Chapter 25: The Final Battle

Ryuka's POV

The entire Death Room shook as the Kishin blew it open from the inside. I immediately grabbed hold of Silver and held her tight in my arms. In the same instant, Kid shielded my body with his. The three of us were instantly blown to the ground. I heard Silver scream as the harsh blast hit the three of us. I clung to Kid for dear life. Then it stopped. I let go of Kid and pushed a piece of the wall off of us.

"Silver? Kid?" I sat up, "Are you guys alright?"

"Ung," Silver sat up beside me, "I'm alright." She rubbed and inch long gash on her forehead, "Just a scratch."

"KID?" I screamed out, racing across the remains of the Death Room. Where was he? Where was he? Then I saw him, "Oh my God," I gasped as I put my hands over my mouth. He was on his knees, in front of Lord Death's mangled body. My mind was racing. My head spun violently. I felt like I was being turned inside out. Over the past few months, Shinigami-Sama had become like a second father to me, and now…Was he really? I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Dad," His head fell forward, "No." I couldn't imagine how he must've felt. Lord Death was his father. He must feel unimaginable pain right now. Worse than I had ever felt. Worse than when I lost Grey…

I felt tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them go. Too much was happening to cry right now. I had to be strong, but I felt like curling up into a ball and sobbing. I saw Azusa thrown to one side of the room, one of her legs bent at an odd angle. It had to have been broken. Spirit lay at another corner of the room. His shirt looked like it had been burned off. His jacket was severely torn, but still clinging to his body. Silver had that deep gash in her forehead, but other than that she appeared to be okay. Then I saw him. That damned Kishin. It felt like a cold fist closed around my heart. Like a kick to the gut. I felt like I was losing my mind. The demon gave me a smile before jumping out of the Death Room and to the land below.

Then Kid sprang up suddenly, and began to run towards the hole in the wall. I immediately ran after him, and grabbed his arm, "Kid? Just what do you intend to do?"

"It's my duty," He spun me around to face him, "As a Shinigami I have to do this," He placed a forceful kiss on my lips before pulling away an looking intently into my eyes, "If I don't come back, I want you to move on and forget you ever met me. If I lose, you and Silver will go far from here and into hiding. I don't what to think about what the world may be like if I can't manage to kill it. Do you understand?"

There was absolutely no way that I could do that. I would never be able to move on. To forget him. To live like he were never there. I felt like I would die without him, "Kid, I can't-"

He forced another kiss. With each one it was like he was trying to convince me, but at the same time, he didn't want to let go. I knew that I didn't want to let go, "I can't risk you two."

"But I-"

"I love you," He placed one last kiss on me. I felt as if I could burst into tears on the spot. I didn't want to lose him. He meant too much to me. This couldn't be goodbye, "It's going to be okay," and then he jumped into the black orb of darkness below. My fingers were still outstretched where he had been as he disappeared below. Then the tears began to stream down my face.

"I love you too," but my voice was barely audible.

Spirit's POV

My entire body was on fire. I felt as if my skin was being seared off of my body. We failed, I thought to myself, The Kishin is out of our reach again. I was disappointed in myself. I felt like I hadn't tried hard enough. Like I hadn't fought at me hardest. Like I could've done better.

Spirit, a soothing voice whispered into my mind, Spirit, I need you to open your eyes for me so that I know your still alive.

I knew that voice, but I couldn't quite place it. I forced my eyes open. Then I recognized the speaker. Ryuka. Her olive-gold eyes were red from crying, but there weren't any traces of tears. She had a huge bruise on he face along the cheekbone and some scrapes on he neck. Her Shoulders badly burned. Her shirt was severely torn, leaving it nearly halfway unbuttoned and the sleeves violently frayed. Her jacket had somehow managed to stay intact, unlike mine, which was burned halfway from my body. Her hair was a mess, and bits of the silver at the ends had been singed black. She leaned over me with her brows slanted down, "Spirit? Can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah," my voice croaked. Even my throat burned. It took so much effort to even talk, and then it just hurt.

