Well, here it is. The last chapter (save for the epilogue). I've really enjoyed writing this story, and I hope that you've also enjoyed reading it. Your reviews have all been amazing and they've been what's kept me writing :) So thank you!

XII

All too soon, the Fifth of November was upon us.

I knew instinctively, as soon as I woke up, that something was different. The day was different. Tension seemed to hang in the air, time seemed to slow down.

After I gave V the blue folder, he came and sat down with me in the living room, and I had told him the whole story about Patrick and I burning down the Norsefield Library. I knew that he was probably inwardly screaming at me for being such an idiot, but to be honest, there were more important things on my mind.

"I promise I won't do anything like that again." I said. Which was true. Patrick and I had done what we needed to do, and in the process, had unearthed dirt on the whole of Norsefire. Brilliant.

Now there was nothing left to do but wait.

He had looked at me for several long moments. "I trust you, Vanessa."

"I know."

V had risen from the sofa, holding the blue folder. "Now, it's time for me to do what I have been wanting to do for a long, long time. And when I do, Creedy and his men had better be well prepared."

After V had told me how he had impersonated William Rookwood, and told Creedy that he was being watched, I felt comfortable enough that we didn't have any more secrets. And that included V's other secret; the one we both knew about but didn't discuss openly.

I knew perfectly well that V himself had fallen in love with Evey, but I didn't let on that I knew. He certainly had more to him than I gave him credit for.

Now, on that day of November the Fifth, I was in my room, packing my things into a black bag (oh, the irony), knowing perfectly well that after tonight, I wasn't going to be coming back. The room seemed so empty and bare as I folded all my clothes and stuffed them in the bag. Last of all, I carefully took down the drawing of my mother from above my bed. I held it for a few seconds, looking at her face, smiling out at me from the paper. I had thought about her every day, wondering if she was missing me just as much as I missed her. So much that it hurt. A lump rose in my throat, before I folded the picture and tucked it down the side of the bag.

That was when I heard the sound. It started off softly but then grew louder; the sound of things clattering together and falling in one big rush. I froze, listening to it, wondering what it was. It seemed like an age before the noise stopped, before I could bring myself to creep out of the room and down the hallway.

The dominoes lay still in the centre of the room. I stared at the hundreds of them that had fallen, creating the noise I had heard only moments before. Yet, they were still arranged in that black and red 'V' symbol I knew so well. Slowly, I walked around them towards the door, imagining that first domino falling in slow motion, colliding with another and another, until the picture was complete.

Except for the fact that there was a domino missing from the tip of the V.

"Wow, V." I murmured, taking a glance once again at the dominoes. "You clearly have way too much time on your hands."

Then, I slipped out the door to visit Patrick for the very last time.

It was already dark by the time I approached Patrick's hiding spot. I quietly pushed open the door with a whispered, "Patrick? It's me."

"Hey, Vanessa."

I shut the door and turned round to find him standing in front of me, smiling. Moving towards me, he put his arms around me and hugged me, my mouth finding his. After several moments, we broke apart.

"It seems so strange for us to be sitting here, like everything's normal, and yet we just set fire to a building." I said, sitting across from him in the main room.

"I know." He gazed around the room just as I had done to mine, before looking at me again. "And tonight's the Fifth."

One whole year since I met V. My body jolted at the memory. His voice hissing through the air before he slaughtered the Fingermen, the way his mask smiled at me as he shook my hand….

With an effort, I pulled myself back to reality. "Patrick, this is it. Everything we've been waiting for has come down to tonight."

His expression was somber, yet I glimpsed a flicker of hope in his eyes. "I hope that that so-called terrorist lives up to his promise."

"He will. He always does." Why are you always so sure of him? I thought.

"Speaking of which, did you know that the entire population of London has been mysteriously sent Guy Fawkes masks?"

"What?" I stared at him, surprised.

Patrick picked the small radio up. "I was listening to this earlier and it was doing a recap of the weekly news. Anyway, I heard that someone anonymous had got all these masks from God knows where and sent them to everyone's houses."

In preparation for tonight, I thought. I think I know who that might be from.

"Patrick, when Big Ben chimes midnight tonight, what are we going to do?"

He looked at me. "We'll be at the gates of Parliament, of course."

"No, but–" I wasn't sure how to tell him that I might be somewhere else entirely– with V. "Well–" Suddenly, I caught sight of the digits on my watch flashing in the shadows. 9:30. I had to get back to the Shadow Gallery. But at the same time, I had an idea.

I stood up. "Patrick, I have to go. But would you be able to do something for me?"

