Disclaimer- don't own.

A/N- :'( this is sadly the LAST CHAPTER. I would just like to say that I really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Okay, I know it's sad, but the time has come for you to read the very last chapter. Peace.

p.s. this chapter's kinda long.

Capitulo veinte y uno

Chapter 21

"So, uh---" Sora started, eyeing Emily and Tidus. He pointed at them with his finger. "You two are finally---" Emily nodded sheepishly.

"Yea…" she answered.

"I see… wow I've missed a lot." Sora said.

"So tell us everything already!" Selphie shouted. When Emily turned to look at her, she was standing with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Yea! We wanna know everything that happened! Like for instance, where did you all go!?" Wakka said.

"Maybe we should sit down and talk about it, 'cause this is gonna take some time." Emily said, gesturing towards the dock. Emily sat next to Tidus, and removed her shoes so she could stick her feet into the cool water. Sora was the first to start off, and he Kairi, and Riku gave a summery of what happened when they went on their first adventure. When that explanation was over, Emily, Sora, Kairi, and Riku all added in their parts of the story as to what happened this time. When everything was said and all the questions were asked, the sun had set, and it was dark and starting to get cold. There was a silence as everyone reminisced in their thoughts.

Emily finally broke the silence by asking, "So how long were we gone, anyway?" Tidus looked at her and answered, "Almost three weeks." Emily looked at him with a shocked face and said, "Three weeks!? That's it!? It so felt like longer than that! Hey--- wait a minute--- 'almost three weeks'--- that means it's a--- Friday?" Tidus nodded and asked, "Why is it being Friday so important? I would be just as happy if it was any day."

"Because silly," Emily said, grinning from ear to ear. "That means--- the school dance--- it's tomorrow! I can still go! Oh--- but I don't have anything to wear! Well there is this one skirt---" Sora interrupted Emily's ramblings by asking, "There's a school dance? Tomorrow?"

Kairi nodded.

"Yea. But you don't have a ticket! I bet the school will sell them at the door." Selphie explained.

"Yea! I'm sure they will." Emily added. "You and Riku can both get a ticket." Riku turned his head away, his hair falling in his eyes.

"I don't have anyone to go with." he said quietly.

"Of course you do!" Emily said. "You've got all of us!" Riku kept his head down and replied, "But I'll be the only one there without a date." At his words, Sora and Kairi looked at each other, and then looked away, both blushing.

"Who cares? You've got friends to go with; that's all that matters. I'm sure you'd have a good time." Emily said. Riku looked up and said, "Maybe you're right. I've been in the darkness too long. I've forgotten what it's like to have friends who are there for you." Sora looked at Riku and crossed his arms as he said, "Well, never forget it again."

Riku nodded. "I won't." he said seriously. Emily yawned and said, "Hey guys, I think we should head home. It's late, and I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in forever." She stifled another yawn as she spoke. The others nodded in agreement. Tidus stood up and said, "You're right. We've got three boats here, so there can be two boats of two, and one of three. Em and I will go in one together…" He offered Emily a hand, which she took, gratefully.

"Home." Emily repeated, not used to the word. Thoughts of her parents and her little brother and sister filled her head, and she had to hold back another wave of tears. Tidus kept his hand in Emily's and took her to a boat. When everyone was ready, it was Emily and Tidus, Selphie and Wakka, and Sora, Kairi, and Riku to a boat.

"Well, let's go." Wakka ordered. The little boats made their way across the ocean. Emily wanted to talk, but the effects of sleep depravation were too much. She began nodding off, but Tidus didn't seem to mind. Emily tried to keep herself awake by stretching.

It took her a few seconds to realize something was wrong.

Emily looked around. It was silent, and nothing was moving. The water was as still as if it were made out of ice.

