Gaaaahhhh I am sooo sorry if you are reading this and have been following me all the way through. I am a horrible person to delay this so increadibly long, especially when I promised a swift entry on the last chapter! I really am sorry and I hope you forgive me after you read this last and final chapter. It is set about 7 years into the future and is based on what would happen after they defeated the Earl and all the other evil felons in DGM. I had actually created most of this a few weeks after my last release, but I got stuck on what I wanted to do and how to continue and school (I can go on with excuses, but you see the point). I know I was always so careful to keep my fanfic as if it could be possible by screwing with the main plot line as little as possible. This ending was nearly impossible to create by doing such (such as all the crap going on with Kanda) so please disregard any differences from the time skip the original creator of -Man, Katsura Hoshino created, as I could not possibly keep to that plot, considering how confused I still am about it.
Regardless, please enjoy, and again, I apologize for my tardiness. (And possible grammatical errors)
"How many years has it been, sister? So much has happened since you passed. I don't know where to start. I've really grown up since we were kids, I've really matured. Maybe it's because my baby of a husband forces me to be the adult one. Either way… I'm sorry we don't visit you very often; it's been hard since we've moved to Transylvania. I'm sure you're not lonely though, you lay with so many companions, I'm almost jealous." A slender hand smeared a few stray tears across her face. "Ves and Tim, that's my kids' names. Yes, I did name my eldest after you, and she resembles you so well, too. I named my youngest, Tim, after that funny little golem that was always stalking Allen. It seems silly, but the boy eats as much as Tim and Allen combined. He's still a baby though so I'm excited to see if his appetite calms down once he's grown. What else?"
The smooth surface of the gravestone tingled her fingers as she slid them along its exterior. "I own a flower shop now! Can you believe it? I would have thought it to be boring but it's not all that bad, plus I can go out whenever I want, being my own boss as it is. I don't have to worry about money because of the orders generous contributions to all its workers. Guess all that money going into making us more effective in war became useless after it ended."
"Alexandreina!" A deep voice trickled into her ears. Shrill laughter sounded from the base of the hill as two children came bounding up it. The girl, aged around 5 was the spitting image of Vasilisa, her short purple locks bouncing as she ran. As always, Tims' hand was locked in hers. The tiny boy with platinum blonde hair, the likes his parents had no idea were came from, and cute chubby cheeks waddled up the hill, half dragged by his excited older sister.
"looks like I have to go, sister. Life is calling, and as much as I wish you could join me, I know I must move on. I love you." Alexandreina smiled at the gravestone and then ran to her kids, scooping the youngest up in her arms and twirled him around, letting his giggles fill the air.
As the three descended the hill, the father stepped up to the grave, placing a large bouquet of flowers at the base. "Vasilisa, thank you very much for your efforts in that last war. I know you weren't the biggest fan of it, but you gave it your all for your sister, and in the end, when it was yours or her life that was to be given…" Crowley worked on holding back his sobs, promising himself he would not go back to his pathetic ways. "Thank you for your sacrifice. I would have never known love again if Alexandreina had died. If you hadn't disabled your sister and ran after the Noah yourself, she would have been the one six feet under. So one last time, I thank you, for your heroic efforts."
Crowley wiped his eyes until they were clear of tears, but still held a glossy shine. He bowed his head in respects and then followed his wife, ready to take the long road back to his home, their home.
"You had better be almost ready, Kanda, or I'm going to have to come up there and lay a beating on you!" Seraphina waited for a few seconds and then stomped up the old steps leading to her husbands' quarters. Without hesitation, she kicked the door in. To her bemusement, Li, her son, was standing on the bed, fixing her fuming husbands tie.
"Mommy!" The boy cried out, abandoning his embarrassed father's side to give her a big hug.
"Now what is this?" She asked, rubbing the boys head and glancing at the father. "A grown man doesn't even know how to dress a tie?" Li's amused giggles darkened his fathers face further. "Come on; let me show you how it's done." Seraphina shooed her son from the room and grabbed hold of Kanda's tie, looping it around into a professional knot. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She teased the man, pleased with his pissed off face.
"Che." Was his answer.
"We had better leave or Komui might barge in with some crazy invention, worried why we weren't at his place." Seraphina smiled.
Kanda grunted. "He can wait." He grabbed her back and tugged her closer to him.
"What happened to the aloof guy I always knew?" Seraphina giggled, tugging harder on Kanda's tie.
