Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry I'm a day late posting this! Lots of drama at college (not to mention homework. No really: don't mention homework. T^T)! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this last installment to Seven Nights! I know I did! ^_^

Seven Nights

Night Eight: Neverending Past

Celebi didn't know how long she knelt there, sobbing and holding the motionless cocoon to her. She only knew that when her breathing quieted at last, punctuated by the occasional hiccup, the sky was midnight black and the stars were smattered across the gaps in the trees.

She couldn't think straight. Nothing would ever be the same again. She didn't want anything to be the same again. How could it? The only Pokémon she had ever loved would not wake up for a thousand years, and she just couldn't get to him. Would she even remember him in a thousand years, if she lived that long? Eventually, details would fade: what his voice sounded like, his light-blue markings beneath his eyes, the feeling that rushed through her when they joined hands or embraced...

She shook her head, refusing to let herself think these thoughts. She would not allow herself to forget. She couldn't.

Jirachi was the Wishmaker.. Why, then, did she feel as if all her wishes had been crushed?

If only she had figured it out sooner that she loved him...

Then what? What would it have changed? It would have only made their parting more painful for both of them.

She took in a deep breath, her breathing finally having slowed, and let it out with a shuddering sigh. Sniffling slightly, she gazed up at the stars.

"Wish you could see the stars with me, Jirachi," she whispered to the silent chrysalis she still held clutched in her arms. She paused a moment, and then continued, "Actually, I just wish you were here with me. It wouldn't matter what we did, as long as I was with you."

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she froze. "I...wish..." she repeated slowly, a realization slowly washing over her. "If I could have made a wish..." She glanced back down at the chrysalis and let out a gasp. "A wish!" she repeated. Suddenly she knew she couldn't just let him go. She knew what she had to do.

But would it work?

It has to, she told herself determinedly. It just has to. She steeled herself, gritting her jaw and balling her hands into fists. Thinking quickly, she clutched the crystal again, holding it closely as a bright blue glow began to surround her. She screwed her eyes shut tightly, letting out a murmur of effort, steadily increasing in pitch and volume as the glow around her grew brighter and brighter.

Jirachi, she thought, letting her heart swell with hope and determination. I'm coming.

She disappeared.

(-o-)

Sleepy... Jirachi was so very sleepy. Everything seemed so hazy when he hibernated, his dreams always half-formed and forgotten by the time he woke up. An uncomfortable sensation gripped him, and his heart skipped as he slept. A loud roar sounded in the back of his dormant mind, and he heard it and did not hear it at the same time. Suddenly, the noise died, and everything was peaceful again.

A brief silence. Then, another sound started in the back of his head. He drifted on the edge of the precipice of unconsciousness. Something was drawing him over, stirring something within him. The sound was swelling, and his heart gave another flutter.

Singing, his hibernating subconscious realized. Someone was singing. What was it? It sounded so familiar... this feeling... this feeling was so warm...

Suddenly, he felt himself encompassed with a tingling sensation all over. His limbs were numb, and his brain seemed to hover somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness.

The singing... it was calling to him...His heart stirred again, and Jirachi's eyes fluttered, not quite opening.

So familiar... what was this feeling, this song? His blurred vision saw a shadow moving outside his shell, a shadow that he knew well...who was it? He asked himself. Who was singing to him? His heart seemed to beat faster, and a sweet joy bubbled up inside him. He made a small noise and felt the tingling increase. It was a sensation he knew well: he was waking up. Willingly, he surrendered to the feeling, letting the warm glow surround him completely and feeling his chrysalis slowly disappear.

(-o-)

Celebi kept singing softly, pausing often for exhausted pants. She sang a new song she had made up on the spot as she cradled the quartz shell tenderly. She felt as if she could not draw enough breath to breathe properly, and she was doubled over in exhaustion, but still she kept singing, her voice aglow with hope.

"Wake, my dear one, unto me
Let this lullaby set you free
Your lonely nightmares bid begone
Awake and greet a brand new dawn
As you open up your weary eyes."

The chrysalis in her arms glowed with warmth. Heartened, she sang louder.

"Wake, my dear one, on this night
Be awakened by hearts' light
No longer will you sleep alone;
Every night will be our own.
Look now upon these starlit skies."

Jirachi's cocoon began to glow, pulsing with energy, and a smile spread across her face as she sang on.