"What's going on?" Emily asked. She reached out and touched Tidus; he was as cold as a statue. Emily immediately put her hand to her neck, and felt a chain and a round object underneath her shirt. She pulled the chain and found that the little clock that controlled time magic was still around her neck. She pulled it off and looked at it. She finally said, "No more." She was about to drop it into the water, when something stopped her. It was more of a feeling rather than a physical force.

I might need this again sometime… Emily thought, pocketing the watch. She figured that she had absent mindedly waved her hand and stopped time while she was stretching. She waved her hand again, and the sounds of the sea came back to life, and the breeze made Emily shiver.

"Are you cold?" Tidus asked her, he hadn't realized that Emily's arms had suddenly changed positions, but it was dark, so he probably couldn't see that well. Emily nodded and said, "But it's okay. I like this feeling. I've been cooped up in that castle for so long that I've forgotten what 'weather' is like."

Tidus nodded and continued rowing. Sleep soon found it's way to Emily, and she nodded off until she felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes reluctantly, and saw that it was Tidus.

"Come on. You've got to get home." Emily became aware of her surroundings, and saw that she was still in the boat, which was now tied to the dock. The others were all waiting on the dock for her, and Tidus was offering his hand. Emily slowly took it, and the chill of the air woke her up.

"Your mom and dad are waiting for you." Tidus said. Emily nodded. Selphie, Wakka, and Riku all headed in one direction, while Emily, Tidus, Sora, and Kairi all headed in the other.

The group walked in silence. While Emily was walking, she felt a hand lace its fingers into her own. She looked up. It was Tidus. He smiled at her as she moved closer to him. His body was emitting heat like a furnace. It made Emily stop shivering from the cold breeze. They continued to walk for another ten minutes before they finally stopped in front of Sora and Emily's house. The four of them stared at it.

"So--- I'll be at your house sometime tomorrow afternoon for the dance? Which I think starts at six?" Tidus asked. Emily nodded, holding up her hand that was being held by Tidus. She looked at it before letting go and, this time, she surprised him with a hug. He gladly hugged her back.

Unaware that Sora was watching her, Emily and Tidus stood like that for what felt like an eternity. A part of Emily didn't want the hug to end, but the other part of her wanted to desperately see her family. She reluctantly let go.

"It's time for me to go--- home." she said, still not used to using the word.

"Time for us." Sora corrected. Tidus and Kairi said their goodbyes as Sora and Emily gave one last look at each other before walking up to their front door.

"Ready?" Sora asked her, grabbing the door handle.

"Ready." Emily nodded her head.

Sora opened the door. The house was dark, and had an eerie quietness to it. Emily and Sora entered the house, and Sora closed the door almost silently.

"Maybe their asleep?" he whispered. Emily shrugged her shoulders. A flicker of light caught her eye from a reflection on the kitchen floor. She pointed to it and put a finger to her lips. She motioned for Sora to follow her. The silently made their way into the kitchen, and stood in the door way of their main room. There was a soft fire going in the fireplace. Their parents were sitting on the loveseat, with tear stained eyes with bags underneath them. Shelby and Mark were huddled together under a small blanket near the fire.

Emily felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"M--mom? D---dad?" she asked shakily. Their parents slowly turned their heads, and stared at them with wide, unbelieving eyes. Their dad dropped his handkerchief, and their mom began crying hysterically. Shelby and Mark removed the blanket from their bodies, and turned around. They both stood up, staring in unbelief.

"E--mily? S--sora?" Shelby asked. Shelby and Mark each ran up to their siblings, and wrapped their little arms around them. Mark ran to Emily, who lifted him off the ground, and tightly hugged him. Sora did the same with Shelby. Then the two youngsters switched.

Their parents were still sitting in their seats.

"Mommy, Daddy, don't you wanna see Em and Sora?" Shelby asked them between sobs. Their mom was the first to get up.

"Oh, my, God. You-- you're really here!" she said, running to the two and wrapping her arms around each of them. She was practically choking them. Emily hugged back and said, "Don't kill us the first day we come back, mom." Their mother shook her head, and set Emily and Sora back so she could look at them. She began crying hysterically (just as Sora had predicted). Sora grabbed a chair from the kitchen and set it behind his mother, who sat down.

