3rd POV

Everything was dark. I couldn't see anything or hear anything or feel anything...

But then...

Everything turned white.

Yet with the new surroundings, I still couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. I couldn't even feel my own heartbeat. I just felt so dead inside. It reminds me of how my life felt after my mom died. I lost most of my emotions as the day went by. I was empty. I lost one of my parental figures, and I don't even know if my other parental figure will accept me.

Even if there were times I was doing the things that I love, deep down I was still depressed and hurt.

'Why did my life have to go through this route? There's so much pressure that I just want to let go of everything... I want my mom.'

All of a sudden, I felt a shift in gravity which caused my feet to leave my skateboard with my back now descending first towards the nothingness below me. I don't know what was going on. I couldn't tell if I was flying or falling. I didn't even know where I was.

'What's happening? Am I gonna die? Will I get to see Mom if I stay like this?'

My thoughts seemed to have faded away as my eyes started to close, almost as if I was accepting my fate. But before I did, something above me caught my eye. Not only was I descending, but my skateboard was descending with me. I watched as it slowly turned so that the bottom part of the board was now facing me. I didn't think that much of it since the only thing I could see was the wheels, the board itself, a sticker of a phoenix--

...A sticker of a phoenix?

Looking back at my board, I could see what appeared to be a sticker of a phoenix sticking on my skateboard. It took me a second to realize something.

'That sticker... I got it from Mom.'

My eyes widen a bit at that sudden realization. The design of it took me back to when she first gave it to me. The orange and yellow color of it is what really caught my attention. It all came back to me. My mom encouraged me to be the phoenix she knew I could be and am now. Not just as a skater, but also as a person. I knew that if I had that sticker with me always by my side, she would always be there with me. Some part of her will always be kept alive.





And as if by a miracle, I heard the sound of a familiar voice echo into my ear...

"Take this sticker. Whenever you see it, always think about me cheering you on. Keep following your dreams of being a skater and be sure to have fun while doing it. Keep that spark you have inside you and fly... just like the phoenix. Don't be afraid to show how bright your flames can burn."

That voice... it sounded like Mom. I remember her telling me that. I might not have known what she meant by that when she first told me, but now I do.

I slowly reached my hand out towards my skateboard as it descended closer to me. My fingers grip the board as my eyes never leave the Phoenix sticker that is plastered on the back of it.

"I skated..."

I brought my skateboard closer to me so that my feet were standing on top of it.

"... to have fun!"

And right as I said that it was as if I regained a new vision around me. I wasn't surrounded by a white void anymore. Now, I was free falling down the side of a cliff, which surprised me at first. But I don't focus on that. I point the nose of my board down so that the wheels make contact with the cliffside. Now here I was skating down a cliff for the first time!

"Whoa!" I yell in astonishment by not just the cool trick I pulled, but by how brave I am at the moment. Any other little kid would have freaked out if they were in my shoes. I giggle at the thought as I bend my knees and lean forward to go down faster.

It felt like I was living in a dream, but I knew all of this was real. I'm starting to get closer to my ultimate goal now.

In the corner of my eye, I see a light shining from beside me. Looking to my left, my eyes catch something that I was not expecting to see. Skating down the cliff with their own skateboard beside me was...

"Mom?"

It did in fact look like my mother, except she had a bright aura surrounding her body. She looks exactly like how she did when I last saw her. Very pretty. The ghost of my mother turned to look directly at me and she had a warm smile on her face. "Are you having fun, sweetheart?" she asks me.

I missed hearing her voice speak to me and that causes me to smile back at her as I nod my head. "Yes, Mom. I sure am."

Her smile brightens and that was the last thing I see before she disappears. Now it was just me skating down the cliff. My smile turned into a confident and determined one as I made it to the bottom. Using my gloved hand to help with the landing and to get myself back on track, I continue to skate forward at full speed.

"I'll make her proud."

Now all I have to do is find Adam! I found my purpose in skating, so maybe I could help him find his true purpose in skating.

3rd POV

Back in the crowd, the group of friends were relieved to see (Y/n) making it back safely onto the course. Especially Cherry. He was practically having a freak-out moment when he saw the girl fall over the cliff. He had to use every will he had to stop himself from looking away.

Nonetheless, he was proud to see his daughter make it out okay. "That's my girl," he mumbles to himself as he can't help but express a small smile that crept its way onto the AI skater's face.

