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His eyes watered with unshed tears. Karteley wasn't much better and was openly sobbing as the soft white light began to eclipse them. All of the Weaponians were being given the one thing that they had often dreamed of at the start. They were being returned to their own timeline. In spite of this, they each acknowledged that they no longer wanted that sort of thing. This place... these people... they were home.

Finally, the Mage let his gaze fall to the enchanted package that was grasped tight in his left hand. It was the protected by several spells to ensure that it would survive the trip in to the past, as the contents were from the future. The time-space continuum would've likely "deleted" them to preserve the nature of progression. Humanity didn't need to stray from the path that they were set on. Or so the Laws of Magic dictated.

Dragomir Fane Ionescu pushed aside the sadness... pushed aside the regret of leaving behind his closest friend... and let his greatest smile twist his features. As the magical essence finally swallowed them whole, the Mage was able to mouth several last words. "Look for my Biography." Karteley looked at him strangely and wondered if the stress of the situation had finally made her partner crack.

---

Karteley didn't ignore the request. After spending so much time with the man, she knew that he would've never led her astray. Her trip was short and soon enough, she was standing in the middle of the library and playing on one of the computers. As much as she loved the Court Mage, she was not going to dig through several thousand books to reach the one she was looking for. Computers were made for that sort of thing.

Her small fingers danced across the keyboard as she inserted the specific tags. Dragomir Fane Ionescu. Court Mage of Elondri. Master of Magic... self-proclaimed pimp. The green-haired woman sniffed in amusement at that last one. He was always so proud of his ability to charm the opposite sex. Her smile deepened as she recalled the times in which she herself had almost fallen prey to his sweet-talking.

"Rebira... I miss 'em."

Karteley was moving as soon as the search results popped up on the screen. There was only one in existence and it was near the back of the library. She was amazed by the sight of the parchment, wrapped in what she presumed was silver. Her grasp was soft yet tight on the book as she pulled it from the shelf. Imprinted on the front was: "The Autobiography of Dragomir Ionescu." And below that, in smaller print, was the man's date of birth and his date of death. December 1st, 1244 - August 14th, 1346.

In spite of herself, the youth failed to restrain her giggles. Trust her stubborn a** Weaponian to see past his one-hundredth birthday. Just to prove that he was capable of doing so, at that! Maybe he was trying to see if he was able to stay around long enough to see her birth? Impossible as it was, of course. The sheer amount of time inbetween that point in time and now was far too much. Even for someone as powerful in the Arcane Arts as him.

Still...

Karteley was oddly sobered by that thought. It was enough to remind her that no, Dragomir was not coming back. Dragomir was back in his own time. And that he was dead in this one. Tears came to her eyes unbidden as she tried to push aside her ever so depressing thoughts of the Mage. Her chest tightened uncomfortably until she finally succeeded in calming herself. Her breathing softened and she began to read.

What was inside was nothing short of amazing. The man had spoke of his adventures in the future and of the people that he'd met. Of the incredible young woman that he'd fallen in love with in the short time that they'd known each other. He put in direct quotes that he remembered and everything. The only events that remained absent and unmentioned were the private times in which they'd shared.

Dragomir respected her too much to put her business out in the open.

But as she opened to read the next page, she was caught by surprise. The page was completely blank except for one line. It was addressed to... her? Her eyes swept back over the name just above the words; Karteley Trinculo Pedrolino. "Crazy b*****d. Only he would risk screwing with the time-space continuum by mentioning my name before I was even born."

Then she read the message left to her. "I know your reading this, Kart. Thank you for trusting me. Now, I want you to look under one of the floorboards in your room. If I remember correctly, it'll end up being in the back left corner furthest from the door. I just know you'll enjoy what I left for you."

Karteley stared at the parchment. As though willing it to speak the truth. Tell her that indeed, her partner had left something for her right beneath her bedroom floor. The mere thought of such a thing was nearly impossible for her to rationalize. Nothing could survive for that long witho- oh right. He was more than skilled with Magic. It was only natural that he'd enchant the damned thing to stay in perfect condition or close enough at least.

After stashing the book under her shirt for safe keeping ( it was technically her property ), she left the establishment to return home. Her partner had left something for her and she was terribly curious to see what it was. Maybe it was the Millenium Staff? Or some kind of artifact that he'd uncovered? Or something that of hers that he'd taken by accident and wanted to return? It was still too early to really tell.

---

Dragomir smiled and leaned the shovel on his shoulder. He was covered in dirt and sunburn from digging in the dirt for so long under the bright yellow sun that hung in the sky above the city of Ation. Pushing aside some of the stray hair that had fallen in front of his face, absently nothing that he'd need to cut his hair soon, the man looked at the package sitting near the hole in the ground. It was the same one that he was holding before the Weaponians were dragged back in time.

"I just know this'll reach you."

He gently laid the package in the hole and filled it back up. By the time he was done, it was as though he was never there in the first place. Alas, there was one final thing for him to do before he returned to Elondri and started working on his autobiography. He laid his hand on the buried item and channeled his energy into the freshly upturned soil. Briefly, his personalized seal appeared before flickering out of existence.

It was done.

Dragomir stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked toward the horizon and sighed faintly, knowing that the walk home was going to kill him. Figuratively, of course. There was on way in Rebria that he was going to die just from walking from Prycrest to Elondri. He was magically-inclined, not handicapped. His eyes turned back to where he buried the package for a second. And then he was off.

---

Karteley pulled off the floorboard and stared blankly at the soil underneath. The spot was empty. Was the gift already taken by another? It was possible, considering the large amount of time that had passed since then. But that just wasn't possible. Her partner would've prepared for such a- ... her train of thought was cut off as the ground beneath started to glow. Dragomir's personalized seal appeared for a second and flickered out of existence.

The earth rumbled and rippled like water as something removed itself from the ground. Her eyes danced in understanding as she realized that it was the package from when he'd left. It was also the one that he'd refused to show her the contents of, regardless of how much she had begged and pleaded. Now her curiosity was getting the better of her. "Smartass. Makin' me wait several thousand years to see what was inside."

Technically.

Her hands shook as she opened the package and she nearly dropped the container when she realized what was inside. It was pictures of her and Dragomir; together. From the first day that they started training to just before the final battle with the Emperor. And near the bottom of the stack was the most heart-wrenching picture of all. It was the one taken by Damien on the Mage's birthday.

Dragomir was sitting on the right, smiling his usual smile, with his right arm drapped across her shoulders. She was sitting on the left, as one could've assumed, with her arms wrapped around his middle and her head leaning on his shoulder. It was clear to everyone that she was smiling, judging by the soft upturning of the lips. They both looked so happy in that picture.

Hold on.

Karteley noticed the difference almost immediately. There was some kind of writing on the back of the picture... she never remembered that being there. Idly, the green-haired woman flipped over the picture and her eyes began to water with unshed tears at what she saw. Three, not-so-simple words. Three, gut-wrenching words that threatened to split her heart in half.

"I love you..."

And in the solitude of her bedroom, Karteley sobbed. All that time. Time in which they could've spent together as more than friends. Stupid, stupid Dragomir. Karteley fervently wiped away her tears and whispered the words that he'd never hear. The words that he so longed for before he left this world for the next.

"I love you, too..."