Last time Harry said goodbye to Will and her friends, as well as Bloom an her friends as they returned to their separate universes. Max and the remaining Ramblers left as well, promising to return if evil should ever arise again. Harry's part in this story may be over, but there's one more bit to tell. On with the show!

Chapter 54: One Last Lose End

"And that's how it happened," said Max, "Or at least what I saw." Max was sitting at a long desk in one of several underground rooms that made up the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. In front of him were three men who were debriefing him. Having just spent the last 39 hours telling his superiors about the mission, Max Kildare was in no mood to answer any pointless questions.

However, the questions put before him were far from pointless. "And you're certain that Voldemort is dead?" asked the first debriefer. "There's no doubt in my mind," said Max, "All that was left was a pile of ashes."

"What about this Harry Potter," said the second debriefer, "Can he and his comrades be trusted with the knowledge you and your team disclosed to them?" "My team and I only disclosed what we were instructed to disclose," said Max, "Nothing more. Besides, the civilization Harry is part of exists in secret, I'm sure he can keep a few more."

"And what of the last seven pages of the Necronomicon?" asked the third debriefer, "What of them?" "Destroyed when Harry destroyed Voldemort," said Max, "If there's a problem with that, take it up with him." "I'm sure there'll be no problem," said the first debriefer, "no problem at all."

"If I may suggest," said Max, "The Necronomicon has been nothing but trouble in more ways than one. Once again it has been stolen and used to threaten humanity. I ask again; destroy it before it is used for evil again."

"We'll take it under advisement," said the second debriefer, "Until then, the Necronomicon shall return to the Library of Congress. That'll be all Mr. Kildare." Max stood up and left the room.

Waiting in the hall outside stood Maria, Steve and Laura. "Well?" asked Laura. "They'll 'take it under advisement,'' said Max, "Meaning that they'll do nothing." "F#ck$ng pencil pushers!" exclaimed Steve, "They don't know jack sh$t about the dangers we faced."

"It's out of our hands now," said Max, "I'd rather not do anything illegal unless absolutely necessary." As they walked down the corridor towards the elevator, it was Laura who said, "I can't help but ask myself, 'was it worth it?' I mean, Ken's dead, Skeater's dead, Fay's dead, Leon got put on ice, Jill nearly lost the use of her legs, D.P. lost an arm and Virgil needs new cyber eyes."

"You'll find that thought creeping through your head every now and then," said Max, "But just think of all the people who are alive and free because of what we've done. The sacrifices of Ken, Skeater and Fay have helped save the world." "I just whish saving the world didn't demand sacrifices," said Maria, "but then, you can't have everything."

"Well," said Steve as they entered the elevator, Max having pressed the button to take them to the surface, "We've got at least two weeks of vacation timed earned, I see no reason not to use it."

"I'm going home for some well deserved R & R in the bathtub." Said Laura. "Home for me," said Maria, "Then off to Rome to study some new texts on demon identification." "No heading home for me," said Steve, "I'm off to Las Vegas to spend some of our hard earned money the government has given us."

"What about you Max?" asked Laura. "Me," said Max as they left the elevator and walked towards the front door, "I'm going to Hawaii. Me and Leon were about to go there and clime some volcanoes just before this whole mess got started."

As they exited the building, Steve said, "Max, I know that I can be a pain in the ass sometimes, and that I'm not the smartest egg in the basket. But I just want to say, I'm glad you choose me to work with you and the Ramblers." Max then shook Steve's hand, "You're a good man Steve Austin," he said, "I'm proud to have you on my team."

Two days later found Max on the island of Hawaii, nearing the rim of Manua Loa, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. He reached the rim, gazing into the literal lake of fire. Turning his gaze from the churning lava, Max pulled something from his pocket. Unfolding it, the object revealed itself to be seven pages of paper, each had strange symbols written on them in red ink, but it was really blood.

With a sigh, Max crumpled the pages into a ball, and tossed it into the lava where they burned up on impact. "So in a way," said a voice behind Max, "You got your way." Max didn't turn around, but knew whom the voice belonged to, a man in a blue cape, his face hooded and glowing blue eyes. "You've played a dangerous game with our lives," said Max, "Allen Shockley."

"I see Harry told you my name," said The Stranger, "What matters is that thanks to your assistance, the world is safe." "For the moment," said Max, "Until some other lunatic with delusions of power emerges."

"Still," said Allen Shockley, "What you and your comrades have done is no small feat. And though you might think this was your hardest mission, remember: your greatest challenge is yet to come." Max spun around to ask The Stranger what he meant, but he was gone. "I really don't like that person," said Max to him self, "and I really hate it when he does that." With one last look at the lake of lava below, Max began his descent down the volcano.

The End.

Congratulations are in order if you've just finished reading this story. This has been my first attempt at writing, and though I have written other fics while writing this one, this one is by far the longest I've done yet. So thank you for reading and reviewing.

But don't cry, Max Kildare and the other Ramblers shall return in my next story:

'Count Olaf Must Die!' Look for it under the 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' category. Trust me, you'll love it.

AndrewK9000