Chapter 12: The Fated Reunion (?)

Azure? Are you all right?

I faintly heard a vaguely familiar voice say those words to me, as I felt a couple taps on my face.

Are you awake? Can you hear me?

Though I could pick up what was being said, I wasn't exactly in the best condition to get up, being semi-conscious and all. My mind was cloudy; I didn't know where I was, or if I was even truly awake. But that all soon changed.

THWUMP!

I felt something hit me on the back of my head rather hard. The same voice I heard before let out a high-pitched, horrified scream, apparently in response. That certainly snapped me to full awareness. Swiftly sitting up, I saw that the voice was that of Season, Tiger's crimson-clad housekeeper. I couldn't really blame her cries of fear; any normal person would probably do the same upon witnessing the sight of a disembodied arm, oozing blood from its base.

"Th-that was… u-unexpected… and r-really gross…" She took a few moments to steady her breathing before continuing to speak. "Falling appendages aside, you aren't hurt, are you, Azure?"

"No. A bit confused, but I'm otherwise fine."

"Well, that's a relief. As for that confusion thing, I think I can help clear a few things up for you. But this isn't really the best place for conversation. Let's get out of here, shall we?"

I didn't take much time to scan my surroundings beforehand, but it seems I had woken up in the same darkened residence I tried to escape from. Season and I made our way to the door and went outside. The scenery directly around us was much the same as last I remembered: snow-covered landscape, garden of black roses, and a few leafless trees. However, one of them struck me as strange. The tree that had been on the receiving end of a shot of Elsa's arm cannon was somehow intact once more, albeit with a visible seam where the gouge once was. I was about to inquire about that oddity, but Season began speaking.

"Let's start from the beginning. It was when JJ and I came here the last time. When we entered this very same house, someone grabbed me from behind, which I assume JJ told you about already. As I was being pulled along, I was able to see what appeared to be a mirror with a yellow border, thanks to the illumination of a bright ball of light. I also, thankfully, managed to catch one last glimpse of my friend as he barely escaped. Although that brought me some piece of mind, I was still anxious about what would happen to me. After that shot was fired, the mysterious entity somehow took the both of us through that aforementioned mirror. I have no idea how, but that was what happened, as best as I could discern, at least. When we arrived on the other side, I found myself in front of another door. It was there I found out that mechanically-suited figure was the one who kidnapped me, and that her name was Elsa. But despite her previous actions, she spoke to me in a cordial manner."

Season cleared her throat and proceeded to do her best impression of the speaker.

"Now, now, you may wonder why I have brought you to this place. You see, my niece is currently residing in the room beyond this doorway. She has locked herself inside, both physically and emotionally. As of recent days, even I, a member of her family, cannot breach that barrier to even provide basic sustenance. I fear she may not last much longer if things remain as they are... That is why I have enlisted your help. It is not usually in my character to snatch people away like this, but that old adage of desperate times certainly applies here. As the only one of your lot who has yet to be acquainted her, you would make a suitable third-party to get through to her. I have heard of your proficiency at various household tasks, so I request that you make use of those assets."

Season then switched back to her normal voice.

"Elsa then got silent for a few moments and lowered her head a bit. I couldn't see her face through that green-hued visor of hers, but it seemed to me that she was… crying. She then gave me a few more words: 'I know my methods of requesting your assistance are… far from orthodox, but please, I implore you to help my dear Raina. She and I may have had our differences, but the only thing I want is for her now is to be safe. …I do not wish for her life's story to end in tragedy. So, will you please aid me in this cause?'

Needless to say, I complied with her pleading request. Once I had put together a simple meal, I knocked at the door to Raina's room. There was some hesitation at first, but she did eventually let me inside. She wasn't a big fan of my usual formal way of speaking, but she was nonetheless a very nice person. I can certainly see why you became friends with her. And as the days went by, I continued bringing her meals and striking up conversation. Each time, I kept telling her about how you and everyone else was out looking for her. She was gradually opening up to me, but whenever that topic came up, she was quick to shy away from it. On some occasions, she'd even ask me to leave. I also noticed from time to time that it seemed like she was having a conversation with someone else, though I never found out who. The occasional fleeting black blur in the corner my eye was the most I ever saw of this mysterious person…"

"So, is she still hiding away, Season? Did you at least find out why all this is happening?"

"No, I never did find out her reasons. But thankfully, I didn't really need to. Not too long ago, she finally decided to free herself from her isolation! I'm not quite sure what prompted this change of heart, but it was something I wouldn't dare question. Elsa was right there by the door at the moment Raina stepped out of that room to welcome her with open arms! After that touching reunion, I was told that I was free to go."

