Aegis walked with Xin to Kaitlyn’s apartment, finding that his hands shook in spite of his forced calm.  Xin was not even trying to hide his anxiety; he hiccuped as tears spilled onto his trembling cheeks.

“I…I don’t want them to fight him,” he said miserably. “He’s too strong…he’ll kill them… He’ll kill Lani…”

Aegis brushed the tears from Xin’s face and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, holding the smaller boy in an embrace.

“It’ll be okay…” he said softly.  Xin sniffled.

“You’re so nice to me, Aegis… even if you’re wrong, I still like to hear you reassure me…”

“Mmmm,” Aegis gently threaded his fingers in Xin’s hair and then pulled away, restarting his steady walk.

“Aegis…why didn’t you want them to see your memories?”

“I…It wasn’t a pleasant experience,” he answered lamely, avoiding Xin’s plaintive eyes.

“Will you tell me about it?” Xin asked. Aegis sighed. “Well…”

“There’s going to be another flashback, isn’t there.”

“Do you want me to tell you or not?”

“Okay, okay…”

“I had just come from the market…”

“Father!” Aegis called as he stepped into his home, his arms heavy with parcels of food.  A man in his early thirties limped into Aegis’s line of view, supported by the thick black cane in his right hand.

“Aegis,” he said. “There’s someone here to see you, son.”

Aegis dropped his bundles on the kitchen counter and dusted himself off.

“Oh?”

“Hello, Aegis,” a man with long, red hair and striking yellow-green eyes entered from the parlor, the black cape he wore swishing as he walked.

“Hello, sir,” Aegis bowed his head.

“Might I have a word alone?” the man eyed his father, who responded,

“Oh, certainly...I’ll start lunch…”

Aegis frowned as the man led him outside. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

“So polite…my name is Riordan,” he answered. “And I do need your help, my child..”

Aegis waited.  A smiled widened on Riordan’s face.

“I know you have telekinetic abilities, Aegis.”

Aegis’s expression twisted with shock. "H..how..?!"

“You’re going to be a very important aide in this world’s purification,” Riordan said, proceeding to explain his plot.

“Purification?" Aegis blanched when Riordan had finished. "You mean its devastation?

“Devastation is such a dirty word…”

“I won’t have anything to do with it,” Aegis said firmly. “Find someone else.”

“I’m afraid this isn’t a choice situation,” Riordan advanced on him. “If you refuse, I’ll simply put your lame father out of his misery.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Aegis said, his eyes shimmering as he opened his fist.  Riordan retaliated before Aegis even began his attack, delivering a swift uppercut to the young boy’s jaw.  He clamped his hands over Aegis’s mouth before the boy could scream and brought his head to just above Riordan’s knee.

“Try it,” Riordan hissed.  Blood coated Aegis’s lips as he coughed, struggling.  “This is not a battle you will ever win…”

“….and he’s right… I’ve never won against him…” he finished quietly.

“Oh, Aegis… that’s horrible,” Xin squeezed him. "What happened to your father?"

"I don't know.. I never saw him again," Aegis said helplessly.

"I never saw Anya again, either..."

They stepped into the elevator of Kaitlyn’s building, saying nothing until they reached their destination.

“Umm, if it makes you feel any better, you were a lot more brave than I was…” Xin said sheepishly.  Aegis’s countenance lightened.

“You always try so hard to cheer me up.”

“At least I got you to smile this time,” Xin said brightly.

“I appreciate it,” he said, knocking on Kaitlyn’s door.  She answered, fully outfitted in her sailor uniform.

“I think I’m going to start hyperventilating,” she breathed.  Xin hugged her, and she whimpered.

“I don’t want to do this…”

“I feel your pain, man,” Sylphid said, pacing back and forth.

“Come on, guys!” Lumina said. “We’re going to save the world!  Perk up.”

“What if we die horrible deaths in the process?” Undine quivered.

“I’m sure we’ll be resurrected shortly thereafter,” Lumina waved her hand dismissively.

