Welcome back! I really have no plot-related plans drawn out for this little series, so I suppose I'll just keep writing it as I see fit 'til it ends itself... XD I know what general direction I'm going, but if you all have any suggestions, I'd truly be glad to hear them. :3
Also, the story title's significance will be revealed in the end... don't worry, I didn't just choose it for emoness, XD Um. Yeah. Please try to enjoy, and do let me know if any parts are confusing... n_n;
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Miranda didn't even notice the silence at first. Instead, her initial thought was that the blackness in front of her, and all around, for that matter, indicated that there was no such thing as heaven after all. She had died, and instead of going to be with God, she had...
... But this wasn't hell either, was it? Was this 'limbo,' as Lavi had so aptly called it one time?
She tried to look around, but if she did manage to move her eyes or her head, she couldn't feel it. She felt nothing besides a dull pain gnawing at what felt like her right arm - where her Innocence used to be.
Though she knew it would be in vain, she tried to speak. Hello...? She was met with silence. She couldn't even feel her tongue or lips. The dreamlike darkness and pain in her arm remained unchanged for what seemed like hours, until the black in front of her morphed into an gray vortex.
A bolt of red shot out, piercing where Miranda's chest should be, but she could neither feel pain nor see her chest itself.
She somehow knew it was what remained of Lenalee's Innocence. But why did it come to me...? She slowly begin to panic as the darkness resumed its original calm. The inability to move or feel anything was beginning to scare her.
More time passed - did time even pass in this realm, though? - and to Miranda's relief, the solid black before her began to ripple ever so slightly every now and again. As the rippling grew more intense, she noticed the numbness slowly falling away from her body; when she finally could look down, she could see it fading back into existence, her exorcists' uniform somehow intact.
She still had no sense of what this world around her was. There seemed to be no ground beneath her, and nothing above her - and with only air surrounding her, she had no way of moving around. Or was it even air? It occurred to Miranda that if this was limbo, then there was probably no actual "air" either. She felt no need to breathe, though her body seemed to be inhaling and exhaling anyway.
Her head began to hurt. That was a good sign, to her, since it indicated her body was still real. With her senses fully returning to her body, she ran her fingers up and down her arm, hoping her Innocence had somehow returned. It hadn't.
And speaking of Innocence, what had happened to Lenalee's...? She glanced down at her chest, where the red streak seemed to have struck before, and noticed nothing unusual.
And where was the rest of Lenalee? Miranda prayed frantically for the younger girl's safety, though she knew deep down it wasn't likely. If the falling debris hadn't killed her, the smoke and flames would finish her off before the Akuma even got there.
A sudden bang startled her, and she flinched. The space in front of her began to ripple again, and a giggle floated into the air as a small, purple-haired being emerged horizontally from a liquid-like rupture in the darkness. It was clutching what looked like a cauldron full of various candies, which were spilling out and falling into the infinite darkness below.
Miranda's heart froze. The being twisted upright and turned to face her.
"Oh, it has been too long, Clock Woman!" the creature chimed, brushing short purple strands aside to reveal the familiar face of Road Kamelot.
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I wasn't planning on throwing Road in... but I figured a reunion would make a nice plot device. I also don't remember if Miranda was ever called "Clock Woman" in the manga, but I suspect it'd be a Road-ish thing to call her.
I hope you enjoyed it, and please review whether you did or not! XD; I swear, the next chapter will be longer... n_n
