Yeah, I realize it's been awhile since I last updated. Sorry for the wait. It's been a very interesting two weeks. *laughing*
It makes me so happy that people are actually enjoying this story. :) I'll try to keep getting better. Please let me know what you guys think. THANK YOU! THANK YOU for reading! :D
She stands alone in the Order's hallway with one hand raised in preparation to knock on the door before her. She hesitates, asking herself if she really wants this. After hearing her Master's sudden proposal to bring back Raven she was tempted to run straight to the general's door. But there's a small fraction of clarity still left in her head. It screams at her to think, to question what she's seriously starting to consider. Her Master is easily the least trustworthy person on the planet. He had shown on countless occasions that he was not above throwing her to the wolves if it proved in his favor. And oftentimes it did.
She needs to know if this is the right choice. She isn't concerned about death. Death no longer scared her. What frightened her was how he no longer trusts herself when it comes to Raven. Raven is her best friend. She could feel the cold desperation to revive her sink into her skin, bringing with it waves of self-doubt. Which is why she had decided to turn to the only other person who could provide her with an answer. Now if only she could bring herself to open the stupid door.
"Gah!" Robin hisses and rips herself away from the room's entrance. "Stop being an idiot! It's just Lavi! Stop being a coward and knock already!" She brings her hand to the wood and growls at her hesitation. "Dammit."
Suddenly the door opens on its own and she's met face to face with the rabbit. His bright, red hair is tousled and free to fall against his face. She sees the fatigue in his features and feels her own exhaustion from the last few days wash over her. He gives her a weak grin.
"You realize I could hear everything you were saying." Lavi says. "You need to work on your ninja skills."
Robin offers a small smile. "I'm ninja enough to sneak away from Kanda for an hour." She says and he chuckles, though it's not nearly as lighthearted as usual.
"Very well. Access granted." He announces, welcoming her inside.
Robin takes the offer and after a quick glance around the room, settles on the second bed. Lavi takes a seat on his bed and leans back, never leaving her gaze.
"This is about Raven." He says. Robin nods, not the less bit surprised by his deduction.
"There's no good way to say this," She starts. "But I think there's a way to bring back Raven. Master Cross just told me that maybe, just maybe I could-"
"No." Lavi cuts her off. "No. Nothing good comes from trying to bring back the dead. You know that Robin."
"But what if she isn't dead?" She counters and this attracts his attention. On a roll now she continues, "Master Cross thinks she might still be alive. He says he knows a way to not only bring her back, but get her in her own body."
"General Cross?" Lavi asks. "You believe him?"
"I don't know." She says. "I know that he's not a normal man and I can't imagine him going through all the trouble to tell me if it wasn't the truth."
"Then why are you here?" He asks.
"I need to know if it's the right choice." She says. "I-" She pauses. And here is the center of her whole quandary. She takes a deep breath and looks away, not wanting to face his piercing, green stare. "I don't know if I should." She says. "I don't know if she'd want to come back. Her life was so hard. The last thing I'd want is to bring her back, only for her to suffer again."
"You saw her memories in Road's dream, right?" Lavi asks. She nods.
"It was horrible." She says, burying her face in her hands. "Every time I close my eyes all I see are those scars covering her whole body. I could feel every one of her emotions. It frightens me, remembering how she much she hurt and how much she wanted to die."
Lavi looks away, his red hair obscuring his eye. Robin raises an arm to wipe away her tears and shakes her head.
"I don't know what to do Lavi." She says. "I want to bring her back. It's so incredibly selfish, but I really want to see her again, even if it's just for a second."
"I don't know why you'd come to me about this." He says. "If there's anyone who knows her best, it's you."
She gives him a weak laugh.
"Sometimes I wonder about that." She says. "I used to think we were so close, but it turns out I never really knew her at all."
"You think one thing and then the next second she shows you something completely different." He says. He glances toward a stack of graphic novels on the nightstand. Robin smiles.
"She's such an otaku." She says. "Five bucks says its yaoi."
"Yup." Lavi says, with a smile of his own. "I don't see how she could read this stuff."
"It's the burning-"
"-flames of moe." Lavi finishes. "Yeah, I got that. She's definitely a strange one. She was always off planning something or another, trying to make someone's-
"Kanda's." Robin coughs.
"-life miserable." He continues. "She was mischievous and crazy and down-right evil at times. And yet..." He falls quiet. Robin sighs.
"And yet, she turns around and does something incredibly sweet and kindhearted." Robin says. "She'd deny it of course, but you have that strange suspicion that it was her plan the whole time."
Lavi nods and the two of them break out into smiles. A warm droplet slides down the rabbit's cheek and he shakes his head.
"I shouldn't be like this." He says. "People die all the time, it shouldn't matter now. Bookmen are supposed to remain unattached just for this reason. I was careless. We're forbidden from having hearts, so why does it hurt so much?"
Robin suddenly stands. Lavi watches, confused, as she walks over to his bed, dead quiet.
"Robin?" He asks. Her fist collides with his skull and he yelps, grabbing his head in pain.
