Delsin sighed as he stood in front of the long house, Reggie beside him. Reggie stared at the billboard with his face, picturing him as a hero. "You know," he said. "After all this time, I never thought to see this place again. And to see my face honored instead of made a fool of? Gotta say. I never expected to see this."

"You know Betty is going to have a cow, right," asked Delsin. "Seeing you come back from the dead may just make her heart give out."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we're both Conduits who can help with that." Delsin turned to Fetch as she made her way to the long house. She turned to him.

"Come on, D. You had us both worried. Might as well apologize in person." She grinned at Reggie. "Though you might want to hang back until Delsin sees her first."

"Right. Wouldn't want to overwhelm her too much." Delsin breathed in slightly before following Fetch into the building. He spotted Betty pacing as she bounced a small bundle in her arms.

"Hey Betty. Look who's here." Betty turned around and smiled softly.

"Delsin," she said. "If you're going to run off again, could you please not scare the living begeezus out of us?"

"Sorry," apologized Delsin. "I didn't have much choice in the matter. Sorry I've been gone so long."

"Well now that you're here, you can say hello to your daughter, Delsin." Delsin gulped slightly before walking forward. Betty handed him the bundle and Delsin looked down. In his arm was a small baby a few months old and looking like he did with light skin like Fetch. She yawned in his arm and opened her light brown eyes. Delsin smiled down slightly at her. "Delsin, meet Regina Rowe. Fetch named her after your brother." Delsin's smile turned into a frown as Regina started crying. Fetch took her from him and smiled slightly at him.

"Don't worry," she said. "She's just not used to you yet. Give it time. I know she'll love you."

"Now," said Betty. "Why don't I make you something to eat? I think it's been a while since you've had normal food.

"Uh," said Delsin. "Before that. There're a few people I want you to meet, Betty."

"Your friends from the news, right?"

"Yeah. They're outside. I want you to meet them."

"Alright." Delsin led her outside and noticed Reggie wasn't anywhere in sight and frowned slightly before leading her to the members of Night Raid who came to this world with him.

"Betty, these girls are from Night Raid. They're friends of mine from the other world I was in. Leone, Seryu, Akame and Chelsea." Betty smiled and shook their hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Betty," said Seryu with a smile. "Delsin told us you helped raise him and his brother after their parents died. I just want to say that you raised a fine young man."

"Thank you, Seryu, right?"

"Yes ma'am." She saluted. "Commander Seryu Ubiquitous of the Imperial Guard. I've been working closely with Delsin trying to make my home a better place for everyone."

"I hope Delsin hasn't been too much of a handful."

"Betty," groaned Delsin.

"He's only whined about being called the Banner Man." Betty chuckled as Delsin huffed.

"Just once I'd like to be called something cool. Banner Man just sounds like a lame 50's song."

"I'll have you know there were a lot of hip songs back then, Delsin," said Betty with a grin. She turned to the other girls and Akame stepped forward and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Your name is Akame?"

"Yes ma'am," she said. Before anyone else could stop her, she blurted out. "I'm an assassin." Betty stared at her for a moment.

"Well. I assume it must pay well."

"Akame," said Leone. "We need to have a talk about tact." The assassin stared at her friend in confusion before Chelsea laughed nervously.

"Um… technically the only ones not assassins out of all of us are Delsin and Seryu. We've been fighting a civil war and our job is to eliminate anyone who would've gotten in the way of peace."

"I'm sensing some conflict of interest," said Betty.

"Yeah," said Delsin. "It's been an interesting few months. There's someone else I want you to see." He turned to Seryu. "Where's…?" She nodded to the docks. Delsin turned around and spotted Reggie staring out at the waves. He chuckled slightly before leading Betty to the docks. Betty paused as they were within a few feet. Not sure she was seeing exactly what was right in front of her eyes.

"You know," said Reggie. "Not knowing if I was ever going to see home anymore was kind of unnerving. But now that I'm back…" He turned around and faced Betty who started tearing up. "…It's the best feeling in the world." He smiled.

