"Mag, it's freezing out here."

"Well, I told you to bring a jacket."

"I wasn't cold when I was at headquarters!"

"Hence why I told you to bring a jacket."

I stood in line, tapping my foot as I peered over the heads of patient customers, whose dedication to stuffed animals was probably deeper than mine. Most of them were women, of course, chatting to one another as we stood outside of the department store, and I felt awfully unladylike in my uniform. Amidst the skirts, the pants made me look as masculine as Marty the Muscleman. It didn't matter that I'd just shaved off every offending hair I could find, save for those on my head.

And I'd just had my upper lip waxed. Doubly insulting.

Violet stood to my left, impatiently fidgeting as the store took its sweet time opening its doors.

"Do you really think this is worth it? She's just as happy playing with a cardboard box," Violet muttered.

My eye twitched.

"She likes stuffed animals. The last one she had, she ran to rags," I countered.

"That was only because she practically ate half of it. And after she got those claws, there was practically nothing left. It was more like a pacifier than a toy," Violet sniffed, crossing her arms, partly out of insolence and partly from the cold. Her short hair probably didn't do her any favors there, either.

It was late fall, almost three weeks to the day that Lavi informed me of my... condition. Since then, things had calmed down considerably, though I figured that was in due part to Komui commanding that I take the time off. Therefore, I actually had enough downtime to wait ridiculous hours outside of a department store to buy a stuffed animal for my darling, slightly-predatory sister. At the least, it would make for a good chew toy so she would leave my hairbrushes in peace. My latest one had ended up a bunch of splinters on her bedroom floor.

"So. Who are you inviting to the birthday party?" Violet huffed as we budged half an inch.

I stood on tip-toes to try and see over the crowd. Was it just me, or was this line doubled-back? Were there seriously this many people here to buy a stuffed toy? What sort of person devotes their precious time to standing for hours in line?!

I, of course, don't count. My purchase is singular, and my habits rarely include spending ridiculous amounts on children's toys. Like Violet said, most of us had been content to make do with wooden boxes and whatever odds and ends we found in the trash. One time, I'd found a rather neat set of wires that we turned into a pair of bug antenna, and we ran around the neighborhood terrorizing the other children...

I was a mean bugger back then.

"Oh, the usual suspects. I really don't see why we'd need to give out invitations. Everyone's going to come anyways," I muttered as I tried to figure out what the holdup was.

"Mmmm, maybe not everyone. You gonna invite Kanda?" Violet asked with a devilish look, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"He wouldn't come anyways."

"Are you positive?"

"As the north end of a magnet."

We stepped forward, and a few women cast looks in our direction. I waved at them and gave a tight smile, and they whispered to each other behind their gloves. I did my best not to sigh too hard. Violet, as always, seemed less perturbed by the nasty looks flying our way. Instead, she was devising ways of making me uncomfortable.

"You know you've got to patch stuff up with him at some point. He's your teacher. You were the only person who could get him to do anything. He even let you use his hair ties! If that's not love, I don't know what is!"

"To be frank, I doubt you, a fifteen-year-old, have that deep a grasp of 'love'," I grumbled, sticking my hands in my pockets and ignoring her peeved expression. "Besides - it's mutual. He doesn't want to be around me anymore than I want to be around him."

"Uh-huh. Riiiiight. Because you haven't been avoiding him or anything."

I winced at her jab. For the past few weeks, I'd done my best to stay away him in order to get around any particularly... awkward talks. I was awfully sore about what he'd said about me, mostly because it wasn't all untrue. He had made no real attempts to bridge the gap, and I was content to keep it that way. I doubt my rejection had taught him any manners, besides, and it was just best for all parties involved if we didn't interact more than we needed to.

It's all fun and games until the hair-pulling and name-calling starts, after all, and I'd like to leave the mudslinging to Central.

"Aw - come on. I remember you telling me how you thought he 'wasn't that bad' and he's 'coming around' and he 'let me wash his hair once.' It would be sweet!" Violet gushed.

I grimaced and turned away from her.

"Just because someone has some good days mixed in with his millions of bad days does not mean he's worth a sinking friendship," I muttered, scuffing the ground with my boot.

She gave me a quirked eyebrow before conceding defeat and rolling her eyes.

