Title : Is It Really You?
Summary : What would happen if there had been a girl in Martin's past who had broken his heart when she died? How much confusion would ensue if she were to suddenly reenter his life?
Rating : T for language, suggestive adult themes
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PP : Yay! Chapter 6! And I even got Marty into a pink bunny costume for it!
Martin : (wearing pink bunny costume) This is SO embarrassing. TaterTot, remind me never to go anywhere with her again.
TT : You got it. For the record, if I didn't think that it was already too late, I would have gone in to save you.
Martin : Thanks. At least one of you isn't insane.
(two thunks are heard as Martin and TaterTot both drop to the floor)
PP : Humph. I am NOT insane, just a little obsessed. She's not a very loyal conscience, I'll have to look into getting a new one. Oh! People! Well, welcome to Chapter 6! So, in response to your review, Star Cyber 2, NO, it is NOT over. Bwahahahahahahaha! I've still got great ideas for this fic! I just hope that you consider it a good thing that it's not over yet. There's also closet geek, yeah, I grew kinda tired of Martin & Diana fics, they're alright, I just don't fully understand why they'd get together if they're stepsiblings. And, if I make a new character, I can make her as alike to me as I want (or the way I want to be!) and shut my eyes and pretend that I'm her! And, my final reviewer, but most certainly not least appreciated, Ominae! I really didn't care what you said in your review, it just makes me SO happy knowing that you keep coming back for more chapters! This was your THIRD review! And, I'm glad it was a shocker, but, it most certainly, in my opinion, is not the biggest one in this story! I mean, M.O.M. is still holding something back about Rachel's true identity. This chapter goes a bit more indepth into how Rachel returned from the grave, and who she really is. There's also a scene where you find out how Rachel & Martin really feel about each other. There is nothing so bad in this that it would boost the rating, but if you're a sensitive person when it comes to two people sitting on a rock in the middle of nowhere whose hormones nearly get the better of them, you might wanna watch it. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! Ooh, I can make it as naughty as I want because TaterTot can't stop me! Don't worry, it won't reach the Mature rating. I'll make sure it stays at Teen. Or will I? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, and to anyone affiliated with the creators of Fanfiction, I'm sorry if it sounded like we were complaining about what was going on with the website in the last chapter, it's just that TaterTot forgot to inform me about the note on the home page, concerning the power outage. Whoops! Well, just read this chapter. Hope you like it!
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Chapter 6 : Never Leave Me Again
Martin, Diana & Java decided to spend the night in the village.They made sure that M.O.M. heard the good news, and that she knew they'd all be returning to the Center soon. Rachel was busy wandering around the village, healing all sorts of injuries. The only major wound in the whole village had been the little boy in the hospital tent who had fallen from a tree. Diana & Java went to study the villagers' way of life, while Martin chatted with the villagers, made possible by the translator plug-in that M.O.M. had sent to him for the U-Watch. It had always amazed him how advanced the U-Watch was, not just in comparison to the rest of the world, but also to other agents' U-Watches. If he had owned any U-Watch but the one he had, that translator wouldn't have been possible.
Slowly, through his conversations, he managed to figure out that Rachel had been found unconscious by the village's main river yesterday morning. She had been carried into the village to rest, and when she woke up, had set up the hospital tent and started healing the villagers' injuries in return for their hospitality. They all talked about how lucky they were to have her, because she could heal even the most deadly of injuries in the blink of an eye. This confused Martin, and he even thought there was a glitch in the U-Watch's translator, until one villager used her hands to show him how far the little boy had fallen out of the tree.
He nearly passed out when, pointing towards the tops of some of their tallest trees (and these were some TALL trees), she said that he had fallen all the way down from the top. If Rachel hadn't been there, he most certainly would have died. Martin just couldn't believe it from this simple village woman, so he went to ask Rachel herself about it. He asked around a bit, and finally managed to find out where she was.
What he saw nearly made him faint.
He walked into the hut just in time to see a soft, red light pass from Rachel's hands into a cut on an old man's forehead. The instant the light connected with the cut, it disappeared, like it had never been there. Martin was shocked, frozen in the doorway. He couldn't believe it. He had spent the last 4 years of his life tracking down the paranormal, like witches, who used the exact same witchcraft that the woman he loved was now standing in front of him using.
He spun around and ran, seemingly before anyone knew he was there.
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"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T ANYONE EVER CARE TO TELL ME THIS!"
M.O.M. just sighed, listening to the blonde vent. She didn't have any idea what he must be feeling at that moment, all his feelings of joy at having found his long-lost best friend back in his arms again crushed with the realization that she had hidden her magical powers from him for as long as she had known him.
"Martin."
That one word stopped his rant and made him look at her through the U-Watch communicator. She could still see the anger burning in his eyes. She sighed again. This was going to be quite difficult.
