Prima Materia
Six.| Reunions
|4 years later. Southern Italy.|
A tinkling noise rang out in the dead of night, breaking the silence as it darted through the sky.
It was nothing more than a white flash of color—until another rushed behind it.
"Wait up, Navi!"
A shout broke through the somber quiet that fell heavily like lead over the godforsaken city. Heavy footfalls, curtesy of well-worn boots, skid to a stop at the edge of a cliff where the white golem had suddenly stopped, its beating wings giving off the gentle tinkling of wind chimes.
Pulling a stained and tattered hood back from their head, brilliant amethyst eyes inspected from a distance the ruins of a city which had certainly seen better days. The harrowing wind caused a deafening howl to resonate through the empty houses and what looked to be an underground tunnel system. Her gloved hand brushed back long strands of dark brunette hair behind her ear as the golem settled atop her head having done its job of leading her there. Now the question that spun in her head was why she was there in the first place.
Celia just couldn't wrap her head around it.
It was pretty. Old, but pretty. Must've been a grand city once upon a time. Yet her lips pursed wondering why exactly she was there. She had an inkling. One she hoped was wrong, but that another part of her knew to be true. There had been a feeling in her, a feeling that she hadn't felt since maybe a couple of years or so ago when she last encountered one. And for as much as she wished to deny it, Celia supposed there was no mistaking the electricity that was crawling under her skin not long ago which brought her here.
Sparks ignited at the tips of her left hand at the thought. With the wind blowing loose strands of hair away from her face, Celia diligently eyed the energy that danced in the palm of her hand. It came alive with a jump, like a fish surfacing out of the water and falling back with a distinctive plop, and then another and another before it wrapped around her fingers and leaped out towards the air in front of her. Celia stretched out her hand to give it a head start and watched as the tendrils shot out of her fingers, curling and twirling at odd angles but clearly traveling along with the air and getting lost as they headed somewhere towards the underground.
"So there is one here, huh." Navi's wings tinkled in agreement but before Celia could quip at it, the ground beneath her feet shook. From afar, a few buildings collapsed as an opening from the surface sank them even further into its sinkhole. "Looks like someone beat us to it, too."
Navi consented again with another tinkle but that passive demeanor changed when the golem suddenly started smacking at the back of Celia's head and frantically beating its wings to get her attention.
"Yeah, I know!" Amethyst eyes didn't bother looking back and instead jumped off the cliff onto the nearest rooftop, avoiding entirely the damage caused by the large burrowing Akuma that burst from underneath her. The Level 2 emerged, destroying a large portion of the cliffs and bringing itself down on the landslide.
Celia came to the edge of the rooftop and leaned her hands on her knees to look over the edge at where the Akuma had landed only to see the tail end of its body disappear as it once again burrowed into the ground. She released a long exasperated groan, her head hanging in defeat as the building she stood on began to shake.
That thing doesn't know when to give it up, does it?
Making a run for it in the opposite direction, her hand instantly shot up to grab the hairpin holding in place the half bun atop her head. Long dark tresses of it flowed freely as she twirled the hairpiece in between her fingers, readying to deal with the ugly pest after her when another shock caught her off guard. This one was much more conspicuous than the last given by the huge blast of energy that broke through the surface and shot into the night sky.
Amethyst eyes stared in awe at the amount of power that had just been liberated. In that same instant, her left hand jerked at how much electricity suddenly coursed through her arm and hand in response.
A shrill yelp slipped through as the jerk of her hand lost her the already loose grip on the hairpin she'd been twirling around. Her face blanched as the thin piece of metal tumbled down towards the chasm that had just formed. Navi's tinkling alarm shot back at her, both wings and tail smacking her head over and over as the golem fumed over her carelessness. Celia could say nothing in her defense, though.
The rumbling beneath them also didn't allow her much time either as the Akuma that chased after her created another sinkhole under the building she currently on. Another groaned later and half a thought formulating as to what to do, Celia jumped, ignoring the sound of the collapsing building behind her. Air rushed loudly past her ears as she dove head first after her hairpin, further and further into the chasm. The glint of metal shone midair, giving her a clear target.
Diving to propel herself down faster, Celia stretched out her arm to reach it as it came closer and closer to her. Below through the corner of her eye, the floor split open as the Akuma unburrowed itself and opened its jagged mouth expectantly waiting for her to fall in.
A shit-eating smirk split across her face at the sight as her fingers grasped the the edge of the hairpin.
A split second before she met face first with the jagged teeth, Hand of God rushed through to bring forth her Innocence in physical form. The green-tinted blade of her glaive pierced cleanly through the Akuma and ground beneath with the force of her momentum, her smirk never once leaving as the second half of her attack spawning from the floor as ghost blades of a green hue that shot back upward with equal force.
A set of shrieks came from the machine as it perished and from the corner of her eyes, Celia caught the telltale sign of gold-tinted spider's silk as it whisked away from the Akuma's body seconds before it dispersed into dust.
Standing from the knee she landed on to lessen the impact, she undid her invocation and twirled the metal hairpin between her fingers. Celia's hand instinctively reached back to her hair, readying to bunch it up once more and hold it up with the hairpiece until she felt the lengths rather uneven. A short gasp escaped her as she somberly realized one of her phantom blades had snagged a part of her long hair. Tears instantly pooled in her eyes at the tragic loss.
It took me so long to grow it out, damn it!
Tunk.
Celia's feet spun at the noise behind her. The Innocence—sparks swiveled around her wrist and she quieted them with a closed fist—she'd forgotten about laid some feet away. It'd fallen from the sky and fallen between two black-clad people.
Black. Of course.
Where there was Innocence, there were bound to be Exorcists.
A tired sigh fell through at the thought of encountering people from the Order so soon. She had expected that it wouldn't be until Paris that she'd find them. Oh well. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Though, frankly, she would've loved it to have been later.
Before she could take a step forward, however, something dashed towards her and smacked right into her face. Groaning, Celia rubbed at her forehead before her eyes opened back up only to find a rather familiar golden ball floating in front of her face.
Amethyst eyes widened at the golem. Timcanpy? She cupped her hands before her and the little golden ball snuggled in her warm hands. Her eyes blinked a few times more as the golem went about nibbled at her palm and fingers.
It definitely was Tim.
But…that wasn't possible.
Not unless…
"Please…" Her heart stopped. That voice… "Be alive…once more…to Lala…"
Only silence answered that whispered prayer as the howling wind took over once more. Timcanpy rose from her hands before flying over to the black-clad Exorcists making Celia follow absentmindedly until she stood before them. Her heart sank as she followed Timcanpy's trajectory.
"Allen…" Her voice was quiet as she knelt down to check on him. He was fine—for the most part, anyway. Battered and knocked out cold, but fine.
Her gaze then came to the one lying a few feet away from Allen and suddenly, her heart sank. It practically stopped altogether—it must have. That was the only thing she could think of that could explain why her chest suddenly felt so tight to the point that it was hard to breathe.
…Yuu?
There wasn't any mistaking him. The inky black hair, the infuriatingly flawless complexion which even as he laid there unconscious carried the air of his ever-present scowl. Disbelief had her hand reaching out to touch his face, but flinched, and settled instead for her gloved knuckles grazing his bloodied cheek and watching as his bandaged bloody chest rose and fell with each breath he took.
He was injured, they both were, but they were both going to be okay.
She was here now.
Turning to the piece of Innocence within the crystal contraption, her hand reached out to touch it but stopped short at the electricity that crawled beneath her skin at the proximity. Swirling outward, it barely touched the glass encasing the Innocence before swiftly moving elsewhere. Following its trajectory was how Celia realized that it wasn't just Allen and Kanda that were there. There was Finder a good few feet away that was barely stirring from his unconsciousness. Two other bodies laid next to one another too, neither moving. It was when her eyes came to the smaller figure with long blonde hair that the sparks once more came to life.
Puzzled, Celia mulled over what it wanted to say. Her eyes once more came to the encased Innocence and carefully took it in her gloved hand.
Please, a soft and sweet voice cried in her head. Please, just for a little while longer. Until he is gone. Let me…be his…
Celia didn't quite understand. Not with her head anyway. But her heart understood it somehow. Standing, she took the encased Innocence to the blonde figure and turned her over. The image of it stunned her for a split moment.
This wasn't a human. It looked more like a doll…with a huge hole in its chest. Must've been where the Innocence had been before it was ripped out by the looks of it. Careful as she could possibly manage, Celia reintroduced the mechanism into the body and watched amazed as it reconnected its most vital part back to itself.
Cracking joints and turning gears instantly began to turn as the doll shakily got up to its knees. Stepping back, Celia could do nothing else except observe as its mechanical voice monotonously spoke while looking at the person that lay across from her.
"Master human…" it croaked, its joints cracking more as it crawled towards them. "I am a doll…I will sing for you… Master human…"
"You're going to sing for me…?"
Her eyes widened at hearing the voice of another coming from that body. How he wasn't yet dead was beyond her, but she supposed that whatever had implored for her help was the same thing that kept this person going as well.
"Lala. I love you…haaa"
That rattle. How she hated hearing the rattling breath of those who passed.
"Are you going to sleep?" the doll asked, its hopeful voice a stark contrast to what just occurred before them. "I will sing you a lullaby then."
And so it began singing.
What a sorrowful song.
"Miss…who—"
She raised a finger to her lips at the Finder that now approached her. Leading him back to Allen and Yuu, she nodded towards them before pulling Allen's right arm over her shoulders and bearing his full deadweight against her.
"Grab Kanda, please," she whispered. Interrupting the doll's gentle lullaby was the last thing she wanted to do. "We should take them to the nearest hospital."
