A/N: Yep, the last leg of the finish line, folks. Final chapter to a year long series, thank God! I had fun and I hope you did too! XD

Epilogue: My Life Would Suck Without You

Transmission Reestablished

Four Months Later

Unfiled reports.

Fifteen transmissions waiting to be accepted.

Seven incoming calls from the Arctic.

Three hundred thousand operatives screaming her name constantly.

"Supreme Leadah!"

Rachel looked up from her paperwork, where a seething Fanny Fulbright stood fuming in front of her desk, paper crumpled into her hand that looked like a sadly abused report.

The blond gave a resolute nod and set her pen down, fingers tapping with a tense patience on her desk. "Yes, Numbuh 86?"

The irate Irish preteen slammed what was crumpled in her fist onto the messy desk, causing Rachel to jump a centimeter.

"Did ye see this?" Fanny set her hands on her hips, puffing her chest out dramatically. Rachel sighed and unfolded the crinkled report. "Why is it dat Secta' V keeps obtainin' da Delightful Children's cake missions and yet we hav' no success rate from it?"

Rachel glanced at the report. It was pink and covered with generic sparkles, indicating an urgent, mandatory ejection from a current mission. She roamed her eyes over the scrawling signatures from every leader of each Sector, requesting that Sector V be taken off the case and replaced with one with the highest success rate.

She set the report down. "Sector V is always in charge of the cake missions. Why the change now?"

"Eet's at an uproar, Supreme Leadah!" Fanny leaned forward on Rachel's desk. "Secta' V continues to either lose or destroy da cake due ta their reckless attempts at retrieving eet. We hav' been een a cake drought fa months, Commandah! Da operatives are getting restless! Some hav' even been transferred inta Numbah 911's care due ta frostin' withdrawal!"

"I see." It was only a matter of time, she suppose, when Sector V would be forced off the cake missions for those reasons alone. They always seemed to be stuck on some rotten karma when dealing with birthday cakes, but she couldn't give them some slack. She couldn't play favorites, even if Numbuh 1 was the leader of that team.

The Delightful Children's birthday was today. There was no time to ponder the ethics of the KND legal system. She was going to have to allow the petition to pass, lest she be faced with another failure in her duty as Supreme Leader. She already failed them multiple times before.

She dismissed Fanny and approached her transmitter, ordering the computer to connect to Sector V's treehouse. Numbuh 3 answered joyfully.

"Hello! Incoming from Moonbase!" She cheered. Rachel noticed that she was getting clumsily suit up for her mission.

"Numbuh 3," Rachel tried to clear her throat, but she found a knot that refused to move and she ended up coughing a bit. "Is Numbuh 1 there?"

Kuki's eyes widened as she recognized Rachel and smiled even wider. Rachel shifted uncomfortably.

"Hello Rachel!" She cheered. Her eyes then became shifted in suggestion. "We're going on a mission soon, so I'm not sure if it's a good time for you guys to make googly eyes at each other!"

"We're not doing anything of that sort!" The blond gritted her teeth. "This is a special report from Moonbase regarding your current mission and I need to inform your sector leader of these proceedings."

A voice off-screen caused the hair on Rachel's neck to stand on end. "Numbuh 3! Hurry it up, will you? We've got a top secret mission to deal with!"

"Okay, Numbuh 1!" Kuki waved to her left. "But I'm talking to Rachel at the moment!"

"Rachel?" Footsteps began to move closer to the screen.

Rachel glanced away nervously as Nigel appeared on screen, his eyebrow raised from behind his sunglasses.

He saluted her. "Numbuh 362!" He then waved Kuki away, who gave him a sultry grin in return. They both ignored it. "Is there something the matter?"

"You've been put off the Delightful cake mission, Numbuh 1," Rachel replied cautiously. She expected Nigel's next reaction.

Utter anger.

"What?!" He demanded in a mix of surprise of exasperation. "But we've always done these missions!"

