oh god i'm so exciteddd screw beginnings let's jump right in

More than anything in the world, I hate being woken up. I always have and always will. Whether it's for school, music practice, family trips, or anything in general, I've always hated it. So when Rain burst in our door at four in the morning (much more alarming, she was already awake) and shook my shoulder, I was furious. Of course, furious, but too tired to even bother. I instead rolled over with a groan.

"Maddie, wake up. You have to wake up. I have a solution to all of our problems," she said over and over, her fingers slowly pressing into my shoulder. "You have to come with me. This isn't an option."

I sat up groggily, rubbing my burning eyes. My hair must've been sticking straight up again, as it does almost every morning, because that's where her eyes flew to first. "Solution to what...? The akuma thing...?"

She hushed me impatiently, the door still a jar open with the Finders most likely recording our every word. "Shhh! And yes, that problem. If you come with me, I promise I'll make you some hot chocolate when we get back, okay? It won't take that long. An hour at most." Rain's eyes flickered every which way, so I could see she was up to something. I peered behind her, seeing Lavi in the hallway, and narrowed my eyes at her. She didn't have to guess to know why. "Yes, yes, I was up at ungodly-hour-o' clock talking to your junior-bookman crush. Now come with me, I'll explain on the way!"

Protesting was impossible, it seemed, as it always was with Rain. Once she had her heart set on something, telling her no was the last thing anyone wanted. As we left the room, I glanced over at a little clock on the wall. Four twelve am. I remember thinking last night that I'd wanted to get the night over with, but this soon? We'd only gone to bed about five hours ago. Even then, it took me an entire hour just to get to sleep. I could not run safely on four hours of sleep.

Lavi, upon seeing me and my atrocious bed head, chuckled and commented, "Well, don't you look nice this morning, Maddie-chan. Have you done something to your hair?" Upon this, my face flushed to a deep red, and Rain punched his arm, commenting that we didn't have much time before the hallways filled up and to lead us to Hevlaska.

Hevlaska...

Oh no. She was not doing this.

"Rain..." she tugged me down the hallway, realizing she'd blown her own cover and that I'd figured it out. My tone suggested imminent rage, and she knew it. I might not've been as scary or threatening as her, but I knew how to use my anger. Rain knew I had a lot of stress bottled up, and she was about to be victim number one. "If you are doing what I think you're doing...you can let go of my hand...and let me go back to our room. And you can follow me."

"We have to, we have to!" She insisted, turning at me briefly to show a surprisingly desperate expression. A moment later, she regained her composure and looked ahead to Lavi, who was leading us up another spiral staircase. "This is the only way we can be sure we're not akuma! Do you want to hear my theory or not?" Before I could protest to say 'Hell no, I don't want to hear your theory, I want you to come to your senses', she continued on anyway. "Akuma consist of machinery, a soul, a skeleton and dark matter. Innocence is the exact opposite of dark matter. There can't be both! They could never be able to live peacefully inside one's body. So if this works and Hevlaska can successfully implant Innocence in our bodies, not only will it prove we're human, but it means we become Exorcists of the Black Order!" Rain was shaking with anticipation, dragging me up the stairs. My mind processed her entire explanation, and by the time it was done we'd reached the top of the staircase. I stopped moving. She turned around, continuing to try and pull me forward, but I ignored it.

"You...didn't think the consequences through, did you?" I questioned her. Rain regained her senses, pausing for a moment to listen to me. "Rain...there's no guarantee this will work. Innocence implants are rarely successful. If we really are akuma, the Innocence and the dark matter will battle constantly inside of us, causing us daily pain or even early death." Her eyes saddened slightly, being unable to control her emotions any longer. "And if we aren't akuma, there's a possibility that the implant won't work. We could suffer and lose all of our senses, even our minds. And in the best case scenario, the Innocence implant goes perfectly and we aren't akuma, and we become Exorcists of the Order." She failed to see where I was going with this last one.