“C’moonnn, let’s go,” Salamando bounced about the room, Hikaru clutched in her hands.  She cooed to the salamander as she pranced, “The nice men are going to lead us to the bad man and we’re going to kick his ass!  Yes we are, precious.  Yes we are.”

Xin face-faulted.

“Um…”

“We’re ready when you are,” Aegis said, leaning against the door.

“One more minute…” Mana said, running into her bedroom.  Umi swam rapidly to and fro in his fishbowl, and she wondered briefly if that was the fish equivalent to anxious pacing.

“Any last words of advice, o mentor fish of mine?” she asked, tapping the bowl.  He slowed, answering after a prolonged silence.

“No.”

Mana bit her lip. “Oh..”

“Except…” he started. “just…don’t die on me, okay?”

She smiled.

“Of course.”

“This is your evil lair?” Lumina balked. “I can’t believe we didn’t figure this out earlier.”

Aegis pulled open the gate, gesturing for them to enter.  They made their way through the cobblestones that led to the mansion’s front door, stepping on weeds and the moss clumps that had overtaken the path.

“I am having a distinct feeling of déjà vu,” Shade said as they walked into the mansion’s foyer.  Aegis and Xin stood by as the others entered.  They were about to follow, but found themselves unable to open the door.

“Hey!” Xin cried, pounding on the wood. “Open up!”

“Now I am most certainly having déjà vu,” Shade muttered, jiggling the knobs of the now locked doors.

“Try teleporting,” Aegis said.  Xin closed his eyes, struggling.

“You can’t teleport…it has a magical barrier on it,” Etienne said morosely, as he appeared next to Aegis.  He was fiddling with his necklace as he stared up at the mansion, his thin, pale body trembling nervously.

“Goddamn him,” Aegis hissed, ignoring the fact that Etienne had just suddenly popped onto the scene.  “We’ve got to find another way in…”

“I..I know a way,” Xin said. "Follow me."

“They’ve come for us, my little Rose,” Riordan said, hefting her onto his shoulders. “Shall we greet them, darling?”

She nodded enthusiastically, clinging to him.

“Let’s go see our visitors, Daddy,” she smiled.  He carried her from her attic to the head of the spiraling staircase that led to the mansion’s atrium.

“Hello, girls.  I trust you’re all feeling well this evening?” He smiled benevolently when he saw the six girls gathered in his foyer.

“Riordan,” Undine said, surprised to see the young girl in his arms.

“Who is that?” Sylphid wondered.

“This is my daughter, Rose. Rose, introduce yourself.”

Rose curtsied politely, smiling.

“Hello, nice ladies!”

Riordan petted her hair.

“Now, darling, go and get washed and into your nice dress…we’re going to see your mother today.”

“Really?” she said excitedly, squeezing his hand. “Will Uncle Xin and Sikari and Aegis be there too?”

“Yes,” he said, kissing her cheek. “Everyone will be there.”

Rose’s face alit with delight as she drew back, turning and skipping back up to the attic.

“You’re even more disgusting than I thought,” Lumina’s words were thin with shock. “To subject a little girl to such things…”

“I don’t subject her to anything,” Riordan snapped.

“You mean she doesn’t know what you do?” Undine walked to the foot of the staircase.  Riordan’s form vanished and then coalesced in front of her.

“No.  Blood has never met her eyes.”

“Hey!” Mana brandished her sword. “Back off!”

“Do you even know how to use that weapon, little girl?” Riordan pushed Undine against the banister and advanced on Mana, smiling maliciously.

“Why…why don’t you try me,” she answered shakily, her hands trembling against the sword’s hilt.  The sound of something crashing from within the recesses of the house interrupted them, and Riordan paused, his eyes darting from side to side.

“Excuse me a moment, girls. I think I have some rats in the basement.”

“Th..that’s like seven years bad luck or something,” Etienne gripped his cross in fright.  Heavy footsteps met their ears not long after the crash and Aegis mumbled,
“I think that bad luck is starting now.”

They glanced frantically about for a place to conceal themselves but found nothing that would fit the cause. It was at this convenient moment that a portion of Xin’s wall swung open and the blade of a scythe poked out.

“Charon?!” Etienne hissed.  The young man’s scarred face peered around the corner.

