A.N.- The final chapter. I hope you all like it. Please leave a review if you like. I love to hear people's thoughts, especially with a twist or two in here. Also, let me know if you'd fancy a 'conclusion' or follow up story of this. Anyway, hope you enjoy and happy holidays to all :) P.S Don't forget to read chapter 8 if you haven't already, this is my second upload within a few minutes!

The End- Part 2

The rest of the night was without drama or danger. By first light of a cold white morning, they had finally reached the castle. The horses were both exhausted, so the men left them outside. "Take turns keeping watch," warned Kurogane, "Mokona stay close to Golden-Oak so that he stays warm. If we are not out of this castle by tomorrow morning, both of you must go back to the Golden Forest."

Mokona whinnied in offense but Syaoran said, "do it for Golden-Oak, he cannot stay in these conditions long."

Golden-Oak looked at them with sad brown eyes as if he hated being so weak. Syaoran placed a kiss by his cheek and Kurogane stroked his mane briefly before the men departed from their equine comrades.

The inside of the castle was beautiful. Great symmetrical pillars of ice held up a cathedral-like roof structure. The floor was engraved with patterns which prevented them from slipping. All was completely silent.

The men walked quietly, feeling cowed and awed by the atmosphere.

Then finally, they began to hear a slight noise. They walked towards it, entering a great hall. In the middle of the hall sat a blond man amongst a dozen shards of glass. His bare feet, arms and hands were covered in small, painful cuts.

"Fai?" Kurogane cried out. The boy turned his head and whilst it was Fai's face, his eyes were changed. Instead of blue they were now a pale yellow- like the weak rays of a winter sun.

Kurogane ran to his friend and embrace him. He had to kneel down to do so and he could feel the glass cutting through his clothes and on to his knees. He didn't care. Fai smelt different now, no longer like flowers in summer but instead of clear skies and snow. His body was even thinner than it had been before, Kurogane could feel the other boy's bones. He was also desperately cold despite not shivering.

"Fai, what has happened to you?" he whispered into the smaller boy's shoulder.

Syaoran stood further up. Fai glanced at the boy.

The Poet frowned, he noticed that Fai was not hugging Kurogane back, had yet to say a word, and was now concerned to see that blank-eyed look. Even more disturbing was the thing Fai had been trying, it seemed, to put back together. It looked like a glass statue of a man. The glass man now lay in many pieces all over the floor, a forlorn look on the one half of his shattered face.

Syaoran gulped, feeling that this was not some ordinary statue that had gotten broken. The whole situation was sinister.

"Kurogane," he called, "are you sure that is your old friend?"

Kurogane stood and looked at Fai. "Yes, but he has changed. The witch said he would have, she said he as sick. But she didn't say anything useful about saving him. Fai, can you understand me? Do you remember me? At all?"

Fai continued to look blankly at Kurogane, no recognition or sign that he cared on his features. Kurogane gulped. This had been a lot more painful than he had envisioned. It was as if someone had gripped his heart and was now squeezing it. It was hard to breathe and his chest hurt.

"Fai, please, I am Kurogane. I am your friend. We care about each other. We've known each since we were boys." He placed his hand on Fai's cold and pale face, "please remember me. Say something, please." He bowed his head, unable to look the boy in foreign eyes any longer, "please…please Fai." He continued to beg.

Slowly the strength in his body drained away and he sunk lower. He had travelled for so long and so far but he was too late, his friend was gone.

Anger and frustration and despair all welled up at once.

"I'll do anything," he was barely able to whisper, "I'll do anything. Please come back to me."

Fai still said nothing.

It was in that moment, the darkest of Kurogane's life, that he truly felt loss. It was as if a giant, gaping hole opened beneath him and he fell into it, unable to escape. All hope was gone. And with hope so was happiness and contentment and love.

Syaoran watched the demise of his friend in horror. He felt hatred towards Fai. He wanted to run at him and hit him and scream in his face, "do you not know what this man has done for you? Do you not know how long and hard he has fought and searched? Answer him! Wake up!"

