A/N: Hello all you flunkies! Well, this is it. The last chapter of the second fanfic. How have you been enjoying this series? I know, things have been pretty wonky from the start, but life is wonky, and realism is always fun. Anyway. You song person? "Staff Roll" from FF7. Because it is the last chapter and the end of the book. What do I see happening, without giving too much away? Stuff, saying goodbye, relationship stuff, the explanation, more goodbyes, and something to lead us into the next book. ^^ Yep, that's right! There will be another one after this! But I need a break, man! So, um, yeah. And I think this one may be longer than the usual for this one, and stuff. But yeah. Let's get on to finishing this thing.

~*~

Despite Yurika's words that they would be departing from Ninlan at the end of the week, the Nadesico did not go anywhere for the rest of June. But the part of the crew that was so ready to leave were not angry in the least bit. After all, a brutal battle that left one dead and many of their own injured had taken place, and healing was required, after all. They just saw it as a setback for the inevitable, and continued just doing what they had before.

The first few days, it was safe to be worried. After the battle with Magus, most of the mages went sent to bed, where they stayed in a dreamless slumber for nearly three full days. But, as it was explained later by a book toting Megumi, it was expected as they had used most of their energy reserves and were feeling the effects. It was better for them to stay in bed. But when they had finally woken up, Inez put the uninjured Hikaru. Yukina, and Ruri to work healing the others, Ruri magically and Hikaru and Yukina traditionally. That was when most of the whining took place. However, in the course of a week the least hurt were spit out of the infirmary, healed for the most part.

Yurika went on to take her position as captain once again, but was not her happy self anymore. Rumiko was sent back home, where he finally relayed the story to Igadosu, who insisted that he send a messenger bird to Carmina immediately, stating his rank now. Izumi took up almost permanent residence in Inez's laboratory, using the blonde's laptop to write the report of information on the Gods to empty her near-swelling brain. With those with broken bones having to stay in the infirmary, despite their demands to leave, Yukina was free to go, her presence and help in the hospital wing no longer required.

Hikaru was also free to do as she pleased, and despite her head telling her to get started on her manga, her heart had told her to stay with Jun, and keep the man from thinking about unpleasant things, such as the blood on his hands. The others did not have so much of a problem, but they were not joyous. Mainly, it was worry about two simple words. "What now?"

With the mages, some of which were keys to helping them Jump, mostly out of commission, the mechanics and Uribatake took this time to move the Jump Computer into the cave they had found weeks before. Inez wasn't as upset as they had expected, with her nod of acceptance to the relic's fate. Omoikane, on the other hand, was a little sad, feeling that he was losing a friend. But after finally seeing that Ruri was truly all right, not hurt and just overworked, made him feel much better.

The mechanics would have also lined the ship with CCs if Inez had asked them to, but she requested that they did not. For one thing, they would not be Jumping until they had gotten out of the atmosphere, for fear of creating another Jump field on the planet. For another, it wouldn't be required anyway, as Inez emphasized. With the computer being on the ship as long as it was, the Nadesico was already a permanent Jump field. This worried some at first, but she reassured them that it was not so much a bad thing.

Rumiko's position was not really known at first. In fact, it wasn't for a few weeks that he himself had realized the implications of him being the head of the Pentakami church. Magus's temple had been overridden by the once-ancient Pentakami religion. The Gods had deemed it so. But what did this mean for the ruling of Ninlan? Lord Mythos Entrada was Emperor simply because he was the First Priest of the Temple of Magus. But with that gone, what was Mythos? And what was Rumiko, the head of the now acceptable religion on the Planet of Magic?

In Somenolenthe, the fields between the farmlands of the town and the Forest of Femininity was all the proof the villagers needed to see that the raven-haired man was telling the truth about the Pentakami and such. They helped him fix up the temple into a respectable church. Many were not easily swayed into picking up ancient habits, but a trip to the blood-stained grounds that shone brightly for anyone who needed proof was all they needed to know that the God of Spirit had been smitten by the Elemental Gods. Surprisingly, Igadosu was one of the ones that was helping to prove that Rumiko had been chosen to head this church. Rumiko never really learned how he did it, but he somehow did, though it was a bit unnerving to go into a local shop and be known as "Lord Rumiko".

