Miracle:

Chapter 11

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"Sakaki! Sakaki! Pick up right now!"

Groaning, the rookie hunter rolled over and glared blearily at his blinking answering machine. Was it…talking to him? Reaching out a lean arm, he grabbed the phone and put it up to his ear.

"Sakaki!"

Wincing, he glanced at the clock. "Miss Karasuma? Do you know it's 6:30 in the morning?"

"Sakaki," she returned, cutting him off before he had a chance to say anything else. "I need you to come pick me up right now!"

"Pick you up?" The half-awake teen yawned and scratched his shaggy head. "But it's too early for a date…how about 7:30 tonight instead?"

"Stop fooling around and get over here as fast as you can! Amon just called and said he needs something, but my car died yesterday so I can't get to him."

"Oh," was Sakaki's only response.

"So be here soon; within the next 15 minutes if possible! Please, Sakaki! It's urgent!"

"Fine, fine," he grumbled, hanging up the phone. "Damn women…I hate them all…" Yanking on a pair of crumpled jeans he found on the floor, Sakaki grabbed his jacket and motorcycle keys before leaving his apartment and heading out to pick up Karasuma.

"She'd better go out with me after this…"

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The room seemed alive with crackling energy as Dr. Nakano strode from computer to computer, reading data and looking at pictures and clips of live feed on each. His scowl grew wider and wider with each bit he read, and his face grew darker and darker with each bit he saw. A storm was brewing over his head and it was about to burst any minute.

He opened his mouth. The interns cringed.

"He remembered?!" There it was, the infamous wrath of the doctor.

Said doctor stormed around the room, scattering papers and data in his wake, white lab coat swirling around his wiry form. "He's remembered everything?! Everything?!"

The interns nodded fearfully, not daring to open their mouths. They knew what happened if you tried to speak while Dr. Nakano was on one of his tirades; the last intern who had tried had disappeared afterwards and come back a few days later with his arm in a cast. Ever since then, no one had dared to challenge him, even on a good day.

"And now what?" He paused. "I said: NOW WHAT?! Do we have any more information? What's the recent feedback look like?"

Another fearful glance was exchanged between the interns. The young woman who had been the one to go to the copper haired doctor in the first place trembled and covered her one cheek with a shaky hand. Her jaw was clenched firmly shut and it was obvious to the others that she wasn't going to be saying anything else anytime soon.

Finally, a middle-aged man with graying blonde hair spoke up. "We've lost all contact with the field team, sir."

Feet stopping dead in their tracks, Dr. Nakano whirled upon him, eyes flashing. "Lost contact?! Now this, too?! What the hell is going on here; you all must be slacking off horribly for this to have happened! This project was supposed to be perfect!"

The blonde man set his face and answered, "There's no more live feed, sir, and we can't seem to reach any of the five men we had in the surrounding area." The doctor would find out one way or another, and the way things were going, it might as well be now.

Yanking on his hair furiously, the young doctor stopped in his tracks and grew silent. Soon the interns heard him muttering to himself, something he only did when he was in deep, deep thought. "Lost all contact…designed those communicators myself…what could have possibly…no live feed…no contact…"

He continued on like this, chasing his thoughts around in circles for nearly ten minutes while his team cowered around him, dreading another outburst. And in all honesty, they weren't to blame for any of this; of all the people to blame, the doctor should have been blaming himself. He had designed both the drug and the communicators and cameras being used for this experiment, not trusting even this tiny aspect of his life's work to someone else. Consequently, he now had no one to pin the responsibility on.

Finally, he turned, seeming to have calmed down a little bit and snapped his fingers at a young man sitting nearby. "Kaido, get another field team together and take them down to the site as fast as you can. Take another set of cameras and transmitters with you and try to figure out what happened. Reset everything if need be, but don't allow our subject to see you. Wait until you are sure he's gone before you enter his home."

Kaido nodded and dashed off as fast as he could to gather his field team. Fieldwork wasn't the most exciting in the world, but at least it would get him out of the office…for now…

An hour later, a black van pulled out from the Factory gates and drove off deep into the heart of the city, heading for Nagira's apartment.

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In a screech of tires and thunder of motors, Sakaki skidded to a stop in front of the designated address. He checked the little slip of paper in his hand, reading it by the pale light of the growing dawn, and confirmed they were in the right spot. Turning to face the woman behind him, he gently tugged the helmet off her head and grinned. She looked positively shaken. "Don't you like my driving?"