"How do you know…the Master Exorcists?" he asked, incredulously.
Celia could only offer him a small smile in return.
"Because I'm one of them, too."
Italy's pretty neat.
Vast blue skies, the somewhat salty breeze, and the grand open sea.
"What do ya think? You think there are any whales here, Navi?" Celia tilted her head back a little and spared a glance at the golem that settled gingerly atop her head. The golem appeared to shrug her wings and wrenched a longing sigh from Celia as she leaned her face on her hands and stared outward towards the sea.
"I wanna see them…"
"Master Exorcist?"
Glancing behind, she found the Finder that accompanied Allen and Kanda to these parts of Italy as he held out a phone receiver at her that was coming from the back of his heavyset cargo. Amethyst eyes blinked back at him puzzled until he was forced to speak aloud again after an awkward pause.
"It's Head Chief Komui."
Attention piqued, Celia stood from her seat on the steps that led into the little clinic and took the receiver.
"Hey, Komui. How's it going?"
There was a brief pause on the other side before a soft inhale came through.
"Celia…chan?"
"In the flesh!" The sheer disbelief in his voice had her chuckling. She cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear as she tugged at Toma to follow behind her as she walked around while talking. "Long time no speak, Lee! How've you been?"
"Is it really you, Celia-chan?"
"Really, really. Oh! If you're looking for Kanda and Al, they're alright." They were out still since she last checked up on them but at least what injuries they had were treated easily enough with nothing dire turning up. "Bruised up and knocked the hell out but they'll live good and long lives once healed, the doc said."
"Where have you—" A breath hitched on the other side before a long sigh left him once more. Man, who's overworking the poor guy? "How did you find them?"
"Oh, y'know. I was just out on a walk when I sensed the Innocence nearby." Though he couldn't see it, Celia raised her left hand and gave the receiver a rapt with her knuckles. "It was by pure random chance, really, when I found those two just as they killed off the Akuma. Quite the pair, I'd imagine. How'd you get Kanda to accept a group mission? Didn't he use to hate having to work with others? Miracle worker you are—"
"Celia." The way his voice dipped an octave and lost its rather shocked tone told her that playtime was over. "This is rather sudden but I ask that you don't—"
"Disappear?" she finished his sentence to which he answered with a curt 'yes' that had her laughing. "Don't worry, Komui. I was making my way back to Headquarters when I happened upon these two."
"Regrettably, I cannot trust in your word at the moment."
Her mood dampened at hearing that, yet the smile remained. "I suppose that's what I get for skipping on you guys after this long, huh?"
There was another brief pause from Komui's end before his tone became rather monotone as he gave his one and only order.
"Allen-kun will be the one to come back with Toma and the Innocence. You will return to Headquarters with him. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good." Finally, after another sigh and in that split instant, he returned to the cheeriness she remembered him for. "And just in case you get any ideas~"
A resounding clack reverberate in her ears when something latched onto her wrist after promptly being slapped on. On her right unoccupied hand was where she now found herself sporting a rather thick bracelet. Not just any bracelet by the looks of it, either. By the way it clicked and clacked as it adjusted itself to the right size so that there would be no chance of it sliding off, it was some kind of gadget. One that, once done, gave off a couple of beeps and settled on her wrist for good. Disbelief shone in her wide eyes as she stared back at Toma who'd so nonchalantly slapped that on her.
"This will keep my mind at ease that you'll keep to your word this time, Celia-chan!"
There was no use arguing with Komui. Doing so did make her feel the slightest bit better though, so she went ahead and blew his ear off for having Toma slap what amounted to a damn leash on her. "It's just a tracker" was his excuse but it didn't make it any less demeaning.
Then again, she couldn't exactly blame him when these past five years kind of put her in a bad light. Ugh, whatever, she thought, resigned to let it go for now after an hour of whining at the receiver and the Head Chief on the other end.
"Master Exorcist?" When Celia turned toward him, his unspoken query was quite obvious after she hung up and started heading away from the hospital: where was she going now?
"Just heading to Mater," she quickly said. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on the doll until it stops, right? Just send them over once they've woken up."
It was a little desolate sanctuary where they had left the doll, Lala, and the human, Guzol. From what she could garner of what remained of delicately carved pillars and centuries-old murals, it might have once been some sort of temple. The writings were indiscernible though. What they depicted even more so. Time truly did a number with everything here.
Toma had been kind enough to inform her of what all had transpired there before her impromptu arrival. Allen's and Kanda's mission, their fight with the Level 2, and Lala's last wish. The exact same one she heard from it upon the Innocence being placed within her body once more.
To be by his side until she breaks…huh.
A couple of days went by as she continued to explore the temple ruins, never straying too far from the doll's location and hearing that lonesome melody on repeat day in and day out. Celia learned to tune it out after a day and it became just another background noise for her to ignore.
On the third day of her watch, she idly sat on the steps leading to the temple fidgeting with the tracker on her wrist. The damn thing was too tight and was starting to bother her circulation. Fiddling with the little gadget however was a pain in the ass seeing as anytime she got close to the circuitry inside, it sent out a rather painful shock. God, it really made her feel like some mutt on a short leash.
Another shock shot through her as she poked at the wires yet again in her 10th attempt to loosen the thing and Celia let out a yelp while giving her hand a good shake.
"Mother—"
"Celia…san?"
Amethyst eyes grew wide for a split second before turning a soft at the gentle voice calling her name. It was kind of strange to hear Allen's voice after four years. Even when it deepened a little since she last heard it, it was still just as soft and soothing to the ear.
Reminded her of winter, of freshly fallen snow.
Those gray eyes verging on silver were wide as could be, strands of snow-white hair passing them from time to time as a salty breeze blew by. Holding her own hair away from her face, Celia smiled despite the sense of dread that began to rise from deep in her stomach as she stood to meet him halfway on the stairs. Her hands hung back clutched to one another behind her back as she leaned forward to meet him with a grand grin.
"Always greet with a smile, Celia."
"Hey, Al," she said cheerily, donning a smile the likes she'd only practiced a thousand times over during the years apart. "Would you look at you? You've grown taller since I last saw you! Still not taller than me, though. Bummer." She finished with an airy chuckle to ease the tension that she felt grow the longer he awkwardly stood there saying nothing and simply staring back.
"Celia-san." He took a few steps up and reached out his hand only for Celia to take a few steps up to keep her distance, making it as seamless as possible. Noticing this, his hand lowered, a softer expression coming to his face as a taut line formed on his lips. "You're…alright."
"Of course I am!" Celia slapped her chest with pride and with a huff, eyes glinting. "I didn't train under Cross for nothing, y'know? Setting that aside though…" Behind her, her gloved hands grasped at one another tighter and her bravado fell, allowing a serene smile to come forth. "I'm glad you're well, Al."
Finally, the inkling of a smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he stood there looking up at her from the bottom step.
"Yes. I'm glad you seem well, too, Celia-san."
Getting acquainted with a grown-up Allen wasn't as hard as Celia thought it would be. That was something she found out during the next few hours that they took to talk while awaiting Lala's end. For one, he was still the shy little boy she remembered; thank God Cross didn't corrupt him that badly. Knowing how he got along ever since the poor excuse of a guardian left him to his own devices however made her greatly question just how many bad habits he was forced to pick up because of their teacher's dodgy lifestyle.
He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Cross since the guy ditched him in India. Judging from the distance he traveled to get to Europe from there, that was a while ago too. Pity, but she supposed she'd get her word with the mangy old priest some other time.
Despite their rather casual chat, every so often she didn't miss the way his expression contorted with grief when a lapse of silence came between them and allowed the lullaby being sung to linger for a little too long. It was then that Allen hugged his legs close to his chest and laid his forehead against his knees sullenly. Timcanpy, who up to that point had been biting at her gloved thumb and getting slapped at by Navi's tail for it, released her to fly over to Allen's side. They both found their perch on the steps, sitting with a good distance between them as the younger boy mourned.
It pained her to see him like that.
"It's going to sound heartless of me to say this but…" she took a deep breath, gaze wandering off to avoid looking at him. "It's not a good idea to get attached to them. To anything that happens related to Innocence, actually. It'll always end up badly for you."
"I know." His muttering could barely be heard from beneath his knees. "It's just…"
"Can't help it?" Allen grunted in response and she nodded despite him not being able to see her assent.
It wasn't like she couldn't understand. Much like how she pitied the souls that were turned into Akuma when she was younger, there was something about Innocence that always brought with it certain types of emotions to the surface. Though many to count, the ones that always stood out most were the undeniable hints of melancholy and sorrow that twisted her gut and heart. Years of figuring out how to interpret their gibberish anytime she held one in her hands told her that much.
The heavy footfalls that suddenly came up the stone steps brought her gaze upward to meet a pair of dark cobalt eyes as Kanda climbed the stairs towards them. Again like when she saw Allen, dread rose from her stomach but she fought it like she had before and rose to her feet as she descended the steps to meet him halfway.
"Kan—"
Whoosh.
All she felt was the way the air shifted as he passed her by. Celia stood there wide-eyed from the sheer shock of Kanda's disregard for her. It couldn't be any more blatant either seeing as he easily berated Allen about Lala yet had refused to acknowledge her in the least. The dread that rose settled after a few seconds but it didn't pain her any less.
When she made up her mind to return to Headquarters, Celia anticipated that not everyone would welcome her back with open arms despite how much she would've liked for that to be the case. It was a given that she should've known to brace herself for any and all circumstances that would arise after she encountered those she used to know when she was younger.
