A.N - Hey!

So, there is one more chapter after this, which I guess can be inferred by the way this one ends; just preparing you. Oh, and there is one more "cameo" mention at the end of the chapter, Kid mentions...well, it's from Bleach; those fans will get it, as well as another mention of Karen and Miguel and Mario Santos (Bumblebee and Mas y Menos from "Teen Titans").

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or Soul Eater NOT, or any of the other franchises that I've taken cameo characters from.

Antonio stared at the body of his friend — or, the place where his body should be, the place where instead there was a glowing, floating, purple thing that had a face vaguely resembling Franky. The blue-haired swordsman who had attacked Franky while hidden by the smoke bomb walked over to the floating thing and actually grabbed it in his hand, and then appeared to talk to the blade in his hand,

"Well, Tsubaki, you want it?"

There was a flash of light, and then a black haired young woman was standing next to the swordsman. She took the glowing ball from the swordsman and studied it for a while. Finally, she nodded, then opened her mouth, and swallowed the ball whole.

"Kinda spicy," she commented; she was the woman whose voice Antonio heard outside the vault door. The wheels spinning in his head, pushing through the veil of shock, Antonio put together this woman, what she'd just done, and the fact there was no longer a sword in the swordsman's hand.

The woman was a Demon Weapon. Which meant the thing she had just swallowed was a soul — Franky's soul. He was not just disappeared, he was dead.

Grief crashed into Antonio like a wave, causng him to physically tremble and begin heaving. Franky, his Frank, his best friend, dead? Gone forever? It couldn't be! They'd grown up together, living right across the hall from each other in an apartment complex, developing a bond as tight as brothers. There was nowhere Antonio wouldn't go and nothing he wouldn't do for Franky, but now, when it had mattered the most, he had failed him.

No. There was still something he could do. Antonio squeezed the barrel of his gun once, knuckles going white on it, before he raised the gun and aimed it at the Weapon-Meister pair. "You b*stards!" he screamed. "How dare you! Frank was like a brother to me! How dare you!"

The two turned his way just in time to dodge his bullets, jumping away to the sides. The woman looked towards her partner, possibly waiting for a signal, but the man had only eyes for Antonio; he was glaring at him with immense disgust.

"You're one to talk," the swordsman growled. "You probably lounged around here sipping wine while our city burned! How many brothers and friends do you think we lost because of Franky? Not to mention our own Liz and Patti!"

Antonio snarled and fired some more rounds, walking closer as he did so. Rage was making him miss too easily, or maybe the swordsman was just too quick. Moving so fast Antonio could barely see him, the man zig-zagged until he was right in front of Antonio, and then struck his hand out into Antonio's stomach. A brief flash of light and something eletric in the air were his only warnings before intense pain shot through Antonio's body, sending him backwards and onto the floor.

Antonio lay there, groaning, while the swordsman walked over to him, his face a stony mask. "If only you were on Kid's list," he said in a threatening tone. "How you managed to stay on enough of ths side of normal human, I don't know, but I for one thing think you should go the same way as your boss."

Straining with all his might, Antonio reached for Franky's gun that was lying on the floor newr him. He almost had it, but then it was sent swiftly scittering across the room, far out of his reach. It was the woman, who was looking down at him with a slightly less angry look in her eyes.

"I understand what it's like to lose a brother," she said softly. "But no matter the reason, I won't let you hurt my meister."

Antonio looked up at her, then over at her partner. He closed his eyes then, and got halfway through a Requiem Aeternam before unconsciousness took him.

...

Maka took one look at the Black*Star-shaped dent in the bunker floor and sighed, half wanting to give him a Maka Chop.

Not that she cared about the destruction of property, because it all belonged to Scafidi, and was an eyesore in the neighborhood anyway, but why did he still insist on being such an attention-crazed moron?

Soul chuckled as he drew near her. "Man, some thngs never change," he commented, before adding, "Even when they do." He then took her hand in his – not to change forms to fight, not to hurry her along when running for their lives, but just to be there.

"Yeah," she agreed, feeling a happy feeling in her chest. Life had been really good, up until Liz and Patti had disappeared. She had been at the top of her class (well, more like tied with Ox, but at least she was still ahead of Harvar) moving towards a degree that would allow her to teach at the Academy; she was still battling Madness and saving the world with her friends; and she and her best friend and partner Soul had, after a few awkward conversations, advice from Blair, and getting locked in the closet together by Liz, Patti, and Black*Star, become a couple. Of course, the only catch in her perfect life was the absence of Crona, who was still stuck on the moon despite Maka's best efforts. Kid had offered to do what his father had and use his soul to bind Asura so Crona didn't have to, so Maka knew Crona could be rescued without threatening the world again. She just had to figure out a few more things and even if it took her whole life, she would being Crona back home, just as she'd promised.