"The Black Order would never let us go back to our dimension."

I could almost physically see her heart sink in her chest. Rain hadn't considered that. If we were powerful enough to become Exorcists, the Black Order would definitely refuse to let us go home. The war between the Millennium Earl and the Black Order staked far too much for two capable fighters to return back to their own dimension. She murmured to herself, "Caught between a rock and a hard place...do we risk going back home as demons that might eventually explode, or save ourselves and never be able to return?"

In front of us, Lavi was studying everything he could get a grip on. Every word we'd said was recorded in his mind permanently, but he shifted back to his regular self quickly. "If you're going to make a decision, do it quickly. The Finders will be up soon. There are a lot of them and the halls will fill up immediately." He could see that if he didn't say anything, we'd stay here far too long, saying and doing nothing.

Rain leaned in, whispering into my ear. I knew I had to stay calm and collect, because if she was whispering, she obviously didn't want Lavi to hear it. I kept my expression calm as she said, "We will find a way to escape. We have too much to live for back in our dimension. I have my niece and nephew and you have that Drum Major boy. They can't follow us. They would immediately get culture shock. Don't worry, Maddie, okay?"

Even now, she still tried to protect me. It made me feel weak, but in the long run, I knew I was. I was far too sensitive for any of this. I hadn't really sat down and let any of it sink in that I was in another dimension with a very slim possibility of every getting home. Plus, Rain really knew how to get to me. The words 'drum major' hit right at my heart. I knew I couldn't go home with the possibility that I was a mechanical soul bent on destruction. I couldn't risk hurting so many people.

She waited patiently for me to respond, but realized after a few moments she didn't have to. The flames in my eyes must've given it away. I was determined and ready to go. Hopefully, if we had been secretive enough, Lavi didn't understand a word of what had just happened. Rain's back had been to him, so he couldn't see her lips moving. I hadn't said anything, so there was no chance there. We were safe. We would be fine.

"On to Hevlaska!" Rain charged, both of us now dashing across the hallway. Lavi caught the drift and raced ahead of us, his boots loudly stomping the floor and echoing in the empty halls. I imagine there would be a complaint on our behalf, but now wasn't the time to worry. Running away from the problem itself was weak. I would be brave. Not for myself, but for Rain. For my parents. For my friends. For my music.

For just about everyone but myself.

Hevlaska agreeing to do an Innocence implant was the last thing I'd ever imagined. She needed Komui's authorization to do so, so Lavi ran to his office to get permission. He returned about ten minutes later, saying Komui gave a rather grumbled approval.

The shroud of white asked us in that soothing yet frighteningly calm voice of hers who would go first. I knew Rain would volunteer first. I couldn't let her do that, though. I'd be brave, even if it meant accidently hurting her bravery in the long run. It seemed I was incredibly caught up in being brave – or rather, just trying to avoid being cowardly.

"I'll go first," I shouted in the empty, pitch black room, raising my hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rain open her mouth to protest, eyes alarmed. I also saw Lavi glance at me, and then whisper something to Rain. I pretended not to hear it. She picked me up with a while tentacle, and I saw an Innocence emerge from her body. I tried not to be fazed by it, but it was beautiful. It was as bright as the sun, maybe even more. It burned my eyes to look at, yet I couldn't look away. The Innocence moved closer, closer, closer still...

And everything became white.

When I awoke, the white slowly dimming to show the brightly lit hospital ward I was in, my first reaction was panic. I sat up quickly, alarmed to find that when I moved, my abdomen was not struck by pain, but instead a holy feeling inside. It felt good. I wanted to experience it again, but a nurse quickly rushed over to my bedside and gently laid me back down, insisting that I rested more.

