Epilogue: Setting Sail

He yelled and bent over, clutching his bloody nose. I punched him again, hard, and then I bolted towards the forest behind my cottage. "Bloody Hell, get her!"

It wasn't much of a chase - these woods had been my backyard since I was born, and I knew all the hidden crevices and the rocks that wouldn't crumble under your feet and where the tricky tree roots crossed the path. On the other hand, the men had to rely on their eyes, which were becoming less useful as the sky darkened, and didn't seem to grasp the concept of subtlety. The sounds of their cussing and swearing carried for miles in the silent forest.

Twice I sensed Almer's chains extending from my cottage like tentacles, searching for me. I stayed completely still, rubbed my thumb against the smooth surface of the only stone I had left - I had dropped the others at the clearing - and the chains ignored me like they ignored the trees. But he was thorough. He swiped over an enormous area, in a display of power I had never seen from any Alchemist. Then again, with so much Irsha at his disposal, it was no surprise he could reach that far.

Eventually the sounds stopped, and the forest grew quiet again. They had given up. The adrenalin in my veins that had been keeping me from breaking down slowly drained away, leaving me feeling empty. I stopped running and collapsed against a tree trunk.

I don't know for how long I sat under the cover of the trees, curled up in a tight ball. At some point I got up and made some redleaf paste to apply it over the worst of my wounds. Then I sat back down, gathering myself together, gradually reconstructing my mind from all the pieces it had broken into. My house had been destroyed. I was no longer welcome at the Academy. My most important treasure was locked away beyond my reach. All my possessions added up to a small, dirty bag, eight thousand Beris, and a pouch which only contained one of my three stones. And I was hungry, and my arm hurt.

I could try to get the Tutors into this. The trouble was, Almer hadn't done anything technically illegal. He had bought my house, so he had the right to burn it down if he wanted to. He had probably been careful that the thugs he used to bully Olm and Frell couldn't be traced back to him. Same for the bribes he'd worked into the Academy. Even if the Tutors carried out an investigation, it would be a long time before they came to any sort of conclusion, and in that time Almer could find many other ways to hurt me.

Besides, I'd be forced to admit I had poisoned him, and that alone was enough to grant me immediate expulsion. No, I couldn't count on any kind of justice. I was on my own.

I rummaged through my bag and found the golden necklace with the picture of my mother and me, the one with her initials engraved in it. It had no chain, but I slid it on the rope around my neck, between the iron key and the bronze key. I stared at it for some time. Then I got up, my teeth grit with determination.

I spent that night sneaking around like a thief in the dark. First I sneaked back into the clearing of my cottage and recovered my other two stones from the place where I had dropped them. I had to search for an entire hour every inch of the ground with only feeble moonlight and glowing embers to guide me. But I did find them in the end - Almer wouldn't trouble himself with picking up measly fifteens.

Next I sneaked down to Limerick's docks and stole a boat. In my mind, it wasn't really stealing, since I was planning to return it. I made my way across the smooth, dark lake until I reached the Academy. I broke into the labs, which was no easy feat since wards were always put up at night. But, like I had told Rhiza, I could see the weak links in a chain, and, though it took me a long time, I managed to break them. Once inside I opened my safe, grabbed everything in it and stuffed it inside my bag. This wasn't really stealing either, since it all belonged to me. The angle of the green folder against my back was solid, reassuring.

Then I went to see Will in his dumpster. He opened the crumbling door to me warily, a knife held tightly in his hand, but when he saw who it was he relaxed. "Hullo there," he smirked, his teeth white against the dirt of his face. "Nut a good time to walk the ba'ways."

I stepped inside and dusted myself off. Will frowned when he got another look at the scratches on my hands and face, the redness in my eyes and my slightly singed hair, where my cloak hadn't protected me. "Excitin' evenin', huh," he commented.

"I'm leaving."

He grinned demonically, not missing a beat. "Can I keep yer house?"

"You can keep what's left of it if you give me a knife, a piece of rope and some traveling food."

"I dun't have food," he slouched. "An this knife's the only one I got." But he removed the rope that tightened his pants to his waist and handed it to me.

