A/N: Well, this is a fic I started at another site and finally decided to dig up and try to finish. It's one of my earlier fics and my first WHR fic ever...actually,this is the only WHR fic I've written...
Disclaimer: I don't think wishing to own WHR for a birthday wish considers as owning it.
By the Ear
Chapter 1
With each stride, her heavy black dress swished around her legs, refusing to be moved. Her breaths came quick and her heart beat with anxiety. She could see no more than five feet in front of her in the dimly lit corridor and could do nothing but follow her instincts to where her fellow witch hunters were. She had accidentally dropped her communicator while battling with the witch earlier. Out of fear for her friends' lives, she took off without picking it up when the witch teleported away.
She came to a fork in the hallway and paused indecisively. Instead of slowing, her heart beat even faster than before, so afraid that she was going to be too late. A muffled cry rang out in the distance and she ran down the path to her right. Was it Karasuma's voice she just heard? She hoped against all odds that it wasn't.
The corridor was no longer lit and she groped around in pitch darkness. She stumbled over a large bundle of cloth and fell hard to the floor. In horror, she reached over to the bundle of clothes and found herself touching the face of someone. A hand reached up slowly and took her arm in earnest. "Robin? Is that you?" came a groan from the bundle.
"Sakaki? What happened?" Robin struggled to untangle her skirts from his body.
"Ugh. I don't really know. All I know is that I was following Amon and Karasuma when I was suddenly thrown into a wall with either a really hard punch or a really strong psychic blast. I hit my head on the floor pretty hard when I landed and got knocked out. You better hurry and find Amon and Karasuma. They'll probably need your help."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Just give me a couple of minutes to recuperate," replied Sakaki while releasing her arm. "Hurry. I'll be there was soon as I can."
Robin nodded, forgetting that Sakaki couldn't tell in the darkness. When she stood, her dress rustled in protest while she slipped on her glasses. The pair that Amon had given her. Amon, she thought, I'm coming. Please hold on.
...........................
Robin was greeted by a potent blast of power the moment she stepped into the small, dark room. She stumbled back a few steps and fell to her knees, the pain in her chest unbearable. She glanced over and saw that Karasuma and Amon were also in the same position she was in: bent over and grimacing in pain.
The witch laughed manically and pinned the three hunters to the wall with invisible hands that choked the air from their lungs. Robin glared at the unseen arm holding her above ground and flames licked out the form of a human arm before it disintegrated to ashes. She fell to the floor and coughed, gasping for air. Once she caught her breath, she gazed intently to the open space in front of Amon and Karasuma and they too fell to the floor.
Enraged by now, Robin looked up at the witch and, with surprise evident in her eyes, barely had enough time to roll away from another psychic blast. Robin hurried to her feet and clenched her fists in anger. She had had enough of this. A jet of fire burst towards the witch but was deflected back at her. A wall of flame blocked the deflected fire and absorbed it. She sent the whole wall flying at the witch and fed it continuously with small spheres of fire.
Robin's lips twitched into a small smile just before the inferno hit her target. Suddenly, the blazing firestorm was sent back her way and the witch was unscathed. Robin didn't have time to react and could only stare in shock at the incoming mass of fire.
"Robin, look out!" shouted Amon too late. His eyes widened in horror as he watched Robin get engulfed in her own craft. Her screams of agony and pain rang loud in his ears and he tried to tear his eyes from the sight of Robin being burned alive but his body would not listen. At last, her cries subsided and the fire died down. He growled viciously and the usual ice in his eyes was melted by pure hatred. Amon at last tore his gaze from Robin and glared at the witch. "You bastard! You'll pay for this, I swear it!"
Amon rushed at the witch, unexpectedly, and knocked him off his feet. He was too angry to even use his orbo gun. He just wanted to squeeze the living daylights out of this hated witch who had just killed the only person in the world he had ever truly cared about. "Damn you!" He punched the witch in the face until several gashes appeared and blood began to pour from the witch's wounds. Suddenly Amon was knocked back by a psychic blast. He reached for his gun finally and shot the witch as he tried to get up. Amon continued to shoot after the witch had fallen unconscious until he had no more ammo. Then, he fell to his knees and silently lamented the loss of Robin.
Karasuma, shocked by what had just happened, was further surprised by Amon's sudden display of emotion. She had never, in all her years of working with him, ever seen him so upset. Still on her knees, she crawled over to Robin and put out remaining fire around her with her coat. She braced herself for what she was sure would be the charred remains of her young friend.
Karasuma let out a small gasp of surprise when she finally was able to look at Robin. "Robin...she's alive?" Amon's head snapped up and looked over at Karasuma and Robin. "How's that possible?"
Amon tried to stand and hurry to where Robin and Karasuma were but his left leg gave out beneath him. The witch had broken his leg and he hadn't even realized it during their fight. He leaned against the walls and slowly shuffled his way toward Robin painfully. He dropped down beside her and gazed at her in amazement. Other than her singed hair and eyelashes, she looked practically unscathed. Her pearl-like skin was slightly darkened by the smoke but there was no evidence of any burns.
"Amon! Karasuma! What happened to Robin?" Sakaki came blundering in. Karasuma shot him a death glare while Amon was completely oblivious to anything but Robin.
Amon gently brushed the stray hairs from Robin's face but quickly removed his hand when he saw that he had smudged his own blood on her. His heart leapt when her eyes fluttered momentarily before coming to a rest. "Amon..." Her voice was cracked and weak but it was a comfort to him to know that she still lived. However, she slipped into a coma soon after despite Amon's unvoiced call for her to be strong.
"Call Michael and tell him to get an ambulance as well as the factory," said Amon in his normal detached voice though his eyes were filled with pain.
Sakaki stuttered, "Uh, y-yeah. Of course." He stood a little ways off and tried to explain to Michael what had just occurred. The factory came a few minutes later and immediately rushed off the witch who was in critical condition due to the injuries Amon inflicted on him. As soon as they left, the ambulance arrived and lifted Robin onto a stretcher and gave her a oxygen mask.
Amon tried to stay by her side, but his broken leg thwarted him. Damn! he swore in his head as his eyes lingered on Robin's limp form being carried away from him.
"Hey Mister!" called out a voice. Amon snapped from his daze and glared at the EMT who broke his unwavering concentration on Robin.
"What do you want?" he asked frostily.
The EMT cringed but responded with relative steadiness, "Uh...we need to get you on a stretcher as well, sir. We need to treat your leg."Amon frowned but allowed them to help him onto a stretcher. They led him to another ambulance that just pulled up, away from the one Robin was put into. "Stop!" The EMTs looked at him in surprise. "Let me onto the same ambulance as her." He commanded but then added as an afterthought, "Please."
"Sorry, sir, but only one stretcher can fit into an ambulance at one time."
Amon swore again but could do nothing but comply. Robin...I swear I won't ever let you get hurt like this ever again. I just hope you can live through it this time. Then he chastised himself for even thinking that Robin might...just maybe, not make it.
A/N: So I know it's kinda short, but I already combined three chapters to make this one bigger one. I used not like writing long chapters. Now I figure it's better to have one long update not so often rather than a bunch of smaller chapters real often. It makes it easier to write. Kay, I'll shut up now.
