Just a head's up: As of now, lancewright has become Sovereign.

NamineXRoxas, ENDGAME. Part 2.

Sigh…The last chapter…

It's been an honor.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just the story itself. Enjoy!

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Black on black at first.

Then the darkness lightened to a hazy blue.

As I came to I sensed something soft pressing against my back and head—a bed, perhaps?

Several blinks cleared my blurred vision, resolving the image before me into a tessellation of azure ceiling tiles. An unpleasant antiseptic hospital smell pervaded my nostrils.

I was in a room of some sort. Sniffling noises were coming from somewhere below my head.

Or was it above? Who knew.

My eyes couldn't quite reach the angle I needed, so I lifted my head a bit to survey my surroundings.

Aqua, Kairi, and Xion were kneeling next to the hospital bed, faces buried in the sheets. They were sobbing uncontrollably.

I tried to greet them, but my pathetic attempt at talking came out as something sounding like, "Gargragargargragragar…"

Yeah, my mouth wasn't working quite right. How long had I been out?

Aqua slowly lifted her head. Her eyes grew to lapis dinner plates and her jaw fell open as she saw me, apparently miraculously revived.

"Namine!" she cried, leaping at me and smothering me in the way only a big sister could.

"Nice to see you too," I choked, struggling to prevent my death by suffocation. "Now, could I please have a chance to breathe?"

Xion and Kairi mobbed me the second Aqua let go, shouting, "Namine! You're alive!"

Once they had had their fair chance to throttle me, I began to apologize to them.

"Xion, I'm really sorry about Roxas leaving you like that," I sighed, sitting up. "I never knew that he'd actually do that!"

Xion shook her head. "No Namine, I should be apologizing," she said. "I never gave you a fair chance to explain, either…"

I decided to let it go. She was my friend, after all. "Ah, it's okay," I replied. "And Kairi…I apologize for leaving you behind. Sora was right; what if something had happened to you?"

Kairi scowled. "Now I'm only mad at you because you didn't come to me about your problems!" she growled. "Next time you have to talk to me, promise? Or I'll have your eye out!"

I giggled at her outburst, but before I could respond the doctors burst in.

"Miss Farron!" one shouted. The name tag on his collar read, "Dr. Cloud Strife, PhD"—Kairi's dad. "You shouldn't be up!"

"I'm fine!" I grumbled as they shoved me back down onto the bed. "Let go!"

"No you're not! We have to check for brain damage and internal trauma. Aerith, ready the scanners…"

As the doctors poked and prodded at me, I complained, "Couldn't you have done this earlier?"

"We did!" was the response. "We have to do it again!"

I snarled something unintelligible but very rude.

The bastards took their own sweet time giving me a massive once-over for any injuries, but finally I was free to leave.

"Now, Miss Farron, no strenuous activity for at least a month, okay? I don't want you having another heart attack," Dr. Strife lectured.

"Okay, okay, I got it," I growled. "Now where're my clothes?"

Aqua tossed me a white sundress.

"I wasn't wearing this!"

"I took your jeans and shirt home to wash," she replied. "This is all they have right now."

I questioned Aqua's principles regarding selling oneself under my breath, but I donned the sundress anyways. I had nothing else to wear.

I flicked the bathroom lights off and joined Aqua and my friends at the door of my room.

"Where're the guys?" I asked as we descended a flight of stairs. Dr. Strife had a hand on my arm as a precaution.

"They're waiting," Kairi replied. "They're gonna be so happy you're alive, especially Roxas…"

The teasing way she said the blond-haired sophomore's name made me blush a deep scarlet. Luckily, no one noticed, or so I hope.

Sora, Riku, Terra, and Mom were in the waiting room. I searched for Ventus for a second, but I felt pangs of sorrow when I remembered what had happened to him.

Shouts of "Namine!" filled the room.

Mom and Sora got to me first, doing their best to choke me to death, all the while apologizing for yelling at me (for Sora) and not getting back in time (for Mom).

"It's okay, it's okay," I smiled. "What matters is that you're here!"

Riku hung back for a moment. He seemed a bit awkward, so unlike him.

"Riku," Xion said sternly. "Apologize to Namine for what you said to her!"

"Okay…" he mumbled. "Sorry."

"With feeling!"

"Alright!"

I stared at Xion in shock. "How did you do that?" I demanded. "He usually never listens to anybody!"

My brunette friend looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "W-well," she stammered. "It's, ummm, sort of a long story…"

I smirked but decided to leave it at that. Kairi could tell me later.

As we joked about my apparent death (Aqua told me my heart had stopped), my eyes scanned the room for any sign of Roxas. He wasn't there.

I tugged on Sora's sleeve. "Where's your brother?" I asked worriedly.

"I think he said he wanted to go out for a walk," he answered, scratching his brown spikes. "I don't remember, lemme ask Terra."

Sora walked up to my sister's boyfriend. "Hey Terra, do you know where Roxas went?"

Terra thoughtfully scratched at his chin stubble. "I know that he said he wanted to go someplace to cool off…" he murmured. "Don't exactly remember where, though. Sorry."

My eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no no no no no no NOOOOO," I moaned, clutching my head.

Everybody looked at me in confusion.

"We have to stop him!" I shouted. "Before he does something stupid!"