"Shut up." He growled, lowering his lips onto hers. "How's your stomach?" Kanda lowered his eyes to Seraphina's belly, its roundness growing bigger by the day.
"It's good." She slid her hands over the bulge. "Sometimes I think it's practicing with one of your swords, but it's calm right now." Kanda attempted a smile and slipped his fingers through her long wavy blonde hair.
"I'm serious now, we have to leave. I'm not going to risk our house getting destroyed, again." Seraphina gave Kanda a slight push and went to retrieve their son.
"Dinner time!" Sarra sang, peering down the long English style hallway. Soft piano music echoed from the living room, directing her to where he was.
"Allen, it's going to get cold." She scolded the man, his lengthened snow hair tied back.
"Sorry, love." The music stopped and Allen drifted over to Sarra, the smell of fresh food urging him on.
"Don't you ever get tired of playing the same song over and over again?" She asked, her eyes locked on the piano.
"Not really, besides, the fact I was able to play that piece on the ark so many years ago allowed me to help defeat the Earl." He passed her, heading for the food in the kitchen.
Sarra twirled a piece of her straight brown hair on her finger, contemplating his answer.
"I guess so." She shrugged, turning and heading back to join him for dinner.
"Seraphina's having another baby. Sarra commented, holding up a neatly folded letter.
"That's nice." Allen said through his teeth.
"I know you can't imagine anyone loving Kanda, but I still think we should go visit them."
"Yes, and now that I'm taller, he won't be able to call me bean sprout anymore!"
Sarra burst Allens bubble when she stated. "I still think he's going to call you that, regardless of how tall you are."
"Then I'll just have to challenge him to a game of poker, I've kept my skills up so it should still be easy in defeating him." Horns grew on Allens head and Sarra tried not to envision what he was thinking.
"Friends!" Komui's bear hug was interrupted by a sharp glint of mettle resting against his neck.
"Enough, Kanda." Seraphina growled, tugging on her husbands arm roughly. Li was enjoying the show, clapping and laughing.
"I see you're as testy as ever, Kanda." Lenalee stepped out from the next room, her long black hair following her movements as she crossed the room.
"Aunty Lenlee!" Li cried, running up to her in all his youthful vibrancy, giving her a giant toothy grin.
"I see you're doing well, Li!" Lenalee smiled, hoisting him up to give him a kiss.
"Lenalee, I see you are doing well." Seraphina abandoned her husbands arm to collect Lenalees'.
"Yes, it's been nice and peaceful here, just like it used to be." Lenalee chuckled as Li pulled at her arm to regain her attention.
"Miss Lenlee, is my favourite person coming?" Li asked excitedly.
"Yes, I believe he is. Lenalee smiled, ruffling the boys hair. In a few days, everyone will be here."
"Are you serious?" Seraphina gasped. "Everyone?"
"It wouldn't be a reunion without them, now would it?" Lenalee placed the boy back on her hip and grabbed Seraphina's hand. "Come now, you will stay here tonight, and help me prepare. People should be arriving by tomorrow. It's been hard getting a hold of everyone, but I'm sure it will be worth it."
Seraphina beamed. "I can't believe it. It's been years since I've seen everybody…"
"LIKE HELL."
"Oh good, Komui has told Kanda." Lenalee giggled.
"Seraphina, we are leaving. I refuse to see that ba-" Lenalee quickly covered Li's ears before Kanda continued. "stards face ever again!"
"Oh calm down Kanda." Seraphina sighed. "You're acting like a child."
"We are leaving. NOW." Kanda turned to the door, ready to storm out.
"Have it your way." Seraphina grinned. "Just don't expect any company tonight."
"CHE." Kanda stormed past the girls, stomping up the stairs and into the room that was to be theirs the next few nights.
"You really know how to get him to cooperate." Lenalee gaped, dumbfounded.
"How else did you except me to live with him? He's like a Rottweiler. Once dominance is established, he's an obedient dog." Seraphina lifted her son from Lenalee's arms and left her with a wink, trailing after her fuming husband.
"Friends!"
"Eaugh!" Allen nearly flew out the door when Komui attacked him with a giant bear hug.
"Komui! It's been so long! How are you?" Sarra asked, a small British accent lining her speech.
"Fabulous!" Komui twirled in the entry hall, tears spewing from his eyes.
"Uh huh." Allen looked around for a friendly face.