With a "hmph", Karasuma slid off the motorcycle and ran her fingers through her hair. Sakaki soon joined her, still grinning. "Sorry, Miss Karasuma. I didn't know that was your first time on a motorcycle…"

Shaking her head, the woman moved forward to meet the dark figure striding towards her at an alarmingly fast pace. "Amon?" She questioned, seeing the dark look on his normally stoic face.

"What's going on?" Sakaki asked, also stepping forwards. "Do you know how early it is?!"

Ignoring the rookie Hunter, Amon directed his comments to Karasuma. "There's something I need you to see. Follow me." He whirled without waiting for an answer, black overcoat billowing out behind him.

Exchanging glances, the other two Hunters followed him, Sakaki shrugging his shoulders. They had never seen Amon like this, and it was frightening them. If there was something of a big enough magnitude to shake the immovable Amon, well…it couldn't be good.

Climbing the stairs inside of a normal, if slightly dingy, apartment building, the dark Hunter moved quickly and silently, much as if they were on a hunt. Curious as to why he was acting this way, the other two followed suit, but exchanged another puzzled glance. What was it that he wanted them to see?

Their leader opened the door to one of the apartments and disappeared inside. When they entered the dim room, he hesitated, if only for a fraction of a second, before motioning for them to follow once more, and leading them deeper into the interior.

A knowing sense of anxiety was growing in Karasuma's gut. What was this all about? She had never seen anything get under the hunter's skin like this, and certainly nothing made the great Amon hesitate. She could sense Sakaki's unease next to her, as the rookie's hand reached reflexively for the gun that was tucked inside his jacket.

The next room they entered was obviously the bedroom. Stepping to the side, Amon stared grimly at the floor, sensing, rather than seeing, the other two follow his line of sight.

Karasuma gasped, rushing forwards without a second thought and dropping to her knees beside Nagira's body. Sakaki merely stood where he was, eyes now on her instead of the body, watching out for his partner. Amon also stood where he was, face impassive as he watched the younger woman work.

Her hand rested on his brother's chest, fingertips lightly brushing the bare skin. Her eyes were closed and her face tight, as if she were concentrating deeply on something. Sakaki stared, his eyes glittering in the weak sunlight that came from the window, and drank in the sight of his partner at work.

Silence stretched out in the room for a mere few moments, before being shattered by a scream. With a shout of his own, the younger boy dove forwards and caught the woman in his arms, before she fell backwards and landed in the pool of blood beneath the dead man's body. Her eyes were still closed, but this time her face was contorted as if in pain, and soon, tears began streaming down her face.

"What did you do to her?!" Sakaki shouted, turning his helplessness into anger and directing it towards their leader. "You must have known something like this would happen! Why did you bring her here?!"

Now the dark Hunter stepped forwards and settled himself on the bed by the other two, looking down on them with the same unreadable look on his face he always wore. "Despite what you may think, I didn't know this would happen. I knew she would have a reaction, obviously, but not one this severe."

Still seething, the younger man returned his attentions to the crying woman, trying to coax her back to composure. So naturally, he was surprised when Karasuma, still sobbing, threw her arms around his neck and clung tightly to him, mumbling incoherently. Eyes widening, the rookie glanced at Amon, who said nothing and turned his eyes back to Nagira's body.

The sound of sobs now filled the room, and they went on much longer than the silence. But after a while, even those quieted, helped along by the soothing of Sakaki. Amon still focused on the body, almost ignoring the other Hunters.

Finally, Karasuma pulled away from her partner, wiping reddened eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Sakakki…I never…"

"What did you sense?" Amon asked flatly, filling in the quiet after she trailed off.

Pulling away from the younger man now, and moving to sit on the floor far away from the dead man and his blood, Karasuma shuddered. "Pain…much pain and grief and sorrow."

"But Miss Karasuma, that's not much different from what you deal with everyday at the STN-J," Sakaki offered.

She shook her head. "No, this is much worse. Much like…Robin's rape scene…"

Amon twitched, showing the first sign of emotion in a while. Karasuma continued on, apparently not noticing. "Yes, there was anguish and all the things I mentioned before, but…it was something…much deeper than that. Behind all of that was a veil covering something…something that wasn't right. The pain was a mere preview of the deeper suffering inside, and I could only catch a glimpse of it." She glanced up at the other two now, eyes haunted. "This is the same thing as I felt that time. Something's wrong and I don't know how to explain it."