It was certainly great to have one mystery cleared up and, of course, the girl of my dreams no longer being shut away, but there were still so many questions left unanswered. "Hold on. Earlier you said 'days'. How long was I out exactly?"

The redhead scratched her head momentarily. "Truth be told, I don't know. I haven't even seen you since we all split up back in Yakushi. What I can say though is that it's been about a month or so since I became Raina's caretaker. …Which reminds me! Before I left, she gave me a message to relay. Here."

She handed me a slip of paper.

Hello again, everyone. I'm back. I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you all sooner. I don't feel like going into detail right now about what happened, but we can still meet up. Take the train from my town going west. You'll reach the stop I'm at in an hour. Take the bus from the station and I'll be there to meet you all at exactly noon. See you soon.

-Raina

"So… what happened to everyone else? Do you have any idea? Did they get this message too? …Are they even still alive?"

Season was on the verge of answering, but a loud voice pre-empted her.

"I believe I can answer those questions for you!"

Looking up, I saw someone standing across a cobblestone bridge up ahead.

"I'd ask ya to give me a hand, but I don't see a real need for it anymore."

With orange hair and a bad pun, it was none other than Slash, whose left arm had been restored.

"It's nice to see ya made back in one piece! I, however, wasn't quite that fortunate. Oh well, c'est la vie; it's good enough that I still have la vie in the first place. …In any case, Tiger and JJ have already gone on ahead, so I'll just hafta explain on the way. There's no time to lose!"

The three of us then hurried to Overlook's station just as a train arrived. After we took our seats, the flame-haired youth spoke up once more.

"Alrighty then, first things first. When we faced off against Elsa and that arm cannon of hers, it seems that she wasn't tryin' to kill us. From what I deduced, that ball of light she shot us with was apparently able to send us off to some point in the future. Or to be more precise, accelerated us forward in time to the exact moment she wanted, given my left arm's back in action. Yeah, I know it's kinda complicated; for cryin' out loud, I don't even understand the mechanics of it all. But I still gotta hand it to Elsa, she's one heck of a scientist. Anyway, I woke up back in that pitch-black house before you showed up, Azure. There, Season explained to me what happened to her and that Tiger and JJ reappeared some time earlier. She then gave me the same message from Raina they got. Since I figured ya probably wouldn't wanna miss out, I told her to wait till you got back, and well, here we are! That's pretty much the gist of it! …I still don't have all the answers, like why Raina was isolated for all this time, but, hey, now we can finally meet her again! And that's what matters, right?"

"Yeah, it certainly is!"

The rest of the train ride was filled with hopeful anticipation. Anticipation for the moment that we would all meet her again, in person. Around an hour later, our train exited the tunnel we traversed for most of the ride, and emerged into a sunny urban area with several tall buildings and two canine sentries guarding a large iron gate. We disembarked the train when we got closer and took a short bus ride as was spelled out in the letter. The guards let us through and we arrived in the town proper, the site for our fateful reunion. Sure enough, Tiger and JJ had already arrived, giving elated greetings when they saw us. Then a minute later, everything went silent as the town's large clock struck noon, echoing its chime through the air.

Off in the distance, I could see someone coming our way, hand waving. I didn't even need a closer look to know who it was, none of us did. We all ran ahead to meet her, not wasting a second.

"Hey everyone! It's nice to see you all again! …I'm really sorry I left you all like that." Raina's voice was cheerful, but there seemed to be traces of melancholy as well.

With concern mixed with apprehension, Slash then asked a question. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but… why did you leave? What happened? We were worried about you."

The brunette looked down slightly. "…I still don't feel like talking about it."

"Well, I guess that's OK. Whenever you're ready, by all means, but we won't pressure ya. It's just so great to see ya back!"

Everyone else, myself included, continued welcoming our long lost friend. But the brunette appeared to have another thing on her mind.

"…There is one thing I want to tell you though."

"Yeah? What is it?"

A slight hesitation preceded Raina's next words. "The thing is… I'm still going out with my boyfriend."

After everything that took place, we were all taken by surprise by that statement. "Wait, what?! You're still going out with T?! Why?!"

Immediately after Slash exclaimed those words, two shining pieces of metal flew at him from either side, slicing off some strands of his unkempt orange hair. Once the projectiles had embedded themselves in the ground, I saw that they were oddly heart-shaped and colored blood-red.

"Did someone call for me?!"

In the blink of eye, an all-too-familiar figure in a dark coat made his entrance. His usually ever-present mask was absent, revealing a scowl of pure contempt directed at us.

"Oh, it's you guys again."

Author's Note: And so, the end draws nigh. But it's not over yet. One more chapter still lies ahead. One more battle remains to be fought, but perhaps not the one you may think. What do I mean by that? You'll just have to find out…