A/N: And finally, we reach the end. When I began this fanfiction on a whim way back in 2013, I had one goal in mind: tell a story that can capture a taste of the engaging and cathartic experience that playing Ni No Kuni was. It's hard to achieve that without the visuals, soundtrack, and gameplay…so it means the absolute world to me that this story has still managed to touch so many of you. And now, 145k words later, it feels surreal to say we're at the conclusion. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Of course, the world of Ni No Kuni is not finished with any of us yet, as the official NNK sequel will be coming out sometime in the near future! As for whether or not I will write something for it: it's a bit too earlier to say. I'll have to play the game first, and see if I feel like I can expand on it in a canon-accurate and meaningful way. I might put an announcement regarding my thoughts on my profile once I've played the game, so that would be the best place to check. (This story, however, will not have a sequel. Alexa's tale has been told.)

Anyways, no use keeping you waiting up here any longer! I hope this last chapter provides a satisfying conclusion to everything. Writing all of this has been an unforgettable journey, and I truly would not have come this far without you all. So, from the bottom of my heart (and the hearts of Alexa, Kolton, Tiny, and the rest):

Thank you.

Chapter 40: A New Home (Heart of Belief)

Alexa didn't realize she had tears in her eyes into she felt moisture on her cheeks and opened them. She was staring at Garmr's rod back in Morriban. And someone was holding her hand.

She turned and saw Cassiopeia opening up her eyes as well. They held no tears, but they were full of an emotion Alexa thought she shared…but knew she didn't. Alexa felt sympathy for Master Garmr; Cassiopeia felt something a lot deeper.

"I recognized the petal," the queen said as she let go, although she hardly seemed to be speaking to Alexa. "It was from a Memory Flower. I hope you don't mind that I joined you at the last moment. I…wanted to know as well."

"It's alright." Alexa wiped away the tears. She stood up. Her father was staring at her in awe. The crowd looked horribly confused.

Master Garmr's head hung, his ears flat against his head. He had been forced to re-live the memories, too. When Alexa caught his gaze, his eyes were full of shame.

Cassiopeia stood up as well. "May I speak to Master Garmr?"

Bastelle cast a hesitant glance to Swaine. He looked just as puzzled as the rest, but he nodded all the same.

"Ah…of course, your majesty."

Bastelle let go of him. He sat on the floor, his paws still chained up, as Cassiopeia approached him.

"Master Garmr…my name is Queen Cassiopeia. People know me as the queen of Nazcaa. But once, I was known as something quite different. May I tell you a story?'

Garmr just managed a nod as she crouched down to him.

"Once, a long time ago, there was a young, foolish princess. And her deepest desire was bring peace to her people…"

The chamber stayed deathly quiet as the queen told her life story to the wolf. Garmr never spoke a word. Only his eyes reacted, occasionally widening at certain details.

"…and so I was free. Because of Oliver, I am able to stand here today." She gave the wolf Zoorian a smile. "You see…I am afraid human rulers are not as perfect as you once thought. People make horrible mistakes, too. And Oliver cannot lead you." She turned and gave Alexa a nod. "He has a family of his own to take care of now. His role in this world has already been performed."

"…we see." Garmr looked at the ground. Cassiopeia reached out and took his muzzle in her hands.

"Garmr, I understand," she told him, meeting his gaze. "I understand what it feels like to destroy the one thing you wanted so desperately to protect." Garmr stared at her. Alexa saw the sheen of a tear drip down his face fur.

Without warning, she pulled him into a tight embrace. Garmr stiffened immediately, but didn't pull away.

And then, after a few minutes, he went slack. Alexa saw tears that were not from his memories beginning to fall.

"It's awful, isn't it?" Cassiopeia spoke, gently smoothing down the fur atop his head. "To let so many people down. To rip their world apart."

"A -awful…" Garmr repeated through his raspy sobs.

"Especially when the one thing you were told to maintain…the one thing you wanted more than anything in the entire world…was peace."

"P-peace…"

"And it hurts…doesn't it?" Even Cassiopeia's voice began to crack as she spoke. "It really hurts."

"H-hurts…!" Garmr completely dissolved into tears. Bastelle watched with hints of distress, but said not a word. Swaine looked complete baffled. The crowd didn't dare whisper.

The two royals stayed in their embrace until Garmr's tears came to an end.

"Garmr, I have a proposition for you," Cassiopeia spoke once he pulled away.

"Yes…?"

"You can stay here. In Ni No Kuni, for as long as you need. And in that time, if you are no longer comfortable with being a leader…I can do my best to provide peaceful leadership to the Zoorians. I cannot promise perfection, but I will do my best. That is, if you will have me. You can all come and stay in Nazcaa. I have not ruled anyone there for…well, many years."