"It's not in my power this time, Nigel," She sent a fax of the petition. Nigel ripped it out of the fax with a flourish and glared at it. "Every sector leader has signed it. We need that cake, Nigel."

"And we'll deliver it," Nigel replied confidently. "We will this time, I swear!"

Rachel shook her head. Nigel was as stubborn as a donkey. "You're off the case, Nigel. Sorry."

Nigel stared at her with a look of utmost loathing. Rachel stared back cautiously. "You can't do that, Rachel. This is our calling!"

She shook her head. "Not anymore. As your Supreme Leader, you will cease and desist from going on that mission."

"That's all that is to you, isn't it Rachel? All work, desk jobs, ordering around," Rachel looked abashed at his words. "Professionalism before anything else, right?"

"You're the one to talk," Her eyes narrowed in concealed anger. "Workaholic leader of the KND, reckless operative, stubborn..." She clenched her hands into a tight ball, shaking slightly. "...stubborn everything! You don't respect my authority at all, do you?"

Nigel glared back. "How can I respect your authorities if you can't respect mine?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean!" Rachel flinched at his curse word. He'd never resort to adult swearing before. "This isn't over, Rachel."

She knew what he meant. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nigel grinned in disbelief and leaned forward, causing Rachel to pull back despite them being planets away from each other. When did he become so...intimidating?

He tore up the copy of the petition and straightened up his glasses. "Sector V over and out."

"Don't undermine my authority, Nigel Uno!" Rachel growled as she saw him salute her in farewell. "You'll regret it!"

"Goodbye, Rachel." The transmission ended. She stared back at it almost somberly, knowing what would happen next.

She swiveled in her chair back to her desk and opened up the Sector Progress Records from her Papaya Computer, going over the charts of the Sectors. She knew that Nigel wasn't going to heed her orders. That would mean disobeying the KND Global Command and she wasn't going to take it lying down.

She observed that Sector W, led by her younger brother, Numbuh 363, came up with the highest success rate of finishing missions. They would have to do. She did owe him a good mission, despite his rather...strange phobia with being touched. She phoned Sector W.

While waiting for the transmission to open, she stared at Sector V's mission specs. While they did do their jobs, they did it at great costs to the organization, the numbers trailing in buhzillions. She sighed sadly at Nigel's KND picture. Smirking, undaunted and confident in himself and all that he does and will ever do. This was the day. This was the day that would change everyone who ever knew Nigel forever.

"Goodbye, Nigel."

She didn't mean to be so brash. And she didn't mean to be so angry at him.

She didn't mean to yell at him, forbidding him to do the things he did best and let another Sector take over.

She didn't mean to have their last interaction be so forced and spiteful. She didn't mean to rub her authority in his face like she ruled the world.

He made her angry in the first place and yet she couldn't reign in her temper one last time, when she knew that this was the last mission Nigel Uno would ever take on earth.

She leaned against the railing on the Observation Deck, where she and a certain individual spent their last moments privately together, though she silently admitted that it wasn't the best memory she wanted of him, she settled for it.

Looking down, she watched in a stoic fashion as operatives were putting the finishing touches on the twenty foot plaque dedicated in honor to the fallen agents throughout Sector Z, baring the words in gold, 'We Miss You Too', etched in big letters on top of the many Numbuhs and names of the former operatives. It was the least she could do for them.

She was on the transmitter all day reinstating Sector Z, but due to it's unpopularity, was converted into an emergency task force on Moonbase, covered by the Teens Next Door. It was hard convincing the entire global command that the jinx had been officially lifted.

She tried to think of these things, trying to ignore the fact that he was gone. Vanished without a trace, without notice and she let it happen. She encouraged it.

Sector V called her afterwards, confirming that their leader had vanished and yet they couldn't tell her where to. But she knew, oh how she knew.