Her frustration and sorrow over Crona's situation was probably what had caused her to be so initially upset with Kid when she thought he wasn't doing enough for Liz and Patti; she'd been devastated at the disappearance of two more friends, and felt helpless all over again. But now, the nightmare was over. Liz and Patti were back, and Maka knew, now, exactly what Kid had done for them. There was no reason for her to have doubted his loyalty to the girls, and she silently vowed she never would again.

Kid, unaware of Maka's thoughts, stepped past her into the bunker where Black*Star and Tsubaki were waiting. A quick scan told him they were unharmed, and in truth he had expected them to be; without a witch to help him and no bombs to use as blackmail, Franky should have been no problem. The meister and Weapon pair were chatting away, apparently unconcerned about the unconscious man lying by Tsubaki's feet; Kid looked at his soul and saw that he was Antonio Lombardi, Franky's best friend and right hand man. Despite his anger at Franky and everything associated with him, Kid knew that Antonio didn't belong on his list, not yet.

Tsubaki looked up then and saw him – more importantly, she saw Liz and Patti walking beside him. The Demon Shadow Weapon's eyes grew large, her face broke into a grin, and she rushed forward, squealing, "Liz, Patti! Oh, thank goodness!" She then hugged each woman.

"If this is everybody's reaction, maybe we should go away more often," Liz joked. Kid sent her a withering glare, and Patti and Tsubaki shook their heads.

"Too soon, Liz," Kid scolded. She gave a weak chuckle in response, but nodding, accepting their reactions.

"Yeah, Liz! Why would you wanna be deprived of my awesome presence any more than you've had to?" Black*Star added, grinning as he high-fived Patti and low-fived Liz.

"Yeah, well –" Liz started to answer, but then a noise in the corner was heard, causing everyone to look. A young man with blond hair and blue eyes lurched forward, eyes wary, looking like he wanted to run. He looked the group over until he saw the Thompsons, and some of the tension melted from his body.

"Liz, Patti," he said, reaching for them. "You're –"

Kid moved in front of his partners, giving the youth a look that was just a notch or two below his Death glare. The blond wilted.

Liz and Patti, however, stepped out from behind their meister. "Kid, no, it's alright!" Liz exclaimed.

"This is Jason. He helped us against Franky. Or tried to, at least," Patti added.

Kid side-glanced his partners, then took a closer look at Jason's soul. Jason Atlee, 24 years old, the only still living member of his family, and, most importantly, not even close to being on Kid's list.

"He helped us out, too, Kid," Black*Star added, which finally made Kid relax his stance and move back, allowing the still-terrified Jason some room.

He cautiously moved his gaze from Kid to the Thompsons. "I'm glad you guys are alright," he said quietly. The girls grabbed both his arms and pulled him close.

"We're glad you are," Liz told him. Patti turned to Kid and said,

"So, Kid, we kinda told Jason that you wouldn't be mad at him if we put in a good word for him. And that maybe he could come back to Death City with us." Leaving one arm on Jason's, she reached out to Kid, bringing him closer and forming a quartet.

Kid blinked and looked between Jason and his partners, earnest looks on all their faces. Well, Liz and Patti's word was good enough for him, and so was Black*Star and Tsubaki's; besides that, Kid could see with his own eyes that Jason cared about the Thompsons and seemed to have no love for Franky, or Antonio, still lying unconscious on the floor. A minute's more contemplation, and he finally nodded.

"Okay," Kid said. "Okay, he can come back with us." The Thompsons' and Jason's faces broke into smiles. Kid took another glance around the room, and then reached out with his soul, seeing who of Franky's men was still around. Not many, but regardless, he would have to send in a clean-up crew – under Karen and the Santos twins, perhaps, or Rukia Kuichiki and her partner – and report to the New York Police Department. But those things could be done over the phone, or through the mirror, rather. Kid had no desire to stay here in Brooklyn any longer, and he suspected his friends would agree.

"But now that that's decided," he began, "I'd really like to leave now." His words were for everyone, but he was looking at his partners. "What do you say we go home now?"

Liz and Patti's smiles grew larger, ifthat was possible, as Maka, Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki expressed their agreement.

"Sounds great to me!" Patti chirped.

"I've been waiting to hear that since day one," said Liz.

Kid nodded. "Well, then let's go home."