"Is anyone there?! Anyone?!" screamed Kantoku over his radio, "Prisoners from every sector are breaking out! It's mass chaos!" 

"Sir! The prisoners have moved to the maximum-security ward!" yelled one of Kantoku's men. 

"S-Shit!" yelled Kantoku, "Where's our backup?!" 

"On the way, sir!" yelled Kantoku's employee. 

____________________________________

Asia had seen death since joining the Gremory Peerage, but she had never seen anything like this. 

The entire facility was on fire with fighting, yelling, and screaming being heard from outside. 

"T-Those... Those people are on fire..." stuttered Asia in disbelief.

She watched as burning people would occasionally drop from the windows of the prison, hitting the ground below with a sickening thud. 

The smell of smoke and flesh pierced their noses harder than any holy weapon could. 

"We're going in," said Rias. 

The obviously uncomfortable Gremory Peerage tried to steel themselves as they prepared to move in. 

"Split into groups. Our mission is to provide backup for the forces inside the prison," said Rias, "We've been told to apprehend whoever we can, but if push comes to shove..." 

"We understand," finished Issei.

The Peerage split up into groups and made their way inside the prison. 

Koneko, Gasper, and Kiba maneuvered their way through the prison until the came across a group of people with the standard prison jumpsuit on. 

They stood over the bloodied and bruised bodies of a few guards. 

"Surrender yourselves!" yelled Kiba, drawing his sword.  

"Surrender?" laughed one of the inmates, "No way! The party's just started! Get 'em!" 

The prisoners attacked the group, but Koneko and Kiba were quick to subdue them. 

Gasper, however, stood behind and didn't fight. 

An inmate, armed with a knife, lunged towards Kiba, but he was able to block it with his sword and slashed the prisoner in the leg, stopping him in his tracks. 

"Right... Let's move," said Koneko, "We've got a lot of ground to cover." 

Koneko and Kiba ran off with Gasper close behind. Though, Gasper couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the men on the floor. 

"Koneko?" asked Gasper in his usually sheepish manner, "I know I'm not doing a lot of the fighting, but if I have to..." 

"If it comes to that, then just remember what we taught you," finished Koneko, "You may not be able to tap into the Forbidden Balor power at will, but the things that Xenovia and I taught you should come in handy." 

"Speak of the devil..." said Kiba as the came upon another group of escapees. 

"Who the hell are these guys?" asked one of the prisoners. 

"Who gives a damn? Let's kill 'em!" yelled another. 

"Surrender yourselves or face the consequences!" yelled Kiba.

"Surrender?" one of the prisoners laughed, "You've gotta be joking! Take a look around! This whole place has gone to shit! There's no one stopping us now!" 

"Not if we can help it!" yelled Kiba. 

The inmates and the members of the Gremory Peerage clashed, while Gasper watched them fight. 

"I should help!" Gasper thought, "But I'd only get in the way..." 

"Now what do we have here..." said a voice from behind him. 

Gasper turned around to see a prisoner, much larger than himself, standing there. 

"You look mighty fine, don't you?" the prisoner said. 

"S-Stay away from me!" Gasper stuttered as he tried to retreat. 

The much larger prisoner grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the air. 

"It would be nice to bring you back home and cut you all up, wouldn't it?" 

"Let me go!" Gasper screamed. 

He could hear Koneko behind him, yelling for him and trying to get to him, but she was preoccupied with trying to defend herself. 

"You're coming with me..." said the prisoner. 

"No! Let me go!" screamed Gasper again. 

The shadows behind the prisoner began to swirl and take shape. It formed into razor-sharp needles and pierced the prisoner through the stomach and chest. 

He dropped Gasper to the floor as he bled out on the ground. 

He scurried back as Koneko and Kiba defeated the last of the prisoners. 

"Gasper! Are you okay?!" asked Koneko.

"I-I've just killed someone..." muttered Gasper in disbelief. He watched the crimson pool expand on the ground as a metallic stench flowed through the air. 

"We have to go!" said Kiba. 

"Come on, Gasper!" yelled Koneko. 

"H-How can you be okay with this?!" cried Gasper, "I'm a murderer! I'm no better than these people!" 

"Gasper!" yelled Koneko for a moment before softening her tone. 

"Ever since I've joined the Gremory Peerage, I've done somethings that I'm not particularly proud of... But what separates us from them..." whispered Koneko, "...Is what we fight for. While their actions are born out of selfishness and a desire to harm, ours are born from a desire to help and to do good. If we aren't willing to take action, then the people closest to us could get hurt." 