Garmr's mouth parted, but he did not say anything. Then, he nodded. It became faster by the moment.

"Yes. Yes. That would bring us much joy. Thank you." Garmr bowed his head deeply. "From today, we serve you, Mistress—that is, Queen Cassiopeia."

Cassiopeia's smile was absolutely radiant."Please, just 'Cassiopeia' will do!"

Alexa realized it was not just Garmr who had their greatest wish come true in that moment.

She was so lost in the sight of the pair that she was startled when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Oliver smiling. His eyes were brimming with pride.

"Alexa…well done."

"F-flippin' heck, lickety-Lex!" Tiny's eyes widened an impressive amount for such a small fairy. "Y-you…you fought the savior? On your lonesome?! And then you learned the story of that rotter of a mutt, too?!"

"Wow, we really missed a ton," Kolton added, flexing his newly-freed fingertips. "I feel left out of the action."

"Yeah…to be fair, you guys kinda were." Alexa was sitting on the rocks outside of Morriban, having just finished explaining the events of the last few hours to her traveling companions. She had melted Garmr's rod at his own request, freeing them from their bronze prisoners, and all of the remaining statues of Morriban.

And as none of the Zoorians felt the need to carry the rods around under their new queen, they were all going to be melted, to free any casualties from the Morriban attack.

"Oi, Teeny Tiny!"

Tiny perked up immediately at the voice. He turned to see the source of the voice, and fell into a quick bow.

"L-Lord High Lord Drippy!"

"Ah, get up, mun. No use for that now," Drippy told him, hands on his sides.

Tiny peeked up.

"Eh? No use…?"

"Just finished talking to Ollie boy," Drippy went on. "Heard all about your quest. Thought I owe'd you an apology."

"H-huh? Apology?" Tiny sputtered. Drippy averted his gaze for a moment.

"Yeah. For saying you were a littlie after you ran off. I was just worried about you, was all. It wasn't really worth snapping. Must be getting grumpy in my old age."

"A-ah! I see." Tiny smiled. "No need to apologize, Lord Drippy!" He gestured to Alexa. "All of that led me to escorting lickety-Lex here, so it's all well!"

"So, your Ollie-boy's kin, eh?" Drippy looked Alexa up and down. "Alright, I see it! Bit rougher around the edges, though."

"Yeah…I think the only alike feature we have is our eyes," Alexa admitted.

"I'd say you're a lot more like Alicia than you are your pop. But I dunno, maybe it's a lady thing." He shook his head, his lantern swinging. "Well, I'm off to say hi to others. Also, Tiny?"

"Y-yeah?"

"If you're not one for jokes, consider storytelling. Sounds like you have a lot to say, and I bet the next set of littlies would love to hear." He hopped away before Tiny could respond.

The small fairy blinked, and then smiled broadly. He didn't say anything more, but Alexa knew there was no need to.

"Mm, yes…one is quite pleased with all of your performances!" King Tom was addressing the Ding Dong Dellians at the far right corner of the island as he gave an elongated upright cat-stretch; Alexa had seen the strange phenomena from bipedal cats plenty by now, but it never ceased to be odd. The grimalkins had formed a tight circle around him and were purring in unison at having their king back. "One determines that extra fish will be served to all once we put those rats back in their place!"

On the opposite corner stood the Al Mamoonians. Esther and Rashaad were talking amongst themselves, while the Cowlipha stood taller than everyone else on the Isle.

"Well, Abull? Do you think we should accept her apology?" The cow queen was towering over Bastelle. The former Zoorian mistress had her ears drooped and was fiddling nervously with her paws.

"Most wonderful Cowlipha, I believe that is a decision only you can make," Abull replied humbly.

"W-we understand if you will not," Bastelle murmured. "We have performed quite a number of foolish and humiliating actions."

The Cowlipha stared for a moment more before she reached down and plucked Bastelle from the ground, earning a surprised squeak from the leopard Zoorian.

"You are forgiven," she determined, holding Bastelle at eye level. "However! You and other of your cat kind will assist in cleaning up the city. We trust that you have not changed it too much?"

"A-ah! We…we will do our best to amend all of the, er, alterations your…Moojesty," Bastelle managed. She was looking flushed, but it was unclear if it was from embarrassment or the Cowlipha's impossibly tight grip.

"Were the changes that bad?" Abull muttered from down below.

"Well," Esther started, "let's just say Bastelle used to have an ego as big as the Cowlipha herself!"

In the center, the Hamelins had situated themselves around Kind Marcassin and Swaine. The sage was looking at his brother with a huge amount of admiration.