“Whoa, what are you guys doing here?”

“No time to talk!” Xin said desperately. “Get in the passage!”

Charon retreated as the other men crammed into the tiny space, swinging the wall shut behind them.  They stood perfectly still, not even daring to draw breath as they heard another personage enter the room.

“Wretched, traitorous rodents,” Riordan’s jeer penetrated the wall, and Xin shivered involuntarily.  For a while there was silence, save for Riordan shuffling around Xin’s room.  At last he seemed to have satisfied himself that his intruders were not present, and he left, secure in this knowledge.  The four exhaled deeply and began squirming, until they had managed to form a somewhat orderly line.

“Now what are you doing here?” Etienne spoke first, presumably to Charon.

“Uhm…what are you doing here?” he returned.

“We want to help Kaitlyn and her friends…” Aegis said, examining Charon as if he were a new breed of a particularly ugly insect.

“Then that’s why I’m here,” Charon smiled.  He pushed the wall back open and stepped into Xin’s room, his scythe held aloft. “Now come on.”

“Whatever,” she thought as she kicked through the glass and jumped swiftly inside.  She landed on her knees amidst a rain of glass and tossed her head back, listening for anyone that might come to attack her.  Nothing came  except for the sound of water running.  She crept out of the closet that contained the window, surprised to find that the attic was actually clean and fully furnished in the manner of a young girl’s bedroom.  Knight moved stealthily through the attic, supposing that whoever was currently there was bathing.  The laughter and splash of water from behind a door to her left confirmed her assumption, and she exited the attic.  She moved down the steps slowly, running her tongue over her lips in anticipation of the battle that lay before her.

“At long last,” she thought, “retribution is at hand.”

“Got you again,” he grinned as straps formed on her arms and legs.

“Lava Wave!” Salamando cried.  A thick burst of liquid flame lapped at Riordan’s body, but it turned to vapor at a snap of his fingers.

“Goddamn,” she said. “Oh well.  I tried.”

Mana swung her sword clumsily, finding herself easily deflected by Riordan’s pike.

“I think I’ll be rid of you first,” he hissed as his knee connected with her stomach.  She dropped the sword and fell, gasping for air.

“Not even a challenge,” he laughed.

“N-no!” Lumina cried, breaking the straps. “Lucid Barrier!”

A wall of light sparkled around Mana as Riordan brought his pike down, preventing him from finishing his attack.  He struck again when the barrier faded, but found that he was hitting what seemed to be solid air.

“Hah!” Mana cried, lashing out with the sword in a sudden frenzy.  It sliced across his midsection, ripping his clothing and opening a bloody wound.

“Dark Gate!” Shade followed up with her own attack, which caused a swirling mass of energy to appear behind Riordan.  It poured forth in streams, wrapping around his arms and legs like binds.

“Damn you!” he regained his composure, dissolving the hole and healing his wound.  Sylphid saw this and trembled, her legs faltering with her voice as she spoke.

“We’re never going to win…”

“Don’t think like that, Lani!” Xin called as he and the others ran into the foyer.

“Ah, there are my rats,” Riordan said, turning towards them.

“Stop this, Riordan,” Aegis stepped forward. “Nothing good will ever come from your madness.”

“You never could comprehend my ideas, Aegis,” Riordan said.  He took hold of the pendant around Aegis's neck, pulling him forward as he yanked the cord.  “And now you’ve betrayed me, just like everything else in this world!”

He tore the pendant from Aegis’s throat violently, shattering it on the floor.  A crystal of light with a jagged purple shard spinning slowly inside it emerged from the ruins.

“A shard!” Etienne said dumbly, pointing.  Riordan snatched it, grinning maniacally.

“So that’s where it was hiding,” he said, snapping his fingers.  A white crystal piece appeared in his other hand.

“Hey, that’s the thing you gave Rana…” Lumina trailed off as the white coating disintegrated, revealing the crystal’s true nature. “oh, hell.”

“Children are always so good at keeping secrets.. I do hate to give and take  like that, but in a few minutes it won’t matter anyway!” he laughed. “Now Aegis..give me the third piece.  It's time to put an end to this.”

