediately went in search of a coffee cup. Lance and I quickly attacked him a hug. He was so surprised that he took a few steps back. He was never that affectionate so he just awkwardly patted us on the backs.

"What's going on?" my dad asked my mom. "Is it father's day?"

"They missed us," my mother answered going back to her cooking. "Where was this energy last night?"

Lance and I moved to sit at our breakfast table. Both of us were so happy to just be home that we didn't even hear our parents. I laid my head down on our table and resisted kissing it. Then suddenly my mother's words sunk in.

"Wait…what? What happened last night?" I asked.

"You two don't remember?" My father asked surprised.

"I told you they wouldn't," my mom said to him. "You two were so tired that you fell asleep in the car. You didn't talk to either of us when we picked you up from the cruise ship. You just gave us your luggage, got in the car, and went right to sleep. Then when we got home you both just wordlessly went to your rooms. You were like zombies."

Lance and I exchanged a confused glance. It seems that time filled in for us even when we weren't there.

"Did Riley go home with her parents?" Lance asked.

My mother nodded. "Oh yes, the whole Wakeman gang was there. She was just about the same as you all as I could tell. You all were so tired! So tell us about it! Was it fun?"

"Um…" I mumbled unsure of where to start.

"It was an adventure," Lance supplied.

My mother seemed interested as she nodded her head enthusiastically. "What kind of stuff did you all do?"

"Well uh…we went swimming, and um…camping, and we did a bit of hiking," I said off the top of my head.

"Sounds like so much fun!" My mother said clapping her hands. "I wish I could've gone when I was invited."

"No you don't," I whispered to Lance. He gave me a knowing smile.

"You two better hurry it up," my dad announced suddenly. "If you get ready in about ten minutes then you can still get to school."

"School?" Lance and I both shouted at the same time.

"It's Monday," my mom said. "Hurry it up so you can grab breakfast on your way out."

Lance and I did as we were told and I quickly ran up to my room to throw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and run a brush through my hair. It didn't look as gross as I would have thought it would be considering I wasn't sure when my last shower was. It seemed that I had been well taken care of while I had been gone. I caught my reflection in my mirror. It was the first time I had seen myself in weeks. I noticed that my skin was a darker shade then before as if I had gotten a tan. My cheeks seemed pretty full and my body didn't seem to suffer from any sort of hunger. I furrowed my eyebrows at myself. I looked good and healthy.

Maybe I hadn't been on island? Maybe it had been a…dream? Impossible though since Lance remembered everything. Maybe it was because I was part Demon? Was I even part Demon still? Did those rules even apply to me now that I was in this world?

A knock at my door told me that Lance was ready to go.

"C'mon Mel. We have to get going."

"Be right there," I called after him pulling away from the mirror. I ran out of my bedroom grabbing my backpack. I hadn't touched it since spring break began so I hoped I didn't need to add anything to it. I raced down my stairs and grabbed a pancake that was lying out on a plate. Then I kissed the cheek of both my parents and hurried out to Lance's baby blue truck. He was waiting for me inside of it. I ate the pancake as Lance pulled out of our driveway.

"Aw, I missed you baby," Lance said petting the dashboard of his beat up truck. I rolled my eyes as I munched away. The familiar sights of San Francisco passed by the window as we neared our school.

"Lance," I mumbled with my mouth full. "Do you feel like…like the whole vacation just…" I didn't know how to ask my question.

"Like it didn't happen?" Lance finished for me.

I was quiet for a moment as I finished up my pancake before I confirmed it.

"Yeah it's kind of weird," Lance agreed. "I remember it like it happened but I don't feel like it happened. That doesn't really make sense though does it?"

"No, it does," I said. "I don't understand it either."

We stayed quiet the rest of the ride and it was oddly peaceful between the two of us. It was weird to see how much we had changed. We could actually stand one another.

Lance pulled into the school parking lot just as the first bell rung. We went our separate ways and ran off to class. I wanted to talk to Riley but I didn't have to time to find her. Unfortunately I didn't have a class with her until lunch.