"Good," she studied my chest critically, then nodded, "Spirit, do you feel like you can move at all?"

"Maybe..." I said, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

"As much as I hate to do this, I have to take what remains of your jacket off. Hold still for me please. Let me know if it hurts," She reached over to my shoulder and began to pull the material from me a gentle as she could. Unfortunately, even at her most delicate, she still took about two layers of skin along with the remaining pieces of cloth that were once my coat. By the time that she got it all off, I panted for breath and felt tears stinging my eyes.

"Sorry," though she didn't really sound it, but I knew that she meant it, "Wow, you really got burned. Your skin is charred off in some places."

I closed my eyes, "Don't describe it to me, please. I'll get sick at even the thought of it."

"Okay," She leaned over me, exposing even more of her burned and scared torso, "I don't think anything is broken, but I'll have to be able to feel to make sure."

I closed my eyes and nodded, "Okay, go ahead."

She gave me a small nod before placing her hands on my chest and faintly pressing down. I sucked in a breath to hold in a scream. She moved down a little further and lightly pressed again before continuing on the other side. She let a small relieved sigh go before she pulled her timid hands away, "No ribs seem to be broken and everything seems to be alright internally, but you have some insane fever. I can even feel it on your chest," She looked over her shoulder, "Silver, can you go to the infirmary and get me some gauze, some water, any type of painkillers you can find, burn medicine, and some fever reducer?"

The tiny girl nodded and dashed off to go get what she needed. She really looked like she needed that gash on her forehead checked on. A wave of exhaustion fell over me. My eyelids felt like they were being weighed down by the weight of the Kishin's madness. I was so tired. I needed to sleep. Just a little bit of rest…

"Whoa, Whoa," Ryuka lightly slapped my face and forced my eyes back open, "You stay awake until I get you all fixed up."

I weakly smiled, "Since when do you know about anything medical?"

A small laugh danced from her mouth, "Since my father is a doctor. I've watched him work ever since I was little," She look some burn cream from the pile that Silver had brought in, "This is going to sting a little."

Her hands began to massage the paste into my skin. It stung at first, but then the burning feeling began to melt away. I sighed, "That feels so much better."

She smiled and then began to bandage down gauze pads on my skin. Her cool hands ran smoothly over my body as she sealed the last bandage. She pulled my head up and held a cup to my mouth, "Swallow, It's medicine, it's make you sleep, but it'll bring your fever down and pull the pain away."

I swallowed and lay my head back down. She pulled off her coat and placed it over my chest. She smiled and ran her fingers to brush my hair out of my eyes. She turned to stand, but I grabbed her mangled sleeve to keep her from standing. I gave her a hazy smile and locked eyes with her, "Hey, don't leave me yet."

"Spirit," She brushed her hair behind her ear, "I have to go check on Azusa."

"Please don't," I said, "Just stay with me. Just until I fall asleep."

"Alright," She said before sitting down beside me, "Just until your asleep."

I smiled and relaxed as she began run her light fingers through my hair. Then I drifted into the state of sleep.

Sanguine's POV

Two Hours Earlier

The two of us lay sprawled in the floor of his tent. My hair stuck to my bare back. I felt Stein's cool fingers glide through my hair as I rested my head on his bare chest. The sensation was indescribable, not awkward like the first time. I loved the feeling of skin on skin. Our bodies intertwined.

I let out a breath and pulled my head up off of his chest, "Stein?"

He gave me a small smile and met my eyes, "Yeah, Sanguine?"

"I don't think that we should tell anyone about this," I sighed before rolling off of him, "about the sex. Just now."

"It's not like I was planning on telling, but why do you want to keep it a secret?"

