Episode 7: リクルートメント;生きるまたはダイ！Recruitment; Live or Die!

The damage and destruction at the Aeuropa Casino spread rumors out to the other nations of the continent. While it is true that the majority of the population were saved from the broadcast; those that became Chiropterans escaped and joined up with Rasputin and migrated out of the city.

Many things have changed since that day...some were grieving...others were vengeful...and many were confused and not understanding what has become of this world...

The Councils of Neo Tabuk sent resources and help to the residents of Lha'li but there has been no messages of what has happening...

As time passed, The Watcher's have been sent by Jadwiga by using their hidden technology and going all out on their abilities. Using specialized flying motor vechicles, newly sophisticated weapons back from 100 years ago...and using weapons from Alex's blood reserves to create Chiropteran killing tools.

The Watcher's HQ

Jadwiga stood at the main entrance to the HQ as she took a brief smoke from her cigarette. She knew that the monsters will be on their way back here so for the last several days, she ordered her members to prepare the equipment and their weapons to one of the cache locations before she begin the destruction process.

Despite the protest of the scientists, servants, and fighters/combatants, they all knew that time was short before Pandora and Rasptuin will begin to create a global catastrophe.

"Come on you guys!" shouted the crew members as they dragged the scientists and servants out of the HQ. Many of them were protesting about this but there was no other choice as the timer counted down from thirty minutes to zero.

Their HQ blew up and denoted into flames and smoke and the organization began to drive off to the night skies, heading Northwards on their hover bikes. After receiving data from Aki, Jadwiga led the organization in a slight northwest direction, heading to Terra Magna while other members went to the cache to prepare the weapons.

Meanwhile, Aki, Anastasia, and Sousuke joined up with the pirates as they begin to rebuild Terra Magna. It had been several days since Haruka and the others had left but there was some sort of progress being made.

Sousuke sighed and asked her, "Just what are we waiting for anyway? Shouldn't they be the ones rebuilding here?"

"We are just giving these guys a hand, okay?" asked Aki, "That way…they can be on our side for when the time comes."

"Okay may I ask who they really are? Is it true that they are…?" asked Sousuke.

"You obviously missed out on the outside world when you were cleaning those laboratories. They're the Pirates of the Paleolassa Ocean. Haruka's clan was from here in this town and Makoto's clan from Iglis Magna."

Aki turned to see Anne and Awlida while Sousuke almost had a nosebleed on them as he thought, Damn…those chicks are pretty hawt.

"Have no fear, help will be on the way soon from our organization," said Aki.

"Thank you for all of your help," said Anne as she bowed her head.

"Yes really!" agreed Awlida, "I don't know what we would do without it."

Sousuke gasped as he realized something, "W-where did Anya go? Princess!? Princess!?"

The two pirates gasped as they realized that term and they replied, "She's a princess?!"

"It's complicated," said Aki as she rubbed her hand on the back of her head.

"She's not from here...she's from the same world where the guys are from and…" explained Sousuke.

"SOUSUKE!" snapped Aki, "They don't need to know the details!"

"Wow...so she really is a princess?" asked Awlida, stunned.

"Well yes," sighed Aki, "We're not from here either. Our job is to make sure the six stars remeber who they are and to bring them back..."

"Back to where?" asked Awlida.

"Earth," said Sousuke, "We have to get them back to Earth as soon as possible."

"S-so this means we'll never see them again?" asked Anne as she realized how much she and the others will miss Makoto and their friends."

"Look, I cannot guaranteed on what will happen to this world and Earth but our home is in chaos; we lost over 6 billion people and the remaining survivors are in desperate need," said Aki.

Anastasia walked in finally as they turned to see her followed by Takeshi.

"I received word from the organization. They're expecting to arrive here by nightfall. Tomorrow, we head north," said Takeshi.

"To where are we going?" asked Aki.

"...it's likely our enemy has discovered the secret of the gods," he answered.

"W-what secret?" asked Awlida, worried.

"W-what are you saying?!" asked Sousuke.

"Nigyn is a spy of ours who is set to watch Pandora's evil acts…but anyway, he found out from the Pandotess Lab and what Pandora is planning to do. The mother of the Chiropterans found the source of the power lies in the temple of Iwamara...if she takes control of it..."

"That bitch!" growled Aki.