Rana gasped as her new crystal disappeared from her hands.  Fuu, who was locked in a small cage next to her, observed this event and his tail began to twitch nervously.

“Where did my crystal go, kittyferret?” she asked him, looking at her now empty hands in dismay.

“I..I’m not sure,” he answered. “Um..maybe if you let me out I can help you look for it..”

Rana reached for the cage’s lock and then hesitated.

“Jada said not to let you out till she got back.. no matter what…not even if you suddenly contracted a rare tropical disease and were lying in convulsions on the floor of your cage…” she said uneasily.

“Well that’s sweet of her,” Fuu grumbled.

“Sorry, kittyferret..umm..you can help me when she gets back,” Rana said, smiling.

Fuu wrapped his tail around himself and curled up in the cage’s corner.

“If she even comes back…”
 

“Wh…what are you talking about?” Aegis said thinly.

“Don’t act stupid, Aegis.  I knew one of our precious shards was in Xin’s body,” he gestured to the cross around Etienne’s neck. “I had found that necklace many years ago, near the end of the Mana War.  It never seemed to show any signs of power until we moved here.  Then I noticed that whenever Xin was present, it would react…it wasn’t until now that I realized just what it was reacting to.  But now the shard is gone… so where is it?”

“I…I have no idea as to…what you’re talking about,” Aegis said shakily.

“You’re a horrible liar, Aegis,” Riordan said.  He hooked an arm around Aegis’s neck and slid his other hand into Aegis’s pocket, grinning triumphantly as he removed the shard.  Riordan choked Aegis as held the shard in his hand.

“Don’t you remember, Aegis?  Don’t you remember what I told you?”

“Y..yes..” he coughed.

“Say it..” Riordan hissed into his ear, tightening his stranglehold.

“N…no..”

“Stop it!” Xin cried, his arms outstretched and his palms flat.  Thunder shook the house as a storm suddenly burst from the sky.

“Paralysis!” Sylphid cried, and Riordan found himself unable to move. Aegis wrenched free, breathing heavily as he rubbed his throat.  Riordan broke free of the spell soon after, his eyes blazing.

“It doesn’t matter that you escaped..you still can’t win,” he said, scattering the three shards on the floor.

“Oh God… I didn’t think to take it back from him,” Aegis thought desperately. The pieces reacted to one another, combining as they glowed a brilliant white. Moments later a heart fashioned of purple diamond emerged from the light, and Riordan took it in his hands.

“At last.. the Exitium Heart!”

“Oh…” Mana’s eyes deadened as she dropped the sword, enthralled by the shine of the Heart.

“K…Kaitlyn?” Etienne said, his cross shimmering.  Mana’s uniform seemed to melt, reforming itself into billowing, green robes.  Her ringlets grew long, falling from her shoulders to the tips of her ankles, and a shining emerald appeared on her forehead.

“The Priestess…” Riordan said softly. “So it was you..”

A black cross materialized on Etienne’s cheek as he watched Kaitlyn’s transformation, and his clothing began to shift as well.  Thick bars of purple ran along his shirt as it changed into a long jacket, which was slit in the center to show his black, silk pants.  Purple crosses decorated either shoulder, and a silver circlet encrusted with amethysts adorned his forehead.

“Yummy,” Xin thought, staring with wide eyes.  Sylphid poked him and he blushed, hugging her.  Aegis bowed on his knees before the Priestess, keeping his head down respectfully.

“Riordan…” Kaitlyn spoke, and her voice seemed mature and foreign to the ears of her friends. “Please give me the Exitium Heart…”

“Just a moment, Priestess,” he said, clapping his hands together. "Paralysis!"

“H-hey!  No fair using my attack!” Sylphid cried, as they discovered that all but Etienne and Kaitlyn had lost their mobility.

“Release them,” Etienne said, his voice also tinged with a new maturity.

“Do you honestly think your magic stands a chance against mine?  You might be a prince, but you are still just a lost little boy,” Riordan said.

Etienne scowled and raised his hands, but Kaitlyn touched his wrist, shaking her head.