"Fine. What about Lavi? He's cute."

"He's not on the table- This is Ava's birthday we're talking about, not a matchmaking party!"

"See? You didn't deny it. You think he's cute."

"That's beside the point. And no I d- Oh, the store's open!"

With that, I grabbed Violet's hand and began to lead her in, trying to press through the throngs of mothers desperate to get their child some bauble. Violet clung to my hand as she attempted to keep up, and by the time we made it to the door, she was actively shivering against my back. I looked over my shoulder, noticing her pallid skin, and I shrugged off my uniform coat.

"Here, put this on, you're going to catch your death," I said, finally heading towards a more open part of the store.

Women milled around, gushing over bibs, toy trains, and other children's accessories, and I felt a pang in my chest. At the least, I'd get to buy these things for Ava. That was more than some women got.

"Mag, you okay?" Violet asked, rolling up the sleeves on my coat to fit her much more delicate physique. "You're staring at those rocking horses the way you used to look at the candy shop while we were broke..."

"It's fine," I quickly assured her, putting my arm around her shoulder.

Crap. Violet had a bad habit of noticing that which ought not be noticed, though my poker face left much to be desired (if my light wallet had anything to say).

"Just remembering how it was when we were kids. Standing outside the toy store, you know," I quickly offered.

I hadn't told them yet. I just... didn't have the heart to. What kind of sister would I be, putting that on their shoulders? Lavi had said that I needed to, though, in case something ever happened. I'd kept putting it off, and putting it off, hoping that they couldn't see it on my face, but unfortunately I'm easier to read than a billboard with two foot high letters.

Violet nodded in sympathy, and she said, "Well, Ava'll get the best of the best. Now come on, we gotta pick something!"

My younger sister dragged me along, and we skirted around the myriad crowds. I was surprised to see quite a few fathers, their sons on their shoulders and pointing. This place was an emotional minefield. I shouldn't have left my place without a hankie…

"Oh, quit your blubbering already and take a look at those hot air balloons! You can even rig them to a pulley! Now - if Lavi and Kanda aren't on the menu, what about Reever? He's relatively young," Violet said, surveying a large array of mobiles, some of which were far too expensive for my tastes. If it had more than two digits, it was beyond my pay-grade.

"He's married," I stated.

"Oh! Really? Fancy that. Hm, what about Marie?"

"Smitten with Miranda."

"Get out!" Violet gasped, setting down a comb-and-brush-set with undue force.

I winced as I reached out to take them from her. The last thing we needed was to accidentally break something in here, and Violet wasn't known for her gentility. Nevertheless, I smiled a bit self-indulgently. Lavi and I liked to people watch (when he was around, anyhow, the busy bee) and we'd had a field day watching Marie. Perhaps because he was blind, he didn't realize how much his body language gave him away. Just his luck, Miranda had all the observational ability of a lamppost. She had no clue.

"Oh, no, it's true. You should see the way he acts when she walks in. It'd make a whole room full of romance novelists take notes."

"Well, that's adorable. Maybe I should set them up on a date."

"Violet. You can't force romance."

"Sure I can!"

We continued to a different part of the store, going through the porcelain doll section - and we both promptly left, too aware of the eyes on us. We'd fought far too many Akuma with the same glassy stare. Violet practically dragged me, and I needed no telling twice.

After escaping the Room of Horrors, Violet posited, "Hmm, Komui?"

We both glanced at each other and made faces before shaking our heads vigorously. Absolutely not.

"Well, Link is kind of cute... from a certain angle..." Violet mused.

"...at night, in bad lighting, from ten yards away..." I muttered with a mischievous smile.

Violet's jaw dropped.

"Maggie, being rude?! What kind of world is this!"

I slapped her arm before looking over another wall of toys. I had no clue so much variety was possible…

"Chaoji's sweet - "

"Nope. He's a sailor and awfully fond of certain kinds of wo-"

"Ick, please say no more. What about Mr. Chang?"

"Nah-ah. He's into Lenalee."

"Maggie, come on! Those are the only eligible bachelors wandering around the headquarters!" Violet whined, picking up a bouncy ball and testing it out.

I examined a porcelain tea set and made a face as I realized that Ava would smash it to millions of tiny pieces. Definitely not toy material, though it'd look good just sitting in a baby's bedroom, gathering dust and looking dainty.