"Actions born from a desire to help..." muttered Gasper as he ran off with Koneko and Kiba, side-by-side.

____________________________________

Gasper Vladi's new ability: Shadow Manipulation 

____________________________________

The prisoner below Rias disintegrated into nothingness as she advanced forward. 

Rias and Akeno cleared out a trove of prisoners after they attacked them. 

"How close are we to the control center?" asked Akeno. 

"Not too far," replied Rias, "It's just up ahead."  

When they arrived, they found the door to the control center already pried open. 

They rushed in to see a gruesome sight: Everyone in the control center was dead, including Kantoku.

"He was my brother's friend..." lamented Rias as she kneeled beside the body of Kantoku, "How could this have happened?" 

"R-Rias..." stuttered Akeno, "The maximum-security prisoners..." 

Rias froze. She already knew what that meant. 

"H-He's..." stuttered Akeno, "I-It's..." 

"Akeno..." muttered Rias. 

"After all this time..." 

"Akeno," said Rias, louder this time. 

"Can't we do something? Anything?" 

"Akeno!" yelled Rias finally.

She turned to see Rias and saw the obvious discomfort in her eyes.

"As much as I want to go look for him... We have an obligation here..."

"R-Right..." muttered Akeno, "An obligation..." 

____________________________________

"Let him go!" commanded Issei. 

Xenovia, Issei, and Asia stood down Kira in the prison's burning courtyard. 

In his hand was a knife, and it was pressed up against the throat of a guard. 

"It doesn't have to end like this!" yelled Xenovia, gripping her sword just a bit tighter. 

"And let the fun end?" asked Kira, "I don't think so..." 

He edged the knife closer to the guard's neck, making it bleed and earning a fearful whimper from the rightfully scared guard. 

"Drop him, or else-" 

"Or else what?" Kira interrupted, "You'll kill me?" 

Using his trusty knife, Kira slashed the guard's throat, letting him collapse in a pool of blood. 

"You monster!" yelled Xenovia as she charged him. 

Kira laughed as he threw one of his many knives at her, but she swatted it away easily with her much bigger Durandal.  

Xenovia slashed at the murderer multiple times, but he was able to dodge her attacks. 

"He's fast!" thought Xenovia

While he was too busy focusing on dodging her sword slashes, Kira didn't even see the kick coming towards his side. 

He tried to block, but it was too little and too late. Xenovia's foot made contact with his ribs, halting him entirely.

"Y-You stupid bitch!" growled Kira, "You'll pay for that!" 

Kira got in close and rammed one of his knives in Xenovia's abdomen. 

"Xenovia!" screamed Issei. 

"How does it feel to die?!" laughed Kira. 

"N-Not... as good as it feels to watch you die..." said Xenovia between gasps. 

With sudden strength, she stabbed Kira herself. Both fighters fell to the floor, bleeding from their wounds. 

Asia rushed over immediately and began to work her magic. Soon enough, Xenovia's wound was all fixed. 

"Nice job, Asia!" completed Xenovia, touching her now healed wound, "You've gotten so much better at this!" 

"Well, I've had time to practice when you knuckleheads keep getting hurt!" worried Asia, "It's like you planned to get stabbed just to get a hit in!" 

"Well..." Xenovia started before a bloody cough interrupted her. 

Kira, even while fatally wounded and bleeding out onto the floor, couldn't contain his laughter. 

"(y/n)..." he muttered. 

Xenovia noticed and instantly began to question him. 

"W-Why did you say that?" asked Xenovia in a mixture of confusion and anger, "Do you know him? Is he here? Where is he?!" 

"This entire place's gone up in flames..." laughed a bloody Kira, "That must mean that the maximum-security prisoners are also loose..." 

"Xenovia..." worried Issei, "We should go..." 

"It sure would be a shame... to come all this way..." muttered Kira, "Just to... lose him here..." 

Kira breathed his final breath and died with a smile on his face. 

"Xenovia..." Issei said again. 

"I have to look for him," said Xenovia. 

"I... don't think that's the best idea right now..." 

"I don't care!" snapped Xenovia, "I can't leave him! Not again!" 

"X-Xenovia..." begged Asia, "It's not safe here..." 

"What if it was Asia?!" yelled Xenovia, "Or Akeno?! Or Rias?! Wouldn't you do everything in your power to bring them home?!" 

Issei tried to come up with something, but he couldn't. He knew that if he was in Xenovia's position, he would try the exact same thing. 

He looked to Asia and sighed. 

"Of course we'll help you. He's our friend. We won't leave him behind." 

____________________________________

"Rias!" Kiba cried out, waving his arms to flag her down. 

