Chapter Eightteen:
Reunion
Disclaimer: You know it, you follow it. :)
Michael sat in his chair, staring glumly at his computer. His face showed that he was having an emotional conflict with himself.
The hacker yawned, ruining the depressed atmosphere.
The door at the top of the basement stairs opened; its hinges letting out a squeaky protest. Misha stuck her head through the doorway, her own features stoic. Her eyes showed plenty of concern, however.
"Hey, it's as quiet as death down there. Is everything all right?" She inquired loudly. Normally, she would have been able to hear the annoying taping of the young boy's fingers on his keyboard, but today was unnaturally silent.
Michael blinked, bringing himself out of a daze. He then turned his head so that he was staring at the doorway leading to the stairs.
"Yes, Misha, I'm alright. I'm just tired, that's all." He called up, listening for the answering grunt or shout.
Misha just nodded her head, though she knew the hacker couldn't see her.
"Okay, then. Just making sure." She said as she closed the door with a click. She had to get back to her work. No use in bothering with the kids.
Michael smiled and turned back to the monitor. It didn't take long for his tense mood to set in again.
I really hope Eri's not angry with me. I really messed things up. He thought miserabley as a small tear slid down his cheek.
Amon strode into the store about two hours after lunch time. His face was stormy, like it normally was, and his hair was ruffled.
Misha looked up from her cash register, giving the ex-hunter a confused look. One of her extremely thin eyebrows was raised in question.
"And where have you been?" She asked hotly, as if she were his mother and had just caught him doing drugs.
Amon stopped just short of entering the basement door. He didn't turn to look at her, but he did have the decency to answer her question.
"Around." He stated simply, curling his large fingers around the doorknob and pulling open the door. He had to grin at his little joke. Of course, he hid it from the grumpy woman behind the counter.
Misha pursed her lips, as if trying to keep herself from blurting out something she might regret. She wasn't exactly afraid of Amon, but she had seen him get angry once or twice since she had known him and he wasn't a very pretty sight when he was angry.
She figured, however, if she wasn't the one that the dark-haired man was mad at, then she was okay.
"Whatever. Your computer fiend is down there moping about something. Keep an eye on him, will you." The older woman said bitterly, turning back to her job.
Amon paused at the top the stairs when he heard this remark. His face had gone back to its troubled mask.
Poor Michael. Amon had walked in on him and Eri talking yesterday when he had brought back the little girl. Of course, they didn't notice until he had cleared his throat, but it had still been an embarrassing situation.
Especially since the ex-hunter had heard Eri tell Michael about her powers...
Amon frowned, causing lines to appear on his forehead.
Michael, you better not have done anything stupid. He thought broodingly as he shut the door behind him and made his way carefully down the stairs.
Robin sat quietly in the middle of her bed; her legs crossed in indian-style. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap. She was still in the pink, flannel pajamas with the little, yellow duckies that Kitten had leant to her.
Said girl was busy brushing out Robin's hair with a large, round, pink brush. Her beautiful face was screwed up in concentration and her violet eyes were squinting from the sunlight coming in through the window.
"My God, you have such beatiful hair, Robin. I just don't understand why you don't take better care of it." Kitten complained as she continued to drag the brush through the young witch's chestnut hair.
Robin just shrugged embarrassingly, like she always did when someone whined about how she looked and why she didn't change it.
Rain, who was busy throwing clothes out of her suitcase in her search of something suitable to wear, turned around and gave Kitten an annoyed look.
"Kitten, leave Robin alone. If she wants her hair to be messy, let her. It's her body, not yours." She said as she turned back to her rummaging.
Kitten just snorted and leaned over the side of her and Robin's bed to reach into her pink, Von Dutch make-up bag.
"Yes, I know it's her body, but it wouldn't hurt to put her hair up in a different way besides those weird pig-tails." She said as she pulled a pink, butterfly hair-clip out of her bag.
Almost everything Kitten owned was pink.
After brushing through Robin's hair a few more times, the young blonde put the clip just behind the witch's ear. Then, jumping off of the bed, she rushed around in front of the mattress to survey her handy work. The resulting smile said it all.
"Aww, Robin, you look wonderful! Now if only you would wear some of your new clothes." Kitten gushed as she ran to her own suitcase to find something for her to wear.