Finally, Rumiko sent a messenger bird to Carmina, thanks to the urging of his mentor Igadosu, stating that the Temple of Magus be refuted immediately, by the order of the gods. The near-immediate response was telling him that he was a fool and the proper authorities were informed of his heresy. Rumiko sent back the reply that stated simply, "Oh, really?" It also included a photograph by Megumi of the standard proof they were using. The response was written in calligraphic, yet shaky, writing, stating that Mythos had had a vision telling him that if he didn't step down immediately, the Gods Themselves would take him out of the picture. It stated that Mythos was leaving his position as both First Priest of Magus and the Emperor of Ninlan.

The second part is what had amazing Rumiko. Igadosu told him that, since Magus had chosen Mythos as Emperor, and the other Gods refuted this, the head of the Pentakami church was now in charge. In short, Rumiko had gained the position of ruling the planet without even knowing it.

Strangely enough, this realization didn't change Rumiko much, which made Inez realize just what Terra meant by saying that Rumiko was bastardly enough to head the church and the planet. He was already overwhelmingly bossy and stubborn, that the idea of him suddenly being Emperor of Ninlan didn't change much.

However, as the main priest of the town that seemed to be changing into the capital of Ninlan, with all the new residents and such, Rumiko knew he had certain duties to do, things that would have otherwise been the duties of a certain captain that wouldn't be able to handle this certain job in her current state.

~*~

The very first service in the renovated church was the single thing everyone dreaded. Particularly dreaded by Jun and Yurika. Rumiko had the help of both Hikaru and Igadosu, so all that lay ahead of him was to speak to these people. Hikaru had gathered the ashes and put them in the obsidian urn that Igadosu provided, who also provided all the other requirements for the funeral ahead of them.

Rumiko's formal silver robes itched. It was one thing that stayed in his mind as he gripped the ebony podium; trying to fool himself to thinking that this was not one of Lady Ai's students, a member of the Nadesico's crew, anything of the sort. He had never really talked to the cocky pilot and CEO of a big Earth company before, not much at all, and he felt inappropriate the conduct the ceremony. He looked out into the mass of people that had both chosen to come because they were crewmembers, and out of curiosity. One stood out in his amber eyes, one of the few that were required to be there and came because she needed too. Yurika.

Yurika, like all the other mages, was also dressed in formal robes, though theirs were much less showy as Rumiko's. However, unlike the others, she wore a black tunic over the silver robes, showing that she was definitely in mourning. Her blank, teary green eyes gave away her true feelings, even if her normally smiling mouth was set in a firm line, trembling occasionally with the effort to not wail out loud. She truly did love Akatsuki, despite her distrust of him. Her own words that left her mouth months before were lost on herself. She didn't trust the rich gravity mage, but she loved him anyway. She would never trust him with her life, but she had trusted him with her body and heart. The fact that he was gone, that she would never even see him again was too much for the Martian captain, but she did not speak.

Rumiko shook his head, pushing some of his thick black hair out of his face and his glasses more snugly on his face. With a slight glance to Megumi in the crowd, who nodded encouragingly, he cleared his throat and began.

"Friends and acquaintances of the deceased, we gather to bid goodbye to those no longer among us and good luck to those left behind. Sometimes death chooses the wrong victim, for the wrong reason, and that is the fate that Akatsuki Nagare faced, and followed to the letter. His greatest downfall was also his death, and for this, we are regretful. Of course, we don't so much regret the death of this man, who had given up his will in the end, as those who must live without him. Misumaru-san, may I request that you speak of the man that all here knew of, but only you truly knew?"

