Crona managed to work his way around the school to where he was supposed to be. But still, even though he was in enemy territory, his mind wasn't focused on the job that he had to do. He was preoccupied with other things.

"Hey Crona," Ragnarok interrupted, "Wake up in there! What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since we first met these monsters."

"Huh?" Crona said returning to earth, "Oh, it's nothing Ragnarok."

"Don't lie to me!" he responded, "I'm inside of you. You and I are linked by more than our souls. And you've been spinning me through that heart of yours so fast that I've been getting dizzy!"

Before Crona could come up with a reasonable excuse, he saw Mizore approaching him from the school. An icy mist surrounded her, but her ice claws were still very much visible. Crona's heart skipped a beat when he saw her.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mizore told him, "What are you doing here Crona?"

"You know my name?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered, "That sword of yours isn't exactly quiet. Still, you shouldn't have come here. You and your school have come to attack my friends. I can't let that happen."

"No, that's not it," Crona insisted, "I just wanted to see you again. I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to have to hurt you either," Mizore told him, "But I can't let you hurt my friends."

She put her hand on his chest, cutting a small slit with her claws.

"Please don't be mad," she continued, "I'm only doing this to protect my friends."

Before either could react, a long, sharp needle erupted from the wound on Crona's chest, impaling Mizore in the heart. Crona stared at Mizore in pure shock.

"My God," Ragnarok groaned, "What would you do without me, Crona? Good thing my Bloody Needle was there to save your sorry butt."

"I see," Mizore said, "That was a rather clever attack."

Crona looked down at where the needle skewered Mizore. The area around the needle appeared to be made of solid ice.

"Unfortunately for you," Mizore continued, "The me that you see here is only an ice doll I created using my powers. The real me is somewhere else."

Instinctively, Crona swung his sword and the ice doll shattered. Just then, many more clones of Mizore appeared and had him surrounded.

"You cannot beat me," Mizore's voice echoed, "I have the power to bend ice to my will. I'm not giving you the upper hand again."

"Crona," Ragnarok said, "You have to get your head out of the clouds. If you don't, you're going to get yourself killed, and if you die, so do I! So get your head in the game!"

"Right," he said lifting his sword in the air, "I'm sorry about this. Scream Resonance."

Ragnarok let loose an earsplitting screech which caused the very air to vibrate violently. Each of the ice dolls shattered into shards of ice, save for one, the real Mizore, who was blasted back several feet. Crona rushed to her side.

"You actually came?" he asked her.

"I had to," Mizore coughed, "I can't control so many ice dolls at once. I had to make sure that they didn't hurt you. They were only supposed to scare you so you would leave and not get hurt."

"You mean," Crona gasped, "You were trying to protect me?"

She nodded.

"That's so nice." He told her, "Nobody's ever cared about me like that before."

Crona helped Mizore back on her feet and carried her away from the fight.

Flying high over Yokai Academy, Kid was observing the chaotic war that raged on below. He had conflicting thoughts about this battle. On the one hand, it was his duty as a Grim Reaper to purge the world of evil. And yet, were these monsters really the evil ones? When it came down to it, the DWMA was the one attacking without provocation. Was there something he wasn't seeing about this scene?

"Kid, what's up?" Liz asked him, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just wondering," Kid answered, "Are we really doing the right thing?"

"Of course we are," Patty told him, "There are monsters. They eat people. We have to keep them from hurting anyone."

"Perhaps you're right," he admitted, "But I can't help but think that there's something I've forgotten. I seem to remember Father telling me something about Yokai Academy many years ago. I wonder if we might actually be the bad guys here."

Before he could contemplate that thought further, he was struck from below by something moving so fast that even he couldn't see what it was. It hit him with the force of a truck and sent him careening back to earth. He landed in the back of the schoolyard, far from the main battlefield. He looked around to see what hit him.

"Well," a voice behind him said, "I didn't expect to see you here."

Kid whipped around to find Gin standing on the roof of the school. He looked down at him with recognition.

"I remember you," Kid told him.

"I don't believe we were formally introduced," Gin responded as he jumped down to the ground, "I'm Ginei Morioka, president of the Newspaper Club you attacked the last time we met."

"You can call me Death the Kid," he answered, "I am a Grim Reaper, and I judge you."

