Umm, ok, I am SOOOOO Sorry for all of you still following the story! I've been tre busy lately and havn't had the time to do this.
Anyways, regardless, Here it is, in all it's glory, chapter 11.
I would also like to appologize for all the characters who are not in this chapter, I promise, you will have your turn. And for all you Kanda Seraphina lovers, well, this is a good day ;D
ok, again, sorry for the lateness, and Oh! I definitely don't own D. Gray-man or else I would have gotten Fo to kiss Bak already!!!
"Get off o' me!!!" Seraphina shrieked as her lungs threatened to collapse from the weight her friends had ensued upon her. The group had fallen three meters from the strange pentacle now placed oddly in the sky, landing on a coble stone walkway in a large heap. As soon as the last girl was out, the pentacle vanished. The order from bottom to top went as follows; Seraphina at the base of the pile, Eas sprawled on top of her, Alexandreina sitting contentedly at the top with Vasilisa on her lap and Mizuki and Sarra draping from her shoulders. Lulu bell was no where in sight.
When it seemed apparent Alexandreina was content with her position at the top of the pile, Seraphina attempted what seemed to be suicide by igniting her whip. More harm came to her and Eas then to Alexandreina, but it got the job done.
Once the girls had disassembled themselves, they assessed their surroundings. The houses were built up in a granite texture and pale colour, the variety few to say the least. The cobble stone walk way led up through a twisting torrent of houses and intersecting passages until it ended at the highest point noticeable in their surroundings, a large tower with many columns and statues pointing high into the sky.
Before the girls had time to properly discuss a plan, a small girl with shocking blue hair and a lollipop twirling in her hand appeared nearby along the walkway. The group watched in tentative fascination while the girl, bearing a small white dress that billowed as she skipped bound merely towards them, humming a strange tune.
As the girl approached them, the conscious exorcists got into a more protective stance, ready to activate their innocence at any moment.
The girl, however, bore no weapon, or anything else to prove her to be a Noah. She came to a halt right in front of the group, a friendly smile settled on her face.
"What do you want from us?" Seraphina growled, obviously not fooled by the girls' appearance.
"Can you tell us where we are?" Eas was a little less inclined to jump to conclusions, and was more comfortable with the small girl, feeling no need to be rash.
"You're on the ark!" The girl sang, twirling around.
"How do we get out of here?" Vasilisa inclined, looking around for an obvious exit.
"There aren't any."
The four girls looked to the new comer with shocked expressions.
"What do you mean, there aren't any? We got in here, right? Then there must be a way to get out!" Seraphina bellowed, annoyed with the girls light spirit.
"Well, there is one way, but you're supposed to fall away with the rest of the ark." The girl giggled.
"Fall away? What do you mean? Aren't you using this ark?" Alexandreina asked excitedly, she was strangely intrigued with their doom.
"More importantly, how do we get out?" Vasilisa countered, rolling her eyes at her sister's enthusiasm.
"We have a new ark, this one is old so once we've finished downloading it to the other ark it will be of no use to us, and merely crumble away, along with you guys…" A strange look came over the girl, raising the hairs on the back of the group member's necks. Her smile widened extraordinarily and her eyes became shadows. "It'd be so much more fun if we could play a little though, don't you think?"
No one answered. A strong wave of insecurity and fright engulfed them, forcing silence.
A gold key appeared in the girls' bare hand, the hilt bending into a symmetrical pattern. Just as soon as it had appeared, the frightening face was replaced by her friendly smile. She held her hand out to the group, offering them the key.
"Follow the trail of doors up to the very highest point of the ark where you will find a portal. It will lead you to safety, that is, if you make it there in time." One last dark chuckle and the girl with gone; the key left spinning on the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Mizuki's voice echoed behind the group. She was sitting in an upright position, but had her arm was cradled in her lap. A confused and slightly frustrated look was plastered across her face.
"Mizuki, you're ok!" Eas cried, rushing to her.
"Yeah, what happened?"
"Well, if you weren't so weak as to get defeated by a measly Noah, you would have been all caught up by now." Seraphina growled, rolling her eyes when Eas stuck her tongue out at her.
"Whatever, I guess I'll figure it out eventually." Mizuki mumbled, struggling to get up without putting pressure on her arm. She rummaged through the small sack attached to her belt and came out with a silky cloth.
"It's for keeping my hair back, but it'll work equally as well as a sling." She explained when the girls shot her inquiring gazes.
"Does it matter which door we use?" Alexandreina had already scooped up the key and was eyeing the key hole of the nearest door.