"What the hell?!" He yells.
"Raven would've hit you harder." She says and he freezes. "Idiot. It's because you're human. You may not be allowed to be attached, but that doesn't make emotions any less real."
She glares down at him and raises her fist again. Lavi cringes.
"Okay! Okay!" He yells. "I get it!"
Robin sighs and slumps down on the bed next to him.
"It still sucks." He says and she nods. "Dammit." He pulls his knees to his chest. "I miss her."
"Me too." She says.
"What are you going to do?" He asks. Robin looks away.
"You know that." She says and he nods. "You might not see me after this." She says. "There's a good chance it fails and I'll die."
"Have you told Yuu?"
She shakes her head and he sighs.
"Don't try to stop me." She says. "I have to do this."
"I won't stop you." He says. "I'd be a hypocrite. I just wish it didn't have to be like this."
"I'm sorry." She says. "I know I'm being selfish. I just can't help it."
"Honestly Robin," Lavi says. "Of all people, I think you have a right to be selfish."
She moves to stand and his gaze follows her. Her hand wraps around the doorknob and she pauses.
"What do I tell him if you don't come back?" He asks.
"I don't know." She admits. "I guess then that means I'll just have to survive." She turns and gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm going now. Wish me luck."
Lavi nods and she leaves, closing the door behind her.
"You're late." Cross says from the couch.
Robin pauses and looks around the room. She knew the Order made special accommodations for generals but even she's surprised by how nice her Master's room is. It's at least twice the size of her and Kanda's with an actual living space and separate bedroom off to the side. The space around her is decorated with expensive furnishings and luxuries. She takes a peek out the window and marvels at the view. She hadn't realized how beautiful the ocean around the Order could look at night.
"I'm relieved you've finally returned to your true gender." Cross says, taking a sip of his wine. "I could never understand why you wanted to pretend to be a filthy boy. Especially when you've grown into such a lovely woman."
"You mentioned you wanted something in return." She says.
"Of sorts, yes." He answers.
"I'm not doing anything perverted." She deadpans and Cross chuckles.
"Is that how you see me, little Robin?"
"Don't call me that!" She growls. "Can we just get this over with already?"
He sighs and gets up, moving to the other side of the room. Unsure, she follows him, hesitating before following him into his bedroom.
On the floor in front of them is a woman lying unconscious on the floor. She has long blonde hair and looks no more than a year or two ahead of Robin. As soon as Robin sees her, she moves to her aide, beginning to check her vital signs.
"Don't bother." Cross says. "She's already dead."
"Master!" She yells at him, alarmed. "Why the hell is there a dead body on your bedroom floor?! Wait, you didn't-"
He takes another sip of his wine and Robin gapes at him.
"Master!" She yells and he laughs.
"Honestly Robin," Cross says. "You have no trust in me. I stole her body from the morgue."
"Like that is any better!" She yells. Robin glares at him and he sighs.
"Now, don't look at me like that." He says. "This sealing process requires another body in order to work. Besides, it's not like the woman needs it anymore."
"Still illegal." She mutters.
"Now, are you ready?" He asks. "Have you set your life in order?"
"Nope." She says. "There's no need, because I'm not dying." She glares him with determination and he smiles, taking one last sip of his wine.
"Good." He says. "Now sit down in the other circle."
Robin glances around and spots a drawn out circle on the floor with strange glyphs wrapping around its border. A line moves from the top and reaches around to meet another circle drawn around the woman's body.
"Are we doing a seance after this?" She asks, taking a seat in her own circle. "Because I left my sacrificial goat in the other room."
"Do you want my help or not, idiot apprentice?"
She shrugs and he sets his wine glass down on the side of his bed.
"Are you sure she's alive?" Robin asks.
"If my theory is correct, then yes." He says. "Raven is still alive."
"Master?" She asks. "How exactly do you know about Raven anyway? And what do you mean 'theory'?"
"I know about Raven because I met her." He says. "I had the luck to find her when she first activated her Innocence."
"That was you?"
Cross nods. "She was just a young girl then." He says. "I intended to send her to the Black Order, but she was against it. Kept going on about her friend and what not. Besides, she kept having a problem with activating. She could never activate well whenever she left the orphanage and she had trouble maintaining activation. It got worse the farther she went."
"Weird." Robin comments and he nods.
"I had finally convinced her to go to the Order." He says. "Raven was due to leave the following morning. However, as you probably know, she never made it. I learned of her apparent death days later. I heard she became a Fallen One?"
"Yeah." Robin says, looking down.
"And yet her body didn't fully transform." He says. "I suspect it is because the fragment of Innocence has two Accommodators."
"Two Accommodators?" She repeats and he nods.
"Up until now each fragment of Innocence has only ever synchronized with one living Accommodator. However, both you and Raven has been able to fight with the same piece of Innocence. There's no proof, but it may explain the abnormalities between you two. Raven couldn't activate her anti-akuma weapon the farther she got from the orphanage, most likely because its other Accommodator was farther away.