"Allen!" Another hug, this time soft and warm, came from Lenalee, a large grin enveloping her face.
"Hey, isn't that hug lasting a little too long?" Sarra asked, veins pulsing in her clenched fists.
"Sarra!" Lenalee broke her hug with Allen to tackle her old friend.
"It's been a while, hasn't it." Sarra smiled, accepting the hug.
"Sarra!" Seraphina's voice trilled from the stairs, her rounded figure leeping out to join the growing crowd.
"How were your travels? I heard you and Allen went all over the world!" Seraphina pressed, excited for some new stories.
"Oh they were wonderful!" Sarra gushed. "There's nothing like admiring architecture without worrying when the next Akuma's going to show up!"
Lenalee smiled and ushered the crowd inside, arranging the dining room table for dinner. As the group got seated, large thumps sounded down the stairs, and an enraged Kanda appeared with Li in tow, wailing his head off.
"Here." He growled, nearly throwing the kid at Seraphina, who quickly cooed him into silence. Kanda slumped into his chair, moving it ninety degrees to the left to face his wife completely, and abolish all sight of Allen, who sat two seats to his right, separated by an uneasy Sarra.
"Good to see you, Kanda." Allen chirped, prickles edging into his voice.
Seraphina nudged Kanda, giving him her best death glare until he forfeited, giving Allen a half nod in his direction and a grumbled "Che."
Allen shrugged and looked around the table at his friends. "So who else is coming?"
Before anyone could answer, however, Komui's poor door flew down the hall, greeted by a deafening thud that sent Li reeling back in sobs.
"I'm going to kill the person that did that!" Kanda roared, jumping up from his seat only to be put in a sleepers hold by Seraphina.
"We're here!" Alexandreina echoed down the hall, skipping in with her two children in each hand and husband slinking behind her. "Sorry we're late! Tim needed like twenty three food stops and double that in diaper stations! It took a while." She giggled, squeezing her sons hand affectionately.
"It's so nice to see you again!" Lenalee squealed, moving to greet the newcomers. "You're just in time for dinner!"
Tim squealed in delight, clapping his hands excitedly. "Yeah, he seems to be happy about that." Alexandreina smiled, taking a seat next to Komui. Crowley gave Lenalee's hand a tentative shake and followed his wife to his seat.
"This means we're only missing Mizuki, and Lavi, I believe. Lenalee counted, reviewing the group before her.
"Lavi's just trying to create a dramatic entrance." Allen joked.
"I don't think anyone could beat Alexandreina's." Sarra corrected him, nodding at the badly damaged door. Allen nodded in approval.
"Ok, so we have sushi, dumplings, rice, soup, and chicken teriyaki." Lenalee smiled, bringing out the dishes.
Allen instantly pounced on the food, quickly pulled back by Sarra as the rations dwindled.
Lenalee laughed, waving an irritated Sarra off and quickly returned to the kitchen to bring out more food. "I had a feeling he'd still have that appetite." She giggled.
Alexandreina's son, Tim, looked at Allen in awe, before grabbing a portion nearly his entire body weight.
Lenalee showed the couples to their rooms, Alexandreina, Crowley and her children on the far left down the hall, Allen and Sarra beside them, and Seraphina Kanda and Li at the end on the right. They took Komui's room, leaving the distraught man to the couch.
The knock came at midnight, instantly alerting the group. They'd never really gotten used to the peace and quiet following the defeat of the Noah's, so a loud rap on the door easily set the sleepers hairs on end.
Komui was the first to reach the door seeing as he was sleeping on the couch. As the rest of the ex-exorcists filed down the stairs, raucous laughter filled the house. Lavi burst through the door, fallowed by a giggling Mizuki.
"What's so funny?" Allen inquired, joining the laughing man at the front.
Lavi waved at him between gasps. "Inside. Joke."
Mizuki nodded, clutching her sides.
Lenalee sighed, pushing to the front. "Are you two hungry at all? You must have had a long day of travel if you're getting in at this time of night."
Mizuki shook her head. "Nah, we stopped off at a bar before coming here. He had the old women serving us drinks hitting on him." She stopped to take a few breathes before continuing; "Guess I'm just too young for him!"
Lavi burst into another lapse of laughter, gasping and holding his sides. Mizuki nearly shoved him inside as Komui tentatively shut the still damaged door behind them.
"Ok ok, well I may as well show you to your room then-" Lenalee was cut off by Mizuki.
