Prima Materia
Eight.| Trainwreck
Deft fingers ran through the coarse ore in an attempt to create as straight of a line as possible. Brightly amber-colored fingers with sharp nails pressed against the raw black iron to mold it into a more or less passable shape. Repairing her hairpin was tedious work and it required all of her concentration and more.
Which was why when the passenger car yet again ran over uneven tracks that had her jumping in her seat, her tongue, which was sticking out in concentration, almost getting bitten off was the least of her worries.
Celia released a long frustrated groan at the huge indent her hands inadvertently made on the prototype of a hairpin she'd been working on that ruined all the effort she'd put in for the better part of two hours.
I am so gonna murder someone.
Preferably the engineer that's fucking up the repairing of her shattered hairpin.
"Celia, are…you alright?" She pouted at Marie's question, fuming still as she hunched over the pin once more and went back to work. "You sound agitated."
"Ignore it," Kanda pointed out. "If it hasn't stopped in the last couple of hours, it won't stop anytime soon. Might as well let her rage quietly so she won't be a bother. The train ride is long enough as is."
"I'm right fucking here," she seethed aloud through gritted teeth at the one sitting beside her.
"Language, Cel-kun."
Grumbling to herself since she couldn't very well talk back to Tiedoll—that would be a losing battle from the beginning; she'd know after all those times watching him somehow brush Kanda's tantrums aside just fine—Celia focused back on what she'd been doing.
Ever since they encountered the General and decided to accompany him on his mission to find new accommodators, it had been a nonstop trek eastward. Celia didn't know what lay between India and China which made the thought of their future travels pique her interest quite a bit. Her mood was quickly dampened, however, when, not long after boarding the train that would take them through the snowy mountains of Nepal and into Chinese borders to its nearest city, Marie told Tiedoll in greater detail what had transpired in Barcelona after inquiring about it.
More importantly, he told him what happened to her back then. The state in which they found her and how she had miraculously still lived somehow through it all. Celia hadn't paid it much mind since and focused instead on fixing her hairpin.
No use bothering with that right now, she'd thought, and instead placed her entire concentration on the task at hand. She might have figured out how to repair her hairpin by herself by borrowing the power of the Innocence on her left arm, but that didn't make it any less tough. Or tedious.
Marie had just paused in his explanation when he made his comment about her mood before continuing as he had before, finishing a few minutes after.
"Is that so," Tiedoll said, his chin in his hand as he mulled over what Marie told him. "And you recall none of what happened, Cel-kun?"
Her fingers stopped on the rod she'd somehow managed to get straight again. Her shoulders tensed a bit more at the question that she answered with a shake of her head.
"I see."
She didn't know what happened. And technically speaking, she wasn't lying, either.
Sure, it had happened before—once, really, back during her travels alone. Celia had found her way up into the southern territories of Russia and had been on a rough streak on supplies that past month. Being ambushed by the first Level 3 Akuma she had ever encountered back then didn't make it any better. The fight had been grueling, she almost thought she'd be a goner for sure when she felt her consciousness slip away.
But then she blinked and…somehow she stood victorious over the exorcised body of the Akuma, herself barely standing and exhausted beyond belief, but alive.
Promptly thereafter she had fainted from the exhaustion—kind of a bad thing to do in the middle of snow-covered fields—but as her luck would have it, people from a nearby village who'd been traveling to cross supplies to their people had stumbled upon her and had the heart to take her with them and treat her.
What happened this time wasn't that different from back then.
Except for, well, the dying part.
Unconsciously, her hand reached up to scratch at her chest before continuing with her meticulous work.
When Marie retold that part, of how he and Kanda had found her and how he had vividly heard with his own ears the sound of her heart not beating, it honestly shocked her. Celia's memory of the night was well enough up to the point when the curly-haired, butterfly Noah appeared and of Daisya's murder. After that was when things began to blur. She could recall a heartbeat—hers—thrumming so loudly against her ears. A deep-seated feeling that ate away at her insides.
And then nothing at all.
The next thing she recalled was the mild scent of flowers to which her eyes opened to see Kanda's faint silhouette over her.
Everything else that happened in between that was a blur of static. Explaining all that to them would be rather bothersome, however, especially when she would then have to explain what she was doing up in those regions, to begin with, which was something she didn't want to get into either.
For now, they all accepted it for what it was: a miracle. Celia wasn't so sure how appropriate the moniker was. To her, 'curse' would be better suited. But to each their own.
Letting the long hours pass by them after that long conversation was easy to do. Their cross-country trip would take nine days at most which meant they still had a long way to go before getting anywhere near their destination.
On her part, Celia went about fixing her hairpin first and foremost. It was painfully obvious how much of a sitting duck she was without it—a lesson learned years ago—and although it wouldn't be up to par with something the Science Division or even Miss Agnes could make, it would have to do.
The Innocence stowing itself away on her left arm had proven it's worth the first month or so after she learned how to use it. Its ability to control and mold the earth and anything that came from it to her will was really useful. It definitely made crafting jewelry to sell as a livelihood much easier; especially when she didn't have to waste a ridiculous amount of time searching for gems or ore when she could easily make fakes or find them with it. And because the black ore her hairpin was made of also came from the earth, it was a given that the Innocence would be able to work it with ease.
But the fact that she could only work for 7 minutes at a time with twenty-minute breaks in between was making the task damn tedious. So much so that the damn repair took over half the damn trip on the godforsaken train.
Five days of not once leaving their room for anything. Five fucking days.
I need some air.
"Cel-kun?"
Celia grunted a bit as she stood from her seat and stretched her arms over her head, sighing as she relieved some of the pressure lingering in her stiff muscles.
"I'm going to grab a snack."
"Dinner was just served, wasn't it?" Marie asked head tilted slightly. Suddenly his brow lifted at the sound he heard from her stomach and smiled slightly. "But it wasn't nearly enough, I see."
"Not even close," she said with a half-grin as she made her way to the door. "I'll grab a quick bite and come back."
"Be careful on your way." Celia barely acknowledged Tiedoll's worrisome comment with a back wave of her hand before closing the door behind herself.
Stretching once more with a pleased hum loosened the already slack ties of her half-worn cape around her shoulders and let Navi, who had been struggling to make her way out, pop out from where she'd been resting on her shoulder to now sit upon her head with a soft tinkle. A smile brightened her expression as she took a step forward only to note something before continuing any further.
