"You will tell me what you know!"
That voice. Packed from wall to wall with anger, venom and hatred. Why? Why did he hate her so much?
"I've told you," she wheezed, the blood spilling over her lips making it hard to take clearly. "I've told you."
"Not good enough!" Her vision rolled as they pulled on her hair, yanking her head back, 'not the knife' she preyed, 'please, the scalpel I can cope with, not the knife!' Her vision was still distorted, like trying to look at the world threw the bottom of a glass bottle, but she spotted the knife well enough, a screamed ripped from her lips as the blade plunged down.
Sitting up quickly she looked around hurriedly, her breathing coming in harsh, ragged gasps as she tried to figure out where she was. Daylight! Streaming in the large window's, her curtains left open so she could see that, so she could see the sea past the windows, see the sky. The grey coloured sky, summer was fast leaving them, bringing with it the winds and chills of autumn, she would need more blankets and to figure out how to work the fire place soon.
Corbec rolled his head and looked over at her from his usual perch on the window seat, chirping happily, not bothered by the strange phantoms of her mind. He had never been bothered by her mind, only her emotional state and she was too good at keeping control of that, except when she needed to feel and feel hard! Innocence reacted to pure emotions so much better than thoughts or commands. She couldn't be too hard on the little thing, he was the only reason she was still alive at present, Leverrier would have killed her ten times over but for little Corbec and there link, the bodies they shared together.
Training.
The thought came to her in a hazy flash as she moved to the edge of the bed, sliding her legs out and stretching, feeling muscles pull and tendons twang. She had training with her Master, General Zokalo, every two days but that was before she had been taken away and since her return three days ago, he had spoken to her only once.
"I've got a mission to go on soon, got to focus on preparing for that, so we're gonna have to put the training on hold." He had said in that rough voice of his, his tone was one of annoyance and his manner that of someone bored but he had his mask on so she couldn't read his expression.
Even so, she could tell he was annoyed by this turn of events, they were both enjoying the training sessions now, with only one in three sessions ending in a win for the General, he never lost but he never always won.
Grabbing her gear together and pulling it on before turning to the mirror to help Corbec braid her hair tight enough, she saw the small book still on the bedside table and blushed. Lenalee had been in here last night with her until she had fallen asleep, sitting quietly in a chair next to her bed.
Jay had known that she had trouble sleeping without the background noise of people and after being in an isolation room for three weeks, she needed people more than ever. Even if she would never says so. He had quietly asked Lenalee if, when Kai went to bed, she would slip in and keep watch over her until she fell asleep. When Kai asked what she was doing or why, just tell her that you felt like relaxing with a book with her. She knew her soft hearted brother too well!
Lenalee, to her credit had done it, to the letter pretty much and Kai was thankful of that, she would have to find some way to thank her sister properly.
Nodding to herself in the mirror, she turned and left the room, listening to the back ground noise of the Order as it ticked over nicely, hearing the bustle from the kitchen with Jerry singing happily as he worked. The science department was like an over turned ants nest again but with added caffeine as they worked on a project of some kind, Allen had been complaining about that recently, something to do with an experiment with the Ark. The rest of the Order, its limited number of Exorcists and limitless supply of Finders, its local guards, cleaners, medical staff and extras… It was comforting somehow.
Opening the door to the training room of her choice she glanced around, it was nicely tiled with only a few cracks and broken tiles to show its heavy use by Exorcists at work. Smiling to herself she moved in and shut the door behind herself before walking silently around the room, feeling the cool smoothness of the paving as Corbec took of to stretch his wings properly. She felt the play of sunlight on her skin from the windows high up on the wall, but it did little to lighten her mood. It was gently heating the tiles were it fell and she felt it warm her bare feet as she stepped onto one of these patches, looking around she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled.
: Here : she thought and felt Corbec respond. The little dragon began to grow in size until he was the size of a large elephant, his bulk taking up a good portion of the extremely large room, wings not quiet tucked back, his tail lashing as he anticipated the next part.
: Looking forward to it? : She whispered across there link.
: Yes. It is interesting to see the world with you, to be close to you and feel you, heart and mind.: Replied the dragon calmly as she shifted into her armoured form, stretching and flexing. The empathic link between them, opened up during combat and in training, the simulations were close enough for it to work.
: We are close, how could we be closer? :
: The Crowned Clown is closer to his Accommodator that I am to mine. :
: Was that a reproach or a pout? :
Corbec' response was to flick his tail and swing his head to look away from her, leaving her smirking to herself inside the helmet of her armour. She watched him for a few moments longer, to see if he would speak again but he continued to look indignant and she let out a giggle, making him turn sharply and glare at her as best he could. Stepping towards him, arms raised, she embraced his muzzle as best she could, the large snout and jaw feeling reassuringly firm under her hands, the strangely spicy smell of him filled her nostrils.
: How can we be fighting over something like this? : She asked silently, : we are of the same body, same mind. :
: Yes… I know… :
: I would be dead if it wasn't for you, healing all our wounds as I slept.:
: I live for you as you live for me. :
: Let us train, or we will still be here like this when everyone else starts to come in. :
: Its not such a bad thing, : she could feel the smile behind those words, making her smile in return. Pulling back she stood on the same spot she was on before and took a deep breath, focusing her mind on nothing while feeling everything around her, the tiles under foot, the air on her armour, the sunlight on her hair. Everything.