Kid began to unleash his powers as a Grim Reaper, executing a perfect three-way Soul Resonance between him and his partners. His partners' weapon forms changed to those of large cannons on each of his arms. His power pulsated from him into each of the guns.

"Resonance stable," Liz stated, "Noise level at 2.56%."

"Black needle resonance fully charged," Patty added.

"Ready to fire," Liz continued, "In three…"

"Two…"

"One."

"Firing now," Patty squeaked.

"Death Cannon," Kid growled.

Kid fired two massive shots of energy toward Gin. The cannon shots raced toward the werewolf and detonated on impact. The shot blew a hole through to the other side of the school and left a huge cloud of smoke. The Thompson sisters returned to their normal pistol forms.

"That should take care of him," Kid said to himself.

"You're strong, Kid," Gin told him from behind, "But it's not enough to beat me."

Before Kid could react, Gin, in his full monster form, kicked him in the back and sent him tumbling several feet.

"Are you serious?" Kid asked, "The Death Cannon didn't finish him off?"

"Don't you know anything?" Gin taunted, "Werewolves are fast to begin with, but we get even faster with the light of the moon. And tonight is the brightest night of all; the full moon! A werewolf under the full moon… is invincible!"

Gin dashed around Kid at supersonic speed, so that Kid could no longer sense where he was, much less see him. Even with his own speed and immense power, this was turning into a one-sided fight.

"Damn," he cursed to himself, "I can't hold out for too much longer. I can only hope the others are able to finish this mission quickly."

While his friends chose to take a more stealthy approach at getting around the school, Black Star instead went straight through the battlefield, fighting every monster that crossed his path. Eventually, he managed to break free of the main battle and made his way to the back of the school next to an old, dead tree.

"Man, that was too easy!" he said to himself, "I could handle monsters like that in my sleep!"

"Be careful, Black Star," Tsubaki cautioned, "We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves yet."

"Damn it," Black Star yelled, ignoring Tsubaki's admonition, "Isn't there anyone who can even give me a challenge?!"

"I think I'd like to give it a shot," a familiar voice said.

"What?" Black Star jumped, "Who said that?"

"Up here."

He turned around and looked up the tree. Kurumu was sitting on one of the branches looking down at him.

"We meet again," she told him, "Though I think that this is the last time that we'll be meeting like this."

"Yeah, right," Black Star yelled, "'Cause I'm going to beat you in a bigger way than you can imagine!"

"Well," Kurumu purred, "We'll see about that."

As soon as she said that, the earth began to shake, knocking Black Star onto his backside. The ground was shaking so much that it looked like the tree was starting to move on its own. Wait… the tree really WAS moving on its own. The branches started to move around like they were arms and a terrifying face appeared on the trunk.

"What the crap?!" Black Star exclaimed, "What's going on around here?!"

Tree roots erupted from the ground and lashed out at Black Star. They wrapped themselves around him so tightly that he could not move at all.

"What's happening?" he asked, "My body… Why won't it do what I'm telling it to? I can't feel my power anymore…"

"Get ahold of yourself, Black Star," Tsubaki told him, "This is an illusion conjured by that succubus. She's using this to keep you from attacking so she can take you out in one shot."

"My, aren't you the clever one," Kurumu said from the air, "But it's too late for you now. All I have to do now is slice you into salami!"

"Damn it," Black Star growled, "You're not going to hold me back with illusions! Tsubaki: Enchanted Sword Mode!"

Tsubaki changed her weapon form into that of a black katana. A powerful energy emanated from the blade.

"Do you really think," Kurumu taunted, "That you're going to beat my illusions with that letter opener?"

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Black Star warned her, "Shadow Star!"

Black Star's shadow erupted from underneath him in the form of a black flame surrounding him. The shadow sliced through Kurumu's illusions with ease.

"What the hell?!" Kurumu exclaimed, "How could you beat my illusions so easily? Do you know how hard I worked to perfect that move?!"

"Oh, don't worry," Black Star said, "I've got more."

Although Black Star's method of attack was certainly unorthodox, it did help skew the battle in the DWMA's favor. Before long, the monsters were getting defeated one by one and the meisters started slowly approaching the school. Tsukune, Yukari and Ruby were watching the losing battle from afar.

"This is bad," Tsukune said, "We can't hold out for much longer."

"We've got to get out of here!" Yukari screamed, "They're going to kill us if they find us here!"