“No…” she said gently.  He looked at her, reading the words in her eyes as he lowered his hands. He nodded understanding and stood, quiet.

“Help me, Priestess,” Riordan said. “Take the heart and wish for the purification of the world.”

“I won’t,” she said, bowing her head. “Why do you want to do this?”

“Surely you of all people would be able to grasp my intentions, Priestess,” Riordan said. “I want only what is best for the world.”

“How is destruction going to help anything?” she asked.

“It’s not only destruction..it’s rebirth!” he cried.

“What could have driven you to this?” she whispered, her fingers pressed against her lips.

“I don’t have to tell you,” he answered, his expression suddenly guarded.

“That’s true… but I can never understand why you want to destroy this world if you don’t tell me why..” she answered softly.  Riordan grit his teeth.

“Please…” she said.

“Fine… fine…” he muttered, drawing in a breath.

“Please tell me this is the last flashback…” Xin groaned, shrinking when he received a death glare from Riordan.

“Many years ago, before I knew the corruption of this world, I was a doctor.  I had a wife and three daughters.  My wife’s name was Lily, my daughters were Violet, Flora, and Rose…Lily and I married very young, and we didn’t have a lot of money, as I charged very little for my services.  I used mostly natural resources and spells to heal, so I did not think to take any more than I needed.  But we were happy, and idealistic,” he paused, as if he were unsure of whether or not to continue.  Silence had befallen the room, and all eyes were focused on him, listening.  For the first time in years, he felt vulnerable and afraid.  Kaitlyn knelt next to him, brushing his cheek with her fingertips.

“It’s alright…”

“I…I had sent Rose out to gather some herbs I needed one day…myself and my family stayed behind, tending to a few patients.  After a while a group of men stumbled in, each looking as if he had been wounded terribly.  They implored us for help, and of course we began to treat them right away.  But before Lily could even begin to examine the wounds, they tore off their bandages and jumped her… th..their injuries were fake…they tired me up and..they.. Violet.. and Flora and.. Lily…” he covered his face with his hands, shaking.  The quiet weighed on him as he fought to suppress his emotion, swallowing thickly.

“Then those bastards killed them and would have killed me..but they had beaten me so badly that they assumed I was as good as dead anyway.  They took what little we had and left.  I lay there for some time until I built up the energy to heal myself.  I buried my family… I burned my home.. then I went for Rose..I gathered her up, fed her some story.  She was far too young to question me…All I can remember from then on is anger… so much anger, every day…I wanted to destroy everything.  I didn’t understand how I could have stayed blind to the evil of the world for so long.  The Mana War began then, and I found my work of destruction done for me.  But still I wanted it..the Exitium Heart.. I took Xin, Aegis, and Sikari from their homes and I tracked the Heart’s shards to here.  The moral depravity of this planet ran twice deep as that on Fa’Diel.  I decided to forget about my old life and focus on this one.  I want to use the Heart to destroy everything…then it can be reborn again..then it can be pure!”

“I…I never knew any of that about you,” Xin said softly.  The knowledge of their condescending sympathy built up a rage inside Riordan, and he lashed out at Kaitlyn, sending her body crashing into the wall behind him.  She screamed as he yelled,

“Shut up!  I don’t need your pity!”

“Priestess!” Etienne cried.  A line of blood slid down her chin. “Oh God…”

Riordan cupped his hand beneath her chin, pressing her against the wall.

“Holy priestess..if you do not wish to aid me, then it is your right..but it will be your death!”

Omnes’s tall form appeared in front of him, wagging a finger. “Now, now, where are your manners?”

“Goddammit!  Please!” he cried. “I…I can’t let her die now… please…”

“That’s more like it,” Omnes smiled. “Looks like you’re finally starting to learn your lesson…”

He snapped his fingers and Umi suddenly had the sensation that he was growing.  The fishbowl shattered as his body morphed and within a few moments he lay, human (and stark naked) upon Kaitlyn’s bureau.  He sucked in air, his eyes wide as he struggled to a sitting position.  Omnes stood over him and whistled.

“Shut up!” he said, shivering. “Get me some clothes.”