"I don't know." Seraphina answered with a shrug. "Try it."
As soon as the key slid into the unused slot, the bare white door exploded with colour.
"Wha, what the heck?" The girls looked at the bright arrangement of colour splashed in rainbows across the door, their faces displaying shock, disgust, amusement, and even excitement.
"So," Alexandreina paused, holding the word for a few seconds before continuing her sentence. "What's behind door number one?"
The door creaked open after Alexandreina had boldly turned the knob, revealing the most horrifying sight half the girls had ever seen.
The entire room, or so it should have been, the corners where so obscured in the mess of colours it was hard to tell, looked very similar to what the door had. The theme seemed to be a night rainbow since the room was blanketed in a navy blue, sporting moons and rainbows every where they looked. The floor looked unpaved, sand covering the entire surface. Brown rock fixtures were built up throughout the room, adding an eerie effect.
"Whoa, what a weird room." The girls filed out into the strange place, looking around curiously.
"Where do you think the next door is?" Eas asked, taking a few steps further into the room.
"Don't let your guard down. I don't think that little girl would make it so easy for us to get to the portal." Seraphina had taken it upon herself to carry Sarra. She wasn't all that heavy so it wasn't too much of a burden for her.
"She's right, "Vasilisa stated, scanning the area suspiciously. " I'm sure there's some challenge waiting for us in this room."
Eas sighed. "You guys are all way too stressed. It's a race, isn't it? We should hurry and find the next door before this place starts to fall away." She wandered further into the room until she was completely out of sight.
"Stupid little brat." Seraphina growled, shoving Sarra off to Alexandreina while she chased after Eas.
When she rounded the corner, however, she was met by someone other than Eas. The big hulky being was so familiar to her, she recognized him immediately. The wicked sneer plastered on his face accompanied by a misplaced looking lollipop made Seraphina's hair stand on end and her fists clench unconsciously. This was the man she had sworn to destroy, and he was standing no more than five meters away from her.
"Skin Boric." She snarled.
Mizuki and the girls waited a few moments without any reply. They decided to aid Seraphina in her quest to retrieve Eas, but what they found instead was an intense stand off between their very own Seraphina, and a large, dark, and bulky man sporting an enormous over coat.
"Seraphina! Who is that?" Mizuki called to her.
"A monster." She responded shortly, taking out her whip.
The girls watched as the whip unfolded, swaying in her trembling hands.
"Don't worry, Seraphina, we'll help you!" Alexandreina chirped, but as soon as she took a step closer, a roaring fire sprung up between her and her friend.
Seraphina no longer had her back to her friends. Instead, they got a full view of her twisted face. The pure loathing was so evident on her face it looked like she had been possessed.
"This ones mine." She growled demonically, drawing back her flaming whip.
"But he's probably a Noah; you can't possibly win a fight against him!" Mizuki stated obviously.
Seraphina shook her head. "I have an issue that needs to be settled with him. You guys find the door and go ahead; I'll catch up when I'm done."
"Sounds like she's met him before." Mizuki whispered to the others.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Vasilisa called to her. Seraphina nodded once, her face still a mask of anger.
Vasilisa shrugged and started around the circle, aiming in the direction Eas had been going. The others shouted to her in confusion.
"Have you ever seen Seraphina like that before? She's serious. Besides, I'm sure she'll know if it's too much for her, and run to the exit if she needs to." Vasilisa answered them nonchalantly.
The girls looked over to Seraphina with hesitant eyes, but noticing her death glare, decided to take Vasilisa's advice and leave.
"You owe us for this." Alexandreina grumbled, displeased that she was leaving a good fight behind.
"Shut up, I'm sure you'll have plenty of fights ahead of you to enjoy." Seraphina shouted back, a small smirk etched into her otherwise demonic features. "Now," She started, turning back to Skin once her friends had left. "Let's begin."
"Where's Seraphina?" Eas asked as she leapt down the steps leading to an older looking house.
"She bumped into an old friend." Mizuki joked. "I swear she acts more and more like Kanda every day." Mizuki shuddered at the thought of two Kanda's.
"Will she be ok?" Eas asked, confused by Mizuki's words.
"That girls as stubborn as a mule. She won't be defeated." Alexandreina chuckled, though she was still upset.
"Let's get going." Vasilisa requested, taking the key from her sisters' hand and sliding it into the locked door. Once again, the door lit up, only this time it stayed nearly the same as it was before, Noah being the only new thing, plastered across the middle of the door in blocked golden letters.