"Is oni-chan in trouble?! Is there anything we can do to help!?" asked Anastasia.

"The temple needs to be defended. So I ask of you, can you guys help protect it?" replied Takeshi.

"Wait! What would she do to the temple?" asked Anne.

"I can only imagine and fear that it would only be the beginning of a nightmare…" he answered.

"I won't let it happen...not for oni-chan's sake!" said Anastasia as she readied her gun.

"We won't let her win!" agreed Awlida.

"I'm going to tell our crew," said Anne, grabbing Awlida's hand, "Come on Awlida! Let's go!"

"M-may I please join you?" asked Anastasia.

Aki remained silent as Sousuke reassured her, "She'll be fine."

"Of course!" smiled Awlida as the three girls took off.

Takeshi turned to Aki and Sousuke and said, "You two need to get ready for Jadwiga."

"Right," replied Sousuke as he followed Aki in the opposite direction.

Las Jangwa Desert, Village of Lha'li

In Lha'li...the city drastically changed since the arrival of the Chivashi mad-crazy Chivashi has taken data from Pandora and used it for his research here; creating a volunteer research study and tricking the people by turning them to Chiropterans but the process was rather slow and lengthy.

I should've seen the show, it would have been more fun that way, he thought while looking at the data and watching the desperate humans moaning and mutating into Chiropterans.

Outside, Rikuto arrived in the city after meeting up with Rasputin and the others. He was sent here to check on Natsuhisa and his experiments. He soared into the abandoned library and sees him toying the people around.

"Oi! Natsuhisa!" growled Rikuto, "What the hell are you trying to do?!"

"Oh the people...as soon as they step into this building, they are lost in hypnotherapy and delusions...and once I inject them with the blood of a Chiropteran, they too become a Chiropteran as well," he replied.

"That process is much slower than Rasputin's song...not to mention how much suspicion you are creating in this town!" argued Rikuto.

"Not in a matter of time…of war, yes?" smirked Natsuhisa.

"Rasputin's orders are to leave this place and meet up with him and the others. They got plenty of Chiropterans from Aeuropa City," sighed Rikuto.

"He may have a wonderful voice, but it's not as fun beaus I don't get to tamper with the humans..." moaned Natsuhisa, "I suggest that he only sings just for fun…to put on a show."

"Please, this is enough!" growled Rikuto as he grabbed the Chivashi's hand and snaps his fingers, causing the building to collapse around them, destroying the books, lab equipment and killing the humans at the same time.

"What a waste," scowled Natsuhisa, "Fine…"

The Six Stars were in the forest, heading their way in a southern-western direction. It was a long journey for them so far and they knew that there was only so much time before they would find Rasputin again.

"Re-Rei…I'm sorry, for all of this," said Alex as he held onto the megane's hand.

"You did nothing wrong," he replied as he gently squeezed the hand.

"It's not yours to blame," agreed Haruka.

"If you think about it, all the mess is your brother's fault," nodded Nagisa, "He prepared for us more than we expected."

"But I promised…to protect them all," said Alex, gripping tighter on his sword.

Rei held his hand and said, "It will all be alright once we get him, okay?"

"Question is though, what do we do now?" asked Rin.

Seconds later, Haruka's necklace began to glow alongside with Makoto's. The other three watched as they could feel the gods reaching out to them.

"We hear the cries of the people in Lha'li…" said Suiei Nanase.

"Chiropterans are beginning to invade there," echoed Suiei Matsuoka.

"Then take us there," said Alex.

"Yes please!" gasped Nagisa, "We have to help them!"

With the waters of travel spell, the six arrived in the deserts once more and sees the town in its usual ruined state but they saw in a state of chaos as people are fleeing from the monsters.

W-what happened here, thought Alex, It…it's not how I remembered it…though it has fallen to ruin…

Rei and Rin pulled out their swords as the former asked, "Any plans or are we just going to attack?"

Haruka turned to see a person in fancy robes that Rin recognized as someone from Neo Tabuk.

"H-he's one of my men!" gasped Rin as he rushed up.

The Tabukist coughed heavily and moaned, "H-hel-help –u-uuss,"

"What's going on here?" Why aren't we getting word fro the others?!" asked Rin.

Beore his eyes the Tabukist's head twisted and morphed into a monstrous face of the Chiropteran as its clothes ripped into shreds. Alex charged up and slashed it in half.