Robin just smiled a thank-you. She didn't feel like being chatty today.
The door to their hotel room suddenly opened, causing all three woman to look up. Bree stumbled in a few seconds later, her arms piled high with their clean laundry.
"Any one call for dry-cleaning?" She asked in her deep voice as she set the clothes down on her and Rain's bed. After shoveling through the pile, she came upon a particular garment and held it up for inspection. Nodding in satisfaction, she threw it over to Robin.
"There is your dress, Robin. I hope you don't mind if I had it cleaned." She said as she turned back to the clothes in front of her.
Robin looked down at her dress and ran her fingers over it. It was still slightly damp, but otherwise, nothing was out of place. She raised her gaze to Bree.
"Yes, thank-you, Bree. I appreciate it very much." She said kindly. Bree just grunted. Though the dark-haired girl did open up a little more after their talk, she still mostly kept distant and quiet.
Kitten ran over to join them, still in her sunshine yellow pajamas.
"Oh, did you get any of my clothes washed?" She asked, squealing for no reason when Bree nodded her head yes.
After searching through the laundry pile for her own stuff, Kitten turned to look at Robin examining her dress and sighed, as if frustrated.
"Oh, come on, Robin! Wear something else besides that dress. You want to impress Amon when you see him, don't you?" She asked, getting a mischievious look in her eye with this last statement.
Robin raised her head at the blessed name, but she shook her head at the suggestion.
"No thank-you, Kitten. I'd rather just...be myself." She said quietly, a small smile dragging itself slowly across her face.
Kitten huffed shrewdly, hating it when she didn't get her way. She whirled angrily on Bree when she heard the dark-haired witch chuckle through her nose.
"She's got you there, Kitten, babe. Maybe you should try being yourself every once in awhile." She said in a low voice, though the joke clearly gave her joy.
Robin smiled as the two argued. Then, reaching a hand up, she removed the butterfly clip and placed it carefully on the nightstand that divided the two beds.
"Where have you been? I came down here this morning to find you were gone." Michael said from his spot at his computer. His eyes were red and swollen, as if he had been crying. His voice was sort of cracked as well.
Amon looked at the hacker from his position in the doorway. His expression was gentle and almost concerned.
"I was out looking for Robin." He said as he crossed over to an empty chair and sat down. His eyes were dark and tired-looking.
Michael just nodded, raising a hand to rub at his own eyes as he tried to sniff back more tears. "I see." He said after a moment.
An awkward silence insued; both of them having lots to say, but not either of them wanting to. Being the stubborn jackasses that they were.
It took a few moments before Michael finally cracked. He sighed heavily and slumped over in his chair, tired of pretending like he was preoccupied with his computer when he clearly had other things on his mind.
"Damn it, Amon, have you seen Eri any time today?" The hacker asked, jumping straight up from his chair as if someone had just put hot cole under his ass.
Amon gazed up at Michael with his eyes slightly wider than usual. He then chuckled knowingly and leaned his head back liesurely, as if none of this bothered him in the least.
"No. Not since last night, any way." He said, smiling when the young boy let out a string of colorful word in Japanese and English alike.
"Damn it! I knew it! I shouldn't have been so forward with her last night, but -- shit!" Michael cursed, pacing from his computer and to the kitchen and back.
Amon chuckled again, his Adam's Apple awkwardly moving up and down, considering his head was still leaned back.
"Did you kiss her?" The dark-haired man asked, knowing the answer before it had even escaped Michael's lips.
"Yes, but it wasn't anything major! I mean, I didn't shove my tongue down her throat or anything like that!" The hacker shouted, continuing his pacing.
Amon rolled his eyes, raising his head finally as he did so. A small, knowing leer was apparent on his lips.
"Did you apologize after you kissed her?" He asked, slumping forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He then balled both of his hands into fists and used them as a chin rest.
"No!" Michael shouted, pausing when he realized what he had said. He turned to look at Amon, placing a hand on his hip. "Should I have?" He asked after a moment.
Amon chortled and shook his head, closing his eyes from the ridculousnes of it all.
"Michael, you never apologize to a woman after you kiss her. It's a sure way of signing your own death certificate." The dark-haired man explained. His eyes were now bright, as if he were actually enjoying this.