"Reggie," she asked.

"Hey, Betty." He moved forward. Betty reached out slowly and placed a hand on his cheek, as if trying to see if this was real. After a moment, she smiled and started crying, pulling him into a hug. "I'm home." Delsin smiled as he saw Fetch walking over, Regina in her arms.

"Something's missing," he said.

"Maybe it's your best friend," said Fetch.

"Shit. I forgot about Eugene!"

"Delsin," said Betty. "Watch your language. Especially around Regina. I know I taught you better than that." Delsin winced and glanced at Fetch who chuckled slightly while she carried their daughter. Their Daughter. Until now, Regina had been a young woman to Delsin. A time traveler who came to the past to help him save both of the worlds he considered home. To see her as a baby meant that there was definitely no doubt about the future. He walked over to Fetch and kissed her lightly before kissing Regina on the forehead as she slept. Fetch handed him her phone and grinned.

"The geek is on a honeymoon, but I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to see you again."

"Honeymoon?! He got married?!"

"Shh!" Delsin winced again and glanced down at Regina who stirred slightly but didn't wake up.

"Yes. He got married. He and Amalia got married last month. He was bummed you couldn't be here to see it."

"There's got to be something I can do to…" He turned to her and held up his new Imperial Arm. "Where are they, exactly?"


Eugene and Amalia sighed in content as they sat on the beach in lounge chairs. "Are you sure this is ok," asked Eugene.

"Hey," said Amalia. "Sam said we were cleared for a vacation. With the defectors finally rounded up and Conduit reintegration into society starting to get underway, we aren't needed for a while. Seattle is safe. And we deserve some time to relax."

"No, I know that. I meant are you sure it's alright to be here?"

"Oh! Yeah! My mom owns this resort. Officially it's closed down for renovations and it only has a minimal amount of staff to make sure we're relaxed. We're good."

"Did I hear that right," asked a voice behind them both. "Her mom is loaded?" Eugene turned around and stared as Delsin stood behind them with a grin. "Damn man. Who knew you'd be this lucky?"

"Delsin," he shouted before flying towards the Mimic. Delsin grinned and met Eugene in a bro hug before chuckling.

"Hey, Eugene!"

"You're back!"

"Just got back a few hours ago. Fetch told me about the wedding man! Congrats!"

"Wait. You said you just got back a few hours ago," asked Amalia as she stood up and walked over to them. Delsin couldn't help but stare slightly at the beauty in front of him. "Your Conduit abilities aren't enough to fly you all the way here in just a few hours. How the hell are you here?"

"Delsin," said Eugene with a smile. "You've got Fetch. Stop staring at my wife." Delsin shook his head slightly and turned to Eugene.

"How the hell…?"

"Guess I'm just lucky."

"Answer my question," shouted Amalia. "You owe us that much for missing the wedding!"

"Alright. Keep your bikini on. Or take it off if you want." Delsin ducked under a Bloodthirsty Blade and grinned at Eugene before holding up Shambhala. "This is how." He activated the Imperial Arm and teleported them to Salmon Bay. Amalia blinked before looking around and seeing they were back in Washington.

"What?! How?! WHAT?!"

"The world I was in had these things called Imperial Arms. Weapons that can defy our normal logic. Shambhala here can teleport things wherever I want. While Gaea, my gauntlets, allow me to conjure different elements. Lightning, ice, you name it." Amalia took Shambhala and examined it, trying to find any kind of circuitry and wiring to see if she could replicate the power of the Imperial Arm but stopped as she examined it closely.

"Is-is this bone?!"

"Yeah."

"No. No, no, no! This can't be possible! Teleportation should only be possible using technology! This… this is…"

"An Imperial Arm," said Leone. "Hi."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Leone. Yeah, Delsin mentioned how things were different between our worlds. Incredibly different apparently."

"Our world has something called Danger Beasts," said Chelsea. "They, as well as their parts, can do incredible things. Like my Imperial Arm, Gaea Foundation." She smiled and altered her appearance instantly to look like Amalia currently did. Eugene and Amalia stared slightly before she turned back.