She remembered the somber look Numbuh 5 gave her as she officially reinstated her as leader of Sector V, watched as Numbuh 2 tried valiantly to seem cheerful, but she knew he was crushed inside by the forlorn look hidden from behind his goggles.

Numbuh 4 completely turned away during the proceedings, unable to stare back at her, kicking a stray pebble as he tried to distract himself. His hood was over his head and he tried to make himself as invincible as possible.

Numbuh 3 seemed the worst off. Her lip quivered ever so slightly at the mention of her former leader's name and looked as if she was about to cry, rubbing her over-sleeved arm across her eyes every now and then.

The feeling in Rachel's hands became a dull ache from gripping the railing in a tight grip as the words and memories slowly sank in.

The leader of Sector V was gone.

Numbuh 1 was gone.

Nigel Uno was gone.

Nigel was gone.

Her grip was near death and she would've winced in pain if not for the stabbing feeling that was puncturing the entirety of her chest, unyielding and prickling. There was a huge knot in her throat that grew with every thought pertaining to Nigel, staunching her breath into a shudder.

She tilted her head down, trying her best to keep it in, to keep from breaking down. This was what she wanted. She had given him the opportunity of a lifetime. This was what he deserved.

"Lass?"

Rachel gasped, though it sounded more like a strangled hiccup. She rubbed her eyes frantically as her red-headed comrade approached.

"Um...what is it, Numbuh 86?" She tried to elegantly compose herself by straightening up and clearing her throat. She placed a lock of hair behind her ear as Fanny tilted her head to the side curiously.

"I 'eard abou' Numbah 1," Fanny shifted her weight to one foot uncomfortably. She wasn't used to showing her sensitive side. "Ee vanished jus' like dat!" She snapped her fingers in demonstration. "No one knows where ee' is an' Secta V ain't talkin' abou' it!"

"I know," Rachel looked away and rubbed her arm. It reminded Fanny of a cowering rabbit. "Don't worry about it. He left for a good reason."

Fanny shrugged. "If you say so." Normally, she'd pry as best as she could to find out about this weird scenario, but she treasured her friendship with Rachel more than snooping. She was the only friend she had.

They both looked down distractedly for a few moments, staring down the deck as a random operative wobbled dangerously on a ladder due to his buddies down below oogling a passing Numbuh 10. The ladder finally gave way and the operative fell down with a hysterical yell on top of his drooling buddy.

"Ya know..." Fanny pulled her helmet up a bit awkwardly. "Eet's okay...ta be sad ova' Numbah 1, you know...bein' gone an' whatnot," She laughed nervously. "I mean, despite da fact dat he's a stoopid boy an' you shouldn't be sad ova' 'im...I completely understan--"

She stopped her rambling and stared wide-eyed at the sight of her Supreme Leader. There were tears flowing quietly down her face one by one, some of the droplets catching on the stray blond strands on her face.

"...Rachel..." The look on Fanny's face was horrified. She had never seen her commander look so sad before...so helpless and lonely. Her eyes softened when Rachel tried valiantly to rub away the tears.

Rachel jumped when she was pulled into a hug. It was neither crushing nor suffocating like her usual hugs. It was tentative and comforting.

"Aye Lass, eet's alrigh'," Fanny's consoling words caused her to choke from the onslaught of emotions. She buried her head into the Irish girl's shoulder, a small whimper escaping. "Ye can cry, Lass, as much as ye need."

Rachel was always the type to put everyone else before her, always taking the backseat as others take over the limelight, working behind the scenes. It was her nature to look ahead, always plan in advance. She spent her time saying goodbye to every operative approaching decommissioning, reassuring them. But no one understood the effects it would have on Rachel herself, the burden of letting a loyal soldier go when their time came, sticking to traditions, keeping her emotions at the helm as she saluted them one last time.

Nigel Uno's disappearance would hurt her more than the others. That alone she knew. He was special to Rachel in ways their child-like minds could not comprehend.