Michael nodded, showing that he understood. He then sighed and plopped back down into his computer chair. He was getting very frustrated.
"Then what do I do, Amon? Jesus, this like asking how to take care of a child." The hacker said, bringing his hands up to hide his face.
Amon gazed at the boy for a moment, his expression once again grim. He then grunted and straightened up in his own chair.
"Just be patient. Chances are that she's just as confused and scared as you are. Just give her time. She'll return. Trust me." The ex-hunter said as he stretched one of his long legs out to its full length while keeping the other one bent. After leaning back, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
"Wake me up if anything interesting happens." Amon added once he got comfortable. It wasn't long before he was breathing deeply in sleep.
Michael looked at the older man dozing in the chair next to him; his eyes soft. Though he couldn't tell whether Amon had just given him advice on his problem or was trying to covince himself of something, the hacker was grateful for it.
"Thanks, Amon." He said quietly, turning back to his computer.
"I still can't belive that you don't want to wear those new hip-hugger jeans that we bought you, Robin. They're really adorable and I'm pretty sure Amon would practically thank you for wearing them." Kitten complained as she watched Robin fasten the buttons on her Victorian dress.
The young witch just shrugged as she finished up with the last button.
"I don't know. I guess I just don't really feel like showing off my stomach, that's all." She said softly, grabbing one of her maroon ribbons so that she could put her hair up into her pig-tails.
Kitten scowled and let out a gravelly snarl.
"That's a stupid reason. You do like the clothes, don't you?" The blonde girl inquired harshly, one of her livid, violet eyes twitching uncontrolably.
Robin turned to look at the other girl, her hands in the process of putting up one of her pig-tail. Her eyes were wide, as if she were confused by Kitten's anger.
"Of course, I like them. But I don't have to wear them to like them." She said, turning back to the mirror she had been using.
Kitten, slightly taken aback by Robin's answer, blinked in semi-surprise. She then sighed and hunched over in defeat.
"Alright, you win. Wear whatever you want." She said, trudging slowly over to their bed and flopping down on to the end of it.
Bree had watched the whole thing from her spot next to the T.V, where she leaned against the wall. Her arms were crossed and her face was expressionless, though there was a hint of a small smile.
Rain was no where to be seen, considering she had gone grocery shopping. Ian and Andy had gone with her. Once they got back, they were all going out to look for Amon.
Robin finally finished putting up her pig-tails. She checked them one last time in the mirror before smiling with satisfaction. She, too, then went over and sat down on her and Kitten's bed.
"When are the others getting back, Bree? I don't think I can wait much longer." The young witch said, a smile creeping across her face.
Bree couldn't help but smile back.
"Calm down, Robin. They'll be back soon. Just relax for awhile." The dark-haired girl said as she readjusted her position against the wall.
Robin just nodded, her smile still plastered to her face. She then leaned back on to the bed, yawning as she did so.
Why was she so tired all of a sudden? She didn't feel this a way a few seconds ago.
Her vision became blurry. Everything was swimming around and seemed to be made of water. It gave her a major headache.
It only took a few moments for sleep to overcome her.
Amon stood in a dark room, much like the one from his nightmare. There was the usual spotlight hanging over him. Same old, same old.
And yet, somehow this was different. The ex-hunter couldn't quite place his finger on it, but something wasn't right.
As if he would find the answer up there, Amon jerked his gaze up to the 'sky' up above him. There weren't any buzzardlike creatures flying around in a circle, like in his other dreams. Just an empty blackness.
What the hell is going on? Amon thought to himself, nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt a small, cold hand grasp on to his own.
Glancing side-ways, the dark-haired man gasped when he saw Robin standing next to him. She had his hand in her own, but she was facing the other direction. Her expression was blank.
"Robin?" Amon whispered, confusion racking his brain.
The young witch stood still, her eyes continuing to stare straight ahead.
"Meet me tonight...at Harry's." She said simply as she closed her eyes and let her head fall side-ways onto Amon's shoulder.
Said man's eyes were wide enough to fit dinner plate inside of them. After a couple of moments shock, he finally let his facial features soften before a nodded an affirmative.
"I'll be there..."
Amon jerked awake, as if some type of insect had stung him. His eyes were wide and he was sweating oceans.
Michael was watching him, his own eyes wide behind his horn-rimmed glasses.