"Yeah," said Delsin. "It can even make her look like a cat. Changes her height and everything." Chelsea noticed a blush creep on Fetch's face slightly at the implications and chuckled. "Things on that world are insane and dangerous. Giant Danger Beasts, weapons that can kill someone in a heartbeat. And now Conduits as well."

"What," asked Fetch. Seryu smiled slightly and absorbed the water nearby, turning her hand into water itself as she did.

"The plans for the Ray Sphere did get into the wrong hands. A madman by the name of Stylish. He got the crazy idea to make the Ray Sphere using Danger Beast parts. There are people who were caught in the blast who were still asleep when we left."

"But that puts them in danger," said Amalia.

"Yeah. But they've been asleep for about a month now. Normal people would've died by now in that world. No modern technology to keep them alive. But they're Conduits. They have our healing abilities. And once they figure out what their Powers are they can heal even faster."

"Is a Conduit's body able to heal enough to make sure they don't die of hunger or dehydration? I very highly doubt that."

"Well, apparently it is enough," said Leone. "When Seryu was unconscious, Delsin was by her side and Akame's pretty much the whole time. Barely ate or slept until he knew they were alright." Eugene looked at him in surprise as Delsin coughed slightly. Fetch looked at the three young women beside him and quirked an eyebrow before turning to him. Delsin nodded, knowing they'd need to talk soon. Something he'd been aware of since Seryu first said she was in love with him. "Now hopefully his brother is at least half the man he is. Then I'll be in business…"

"His brother," asked Eugene. "But Reggie's…"

"Hey Delsin," shouted Reggie as he jogged over. "Director Evans just called Fetch's phone. Apparently they found Celia. We need to help her."

"Dammit," said Delsin. "I'm on it."

"Reggie," asked Eugene. Reggie looked at him and smiled.

"Hey, Eugene," he said before shaking the young man's hand. "Thanks for looking after my brother for me."

"Looking after me," asked Delsin.

"Don't play dumb. We both know you get yourself into more trouble than your worth."

"I'll go with you guys," said Fetch. "I'll leave Regina with…"

"I'll take her," said Seryu. She smiled at Fetch. "You two have some catching up to do. Besides, I don't quite know how to propel myself with my Powers yet." She glanced at Fetch before kissing Delsin on the cheek.

"Before you go," said Amalia. Delsin turned to her and saw she was hiding her body from onlookers behind Eugene. "Would you mind sending us back to our vacation, please? I'm not exactly dressed for Washington weather, right now.

"Right," he said. "Sorry. Kinda got lost in showing off my new toy. Stand still you two." Delsin held up Shambhala and teleported the two back to the beach they were on. "Man, I love this thing!"

"Don't overdo it," said Reggie. "We still don't know if your body can handle multiple Imperial Arms at once."

"I'll take it easy. Besides, we still need it for the fight against the Beast." He turned to Fetch. "Care for a race?"

"If you can keep up," she said with a grin. "I doubt you've had a lot of practice with Neon since you've been gone." Fetch took off and Delsin grinned before matching her speed.

"Delsin wai…" started Reggie before sighing. "Every time." He pulled up his phone and dialed Delsin as he walked to where the parking lot was. "Yeah, you forgot two things. One, I'm not as fast as you and two, you don't know where to go!" Seryu smiled as she held baby Regina and let her hold her finger.

"Your uncle and daddy are funny, aren't they?" She giggled as Regina gurgled with a toothless smile at her as Akame and Chelsea leaned in to see the baby as well.


Celia sat atop the Space Needle and sighed as she heard the familiar sound of Delsin's Lightspeed land next to her and turned to see him and Fetch standing nearby. "Hey, Delsin," she said. "DUP sent you?"

"Yeah. You may have changed in the Empire…"

"But I still owe a sentence here, I know. Just wanted one last breath of freedom before turning myself in."

"Turning yourself in," asked Delsin. "No, no. We need you to help fight the Beast."