Fanny couldn't reprimand her for it, couldn't tell her that crying over him made her seem like a wimp with a crush. The look on her commander's face was more than that.

She looked like a woman, who's heart was broken. And she was suffering with this loss, all the while trying to reassure everyone that she was fine.

She would allow it. Allow her commander to empty her pain onto her shoulder, crying out the negative feelings that she knew was churning inside her. Let it all out, she remembered her mother telling her when her Gran died, let it out because it's worse if it's kept inside.

Fanny wouldn't tell anyone how her commander broke down right in front of her, and she knew that Rachel knew that as well. Rachel had earned Fanny's respect in every sense of the word. She still had it even as she quietly sobbed into her shoulder.

She was still the strong, reliable Supreme Leader of the entire Kids Next Door Organization.

She was still Numbuh 362.

But, right now, she was allowed to be Rachel.

Thirty minutes of crying non-stop.

Another thirty minutes trying to get back peacefully into her office with Fanny fending off the whining operatives asking for clearance from her.

Fifteen minutes spent summoning up the courage to close up Nigel's operative file, deeming him honorably decommissioned.

Forty-five minutes having an exhaustive sleep on the desk while Patton personally guarded her door from the meddling Numbuh 101.

A total of two hours she spent by herself. Two hours of sorting things out.

She stretched slowly, feeling a bit refreshed. She felt lighter, but more empty than ever as the concept of Nigel being gone forever felt more real than before.

Rachel returned to slumping back onto her desk, resting her chin on a couple of leafy pamphlets and the smooth, cherry wood finish of her desk.

She blew a stray piece of hair from her eyes. "I need a can of soda."

A can of grape fizz slid towards her line of vision. She stared at it tiredly.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," A solid, British accent flitted carelessly, but it zapped Rachel to the core. She yelped in surprise and jolted up in alarm, nearly falling backwards off of her chair.

The voice chuckled from the shadows near her door. It was melodic and full of humor. It was music to her ears. There was only one person who could do that.

"N...nigel...?" She straightened from her chair and stood up, dizzying from the vertigo of her previous jolt upwards.

She felt a hand grasping her wrist, steadying her as a warm shock erupted up her arm. She looked up and low and behold, storm gray eyes gazed back at her, all trace of anger dissipated from them.

"Hello Rachel." Nigel smirked from beneath what seemed to be a new pair of sunglasses. They weren't the ones she recognized, having seen Nigel's sunglasses now worn by Numbuh 5 recently. They were tinted with a dark red color and seemed to be more alien-like in design.

Only one day and he seemed to be settling nicely with the Galactic Kids Next Door. She didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed at the thought.

"Nigel," She echoed faintly. It was like a dream. She hoped it wasn't a dream. "I thought you left for the GKND...?"

Nigel let go of her, both of them already missing the contact. He rubbed the back of his bald head sheepishly. "Numbuh 777 pulled some strings for me...in gratitude for...you know..." he motioned between him and her. "...that mission...?"

She mentally sighed. She was worried about Reina and the others' whereabouts after the incident and she was pleased that they made it out okay. But his words surprised her. "You mean...that..?

"Reina was part of the GKND or the so-called 'Illuminati'?" Nigel finished her sentence without missing a beat. "Yes, she was. She's a scientist on board, specializing in...well, obviously, mind manipulation." He gave her a small smile. "She helped me by forcing Numbuh Infinity to return to Moonbase to say goodbye."

Rachel blinked. "But, I thought you said goodbye to everyone back on earth?" Nigel snorted. Exhaustion never did seem plausible to a rational mind.

"Not them. You."

A shiver passed down Rachel's spine, but it was one of extreme surprise at the words, not of anticipation. She looked away, ashamed. "I...didn't think you'd want to speak to me again." She had thought that Nigel hated her after the things she said and did. And it was warranted. She would never want to talk to herself again either.