Yurika's eyes finally spilled over as she made eye contact with the new Emperor of Ninlan. She shook her head furiously, knowing that all that would happen if she stood on that podium would be her screaming and crying. Inez stood instead, grimly announcing, "I have known Nagare since his childhood. I will speak in Misumaru-san's place." Rumiko nodded and stepped aside from the podium, allowing the Martian doctor to come up and speak of her knowledge of the man they were saying their final goodbyes to.

"Nagare was raised to be the way he was," was Inez's opening statement. She knew full well that the crew saw him as a heartless bastard, but it was when she was a child that she knew who Akatsuki really was, even past his parents' teachings. "He wasn't cold without a purpose. When he was a child, he was happy, and he thought he could do anything. This was compounded with the fact that Rinji, his older brother, was the one being forced to follow the family. As I got older, I had become Nagare's idol, and he began dreaming of becoming a doctor. Just like me. But when Rinji had his accident, and died himself, Nagare's life became, in short, hell." Inez paused, remembering that fateful day. She had been ordered to marry the heir to Nergal, but refused due to her own sexual preferences and Rinji's dedication to his own fiancée. Rinji had been the only one that was her age, and the news of his death was like losing her best friend. When Akatsuki had been informed, his dreams crumbled before his eyes as his father redirected the last son left's life. "Nagare never wanted the company. But he was forced to take it. And with it came the reluctance to care about others, the heartlessness and ruthlessness that everyone here remembers him by. His own family had betrayed him, and though it made him one of the most powerful men in the world and colonies, it was not what he wanted to do with his life. Thus, he gave into the qualities that his family gave him, and became who we know today." Inez paused again, realizing that the idea of yet another person from her childhood was gone was but a pang in her heart, but went on. "He gave in to temptation and let his defenses go for a bit. And with that, he was hurt again, but someone that did not care brought him up. He must have been tormented before he was released in death. And for that, I am thankful." With that finally said, she went back to her seat, and Rumiko took the podium once again.

"Everyone is human and has qualities that not everyone likes. Akatsuki Nagare was the epitome of this truth. And in respect for the one that proved to us all that no one is perfect, we bid goodbye." Rumiko stared at the ebony wood of the podium, seeing his already pale hands grip it until his knuckles were white. It was one thing to watch others you hadn't seen and talked to, known those who'd known the person, die, but Akatsuki was another matter entirely.

He didn't even realize that the church was emptying itself, and several cries of anguish escaped the Martian captain's mouth, and he barely felt the Igadosu's hand on his shoulder in reassurance and comfort. But he did feel Megumi wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly as if he needed the knowledge that she was there for him. But as he glanced at her, he could see that she herself was crying.

~*~

Megumi surprisingly relayed how she had also cared for Akatsuki to Rumiko once they were at his house. Despite him being the recently sworn Emperor of Ninlan, he still lived his small, one-room house. Megumi didn't mind though. As long as her sleeping chair was still in the house, she wouldn't care about any of it.

"Akatsuki was also so elusive, and I was probably one of the only girls on the ship that he never flirted with. Possibly because he knew I was kind of devoted to Akito at the time, but Yurika was more devoted that anyone could ever imagine. But, maybe he really was as shallow as everyone said he was. I'm not exactly a very curvy girl, you know. But somehow he was a goal for me to reach. Then when I began having those dreams about you, I was so sure that it was him… But I never really noticed how much the crew of the Nadesico means to me, all of them, until he passed away." Megumi bit her lip, noticing her slip-up of her own devotion to the rugged old ship that had been the only place for her for two years now.

Rumiko noticed it as well, holding his warm cup of tea with both hands at the table. He looked into the liquid a little uncertain about what he was about to ask. "So… you're going to leave with them?" A loaded question, and one the Megumi just didn't know the answer to. She wrapped her arms around her petite torso, still clad in one of her Ninlan-style dresses. "I… I don't know." She glanced out the window and watched the sun slowly pull itself out of the sky in an orange fire. "I… always assumed I would… but then I started assuming I'd stay… but I love the Nadesico. I never really said it. Everyone else I know loves the ship like home, but I don't know where my home is anymore."