"Delsin," said Fetch.

"We barely held off Shura and he was a newb. Kessler's Beast has decades of experience. And only Kessler knows what his Power is but won't say shit!" Delsin shouted the last part into the air and turned to Celia. "We need you. I'll talk with the new Director, see if I can hold off on your sentence until after the Beast is dealt with."

"That's not your call." Delsin turned to Fetch. "Delsin, since you've been gone, things have changed. The Conduits are freed and some of them have joined the DUP to help protect against the Conduits who are still resentful of society and are doing harm. I'm one of them. Celia was imprisoned and escaped her cell. She needs to go back."

"Fetch, we need as much help as we can get! You hadn't seen what he can do! I have! And it's deadly! I don't even know what it is he actually did! We need her, Esdeath, maybe even Augustine! He's close to Seryu and Akame's world and with Kessler keeping the worlds in sync with each other if the Beast gets there, he can come here! We need to fight him on our terms!"

"You still don't get to make that call! Listen, D. I get we need all the firepower we can get, but things need to be done a certain way. For right now, Celia needs to be put back into her cell. If the Beast comes, then we can let her out. But there's no way in hell I'm letting Augustine out, no matter what you say."

"Fetch…"

"No, Delsin! You know what she did to me! What she did to all of us in Curdan Cay! If you think I'm going to let her out, even to help against the Beast, the answer is no. There's a chance she'll use the first opportunity to escape, and I'm not about to let her go." Delsin stared at his first girlfriend and saw her on the verge of tears. He sighed before scratching the back of his head.

"Ok… ok. We won't let her out. But can I at least speak with her? And Celia too?" Fetch looked at him before wiping away her tears.

"I'll talk with Samantha about it. But Celia needs to come in first. That's the only condition."

"That's fine," said Celia. Delsin turned to her in surprise. "Delsin, I was already going to turn myself in. Even with the Beast a major threat, we need everyone we can get, and I was going to help even if I needed to be locked up again. If your girlfriend can convince the Director to let me help, that's easier on everyone. I'll go willingly, Fetch." Delsin sighed.

"Good. We're going to bring you to Director Evans and discuss what happens then. Thank you for cooperating, Celia."

"Better than fighting tooth and nail when there's nothing for me to do. Let's go." The Paper Conduit followed the two Neon Conduits down and allowed herself to be put into restraints by nearby police officers so she could be taken to the police station where the Director had decided to establish a temporary presence to help making things easier when dealing with criminal Conduits and the police.

Delsin looked at the woman who he met a few hours earlier and nodded as she stood up from the desk she was sitting at and smiled at them. "Fetch," she said. "How much of a fight did she put up this time?"

"None," said Fetch. "Apparently, whatever happened on their side caused her to have a change of heart on how she acted in the past. My guess is Delsin had a talk with her."

"You'd be right," said Delsin.

"Well, at least this will be simple then," said Samantha. She formed glass restraints around Celia's hands and had a couple of police officers escort her to a cell. "Mr. Rowe, thank you for your cooperation in this matter."

"It comes with a couple of requests."

"Oh?"

"Delsin," warned Fetch.

"Yeah," continued Delsin. "But this needs to be talked about in private."

"Then both of you follow me," said Samantha as she took them into the office of the Chief of Police who looked up as they walked in.

"Delsin Rowe," he said with a smile. "The Bannerman himself!" Delsin groaned as his hated name resurfaced.

"I hate that name," he said.

"Director Evans. Do you want me to leave?"

"Actually, you should be here for this as well, if only to offer an opinion about how to best go about what I need to ask and say." The police chief nodded in surprise and gestured for them to sit as Samantha stood beside him.

"So, Mr. Rowe," said Samantha. "What conditions do you have about Celia Penderghast's capture?" The chief looked at him in surprise.

"Chief. Here's what you need to know to be brought into the loop." Delsin told them both about Kessler's warnings about the Beast. About what he saw in the Alternate Empire and how they'd need as many Conduits as possible to help fight the Beast.

"And your conditions?"