Stuffy.
Undoing the ties of her cape completely, Celia stepped back and opened the cabin door before haphazardly tossing her coat onto the nearest seat—which so happened to be where Kanda sat, meditating, or maybe just dozing, away.
Celia didn't bother staying to hear his outburst and simply slammed the door closed with a cheeky grin on her face as she sprinted out of the car and even a few over before turning to a brisk walk once a safe distance away. Humming to herself on the way to the diner car, Celia went about putting her loose tresses up into a tight bun. It was easier now to keep in place with her newly finished hairpin after all.
It saddened her that the pretty lotus pendant Miss Agnes had given her had been too damaged to mend, but there was nothing much she could do about that.
Maybe I'll go find another ornament once we disembark.
Hopes high, Celia finally found herself at the diner court and called for a more demure order than usual—half the menu instead of the full card—at the counter. The befuddled waiter took a moment to process it before disappearing and, shortly thereafter, brought her the first dish that came out.
Noodles for her and vegetable rolls for Navi. The noodles weren't quite soba which earned a hearty chuckle from her at the thought of their dear buckwheat-loving idiot agonizing over the fact, but they were delicious nonetheless.
Celia gave a swift 'thank you for the food' alongside Navi's tinkling. Brushing some stray strands of hair away from her face and taking a hefty forkful of them while eyeing them with a certain twinkle in her eye, Celia went right to town with them, savoring the thick richness of the noodles that blended so well with the lightness and slight tanginess of the broth.
"Good evening, miss."
Stopping mid-bite with a mouthful of noodles halfway into her mouth, her eyes looked from beneath her lashes over to the older man that had sat on the stool beside her…despite every other one being very much empty.
Okay, this is either one of two things and I'm really hoping it ain't the worst one.
Celia didn't spare him an answer, deeming her hunger much more important than some stranger.
"Scientia est immortalis."
Her jolly mood instantly dropped. Akuma sounded a ton better all of a sudden. At least then she'd have a good reason to kick the living crap out of whoever interrupted her dinner. Groaning deep in her throat, Celia couldn't really deny answering him and did so after a final slurp of her noodles.
"Sicut domina nostra in cinere," she recited begrudgingly. The man beside her shifted and sighed as if relieved. Celia didn't pay him much mind and instead said, "What ya looking for?" before taking another mouthful of noodles while he responded.
"The archbishop sends word to you, Lady Exorcist."
"Cut the 'Lady Exorcists' spiel; it's bothersome. And keep it down," she hissed with her mouth full, angrily chewing her food. "What does he want?"
The man, clearly bothered by the way he's being addressed, simply shakes his head before speaking, "There was a sighting of the archbishop's niece and her kidnapper."
"Where and how long ago?"
"A few weeks ago in China."
A few weeks ago in China?
Mmm… Nah. No way in hell.
Assured, Celia took another mouthful while Navi stuffed herself once more with another roll.
"They were seen accompanied by a redheaded man who wore a half-mask on the left side of his face."
Almost instantly, Celia choked. The man smacked at her back trying to help her through it while Navi watched on the side, munching away at her food. Celia swatted his hand away with an irritated glint in her amethyst eyes as the hacking subsided. Once able to breathe normally again, she slammed her fork against the counter with a groan before wolfing down the remaining contents of her noodles and even some other dishes that had been brought in out of spite before addressing him again.
"How verifiable is the information?" she grumbled.
The man recounted that the information had only made the rounds through three points before finding its way to her. Damn, it's unlikely the info got distorted on the way then. A groan rumbled in her chest as she went about finishing everything she'd ordered quickly. So much for enjoying a damn meal after days holed up. Leaving the tab on the Order's name, Celia stood from her seat and was about to leave but not without reassuring the man that she understood his message.
"Lucky for him, I'm heading east." And if they're really with that mangy priest… "Let the archbishop know he can count his niece as good as found."
The stranger nodded, expression resolute. "God bless, Lady Exorcist. May our lady's knowledge be your just guide."
She didn't bother acknowledging his blessing. Leaving the dining car behind, Celia gave Navi a side glance as the golem followed closely by her side.
"Keep a lookout for Cross, Navi. If you get even a whiff of that cheap tobacco, I want to know."
The star blinked from black to blue, receiving her message, before returning to normal.
What are you up to, you mangy priest?
The soft echoes of a child sobbing awoke her, its weeping resembling the chiming of bells.
With it being the middle of the night and everybody already hours into their sleep, it wasn't that difficult to hear it despite how quietly in the background it sounded. Yet Celia heard it crystal clear.
Hard not to when it was coming from inside her head.
Shifting in her seat, she rid herself of the leather glove on her right hand to examine it. A thin slit ran across her palm essentially cutting the surface in half. Unlike the line on her left arm, there was nothing slithering beneath this one but there was a bit of moistness starting to well up at the corners. Cringing at the odd sensation, Celia wiped off the liquid from the slit only to have the wailing in her head increase in volume. Not far beneath its cries was also the sound of deep humming.
One cried. The other hummed. Celia couldn't do much for either.
I don't know what you want. But please…please just be quiet.
"Celia?"
Her breath hitched slightly at hearing Marie's whisper disturbing the silence so suddenly. Hand closing instantly into a fist, Celia smiled and let out a short scoff.
"You scared me," she whispered back.
"I apologize." While he spoke, she replaced the leather glove to hide her palm. He couldn't see it, but something about it being left out in the open like that made her uneasy. "But I could hear you tossing and turning in your sleep. Is everything alright?"
A small smile spread across her face at his concern. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit uncomfortable tonight, I guess. I don't like sleeping in trains much."
"I sympathize," he responded with a low chuckle. "The sound of the tracks seldom lets me sleep peacefully, either."
Yeah….the tracks.
"Your heart—" The sudden change of topic left her with a bit of whiplash that she couldn't recover from until after he finished speaking. "It's been sounding strange ever since Barcelona. It has sounded weaker. Like it's struggling. Did you lie about feeling well when we left the medics?"
She shook her head, lips pursed into a thin line.
"I didn't. If you hear it like that, I don't see how. I definitely don't feel anything wrong," she postulated. "I feel as healthy as a horse. Finally, saw one to verify that saying." She chuckled to herself before snuggling down into her seat. "But I promise I'm fine."