"Because," I crawled through the dark tent on my hands and knees hunting for my clothes, "I don't want people thinking that we're going to be some lovey-dovey couple who can't leave one another's side. I just want us to be Stitches and Blood. The way it was back when we were still in school. I want to be by your side, Stitches. I just don't want everyone poking their noses where they aren't wanted."

A smirk followed by a short laugh escaped from his lips, "I can respect that."

I found my panties and Stein's shirt. I slid into my underwear before tossing his shirt in his direction and earning a pleasing groan when the shirt smacked him in the face. I soon found the rest of my clothes and then helped Stein locate his glasses (Nearly stepping on them in the process, I kid you not). After we were both fully clothed, the two of us sat on the floor of his tent.

"You know, Sanguine," Stein's voice glided smoothly through the air, drawing my attention to him. He pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it, taking in a puff before twirling it in his fingers, "Life will never be the same after all of this is over. The world is changing, faster than what we can keep up with," He let out a breath of smoke and then looked up at the ceiling, "We're changing."

I took a handful of sand in my palms and felt it slowly begin to slip through my fingers, "I know that, Stein," I whispered in a quiet voice as the sand slid from my palm, "But I don't want they way we feel right now to ever change," I paused before grabbing Stein's cigarette and crushing it in my fingers, "Except for that. No smoke."

He laughed before looking at me with a small smirk, "And just what do you have against my cigarettes?"

"Nothing," I said, looking down and suppressing a laugh.

"That's a lie Sanguine," He said pressing his forehead to mine, "You've been stomping out my cigarettes since I started smoking sixteen years ago."

"Well," I said, relaxing at his hold on my chin, "I just don't like them. They make you smell off. Your tongue tastes weird."

"And when we were eighteen, how did you know what my tongue tasted like?" he asked before we both laughed in a harmonizing sound.

Present Time

My feet pounded on the shaken hallway floors of the DWMA. The entire school looked as if a tornado had run through it. Not to mention the huge hole that was in the side of the school now. I felt the madness wavelength fly through the air. Stein dashed behind me and Marie walked with Chrona about fifty feet back. We turned sharp corner in the direction of the Death Room. But was then stopped dead in our tracks.

The hole looked a whole lot bigger in here than it had from outside. Spirit lay to one side of the room with his chest bandaged and Ryuka's coat covering him up. Azusa, whose leg had been put into a splint, rested propped up against the wall, eyes shut with sweat lining her brows. Silver sat down next to Spirit, running her tiny fingers through his hair. There was a set of butterfly closures lining a cut on her forehead. Then I spotted Ryuka. She knelt on both knees next to a large pile of black. Stein and I glanced at one another before slowly approaching her trembling body.

I sat a hand on her shoulder and then realized what the pile of black was. It was Lord Death. Tears flew from her eyes as she turned to face me. Then she threw her arms around me, that is, before she saw Stein.

"D-DAD!" She cried before jumping into Stein's arms, "Y-you're okay!" Then her body racked with sobs, "I-I can't fix it…I don't know how but…" She sobbed as she clung to Stein.

"Here," He bent down and looked over the mangled Shinigami, "I think that, this'll help." Stein pushed and IV of some sort of black liquid into the Shinigami's remaining arm.

"Dad?" Ryuka looked at him in mild confusion as the tears stopped flowing, "Where is your coat?"

Then a familiar pinkette trudged into the room with Marie at his side to keep him supported on his own wobbling legs. He clutched Stein's coat to his body as he shivered, his skinny frame shaking.

"Chrona!" Ryuka smiled and pulled him into a gentle hug, "Ms. Marie!" She the hugged Marie as well, obviously happy to see us all.

"Um, Ryuka?" I asked, "Where's three stripes? And what the hell went down in here?"

"The Kishin happened," a familiar red head said, sitting up with a tremendous amount of effort.

"Spirit, you shouldn't be moving around like that," Ryuka insisted, lightly placing her hands on his very burnt shoulders. That's when I noticed what her wounds looked like. Her shirt was ripped halfway from her body. Her shoulders were heavily burned. A huge bruise rested on her cheek bone. And scrapes and scratches covered her neck.