"Celia needs to be released for a short amount of time to help fight the Beast. Also, me and Celia would like to pay a visit to Augustine."

"Why?"

"Celia to get closure, me so I can learn all I can about her Power and fully utilize it. The rest of my Powers I've been able to learn just fine and have been training with them on how to better control and use them thanks to a… friend of mine in the other world. Concrete has been a major hurdle for me. I've been able to make large finishing moves with the rest of the Powers, but Concrete is more difficult. I figured if anyone could help me better control it, it would be Augustine since it's her Power. That's how I managed to learn Neon and Video so quickly, from Fetch and Eugene."

"And Smoke?"

"I learned it on my own since Augustine locked up… oh god I forgot about Hank! How is he?!"

"Hank is still in a coma, unfortunately," said Fetch. "The Beast hurt him very badly. His daughter's been visiting him constantly in the last year and the DUP has been funding his care, so his daughter is put at ease. We've been monitoring him daily in case he had any news about the Beast." Delsin sighed and pulled off his beanie before starting to pace. He'd hoped that Hank would've been back home to care for his daughter by the time he returned, but now after learning, he was just glad the old convict was alive.

"Can I go see him? I want to make sure he's fine."

"I'll take you to go see him later. For now we need to finish this discussion." She turned to Samantha. The Director thought for a moment.

"Chief Simmons. What are your thoughts about all of this?"

"I think," said Simmons. "That this whole situation is beyond me. At the most, I can help cordon off a section of the city for when this plan is supposed to fall in place, limit the civilian casualties if it turns into an all-out war between ally Conduits and this Beast. As for Penderghast, if you need her to help fight this thing, I can grant a 24 leave for her. After which, she'll be escorted back to her cell to finish her sentence."

"That's provided we don't move her back to Curdan Cay." Samantha turned to Delsin. "Alright then, I'll offer the same, provided… you bring her back yourself, Delsin. She's your responsibility. Regarding the Augustine visits…" She thought for a moment. "I can allow Celia to visit her after the fight with the Beast. You can visit her before then. And when you're done learning from her, report back to me. If we need as much as we can dish out, then you'll need my Power as well. Though, you'll need to find some Blast Cores to help evolve it, from what Fetch has told me."

"Thank you," said Delsin. "At least this will put me at ease for a little while. As for the Blast Cores, we have that handled. The Empire suffered a Blast not that long ago. Cores and Shards aplenty there. No plague, so that's a plus."

"Do they need assistance?"

"That would be ill advised," said Kessler as a small rift opened between them. "The less people who are made aware of the other worlds, the better. This limits the chance of unsanctioned travel between worlds and potential conflict over resources and other such matters. As much as they require aid, they must be left alone."

"Now hold on," said Simmons. "We can't just let them suffer! We here on this side have been through two Blasts! We know what they're going through!"

"And as admirable as wanting to help is, it's not up to me, nor is it up to you. I can't explain more than that, I'm afraid. And besides, with the Blast things can start to calm down. Their Empire was in the middle of a civil war, one Delsin has been trying to stop. The tragedy of the Blast is enough to start building bridges and righting wrongs caused by the now deceased Minister. Delsin has been making allies on both sides and can help them along to further peace talks between the Empire and Revolutionary Army. It won't all happen at once, but at least it can have a start here. Especially when news of the Minister's involvement in this incident as well as several people who continuously backed him."

"What," asked Delsin.

"I may have let some falsities slip into the ears of prominent figures of the Empire to bring the more sinister elements to justice in light of your contributions to the Guard."

"That's sneaky," said Fetch.

"Well, certain things need to be handled in more discrete ways than blasting people with lasers, Ms. Walker." The rift closed and Delsin shook his head before turning to the Chief who stared at where the Rift previously was before leaning back in his seat and rubbing his temples.

"I need a drink after this," he muttered. Delsin chuckled before turning to Samantha.

"I guess that's about it," he said. The Director nodded and followed them out of the office before letting them go about their business, thoughts lingering on how best to contain the situation.