"You too daddy!" Shelby cried, grabbing her father's hand. He slowly stood up, and walked over to Sora and Emily. He stared for a long time before saying, "You--- you're both back." Emily had never seen her father cry before, but he just broke down on the spot. He couldn't stand up, so he went to the floor and began crying at their feet.

"Dad!" Emily cried, bending down to him.

"Dad! Daddy, it's okay. We're here again. Everything's going to be okay." Emily turned to Sora and said, "Get him a chair or something." Sora nodded and grabbed another chair from the kitchen table.

Emily and Sora helped their dad to his feet, and set him in the chair. He nodded appreciatively, unable to speak in words.

"Come on." Emily said, tears no longer being suppressed in her eyes. "This is supposed to be a happy moment. I don't want to cry anymore. It's all I've done all day." Her words slurred together as tears rolled down her face. Sora nodded, Emily could tell he was holding back tears of his own. Their parents looked at them and their mom said, "It's--- it's just been so long. I mean--- to think that Sora's been away for over a year. It's just--- so--- hard to deal with. Then you, our second oldest goes and disappears too. It's too much for a mother to handle. Then you both come back, the day we almost break." Another wave of sobs made it impossible for their mother to speak.

Emily understood though. The family stayed in the kitchen for a few hours, all crying together. It must have been one thirty in the morning before everybody calmed down.

"So---" Sora was the first to speak. "So do I still have my room?" Their mother looked at their father, then said.

"Not exactly. The day after Emily disappeared, the day that everyone began to remember you, we couldn't stand looking at all your things. We put everything into the attic, and gave Shelby and Mark their own rooms. So now--- neither of you have a room." Sora and Emily's faces dropped and their father added, finally able to speak, "But--- now everyone can share rooms. Shelby and Mark are too old to sleep in the same room together now, so the girls can share a room, while the boys can share the other."

Emily didn't mind the idea of getting to share her room with her sister. Three weeks ago she probably would've hated the idea of sharing a room with anyone. But now, after she had grown so used to sharing a room with Axel, she hated the idea of sleeping alone.

"Okay." she said, grabbing her little sister's hand. Shelby looked up at her, tears still falling from her little eyes.

"I missed you, sissy." she said. Emily looked at her. How long has it been since she had called her that? Emily didn't care. She bent down to her sister's height and said, "I missed you too." She hugged her once more.

"Hey--- it's really late. We should all go to bed." Sora said, yawning and stretching. Everyone seemed relieved that someone had finally suggested it.

"Your things are in the attic, but if we all work together, we can bring everything down and start to organize the bed rooms" their father said, standing up. He had aged a lot since Emily had seen him. She figured it was from all the stress, but his hair had grayed a lot from its original, dark-brown color.

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After an hour to an hour and a half, the family finally finished moving all the bed room materials; beds, dressers, boxes of clothes. Emily changed out of her clothes (very happy to get rid of them, she was sure they smelled bad), put a pair of pajamas on, and collapsed in her bed. She fell asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.

"Emily! Emmy! Wake up right now!" A demanding little voice woke her up. Emily rubbed her eyes and saw Shelby in her face.

"Mommy and Daddy said that you guys could sleep in, but no later than three o'clock. And it's three thirty now! Come on! Get out of bed! Mommy says you've got to take a shower 'cause you're smelly." Emily glared at her little sister, before getting out of bed, and tickling her to the ground. When Shelby began to complain that she couldn't breath, Emily stopped. She laughed as her sister continued to roll around on the floor. Emily grabbed some new clothes, and headed towards the bathroom. Once she realized she was going to wrong way, she laughed at herself and turned around.