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"What do you mean, I'm not allowed out of the hospital?" I yelled. My hands clenched.

Dr. Strife tried to explain. "Young woman, you don't have the strength to attempt any sort of rescue mission right now!" he scolded. "It's raining out and the temperature's freezing!"

"But I'm the only one Roxas will listen to!" I argued.

"We don't know exactly what he's doing," the doctor growled. "You're staying and that's—HEY!"

I dashed past him, Aqua hot on my heels. "Run, come on!" I urged my lagging sister.

"I'm not a runner like you," she panted, fighting to keep up.

We found the car in about five minutes, having long since ditched any pursuit. The good doctor had been right; it was dark out, the outside temperature was frigid as the Arctic, and the lashing rain only made it worse, but I took it.

If I couldn't handle it, Roxas would die.

I literally leaped into the passenger seat, hanging onto the seat with my fingernails as Aqua peeled onto the main street. We got onto the freeway in a short while, barely restraining ourselves to the speed limit imposed by evening traffic.

"We have to go to the beach," I pleaded.

Aqua gave me a questioning look.

"That's where he'll be, I know it!"

"How are you so sure?" she asked, pulling into the necessary exit.

"He told me…" I whispered.

Aqua didn't respond to that.

Minutes later Aqua pulled up into the beach parking lot and we got out. I immediately looked around for a way to get down to the lower level without using the cliff.

Finding none, I resigned myself to slowly scale down the granite face, Aqua right behind me.

But stress has a way of bypassing caution, and I quickly grew tired of having to negotiate the stubbornly uncooperative cliff. So I climbed onto a nearby rock and jumped off.

"Namine, NO!" my sister cried out in horror.

This time, though, my leap of faith was calculated. I soared all the way to the sand, beyond the seven feet of rock extending from the base of the cliff.

The impact still hurt like a stone bitch.

I sat up, winded, and wiped sand off my face. Thankfully my eyes and mouth had been tightly squeezed shut when I (crash) landed.

Quickly getting to my feet, I rushed towards the dock, where a lone figure stood, hunched over.

Sand shot out from beneath my hospital-issue sandals as I sprinted towards Roxas. Adrenaline flooded my arteries, supercharging my muscles, but I could see it wasn't going to be enough.

I got closer and closer every microsecond, but so did the point of his knife to his throat…

There was only one thing I could do at this point.

"ROXAS! STOP!"

He whirled around, eyes widening as he saw who was running towards him—

—as that same person crashed into him headfirst, knocking him over.

The knife clattered away. Roxas got up on his elbows, looking wide-eyed at the crying girl clutching at his jacket collar.

"Stupid idiot!" Both the yell and a follow-up punch to the jaw sent him back to the wood planks.

"How dare you!" Another punch, this one to the midsection, doubled him over.

"Try to leave me like this!" I slapped him across the face.

"Don't do this," I finally sobbed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Please…"

A gentle hand stroked through my hair. "Don't worry, I'll never do this again," Roxas said softly. He gently held me, rocking me back and forth like on the rooftop.

I looked into his eyes through my tear-filled ones. "B-but how do I know for sure?" I blubbered, before burying my head back into his chest.

He hugged me close, enveloping me in his warm arms. "I'd never break a promise to you," he sobbed. "Because…because I love you, Namine. Please, give me another chance."

A freezing downpour (and now sleet) had us both soaked beyond belief, but being in each other's arms dispelled the cold.

"Okay," I agreed. "Don't mess this one up."

He gave me a grateful smile, and I was shocked to see dried tear trails running down his face.

"Alright, let's get out of this damned rain," he muttered, pulling me to my feet. "You must be fucking insane to wear this dress in this kind of weather."

"How nice," I replied dryly. "Now do you have a solution? Because"—I shivered violently—"I'm freezing!"

Roxas laughed and removed his thick jacket, setting it on my shoulders. He then wrapped an arm around my shoulder, snuggling me against him.

"So how does it feel, touching your crush like this?" I whispered slyly.

He shifted uncomfortably and looked up, presumably to hide a crimson face. "Ummm," he muttered. "Really, really, good?"

I laughed, and then sneezed.

Roxas looked at me in alarm. "Uh-oh," he murmured. "Gotta get you to that car, fast! C'mon, Aqua!"

My sister tried to protest. "I'm not a runner!" she spluttered angrily. "Wait up!"

When we did not stop, she snarled and charged after us.

The heated interior of the Honda was a well-received change from the icy outside. Roxas and I sat in the back this time while Aqua started the car.

As the heat from the air conditioning (and Roxas) warmed me up and started to dry off my clothing, I felt perfectly happy—something I realized I hadn't been since…since…

I'll have to get back to you on that.

I likely had a nasty cold now, but I didn't care. I knew somebody would be there to help me through—Roxas.

And then one disturbing thought ran through my contentment-drugged mind.

What if he fails again?

But you know what?

He didn't.

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*inconsolable crying* WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It's over… *sniffles*

The last chapter…

Meh, I'm still happy that Namine forgave Roxas. Do you know why I ended Masks like that? I'm leaving it to your imagination to fill in the blanks! Of course, if you want me to write extra chapters about Roxas and Namine's new relationship, then okay.

And NO, an epilogue does not count as an official chapter (in my opinion). Make what you will of that.

Winner of the priority contest: Lost and Found.