Marie hummed. Her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, watched him intently as he turned his head towards the other two in the car and her gaze followed. General Tiedoll was far-off into dreamland if his prominent snoring was anything to go by. As for Kanda, well, there wasn't a telltale like with Tiedoll but the way his shoulders rose and fell in the slightest of ways gave her the least bit of consolation that he was out to the world.
"You know, it may not seem like it but I worry about you and Kanda."
Again, more whiplash, but this one was a little bit less so. At least to the point where she could respond with a snarky remark.
"I can see why. Kanda's a handful, ain't he?"
"You're both quite similar actually." His comment sucked all humor out of her as her soft laughter died down. "Neither of you ever speak of any of your troubles to anybody."
"Not true," she pouted, "I tell others sometimes."
This time he chuckled. "Navi doesn't count."
Hearing her name be called, the golem groggily tinkled from her place in the folds of Celia's discarded coat that sat gingerly on her lap. Celia patted her back to sleep and once the tinkling subsided, Marie continued on.
"I know that it might be hard since you've been on your own for a considerable amount of time, but you've returned now and it would do you well to get used to it."
"I know," she mumbled.
"You do, but I don't think you quite understand." Her eyes came to meet his gaze which simply stared blankly in her general direction. Despite that, there was still a sense of tenderness that those blank eyes evoked. "I've known you since you were a child; long enough to compare it with how you are now. You may try and act the same, but just like we have changed during these past five years, so have you. And to people like us, it's something easy to see with enough attention."
Her gaze averted then.
Had she really changed? Maybe it was because they hadn't seen her in such a long time that they could notice the differences easier. It was true that they had changed in some ways too—small and big alike—but overall that place still held a sense of nostalgia that made it unmovable to time in her eyes.
But maybe…that was a detrimental way of seeing things.
"Some things have, some things haven't," she begrudgingly admitted with a wry smile as her nose scrunched up. "I still don't like training."
A deep chuckle left Marie as his head tilted slightly. "But you've done it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be as proficient with Hand of God as you are. A subtle change, but a change all the same"
"I don't know if this is what you'd call proficient." Celia flexed the fingers of her left hand as her gaze lowered to her hand and caught the glimpse of the cross embedded on her wrist beneath her sleeve and glove. "I still have such low levels of synchronization compared to you all. It's laughable, really."
"Not if it carried you through surviving all this time by yourself. But that is also what I want you to understand: you're not alone anymore." Her defenses suddenly dropped, shoulders relaxing as those words sank in and she slowly lifted her gaze to him and his tender smile. "You have us now. Rely on us."
Her throat tightened almost to the point of shutting but Celia held it back with a gulp of air. Unable to reply with anything, her gaze instead diverted to the window that let the night sky pass them by and offered a glimpse of the soft glow reflecting off of the snow-covered mountains they were currently passing through. Her words spilled out without her realizing it at first, but she didn't stop them once they were out.
"It was a bit rough being out by myself. Maybe…even a little more than just a bit." Her elbow leaned on the edge of the window to peer at it closer. From there, she could sort of see her own faint reflection and that of Kanda as he slept away beside her. "I got used to it, I suppose. Though it didn't make it any less lonely. Seeing so many places kinda made up for it. I think that's what I enjoyed most of all and what kept me from thinking too much about it."
Marie hesitated to answer at first. Surely because he realized how easily she had changed the subject. All the same, he humored her. "I'm sure they were beautiful sights."
She hummed in agreement, her mind working in two different directions and letting the conversation drift off mindlessly. "I haven't seen any whales, though."
"Whales?"
"Yeah." Her nose scrunched at the silly thought but voiced it still. "I read about them back when I was with you guys and I've wanted to see one ever since. No luck, though, even after five years."
"Surely someday, Celia," he replied with a chuckle.
As the idle conversation died down, however, a small heaviness laid itself on her chest. His words still lingered in her mind even after her diversion. It's like they had held their breath whilst she avoided them, knowing they would be addressed eventually. Their patience was more than hers, by that point, and paid off.
Through a wry smile, Celia somehow managed to speak through the pressure as she turned to him.
"I…can't promise you it'll be right away," she murmured. Gingerly, her fingers touched the beaded bracelet on her right wrist. "But I'll try, Marie."
The pressure held—
"Then that is more than enough to set our worries to rest."
Then completely vanished with a release of her bated breath.
"Especially Kanda's."
The sudden addition had her brow furrowing deeply. "What do you mean?"
"Out of all of us, he's always the most worried about you. I'm sure he'll be relieved once you learn to rely on us a little more."
"Don't lump me in with you, Marie."
That deep baritone made Celia jump in her seat and look over at the one sitting beside her. She thought she'd imagined it at first since his eyes were still quite visibly closed, but as if sensing her staring, his eyes opened halfway to let dark cobalt peek from beneath long dark lashes with a frown.
"What?"
"You were awake?" she asked.
A hard 'tsk' rung through before he shifted to give her more of his back as he laid his head against the wall. "It's hard to sleep when you're so damn loud."
"So fussy."
"What?" His growl deepened the frown into a full scowl. Celia turned away while humming lowly to distract from her comment and avoid a possible murder attempt so late at night.
Still, there wasn't any helping herself.
"Nothing~"
"You little—"
The sudden crackle of electricity swirling out of her fingertips and Marie's head snapping to attention towards the door instantly quieted the bickering between the two. Closing her fist, she turned up to Marie with a grimace.
"Is it what I think it is?" was her question as she flexed her fingers in an attempt to dispel the energy. It wasn't working though, and it was starting to become a bit more hectic with each passing second.
Methodically, Marie nodded.
Great.
A long sigh came from Tiedoll that made all three turn to the General who lethargically opened his eyes. "Then that means we should go investigate."
To say that absolutely empty train cars in the dead of night were sort of terrifying would be an understatement. There was just something absolutely eerie about suddenly being the only people aware of the danger in an otherwise unawares populace with only the constant clacking of the train's steel wheels as they ran over their tracks.
It was shockingly quiet. If Marie and she were right, then there was definitely something there with them. It was just a matter of finding it.
That in itself is strange, though.
"This makes no sense." She didn't have to lower her voice, but the eeriness of it all made it quite uncomfortable to speak any louder than a whisper. "If it's an Akuma, why is it hiding?"
"It's nearby," Marie affirmed.
"Be prepared, my pupils."
Clack.
