Back so soon? What? I know! I got this done early! TODAY! I know I left you all with a teeth clenching cliffhanger, but this should explain everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Last chapter, gotta put a lot in it. Sorry if it's short, but it's simple and gets to the point. This writing journey has been amazing and I loved writing every chapter for this fanfiction. For everyone who only reads fanfiction, please start writing it. It's the first step to creating an actual book, it's how I've gotten better at my writing. By writing fanfiction, I know I can be a great author one day. (wipes away tear) I love you all so much. Okay, let's get to the last chapter (Sh*t, I said no more sad talk! Gah.

Chapter 24: Home?

Éponine closed her eyes, not wanting to see Enjolras' face when he pulled the trigger. She never thought it would come down to this. She never thought that when she was finally happy, everything would be taken away from her. Just like saving Marius at the barricades, she was saving Enjolras here and now.

No gun shot went off. In fact, she couldn't feel the gun pressed to her skull anymore or Montparnasse's hands holding hers. Instead, someone held her hand lightly. She opened her eyes and saw Enjolras looking back at her, smiling.

"We're safe." She looked around. He was right; they were safe. The Patron-Minette were gone, as if they had disappeared into thin air. Whatever it was, Éponine was just glad to be safe.

"What happened? Where did they go?"

"We don't know," Enjolras said. "One minute we thought you were going to die, the next they were all gone. It was like–"

"Like magic." Everyone turned and saw Mr. Hugo. Éponine took a step back closer to Enjolras. She didn't trust him or Miss LuPone or Mr. Wilkinson. They were trying to hurt them.

"Mr. Hugo?" Marius said. "You saved us?"

He nodded. "Indeed. The Patron-Minette had their chance to start fresh and leave their old habits, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"Not necessarily, Vincent." Miss LuPone came from the shadows and stood next to Mr. Hugo. "Look at Jean Valjean. He learned how to be patient and used his time well. Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it's how we behave while we're waiting."

"What do you want?" Éponine asked, still on guard. "How did you know who we were?"

Mr. Hugo and Miss LuPone smiled at each other. "She is a smart one, Vincent."

"It was my mistake," Mr. Hugo said. "I shouldn't have slipped up by calling you Éponine."

"That doesn't explain how you know, though."

"Well," Miss LuPone said. "We brought you here."

Everyone gasped. They whole journey had been a mystery. They just landed there, scattered around this vast city without a trace of knowledge what to do. Why they were sent to New York, how they got there…it was them.

"You two did this?" Éponine said. She didn't know if she should have been angry or…grateful.

"Actually, us four." Everyone looked the other way and saw a man and a woman standing behind Marius. The man took off his hat and smiled at everyone. The ABC boys stood behind them, each one with a light in their eyes.

"Enjolras, you're back." Combeferre said. They all embraced Enjolras, glad to see their leader all in one piece.

"And I see everyone else is." Enjolras said. He looked from Bahorel to Lesgles to Jehan. They were all here, they all remembered.

"I don't know how I could have forgotten," Lesgles said. "One minute I'm fighting by your side, the next I'm flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant."

"I at least had a cooler second life," Bahorel said. "I got to be a criminal, and I got away with it a lot."

Joly slapped him on the back of his head. "If it wasn't for us, you'd be in jail, Mr. 'I'll Call My Lawyer.'" All of the boys laughed.

Gavroche joined the group and Enjolras held him on his shoulders. "You were a real trouper, kid. You helped me through a lot."

"Eh, I did okay." Everyone smiled and patted Gavroche's head. As Enjolras set him back on the ground, Éponine wrapped her arms around him and rested her head in the crane of his neck. All the boys "awed" at the sight of Enjolras with a girl.

"So when did this…uh, happen?" Marius asked. Éponine and Enjolras turned to him. "I mean, I'm just asking from a friend's perspective. When we…well, when we kissed–"

"You two kissed?" The ABC boys shouted. They either gave disgusted faces or pretended to throw up. Éponine and Marius looked at one another, their cheeks flushing red.

"I know, right?" Gavroche said. "You should've heard the lecture she got from me."

"It was a mistake," Éponine said. She turned to Cosette, who had shyly slipped away from the group. "I'm sorry, Cosette. I was mad at you for making him love you and then you turned him down and he was…there. You know now, with our friendship, I would never do anything to hurt you." Cosette creased her eyebrows upward, trying to decide if she meant what she said. Éponine held out her hand, and Cosette took it. They embraced.

"And Marius," Éponine said, turning to him. He smiled, but not his usual smile. This smile wasn't oblivious to her love for him. This smile wasn't "just friends." This smile was understanding.

"You and Enjolras found what we found." Marius said, pulling Cosette closer to him.

"Éponine," Miss LuPone said. "You learned the most from this experience. You stopped trying to find love and let love find you instead." Enjolras pulled Éponine closer and kissed the top of her head.

"Ugh, when did this turn into a love fest?" Joly said. "My God, I want to throw up."

"Joly!"

"Who's that, Joly?" Everyone turned to the girl with multi-colored hair running toward them, waving. Joly squinted to see her more clearly, and recognized her.