"To say I'm impressed would be an understatement," Marcassin said. "But then again, why should I impressed? This is Swaine we're talking about. Saving the world once is just not enough for him!"

"You should have seem 'em in action!" one of the Hamelin resistance members exclaimed. "Had the Zoorians trembling on the paws in his best moments!"

"He had a mind as tough as nails, too!" another added.

"Yeah, w-well…" Swaine rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze. "Just did my best."

"It's true! Like that one time, when we had our raid on Lupelin…" The Hamelin folk launched in tales of grandeur about the chief who happened to hail from their land. Marcassin nodded along the way. At one point, he leaned in and whispered something that turned Swaine bright red, and that Alexa just managed to hear.

"Gascon…you really are amazing."

Towards the back of the island, the sky pirates had gathered. In the middle, Alexa saw a tall, muscular pirate she did not recognize from the resistance. The moment he laughed, she thought back to the memory of the lights and realized his identity.

"K-Kolton, is that…?"

"Yup, that's my old man," Kolton replied, breaking into a grin.

"Did…you get the chance to talk to him?

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He nodded. "He was completely accepting of everything! 'Dust off a dragon's wings' was the phrase he used."

"Oh," Alexa replied. "That was…uh, easy."

Kolton shrugged. "Yeah. All that worrying for nothing, I guess, heh."

"Are you still in line to be the next Pirare King?"

"Apparently. In fact, he's thinking of promoting me sooner thanks to my high level. But we'll see how it all goes."

"Excuse me?" An older woman's voice came from somewhere behind them. They turned to face the source.

It was the first Perdidian woman Alexa had ever seen. She recognized her staff as being the mark of a Sage, and knew in an instant who she was.

"You must be Alexa." The Sage bowed her head. "My name is Khulan."

"Yes, dad told me about you!" Alexa blurted out. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Khulan smiled and nodded to Alexa. Then, she looked beside her.

"Are you are Kolton?" Her eyes were fixed on the sky pirate apprentice.

"Yeah…" Kolton answered with hesitance. "Do I…know you?"

Khulan smiled. "Perhaps. Well done on your journey. You have done the sky pirates very proud."

"O-oh. Um, thanks?"

"Of course. I'm sure our paths will cross again, but best of luck on your path to becoming the Pirate King. And tell your father I say hello." She vanished back into the crowd without another word.

"What's with her?" he mumbled. Alexa just smiled. It wasn't for her to say. Someday, Kolton would figure it out.

Cassiopeia was at the front of the island, introducing herself to all of the Zoorians. Each of them bowed respectfully to her, and every time, she had them stand and told them to treat her as both a leader and a friend. Even Orphus had a glint of happiness in his eyes as he met his new queen. Garmr was observing them all, and noticed Alexa watching. His eyes softened for just a moment, and he gave her a brief nod of respect.

"Welp, guess that's all for reunions!" Tiny piped up, taking up his position on her shoulder. "Where to, now? Personally, I'd like to get off this filthy rock lickety-split."

"My father mentioned something about a celebratory picnic in the Summerlands," Kolton said. "With everyone else in the world."

"Ah, there's tidy! Can't wait!"

"Actually, there is one more introduction!"

Alexa heard Oliver speak as he came to stand beside her. "So, Alexa? Want to introduce me to your friends?"

"A-ah! Y-you're the savior!" Tiny fell into a second bow, nearly tumbling off her shoulder in the process. "Teeny Tiny, at your service, your saviorness! You're kid's a proper talent, she is!"

"Nice to meet you, Tiny," Oliver greeted with a smile. "And you must be the sky pirate Kolton?"

"Y-yeah," Kolton stammered. "Um…your daughter's pretty cool. And stuff."

Oliver gave a light laugh.

"Alexa, you're right. You have some wonderful companions."

"See? I told you," Alexa agreed with grin, earning muffled thanks from both of the boys.

"Anyways, I don't want to interrupt your time with your friends…but could you come with me for a moment?"

"Oh, sure, dad."

"Off with your pop?" Tiny asked as he clamored down from his perch.

"Yeah." She gave a lopsided smile. "Who knows, maybe he's going to tell me about a plot to turn me into bronze when neither of you expect it."

Kolton scoffed, but couldn't hide his smile. Even Tiny gave a chuckle.

"Touche, lickety-Lex, touché!"

Oliver took her over to a quiet spot on the island.

"We can stay for the celebration, but afterwards, I'd really like to head home," he told her. "I think your mom is worried. I never did get a chance to say goodbye."