"I don't need to be courted," I jabbed.

"Hmph! You suck the fun out of everything," Violet murmured with disappointment. "There's somebody for everybody."

"Not this somebody," I stated under my breath as I put down a clown puppet with eyes that were just a hair too wide apart. It was just a touch too creepy.

I sighed and looked around, wondering if perhaps somewhere else out there, a cuddly doll worthy of my toothy sister was floating around. The reams of bright clothes, stuffed clowns, and rows of tin horse-and-carriages seemed to beckon me, but every single item looked like it'd end up chunks in Ava's chubby, clawed hands. I remembered one time, even before she'd come into contact with Innocence, I'd given her a paper doll set, and she'd systematically ripped all of the heads off the dolls before dressing them up. Needless to say, I was concerned. Violet just thought she'd inherited her father's sense of the macabre, and I can only hope she's right.

"Whatever it is we get, it's going to have to be sturdy, but soft..." I muttered to myself, spinning around in a circle to get a better feel for what else might be available. With a store this size, there had to be something. I didn't freeze my toes off just to walk away empty-handed!

A person in the crowd slipped around a woman in front of me, and I caught a brief glimpse of someone's face in the throng of women. My eyebrows furrowed as I felt recognition spark somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

"Stay here a minute, Violet, I'm going over into the next room," I said absent-mindedly.

"While you're at it, pick up a man!"

I shot her a look, but she already had her back towards me, my over-sized jacket hanging off her delicate frame. With a huff, I jogged past a few more people, muttering apologies, as I tried to reach a man wearing a top hat and suit. The face had been familiar, but the clothes and the general setting of bright colors, frippery, and women made it hard for me to realize just where I'd seen him. Nevertheless, I had a strong suspicion that he was someone I knew, and at the least I could -

And then, I lost him. A couple of workers with a wide cart full of porcelain dolls - eek! - hustled their way through, the glassy eyes of the dolls following me as it trundled past. I swallowed as I turned to try and get around the cart. Perhaps he wasn't the person I'd seen. Maybe all those days of cabin fever had finally gotten a hold of me and rattled my senses -

I bumped, chest-to-chest, with the person to my left as I turned to go back the way I came, and I grabbed hold of their sleeve to keep from toppling into the raging river of mothers who were clucking like a whole flock of hens.

"I'm so sorry-" I said as I looked to the person I'd accidentally assaulted, but my words stuck in my throat as I fully took in their face.

He seemed just as shocked to see me as I was to see him, and we stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Well, hello to you, too, Magpie," the man said, and I barked out a short laugh.

When we'd known him, he'd said to call him Mickey, though he'd looked nothing like an Irishman, and for a magical year and a half, it had seemed like I had a true family. A piece of me felt like it had snapped back into place, a small part that I hadn't realized had gone missing.

"What are you doing here, Uncle Mick?" I asked, perplexed.

He looked a lot better than when we'd known him. He was well-dressed in a suit, his hair was combed (no wonder I'd not recognized him), and he'd ditched his bottle-thick lenses (which we had jokingly said were the reason for his nonexistent love life). Much to my appreciation, he'd also dropped the smoking, or otherwise he didn't think it proper to smoke indoors with so many women around. His trademark beauty spot stood out a mile now that his hair didn't frame his face. I used to tease him about it, telling him that it was a woman's mark, and he'd teased back that it made him prettier than me.

Seeing him now, I'd definitely believe it. The transformation was astonishing. It was a wonder I recognized him.

"I should be asking you that question. Here - let's get out of the way of the crowd. We're blocking traffic," he suggested, leading me to a safe alcove filled with marionettes.

"Well, I'm here because it's Ava's birthday," I answered when we were firmly out of the flow of people.

"Is that so? Ava?" he asked, looking perplexed as he fiddled with a puppet.

"I forget, you weren't there when she was born-"

"You mean your mother's sixth? She'd just told me about it when I'd left."

"Well, she's turning four tomorrow, and I need to get her a gift that she can't easily destroy..." I said, wincing. "She's a... tough cookie."

Uncle Mickey chuckled, "All of you were tough cookies. I couldn't hand anything to you without it ending up worn to a nub."

