Hey, so I know I said I was going to back on the twenty-eighth but all this stuff happened and the vacation was extended at the last minute! I tried to write while I was there, but I really just felt like relaxing the whole time. However, I did finish this story! So, enjoy the ending of The Fantasies of a Disturbed Mind:

The next three weeks Erica and Chase spent growing closer and closer. In all honesty the two weren't acting very different than they had before. But questions were no longer awkward, and being together was a very pleasant experience. They decided not to tell any of the other palace inhabitants of their relationship, but that they wouldn't go out of their way to hide it.

Chase would still bug Erica about the amulet. And Erica would still refuse to hand it over. Really the only thing that had changed was that they now spent long periods of time together in the sanctuary. And for the two, the experience was wonderful. As a couple it seemed that everything in the world was perfect. That everything was fine and that there were no more problems.

But nothing ever lasts forever.

--

"Good morning Wuya." Chase said cheerily as he walked into the dining room for breakfast. Wuya grunted in response; she wasn't much a morning person. "The weather is nice today." Chase commented as he sat down to a bowl of cereal.

"It's just the weather, Chase, big deal." Wuya said annoyed as she took another bite of her omelet.

"Hmm...have you seen Erica this morning?" He asked while pouring a cup of milk.

"No!" Wuya snapped. "I haven't seen you're precious - oh, there she is." Chase turned and saw Erica at the entry way. Her hands were covering her eyes as she fumbled into the room.

"It is so bright..." Erica said as she placed her hands on the table, leaning against it; She held her eyes closed the whole time. "Did anyone turn this light up?"

"No..." Chase sighed and looked to her. "This vampire thing is getting pretty bad, isn't it?"

"It is absolutely dreadful. When I woke up today to turn on the light I screamed from the pain. It was just so intense. It was like white hot needles were plugged into my eyes." Erica opened up one eye for a quick peek then quickly shut it and groaned. "My deepest, sincerest sympathy goes out to anyone who experiences migraines; I certainly know how they feel now."

"Are you having other symptoms?" Chase asked, concerned.

"I think I scratched myself two nights ago in my sleep. I woke up sucking on a wound." She shuddered then leaned over the table so that her forehead was touching the edge. "It is so painful..."

"Will you stop moping!" Wuya shouted. "If you want it to end just activate the damn thing or hand it over!"

"Wuya, I thought we agreed not to push her." Chase said calmly.

"Oh please, Chase! Don't pretend that you don't ask her for it two times everyday. YOU are the one who has been pushing her." She retorted with venom. "And give me some credit, will you? You two act like I can't see you parading around the cave all love sick! It's disgusting!"

Chase opened his mouth to retort, but Erica got there first.

"Please stop arguing..." Erica groaned pulling at her hair.

"I'll stop arguing when you stop being stupid and give the amulet up." Wuya snapped.

"But I made a promise...I am starting to wonder if I should not have...and I cannot leave unless I break that promise…and though I wish to leave…I have no intention of breaking that promise."

"I don't think you mean that." Wuya said, and hesitated. "I think you LIKE it here. I don't think you actually want to leave. What I mean to say, is that the exit to this place isn't normal or anything, you can't just walk up to a door or anything, first you-"

"Wuya..." Chase said sternly but she talked over him.

"And you say that you want it, which if that's the case, you're half-way already, so it doesn't make sense that you-"

"Wuya! We agreed not to tell her-"

"SHUT UP CHASE! I don't care about agreements anymore! She hasn't left yet, so obviously she's to dumb to figure it out anyway! I could out right tell her how to leave and she still wouldn't understand!"

"Please do not insult my intelligence." Erica said and lifted her head up, but continued to shield her eyes. "Now...from what I understand...I have to want to leave, yes?"

"Yeah, and you also have to be-"

"SILENCE!" Chase bellowed, quieting the two girls. "Wuya, get out of my sight, I-"

"Gladly!" Wuya shouted getting up from the table, knocking over her glass, and storming away.