"Ryuka," Stein stepped behind her, lightly pulling her back into his arms, "How about we listen to what Spirit has to say. And you sit down for a little while and let me heal you."

Death the Kid's POV

"Black*Star, we're losing ground!" I shouted to him from the opposite side of the Kishin. Liz and Patty were in Death Canon form on either one of my hands. I kept them both pointed at the Demon God.

"When you say that you're losing ground," His voice was smooth as silk with the sharpest twinge of insanity, "You make it sound as if you had actually gained some, when in truth, you haven't."

I looked over my shoulder at Maka, who held Soul's unconscious body in her arms, "Maka!" She looked up at me, eyes wide, "Do what you have to." She nodded, tears jamming into her eyes. She then leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Soul's.

"Black*Star!" I looked over at him, "Cover me and then follow my lead. I'm going to give it everything I've got."

"No."

"What?" I asked turning and looking at the assassin with the eyes of a madman.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Black*Star said, crossing one leg over the other and resting his weight on his sword as if it were a cane, "I'll cover you and you can do what you want, but only AFTER my attack."

I felt my teeth grit together, "Okay fine, just cover me will you?" I asked, anger edging in my voice.

"Sure thing!" He shouted, flipping into the air, "Good old Black*Star's got you covered!"

I rolled my eyes as the assassin charged at the demon. I felt the power of the magnitudes of both of the Death Cannons surge through me. I felt the three of our souls began expand. Power danced electrifyingly through each of my weapons. I locked my targeting on the demon and a tremendous blast rang through the air.

I landed on my back with a thud. Letting out a breath. My eyes screwed shut. I felt something light fall onto my forehead. I felt Liz and Patty transform back into human form.

"Kid! KID!" Patty laughed in excitement, "Open your eyes and look!"

"Come on Kid!" Liz let loose a small giggle and brushed some of the soft material from my forehead, "Look!"

"Ung," I groaned sitting up and forcing my eyes open. The sky was pure blue, souls floating up towards the sky. White ashes fell from the sky.

"SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!" Patty sang out in delight as she pranced through the white ash. Tsubaki looked up at the sky with a pleasant smile on her face as the ashes brushed over her smooth skin. Black*Star laughed and was going on about how great he was. Maka helped Soul stand. He smirked up at the ash before saying, "That's cool."

"Kid!" I heard a shout from above, "Kid!"

I looked up to reveal Ryuka and Silver standing at the edge of the Death Room with my father behind the two of them in his mangled, but breathing, state.

"Hey, Kiddo!" He shouted, waving from the edge of the hole in the wall.

A large smile grew onto my face. He was still alive. My father had made it!

"KID!" Ryuka smiled from her place above, "YOU DID IT!"

I smiled and willed Beelzebub to form beneath my feet. I then kicked up off the ground and launched towards the school. The second I got into the Death Room she flung her arms around me, hugging my body tight to hers.

"Kid, I love you," She said, clinging to me. I noticed how her shoulders and neck were bandaged and a large bruise blossoming on her face.

"I know. I love you too," I smiled, weaving my fingers into her hair.

Then her lips pressed to mine, soft and moving against my own. She dug her fingers up into my raven hair. I held the side of her face with one hand and held her around her waist with my other. We eventually parted, breathing heavily.

"Please," she sighed against me, "Don't ever leave me again."

"Don't worry," I kissed her forehead, "I won't"

A/N: I'm so so so SO sorry about updating so late! I had horrible writer's blocks and had to really think about this. ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT! IT'LL BE THE EPILOUGE! I want reviews please! I love all of my readers and I also met my goal of over 100 reviews! I made cookies that night! ^^ So, Review this for me and look forward to the next chapter, because it will not take near as long to write that one as it took to write this one. See you all in the next (and last) chapter!