Amber x Lou : Let it Burn

Showdown : Part Four (Not Now, Not Ever)

Amber POV
"Yes," Dusk whispered. "No time to explain."

He scrunched his brow and eyed the door in the cave, saying, "Someone restrain Trix. My bonds won't last long."

"Why should we trust you?" I demanded. "You've proved yourself to be dangerous!"

Dusk lowered his eyes, which had clouded with guilt. But Janet promised, "You can trust him, guys. Dusk has changed."

With that, Dusk seemed to gain confidence as he added, "I'll bring you the resolution you've been searching for. I'll make sure they never win—not now, not ever."

We had no choice but to trust him...but we definitely had to keep our guard up. Larry tightened thick cuffs around Trix's limbs, tapering him a few times before ordering Lawrie to safeguard him, as did Jessie to Scrappy.

Dusk conjured a giant sphere of black, letting it slam into the door and burst it open. The door shattered into smithereens, the pieces crunching under our feet as we leaped in. From the far corner, Gisela and Anna growled, "Dusk, what are you doing?"

Dusk shouted back, "You know that resolution I've been searching for? This is it."

"You're gonna regret that," Anna warned.

"Try me," Dusk snarled, darkening the room and then making it flare so bright, we felt a little dizzy. "Quick!" he gestured for us to free the others, who had been tied up in the far corner. He unleashed a barrage of shadowy shots at them as we raced over, quickly freeing them. I burned Fang and Lou's bonds, while Luca shoved his mental energy into R-T and Maruca's bonds and broke them apart.

"Thanks," Fang said. "Now, I'm gonna make those fools pay!"

"Lou!" I gasped as I pulled him into a tight hug. He seemed a little tense and shocked at first, but melted into the hug as he whispered, "Thanks, Amber. I knew I could count on you."

Gisela and Anna were trapped in the ground, glancing around nervously. Suddenly, Leon materialised behind them and whipped out two guns, encasing both in force fields. Maruca snapped her fingers, multiplying the layers of the cage until it looked like glass with Vaseline smeared all over it.

"It's over for you, villains!" I glared at the two Cryokinetics trapped in the cages. They glowered back, but said nothing.

Finally. I thought as we stepped into broad daylight, two prisoners in hand. The perfect resolution that we've been searching for, it's finally here. And I'm not going to let go of it. Not now, not ever.

One year later...
Things had changed drastically over the past year—Gisela and Anna were in custody, and Dusk had turned over a new leaf. Janet was right—his one had came as fast as she could, and now the two were happily together. Maruca and Luca had gotten together shortly after the events of our big battle, and the two were definitely more cheerful together. Fang had recently become a billionaire, entirely in control of the Brawlywood Empire, Janet had become extremely famous at the Stunt Show, which was expanding to perform shows all over the world. Jessie had become a world-famous engineer, Leon a renowned magician in the Brawlywood empire. Colette and Edgar had both become movie stars under Fang's control, and definitely a lot more refined. The dynamic duo had played the lead roles in Everytime, a hit movie that had made record-breaking profits, See The Future, a very interesting movie starring the two with Tara—as well as a few other famous films. Bibi was, too, yet another movie star just like Sandy, both of whom starred in that film that Fang had been planning. Lou's business had expanded into an ice-themed theme park in Starr Park, taking over Griff's failed shop and a giant area around it. As for me?

I had opened a restaurant with El Primo and Poco in Starr Park, where we performed live for diners. The diner was always buzzing with activity, full of excited customers. We had all changed a lot, becoming more prominent people in Brawltopia, Fang especially. But our lives were about to change once again that day.

"I wonder what this is about," I murmured to Bibi as we walked towards Mexicana Bistro, my restaurant. El Primo and Poco were already there, waiting for me to help.

"Yeah," Bibi agreed. "Interesting that they called us both over together."

"Hey!" Lou called as we entered the diner, which was completely empty save for Poco and El Primo.

"El Primo and Poco saved this whole diner for us," Sandy explained, pointing to my two smiling colleagues.

We had just settled down, toasting our success over a glass of champagne when suddenly, El Primo and Poco turned on a romance song. Sandy and Lou both moved to our sides, then got down on one knee and opened two ring boxes.

I sucked in a breath as I realised what was going to happen as Lou told me, "Amber, more than a year has passed since we met, and all of us have changed a lot. And ever since I met you, I've known instantly that you were a great person. All this time I've spent with you has only proved that was true—and more so. So, I have only one question to ask. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Bibi and I responded at the same time. I grabbed Lou and pulled him into the tightest embrace possibly, hoping it contained all my joy and love. Bibi had done the same, smiling at me. I turned back to Lou and whispered, "I'll never let go of this, Lou. Not now, not ever."
A/N
Woohoo! It's the end of this book already...it went quite fast, didn't it?

Well, the future for Amber and Lou is still unresolved, but it's up to you to think up their future! And I promise that I won't spring any more extra stories on you—this quartet, and its sequel, is officially 100% finished!

Big thanks to Seon Hyung-Jae (Lucas), my great co-writer for this book, for helping me with the plot! And for you, dear readers, I'll never stop being thankful to you! Not now, not ever! 😊