"O-oh, ok." Heading home. The idea filled Alexa with a strange mix of longing and resistance. She missed Motorville dearly…but she wasn't sure she was ready to leave her new friends, either.

"Have you decided?" he asked.

"Decided what?" She had only asked that to buy time. She knew what he was wondering, and had avoided thinking about it all this time.

"Whether or not you're going to stay here?" He offered a reassuring smile. "I had to make the decision once, too. In the end, I decided to live in Motorville. My life will always be there. But you don't have anything holding you back at home. So whatever you choose, I understand."

Alexa thought over his words carefully. The obvious choice was to stay. All in her friends were in the world, and there was lots to do to help rebuild the cities after the Zoorian invasion.

But Oliver was wrong about not having anything holding her in Motorville. It's true, she had no friends there. But she did had something there that was incredibly important. Something she nearly lost, and something she spent her entire journey trying to gain.

"I'll let you know during the celebration," she told him. Oliver nodded in understanding. As she turned to go back to her companions, however, he stopped her.

"Wait. I also have something to give you." Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out a long string. Alexa's eyes grew huge when she recognized the shell on the end.

"T-the necklace?!" she sputtered. "H-how did you…?"

"Alexa, you're my daughter. I know you pretty well." Even though he was admitting he had watched her crime, there wasn't even a hint of anger in his voice. "I followed you that night. I didn't try to stop you…because I knew I was the last person you wanted to see that evening. But I did manage to find this caught in between some rocks on the river ground shortly after."

"You…had to go into the river?" Alexa guilt swelled.

"It was alright," Oliver insisted. "After all, no use living in fear of it forever." He smiled warmly. "Anyways, I'd like to have it once more."

"I don't think I deserve it," Alexa mumbled. "Not after what I did to it."

Oliver didn't give her the choice as he put it around her neck.

"It's yours," he told her. "Grandma Allie would want you to have it."

Alexa stared down at the shell. But when she looked back up, her father had already left back into the crowd.

Of course dad's forcing me to keep it like this, she thought. But she didn't complain. She held the delicate shell in her palms, cherishing the familiar weight of it. In her pocket, her wand glowed with warmth.

The Summerland celebration was just as grand as one could expect from the jovial residents of the world. Alexa talked to more people than she ever had at any party, shook so many hands she thought her arm would be moving up and down for the next few days, and ate enough that she wasn't sure if her clothes at home would still fit her. She spent the second half talking with Kolton, as Tiny was off with the fairies. A new batch of littlies had been born since their last visit to Teeheetee, and they were all very eager to hear about Tiny's adventures.

"Tell us more, Tiny!"

"Yeah, tell us another! Another, Tiny! Another!"

The baby fairies had formed a circle around him, all watching him with immense admiration.

"Ah, s-sure thing!" He rubbed the back on his head with his straight antenna. "Let's see here…ah, I know! Lemme tell you about the time lickety-Lex and I almost got turned to bronze by spottedface over there! She was still evil, see, and we were new to this questing thing and just getting out of the Golden Grove…"

"He's having fun, huh?" Kolton commented.

"Seems like he's finally found his preferred form of performance," Alexa agreed.

"Hey, Kolton!" Alexa recognized the girl's voice as Kieva's. It was odd seeing her eyes without the glaze of the Thought Bending spell. "Keval and I are going to go race the dragons. Wanna come?"

Kolton glanced to Alexa, but she gave him a nod of approval.

"You'll regret inviting me," he promised as he stood. "Especially when you're left in cloud puffs!"

"Heh, you wish!" Kieva retorted as the group of sky pirate apprentices raced off, leaving Alexa alone at the table.

But the isolation did not last for long. The three Sages approached Alexa in a close group. The look on their faces was one that she could not decipher.

"Hello, Alexa," Khulan greeted. "We hope you have been enjoying the festivities?"

"I have," she replied. "Is…there something wrong?"

"We have been talking about you," Rashaad continued. "Everyone is incredibly impressed with your magical talent. Defeating the Savior Oliver in a battle of magical combat is no small feat. All that being said, we have a suggestion for you."

"A suggestion?" Alexa echoed.

"Indeed," Marcassin went on. "We discussed it with Solomon as well. We are not sure what your plans are from this point on…but if you choose to stay, we would like to know if you'd be interested in training to become a Great Sage."

"I…I can be one?" The tiniest bit of excitement flared up in her chest.

"We believe you have what it takes," Khulan told her. "Of course, this is not a decision you must make immediately. Typical training to become a Sage begins around the age of 18. That is a few years away for you…but if you find yourself longing to return to this world at that point, we will have a place for you."

"T-thank you," Alexa managed, dipping their head. They bid her farewell after, leaving her to her thoughts.