"Hey! You never asked for it back... Now, the real questions - what's with this get-up? You finally win a poker match?" I teased.

He ruffled my hair in retribution for insulting his card-shark skills, and I ducked away from him, now an expert in the art of dodging.

"I forget how cheeky you used to be... No, unfortunately, my poker skills didn't get me this far. You could say that a rather fortunate uncle of mine passed on a sum of money my way," Mickey stated, a strange tightening of his eyes sparking my suspicions.

"An uncle, you say?" I sighed.

It was more than likely that Mickey's gains were ill-gotten, but I wasn't about to pass judgement quite yet. There was, however, another question that sat on my tongue, but I was loathe to speak it. Nevertheless, I had to know. It nagged at the back of my mind, and if I didn't say it now, it would continue haunting me.

"Why did you never come find us?" I asked quietly.

Uncle Mickey stayed quiet, holding up a small marionette to his face. He lost control of it for a moment, causing it to nearly poke him in the eye, and I raised my eyebrows at him. He put it back among the mess of other marionettes, and he chewed over an answer.

"I had had a lot of other things to take care of at the time. By the time I'd come back about a year and a half later, you and Zelda and the rest were already gone. I asked the landlord what had happened, and he'd said he had to kick you all out after rent didn't come in, and that you'd moved along. I tried to ask around, but no one had a clue where you'd gone," he recounted. "I had assumed that-"

"- we'd died that winter. Somewhere outside the city," I answered for him in a flat tone.

In the past, I'd met others who'd lived close to us. They had, also, assumed we had perished when the snows came in. Two or three children on their own rarely are able to make it without help, much less five. While it was a logical assumption, I still felt some resentment. No one likes to hear that they weren't worth the bother of finding.

"I thought Zelda would be taking care of you," Uncle Mickey corrected, and I glanced at him, and he, at me.

I let my eyes fall.

"Well, that's the past, and I guess there's really nothing that's going to change it. We're here now, and that's what matters, right?" I asked, straightening up.

Stay positive! It was something that had been hammered into my head, and even Kanda, in his bizarre way, had helped instill the practice by making me move forward a little at a time. Of course, Kanda took the "hammering" part a little too literally for my tastes, but it got the job done. If we don't move past our mistakes and our foibles, there's no progress!

"Quite the outlook you have," Mickey quipped. "I remember how you used to cry at my knee when you realized you'd never be a princess. The world was ending, in your mind."

"Hey, when you're 12 and realize you're not going to marry a prince, it's tough! I've learned to live a happy, plebeian life," I jabbed.

"Perhaps more than plebeian, if you're here. This is not some cheap toy stand. That marionette you're toying with is worth more than most hansom cabs," Uncle Mickey pointed out, and I jerked my hand away from a pretty, pink marionette girl wearing a full-length court gown.

"Is that why you're here? I'd never take you for the kind to frequent toy shops."

"I've a niece who's fond of these sorts of things. She's running around here, somewhere, probably harassing some poor store owner into giving her free candy," Mickey groaned, rubbing his face wearily.

I laughed, remembering how all five of us - for even before Ava, there'd been five - had dogpiled him and begged him to buy us candy.

"Are you the only one who made the visit, or are the rest of the Valdis brood with you?" Mickey asked.

"Well, Vi is here with me somewhere, but I don't know where - oh! There she is. The one with the short hair, waving at us," I stated, pointing over the shoppers to Violet, who was hastily shoving others out of the way, moving towards us.

Mickey's face blanched, and I felt sympathy for him. He probably wasn't expecting the little, gap-toothed child he'd met years ago to be wearing incredibly short skirts and a bobbed hair cut. I'd managed to negotiate her down to at least wearing stockings and leaving the ridiculous striped pantsuit at home. She'd seen them in America recently, and she'd been dying to go somewhere in it, but I frankly thought it made her look like a lampshade. She, however, was convinced it was chic.

"Uncle Mickey?! Oh my God - sorry, Mag, sorry - you look so...so... civilized," Violet gushed, hugging him about the waist and hanging on.

He stiffly tried to keep his hands off of her, and I tittered behind a single hand. Violet held him out and looked him up and down.