"H-how did he transform to a Chiropteran!?" asked Nagisa, "Rasputin's song isn't being played!"

"Chivashi…" muttered Alex, "They also have the ability to shape-shift and change forms…it's a way to tease people by looking like them…but…this wasn't a Chivashi to begin with!"

"Well if they are here we have to be really careful..." replied Rei.

"Can you lead us back to the library Nagisa?" asked Rin.

"Yeah, let's go!" said the blonde while he stood close to Rin and whispered, "I don't want to lose the sight of you ever again. The last time in the Casino and before it in your castle scared me to death..."

The gang made their way through the streets of chaos as they fought off the monsters. Upon their arrival in the ruined city, the behavior was much different. The people are scurrying around withe monsters chasing after.

"Waters of freestyle…!" chanted Haruka as he unleashed a blast of water.

Rin unleashed his own shark slash attack at several Acephalipterans while Rei held onto Alex's hand and fought side by side.

"T-thank you," said Alex.

Rei smiled in reply, "I'm glad to have found you."

They narrowly dodged more of the attacks as Alex muttered, "Chiropterand and Acephlipterans...they are the same species."

"Either way these freaky things are just…ugggh," grimaced Makoto.

Nagisa turned his head and saw a child running and crying from a Chiropteran and he chanted, "Rutheless waters take end of that unholy monster!"

Alex rushed over to the child as the little one gripped on his cloaked and cried. The Chiropteran/Human turned to Nagisa walking up to him and asked, "Are you okay…where are you parents?"

The child was too horrified to speak as it hid inside of Alex's cloak. Makoto gasped and unleashed an acidic splash from his vase, burning the monsters down before it could scratch Nagisa and Alex.

"What is your name?" asked Nagisa.

"Someone who will end up as an experiment," hissed a voice.

The gang turned to see Natsuhisa and Rikuto standing side by side.

"What do you want? And what have you done to these people!?" growled Nagisa.

Rei stood in front of Alex and Nagisa while readying his weapon, "Why are you here?!"

"The people of Lha'li have faced their own tragedy over 60 years ago…Rasputin sang that song here and was able to turn this town into a place of ours," said Rikuto, "Natsuhisa here is just to clean up the mess so we can ready ourselves to kill all of you."

"How dare you!" growled Rei as he glared at Rikuto, "Taking innocent lives and using them for war weapons!"

Nagisa took the child from Alex and said, "I'll protect him, you guys go on!"

Alex readied his katana and charged up to Rikuto while Rei charged at Natsuhisa.

"You're too scared to fight me, dumb blonde?" teased Natsuhisa.

"I'm not scared! I just know that the others want to kill you as much as me!" growled the blonde.

"Oh what a shame," replied the Chivashi, "In a little while, Rasputin will finally have his family to live in a world of Chiropterans."

Alex gasped and shoved Rikuto to the side while trying to charge at Natsuhisa as the Chivashi knocked Rei down to the ground.

"W-what are you saying!?" asked Makoto.

"Oh you're ruining the surprise for Alex," smirked Rikuto, "Let's go!"

The two Chivashi giggled and vanished away from view while Natsuhisa said, "We'll see ya later!"

"W-what did he mean?!" asked Rei, confused.

"A…family?" asked Alex, "But..it's only been myself…Rasputin…Pandora…Tesseract…"

"You don't think he got someone pregnant!?" replied Naigsa.

"No, Rasputin would never do that…he knows better," he answered, "A pure bred Chiropteran can only maintain their powers by incest of the children upon their coming of age…anyone pregnant outside from that family will produce weaker offspring."

"Then…what?" asked Nagisa before he looked at the child but gasped as the little one died.

Alex walked up to it and placed his hand on the forehead and muttered, "Natsuhisa must have done something to him."

"H-how can anyone do this to a child?!" growled the blonde

"Pandora wishes to make a world of monsters. She despises the human race because they have something that we Chiropterans don't have..." said Alex.

"And what do we have?" asked Rei.

"…love," he answered.

The others gasped at it as Alex continued, "Chiropterans only breed to preserve their species... humans breed to love and to grow...that's why I cannot understand love…"

"Oh Alex," said Rei sadly.

"But now…it feels weird," he answered.

