The factory is no more. Amon awakens in a hospital two weeks after the incident, but to his dismay, he has only been in the hospital for one week. What happened the week before? Where is Robin? Why is SOLOMON more determined than ever to hunt both Robin and himself?

Disclaimer: I do not own Witch Hunter Robin, but if I did. . . .I'd be wearing a giant button that says "I own Witch Hunter Robin." Obviously I'm not wearing the pin, so I don't. Okay, I shall shut my trap and proceed to the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Escape

Nagira cautiously walked out of Amon's room, observing every person that stood in that hospital hall. No one seemed suspicious. Except for the group of people that sat in the waiting room. He walked over to the group of three, whom chatted amongst themselves. His arrival seemed to halt the long conversation between the three. The three hunters from the STN-J all sat there: Sakaki, Doujima, and Karasuma.

"Did you see him?" asked Doujima.

"Yep, I talked to him. He sounds like his old self. Though he doesn't seem to remember anything that happened after the Factory collapsed," said Nagira, sitting down next to the blonde hunter.

"Nothing huh? So that means he knows nothing of Robin?" asked Sakaki.

"Nope, he knows nothing. I'm starting to wonder about that Warehouse incident," said Nagira, stroking his stubbily chin. He glanced over at Karasuma, whom seemed deep in thought. 'She must be worried about Robin' Nagira thought to himself.

"Are you okay Miho?" asked a very concerned Doujima.

The hunter seemed to snap out of her trance upon hearing Doujima speak. She turned towards her colleagues and nodded. "I am fine. . .it's just that I'm worried about Robin," she said sadly. Miho looked down at her hands and then at the door, which lead into Amon's room. "Maybe. . .," she said to herself.

"Maybe what?" questioned Nagira.

"Maybe I could try and read Amon's thoughts. Perhaps deep in his mind, he knows what happened, but has forgotten. There is just a chance I can still get a sense as to what took place after the Factory incident."

Nagira looked over at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Well we can't do it now. Visiting hours are almost over and there's no way they'll let us in." He took a glance over at the nurse's station, catching a pair of curious eyes staring back at him. From the way she looked at him, it seemed she didn't want them there any longer. He stood up from the couch and straightened out his coat. "Well I think it's about time we left," he said heading towards the elevator.

Sakaki and others stood from their seats, heading towards the elevator as well. Karasuma stopped as she stood near Amon's door. She wanted to go in there and talk to him, but she knew that she very well couldn't. Taking one last glance at the door, she walked towards the elevator.

Nagira stood at the elevator door, waiting for her. "Don't worry, you have your chance to talk to him soon. He won't be in there for much longer," he said with a wink.

Amon looked up at the clock that sat next to the television screen. It was almost midnight. He glanced over at the fire alarm on the wall. "Only a few more minutes," he said to himself. Very slowly Amon pulled the IV out of his arm. He winced as his arm began to sting from the removal of the needle.

Just as the minute hand on the clock hit 11:57, Amon rushed over to his closet, stumbling as he walked. Many days had passed since he had been on his feet, so it would take time getting use to walking again. Inside were his usual set of clothes and a white jacket. Nagira had left this for him, which was to serve as some sort of disguise. This looked like the jacket that the doctors in the hospital wore.

Amon wondered how his stepbrother had managed to snag this jacket. Nagira knew many people, so it must not have been hard to obtain it. He just left it sitting in the closet. The man would move quick enough. No one would notice his escape. There was no need for a disguise. If Nagira had been there that moment, he would have been furious that Amon was abandoning the disguise.

The man glanced back over at the clock. Just as the minute hand landed over the twelve, the fire alarm went off. Now was his cue to leave. Amon glanced out the window on the door of his room, seeing all the nurses rush from their stations.

"Good," he said to himself. This is exactly what he wanted. With them gone, nothing could stop him.

He slowly opened the door and watched as the nurses ran into the rooms of other patients. As he watched the last nurse disappear, Amon took off towards the stairs. Without even a moment's hesitation, the runaway made his way down the flights of stairs, not even glancing back to see if anyone was following. Once he reached the bottom, Amon glanced back. There was no one. The man started towards the exit of the stairs when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Amon swung around to see whom was approaching.

"Escaping are we?" asked an ominous voice.

Amon didn't see anyone from the staircase. "Who's there?" he asked.

A figure fell down in front of him; the shock of their arrival nearly causing Amon to fall back. The person stepped towards him, smiling. Amon stepped back, staring at the figure. This person reminded him of someone.

"Who are you?" he demanded. His voice remained flat as he spoke.