"Josie," he whispered. She ran passed the boys and jumped into him. They fell to the ground and she kissed him repeatedly. The boys "awed" like with Enjolras and Éponine. When Josie stopped kissing him, they sat up.

"Joly, I can't believe it's you!"

"Josie, what are you doing?" Joly asked. "How…how do you know my real name?"

She tilted her head. "I don't look familiar? Is it the hair? The glasses? The clothes?"

Joly squinted again. He slowly took her glasses off and pushed the hair from her face. He couldn't believe it was true. "Musichetta…"

She nodded and he couldn't help himself. He pulled her closer and kissed her, running his fingers through her hair. Enjolras bent to where they sat and tapped his shoulder. "So, still tired of the love fest?" Joly pushed him away and kept kissing Musichetta.

"You okay, Lesgles?" Combeferre said.

Lesgles looked at him and smiled. "I saw it coming long before New York."

When the newest couple stood up, it seemed as if things were looking up for them. Éponine and Enjolras, Marius and Cosette, even Joly and Musichetta now. However, there was one person from Paris who had yet to make an appearance.

"All right, you're all going to jail." A man in a police uniform placed a hand on Valjean's shoulder. They turned to him, and Valjean almost cried for joy.

"Javert!" Valjean shouted. He wrapped his arms around him and practically cried into his shoulder. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I missed you so much!"

"Uh, okay?" Javert said, not hugging Valjean back. "I'm still going to take you to jail."

Valjean let go and wiped the tears. "I know. But I missed the chase."

"And don't forget, Javert," Enjolras said. "You're still our prisoner."

"How could I forget?" Javert said, lightly punching his shoulder.

"You see, Vincent?" Mrs. Ruffelle said. "All it took was a little detour in the right direction to change their hearts."

"Oh, I'm still going to get justice when we go back," Javert said. "I'm letting it slide just this once."

"When are we going back?" Éponine asked. "I mean, I'm not in any hurry, but I'd like to know so I can say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Enjolras asked. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Enjolras," she held his hand and pressed into his chest. "I'm already gone. There's nothing that can change that."

"I'll do something, anything!" The tears formed in his eyes as he looked into hers, defeated and given up. "Don't leave me."

"She doesn't have a choice, Enjolras." Everyone turned to Mr. Hugo. He took a step forward. "When we bring you back, whatever happened stays that way. It will be as if the last two months happened in a millisecond. We bring you all back, but she will still be dead."

"Enjolras," Éponine tilted his head down to look into his eyes. "You have your revolution. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I can't lose you again."

"I know it's unfair, and I wish we had more time together…" Éponine closed her eyes, hiding the tears building up. "But this is how it's supposed to be." Enjolras pulled her into an embrace and kissed the top of her head. He held her in his arms and rocked her gently, feeling her tears merge with his clothing.

"We cannot guarantee any of you your lives after this," Mr. Wilkinson said. "But we can guarantee you these memories. Everything you went through, the pain, the happiness, the struggles, the strengths…everything will remain with you."

Grantaire walked toward Mr. Hugo, a drink planted firmly in his hand. "Will I still be able to drink when I want?"

Everyone laughed, especially Mr. Hugo. "Of course, Grantaire."

"Then let's hightail it out of here!" Grantaire shouted into the sky, making extreme hand motions. "Screw the era that changed the drinking age!"

"You all learned something new because of this," Miss LuPone said. "Haven't you?"

Everyone nodded and looked at the person who had changed them. Marius held Cosette's hand and told her he would find a way back to her after the revolution and hopefully they'd marry. She made him promise he'd return safely. Valjean told Cosette how he'd seen her mature in the last couple months and honored her wishes to marry Marius. Joly told Musichetta that when the revolution ended, he would make plans for a wedding. He wanted to spend every minute of the rest of his life with her, but he had a duty to the revolution first. Enjolras wrapped his arms around Éponine, stroking her hair as she cried softly into him. Valjean told Javert that due to kindness in this world, he would do something nice to him back in Paris. Javert said he wouldn't stop until he was back behind bars.

Gavroche tugged on Éponine's shirt and she looked into his big, blue eyes. She embraced him as tightly as she could, and he didn't mind it at all. He cried into her shoulder and whispered, "I love you. Always."

"I love you too. Always."

Each of them slowly faded away, returning to the place they belonged. They carried their new memories with them, never forgetting the adventures they shared in another world called New York City.

The four ghosts turned to each other and smiled.

"Our mission is complete."

"And it is time to move on to the next."

"To share our wisdom with the world."

"To those who need it, and to those who don't realize they need it."

They nodded and slowly faded away from existence, like they were never there to begin with.

So that's it. They returned home, and we all know what happens later on in Les Miserables. Oh, and FYI that patience quote LuPone said was from Robert H. Schuller. I felt the need to add something philosophical. Anyway, like I said before this was a great writing journey and I hope people continue to write fanfiction because fanfiction IS THE BEST. Any questions, comments, concerns, compliments, etc. just review the story or PM me personally. I also recently posted a summary of why I ended this the way I did on my profile, so if you were confused or conflicted in any way, take a look at that. Thank you all for spending the time to read this!

Anabelle ;)