The others joined in for a group hug as Rei asked, "Is it good weird or bad weird?"

"Neither…" said Alex, "It's just...a feeling. Almost as if I've known you guys...since forever."

"A-Alex?" asked Nagisa.

The Chiropteran's head felt dizzy again as he was entering into another memory; watching a little boy standing over the diving block and readying his goggles.

The little boy turned around and smiled, saying, "Don't worry…it'll be alright soon."

"T-That face!" gasped Alex as he tried to reach out but felt the hug around him as he couldn't move. He breathed heavily while trying to calm down.

"A-another memory?" asked Rei.

"Th-this kid…he looks like…" said the Chiropteran, "B-but I can't put a finger on it."

He' getting closer to remember, thought Makoto, but it's blocking him.

"We should get going," said Nagisa as he heard more cries from the people.

The six explored the town of Lha'li and fought more monsters out of the way while trying to gather the people together safely. They had to find at least a place to keep the survivors from fleeing the area.

"Here!" shouted Rin, "Let's use this abandoned plaza!"

Makoto chanted on his vase to create some warm soup while Alex and Rei found an abandoned restaurant with several bowls intact while Haruka and Makoto gathered utensils and other supplies. Nagisa brought over some blankets as the citizens of Lha'li arrived together and calmed down to relax.

Alex and Rei stood on guard by the plaza entrance while Alex lowered his head down.

"I hope you're not blaming yourself…" said Rei as Alex blushed.

"It's not your fault," said the megane.

"But even still...I cannot believe I would be linked to so many evilness in this world," replied Alex.

"You can't choose your family... You are like a bla- no, white sheep in your family," answered Rei.

"R-Rei?" asked Alex.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"…you said to me that I thought love was useless…do you think…it's possible that I could feel love?" asked the chiropteran.

"Of course you can! Everybody is able to feel love. It's just that not everyone chooses to do it," explained Rei as he fixed up his glasses.

I am worried...even if I do defeat Rasputin...will I be going back to my hibernation cycle, thought Alex as his stomach growled and he blushed.

"You hungry? Let's go eat then," smiled Rei.

"O-okay," he replied.

Up North, Rasputin looked at his two cocoons and said, "How adorable…finally."

"They were incubated in the lab for the last several years after you went to your hibernation cycle," explained Haruto.

"And where is the mother of this?" asked Mariko.

"Dead," replied Rasputin, "This was a long time ago…before I went to hibernation."

"And what do you think your brother will do if he finds out?" asked Reiji.

"He'll want to kill them…but he can't" said Rasputin, "He's very protective of his children, I've seen his behavior."

Natsuhisa and Rikuto appeared from the mists and they too saw the cocoons.

"I see your offspring is here," smirked Natsuhisa.

"Indeed," replied Rasputin, "Now then. It's time…we're going to Iwamara. Pandora says that if we can get to the temple, she can access it and use it against our enemies."

"And what about the others?" asked Reiji.

"The Chiropterans will distract them. We will make this battle ours...and this world home to our kind," said Rasputin as he echoed laughter across the dark skies.

Back down south, Anastasia arrived with Anne and Awlida to see the pirates assembling together and crafting out their weapons and checking supplies.

"I'm so glad you're here with us!" said Anne, "We don't have many girls in this group."

"Yeah and we rarely talk with them…I'm excited to show you how we do our ways!"

"I…uh? May I ask what is going on?" asked Anastasia, "You both knew about…uh…Makoto and H-Haruka, right?"

"Of course!" smiled Anne, "I grew up with Matsuura and Makoto!"

"And I was with Shirahama and Haru," said Awlida.

"I see…" replied Anastasia.

"Well...You know, he still is the same…and as of Alex," replied Awlida, "Sometimes his second nature comes out. You know what I'm talking about?

"We had a family of our own," said Anastasia, "Alex was a brother to me along with our sister Aki...our mom though... she disappeared one day and never returned and our city fell into ruins when Chiropterans appeared in the town."

"My dad disappeared too, but it turned out he was working with "the Watchers"," said Anne, "Now that he came back, I'm sure Alex will came back to you as well. I don't know him very well but I think he cares deeply about his family and he thinks of you as part of it."

"Well he was a swimmer…and attended high school…he used to be so happy and cheerful," nodded the princess as she took out a photo of her and the others with Georgia.