"I was sent to kill you by SOLOMON," said the figure smiling evilly. "You are to be hunted just as the woman Robin. Both you and Robin are witches, that must be killed."

Amon stopped at the exit door and stared at the hunter. She looked similar to Robin. The woman wore a long, black coat, very similar to the crimson one that Robin once wore. Underneath the jacket was a black dress, that was also similar the one Robin wore. Her raven hair swayed alongside her shoulders. It almost seemed like she was trying mimic Robin's looks. "What is your name?" asked Amon curiously.

"Haze. That is all you need to know." She the then rose her arm up into the air, pointing a gun straight at Amon's head. "How does it feel to be the hunted?" she asked coldly.

He kept his usual cool demeanor, even as a gun was being pointed at him. Amon didn't seemed worried that he was about to be shot. Her comment didn't seem to affect him either. It almost seemed like he was accepting his fate.

She smiled and pulled the trigger. Amon quickly closed his eyes, awaiting the impact of the bullet driving straight through his skull. Instead, he heard the sound of a bullet bouncing off metal. He opened his eyes and looked up at the hunter. Haze still held the gun out in front of her. The ex-hunter was utterly confused. Wasn't this woman going to kill him? A moment ago she had one straight shot at his head, but she missed.

"Go," she said.

"I thought you were going to kill me?" he asked coldly.

The woman nodded and sighed. "Yes, I am suppose to and I will. Just not today," she said sticking the gun back in its holster. "Find her," she said looking up at Amon.

This confused Amon. Was she asking him to find Robin? Why was this hunter letting him escape to find Robin? "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

She smiled and shook her head. "Just find her. We will meet again soon Amon." Haze walked forward, getting right next to Amon. Leaning over to his hear, she whispered something to him and walked off. Amon turned back towards her. Her words rang in his ears.

"Next time, my shot won't miss."

Haze walked outside of the hospital and glanced back. Her raven locks drifted into the air as the wind blew through the streets. Piercing blue eyes stared back at the bright building. She smiled and pulled out a cellular phone. The woman flipped back the screen on the phone and started pressing keys.

"Haze," said the voice on the other end.

"Yeah, it's me," she answered.

"Did you complete your mission?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, he got away. One of my bullets hit the exit doors. I didn't get a chance to retrieve the bullet. You better send someone to do it. We don't want anyone to suspect anything. I shall resume the hunt tomorrow."

"Be careful."

"Understood." Haze clicked the phone off and proceeded down the street. "How long can I do this?" she said to herself.

Amon walked slowly through the streets, looking for his stepbrother's law firm. It may not have been safe walking through the city, but he couldn't have very well been running. That would have seemed suspicious. His car had been taken into custody by the police, so he was unable to drive. There was no way he was going to attempt at retrieving it from them. Doing so would bring out SOLOMON. They would know where he was.

He stopped in front of a tall building. This was definitely the place. Amon walked up the stairs and headed towards the entrance to Nagira's office. His office still appeared to be open. There were still lights on in the office. Just as Amon went to turn the handle, someone came up behind him, putting their hand on his shoulder.

Amon flinched and threw himself away from the person. To his surprise, the person was Nagira. The man felt a little silly for getting himself so nervous. Normally Amon wasn't jumpy, but he guessed with being hunted and all, he just couldn't help it. He looked at his stepbrother and frowned.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people."

"Heh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you." Nagira seemed pleased that he made his younger stepbrother jump as he did. It was amusing to the older man.

"You didn't," said Amon sharply, while tugging the neck of his jacket.

Nagira smiled and shook his head. "Whatever." He reached for the handle to the office door and turned it. "Come on, I have to talk to you," he said leading Amon into the office.

Amon followed behind Nagira, glancing around the office. It seemed a little messier than usual. After the whole ordeal with the factory, Nagira had been behind in his work. More so than usual, which was a lot considering Nagira could be rather lazy when it came to work. He walked over to his desk and looked down. A post-it note sat on it. Hana had left earlier in the day, finally giving up on the absent Nagira. She had left the note on Nagira's desk, saying that he better be there tomorrow and stay there. At the bottom of the note was one more message. It read in bold "NO PACHINKO!"

"Heh, she knows me too well," he said dropping the note into the trash bin next to his desk.

Amon walked over to a couch near his brother's desk and sat down. Nagira sat down at his desk and reclined, propping his feet up on the desk. He lit up a cigarette and inhaled the thick smoke.

"Those will kill you," said Amon coldly.

Nagira eyed his brother and smiled. He took another puff on the cigarette and blew the smoke towards Amon. "At least it will be something I enjoy that kills me."