"You'd better follow us, Seraphina, or I'll get teddy to stalk you!" Eas screamed before disappearing behind the door.
"He he, nice friends, leaving you behind." Skin chuckled maliciously.
"Do you remember me?" Seraphina cut right to the point, ignoring Skins mocking.
"Hehehe, of course, how could I forget such a sissy?"
"Well, I've grown a lot since then." She smiled, remembering the pained training days. It had all been for this moment. She hoped it would be enough.
Skins body began to mutate, a gold crust enveloping his entire body, swivelling spikes protruding from it like a suns rays.
"Tell me," He sneered, "Do you like sweets?"
Seraphina chuckled darkly. "Same as last time, I hate them."
"I hate them!" Seraphina spat out two pink spheres onto the whizzing ground beneath them. The girl she was assigned to had just pushed the two sweetest candies she had ever tasted into her mouth. It was bad enough she was stuck baby sitting a kid, but having her taste buds attacked by the sticky pink sweets was too much. She nearly jumped out of the wagon and walked back to the train station. Unfortunately, it had been her orders, so she could do no such thing.
"So where does this friend of yours live again?" Seraphina asked, remembering her mission.
The mission had been her first, and with her terrible luck was pared up with the most aggravating, stuck up snob she had ever met. The minute he turned her greeting down the first time they met she knew they would be enemies.
The order had received news of a disturbance in a nearby area. Children had been going missing along with some other sketchy happenings, so as sort of an initiation or punishment as Seraphina saw it, the two were sent to check it out.
"She lives just over that hill." The girl pointed to an upcoming slope.
Seraphina eyed Kanda who was grumpily sitting on the opposite side of the carriage, arms folded and eyes glued to the horizon.
Seraphina almost wanted to punch him for his silence. The train ride there had nearly driven her crazy. All he had wanted to do was brood.
"So when was the last time you saw her?" Seraphina questioned, still unsure of why they were seeing the girls' friend.
The first place the two exorcists had gone to was one of a deeply religious mother and her daughter. The daughter was one of the only children left in the village and so the two were ordered to keep watch over her.
The girl, whose name they found out was Mary, seemed to be a pleasant young girl as opposed to her obsessive mother, who in her delight to find exorcists at her door, insisted that her child was possessed by the devil and needed exorcizing.
Once the mother had been dealt with, the two had questioned the child. Mary had stated that each day fewer and fewer of her friends would arrive at school, and those that did started acting strangely. Eventually she began following her friends, wondering what they had been up to. That was when she saw the big man. He had most of her friends with him and was barking out strange orders. She had gotten scared and ran back home, but the following day when she asked her friends about it, they denied ever being with him. She was about to go question her closest friend about it when the exorcists showed up.
"I saw her about three days ago, during class. I thought she was about the only normal person still in class, so I really wanted to ask her if she saw anything weird in the others as well." Mary was fiddling with the edges of her dress, her eyebrows furrowed. This was clearly bugging her.
Seraphina sighed and looked over to Kanda. "Does that sound like an Akuma?" She asked, knowing he would know much better than her what to look for.
He gave an indignant huff and shot her an annoyed glare.
Seraphina fumed. "Fine! I'll solo this mission! Sorry this is too much for you!"
Kanda stared back at her irritably. "This is my mission too, I would suggest you go back to the order and stop being a nuisance." He responded coldly, his eyes straying back to their destination.
"Oh, yeah, right, because you were SO helpful during the questionings. YOU just sat there and BROODED while I did all the work!" Seraphina screamed back, beyond irritated with the boy.
Mary chuckled. "You guys must be good friends."
The area surrounding the carriage got cold as the two exorcists shot the little girl deadly looks.
"We are not friends." They growled in unison.
"Sure you aren't." The girl winked, reaching into her pocket and coming out with another pink candy.
The house was small but quaint as Mary stepped inside, calling for her friend. The girls' mother entered from the kitchen, surprised to see so many guests.
"Hey Molly! Where's Steph?" Mary inquired.
Just as she did so, Steph came pounding down the stairs, another friend in toe.
"Steph! Jasmine? I have some visitors that want to talk to you, and I have some questions, too." Mary said, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh yeah? Well can it wait? Jasmine was about to show me something really cool!" Steph smiled.
Mary looked questioningly at Jasmine who gave her a swift nod, her eyes glued to the exorcists behind Mary.
"Ok, how long will you be? When should I come back?" Mary asked, looking hesitantly at the girls mother, she hoped it wouldn't be to long before she could talk to her friend alone.
