Happy Belated Easter! I had intended to put this put yesterday or before that, but work and family came up.

Now, a friend pointed out to me and perhaps fans of the canon series may have noticed I did NOT make Gabriel an arrogant and obliviously evil angel as he us there. If you are a fan of this, I apologize; but I think a more rational angel honestly just trying to do his job opens up the door to more possibilities for this story. Especially with the Legion of Ente Isle coming up.

With that said, I will be needing suggestions for how to go about that upcoming arc. Sgt. Pickles has been instrumental in helping setting the ground work and providing more original characters. If you have suggestions for either plot points or characters, feel free to PM them to me, you will receive full credit for their creation.

With that being said, let the chapter begin!

The Prodigal Son and Father

Saturday at the park.

Emi watched as Alas=Ramus ran around with the other children, happily laughing and playing all sorts of games. Maou was at work, sadly, but Emi had the day off and was looking forward to spending as much time as she could with her little girl.

Absence truly does make time spent sweeter and more precious, the Hero of Ente Isle mused.

School was going well for Alas=Ramus: The little girl had already made a god circle of friends and proved to be a very good student. She had not had too much troubles with bullies; in fact one of her close friends had been reduced to begging for her friendship when Alas=Ramus began to cry at their attempts to intimidate her.

Maou had been especially proud of his daughter that day. Emi was admittedly finding it hard to not share in that feeling, but not for the same reasons her husband was; Maou was happy at her budding manipulation skills while Emi had been happy that her daughter had made an enemy into an ally.

The thought of her husband made Emi place a hand on her stomach, a smile on her face. She hadn't told anyone else yet, but in about 9 months (unless her and Maou's magic did something to speed things up) Alas=Ramus would be a big sister.

Taking a sip from her admittedly decent but less than excellent to go coffee, Emi suddenly found herself on the edge when she sensed someone using Celestial Force. She didn't outwardly react, instad adopting a sly smile.

"Is this spot taken?"

The voice belonged to a well built and admittedly handsome man with neck length to hair wearing a shirt with the words 'I HEART U.'

"Not at all." Emi smiled, motioning him to sit down. "Are you babysitting?"

"Indeed." The man said in confidence, pointing to a gaggle of children making way over to the sandbox. "Little troublemakers, but..."

"Can't help but care?" Emi guessed, getting a nod. They sat in silence before the newcomer ended said silence.

"Lets not dance on ceremony." Emi said.

"Ah, thank you. Hello Emi." The man said, then verbally stepping back. "Or should I call you Emilia?"

"Only if I get to call you Gabriel."

"Seems fair." Gabriel mentioned. "I see that life is treating you well here. If that's the case, I hope that what I ask of you will be over with quick and easy."

"That depends." Emi said. "Does it involve killing my husband? Like you did his village?"

Gabriel hung his head in shame.

"I...I see he told you. Look, for what its worth, I realized long ago how stupid that was...And no. I don't want the Devil king dead. There are more pressing matters."

This got Emi's attention. She was grateful, but still...

"Then what do you want?" Emi asked.

"Papa!"

The conversation was halted by Alas=Ramus' cheerful calling out to her father, who was making his way over to the park with a small plastic bag and bags under his eyes. Emi guessed his shift had been a rough one...

However, the sight of his daughter running towards him made all fatigue vanish from Maou's form and he dropped the bag gently on the floor, opening his arms and taking her into a hug as he spun her around.

"There's my baby girl!" The former Devil King cooed, rubbing his cheek against his giggling daughter's. "Are you having a good time with Mama?"

Alas=Ramus happily nodded and pointed over to where her mother was sitting. Delighting in the unreadable reaction of the angel she was talking to, Emi sauntered over to Maou and picked up the plastic bag before kissing him.

"Hi honey." She smiled. "How was work?"

Maou shrugged before getting a good look at the man who had been sitting with his wife.

A man he recognized. And not in a friendly way.

"Papa?" Alas=Ramus asked, concerned when her father handed her to her mother and wandering over to the man, glaring at him with as much as hate as he could.

"Are you here to finish what you started 300 years ago?" He asked.

Gabriel looked down at his feet in shame.

"No. But that...does have something to do with why I'm here."

Emi joined her husband's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lets hear him out."

Exhausted from his shift, Maou sat down and humoured the Arch-Angel, altugh he never dropped his guard.

