A/N: So who else watched Season Five and flipped the heck out over Krolia? :D

Sadly, that puts the damper on my motivation to finish this story, so this will be the final chapter. But fear not, Kogane fans! Because the spark of inspiration has struck in other forms: namely, a Krolia origins story, a Koganes of Marmora AU, and a fun mix-up-mash-up story I'm so far calling Keith Goes to Kerberos. Muahaha...

Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this tale while I was still weaving it, and don't get too teary-eyed at the ending. Thanks for coming!

-Tri

Chapter Eight

"MONSTER!"

At the sound of the scream, Allen dropped what he was doing and dashed outside.

It was rare that desert backpackers would find their way onto his property, but not unheard of, seeing as he didn't bother to keep up a boundary fenceline. This was the first occasion someone had made it all the way to his house, though - and of course it happened to be when Kexra was playing outside with the twins.

"Hey, hold it!" He shouted, sprinting to get in-between the trio of terrified campers and his sword-wielding-significant-other. "Kexra! Stop!"

She growled, never taking her eyes off the newcomers. Her feet were planted in a battle stance firmly in front of where Keith and Acxa laid on their playmat. If Allen didn't know her half as well as he did, he'd never have noticed the trembling of her ears, a sure sign of the alien woman's fear.

"I promise, she won't attack if you just back away slowly," he told the campers. Of course, addressing them directly just caused the three to turn tail and flee back into the desert. Allen sighed, but didn't bother pursuing them: his first priority was to get his family back inside.

He gathered up the crying twins while Kexra continued to glare after the retreating humans. She didn't turn away until they disappeared into the distance, and even then, kept her sword close to hand.

"It'll be okay," Allen repeatedly mumbled. "They'll think it was a hallucination, or a trick, or something. It'll be okay. It will. Even if they don't convince themselves it was fake by the time they get back to civilization, no one will believe them without-" he sucked in a breath, head snapping around to stare at Kexra. "Did any of them have a camera? Did they get any pictures of you?"

Having seen both Allen's old camera and heard his description of a cell phone, Kexra shook her head.

"Okay. Okay. Everything will be fine, then. It'll be alright."

They didn't bother to put Acxa and Keith in their crib that night, but instead slept in a nest of blankets on the floor. Neither parent got much true rest, but at least the shared body heat of their little family helped keep everyone calm.

Two days later, everything was not alright.

Allen quietly called for Kexra to stay inside when he saw a moving smudge appear on the horizon. When the group of eight hikers arrived, some appearing embarrassed, others eager, he had to laughingly dismiss their tale of a purple sword-wielding desert monster.

"If you say so, dude," one of the younger girls said as she shrugged. "But the story was starting to go viral on the 'net when we came out here. You're gonna be up to your ears in monster-fans and alien believers before too long, fair warning."

"Appreciate it," Allen replied, fighting with everything he had not to let his smiling expression slip. "Just something I'll have to get used to for a while, I guess. Heh, maybe I can set up my own tourist trap if they'll all be coming out here anyway."

"Yeah, that's a good idea, man! Make some cash out of it while you can!"

Eventually, he got the group to depart, and went back inside with a groan. Kexra sat on the floor by the sofa, where she was hidden from the window's line of sight, clutching both the twins to her chest. Three pairs of eyes stared up at Allen: one solid yellow, one human but with purple irises, and one a combination of the others. He sighed.

"Well. I guess life's gonna be a bit more difficult from now on, huh? But we'll manage, you'll see, and things will go back to normal soon, I promise."

Keith and Acxa simply blinked at him, while Kexra did not look convinced. She carefully maneuvered the twins onto the sofa before reaching underneath it. Allen froze when she pulled out the device that had come from the wreckage of her ship.

"Kexra..."

"Allen," she murmured, getting to her feet. She clutched him close, nose buried in his short hair. He could feel her shaking.

His heart nearly stopped when she activated the device.

"Kexra, what- what did you do? What is-" He shut up when she placed a claw across his lips. Then, Kexra moved to where her carvings rested, the little group of four depicting their family in place of pride.

With a gentle touch, she separated them - herself and Acxa's figurines to one side, Allen and Keith's to the other.

Allen felt tears welling up in his eyes, and tried to choke out a protest. Kexra set her device down and moved to embrace him again. The four of them slept in a nest again that night.

The evening after, a spaceship landed in front of the shack.

And from then on, it was only Allen and Keith living in the desert.