Komui had to a certain extent accepted her back, and the lack of trust wasn't something unexpected even if it was troublesome. Allen had surprisingly been very receptive despite how suddenly their separation had been years prior. As for Kanda, well…what could she say really.
He really knows how to hold a grudge.
Rubbing her hands over her stomach, Celia made circles on it, as if that would somehow ease the pain she felt from being ignored, and simply turned to climb the steps and head to the temple entrance while the two talked.
Fine. If he was going to be a petty brat about it, then so would she.
Leaning against the threshold, her eyes observed the doll from afar as its joints creaked every time its mouth moved to yet again continue singing. Tiny jolts crawled under her left wrist as she came to lean on the threshold of the temple. The soft light of the moonlight shone down through the opening above ground and, even in the dark of the night, illuminated the two well enough. Her fingers twitched as more electricity coursed through them but Celia quieted it by making a fist and focusing her attention elsewhere.
A breeze blew again softly through and carried with it parts of the conversation the two not far behind her were having.
"If it's too hard on you, go stop the doll. That thing is no longer 'Lala', right?"
"It's their promise to each other. It has to be Gozul who stops Lala."
"You're too soft." Celia grimaced and wondered if Kanda knew the definition of tactful. Reminding herself of a night where a kind boy accompanied her in her solitude until she fell asleep however told her that he did, if only back then. "We, Exorcists, are destroyers, not saviors."
"I know…But I…"
Another breeze blew and took with it the echoes of a voice. Her eyes widened at the sight of the doll suddenly immobile after three days and three nights of nonstop singing. The absence of her soft voice left a ringing in her ears that irritated her. Celia was pressing her fingers against her temples to help the white noise left behind when footsteps resounded from behind her. It didn't take her looking back to know that it was Allen who stepped into the ruins and approached what was now left of Lala and Gozul.
Watching from her place, her hands settled on her lap as her right hand clutched her left wrist.
"You're returning to Headquarters with him."
The deep timbre of Kanda's voice surprised her. He sounded so different from how she remembered. Even looked somewhat different.
He had changed.
You have, too.
Celia let out a long sigh. "I know," she replied with a mere whisper.
Suddenly his voice turned louder as he called out to Allen, "Hey, what's the matter?"
"Kanda…" A sniffle could be heard even from where they stood and he seemed to wipe away at his face with his arm. "You may be right, but I'd like to be a destroyer who can save someone."
A destroyer who saves?
Her fingers jerked as electricity crawled underneath her skin and escaped through her gloved fingertips, swirling around her palm before wrapping itself around her wrist and pulling her forward. The motion was gentle and it beckoned her towards Allen.
No, not towards Allen.
Towards the Innocence.
Tightly making a fist and holding her right hand over her left, Celia brought her hands behind her back and pressed them against the wall next to the threshold. It didn't stop the disgusting sensation of its crawling underneath her skin, but it at least stopped it from coming to the surface.
Kanda's lone footstep caught her attention as he appeared to pause, but from where she was staring at the floor, she couldn't well see where he was facing. The pause was short-lived, though, and soon he turned away as his footsteps quickly receded leaving only their echo behind.
It was damn hard to stop herself the moment her body made a move to turn and chase after him.
Be petty, she reminded herself with pursed lips, forcing herself to stand her ground. You're just as stubborn as him, Celia. You are.
But a little part of herself nagged back.
'No, you're not.'
But by the time she build up the courage to turn and say something, he was already far gone. All that indecision resulted in was her standing there like an idiot without being capable of making amends with one of the few people that she cared about in the world.
"Valentine-dono?"
"Celia-san, is everything alright?"
Celia swallowed the lump stuck in her throat and took a deep breath before turning to both Allen and Toma with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"We should head out soon. I'd like to catch a train while it's still at the station for a change."
|Under the Canals of Paris, France|
Cold.
"Celia-dono."
Groggy eyes opened at being called and her gaze instantly fell on Toma who, behind a seated Allen across from her, rowed the boat despite the rather tumultuous canal waters that resulted from the storm raging outside. Even deep in the tunnels the roar of thunder still echoed through making itself known. Said storm had already delayed their train there and cost them previous daylight hours, hence why they were traversing the underground canals in the dead of night.
"We'll be disembarking soon. Would you please retrieve your hand back into the boat?"
Celia let out a deep breath through her nose as she laid languidly against the bow of the boat, its curvature cradling her back snuggly. That alongside the lull of the boat swaying to and fro would have had her dozing off quick enough. Her left hand that she let hang overboard was the only thing that had kept her semi-awake the long trek through the underground tunnels as the water flowed through her bare fingertips and nipped at them with the cold.
Heeding his request, she gathered her hand from overboard and wiped the freezing water on her shabby coat before donning her leather glove once more just as Toma moored the boat on a very familiar dock.
Allen stretched once they were on more solid ground to beat away the sleepiness that clung to him as well.
"It's really late," he said with a yawn. "I wonder what I'm supposed to do with the Innocence we retrieved."
"Gotta take it down to Hev's chambers," Celia simply replied as she headed to the stairs quicker than the other two.
"Hev's?" he repeated and followed after her.
She hummed and glanced over her shoulder at him while climbing the steps two at a time even without looking. "Come, I'll show you where. It'll be quick—"
Thud.
All breath suddenly got knocked out of her as something heavy fell right on her chest. Her hands grabbed at it automatically but the weight fell with such force that it brought her with it and had both tumbling back on the steps and right into Allen's waiting hands. Dazed at first, it took Allen's worried flurry of words to bring her attention to what had caused this whole conundrum.
No, not a what. A who. A girl; slender with a pretty face even when asleep—what is with her and finding people unconscious recently?—and long dark hair set in high twin tails. It didn't take more than a second for Celia to finally recognize her.
"...Lena?"
"L-Lenalee? What happened?!"
"Y…You're back, Allen. A-And…Celia?"
Looking up at the ruff voice that called out to them, Celia took a moment to recognize the scientist leaning against the wall rather beat up. Warm milk came to mind at seeing him.
Reever.
There wasn't much time to exchange heartfelt greetings though. He was injured and could barely stand as Allen had to pass her Lenalee's unconscious body before helping the scientist stay on his feet. Everything was happening much too quickly for her to keep up with what he was muttering about. There was just no time for her to process anything right now, much less when a machine suddenly broke through the wall next to them.
Celia jumped in her skin as something huge fell into the canals and held Lenalee closer to her, covering the younger girl with her arms. Then it rose from the waters and a vein popped in her temple at recognizing the silhouette of the hunk of metal.
"What's the robot for?"
There was one like it before, she was sure of it. A smaller one, but very much like this one, even down to the stupid barret on its makeshift head.
"It's to help the Science Division, of course~"
It's one of Komui's dumb creations.
Now this—this was something she definitely did not miss about this place. It had her cursing the Head Chief to hell and back as they ran from it as it chased the Exorcists it recognized, including herself. Having just woken up and carrying more than a few hours of lack of sleep on her, Celia was definitely not in the mood to deal with that sis-com's dumb experiments.
Or the mess he was making because he was trying to protect the damn piece of junk. Especially after it caught Allen and was heading straight for Lenalee.
"Enough of this nonsense!"
Gripping her hairpin and twirling it in her hand, Celia slashed across its legs from behind as her glaive appeared mid-twirled. It toppled over itself in its hurry to reach Lenalee, but she knew that even with its working legs, it wouldn't have reached her when she noticed the younger girl waking up from her tranqed state.
Celia didn't bother with it once she spotted Lenalee invoking Dark Boots, and deactivated Hand of God. A pleased huff left her seeing Lenalee so nonchalantly kick the thing and her brother off of the elevator where the rest of the scientists were.
Good riddance.
What had started so out of the blue ended just as quickly—thank God. A yawn escaped her and Celia did little to stifle it. With the adrenaline of this whole fiasco already leaving her system, it left behind what had been there since the beginning.
"Ce…lia?"
Dark purple eyes stared wide back at her after her yawn.
Unlike Allen or Kanda, Lenalee was harder to read. It was harder to judge her mood, especially when she held that half-dazed look still from the tranquilizer. Suddenly a bit skittish at the more than awkward reunion, Celia could do nothing more than chuckle nervously while rubbing the back of her neck.
"Hey, Lenalee. Long time no—"
Lenalee didn't let her finish. Or more like Celia was too taken aback by the sudden tackle that she was too stunned to even finish. Both fell back onto the ground, Celia holding onto the dark-haired girl as the latter wrapped her arms around her waist. Amethyst eyes blinked a few times and widened when the sound of muffled sniffles came from below her, sniffles that became full-blown sobbing when Lenalee cried out against her chest.
"Wel—Welcome home, Celia!"
Her chest tightened at Lenalee's words all the while recalling her own from years ago.
"This is where we're supposed to say 'I'm off', remember? Y'know, 'cause then when we come back we get to say…"
The tightness disappeared and instead swelled with the warmth she felt from the younger girl as Celia herself wrapped her arms around her shoulders and held her close, letting her cheek rest upon the top of Lenalee's head as she muttered over her sobs.
"I'm home, Lenalee."
"Welcome home, Celia-chan."
A smile lifted the corners of her lips at hearing Komui's much more genuine welcome than the one she got over the phone.
"I'm home," she cheekily responded. "Sorry it took me so long to report back, Chief!"
The dreadful sigh he gave made her feel just a bit guilty. Only a tiny bit, though.
"I thought General Tiedoll would've rubbed off on you a little more than General Cross had."
"Old habits die hard, I suppose," she nonchalantly said and added a shrug for good measure.