"As I'm sure you have figured, things in Ente Isle have begun to..." Gabriel tried to choose his words carefully. "...shift in a manner that...well, some would be and are delighted, but the whole thing is all about balance..."

"We know the Church has taken over." Emi said.

"What does that have to do with us?" Maou cut in. "I thought you and your people up in heaven would be delighted with that turn of events."

"Not when the church starts abusing the Celestial force and using our blessing to commit acts of corruption. As I said, the whole thing is all about balance, which leads me to why I'm here, seeking you out. Since you vanished, Emilia, another group has taken over in your place of maintaing justice throughout Ente Isle, one that you may be familiar with? They call themselves the Legion of Ente Isle..."

Emi racked her memories for the name, and soon did remember a chance meeting with the leader.

"I remember an Archie and his band of fighters. We offered to let him join me, Albert and Emerelda.."

"Don't forget Olba." Gabriel cut in, only to sink into his seat when he saw the undying and unfathomable looks of hatred on the parents' faces. "Oh right. Sorry...continue."

"...But he turned us down due to lacking Celestial Force or other skills we didn't already have." Emi finished, a smile on her face. "I always did like him; Honorable yet humble. Wish I had been as open-minded as he was..."

"You're not the only one nowadays." Gabriel said. "Returning to my point, since things...changed, Archie and his Legion have begun to rebel against the Church. Heavens above, several demons and devils have actually joined in the legion; in fact as I understand, his lover is a succubus he saved from slavery and several of his more powerful newcomers were members of your inner circle, Sata...I mean Maou."

Emi and Maou both smiled at this; if there was another inter-species couple in Ente Isle, maybe they had hope after all. Throughout all of this, Alas=Ramus munched on a cookie her father had bought for her as a snack.

"Which finally leads me to my point." Gabriel said. "Emilia, I was hoping that since you seem to be quite comfortable in this universe, that perhaps you may be willing to allow me to give Archimedes your sword to help him and the Legion out?"

Before Emi could think and respond, a voice came into the conversation.

"No!"

All eyes fell onto Alas=Ramus, who was glaring at the Arch-Angel with all the might of an angry four year old.

"You're all meanies! You hurt Papa! You wanna hurt Mama!"

This got the attention of many adults in the park and surrounding area and Gabriel wished he could vanish. The worst part is that the child was technically right; in her four years of life, every time something had gone wrong for her parents, the Angels were often tied to.

Oh wow. That is so accurate its sad. He mused.

"Alas, sweetheart? That was years ago. And he wasn't there." Emi cooed loud enough for others to hear.

"Yes he was sweetie, mama's a liar!" Maou snapped, only to get slapped by his wife. "Kidding! Kidding."

Once his wife had turned around with a humph, he quickly whispered to Gabriel.

"Not kidding. Hate your existence."

Seemingly satisfied with this, the families went back to playing with their children. The trio of adults let out a sigh of relief, although Alas=Ramus continued to glare at Gabriel.

"So...?" Gabriel asked.

"I would give you the sword if I could." Emi admitted. "I trust Archie. But...um...well you see...when Maou fought with Sariel, something funny happened..."

"Sword tasty!" Alas=Ramus beamed.

Gabriel's jaw dropped to the floor.

"...Tell me she's joking."

"..."

"..."

"...She's not joking." Gabriel whispered.

"Even if she wasn't, how can we trust you to give it to this Archie fella?" Maou said. "Don't forget; Sariel may have killed my mother, but I know you killed my father."

This threw Gabriel for a loop., bringing him out of his shock.

"What? I didn't kill any goblins that day." Gabriel assured the former Devil King, who looked about ready to pounce on him in anger. "I promise you. And I swear on my wings I am telling the truth: I. Didn't. Kill. Anyone."

Maou, barely restraining his anger, asked:

"Then where are my people?"

"They were rounded up and..."

He paused, trying to find the words. Realizing there was no 'nice' or 'correct way to say this, he came clean.

"They were sent to work in a camp, but we've made sure that all of them are as healthy as possible."

"Sounds like slavery." Maou pointed out.

Gabriel did not respond to that.

"Admittedly, they were going to be used as..." Gabriel swallowed vomit. "...hostages and negotiations if you grew too powerful. No worries, you actually killed the ones who thought that up. Honestly however, its a miracle you didn't find the camp before."