Classes went by and everything was just…normal. After living for two weeks in a world of magic and wonder it was bizarre to go back to talking derivatives and velocity. None of that even seemed to matter to me and none of my classmates seemed to notice the change. They all stayed in their collective friend groups discussing what they did during the break. All the students seemed separated from me as if they were in their own world and I was still trying to stop Amarol and save Chase.

Chase…

I was in third period when I thought of him. I had no idea what happened to him or what was going to happen to him. I was never going to see him again. I almost broke down crying in my class but I held it in.

During lunch, I skipped getting food and went straight to my usual table. Riley was there within a few minutes and she walked up and hugged me. I was surprised to see that she was not dressed in a wacky outfit like her usual casual style was. Instead she seemed as if she had gotten dressed in a hurry similar to what I had to do this morning.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," Riley said. "I don't remember anything but apparently our parents picked us up from the ship last night."

I nodded. "My parents said the same thing. I don't know what happened after I broke the orbs."

"All I remember is helping Chastity get to Amarol's office and then I stayed outside of the room until suddenly there was this earthquake thing. Then everything went white and I woke up in my bed."

Lance joined us a moment later also choosing to skip lunch. He opened his mouth to say something but I was more concerned in talking to Riley.

"So how do we know if it worked? How do we know what happened to Chase or Chastity or any of the others? Did we do anything?" I asked trying not to let the real concern show in my voice.

"Hey guys-"

"I don't know," Riley went on. "It's not like we can send a letter asking how everything is going. This wasn't very well planned out on their part. What are we supposed to do now? Go back to our lives? It's so boring compared to what we've been through."

"Guys-"

I nodded. "I thought the same thing in class. I'm glad you're okay though."

"GUYS!"

Riley and I looked over at Lance startled that by his tone of voice.

"Don't yell at us," I said somewhat jokingly.

Lance rolled his eyes at me. "You two need to follow me. You're going to want to see this."

Riley and I exchanged a glance before we followed after my brother. He lead us out of the cafeteria and out into our courtyard. There were a few tables set up where various people we're eating their lunches.

"What's outside?" I wondered as my brother slowed his pace. He almost seemed to creep around the tables looking for a specific one. Finally when he spotted whatever he was looking for, he swooped behind a trashcan and pulled us down with him.

"What are we doing?" I whispered. People around us were starting to point and laugh and though I had been made fun of before, I didn't really enjoy it now.

"Look over there," Lance said moving out of the way to give Riley and me some space. We crept around the circular trash bin wondering what the big deal was.

I spotted it right away. There, sitting at one of the tables alone, was a boy eating whatever awful stuff the school was serving that day. He was also reading a book and on an ordinary day, he wouldn't have appeared out of the ordinary. He has black tousled hair that sometime covered his eyes and he had to push it away. He took a sip of his milk from the milk carton and set it back down. He was just a regular kid and yet…

"Is that…" Riley drifted off seeming unsure herself.

I walked out from the trashcan and looked over at the boy. "It can't be."

Lance appeared next to me with a smug expression. "Yep it is. He just transferred in today. He's in my English class. His name is-"

"Chase," I muttered for him.

"Yeah but Mel-"

I didn't let Lance finish his sentence. I ran off to go and see him. Was it really him? Why didn't Lance mention it sooner?

I approached his table slightly out of breath and probably looking like a crazy girl. Chase looked up at me and had to do a double take. He seemed surprised that I was standing before him. I was so glad to see him. It was actually him, here, in my world. He looked just the same only with modern clothes on.

"Hi," I greeted a little breathlessly. I took a seat across from him and watched with fascination. What was he going to do? Kiss me was the answer I was hoping for. That didn't happen though.

"Hello."

I frowned a bit at him. "You're Chase?"

He nodded. "Yes and you are?"

My heart instantly broke at that moment. He didn't remember me. "You don't know?"

"Am I supposed to?"

My lower lip quivered slightly just as Lance and Riley came over to pull me away. Chase watched us curiously but then shrugged and went back to his lunch.

"He doesn't remember me," I told them trying my best not to cry. "But that's him right?"

