A/N: Another chapter from Roan. Enjoy!
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The inside of the Headquarters was just as impressive as the outside. Each level of the castle had living quarters set aside for each individual exorcist, as well as various training rooms and classrooms. Every level had a similar setup, and I figured that it was probably very easy to get lost in here. I said as much and Allen simply shrugged and responded casually, "It just takes a little getting used to."
"He's such a modest and humble person," Skye sighed dreamily before wrapping her arms around him in a hug that caught the poor guy completely unawares. He just kind of patted her awkwardly on the head while I worked to remove her death grip from around him, and we were finally able to continue.
We got a chance to meet the chef of the HQ, Jerry. Apparently he was able to cook anything you wanted to eat and have it ready in a jiffy. "Since you're both parasitic types like me," Allen started, "you probably go through a mountain-sized stack of food like it's nothing, so I figured you'd appreciate knowing what an amazing cook Jerry is."
The science department was very extraordinary as well with all its cool looking gadgets and electronics, and it struck me as odd that Allen warned us to stay away from there unless it was absolutely necessary to go near it. "The scientists seem friendly enough," I said, bewildered. Skye was just as lost as I was about the whole situation and shrugged.
"You will thank me later," was Allen's only response as we moved on.
Allen then dropped us off to meet the supervisor of the science department who also doubled as the chief officer of the entire organization. Needless to say, the man was a complete goofball the majority of the time, and he was constantly fawning over his younger sister who was an exorcist. The floor of his office was beyond littered with various important looking papers, and there were a few scientists lined up beside his desk holding enormous stacks of even more paper.
"Supervisor," the foremost in the line began agitatedly, "please stop faking like you're on the phone and start on this paperwork."
"Reever, you're so uncaring! Such slave drivers of underlings I have!" the supervisor responded, swooning over-dramatically. Then he finally spotted us. "Ah, the new exorcists, if I am not mistaken," he said, abruptly adopting a more serious demeanor. He removed himself from his desk, much to the dismay of the lined up scientists, and led us to a pair of empty examination rooms. "I will be with you shortly," I could hear him call to my sister in a sing-song voice before he came into the room I was in and shut the door. "General Klaud seems to have been taking good care of you both," he stated after he finished doing a thorough check-up. He then asked me to remove my shirt so that he could closely examine the tribal-like markings covering the majority of my back that made up my Innocence.
"Yeah," I responded. "Even though she was borderline brutal with her training at times, she kept us in one piece and in good condition."
He chuckled agreeably. "That sounds like General Klaud. She picked you both up from Canberra, right?"
I nodded as I re-buttoned my shirt. "What's left of it, anyway. It was just about four years ago when that massive Akuma attack wiped out our home town. We stayed with General Klaud during her travels and received a good deal of hands on instruction and first-hand experience."
The supervisor nodded solemnly before tapping his clipboard with a sense of finality. "Well everything seems to be in order as far as your physical health is concerned. I'll have someone take you down to meet Hevlaska while I perform the examination on Skye."
"Who's Hevlaska?" I asked.
"Just another exorcist," he answered in a way that made me immediately suspicious of the fact that he was leaving out something important, but he disappeared into the next room before I could further question him.
My suspicion was confirmed when I finally met Hevlaska. To say that she was intimidating was a major understatement, and I pretty much had a panic attack when she suddenly suspended me in the air and began to probe me with her tentacles. "What's going on?" I called down to the scientist waiting on the platform.
"I am Hevlaska," the bizarre looking exorcist answered instead. "I am the Guardian of the Cube and have been part of the Order since its establishment."
I suddenly felt her presence more clearly than before; I knew that she had made contact with my innocence when a huge wave of calmness washed through my body and I could kind of feel her communicating with the fragment.
"Synchronization rate⦠ninety-three percent," was all she said before setting me back down. I could barely stand; my legs were trembling so badly. The scientist who brought me down there patted me consolingly on the back as the lift began to rise back up at a steady rate and by the time it reached the top I was able to stand up, albeit shakily. He then led me to my quarters, informing me that my sister would be staying in the room to the right of mine before departing.
The room itself was kind of small and sparsely decorated, with just enough space to house a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. A pair uniforms were folded neatly on top of the bed, the silver insignia of the order gleaming lightly in the dim lighting of the room. There was a window adjacent to the door of the room, with a view overlooking the edges of the cliff that we managed to climb up earlier that day. I leaned against the window sill, not really seeing anything as my mind began to wander back into the past.
It had been four long years since the incident had occurred. Even though so long of a time had lapsed, the pain was still as fresh as the day it had happened. I was glad to have finally made it to the Order. I felt that I now had more of a purpose in life besides protecting the only remaining family member I had left, and I held on very strongly to the thought as I lay down and willed myself to sleep.
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