A/N—...And now for the final, suspense-filled chapter of Long Division! I've had such a great time writing this story, and I hope that all of you enjoyed reading it. Keep posted, though—Cecilia's story doesn't necessarily end here. ;)

N made his final decision: "Reshiram, enough. Cecilia's words touched my heart. After much consideration, I realized something: Cecilia brought me back to reality. She helped make me more human. She's shown me affection. She's shown me that not all humans are vile creatures. And, reflecting back on her suggestion and my run-ins with her, she has a point. Liberation is not an option. Ghetsis, you have been using me, haven't you? That is why the grunts never looked highly upon me—you were giving them commands contrary to my philosophy so that you could usurp the throne from me after everyone across Unova and the rest of the globe releases their Pokemon. You never cared about me. You only care about yourself. You're emotionally unmoving and a ruthless, malevolent being. You're a truly corrupted, calloused man."

Ghetsis sneered. "Why, thank you for the compliments," he said. "Cecilia, since you've learned oh-so much about me, I suppose that I must expunge you from this planet." He grabbed a Pokeball from the pocket of his cloak and threw it in front of him. "Hydreigon, use Focus Blast on Cecilia!"

I ducked down and covered my head. I was too afraid to react. A vile-looking Dragon-type Pokemon was about to pummel me to a pulp. I was in so much shock that my reaction was to shout out a piercing screech filled with terror.

After a few moments, I stopped cowering and looked around me. How am I not dead yet? I thought. Or...is this Heaven?

At my feet was N, who somehow managed to run in front of me to shield me from the Pokemon's attack. Candice was in the middle of a fist fight with Ghetsis. She was getting assistance from her Medichan, but Ghetsis was a formidable match and was still easily beating the both of them. However, my eyes and mind were focused only on N. I felt his wrists. There was no pulse. "You—" I said to N as I began to choke with sadness, "you saved my life. I—I'll never forget you for that." I was silent for a few moments. Tears dripped down my face and dripped onto N's shirt. I rested my head on his chest and continued to weep. "Why do the good always die young?"

I heard Zekrom say to Reshiram, "Look. Our fighting always results in death."

"It was a noble death," Reshiram noted, reflecting on his admiration of N, "but an unfortunate one."

"We can bring him back, but one of us must go back into a dormant state as a result."

"I'll do it," Reshiram offered.

"No," Zekrom refused. "Let me. I serve the girl. This will be my final act of servitude to her. It was nice to see you again, old rival."

"Let's hope it's not the last time we meet," Reshiram wished. "Next time, we shall form a truce. No more fighting. No more casualties."

With a flash of blue light, Zekrom changed back into the Dark Stone. At the same moment, I kissed N on the lips as my final farewell to him. When I was done, I looked down at him. I was still crying.

Then N's eyes blinked. He resumed breathing. His pulse returned. N was once again alive. He pushed himself up and looked around. "Zekrom sacrificed his freedom to save me," he understood as he stared at the stray Dark Stone lying on the ground. "I've never experienced so much loyalty between a Pokemon and its trainer in all my life. I'm glad that I made the right choice."

"I thought I'd lost you," I admitted. I gave him a hug. I didn't want to let him go. Tears of joy trickled down my face.

The doors to the fray flew open, and in ran Alder and Summer. "Ghetsis Harmonia," Summer announced, "for many violations of both Unovan law and international doctrine—including, but not limited to, several murder attempts, an array of kidnappings, and child abuse—you are hereby placed under arrest by the International Police."

Ghetsis pushed Candice and her Medicham aside and retaliated with, "You can't arrest me if you can't catch me. I can outrun two people without difficulty!"

He began to bolt for the door in hopes of freedom, but then help arrived. The leaders that came along with Summer to storm N's castle arrived and blocked the only exit. "You're not getting away that easily, honey," Lenora stated.

"Yeah, punk!" Clay agreed. "Ya mess with the hooves, ya get the horns. Now reach for the sky and surrender already!"

"Time to see what it's like when someone interrupts your show!" Elesa announced with vengeance in mind.