Joe had a proud look on his face as well as he watched the child skate as if she was having the time of her life. "That kid is somethin' else!" he says out loud as he then looks over at Cherry. "Now I see where she gets her skating skills from."

And for once, Cherry agreed with the green-haired skater. He could see how she pulled off every trick with ease, just like someone he knew and loved. It's like watching a smaller replica of (M/n) skating in the night with high hopes. "She skates like her mother."

~~~~~~~~~~

In the darkness of the zone, the Matador of Love now skates alone. He didn't notice that until he turned around and saw that (Y/n) was no longer there.

"My birdie?" he questions as he looks in every direction of the dark void, trying to find any sign of where the (h/c)-haired girl is. "Where are you? Where'd you go?" He started to become frustrated as he turned to look forward as he skated. "Are you gonna run away from me, too?! (Y/n)!" he yells out into the abyss. The only response he got back was his own voice echoing through the void.

In that moment of silence, that was when he realized...

"It was all a lie." He fixes his posture so that he is now standing straight while on his skateboard the whole time and his speech turns back into the Japanese language he knows. "Eve never existed in the first place. Just emptiness." With that said, he places his hands over his face as he starts to mourn in his sorrows.

"I have no one on my side. No one."

Out of nowhere, a small hand grasps one of Adam's so that he can snap out of his negative thoughts. Looking to the side, he saw that the hand belonged to none other than (Y/n). She appeared beside him and had a look of determination plastered on her face. "I don't know what you said, but stop thinking negatively!"

At that moment, the dark void around them disappeared and now they were back on the course of the abandoned mine. Adam grew irritated that he was snapped out of the zone and back to reality as he pulled his hand out of the child's grasp.

"Stop! How dare you drag me back into an insignificant world!" Adam yells, now switching his language back to English for (Y/n) to understand his words better.

(Y/n) ignores his accusation and responds in a calmer state than the pro skater. "I wanna help you, Adam. I can show you how fun skating really is," she offers to the Matador of Love, but the said skater doesn't react positively like how the child hoped he would. Instead, he was confused by her words. "Help me?" he questions out loud.

The girl takes in a deep breath before speaking again. "I've learned that skating can build bonds between people that would be hard to break over time. It's always best to have friends by your side so that you won't have to enjoy skating alone."

As expected, Adam doesn't consider her statements and just brushes them off. "Please. Friends only exist to teach you about betrayal. You want to believe in your idea of what a relationship should be. Because you are an ignorant child!"

(Y/n) tries not to let his words get to her as she retorts back yelling, "You're an ignorant child, too!" Adam was caught off guard by her tone of voice as he listened to her speak. "Whatever that means... Anyway, you want a friend to skate with. I know you do."

"I have long since rid myself of insignificant dreams!" Adam then says, now having a back-and-forth argument with a nine-year-old child as the two of them skate down the track.

"Then why did you always want me to skate by your side as your 'equal'? It must be because you want something out of this."

"Shut up."

"You want someone you can depend on because you're tired of being alone."

"You're not enlightened to even know what you're saying!"

"You know, Adam, you're using big words in each sentence you say and expect me to know what they mean in an argument. I am still a child!" (Y/n) remarks as she crosses her arms over her chest.

The said male scoffs as he turns back around and skates over to the cliffside, but then he grabs onto a rope that so happens to be hanging above and uses it to swing over the cliff's edge. "Nobody knows what I want or how I feel! No one ever will!"

The (h/c)-haired girl watches with a blank stare as Adam swings in midair and shakes her head in disapproval. "Wow. He's throwing a tantrum while trying to run away from his problems. Sounds pretty childish to me," she mumbles to herself as she picks up the pace on her skateboard to try and catch up to the Matador of Love. But what she saw next caused her to tense up.

Adam came back swinging on the rope, but now he was heading straight towards her at a high rate of speed with his skateboard in hand, ready to use it as a weapon. He was going way faster than the other time he tried to hit her with his skateboard and didn't think that she'd have time to move out of the way in time. There was only one thing she could do.

With a groan, (Y/n) bends her knees to get ready to unleash a move she's never tried before. She felt like it was time to give Adam a taste of his own medicine."I'm gonna regret doing this, but I feel 'enlightened' to do it... whatever that means."

The pro skater yells as he swings his skateboard and brings it down towards (Y/n) with as much force as he can contain. But what surprised him was that she wasn't slowing down or planning on dodging. She's still going forward... towards him. She ducks down and aims right before launching herself off of her skateboard with her arms extended out to Adam.

"Love hug!" After those words leave her mouth, she finds herself barely missing the hit and has her arms now wrapped around Adam's waist. That much force from her leap causes both of them to fall and tumble down together. The only time (Y/n) did let go of him was when her back made contact with the rocky ground.

She hisses in pain from the scrape as she, along with Adam, now lay almost lifeless on the ground with neither one of them moving. As (Y/n) lies there, regret consumes her thoughts, with one specific thought ringing in her head.

'Keep in mind... don't ever do or say that again.'