Nigel looked down at her from his sunglasses, a small wistful smile playing on his lips. "I know why you did it."

She felt her former shocked expression move into a deadpan one. "I bet I know who tattled too." She had a haunting feeling that Numbuh Infinity ran at the mouth again.

Nigel grinned, almost as if he read her thoughts. Rachel smiled back.

They met with another awkward silence, merely staring at each other seemed to be just fine as it is. The room seemed warmer now that they were around each other and everything seemed right in the world...well, moon, for once.

A painful question then escaped her lips which seemed to shatter the serene moment.

"How long do you have?"

Nigel's grin dimmed a bit. "Not long."

Made sense. He was only here to say goodbye, even if it seemed just like another night on Moonbase, just them lounging around, having a meatball sandwich just like old times.

And almost at once, they erupted in conversation. From the good memories to the bad, they talked incessantly to each other, chatting excitedly about his new prospects in the GKND, her plans to reinstate Sector Z, deciding on an eventual successor to Rachel's position of Supreme Leader and everything in between.

It seemed to go on forever, but time went by fast. Very soon, the curfew became so far off that Moonbase was practically empty until the next shift ran again. Their conversation ended when Nigel's wrist began to beep loudly and he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a futuristic space gauntlet, littered with colorful buttons and a high-tech screen where the source of the noise was.

Nigel pressed a button and a hologram of Numbuh Infinity appeared.

"Time to go, Numbuh 1. We must make it in time to the Kuiper worm hole if we are to make it to the main base before lunchtime!" Numbuh Infinity tapped at his own gauntlet to prove his point.

Nigel rolled his eyes. "I'm on my way to the landing deck now, Infinity." He pressed the button again and the hologram died. He turned to a quiet Rachel.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "Time to go now, Numbuh 1."

"Come with me?" He raised his hand. It was the first time Rachel ever seen Nigel so imploring before...resolute, but wistful.

She nodded and took his hand.

They walked what seemed to be a rather short walk despite the fact that that loading deck was on the other side of her office, but the fact that Nigel was holding her hand all the way towards his destination seemed to balance it out with a taste of forever.

No one was around. Everyone had gone home. But if there were people running about, they'd most likely mistake Nigel and Rachel's reddened faces as a sign of a newly blossomed couple, getting used to being with each other in public.

Nigel nor Rachel looked each other in the eye, already too embarrassed by what they were already doing, holding hands together like they were a picture-perfect couple. Rachel trailed behind rather awkwardly, looking away to the side while Nigel slightly pulled her along, staring ahead, unable to look at her as well.

Despite the rather strange formation they had, both of their hearts were beating madly in their rib-cages, ecstatic at the joining, even if it was something as simple as holding hands.

Nigel ingrained how perfect her hand fit in his to the back of his mind, trying to memorize the feel of her soft, but rough skin from working as an operative, merging warmly against his own. Unknown to him, she was doing the same.

They reached the loading dock, where a strange green light beam was emitted from what seems like a large space station hovering above Moonbase. Nigel's transport was ready to go.

They both stared up at it silently, knowing that once Nigel got on that ship, they'd never see each other for who knows how long. Months? Years? Decades? It felt like they were forcing their bond apart, something they never wanted to do.

"This is it." They both said at the same time. This caused them to look at each other and detach their hands, noting that things felt colder now after they did so.

They seemed to have a knack for staring at each other for long periods of time, but they couldn't help themselves. They both wanted to memorize every facial feature, every strand of hair (or lack thereof), until they can confidently draw it on paper.

Rachel began to blink madly, tears forming again. "G-goodbye, Nigel."

Nigel stared back at her solemnly, his eye softening at her emotional state. "Rachel..."

She bent her head down and shook it angrily before meeting his eyes again. She tried to steel her composure, just like she always did. He admired her for trying to stay strong.

