Author's Note: It is finally here. After such a long and great time, Which Stan is Which? is coming to its end… And to anonymous reviewer StanxPashmina fan, stop thinking sad things. You're so pessimistic. Can't you look at the bright side for once? And also, I didn't say that Stan was going to become a human for good!

Shadow: …Even I agree with Kuro-chan this time.

Disclaimer: Read previous chapters.

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Chapter 10 – Fuyu no Ai

Sighing contentedly, the hamster figure of Torahamu Stanley rested his head on his paws and lied down on the soft tempting grass of his sanctuary, Acorn Mountain. The sunset was so beautiful. The light dawned upon the ice floors of the city below, and the ice reflected the light, giving him a sense of belonging and peace. For finally, finally…

Fushigini had been defeated.

Stan still remembered Fushigini's dying words as he froze the dark sorcerer in his place. It had been really necessary for him to use the ultimate incantation of the ice sorcery in order to gain enough power to defeat Fushigini and return everything to normal. True to the rumors, Stan's ice power multiplied by infinite times. Heck, he even had to warn the others to rush to the bottom of the mountains before he could even unleash his magic. It had been hard to convince them to get away as soon as possible, but they did. And muttering the holy words, Stan had been able to win against Fushigini.

"Damn you, Stan…" Fushigini cursed, his breaths getting shorter and shorter. He was stumbling backwards quite dramatically. "You managed…to get the…incantation…for ice…Damn you…"

"You dug your own grave when you brought me to the shrine," Stan admitted icily, his voice so cold it sent shivers and chills down even Fushigini's spine. "It wasn't so hard to figure out my own element's incantation."

With that, Fushigini smiled weakly. "Remember this, Stan…We were friends before…And we will always stay as friends…" And Fushigini had fallen off the cliff to his very own death before his body and blood turned into ice. Then he shattered into uncountable pieces.

Stan narrowed his eyes. "I don't think we were even friends in the first place."

"Stan?" Said ice master sat up and turned around. To his surprise, Pashmina was there, her scarf replaced by a huge cast, most probably from the pressure of Fushigini's grip on her throat. It had damaged a few of her muscles, it seemed, so she had to wear the cast.

"Pashmina?" Stan blinked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting up in the hospital?"

Pashmina smiled warmly and shook her head, despite the fact that her neck really hurt when she did. "No, the doctor said that I can be discharged."

Stan's voice began to show worry, "How long would you have to wear the cast for?"

"Till Christmas."

"…" Stan looked away and sighed, "Oh."

Pashmina then proceeded to take a seat next to her now boyfriend and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Ne, Stan-kun, Rosalyn and her friends are all going to return to their homeland soon…Do you want to say goodbye to them? Or the other Stan?"

Stan was at a loss for words at first, but when he heard about the other Stan leaving as well, he managed to mutter out, "I suppose so."

"That's good, because the other Stan would like to thank you for teaching him the fire spells."

Stan arched an eyebrow. Stanley, the Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV, the one and only Evil King, was so damn willing to thank someone? Not saying this aloud, Stan replied, "I see. When are they leaving?"

"They're leaving next week. Until then, we have a lot of quality time with our new friends!" Pashmina replied excitedly, imagining herself going out shopping and playing at Fun Land with a human girl. It was going to be so interesting and fun!

Stan smiled, sensing Pashmina's enthusiasm. Indeed, it was going to be fun.

Especially when Christmas arrives…

- - - - -

"Do you really have to leave?" Hamtaro asked sadly, his ears drooping to his side.

"Yes, we're sorry we have to leave so soon, Hamtaro," Rosalyn replied, patting Hamtaro on the head. Stanley purposely cleared his throat and Rosalyn stopped what she was doing, giving her Stanley a glare.

"That's so sad… Will you come visit us again?" Sandy asked out of curiosity, hoping that Linda and Rosalyn could visit her and the girls. They could hang out together again and have fun together. Sandy also wanted Linda to teach her how to sing, and also wanted Rosalyn to teach her how to fight. She totally loved the idea.

"Maybe. Linda really hopes so!" Linda exclaimed, hopping around happily.

"Come on, we have to go now. I have to go get my house fixed," Ari stated, though he was rather sad to leave Tokyo as well. But they had to return to Tenel anyway. It was inevitable.

"Aha! See? Even slave Ari agrees with me!" Stanley shouted proudly, earning a few sweat drops from the Ham-Hams. "Though… I wanted to see that other Stan before we leave."

Rosalyn smirked. "Ohh?" She leaned in closer to him, causing him to blush. They were so…close. Their noses nearly touched. "You wanna thank him, don't you?"

"N-no, I do not!" Stan retorted, his blush deepening.

"Yes you do! It's for the incantations, isn't it? Awww…." Rosalyn cooed, giving Stan a hug. "You're such a grateful person…" And then she let go of him and smacked him. "…But not to me!"

