Thanks for sticking around. It's been a long year.

Here's the final chapter.

Chapter 16–love and friendship

"You aren't getting your happy ending!" Melvin yelled as he took aim. He pressed the trigger right as George aimed the crossbow at Captain Underpants.

All three turned in confusion in one split second, yet it was Captain Underpants who reacted the fastest out of an instinct to protect George and Harold no matter what. He noticed before they did that the weapon was pointed at the two.

When a blue blast of something like fire (yet not quite) shot out of the other crossbow, he lunged forward and shoved the boys out of the way as hard as he could.

The action caused George to lose his grip on the other crossbow and it was thrown into the air as a result.

As they fell, the boys could only watch as the blue fire crashed into Captain Underpants, who was sent right across the room and into a pile of rubble from when one of the walls was destroyed. There was a terrible sound when the impact was made and some of the rubble ended up landing right on top of him even before he fell to the ground.

The blue fire finally ceased and vanished, revealing that the hero was buried amongst the rubble.

"NO!" The boys yelled as they ran over to Captain Underpants as Melvin ran over to the abandoned crossbow.

"Are you alright?!" George asked as he and Harold reached Captain Underpants, but then a horrified yell made them look back to Melvin.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Melvin held the crossbow up. "YOU BROKE THE CRYSTAL!" To their alarm, they could not see that familiar rainbow glow where the crystal should have been. "I WAS GOING TO USE THAT ON MY PARENTS! NOW THEY'LL BE STUCK IN THAT CRYSTAL FORVER THANKS TO YOU TWO!"

"THEY JUST SAVED THEM!" All eyes turned to see Erica rushing towards Melvin as she was flanked by two guards. "IF YOU HAD JUST ASKED, WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL OF THIS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"What are you talking about?!" Melvin snapped just as Erica approached him. Erica grabbed him by the arm and pulled the crossbow out of his hand. "Hey–!"

"Here, we'll deal with him tomorrow." Erica told the adult guards as she handed Melvin over to them. They pulled him out of the destroyed ballroom as he let out a series of protests and demands as Harold ran up to her to pull the crossbow out of her hands.

"No," He shook his head when he saw that the crystal was chattered into several fragments. "No it can't be!" He shook his head as George came over and was greeted with the terrible sight.

"But if it's destroyed, then–!" George looked up to Harold. "Can you still–?!"

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine!" Harold tried singing once more, but nothing happened. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine!" He tried again, but still nothing happened. Erica frowned at the two and, upon sensing what was happening, began to leave.

The boys heard a moaning sound from the rubble, dropped the crossbow, and hurried back to Captain Underpants to resume what they intended to do. They removed the rubble and debris off of him as fast as possible and when they finished, it was not a promising sight.

He had what appeared to be a huge burn mark on his side from where he was struck by whatever Melvin's contraption was. Certain parts of his body were already bruised from where the rubble struck him and in some cases it was to the point that he was bleeding. Worse yet, his skin was slowly getting paler and sickly looking with each passing moment and they could hear him struggling to breathe.

"No, no, no, no," Harold shook his head. "No it can't end like this! Not after all we did!"

"Hey it's alright," The adult gave them a sickly, yet reassuring smile. "You did the best you could."

"No we didn't!" George protested as he knelt beside Captain Underpants and grabbed his shoulders. "It wasn't enough! That crystal was the only way to keep you alive–now it's destroyed and we can't break the spell to save you!"

"But everyone is safe, right?"

"Not you!" Harold also knelt beside Captain Underpants and grabbed his hand. "I already nearly lost George, but I can't bring another person back to life again!" He was in tears. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have meet each other! I wouldn't have found my family! You're the reason we got a happy ending, but its not going to be if you have to die!"

"Same here!" George felt it hard to breathe as his own tears came to his eyes. "You can't go!" He buried himself into the adult's body in a huge hug and could feel it slowly moving the more his heart rate slowed down. "I should have hung with you more often–we both should have! We didn't get to keep our promise to you!"

"It's ok," Captain Underpants reached out and carefully tousled the boy's hair. "It's ok." When Harold couldn't take it anymore and clung to him too, he also tousled his hair. It was getting harder to breathe and everything around the two boys were starting to blur and twist. It was taking his all to focus on the two things that mattered the most right now. He tried to hold onto them with what diminishing strength he had and never wanted to let go. "You're safe, and that's all that matters to me."

"Please." Harold begged, wishing with all his heart that he could summon the last of the magic as the battered man he was hugging was slowly losing his reassuring warmth. "Let us keep our promise. Please don't leave us."