The ruckus outside caught her ear as she plopped down on the only sofa in Komui's office, but she let it fall into the background quickly enough. Repairs were being done just outside, after all. The noise was to be expected.
What she had in front of her however wasn't. Or maybe it was to a certain extent since it was Komui she was talking about.
"What a pigsty," she muttered with a half-grin.
Komui jumped up in protest with a stream of tears flowing down his cheeks. "How rude! I don't work myself to death for you to complain, young lady!"
"Last time I saw this place, I could at least still see the floor."
Celia pointed at the said layer of papers that now decorated the floor like a carpet and received only more chiding by her superior. Covering her ears, her eyes turned away to let him throw his tantrum in relative peace.
"All that aside, Celia…" Hearing him return to normal faster than she thought, she uncovered her ears and stared back. Now this was the man she remembered from her childhood. The reliable and imposing one that held dignity to his words and demeanor. "There's much to discuss now that you've returned."
"Not really," she countered, borrowing Cross's famous casual disposition but changing it by sporting a bright smile instead. "I've been doing the same work I was doing back then the whole time I was gone. So no harm, no foul~!"
"Not quite. News of your return has reached Central. Inspector Lveille already spoke to the Great Generals about your behavior prior to your missing in action, as well. "
Her blood boiled at the mention of that name and her smile instantly fell, her tongue clicking instead out of frustration. Damn snake. If he got a hold of the Great Generals, then her judgment had already been dealt and signed. All Komui was doing now was simply trying to soften the blow of its delivery.
"What's the verdict then?" she spat venomously. "Am I getting a damn collar to match your little gadget for my insubordination? Or, let me guess, solitary." She scoffed not even caring for his answer as she scowled and muttered, "Bastard did always enjoy putting me in that damn hell hole."
Frankly though, Celia would rather wear a leash any day of the week over being in isolation like that again. Unconsciously, her hand scratched at her suddenly itching wrists. Komui's sigh however granted her some hope that perhaps she had dodged more than one bullet this time.
"Neither, thankfully." Her shoulders visible slacked at his words. The Head Chief stood from his seat then behind his desk and came to stand before her. "I have pleaded your case with the Great Generals myself and we came to an agreement as to what disciplinary action would be taken."
"What is it?" she asked with bated breath, crossing her legs on the sofa as she peered upwards at him.
"For one, the tracker will remain in place."
Celia pouted. Boo.
"Also, you will have to give a detailed report of what you did during the time you were MIA."
"'S gonna be hard to remember all that," she quipped with a cheeky grin.
The real juice things, anyway.
It wasn't like they needed to know everything she did these past five years. Not like they had a way to verify or discredit her, either way.
"Do your best then," he said with a long sigh as if already knowing exactly what she'd do if only to get on the nerves of their higher-ups. "We both know they won't be satisfied with whatever you give them."
She offered Komui a sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and saluted him with her right hand. "Aye, aye, captain."
"And thirdly," he continued, "They want for you to tell them about General Cross's whereabouts."
Ha, the joke's on them.
"Hate to disappoint on that one, Chief, but I have no clue where the mangy priest is or could be." Celia stretched out her legs as she laid her head back against the headrest of the sofa. "Last I saw him was almost four years ago. I highly doubt anything I know will be of use to them in finding him now. If anything, I bet whatever Al has to say about it would be better than anything I could give ya, though that's really just a big ole 'maybe'."
"Did you and Allen-kun meet prior to this?"
Celia nodded, not caring much about this info getting out. "Not long after I skipped on you guys, I found him and Allen and helped the poor excuse of a guardian to take care of him. Y'know how it is with him, so I couldn't leave him to care for Allen without it weighing on my conscious. I was only with them for a year though."
363 days, actually.
That Christmas would have been the year.
"I see." Komui took a seat beside her as he silently pondered her words. Before long, though, he let out yet another long sigh, this time seeming much more exasperated and exhausted. "It's not like any information either of you could give us would help locate the General, anyways. Right? I'm right, aren't I?"
God, it looked like his soul was ready to leave his body from just how hopeless he appeared about the subject. Pitying the poor man, Celia agreed with a couple of nods and patted him on the shoulder.
"Y-Yeah, you're right," she said before another question arose in her mind. "Has the mangy priest not communicated with you guys yet?"
"The last time was his letter of recommendation for Allen and all that ended up being was one sentence six months ago!"
His soul. It's leaving. It's really gonna fly away.
"Sounds like him alright," she chuckled, doing her best to push back the running soul of the bespectacled man. Lenalee would be really sad if he kicked the bucket, especially like this. "Surely though, it hasn't been that long."
"He hasn't come in for four years already."
Four years?
That would be around the time she left them. Which meant only Allen could fill in those gaps. Huh. That sucked for Komui then because she highly doubted Allen would want to recall those traumatic years. If her one year of living under that alcoholic womanizer's tutelage was anything to go by, Allen would be better off forgetting about those dark times.
Once Celia settled their Head Chief down from his depressive episode things went a little smoother in regards to their little chat. By all intents and purposes, Komui was on her side. Though he didn't approve of the way she just upped and disappeared on them for so long when she was just a child, he was at least glad that she had returned unharmed and well.
"Yeah, about that…" Celia averted her eyes while scratching at her cheek.
"What is it?"
Her lips pursed into a taut line as she pondered how exactly to go about explaining this tad bit of info. But the more she thought about it, the clearer it became that a picture spoke a thousand words. Undoing the small button on the inside of her left wrist, Celie pulled off the leather glove by nipping the middle finger while her other hand busied with unbuttoning her sleeve.
Through gritted teeth holding the glove, she said, "Just don't freak out on me, okay?"
At last, her sleeve was rolled back up to her elbow and revealed her entire forearm. Komui couldn't see meant to show him at first. Her Innocence was still there, imbedded into the inside of her wrist with smaller vessels cradling its edges. Just above it was a thin line the length of a finger, running from end to end; a scar perhaps, he mused. He didn't see anything wrong with it. Not until he saw something move beneath.
"What in heaven's—"
"Don't touch it." His hand retracted at her warning, fingers curling into his palm as she retracted her arm a bit intuitively. Her eyes jumped from him to her arm a few times before looking away altogether. "It gets…cranky when others touch it."
Cranky. The way she was describing it made it almost sound like it was something living. It squirmed again under its slit, not taking any more space than maybe an inch above and below it as it moved around.
"Since when?"
"Two years ago, more or less."
"Do you know what it is?"
"I have a hunch," she said as she rolled her sleeve back down and replaced her leather glove once more with quick, practiced buttoning single-handedly. "But I think Hevlaska can tell us for sure if I'm right or not."
Komui could gamble a guess as well. The Head Chief sat back without taking his eyes off of whatever he just witnessed. Parasite-type Innocence was an enigma in itself; Hand of God more so after he delved deeper into what Cross had told him, but if his hunch was also correct then there was much to discuss about her four-year-long journey.
That came later, however. For now…
"We will visit Hev's chambers tonight." Celia watched curiously as Komui rose from the sofa and headed to the door, opening it and calling someone over. He turned back to her with the doorknob still in hand and offered a reassuring smile her way. "For now, get some rest. It's been much too long since you've been home, after all."
A bubbling feeling rose in her chest at the reminder. Though anxious about it, there was no denying that being back after so long and seeing the welcoming—mostly—reception she was getting had her giddy about seeing all the other people she had inadvertently left behind. That feeling only multiplied when Komui opened the door further and allowed Lenalee to enter as she beamed a smile her way that just lighted her mood in an instant.
"Come on, Celia! Jerry's dying to see you ever since he heard you returned."
Her own expression lightened and a smile came to her lips as the younger girl pulled her by the wrist and whisked her away.
The cafeteria line was held back a good couple of minutes, its length starting to head out of the room the longer they took, but Celia didn't have the heart to pull Jerry off of her when the chef jumped her from over the service window, crying a stream of tears all the while.
"By God—m-my dear Celia, I'm so happy to see you alive and kicking! Y-You have no clue how worried we all were! Bwah!"
I'm starting to think not, too.
It took another minute for her and Lenalee to finally calm them down and once wiping away a stray tear, their vigor returned with a passion as the fire in them—or was it the one coming from the kitchen?—reignited in their eyes.
"A feast—your return deserves a feast and no less! Now tell me, what's it going to be?"
Well, since he was offering.
"How about one of everything then, Jerry?"
A soft smile curled their lips upward and they nodded, patting her head before returning to the kitchen. Once having her entire buffet at hand and ready both of them headed to an empty table to have her enjoy what seemed like the first decent meal she'd had in the last five years.
"By the way, Lena," she asked after wolfing down her first few dishes, "Where's Al? I thought you were taking care of him until he woke up?"
She gave a curt nod and lowered the lone cup of juice she'd ordered for herself. "He's awake now. Nii-san said he would take care of getting Allen-kun to Hevlaska so he could give her the Innocence from his and Kanda's mission."
The tartiness of the sweet and sour chicken suddenly tasted like ashes in her mouth at hearing Kanda's name. As if catching her sudden change in mood, Lenalee asked her what the matter was. At first, Celia considered lying, but that was something she couldn't do to Lenalee. Besides, it was harder to lie when her foul mood impeded her usual charismatic smile from taking over and making it all the easier.
"I'm thinking that Kanda is rather angry at me." She stabbed the steak on the nearest plate and went to town on it in less than the minute it took for her to formulate her next thought. "I…can understand why. To be honest, the reception I'm getting is quite the opposite of what I was bracing myself for. Still…"
Lenalee already knew how she came across Allen and Kanda during their mission, curtesy of Komui, so her next question cut straight to the point. "Was he cross with you when you saw him in Italy?"