After a nice, not, relaxing shower, Emily dried herself off, remembered that it was the day of the dance, and called for her mother to help her do her hair while it was still wet. Her mother soon came in, and started the curling iron. It took a few minutes to heat up, so her mom brushed Emily's hair several times to get the knots out. Emily's mom then began curling selected parts of Emily's hair. She then used countless bobby pins and hair ties to get Emily's hair up in a pretty bun. Emily's mother had a few bobby pins that had diamond tips, and used those for decoration around the bun. She also left out a few wisps of curly hair that fell nicely around Emily's face. Her hair looked stunning when it was all over and done with.

As Emily hugged her mother and told her thank you, her mom said, "Tidus called. He'll be here in about an hour. Kairi will be here around the same time. Do you need help picking out what you're going to wear?" Emily shook her head and said, "Thanks though. I planned it all out last night." Emily's mom smiled at her and said, "All right. I'm going to make cookies soon. Chocolate chip sound good?" Emily nodded her head excitedly. Chocolate chip were her favorite, and she hadn't eaten real food in a while. She suddenly realized that she must have lost a lot of weight. She ran to her foom and found her mirror, and looked at herself. True, she was a bit thinner, but she could see well built up areas of muscle.

She smiled to herself, and went to search her closet for her special skirt, and shirt. Once she had found them, she laid the entire outfit on her bed. A white shirt, that had a white flower embroidery on it, and a white lace scarf attached to it. A silky white skirt that had a subtle sparkle to it. White high heels that she had gotten as a present a few months ago from her grandmother in the mail. Altogether it looked very nice. It was a nice contrast to all the black she had been wearing lately.

"Makeup…" she suddenly remembered. She picked out a sparkly lip stick, one of her mother's subtle pink blushes, and a silvery-white eye shadow that shimmered in the light. She put on the makeup herself, knowing how only because she had studied her mother do it for so long.

She waited to put on her outfit until later. She didn't want to dirty it up. She had a pair of sweat pants on, and a blue tank top. She didn't care if her clothing matched her hair and face right now. She went down stairs to see what her family was up to. Sora was the only one not downstairs.

"Where's Sora?" Emily asked, grabbing an orange from the fridge (she had grown quite used to them over the past few weeks).

"He's showering now." her mother replied, mixing cookie dough.

"Smells awesome mom." Emily said. Her mother smiled approvingly.

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After forty-five minutes had passed, Sora finally came down stairs, dressed in a black tux. Emily had never known he owned one. He had on a white shirt and a red tie and cummerbund. His hair was still spiky, but you could tell he put some gel in it.

"You look nice." Emily commented. Sora looked at her and said, "Well--- your face and hair look nice, but I have to say, your clothes don't match." he smirked as Emily glared at him, but she laughed anyway. Emily looked at the clock. It read four forty. Tidus and Kairi would be arriving soon.

"Be right back." Emily told no one in particular as she ran upstairs. She changed into her dance clothes, and made sure everything was right. She thought that she cleaned up nicely.

"Em! Tidus is here!" Emily heard Sora's voice call from downstairs. Her heart began to race. She had never been this dressed up before in front of Tidus, and she had never seen him dressed up before either. She walked slowly out of her room, not used to walking on heels. She saw Tidus standing downstairs, next to Kairi. He too was wearing a black tux and white shirt, but his cummerbund was a sky blue color. He looked very handsome. He had even applied gel to his hair too. Kairi was in a light pink dress that was cut just above the knee. It had magenta colored jewels running up the side from the bottom in a curved wave pattern. Kairi had her hair up, and she had a few pieces of hair dangling in her face. She looked very pretty. Sora's face was very red. Emily laughed to herself as she slowly descended down the stairs. She almost made it without falling. It was the last step. She tripped over the carpet and could feel herself falling.

Everything went into slow motion. She saw the floor come closer and closer to her face, but a hand caught hers, and pulled her back to her feet, and brought time back to its normal speed.