"Wake, my dear one, and see my face,
Feel the light in my embrace.
I don't need my dreams to come true;
My only wish is to be with you
And never again say our good-byes."

Jirachi's chrysalis glowed brilliant white, and Celebi finished her song, feeling happier than she had ever been in her life.

"Oh, as you open up your eyes,
Look upon these starlit skies
And waken to my lullabies..."

The violet stone began to reshape into the form of her friend, and Celebi let out a gasp of joy, holding him and watching as the glow subsided. Soon enough, Jirachi lay in her arms, his eyes clenched tight as if he were struggling to open them.

"Jirachi," she whispered, and a single tear of joy coursed down her cheek and landed on his face with a plip.

Jirachi winced and fluttered open his eyes, still glazed with sleep. Slowly, he turned his gaze to her face. "Celebi...?" he murmured quietly. He began to close his eyes again. "No, that cannot be," he said softly. "I am dreaming."

"You aren't dreaming," she said gently, her heart swelling with happiness and love.

"It is impossible," Jirachi said, clenching his eyes closed tighter. "Celebi is gone."

"Jirachi," she said, a little more firmly, and she touched his cheek with one hand, leaning his head on her lap tenderly.

His eyes snapped open at her touch, and he turned his head to look up at her.

"Celebi?..." he breathed dubiously, hardly daring to believe it.

She nodded silently, tears coursing down her cheeks gently.

He sprang up, his eyes very wide. "It is really you?" he said, his voice shaking. He touched her cheek, feeling the wetness of her tears.

She closed her eyes and smiled, leaning into his touch. "It's really me," she whispered.

"Oh my," Jirachi said simply, and suddenly his voice was alive with enthusiasm. "Celebi!" he suddenly launched forward and caught her in a hug. Celebi laughed and hugged him tightly, sniffling as more tears spilled from her eyes.

"But how can it be?" Jirachi asked rhetorically. "How did you get here?" He pulled back and looked her in the eyes, and his smile fell. "Why are are you crying, Celebi?" he asked, concerned.

"B-...Because!" she sobbed pathetically. It seemed as if all she did was cry lately. It was quite unlike her. She rubbed at her eyes, embarrassed. "I'm so h-happy. I thought I was never going to see you again," she said.

"Me too," Jirachi admitted, his hands still on her shoulders. He let out an amazed sigh. "Oh, Celebi; how did you do it? I thought you could not time-travel that long distance?" A stricken look suddenly crossed his face, and he clutched her shoulders, speaking more firmly than she'd ever heard him speak. "Celebi, you have not pushed yourself too hard, have you? You have not injured yourself to get here?" He seemed to be scolding her, but just couldn't make his expression anything less than caring.

She shook her head, sniffling again. "I'm not hurt," she told him.

"If you are not hurt, why are you crying?" he asked, confused. He shook his head. "I still do not understand. How have you come all this way?"

"I realized I could do it, if I really wanted to," she said. She rubbed her eyes again, but more tears quickly took the place of the ones she wiped away. "I realized I could do anything, Jirachi, because I...b-because I...!" she searched his face with her large and tearful eyes, struggling to say the words.

"Because you...?" Jirachi prompted, his eyes large with concern.

"Because I love you!" she blurted, and pulled away from him in embarrassment, a deep flush covering her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I didn't mean to. B-But I do. L-love you..." she trailed off to a mumble, and she cursed herself for being such a wreck. This wasn't how she imagined this moment at all.

He still looked a bit confused. "You are crying because you love me?" he questioned, furrowing his brows.

Her blush returned with renewed intensity. "Y-Yes," she squeaked, a little offended. She began to regret her impassioned outburst. Why did he have to ask her like that? "I-I'm sorry," she sputtered. "I-I shouldn't have—"

"Well, that is nothing to cry about," Jirachi interrupted, still looking at her as if her behavior was odd. She opened her mouth to say something, but then he continued: "I love you too."

Her mouth flapped open and closed soundlessly as she stared at him, wide-eyed. "Y-You do?" she said blankly when she finally found her voice, rubbing at her runny nose.

He smiled at her, and pressed his lips against hers in answer. She clutched him tight as she returned the kiss, dampening his cheeks with the tear-trails that had still not dried on her face.