"Don't go," George also pleaded as he shut his eyes as he felt the adult's fingers leave his hair so that he could loosely hug him and his best friend. "Don't go."

The adult smiled and shut his eyes. "I'm so happy you guys are my best friends." The smile became sad and distant. "I just wish..."

I wish I had more time with you.

There was nothing they could do.

Just hold on to him until it was over.

He held on with all of those precious few seconds left.

They didn't notice when Edith hurried into the destroyed room.

Thanks to struggling to get through the crowd and running as fast as she could, Edith's hair was completely free from the pins, yet the white flowers still clung to various strands. When she saw the hero laying amongst the rubble, hugging the two boys who were clutching at him, she stopped and let go of her skirts.

"Harold? George?" She nervously asked.

The two boys looked back as her voice reached the slowly fading mind of the hero, who instantly recognized it as he struggled to see her, only to see a swirling shape of yellow, pink and blue.

Edith walked towards the trio and almost let out a gasp at just how awful Captain Underpants looked. It was heart breaking and it was as if it were the thorn bush again, but...

Both George and Harold slowly moved away from Captain Underpants, whose eyes were still trying to see the figure approaching him. Both boys remained right at his side and he watched as the figure finally became clear enough for him to see her face and her beautiful eyes that were bluer than anything else imaginable.

Edith knelt beside him and reached out to carefully hold his face in her hands. "Is he...?" She turned to look at Harold, who frowned and avoided her gaze as she realized what was happening.

"Edith?" She turned her head back to see Captain Underpants struggling to keep his eyes open as he slowly reached up to cover his hand over one of hers. Her touch felt so soft and comforting–he could feel how small her hand was under his own. "Is... everyone alright?" He struggled to ask as his breathing became shallower.

"Yes," She forced herself to nod and smile as she felt her eyes well up. "You saved the day."

"Oh good," He smiled back. "By the way... you look really pretty tonight." And she did–she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen, even if she was starting to blur away, and if she was going to be the last thing he ever saw, then he was fine with that. "That party looked like fun... but I guess no one would of wanted me around." He let out a weak laugh as Edith felt a stab of regret. "I would of out-funned them."

"No... it wasn't fun without you." Edith finally admitted. "And I don't care if you have to be two different people, or if you're stuck with this spell your whole life. You're still the same sweet person inside that I was lucky enough to meet. I'm happy when I'm with you, I want you to be happy, and I want to be there for you Benjamin, even if you probably don't feel the same way I feel towards you because–" She took a breath as her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest from all the pounding.

"–Because I really, really, really love you that much."

She then moved forward, hands still holding his face, and gently kissed him on the mouth.

He was startled as his eyes widened and he momentarily moved his hand away. Even the boys had not expected the gesture, yet they couldn't stop watching.

He felt her kiss–he never experienced something like this before, yet it was so gentle and so sweet. The pads of her thumbs gently caressed his cheeks and it only brought him closer to a state of something he couldn't understand, yet felt comforted by and which made his dying heart soar in a way that was like flying. It was like a pleasant serenity he had never experienced until this point.

Almost as if he knew what to do, he slowly shut his eyes and returned the kiss right back as his hands slowly reached out before they were able to return the gesture and he could hold her face too. She let go of one of his cheeks so that she could hold her hand over one of his own.

He wanted this for so long. When did he want this one moment with her without realizing it? Was it when he first saw her laugh as she enjoyed the freedom of flying with him? Or was it on the bridge, while watching the lights in the night sky and seeing how their glow upon her made her radiant–?

Something clicked.

It only took one memory–a memory he shouldn't of had or experienced–for everything to start coming back together. It took one memory for the rest of the gaps to fill up and it was making his head hurt.

He pulled away with a cry and gripped his head in both hands.

"Hey are you alright?!" Both George asked as he and Harold grabbed at his arms as Edith could only watch with worry.

"Wait a minute," Harold noticed it before anyone else did–his sickly skin tone was reverting back to a more natural hue.

They waited as his breathing became less shallow, and as his natural color returned. Seconds passed before he lifted his hands from his head and they could see the confusion in his eyes.

"H... hey," George asked with slight uncertainty. The adult looked at him before looking at Harold and then at Edith.

He had no idea if all the new memories in his head were all just a dream when he woke up, yet he still felt wide awake. He ran his hands over his face and head to feel for something, and he became increasingly confused when he couldn't feel the sensation that signaled his usual return.

"Am I...?" He finally asked before staring at his hands. Almost hesitantly he snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened. Everything was staying exactly the same.