"Oh sorry Lenalee, we'll be needing separate rooms, you see, he gave the barmaid your address, and I don't doubt she'll be along in a short while." Mizuki grinned devilishly as Lavi crumpled to the floor, his laughter becoming silent wheezing gasps. Lenalee huffed but returned a polite smile before gesturing for them to follow her upstairs. The rest of the Exorcists that had bothered to greet the two late-comers quickly returned to their rooms, less then happy.
Komui and Mizuki shoved Lavi up the stairs, as he seemed no longer able to stand between his obvious intoxication and continued spurts of laughter. Lenalee showed them to their room, where the two promptly shoved Lavi onto the mattress where he nearly instantly fell asleep. Mizuki thanked the two and apologized a few times before shutting the door to their room and joining her partner on their mattress.
Breakfast was hectic, as the dining table barely held three quarters of the attendants, and each had to sit elbow to elbow with each other. Lenalee chatted with Mizuki about their travels, Lavi having taken up the "family business."
"It's actually pretty fun." Mizuki remarked. "Lots of action, of course we aren't aloud to meddle in things, but at least we get to have some fun." Lenalee nodded and chuckled, admiring Mizuki's continued thirst for adventure.
The group quickly scarffed back the delicious meal and Lenalee, followed by a begrudged Komui cleared the table and began cleaning the dishes.
As the group settled into familiar banter, Lavi shouting jokes, many at Kanda's expense, a slight rumble echoed through the floorboards. Li looked down from his position on the floor next to Ves. A frightened whine escaped his lips though Ves merely jumped up and down crying "boom!"
As the rumbling grew louder, the adults began to notice.
"Is there some sort of construction going on around here, Komui?" Allen asked, looking out the nearby window into the soft fields surrounding the quaint house.
"No, why do you ask?" Komui shouted over the running water.
Another rumble shook the floor, this time much louder, sending Ves tumbling to the ground. Li was now bursting into loud sobs, running over to his mother. Allen kneeled down and cupped his ear to the floor, listening for another sound to give him an inkling of what the mysterious noise belonged to.
"Hey Komui, do you feel that?" Lenalee stopped scrubbing the plate in her hands and listened hard. Before Komui could answer, another loud rumbling sounded, growing steadily louder.
"Ah, no, it couldn't be. I locked him up tight." Komui frowned in concentration, listening to the metal grinding sounding right below their feet.
"What did you put in the basement?" Lenalee demanded, stripping off her gloves and moving to the basement door.
"Ah, that may not be the wisest move." Komui grabbed her back from the door as the house gave another giant shudder and suddenly the basement door was cracking open, an angry red light pouring from the cracks.
"Everyone get back!" Allen and Komui yelled at the same time. Komui dived back into the kitchen with Lenalee in tow. Alexandreina and Crowley scooped up their children and Seraphina held Li as tight as she could against her bulging stomach.
The red light continued to grow until a great thundering erupted and the door along with part of the wall separating the concealed stairs from the hall way exploded into splinters that flew past and rained down upon the surprised visitors.
A Giant form forced its way through the debris, pushing itself to half its full height where it came in contact with the ceiling which gave a quake as the monsters frame challenged the structure of the house.
"Komui!" Kanda snarled, staring up at the all too familiar figure.
"I made it so long ago, and I didn't have the heart to destroy it!" Komui whined from the doorway where he cowered.
"That isn't what I think it is, is it?" Sarra gasped as they gaped at the struggling machine.
"Komurin." Mizuki whispered, anticipation and a hint of excitement lighting her eyes.
"Actually." Komui cleared his throat, inching his way from the doorway slightly. "It's Komurin 6.5." A watery smile made its way to his face as he peered up at his precious creation.
"6.5?" Sarra asked, confused about the choice of numbering. "Wasn't number six smashed to pieces by Alexandreina all those years ago?"
"Yes," Komui murmured, sending black glances to the girl standing beside her already quaking husband. "But I managed to scrounge up some of the pieces and rebuild him, just like Frankenstein's monster!"
"Interesting reference." Seraphina remarked, looking up at the alternate patches of metal holding the suggested monster together.
"But why does it look like it's ready to squish us flat? We didn't spill any coffee or anything, did we?" Sarra squeaked, looking back at the disrupted table.
"It must be mad at it's creator for leaving it all by its lonesome for so long!" Komui cried, flinging his arms outwards dramatically.