Kiba's group and Rias' group met up with each other after much fighting. 

"Is everyone ok?" asked Rias. 

Thankfully, no one was gravely injured. 

"Has anyone seen Issei's group?" asked Akeno. 

"Unfortunately, no," replied Kiba. 

"Last I heard from them, they were headed in the direction of the maximum-security ward," said Koneko. 

Rias and Akeno exchanged a worried look. 

"What? What's going on?" asked Kiba. 

"The prisoners were able to break into the control room of the prison and managed to release all of the maximum-security prisoners," said Rias. 

"A-All of them?!" stuttered Kiba in disbelief. 

"Then that means..." muttered Koneko, "We have to find Issei and the others." 

"Right..." Rias agreed, "Xenovia's probably not in the greatest of mindsets right now... That can only lead to disaster..." 

____________________________________

Xenovia ran towards the maximum-security ward as fast as she could with Issei and Asia close behind. 

"Xenovia! Wait!" Issei called out, "We don't even know if he's there or not!"

"I have to check!" said Xenovia, "I have to be sure!" 

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Xenovia stopped at the entrance of the maximum-security ward. 

Issei and Asia finally caught up to Xenovia but stopped as well when they saw what was inside. 

All 6 of the mechanical pillar-cell doors were open. Unlike the burning exterior of the prison, the maximum-security ward was clean and unburnt. Except for one, all the cells were empty. 

The resident of the 6th cell stood in front of his prison, unmoving. 

He turned around to see the three visitors and almost fell back at seeing them. 

It was him. 

After 2 years, he looked almost exactly the same. The same black eyes. The same black hair. He looked the same yet entirely different.

He was still wearing the Battle Armor that he had worn during the Azazel Cup, but its proud colors were faded and cracked with age. His frame seemed noticeably thinner as if he didn't eat at all for 2 years. There were black bags underneath his eyes, indicating that he probably didn't do a lot of sleeping. 

"(y/n)..." said Xenovia breathlessly, taking a step towards him. 

A frail and skinny hand reached out to meet her, but he collapsed almost instantly a moment later. 

Xenovia rushed by his side as Asia used her Twilight Healing on him. 

He didn't wake up. Some of his body mass returned to him, but he didn't wake up. 

"W-Why isn't he waking up?" stuttered Xenovia. 

"I-I..." said Asia in confusion. 

"I-Is he...?"

"No! There's still a heartbeat but... He's not waking up! I healed him, but there were no outstanding physical injuries to heal!" exclaimed Asia. 

"We have to take him to Bulma's!" said Xenovia, "She'll know what to do!" 

"And leave Rias and the others here?" asked Issei. 

"They'll understand once they see him!" begged Xenovia, "We have to help him!" 

____________________________________

Bulma was at a loss for words when she opened her front door to see Issei and Xenovia holding what was essentially her foster son, who she hadn't seen in 2 years, in their arms. 

"We need your help..." pleaded Xenovia. 

Bulma wasted no time bring (y/n) in and hooking him into the latest-of-the-art medical equipment. She tried to wrap her mind around everything that they were telling her. Prisons. Prison breaks. And in the middle of all that: (y/n). 

The group eventually left Bulma to do her work as they sat in the living room. 

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" asked Asia. 

"He's strong," replied Issei, "He'll make it. I know he will." 

"He's the best of us," added Xenovia, "We must have faith that he'll be fine..." 

"Faith..." muttered Asia as she let out a little prayer. 

After what seemed like hours, Bulma finally walked into the living room. 

Xenovia shot up immediately and began asking about (y/n).

"Is he alright?!" 

"Well..." sighed Bulma, "He hasn't got any injuries in the physical sense, but he's in a comatose state right now." 

"Comatose?!" cried Xenovia. 

"His injuries are in his head, so to say..." said Bulma, "Looking at his brainwaves, it erratic and all over the place."

"What does that mean?" asked Issei. 

"It means (y/n) must have encountered something that left his mind cracked and distorted," responded Bulma. 

"Is there anything you can do?" asked Xenovia. 

"Not at the moment..." sighed Bulma. 

"Well..." muttered Asia, "I-I think I can help." 

Everyone turned to Asia as she spoke. 

"My Twilight Healing can heal physical wounds, but I've never tried healing mental ones..." said Asia sheepishly, "Maybe... Maybe I can figure out a way to... If that would be okay with you, Miss Bulma?" 

"Be my guest," said Bulma. 

Everyone moved into (y/n)'s room as Asia applied the Twilight Healing near (y/n)'s head. A green light came from Asia's hands as she attempted to heal mental wounds. 