"But we can't leave our friends here," Ruby said, "We have to make sure everyone else is safe before we can leave."

"But what can we do?" Yukari asked, "We can't fight if we have our Soul Protects on, and if we drop them, we'll have a big target on our backs. I want to help them too, but we can't even help ourselves right now. We're at the end of our rope here."

"Still," Ruby insisted, "There must be something we can do."

"No, it's over."

Everyone turned to see Maka approaching them with her scythe at the ready.

"You were doomed the minute we met," she told them, "And now it's time for you to pay for your transgressions."

Tsukune stood in between Maka and his friends, ready to give his life to protect them.

"No Tsukune, you can't!" Ruby told him, "She's too powerful for you!"

"Ruby's right!" Yukari added, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I know that," he told them, "But hopefully, I can hold her off long enough for you two to get away. Just be sure to get as far away as you can."

"That's not going to work," Maka informed them, "My Soul Perception can sense the souls of witches even when they have Soul Protect on. So no matter where you go, I'll still be able to find you. So now, at last, your soul is mine!"

Maka rushed in to attack her targets. But before her blade could connect, Kokoa jumped in to block the attack with Kou transformed into a giant mace.

"Kokoa," Tsukune started, "What…?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," she told him, "I'm not doing this for you. I just want to get revenge for hurting my sister."

"You can't delude yourself like that," Maka warned her, "I'm not letting you stand in my way."

"Ha, don't flatter yourself," Kokoa said, "Do you really think you have a chance against a vampire? I could destroy you with the bat of an eye. As a member of the legendary Shuzen family, I will do everything in my power-"

Before Kokoa could finish her sentence, Maka hit her with Witch Hunter and sent her flying far.

"Now with that out of the way," Maka said, "It's time for you to die. Your last chance has failed, and now, you're defenseless."

"Wrong," an all too familiar voice said, "They've still got me."

Everyone turned to see Moka emerging from the woods walking straight towards them. She glared at Maka with a burning anger in her eyes.

"It's you," Maka gasped.

"One win and one loss," Moka observed, "This will be the final battle to determine the victor."

"Moka?!" Tsukune exclaimed, "We've missed you so much! Where have you been all this time?"

"Until that day," she answered, "I have never lost a fight. As I lay in that cursed hospital bed, I felt nothing but the bitter taste of defeat. I knew I had to get stronger so I could get my revenge. I left school so I could train myself so that I might be able to defeat her and regain my pride."

"I see," Maka said, "Then let's both give all we've got. My name's Maka Albarn and I'm a Scythe Meister. And you are?"

"Moka Akashiya," she answered, "Strongest of all monsters."

"Moka," Maka said, "I can certainly respect a drive to get stronger. I myself was there once. I knew that I had to do my best to protect someone very important to me; the one that I love more than anything else. I'm sensing that there's someone you love that you want to protect too, right?"

"Enough talk," Moka told her, "Now we fight."

"Fair enough," she agreed, "Ready Soul?"

"Let's do it," he said.

"Soul Resonance."

Power surged between Maka and Soul as their resonance built their power higher and higher. Before they could raise their resonance too high, Moka appeared behind them.

"Too slow," she told them.

Moka tried to kick them from behind, but Maka managed to avoid the attack. She kept up the pressure to keep Maka from raising her resonance. Soon, Maka was backed into a tree and Moka prepared to launch a finishing attack. Instead, Maka used the resonance she had already achieved to use Witch Hunter to lock blows with Moka. The vampire easily overpowered her, but Maka used the force of the blow to vault herself over Moka and a considerable distance from her, allowing her to complete her Soul Resonance.

"It's over now," she told Moka, "Genie Hunter!"

Soul's blade transformed into his and Maka's signature attack. Unlike last time, Moka seemed ready for this.

"Sorry to break this to you," she told her, "But that little parlor trick isn't going to help you this time. Didn't you hear? I've been training specifically to beat you in battle, so I've got one more trick up my sleeve."

Moka extended her arms and they transformed into a mass of large razor-sharp bat wings. The appearance of her new weapon alone struck fear in Maka's heart.

"Whoa, Moka?!" Tsukune yelled, "How did you do that?!"

"It's a little trick I learned from my sister," she explained, "Vampires are capable of transforming into any kind of animal, but most consider it beneath them to do so. I simply used this technique to create a deadly weapon that, combined with my vampire strength, can easily match the Genie Hunter."