"That'd be putting it mildly," she mumbled, leaning on one hand while poking at a plate of dumplings with a fork, her brow furrowed. "Damn guy straight up ignored me."
The younger girl's lips became a line as she pensively paused and considered what to say. But the longer the silence stretched out, the more Celia knew that she was right. Kanda was royally pissed with her. And though a part of her wanted to be just as irritated back at him, she could admit that this time it was all on her.
"But I know—" Her voice was low. Even when considering that the clamor of the cafeteria allowed for private enough conversations, it was barely audible to Lenalee herself seeing as she had to lean a tad bit forward to hear her. "I know that it's because…"
"Because?" the Chinese asked when her friend's words trailed off into silence.
Celia's eyes glazed over for a moment before an even deeper frown knitted her brow together and a click resounded from her mouth.
"Because he's a damn stubborn idiot, that's why."
Celia groaned and pushed the plate with the mess of perfectly fine dumplings she had all but destroyed. Losing her appetite but sensing a hollowness still, her hands hauled over all the desserts in sight, downing one after the other in hopes of filling it. Lenalee could only sit there and watch as the brunette ate away her very obvious regrets, but smiled serenely all the same.
It was obvious that having been ignored by their mutual childhood friend—if they were being kind enough to call Kanda that now—after all these years had struck a chord much harder than Celia had expected it would.
Even when she wouldn't admit it.
It took just over half an hour for her to eat her sorrows away and by then all that was left from her ravaging the cafeteria were a bunch of cleaned-off plates that were left in their respective bin before the two left altogether.
According to Lenalee, there was something she wanted to show her. On their way there, because of how much time had passed since they last saw each other, there was plenty to talk about and with how both were quite chatty in each other's company, it was an easy chat to have. Celia still couldn't believe that this was the same Lenalee that used to fumble nervously about and fidget in her shoes whenever she wandered too far from them. It was a pleasant thing to see that she had become such a cheerful and bright person after all this time, returning to the girl the spirit that should have never been broken in the first place.
But change was inevitable, she supposed. Everything was bound to change over time. In small or big ways, everything changed.
Then again—her gaze softened considerably and the hint of a smile lifted the edge of her lips as Lenalee related her some anecdote with glee sparkling in her eyes—I hope some things never do.
"We're here."
Amethyst eyes blinked and refocused on the present and on the place they were now standing in front of. It took her a minute to recognize the door before them; one that despite looking the same as any other across the hallways in the circular edifice had distinctive marks that she couldn't believe she could still tell apart. Those were what gave away exactly where they were.
Right in front of her room.
"Go on," Lenalee urged her with a light push on the back and a bright smile. "Open it."
Her breath hitched for a moment before Celia mustered the courage to step forward and turn the knob on the door. Stepping in, she flicked the light switch and allowed herself to take in what she saw.
It was indeed her room. Just as she remembered it, too.
Everything was impeccably in place. Though it had been obviously tidied and cleaned judging by how there was not a speck of dust there, all of her past belongings were in place. It almost seemed like a time capsule that transported her to five years ago and the last time she was there. Her bed was free of sheets and pillows with only a pile of clothes there to serve as cushions. Toys General Tiedoll had made with Maker of Eden and gifted her were still in their box in the corner next to her wardrobe. Even her desk stood trapped in time with pieces of drawn-on papers strewn about.
It was eerie to see it this way…but also kind of nostalgic.
"How…?"
"We never lost hope you would return," Lenalee said as she stepped into the room with a melancholic look in her eyes and a sad smile. "I…came here often the first few months. Nii-san was the one who brought me out and suggested keeping it tidy for when you came back as a form of consolation later. I kept at it alone at first and it wasn't until later that others helped me too. Jerry, the Matron, Suman, and even some of the science division helped when they could. It became a wishing well of sorts, and every time we tidied it up was another coin tossed in hopes that that might be the day you came home."
Navi who had been snug in my coat this whole time snuck out and flew over with a soft tinkle to the bunch of clothes gathered together. Snuggling there instead, the golem curled its wings around its small body and passed out before either of them knew what was happening. Soft giggles escaped the two of them before Celia stepped further in and sat on the edge of the bed too.
The heavy scent of cigarette smoke she recalled being here was gone now. It was expected, she mused, after all this time. Yet the homeliness of it remained. Even when it was strange to see her unchanged room, the warmth that she remembered from it hadn't disappeared. If anything, she felt it now more than ever.
"Thank you, Lenalee."
"Mhm," she replied, beaming with another one of her smiles that had Celia herself smiling back with the glee that bloomed in her chest.
It was as they jested around about sadly having to throw out all the clothes in her wardrobe since none of them fit her anymore that Lenalee's black golem beeped loudly, taking their attention away and to the little messenger.
"Lenalee~" Both of them chuckled, Celia adding an extra roll of her eyes, at hearing Komui's high-pitched voice from the other line. "My darling sister, is Celia-chan with you still?"
"Yes, nii-san."
"Great, great. Please head to the elevator you two. It's time to see Hevlaska."
Finally.
With Lenalee to get her there faster through new shortcuts she hadn't known back when she was there, they reached the elevator quickly enough. It wasn't difficult finding where Komui was either when the sister-complex almost instantly jumped his sister and showered her in sweet compliments. That left her and Allen to their lonesomes as both stood apart from the siblings and their mushiness.
Glancing over at Allen, Celia smirked his way before saying, "What do ya think? Isn't it just like I said it'd be?"
"Yes," he said with a pleased chuckle. "You weren't wrong when you said that it'd be like home."
"Wrong? When have I ever been wrong, Al?" Jumping the boy, she headlock him bringing the shorter boy even lower as she roughhoused with him. "Bet you can't even find enough time to count in one hand."
"I'd be short a hundred or so, to be honest."
Doing what he usually did to Tim, Celia went about stretching his cheeks with an irate sneer. "You cheeky little brat."
A sudden clearing of Komui's throat brought them back to the pair that had finally separated from their hug. Or more like Lenalee finally got his brother to undo the death grip he'd taken her in. Releasing Allen herself, she watched as Komui sent him and Lenalee away in order for the two to head to Hevlaska's alone, something she appreciated greatly.
This thing—whatever it was—wasn't something she wanted them to see.
"I am glad…to see you, Celia Valentine. Welcome home."
A broad grin spread across her face at seeing Hevlaska emerge from the void after all this time. One thing that she was sure to never change was this one person. It was something that she appreciated greatly when the being greeted her as if she had seen her just the other day after a mission.
"I'm back, Hevlaska!" she happily replied and threw her hands out in the air, waving them back and forth at her.
"Do you come bearing…an Innocence as Allen Walker did?"
A few chuckles left her as she rubbed the back of her neck in an attempt to break the awkwardness of what she was about to tell her.
"Kind of, I think." Doing what she did in Komui's office and exposing her left hand and arm, she displayed it for Hevlaska to see. "Would you mind taking a peek inside me?"
"Of course." Tendrils arose from beneath the elevator and cradled her arm gently in their grasp as they entered the green cross embedded in her wrist. "Pardon the intrusion."
A small bright light emanated from where her tendrils pierced her skin and Celia forced herself to hold back the grimace of what she was feeling under her skin. Even this hadn't changed, the utterly disgusting feeling that it was to be inspected by Hevlaska. The disgust was tame this time around, she supposed. After years of having to put down the emerald sparks time after time, this seemed much easier to withstand in comparison.
"I sense Hand of God," she languidly spoke. "You're synchronization…it has risen. It is now…76%."
Not by that much, apparently.
"You both…are still at odds."
"What can I say? It bites back," she joked, earning what sounded like a chuckle from Hevlaska.
"Hev-kun, what can you tell us about what else is inside Celia-chan?"
Komui's question was straightforward and had Hevlaska working on it. The tendrils moved further within until they came to a part of her that Celia really didn't want disturbed. Just like it happened when they had done it before, emerald energy burst out from her along with a sharp cry at the sudden sensation of something being tugged at from within her. But unlike before, what tethered that 'something' was stronger this time. At least strong enough to not come off with just a simple tug that left her more than breathless all the same.
Hevlaska desisted from what she was doing briefly yet didn't retrieve her tendrils as her gaze became rather distant.
"Another…Innocence."
Komui's brow furrowed at Hevlaska mentioning this, confirming his suspicion. "Another aside from Hand of God?"
Hevlaska's head came down and up again in the slowest seeming nod she'd ever seen before her apparent gaze fell once more upon her.
"This one, however…has already…assimilated with her."
Fuck.
Celia hated that her hunch had been right on the money.
"When did you…obtain it?"
"A couple of years ago." Wanting to give her more information than that, she searched through her memory for what exactly happened that time. "It was when I encountered those two accommodators and sent them your way, the redhead and the old man. There had been a third Innocence that hadn't attached to either of them that Hand of God absorbed by accident."
"Is it too late to retrieve it now, Hev-kun?"
Hevlaska nodded once more. "Hand of God…has tethered it to her…too strongly."
Celia's complexion blanched at that, not liking the way she said that.
That doesn't sound good. Not in the damn bit least.
"Surely it can still be taken out of me somehow, right?" she suggested, trying her best to not show her anxiety through stammering words even when the mere memory of what it had been like to have one not even fully assimilated be torn from her had her paling by the second. "What about ripping it little by little? O-Or maybe, y'know, rip it fast and all at once like a bandaid? Surely, that'll hurt less."