He got to his feet, pulling me into his arms. "Anything for ye."

I raised my head to whisper in his ear. "Meet me at midnight at the balcony above the train station."

Then, I kissed him quickly, and ran out the door.

By the time I got back to the Shadow Gallery, my heart was pounding. I had run nearly all the way. Leaning against the door, I tried to slow my breathing before edging the door open. But when I did, what I saw took me by surprise.

Evey was there.

It took me a moment to realize that she and V were dancing to the slow tune of the jukebox. They appeared to be talking quietly, but what they were saying was inaudible. I was unsure whether to let them be or enter the room, but as I watched, Evey slowed her pace and stepped backwards a little from V. To which I took as my cue to enter silently through the door.

"I hope I'm not too late to join the party."

When Evey turned round and saw me, she smiled. Resisting all impulses to appear casual, I ran over and hugged her. I could feel V watching us, smiling behind his mask.

"You're back." I said, as she released me. "That was quick."

"I know. But I couldn't miss the celebrations tonight, could I?" she replied, turning towards V.

"Listen." The masked man spoke, gazing at Evey and I. "We don't have much time, and I want to give you both something." He turned around, towards the door. "Follow me."

Our footsteps echoed around the large empty space that I could only recognize as the Underground train station. I stood there, shivering as a cold gust of wind blew up the tunnel.

"The Underground." Evey whispered. "I thought they closed it all down."

"They did." V replied. "It took nearly ten years to clear the tracks, but I made a bit of it my own. Let me show you."

He guided Evey and I past the large black train that stood motionless in the centre of the tracks. But then, I got to the door of the train, and registered what I was seeing.

"Oh God." I stared at the explosives that were packed into every single seat in the compartment, suddenly reminding me of when I first met Patrick on the train. This made his plan of carrying explosives round in a backpack look like something a three-year old could have done. "V, these tracks lead to Parliament."

"Yes."

"It's really going to happen, isn't it?" Evey asked, gazing at him.

"If you want it to." V indicated a hand around the compartment. "Evey, Vanessa, this is my gift to you. Everything that I have, I'm leaving to you both. To do with what you will. No more tricks, no more lies. Only truth."

"I believe you." I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"And I want you to know that the choice to pull this lever is not mine to make."

he continued. My gaze fell upon the silver lever– and the domino standing beside it, marked with the number five. "The world that I helped shape will end, tonight. And tomorrow, a new world will begin."

With that, he stepped down from the train and began to walk back the way we had come. I jumped down and took a step towards him. "V, where are you going?"

He turned back to face us. "The time has come for me to meet my maker. To repay him in kind for all he has done."

"Wait!" Evey ran after him. "Please, you don't have to do this!" She caught up with him. "We could run away together, the three of us."

"No." He lowered his face. "All I want, all I deserve, is at the end of that tunnel."

I lowered my face towards the ground, trying to swallow down the huge boulder lodged in my throat. I shouldn't be here, watching as V gets himself killed for our sake.

But then, as I slowly raised my head, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evey bring her face closer to V's. And kiss the plastic lips of his mask.

Then, slowly, he released her, and stepped backwards. The next two words he spoke were full of sadness and regret.

"I can't."

Without meeting our eyes, he quickly made his way to the entrance of the tunnel leading outside, and vanished.

Leaving the two of us behind.

I don't know how long Evey and I waited there, in the Underground, for V to come back. It could have been only ten minutes, it could have been ten hours. The two of us sat on a bench beside the train, barely speaking. I tried to stop my whole body from shaking. More importantly, I tried to stop myself from running out of that place to find V and bring him back. Back to Evey and I, and to the Shadow Gallery, where he belonged.

"That graffiti drawing was yours, wasn't it?"

I nodded, not saying anything because I couldn't bring myself to speak.

"I just thought you should know–" Evey's voice was quiet. "On the day I left the Shadow Gallery, I walked past the wall where it was. For some reason, it hadn't been removed. And I saw that, well, people had…added to it."

"Added to it?"

"Yeah. All these V symbols in bright red spray paint had been added to the original. I tried to count them but there were so many." She didn't say anything more.

Then–

"He loved you, you know."

I met her gaze, the expression on her face a mixture of sadness and certainty. "He loved you, too. You know that."

She shook her head. "He once told me that he felt that you were like a daughter to him. After I came back to the Shadow Gallery tonight, when you were out, we talked. He said that he found more of himself in you than he thought was possible, especially after he told me how you and Patrick had risked your lives to burn down the Norsefield Library." A faint smile crossed her face. "It may not have seemed like it, but he was proud of you, Vanessa. You know that."