The instant the sound of the door opening wide echoed, Celia and Kanda both drew their weapons in tandem, while Marie and the General remained at ready as backup. In the dark, as the moonlight ran by the windows, she caught a glimpse of the one that had opened the door briefly before it got hidden as they passed a mountainside.
It was a child. A frightened child by the way their eyes widened and their little frame shook, their hand caught tight around the handle of the door separating the cars.
"It's…a kid," she muttered.
"An Akuma," Kanda brandished his sword, readying his attack.
"Wait." Neither of them could spare Marie a glance at his sudden words because it was then that the boy began taking tremulous steps towards them. "His sound is human."
"Tch. Easy to feign."
She couldn't outright deny Kanda's suspicions, but she couldn't deny Marie's either. There wasn't that skin-crawling feeling she got whenever any Akuma were nearby, but the fact that Hand of God was reacting wasn't something she could set aside easily, either.
Her gaze focused on the boy once more, eyes narrowing as he took staggering steps towards them. It was hard to see him fully, but once her eyes adjusted to the dark, Celia could more or less make out his face. Big round eyes pouring with tears, little hands shaking in fear clutched to his chest, and his small lips quivering and at the cusp of sobbing. But it wasn't until they left the mountainside behind and the moonlight once more filtered through the windows that she saw them.
Some kind of wire was tied fast around the boy.
And by the sound of General Tiedoll's sudden query, she hadn't been the only one to see them. "Are those strings?"
"No," she faintly responded.
The boy moved again, and with the light back on him, she could faintly see the strings becoming taut on one side and loosening on another. Almost like a puppet's strings. But they were too fine to be rope, and too shiny to be flax.
"It's spider's silk."
Golden spider silk.
"Whatever it is, it just needs to be cut to pieces."
"No, Kanda! Wait!"
Her cries went ignored. Kanda had already taken the step forward to attack the kid. Instinctively, her right hand shot out to stop him despite him already being feet away, and at doing so a sudden high-pitched ringing strummed through the air.
No, not ringing. A wail.
The vibration of it struck the air and traveled rapidly through the car—faster than Kanda—and as it reached him, rendered him to a full halt. Groans came from all of them as the wailing persisted for a full minute while Celia's discomfort came from the violent shaking of her right hand. From the corner of her eye and through the aching, she managed to see it, though. How, from how rapidly and constantly the wail's vibrations were hitting them, the strings holding the child taut tensed and became visible in the dark.
"K-Kan—" Clicking her tongue, Celia held her right hand away from the ground and shouted, "Yuu, the strings!"
Dark cobalt eyes darted upward catching the silk holding the boy hostage. Fighting through the noise, he flipped the hold on Mugen before slashing upward and cutting the boy loose from his bindings. Almost instantly, the boy fell to the ground, unconscious, and the wailing halted shortly thereafter.
"What…what was that?" The pained tension in Marie's voice wasn't lost on her. If that wail had stunned them that badly, Celia couldn't imagine the number it caused on his sensitive hearing.
"It sounded like a cry."
Tiedoll's pensive eyes fell on her as if by just that he knew what Celia suspected. All the same, she pressed her right hand to her chest. She had a pretty good guess, too.
"Kid's not an Akuma." Their attention shifted at Kanda's words, the sharp end of Mugen's blade pressed against the kid's arm fully activated and cutting the boy deep enough to draw a line of blood—but no transformation.
The boy's human.
"The strings you mentioned," Marie pressed his hand to his earphones. "The tension made them vibrate. There are more in the other car ahead. And also—"
"Akuma." Celia made a fist with her left hand as the emerald energy began to spiral out of her fingertips and back around her glaive.
The sudden jerk of the car threatened to throw them off their feet. As they were preoccupied keeping their ground, it was Marie who heard first what they all felt shortly after the jolt.
"The train..." A grimace fell on his features and his brow knitted downward. "It's speeding up."
What?
There was no chance for them to ask nor think of an explanation. Not when the roof of their car was suddenly torn off entirely, exposing them to the environment around them and to the next car which was just as dismantled as that one. Jumping forward, Celia hauled the boy into her arms and parried away an attack from the Akuma that had ripped the car apart as the freezing air rushed past them.
Level 2s. At least ten of them. They clung to the car ahead of them as even more Level 1s chased after the speeding train. Beyond them, inside the car ahead, she could spot the people strung up in golden silk—just like the ones strangling the Akuma taut in their hold.
"Something's not right." Dark cobalt eyes narrowed as he brandished Mugen at the Level 2s nearest to them. Despite the vagueness of his words, Celia could more or less guess what he meant.
Level 2s were usually the chatty type after having just evolved out of their machine ball form. They tended to be cocky as hell after the high of obtaining their newly evolved forms. Yet these were silent.
"Kanda, Celia, watch out!"
Marie's warning came seconds before two of the Level 2s clinging to the car shot projectiles in their direction. Struggling with the kid against her, Celia could only parry those in her direction while Kanda charged ahead to strike them down. The machines were slower than usual, making his job easier, but when landing on the car across from them, the people being held taut by the silk suddenly jerked to life.
"Don't hurt them, Kanda!" she called out, realizing what was happening. "They're being controlled."
"No shit!"
A pair of hands frightened her for a solid second when they reached down and took the child from her so out of the blue, forcing her to look up at Tiedoll as he took the unconscious boy.
"Go help, Yuu-kun, Cel-kun. Marie and I will deal with the Akuma hovering nearby to give you both space to fight."
Taking the order, Celia jumped onto the next car, stumbling to her feet a bit with how wobbly the speeding car was becoming. Her eyes caught a couple of targets right out of the bat. Stepping out, the glaive spun in her hands before she slashed downward cutting them in half. Another sprung behind her. Catching it in her peripheral, she spun once more upon landing and struck.
The clicking of a barrel came from behind but before she could dodge it, its sudden explosion pushed her off her feet. Her furious yell of "asshole!" traveled clearly through despite the air rushing past them at even higher speeds than before. Kanda only let out an audible 'tch' at bumping into her afterward.
"Watch it!" he snapped with a deep scowl.
Celia wanted to curse at him. She wanted to so, so badly. Right now wasn't the best time though. How she hated that it was never the 'right time'.
Focus, Celia.
Right. This ambush was a pain in the ass, but it was doable. It would just take some time to deal with these low lives. And well, considering the number of Akuma and how the people tangled in silk were a minor inconvenience, she had to admit at least one thing.