"I am afraid…that is not possible," Hevlaska interjected. "It has assimilated…to the point of being akin to…a vital organ in your body. If it is extracted…it will cause great damage. It could possibly even…cause enough…to be fatal."
WELP!
"Like I was saying, let's just leave it be." Celia laughed despite the cold sweat running down her nape and buttoned back her sleeve. "It's not like it's causing any trouble, anyway. I-If anything, it's been a great help!"
"Great help?" Komui repeated.
Celia nodded, wanting desperately to change the subject to a better topic. "I can also use this one like I did the one I nabbed back when I first absorbed one."
"Be cautious…Celia," Hevlaska suddenly said and brought their attention back to her. "Accommodators…are meant to use…only their destined Innocence. To utilize one that is not your own…could incur a heavy cost to you."
"Surely, it's can't be that bad," she insisted with a wry grin. "It's still Innocence, no? So even if I'm not the accommodator, because of Hand of God, I can use—"
"It is true that Innocence only being able to answer to its predetermined accommodator is a rule to which Hand of God is, as far as we know, the sole exception for, Celia-chan. It is precisely this exemption that gave it its name, after all." Her ears perked at what Komui said and watched attentively as his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "However, the bending of the rule doesn't exempt it from the consequences of the natural order. It might not be harmful in obvious ways when used sparingly, but if you continuously or heavily rely on using Innocence that isn't yours, even if it is through Hand of God, it would be no different than a non-accommodator attempting to synchronize to Innocence by force."
Her amethyst eyes grew wide at their revelation before her gaze fell as she herself became silently pensive. She had known her Innocence was strange since the beginning, ever since she came to know that Cross had come across it before. And now this?
This is too much right now.
Her fingers rubbed at her temple at the growing headache she felt incoming. A hand suddenly came to rest on her shoulder and brought her attention back to Komui, whose gentle smile allowed her rigid shoulders to loosen a bit before he turned to face Hevlaska.
"The best course of action is to let it rest where it lay, right?"
Hevlaska nodded one last time. "That is…the best choice, for now. Only until…I find a way to extract it…without bringing harm to her."
"Then we'll leave it to you, Hev-kun. Thank you."
|That night.|
"Come now, you should apologize."
"—"
His sigh was slow, methodic, before a serene smile graced his lips. A hand, gentle and large, stroke her head and brushed back a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I know you don't truly mean that. You've not a mean bone in your body, little aster. For you to hold a grudge, I believe is impossible."
"—"
"You're too kind."
Amethyst eyes shot open only to stare dazedly at the dark ceiling above her. Her breathing ragged, Celia scanned her surroundings as it took her a good second to remember where she was. Headquarters. This was her room. Rubbing the crease of her eyesocket as a mild headache threatened to come allowed her the moment it took to recollect what had just shaken her from her sleep.
That voice again. She hadn't heard it since the last time Hevlaska had torn an Innocence out of her body. It had been that exact same voice, and though she couldn't quite recall what she could see other damn blurry static, she could kind of see them. See him.
Whoever he was, anyway.
Irate, her gaze fell on Navi who was still knocked out at the foot of the bed where she shoved the piles of children's clothes at. Somewhere in that mess she could see the hint of white. She sat up, knowing there was no way for her to fall asleep again, and instead ambled around the room. God, everything seemed so much smaller now that she was grown. It wasn't like she was tall—only gaining a good inch and change over both Lenalee and Allen—but even with her stature it was still rather cramped, or at least felt like it.
Decidedly, Celia carefully pried the door of her room open, stepping out barefoot in clothes that Lenalee had lent her. The first thing she noted was how quiet it was. In the distance there was the faintest sound of what she thought were voices—more than likely the poor Science Division that worked themselves near-death even now—but aside from that, the living quarters were silent.
It irritated her. If there was anything she hated in the world, it definitely had to be silence. It was awkward, and annoying, and it brought to the forefront the things she didn't want to hear that lingered in her own head.
"So…near…"
Like so.
"Clam it."
Her right hand slapped her left automatically when the wisps of emerald stretched outward from her fingertips. It was obvious what it wanted, and there was no way in hell that Celia would give it. Forcing it to the back of her mind once more, she searched for something else to focus on and found the door next to hers.
Kanda's room.
Head tilting to one side and nose scrunching up at the sudden query that popped into her head, Celia stepped closer and took the knob in her hand.
Surely, it wouldn't—
Click.
Ah.
The door lay just slightly ajar for her to see the darkness coming from within. Curiosity won her over as she quietly stepped inside and shut the door behind herself. Darkness engulfed her instantly and her eyes had to adjust to it as she ventured deeper into the small room. To her surprise, it was still the same as back then with only a few things here and there being different from what she recalled.
The one change that caught her eye the most was the hourglass that sat gingerly on a small lone table which instead of sand carried a single lotus flower at the bottom. It was pretty at a closer glance. Definitely not something she expected from him. Bare fingers rose to touch it for a brief moment watching as the petals gingerly splayed on the glass that separated them.
So beautiful.
Celia had seen a field of lotus flowers in bloom once during her travels. It had been one of the prettiest sights she'd ever witnessed in her young life. Back then she hadn't cared about how her clothes and shoes would dirty and jumped into the mud to frolic amongst the tall flowers that reached for the sky.
A tender smile came to her lips at the memory as she stepped back and went about looking at the rest of the room. There wasn't much else to it. Much like its owner, Kanda's room was painfully bare. Bored pretty easily, Celia plopped down on the edge of his tidy bed and let out a yawn she hadn't seen coming.
Strange. Was she really getting sleepy already? The heaviness of her eyelids answered her question. Mm, could it be the room, Celia pondered. Maybe. There was definitely something about it that just swaddled her in comfort. Taking advantage of its missing occupant, Celia let herself fall onto the bed and curled up hugging the pillow close, the coolness of it along with the beads of her bracelet touching her cheek earning a sigh. It was at taking a deep breath to settle herself to try and sleep that a rather faint scent reached her nose.
It smelled of flowers.
Like Yuu.
Breathing that mild sweetness in with each deep inhale, her eyelids fell to give her the sleep those strange dreams had deprived her of.
That night, Celia dreamed of the lotus field as a faint thought fluttered through her mind.
It'd be nice to see one with them when the blooming season came again.
|One week later.|
There was no hiding the displeased grimace that came to Celia at her current predicament. Sadly, there was nothing deterring the one currently sewing the clothes on her back as she stood with her arms spread out for his convenience.
So stuffy.
"Arms up, please, Celia-san!"
Celia was startled to attention, arms going rigid as a plank at Johnny's reprimand. The scientist hadn't been one she met back during her time at Headquarters, though she supposed there were many she didn't meet since there were so many of them, to begin with. Apparently, he was the one in charge of the Exorcists' uniforms which had brought her to the Science Division for the past week so that he could get her measurements in order. Now, the older scientist was adjusting what he had created for her while Lenalee and Allen—who had only needed his uniform mended—sat idly by behind her and beside the full-body mirror in the room.
"Almost done," Johnny perked from behind her from where he stood on a stool while she stood sorely still.
"It's stuffy," she grumbled, shrugging her shoulders to sink her face into the neck of the coat she was wearing.
"I think it's coming along nicely." Lenalee turned to Allen while said white-haired boy munched away at mitarashi dango alongside Timcanpy. "Isn't it, Allen-kun?"
He nodded vigorously and attempted to say something that was impossible to decipher from all the food in his mouth.
"Swallow, Al."
He took a big gulp before starting over. "I think so, too. Besides, they may seem cumbersome at first but they're actually a great help in battle, Celia-san."
"I guess, but I never understood the need for them to be so…" Celia searched desperately for a word other than dumb that wouldn't offend the seamster doing his work just over her shoulder. "...elaborate."
"Everyone's is different, Celia-san," Johnny explained as he rolled the stool and himself over to face her. "And they're all optimized to better suit the fighting style of each of you. Like how Lenalee's allows for easy movement or how Allen's easily allows for usage of his Innocence without getting in the way. Because of your Innocence and the type of close-combat you use, yours will allow for mobility like Lenalee's but will also be sturdy enough to withstand the abuse." He spoke through his work and stuck his tongue out in concentration as he sewed the last pinned placed he had by hand. With a triumphant 'there!", Johnny rose from the stool and proudly stood before her. "All done! What do you think?"
Celia turned about to face the mirror and watched as her own eyes widened at her own reflection.
Johnny had acceded to her one request to have a simple white long-sleeve button-up blouse but that had been pretty much it on her part as far as input went. The rest was all Johnny's. The fit of it was nice and the fabric was breathable everything else considered; it opened in a small 'v' at her collar and defined her waist as it became fitted right below her breasts. Black suspenders that joined at her back were clasped to a belt and the top of high-waisted black shorts with a double-breasted design whose folded white-trimmed hem reached just above mid-thigh. There was only a stretch of her thigh exposed from where the hem ended and black stockings began, the edges trimmed with little triangles she was starting to like. Those were held by garters that also acted at the holsters of what she assumed to be emergency pouches while black knee-high boots with steel soles wrapped up the bottom.
Everything was fine up til then because what had her whining about how stuffy the damn thing was was the cape coat that Johnny had just finished adjusting. The length of the coat ended just a few inches above her shorts and the coat part of it just barely ended where her boots began. Again, it was double-breasted with the silver Black Rose embroidered on the coat's left shoulder. Sure, it was easy to move in since the shorts and sleeveless coat allowed her free range of movement but it was just so damn stuffy.
"So?" Johnny asked expectantly and with a glint in his eye. "Whatcha think?"