Lance glanced back at Chase. He met my eyes before nodding. "I think so but I think his memory was wiped clean."

"That's rough," Riley commented.

I thought back to when my memory had been monetarily lost. All I needed to gain it back was a trigger.

"I'll be right back," I mumbled leaving them to approach Chase once again. He had thrown away the trash from his lunch and was just reading some book on his lap. He smiled at me as I sat down next to him but scooted away from me a moment later.

"I do not think it wise to get to close," he said under his breath.

I ignored his words as I grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward me to crush my lips to his. He began to pull away immediately, then he melting into my embrace. After a moment of a mini-make out session, I broke apart and gave him a big smile.

His eyes opened slowly then he seemed to slowly process what had just happened.

"You are different," he said slowly.

I let go of his shirt and move away slightly as I frowned. Well that plan didn't really work out as I had planned.

"Yes," I agreed. "I'm like you sort of."

Chase seemed interest in that as if he had never heard of such a concept.

"What happened in your world? Did good and evil balance out?" I had to ask.

Chase studied me for a moment then just sighed. "I do not know." My expression fell and Chase was quick to add, "Though something tells me that you would not be here otherwise."

I gave him a small smile as Lance and Riley joined me. Chase looked up at them and nodded toward them.

"This is my brother Lance and my friend Riley," I introduced quickly.

Chase looked over at me slightly confused. "I do believe that I still do not know who you are."

I held out my hand to properly introduce myself. "I'm Melody."

Chase stared at my hand before taking it hesitantly. When he saw that there was no danger to either of our lives, he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"That is a lovely name," he responded. "I look forward to furthering our friendship."

Lance and Riley laughed lightly and even I gave him a huge grin.

"I think we might become more than just that."

Wow, that was a crazy ride wasn't it? Through all the writers block, the hiatus, the editing, and now it's finally done. Of course, I'm not finished. I still have to go back and edit and add quite a bit of stuff I left out. I will do that eventually but for now, I've got bigger projects on my hands. Namely: NaNo (which starts TOMORROW, I'm happy to have this done before November).

I am so glad this is over. I didn't think I would ever get this far. Sigh...

So on that note: I am aware this is over and not up to my standard but for now, just be nice. Please no hate reviewers tearing apart my plot or whatever they heck you think is wrong with this story. If you have nothing nice to say then zip it. Just congradulate me on finishing and move on please.

If you have good and kind things to say then please do.

Quickly I will go over some questions that may arise from this:

Q: So did Melody set balance back in the world?
A: As Chase mysteriously told her: yes.

Q: What about Chastity and Amarol?
A: They are still in the magical world living out the remainder of their lives.

Q: What about good and evil? Who will conquer who next?
A: Like mentioned in an earlier chapter, destroying the orbs just momentarily throws power into balance. Neither side has the power. The orbs will reincarnate into something else and until that is found, no one is in control of the magic.

Q: Will there be a sequel?
A: God no. I don't want to suffer through another long hiatus and I doubt you all do to. I am now aware that this genre isn't really for me but I gave it my best shot.

Q: Will you edit this?
A: Eventually, when I have the time.

Q: Will there be a short story about Chastity and Amarol?
A: The idea was brought up and it's an interesting concept. Maybe one day but for now I've got other projects in mind. I hope you stickwith me.

Now to my reviewers (all ten of you that have been with me throughout the whole story). Your support means the world to me. This wouldn't be here without any of you. I just...I can't even thank you enough. You all are awesome! I thank you all as a whole but a special thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter.

Thank you to:
Lea Sparkle, White Alchemist, pbgurl (x3), Laurel Valentine

A special thanks to Fate Rose. Without her real life bugging to constantly update, this would probably still be on hiatus and on the road to never being finished.

Thank you all though! I couldn't have done it without every ounce of support you all constantly gave.

Moving on to bigger and better things now.

I hope you all enjoyed (and if you didn't, don't complain to me please).

~GermanSam

P.S. The final question to my readers: did everything really happen or was Mel and party just in a state of virtual reality?