An- Last chapter everyone! The song later on is Teo torriate by Queen, listen to it while reading!

The last memory, this was it. All that time and within a few minutes Neil's memories would be completely changed. This was the final boss so to speak, the last conflict before the resolution.

Neil was about 8 from his size. He was sitting on the ground crying, his nose trickling blood. Some older kids were walking away laughing. Eva wanted to punch them, but this was just a memory. She couldn't touch them without Neil seeing, and that would become an awkward situation.

Anyway, soon young Eva was nearby. She spotted Neil and came over.

"Are you okay?"

Neil looked up at her.

"No.."

Eva sat down and pulled some tissues out of her backpack. She handed one to Neil, who plugged his nose.

"Thank you." His plugged nose made his voice a bit nasally

"what's your name?"

"Neil, yours?"

"Eva. Wanna be friends?"

"Sure!"

Eva remembered this, becoming friends with Neil, She'd felt bad for him for being bullied and had wanted to be his friend. That was how they met, out of pity. Not out of genuine liking, that came later. Maybe that's why their friendship was different; they hadn't met out of curiosity or friendliness like most relationships started. Or maybe she was reading into it too much.

The memory ended, they found the last links. Everything went by slowly as they aligned the links and set up for the new memories to come in.

"Ready?" Tue asked her

"Yeah."

They set the memories in action.

"Hey, Eva!"

"What is it Neil? You'd better not have another Star Trek marathon for me, I have homework."

"No no, something else!"

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just that homecoming dance is Saturday, and well, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me. You know, as a date?"

"Wait, really? You're asking me?"

"Uh, yeah…if you don't want to go-"

"I'll go."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Awesome sauce! I'll pick you up at about 6 ok?"

"Sure. Just don't come wearing some weird cosplay, it is a formal dance not Halloween."

"Don't you worry, I got this handled! I'll dress so fancy people will think I'm visiting the president or something."

Neil came up to Eva's house in an obviously brand new suit and knocked on the door. Eva came out wearing an equally new dress, it was clear the two were not used to dances. Neil bowed ceremoniously and presented Eva a small bouquet of roses. The two drove down to the dance and spent about two hours or so there before heading to dinner. Neil had gotten reservations to a moderately fancy restaurant, a good choice for a first date in his mind and a step higher than what Eva had been expecting.

The two ate and talked for another good hour or so before it became time for Eva to get home. Neil dropped her off at her house.

"So.." He started before she had left the car, "does this mean we're dating?"

"I guess it does."

Neil grinned as Eva got out, cheering himself as soon as she was inside.

It was probably a few months later, the two of them were eating together at lunch

"Do you think that if I stick this noodle up my nose it'll come out of my mouth?"

"Why don't you try it? It's not my health that will be put in risk, and in consequence, my grades."

"Oh lighten up, I'm just goofing around, I'll study later. "

"I seriously doubt that."

"No worries, I'm gonna pull a Neville; be insignificant and small until BAM! Straight A's, Voldemort defeated, and a great girlfriend! I already have one of those so I'm almost there."

They were now in college, going to the same school they'd originally gone to. They were walking to class when Neil turned to her.

"Finals are soon huh?"

"Yep. How do you think you're gonna do?"

"All A's!"

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, I studied really hard and my grades aren't bad."

"If you get all A's I'll give you a hundred bucks"

"Deal!"

Again they were walking and again Neil turned to her, holding his hand out to her

"My lady, I challenge you to a race to our next class"

"I accept your challenge."

The two raced to class, Eva winning, Neil coming behind and very much out of breath.

"I let you win"

"Suure."

"I mean it. You can't beat me at my best!"

"After class we'll see how true that is"

"Let's do it"

Of course after class Eva won again.

"See?"

"Fine, you're better than me."

It took a lot of training, don't feel so bad about it."

"I'm fine. But you know what you win?"

"What?"

"A kiss."

He kissed Eva gently, as if he'd done it a hundred times, which he must have by now if they'd been dating all those years since high school.

The two were having a picnic at night, Eva looking up at the stars.

"Hey Eva?"

"Yeah?"

"Well..you know pokemon?

"Yes I do, you have made me play all the games"

"They're the greatest right?"

"They are pretty good."

"Yeah they are. So you know how you have to choose a pokemon to start the battle and when you throw the pokeball it says 'blank, I choose you!'"

"Yeah, I know."

"Well.." He pulled out a pokeball and opened it. Inside was a diamond engagement ring, "Will you choose me?"

Eva smiled, starting to tear up.

"Yes, Neil, " she said, "I choose you."

The two kissed and Neil put the ring on her ring finger grinning widely.

The wedding was simple, with both their families attending in large quantities. The wedding itself was lovely, Eva's vows about how much she cared for Neil, his riddled with jokes and random references but sweet in meaning.