Understanding dawned on him and he let out a breathless laugh.

To the equal shock of both boys, he let out a laugh and drew them both into a tight hug. "Whoa, hey!" George protested as he and Harold felt as if they were about to have their insides squeezed out.

"It's gone!" Benjamin laughed with delight. "I'm not under it any more!" He took a breath of air and buried his head between the boys. "I actually remember it all this time, I–!"

In that moment, he felt too many things at once–guilt and regret was one. Understanding and relief was another.

"I–" He had no clue what to tell the boys. There were too many things to say–too much that came with memories both new and not quite–and he momentarily struggled until finally he settled with "Thank you." He let out a sigh as they heard the fireworks being set off outside.

How could they have forgotten? There were supposed to be fireworks and yet everyone outside managed to set them off. Explosions of colors outside, so similar to the lanterns, were bursting in the night sky.

"Told you we were trying to save you." George smiled as he and Harold returned the hug.

"And it paid off." Harold added as he tightened his own hug a bit.

"Benjamin?" Edith asked, causing all three to look at her. "Are... are you here? I mean when you say you aren't under it any more... does that mean–?"

"All he needed was someone who loved both sides of him in order for the spell to break." Harold grinned before anything could be said.

"And on that note, we'll leave you guys alone!" George also grinned as he and Harold moved away from Benjamin, grabbed each other's hands, and ran out of the room as fast as they could.

There was a silence between the blushing adults before Benjamin realized what just happened and stammered "So wait–you actually do love me?! You really meant what you said?!"

Edith smiled. "I do Benjamin. I really meant it."

He beamed at her and, before she knew it, he drew her in a huge embrace and kissed her. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she closed them and returned the kiss as she hugged him back.

She didn't need to hear him say it back–she knew then and there.

Both George and Harold stared at the fireworks in the night sky. Everyone else had calmed down and was watching them as if nothing else had happened that night. They watched as green, blue, yellow, and all other colors bursted and joined the stars in their brilliant light, yet it was red that seemed to shine brightly above all the others.

"This was a good birthday." George smiled at Harold. "It ended up being a lot better than I thought it would be."

"It beats mine out." Harold admitted as he squeezed his best friend's hand.

They both could see their respective families watching the fireworks–George's parents sitting side by side, and Heidi holding Harold's mother's hand.

The boys both sat down on the stairs to just watch the scene in a calm that they hadn't felt in awhile. Nothing mattered any more–all they wanted now was to just be together and enjoy the last of the day.

Harold's birthday was the day that we became best friends. My birthday was the day the flower of creation's magic finally left the kingdom for good. Looking back, I think its influence effected everyone for good and for bad, but those who truly needed its power the most were the ones who benefited from it in the end.

However, that was also the final time anyone would have ever seen Captain Underpants in action ever again. Rumors would turn into stories, but the truth was always in front of their unsuspecting eyes when they didn't suspect it.

In the end we were able to do two things for him after all–we lifted his spell and he was able to be with us in times of peace like he wanted.

The Sneedlys eventually woke up and they were fine as if they hadn't been spending several days stuck in a crystal. Queen Grace went easy on Melvin and decided to just have him be placed under house arrest for a few months, but he was banned from ever mixing magic with science ever again. Like Erica, he had already finished school before anyone else did, so missing school wasn't a loss and he had his family back, which was what he wanted any way. Though we never really forgave him for almost killing our friend.

Erica would later tell us that she had been trying to see if a university could accept her at her age that year, but she decided to wait another year and stick around until she and Ree could help make the guards better prepared to deal with what we had to go through. That started with hiring new guards that were nicer and less cowardly than the others. I guess it was a good start since Harold and I didn't want to try to save Piqua on our own without Captain Underpants.

After that day, the castle was such a huge mess that some like my parents stuck around or were hired to help rebuild the parts that got destroyed. It delayed my parents from leaving Piqua long enough until...

"What do you mean you found a job in town?" George couldn't believe it. He wanted to know if he was dreaming it or not.

"Madame Esme said she needs more teachers at her school and she mentioned the possibility of a weekly night school for adults." Barbara explained as she and Moses faced their son while sitting outside by the town bridge.

"And enough money is saved up that we could buy a small house in town." Moses added. "It wouldn't be anything like the castle, but it would be enough for all of us."

"That's great!" George grinned. "That means I can still see Harold!" He ran up to his mom and hugged her tightly, and his parents smiled in return.

"Out of curiosity..." Barbara asked as she stroked her son's head. "Was Harold the only reason why you wanted to stay here?"