But he didn't. Instead he saw from the corner a woman entering from another room. Her hair was white and upon it was a delicate crown of ice. Her dress was long and pale white with a shimmer of green within it. Her eyes were a pale green. Her face was very similar to Lady Sakura's, round and youthful. However, there was no kindness in her eyes and no cheer in her disposition.

"Kurogane! It is the Snow Queen!"

The warrior rose up to face her. She looked at him, cool and impassive.

"My friend," he muttered hoarsely, "what have you done to him?"

"He is mine now." She said after a long pause. Her voice was quiet and distant, as if being spoken in another room.

"No! He is not yours. He belongs to himself! You've stripped that away from him, and you have no right."

The Queen sneered a little, "you are of no consequence to me. Just some boy from a village, do you really believe you have say hold on what I say or do?"

Kurogane took out his sword and aimed at her in a flash. "Fai is my friend," he growled, "and I will fight to defend him, I don't care if you are a Queen or a god or anything!"

"My winter is already killing you," she said, "you will be dead in a few hours anyway. The journey took too much of a toll and now the winter has finished you."

"Then I will die fighting. It makes no difference. Fai will be free."

At once she sprouted fur and a snout. She grew in girth and size, forming into a great White Polar Bear. The bear roared so loudly that the castle shook, but Kurogane was not afraid. He had been looking death in the eye for some time now.

He began to swing at the bear, wanting to keep her at bay long enough for him to work out a weak spot. However, she was too quick and too heavy. With one swipe of her paw she sent him hurtling into one of the walls. He cried out in pain, blood spattering out of his mouth. He stood, forcing himself to recover.

Syaoran, knowing this was his friend's fight no matter how much he wanted to help, instead ran over to Fai.

"This is your friend," he said breathlessly to the blond, "look how he fights for you."

Fai said nothing but continued to watch without any feeling.

Kurogane wiped the blood from his mouth as the Bear ran towards him, it's feet heavy and loudly. The remains of the statue of the man Fai had been working on was crushed to powder under her heavy charge. Kurogane grit his teeth together and held his sword steady. Se leapt at him just as he fell onto his back. The sword pierced upwards into her chest.

Blood poured down onto him. She roared in agony and rage. He rolled out from under her, but she caught him. She reached out and grabbed his arm in his powerful jaws. He cried out and she bit down, tearing off his arm.

Finally, the two titans fell together.

Syaoran watched in open mouthed horror before coming to his senses and running to Kurogane.

The she-bear was dead, but he was barely alive.

"Take Fai," he muttered, his arm-socket bleeding out, "take him to the witch…save him."

He then coughed up blood before taking his last breath. His last thought was a berating of himself; that he hadn't been able to save Fai completely…that he had failed. But then the lights went off and the world slipped away.

Kurogane's journey had come to an end. He was dead.

Syaoran stood up slowly, breathing heavily.

It took a long time before he could turn away from the pale face of his dead friend to see Fai. But what he saw shocked him again.

Fai had covered his mouth with both hands, and Syaoran had no doubt that he was silently screaming. His eyes were streaming with tears.

Syaoran ran up to him slipping slightly as his boots were covered I blood.

"Fai? Fai? Are you awake?" he looked at the boy and was amazed to see that blue eyes were slowly taking over the old pale yellow.

Syaoran, with effort, pulled Fai's hands away from his mouth. "We need to get you away from here," he rushed, "come, come, Kurogane would not want you to stay here."

"Kurogane!" the boy finally cried out, pushing Syaoran aside and running to his friend. He knelt down in the blood and cradled his friend. "No, Kuro…my Kuro…no…"

Tears fell freely and heavily.

He never knew such suffering; all this time he had been trapped within his own body, unable to do anything of his own free will. He had not been able to resist the call of the Queen, nor had he been able to escape her. When Kurogane had held him all he wanted to do was reach out and touch him, kiss him, tell him how much he loved him and missed him and that he never, ever wanted them to be apart ever again. But all he could do was stare stupidly as the man he loved fell apart.

And now…now, Kurogane was dead and he had died believing that Fai did not love him anymore. It was more than he could bear. Kurogane had lost everything for Fai and Fai hadn't been able to give him anything in return. He was useless… useless!