"Y'know!" She let out a low grunt at having to charge at a Level 2 who'd been a nuisance hanging from what remained of a roof overhead. Slicing it in two, she landed right before a grown man that charged at her, only to cut the silk holding him up and watch him fall flat on his face. "All things considered, this ain't that bad."
"It's annoying," he growled, sending his Netherworld Insects at a couple of Level 1s.
"Well, yeah, but—!" With a groan, she kicked away a woman before cutting the silk away from her. "It could be worse, don't you think?"
Out of the blue, a huge blast resounded throughout the mountains as both Kanda and she let out loud grunts at the ground suddenly shaking violently beneath them. Eyes turned to the incoming turn the train was headed towards and widened at seeing what that blast had been. Akuma, a bunch of Level 1s, and they were all crashing right into the tracks laid on top of the incoming cliff until finally—
The whole side of it was destroyed, leaving them on a collision course.
Celia winced while watching the oncoming tracks disappear into the valley beneath and could only avert her gaze at the seething rage that she could feel emanating from the one standing beside her.
"You just had to open your big mouth."
Before she could defend herself, a couple of Level 2s aimed for them. Kanda unleashed his Underworld Insects on them out of pure spite since he could've very well just dealt with them with a single slash of Mugen.
Alright, this put a dent in the time they had to deal with this. Time for a change of plans. Turning towards the other two, Celia rapidly let them know what she and Kanda saw ahead and what their prospectives looked like now.
"We have to stop it!" she shouted over the howling wind.
"How!?" Marie asked.
"General!" Kanda's voice called overhead as he stood on what was left of the roof of the car opposite Tiedoll's and Marie's. "Emrabcing Garden could stop the train in its tracks before it reaches the cliff if we—"
Before he could finish, however, the train gave another large jolt before something burst from beneath. Quick on its assault, whatever Akuma had spawned from the ground did quick work of the coupling joining the two cars, leaving her slack-jawed as the car Marie and the General were on and everything behind it was left quickly behind them as her and Kanda's part of the train sped away.
Blanching at their receding shapes and so taken aback by it was she that not even Kanda jumping down beside her with a heavy thud bothered her.
"Snap out of it!"
Her head shook a few good times before turning over once again to what awaited them ahead. A chill ran down her back at how quick the train was moving now. With its speed, that incoming turn onto the cliff, and no tracks, there was no doubt that it would topple over the edge with them and all the people in it.
"What were you going to say?" she asked, needing a modicum of an idea—any idea, at that point.
He clicked his tongue audibly. "Doesn't matter now."
"What else—ah, wait up!"
Kanda didn't as he ran across the car and stared down at the junction between the two cars only to snarl at the golden silk cocoon wrapped around the coupling joining them. Tight as it was, not even striking it with their blades did much to break or budge it.
Maybe the others aren't like this.
But running through the roofs and peeking between each only to find that same golden cocoons was quickly dampening her hopes. By the time they reached the locomotive, it was clear to see that unlatching the cars wouldn't work either. Out of breath, Celia watched as Kanda gave the inside of the engine room a quick glance.
"What's it look like?"
"The break's gone." Her shoulders and head fell as he returned to stand beside her. "There's no stopping this train from in there."
"Any other bright ideas?" she said, her voice rising with the mounting exasperation.
That was something that didn't quite help his growing anger either.
"I don't see you having any!"
Her lips pursed and her gaze averted away from his soon-to-explode agitation that had his lip curling. Her eyes landed on the cliff once more, or more to the steep mountainside that it clung to then. Suddenly, an idea struck. A low and earthy hum responded as it formed in her head, and a grin split across her face.
"I think I've got something."
"It better be good," he snarled.
"Trust me, I've got this—" Her voice died at the sight of what suddenly emerged from the side of the mountain. "You have got to be kidding me."
A fucking Level 3!?
"Where are these fuckers coming from!?"
"No time for your stupid questions!" Summoning his Double Illusion Sword, Kanda took his stance as the Level 3 spotted them, the hint of golden silk reflecting off moonlight clear to their eyes. "Will whatever you're thinking of work?"
"I think so," she said lowly.
"You better be fucking right, Valentine, or I swear I'll tear you to pieces."
Way to be encouraging, but she couldn't quite blame him. Not when he took on the full brunt of the Level 3 for her and allowed her the space to do whatever she had in mind. Much like him, Celia, too, was really hoping this would work. Shoving her sleeve back and pocketing her gloves, her mind focused on activating Hand of God. Doing so almost instantly brought the uncomfortable sensation of something crawling under her forearm.
"Come on, don't screw me over now."
I allow—
The thought hadn't even gone through her head when the amber eye on her forearm opened wide. Unlike before, the geometrical patterns on her hands spread faster and the amber color overtook her arms in one fell swoop that took her breath away.
What the…
The eye turned upward to her and blinked a couple of times. Chills ran down again but she set them aside along with the strangeness of it all for the time being to focus on the more pressing matter at hand. Stepping back for a head start, Celia measured the distance left until they reached the cliff and mountainside. This needed to be down just at the right time and just as quickly as the train's speed…if not faster.
Just breathe, Celia. You've got this.
Taking a deep breath, Celia crouched down and waited. The train's front wheels wobbled violently, sparks flying as the car sped up.
Closer.
Her hands gripped the chimney tight as the angle steepened.
Just a little more.
The locomotive tipped over the instant it entered the curve.
Now!
The leap was the biggest she'd ever taken.
Freezing air rushed past her as she flew through the air to land on the side of the mountain. Almost simultaneously, two things happened upon impact. Firstly, her left hand slammed against the snow-covered mountain. The clawed amber appendage crushed through inches of snow until it clutched the earth beneath it and instantly released a massive shockwave upon the earth. Above her, the tall mountain shook and like powder disturbed, an avalanche started. Seconds after causing it, Celia flipped backward as an amber pillar propelled her out and away from what formed in her wake.
From the first slam and the energy coursing through the mountain, a vast row of amber emerged a few feet below the destroyed tracks and the cliff, creating an angled wall of amber between the mountain and the careening train.
Spinning about midair, Celia twirled glaive in her hands and released Hand of God's level two just as she landed on the newly created amber wall. With a sharp pivot, the tautness holding both blades together loosened and the rattling of chains fell at her feet just as the avalanche hit the train and the amber wall.