~~~~~~~~~~

The crowd was so shocked to see the results of the impact. They were whispering amongst each other as they grew worried.

Cherry gasps at the sight of (Y/n) on the ground. He couldn't just stand there and watch everything. He felt a need to help his daughter. But before he can run off along with Miya, who also wants to help, Joe stops him as Reki tells the cat boy to stay put.

"Wait," Joe tells Cherry, to which the pink-haired male responds by glaring back at his childhood friend.

"Don't try and stop me, you dimwit! I have to help her!" he yells.

"She's getting up," the voice of Langa then catches both of the adult's attention as they look at the snowboarder with Reki standing beside him. "Look."

They all looked at the projector and saw that (Y/n) was slightly moving. Her body was trembling as she tried her best to get back up. Cherry let out a sigh of relief, but he was still worried about her condition. That fall looked like it hurt pretty badly.

But what also caught the group's attention was that Adam was also struggling to get up. It was like a race to see who would get up first and dash off on their skateboard to the finish line.

"Come on," Joe says to himself in an encouraging tone.

"Stand up!" Shadow and Miya say in unison as they become eager to see their friend on her feet.

"Stand up and teach that idiot a lesson!" Cherry then says, sounding like a parent who is encouraging her child to win this match.

"(Y/n)," Reki says in worry with his facial expression matching the one that Langa shares.

On the other side of the group, Snake has his own worries for his master. He couldn't bear to see him like this. "Mr. Ainosuke."

~~~~~~~~~~

Adam's fist slammed onto the ground as he was getting up. He was so irritated and annoyed by his fall that he couldn't help but express his anger. "This is not defeat! That is unacceptable in this house!" he yells in Japanese.

Right as he was on his knees, he noticed a presence standing in front of him. Upon looking up, he sees (Y/n) standing there with his skateboard in her grasp. And what surprised him the most was that she was holding it out to him as if she was offering a gift to him. Despite the amount of pain she was in, she was brushing it off as if it was nothing.

"Come on. Let's finish this race," she tells him.

But what also caught Adam's attention was the girl's smile. It was bright like a flame being lit on a torch, which is something the man has never seen in a while. The last time he'd ever seen a smile like that was when... Tadashi first offered to teach him how to skate years ago. As he is in a daze, his bone-like mask slips off his face and falls on the ground, revealing his bright red eyes that shimmer under the moonlight.

Something about this child makes her special in his eyes. She really is like an eternal flame that lights others on the right path, a path that Adam was too blind to even see with his own eyes. Without saying another word, he takes his skateboard from the girl. It was (Y/n)'s turn to get her skateboard.

Now the two of them can skate at their own pace.

~~~~~~~~~~

The crowd goes crazy as they cheer on for the two skaters. The group watches with proud smiles on their faces. It's like seeing a whole different race from the deadly one they were just watching a few seconds ago.

"Those are some clutch moves. I'm impressed," Shadow says.

"They're way too reckless. But..." Miya starts to say in amazement, but he can't find the words to finish his statement. He was astonished at the youngest member of the group pulling this off.

"I know, but it looks like so much fun!" Reki says as Langa nods, agreeing with his friend's words.

(Y/n) and Adam were starting to get closer to the finish line and that didn't go unnoticed by Joe. He turns to Cherry, who has his eyes laser-focused on the race. With a smile, he nudged the AI skater to get his attention as he spoke. "Go. See your daughter at the finish line."

Cherry was so caught off guard by Joe's words that he looked at him with wide eyes. He was hesitant to do that because he believes that (Y/n) is still holding a grudge after what he did. "But, what if--"

"No 'buts' or 'what ifs.' Go. Be the father she wished she had."