"I need you to make a promise to me," said Bulma to Xenovia. 

"Anything," replied Xenovia. 

"Don't you leave him, Xenovia Quarta. If I know anything about this kid, it's that he's a strong as he is stupid. He needs someone like you looking out for him... Especially when he comes home like this..." 

"Of course. I made a promise to him too... One that I intend to keep..." 

The green light faded from Asia's hands as she stood up.

"I'm sorry" 

Xenovia let out a sob as she looked at the still form of her lover. 

Bulma and the others left the room one-by-one, but Xenovia stayed. 

She cried for him until something stopped her. Something was touching her hand. 

She looked down to see, and it was a hand. 

His hand. 

His eyes were open. 

"Xenovia?" 

Before he could say anything else, she threw her arms around him laughing and crying and at the same time. She peppered his face with kisses and mixed in a few "I love you's" for good measure. 

She finally pulled away to get a good look at him. 

"You sure took your time!" 

(y/n) couldn't help but laugh.

He tried to stand up and walk, but his legs buckled underneath himself. Thankfully, he caught himself before he could hit the floor. 

Xenovia tried to help him, but he raised a hand to stop her. 

Slowly, he lifted himself up off the examination table and stood on his own two feet. 

"Shall we go to the others?" 

Issei couldn't believe his eyes. Asia began to cry. Bulma almost fainted. 

"Uh... Hi?" 

"(y/n)!!!" they all cried, hugging him. 

"We missed you!" cried Asia. 

"I thought you were a goner!" said Issei. 

"Don't scare me like that again!" yelled Bulma. 

(y/n) hugged them all back, happy to see them again. 

"As much as I'd like to sit here," said (y/n), "There's one thing I'd like to do..." 

The others followed (y/n) out to the front yard. 

He looked to the sky and then back to his friends. 

"I'll be back in a minute." 

He slowly lifted himself off the ground and into the sky. 

After a bit, he finally blasted off up in the air. He shot right through the atmosphere and into the black of space. He flew out quite a distance from the Earth. 

Earth. 

His Earth. 

His Home. 

He looked behind him to see his Moon. 

He looked beyond to see his Sun. 

"Home..." muttered (y/n) as he looked at the blue ball that he called home. Looking at it from up here, he almost forgot how beautiful it was. Green lands in a sea of blue. In the end, he was glad to have it. Glad to have the people on it. Glad to defend it.

He flew back down to Bulma's and landed softly on the ground. 

"I wanted to see the Earth!" smiled (y/n).

"(y-y/n)" said Issei, "Behind you." 

(y/n) turned around to see the rest of the Gremory Peerage standing there. 

"Oh." 

His friends stood there with just as much disbelief as he did. 

"Come with us, (y/n)," said Rias, holding our her hand. 

"Where are we going?" he asked. 

"Back to Warenai." 

"What?!" yelled Xenovia, "What do you mean 'back to Warenai'?! He just got back!" 

"He's a prisoner. He broke the law. He betrayed us." said Rias, unmoving. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't go back there." 

"Please, (y/n)." said Rias, "Don't do this." 

"I should say the same to you..." (y/n) said, "You're going to sell me out? After everything?" 

"I won't ask again." 

There was an awkward silence as the two stared each other down. Suddenly, (y/n) pulled Issei and Asia close and Xenovia opened up a magic circle to take them away. 

"No!" yelled Rias, "Akeno! Can you follow them?!" 

"I'm on it!" replied Akeno. 

____________________________________

"I don't understand!" exlaimed Asia, "Why are they doing this?!" 

"Because (y/n) did something wrong..." 

The group turned around to see Rias and the others. They followed them. 

"And he has to pay." 

"Rias..." said Koneko, "It doesn't matter what Sirzechs says... It's (y/n)... He's our friend..." 

Koneko ran over to (y/n)'s side. 

"I won't abandon our friend a second time." 

"Abandon?" asked Rias, "He's the one who abandoned us! For Vali and the Khaos Brigade!" 

"You don't know the full story," said (y/n). 

"And it doesn't matter," responded Rias, "I've been told to bring you in." 

"Stop!" yelled Asia, "All you stop! We're not doing this! We're not fighting each other!" 

"It seems like it's inevitable..." muttered (y/n). 

(y/n), Xenovia, Issei, and Koneko stared down Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Gasper. 

"Are we really doing this?" asked Gasper. 

"Yes. We are," said Rias. 

The two groups waited. They waited for the other to make the first move. They waited for friend to become enemies. They waited for friends to turn against friends. 

Rias' group and (y/n)'s group ran at each other and clashed. 

Friends. 

Now enemies.