The Poet bit his lip, trying to decide on the right thing to do, before slowly joining Fai.

"My friend," he said, "I do not wish to give false hope…but Kurogane told me that there is some magic in you. That once you managed to bring a rabbit back to life."

Fai remembered that day. "It wasn't me," he whispered, "I'm not the one who contains magic. It's my Kuro."

Syaoran looked down at the corpse of the warrior in horror. Was there really no hope? He bowed his head, tears beginning to fall as the realisation hit him hard.

Between their tears, neither boy noticed that the Bear was beginning to return to its original human form.

It was only when the Queen took in a breath of life, that Syaoran, and then Fai lifted their heads. Before them was Sakura, only she was a different one from the Lady of the Golden Forest. She seemed younger somehow, and not so ethereal but more like a girl.

She looked down at the dead boy and at the other two weeping.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I am the Lady of Winter. I was just so lonely for so long."

"You look like the Lady Sakura," gasped Syaoran, "the Lady of Autumn!"

The Lady of Winter touched her forehead as if she had a mild headache. "Yes," she murmured, "I think I had a sister once…but something happened…But I don't remember." She lowered her hand and looked at Fai, "I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just so alone." She turned and looked at the shattered glass of the statue scattered about the room, "and poor Doumeki…oh what have I done?"

Fai stood on shaking legs, "you must fix this! You caused all this misery, you have to fix it!"

The Lady of Winter nodded, "of course, of course I will. It will take all my power, so I shall need to borrow what magic I can. Luckily there is some in you, and in your friend and in the sword. I shall use that with my own to try and fix the situation."

First she walked over the Fai, "I have drained much of your magic," she muttered, placing her hands around his face, "much like I drained all the love from Doumeki. But you have a little left."

"I'm not magical," he responded softly, not understanding her.

"Yes you are," she smiled, "the love that you have for this dark-haired man powers you. You are as magical as he is. But you magic of revival only works when you both merge that magic together. Now I need to borrow some." She leaned forward and kissed his mouth. It was gentle and non-sexual. However when she pulled away, Fai had to sit back down on the floor, feeling like his energy was all spent.

She knelt down and blew on Kurogane's mouth. He took in a deep breath and groaned in pain.

Fai's heart, which had seemed to have stopped, began to beat strongly again. His breathing sped up, "Kuro," he whispered, tears of hope now filling blue eyes, "Kuro!"

"I'm so stupid," The Lady of Winter said, tired bitterness in her soft voice, "such a klutz! I cannot bring back his arm…but…"

She picked up Ginyru and placed it by the arm socket. She whispered some words they could not understand and the sword began to reform itself. It stretched and became broader, twisting into a complicated, metallic version of an arm.

"It's lucky there was magic in here already," she muttered, "or I'd never be able to achieve such a thing."

After the arm was formed, the look of pain lessened on Kurogane's face, though his eyes remained closed. She placed her hand on his chest and a white glow began to appear around her hand. She sunk it into his chest and it was then that dark red eyes opened in shock.

With the look of benevolence on her face, the Lady of Winter moved away, allowing Kurogane to sit up and see the delighted face of Fai.

"You're back to normal?" he asked his friend, immediately noticing his eyes were blue again. Fai laughed in amazement- Kurogane had died and yet his first question was still about Fai! He wrapped his arms around his tall friend gleefully and nuzzled his neck.

"Yes I'm fine, despite the fact that you almost killed me, never do that again Kuro-puppy."

"Kuro-gane!"

Fai laughed again, still clutching Kurogane hard. The dark-haired boy held him close as well, his metal arm working almost as well as a real arm, both men swearing to never let each other go again.

They held each other for a long time, before Syaoran gently touched Kurogane's shoulder, reminding him of the rest of them.

Both he and Fai stood up, their hands locked together- Fai's of flesh and Kurogane's of metal.

"Fai, this is Syaoran, he came from the Golden Forest and is a great man."

Fai smiled and nodded.

Syaoran blushed like a schoolgirl and shook Fai's hand, "I look forward to getting to know you Fai. Your friend here has been on quite a journey to find you."