When they parted, Celebi rested her forehead against his. "Jirachi," she said softly, her tears finally stopping. "Will you grant me a wish?"

"Of course, Celebi," he said without hesitation.

She smiled at him. "Stay with me forever," she whispered to him, keeping her eyes locked on his. "Come back with me and never hibernate again."

"That is at least three wishes," Jirachi teased her. "I thought you requested a wish."

She pushed him playfully, and he laughed. "If you wish it for me, I will never hibernate again," he said, more seriously now. Celebi nodded, and he searched her with his eyes. "You do not understand, Celebi," he told her. "Hibernation gives me the energy needed to grant wishes. If I grant you this wish, I will never be able to grant wishes for others again."

She looked into his eyes. "Do you need to grant wishes for others, Jirachi?" she asked, and he seemed taken aback by the question. "When was the last time you worried about what you wished?" Celebi said. He looked at the ground, opening his mouth and then closing it again. His eyes met hers again as she continued. "Jirachi," she said gently, "Only grant this wish if it is what you want."

He looked at her a moment, his eyes searching hers. Slowly, he nodded. "More than anything," he said.

Celebi grinned widely. "Are you sure?" she asked hopefully.

"I am sure!" Jirachi nodded confidently.

"Then, Jirachi," Celebi said in an official sort of voice, "I wish you would never have to hibernate again."

Jirachi smiled and floated into the air. He began to glow with a white light, and his tags glowed light blue and stood straight up. A wind seemed to swirl around him, and a beautiful ringing noise sounded in Celebi's ears.

As quickly as it had started, the glowing and ringing stopped, and Jirachi floated in the air, looking as he usually did. "It is done," he said simply.

Celebi grinned. "Now grant me another wish," she said, and as Jirachi opened his mouth to tell her he couldn't, she said, "Trust me to get us back safely."

He smiled and took her hands. "I trust you," he said. "Please, take us back." He kissed her forehead lightly, making Celebi's cheeks flush. "I want to spend my past with you, forever," he told her ardently, his eyes sparkling.

Her lips quivered, and, unable to hold it in, she burst out laughing. Jirachi looked a little taken aback. "Why are you laughing?" he asked, sounding a little defensive.

"That was so corny!" she giggled.

"Corny?" he asked.

"It means sappy or overly sweet," she clarified, and he looked hurt for a moment before she clasped his hands and said, "It's okay. I like corny." A rosy blush spread across his face, and Celebi smiled as a blue light enveloped them. A humming noise sounded around them, and the glow grew in brilliance. A blue aura-like bubble surrounded them.

"Celebi," he said as a wind began to blow around them. "Will you sing me that new song again when we get back?"

"Your wish is my command," she teased, squeezing his hand, and they disappeared.

(-o-) END (-o-)

Author's Note: Welllllll? :) What did you think? Please let me know! I'm eager to hear what you liked, what you didn't, et cetera!

Thank you so much to everyone that has read/will read this. It's been an honor and a pleasure, really. :)

Thank you especially for my lovely reviewers! You make me feel like a Shiny, Modest-Natured Feebass, and that's pretty darn special.
Captain Piika, you always have something nice (and cute) to say. Thank you. :)
doggiefan, your reactions always make me smile. :) Hope you have fun on your rainbow unicorn named Bob!
T_S_EMOtional, the fact that you came back here and apologized because you were grounded for a few days is just... XD You're awesome. That is all.
HappyHereford, thank you so much for reading each and every chapter of this and reviewing them all as well. You've no idea how much that means to me, especially when you say such complimentary things! :)
ShinyTogeticFTW, thank you so much for reviewing ALL of my Pokémon stories! I love you forever. Platonically. YOU, my friend, are FTW.
Eidorian999, you always provide the most insightful and detailed comments, telling me what affected you and what parts were the best. I have no idea how to thank you, so I'll just say it: Thank you. :)

Thank you also to Tilfang and VivianShadowGirl, who also reviewed chapters of the story!
And thank you to YOU, Reader! Yes, YOU! Even if you don't review, you are still awesome for reading my story. ^_^

Don't forget to vote in my poll, everyone! It's on my profile page! I need everyone's input about which Legendary Pairing I should do next! Thank you for your participation! *bows*

Okay, this Author's Note is long enough. See you, everyone, and I hope you'll be reading my stories in the future as well! :)