"Martin, I'm not sure why Rachel never told you, but whether or not someone can use magic isn't something that the Center normally tells just anyone off the street. Especailly if that person is dead." she said, as calmly as she could.
"But we started at the Center before she died."
His voice was a hiss, dripping with the anger she saw in his eyes. M.O.M. could just tell though, call it instinct, that he hadn't been prepared for an argument. His anger had just built up until he decided to release it on her. He was just hoping that she would admit it was her fault, and beg for forgiveness for not telling him about Rachel's special abilities sooner. Not today, she wouldn't. Maybe some other day, but not today.
"You started training at the Center before she died. Trainees do not have the rank yet to be told all the personal details of a full agent unless the agent in question gives their permission."
No response. M.O.M. could tell that she had already won this argument. It gave her no satisfaction though.
"I suggest you ask Rachel why she found it important enough to be kept from you. Next time, don't come whining to the Center when you have a problem, or your anger reaches the boiling point."
With that, she closed down the communicator screen. She sighed yet again, leaning back in her chair to gaze at the ceiling.
"Oh, Martin, if only you didn't have to learn the full truth about Rachel, the things she's still hiding from you."
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Rachel looked up from the old man just in time to see a blonde sprinting out of the hut.
"Oh, shit." she thought, realizing that it was Martin.
She quickly told her patient to try not to slice his head open again and said goodbye before she raced after him. By the time she got outside, there was no sign of him, so she started asking around. Eventually, one villager said that she had seen him racing out of the village. She groaned. It was already getting dark, and he could have gone anywhere. She cursed at herself one more time for not telling him about her powers sooner, and raced after him, grudgingly embracing her powers, the source of the entire mess, to aid her in her search for him.
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After Martin had run away from Rachel, he had stopped at some random spot, far away from the village, where his anger started to build up, until he lashed out at M.O.M. during their conversation. When M.O.M. had cut the link, he had sat down on a rock to try and get his thoughts straight. He didn't notice it getting darker as that one scene flashed through his mind, over and over again. He just couldn't stop thinking about that flash of red light that had passed from Rachel's hands to that old guy's forehead. It had black & gold sparkles in it. His brows furrowed as he remembered the way it had almost seemed like the black was trying to completely engulf the other two colours, while the gold was holding it back. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps coming closer to him.
"Martin?"
The soft whisper jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Rachel standing in front of him, almost reluctant to come closer.
"What do you want?"
The coldness in his voice amazed him, but, in his opinion, she deserved it.
"Martin, please, don't be mad at me."
"Mad? MAD! I'm not mad. I'm furious! Why the hell didn't you tell me about your special powers!"
The ice in his voice had been replaced by a heat so intense, they were both surprised that she didn't burst into flames just hearing it.
"Believe me, Martin, it's not because I didn't care for you or anything..."
"No, it's because you didn't care for my feelings."
"Please, Martin, just let me finish! It's hard enough telling you this as it is! It's because, well.., I didn't tell you because.."
"Just spit it out already!"
Martin was growing very impatient. He just wasn't in the mood for this. She gave him a glare that also carried a look of...What? Regret? Sorrow? Both? She was nervous, so she spit the next line out in a rush of words that he could barely understand.
"I'm scared of my powers. They scare me, alright?"
Her answer blew him back. Scared of her powers? How could she be scared of them? But, if she was lying, why would she be THAT nervous about telling him? And why would she be straing at the ground, hands behind her back, toes kicking up dirt. Her voice was also shaking, extremely hard.
"You didn't look like you were scared of them in the village today."
He wasn't nearly as angry at her anymore. It was like her confession had proved to the part of him that didn't believe that she did care about him. That it was a part of her trying to refuse that she had any powers. Seeing her tell him one of her deepest, darkest secrets, was making it very hard to stay mad at her.
"I owed the village. I mean, they saved my life. It was the least I could do."
Her voice was barely a whisper, barely hiding the fear in her voice. As her shaking became so intense that he could see it even it the moonlit darkness they were now standing in, he realized exactly how scared of her powers she really was. And how bare it made her feel, exposing herself to him like this. Before he realized what he was doing, he had stood up, walked over to her, and pulled her into his arms, just like he had done in the tent earlier that day. She started sobbing openly into his chest as he gently picked up her quivering body and sat back down on the rock with her in his lap. They just sat like that for a while, as he patiently waited for her to finish crying, just savoring the way everything felt like it would turn out alright if he could just keep her that close to him for the rest of their lives. As she stopped crying, she started talking again, now on a different topic, but obviously one she had to get off of her chest.
"It was so scary, Martin. I had just gotten rid of that spirit when I heard a huge crash below me. The floor started wobbling as I ran for the stairs. It felt like the floor just suddenly dropped out from underneath me, even though my feet were still touching it. I pitched forwards onto my face, and flipped over just in time to see the ceiling coming down on top of me. I knew then that I was dead, that there was no way I'd ever get to see any of you ever again. My last thought was that I'd never get to go on that mission with you."