"You've got to meet everyone! This is amazing! We're going to introduce you to Ava, and you get to meet all of our new friends, and maybe you can even walk right into work with us-"

"Uh, Violet? Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said, trying to slow down the train of words coming out of Violet's mouth. Uncle Mickey did not need to come to work with us. Work meant chasing after demons, and I don't think anybody is ready for that.

"What?! It's Uncle Mickey! I mean, dapper Uncle Mickey, but still Mick," Violet said.

"I... would love to stay and see the twins, and Lily, and - Ava, was her name? - Ava and Rose," Mickey quickly interjected before Violet could start her spout of words. "Unfortunately, I have little time."

"You do?" I asked, my shoulders falling.

Disappointment sprung up again, and that old betrayal seemed to sit like a splinter under my fingernail.

"I'm taking my niece on vacation, and we're going back to her parents' chalet," Uncle Mickey admitted softly. "It would've been nice to sit with you all again. Perhaps at another time. Don't give me that long face..."

I crossed my arms, keeping my expression neutral. Violet, however, seemed more volatile.

"You're leaving? Already? I just got here," she gasped indignantly.

I walked over to her and grasped her hand.

"It's alright. We understand," I said, turning back to him.

Mickey looked sad, but I had little sympathy left. I had thought, perhaps, that giving him another chance would heal the wounds he'd left behind when he'd abruptly walked out of our lives. I understood, though - times had changed. It'd been years. I was a woman, when before he'd only seen a girl.

"Magpie..."

"Please. Call me Magnolia."

"...Magnolia. I'd meant to tell you- you've grown up pretty. And you too, Violet. I don't mean to be rude," Mickey said, probably a concession to us both. "I'll give you the address-"

"No need," I assured him. "I'd hate to bother you."

He seemed further withdrawn with that, and he flexed a hand, his eye drawn to the coat Violet was wearing, and I frowned. Why would the coat matter to him? Perhaps there was something about it that had struck him as odd, though heaven knew, we were already an odd bunch as it was - two women in pants and short skirts talking to a man in a suit.

"If that's the case, I'd better find my niece before she causes some unfathomable damage. Even my pocketbook is only so deep," Mickey sighed, tipping his hat to us. "I apologize for having to leave so soon. At least this time, I can give advanced warning, I suppose."

He walked out of the alcove, brushing past me - and something slipped into my hand as he walked by.

"Douchebag," Violet muttered under her breath, and I lightly slapped her arm with a sharp glance.

She shrugged her shoulders at me and deflated as we watched him disappear. I looked down at whatever it was he'd put in my hand, and I saw it was a poker card - a knave. He was always a cheeky one, even under all that finery. I stuck it into my pocket as we walked to the register, shaking my head.


"Okay, there's no way she's going to be able to ruin this," Violet said.

She held up to the light a soft blanket complete with a wooden bear's head. It smiled at us from Violet's outstretched arm, and I stroked my chin in thought. Lightweight... easy to pack... durable... easily fixed, if ripped…

"It's perfect," I professed, suddenly enveloped with thoughts of Ava sleeping with it in her bed, me fixing the rips with nothing but cheap string, and her dashing it against stairs with little damage. No more broken hair brushes. No more ripped up dolls. No more shards of porcelain under my feet at night.

"I am so good," Violet gushed, punching the air excitedly.

She grabbed hold of my arm and swiftly started dragging me towards the register and I did my best to keep up with my hyperactive, overly enthusiastic little sister.

"S-slow down, my legs are longer than yours!"

"Kanda was supposed to teach you how to move it! He obviously didn't do a good job," Violet whined as we made it to the back of the register line.

All around us, the mothers were happily chatting over their new purchases for little Henry or Jane or Lila. I shuddered, hoping I'd never fall prey to that kind of 'nesting'. And I certainly hoped that this toy was as long lasting as we hoped, because otherwise, we'd have to slog our way back through this again.

To preoccupy ourselves, we started to play eye-spy, with Violet winning by a large margin.

"Okay, okay, it's my turn now," I huffed after Violet achieved her sixth consecutive win. "I spy with my little eye..."

I looked around and out the windows, now that we were close enough, and -

A young girl with short and dark blue-black hair pranced by the window, carrying an orange and purple umbrella, and a dark shadow followed her soon after. My eyes widened as I watched, but I wasn't sure if it was something to be alarmed about. My gut, however, said otherwise.

