CHAPTER 16:

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

It was afterwards, at the Granger household, that they took stock. Freed, sadly, had managed to get away after an enraged Issei managed to slug the Stray Exorcist with his Boosted Gear. The distance the man flew through the windows of the derelict church was apparently impressive, but he had managed to get up and flee while the others were concentrating on subduing Mittelt. Said Fallen was now their prisoner, pouting while tied up with rope and with a cloth gag in her mouth (though Akeno, being the connoisseur of BDSM, did offer a ball gag that she just happened to have on her person).

In his first fight, Issei had actually acquitted himself very well, working well alongside his comrades in Rias' Peerage and Harry's, and using Promotion to its full potential, switching between the attributes of various Evil Pieces on the fly. They hadn't just had to fight Mittelt and Freed either: a few of the Stray Exorcists who had fled decided to try their luck with those they thought were low-level Devils. The more sensible ones just ran for their lives, and thus, kept said lives. The worst-off ones were those who tried their luck with the Queens of the Peerages: between Akeno's sadism and Luna's insanity, death was a mercy.

Mittelt eventually surrendered, though it was clear it was with the utmost reluctance, and mostly because her friend Raynare was still alive. And once Harry, Rias, and Hermione emerged with Asia, they opted to return to the Granger household forthwith. Raynare was astonished to see Mittelt alive: she had believed that neither Mittelt nor Dohnaseek would survive the battle for Asia, if the Devils and Hermione prevailed, anyway.

Asia, meanwhile, was being tended to by Neville, who specialised in healing and defensive magic as Harry's Bishop, while Harry sat next to her, and Rias stood behind her, protectively. The young ex-nun was draped in a blanket to cover the flimsy slip, and nursing a cup of tea. She shivered from more than the cold and her injuries, minor though they were. She knew she had come very close to death. And she had seen many people die too. Admittedly, they were people set on killing her for her Sacred Gear, but even so, it was still a traumatic experience for the naïve teenager. She was going to be killed, and Harry, Rias, and Hermione had to kill those guarding her.

But Asia was worth a thousand, no, a million of those men. Not because of her Sacred Gear, valuable and priceless though it was, as well as it being the catalyst of the conflict with the Fallen. Rather, it her life. She was a genuinely good person who wanted to help people not to score points with a now-deceased God, but because it was the right thing to do. People like her, who managed to remain untainted by the evils of the world despite being affected by them, were rarer than the most precious of metals and jewels. Whereas murderous psychopaths and fanatics who used faith as an excuse to kill and traumatise were depressingly common.

Had Asia died, Harry or Rias might have used an Evil Piece to revive her. But that was to be a last resort. Better to ensure that she didn't die in the first place.

As Emma Granger removed Mittelt's gag, she remarked, "The pair of you have a lot to answer for, you know." Mittelt scowled at her sullenly, while Raynare couldn't meet her eyes. "Treating these people with the same contempt Kokabiel does, even if they aren't Devils. You're lucky to have survived this."

Raynare chuckled bitterly. "Lucky? I'm a prisoner of two Devil Peerages, and a Fallen and her Nephilim spawn. Whatever's befallen me, it isn't good luck."

"Given that you two are still alive, it's better luck than you deserve, Raynare," spoke a voice. A trio of figures entered the living room, all familiar to Harry, though he had only met one of them once. Two of them were Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan. But they hadn't spoken. That belonged to a man dressed in a kimono, with a thin beard, and a blonde fringe to his otherwise dark hair. His face was saturnine, and generally filled with good humour, though he was all-business now.

"Azazel…" Raynare whispered.

"In the flesh. Oh, Raynare, Mittelt, why didn't you listen? You very nearly broke the ceasefire with your actions. A ceasefire, I might add, that we're actually in the earliest stages of turning into a full peace treaty. We only need Heaven to come to the table, and Michael ain't returning my calls yet," Azazel said. "Then again, it helps that we share the same real estate with the Devils to begin negotiations."