“As you wish, master,” Omnes said, stepping back.  A set of khaki pants and a white shirt was sitting on Kaitlyn’s bed.  He dressed quickly, stumbling, as he was unused to the intricacies involved in clothing oneself.  Omnes watched this escapade with an expression of great amusement, clapping lightly when at last Umi had dressed.

“Take me to this mansion they were talking about,” Umi pleaded.

“Hold on a moment..do you remember your real name, Umi?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Do you remember?”

“Y..yes.  I’m Jigoku.  Of the Gaijin family,” he said, blinking.  Omnes smiled.

“That’s all I wanted.”

“I won’t let you!” Etienne raised his hands again, calling out. “Diabolical Impulse!”

A spiked shadow ran along the ground, entering Riordan’s body and causing a sharp jolt of pain to strike in his chest.  His grip on Kaitlyn loosened as he coughed blood, and he clawed at his heart, which felt as if it were being crushed.

“S..Seems I underestimated you, Prince,” he spat.

“Stay away from Kaitlyn!” a new voice entered as the mansion’s great doors swung open.  The storm that was still raging outside  shook the house with a great roll of thunder as a man with shimmering, emerald eyes and long, silver hair strode into the room.

“Who are you?” Riordan snapped.

“Jigoku.  Formerly known as Umi,” he answered, pushing Riordan aside easily as the other assembled blinked in confusion.

“Wow, fishboy ain’t bad looking,” Lumina grinned.  Charon, who had been standing behind her and hugging his scythe until that moment,  made a face.  Jigoku pulled Kaitlyn into his arms, kissing her hair. “I’ll protect you…”

“Like hell you will,” Riordan drove his pike into Jigoku’s arm, pinning him to the wall.  He screamed and uttered a very coarse word, grabbing at the pike as blood coated his skin.  Etienne cast another spell, calling out,

“Dispel!”

The paralysis on the others was neutralized, and Undine ran forward as Jigoku pulled the weapon from his arm.

“Cure Water!”

Jigoku’s wound closed, and Kaitlyn opened her eyes slowly.

“Stop…don’t fight…”

“When will you realize that the only want to achieve your goal is to fight for it?” Sailorknight jumped down in front of her.

“Good thing this is a big house,” Xin said nervously.  Aegis petted his hair.

“Why is the desire to solve problems without bloodshed so wrong?” Kaitlyn asked, standing.

“Because it can’t work,” Sailorknight said.  She picked up the Mana Sword. “The only way to survive is through the blood on your sword.”

“No…I can’t believe that.. I won’t..” she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Why do you persist in clinging to this hope for the future?  Are you blind to the moral corruption that surrounds you?” Riordan snapped.

“People like you… all you think about is that depravity.  You don’t  understand that there are good people in the world.  But all you want to think about are the murderers, the rapists, the thieves.  But for all of those, there are others.  People who fight for what they believe in, decent people.  Hope for this world is not lost, and even if it was, it’s not our place to say so," Kaitlyn answered, giving them both a look of steel calm.  "Life was not created to have a chain placed upon it, no matter how ugly it becomes.  Maybe the world would not enrage you so if you believed in it."

“How can you expect me to believe in a world that had betrayed me so many times?” Riordan demanded, clutching his injured chest.

“I don’t expect you to do anything.  But do you think you are the only one who has suffered a horrible loss?  And even if you did carry out your plan, eventually the world would return to its current state,” she said. “You only wish to delay the inevitable.”

“It doesn’t matter, anyway,” Knight hissed. “I’m here to kill him.  He’s a traitor.”

Kaitlyn blinked. “What?  Traitor?”

“Look at us,” Knight said. “Do we not look alike?”

Kaitlyn’s eyes gazed from Riordan’s face to Knight’s.  They shared piercing, yellow-green eyes and hair as red as the core of a fire.  Their skin was toned similarly, with a healthy, ruddy tint to it.  The significance of these features awakened in her memory.

“You..you’re both of the Mana Tribe…” she said, awed.  Etienne stared at Riordan.

“A member of the Mana Tribe?  How could you?”

Riordan said nothing.