"Amon?" The hacker said nervously. "Are you alright?"
The dark-haired man brought a hand up to his forehead, which was throbbing. He rubbed it for a minute before shaking his head slowly.
"No." He said quietly after a few tense seconds. He then shot up from his chair and trudged heavily over to the basement stairs.
"I have to go, Michael. Hold down the fort." Amon said simply as he ran up the stairs, his face set determendly.
Michael stared after the hunter long after he was gone. He then furrowed his eyebrows and took out his headset, which had been hidden inside one of his desk drawers.
Fixing the contraption over his head and placing the earpiece inside his ear, Michael adjusted the mouthpiece so that it hung inches away from his lips.
Once he was ready, he searched through the piles of candy wrappers and chip bags cluttering the top of his desk. Once he found the piece of paper he was searching for, he dialed the number that was on it into the computer.
The he waited.
"Hello?" A female voice answered after about two rings.
"Hey, Karasuma? It's me, Michael. I think you might want to get over here. Something's wrong with Amon."
Robin stood in the middle of an extremely dark room. It looked like the same one from her nightmares.
Oh, great. What a lovely time to be shot by Amon, just when I'm about to go look for him. She thought to herself bitterly as she glanced upward, clearly expecting to see the buzzards flying in a circle above her head.
To her surprise, there were none.
"W-what's going on?" Robin asked herself softly, gasping slightly when she felt a large hand grasp firmly on to hers.
Turning her head, the young witch let her jaw drop a little ways when she saw Amon standing next to her. He was facing the other direction, but she could see that his features were troubled.
"Amon?" Robin breathed, letting her head cock to the right to show her confusion.
A tense silence overcame them. Nothing was said for a good five minutes.
And then, Amon spoke.
"Meet me tonight...at Harry's." He said in his deep, monetone voice as he let his gaze drop down to his feet. His grip on her hand tightened, somewhat.
Robin glared at him with wide, emerald eyes. She was obviously bewildered by all of this. After a few minutes, she regained her composure and smiled.
"I'll be there..." She whispered as she let her head fall side-ways against his broad shoulder.
Robin quickly shot up in bed, her breathing coming out in gasps. She was still in the same position she had been in when she had fallen asleep. No one had even bothered to wake her up.
And one look out the window told her it was way past sunset. The streetlamps outside had been already been lit.
"Robin? Are you feeling okay?" Kitten asked from behind, causing the young witch to jerk her gaze around. The blonde-haired girl was standing just at the end of the bed, her arms full of groceries. Bree had just entered the room. She was also carrying bags of food and junk.
"Robin, are you alright? Rain and the boys just got back. They said that they're sorry that they took so long, but they had a little trouble with traffic --" Kitten tried to explain, but was interrupted when Robin jumped up from the bed.
"I have to go!" She said in a soft yell as she tried to quickly pull on her crimson jacket, sticking her hand into its right pocket to make sure her glasses were still there.
"Go? Go where?" Kitten tried to ask, but her question fell on deaf ears as Robin stuffed her hands into her gloves and just about skipped out of the hotel room door.
"Robin, where are you going!!" Both Kitten and Bree yelled at the same time. The dark-haired girl looked positively winded, considering Robin nearly ran her over when she ran out.
The young witch took no notice of them, however. She had to get out of the hotel and quickly.
"Robin? Robin." Andy called to her as the chestnut-haired girl ran in between him and Rain as they were carrying groceries up to the rooms.
"I'm sorry, Andy, but I can't talk right now!" Robin called back as she ran down the steps and to the lobby of the hotel.
She had just sprinted out of the automatic doors when she bumped into Ian, causing the bags he had been holding to tumble to the ground.
"Damn it, Robin, are you trying to kill me?" The blonde-haired man inquired as he leaned against the taxi that had brought them to the hotel. He was holding the area of his chest where his heart was centered and he was breathing harshly.
"I'm really sorry Ian, but I have to go." Robin told him hurriedly as she started to ask the taxi driver if he could take her to Harry's.
"Wait a minute. Go? Robin, you know you can't go any where without an escort." Ian said as he grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her away from the taxi. His silver eyes were burning into her own he tried to hold her gaze.
Robin stared up a him nervously, her eyes becoming wide with a sudden, yet unexplainable fear.
