Chapter 9: An Uneasy Peace

Alex rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted, leaning against the kitchen counter. She hadn't been able to find any leads as to where Danielle was all day long. She was extremely worried now. It had been a full day since the last time she had heard from her little sister. What could have happened?

She glanced at the clock, aware of how late it was now. Chances were Danielle wasn't going to be walking in anytime soon…

Or maybe not ever again…

Alex immediately pushed the thought out of her mind, standing up straight and pouring out the class of water she had been drinking into the sink. She couldn't think like that. She couldn't give up hope that Danielle was alive.

But it's possible she isn't… The Ancients could have got her…

Alex shook her head, not even aware that tears were trickling slowly down her face. "I can't lose her… I can't lose Danielle…" she whispered. She jerked her head up at the sound of knocking on the door, and she set down the plastic cup, heading over to it while wiping her face with trembling hands. As she unlocked and opened the door, she couldn't help but let out a gasp of shock. Standing there beside a young man with spiked black hair around Alex's age and five people in suits was none other than her little sister. "D-Danielle…?"

Danielle looked up at her, a weak and tired smile on her face. "Yeah, it's me… Long time no see, huh…?"

Alex didn't answer, flinging her arms around her sister. "I was so worried Danielle! I thought you were dead!" she cried out, tears running down her face even more than before.

"But I'm not. Don't go down that easily, you know?" she answered in a soft voice, trying to keep her tone light. "I owe these guys my life, believe it or not… They ended up saving both Devin and me…"

Alex looked up at them, taking note of the four in black suits and the man who seemed to be their leader, one in an expensive three-piece white suit. A young man with jet black hair wearing a ruined Navy T-shirt and tattered blue jeans stood with the support of one of the suited people, looking up at Alex with green eyes. He smiled gently, and Alex felt her heart skip a beat.

Devin… It's really Devin… I can't believe it. I almost forgot that he was the one I went out with in high school…

Alex opened the door all the way for them to enter, feeling numb as she stepped aside to let them in. She had so many questions to ask, but not a single one came out when she tried to speak. The last one to enter was a red-haired man, and he shut and locked the door behind him.

The leader turned to face Alex now, an unnerving look in his sapphire blue eyes. "I apologize for dropping in so abruptly. We had no other choice."

Alex shook her head a bit, watching as Danielle helped the black-haired man get Devin over to a couch to sit down. "It's all right… I'm really glad you saved my sister… But what happened? Where has she been all this time, and what happened to Devin?" As she looked back, she saw that he was still looking at her.

"It seems that I have some explaining to do… For all of you. Sit down, and I'll tell you what I know about recent events as best as I can."

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Alex sat to the right of Danielle, listening silently as Rufus Shinra finished his explanation, her heart beating rapidly. Everything was happening way too fast for her liking. The Ancients were back? Chattur'gha was never really killed? Mantorok wanted to kill the three who had the power of the Ancients running through them in order to revive himself? This was absolutely perfect.

And this guy and his little friends happen to know all of this when only very few even know about the existence of the Ancients… That's definitely not right.

Rufus sat back in the recliner he was in, the one that had been Danielle's adoptive father's favorite chair. "I understand that you may not trust my colleagues and myself, but believe me when I say that we are on the same side, fighting a common enemy."

Alex frowned, glancing to her left at Devin and Danielle. Devin looked a bit reluctant to trust this guy, but it looked like Danielle already trusted him. Personally, Alex was just a bit suspicious. "But just who are you guys? I doubt you're just some small group of vigilantes who somehow randomly found out about the Ancients and decided to fight them."

"You're correct, Miss Roivas. We aren't."

Now Alex frowned, getting a bit ticked off. Why wouldn't he just tell them? Was he trying to hide something from them? "Then why don't you just tell us who you really are then?"

A flicker of annoyance passed through Rufus's face. "That is for another time. We have more pressing matters to attend to. Now that you are aware of the Ancients' plans, what will you do?"

Alex looked at Danielle and Devin once more. Devin had his arms folded, apparently deep in thought. "Of course I'll help with trying to fight them, but it won't be easy. I don't know about you guys, but we have our normal lives to live. Heck, everyone thought I was dead, and then I suddenly show up again. I'm going to have to be doing a couple of things to get this all settled straight. I know stopping the Ancients takes top priority, but we have to avoid raising anyone's suspicions. After all, if anyone heard about this, they'd think we were crazy and have us thrown into the loony bin."

"He's right," Alex added, still frowning. "I have to work to support both Danielle and me now, even though the insurance companies do give us some money…" She paused, trying to push the thought of her parents' death out of her mind, a concerned look on her face. "The only thing I'm not sure about… I don't want Danielle to get involved in this, not after what happened last time."

Alex peered over at her younger sister, trying to read the expression on Danielle's face. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking as she stared down at the wooden floor. Alex looked up at Rufus now, his expression just as difficult to read as Danielle's.

"I do believe it's your sister's decision, Miss Roivas, not yours. Whether she wants to help or not is Danielle's choice."

"I don't care!" she shot back, now on her feet. "It's my little sister you're talking about! I've nearly lost her three times already, and I don't want to take the chance of her getting killed!" Alex couldn't control her emotions, overwhelmed by the need to protect her only remaining family.

Rufus replied in a cool tone of voice, still unreadable. "I understand your concerns, but as I said before, this is your sister's decision." He averted his gaze, looking towards Danielle now. "Danielle? What would you like to do?"