Becoming a Great Sage would mean returning to Ni No Kuni down the road. Possibly forever. She would have her friends, and she knew the land well…but she had no idea where should be in her life after four years, either.

The shout of the sky pirates interrupted her thoughts as the dragons whistled past each other above her.

That's right. She owed her dad an answer to his question. She had one now, and the Great Sages' words had only solidified it.

Alexa found him with Swaine and Esther. She pulled him aside, and gave him her answer. The huge smile and tight hug that followed reassured her that it was the correct one.

The pair would be returning to Motorville by nightfall. And when night came, the citizens of Ni No Kuni gathered to see them off.

The goodbyes took a while, as everyone wanted to give her there own individual word of parting. Each member of the resistance gave her their personal thanks, and the royals of the world said their own bit about how she was reminiscent of her father.

"One finds you have the same peculiar otherworldly smell as the Pure-Hearted One," King Tom told her. "And…a bit of rat? Hm. One hopes you have not been in cohoots with those horrible rodents." Alexa wondered if he could still smell Hickory Dock on her robes, despite the fact her time in the rat city had been weeks ago.

"You are both cute as buttons!" the Cowlipha exclaimed. "But quite strong, despite your pocket-sized disposition!" Alexa wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not, but she thanked the giant cow queen anyways.

"The determination in your eyes is the same," Marcassin told her. "You both have always looked like you can do anything." Alexa bowed her head. Marcassin was the most 'ordinary' of the rulers, but there was a deep sincerity in his voice.

Esther gave her a warm hug and told her to say hi to her mother for her. Swaine swung an arm around her shoulder and said he wished he had the amount of courage she possessed when he was a teen.

As Oliver went to say his goodbyes, Alexa came to her own two traveling companions.

"So, this is it, huh…?" Kolton said, his voice quiet. He was staring at his boots, for once pointedly refusing to make eye contact.

"Our quest's finally at its end, eh?" Tiny added. "Gonna be proper weird not riding around on your shoulder all the time, lickety-Lex!"

"Yeah…" Alexa muttered in reply. An awkward silence passed between the three.

Then, Kolton looked up with fervor.

"You had better come back soon, Alexa!"

His expression softened into amusement as he gave her his cheeky grin. "Who else here can I tease about fashion choices and lack of cleansing habits?"

He only laughed when she lightly punched his arm.

After another moment of silence passed, Alexa realized she wanted to do one last thing before she left.

"Hey, Kolton?" Alexa started.

"Yeah?"

"Don't take this the wrong way."

"Don't take...?"

She stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Even in the dark, Alexa could see Kolton's face burst into red.

"W-wha…?!"

"As thanks," she told him with an amused smile.

"Pretty sweet deal if you ask me!" Tiny laughed. "But wow, Panda's redder than a Ruffian!"

"And you, too, Tiny," Alexa said, picking him up and giving him a hug. Then, she gave him a kiss on the head as well.

"A-ah! Well, crikey, thanks, lickety-Lex!" Tiny squirmed in her grip from the sudden affection. She laughed and set him back down.

"See, Panda, don't get too excited, clearly she hands out smooches out like a Sprout Sprite scatters seeds." He climbed up to his shoulder and gave him a nudge.

"Y-yeah, I know," Kolton muttered. He rubbed his cheeks as though trying to remove the color. "Anyways. You come back as soon as you can, alright? Alkira's gonna want her rider back."

"It's a deal," Alexa said, smiling widely. "Bye, you guys."

"Be seeing you," Kolton said with a grin, his arms folded.

"Toodles!" Tiny added from Kolton's, waving his antenna.

Oliver cast Gateway into the night sky. It crackled and split the air, opening the sparkling blue portal that would take them straight back to Motorville.

"Ready?" Oliver asked.

Alexa nodded. Oliver held out his hand to her. She took it without a second thought.

She would certainly visit, but she had no idea if she was going to return permanently. She had a place here, as a Great Sage in-training.

But Motorville was familiar, and comfortable. Besides, she knew she would appreciate her laid back home life after her perilous quest. And her school wasn't totally barren of potential friends, either; that boy who liked to hit her with spitballs, Kaden, had an odd similarity to a certain sky pirate.

But she was not returning to Motorville that evening for her house, or her school, or even for her own personal comfort.

She was returning for her parents.

The two visitors of Ni No Kuni turned back, and saw everyone waving and calling to them, wishing them well on their way. Alexa smiled a final time, and wiped stray tears away with her wrist.

She had plenty of time to make her final decision. For now, Alexa wanted to spend as much time as she could with Oliver.

Hand-in-hand with her dad, she stepped through the portal to home.

The End.