"Are you okay?" Tidus asked. Emily stared at his hand in hers. What is it with people and saving me lately ? Emily thought. Her cheeks began to feel hot out of embarrassment (she hoped the blush would cover it up), and she nodded.

"Thanks." she said.

The group headed into the main room, which had been cleaned up, and had the lights on again. Emily thought that her parents must have done it early that morning. Emily and Tidus sat on the loveseat, while Kairi and Sora sat on the couch. Sora was nervously twiddling his thumbs in his lap. They sat in silence until Shelby and Mark entered the room.

"You look handsome, Tidus…" Shelby said, making room for herself on the couch next to him. Tidus laughed. Emily would have been mad on any other day, but she just found too many reasons to be happy rather than angry.

Mark looked at Kairi and said, "Kairi, you're hot." Emily used every once of will power in side her to keep from laughing. Her brother was only six years old, yet here he was telling a fifteen year old that she was "hot". Kairi laughed and said, "Why thank you Mark." Mark grinned at her.

"Yea well---" Sora said, eyeing his brother. "She's too old for you pal. Besides--- she's--- with me…" Sora said the last part in an almost whisper. His cheeks went a bright red, and he looked down. Mark ran out of the room, in fear that Sora was going to chase him, and he was closely followed by a very giggly Shelby. Kairi looked at Sora, and smiled, placing her hand on his.

Sora looked up and grinned at her. If his cheeks could get any redder, Emily didn't know.

"What's wrong with you guys today?" Emily's mom asked, entering the room with a plate of hot cookies. "From what I remember, you guys used to never stop talking." She chuckled as she set the plate down on the coffee table and left the room. Emily breathed in the aroma from the cookies.

"My favorite." She said, reaching for one. Everyone else followed suit.

"Your mom's an excellent cook." Tidus said, finishing off his second cookie. Emily smiled and said, "I'll be sure to tell her you said that."

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Before the group headed for the school, Emily's parents took plenty of pictures. Emily's dad drove them all in his car, and they arrived at the school at six o'clock on the dot.

"Nice timing." Tidus commented. Emily laughed. The group spotted Selphie and Wakka running towards them. Selphie was in a puffy yellow dress, and Wakka was wearing a white tux and a black shirt, tie, and cummerbund. They looked cute together. Riku soon came too, in a black tux, white shirt, and a pale yellow tie and cummerbund.

Selphie was right, and the school was selling tickets at the door. Many people came up and welcomed Emily back as well as her brother, Riku, and Kairi. The teachers welcomed them back too. Nobody really asked any questions, and when they did, Emily and the others just told them that it was a long story. The group bought Riku and Sora their tickets, and they headed into the school. The dance was being held in the gymnasium. The gym was well lit for the time being, and there were groups of people requesting songs at the D.J.'s table, and hanging out at one of the many food and punch tables.

In less than five minutes, the lights were turned off, and dim lights came on all over the gym. The theme looked like a tropical one. There were neon trees and monkeys, and ocean waves around the gym along with balloon trees and balloon monkeys. There was even a disco ball that began to turn. It reflected the light across the gym. It was very pretty looking. The first few songs were fast paced ones, and the whole group danced together. Everyone was having a good time, even Riku. There was a small break from the music, and Tidus offered to get punch for Emily, who agreed. She was parched, and fruit punch sounded pretty good. Emily went to sit with Kairi, who found a table along the wall that had several chairs pulled up to it.

Emily sat down next to her and sighed.

"Sora really likes you, doesn't he." Emily said. Kairi smiled as she nodded.

"I'm lucky. There're plenty of other girls out there, and he chose me. I don't know if you feel the same way with Tidus, but it makes me feel like one in a million." Kairi stared in Sora's direction, a soft smile on her face. Emily nodded.

"Yea. I know what you mean." she said. Tidus and the rest of the group soon returned. They drank their punch and talked excitedly about what they were going to do with each other now that everyone was back. The music soon started up again. A slow song. Emily's heart began to pound. She had never done this before. She stood in front of Tidus, who put his ahands around her waist. Emily reached up and put her arms around his neck. Half way into the song, Emily got used to the dancing, and had her head pressed against Tidus' chest. In-between his neck and his shoulder.

