Open your eyes. Echoed a voice in her head.

His voice she realized. Her love, the one she missed so dearly.

Open your eyes.

I can't. I'm trying... but I can't.

You can. The voice echoed again, slowly dragging her from the darkness that consumed her.

I can't... I'm not strong enough.

You are strong enough. Fight. Open your eyes.

She did, fighting the darkness pulling at her, drowning her, fought for her life, fought to see him again.

Then without warning harsh light greeted her eyes. She struggled to stay awake for several seconds, her eyes fluttering. Flashes of memories replayed in her head, the knife, the pain, the blood, knowing she was dying. Feeling herself die even when she was unconscious. Knowing deep in her soul that she had momentarily died.

When she was able to stay fully awake her hand went immediately to her throat, feeling heavy white bandages.

She tried to say something but couldn't, pain blossoming in her throat. She could only manage a strangled attempt at speech. Her eyes widened and panic rushed through her, her breathing quickening.

"Hey," said a familiar voice, "hey, it's okay, you're safe."

Her eyes focused on his grey ones, seeing the calm reassurance in them. She reached out, her hand shaking as she caressed his face.

Mirage took her hand in his and she smiled softly, wishing she could speak to him.

"I though I lost you," he whispered, "I thought you were gone..."

He looked away from her, silver tears sliding down his face. She wiped his tears away, turning his face so he was looking at her again.

She motioned for him to lean forward and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. She then motioned towards the small table next her bed, pointing to a notebook and pen.

Mirage stood, walking over to the table. He grabbed the notebook and set it by her hand, sitting next to her bed again. Oracle smiled faintly, still feeling drowsy.

Oracle took it, writing something down. She tried not to feel frustrated at how much concentration it took to simply write something down.

She showed the notebook to Mirage when she was done.

Are you okay?

"I'm fine. I had the gunshot wound to my shoulder repaired along with several gashes and cuts. Sore and stiff but otherwise fine."

Mentally? She wrote.

When he didn't answer right away she knew that was a far more complicated question.

"I'm incredibly tired," he said, "I'm emotionally burned out... you scared me, I truly thought I had lost you. I couldn't deal with that, couldn't accept it. I didn't want to. I'm glad I don't have to."

"Now that the war is beginning to come to an end all the stress, all the fear... all the grief is hitting me at once. All the things I didn't have time to feel are coming back."

Who did you loose? She asked, looking up at him.

Mirage was silent for a full minute before he answered her.

"Desertfox," he said softly, "Elijah."

Oracle let the pen slip from her hand, let it hit the notebook. The news was like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of her. It seemed like only hours before she had talked to him.

He promised he would come back to me, she thought, he promised...

As tears slipped down her face silently she wished she could speak properly, that she could say something, release the grief that roiled within her like ocean waves.

She had lost another person, another friend, a brother. Someone important to her. Someone she cared for.

He's gone... for good. She wrote slowly, hating that she couldn't speak the words.

"He is," Mirage said, his voice catching. "I comforted him as he slipped away from me... I made sure he wasn't alone."

Oracle nodded, leaning her head back against the pillow. She felt Mirage wipe her tears away like she had for him. She reached up, holding his hand, squeezing it as she closed her eyed and grieved silently.

Several minutes later she collected herself enough to write something else for Mirage to read.

I still have you.

"Always," said Mirage.

Don't leave me. She wrote, looking up at him.

Please.

"I won't." He answered.

Promise me.

"I promise." He said, moving a stray strand of hair out of her face.

She desperately wanted to hug him but she knew she wasn't strong enough to even sit up, much less stand. She knew if she tried it would end badly. Besides the IV in her arm would obstruct her movement.

They both looked up as a nurse entered the room, stopping short when she saw that she was awake.

"Welcome back," she said, a small smile gracing her lips.

Oracle offered the same small smile, her fatigue growing with every passing moment. The nurse checked her vital signs and breathing, establishing that she was in a good, stable condition.

Her vitals had leveled out and normalized, her body finally recovering from the shock of the initial injury and the surgery that had followed.

The nurse checked her breathing, having her take in several deep breaths and, judging by her approving nod, was happy with what she heard.

The nurse then changed the bandages on her neck, rewrapping the wound with fresh ones. She did the same for the bandages covering the gashes on her arm and the ones on her shoulder, the injuries throbbing slightly.

When the nurse was done she said a soft goodbye and left, leaving them alone again. Mirage looked back at her, his eyes worried.

It will be okay. She wrote, looking up at him.

"I know," he said, "I'm just scared that I will loose you again. I can't do that again. If I loose you for good I don't know what I'll do."

You won't loose me. I'll fight every step of the way in order to be here with you.

Mirage smiled, some of the sparkle returning to his eyes.

"I know you will," he said, "you always have."

Oracle then wrote down the question she desperately needed an answer to.

Reclaimer?

"Dead," said Mirage, "I killed him after he wounded you. I couldn't let him live after what he had done... after the lives lost in this war, the lives lost fighting him before... what he did to you. After what this war took from me, from all of us."

He stopped, realizing he was rambling.

"I'm sorry."

You don't need to apologize.

"I know," he said, "it's a habit."

This war took a lot from all of us.

"It did," he said softly, "it did."

This can finally come to an end? She asked.

"I hope so," he said, "I hope we don't have to lose anyone else."

We can get our planet back.

"Yes," said Mirage, "with Paragon to help us."

We can finally be safe.

"I can finally stop worrying about you." Said Mirage.

You'll never stop worrying about me.

She smirked up at him and he laughed softly.

"You have a point," he said, "I will never stop worrying about you."

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Yay a good ending! Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around, and to those who may be busy but still read when they can! Ya'll mean a lot to me, and I hope you've enjoyed the story up to this point!

~~Nightfury107