George thought for a while. For many years, he had hated Piqua and only stayed for specific reasons. But what was here for him besides Harold? "I guess... I guess I've grown attached to a lot of the other kids here... and some adults." He admitted. "And I've never had as much fun or inspiration here compared to where we used to live. It's not boring, that's for sure."

"Are... are you sure?" Harold asked as he and Heidi stared in amazement at their mother in the library where they all sat down together.

Grace sighed. "For too long, I've been afraid of bad things happening to both of you. I wanted to keep you close to me and never have to risk losing either of you. Yet I can never seem to keep you away from the outside world–not when you need to know about it or when it will need you. I can't keep either of you from growing up and being the best you both can be."

"So we can go to school for real?!" Heidi's eyes shone as she smiled, yet Harold was more hesitant.

"Harold, is everything alright?" Grace wondered.

"Yeah... well, I guess." Harold frowned. "I mean, that's great but I don't know if George will be around to go to school with me."

Grace then smiled. "Well, from what I heard–"

The halls were filled with screams of joy as Harold ran as fast as he could while trying to find George. It were those screams that alerted George to him and the other boy raced around trying to find the blonde.

Eventually they literally crashed into each other and Harold drew George into a huge hug as he exclaimed "We're still going to school together! We're still going to school together!"

"Calm down!" George laughed. "What do you mean?!"

"My mom is letting me and Heidi go to school after all! At first I was happy, but then I was bummed out because I was sure you wouldn't be living in town anymore, but then she told me your mom got a job, so that means we get to stay together!" Harold panted for air as George stared at him.

"THAT'S AMAZING!" George yelled and tightly hugged Harold before lifting him off the ground a few inches and spun him around. "WE GET TO STAY TOGETHER!"

"YES!" Harold also yelled as the two laughed with delight. "YES WE DO!"

The two were so excited that they didn't realize that they accidentally revealed this bit of news to someone in particular. When they finally did, they looked up and were surprised to see Benjamin with a very stunned look on his face.

"Oh," The boys let go of each other and gave him awkward smiles as Harold spoke first. "Well–I mean that's good for you since we won't be bothering you as much any more, right?"

He stared at them for a few long moments before he raised both hands over their heads.

Then unexpectedly, he slowly tousled their hair in a familiar, comforting way and gave them a smile that was less him and more of a certain hero.

"Good for you guys."

He then walked away from them. Had he turned back, he would have seen the two of them shoot each other smiles before they ran out with full intent to yell out their good fortune for everyone to hear from inside the castle and all the way to the hideout where the other kids were.

As Benjamin kept walking, he noticed Edith peering from around a doorway. He stopped as she gave him a knowing smile before rushing towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a sweet kiss and when she parted and saw the huge smile on his face and that familiar light in his eyes, she giggled and grabbed his hands before leading him outside for a day of fun together. This time, the hand holding would not need to be for out of security–this time it would hold far more meaning for both of them.

As August was drawing to an end on a certain day, George and Harold stood side by side as they stared at the school. Kids raced around them to get inside or chatted about their summer, and Harold watched as Heidi was greeted by other children. With a huge smile, she joined them and hurried inside.

"Something about this feels right." Harold admitted. "Do you think that's weird?"

"Not really." George admitted before he noticed the school sign. It said 'Welcome to school, children' but the words were arrangeable. Yet he had an idea. "One more thing."

Moments later, both boys chuckled as it said 'Wee children toes.'

"Ok, now it feels right." George turned to Harold and held his arm out. "Ready for a new chapter in our lives and loads of new readers and pranks?"

"Ready!" Harold took his arm.

The boys laughed as they went towards the school–away from a year of adventure and insanity and into a more normal, yet still promising year. Things were going to be much different at the school with them around, but it was never going to be boring.

The end.

When I was debating about doing the first fic, I knew that I'd have to do the second one and there was slight reluctance because of that. Yet I decided to go for it and it took one year to finish (and one year to get to that one romantic moment), but here we are now. Both fics covered two eventful years which had a lot of stress involved in my personal life. Yet those years included positives, like my second nephew being born or getting to experience three seasons of the CU cartoon series.

I told myself I would see it to the end if I started this. I'm glad I did because these fics helped me survive the two years. I don't know what I will be doing next after this.

For those of you who were here from the start, thank you so much. For those of you who commented, that means a lot to me (especially though Archive where I got more than one review). And Princeasimdiya12, I had no idea our ideas would lead to this, but it's been quite a ride. We made this AU together and it is yours too.

Thank you so much, wherever you are. I wish you all the happiness.