A hush came over the three for the second time that day. The rays of light filtering in through the window steadily grew stronger as each of them sat there, lost in their own thoughts. Only when they reached the far corners of the little room, did Sakaki break the silence by letting out a strangled cry. "A Solomon agent?!"

Whirling around, right hand immediately going to her gun, Karasuma followed his gaze. It was only then that she noticed the slumped black form in the corner. "An agent? But why here?"

Amon stood up, and pulled a small handheld device out of his billowing coat. "I don't know, but I took this for Michael to play with. I want to see what he can find out about this situation. There were several of them surrounding this place." His black look and the were he used hinted at what he had done.

The other two also stood, taking this as their signal that it was time to go and leave this matter to the police. But, to their surprise, Amon yanked the sheets off of the bed and draped them over the man's body before scooping it up in his arms.

"A-Amon?! What are you doing?! You don't even know him!" Sakaki's voice held the same strangled tone as when he had first seen the dead Solomon agent in the corner.

"Yes, I do," their leader replied flatly. "He's my brother." And in a swirl of black fabric, he was gone.

Dumbfounded, the two stared after him, minds spinning from all that had happened in the tiny apartment within the last hour. There was definitely something going on here…something much bigger then either of them could have ever anticipated.

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"We've spotted motion, sir. There's someone coming out of the building."

The new field team, led by Kaido, moved quickly and silently into position, their communicators held at the ready in case this really was the test subject.

Kaido himself was in direct contact with Dr. Nakano. His communicator was held close to his mouth as he peered intently out at the dark form coming from the building. It appeared to be a tall, younger man carrying a large bundle. A sigh rippled through the filed team. "No good…"

The man drew closer. Eyes narrowing, Kaido leaned forwards, staring at the elongated package he held in his arms. "Something's not right, here," he muttered, shifting to try and get a better look.

And just as he moved into a better seeing position, a gust of wind blew by and ripped part of the covering off of the man's bundle. Choking back a yell of surprise, Kaido fell backwards, his communicator falling to the ground beside him. Ruined…they were ruined…the test subject was…dead…

The earpiece in his ear sounded far away over the sound of rushing blood. "Kaido? Did you see who it was? … Kaido?! Kaido!"

With a trembling hand, the young man picked up the communicator. In a shaking voice, he replied, "Gather up the rest of the team and meet back at the van in ten minutes…we're going back to base." Dr. Nakano wasn't going to be very happy…and that was an understatement.

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The sheets rustled. The clock ticked. The roar of a motor came from outside.

Sighing, Robin sat up in bed and tossed back her covers. Sleep was eluding her once more, and she wasn't ready to deal with another night of torment from her heart and mind. So instead of sitting there and allowing her thoughts to take her over, the young Hunter slipped into her typical dark dress and left the apartment she shared with Touko, intending on going to the STN-J to see Michael.

The girl heisited at the bottom of the stairwell that led out into the streets of the city. The sun was still hiding behind the horizon and shadows striped the street in crazy, haphazard patterns that seemed to shift and shape before her eyes. She backed up a few steps, moving under the light from the stairwell. Up until recently, she hadn't been afraid of the dark since she was a child, but now any lack of light brought back terrible memories and a resurgence of emotions best left forgotten.

Robin took a few more steps back, deciding to wait until daylight, when she could travel the streets safely. She had wanted to see Michael, to talk to him, but the dark…The youngest hunter chewed her lip some more as the anxiety flooded her as it always did when that memory drew near. But even as the first waves of terror began to roll in, Amon's face appeared in her mind; strong, dependable Amon.

His very presence seemed to calm her and she felt secure, safe around her partner. The reasons were as of yet unknown to the young girl, but she felt more herself around Amon now than anyone else, even Michael. He just seemed to accept her and understand without saying anything, almost as if he knew what she was going through.

Breathing a little easier now, Robin stepped firmly out into the streets, holding herself erect and meeting the world head on as she hadn't in a long time. An almost bold confidence surged through her as the picture of Amon her mind had conjured continued to stay with her. The shadows no longer held any measure of dread for her, so she continued assuredly, arriving at the STN-J on her vespa minutes later.