"Oh," cried Fai, "but your leg, I see it is injured!"

Syaoran looked down, "y-yes…but…it'll be alright."

"No," said the Lady of Winter, "you will become very sick from the wound. You will not make the journey back to the forest."

"The Lady Sakura?" asked Kurogane, only just noticing her, "what are you doing here? Where is the Lady Tomoyo and the Snow Queen?"

"I am the Snow Queen," she replied, "not the Lady Sakura. I am the Lady of Winter. This is all I know. That and that I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused."

Kurogane was incandescent, "sorry? You're sorry! How is that good enough! Do you know what misery you have wrought?"

"Yes," she became quite teary eyed, and instinctively Syaoran stood beside her, "but I am doing my best now."

"She bought you back," said Syaoran quietly, "I think there may have been some sort of curse."

"Well then heal Syaoran," he demanded, "it's our fault he was here and got hurt. Then you will tell us where a man called Doumeki is! You stole him from the Mage of Summer."

Fai bit his lip before glancing at Kurogane, "Doumeki was with me." He said, "but he was turned into a statue a long time ago. All the love and life drained out of him until there was nothing left. He faded away and eventually became glass. Then, just before you all arrived, he smashed on to the floor. I remember trying to piece him back together but it was no good. He was already…" he shook his head, unable to speak anymore.

Kurogane kissed the top of his head before glowering at the Lady of Winter. "You bought me back, bring back Doumeki. The Mage suffers his loss."

She sighed, "I don't have enough magic left in me to both heal your friend's leg and bring back Doumeki. I was barely able to revive you."

"But Kurogane, you and Fai can bring back Doumeki," answered Syaoran happily, "The Lady said that the magic resides in you and Fai. It is love, Kurogane. And when you two are together, it combines your power. That's how you can revive things."

Kurogane frowned. He was still pretty certain that Fai was magical, not him. Fai seemed so different and ethereal and amazing. But he was just boring old Kurogane. It seemed ridiculous that he would possess any special abilities.

Sensing his thoughts, Fai turned and looked Kurogane in the eye. "I love you, Kuro-puppy."

Kurogane blushed and wanted to complain about the pet-name, but couldn't.

"I love you," persisted Fai, "and I know you love me. If that is magic then together we should be able to revive an army!"

He pulled Kurogane over to the shards of glass. In the background, The Lady of Winter began to heal Syaoran's leg.

The two men knelt down and put their hands together, mimicking that day in the summer.

They looked at each other and remembered not only their past, but, for the first time, thought with some clarity of their future together. They imagined their marriage, their home, any children, even any pets they would have.

Kurogane smiled, feeling completely in love and at peace, as he leaned forward and kissed Fai. It was gentle and kind and chaste.

Fai sighed happily, never knowing such joy. As they pulled away he muttered, "and to think, I was just willing to do this after giving you your coffee."

Kurogane suddenly remembered their last day together, back on the ice rink where Fai had made him share that ludicrous hot chocolate with him before offering him a semi-cold coffee.

"I should have just drank it," he said, his voice slightly hoarse, "I shouldn't have complained."

"Hush, don't talk that way. None of this was our fault, not yours, not mine."

"It wasn't mine either, I don't think."

Fai and Kurogane leapt up at the sound of a man's voice beneath them. They looked down and saw that between them, lying on the ground, was the tall, dark-haired Doumeki. He sat up and rubbed his head.

"I was down there alive for some time, I just didn't want to break you both up," he said in a slight monotone. "I was a bit uncomfortable though, and I better get back to Watanuki. He's clumsy and needs someone to help eat his meals."

Fai and Kurogane stared, before Fai began to laugh. Kurogane glanced between them and then allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

They were safe. He had achieved his goal. Doumeki had been found, the Snow Queen stopped and most importantly, Fai, his best friend and love of his life, was alive and well and laughing.

'Your whole life will like this,' he promised Fai mentally, 'you will always be happy with me. I swear it.'

And, because it was Kurogane making this oath, it was exactly how he swore it would be.

Fin