"Um... stay here, I'm going to check something out," I said, digging around in my pockets for my bracelets.

"Huh? Maggie, how am I supposed to pay for this?! My paycheck can't cover - oof!"

My pocketbook hit Violet square in the chest as I fought my way out the door and into the street. I careened around the corner that the girl had gone down, and the face of the man I'd been helpless to save flashed before my mind's eye. I didn't even know his name, but I knew I didn't want a repeat feature. I zoomed down an alleyway, guessing that this was the way the girl had gone, and I slowed down as I saw the girl standing with her back towards me.

"Excuse me, little girl, do you need hel-"

the world collapsed into a vortex of sound, color, touch, taste, and


"So you're the girl Tyki was talking to," Road sighed, wandering around the woman who was standing in the alley, her eyes unfocused and her body listing from side to side to some unheard music.

Road pursed her lips and said, "You're not even that pretty. What would he want with you?"

"Lerooo, we're going to get into trouble, Road, if we don't hurry and find Tyki again, lero," the umbrella in her grasp whined, but she quickly stopped its caterwauling by stamping its head into the cobbles.

"Lero, Lero, how many times do I have to tell you? Tyki's not going to care," Road said as she scrutinized the girl in front of her.

For that's what she was. At first glance, Road had mistaken her for a full-grown woman. However, it seemed that was just the product of a set of wide, indelicate hips and the harried look on the girl's face. Upon closer inspection, it was clear she could be no more than twenty years old, perhaps even younger. For now, she looked like a drunkard, her eyes following some vague object in the distance while she swayed about.

"And what if Tyki does care?" a deep, rumbling voice said as he stepped out from the dark behind Road, and she leaned back against him.

"Tykiiii, what do you want with this thing, anyway?"

Tyki stared at the Exorcist. He had trouble describing the falling sensation he'd felt when he saw Violet running towards him wearing what was obviously an Exorcist's coat. He had at first thought it was some fluke, that she had picked it up off of some friend, but he soon realized it was Magnolia's after a bit of quiet comparison. It had hurt to realize he could not associate with them doubly due to their Exorcist ties, and he realized that he'd yet to shed all his human traits.

"She was the child of a friend from years ago," Tyki said, putting a hand on Road's shoulder.

"Really?" Road muttered. "Bad, bad Tyki, having human friends. You should know better than that. Well, are you going to do anything with her?"

"No," Tyki admitted. "We cut ties."

"Smart of her," Road praised, tapping Lero against the stones beneath her feat, despite his whimpering. "Pity, though, that we'll have to kill her now, don't you think?"

Candles with staked-tips sprouted in the air, pointing towards the Exorcist, and Road smiled with coy devilishness as she prepared -

"Road, now, leave her be."

Her childish face twisted into a pout, and she leaned back her head to stare at Tyki.

"But, Tyki, if the Earl hears about us not getting at least one of them unawares when we had the chance -"

"I'll do your homework for a week," Tyki bribed, leaning down to Road's height and putting his arms around her shoulders.

Road puckered her lips and considered this offer, hugging his arms. That was an awful lot of homework, but she bet she could push it. After all, homework was such a pain.

"Naaaah, two weeks."

"Done deal."

"Alrightie!"

With a snap of the fingers, the candles disappeared. The Exorcist remained in her unmolested, though unchanged, state. Road sighed to herself, swinging Lero in circles, as Tyki stood up straight. The two laced fingers together, and Tyki mentioned, "Aren't you going to let her go?"

"Nooow now, Tyki, see reason. We can't just let her go without doing anything. I'll just say she was such a weakling that I left her out in the open for the Akuma to deal with. Not even worth our time. What does it matter to you, anyways?" Road asked as she skipped towards the opening of the alleyway, dragging Tyki behind her.

"I told her mother a long time ago that I'd be sure to keep them out of danger. Don't worry, this will be the only time I'll stick my neck out."

Tyki had to concede the point. The Earl would think something awfully strange was going on, and Tyki knew that holding on to the past was not conducive to... well, anything. Not if they were to usher in a new, clean world. Everything must go, even that which he'd once loved. He could no longer play both the dark and the light.