Steph looked back at Jasmine then returned her gaze to Mary. "Well, why don't you come with us?"
Mary nodded excitedly, the sooner the better, she turned back to the exorcists, a pleading look on her face. "We can question her on the way." She suggested, hoping to gain acceptance from them.
"Humph." Kanda started, turning away from the kids. "Do what you want. I have no time to chase children around all day." Without looking at Seraphina he added, "I'm going to investigate the other parents from the town and possibly find something actually USEFUL to this investigation." With that he stormed off, leaving Seraphina in a hard spot. She didn't know weather she should follow him or keep tabs on the kid. Figuring he could handle himself, she decided to accept Mary's suggestion. She decided that if anything did happen with the kids, she could at least get all the credit and kick Kanda off his high horse.
The girls sped down the hill, missing a few trees on the way as they rushed after Jasmine.
"Have you noticed anything strange about the other kids?" Mary asked breathlessly.
Steph looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean? Are you talking about the disappearances?"
Mary shook her head and moved closer to her friend. "I mean the kids that are still at school, have you noticed anything different about them?"
Steph shook her head and looked at Jasmine. "Hey, Jas, have you noticed anything strange about the other kids in the class?"
Jasmine shook her head once and continued on her way, dodging down hidden corridors.
As they passed one of the main streets, Jasmine stopped. The three girls nearly collided with her, Seraphina actually crashing to the ground. She quickly shot back up in embarrassment, noticing Jasmine whispering to Mary. She quickly turned away when she caught Seraphina staring at her.
Mary had a confused expression on her face, but quickly wiped it off when Jasmine gave her a pointed look.
"Miss exorcist?" She began. "Umm, Jasmine says only Steph and I can see the surprise. Would you be able to wait here for us?"
Seraphina started in surprise. "No, well, I'm sorry Mary, but I don't think I should leave you alone…" She was suspicious of this and didn't want Mary running around with two other children when something was targeting them. It was more then dangerous.
"Please miss? Jasmine says it's not far away, and I'll come back right afterwards!" Mary continued.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's wise to leave you three alone when something's targeting you!" Seraphina voiced her concerns. "Why can't I just come, I wont share any secrets."
Mary looked hopefully over to Jasmine but was returned with a swift shake of her head.
Seraphina shot an annoyed glare at the girl, it was like she was 12 again, getting excluded from things by others. This age was very annoying.
One last look at Mary and she sighed. She new Mary wouldn't stop unless she got what she wanted, or would be excluded herself, so she decided to merely follow the girls instead. It would help if anything did spring up since she would have the element of surprise.
"Fine." She sighed once again. "But you can't be long. I'll be waiting here when you get back."
Mary smiled up at her in thanks and then quickly sprinted to her friends, who had already started down the path.
Seraphina waited until they walked around a corner to follow. She crept through the ally way, wondering where it could possibly lead too.
The corridor led through many bends and intersections, Seraphina almost lost them a few times. It had been quite some time since she had started the maze like path and the sun was hanging low in the sky. Seraphina was beginning to worry about finding her way back in the dark when she heard the ear piercing scream. It was blood curdling and mournful, but it was what Seraphina needed to locate how far away they were. She quickly bolted towards the place the scream resounded from, finding herself in an open street, populated by run down and deserted buildings. She quickly looked around for the girls, nearly vomiting from the sight she looked upon.
Mary was quivering in a ball, her features shadowed by her friend, whose body looked similar to Swiss cheese. Her arms were raised in a protective stance. As she fell down, black stars enveloping her body, Seraphina was finally able to see what had murdered Steph. A large, ugly round mettle machine covered in enormous barrels floated in the air in front of the girls, a frightening mask plastered on its front. Mary scrambled over to her friend, cradling her mangled form in her arms, sobs ripping from her chest. The smile etched into her friends face before she exploded into dust looked as if she wouldn't have wanted the scene to play out any other way.
Mary clung to the remnants of Stephs clothes and continued to cry, ignoring the vicious demon looming over her.
Just as the Akuma prepared to fire again, a flaming whip cut through it, severing the Akuma in half, both sides exploding into a fiery fury to match that of Seraphina's whip.
She hadn't even realized what she was doing until the whip was out and searching for the Akuma. She was grateful she had done it in time to save at least one of the children.
After she was sure the Akuma had been destroyed, Seraphina rushed to the quivering child.
"Mary! Calm down! Where's Jasmine?" She inquired, attempting to pull the resisting child up.