Rumiko closed his amber eyes at Megumi's words. It was two days until the Nadesico was definitely scheduled to leave. Her indecisiveness was not a comfort. She had been on that ship, lived on it for two years. She had fought, watched people die, reported things with her beautiful voice for two years out of nineteen. The only two years where she was seen as someone very important, an adult. But at the same time, she had made a place at the shack that was Rumiko's home for all of his twenty-three years. Rumiko could no longer look at his reading chair and see it as only a reading chair. For the past four months, it was Megumi's chair. The chair where she always slept. Rumiko couldn't imagine it being anything else but Megumi's chair. He ran his tongue over his somewhat chapped pale lips, having difficulty wording his feelings, and kicking himself because of this. "I… I'd really like you to stay, Meg."

Megumi stared at Rumiko, who still sat with his eyes closed, as if hiding from the younger woman. She knew he fancied her; after all, they had kissed just before he fell ill. And he was never good at speaking his feelings, as she knew from the same encounter. But he was somewhat antisocial, and not one to focus on people at all. Megumi knew he missed his sister, and that he cared for the communications officer, but that was the extent. But what he was asking of her, as difficult as it was for him to get out, was a step in a complete other direction. "Rumiko… Are you asking me to stay on Ninlan? With you?"

Rumiko nodded slowly. "Meg, you're the only person that's completely frank to me, but still caring for one's feelings. You're just as stubborn as me, and the only person that still sees me the same as before, even without my title and all that. And the only person that doesn't think I'm still just a kid, too excitable, or an asshole in general." His normally pale face was flaring red, betraying his compliments of her and such. He wasn't just being nice and asking as a friend, Megumi knew. He was asking as something more.

Megumi stood and leaned over the table, trying to catch Rumiko's eyes with her own without touching him. "Rumiko, I need to know. I think I have a pretty good idea of what this is about, but I need to hear you actually say it. Rumiko, you love me don't you?" The swift blush that covered most of the visible pale skin of the young Emperor verified that the former voice actress was right. But still, she needed to hear him say it. "Rumiko! Answer me!"

Rumiko glared at her. "Yes, all right! Yes! I do love you, okay? Are you happy now?" He instantly looked away, feeling like a fool for giving in to any emotion, especially one that could easily hurt someone. "You've been too close to me for too long. You've had an effect on me, Meg." Megumi smiled at him, aware that this made her freckles stand out just a bit more than normal. "I kind of figured you did. But…" her smile drooped, and harsh reality slapped her in the face once again. "Oh God, now I don't know what to do. I want to stay with the people that are my friends on the Nadesico, like Minato and Ruri and, hell, even Yurika! But…" She frowned, "I don't want to go, because Ninlan is too much like what I've dreamed of living in. And someone actually loves me, you, and I don't really want to leave it behind…" Megumi sat in her chair again, contemplating the pros and cons of both leaving and staying. Then she nodded to herself. "I've decided," she announced. Rumiko made eye contact with her again, and she nodded. "Yes, I will."

~*~

Inez was reviewing the chances she had calculated of them having a successful Jump without the computer and to the present or future, instead of the past, when something heavy was dropped on her desk, causing it to shake. She looked up from her clipboard to see Izumi standing there, crossing her arms after she had dropped what seemed like a dead body, for all it's weight, on her desk. Inez glanced at the stack of papers that couldn't have possibly have been so heavy, but were, and back to her lover. "I assume this is about the Gods, right?" Izumi nodded slowly, and Inez could see the bags under the water mage's eyes, considerably dark against her pale skin. Inez waved her to a chair and stood, staring at the pile of papers with interest. However, her frustrated headache flared up, yelling at her for putting what she needed to do off, but Inez pushing the voice away, curiosity getting the better of the Martian doctor. However, the sheer size of the report was enough to repel even the knowledge-thirsty woman. She crossed her arms and nodded at her lover. "Care to give me an overview?" Izumi shrugged. "Sure. That is a little intense if you can't follow it." She cleared her throat and began.

