Author's notes: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I have let this slip for a tad too long. Things got a bit busy and I had a bit of WB in deciding how to play this out. As always, I hope this meets your expectations.

Well, here it is, the 'last' chapter. All i need to do is write an epilogue and I can tag this one 'Complete'. If there are any requests of things you'd like to see a mini-chapter written about, drop me a line!

Without further delay, chapter 24. Enjoy!

Ch.24 - Final Conflict

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Reia ran across the hallway towards the stairs leading to the first floor. She jumped almost the entire staircase to make it down quickly, knowing Ushio couldn't do the same. She landed in a kneeling position once she hit the ground then stood back up and ran through the living room towards the main foyer.

She came to a sliding halt at the main door and reached for the keypad to unlock it. Reia entered the passcode she remembered, only to see 'DENIED' in large red letters. She tried again and again with no luck, frantically entering numbers and pulling on the handle.

"Are you trying to leave?" a soft female voice asked.

Reia looked up to see a persocom walking towards her, limping slightly. A persocom she recognized very well. Once she made eye contact, a quick streak of light dashed across the persocom's soft, green eyes.

"Reia?" she asked.

Reia reacted the same way, a flash of light illuminated her eyes. The persocom beside her was Kiku, perhaps Reia's only real 'friend' outside of Saburo and his group. Out of all of Ushio's persocoms, Kiku was the one she connected with most. She remembered the time the two of them spent together while they recharged, trying to make sense of the emotions they were involuntarily granted.

"It's good to see you again, Reia." Kiku said. She continued walking towards the door, lightly dragging her leg as she walked. Reia pointed to her leg, giving an expression of concern. Kiku lifted her dress up to her knees, revealing a long gash along her left calf. Some of the artificial muscle fibers were exposed, most of them torn. Reia tipped her head, curious as to what happened but unfortunately certain of the answer.

"My performance was not satisfactory." she said.

The conversation ended prematurely after the two heard Ushio's footsteps grow closer and louder.

"You need to go now."

Kiku leaned down and entered the passcode into the door's lock. As she pulled the door open, Ushio charged up to them and landed a solid fist to her face, hard enough that the sound echoed loudly through the foyer. Kiku hit the ground hard and slid several feet along the hardwood floor. Reia quickly ran over and kneeled down in front of her. "I must have done something wrong." Kiku said quietly, a smile still on her face. She looked away from Reia and towards something else, something behind her. Reia quickly spun around, still kneeling down beside Kiku.

"There won't be enough left of you to recognize when I'm done!" Ushio yelled. "And you, Kiku!" he continued, "I'll take care of you next!"

Reia's focus shifted towards the floor as Ushio yelled at them. She began to feel strange, something different, something she had never felt before. A burst of emotions that slowly coarsed through her body and drowned out her mind's fear with its own overpowering voice as she turned to look back at Kiku and thought of how they had been treated. Her body felt like it was on fire, her hands began to shake and the more she tried to suppress it, the stronger it became.

Anger. Hatred. Rage. All aimed at one single person.

Ushio reeled back and swung down towards Reia with all of his strength. His fist made a loud smack as it hit the palm of her hand and stopped almost instantly. She stood up and twisted his arm around, bringing him to his knees. He gathered what little strength he could muster through the pain shooting through his arm and took another swing at her. She easily fended it off and returned the gesture by burying her fist into his stomach. Ushio let out a howl that was heard through the entire house. She yanked his arm, throwing him to the floor. He attempted to hit her again, the only result being a backhanded fist to his face, spattering the floor with his blood.

"You... worthless piece of shit!" he yelled, wiping the blood from his face before lunging towards her. Reia quickly moved out of the way and grabbed Ushio by the back of his shirt as he ran past her and slammed him back to the floor. He immediately reached around and pressed his hands on his back while he kicked and flailed his legs, his screams of pain echoing loudly before dying down every time he ran out of breath.

For some reason she couldn't understand, watching him on the floor writhing in pain made her feel... satisfied. Finally getting to let loose all the pent up anger towards her former owner for all the suffering he had caused her and the countless persocoms that have come and gone through his hands filled a void that haunted her since the day she was activated, and realizing how easily she overpowered him only succeeded in driving her even more.

It wasn't until then that they both noticed that their fighting grabbed the attention of the other persocoms in the house. All of them were scuffed up or damaged in one way or another. They looked over at Kiku, still lying on the floor and then to Reia who was standing over their owner with tightly clenched fists.

"Why are you all just standing there? Do something!" Ushio yelled.

They stared at Ushio for a moment and then a streak of light crossed their eyes almost simultaneously. Without saying a single word, they turned around and returned to their work.

"Wha... Where are you going?"

Reia stepped slowly towards Ushio, keeping pace with him as he tried to crawl away. She looked straight at him, shaking her head slowly. The expression on his face was a dead giveaway that he realized he was on the losing end of this fight. "God... damn... machine..." Ushio muttered, keeping his distance from Reia. "I should have ripped you apart a long time ago!" She gave him a sarcastic look of surprise and responded with a swift kick to his side. He fell over and curled up into a fetal position, kicking at Reia to keep her away.

"Reia, someone is here." She heard Kiku's voice from behind her. Reia turned around and Kiku was pointing towards the door. She started running when she saw Saburo bust through and head straight for her. He grabbed her and held on tight, repeatedly asking if she was okay. She nodded every time he asked.

"Did he hurt you?" Saburo asked.

Reia shook her head. "I am not hurt." she signed.

"Where is that son of a..."

She pointed towards the floor behind her.

Saburo took notice of Ushio, still lying on the ground. He looked back at Reia with puzzlement. "What happened?" he asked.

"I took care of it." she replied.

"Oh really?" Saburo rushed towards him with his fist drawn back, screaming out loud. Ushio put up his arms to block Saburo's attack and turned his face away from him, squinting his eyes shut. Saburo stopped only inches away from hitting him and smiled. "Good." he said. "Bother us again and she'll be the last of your worries!"

Saburo gestured towards the front door, "Wanna go home?" he asked. Reia smiled an nodded, following him out. Before leaving, she pulled Saburo aside.

"Translate for me."

Saburo nodded.

Reia walked up to Kiku and hugged her. She started signing to her and Saburo quickly translated.

"Don't let him hurt you anymore."

Kiku smiled and nodded. She hugged Reia once more and walked them to the door. She watched as they got in the car and drove off towards home. A streak of light ran across her eyes as she silently mouthed the words "Thank you". She turned around and looked up towards the other persocoms who had gathered back at the top of the stairs and smiled.

-- -- --

Reia and Saburo spent some time settling down, not saying much as they headed home.

"Do you think the others will be okay?" Saburo asked, breaking the silence.

Reia nodded, "I think things will change." she signed.

"I'm sure they will."

"Incoming call from my master!" Yukimi announced, jumping up onto the dashboard.

"Connect for me."

"Connecting now!" Yukimi's eyes went dim and Daisuke's voice replaced her own.

"Saburo?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Did you find Reia? Is she okay?"

"Yes and yes. We're on our way back now."

"Great! The police took care of Ila and everything's been cleaned up, so get yourself home."

"That's where I'm headed."

"We'll wait around until you get here."

"Sounds good."

Yukimi snapped back into reality, "Connection ended!" she said.

"Alright, Yukimi. Show us the way home."