Amon just shook his head and made a sound that Nagira could only place as a grunt.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? Is it about Robin?" he asked.

The older man nodded and sat the cigarette down in an ash tray. "Yeah, it's about Robin."

"Was she found?" Amon in a way, was afraid to hear the answer.

"Well, I guess you could say that. One of my informants passed on a very interesting piece of information to me. Right after that warehouse fire, someone was spotted escaping from the building. It also seemed that someone was with them. This person, has been seen returning to the warehouse for the past couple of days."

Amon stroked his stubby chin. "And you're saying this person is Robin?"

"It could possibly be her. I had my doubts at first, until I was presented with this little piece of evidence," said Nagira; reaching into his coat pocket.

He pulled out a little plastic bag, with a pendant and chain sitting inside of it. Amon recognized the pendant as Robin's. It was the one she always kept with her.

"It's definitely hers," said Amon.

"Just as I thought. So, does this mean Robin had been involved in the warehouse incident?"

"Perhaps, but if so; whom was the person she was escaping from the building with?" asked Amon.

Even Nagira found that answer obvious. "Well, it was you. The time in which it happened seems perfect. One week ago the warehouse blew up and right after, you showed up in the hospital. No one knows how you got there. It must have been Robin that took you there. Thought I don't see how little Robin could have gotten you all the way there. Perhaps someone else is involved."

If that was so, then why did Robin just leave him there? Wouldn't she have been injured too? Why were they ever in that warehouse? Amon's brain was filled with so many unanswered questions. Questions that had to be answered, and the only person whom could was Robin.

Nagira picked up the small bag with the pendant and handed it over to Amon. His stepbrother seemed a little hesitant to take it from him.

"Why are you giving this to me?" he asked curiously.

Nagira smirked and shook his head. "So that you can give it to Robin when you find her," he said.

Amon glared at Nagira and snatched the bag from him. He tucked it neatly into one of his coat pockets. Nagira wasn't sure what the glare was for, but just smiled at Amon. The older man glanced out one of the office windows and sighed.

"What are you looking for?" asked Amon.

As Amon finished that sentence, a knock came at the door. A grinning Nagira, headed towards the door. "I've been looking for this," he said opening the door. Outside the door stood Karasuma, soaked by the newly fallen rain.

"Karasuma, what are you doing here?" asked a stunned Amon.

The hunter walked into the room, taking off her wet jacket and laying it on the coat rack behind the door. "Nagira told me you would be coming here, so I came. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine, but yo haven't fully answered my question yet. Why are you here?"

She smiled and walked over towards Nagira's desk. "Well, since you can't seem to remember anything since the Factory incident, I thought I might can find out what happened to you with my powers." Karasuma noticed the displeased look that formed on Amon's face.

"You don't have to do that."

"Amon, don't you want to know what happened to Robin?" asked an irritated Karasuma.

He just stood there, glancing back and forth at Karasuma and Nagira. It felt to him like an invasion of privacy. Though he did truly want to know what had occurred after the Factory. Amon forcefully nodded his head and walked back over to the couch. Nagira breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his brother sit back down on the couch. Karasuma sat down next to him on the couch and lifted out her hands.

She placed both of her hands on Amon's shoulders, noticing the slight flinch he gave as she put her hands on him. Karasuma inwardly smiled at the sudden movement of the bruting ex-hunter. Quietly she sat there, waiting to feel any sort of emotional or physical sensation that escaped from Amon's aura, but nothing came.

"Anything?" asked Nagira.

Karasuma shook her head and went to speak, but she felt a sudden chill go down her spine. A flood of emotions overtook her. She felt pain and suffering. Everything was dark and pain filled. The pain was not leaving. So many images passed through her mind, that it caused her to grow dizzy.

Suddenly the images stopped and the emotions disappeared. Though she could still see inside of Amon's mind. One image remained within Karasuma's vision. That image was of Robin, lying in a bed unconscious. The image soon switched to one of an insignia, which Karasuma could not identify. Again the image changed, but this time it was of flames engulfing what looked to be a hospital room.

Karasuma released her grip on Amon and slowly opened her eyes. Amon looked at her curiously. He could tell she had seen something. Hopefully whatever she saw could explain Robin's disappearance.

"What did you see?" asked Nagira.

Karasuma glanced back at both dark haired men and shook her head. "I can't explain it. Everything was so jumbled up."

"Did you see Robin?" asked Amon.

"Yes," she said nodding. "I saw her lying in a bed unconscious. Then I saw a symbol, one which I'd never seen before. After that, I saw a room burning. That's all I can remember."