"Innocence Activate, Champions of Light." The words were just a breath, not even a whisper, but they still seemed to echo around the room, making the air shiver and dancing as once more her body glowed, Corbec' skin glowed.
Again, the strange feeling of transition, of being somewhere still but moving at the same time, her mind open to every sensory sensation that could be! She felt her place on the world, in the world, her moment in time, the pull of gravity on her body, the taste of her own tongue, the pounding of her two hearts, the smell of the souls around her! Blinking no longer worked, even as she closed her eyes, her senses were painting the world so vividly in her mind she could still see!
: No one can do this for long and remain human, : she murmured between there minds as the power settled, bare seconds after activation, her control of two bodies instinctively under her command. Briefly, her mind flashed her an image of her second life, of reading manga in the sun and reading Allen shouting at Bak, 'I'm no longer a human being, I'm an Exorcist, so please let me return to the battlefield, to the Akuma!' The words almost mocked her as she began to flex and move her two bodies independently, no longer consciously able to think about the bodies as separate.
Running through a series of simple warm up's, easy exorcises that didn't require concentration she turned her full attention to her training, summoning up her sword and shield.
BOOM!
"Wha-?" A muzzy, half asleep voice spoke up as the stones around him thumped again.
BOOM!
It was like the foot falls of giant, the trample of a Level Four the size of a mountain falling on the Order. The stones shook with each booming thud, shooting cracks through some of the older plaster walls, knocking paintings off of walls and toppling light statues.
BOOM!
Allen's eyes widened in shock and he sat bolt up right in his bed, wandering what time it was and how he had managed to sleep in so much, the only real fact his bleary mind could put together was that this couldn't be an Akuma attack, his eye was perfectly fine.
Looking around in panic, he jumped out the bed and pulled on his trousers, grabbing a t-shirt in one hand as he ran to the door, pulling it open just as Link was about to knock, leaving his assistant momentarily shocked. "What the hell is going on?" He asked, a little more sharply than he intended as he pushed his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, grabbing his boots from by the door with his, now spare hand.
"I think… Just come with me!" Began Link then flinched as another bone shaking BOOM ripped through the building. He turned on his heel and began to pound down the hallway, leaving the white haired General to try and keep up with him. Running through the building, he saw worried faces everywhere, Finders and Staff gathered in worried knots, talking hurriedly in quiet voices that would stop the minuet he drew close enough.
Annoyed at there actions and the lack of any information, he nevertheless learned that whatever was going on was situated in the training rooms, everyone was looking or pointing in the same direction. Running to the doors, he pulled himself to a halt with a long skidding motion that left his feet tingling on the bare stone work, his boots still in hand, his shirt still hanging open for all the world to see the large scar that ran the length of his chest. Arriving at the same time from another corridor were Jay and Lenalee, both of them looking shocked and troubled, faces pale at the loud throbbing BOOM'S coming from the other side of the thick doors.
"I can't find sister," cried Lenalee as the sound lulled for a moment and they looked at one another worried. Everyone was in some state of disarray, clothes hastily pulled on or hair still sticking up, the brief paused allowed people to tug clothes into place, tuck shirts away properly or in Allen's case pull his boots on and make an attempt to do up some of the buttons of his shirt.
"Should one of us go in?" Asked Jay as they continued to stand there, uncertain. All eyes of the group were pulled to Allen as he looked at the door again, hearing the pounding of other people now making there way down the corridors to the room. Whatever was happening, good or bad, it might get out of hand quiet quickly if left like this, especially with so many people heading in there direction.
"I'll go in." He said firmly, one hand reaching out to rest on the door handle when a voice called out to them, making them turn and look. Lavi was skidding to a halt besides them all, panting hard as he tried to get his breath back, a shirt in one hand and his hammer in the other, he was thankfully wearing trousers and boots, but only just by the looks of them, the buttons were open on his jeans and the laces were undone on his boots.
"G-Give me a… a second an-an-an I'll come… bugger, bloody library…I'll come with you!" He panted out, straightening up and lifting the t-shirt up and over his head, pulling it down and pushing his arms through the holes even as Allen gave him a worried look.
"I don't think that would be-"
"Its Kai! I know it!"
Allen's expression hardened, "what the hell is going on in there then?"
"Lets find out shall we?" Said Lavi, all panting and smiling gone as he stared at his white haired friend, seriousness radiated him in waves, the edges of worry cresting those waves as he motioned for Allen to open the door.
"Wait," said Jay, reaching out one long arm to grab hold of the door knob over Allen's hand. "We are all close to Sis, we all have our reasons for wanting to go in, so lets all go in."
"Yes!" Cried Lenalee earnestly, her hand had balled into fists but they were shaking still, held tightly by her sides. "Don't you dare try and stop us!"
"Fine," agreed Allen with a faint wince and he began to turn the handle as Jay let go of his hand.