"We're going to need more than your word." Emi cut in. "And I can't speak for Maou, but I at least would be help Archie once we sort thinsg out."

"You seem to have no problems going back and fourth. Bring my father here." Maou demanded. "And then we'll talk."

Gabriel's eyes widened.

"That may be tricky..." The Archangel admitted. "Heaven doesn't necessarily keep track of those places and letting even one prisoner go may..."

"Well that's poor superior-employee relations and a failure on your part as a supervisor." Maou noted, then helping Emi to her feet. "Conditions are final."

"Give me three days." Gabriel said.

"Given. Now, lets go home, honey."

The Devil king and Hero picked up their daughter and left for home. Luckily, their mood brightened once they were out of sight from the park, with Alas=Ramus regaling her father with how she and her friends had played and Maou revealing to have bought some instant coffee he knew Emi liked.

Meanwhile, Gabriel rounded up the children he had been watching; angels in training who lamented over having actually enjoyed playing with mortals. Teh Arch-angel mused that what had just transpired could've gone MUCH worse, but that he still needed to accomplish his mission. As much as he hated it, he may have to go through Plan B after all...

"Don't even think about it."

Gabriel turned to see a vaguely familiar woman

"I know your backup plan. And while I am grateful you were far more affable and sensible about it...you will NOT go near them without the goblin in question. To answer your question of who am I? I'm the reason your buddy is no longer welcomed in heaven. I'm also the reason that Jacob is as powerful as he is. And if you go near my daughter or her family without Jacob's father, you'll join him. If you still don't know who I am or why I'm doing this, use that brain and that heavenly wisdom of yours to look at possible outcomes."

The woman then vanished.

XXX

3 days later

Maou paced back and fourth in his and Emi's apartment, impatiently waiting. Emi had taken Alas=Ramus to play with Iron, Acies=Ara , Laylah and Nord for the day, leaving him alone as he waited for Gabriel to return.

Regardless of whatever occurred, he had forced his horns to appear and dawned his Devil King attire, freshly washed, pressed and polished. He wanted to make an impression after all; his magic may still be non-existent, but he could sense a bit of fear in Gabriel, so he'd use that...

DING-DONG!

"About damn time." Maou growled as he went to the door. He looked through the peephole to see Gabriel disappearing, leaving a hunched over being at his door. He spied a note on the being's cloak:

'I kept my end. Meet in 3 days.'

Maou then reached to open the door before anxiety overtook him. He wanted to believe this, he truly wanted to. But still, it could be a trap...He sensed the fear and confusion of the being behind the door. Well, if they attacked he could use magic at least.

With that, he swung the door open.

His world went mute as the being in front of him became the focus.

He had once been sturdy and strong, with a toothy and confident grin. Now he was hunched and almost skin and bones. But still, his eyes shone like he remebered...

"...Satan?"

Maou's eyes watered and he covered his mouth to keep his cries in...for about 10 seconds before racing to the elderly goblin and hugging him with all his might. The older Goblin reacted in kind and both shed tears without a care.

"Look at you..." The father babbled. "You've gotten so big...!"

Maou struggled to say something; anything. All that came from his voice was:

"Papa...! I'm so sorry...!"

The older goblin hugged his son even tighter.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. I should be the one..."

Maou increased the hug even more, cutting his father off.

They then parted, clearing each other's eyes of tears. Just then, the door opened, and all of Maou's family and friends wondered inside. Emi was already happily tearing at the sight of her husband and his father reunited along with Ashiya and Nord. Laylah wiped away a single tear.

"Everybody, come on in!" Maou beamed, tryig to cover the raspiness in voice. "Dinner'll be here soon; I ordered the works! Pizza, Sushi, burgers, shakes...!"

"Milord, your budget..." Ashiya pointed out in concern for his master.

"But it's appropriate to celebrate and be glad for this." Maou said plainly. "My father was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found."

The older goblin gave the assembled group a look over, a wary but happy smile on his face which morphed into one of confusion when the redheaded woman with the four year old in her arms walekd over to Maou and helped dry his eyes, pecking his nose. The child then hugged him and asked him not to cry.

"Papa, this is my family."

And the Goblin smiled sweetly at the woman his son loved and the little girl who he adored above all else.

Read and Review, would ye kindly?

Next time, the return to Ente Isle begins!