The two pirate girls took a peak and saw the photo.

"Wooow!" gasped Awlida, "Look at all of you…so happy!"

"You know..." said Anne, "Sometimes people see something horrific and change but I think Makoto, Haru and the others are going to help him. I'm sure he will come back smiling and happy."

"Yes…however, I am not from this world either…like Alex," she replied, "I don't know what to do."

"I think you just have to wait and the answer will come to you," answered Anne, "Can't tell you what to do or what I would do because I wasn't in that kind of situation so I can't give you any advice."

"You just have to believe that everything will be alright. Alex and the others will come back," nodded Awlida, "And then we will worry about what we will do next, alright?"

Anastasia nodded and saw more pirates arriving to them. One of them was tall and strong looking (well both were strong) while the other was more lean in his size but still tough looking.

"Ah, so you must be Anastasia, right? I'm Shirahama," said the taller one.

"And I'm Matsuura," he bowed, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

As they all got into a conversation, some of the random pirate girls were gossiping over this as they chatted amongst themselves.

"Oh my gosh! Is that the girl…?" asked one of them.

"Yeah, they say she's a princess!" said another.

"You think she could answer some questions…like what she would want for a guy?" smirked another.

"Don't assume what she wants…she could be a lesbo or not even interested. But I want to know about her family! Does she have any siblings? Where is she from? Do they live in a big castle?" gasped another, "Oh this is going to be some hot topic for months to come!"

"Wow! Just look at her hair!" said another, "How does she do it?! They look perfect! Do you think she can tell me what hair products she uses?! I want my hair to look like hers!"

Anastasia blushed as she could hear the other girls giggling around her, "A-am I being problematic?"

"Of course not!" chuckled Awlida, "They're just curious."

The princess nodded and continued, "Well anyway, I am here to warn all of you guys for a battle that is coming ahead. We are to join with our friends in battle in the days that follow."

"Where are we going to fight though?" asked Shirahama.

"And weapons? Do we need anything besides swords, guns and cannons?" asked Matsuura.

"The Watchers have prepared new weapons for us to use. But it will be a bit of a test because they haven't been used in years. However, they say that it will help us defeat the monsters here on this world," she answered.

Anastasia turned to see the pirates and she jumped onto the rock and called out, "I may not be your leader of this gang, but hear me out! The Watcher's have begged for an alliance with you guys and together…along with other nations on this continent, we are to go forth to war against our enemies that made us suffer for the last 18 years.

"And what will our prey hear from us? Our calls of our victory...our weapons ready to kill them, our hearts crying with vengeance and freedom for this world!"

She took out her gun and fired to the skies, "Everyone…hoist the colors and fight for the end!"

The pirates cheered on and raised their swords and weapons, knowing that this was going to finally be the end of the painful war that lasted their entire lives since the Tragedy of Herisia.

Chirottori Castle

Tesseract finally returned to the castle and dashed through the hallways, searching for Nigyn and arrived in the main hall and saw his personal servant slain on the ground with a puddle of blood drenched.

"I already took care of him," said Pandora as she stepped into the room, "How amusing...he survived that portal you created over 138 years ago…"

Tesseract turned around violently as Pandora's eyes glowed blue.

"I thought Dodecadron would be the problem…and not you," continued Pandora.

"You were warned by what Kaarina said," replied Tesseract.

"I don't CARE!" she growled, "I will PROVE her wrong! I will make sure that prophecy fails!"

"You will not kill me in the same way you did to Dodecadron!" replied Tesseract as he readied his magic.

"Oh yes I can...however, what's the point of me killing you now?" asked Pandora, "Let Nigyn's death be a warning to you...oh how a fool I was to allow him to reenter this palace. I had hope that he would have changed and been a part of us."

She's putting it all together now, thought Tesseract.

"You LIED to me that you got rid of him...and Nigyn…and the others...and yet here they are...144 years later, they became "The Watcher's" and are going to fight against my Rasputin and the Chivashi," answered Pandora, "Fighting them against that fouling flaw of that child!

"You let them live Tesseract...and while you did, the plan has began to sweep in motion."

Tesseract unleashed his dimensional powers against Pandora but the female's eyes glowed blue and roared, throwing the portal back against him. Tesseract narrowly dodged the portal as it swallowed some of the equipment away to who knew where.