This was not the Ian she knew...
"I-I'm sorry, Ian, but I must leave. Amon --" She trailed off, crying out when Ian squeezed hard on her wrist.
"Amon! Robin, we're going out to look for him in a couple of minutes! You can wait five minutes, can't you?" He asked her, holding her against him. "Can't you!"
Robin squealed, bringing up her hand to try and pry Ian's fingers off of her wrist. Her gloves hindered the movement, sadly.
"Ian, let go! You're hurting me!" She shouted a little more loudly than she normally did. Tears were pouring out of her eyes from the pain.
"I'm not letting you leave and that's final!" Ian shouted, his grey orbs blazing as he clutched harder on to the witch's wrist.
Robin, fed up with the way the older man was acting, called fourth her power and aimed it at his hand.
"Let...me...GO!" She cried as her pupils dialated. In no time, Ian's glove had caught on fire.
Letting out a yelp, the tall, blonde man releaved his grip on Robin wrist and quickly tried to free his burning hand from the desentergrating piece of clothing.
Seeing opportunity practically giving itself to her, Robin took off in a run down the street; her cheeks burning red from all of the exsurtion.
Finally able to get rid of the glove, Ian angrily watched it burn into a crisp on the pavement.
"Damn it!" He cursed as he whipped out a cellphone from his pocket. After furiously punching numbers into it, he held it to his ear and let it ring for a few moments.
"Hello? SOLOMON Headquarters? I believe I have some information for you that you may find interesting..."
Pride can stand, a thousand trials
The strong will never fall
But watching stars without you
my soul cries.
Amon ran down the street. He was moving so fast, it probably would have looked like he was flying. He sure felt like he was.
This was it. He could feel it in his bones. He was finally going to be able to see her in the flesh after two years apart. This wasn't a dream.
"Robin..." He breathed as he tried to run even faster.
Heaving heart is full of pain
Oooh, oooh, the aching
'Cause I'm kissing you, oooh
I'm kissing you, oooh
Robin hobbled as fast as she could in that damn pilgrim dress that she was wearing. She had nearly stumbled about a thousand times, already. Running in this dress was practically murder.
"Why didn't I listen to Kitten and wear the stupid jeans?" She asked herself as she tripped on the hem of the dress for the umpteenth time.
Of course, she didn't really care if she had to slip a hundred more times to get where she was going. Just as long as she got there in the end.
"I'm coming, Amon..." She whispered quietly, nearly falling over again in the process.
Touch me deep, pure and true
Give to me forever
'Cause I'm kissing you, oooh
I'm kissing you, oooh
The ex-hunter slid dangerously around a corner like a pro-skater, knocking over an innocent pedestrian carrying shopping bags.
"Hey, asshole! Watch where you're going!" The portly man shouted as he picked himself up and dusted off what dirt he had managed to get on his clothes.
Amon ignored him. It's not like he was going to be seeing him again, so why bother answering him?
The dark-haired man imagined he probably looked like giant bat running through the streets. With his trench coat flying out in all directions, it easily looked akin to wings.
This thought quickly vanashed from Amon's mind when he finally skidded to a halt in front of Harry's. Considering it was nighttime, the resturaunt was completely dark inside. Understandable, of course.
Amon looked around, as if expecting Robin to jump out of a bush or something.
"Come on, Robin. Where are you? You said to meet you here..." He muttered under his breath as he glanced nervously at the STN-J headquarters across the street. No one was there either, but it was still rather unnervering.
"But why here, of all places?" Amon added as he turned away and looked up at the sky.
Where are you now
Where are you now
'Cause I'm kissing you
I'm kissing you, oooh
Robin flew the rest of the way down the sidewalk. She had discovered sometime back that she could hold up the hem of her dress by her hands. So, doing this, she was allowed access to more manuverablity.
It's amazing how stupid people can be sometimes. She thought to herself with a smile as she rounded the last corner of the Harry's resturaunt and stumbled to a stop at the front enterance.
"Oh, I'm here. Finally..." She gasped out as she tried to catch her breath. She paused, however, when she caught sight of the tall, dark figure of a man looking up at the sky.
The man must have heard her voice, for he brought down his gaze and settled his grey eyes on her. His black, shoulder-length hair rustled in the light wind.