Flabbergasted by what Joe just said, Cherry nods his head before making a run for it toward the finish line, hoping that he can make it in time. His heart is pumping as his adrenaline increases by the second. He wanted to make it up to (Y/n) for everything that he's done, but he also wanted to make up for the years he was never there for her.

~~~~~~~~~~

The two skaters were getting closer to the finish line. They only needed a few more seconds before they reached it. The people watching on the sidelines continued to cheer as (Y/n) and Adam was now going neck-and-neck with each other. They were both going fast, but it was hard to tell who would win.

The cross that stood at the finish line could be seen in the distance as (Y/n) looked ahead of her. 'There's the finish line! Will I make it, though?' With that thought in mind, she looked to her right and saw Adam trying to pick up speed, but she noticed that he looked less tense. He actually looked like he was enjoying this race and was having fun with it.

A small smile finds its way on her face. 'I hope that I at least changed his view on skating.'

Looking back at the finish line, she leans forward with her knees bent to go even faster, but Adam was matching her exact movements. They were now within a few feet away from the win. The crowd around started to get hyped up as they watched, yelling things like:

"Here they come!"

"It's Phoenix!"

"No, wait, it's Adam!"

"I can't tell!"

And before they knew it, the two had crossed the finish line. It was close, but they had a winner. It was...











Phoenix!!!!

(Y/n) has done the impossible and won a race against the most famous skaters in "S." The girl was about to slow down her speed, but a voice in the crowd caught her attention.

"(Y/n)!"

Looking up, (Y/n) saw who called out her name and was surprised to see Cherry emerging from the crowd. "Cherry?" she questions out loud. But because of how fast she was going and was not paying attention, one of the wheels on her skateboard went over a small crack, which caused her to stumble.

She was about to go face-first on the pavement but was instead met with a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her, catching her fall. She looks up and her (e/c) eyes meet the sight of familiar gold-colored eyes looking back at hers. Cherry had successfully caught her before she could hit the ground and was holding her close as he was on his knees. The AI skater lets out a sigh of relief.

"(Y/n)," he says before taking a pause and continuing to speak to the child. "You did it."

The said girl snaps out of her thoughts when Cherry's words catch her attention. She was at first confused by what he meant. "Huh? Did what? Wait, did I win?!" she asks, waiting to hear the male's response. Cherry smiles warmly at her as he nods his head. "Yes, my child. You did win."

(Y/n)'s eyes widen after hearing Cherry call her his child. She had almost forgotten that she had Langa reveal the truth about her to Cherry and grew a bit anxious. She fumbled over her own words before finding the right words to make a sentence. "S-so... you know?" she then asks while looking down.

As if he knew what she was referring to, Cherry nodded his head again with his arms still wrapped around the girl. "Yes. Langa showed me the photo... I am your father." He seemed to have noticed how tense (Y/n) became and wanted to reassure her about his opinion on the situation. "If you're worried that I won't accept you after finding out the truth, then don't think that. That is not my intention."

(Y/n) looks back up at Cherry as she listens to him. He still had a smile on his face, but it seemed to have dropped a bit as another thought came to his mind.

"But, I know how hard this is for you to find out as well. After what almost happened to you, I wouldn't be surprised if you still hate me. I would feel the same way if I was in your situation. I was just so caught up in the act of finding out who you were that I never realized that I was putting you in danger..." He sets the child down so that she is sitting on the ground. After he was done speaking, he bowed his head down in an apologetic manner as his eyes closed, feeling ashamed to even look at (Y/n). "...I'm sorry."

(Y/n) didn't know what to say. It was as if she was at a loss for words.

"I want to make it up to you. I promise I'll be a better father to you," Cherry promises. It was only a matter if (Y/n) accepted his apology or not. She couldn't stay mad at him forever. He is her father, after all, which means that he is the only family member she has.

The child stands up on her feet, which caught Cherry's attention. He sees that she is now standing in front of him as he is still on his knees. There was a lot that she wanted to tell him, but she didn't where to start or how to express it all. So instead, she says, "Everyone deserves a second chance, and I want to give you that chance. I'm just afraid of getting hurt like that again."

A sudden rush of relief washes over the pink-haired skater as he stands up and grabs onto both of (Y/n)'s hands and holds them in his. "I won't ever hurt you like that ever again. I promise. I want what's best for my child from here on out," he tells her, as a smile then appears plastered on his face at the thought of the accomplishments (Y/n) has already made. "You've already made me proud so far. And now I can say that my own daughter has become the next best skater in all of 'S!'"

