(Topaz here! Whoohoo! Last chapter time! At last, it's all finished. It may seem kind of short to some, only being eight chapters,but it took a LOT of work. I want to thank everybody who read and commented on this story. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! -Topaz Fox)

Night was waning, giving way to the first speck of morning light. The party wouldn't last much longer. The lovely couple on the couch remained there, blissful beyond blissful. Topaz's hair somehow ended up escaping the confines of the bun it was in. It trailed everywhere, framing Topaz's happy face as she lay on her side, resting on Cloud's solid chest. She felt the thick fabric of Cloud's half-armor against her cheek, felt his two strong arms encircling her, and thought for sure that she had found some sort of heaven.

She sighed. Cloud started stroking her back. "Topaz," he said quietly. "My little gem." She snuggled up closer to him. "Cloud, I think I love you," she said sleepily. Although she wasn't looking at him, she could feel him smile down at her. "I love you too, little gem. But..."

"But what?" A very small chord was missed in their symphony.

"I feel like a traitor."

"Why?"
He stopped stroking her back and started playing with her hair, taking locks of it and winding them around his fingers. "Back at my old home," he murmured, "there was one person I didn't tell you about. A girl...a girl with a braid and a pink dress, and eyes like meadows. I don't even remember her name. Maybe the Heartless made my memory bad, or maybe I've chosen to forget it since I met you..."

There was a pause. He continued, "But I remember thinking she was, you know, my...destiny. Some people would say she was the One. I have been searching for her ever since my world was destroyed. I loved her...I still love her, I guess. But now...I met you. And now it feels like you're the one for me. I don't know what to do. Can someone have two destinies, two Ones?"

If Topaz hadn't been so intoxicated with love and joy, she would have felt...betrayed. But her love for this man allowed her to understand. Her eyes were unclouded. She could see his plight. She thought for a moment and looked up at him, momentarily stunned by his perfection. Words found their way past her lips. "I think...you should live in the present. Keep looking for this girl, if you care about her. Don't let me stop you. When you find her...worry then. But right now, I want to stay with you. I'm okay with whatever you choose to do. I only want to stay by your side."

Cloud smiled and kissed her again. The jealousy and distaste for this other girl would probably hit her tomorrow. Now, though, she was all happiness.

"But another thing I worry about," said Cloud, "is that we have such a great age difference. You're barely past being a child, if you don't mind me saying. It...concerns me. I don't know if I'll be able to have a real relationship with you. I don't want to be the one to break your innocence."

"How are you sure I'm a kid? I never told you how old I was."
"Kabira did."

Topaz sat bolt upright. "Kabira! My sister Kabira?"

Cloud grinned, something that Topaz had never seen him do. "The very same. She told me all about you."

Baby Kabira's still alive! I can't believe it! "You found her? Where is she?"

"She was being attacked by some fiends in Halloween Town a few days ago. I beat them off and noticed how much she looked like you. She told me that she was your younger sister. You should see her. She's like a regular Halloween Town local. Fits right in."

Topaz began to laugh and cry at the same time. Cloud was startled. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, unsure. Topaz shook her head, her body heaving with laughter, yet tears streaming down her face. "N-no," she choked, trying to calm down. "Just the opposite. I-I'm so...happy. I don't know what to do with myself..." She fell against Cloud, who was sitting up now, and cried into him. He held her until she had stopped crying.

She wiped her eyes. "Sorry. I probably seem pretty silly right now, huh?" Cloud kissed the top of her head. "Not at all. I...I understand."
It was nearly morning now. The sun was on the verge of rising, and at last, Topaz told Cloud that she had to go home. She stood up to go, but having been seated for hours and hours, she fell down onto the couch again. "My legs aren't fit for walking just yet," she said sheepishly. Cloud hugged her. "Good."

Finally, though, Topaz insisted that she must go. "I gotta go to sleep before I die from tiredness," she told Cloud. He nodded. "Me too. That fight took more out of me than I first expected." The two rose, wobbly, to their feet, embraced one last time, and prepared to go their separate ways. Before they parted, Topaz said, "Keep an eye out for me. I'd love to do something like this again."

"Where will you be?"

"Oh, you know. Here. There. Around. You'll definitely see me again."

"Is that a promise?"

"It's a promise."

With that, Topaz left the underground room, trying not to trip as she ascended the stairs that led up into the outside world. She left the Colosseum and blinked in the dawn air. The sunrise was just taking place, pink and purple flames dancing on the horizon. Topaz looked at the sizzling colors and remembered everything that had happened that night. She looked at the possibilities of the future, seeing how perhaps she could have found true love; and she saw how maybe, just maybe, her family could still be alive. I can't wait to see Kabira again.

The Snow Raven was sitting where Topaz had left it, awaiting her return. She went inside, set an auto-piloted course for Halloween Town, flung her sandals off, and collapsed into her bed. As the ship rumbled to life, she closed her eyes. "What a wonderful life a storyteller lives," she whispered aloud. And maybe...maybe I should try archery. She smiled at the thought and drifted into a happy, well-deserved sleep.

-Fin-