"Oww! That was on purpose, you fat-legged freak!"

"Break it up, you two," Ari tried calming his friends down by standing in between the new couple. "Anyway, Mom's beckoning for us to leave straight away. You can always come back here and thank the other Stan later, Stan."

Stan's golden eyes flashed with anger. "It's Master Stan, slave! And I.Do.Not.Want.To.Thank.Him!!!"

Rolling her cerulean eyes, Rosalyn mumbled, "Yeah right…" She then turned to face the Ham-Hams and waved her parasol. "Well, we have to go now! Hope to see you again soon!"

And…disappearing into the horizon, the Okage gang teleported themselves back to Tenel, leaving a few depressed Ham-Hams mulling over their new friends in the clubhouse. Pashmina glanced around. Where was Stan anyway? He said he'd be here…but he broke that promise in the end!

Pouting a little, Pashmina decided to have a little talk with Stan.

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Pashmina was pissed.

She was rarely pissed.

But now she was.

Over who?

Stan, of course.

After all, he had said that he would say his farewells to their newfound friends who aided them in the battle against Fushigini. Heck, Stanley was fighting alongside Stan and yet, Stan never turned up for the farewell party! What the hell's going on?! And he was obviously trying to avoid her wrath; he hadn't shown his face in the clubhouse for weeks now.

Pashmina was pissed.

What the hell was he up to, that boy?!

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"Merry Christmas, Pashmina!" most of the Ham-Hams chorused, each handing Pashmina a beautifully wrapped Christmas present.

"Thanks, everyone!" Pashmina thanked, accepting the wonderful gifts from her fellow Ham-Ham friends. It was official; Pashmina was the only Ham-Ham who had this many gifts. After all, every year, she won the Most Christmas Presents Hamster award, which the Ham-Hams made up, so it was pretty obvious that she would win again this year.

At this, there was a knock on the clubhouse door. Hamtaro offered to open it. Pashmina's heart was racing. She hoped that it would be Stan. She hadn't seen him since she met him at Acorn Mountain. It had been such a long time now; surely he hadn't forgotten Christmas! As Hamtaro creaked open the door, there was a yelp of surprise and happiness coming from the two-tone hamster. "Oh wow! It's you guys!"

"Surprise, everyone!" the familiar superstar singer exclaimed happily, skipping into the room, followed by a smiling Rosalyn tugging onto a grumpy Stanley, Ari trailing behind and the two magicians walking (or floating, in Epros' case) calmly into the room. Big Bull came in last. "Linda missed you all!"

"Oh, it's you!" Pashmina cried, a huge grin plastered on her face. Giggling happily, even though she was a little disappointed that it wasn't Stan, she placed her presents to one corner of the room, wanting to open them later, and rushed up to the Okage gang. "So how's life?"

"It's been quite lonely and quiet without you all…" Epros admitted, stashing his precious cards away in his sleeve. "Even though you are just so small…"

"What Epros means that we've missed you all so much!" Rosalyn exclaimed, giving a squeal of excitement. "Stan here is of course too stubborn to admit that he wanted to tag along and thank your friend while he's at it…"

"I am NOT!" the Evil King protested, folding his arms.

"See? Still so stubborn…" Rosalyn sighed. "So, where's the other Stan friend of yours? How come I don't see him anywhere?"

"Well, um…" Sandy began. "We're not so sure… We like, haven't seen him since months ago."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kisling asked, closing an interesting book of spells he was reading. "I read that hamsters live in cages. So have you gone to find him in his cage?"

"Yes, we did," Boss replied, giving a nod. "But we couldn't find that fellow anywhere."

"Why don't you try searching there again?" Stanley requested impatiently. "I kinda forgot how those spells went again… So I'll need that little munchkin to help me out."

Ignoring the fact that Stanley was actually asking for help, Rosalyn offered, "Tell you what. We'll go along with you. After all, we got presents for him too. And we'll be leaving next week. I, personally, want to see him again."

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"That's odd…" Hamtaro mumbled to himself as he led the group, being the leader and all. He glanced at his surroundings. "Why isn't there any snow?"

"Maybe the weather's crazy," Stanley suggested. "And anyway, that Stan guy controls snow and stuff like that. Maybe he decided not to make it snow."

"There's no reason for him to do that though…Oh well, we'll ask him when we find him."

Just then, Stanley felt a cold wind blow against his face. Apparently, no one else felt it. Curiosity getting the better of him, Stanley decided to break away from the group to look for the source of the cold breeze. Again, no one noticed his disappearance. He followed the direction of the wind and he could feel it getting stronger and stronger. He looked around. It was all so familiar… He brushed aside a few snow-covered branches and peeked through the gap. His eyes widened. "No freaking way…" He released the branches and ran back towards the group. "Oi, you lowly beings! Wait up! I think I found him!"

