A/N: This is it. This is the very last chapter for Kryptonite. This is my very first time completing a story. I can't be thankful enough for all of the support that has been given to me. All of you who chose to review and help me move forward, thank you so much! It meant a lot to me. For those of you who enjoyed the story but remained silent. -__- Lame. Without further ado, I present to you, the final chapter of Kryptonite!

Sidenote: I'm thinking about remaking this story and perfecting it. What do you guys think? I'm also considering a sequel as I'm sitting on some ideas for it like a nest of eggs. Let me know how many of you are interested. ^__^

"I'm weak." She croaked from a throat sore from sobbing. The reflection in the mirror was haggard. There were heavy circles under her hazel eyes, her face appeared gaunt, and her brown hair was a mess. "I'm weak, I'm pathetic, I'm a coward, I'm a mess-"

"Stop." He whispered. Sapphire was too shocked to make any sound. Her body jumped and convulsed in fright, unaware of which way to run first. She swung her head around toward him. He was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. His face was set into a grim expression. His coal black eyes were dark, tight, and serious. Her throat hitched, her face contorted for one very short moment before she regained her former sense of composure, as weak as it was.

"Sapphire," he began, her name accented on his tongue causing a flutter in her belly, "you're staring into a mirror and muttering insults at your reflection." He stated it as factual as it indeed was. She opened her mouth a few times to summon an explanation before none arose. The old pain flared up again, the stab against herself, and she began to cry.

"There's something I have to tell you." She sobbed. "But I'm afraid." She reached toward him. She stretched her hand out to grasp at her support, and he satisfied her by closing the gap and pulling her close. His expression had not relented.

"You're being foolish. Say it, or don't." He stood, his arms loose around her. "What makes you so certain you're a coward, anyway?" He asked, his voice just a notch softer. Some sniffling ensued before she seemed ready to speak.

"Because… I'm always afraid. I'm afraid of everything that can and might happen. I'm afraid…" She whispered, one side of her face rested against his bare chest. He grunted softly, taking her words into account.

"Fear doesn't make you a coward. Running away does." Brolly whispered to her. Sapphire sniffled, her tears no longer falling. Her heartbeat, her lungs, her sobbing had calmed, and the latter had disappeared. Deeply within her, though, the taunting voice recalled vividly the day she had, indeed, run. Only he, pursuing after her unknown, had kept her from being successful in her escape attempt. He'd told her to finish what she'd started. He forced her to face her fears.

"Since when did you get so wise?" She asked, her face taking on a bit of dark humor for a brief moment as she banished the memory, attempting to remain with the train of thought that he was promoting. He was quiet a little while, shifting his weight between his feet.

"Well… I met this really brave, surprisingly insane, absolutely infuriating human woman." He stated quite frankly. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Well, I do remember some rather intense arguments. I don't think anyone has ever stood up to me quite like you have before." He looked up and to no where in particular as he reminisced. A sardonic half laugh choked from Sapphire in reply, and he looked back down at the crown of her head. She shifted her face so that her eyes could peer up at him, her chin against his chest now.

"You were strapped by a restraining device." He lifted one shoulder in a half hearted shrug.

"Well… you didn't have to stay." He said. Again… there rang an inescapable truth within his words, even if he'd been the one to make her face her obligation. Her eyes dived away from his and stared at the door frame. "Why did you stay?" He asked after a long moment of silence.

"You said I couldn't help you." She dodged his question, and at the same time, answered it. Underlying everything, he'd managed to challenge her in a way that encouraged her small bit of pride not to allow her to back down completely. "Do I still disgust you?" She asked, looking up at him again when he didn't respond to her initial statement. He smiled a crooked grin.

"Oh, absolutely." He stated sarcastically as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Is it better?" She asked cryptically after a small period of thought. When he raised an eyebrow and appeared confused, she continued. "Is this life better? Is it worth… not… destroying everything?" She had finally asked the question. She had finally expressed her wondering for the verdict. Tomorrow would be the end of the month. Tomorrow would be the end of the time he allotted her to show her that not being alone was better than a life of solitude. She cringed, awaiting what she knew must be the horrible truth none of them would want to hear.

----

All of it was rushing back at her. All of it suddenly made sense. The image of a star, beautiful, striking, and powerful just before it burst. His bittersweet smile as he asked her not to show him what it's like to be loved, but why it would be worth dying for. It all suddenly came together and made sense.

"You should have just killed me." He echoed her thoughts as he gently, tenderly, stroked away her tears only to be replaced by news ones.

"Then why… why have you kept your promise this long?" She whispered, choked by the sobs rising in her throat. There was a deep pain in his eyes, and it was the only thing that made her cry. Not the fear, not the guilt, not the inevitable truth. It was his pain, and his only.

