Aneko: I'm back!

Disclaimer: Don't own PT. I so can't animate or anything like that.

Finale

The Puppetmaster took a step back, then another, before setting her mouth. She raised her hand.

Fakir had now gone back to stand by Ahiru, who stood in the pure white tutu.

"How did you…?"

"Because—look out!"

They both jumped to the side as a bolt of light headed toward them.

"Keh. It looks like explanations will have to wait until later," Fakir said, raising his sword.

"Wait, Fakir," Ahiru said, raising one small hand in front of him. She kept her eyes on the Puppetmaster as she rolled her arms above her head, holding one out in open invitation, a gently smile on her face.

"Will you dance with me?"

A sadistic smile twisted the woman's face. "Why not? Let's play, shall we?"

She made a wrenching motion with her hands, and two puppets appeared connected to her hands by strings of light.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Ahiru asked as she dodged clumsy attacks from the faceless weapons.

"Why? Well, why not? Family, love—ha! You are all pathetic. Such things cause weakness, and I will not be weak!"

"Is that really true? Isn't it lonely?"

"I have my puppets. I need nothing else."

Despite her words, some emotion seeped through them. It sounded…sad?

"If you feel that way, why do you sound sad?"

Finally getting past the puppets at last, Ahiru twirled up to the Puppetmaster. The woman took a step back, but Ahiru reached forward gingerly and grasped her two hands in her own, one leg balanced in the air. At the contact, she felt a torrent of thoughts, just as she had when touching Tragedy.

"I see," she murmured, "Your name is Jennifer-san."

"That name…" the Puppetmaster said in equal tone, "It's been so long…"

"That's right. you just wanted to have fun with everyone."

They began dancing, slowly.

"I didn't want to be considered different. Just because of my marionettes, I was strange to them."

Ahiru felt a brief memory in her mind of a little girl with a bright face. Puppets danced before her, but there were no physical strings.

"Isn't it okay to be different?" Ahiru asked, thinking of herself.

"Apparently not," Jennifer said, her tone turning bitter, "So I abandoned that place, discarding that name…and I need no one!"

She pushed away from Ahiru and let loose a lightning quick attack. Ahiru jumped backwards just in time. "Jennifer—" Ahiru reached out.

"Don't push me, little duck!"

Fakir shook his head. It's too late, Ahiru. She's beyond saving."

"Demo…" Ahiru looked down. It was the first time she hadn't been able to save someone. It hurt more than she thought was possible.

Fakir lifted his sword. "Forgive me for this…" He reached Jennifer and dealt a heavy blow.

Fakir backed away as beams of light began shooting from her body in all directions, destroying the darkness. Her body fell slowly.

The two-sided mask cracked and splintered away, revealing a sweet face. Her hair lightened on its own to its original blonde—an older version of the young girl Ahiru had seen.

"Help me…my friends…" Jennifer whispered, reaching out to the puppets she held so dear. But the wooden dolls, unable to move without the control of a master, remained still. Tears formed in Jennifer's eyes as she closed them.

"Sayonara…"

Her body faded into nothingness.

"Fakir!" Ahiru drew closer to him as the brightness intensified.

"Don't worry."

He squeezed her hand.

Bright light sliced through the darkness over Rivervale. Oran and his men squinted, unaccustomed to the brightness.

"Oran!" Hana had come out to stand with her husband. She pointed to an area perhaps twenty feet in front of them. A round, shining portal stood there. Together they walked up to it, and from the inside, Fakir and Ahiru looked out.

"Ahiru-chan? What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yes, my daughter, please speak up!"

Ahiru looked at Fakir nervously. He gave a her a gentle reassuring look and nodded his head. He stepped back to give Ahiru some room, and she took a deep breath.

"Ahiru-chan?"

Just like that, Ahiru felt that gentle voice, so undeserving of this cruel twist of fate, break her hardened resolve—to tell the truth.

"I'm…sorry," Ahiru whispered, looking down, tears filling her vision, "But I'm not your real daughter."

She could feel Fakir's comforting presence behind her, but it didn't save her from the intense guilt she was feeling now.

"The real Princess Hikari—she told me to tell you that she's happy where she is. She misses you and loves you, and she wants you to keep smiling every day."

She smiled at the last part, even though she was still crying.

"Ahiru."

She turned at Fakir's quiet murmur.

"It's almost time to go."

"Yeah."

She approached the King and Queen one more time, coming to Oran first.

"I'm sorry that I'm not your daughter," she said, thinking of how hard the good man had searched for his only child.

"Sweet young Ahiru."

Ahiru looked up at his warm tone of voice.

"There is nothing you have to apologize for. It's not your fault. And if Hikari says she is happy, then I am happy. You are a sweet child, never forget."

Overwhelmed, Ahiru could only nod. She turned to Hana, who looked at her again with a searching eye. She spoke first.

"I think I always knew—that you weren't Hikari-chan."

Ahiru couldn't look up into those eyes, searching for something in her that just wasn't there, but she had to tell her how she felt, so she looked up, smiling.

"If I did have a mother, I would have wanted her to be like you."

Hana reached forward and hugged Ahiru.

"You're like a second daughter to me, Ahiru-chan."

Ahiru smiled happily.

"It's time for us to go," Fakir said. Ahiru stepped back to join him, and the last thing she saw before the portal closed was the King and Queen waving.