"It's too hot," was her only comment as she pulled at the neck of the coat. She blew a stray strand of her brown hair away from her face, the rest of her hair lumped together into a low bun close to her nape. "Why's the coat double-layered with wool again?"
"Seeing as the rest doesn't quite protect you from the environment, we had to compensate elsewhere."
Poor excuse, but nothing much she could do about it now.
"It looks great though." Celia smirked at Lenalee, taking the compliment for what it was as she stepped toward them. Her dark purple eyes took her in again before her nose wrinkled slightly. Her lips parted ready to ask something when suddenly Navi's star began blinking shortly before a com came through.
"Exorcist Celia Valentine. Report to Head Chief Komui's office. I repeat, report to Head Chief Komui's office."
Celia groaned and looked visibly dejected at the summons. Lenalee smiled at her and assured her that it would surely be quick.
"Come find us at the cafeteria once you're done with nii-san."
The brunette agreed with a nod before trotting off in her new uniform, all the while unbuttoning the coat and removing the cape altogether to let herself breathe. As she watched her go and remove the said piece of clothing, the same thing from before caught Lenalee's eye and finally had her turning to Johnny who was busy nodding in approval of his work from a distance.
"Say, Johnny, did you not make gloves that matched her uniform?"
"Gloves?" He stood pensive for a moment before he hit his open hand with a fist in his epiphany. "Yes, I did, actually," he said and turned with a lifted finger at Lenalee, "Celia-san said that she preferred her old ones, but that she'd take the ones I made as extras."
"Really?" Lenalee placed a couple of fingers on her cheek as she tilted her head. "I wonder where she got those leather gloves from."
As if just now having put any attention to their conversation, Allen suddenly began choking rather violently on the last of his mitarashi dango. The other two there alongside Timcanpy smacked at his back while he harshly smacked his chest until he could breathe better.
"Allen-kun? Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm…" Gray eyes stared at Celia's receding back, and as she now held the coat over her shoulder, it was easier to see what they were talking about. Brown leather gloves. His chest tightened a bit, warmth crawling up his neck a bit as he wiped at his face with his arm to cover the color on his face.
"I'm fine."
The raised eyebrow and haughty smirk that started to show on her face was all she could do to not outwardly guffaw at the irony of what Komui just said.
"You're trusting me," she pointed at herself for emphasis, "to leave on a mission alone?"
The heavy sigh Komui drew clearly told her what he refused to. He lifted his glasses for a moment before leaning back on his desk and watching her intently from where she sat cross-legged on the sofa.
"Personally, I would have prolonged sending you off, but the Great Generals have already accepted your memorandum and Central has declared you an active Exorcist once more."
Talk of that damn memo sent chills down her spine. It took five damn sleepless nights to write down all the damn details of the past five years that they were bugging her about. She'd gotten so bored halfway through, too. A snicker left her then at the mildly amusing thought. Hopefully, they'll like the little tall tales of the farmer and her 101 animals she made up two nights ago in a fit of boredom while thinking of what to make up in between the gaps.
"So," she said with a chortle that Komui took personally with a frown. Waving it away, she beamed at him with a toothy grin. "Where ya sending me?"
|Three days later. Underground canals.|
Adjusting her coat one last time, Celia turned to the three that stood at the docks to see her off. Their Head Chief lifted his spectacles before continuing on the tirade he'd gone on for days now.
"And remember to report once you're done, as well! No delays. No ditching the Finders, either."
"Yes, mumsy~" Her eyes rolled as a grin tugged at her lips before looking down at Allen and Lenalee who both wore rather worrisome looks behind their forced smiles.
This she couldn't stand as guilt gnawed at her conscious. It was painfully obvious to her why, too. Celia had already disappeared on them on two separate occasions and had only just gotten back. With a broad smile, she rested her hands on Allen's shoulder and Lenalee's head.
"Don't send me off with long faces, you guys! I promise ya I'll be back as soon as I'm done."
Though they wanted to believe her, all they could offer were small smiles. It pained her that their trust in her was beaten to such an extent, but also understood that it was the blatant consequence of her actions.
Climbing onto the boat with the Finder and kicking it off with a tumble, she stood as they receded waving with both arms high above her head.
"I'm off!"
Their voices mingled together as they called out from the docks that began to disappear in the distance.
"Take care, Celia!"
|One month later. Northern coasts of Alexandria, Egypt.|
I'm fucking dying.
The heavy coat was a certified oven in these parts but at least with it over her head, it worked to somehow block the blazing sun that beat down on her. Even in the shade of an alleyway where she hid from the unforgiving sun rays, the extreme heat was more than suffocating by itself.
Celia truly didn't envy the locals anything. Said people passed her by easily enough, and though some peeked back with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, none were brave enough to pursue their curiosity about her. Leaning back against the wall of the building, Celia adjusted herself on the crate she was using as a seat while waiting for Hugo, the Finder who had accompanied her there, to return.
According to what information previous Finders had gathered, strange happenings had been going on in the outskirts of the city. Sightings of Akuma that went into caverns out in the desert were reported with no signs of them leaving. Level 1s were also spotted prowling the outskirts of the city but not one report of attacks. It was unnerving, much like a high-tension string that could snap at any second with the smallest of touches.
It was strange, to say the least.
"Celia-dono."
Spotting Hugo at the end of the street, Celia jumped off of her crate and approached him, thanking him for the gourd with a smile and taking a swig of water.
"So," she said, wiping away the bit of liquid that ran down her chin with the back of her hand. "What's been happening 'round these neck of the woods?"
"There doesn't seem to be any change from the latest reports we got, other than the fact that the sightings have increased since a month ago."
"Mm." Celia returned the gourd as she glanced around at the people. Beside her, a soft tinkle resounded as Navi peeked from her spot in the crook of her neck as the duo made their way across town towards said caverns.
Once there, Hugo presented her to the Finders that had been posted there months before and showed her the viewing spot from where they could overlook their targeted location. Thankful for the shade in the middle of the dessert, Celia sat on a more or less even surface that faced the mouth of the caves. Making themselves comfortable, she and Navi waited around as the hot sun began to set over the horizon. Once night came, amethyst eyes stared skyward at the starry, inky black sky.
It was beautiful.
Kind of reminded her of something.
"Celia-dono, there they are."
At Hugo's call, her gaze lowered back towards the cavern. Sure enough, a handful of Akuma were making their way across the desert just like they had reported. They were all Level 1s mindlessly floating through and squeezing into the mouth of the cavern before disappearing inside. Her head tilted before she called out to Hugo and another Finder to follow after her seconds before she jumped off the edge of the terrain towards the sand below.
Her boots sunk uncomfortably through the fine grains and she groaned at losing height but shook it off before heading towards the cave with the Finders on her tail. Once a good distance inside, Celia popped Navi's head gingerly, a fluorescent light suddenly emanating from the crystals that made up her wings and surrounding them in a somewhat wide radius of light. They began the cautious trek deeper into the caverns with Navi's light illuminating the way. As they settled into a quiet lapse of time, her mind wondered about the circumstances of her current mission.
Tame was the first word Celia could think of that described the current predicament. It was normal that when Innocence was involved, there would be a surge of Akuma attracted to the possible locality of the crystal. In those cases, their numbers would continue to grow as they too searched for it. This, however, showed the complete opposite outcome. Sure, Akumas were coming there in swarms but that was it.
Whatever went in, didn't come it.
Aside from that, there didn't seem to be anything suspicious so far.
Could it just have been a false alarm?
Her fingers flexed and extended in an attempt to see what Hand of God could sense but her focus broke at the sudden growl that startled them all. The Finders instantly aimed their Talismans toward the sound while Navi, startled, had to be maneuvered by Celia's hand to face the source of the noise and direct the light towards it. Her eyes narrowed at what looked like a jackal, who'd stumbled out of one of the many tunnels underground. It was limping slightly as it dragged its front left leg with it and its eyes, a strange bright blue that seemed to glow subtly in the semidarkness, looked up at the sudden scrutiny. Its ears shot back as it bore its teeth at them.
Celia grabbed Navi and lifted her higher and away from her own face as she stepped forward, her voice lowering to a whisper as she reached out.
"It's okay, little guy," she cooed, but the animal simply stepped back further, its front leg dangling a bit off the floor. "We're not going to hurt you."
Adjusting the light once more, there was something that passed across those bright blue eyes that she couldn't recognize before the animal blinked and its ears lifted away from its head, twitching a bit at her words. But just as the little guy was getting comfortable, the ferocity once again returned to it as it spun around and growled, baring its canines at a particular tunnel.
Eyes followed its nose and stopped at the Level 1s that emerged and instantly spotted them.
Twirling the hairpin out of her bun, Celia gave them no time to react, dashing towards them and piercing swiftly through both machines with the blade of her glaive that embedded itself on the wall as they exploded.
"Watch for the smoke!" she shouted as it quickly spread and clouded her vision.
A set of barks brought her attention back to the animal who, somehow was still alive, and was yapping further down the tunnel it had come from before turning tail towards one of the others. There's more. Celia used her weight to pull back on the glaive and release it from the wall before heading down the path the jackal had been bothered by. Rounding the corner, she saw them. Level 1s and what looked to be a Level 2—
Fighting?
It took her a moment, but that's what they were doing when she spotted them from afar. The Level 1s were all ganging up on the Level 2 who cursed at them while making swift work of the lot.
"Useless pieces of junk!" it screeched as something she couldn't quite make out slashed at a few. It was as they exploded releasing more noxious gas that Celia caught the sight of something glinting from Navi's light.
Translucent strings were barely visible because of how the light caught them.
Golden spider silk.