"So that means if we give you to it, it will go back into its cage like a fed lion?" Seraphina jibed, earning an approving look from Kanda.
"That's not funny." Lenalee interjected, giving the two a disapproving look that melted into a harsh glare when turned towards her brother. "How could you keep that thing here, when you knew it could blow up the house at any point in time? How did you expect us to destroy it without our innocence?"
Komui cowered away from his sisters demands. "We don't have to destroy him! He's just lonely! His feelings are probably hurt because we didn't invite him to the party!"
"Feelings?" Kanda scoffed before yanking out the katana he almost never parted with. "Che, I'll just slice IT to pieces before it can do any more damage."
At this Komui flew in front of the giant robot, wailing in a high-pitched girly way that even made Li hesitate questioningly between his rolling sobs. "No!" He screamed, throwing his arms out defensively to protect the massive creature. "You can't hurt him! He's already been through so much! If you want to hurt him, you'll have to go through me!" He added challengingly.
Kanda and Seraphina cracked identical smiles at this before Kanda replied icily with "Gladly." He lunged towards the hulk of metal and shaking man before being tugged back by Allen and Sarra.
"I understand your anger," Allen started
"But you can't hurt the host of this party," Sarra continued
"No matter how much he deserves it." Allen finished, glancing towards the sobbing man.
Kanda was about to argue when the robot successfully crunched its way through the ceiling, forcing large chunks of debris to rain down on the ex-exorcists' heads. Kanda jumped back to shield his wife and son from the chunks of ceiling falling around them, while Krowley swiped his children up under his large frame. Alexandreina danced merrily around the chunky rain, excited with all the action.
Allen pulled Sarra back as the largest chunks of ceiling fell around the beast. He twirled her around and covered her in a shielding embrace that made her blush wildly. Timcampy flew over him, trying its best to shield him as well.
Komui managed to jump out of the way as the greater chunks of the ceiling crashed to the floor. He ran back to his hiding-place behind the doorway leading to the kitchen.
The metal robot swivelled its head around, assessing the surrounding area. Before anyone could react, the doors to a compartment in its centre swung open, revealing an arsenal of various anti-Akuma weapons as well as first aid supplies. Hands sprung from the surrounding area on its body and began pulling out various objects. One of the hands that grabbed a spool of gauze shook the material out and fashioned a lasso out of it.
"Get ready!" Lavi yelled out, jumping onto the table and whipping out a medium sized hammer he carried around for old times sake.
The machine started to hum, its giant arms progressing towards its targets. Kanda, patient as ever, lunged for the robots closest arm, hacking it straight off.
And so started the war between ex-exorcists and Komurin 6.5.
Lavi launched himself up onto one of the attacking arms, running up it to the beast itself. Mizuki grabbed a kitchen knife and started sparring with said arm to hold it still as Lavi hurdled towards the robot. Once he got close enough, he used all his momentum to drive his hammer into the fragile stitching of the mismatched metal. The resulting dent was impressive, but nothing like what he'd been used to when he had his innocence. He took another swing at it, but found his arm suspended in the air, held back by a thin strip of gauze that began winding itself down his arm.
"Gyah!" Lavi cried out, grabbing at the sticky sheet that was progressively taking over his arm.
"Lavi!" Allen called underneath the arm Lavi stood on. He'd dodged the attacking hands to land a solid punch on the robots underbelly. He too seemed to be disappointed with the results and before Lavi's outburst had been silently reminiscing about the times he could have taken it down with one blow. He now began climbing towards his friend, but turned his back on him when he heard a sudden whooshing closing in on him. He was given no time to react before he was pinned to the body of the giant with an enormous band-aid.
"Allen!" Sarra cried out, running towards her partner. A giant hand side swiped her, sending her flying into the wall on the other side of the room.
"Sarra!" Allen screamed, struggling against the sticky grip of the band-aid.
Sarra shook her head, taking a few steps forwards before leaning into the side of Krowley, who was still shielding his children, as she tried to make the world stop spinning.
Allen blew a sigh of relief when Sarra recovered from the blow, but continued to struggle against his bonds when he noticed Lavi being further consumed by the thin white strips.
"Hold on Lavi!" Mizuki cried as she pierced the hand she had been struggling with through, effectively pinning it to the table. She then began her assent to save her useless boyfriend.