That pivot was all the momentum she needed to throw her blade. It flew right across to the first pillar, latching on and pulling her towards it before the avalanche could sweep her away. Celia swung across and this time swung along the mountainside with her left hand scraping by, creating another row of amber and forming a long enough ceiling to cover the train's path.
The avalanche spilled over from there, taking the detour she created instead and avoiding dragging down or covering the train in its entirety. It'd been a shabby plan, but it was something. The amber encased the train and kept it from falling over. The snow softened the abrupt braking.
Both in tandem had stopped the train in its tracks.
I can't believe it…
Dangling from one of her blades, Celia heaved a long sigh, breath somewhat ragged, but nonetheless grinning from ear to ear when it sunk that her crazy idea had indeed worked.
Somehow it worked.
"Hell yeah—oof!" Celia ate a good mouthful of powdered snow as a sudden explosion nearby sent her dangling body slamming against the mountainside. The crack on the amber pillar from her embedded blade gave way and broke, sending her diving into a fresh pile of snow below that broke her fall.
Her head emerged from the whiteness in time to catch yet another explosion. This time it was obvious what had caused it. Kanda's fight against the Level 3 Akuma.
God, this is just Russia all over again.
Just like the time of her first encounter with a Level 3 and the first time she learned the boundaries of her borrowed Innocence. Kanda wasn't having any trouble, though, so there didn't seem to be any need to intervene now that she had stopped the train. Hell, she'd done her part; he could do his. Staying put would be the smartest thing to do.
Sadly, the Level 3 had other plans.
The sharp glare on her was unmistakable. That thing had her in its sights before she even managed to dig herself out of the snow and caught her in a sucker punch to the abdomen that sent her flying. Hacking a bit from the force, Celia caught herself on the side of the mountain, her amber-clawed hand finding purchasing on the earth, slowing her fall, before summoning a pillar beneath her to catch her before she completely fell through. Staggering, she clumsily fought to find her footing again after that sudden attack but had no time to recover.
The Level 3 sprung upwards to find her.
And find her, it did.
Brandishing the two pieces of her glaive despite the dizziness, Celia parried as many of the punches that came her way. It took a moment to regain her composure. Once back, she hurled one of the blades outward, something easily dodgeable by the demon. Thankfully, her goal hadn't been to attack it. With a firm grip and solid tug, the phantom chains wrapped around the Akuma and held it in place as the blade returned, wrapping around her own torso and her hands grasping them tightly.
All yours.
The sheen of Double Sword Illusion came through as Kanda struck it from underneath. The Akuma faltered, her chains coming undone from around it as it fell down into the snow while she and Kanda found each other on the amber cliff she'd made.
Heaving a long sigh, she gave a sidelong glance to him and offered a smirk but nothing else. When nothing but silence ensued, Kanda snapped, irritated beyond belief at the haughtiness.
"Wipe that grin off your face," he hissed.
"Aw, come on. No need to be mad."
"Who the hell's mad?"
"You," she reiterated, "'Cause all your ideas sucked and mine actually worked."
It was with that comment that Kanda exploded at her. "Get over your fucking self!"
A shit-eating smirk almost plastered itself on her face at his more than expected reaction, but before she could tease him any further, the familiar jolt of electricity shot up her wrist.
Amethyst eyes went wide, her mind went blank, and instinct took over in that split second.
Celia hadn't realized she stepped forward. She hadn't processed having shoved Kanda to the side. She didn't even recall putting up her blade to block the incoming blow. All of it did little to no good, however, when the Akuma charging at her with full force simply pushed her off the amber platform.
Frigid air rushed by her, sending her hair whipping about and blocking part of her sight as she and the Akuma fell. Its massive hand suddenly grabbed at her face, the slit between his appendages barely big enough for her to peek beyond it as she slashed and kicked at it uselessly. It wasn't killing her, it wasn't even attacking her; it was just keeping her from getting away.
It wants the fall to kill me.
Desperate as more futile moments passed, the emerald electricity festered in her arm as she stabbed at its arm with the left blade in hand. Panicking, Celia thrashed around in an attempt to get off its grip, only finding it useful for switching their positions as she hovered over it now. Vision a little clearer without her hair blocking, her right hand fumbled until it found purchase against its face.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"
The wail was instant and even more high-pitched than before.
The sound shot out from her right palm, the vibrations visible to the naked eye in circular waves that shot straight into the Level 3's head and exploded it in the blink of an eye. The soundwaves had been so fast and rapid, however, that the impact propelled her in the opposite direction: skyward.
The speed at which she shot upward was too fast for her to maneuver around in the air. It made it impossible to find a chance to catch herself. But it was as she started falling again that she saw a glimpse of inky black hair. Instinctively, her right hand shot out. With her sight blurred by her hair and the rushing wind, she couldn't quite see him as she fell past the amber cliff. But she felt his fingers.
She felt them as their tenuous grasp just missed her.
Shit!
Panicking, her hands fumbled once more, trying to find something—anything!—to grab onto.
Her left hand found it in the end: the sharp edge of a blade that cut through her palm as she gripped it for dear life.
The relief was short-lived. The instant the blade cut her skin the blink of a blinding light stunned her seconds before the pain surged. It bloomed from her chest and traveled straight to her right hand. But no matter how scorching hot it was to the touch, self-preservation locked her hand in place and didn't allow her to release the blade. And despite the blinding light, she caught a glimpse of the black ink that crawled under her skin starting to seep from her pores and latched onto her hand like a second skin.
Fear crept into her fast, knowing full well what that was, but just as she was about to let go—fear of falling be damned—a tight grip came over the scruff of her shirt before it hauled her up and tossed her haphazardly over the edge. Her panicked scream ended up being cut short when Celia yet again ate a mouthful of snow. This time she found it incredibly hard to dig herself out of the mound she fell into.
A low groan escaped Kanda as a dark emerald swirl of emerald crackled on Mugen's edge. The sudden bright flash had stunned him for a brief moment, but once he hauled her good-for-nothing ass over and her grip on his Innocence left, it had disappeared. All that remained was that spark of energy that disappeared itself when he sheathed it after a quick glance to reassure himself.
It was then that his gaze came to Celia's legs thrashing about in a desperate yet highly futile attempt to get out of the snow. Sauntering over, all Kanda had to do was yank her out and toss her against the side of the mountain where despite eating snow yet again, Celia didn't sink.
"Pft—what the hell—blegh."
"Stop being such a crybaby," he barked.