Rachel raised her arm up, hand outstretched. "You were the best operative in the entire KND, Numbuh 1, Nigel Uno. I was honored to have you in my employ for so long. I wish you well, I wish you the very best in your endeavors fighting adult tyranny on a universal scale. We will never forget your service to us." Her voice cracked at the last bit and her brown eyes began to tear up. She was losing him, no, she was giving him away.

Nigel nodded and took her hand, another jolt shooting up their arms, but they anticipated it. They couldn't ignore the signs, no matter how much they denied or dismiss it. It was there. It had always been there.

Rachel yelped as Nigel thrust his arm back, forcing her forward and found herself in a tight embrace. She remained in shock for but a second until she returned the gesture, squeezing her arms in an iron grip around his torso, but Nigel cared less about the grip. His hold on her was just as strong as hers, if not more.

She finally released whatever pent up feelings she felt inside. Everything related to Nigel Uno, everything that made her who she was due to him. The encircling of his arms were like a long lost home to her, a safe haven from everything wrong in her life.

Perfect. She was perfectly fit in his arms. He held her like a lifeline. As if letting her go would mean the end of everything he knew in life. It felt more than puppy-love or a junior high romance. He felt a deeper connection to her than anything else in existence.

Search the world, the moon, the universe, all of existence. It wouldn't matter. He knew that no one would love her as much as he would.

The incessant beeping returned, only stronger than ever. Infinity was getting impatient.

"Nigel..." She mumbled into his shoulder, his scent of fresh air and some sort of faint British musk lulling her senses into a dull enchantment.

She shivered as he moved his head toward hers, breathing gently into her ear.

"You lied," He taunted quietly into her ear. "when you said you didn't love me."

Her hair stood on end at those words. She stilled in shock, ignoring his breath on the side of her face, trying to have the words sink in.

"...you don't know that," She answered. "You don't."

"I do."

He pulled his face away to get a good look at her, his gray eyes staring, looking into her soul...calculating and open. Right then and there, she knew how he knew.

"When you lie, you blink...a lot."

She thought that she and her father were the only ones who knew that weakness, the sure fire way to know between how she personified truth and her tact in the art of lying. He read her perfectly like a book. So much so, it almost terrified her at how well he knew her.

Her eyes wavered with unshed tears, but she blinked them away. She smiled softly. "I lied."

There it was. The wall between them crumbled like nothing. For once, everything seemed right, even if the moment would soon be overcome by heartbreak. It was there.

Nigel leaned forward. This time, Rachel was expecting it. She ran her fingers gently against the side of Nigel's face. He hummed in contentment as she lifted his glasses up, so they saw each other perfectly.

They didn't feel like children anymore. Not one bit. They didn't even feel like teenagers either.

It was a world of comfort, where it was only them.

She chuckled when he leaned forward to place a lingering kiss on her forehead. Nigel, the ever present gentleman.

"One day..." He trailed off as Rachel kissed the corner of his lips, stunned at the action.

She withdrew from his embrace, smiling a smile he hadn't seen in weeks. "Until then..."

It was a promise, a silent agreement between two souls.

He rummaged through his pockets almost as an afterthought. Rachel watched curiously as he withdrew two platinum bands from his pocket. She grinned sheepishly.

Rings again?

"I thought we learned our lesson last time?" She joked as he picked up the skinnier band and took her hand into his.

Nigel lifted her ring finger and placed the rather beautiful ring on it, turning it ever so gently. "Let's just say a certain someone wanted to apologize for stealing something that was yours in the first place..."

The ring was nearly see-through, the platinum hoops seemed to be alive as the shine kept revolving incessantly around the band. As Nigel twisted it, intricate alien-like designs surfaced, twisting around it like engraved lights. He turned it again and the designs disappeared.

Rachel stared at it in absolute wonder. Nigel smiled wistfully.

"Don't forget me." Her fate was inevitable, but she nodded.

"I won't." She took the other ring in his hand and set it on his ring finger. He nodded, accepting her words and stepped away.