Her voice was slightly muffled from being pressed against his chest, but he still heard every word. He had always wondered what her last moments had been like, whether she had felt any pain, but had given up on finding out the answers. But now, the only person with the right answers was sitting in his lap, spilling everything to him.
"Did you feel any pain?" he asked softly.
"Well, not physically, but when I thought of you guys, never being able to see you again, it felt like someone was tearing at my heart. Physically, I just barely felt the pressureof the ceiling hitting me, but that was it. There was just, nothing, after that."
"Did you see a bright light, or watch your life flash before your eyes?"
She laughed quietly. He smiled, wondering how he could have ever thought that anything sounded more beautiful.
"Going against the common belief, no. I didn't see my life flash before my eyes, it was just disjointed thoughts, like your faces, and the fact that I'd never get to see any of you ever again. There was also no bright light beckoning me towards the afterlife, there was just, nothing, almost like falling into a dreamless sleep. There was one thing I regretted though."
"What was that?"
"That I'd never get to see you and Diana become full agents. You DID become agents, right?"
With her question, he looked up at him, searching his eyes, making sure he told her the full truth. He laughed.
"Of course we did. But it kind of lost the fun without you there."
He was holding her gaze now, making sure she didn't look away again. God, her eyes were beautiful. You could get lost in them if you stared for too long. She smiled.
"I'm sorry I was gone for so long."
"Don't be sorry. The only thing that matters is that you came back. Just, never leave me again, ok?"
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"You have no idea how much I missed you, how much I've regretted letting go of you that day in the Drama room."
"I think I know."
During all of this, they had been moving closer and closer together, so by the time she said her final words, their noses were rubbing together, their lips nearly touching. They gazed into each other's eyes, seeing thier own unspoken question mirrored there. As an answer, Martin closed the gap, letting a small smile touch his lips as Rachel let out the tiniest of gasps, feeling a shock move through her body as their lips touched. She immediately relaxed again after the shock caused her entire body to tense up, sinking into his lap, fully enjoying that moment in time, wishing it could go on forever. Martin slid one hand around her waist, wrapping the other one in her hair, holding her head close to him. She responded by wrapping both hands around his waist,resting them gently onhis back. They broke the kiss for a second, taking a gulp of air, before diving back in again, deepening the kiss, feeling the heat rise between them. It was when Martin started sliding his hand under her shirt that Rachel pulled away.
"Martin."
"What?"
"We shouldn't be doing this."
"Why not?"
"Look at where we are. And, there's also, I mean, I'm..."
She turned away from him at that, ashamed of herself for almost letting something serious happen that neither one of them TRULY wanted. He could feel her pulling away from him, not just physically, but emotionally as well, reerecting thebrick walls she had always shown to everyone. He slid his hand back down to her waist, using the other to grab her cheek and force her to face him.
"Let me go."
He could feel her struggling to get free as he said:
"Do you really think it changes who you are inside, whether or not you can use magic? While we were talking, I realized that it doesn't. You're still the same old Rachel, the same Rachel I fell in love with."
She stopped squirming and slowly made eye contact.
"You really mean that?"
Her voice was just a whisper, unbelieving.
"Of course. Now we should head back to the village. It's pitch black out here, and it's getting kind of chilly."
"Yeah, you're right."
They shared one more long kiss, as close friends that had become something a bit more, before walking back to the village, hand in hand.
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PP : Well, that scene wasn't so bad. I guess it just seemed a bit worse out where anyone could grab my book out of my hands and read it, knowing who wrote it. By the way, I locked Martin in a separate room while he was out cold, so he and TaterTot can't gang up on me when they wake up. Speaking of which!
TT : Ohhh, my head. What the hell did you do PotatoPuff?
PP : Had some fun, and shut you up for a while.
TT : (reading new chapter) Sliding his hand up her, POTATOPUFF! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!
PP : I updated while you were, hehheh, sleeping.
TT : You wrote THIS!
PP : Consider yourself lucky I didn't make it worse. Well, if you think I should change anything, like the rating or the summary, or you just got an idea, send it to me! My address is, "Little Purple Button, Submit Review, Bottom Left Corner of This Page." Don't forget it! I also like compliments. Compliments are good. Oh yeah! By the way, don't expect me to keep updating as often as I have been,during a boring Saturday a while ago, I sat down and wrote out, like, 5 chapters, and I haven't done much writing since, so I don't have Chapter 7 written yet, let alone ready to submit. I'll work as fast as I can though! And I won't forget about the fic! You can count on that!
TT : I'm ruined. I'm a failure among consciences. How could I have failed so badly that she would write something like this?
PP : Oh, forget about. Okay, next chapter, how did Rachel come back? What is the secret that M.O.M. is hiding from Martin about Rachel? Stay tuned to find out! And don't forget to review!