I did it! Two chapters in one day. This is the end of this fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live.

Maki clung to that warmth, even as she followed Honoka through her life, for if she let go of that warmth, her job would not be finished. It was her comfort, something that no one would ever expect from her, nor could they ever take it away from her. After all, she knew that one day it would all end. Because…humans…don't live forever.

Honoka's death arrived a lot sooner than they both had expected. Maki clung to the warmth within her chest, knowing that Honoka's death meant that her job was almost complete. She would draw her strength from the entity within her chest to keep moving until she was done. She may not have been Nishikino Maki, but she was more than capable of being the "Maki" that would settle things for good so they could all move on.

"I'm very sorry to call you all out here like this." Maki apologized to the gathered Muse members. For the most part, they were all retired, though Eri still ran the hospital. However, the blonde was preparing to pass on the responsibility to her children, so she had more leisure time than before. "However, this is something that I find necessary for all seven of you to learn." Now was the time to release her warmth. She let the entity that had slept in her for so long take over her, the body that was supposed to belong to the entity, the love of Nishikino Maki.

"I am truly sorry to have died before I could tell you." Maki spoke with "Maki's" mouth. "Maki" took a step back, without moving her actual body, to let Maki assume full control. To those watching her, it seemed as if a golden light had suddenly sprung from nowhere to shroud the android. "But I really, really, really wanted to thank you, all of you, for the short fun times we had together."

Maki addressed Eri. "Thank you for taking care of the hospital for me. I know it must have been very hard on you, all these years. I apologize for making you miss your modeling chance." Eri looked taken aback.

"Y-You're welcome…my daughters are learning to take it over right now. Miyu and Yumi don't have much aptitude for it, but luckily our third child, Emi, is very interested in inheriting the hospital. It will continue to be successful." Eri said. "But how did you know about…" She trailed off as Maki flashed her a warm smile. Her worries seemed to flow away under the gentleness of the gaze Maki was giving her.

Maki then turned to Rin and Hanayo, both of whom seemed to be holding back tears. She walked over to the middle-aged women and gave them both a hug. "I'm sorry for leaving so early. We could have had so much fun together, and I never thanked you for helping me into Muse back in our first year of high school. Truly, I thank you." That did it. Both women broke into sobs as they clutched the body of their dead friend. Maki soothed them with quiet murmurs until they released her.

"Sometimes, I thought you were more of a parent to me than a friend, Nozomi." Maki took both of Nozomi's hands in her own. "You were always watching out for all of us, and you kept doing so even when everyone drifted apart. Thank you, for watching out for me." Nozomi burst into tears as well, though she calmed down a lot faster than Rin and Hanayo.

Maki then went to Umi and Kotori.

"Maki, it's really you, right? Not the android you. But how?" Umi asked, having trouble believing this was actually happening.

"I will explain that in a little bit." Maki said mysteriously. "But you can rest now, Umi. There's no more reason to distance yourself from everyone. Same to you, Kotori. Thank you, for being the backbone of Muse at the very beginning."

"And, Niko-chan. Thank you for being so supportive of Honoka all this time, even when everyone else had given up. It is partially thanks to you that I am now able to speak here today." Niko wiped a tear from her eyes and smiled, nodding.

Maki returned to her position at the front of the group. "I am here right now, because I had a wish that I wanted granted. I wanted it granted so badly that it affected everyone down here as well. I wanted a chance to say what I couldn't before I died, what I just said now. I wished for a way so badly that I planted an idea, and a bit of myself, into Honoka's head." Inside her body, Maki turned to "Maki" and gestured to the front. "Maki" assumed control, heeding Maki's wishes.

"I am the android known as Maki. I was built so that Maki may communicate with you what she couldn't before. I am Honoka's and Maki's child, as Maki gave the idea and Honoka gave the body. Thus, I could exist. But a problem occurred, something Maki could not foresee. Honoka gave me Maki's memories, so I couldn't act out what Maki had wanted me to do. So the bit of Maki that went from Honoka into the android body made for her fell asleep, pushed aside by the memories. I finally remembered everything, and Maki has been freed." "Maki", in her body, turned around to face Maki once more. Maki smiled and nodded. The job had been finished. There was just one more message to pass along before it was all over.

For the seven watching, they saw the robot that Honoka had built standing before them. She had her eyes closed, and her arms crossed over her chest. To her right, orange light gathered and focused into the form of Honoka. To her left, red light gathered and focused into the form of Maki. The two spirits, though they had no solid form, spoke as one.

If we meet again, in our next life, then, at that time, please dance with us again… It wasn't clear whether they spoke aloud, or directly into the women's heads, but they disappeared right after the message was given. The robot fell forward, barely managing to catch herself before she hit the ground face-first.

Maki was almost at the limit of her battery life. If she didn't charge soon, she would run out of power. She had used up a lot to bring Honoka and Maki out of her body so that the other members could see and learn that it was all over. Next time, they would be able to dance as the idols they should have been in their current lives. And she would make sure that she would not get in their way during their next chance.

"That was their final good-bye, everyone. I wish you luck for the rest of your lives." Maki bowed and walked away, not looking back. She couldn't look back. She needed to end this and if she looked back, she would not be able to. Human emotions were a pain sometimes, but a necessary one.

Honoka's grave was in a small graveyard. They had arranged it so that her final resting place would be right next to Maki's. Maki sat down on the ground behind Honoka's grave.

"I accomplished my purpose. From now on, it will all be up to Muse's next life." Maki said, addressing the sky. She closed her eyes as the wind blew past her, almost as if the air was trying to wrap her in an embrace.

"Good night, Maki."

The idea behind this story started while I was watching Vocaloid songs. I found the idea of having Muse as Vocaloids interesting, but it wouldn't make sense at the same time. While expanding on the idea, I remembered Project Toaster from Pacthesis, and added that to the mix. It started to take form, a HonoMaki fanfiction involving androids and the supernatural.

If this story made you cry, then I feel like I have done a good job. I have told the idea, just the idea alone, to my friends prior to writing this, and they all got feels from it. So if this made you feel something, then I have done my job.

The moral of this story is: Don't text and drive. No, actually, it's that something small might happen that will throw everything off track. But seriously, don't text and drive.

If you put all the chapter titles in order, you get a basic summary of what Eternal is about.

One last game. The line "If we meet again, in our next life, then, at that time, please dance with us again…" is my version of a line from a Vocaloid song. If you can guess the song correctly, I will award you with a one-shot request.

That's enough rambling from me now. I hoped you enjoyed this story, despite how short it was.