"Like I said before, way back when, the Gods are human, just immortal and somehow blessed with certain powers. They weren't born that way, though They were friends before Their little experiment." Inez opened her painted mouth to ask about the experiment, but a sharp look from the younger woman silenced her. "They had heard somewhere about other planets in the solar system, but that they were inhabited because of certain conditions that just couldn't be met. At the same time, They had feared that death would soon take them. Back then, the age of death was around twenty, mostly because of all the plagues that reeked the planet at the time. Aqua, the smartest of all five of Them, came up with a small machine, the first of its kind, that would allow Them to live through the plagues by ridding Their bodies of the ability to die by disease. It would cause Them to live much longer than expected, but They had no idea what it would truly do to them. And they HAD to be injected into one's bloodstream. Terra volunteered to be the first to under Aqua's experiment. For months afterwards, there was nothing wrong with Him. But one night He left His body, floating in nothingness. This is when He realized that He had certain powers; ones that They had no clue would be bestowed on Him. He returned to His body the next morning, and found that He no longer had pupils. He could still see wonderfully, and His powers were retained, so He knew it wasn't just a dream. But by that morning, they seemed to restrict themselves the things relating to the planet, like rocks, plants, earthquakes, and gravity itself. It was then that Aqua realized that His experiment was a success, and injected the machines into His own body. A few months later, Aer did the same, and a few days later, Flamma, and then Magus. A generation went by before they realized that something was going on here. They hadn't aged a day. In fact, They were immortal in general. Aqua returned to His notes and created a total different kind of the machine, one that wouldn't make people immortal, but it would allow them to use certain aspects of Their newfound powers. At the same time, Terra requested that He make the machines capable of cultivating tired soil, and Aer convinced Him to have them capable of creating oxygen. Spreading them along the planet, Aqua realized that He could just as easily send them to the other planets They had heard so much about in Their days of mortality. Thus was the rise of the Martian empire, and the Jupiterian empire, not to mention how their Messengers were created. They holed themselves off into a remote part of Ninlan, and periodically left Their bodies to check on some of Their Messengers."

Inez nodded slowly, realizing how much this made sense. "So the nanomachines, as we already knew, are the key to magic, but only because they are tied to natural workings, but because the Gods made them that way. They injected themselves with them, but since they are the archaic forms of what we use today, instead of making a symbol on Their hands, they got rid of Their pupils, and because a nanomachine is built to work biologically, it can control things in nature because everything comes from nature initially. Fascinating…" Izumi nodded. "It's really kind of amazing, if you think about it."

"Yes, it truly is." Inez smiled at her lover. "Your intellect never ceases to amaze me." Izumi blushed slightly at the compliment. "You just want to get laid, don't you, Inez?" Inez's smile went from kind to evil in a few seconds. "And you would refuse?" Izumi's smile mirrored the older woman's. "Why would I?"

~*~

For many the departure of the Nadesico came only too soon. With almost a fourth of the crew deciding to stay on Ninlan, rather than head back home, many stating that they didn't want to deal with all of the politics that the Nadesico was going to be caught up in, the hours before the take-off were full of tearful goodbyes and reassurances that Rumiko would be communicating immediately with the other nations in the solar system. But most that were staying weren't major members of the crew, but when one member announced that they would be staying, the most tearful goodbye took place, possibly the most influential in all of them.

"What do you mean, you're staying, Megumi?" Yurika hadn't spoken much in the past few weeks, but this was enough to make a mute scream. Megumi nodded, smiling brightly, happy with her decision. "Don't get me wrong, I love you all and stuff but… I've done my bit on Earth. I've made my name known. I have a whole new planet to work with here, you know?" Minato smirked at her best friend; not letting her see how sad she was that she was going to stay. "Not to mention that Megumi has a certain special someone to keep her happy here…" Megumi blushed. "Stop it Minato, you're making me red!"

