A\N: As before, pardon the mild swearing.

The sound of cracking glass quickly followed the sound of the gun shot.
"Damn." The shadowman muttered, "I really wanted you dead…"

He glared at Ahiru, who was currently being shielded by Jaden. His gaze soon fell to Jaden's feet, where a spirit jar rested with the bullet lodged within the glass, which was cracking a little more every second. The glow of the purple and silver spirit jar was the last thing the shadowman saw before becoming engrossed into darkness.

Panic swarmed around the room. But amongst the chaos, Ahiru and Jaden carefully picked up the spirit jar to examine it. Jaden was quick to recognize that glow.

"Fakir," he said, trying to hide the worry in his voice, "It's… yours…"
Fakir propped himself up to see what Jaden was talking about. When his eyes settled on the slowly shattering spirit jar, his heart began to sink.

Jaden brought it over to him and placed it carefully into his hands.
"Is that your…" Ahiru wasn't sure if she could finish her question.
Fakir only nodded with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," Mytho said as he walked over towards them, "It was all I could think of at the moment."
"No, you did what you could." Fakir said calmly, "Thank you."

Fakir then decided to remove the bullet. It was time to let go…
The bullet singed his fingers at the touch, but he didn't care. Once the shell was freed, the glow from the spirit jar began to rise out of the hole. That warm nostalgic feeling came back to him as the glow danced around him. When the glow began to dissolve, Fakir thought he felt someone place a small kiss on his forehead.

Perhaps a final goodbye…

It didn't take very long for complete insanity to infect the people of Emestress (seeing as their leader was not only revealed to be a corrupt madman, but also dead). It was almost next to impossible to quell the panic seething through so many people in the great walled country. Almost.

Surprisingly enough, the gypsies where to ones able to work with most (if not all) of Emestress' citizens to get a grip and find ways to negotiate with what to do next. In fact, Jaden was the one who insisted they help. Now granted, Jaden wasn't an expert on leadership, but he was persistent and willing to be led by someone else if need be.

Once all nervous panic had been settled, the Emestrestians did agree to temporarily elect someone to represent their people and discuss their terms with the gypsies and the pirates.
As a matter of fact, thanks to Jaden and the other gypsies, the people of Emestress where more than willing to look past their prejudices and establish a fair system for the gypsies.

Within a few months, the final decision had been made, and the gypsies were given their citizenship. Would this stop all the prejudice? Probably not… but, there was more than enough people who would do their best, to treat others with respect and know how to love their enemies regardless of how they were acting.

Ahiru stood at the nose of the air ship tapping her foot impatiently. Gold Crown Port couldn't get into view fast enough.

"Excited to see him too, huh?" A voice from the right teased.
Ahiru turned her head to the side to see Jaden offering her a small smile.
"Is it really that obvious?" Ahiru said, a little embarrassed.

Jaden gave a small chuckle. "Everyone knows you miss him." He settled on the edge of the ship, "And to be quite honest, I'm anxious to see him too."
Ahiru cocked her head to the side, "Why's that?"

Jaden looked out to the sky, as the sun's golden beams of the early morning caked the clouds in a welcoming shade.
"I don't really know… maybe because he's the first friend I made who isn't a gypsy." He laughed a little bit, "He's got to be one of the greatest friends a guy could ask for, especially after all the crap he had to put up with when first dealing me."

Ahiru lightly touched his arm, "You know Fakir doesn't see you like that."
Jaden shrugged, "Doesn't change all the trouble I put him through because of my actions."

"Land" "Ho!" Pique and Lillie shouted from the crow's nest.
The two gypsies at the front switched their focus forward as the Port began to fill their view.
Jaden turned to Ahiru, "Ready to see him again?"

Ahiru only gave a beaming smile.

As the ship docked and the rest of the gypsy crew took to shore, Ahiru jumped onto the Port's wooden pathway and ran off with Jaden close behind her. It was still pretty early, so there wasn't too many people about. Once Ahiru got to the Navy's dock she skidded to a halt, with Jaden almost running into her.
And there they waited…

After several hours had gone by, an airship finally docked in. Both Ahiru and Jaden perked up and scanned the crowd for the one person they were waiting for.

"Found him yet?" A voice from behind said.
The gypsies turned their heads to find Fakir.

Without hesitation, Ahiru threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Jaden shortly greeted his friend after her.
"So how was your adventure with the council at Earthland?" Jaden asked.
"Oh you know, boring yet frustrating." Fakir answered.
"Sounds like our experience in Emestress." Ahiru said ruefully.

"Why don't we talk about it on our way over to the camp?" Jaden suggested, "Feel like braving a few dirty gypsies, sir?" He asked half-jokingly.

Fakir gave a small chuckle and laced his fingers with Ahiru's. "It would be my pleasure."

Ahiru squeezed Fakir's hand, happily leading him to their home. She took great joy in her heart knowing that today was the beginning of a wonderful future.

THE END

A/N: And there you have it!
FUN FACT: This ending was originally planned to be really depressing, but since I'm no Drosselmeyer, I changed my mind.

Anyway, I give my deepest thanks to
FaithatHeart for following the story
Kuroshibata70 for following
I-Is-Not-Lone-Pervert for reviewing (which I can read this time, yay!)
AnimeaMari for following, favoring the story, and reviewing

And most importantly, you for reading this far with me! You are wonderful!

Quick update on the mermaid story: it may be a while before you get to see it. But hopefully it won't take me too long to finish the last of the plot.

In the meantime: make good choices, don't sell yourself short, and never forget the treasure you are! Have a great day!