It took all my willpower not to start crying.

Almost instantly, a noise caught my attention, and I looked up, startled. A tremor ran through me as I realized that it was V– stumbling into the entrance of the tunnel. A feeling of cold rushed through me.

He was hurt. Badly.

"V!" Evey and I ran over to him, Evey catching him as he fell. I collapsed on my knees beside her, not failing to see that his cloak was soaked with what could only be blood.

"We have to stop the bleeding." Her voice trembled as she gently lowered V down to the ground.

"No, Evey." I felt my eyes start to fill with tears, as I tried to control a sob. Because I knew, just as well as V knew, that there was no helping him now.

"No, please." His voice was weaker. "The end has come. And I am glad of it. For twenty years, I sought this day. Nothing else existed, until I saw you."

Evey's eyes were filled with tears. I could feel my own tears drip slowly down my face as I looked at V. The man who had saved us both from Fingermen, who I thought was invincible, was about to die.

"I fell in love with you, Evey. Like I no longer believed I could."

"But I– we don't want you to die." I choked out, feeling V's gaze shift towards me. Reaching out, I took hold of his gloved left hand and held it.

"That….is the most beautiful thing….you could ever have given me." His voice was fainter, his breathing shallower.

And that was the moment he died. With Evey weeping, her head on his chest, and me, tears silently coursing down my face, still holding his hand.

It took the two of us to lift V's body and place it in the train, adorning him with Violet Carsons that Evey had found, growing in another compartment. A final valediction, as V had said. I stood by the door of the train as Evey gently placed the last rose down, studying his face for the last time. Then, she leaned forward, and almost without thinking, I knew what she was about to do.

"Don't."

She stayed still, her fingers unmoving from the edges of V's mask. "It's a part of him." I said quietly. Taking one final glance at him, I stepped off the train and looked at her.

"You're right."

Evey turned away from him, and looking at that stationary red domino that marked our destiny. She stayed there, unmoving, for a moment, and took a deep breath.

"Hold it, stop right there."

I slowly turned towards the source of the voice, gradually recognizing the man who was pointing a gun into the compartment, at Evey. "You're Evey Hammond." he whispered.

"Hello, Mr Finch." I said casually.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of me, seeming unable to believe it. "You–" Words failed him. "Aren't you the girl who's gone missing?"

"I'm Vanessa Breigon. And yes, to both questions." My voice was emotionless, past caring. Finch turned his attention back to Evey.

"Take your hand off that lever."

She shook her head, no trace of fear in her eyes. "No."

"Mr Finch, don't you realize that this country needs more than a building right now? It needs hope." His eyes flickered towards mine, as I held his gaze. "Put the gun down, Inspector."

The clock struck midnight as Finch lowered his gun.

And as Evey pushed the lever up and exited the train, the three of us stood watching silently as the doors closed. Numbly, I watched as the train moved swiftly away in the opposite direction, taking V with it.

"Tell me." Evey was the first to break the silence as she guided Finch and I back towards the tunnel. "Do you like music, Mr Finch?"

I stood there, on the balcony, the night breeze blowing through my hair as music blared through the speakers. Looking down at the sea of masked faces below me, standing to attention as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture played on. Barely having time to register Patrick's face before he was suddenly there, beside me. He didn't say anything but put an arm around me, just being there.

"That music." I heard Finch mutter, astounded.

"Yes." Evey replied. "It is music."

Images of V rushed through my head, as the music reached a crescendo, and then–

As the train reached its final destination, the night sky exploded as the greatest firework display on earth took place. The Parliament buildings erupted into flame, with multiple bangs so loud I could feel the ground vibrate. As the blast shattered windows and destroyed everything in its path, Big Ben collapsed on itself. Silently Patrick took my hand, as I listened to the music fill the air. Fireworks began to shoot upwards, outlining the silhouette of the city, forming a V in the sky.

"Who was he?" Finch asked, staring at the display of destruction. A proper Viking funeral for V, I thought.

"He was my father. And my mother, and my brother." Evey replied. "My friend. And he was you, and Patrick. And Vanessa, and I."

I took a deep breath and held Patrick's hand tightly. Knowing, of course, that after this night, I would see my mother again. I would always be linked to Evey and the Shadow Gallery in some way that I couldn't possibly explain. And I would tell Patrick the whole story. One day, of course, but not now. We had all the time in the world.

So, as we stood there, watching that world end, and a new one begin, I lifted my face to the sky, letting the three of them know what I had known all along.

"He was in all of us."

And now, stay tuned for the epilogue...bet you're wanting to know what happens to Vanessa at the end, right?