Danielle slowly looked up, and Alex felt a shiver run up her spine. The look in her eyes was one Alex had seen before. It was the look of someone haunted by their past and filled with a deep sorrow. Alex had seen it when Danielle was recovering in the hospital and on the night she had…

Alex pushed the thought out of her mind faster than she had the thought of her parents' death as she watched Danielle slowly stand up and walk out of the room without a single word. Her shoulders slumped slightly, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Danielle…"

Rufus's eyes narrowed, and he gave the slightest of nods to the two Turks on either side of him, Elena and Reno. They were silent as they followed after Danielle. "Miss Roivas… Alexandra… You must understand how your sister feels…"

Alex looked back at him, anger in her voice. "What, are you saying you know my sister more than I even do?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You know what she is, what she's been through. Have you ever considered that she's never gotten over the guilt of killing her adoptive parents, even if she wasn't in control?"

Alex paused, a confused suspicion welling up inside. Before she could speak, Devin asked the very question that was on Alex's mind. "How do you know about what happened…?"

There was a flicker of emotion in Rufus's eyes, gone so fast Alex couldn't tell what it was. Pity? Regret?

"I know much about the Ancients and those chosen to fight them. Ellia, Paul… Even you, Alexandra. That is also how I know about Danielle's actions. Your sister lives with a terrible guilt that has not once left her in the two years since that night. You may not see it, but it's there. I'm aware she even gave up hope and tried to stop it… the pain, the guilt…"

Alex's suspicions rose, mixing with the sadness that the memory that came to mind brought. "Just what are you trying to get at?"

Rufus closed his eyes briefly, lowering his head. "What I am saying is this. Danielle can choose if she wants to fight or not. She wants to make up for what she's done. Think of it as her repentance…" He looked up, locking eyes with Alex. "Her shot at redemption."

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Danielle rested her forehead against the cool glass of her bedroom's window. The lights were off, the only illumination coming from the soft glow of the moon outside. She felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally. A slight throb in the left side of her head just wouldn't go away, and the entire left side of her body was sore.

The door behind Danielle opened and closed softly, feet shuffling on the Indian blue carpet underfoot. She didn't need to look back to know that two people had entered her bedroom, but she didn't know who. Right now, she didn't really care…

"You know, even with all the stuff the boss has told us about you, I'd never understand you even if I lived a hundred more years." It was Reno's voice. "Why do you keep everything to yourself? Why do you hide yourself from your own family? Why do you keep running?"

When Danielle didn't reply, Reno let out an exasperated sigh. "You keep hiding, eventually everyone will stop looking. Is that what you want, to be alone?"

Danielle hesitated before slowly looking back over her shoulder. Reno and Elena stood right behind her, both of them staring right at her. "Just go—"

Elena grabbed her wrist lightning fast, holding it up in the moonlight. Confusion filled Danielle at first until her gaze fell on the thin scar on her wrist. Elena's fingers were warm on her cold and clammy skin. "I saw it and never got a really good look at it at first, but now I know…" Her warm fingers clamped down even tighter. "You slit your wrists. Why?"

"You don't know what it's like… to be driven insane… tortured… Thought I would be better off… because I killed them…"

Elena shook her head, a hard edge in her voice, but there was something below that. She was concerned. "You need to just get over it and move on! It wasn't your fault, so stop wallowing in self-pity! You really think that's going to help anybody, especially your family?"

Danielle was so surprised that she was snapped out of her pensive state. Elena released her wrist now, dropping her hand to her side. "What are you going to do, Danielle? Are you just going to keep running?" she asked, locking eyes with her.

Danielle hesitated, not really sure how to answer. She hadn't expected this, getting caught off guard. The two Turks had a point, and they knew it. They had her exactly where they wanted her. Where would running get her? She had tried to escape her past for two years and only succeeded in digging herself into a deeper hole. But she didn't even know what to do if she really did stop running.

"I… I just don't know what to do…" she admitted quietly.

Reno piped up now. "We can't help you make that decision, but the answer's pretty obvious if you ask me."

Danielle's eyes searched back and forth as she turned Reno's words over in her mind. That was when her gaze fell upon a necklace on her desk. It was a necklace that had a wooden cross along with a white dragon, a gift from Alex. As she stared at it, she finally made up her mind. She wouldn't run anymore.

Danielle looked back at the two Turks, determination filling her. "I'm not going to run. Not anymore. I'll help stop the Ancients, no matter what. I owe my family that much."

Elena seemed satisfied, and Reno smirked. "Good. Now I think maybe you should tell everyone your decision," the red-haired Turk said, his tone light.

"Yeah, I do." Danielle snatched up the necklace, putting it on so it accompanied the chain with her grandfather's ring that she already wore. Faith had restored her when all hope had seemed lost. She easily lost sight of that fact and ended up getting lost in the darkness.

Not anymore. I'm not alone. I'm never alone.

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Alex had sat down beside Devin, the tense silence in the room making her feel restless and unable to sit still. Rufus had told her all that he thought she needed to know. Over and over she fretted over the information, worrying about Danielle's decision. Rufus expected a lot out of them, especially Danielle. Alex and Devin would work together, but Danielle was on her own. Even if the Turks were there to back her up, they would only go in if Danielle called for help. What would happen if they arrived too late?

There's a chance she won't even accept, but I know she will. I know it because if I were in her place, I would go, too.

Footsteps creaked on the wooden floor, and Alex snapped her head sideways to see Danielle flanked by the two Turks, Elena and Reno. Taking a single look into her little sister's eyes, she knew what decision Danielle had reached. She had the same determination Alex had felt on the night they discovered the truth behind their grandfather Edward's death and fought against Pious Augustus.

Danielle's voice was firm as she spoke, staring right at Rufus. "I'm in. What do you need me to do?"