(Y/n) couldn't hold back her smile. She finally realizes that she achieved two of her goals: finding her father and beating Adam in a most intense race. Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice calling out to her from a far distance.

"(Y/n)!" yelled Miya as he and the rest of the group had finally made it to the finish line. The cat boy was the first one to reach the girl since he practically ran up to her and almost tackled her in a tight hug, which caught her off guard for a split second before she recovered a bit as soon as Miya spoke up again. "You did it! You actually won!" he says triumphantly, even if he said it in Japanese. Nonetheless, (Y/n) knew he was congratulating her and hugged him back as her smile returned to her face.

That was when the others joined the three at the finish line with smiles on their faces.

"You've got spunk, kid!" Shadow says while in his wheelchair.

"Yeah. Talk about an epic finale," Joe then says as he walks up to (Y/n) just as Miya lets go of her. He takes off her hood from her head and ruffles her (h/c) hair. "You've got a gift, so don't ever sell yourself short."

(Y/n) smiles up at him and nods her head in response, but then her eyes land on the redhead of the group. He was standing there looking as if he was fumbling over his words. Langa nudged him from behind and gestured for Reki to step forward and say something to the girl. Taking in a deep breath, he walks up to (Y/n) with his head down and his red bangs covering his eyes and headband. There was an awkward silence before words left Reki's mouth...



"I-I'm sorry, (Y/n)."

The nine-year-old's eyes widen after hearing him say that in English. Reki then looked nervous as he turned to look at Langa for help. "D-did I say it right?" he asks, to which Langa nods his head in response. Reki was about to look back at the child, but chills traveled up his spine when he felt small arms wrap around his waist. He looks down and sees (Y/n) hugging him with her face buried in his sweatshirt.

From there, he could hear her mumble a sentence in Japanese. "It's... okay," (Y/n) says, making sure to get it right. She may still be mad at him for saying those mean things to her that rainy night, but like Cherry, she wants to give him a second chance. She didn't want to lose the people she looked up to. They were her friends.

Reki was surprised, but his shocked face was replaced with a smile as he hugged her back, lifting her up off of the ground in his arms as he laughed in glee. "You were amazing out there!" he tells her. Langa then walks up to the two with a soft smile and pats (Y/n)'s head. "I knew you could do it, (Y/n). You were like the Phoenix I always believed you were," he tells her.

Shadow was the next person to speak as he couldn't contain his excitement any longer. "Tonight I'm gonna drink until I puke!" he exclaims in utter excitement.

(Y/n) couldn't catch a break from all the love her friends were giving her because as soon as she was put down, she was once again embraced in another hug. But this time, it was a group hug. Miya was hugging her from the front, Reki and Langa were hugging her from the side, Joe was hugging from behind, and Cherry and Shadow were standing there beside the group, one of them obviously being more excited than the other.

"Uh, guys... I-I could barely... breathe," (Y/n) wheezes out, but her words go on deaf ears.

She couldn't deny it, though. She missed how things were back then with her friends. How they would meet up to practice skating and get better at their tricks. And also how everyone was stressing over the tournament. But all of that will change now that (Y/n) has already beaten the toughest and most skilled skater in "S" and won the tournament herself.

Speaking of that skater, (Y/n) looks around as her friends don't let go of the hug. She noticed that Adam wasn't around and it made her wonder where he went. 'Huh, I wonder where he went,' she thinks to herself. But she didn't pay that much attention to him as she focused back on the present time.

Cherry watches from the side with a small smile. It was funny how in the beginning, he once saw (Y/n) as a random child who happened to stumble upon "S" because of her talent for skateboarding. But now, he sees her as someone he never thought he lost and was then found. He knew he was going to make up for all the time that was wasted without her, and he knew exactly how he was going to start doing that...



A/n: The final episode of the series is done! I can't believe it took me this long. But this isn't the ending yet. I still have one more chapter left before I can confirm that this story is complete. I hope I can get it done before the year finishes. My family and I will be celebrating my sister's and my birthday on December 29th, so I might not be able to write anything on that day. However, I will try to get a lot of writing done on the other days. I also hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to see you on the next and final one.