Minato didn't stop, however. "And to quote a certain pilot, 'Whatever shall we do, not hearing Megumi-chan's sweet voice when we awaken in the evil morning?'" Megumi glared at the former secretary. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd miss me." Minato sighed and hugged the purple-haired girl. "Of course I'll miss you, Meg. You're one of the few people on this ship that are actually sane. It'll be weird looking over at your seat and seeing Yukina there instead of you. Besides," she let go and held her out at arms' length, "who will help me spread the gossip on the grapevine? We have a reputation to uphold, after all." Megumi smiled. "You'll just have to live without me, I guess. You can still spread the juicy stuff around, can't you?" Minato nodded, hugging her once again. "Once Rumiko has contact with Earth, you write me or give me a call, okay? We'll go out shopping or something, okay?" Megumi nodded, giving her busty counterpart a tight hug in parting.

Yurika took a deep breath and face her rival once again. "Minato's right, Megumi. We'll really miss you telling us to get out of bed, and talking about us behind our backs." Yurika forced smile told Megumi that Yurika was being sincere, but she just couldn't be very happy for anything at the moment. The former communications officer stuck out her hand, waiting for a handshake to settle things once and for all. "I know I haven't been one of your favorite people on this ship, and I've been deathly jealous of you for some time now, but I just want to know that we can put all that aside. Friends?" Yurika grabbed her hand immediately, giving it a few soft shakes before pulling Megumi into a desperate hug. "Good luck with Rumiko-san, Meg. We'll miss you dearly. The Nadesico won't ever be the same." Megumi nodded. Yurika let go of the girl, a little teary at saying goodbye. "And don't be a stranger. I want in on those shopping trips too." Megumi smiled at her former captain. "Sure… Yurika."

Rumiko would have come to rescue Megumi from all the sad goodbyes, but Igadosu was informing him of something he wasn't sure he was ready to hear. "Rumiko, I know you've depended on me this whole time, but you've got Miss Rainerd to help you now. I'll help you a little bit if you have questions, but all I'll do really is be a magic teacher."

"Are you nuts, Igadosu? I need you! And I can teach just fine!" Igadosu shook his head. "I'm afraid you have to realize your responsibilities, and you can't do that with me hovering over you all the time. Megumi will do fine as a helper, and I'll still be there to answer questions! And you have enough on your shoulders as it is. You don't need to add teaching on there as well."

Rumiko turned away. "But you've always been there to help me… And this is when I need it most, and you leave me? I can't do this on my own, and Meg is from Earth! Though she's studying, she couldn't possibly know as much about Ninlan as you! And I… I'm not too confident about being Emperor. I need someone to guide me, you know?" Igadosu put his hands on Rumiko's shoulders. "You'll be fine! You worry too much. You were strong enough to go against our teachings, go against the former emperor, to go against Magus himself, and stake claim on your title, and you still think you need my help?" Igadosu sighed and shook his head. "You can do so much more than you believe. You're more stubborn that I have ever seen, not even me. Your will is great, and your perseverance is to be admired. If you think you can't do this, you're more delusional than I had ever dreamed." Rumiko's eyebrows knit. He had no idea that the old man thought so highly of him. He just thought he was the butt of the temple's jokes.

Igadosu took advantage of Rumiko's shocked violence. "The Gods knew what They were doing when they chose you. Don't let Them regret it, will you?" Rumiko nodded. "I… I'll do what I can."

"That's better."

~*~

Yurika stood exactly where she had a few months ago, in the same position, holding the same key, with the same intent. She took a deep breath and inserted the master Key, realizing then that she was now the only one, at all, how could take it out or put it back in. She shook the emotion out of her head and announced, "Master Key inserted, Nadesico is now unlocked!"