"All right folks." The D.J. said. "This is the last song of the night. Dance to it with someone ya love." The D.J. put one last slow song on. Emily looked around and saw all the couples in the gym. Sora and Kairi weren't far away, and they looked like nothing in the world could tear them apart. Selphie and Wakka were dancing together too, only in a more ballroom type dancing style. Then there was Riku. He was sitting in one of the chairs, staring into space. Don't worry. She told him in her mind. The one for you is just around the corner. You just have to search for her.

"Hey, babe." An all too familiar voice said from behind. A hand grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her away from Tidus.

"Wha--- Hey!" Emily shouted. The hand turned her around, and Emily found herself looking into the face of Reign.

"Hey, babe. I told you I wanted you to save a dance for me. Remember? It was sometime before you left, which really was a shame. You'll hafta tell me all about it." Emily glared at him, but then quickly devised a plan in her head. She softened her expression and said smoothly, "Oh, I'll tell you, all about it!" Emily took her right hand and slapped him across the face. She could defend herself this time.

"When are you going to learn that Tidus is my boyfriend, and that I would never like you! Get lost!" Emily shouted.

Emily looked at Reign's shocked face as he ran away. Tidus was staring, wide-eyed.

"Whoa!" he said, gaping, opend mouthed at Emily.

"I have a feeling he won't be bothering me anymore. Now, let's finish our dance, shall we?" Emily asked, grabbing Tidus' hand. He nodded. The song was a really long one, and Emily was getting that overwhelming feeling of wanting to kiss Tidus again. As their heads came closer together, Emily heard her brother start to cough loudly again, She opened her eyes, gave him a look, and waved her hand. Time had stopped, and Emily was glad she had kept the watch.

Tidus looked around.

"What?" he said, confused, looking around to see why the song stopped, and why no one was moving. Emily looked around as well, and saw her brother glaring at her. She laughed. Selphie and Wakka looked like they were about to kiss as well, and Riku was staring at Kairi.

"I stopped time. Remember, I told you about that time magic last night? I didn't want this to end just yet." Emily explained. Tidus nodded.

"This is aweso---" but he was cut off. He felt a strange new presence on his face. He shifted his eyes down, and saw Emily kissing him. He closed his eyes and kissed back. Emily lazing waved her hand, and time started again. The music ended, but Emily and Tidus continued to dance.

The lights came on and there was a loud, "Ahem!" from behind. Emily and Tidus broke apart.

"Jeez. I thought that was never going to end." Sora said, sticking out his tongue.

"You're just jealous." Emily replied. Tidus just stood there, not fully comprehending what had just taken place. Sora gave Emily one of his looks, and said, "The day I'm jealous of you is the day you win a million munny." Emily laughed.

"Hey guys," Riku said, looking around the gym, which was now empty, except for Selphie and Wakka still dancing and the teachers roaming about. "Let's go home."

Emily grabbed Tidus' hand, squeezed it gently and asked, "Can we walk?"

"In high heels?" Kairi asked, grinning. "Are you kidding?"

"We could take them off." Emily suggested, and took off her shoes. Kairi laughed and did the same.

"Okay," she said. "Let's walk." Kairi grabbed Sora's hand and dragged him out of the gym, closely followed by Emily and Tidus. Riku walked slowly behind, and Selphie and Wakka remained dancing in the gym.

This had, by far, been the best night of Emily's life.

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A/N- whaaaaa!!!!! it's finally over :'(

I'm tearing up. no, not really, but I am sad. please review. And don't forget to check out the credits chapter. I promise you'll be glad you did!

I hope all of you remembered who Reign was. If you can remember from one of the earlier chapters, he said, "save a dance for me." I thought I'd clear that up in case you were confused or anything.