There wasn't much time for her to retort. Not far away, the sounds of Marie's and Tiedoll's concerned calls could be heard in the quiet of the snowy mountains. A heavy sigh of relief escaped her as she struggled to stand back on her feet and a warm smile soon followed.
"Oi, that sound—"
Celia didn't get to hear the rest. Not with Tiedoll's worried cries taking over once he was within earshot of them. They weren't battered up too badly, thankfully. And although Celia didn't have Kanda's super freaky healing, Hand of God would be helpful enough in speeding up her own.
"What about the passengers?" Celia asked, the epiphany of why she had even bothered to soften the train's stop to begin with coming to mind. "Are they—"
"All are fine," Marie informed her. She sighed, shoulders relaxing. "Many are still unconscious but the Finders that managed to avoid most of the brunt of the attack have already started calling for backup. They'll be transported to the nearest town's hospital and treated."
"We will stop by as well." Both Kanda and Celia made rather disgruntled expressions at knowing the reason behind Tiedoll's words. "Don't give me those looks. I want both of you to get checked out before we continue."
"I'm fine," Kanda grumbled.
"So am I!" Celia shouted, raising a hand over her head.
But General Tiedoll would be having none of it. His gentle yet quite stern insisting ended up with their arguments—or in Kanda's case, lack thereof—falling on deaf ears. Marie's suggestion to let it be and do as he said since he clearly wouldn't budge made Celia's shoulders fall despite the tender smile that started to pull at the corner of her lips.
It was nice knowing there were people who actually cared about her well-being. Even if it was a bit overbearing.
I guess once in a while isn't so bad.
As they trudged through the snow back to where the Finders were directing them towards the nearby town, Celia slowed as her breath started becoming labored. Stopping short to catch it, she bent over her knees, feeling sudden lightheadedness that came out of the blue.
"Celia?"
"I'm—fine." She forced herself to chuckle to hide her ragged breathing. "Just a bit tired is all. I'll be good to go after I rest a bit—"
The sudden way a strong grip latched onto her forearm and yanked her upward cut her sentence short. Celia couldn't do much else aside from staring wide-eyed at finding Kanda's irate expression so close to hers.
"You're fucking shit at lying."
Her mouth opened, but instead of words, a splatter of dark blood erupted from her throat, staining her white blouse and both their coats. He didn't flinch nor made an attempt to move away, but the slight tensing of his grip on her arm told her enough of his shock.
She, on the other hand, couldn't hide it any longer. A wry grin formed on her lips as she felt the warm blood seep down her throat and down her chest. Even the sudden tears she felt springing at the corners of her eyes felt warm.
Ah…guess I abused you too much again, huh?
Taking a shaky step forward, Celia stumbled only to be caught by Kanda. Her hand found his coat and gripped it tightly, using it to pull herself to stand straighter. Sadly, all the strength she had left could only serve to press herself against him to keep from falling altogether.
A weeping echoed in her head. Almost as if apologizing.
No, please don't. I don't know what to do…when kids cry.
Sensing her consciousness failing her, Celia used what little strength she had left as the crying became louder and the worried voices became more muffled by the second.
You didn't do anything wrong. You helped me. Because of you…I'll be alright. So please…don't cry…
"Chari…"
Its name slipped through her lips just as her consciousness slipped with it.
Celia awoke to the sound of beeping and incessant whispered chatter.
Her location was recognizable almost instantly: a hospital. Sitting up, she caught the sight of a nurse who'd been speaking to somebody—a Finder, she figured by their white coat. At moving, she noticed the sudden restriction when a pinch came from her left forearm. Her gaze followed the needle stuck there to a bag of blood hanging over her.
Ah, she thought, remembering, I fainted.
It'd been a long while since she last passed out from overuse. Good to know that the anemia stilled sucked.
"Valentine-dono?" Her dazed eyes turned towards the Finder who had approached her bedside.
"How long have I been out?" she instantly asked albeit a tad bit groggily.
The nurse answered her this time, "Three days."
Huh. That's longer than usual.
The norm would be a few hours. At most a day. Not a handful of them.
What gives—suddenly, the memory of weeping came to mind. Oh, that's why. Unconsciously, her right hand closed into a fist. Not wanting to stay in that bed a second longer than she had to, Celia made a fuss about getting discharged and returning to the General and the others. No matter what they tried, the two others couldn't stop her. At least that's what she thought until the Finder kept refusing to answer her question.
"Just tell me where the General, Kanda, and Marie are so we can get going already!"
"That's the problem, Valentine-dono. They're… General Tiedoll and his unit have already departed."
…what?
A sick feeling sunk into her stomach. It certainly served to stop her in her tracks.
Seeing his opportunity, the Finder continued his explanation. The unit had left a day after she was brought to the hospital, unconscious. From what he knew, they had intended to wait on her, however, the order for them to continue and leave her behind had come from upper management. That, to her, only meant one person.
"Why the hell did you tell them to leave me behind?!"
She yelled at the receiver without any care about who heard her. Komui deserved to hear her rage for this little stunt, raw and uncensored.
"It was for the best." He wasn't being his childish self like he tended to be whenever they communicated which meant the explanation she was about to get was good. Or rather it better be if the older Lee wanted to get by unscathed next time she stopped by Headquarters. "General Tiedoll told me about the episode you had."
Episode. Is that what they're calling her abuse of the borrowed Innocence?
"And?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing back at him. "It's not like they haven't happened before. You and I know they're transitory at best. I just need rest and to learn to better calculate the time next time I use them and I'll be fine. You worry too much."
"I worry enough," he retorted, indignantly. "But that isn't the only reason."
"What could possibly be more important than taking care of the general that the Earl and that so-called Noah Clan are hunting down?"
"Hevlaska has figured out a way to undo the assimilation of the Innocence inside you." Her eyes grew wide at the information. Deep in the back of her mind, the humming and weeping both halted. "We could avoid this whole scenario and prevent any further damage from being done to your body by removing them altogether. Your separation from the unit will only be temporary. You can always meet back up with them once we are done. Especially now that we have a solid connection with both Kanda-kun and Marie alongside General Tiedoll. But you must return to Headquarters for her to remove them and harbor them in the cube."
Almost instantly the hum and weeping returned tenfold. Celia flinched at the sudden excess of noise and groaned. Worriedly, Komui asked what the matter was.
She didn't answer the question and instead said, "No."
"What?"