All of the Nadesico's systems immediately came back up, almost excited to be working again after months of dormancy. "Status, Ruri!" Ruri's amber eyes scanned all of Omoikane's screens, who stood silent and staring blankly into the distance. "Distortion field generator coming online. PT engines starting up, all other systems now online." Minato nodded. "All systems nominal, Kanchou!" Yurika nodded. "Let's get out of here, Ruri. You know the drill." The silver-haired princess nodded, watching her pale hands twitch on the console. "All engines, vertical thrust." The Nadesico shook with activity, rising into the air. Most of the crew kept their fingers crossed until the Nadesico cleared the trees a few seconds later. Then there was a considerable amount of cheering and, for the first time in a while, Yurika gave a smile. "Ruri, how much longer until we clear the atmosphere?"

"About fifteen more minutes, as Ninlan's atmosphere is considerably thinner than that of Earth." Yurika nodded and slumped in her chair. She wouldn't have to worry for another fifteen minutes. Which was starting to look like a very long time.

Nevertheless, fifteen minutes went by without a hitch, and Yurika was startled when Ruri reported, "We have cleared the atmosphere, Kanchou." Yurika nodded, and glanced to Inez on the lowest level of the bridge. Inez shook her head, indicating that Yurika wouldn't have to come down. Yurika's look was that of confusion. She was one of the few Jumpers on the ship, hell, the world, and she wouldn't have to help Miss Fressange Jump the ship back to Earth?

Instead, she watched as Inez beckoned Ryoko and the two left. Yurika's eyebrows knit. "What the hell…"

~*~

Inez led Ryoko, not the laboratory like the tomboy had expected, but to the observation deck. "What do you need me for, Miss Fressange?" she finally asked, a little weirded out by this. Inez turned to her and stared her down, as if daring her to leave the room. "Ryoko, you are aware that you are the most talented pilot we have. You're not a fantastic mage, but you are a pretty good one nonetheless. But there's one little thing that we're not sure if you're good at or not, and this is what I will evaluate." Ryoko sat down in the fake grass and cocked her head, wondering just what Inez meant. "Well, what is it?" Inez's painted lips turned up into a smile that was not comforting, but almost powerful.

"I'd like you to think about Earth. Or any place around Earth. A colony, the moon, Mars, whatever. And, preferably, sometime in the future. Not too far, however." Ryoko's jaw dropped. "Miss Fressange, are you asking me to Jump the ship back?" Inez nodded. "I want to know if you can do it." Ryoko couldn't believe it. "Miss Fressange, you know as well as I do that Earthlings can't Jump. All the ones that tried were killed, remember? What makes you think I'm capable? I was born on a space colony, for Terra's sake!"

Inez continued to smile. "Ryoko, I'm here. I was born on Mars. I can Jump. But I just want to see if you'll be capable of helping me. You're perfectly safe with me here. Trust me. Just do it, okay?"

Ryoko sighed, realizing that this was no big deal. Following orders, she closed her stormy blue eyes. 'Earth, Mars, colony… somewhere in there. Anywhere in there.' Before she could stop it, images of her birthplace came into mind. Satsuki Midori. She thought of the fake grass they had there as well, all the houses, but looking up and seeing metal instead of sky. But the sight was normal, and comforting. When she had to go to Earth, the ever-changing sky was foreign, and odd. She never could get used to it. Ryoko didn't like change.

But she tried not to show that she was upset when Satsuki Midori blew up. The place was her home, but it was gone, and there was no why of pulling it back. 'I wonder if it's pieces are stilling floating out there, or if they cleaned it up? Is there a new colony there to replace it?'

Remarkably, Ryoko felt a small tug in her body. She dared not open her eyes, for she knew that Jumpers glowed when they did their duty, and she thought it would be quite odd to see Inez with little green lines all over her body. The image froze in her mind, a wide expanse of space where Satsuki Midori once floated, all cleaned up and taken out, but nothing in its place. 'There is where we'll go,' she thought, the idea amusing herself. Of course they wouldn't go there. They'd definitely go someone where else entirely, some place of Inez's choice.