He gave her a cocky two finger salute and smirked. His trademark smirk. She was the last earthling to ever receive such a grin. She felt strangely honored.

Nigel gave her one last linger glance, turned his heel and walked into the enclosure of light, turning around to lock eyes with her one more time before he was teleported away.

The light disappeared along with him and she looked up in wonder as the alien ship geared up it's engines and vanished in a blink of an eye, gone into hyperspace.

A lone tear fell down her cheek, but she wiped it away. She twisted the ring unconsciously on her finger and continued to stare up into the sky, unaware that she'd be doing it for years to come.

Ten Years Later

It was routine, everyone in the park knew. In the mornings, the young folk would start their daily jog across the jogging path, sometimes stopping to chat in polite conversation with the sitting elders on the benches.

In the early afternoon, the chess grounds were filled with old men matching wit to wit and trading war stories as the competition brewed amongst them.

Late afternoon and children have finished school for the day, now busying themselves by playing pirates or knights all over the jungle gyms and slides. The mothers would bring their bouncing young to the toddler-fit swing and they'd all fight over which child got to ride first.

By early evening, a conglomeration of bicycles would ride by, covering the sidewalks with machinery and causing a disturbance beside the irate joggers, who are then forced to find another track to run on.

This happened everyday. It was always a routine.

And of course, lets not forget about the late evening, where the children have obviously left for home, the old folks returned to their centers. The bicyclists have left alongside the joggers. Stray couples now littered the romantic starry night, snuggling against each other in private. But then, they'd eventually disappear too.

But every night, a lone young woman would walk by and sit against a well old tree, staring at the sky, concentrating on the stars. At first, some thought that she was a mere star enthusiast taking note of the science of the universe. But an elder woman confirmed against it.

The young woman stared at the stars as if she was in love.

She looked like a forlorn maiden waiting for her lover who was sent away to war, standing faithfully at the same spot as if forever, waiting for his return...if he ever will.

She would stare at the stars and twist her ring around without realizing that she was performing the action. Some rumored that the ring would glow strangely when she did.

The curious stray watchers would watch the young woman on end every night, too scared to ask what she was looking for in person. They waited alongside her until they had enough and left and yet she'd still sit there and watch the stars.

The old woman watched her the most. The wind would pick up and the young woman would continuously tuck her short, golden blond hair back whenever the wind misplaced it, her bright brown eyes unwavering as she gazed at the skies.

Tonight was the same. The routine was unchanged.

Until something abnormal happened on this one particular night.

The wind became more ferocious and wild, almost causing the old woman's dress to flare up. She pressed her skirt down before it made an embarrassment out of her.

But the young woman remained unfazed. On the other hand, the girl stood up abruptly, her eyes alight with something akin to a bright sun. The old woman watched in amazement as the girl smiled a smile she had never seen before. The girl looked alive and radiating.

And then, the sky lit up in a bright light that blinded everything in sight.

The young woman shielded her eyes until the bright light died down. It came as it went, almost as if it was nothing more than a fazed dream.

The old woman opened her eyes and saw the young woman. She was no longer gazing longingly at the sky, only ahead of her where the old woman saw a male figure far off, staring back at the young woman.

She watched as the two stared at each other silently for a moment, before the young man, dressed up in strange gear, began to slowly walk toward her, the young woman looking as if she was about to cry and laugh at the same time.

The old woman may not have known the initial story behind it all, but she would forever witness the reunion of two starcrossed souls. Dodged by destiny, saved by faith.

It was a normal routine no more.

End Transmission

Final Word: The title! Are you wondering about it? Doesn't seem fitting to the last chapter? I like this song and I thought this chapter fit it. Something uplifting, ne?

A/N: Yep, it is the end! Finished! Goodbye!

I hope you all enjoyed the series! I know I did! ((tear))

Maybe I'll lurk around one day...writing a sequel...? You never know! XD

Later!