My guess is that Raven didn't fully transform into a Fallen One and instead had her soul trapped into your body, because you were able to synchronize with the Innocence. It saved Raven because it can't activate without both of you. It also means that collectively you have a much higher synchronization rate. You are still able to activate, therefore I believe Raven is still alive."
"She's alive." Robin says. She lets out a deep breath and allows a smile to spread across her lips. "So then what are we going to do?"
"Raven's soul is still inside your subconscious." He says. "I'm going to split it from yours and transfer it over to the other body."
"Sounds painful." She says and Cross nods.
"It will be." He says and Robin pales. "First though, you will have to go into your subconscious and find her. While her soul is still present, its become buried and in a state of chaos. You will have to find her before I can even begin."
She nods. Strangely the idea of searching through her subconscious for her supposedly deceased friend no longer seems weird. Huh. Maybe she should be worried.
"Ready?" He asks. She takes a deep breath and nods. Cross begins to murmur incantations in a language unknown to her and her eyes slip shut. She feels her mind relax and she gives into the feeling, letting herself drift away.
She opens her eyes and glances around, recognizing the white haze spread out in front of her. So all she has to do is find Raven? She stands up and looks around.
"Raven?" She calls.
There's no answer and she frowns. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She heads into the haze, following her gut as something tugs her in a random direction. She doesn't know what this feeling is, but for some reason trusts it, despite having absolutely no reason.
For eons all she can see is white. She has no sense of time. There's no sound or sensations other than the solid ground beneath her feet. It starts to drive her mad. How long will this go on? Is she ever going to find Raven? What happens if she can't leave? Will she be cursed to spend eternity here? A hollow lump settles in her throat and she shivers as fear begins to creep up on her.
She shakes her head. No, she can't think like that. She's going to get out of here. She's going to find Raven. She'll bring her back and return to Kanda.
Kanda.
She takes another step and there's a sloshing sound underneath her. She squeaks and steps back, grimacing at the expanse of pure black goop in front of her. Goop. It's the only way she can describe the slosh. It's completely black and judging from how it sticks to her shoes, it's some kind of tar.
The same strange feeling reaches out to her again and it leads her feet forward. She follows it to the point where she's at the center of the black puddle. She bends down and runs a hand through it. It's so dense. It takes most of her strength just to dig her hand into it. She sticks her hand in deeper and deeper until she reaches the point where her shoulder touches the surface. She hadn't realized how deep the puddle actually is. Just how far does it go? She reaches around in a frenzy, searching.
Her fingers brush something deep within the tar. She tries to get a sense of what it is and gasps when she feels fingers and a wrist.
"Raven!" She yells and grabs hold of her. She strains to lift her out of the tar. The dense goop hardly gives any freeway and it takes everything Robin has to pull herself out. She groans and stares down at the hand held within her grasp. She tugs on it and an arm and eventually a shoulder follow. Robin wraps her arms around her friend and tugs, ripping Raven's form out of the sludge.
She holds onto Raven for dear life and drags her away from the puddle, remnants of the tar still covering Raven's limp form. Robin brushes back her friend's long, black hair and places an ear to her chest. Raven's still breathing. She's unconscious, but she's alive.
"Cross!" Robin yells, unsure if he can hear her. "I found her!"
Suddenly there's a warmth in her chest and she pauses, wondering what it could be. Raven lets out a groan and Robin's vision blurs. Her head spins and she falls back next Raven, her energy suddenly zapped out of her body. The warmth becomes hotter and hotter, escalating to the point where it feels like someone is placing hot coals against her chest. She grips Raven's hand, fearing what would happen if she lets go. She groans as the heat becomes unbearable. Her whole body feels on fire. She lets out a cry and pain erupts throughout her body.
Endure it.
She squeezes her eyes shut and grits her teeth. Her consciousness starts to slip and she fights it. She's not about to die now. There's no way. She's come too far just to give into a little pain. She grips Raven's hand tighter. The pain gets worse and unable to control it, she screams. She screams and screams, until all at once it stops. Air shoves its way into her lungs and she gasps.
"Robin." A voice says.
Robin jolts awake and sits up in a frenzy. Cross kneels next to her on the floor. His face shows concern as Robin glances around wildly, gasping for breath. The skin on her left hand hisses and she cringes. Burned into her palm is a strange black glyph, twisting and winding against her skin.
She snaps her attention over to the woman in the other circle. The woman's previously golden blonde hair is pitch black and the same strange glyph is engraved into her right hand.
"What happened?" Robin asks. She's panting hard and she can still feel a faint twinge of heat from her chest. Her throat suddenly constricts and Robin gasps, unable to breathe.
"Calm down." Cross says. "You're hyperventilating."
Robin starts to cough and Cross places a hand between her shoulder blades. She wonders if he's trying to comfort her, but doesn't have much time to think when she suddenly bends over and hurls. Her throat burns from the vomit laced with blood. Cross curses behind her and she starts to feel dizzy; her body beginning to give out on her. She feels a pair of arms stop her from hitting the floor, but before she can even think, the world around her turns black.