"Th, that thing c, came out of her!" Mary sobbed, crying into the clothes of her friend.
Great, this kids going to have some major problems after this. Seraphina sighed. "I'm sorry, but we need to get going, it's not safe out here."
Mary shook her head, but no longer resisted to Seraphina's pulls.
A brisk wind alerted Seraphina As one of the huge bullets whizzed passed her. With a jerk, she turned around to face no less then 20 Akuma, their grotesque barrels and mournful faces pointed straight at her.
"Crap Crap Crap CRAP!" Seraphina cursed as she ducked into the alleyway, dragging Mary with her just as a down pour of Bullets plummeted to the ground where they had just been.
Seraphina panted, the adrenaline bursting through her. Mary had sobered up and was now staring at the cratered street with saucer eyes.
"Ok, you're going to have to do exactly what I say." Seraphina instructed the girl. "Hide behind that wall and don't move! I'll try to destroy them all, but if I can't handle them, I want you to start running. Find the other exorcist and bring him here." She shook the girl until she gave her a confirmation.
Making sure Mary was hidden and out of sight, Seraphina leapt into the opening to face her gruesome opponents.
Gun shots rang in the air as Seraphina used her athletics to dodge the bullets and deflect them with her whip. She managed to get five Akuma down in one shot of her whip, extending it to its fullest reach.
Just as she was about to ignite her whip for a final blow, a rouge bullet shot at the whip, separating it from it's owner and sending it flying further into the street. Seraphina lunged for it but heard the sharp ring of a fired bullet before she reached it.
As she crashed to the ground, she internally wondered where she had been hit. She couldn't feel any pain so she figured she might already be dead. It didn't seem fair that she had to die so early in her life and on her first mission no less. She could picture that horrible Kanda guy, going back to the order, with a smug expression lighting up his features. He never even bothered to call her name.
"Seraphina"
She guessed it would sound like that. The irritated growl was perfect, and the way he pronounced it slow and precise was exactly how she would picture him saying it.
"Seraphina you idiot."
She was beginning to get irritated with herself now. Ok, yeah I know I wanted him to say some things, but thinking that is unnecessary. If I could imagine something, it would be him kissing up to me, telling me I'm the best, and he's just a snooty brat. How come even when I'm dead I can only think of him insulting me?
"Get out of the way idiot!"
"Why are you still calling me an idiot!?" Seraphina bolted upright, her body slightly muddy but otherwise unscathed. Something must have deflected the bullets.
Seraphina looked up unwillingly at that "Something".
"Kanda." She growled. "What are you doing here?"
Kanda exhaled sharply in an almost forced sigh. He had his back turned on her but when he turned his head; a sharp glare was pointed in her direction. Quickly, he returned his focus ahead of him.
"This is why I hate being put on missions with newbie's." He growled. She wasn't sure if he was talking to himself, or to her, but it still agitated her greatly.
"Hey! I wiped out nearly half of those Akuma myself!" She countered.
He didn't seem to be listening. With a quick leap into the air, he activated his innocence, which seemed to be called Mugen, and quickly slashed all the Akuma until it was just an explosion of fireworks. He landed quietly back on the ground, swiftly turning into the ally way and disappearing behind the wall.
Disgruntled, Seraphina scrambled to her feet and rushed after him. She nearly did a pirouette in order to avoid running into Kanda as he abruptly stopped mid-step.
In the middle of the ally way, sprawled out across the ground was a set of clothes and a sprinkling of ash.
"Mary!" Seraphina cried out in horror as she recognized the clothes. She attempted to run to them to check, but was stopped by Kandas' arm, which quickly resumed its position resting gingerly on the hilt of his innocence.
Seraphina followed his line of sight until her own eyes rested on the threat. A great giant of a man blocked the rest of the path, backed by another 20 or so Akuma. The man smiled, an oversized lollipop resting half way out of his mouth.
Seraphina slowly reached for her innocence, which she realized with horror she had left back in the street. The mans smile grew wider as Kanda proceeded to draw Mugen out.
"Tell me," The giant rumbled. "Do you like sweets?"
Seraphina could hardly comprehend the question. It seemed such a useless thing to ask. Without hesitation, Kanda answered briefly; "I hate them." Ending with a hateful smirk.
Seraphina hesitated for a second before answering herself; "Yeah, me too." She replied in a half hearted mumble. It was unnerving being so close to something so large without any defence.
The man seemed about to fight when an irritated expression covered his face, anger rumbling in his throat. With one last look at the two exorcists, he turned and disappeared through all the Akuma.