"I still say it was one of you who pinched my Prinnies!" Serafall pouted.

"Wait, what?" Harry asked.

"Some idiot allegedly broke into Serafall's quarters in the Sitri Estate," Azazel said. "The only Fallen I reckon who's insane and powerful enough to even attempt that would be Kokabiel, which is disturbing enough. Whoever it was, they made off with those Prinnies Serafall and Ajuka Beelzebub made of the Dursleys, Voldemort, and Dumbledore. Not to mention that Batrachian Bitch Umbridge."

"I still have my Pawn Nagini-chan, though!" Serafall said. "So I guess that's something."

"It could have been a rather stupid High-Class Devil wanting to mess with you, Serafall. And there's still surprisingly little evidence of a break-in," Sirzechs said. "The upshot is, those six are gone. They may have escaped, or were taken by someone."

"Marvellous," Harry scowled.

"Anyway, we're getting off the point," Azazel said, walking over to his Fallen underlings. "You two have caused me not only considerable embarrassment, but endangered quite delicate negotiations. I know you two, along with Kalawarner and Dohnaseek, were frustrated with the status quo, but frankly, I don't want to see the horrors of war again, no matter how glorious you idiots think it! Especially a war started over something as trivial as a couple of Sacred Gears! That isn't righteous, it's moronic!" He indicated Hermione, Harry, Rias, and Asia. "Devils, Fallen, and humans working together, and not for any selfish reasons, but out of just a desire to do some good! That's what you should take as an example! But no. You, Mittelt, act like a spoiled child!" He jabbed his finger at the Fallen who looked like a teenager. "And you, Raynare, you thought that by doing this, you knew better than me!" He jabbed his finger at Raynare. "I sent Asia here because I knew she was safer with Apollonia, her child, and two High-Ranking Devils and their Peerages, than with anyone in the main part of Grigori! Apollonia and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I can at least trust her with important stuff!"

After a moment, Serafall pouted. "You didn't say anything about So-tan."

"Hey, it's not that I didn't trust your sister, Serafall," Azazel said. "But she has more duties as president of the Student Council at Kuoh Academy. Besides, you had your cousin looking after Asia."

Asia looked at them, before looking at Harry and Rias. "Umm, are these two of the Four Great Satans?" she asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Sirzechs is Rias' brother and the current Lucifer, while Serafall is my cousin and the current Leviathan."

"Oh." Asia had been told what they were like before, but given that it was a bit hard to believe, her scepticism was understandable.

Serafall had, by this time, taken notice of Asia, and was in front of her. "Oh, you're so cute, Asia-chan. You shouldn't look so sad in your eyes."

As Asia looked up nervously at Serafall, Azazel cleared his throat. "Now, circumstances have dictated that I come to this town and take up a more permanent residence here for the time being," he said. "That means you two are going to be on a short leash from now on. I'm going to let you back into the Grigori proper, but on probation. You're lucky you only lost your wings, Raynare."

Raynare merely looked morose, while Mittelt pouted. Still, Harry reflected, it was a better outcome than it could have been. Asia was alive, along with Hermione, Rias, and the two Peerages. Raynare and Mittelt had been captured. So, it was better than he had hoped.

Then, Raynare looked up at him, and said, "By the way, thanks for pointing out that U-No-Poo stuff at the shop. I gave some to Freed earlier today."

Harry looked up, and then a smirk crossed his features, one matched on Rias' face, and a few of those present. A few began to laugh, in spite of the horror that had gone on earlier. Asia looked around, confused. "I don't get it."

"Raynare bought a joke item from the Weasley twins," Harry explained. "And she's used it on Freed. He's going to have something of a traffic jam in his bowels for quite a while."