"Is that so?" Maka asked, "We'll just have to see won't we?"

Maka and Moka each rushed at each other. They each traded blows one after another, neither one giving an inch. As the two prepared for one final blow, they put all their energy into one deadly attack.

"ENOUGH!"

Both combatants froze just inches from each other. The voice rang throughout the air and all fighting stopped. Just then, light erupted from the center of Yokai Academy, and the astral image of two figures appeared. One of which was Lord Death, while the other was a mysterious robed figure with glowing eyes.

"Lord Death!" Maka exclaimed, "But, who's that with him?"

"That's the Academy's headmaster," Moka said, "Tenmei Mikogami."

"Do not fight these monsters," Lord Death commanded in his original voice, "They are not the enemy."
"Students," Mikogami said, "You must not attack these guests."

"Lord Death," Maka called out, "I don't understand. What's going on here?"

"Oh, Maka," Lord Death said in his normal voice, "So sorry about losing connection, but I had another call."

"Another call?" she asked, "What does that mean?"

"That would be me," Mikogami answered, "When Lord Death's army showed up at my school, I knew that there must have been some sort of misunderstanding."

"You see," Lord Death continued, "Mikogami and I go way back; he used to be a part of my personal guard many years ago. When he left, he helped to found Yokai Academy to promote a peaceful coexistence between monsters and humans. Naturally, I gave him my blessing to help create that coexistence."

"But then," Maka started, "If you two are friends, why did you have us attack Ruby in the first place?"

"Well," he began, "I never realized that she was under his care as his assistant. When you told me about the school, I didn't quite place that it was, in fact, Mikogami's Academy. I guess my mind has been a little slippery lately. Anyway, I would like to apologize to everyone for my mistakes, and hope that we can learn to get along after all."

"Feh," Moka scoffed, "What do I care about some stupid mistake? My anger still burns and I intend to carry out my revenge."

Moka turned to face Maka, but before she could strike, Tsukune stepped between them.

"What are you doing Tsukune?" Moka asked, "Get out of my way."

"I think that's enough," he told her, "Why don't we all just try to stop fighting and maybe we could become friends."

"Friends?" she said, "Look Tsukune, you can't go around trying to make friends with everybody."

"I know," he answered, "But still, I think we should try to give peace a chance. I don't want you to get hurt, Moka. You mean too much to me. I can't go on without you."

Moka blushed when he said that. She walked up to him and pulled her arm back as if she were going to hit him. Instead, she took the rosary from his hand and walked away.

"I swear," she said, "You're so confusing."

She put the rosary around her neck and transformed back to her usual self. Tsukune caught her as she started to fall and he and Maka helped carry her back to the school.

Later that day, the buses back to the human world arrived to carry the DWMA students back through the barrier. Tsukune and his friends came to see them off.

"It's sad really," Maka said, "If only we'd met under different circumstances, we might have been able to be great friends."

"It's not too late," Moka assured her, "I'm sure we'll see each other again sometime. We can even write to each other if you want."

"Yeah," Maka agreed, "That would be great."

"All right you kids," the bus driver told them, "We'd better get going. The headmaster is going to open a pathway through the Great Barrier so you can get through again, so we have to be there when it opens."

"Well," Maka said to her new friends, "I guess this is goodbye."

"Have a safe trip," Moka called as they boarded the bus, "Hope we'll see each other again sometime."

Maka and Soul took their seats together near their friends. Everyone was talking about how great the Yokai group was when they weren't trying to kill them.

"You know," Soul told his partner, "When they're not fighting us all the time, they're really not half bad."

"Yeah," Maka agreed, "I think they'll be just fine."

"And how about us?" he asked.

Maka held her partner's hand tightly and said, "I think we'll be just fine too."

The buses headed back into the tunnel to the Human World. When the buses disappeared, everyone went back to the Academy talking about their new friends. Tsukune and Moka stood behind a while.

"All's well that ends well, I guess," Moka said, "We may not have gotten to a great start, but I think we can be great friends."

"I agree," Tsukune told her, "I really do look forward to when we can see each other again."

"Now that everything's calmed down," Moka added, "I'm starting to feel really thirsty again."

"Wait," Tsukune started, "You don't mean…?"

CHOMP! Sluuuuuurp…