"Krowley! Get the kids out of here! I've been itching for a good fight!" Alexandreina shrieked with delight. Krowley gave her one watery glance before sweeping up their children and bounding out the back door, Ves's wails of protest echoing behind them.
"You go too." Kanda growled to Seraphina. He was battling three hands, two of which where holding big metal syringes, and one carrying what looked to be a giant pair of tweezers.
"Like hell am I going to stand back like a helpless little girl while you go off and fight with the team!" Seraphina snarled back at him. "How about you take Li back with Krowley and I'll fight with everyone!"
Kanda gave her a look of disbelief and malice. "You're PREGNANT!" He shouted, gesturing to her stomach before turning back to disarm one of the attacking hands.
"So?" Seraphina cried stubbornly. "You never seemed to care before whe-" She was cut off by Kandas lips crushing aggressively onto her own, making her gasp in annoyed surprise.
"Don't you dare say I don't care." Kanda growled furiously. "Now you take the only three people I care for in this world and get to safety." He then gave his dumb-struck wife a good shove towards the back door and turned back to the remaining two hands.
"Kanda and Seraphina sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N- Gyahh! Alexandreina dodged a dislodged hand that had flown towards her from Kanda's seething grip.
"Hey now, you two, play fair." Mizuki chuckled as she attempted to pry the bandages off Lavi's writhing form.
Alexandreina stuck out her tongue to the scowling man and continued her merry way of destruction, flinging a pair of heavy pliers one of the hands had dropped into the opening in the robots front. Steam began pouring out of the hole accompanied by a metal grating sound, suggesting she had hit some of the giants' inner workings. The giants head began to swivel around erratically and its hands became more aggressive, several more sprouting out of its body.
"Great work, Alexandreina! You just made it madder!" Mizuki shouted at her before she found herself clamped in a tight embrace by one of the larger hands.
By this time Lavi's entire body had become consumed by the bandages and the hand controlling them slowly began reeling him into the robots open middle.
"Something about this scenario seems oddly familiar." Komui pondered aloud as he watched the struggle. He quickly lost his train of thought when he turned to see his darling Lenalee locked in a struggle against a hand wielding a wooden bat. He rushed into the kitchen, grabbing a bucket of water before returning to find her progressively kicking the shit out of the now disarmed hand. Once she'd made sure the hand would not resurrect itself, she leapt into action to help the others. Komui chucked the water over the hand for good measure before following her, turning back to see the near dead hand erupt into fits of spastic electrical seizures, sparks flying wildly from it.
Mizuki was now expelling a high-pitched scream as she clawed at the hand that dragged her towards the open doors of the robot, who had already consumed the bandaged Lavi.
Sarra had fashioned a makeshift slingshot from two salad tongs and her own elastic band and began flinging cutlery and anything she could find around her at the creature, making sure to keep her aim away from the still pinned Allen.
Just as the robot pulled Mizukis' last struggling limb inside it a loud explosion caused the giant to teeter forward, spilling half its innards beneath it. Mizuki, now free from the hand leapt up and resumed a fighting stance, looking around for the source of the explosion while Lavi inched helplessly on the ground like a caterpillar.
Another explosion sent the creature to its knees, giving the whole landing a giant quake. A small head popped up behind one of the massive beings shoulders.
"Hey guys." A young voice said in a conversational tone.
"That voice." Mizuki gaped.
"Eas?" Sarra asked, her tone one of utter surprise.
"Sorry I'm late." The voice sounded again. The head bobbed into view as she reached the base of the robots neck.
Out of all the ex-exorcists, Eas looked like she had changed the most. Instead of the short pigtails she had been known to sport in her youth, Eas' hair now hung in an incredibly loose braid that reached to her stomach. She wore light blue overalls that still seemed large for her slight frame. What caught the most attention, however, was the alignment of dynamite sticks strapped on a leather sash slung around her shoulder. She had an unlit match in her mouth which she quickly removed as the robot came back to life, swatting its giant arms in her direction. She jumped off the monsters shoulder just as its arm came down to swat where she once stood, and in mid air chucked a glowing stick of dynamite onto the rim that connected the giants' body with its neck. As she landed, dusting herself off, the stick exploded with a deafening blast that scorched half the robots shoulder and left a gaping hole in its neck.
"Eas!" Mizuki repeated Sarra's words with the same incredulous tone.
"Hi!" She replied cheerfully, walking over to the older female.