The laughter and good humour didn't dispel much of the tension that had built up. But it dispelled a little, and that was what counted, really. Even so, the theft of the Prinnies and Umbridge nagged away at Harry's mind. He didn't like the thought of them being free, especially Dumbledore and Voldemort…

They sat, a little apprehensively, in a dark chamber, in the only light in that chamber. Five of them had been restored to relative youth, and had changed in appearance in other regards. A dark-haired, thin-faced youth who was coldly handsome. A young man with a broken nose and twinkling blue eyes. A woman who was never truly pretty, having a rather batrachian face. A somewhat better-looking woman, albeit with equine features. A big burly bear of a man, built like a footballer, the suet he had gained during his adult life mostly gone in favour of muscle, and with a distinctive moustache. And a burly teenaged form of that man.

They wondered what they were doing here. The one thing that united them was hatred for a certain Harry Sitri, and his cousin.

Then, a man approached out of the darkness, wearing elaborate old-fashioned clothing. His face was thin, pale, and cruel, his ears elongated and diabolical, his eyes red, his hair long and dark, his fingernails like black claws. But despite his features, he was not a Devil.

"Who are you?" the young man with the broken nose demanded.

"Your saviour, Albus Dumbledore. The one who restored your form and your youth. And the one who has given you power. The power for revenge."

"Are you a Devil?" the batrachian woman demanded.

"Take a care with your tone, Dolores Umbridge, because I may need to confiscate that tongue of yours. Which is a shame, as I have done you all a favour. And no, I am not a Devil. I would thank you not to lump me in with them."

The young man with the coldly handsome features blinked in realisation, before his eyes narrowed. "One of the Fallen, then."

"Indeed, Tom Riddle. Yes, I know you prefer your pathetic little anagrammatic nom de guerre, but frankly, I don't care. You've all been given a second chance by me, and if you are wise, you will take it. Each of you have cause to hate Harry Sitri and his ill-begotten clan of Devils. I have need of people like you. Even now, I am working on a plan to bring the House of Sitri, along with the rest of the Underworld, to their collective knees."

Dumbledore could certainly get behind a plan that not only dealt with Harry Sitri, but also did much to harm the Devils, in his continuing delusion that he was the most Light person of all. And all of those present wanted revenge, not just on Harry, but also on Serafall Leviathan, for punting them around (or in Umbridge's case, forcing her to be part of Serafall's self-produced magical girl shows).

"We'll do it," Umbridge said. "But who are you, anyway? I mean, we know what you are, but who you are is another matter entirely."

The Fallen in front of them smiled rather coldly. "Who am I? Ah, what a question. I am the strongest of the Fallen. I am the slaughterer of Devils. I am the Angel of the Stars. I have many names, Dolores Umbridge, but I am usually known by just one."

"And what is that, pray tell?" Dumbledore asked.

The cold smile widened ever-so-slightly. "Kokabiel. My name is Kokabiel. And I'm sure we're going to get along just fine…"

CHAPTER 16 ANNOTATIONS:

And here you have it, the end of the story, but with a hook for the sequel. Which will come sooner rather than later, but I want to work on some other fics first.

Fall to Zenith's popularity, frankly, startled me when I began it. It was also one of the easiest to write, being done in a little over a month, though you guys had to wait two to read the conclusion. It's also fast become one of my most popular fics. Arsao Tome even started his own version of my story.

Anyway, now is the logical time to end this fic. I will be back with more adventures of Harry Sitri, his wife Rias, their Peerages, and Hermione the Nephilim. But I hope you've enjoyed the journey so far, and will enjoy the sequel. Also, I'm hoping to start another fic based on Highschool DxD, and hopefully a decent one after the fiasco of Sympathy for the Devil, which was rushed out to cash in on the success of this fic. Although I'm leaning towards another Harry Potter crossover with Highschool DxD, what the story will turn out to be is still up in the air. You'll just have to wait. And, of course, there's still the omake compilation Tales of the Fall to enjoy.

Until then, in the words of the Village, "Be seeing you!"

No numbered annotations this time.