"Who were you calling lowly beings?!" Rosalyn exclaimed, demanding an answer out from her boyfriend.

Not wanting to face Rosalyn's wrath right now, Stanley backed off a little. "No one… Anyway, I think I found him, that Stan."

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What they saw truly amazed them.

It was so beautiful that it couldn't be described with words.

Right before them was a tower of ice and snow. A mild blizzard was occurring from within that large area surrounded by trees as a form of a breakage from the world out there. And there, was Stan. Magnificent white wings had sprouted from his back and he was spinning around in the air with a contended smile on his relaxed face. The snow added a soothing touch to it. In his paw was a staff made of ice and in his other paw was a beautifully wrapped gift wrapped with pure white wrapping paper tied up in a glistening silver ribbon. They could hear him sigh. They could hear him giggle. It really made him feel at home.

This was where Stan truly belonged; a secluded world of ice, snow and blizzards.

Pashmina gained the courage to walk up to him. She trudged through the thick snow. Then she accidentally slipped on some snow and gave a yelp of pain, which snapped the others out of their trance and attracted a comfortable Stan's attention. He blushed at once, and hid his wings, falling gracefully to the ground. He held out his frost covered paw. "You okay, Pashmina?"

Blushing, Pashmina took the paw and got up. "Y-yeah, I'm perfectly fine…"

"That's good to hear." Stan then turned to his tower of ice and snow. "You like this place?"

"Yes, of course I do! It's so beautiful…" Pashmina ended with a sigh. Then she shot him a question, "Do you live here, Stan?"

"You can put it in that way… But no," he answered, shaking his head and giving a little chuckle. "It's more like I'll live here in future…with the one I love."

Pashmina's blush deepened while a jealous Rosalyn could be heard screaming at her own boyfriend, "Why can't you be as nice as him?!" Pashmina edged closer to Stan. "So… All these months… You hid yourself away here just to make this?"

"Yup. I tried to make everything perfect, though it wasn't so easy," Stan laughed. "I didn't expect you to find me here, though. I wanted to surprise you during the Christmas fireworks tonight, but oh well. Don't underestimate the size of this place, by the way. It wasn't so easy to make the climate in this place a polar climate. You can call it an alternate dimension."

Pashmina's eyes glistened with fresh tears. Stan noticed her tears and brushed them away. They froze and became tiny particles of eyes. Pashmina whispered to him, "Oh Stan… I… I don't know what to say…"

"I knew you'd say that." With confidence, Stan presented his girlfriend the present in his paw. "Open it, Pashmina."

And she did. With a huge smile on her face. She carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box slowly so as to not dirty the present. Her eyes sparkled, literally, for within the box was a diamond. A marvelous diamond which had many facets and many small diamonds surrounding it. Its beauty was unmatched and its importance, invaluable. "Oh Stan… Oh Stan… I… I, um… It's pretty…" she breathed, now really not knowing what to say.

Grinning, Stan knelt on the snow. "Mafura Pashmina, we have faced many trials and challenges. I, Torahamu Stanley, think that we will face even more in future."

"S-Stan…?"

"We faced them together as strangers, then as friends, then as best friends, and finally boyfriend and girlfriend. Now, I wish for us to face the future as husband and wife." He raised his paw to eye level and a diamond ring formed right in front of them. Pashmina's eyes widened in amazement. Stan had made the diamonds. All of them. So it was ice in the shape of diamonds she had received. She blushed, her cheeks getting redder and redder. Stan grasped her paws and slipped the diamond ring into one of her fingers. "Pashmina, do you accept me?"

Without needing to say yes as an answer, Pashmina leaned in and gave her husband-to-be a warm kiss on the lips. She broke the kiss with tears in her eyes, and nodded. Stan smiled warmly, and stood up. Rosalyn again was shouting at Stan for being unromantic who in turn proclaimed his love for her. The Ham-Hams watched with tears in their eyes. Even Dexter and Howdy were happy for the couple. Sandy was overjoyed to see that her brother had finally settled down with a decent girl. The others were so touched that they began giving their blessings to the couple.

In the midst of the snow, Torahamu Stanley and Mafura Pashmina leaned in for a kiss that was so passionate that neither dared to even initiate the breaking of the kiss. In the background, two fireworks, one blue and one pink, burst into the pale white skies.

A heart-shaped firework followed.

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A/N: And this is the end of Which Stan is Which? I hope you all liked it!

THANK YOU…

Peach the Hedgehog

SilverAngel223

Anonymous/StanxPashmina fan

The Bunny Queen

Legend

Bold italics – signed reviews

Italics – anonymous review

Oh, thank you four so much for reviewing!!! I'm glad this story is well-liked by you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!

Reflect the truth of which you see,

Tsuki-no-Kurokage