"Your, your," Mizuki seemed stuck on her sentence so she stopped, swallowed, before shouting out, "Your so bad-ass now!"
Snorts of laughter came from a number of the girls as Eas gave the girl an awkward hug, trying to keep the dynamite from pressing into Mizuki's nearly bare skin. The girl still seemed to like to flaunt what she had and Eas looked especially pleased that her friend had changed so little since the last time they'd seen each-other so long ago.
"What have you all been up to?" Eas asked curiously, looking around at the faces of her friends.
"Oh, nothing much, Seraphina's got a kid with Kanda, I know, ridiculous. Alexandreina has two with Krowley, Sarra and Allen still can't get their relationship figured out yet and Lavi and I have been wreaking havoc like usual. Oh and Komui created another Komurin as the entertainment for the night. From the looks of things he meant it to be some kind of piñata." Mizuki joked.
Eas's face gaped, her jaw going slack. As she reassembled herself, the first words she could think to say were "So Kanda and Seraphina can actually raise children."
Mizuki burst into laughter, patting Eas repeatedly on the shoulder, though now she was quite taller then she used to be, reaching now to Mizuki's chin so the pat was much more level then she had been used to. "At least you're still the same Eas on the inside. With that new look I almost didn't believe you were the same snotty nosed brat we all loved!" Eas's smile melted into a playful scowl and brushed Mizuki's hand away before giving way to a slow chuckle.
"I'd hate to break up the party," Kanda interjected. "But we still have unfinished business to attend to. Although if you two want to continue your tearful reunion outside, I can finish up in here."
"As cheerful as ever, I see." Eas laughed, taking out another two dynamite sticks before turning back to their opponent.
As the remaining members of the team lurched forwards to take on the teetering robot, a wretched scream made them jump back and turn to the kitchen, where Lenalee was running with a long green tube trailing after her and a wailing Komui, who kept grabbing at her loose sleeves.
"When I told you it's weakness I meant for you to only use it to protect yourself, not kill it!" Komui wailed, lunging over her to try to grasp onto the nozzle she held in her hand.
"Get off me, brother!" She demanded, shaking the wailing mass off her arm before turning the nozzle of the garden hose to a jet spray. "I'm finishing this before it wrecks any more of the house!" She made a motion for everyone to clear her path, and they just managed to jump back before a high velocity rush of water torpedoed into the robots now cavernous middle. For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, and the massive robot reached one of its enormous arms out to grab Lenalee. As the hand reached her though, the massive being gave a sudden shudder and sparks began spewing from its extensions. Black fumes billowing from its center competed with the spray until even the choking smoke was drowned by the intense volume of water.
As the seizures grew worse the machine slowly fell back into a kneeling position before smacking into the hardwood flooring with a hard thud that resonated throughout the entire house. Lenalee slowed the spray of the pressurized hose as the convulsing machine slowly became silent.
A hushed reached over the group of friends until Sarra's scream shattered the silence. The group was put back on high alert as Sarra rushed over to the mechanical being.
"Allen!" She gasped, trying to wrench her hands under the heavy mettle. "Allen can you hear me?"
The others slowly brought forth the image of Allen stuck to the breast plating of the robot, glued there by an oversized band-aid. They all then leapt into action, with the exception of Kanda who merely shrugged and walked off to rejoin his wife and kid in the backyard. The rest of the group began struggling to push up the heavy machine from the flooded floor.
As Sarra began sobbing hysterically, no longer able to put any more power into raising the dead weight of the machine, a worried voice sounded from the narrow hallway behind the being.
"Sarra?" Allen climbed over the leg of the massive robot, concern etched over his face. "Hey, what's wrong? It's just a robot; Komui can make another if you are that attached."
Mizuki smacked her for-head while Lenalee sighed with relief. Sarra, however, only turned into an even more hysterical mess, babbling incoherently before rushing to embrace the boy. He chuckled nervously and stroked her hair to try to calm her down.
"I, I" She sobbed, still only half coherent. Allen shushed her reassuringly and gave her a loving peck on the check. Finally she managed to reassert herself, tugging her blue blouse a little before looking into his eyes with her watery own and proclaiming; "I love you."
Allen looked at her in surprise. Silence fell over the group as he digested her words.
To help fill the awkward silence, Mizuki began clapping, slowly. "Congratulations! Only took you seven and a half years to finally tell him!" She cheered, receiving a piercing glare from the now tomato red Sarra.