I thought for a moment. His knife looked nice - just the right size, and sharp and clean. A relatively new acquirement, no doubt. And I wasn't stupid enough to go traveling without a knife. They were necessary to cut and prepare food, as well as for the other less innocent uses. "How about I give you a heat rod for the knife?"

He grinned again. "Done."

Some people might say my trade with Will wasn't very fair. A heat rod, though a common enough product of the Academy, was worth at least double a knife. And what he would find rummaging through the ashes of my house would undoubtedly fetch a decent price, if only for the material alone. But I didn't have the heart to sell it myself, and at least that way I would know that someone other than Almer would profit from this whole disaster.

When I left, he didn't ask me where I was going or whether I would be back. A part of me suspected that, despite all I'd done for him, he didn't really care.

When one loses everything they own, everything they know, they turn towards the only remaining constant in their life: family. Family acts as a safety net. Even if it all goes wrong, one can always rely on the comfort of a home and a meal and loving arms. Sadly, I had no family. My mother was dead, and, even if I knew where my father was, I would be dead too before going to him. The only man I could count on was an old, tired wine merchant who had already given me much more than I deserved.

I went to his house anyway, because I couldn't stomach leaving without saying goodbye. I was surprised to find the lights were on, and peered in through the window.

Jumma was seating on the kitchen table, his new girlfriend on his lap. They were laughing, feeding each other with a small spoon. From the other side of the glass, the scene looked impossibly warm and comforting - and I knew I would never belong in it. I got out one of the books from my bag, tore a page and scribbled a note, and slid it under his door. They didn't notice.

So, in the dead of night, I made the trip to Monnet. It was in the opposite direction from the Mirror Lake, towards the sea. The path twisted and turned, curling up through cliffs and rocks. When I finally topped the mountain, the sun was peeking out from the horizon, chasing the remnants of the fog away.

I looked back towards the Academy, towards my home, watching the dark lake in the distance. There was nothing left for me there. My research? I had no way to complete it anymore, not here, Almer had made sure of that. He had made sure I lost everything. I hated him so much I didn't understand the feeling myself. Hate wasn't even the word for it, it was loathing, a chilling loathing instilled deep in my bones. It occurred to me then that, in a way, he had won. He had destroyed me so thoroughly I'd found no remedy but to flee from him like a whipped dog. I swore I would come back, much more powerful than I was now, and have my revenge.

And suddenly, standing there atop the hill, it all seemed hopelessly ridiculous. Staying locked in this island for sixteen years, without the least bit of interest for the world outside, concentrating on a petty fight with a noble's son that the rest of the world would never know about. It was so insignificant I wanted to laugh.

Then I looked to the front, to the endless sea stretching out at my feet, illuminated by the coming of a new dawn. Below me, the ships in the harbor stood like soldiers saluting the rising sun. A salty wind made my cloak dance, and my lips curled up in an ironic smile. Well, Luffy, I thought. We might meet again sooner than you think. And I took the first step towards the shore.

I was doing something foolish and thoughtless and dangerous.

I was chasing the third stone.

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A.N.: So, that was the end! It would be a great help to me if you guys could answer three questions:

1) What was the worst or most boring part of the story? Was there a part when you thought 'AGH, Mary Sue'

2) The ending: was it satisfying or did it feel too rushed? Were you hoping it would end differently? Would you read a Part 2 to this, or was this ending perfect and a Part 2 would ruin it?

If you have any other comments of the fic overall, positive or negative, feel free to post them. I always look for ways to improve!

The point of this? Well, I'm not sure myself. I know some of you will hate me for that ending, but I had planned it from the beginning. I guess I was thinking about all the islands Luffy must have visited and the people living in them, with their own stories and their own lives. I've always thought that the greatest thing about Luffy was not how badass he is or even his Haki or anything like that, but the way he inspires people.

Anyway.

A special thank you to:

Diclonious57, ShouldaBeenGrace, MsWildLuck and Anybodythere, who have been with me from the very beginning.

Shiningheart, who always guesses right about what's going to happen.

Santoryuu3, Dancing on Clouds of Sorrow, Christmasloot and all the new readers that have actually taken the time to leave their thoughts.

All my anonymous reviewers too, even if I don't know who you are.

I cannot thank you guys enough. Without you, I would have never made it this far. Your amazing reviews encouraged me to keep going till the end. Thank you :)