"This can wait," she diverted quickly. "Isn't protecting the Generals an order from the tippy top? I don't think anybody will appreciate an Exorcist getting shipped back to HQ when we're so shorthanded."
"I've already received the proper approval to retrieve you from the field for the time being. You'll return once done so it has been decided that your absence won't be as detrimental."
"Not to be mean towards Hev, but I can't believe she's figured this out so soon," she tried instead with a wince. "And I'd rather avoid that horrible experience until we're sure it'll work."
"We've done the tests, Celia. It is safe and Hevlaska assures me it'll work. We cannot cause further harm to come to you because of this. It's not prudent."
"What if it's not just about protecting Tiedoll anymore, Komui," she said, her voice stern and solemn as she spoke. This was testing his patience already, she could tell, which was why she went with a much more serious approach.
"Whatever the matter is, Celia, it can wait. My prerogative is that you are well and can fight without causing damage to yourself. You're more important to us and we want to save you the trouble of unnecessary pain."
Celia couldn't argue with that. All because she knew that was genuinely Komui's sincere wish. He hadn't become the Chief just because of Lenalee—okay, maybe at the beginning he had. But she realized, even back then, that he came to care about them. He cared about the Exorcists that people like that snake saw as nothing but fodder to fuel their war efforts.
To Komui, they weren't weapons. They were people. Because of that, she knew that what he said, he meant. He meant it when he said he wanted to avoid her unnecessary pain.
Still, I can't leave. Not yet.
"The reason I didn't return for the last five years was because I went out searching for leads about my family. And I know for a fact now that there's a clue in China."
Celia had never given him the reason for her leaving and staying away. Not when she returned and certainly not in that memo they had her turn in for the higher-ups. And although this would certainly get to them now that she had spoken it aloud through a recorded call, there was no helping it. If this would convince him, she wouldn't regret it, either.
Komui became uncharacteristically quiet at her sudden declaration. It gave her a chance, so she took it.
"Just…give me a little more time, Komui. I'm fine for now, I promise. I'll even be more careful about not using the other Innocence. Besides, it won't do much of a difference if Hevlaska removes them now or later, right? So if I can't rejoin Tiedoll's unit, then let me catch up to Allen's. They're here, aren't they? In China looking for Cross."
"How did you know that?" he asked somberly.
A haughty smirk plastered on her face.
"I told you you should've sent me to Cross's unit," she simply said. "They may have Tim, but they don't have my ingenuity."
A low chuckle came from the other line before dying down and becoming silent again. Celia almost thought her last trump card wouldn't work. Almost. Thankfully, the long sigh that she heard over the phone was more than enough of an answer and had her shoulder relaxing quite a bit.
"You aren't wrong about it not making a difference whether they are removed now or later. The damage done has been done. What I'm trying to avoid is any further harm."
"And I appreciate you for caring. Really, I do. But I need to go. I need to check this out. Even if it's a slim chance of it being something, it's better than nothing. At least to me. And…I think out of everybody, you can understand what this means to me."
Out of anybody else in that hellish place, Komui would understand what it was like to search for family lost to him.
"Fine. But only until you can verify this clue you've found. Once you are done, you come right back. No excuses. Do you understand me, young lady?"
Celia couldn't keep herself from chuckling under her breath. "Yes, mumsy."
She could've sworn she heard him mutter something along the lines of "I swear, you and Cross…" but didn't have the heart to ask. Instead, Celia promised she'd be careful one last time and was about to hang up when she heard him call out to her again.
"Answer me this before you go. How did you find out General Cross was in China without contacting Headquarters about the unit's information?"
Celia's lips parted, the lie ready at the drop of a hat to be delivered, but instead of going with the usual flow of things, she stopped herself. Suddenly, Marie's words from that night in the train came back to mind.
"You have us now. Rely on us."
"The Lady of Ashes keeps me well informed."
It was a roundabout way to tell him the truth, but Celia wasn't prepared to have that talk with Komui over the phone. It would take longer than what the poor Finder had the battery for. That and they would need a few refreshments for it because it would be one long talk once she came around to it.
Not today, though.
"How…how do you know about those people?"
Celia wasn't surprised he knew of them. If Cross knew, Komui would have too. That was just a fact that she was ready to accept. That letter from all those years ago proved they had kept some sort of communication before he went AWOL four years ago. Communications that involved the Ashford and their Lady of Ashes.
But again, a talk for another time.
"I'll tell you all about it once I see you again. You can tell Jerry to be ready to prepare lots of treats and tea too, while you're at it. It'll be a long chat." Leaving that topic there, Celia sighed before smiling, "Talk to you later, Komui. I'll contact you when I reach Al and the others."
A quiet ensued before he hummed in agreement.
"Take care of yourself, Celia. And have a safe journey."
"Will do, Chief."
The receiver fell heavily on its hinge. Having her new orders and a new destination, she tapped Navi's head as the golem rested atop her head. Exactly where she had been the whole conversation.
"Wake up, sleeping birdie. We gotta go catch up with Al and Tim."
The star blinked a few times, groggy, before turning back and flying ahead of her to guide her towards their new destination.
Eastward.
To China.
A/N:
I'm on a freaking roll!
I can't believe I've written like four chapters after an almost a 6 month long hiatus. Holy shit I missed this. Also I think I effed up with naming the last chapter what I did now that I've reread this one. This one would've been great as "the weeping bell". Eh, whatever.
Anyway! This was fun to write. I need to get back in the grove of writing action scenes tho because this one felt kinda clunky (still does tbh) but I was happy with it for what it's worth. Another thing is that this replaced a rather important scene back in the old story and changed quite a bit; this one actually happened around the same time that Allen was killed by Tyki in the OG, but now, it's happening quite a bit ahead of that. Which means that next time we heading to China during the Fallen One arc, baby! That's gonna be totally new for this story overall and something I've never written for in any DGM fic, so I'm excited. Not to mention to it has to do with the new way that I'm writing Celia's Innocence this time around.
I'll give ya'll a hint; I called it 'hand' because well, a hand is divided into a palm and five fingers. You guys figure out the rest as this story goes on :3
Anyways, I think that's all I had to say about this one. I wrote this in about a week while in the middle of my final exams for the semester. Now I have just one more this Thursday so i'm glad i can set this as done so I can focus on studying xD
Hope you enjoyed the update and that you stay tuned for the next chapter (which I'm already outlining x3)!
Sleep-deprived but satisfied,
Evie.