After dinner, the dancing started. Neil and Eva were stepping up for their first dance when Tue paused the memory.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for this."

"Take the dance."

"…What?"

"You'll regret it if you don't. Go, dance."

Suddenly Eva was in the wedding dress and the memory Eva was gone. She looked at Tue in surprise.

"But-"

"Just go on, have a dance with him. I can tell you want to."

She did want to. Watching the memories it made her feel envious of herself. She wanted those memories to be hers, not some other hers. Now she could have one real memory, at least as real as it could be in this scenario.

She stepped forward into Neil's arms and the memory started. She hadn't seen memories of the dance rehearsal, but she seemed to know exactly what to do. That must be Tue's doing, making sure she didn't embarrass herself. Once others started dancing, Neil took the time to start talking to her,

"Let me tell you, I never thought I'd end up here."

"Me neither." It was the truth

"I wonder where we would be if I'd never asked you out."

"You'd have followed me all through college and we'd have been great friends, but there'd always be that weird feeling that we were missing out on something." Also the truth.

"Then I'm glad we followed this path."

"I am too."

The song changed to something she didn't recognize-

When I'm gone

Don't stop to wonder if I ever think of you

The same moon shines

The same wind blows

For both of us, and time is but a paper moon. . . be not gone

Though I'm gone

It's just as though I hold the flower that touches you

A new life grows

The blossom knows

There's no one else could warm my heart as much as you. . . be not gone

Let us cling together as the years go by

Oh my love, my love

In the quiet of the night

Let our candle always burn

Let us never lose the lessons we have learned

Teo Torriate konomama iko

Aisuruhito yo

Shizukana yoi ni

Hikario tomoshi

Itoshiki oshieo idaki

It took Eva a moment to realize the memory was paused again, that again she was in the world of her reality and not in this new reality. She stepped back, transformed back into her work clothes, and the memory Eva reappeared.

"Let's finish this."

Neil was on the couch messing around with a video game, Eva was next to him taking a nap. Neil grabbed his side as if in pain, massaged it, and then went back to his game, shrugging it off. A few minutes later he did it again. He shook Eva awake, told her what was wrong. She got up and grabbed him some aspirin. When she came back he was having a seizure, she called 911 in a panicked voice told them what was happening, shakily following their instructions.

They were in a hospital, a doctor telling them the bad news. Neil would have to start chemo.

His hair had long grown back; they were driving back from a final trip form the hospital. The final news had come- there was nothing they could do but wait.

Suddenly the memory flashed, not the dying flash but the waking up one.

"This isn't good, he's waking up!" she said

"Have the memories transferred successfully?"

She checked, they had

"Yes"

"Then we can still do this. Quick, lets unplug."

"What are we gonna do?"

"You're gonna act."

They were up. Neil wasn't awake yet but he was stirring. Michael seemed to know exactly what to do and he put two rings on Eva and one on Neil before he and Tue started to leave.

"Wait! What am I doing?"

"Just act like you're married," Tue said, "You know this is in the contract. You just have to make sure he dies believing those new memories"

With that the two left her alone. She had no time to think before Neil opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"Eva.." he smiled weakly.

She smiled back and sat down. She would just have to do the same thing as the dancing, just act.

"Hi Neil."

He held his hand out and she grabbed it

"I'm sorry…we didn't get long did we?"

"We got long enough" Lie

"You think so?"

"That we got any time at all is enough for me." Semi-truth, she'd give anything for more time, for him to suddenly get better now and the two of them to live happily together, but she knew how ridiculous that was and knew she had to take what time she had left

"I love you, Eva"

"I love you too" Was that the truth? She thought so, at least. She at least was beginning to love him, a man on the threshold of death.

He smiled then started to frown.

"What is it?"

"My last words, I can't think of them."

"What?"

"I want the perfect last words, but I can't think of them."

"Boromir. His last lines in the movie. 'I would have followed you my brother, my captain, my king'. Or, just before that a bit, 'It is done'."

"I like the latter."

"Then there you are, perfect last words right?"

"Yeah," He smiled, "Eva?"

"Yeah?"

"Look in the boxes, ok? Everything here is yours, so look around."

"I will, I promise."

"Then it is done."

He closed his eyes, his grip slackening. The heart monitor switched from beeps to a long tone. Soon Michael and Tue were beside her, looking down at Neil.

"You did it." Tue said, "You succeeded."

"We always succeed," she managed to say, "Because we're awesome."

It was a few weeks after the funeral when she finally found the aforementioned box. It was plain cardboard and it looked a few years old. Inside on top of the mess of papers was a neatly folded paper with a sticky note on it saying, 'I told you I studied'.

The paper was a report card for their senior year finals. It read straight As.