Amon wasn't pleased by the information. It wasn't enough to tell him everything he wanted to know. He assumed that the room burning meant they had been at that warehouse. If that was the case, than Robin could still be there.

"Well, it's getting late bro. You need to get some rest and I know Miho does too. Tomorrow's going to be a big day," said Nagira. He stood up and threw his right hand over his mouth as he yawned. "I don't want to wake up late and have Hana chew me out again."

Amon shook his head. "No, I don't need to rest." He knew that Nagira would argue with him. Whenever Amon defied his brother, the two of them would fight. The ex-hunter was just waiting for his brother to start lecturing him.

"Whatever."

That was the only response Nagira gave, which caught Amon by surprise. Amon wouldn't question his brother. He nodded and stood up from the couch. The bruiting man walked towards the door of the law office and stopped as he went for the handle.

"Nagira?" he asked monotonously.

"Yeah?" responded the older man curiously.

"If I find her, I will need your help getting out of the country. Can you do that. . . .for me?" he asked.

A smile spread across Nagira's face as he heard his brother's request. If Amon hadn't been facing the door, he would have caught his older stepbrother's gleaming expression. Amon would have been annoyed.

"I'll see what I can do," answered Nagira.

Amon nodded and opened the door, quickly making his way out. Nagira stood at his desk, just staring at the door. He smiled once again, but he wasn't thinking about his brother's request.

"Amon, I hope you find her," he said to himself. He looked over at Karasuma, whom now stood at the door, putting on her coat. It seemed to have been dry now. As she slipped it on, Nagira walked over to open the door for her.

"You be careful," he said smiling. She gave him a smile back and walked out the door. "If you hear anything, please call," she said with nod. Karasuma headed down the stairway, noticing that Amon was no longer around. 'He must be long gone,' she thought.

Nagira closed the door after Karasuma and walked over to the wall where a light switch lay. Just as he was about to flick the lights off, he noticed his cell-phone from the corner of his eye. "Should I?" he asked himself. Nagira had planned to start calling around for his brother tomorrow, but he knew there was a chance that once Amon found Robin; they'd have to take off quickly. "I guess I better get to work," he said walking back to his desk.

STN-J Headquarters

Every night seemed to grow more quiet as the members of the STNJ departed from headquarters. The only person whom remained in the building was Michael. Even though he had been free of Zaizen's collar long ago, he had no where to go. He could go out freely, which he did so. He had grown to miss the late night talks that he and Robin had both had. She was such a nice person and a good friend.

The STNJ was back to its normal self. Ever since the Factory incident, the STNJ had received what Sakaki referred to as "dull cases." Each hunt seemed unbearably boring with the new hunter added to the group. It seemed the new hunter was not a craft user, just a normal human being. Everyone tried their best to welcome the new hunter to the STNJ, but it was hard to accept the new recruit. Michael was the first person to meet the new hunter and this person had an uncanny likeness to a former colleague of the STNJ crew.

As much as Michael tried, he just couldn't trust the new hunter. She called herself Haze, but Michael's research showed that her real name was Minami. It seemed Haze was a nickname that SOLOMON gave her. This girl, just as Robin, had been sent from headquarters. Whenever Michael tried to ask her whether she knew Robin or not, the girl seemed to change the subject. Michael knew why she always avoided his questioning.

Michael sat back in his chair and glanced at the screen. On the screen sat three different windows, one of which held a photo of a demolished warehouse and the others contained articles on the warehouse incident. He read over the captions at the bottom of the pictures and sighed. "I wonder if this is connected to the Factory?"

He reached over to grab his coffee mug, instead accidentally knocking it over a pile of papers that sat on the floor. "Agh! Dammit!" he yelled. Michael rushed to clean off the papers, hoping he could salvage some of them. As he walked off with the papers, a message flashed on his screen.

New Mail!

Subject: The Factory has returned

That's all for chapter 2! Gomen nasai mina! I have had a lot of things happen the last few months, so I haven't gotten to work on my fics any. I've been dealing with college, my sick mother, and whatever else gets thrown at me. --

Well, chapter 2 was much longer than this, but I decided to split it up into 2 chapters. Chapter 3 will be posted later this week. :D Well chapter 3 will present another new character, one whom I'm liking. XD Also, enjoy the little time you've spent with the other STN-J crew. They won't be back for at least a few more chapters.

Sorry for any grammatical errors. I spell check and go over this story many times, but still overlook errors.

Preview of next chapter:

Enemy or Allie?. . . . . Awkward reunion. . . . . .the painful truth. . . .