Robin stiffened; her eyes becoming wide.
Is it -- is it really -- Her mind fumbled around with her thoughts. Tears were once again coming to her eyes. This time out of happiness.
"Robin?" The man whispered, clearly just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.
Robin could only stand rigid as tears continued to fill her eyes to the brim. It was almost too much.
The young witch let out as sob, closing her eyes against the joyful pain that had suddenly filled up her heart.
"Oh, Amon!" She cried as she ran forward and threw herself in his arms, almost knocking him over.
Amon wrapped his arms tightly around the young girl's waist as he struggled to maintain his balance. If he had been happy in his dream, it didn't even compare to the way he felt now.
"Thank, God... Thank, God, you're alive." He said into Robin hair, muffling his words. He squeezed her body tighter against him, as if afraid to let go.
Robin clutched just as hard as she could to Amon's neck, her sobs racking her thin shoulders.
"I-I thought I would never see you again. I thought for sure that SOLOMON had sent in a hunter after you and-oh, Amon, I really thought they were going to hurt you!" She cried into Amon's shoulder.
Hearing this, for some reason, made the ex-hunter laugh.
"You thought that? Well, that's nothing compared to what I thought. The others and I had you for dead." He said as he pulled away to look into her face, but stayed close enough to keep her wrapped in his embrace.
"Dead?" Robin sniffed, bringing a hand to her face to wipe away her tears. "Why would you think something like that?"
Amon just shrugged.
"Well --" He paused, frowning when he caught sight of something on Robin neck. Removing a hand from her waist, he traced his fingers over the scar he had discovered there.
"Robin...what the hell?" He whispered, glancing up at her with a concerned expression.
The young witch just gave him a one-sholdered shrug.
"It's nothing, really. I'll explain it to you later." She paused here, raising her one of her own hands to the spot above Amon's right eyes. "But what about you? How'd you get this?" She added as she traced the lines of his own scar.
Amon closed his eyes, enjoying her touch.
"It's not a big deal. Nothing that can't be fixed." He said, opening his eyes and taking her hand within his own.
"Come. It's obvious you and I have a lot to talk about." He said with a pitiful grin.
Robin smiled back and nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright..." She whispered softly, sounding more like her old self.
She wouldn't tell Amon, but seeing him made her feel fifteen again.
'Cause I'm kissing you
I'm kissing you, oooh
Me: Yay! They're back together! (Does a little dance) I'm so happy with myself. :D I just now realized that Ian is starting to get on my nerves. And I'm the one who created him. Oo
This chapter nearly made me cry... That's just scary.
Amon's Angel of the Darkness: Well, I didn't accept annonymous reviews in because some of them that I've seen in other stories, the reviewers weren't very friendly. I didn't feel like dealing with that, me being a new author and all, I decided not to accept them. I am now, though. :)
I loved the poem you sent me. So sill, and yet, sad at the same time. You're really good at what you do. :)
Yep, A/R are connected through dreams. Probably a little stupid, but personally, I like the idea.
Ian and Amon are not related whatsoever. Though it may seem like they're twins or something, they're not. Trust me.
Karasuma and everybody will play a bigger role later on in the story. As for Nagira, he will be a major star in my sequel, but he's not going to turn up any more in this story (Well, maybe in the end, but I'm still deciding on that).
Hopefully, I left you some clues in this chapter so you can guess some more. :)
bravedragon: It's okay that you haven't reviewed for a little bit. I'm pretty sure you had more important stuff to do than read my story. Thanks for coming back, though.
I intentionally made Ian a creepy character. That way, everybody can hate him. :)
AnimeReviewer790: School sucks.... Dreams rock. :D Thanks for reviewing, buddy!
Kerigan: Yes, I am very evil. I also might be slightly insane, too. (Wiggles eyebrows) Thanks for reviewing.
Solaria735: Believe me, Amon can be a very tough character to write without him becoming OOC. I'm pretty sure every good WHR author would agree on that.
Ian is just weird and twisted. His evil scheme will be revealed in due time. :)
Angel452: Yes, they eventually look for Amon (See chapter above). :) Thanks for reviewing. :)
Hobie: Yeah, I know Amon and Robin would never seperated, but this is just fan fiction. It will never happen. No need to worry. :)