Inner Daemons

Me: Hello, I'm back!

Angel Ichigo: (throws something at me) That was for leaving us on that cliffhanger!

Me: (dodges) Aren't you getting used to that? Besides, it's fun to leave you hanging.

Angel Ichigo: ! ! !

Me: Shush, shush. I don't want Damien finding me...I just managed to loose him! I, Celestial Moonlight Blade, do not own TMM or MMP!

Chapter 17: Catalyst

With Ichigo and the others

Leah lunged out and grabbed Deathbringer by the ankle. "...Monster." She hissed, her voice breaking from the effort.

"Wha...! NO! DON'T!"

"...I judge you guilty!"

Her wings lit up like floodlights. Deathbringer screamed once and was reduced to ashes.

Sasha pushed her way through battling opponents, trying to reach the entity who had become her dearest friend. Damien was faster; he knelt next to Leah and picked her up.

"...Why?" The blonde Fallen choked out. Sasha's eyes widened upon seeing tears boiling in his eyes. "Why?"

Leah coughed again, and smiled weakly at him. "Because I love you, stupid." The last word was layered with all the affection she had ever felt for her traitorous love. She touched his face, and there was a blinding flash. Damien returned to his angel form.

"Leah?" Damien started to cry quietly. "Don't leave-I'm so sorry-." Words failed him after a little, and he just held her close.

Angel Ichigo flew down to the ground and ran over to them. Leah was fading fast, her breath growing labored as she continued to bleed.

The Mew Aqua started glowing brightly again. "Damien, I can do something, but I need your help."

Damien looked up, eyes wide. "You...You'll help me? After what I've done?"

Angel Ichigo looked up at him. "I believe in forgiveness." She answered, sparing one second to glance over her shoulder at Kish. "And in a roundabout way, you were trying to protect us. So...yeah, I will." She held her staff over Leah's prone body.

Energy from the Mew Aqua spread over Leah's body, closing the wound Deathbringer had given her. She gasped and opened her eyes again. "What... what was..."

The tender moment was unfortunately interrupted by the Nidhogg, who fired another antigravity blast at them. Angel Ichigo blocked it again. "Did you get the water, Leah?" She asked hopefully.

Sasha ran over. "Yes, we've got it!" She exclaimed, excited.

"Good. Listen. I'm going to distract Lucifer. You guys use the water on Nidhogg. That should pacify it long enough for us to coax it back into its chambers." Angel Ichigo gave her friends a surprisingly cheesy grin. "Sometimes you just need good thoughts to overcome the forces of evil."

She took off and faced Lucifer, who seemed totally taken by surprise by Leah's actions. Leah stood up and faced the Nidhogg. "Damien? You ready?"

The blonde looked at her, smiling for the first time in many, many years. "Yeah."

Lucifer chuckled at Angel Ichigo. "Alright, kitty, now you're just being foolish. I mean, a lot of mews are going to die if this cliché little... power of friendship? Is that it? Power of friendship falls through." Lucifer's eyes, peaking out from behind the perfect facade of Mayasa Aoyama, seemed to twinkle with amusement. "You should join me. You can rule like gods if you join me."

Angel Ichigo laughed. "This is why you always fail, Lucifer. Your lack of conception of human emotion has caused your downfall before, and it will now." The Mew Aqua in her staff began to glow hotly.

Down below, Zakuro and Shadow were holding hands. They were both smiling, as if sharing some inside joke. There was a tint of pink in Shadow's cheeks. Lettuce and Pai were standing together too, staring up at Lucifer with the same determined look. What they weren't saying out loud was practically screamed through their closeness. Pudding was clamped onto Tart's arm, Elevian and Amy were surprisingly close, and everyone-including Mint, Shade, Leviathan and Gaia-were glowing blue.

Drew walked over to Sasha and kissed her cheek. Sasha smiled sweetly at him, and they began to glow as well.

Ichigo smiled. "Power of Love is stronger than you think. Return to the Hell from which you came, master of the underworld. MEW AQUA SHINING!"

And then it got really, really BRIGHT.

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Ichigo felt rather than saw the ground open. The Nidhogg yelped rather than screamed, and a huge black shape whizzed past her. It was headed for the ground.

"Power of Love?" Lucifer's voice was coming from somewhere below her. But she couldn't see. "Does human forgiveness only extend to those who they think deserves it?"