"I'll deal with you later." Chase finished in a mumble. "Now, Erica, we-" he started but once again was cut off.

"I am going to go lock myself in a dark room. Be back later." Erica departed clutching her head.

"Women." Chase grumbled and turned back to his breakfast, ignoring the large orange juice spill flowing from Wuya's shattered cup.

-later that day-

Chase had finished his mid-morning meditation and was heading his way to the kitchen. It wasn't lunch time yet, but he was hungry, and since it was his house he ate whenever he wanted to.

He was about to turn down the hallway that led to kitchen, when he saw it; The red door with gold trim. The door that would only appear when...

She hasn't figured it out, has she... He thought, perplexed.

"It could just be Wuya." He said to himself. "The witch probably wanted some fresh air..." He tried to convince himself, but he couldn't even lie to himself. He reached for the handle and opened the door, stepping outside onto a small black terrace, over looking the grassy hills beneath. The wind blew at his face; it felt good, he had not been outside recently. And there was Erica. Gripping the ledge tightly, her back to him.

"I had to be ready. I had to be ready to leave before I could actually do it." She said slowly, not bothering to face him. "I was just thinking about Wuya's word…I thought about home and how long I have been here…how I am finally ready to return, and all of sudden…this door just…materialized…I had to be ready…" She repeated again, slightly dazed sounding.

"That's it exactly. If the palace doesn't think you're prepared to leave it keeps you locked in. Not the smartest idea, but that's magic for you." Chase nodded.

"You did not say anything about the creatures." She said slowly.

"About what?" Chase asked confused.

"Look more closely." Erica instructed, waving her hand over the ledge. Chase made his way to the ledge and gasped as he took a better view of the land.

The sunlight had been playing tricks on his eyes when he first looked, but now he could see what was there. The hills were covered in all sorts of creatures. White, majestic unicorns grazed the land. Tall, their heads covered in black cloth, stood dozens of vampires. Odd flying creatures darted across the sky. Beautiful women floated and bobbed up and down in the sea on the right; mermaids. Immense dragons bellowed in the distance. All creatures of every shape and size dotted the land. Some familiar from legends, others weren't even recognizable.

"Erica…you…?"

Erica turned around slowly to face Chase. In her hands she was holding the amulet. She appeared to be less pale then she usually was, but Chase thought that was due to the fact that she was in proper lighting.

"I activated it for you…I did it because…" She stopped and sighed, and turned around. "When I first stepped outside here…the light…I thought I had died, it was so painful. I thought 'this is the end, Erica, being roasted alive by the sun' but then I…the amulet…it spoke to me. And I just knew what to do…I activated it…it told me how. It said to say its name. So I did…and all of these creatures just showed up…and they have been looking to me…for orders. And when I activated it…the curse…it just…escaped me. I have never felt this good in my life…if that makes any sense at all…" She finished and turned back to him. Her eyes were teary, but she was smiling.

"I do not think my mother realized what she was asking me when I promised her to keep this. But I do remember one thing that she said…I had assumed that, like her and her mother before her, she wanted me to give the amulet to my daughter, and keep it in the family. But what I realized is that is not what I promised. I remember her words exactly." Erica hesitated, then continued to speak. "I also know, that she did not realize the full power of this jewel. It was never in her possession as long as it has been in mine. I don't think it spoke to her either, like it speaks to me."

"Erica, what-"

"Shh…let me finish, please. I promised my mom that I would give away the amulet when I was ready, and that I would also," Erica looked into Chase's eyes, "give it to someone I truly loved with all my heart. Take it Chase. It has belonged to you ever since we met." She pushed the amulet towards him. Slowly he took it and examined it in his hands.

"I do not ask you to reciprocate…I only wanted you to know." Erica turned her head and starred at the creatures below. "They are looking to you now…waiting for their king to command them. You have waited a long time for this, Chase…"

"Erica, I don't know what to say…you…You have taught me so much about the world. So much about myself. And I…" He turned his gaze to the amulet. He looked for a minute then squeezed it tightly. A bright light enveloped the land, and in the blink of an eye, the creatures were gone.