Kanda attempted to follow but was suddenly found targeted by the Akuma, using his blade to easily deflect the bullets and take them down.
Seraphina used this time to run back to the street and grab her whip before returning to find all the Akuma slain and Kanda bolting down the corridor. Seraphina was positive he would not find the man, but she decided it was best not to lose Kanda, besides, he knew the way out.
"You killed Mary, and Steph, and all the other children in that town, didn't you?" Seraphina growled, setting up for an attack.
Skin laughed maniacally and bolts of lightning flew towards her. Seraphina dodged them and threw her whip forward, tangling it around the large man. An inferno shot up around him, blinding him from sight until it slowly died down.
Seraphina stumbled backwards in surprise as skin grinned darkly at her, completely unscathed.
He used his connection to her to send beams of lightning aimed at her head. Seraphina ducked and released her innocence before retreating a few paces. Somehow her hand had been shocked, the skin raw and tender where she held her whip. She quickly switched hands before lunging at him again.
Three doughnuts of lightning appeared above his head, setting off an explosion just as Seraphina released a fire blast. The lightning overcame her attack and sent her flying, smashing her into one of the many rocks surrounding them.
"I'm not taken down that easily." She grunted. Blade thrower…
Seraphina's whip changed instantly from a line of fire to a thin rope with many blades protruding from all angles. "Attack!" the rope slashed across skins torso, creating a thin but visible line.
Skin erupted with gales of laughter. "You think you can beat me with that?" A large bolt of lightning crashed into Seraphina, forcing her to the ground. It was like a bad sunburn.
"It's not over yet." She growled, struggling to her feet. "Dig" The blades folded into each other until the end of her whip became a gruesome looking drill. "Try this on for size!" Seraphina screamed as she lunged once again at skin.
The Drill hit his palm with a cruel ripping sound, the force sending his hand back. Skins other hand balled up and flew forward, smashing full force into Seraphina's face. The motion propelled her backwards until she tasted sand.
She tried to force herself up, but the voltage running through her system seemed to shut off all connections to the rest of her body. Skins silhouette became visible against the sand and as the lightning charged the final blow, she heard the distinct creak of a door.
"Hurry up guys!" An earth quake rumbled through the hall way as the girls rushed forward, hurrying to the next door. The path was long and strange, but it didn't look like there was anything to oppose them. As they reached the doorway, they realized there was no door, and instead stumbled into a comfortably decorated chamber.
"Where are we?" Mizuki asked, looking around the pleasant room.
"My play room." A familiar voice sounded. "But it'll do as your burial grounds."
The rumbling of the ground beneath her shook Seraphina to consciousness. The floor was cracking up, falling away into oblivion. Seraphina noticed just in time that she was sliding away with a piece of the floor, and quickly jumped onto safer grounds.
"I could have sworn I was dead." She huffed, recalling her last moments with skin. She had felt a sharp sting and then an uncomfortable unconsciousness, and then this. She assumed he hadn't been smart enough to check if she was actually dead. As much as she was chagrined that she had lost to him, she was grateful for having survived the fight, so she could find him and demand a rematch.
That thought reminded her, she needed to find him before the room totally fell apart. She straightened herself up, wincing at her fresh wounds, which consisted of a number of bad burns and one thick gash near her shoulder, which she assumed was supposedly the final blow.
She staggered forward, thrown off balance by the constant tremors. The room was deteriorating by the second. She picked up her speed and sprinted through the sand filled chamber, dodging the rocks and trying her best not to fall off balance by the constant tremors.
When Seraphina got to the other side of the room, she was surprised to find Skin nowhere in sight. She did, however, spot yet another building, crumbling away, and an oddly shaped rock fixture close to it.
With a gasp of recognition, Seraphina launched herself at the odd rock, landing before him with surprised tears in her eyes.
"Kanda! What happened to you?" She cried, eyeing his bare chest and burned body. She gasped at the familiar burns. "You went up against Skin too?" She looked around worriedly. "Where is he, Kanda, we need to get out of here!" With those words the building behind him completely fell apart, reminding her of the growing tremors beneath them.
"Kanda." Seraphina whispered with realization. They didn't have and escape. Even if Skin was still somewhere in the room, he'd be taken down as well. They were going to die there, together. Together. She thought, comforted by the idea.
"I'm sorry." Kanda whispered back. She looked at him and he was smiling at her. The tears fell from her eyes, uninvited and embarrassing as Kanda leaned in closer…