The tug finally stopped, and she opened her eyes. There was a flash of bright light, surprisingly green, then nothing. Colorful and colorless nothing. Then she saw Inez and the rest of the observation deck. She was able to see for a few seconds before the bright green light enveloped her sight once again. She tightly closed her eyes against the blinding light, until her vision was dark. Then she opened them again to see Inez's smiling brightly as well. "Fantastic, wonderful, Ryoko. You did it. Amazing! I was right!" Ryoko couldn't help but glance out the window, which showed the view of the outside. They were in space all right. Where, Ryoko did not know.

Until a piece of debris, a tile from a roof passed into the window's view. Ryoko's blood ran cold. "Satsuki Midori???" Inez nodded. "Isn't that where you chose, Ryoko?" Ryoko's dark eyebrows snapped together. "Yes, but… Did you Jump us there? How did you know I was thinking about Satsuki Midori?" Inez laughed. "Ryoko, don't you see? I didn't know you were thinking of Satsuki Midori. Hell, I had no idea what you were thinking. But you did it." Ryoko still didn't get it. "Did what?" Inez smirked, obviously happy with the turn out. "You Jumped us to Satsuki Midori."

Ryoko stared out the window. Inez hadn't Jumped them at all, anywhere. It was all the work of a tomboy, Earthling pilot. The idea finally hit her and bile rose in her throat. She barely had time to bend over before she vomited, the effort of Jumping turning her stomach into mush and overwhelming her with a motion sickness she didn't even know she had. Inez bent down and patted the Quakist's back, connecting to the bridge. "Kanchou, we have Jumped to Lagrange point 2." Yurika nodded. "I'll send a message to the closest ship right away." Inez nodded back and closed the window. "We've done it. We've finally made it back to Earth, mostly in one piece."

On the bridge, Yurika sent out an emergency alert, trying to see if anyone would respond. She was unsure of how Inez was capable of Jumping the ship by herself, but her fellow Martian female had been surprising over the past few months. But the distant sight of the moon as a reassurance. They were finally home. A place that she had wanted to be for ages. And with nothing, absolutely nothing, to stand in the way of them going back to Earth and living their lives.

Yurika couldn't help but have her heart reach out to those who were no longer with them, either by choice or by death. Akatsuki, who she would never see again. Megumi, who had chosen Ninlan over Earth, and a good portion of Yurika's crew. Yurika sighed. She would have plenty of time to be sad later. Now she had to be a captain and get them back to Earth. And they were so close she could smell it.

"Finally. We're home."

~*~

OWARI

~*~

A/N: YESSSSSS! DONE DONE DONE!!!!!! WHEEEEEE! Ahem, okay. Yes. I am done. GO ME. Two fanfics done in this series. ^^ Well, how was this chapter? Nice and closing enough for you? No? BITE ME. ^^ How did you like the book? Total weirdness from the usual Nadesico-ness, ne? Well, I'm a huge fantasy freak, so I couldn't resist. ^^ Okay, first of all, let's say the reason for the end. Well, that's kinda to reel the readers into the next book, though I don't believe it will be started for a bit. Maybe. Anyway. Thanks goes to a lot of people. Once again, the famous-y people. Ahem. Kia Asamiya, of course, for creating Nadesico. Tamora Pierce (betcha didn't see this coming, didja?) for inspiring me to figure out my own magic laws based on elements and such. And, for the normal-ish people. Shadow, of course, for being quite regular on my updates. ;) Mitsu-san, as well, for raising my ego so much I though I was gonna explode. And other random people for listening to me bitch and moan and groan and complain about this story more than the last one. ^^ Speaking of comparison… This one took much less time to spit out, and it was only three pages shorter! That's right, 187 pages spat at you people! Go me! ^^ Well, like I said, keep your eyes open for the sequel, because I like my little Nadesico universe too much to leave it be! ^^ And don't worry, next one does have a plot planned already. ^^ And hopefully I'll be able to put as much into it as I want… Anyway. Thank you for reading this extra long fanfic, and I hope you read more from me in the future! Toodles!

September 03, 2002 - January 25, 2003