“Yes,” Knight said.  “He betrayed us by not only leaving Fa’Diel when it needed us most, but also by attacking you, Priestess.  No matter what, it is our sworn duty to protect you and the Balance, regardless of our own opinions.  Riordan has broken this law. Now he will die.”

“Wait—stop!” Kaitlyn cried, but Knight had already turned.  She drove the Mana sword into his  body without a word.  Surprised by the sudden attack, he fell on the blade, gasping.

“N…no..”

“Death to the traitor,” she hissed, driving it in further.

“I..I wasn’t a traitor…” he coughed. “I just.. wanted what was best for the world.. I thought I was righteous..”

“You destroyed Sikari’s soul! What was righteous about that?” Undine’s voice shuddered in anger.

“I can’t answer that…but now I see.. my own corruption..”

Knight withdrew the sword, and he hit the floor, bleeding.

“D…Daddy?” Rose stood at the bottom of the staircase, her hair brushed and a white dress sweeping around her ankles.  Riordan raised his head with difficulty, reaching a blood-slicked hand towards his daughter.

“Rose… I’m so sorry…I never took you to see your mother…” he close eyes, murmuring as his muscles relaxed. “I love you…”

“Daddy…” Rose whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.  She stared at those around her father and the blood on the Mana sword for a few minutes before backing away, sobbing.  She turned and then ran, swallowed by the darkness of the house.  Kaitlyn and Etienne’s adornments faded and the other senshi were restored to their civilian outfits.

“Should we go after her?” Kaitlyn said.

“No..” Aegis said. “I’ll find her.  Come on, Xin.”

“That was anticlimatic,” Jada muttered.

“I thought saving the world was supposed to be exhilarating.  I just feel mildly depressed,” Lani sighed.

Roan was looming over Riordan’s body and nudging it with her foot.

“He’s still alive, I think,” she said, surprisingly calm. “Wounds to the stomach take a long time to cause fatality. He’s conscious, though.  Shall we bury him?”

“Mm.. maybe we should take him to a doctor,” Kaitlyn suggested.

“I can’t allow that, Priestess,” Knight said quietly. “I will not attack you, but I will bind you if I must.”

“You seem to be almost as bad as he is,” Kaitlyn frowned.

“I’m just doing my job,” she shrugged.  Knight rested a hand on Riordan’s head.  His body turned translucent as it faded, leaving behind an animus crystal.  She wrapped her fingers around the crystal and it vanished.

“What did you do?” Lani blinked.

“He’s been sent to his wife,” she murmured. “Now that my work is done, I’m leaving.”

Knight bowed and then walked out.  Kaitlyn went after her, but found that she already disappeared.  Jigoku stood behind her.

“Depressing, yes?” he said.

“Well…” Kaitlyn began. “He did feel regret…and we did find the Exitium Heart..and the world is saved.  And you, obviously, got your real form back, Umi.”

“That’s true,” Jada said. “But still, I was expecting something more dramatic, I guess.”

“I’m glad we were able to settle this without mass property destruction,” Kiera said. “But perhaps now, when we are all tired and weak, is not the best time to discuss the ramifications of the elapsed events.”

Silence.  Kiera sighed.

“Let’s get something to eat and go home.”

“Hey, sounds good to me,” Jada said brightly. “Want to come, Charon?”

Charon nodded, clinging to Jada like a puppy.

“I should get Fuu..I bet he’s worried sick about me,” Jada said, hugging Charon.

“Some guardian creature he is,” Charon mumbled.

“Well, I don’t suppose he could have done anything.. I  thought if he tried to run in and do something heroic he’d get himself killed..so I put him in one of those cat carrier cages,” she said.

“Well that’s lovely,” he blinked.  Aegis and Xin returned, with Aegis holding a sleeping Rose in his arms.

“We’ll take care of her,” Aegis said softly, stroking her hair.

Kaitlyn held the door open, gesturing for everyone to exit.

“Let’s go.”
 

Well friends..that's the last chapter.. yep..I hope the ending didn't suck or anything. =o
Um.. I'll save other notes for after the epilogue. ^^;