"Make another mistake," hissed Pandora as she walked away, heading to her own inner chamber.

Why hasn't she killed me yet, thought Tesseract, Does she have a bigger plan after this? Or is it something far more than I can imagine?

Pandora walked to her inner chamber as she saw the six spheres glowing from the sundial.

"Ever since the laws of the universe were written… I grew envy…Iwatobi…Sametsuka…only they could enjoy what they created…" she growled.

She started to laugh and continued, "But not to worry, soon...this world will be filled with Chiropterans, Megascolides, Oorn, and many others; a place where the humans shall be the prey...and us, living amongst a higher path!"

"muahahahahahha...muAHAHAHAHHAHA!" she laughed as the thunder and lightning struck the background.

Back in Lha'li, the sun was beginning to set down and it was hard to find something to make a fire pit but there were some really old books that were unreadable that were used to make a small fire along with several rocks and some old fabrics.

The Six Stars along with the people stayed in the plaza area, waiting for the help from Neo Tabuk to arrive.

Rin paced himself back and forth as he grew worried, "I know it's only been a few days, I am sure they'll send more help soon."

"Don't worry Rin, I'm sure they'll make it," replied Nagisa.

"It is getting late," said Rei as he looked at the moon rising and sighed to himself since it wasn't a full moon.

"Rin, we'll stay up with you…they'll find us," added Makoto.

"Welll…seeing that we are a…t-team," said Alex when he blushed on the last word he said.

They all smiled as they knew that their beloved teammate was beginning to remember more and more but the Chiropteran covered his head and blushed.

"I…I uh, I only said that since they-they'll find u-us…r-ri-right!?" he stuttered.

Rin turned around as Makoto gasped to see a group of people dressed in fancy Arabian-like clothes. Rin rushed out to the nurses and Officials as the others followed Rin and lead them to the crowds of people at the plaza.

The red-hair spoke to the officials on thee recent news and explaining what has happened before he reunited with the others.

"They know the events of Aeuropa City," said Rin.

"I see," replied Makoto.

"But what will this mean?" asked Haruka.

After a moment of silence, Rin answered, "They will combine forces."

"R-Really?!" asked Nagisa and Rei as the other gasped at the revelation.

"They, along with this town will combine forces to team up and help rebuild this town...as wel as preparing their armies for the battle to come," explained Rin.

"Rasputin," growled Alex.

"The threats of the monsters are beginning to awake everyone's awareness; be it Chiropterans or Megascolides or whatever is out there," said Rin.

"Well that's good to know that people are becoming more aware of this," agreed Rei.

"Rasputin is building an army," replied Alex, "It's pointless to hide."

"That's why we need to find him quickly," answered Nagisa, "I…I don't want to see innocent people die again."

"We'll fight them, together," said Haruka.

"And hopefully by then, you'll be able to get your magic back...and your memories," nodded Makoto.

"For the team and for everyone's lives!" smirked Rin.

Alex felt a bit light headed again but this time…it felt strange. Normally it would happen if a memory was coming back but he felt like the whole world was turning black around him.

"A-Alex, are you okay?!" asked Rei.

The Chiropteran fell to the ground and covered his head with his hands as Rei grabbed a hold of him.

"Oh don't tell me that it's time…" said the megane.

"I…I'm fine," he answered.

"What's going on, Rei?" asked Makoto.

"His hibernation cycle is getting closer…" he answered.

The others gasped as they remembered what Rei said about the hibernation cycle; that the Chiropteran can only be awake for 2 – 3 years per every 30 years of rest.

"…I won't rest…until I kill him," said Alex.

"Look I will carry you as we travel…" replied Rei, "Don't push yourself if you need to save your energy to fight him."

"T-thank you…" answered the Chiroptrean.

Flashback: Planet Earth, the Continent of Lynwin, 1 Year after The Last Legend's EPILOGUE

Haruka and Alex stood on the beach, holding hands as they watched the sunset. A lot of things happened in the course of the year as the couples began working on their jobs.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Alex.

"Y-yeah, it's nice," said Haruka.

They turned to see the others arriving as Rin and Rei were holding hands and Nagisa riding on top of Makoto.

"Heeey!" giggled Nagisa.