Don't start with me. Ichigo tried to say. Her mouth wouldn't open, but her voice echoed around her. You're here to kill and destroy. You've done nothing worthy of forgiveness. Your a monster who doesn't belong here.

"I have your ex." Lucifer tried something else. "And he will come with me if you don't stop this foolishness now."

Mayasa? Ichigo called. Were you seriously planning to murder the entire human race just so you could have my as your girlfriend again?

"Yeah." Mayasa was speaking now. "I was then. Seriously; Ichigo; don't let me fall to hell. Please. You love me."

I will, but you have to break contract with Lucifer. Ichigo insisted. We can't bring him back with us to Earth, you know what he'll do.

"But Ichigo-this power-I can't let go of this power! You don't understand-"

Don't understand what? The power Lucifer gives you will only be used for evil.

"I can control him!"

You sure as hell weren't controlling him when he was leveling Tokyo and his lackeys were murdering innocent people!

"That was just once!"

Ichigo frowned, and let out a long suffering sigh. Mayasa. We can't afford to take the chance, you know that.

"Yes, we can. Please, trust me, Ichigo. When have I ever been wrong?" Mayasa said, practically pleading.

...How about the day you took me for granted and cheated on me? Ichigo suggested almost sarcastically. Mayasa, please, just see REASON. Making a deal with the devil has always, always backfired!

Mayasa was quiet for a moment. "I won't. I need this power to keep you by my side. Always and forever. Like I promised?"

...You mean literally, don't you? Ichigo flinched. I'm sorry, Mayasa.

"...chigo! ICHIGO!" That wasn't Mayasa or Lucifer. Kish?

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Ichigo blinked twice, and the light faded away. Now she was lying in a hospital bed. Some dark-haired military girl nodded towards Ryou and put a hand on his shoulder. All of her friends and the better part of her students were there, getting treatment for their injuries. Of the most immediate importance, Kish was hovering over her.

"Kitten, you're awake!" He said happily, kissing the middle of her forehead. Ichigo blushed, her cats ears appearing spontaneously. Nearby, Damien chuckled. "You had me so worried."

"Sorry Kish." She said sleepily. "Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone's present and accounted for." Zakuro spoke up. "I did a head count. The military managed to reduce casualites drastically."

"The Demons? Lucifer? Nidhogg?"

"They're all gone." Shadow spoke up this time. "Disappeared of the map. There was a huge flash of light after you and Leah used your purity attacks." He grinned. "That showed them, huh?"

Shade put a hand on her forehead. "You're getting better, hikari." She said. "Shall I call your parents and let them know?"

At that, Ichigo sat bolt upright in bed. "Oh crap! I totally forgot! Oh man oh man, how am I going to explain this? I can turn into an artifical angel, my boyfriend's an alien, I have three daemons and two angels for new friends, half my other friends are dating aliens, oh and I just took down the Devil-"

And off she went. Everyone got a good laugh at that before they remembered that they would have to call their respective family members, and one look out the window reminded them that there was a lot, and I mean a LOT, of reconstruction to do.

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Thankfully, in the end Ichigo's father WAS okay with Ichigo dating an alien. Lettuce and Pai hit it off, and started an independent library that mews could go to without getting any kind of hassle. Leah and Damien got back together, both of them being guardian angels of Tokyo. Zero and Leviathan hit it off quite spectacular-either Leviathan was chasing him around Tokyo or they were having a long, awkward science. Lettuce figured they'd come around eventually.

Zakuro and Shadow surprisingly started dating as well. Gaia and Pudding became part of a circus troop along with a reluctant jester-Tart. They were a huge hit with younger children, and Gaia's burning chains actually came in handy during some stunts. Elevian and Mint were having an extremely awkward-but-romantic relationship upon the bird mew realizing the eagle was bi. Amy, Felix, Jean and Stephan were working as staff in the library, and Alyssa had tried to for the volley ball team at Ichigo's school. And they all knew one thing for certain

Whatever trouble may arise, even if it came from hell itself, they would face it and destroy it.

"For the future of our planet, I will be of service NYA!"

End Chapter

Okay, I admit I'm ending this on a kinda corny note, but hey! I'm glad it turned out the way it did! Thank you to all those who read and I hope you continue to read my other stuff!