Ghetsis was frozen in place. He didn't expect to see that many heroes, that's for sure. He listened to Clay and lifted his hands in the air. Summer slapped handcuffs onto his wrists and began to drag him away. The gym leaders followed, forming a protective barrier around her and Ghetsis. They left the scene. That was the last time I would see Summer for a while.

I helped N get off of the ground. He walked over to where the Dark Stone was, picked it up, and handed it to me. "I—I believe this is yours," N said to me.

I took the Dark Stone from him and put it in my bag. I said, "Thank you. Thank you for everything. Really."

Then, we leaned in for a kiss. I may not be in Heaven, I thought, but I hope this is what Heaven's like.

Candice sent her Medicham back into its Pokeball, then ran over to me and gave me a hug that almost knocked me over. "You're the best sister anyone could ask for," she told me with sincerity.

Then, Alder came up to the three of us. "Well," Alder said, "I guess I owe you an apology, N. And Cecilia, I can't thank you enough for preventing the unthinkable from happening. If there is anything I can do to repay you for your valiance, don't hesitate to tell me—really."

"I'll pass for now," I told him, "but I'll keep your offer in mind."

"Take your time. It's the least I can do. Now I must be off. I need to rekindle my relationship with my Pokemon and train so that I can resume being the Champion of the Pokemon League. Farewell, my friends!"

And just like that, Alder was gone—out of sight.

"I'm afraid that I must be going as well," N announced.

My mouth gaped open. "But—but why?"

"I need to go off and rediscover myself—to learn my true purpose in this world, to learn more about the real me. I'd take you with me, but it's better that I go this one alone. At least for now."

"No." I refused to accept the fact that N was leaving me. "No. No. No. You can't go! Please—please don't!" My tears of sadness returned. "You—you can't—not now—"

"It pains me as well, but I must go off and reinvent myself. Don't worry, though: we'll cross paths again."

N unclipped the golden cube from his jeans and handed it to me. "What is this?" I asked as I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"It's a level one Menger Sponge—a cube with an infinite surface area. I've had it since I was a child. The mechanics and mysteries behind it have always fascinated me. I want you to keep it to remember me by."

I gladly accepted the token. "I'm going to miss you."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Like I said, we'll meet again. I promise."

Reshiram landed softly on the platform. N walked up to him and climbed onto the Pokemon's back. Zora dug her claws into N's cap. "Time to go, Reshiram," N said.

And just like that, Reshiram flew up into the air and crashed through the wall of the room. N was gone. I tried to tell N one last time that I loved him, but my connection had apparently disappeared—this time for good. I looked down at the Menger Sponge and began to cry again. "Candice," I told my sister, "I want to go home."

-x-

"So, you're really going to leave so soon?" Professor Juniper asked me as we said our farewells on a dock in Castelia City.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "This place bears too many memories. I need to go home and be with my family for a while. Maybe I'll return again one day."

"Well then. I thank you so much for your research on Reshiram and Zekrom. I'm going to compress it into one document and save it in my own personal archives for future reference. I also must thank you for recording Pokemon in this Pokedex for me." She waved my Pokedex in her hand. "Oh, and certainly I must thank you for saving Unova. I'll let you keep the Dark Stone. You've done a good job at protecting it this far, and Zekrom chose you, not me."

"Thank you, Professor Juniper. Good luck with your future research, and thanks for the exciting opportunity."

Candice ran over to the two of us. "Cecilia, we have to go! The boat's departing in a few minutes!" she warned me.

I waved Juniper goodbye as I ran to the boat with my sister. We got on just in time. The first thing we did while onboard was look over the railing on the top deck. Candice was waving goodbye to Juniper. However, I didn't. I was lost in thought. I began to recall the time N and I were looking out into the ocean surrounding Castelia City. "I came here to clear my plagued mind," I heard him say in my thoughts. "The sounds of the waves and the chirping Pidove circling overhead both, in tangent, help me to relax. That's what I love about Castelia City."

Just then, a Pidove landed on the railing next to me. I pet its head as I continued to look out into the ocean. As the flying-type Pokemon cooed peacefully, I said in a hushed voice under my breath, "All hail King N."

The boat lifted its anchor and started to move. The Pidove flew out into the open. My journey in Unova had ended, but my real journey was just beginning.