"Quite a nice evening here, right…my sexy butterfly?" asked Rin.

"Y-yes…" blushed Rei as he turned his head to the side.

The gang sat down on the sands together as they stared out to the crimson sunset.

"So um...what do you all think?" asked Alex, "Our new home?"

After a moment of silence, Makoto answered, "Well, it's been almost 1 year since our wedding; I sort of miss our town. It was our home."

"Yeah," agreed Nagisa, "We had all of our memories there and what not…and you and Cleveland and Mayfield…"

"Mayber we should visit?" asked Rei.

"Well don't forget we cannot abandon our people here. I got my gym classes to teach and beach to attend to," sighed Rin.

"And my Biology and Psych classes," sighed Alex.

"The same with my English," replied Makoto, "The students really enjoy me to death."

"I grew close to my fellow workers at my restaurant," nodded Haruka.

"And I need to watch over animals," sighed Nagisa.

"Well...I have a photoshoot in 2 days but maybe on weekend we can go?" suggested Rei.

"This weekend?" replied Makoto, "But I got papers to grade…"

"We need to plan out this trip properly," said Haruka.

"Yes, and I have to tell my coworkers when I will be gone," added Nagisa.

Rin felt a warm breeze as the Sakura petals drift around, "It's Camelot...he's probably hearing us."

"Camelot-sama?" asked Rei as he could feel the tree's petals.

"It's going to be a year soon," said Alex.

"One year…" nodded Makoto.

"Maybe we should throw a party and invite everyone!" smiled Nagisa.

"Or keep it to ourselves?" asked Rei.

Haruka got up and looked at the temple resting at the top of the hill as he walked into the waters of the beach.

"W-what's the matter Haru?" asked Makoto.

"Haruka?" asked Alex as he hugged behind him.

They stood in the shallow waters as Haruka kept silent at first before answering, "Nankurunaisa…"

"Nan…kurunaisa?" asked Alex.

"That was the last word my grandma said to me...before she died," said Haruka, "Whatever will be, will be."

Rei looked up to the temple as Nagisa commented, "Well I hope that everything will be fine in the future..."

"I think so," smiled Makoto as he held Nagisa's hand.

The group turned to see Mikoshiba, Nitori, and Gou running across the sands of the evening sun.

"Heeeey!" shouted Gou.

"So you've been out there?" asked Nitori, "No wonder you didn't answer your phones!"

"Well it is nice out," laughed Mikoshiba, "Who wouldn't?"

Rin hugged his sister and said, "I thought you were busy tonight."

"Well we did get some stuff ready soon...for our matrimony," smiled Mikoshiba.

"You better not disappoint her!" growled Rin.

"Rin! Please act a little bit nicer to Mikoshiba," said Rei while he held his hand tightly with a sense of annoyance, "I thought you two got along by now…"

"Onii-chan! Please can you be nicer to Sei?" sighed Gou.

"R-Rin-senpai, it'll be alright," said Nitori as he had a sweat-drop of nervousness.

"Nankurunaisa," smiled Makoto.

"I like that word," replied Mikoshiba.

"You can thank Haru-chan for that," answered the other tall boy.

"Stop using the –chan!" snapped Haruka.

The others chuckled and giggled while Haruka squeezed Alex's hand tighter as his mate replied, "I love you too."

"Mako-chaaan!" smiled Nagisa as he glomped around him from behind.

The gang laughed happily as they walked around the beach and occasionally splashing around...it was at least a nice evening to celebreate despite their busy lives in their new home and their jobs.

But...can it all be remembered?

~Episode 7 END~

~Episode 8 PV~

Makoto: I-Iwamara!?

Rin: What is Rasputin up to now!?

Alex: …he's going to try to do what he can to fulfill his wish…a world of monsters.

Haruka: So I'm guessing he's going to destroy the pool too?

Makoto: *sighs* Haru…

Nagisa: *gasps* Rin-chan, LOOK OUT!

Rei: Alex! Please listen to what I have to say!

Alex: …just why? Tell me why, Rei!

Rei: Next Time, Free! The Battle of Rodinia Magna! It's because…I love you! I won't lose you!

The Final Showdown of the Chiropteran Wars Story Arc!

~Episode 8: May 26, 2014~

~Episode 9: May 28, 2014~

~Epilogue: May 30, 2014~