While Mizuki was busy laughing at her own comment, Allen leaned down and whispered his response in Sarra's ear. "I love you, too." The colour of Sarra's face could be matched with a dark red cherry for how deep her blush was.
"But I don't understand." Lenalee burst the love bubble as she puzzled over the previous events. "How did you get behind Komurin? Weren't you strapped to it by that band-aid?"
Allen gave a devilish smile that suggested he had his ways, but merely shrugged and responded that the Band-aid lost its hold when the water drenched them and he quickly slid behind the robot as it tumbled forwards.
"My question," Mizuki pondered, " Is why was Komurin attacking us in the first place? It seemed almost like its main directive was to apprehend us, not kill us."
"I can answer that." Komui whispered, his breathing hitched. He was positioned awkwardly, embracing the side of the giant robots head, tears still streaming down his face. "Komurin 6.5 woke because there were so many ex-exorcists gathered. It thought you all needed your innocence fixed, seeing as its presence is no longer within you all."
"How the hell was it expecting to fix us?" Mizuki asked, freaked out by that train of thought.
"Mizukiiii" A muffled voice wailed near their feet. Mizuki looked down to see a tightly wrapped Lavi inching himself over to her.
"Oh, Lavi, I forgot all about you." Mizuki mused, watching the horror struck look on the bookman's face. She giggled and knelt down, planting a ripe kiss on his mouth before untying his binds.
So how did you know about this shindig, anyways, Eas?" Alexandreina queried as she straightened up from her crouch beside the hunk of metal formerly known as Komurin 6.5.
"Lets just say word travels fast when Komui is involved in preparations." Eas winked. "I'm sorry I haven't exactly kept in touch since I left after the last Akuma War, I hoped you'd understand, what with the issue with Tyki, I just couldn't stand going back to the order as I was."
"We understand." Lenalee smiled, moving to give Eas a warm embrace.
"That war was tough on all of us, and having to watch as your best friend got killed by your own innocence, well, let's just say no one blamed you for abandoning the order." Alexandreina continued. "Besides, it looks like it's done you well, where did you learn all those kick ass moves? You looked like a nutcase up on Komurin!"
Eas belted out a short laugh before giving a large shrug. "When I met back up with all my mining buddies, I learned a lot, like my attraction to explosives. I'm now one of the first women to become an explosives technician! Of course, it's not exactly fair since my references are so solid. Did you know you can do basically whatever you want when you have the government eternally in your debt?"
The group shuddered with laughter, giving Eas familiar slaps on the back. Soon the others came in to rejoin the group. The newcomer was introduced to all the children and became reacquainted with everyone's lives.
Kanda had chosen to become a teacher of the sword, which everyone found quite amusing, as the thought of Kanda being a teacher of any kind, let alone one he could channel his anger through his sword with was ridiculous. Seraphina had taken up writing in her spare time and even had a fictional book about a group of demon hunters that save the world from the devil with the use of holy weapons being published.
Sara explained that she had become a professional chef and co-owned a restaurant with the old orders chef Jerry. Allen had put his talents at Piano to good use and became a pianist, playing at various venues around Great Britain. All in all, everyone had found a calling outside their previous employment, and had moved on quite well. They still admitted to the occasional nightmare, or nervous twitch, which none of them really thought would ever leave them, anyways.
The group spent the evening both cleaning up what they could of the colossal mess the great robot had created, and catching up on everyone's life stories. The conversations lasted well into the next day before people started to peel off, exclaiming they had to continue on their way and that they would have to have another get together as soon as everyone was available again.
The group set off on their own paths, but would always keep a firm tie to the rest of the exorcist family, knowing they would never really be apart.
So the next chapter of their journeys began.
I know, I know, classic lame end line but I was tired and wanted ever so badly to wrap it up and I couldn't think of anything cooler except "The End" so yeah, don't hate me!
I hope I did the characters enough justice and fluff in the end, I really did enjoy creating this journey, and I am so stoked that I actually finished one. I'd like to thank everyone that stuck with it to the very end and put up with all my stupid lateness and such. I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter and had fun reading the story!
You are all amazing and I am so sad to have to end this, though it is a possibility that I may submit some oneshots revolving around the characters, that is if there is any interest in that, and if I have the time. I've been trying to finish another one of my fics, Mulan Momo, so that will now be my main priority.
Thanks again everyone!
~Fantasy Shadows