"Chase? What did you do?"

"I have waited a long time for this. But…power is not the only thing in this world worth living for. And…no one deserves this much of it…"

"What are you talking about?" Erica asked, confused at his last words. Without warning, Chase turned toward the ocean where moments before the mermaids swam, and hurled the amulet out to sea. It floated in the water for a moment before disappearing beneath the surface.

"Chase! What did you do? If someone finds it…Someone else will have to deal with the curse!" Erica was panicking.

"If. If someone finds it. And if they do, do you think they will know what it really is? Like your ancestors, they'll just believe it to be jewelry. The xiaolin monks might find it…it would be safer with them... This is the best choice...for everyone." Chase told her.

"I…I do believe you are right." Erica said slowly. "I should know by now to trust your judgment." The two starred at each other for a moment. Then Chase put his hands on her shoulders.

"Erica…I have stolen you from the world for to long. I have been selfish…I have kept you all to myself, and never really bothered to think what you were missing. I can't say that I'm sorry…I have enjoyed nearly every moment of it…"

"And I, too." Erica whispered, returning the embrace.

Chase sighed deeply. "Wuya told me about a story she was reading. A romance story…similar to ours. And one of the lines of the book…it said, that if you love something…you should…set it free. And Erica I…well…I didn't think it was possible…but…Erica, I love you." Before she should respond, He kissed her deeply as white flash of light surrounded them both. When he pulled away they were standing in a black metal structure, and cold wind was biting at their faces.

"Where are we? This is not…we are not at the palace anymore…" Erica turned her head to the left and walked over to a ledge to look at the view. "Chase…are we…is this…the… Eiffel tower?" She gasped.

"Yes it is." He answered from behind her.

"You remembered…." Erica said, tears of happiness beginning to flow from her eyes as she watched the Parisians from below.

"I remember everything you told me…Well, France isn't to far from Italy…you're nearly home now." Chase said, sadly.

"But Chase…I…we…what about us? What will become of us?" Erica asked. She knew it was rude not to look at him while speaking, but she was unable to look away from the world below. "If you are taking me home…I mean, thank you for that, but…are you staying? Are you going back?"

"I am going back to China. So I guess…this is goodbye."

"But what about our relationship? I love you Chase…will-will we ever be together permanently?" He didn't answer. Erica finally tore her gaze away from the people below and turned around. "Chase!" She called, but there was no one there.

Sniffing and crying, slowly she walked back to where he had stood. On the floor was a small white piece of paper. Quickly, she picked it up. As his notes always were, it was signed "CY" and contained a very short, but very meaningful message;

Someday.

Clutching the letter to her chest, Erica walked back to the ledge. The young girl turned her head towards the heavens and said to herself, very simply,

"I Am Free."

--

The End

Aw...it's the end. I just love those ending words.The story is all over now. I really have to say that writing and ending this story is very bittersweet. It was such a joy to write this, even through all the ups and downs, but I am SO glad that I have finally finished it...after all these months of planning and writing and editing and re-writing...Anyway, according to my statistics this is actually my most popular/successful story, so with that in mind, I certainly hope that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ending. It'd be even better if everyone loved it, but I think it would be impossible to please everyone.

On a side note; this chapter was actually supposed to be two chapters, but I realized I could lump it into one over-sized chapter. I was also going to write an epilogue that took place in the future and explained what had happened, but when I was planning the epilogue I realized I just didn't like it. I couldn't think of an epilogue that would provide the story with any closure. So I am choosing not to write the epilogue and leave the story as it is; at its sad but still hopeful ending.

Having said that, DON'T BUG ME to write a sequel or an aftermath or anything like that. This story is done. I am finished with these characters and this plot.

Ahem, I should probably wrap this up now. Well, I hope all of you enjoyed this story. I would like to thank all of you for putting up with me when I went through all those long breaks in writing and I would especially like to thank all of my faithful reviewers for being a constant source of encouragement.

All right...I have just one more thing to say; It's your last chance to review!!