"Because…" he croaked, "…because you're someone worth dying for." And then it suddenly dawned on her.

"It's beautiful." She'd said when staring at the blue orb called Earth.

"It is." He agreed. Sapphire's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Could you destroy something so beautiful?" Brolly looked to the Earth, his eyes filled with the reflection of the planet's beauty.

"I could." He whispered.

And when he'd been falling into the depths of unconsciousness, "You're very beautiful." He said quietly. Sapphire stared at him, her eyes wide and her face pale. She could feel her heart ache, and knew that something was genuinely wrong. This was all wrong. "I could not..."

Sapphire sat at the kitchen table with a quickly cooling cup of coffee before her. It was afternoon and Brolly had just delivered the news to everyone. He would not be staying. Sapphire didn't know what everyone else was thinking, but she knew that she was in the midst of severe reflection. Her mind was running on overload, unable to handle the circumstances and all the reasons.

"I trust that you'll hold your word." Goku said calmly, his expression carefully carefree. Brolly nodded and grunted in assent. Gohan held a pensive expression and Trunks looked as though he were bordering on open rebuttal.

"We're incredibly thankful that you're making this decision." Bulma said, staring at her own cup of coffee. Brolly appeared to deliberate for a moment. He had a comment, but decided against it, and chose not to say anything at all.

"You'll visit, right?" Bulla asked, her wide eyes looking up at him, hopeful. Goku nodded in agreement.

"You really can't just disappear forever now that you're family." The Son father said. Brolly dropped his eyes to the table, appearing a bit uncomfortable with being called family, before he dragged them toward Sapphire, who sat with her fists in her lap. She wasn't looking at him. She was striving, with all her might, to bottle up the uproar she felt just underneath her skin, bubbling up into her throat with rebellious intent.

"We'll see." He said finally, turning his focus back toward Goku.

----

He didn't knock on her door. He simply entered, closing the door behind him softly before turning back towards her where she sat on the bed with her back against the headboard. She'd merely glanced at him before looking away, refusing to acknowledge him. It didn't concern him. Unperturbed, he kneeled down at her bedside and propped his elbows on the coverlet, placing his face into his cupped hands and looking up at her.

"What." It was only after serious of long, stiffly silent moments, before she finally spoke.

"Why are you angry?" He asked, his eyebrows beginning to furrow and crease in the center. "Do you want me to stay? Do you want me to destroy everything?"

"No."

"What is your issue then?" He dropped his hands down to the coverlet and straightened himself.

"I don't want to talk to you right now." She crossed her arms and focused on the dresser across the room with all the determination she could muster.

"Well now is the only time to talk to me. I'm leaving first light tomorrow. I can make it sooner if you like." He nearly spat, his words riding off his tongue viciously. Her eyes broke away from their goal and flew up to him, her lips parting slightly. Tears, forbidden by her, betraying her, welled over her eyes. They appeared glassy and lost and afraid.

"Why," she whispered. Brolly's tail flicked, he drew in a long breath and straightened his back as he stood over her. His expression was fierce, like a man preparing for battle.

"Sapphire, I can't stay and watch what will happen if I do."

"You don't know what will happen!" She screamed, standing from the bed and stepping into his face. "You don't know what might be or what could be or how things will turn out!" She was screaming, her voice hoarse from so much anguish. Her eyes stared up at him, tears falling from them and forming tracks down her face.

"I do know what will happen. I've seen it happen before and it will happen again. If you want me to hold my promise to you then you will let me go." He didn't roar. It was that deadly growl like whisper that had been his prior mode of speech when she'd initially met him. It was fierce and quiet, but never easily overlooked or unheard.

"You've never cared for anyone but yourself, so how can you compare?" She asked, nodding up toward him in a challenging way. Brolly drew in a sharp seethe as though he'd burned himself before he grabbed her face in both of his large hands.

"Listen to me, Sapphire. I need to do this. I need to learn a better way to control this power or I will be the death of you and everything you care about." His words were hard to understand as they growled out of his throat. Sapphire didn't have any argument left in her. Her knees were giving, her heart was breaking, her head was pounding, and she wanted for all the world to be far from him.

"Will you hate me?" He asked, his tone hiding a certain desperate edge. "Will you hate me for doing what is right?" He whispered. His words were nearly the end of her. She slowly began to shake her head, sorrowful 'no's passing her lips.

"No… I love you." She whispered finally, falling against him and allowing him to support her. "I'm afraid." She said again.

"I need to go to the bathroom." She said morosely. She broke away from him and shuffled to the adjoined restroom, her head down. He stared after her, a quizzical expression painting his features, before he slowly followed after her.

He could hear her through the door… all her whispered insults. He chose to enter.

He chose not to leave her on her own.