Michael glanced up, surprised, when she stepped into the room, not only because it was early in the morning, but because the young Hunter hadn't traveled anywhere alone since her rape. "Good morning," he said, motioning to the empty chair beside his at the computer. Before the incident with her rapist, Robin had often come to visit the hacker late at night or early in the morning, when the others weren't there. It wasn't that she didn't like them, but she and Michael shared a special bond—he had been the first one to befriend her when she first came to the STN-J. Because of her frequent visits, he had finally just decided to keep an empty chair permanently by his computer.

Now she sat down slowly, her skirts rustling and stared off into space for a long moment. The hacker, used to such thoughtful silences from the young girl, merely waited, scanning the pages of text on his monitor.

"Why?" The question hung in the air between them, vibrating as if it had a life of its own.

"Why?" Michael repeated, frowning. "Why what?"

"Why weren't you there that night? Why didn't you save me?" Robin's voice was quiet, and she still wasn't looking at the hacker boy. "I called for you, asked for your help, and yet you didn't come. Not even Amon…" quiet tears choked off her voice.

Eyes widened, Michael reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and comforting her much like an older brother would his younger sister. "Believe me, Robin," he whispered. "I wish I could have been there, we all do. If we could have been there…we would have been."

It was a long time before the youngest Hunter finally nodded her head in agreement and forgiveness.

He held her as the first rays of sun began to peek over the horizon. "Thank you," she said eventually, pulling back and wiping away the last of the tears just as the rest of the STN-J team strode into the room; Amon looking slightly more grim than usual, Sakaki looking a little dazed, and Karasuma edgy.

"Good morning," Michael greeted them, raising an eyebrow. "Sleep well?"

Yawning so widely his jaw cracked, Sakaki plopped himself down in a vacant seat and blearily rubbed at his eyes. "I would have, but Miss Karasuma called me at 6:30 this morning."

"Oh," the hacker responded, his smug tone giving away the smirk he had barely managed to hide.

"Stop it!" Karasuma interjected. "You know very well it was for work, Sakaki."

"Whatever you say, Miss Karasuma," he replied, grinning cockily. "I'm still free at 7:30 tonight, if you do want to go on a date this time."

But before the two could continue their banter, Amon reached deep into the depths of his black overcoat and yanked out a small, handheld device, tossing it down on the desk in front of Robin and Michael.

Immediately interested, the hacker leaned forwards and picked it up in his deft fingers, turning it around and over, examining every aspect of its exterior.

"What the hell is that?" the rookie Hunter exclaimed.

"Well?" the dark Hunter asked, ignoring Sakaki. "Can you dismantle it and acquire information?"

An indignant snort came from Michael. "Of course I can. It's ingenious, really," he continued, cracking open the outer shell of the device. "As you can see, the inner workings are all wired…"

"I can never understand him when he speaks nerd," Sakaki sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Wake me up when he's done."

But even as the sun set and the day shortened, the hacker was still at work. Amidst a chorus of yawns and goodbyes, the rest of the team made their way home, leaving the young computer genius to his work.

Darkness crept over the room, stretching out its long fingers to envelop the lone form still seated inside. The moon was absent this night, hidden by a veil of thick clouds that hinted at rain and thunder; a few stars bravely pushed through the murky cover, their light twinkling sharply for a moment before being swallowed up by the darkness once more.

Fingers flying, Michael hooked an assortment of wires up to the handheld and linked them to his computer. "Amazing technology…" he breathed to himself, waiting for the stream of data he knew would come.

And when it did come, he froze, fingers stiff on the keyboard, wide eyes reading rapidly through information too shocking to believe. It just seemed to go on and on, as the hacker's eyes flew faster and faster, scanning rapidly and picking out the meanings and plot behind these pages of data. "Amon's not going to like this…"

With that, he hit one last single button on the screen and the whirring and humming stopped. The screen went dark, the only light in the room disappearing. Stretching, Michael got up slowly, his overloaded mind trying to sift through all he had just learned. He had to admit, it was ingenious…but he didn't think that was going to stay Amon's wrath any.

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Well I think that was my longest chapter yet. (Over 3,000 words!) Sorry about all the reading! But I am happy to announce that next chapter, Zaizen's ulterior motives will become clear! The reason for doing this will all become apparent as Michael, the hacking genius, tells all.

And I'm also going to apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors in this chapter. The chapter is long, it's late at night, and I no longer have a beta. So if you see some mistakes, I'm sorry!

Questions? Comments? Ideas? All are appreciated.

-SanoGirl