Dragonfire: Celestia

Epilogue - Part Three

Chichi-Chichi was looking out the window solemnly. The past week had been rather rough. It felt like everything had changed, yet everything had gone back to normal. "I guess there's always a time where it feels like everything...and nothing really happens at all." He thought to himself. Then...a voice called out to him. "Since you're obviously paying attention, Chika, why don't YOU explain the elephantine concept to us?" They asked. He was in class...he was in class! He wasn't paying attention at all! He stood up, trying to think of anything to say! He reflected back on the past week, and composed himself. "In this world, there's always something bigger at hand. We often take our problems as our biggest concern. Be it how we're going to get somewhere, what we're going to eat, when we're going to sleep, all the way to how we're going to accomplish our dreams. But we don't really take into account the bigger things at hand. The truth is there's always something bigger than us going around. And even if we don't realize it, that bigger something can really influence our lives. Sometimes for the better...and sometimes for the worse. That's the elephantine concept." He said. The Teacher raised an eyebrow, and the class burst into laughter!

"Actually, Chika, the elephantine concept refers to how elephants have demonstrated human-like characteristics." The Teacher said, "Wh-...but...what does that mean then?!" Chichi-Chichi asked, pointing at the writing on the blackboard. He was pointing to the area that said "the rest of your life." The Teacher looked at it, and walked over to the blackboard. Using his forearm, he wiped the writing off. Chichi-Chichi shrugged, and sat back down. Later, after classes were out, Chichi-Chichi began walking down the halls. He stopped by a board with newspapers pinned to it. He glanced over it, his eyes landing on one paper in particular. It was one of Kaede's papers. At long last, the corruption was exposed. Everyone knew she was right all along. He continued glancing over the board, his eyes landing on one headline specifically. "The monopoly crumbles! Vega forced to sell seventy-five percent of their businesses!" When the Vega Facility exploded, it caused a lot of damage to the surrounding area, not to mention the massive amount of wasted supplies. In order to pay for the damages, Vega was forced into selling their businesses away.

It seemed Julia's beloved monopoly wouldn't quite consume Celestia just yet. However, life in Celestia was still far from good for most people. Many people struggled like Kei and Ina's family...but there was still hope. Whoever the next Acting Grandmaster would be...they had to do better. He continued scanning the articles, until his eyes were glued to another. He reached out, grabbing it off the board. The headline wasn't particularly shocking, though it aroused some thought. "Dragonblight researchers looking for help today!" Dragonblight was a disease that only affected pure blooded Celestials. The article talked about job opportunities for students in the medical field. The disease was well known for being "unpreventable." No matter what, all pure blooded Celestials would get it eventually. It was a strange disease that slowly killed its host. Curiously enough, there was seemingly no cure. His thoughts drifted back to Kaede. Cyril said she had a disease...and she was a pure blood. Did she have Dragonblight prior to her death? She may have already had it, even despite her age. Suddenly, a voice rang out behind him! "Those papers aren't for taking, Chika! Put it back!" They exclaimed! It was his Teacher! He put the paper back swiftly, and walked off.

In the evening, he and the others gathered within a large festival on the edge of the city. The festival was a well known event in Celestia. It was known as "The Festival of Fire," and was commonly attended by almost everyone in Celestia. Though not everyone attended for the festival itself, as the dragon show was the main event. The festival itself was not lacking, however. It was filled with small events and booths, leaving a lot to look at or purchase. There were also games set up in which one could win prizes. At one of these game booths in particular, Albedo and Kei were together. Albedo had awkwardly asked Kei to go to the festival with her. Kei agreed, though it did not feel like the romantic experience Albedo was hoping for. Kei was just awkwardly leading Albedo around. Albedo had hoped Kei would be able to take the lead, but neither of them were good at romance. And so...they continued to stumble over each other, attempting to understand what they really meant to one another. Albedo's eyes were glued to a stuffed dragon. Kei was playing the game in an attempt to win it for her...and what a game it was. It was a shooting game. Kei was given a toy bow and arrow. Her objective was to shoot targets as they rose as fell, though it was, naturally, rigged. It was nearly impossible to hit the targets!