I did as I was told; I lied down and stared up at the ceiling, trying to let everything sink in. I was still alive and breathing. That was definitely good sign number one. I wasn't experiencing any pain, which was the second good sign. However, even though I felt fine (better then fine, actually), my body was covered in bandages at the most random of places. My right eye was covered by the gauze, along with my right arm, lower abdomen, and both of my legs. As everything sank in, I came to the conclusion slowly that I was in a hospital.

Memories flashed before my eyes of my own dimension, and I began to stir. I hated hospitals. I despised them more then I hated being woken up. Hospitals and nurseries were where my mother and sister had taken up work. I remember being a little girl and thinking that I would have to continue on the legacy of working in the medical field, but as I grew older, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was too much to bear. Even my own mother told me every time I went to get a check-up, "Don't touch anything. If you aren't sick when you come in, you will be when you come out."

Hospitals were filled with the sickly and dying. Whenever I stepped foot in one, I knew I was somehow involved with the sickly and dying, whether it was me or someone close to me. The ones I visited were filled with coughing children and frightened parents. Worst of all, I had to remember the night that I went to the emergency room for extreme pain. It was the most traumatic night of my life. I was there from eight at night until six in the morning. I was in constant pain, and every now and then I drifted off into an hour of sleep before someone came in and woke me. That was why I hated hospitals. It was also why I hated the smell of raspberries and fruit punch, but that was another, more grotesque story.

It also came to me after those horrible flashbacks that I was alone. Not in the hospital ward; there were others around me, too, whether they had a broken leg or were coughing up a storm. I didn't hear Rain anywhere. Then I thought, maybe she's asleep. So I sat up and looked all around the long room, but I didn't see any sign of her. That worried me more than anything. I wanted confirmation that we'd done well and that everything would be okay, and Rain would be the person to give it to me. So I tossed my blankets off of my bandaged legs and slowly got up.

As soon as I got up, I collapsed to the floor. Nurses surrounded me, and the flashbacks quickly ensued.

They all hauled me back onto my bed, telling me that I wouldn't be able to walk correctly for several days. That was reassuring. I felt fine when I stood, brief as it was. In fact, it was that same feeling I got when I sat up. A warm feeling, like I was glowing in every way imaginable. I couldn't find any way to comprehend it. It seemed I'd just have to patiently wait for someone to tell me.

Komui appeared about a half an hour later, whining about being woken up just to come down to the hospital ward to talk with the head nurse about us. He held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, and he smiled warmly and reassuringly at me. "Well, congratulations, Madison." I quirked an eyebrow at the use of my real name, but he continued on. "Both yours and Rain's Innocence implants were a complete success." He tapped my left leg that was covered by the blanket, and I found myself wincing. "However, you have minimal bone damage in your arm, right hand, pelvic area, and legs."

"Then how come my eye is covered, too?" I questioned, gesturing to it only to find that my hand was also covered in gauze.

"Oh, that's because during the procedure your head started bleeding." A strain of panic struck me, and he laughed at my expression. "Don't worry, though. It was near the end, so we got you out in time to patch you up. You didn't lose that much blood, if any." I sighed in relief, flopping back to my pillow that was propped up too high for me. I didn't feel like moving, though. "You should only experience the lack of these areas for several days, however. We've yet to discover what type of Innocence you have. Once the healing process is done, we'll be sure to find out."

All of this reassured me. The Innocence implant was a complete success. I was now an Exorcist of The Black Order. I would be of use to everyone around me. I was brave and didn't disappoint Rain—...Rain.

I looked up to Komui, seeing his smile stay firmly in place. "Komui...where's Rain?"

As if to answer my question, I heard impatient shouting out in the hallway, only to see a brunette girl with brown, furious eyes be wheeled in on some type of gurney, almost all of her limbs covered in bandage.

Shit. I wrote so. Damn. Much.

And owowowowow...I was lying on my ankle wrong...that hurt...

Anyway, you guys know the drill – R&R, we both appreciate it! Thank you for reading, and we hope you continue to do so.

- TheBlackButler