The sky over Rivervale suddenly flashed brightly. Soldiers murmured in awe as flecks of light fell like snow from the sky.

"It's like Hikari-chan and Ahiru-chan's final gift," Hana said, smiling, as she held out her hand to catch the shining light.

On the plain dirt road out of Rivervale, a man stopped, stooping to pick up a little doll with white gloved hands. He had been made with exquisite care, with curly blonde hair and forest green eyes. He held it up to the light, then smiled.

"There you are—it's over now, my boy." Turning back, he looked at the bright, sparkling sky over Rivervale. "That will make for a beautiful painting and a story someday, wouldn't you agree?"

The doll stayed motionless and gave no response, but the man smiled and nodded, turning once more and leaving the happy Kingdom in search of others.

Ahiru could hear the voices again, the same as the ones when she had first travelled to Rivervale.

"Look, she's back!" It was the first boy again.

"You never did answer the question."

"Eh?"

She had the sensation of someone pulling on her skirt again.

"Ne, so are you a Princess?"

Ahiru held her hands up in front of her."Eh?! Oh, no I—"

Fakir's arm slipped around her waist, pulling her close as he cut her off.

"Yes she is. She's my princess."

There was laughter—pure, joyous laughter. Ahiru began to make out distinct forms in the brightness, and was astonished when before her appeared Edel, with three small children crowded around her.

"So I see," Edel said, and smiled. Ahiru's face had become somewhat red.

"Never forget, Ahiru, your own place in the world."

Aotoa nearly dropped the book as the pages began to glow. He set it on the table and stepped back, and moments later Ahiru and Fakir appeared in the room.

Ahiru blinked, not seeming to notice Aotoa blabbering in the background, as she looked around.

This is…Fakir's house!

"Ne, Fakir, we made it!" She flashed a brilliant smile up at him.

"Ah." Fakir smiled gently, Ahiru's hands clasped in his as he looked back at her. "We're home."

Ahiru walked along the edge of the lake, allowing the silence to seep into her. It was a warm, beautiful day. Ahiru looked up at the blue, blue sky.

How long had it been since they had come back? A month? Ahiru was enrolled in the ballet academy again. Pique and Lilie had become her friends, and she even had her attic dorm room back. It all ached of familiarity, but she knew that only she and Fakir would remember that waking dream that had come and gone, taking with it a prince and princess, and eventually a duck and a Kingdom, leaving only a girl.

Truthfully, Ahiru didn't really know why she had been able to see Jennifer's memories, or feel Tragedy's pain. Perhaps it had just been another result of her connection to Princess Tutu. Ahiru also wondered why she had seen Edel.

Edel-san…are you watching over us?

Ahiru walked out onto the dock, looking out over the calm water. Looking at her reflection, for a brief moment Ahiru saw an elegant dress, a ballroom full of people…and then it was gone.

Ahiru smiled and shook her head, giving a little laugh. "Don't be stupid, Ahiru. You're not a Princess." She closed her eyes, relaxing.

"Didn't I tell you? You're my Princess."

Ahiru's eyes opened in surprise. Two arms slipped around her, pulling her back into a solid, warm surface.

"Fakir! Can you let—"

"No. The last time I held you like this, you pushed me away, so…let's stay like this. Just a little while."

Ahiru leaned back into his chest, sighing. She could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath and the steady beat of his heart. After a while, though, she began to squirm a little. Fakir cocked his head so he could see her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, Fakir…I think I, um…" Ahiru twisted around in his grip so that she could face him. "I love you."

Ahiru looked down, hiding her eyes under her bangs. The last person she had wanted to say it to, she had been held back from, because of a curse that hadn't been hers, and from her own fears. Not this time. Yet she was still afraid of his reaction.

"Good."

Ahiru's head snapped up.

"Because I don't think I could stand it if someone took you away again."

Taking advantage of her shocked reaction, Fakir reached down and kissed her. When he pulled away, her cheeks were tinged pink. Fakir rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you, Ahiru."

The sky above could offer nothing to hold on to. It held no guarantees or promises for the future, or any safe path. But it offered light to show the way.

-Owari (Fine)-

Aneko: The end. I hope you liked it. And thank you for staying with it for so long. I can't believe it took me from September to December to finish this.

I think that this will be my final Princess tutu multichapter. I don't think I'll ever really be able to leave it, though. Princess Tutu is my whole reason for getting a fanfiction account, after all. But I think that there will be no more multichapters.

If you like my Reuben character, keep your eyes peeled—he may just show up out of nowhere in the future.

I have a manga recommendation to any who are interested—Mugen Spiral. Only two books long, short but sweet. (Warning—ending may cause the desire to write fanfictions.)

*Fine, if you don't know, is a music term (Fin-ay) meaning finished.

* I know Aotoa probably remembers the Prince and the Raven, but since it's about Ahiru and Fakir, I just want their names in when Ahiru thinks only she and Fakir will remember.

Ja, Sayonara.

And Merry Christmas!

Post-edit: Someone has recommended to me the Princess Tutu manga before, and I Just have to say that I do not like it, so please do not suggest it to me again. I cannot fathom how they could come up with a manga so different, since the anime came first and is by far superior. Why would they bother changing a storyline that is already wonderful the way it is?

Oh, and I mean it when I say "fluffys." Not "fluffies."

Fluffys.