"Well, good! Because, Tyki, if I see her again..." Road began in a cutesy voice.

A candle materialized next to her finger, and she twirled it round and round, giving Tyki a sidelong glance.

"I'm going to rip her apart, entrails first."


Violet sat against the wall of the alleyway sniffling. In her hands, the safety blanket sat clutched between tight fingers as Violet tried to hold back her tears. It wasn't often that Violet had to be the strong one, but here she was. All of sudden, she was reminded of the time she'd gotten herself lost in the weekend market, disappearing into the flood of people. She'd been terrified, looking left and right and seeing nothing familiar, paralyzed with fear.

And then, as if out of the blue, Maggie had snatched her out of the crowd and parted the waves for her to find her way back to the rest of the family, before their mother had even had the chance to realize one of her brood had nearly been washed away by the current of people.

Here she was again, lost and paralyzed, but Maggie was not here to save her.

Magnolia stood in front of her, her eyes languidly blinking but unresponsive. Even a slap to the face had done nothing but leave her standing there, deaf, dumb, and senseless. All she did was stand and sway, her mouth forming the odd word. It was as if someone had sucked all the life out of her and left in its place this unwieldy, uncomfortable doll of a body. Violet had called headquarters as soon as it was clear something was wrong, and they were all taking their sweet time getting here.

"Maggie," Violet pleaded from her spot on the pavement, but her sister did not respond.

The elder Valdis sibling lolled, eyes wandering after some specter.

"Violet? Violet, where are you?" a voice called, and the young girl stood up, wiping her eyes.

It was time for her to grow up. She had to take charge and make sure everything went the right way. There was no Maggie to pull her to safety, and there hadn't been for a few months now. It was time to step up.

"We're over here!" Violet called, waving her arms and running out into the alley. Two Exorcists, Kanda and Marie, ran for the alley, and the three congregated around the senseless Exorcist.

"When did this happen?" Marie asked, touching Magnolia's face and hair.

"About fifteen minutes ago. I don't know if an Akuma did this, or if she's just... lost it, but she won't even respond to -"

Kanda immediately slapped her across the face, and Magnolia continued standing there.

"Hey! I already did that, and she didn't do anything..." Violet muttered, crossing her arms and stepping between Kanda and her older sister.

However, it seemed that Kanda wasn't quite so impressed with the diminutive Valdis sibling. He was staring at Magnolia with a strange intensity, his eyebrows drawn together.

"Marie, how's her heart sound?"

"Strong and steady, but it's slow. It's almost as if she's asleep."

"Noah."

"Noah?" Violet gasped, eyes the size of teacup saucers. "You're telling me that Maggie saw a Noah and didn't end up dead?"

"It looks that way," Marie admitted. "She's in some kind of trance. I don't know why she's still alive... but I do know if this persists, there may be unforeseen repercussions."

Much to their surprise, Kanda immediately picked up the unresponsive woman, hauling her into a fireman's carry over his shoulders. He began to walk out of the alley, leaving behind the other two in his wake.

"Well? This is faster," he shot over his shoulder before rounding the corner.

"Or we could hire a cab," Marie suggested under his breath.

"You know... If I didn't know better, I'd think he digs her," Violet said with forced cheer as she caught up with Marie's long-legged stride, and Marie only smiled.

"Hurry it up, already! We don't have all day!" Kanda called, already halfway down the street.


A/N: Hello there, fellow readers and writers! I've been at it again - and finally have a chapter for you guys to sink your teeth into! Not much to report really, other than this semester is shaping up to be one heck of a ride.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

To my reviewers:

Ryuakilover: Thank you so much! Glad that you enjoyed it!
karina001: You know I always love your insight. It always gives me a little bit of new perspective on writing. Hope you enjoy giving advice as much as I like getting it!
stardancer1000: Holy run on comment, batman! I love your enthusiasm! Yeah, this did start out as a kind of funny story and it seems to have slowly drifted down into the more serious category. That might be just because I've started to grow older. Believe it or not, I started this story at 14 and it kind of shows, haha! Still, I hope you'll stick with it!

And of course, a huge thank you to karina001 for editing everything and making it exceptionally beautiful (and not anachronistic as all get-out...).

That's it folks! God bless you, and happy reading!