The discovery was pushed aside however when the Level 2 swiped at the gas as if making sure it'd dealt with every last Level 1. Which meant it hadn't noticed her yet.
Celia took advantage of that and sped towards it, thrusting forth at the Level 2 as it appeared through the gas before it could avoid her. Sadly, all she got was a slash that cut one of its overgrown appendages off.
A leg? No. A stinger. And by the looks of it, not the only one.
It's a damn scorpion.
"A-An Exorcists?! How—"
She didn't give it time to finish. Kicking off, she went for a frontal slash. Though the cramped space hindered her fighting, it also meant that it hindered its escape routes. The Level 2 barely managed to avoid some of the brunt of her attack by scooting backward and scurrying further into the cave system.
A sudden rumble caught her attention as everything around her shook slightly. Gravel from above fell down as the earth shook from the fighting and explosions but soon settled back down to stillness. The quiet didn't last long as the Finders found her quickly enough after the poisonous gas had cleared out.
"Go back," she told them. "Block out any Level 1s that try to come inside. If there's another Level 2, don't fight it and just let it in."
"But Celia-dono, what will you—"
"I'll go on forward and stake out the place first. It'll only get more dangerous for you guys to go through the more Akuma I kill. Lend me a hand by keeping my targets to a minimum instead." Propping her glaive over one shoulder, she turned back at them with a half-grin, "And also, don't die out there. It'd be a real bummer on my first mission back."
They exchanged clear expressions of concern but couldn't readily counter her argument. In the end, they nodded and returned to the surface.
Now, she turned back to face where the Level 2 had run off to, time to play cat and mouse.
Navi settled atop her head and lighted the way as she continued down the tunnels with her one hand holding her glaive and the other grazing her fingers against the wall. If there was Innocence here, Hand of God would do what it always did and guide her to it, but so far, even after a good five minutes or so of walking, there was no reaction.
No electricity. No voices. Nothing.
Her lips turned into a taut line.
How strange.
Another rumble shook the ground beneath her feet, much more violently this time than the last, and Celia braced herself against the wall before she lost her footing as the ground exploded behind her. The cackle of the Level 2 rung in her ears along the collapsing tunnel that blocked her only exit and showed no signs of stopping.
Electricity jolted at her fingertips and she scowled before heading off in a sprint to the end of the tunnel as it collapsed behind her. Close, close, so close! Tumbling into a roll, Celia managed to avoid the boulders that fell out from the exit of the tunnel and picked herself up quickly as its laughter once again echoed in the more open space she found herself in. The cold metal of her glaive was held tightly in both her hands as she scanned the area. Her fingers jolted, electricity swirling around her wrist, shocking her at times.
Be on your toes, it warned.
Clack-clack. It echoed, but there wasn't any hiding the gravel that fell from above. With no hesitation, Celia jumped back just in time to avoid being impaled by the giant stinger that fell from above. Skidding to a stop, Navi pointed its light upward in time to see it scurry into one of the many tunnels that were literally scattered through the walls of the open space.
"Stupid Exorcist!" Like its laughter before it, its voice rebounded too much against the walls for her to pinpoint its location. Navi's light frantically shone where it thought it came from but all it illuminated were empty holes with dark interiors. "You took the whole bait! Now I'll have an actual Innocence to present to the Earl! So die!"
Celia's brow furrowed at its phrasing but couldn't think much of it when projectiles shot at her from a few of the tunnels. Avoid some, she skidded to a stop and blocked the rest with a slash of her glaive.
Clack-Clack.
Behind. Celia stepped sideways but couldn't do so fast enough to fully avoid the pincer that clawed at her side. Its cackling continued as it retreated once again. Celia's scowl deepened as she held onto her injured side. This thing kept jumping in and out. Even when it'd be laughably easy to kill it with her glaive, it wouldn't matter in the least when she couldn't make a clear target of it.
I need to force it out here.
And, well…there was one way to do that.
"Accommodators…are meant to use…only their destined Innocence. To utilize one that is not your own…could incur a heavy cost to you."
"Sorry, Hev, Komui."
But if this thing was gonna freeload inside of her then it might as well be useful.
Removing her left glove with teeth and pushing back her sleeve exposed her forearm and the slit that rested right above her Innocence before closing her eyes to focus on the many voices flitting through her head in search of a specific one.
A calm hum, the Innocence's—deep and earthy—was wordless, but even so she could understand what it asked. The one thing it always did whenever Celia paused to listen.
'May I come forth?'
"I allow it."
Electricity coursed from under her wrist and focused on her forearm as the slit opened wide to reveal a bulging amber eye. Sharp veins of amber sprouted from the corners of the eye and injected themselves into her, coursing that same amber through them and making a delicate pattern of straight gold lines travel upward and conjoin into diamond patterns across her arm. It crawled onto her shoulder and back until it covered her other arm as well, the tips of her right hand becoming that same vivid gold.
Without hesitation, Celia slammed her open palm against the ground she stood on and the Innocence.
"Push him out!"
The ground under her feet trembled as the amber eye on her forearm looked downward. Her veins pulsated with energy that felt warm and heavy as it coursed outward into the earth, her golden fingertips injecting into it the amber substance that coursed through her.
First, it was one—a tunnel being pierced from the inside through its surrounding walls by jagged columns of pure crystallized amber. Then another, and another, and another. Everything around her shook as each and every tunnel became filled to the brim with crystallized amber until one popped out something for her.
Ready to strike, she summoned a pillar from beneath her to propel her as she pierced right through the Level 2s abdomen. It screeched seconds before it exploded and filled the space with the virus gas. Celia landed safely on another pillar that erupted at her call and stood still yet at the ready in case another came.
No other appeared.
Heaving a long sigh, she climbed the pillars down back onto ground level before peering down at her arm. The amber eye bulged and looked around as if inspecting its surroundings before landing on her. The sight of it sent shivers down her spine and left a sickening sensation in her stomach. For all its usefulness, there was no denying how ugly it was to look at. Not to mention how utterly disgusting it felt to have it open.
Out of the blue, a bark had her jumping in her skin as it echoed through the open cave. From one of the tunnels, that jackal from before had squeezed itself through the small openings of the amber pillars and found her way to her. Grinning, Celia walked up to it as it remained still, its bright gaze staring up at her.
She made to pet the thing but thought better of it when she felt the amber eye direct its gaze at it. Instead, she crouched down before it, deeming it domestic enough to be this close to it.
"Where'd you come from, buddy?" The jackal barked and yelped as it ran off towards one of the many tunnels, most likely the one he had found his way through.
Coming up to it, Celia peered through the openings between pillars but couldn't see anything beyond the darkness. That was when the bark came from the other end.
Is it…showing me out?
Only one way to find out. Using the amber eye, Celia retracted the pillars into the walls and opened the tunnel back up, only waiting for a moment until it settled to make sure it wouldn't collapse before walking through.
Like she thought, the jackal waited for her on the other end and once it saw her, sprinted further away. Celia gave chase, undoing her invocation for now and setting the hairpin behind her ear as she trotted behind the animal. Through various twists and turns that had her losing the jackal eventually led her to one last entrance that, thankfully, brought her to the glorious outside during the dark of night.
Celia allowed her ragged breath to calm and her racing heart to settle as she looked about for the helpful little mutt that had guided her out, but there seemed to be no sign of it anymore. Her shoulders slacked a tad bit sad that she couldn't at least treat the little thing's paw in exchange for helping her out.
Thank you, all the same.
Glancing down at her forearm once more, she only spared the amber eye one last look before releasing it with a long sigh.
"Go back to sleep, please."
I reject you.
The eye twitched at the words and looked downcast before slowly closing, the golden liquid retreating from her veins back into the golden eye that closed with finality only until all the gold from her veins was gone. Once closed, Celia gave her hand a shake for good measure to rid herself of that skin-crawling feeling she simply hated.
A cough suddenly crept its way into her chest and she hacked at the uncomfortable lump in her lungs and throat until she was able to spit it out. The clots of blood fell with a harsh splat against the dark sands.
Side effects. Celia knew of them ever since the first time she had used an Innocence that wasn't her own. Komui hadn't been kidding about it causing harm similar to a non-accommodator. Then again, she'd been rather weak back then; she was a kid. Now, with only sparingly using it when she needed—like now—it came back as nothing more than some mild bleeding and body aches. Though that didn't mean the anemia and such didn't take effect when she used it for longer periods of time or for too many consecutive times.
As things stood, Celia gauged that seven was the magic number: seven times or seven minutes.
A deep sigh left her lips as she allowed her body to relax after forcibly using the Innocence.
"C—ia—no."
Amethyst eyes stared upward at Navi as it floated a few inches away from her face. The star blinked over and over as cut-off voices kept coming in and out of static until the connection finally came through.
"Celia-dono!"
"Oh, Hugo. Hey!" she cheerily called through Navi.
"Finally! We've been trying to get in contact this whole time! With the tremors, we thought the tunnels had collapsed on you."
"No worries, that was all part of the plan!" she grinned, a little too proud. "Must've had some sucky connection in the tunnels. I'm outside the caves right now. Don't know which side though."
"We're getting your signal east of the encampment. About 60 kilometers away."
60? Damn, those tunnels ran deep.
"Can a couple of you guys meet up with me? I haven't quite found whatever's attracting them to this place but I think I've dealt with most of the Akuma there. We'll find it easier if there's more—"
Ba-dump.
The violent heartbeat was sudden. Like a punch to her gut, it completely wrenched all air from her lungs in one fell swoop and brought her to her knees as more followed in its wake.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Every heartbeat that came wrenched her breath away. It quickened its pace making her gasp for air even further, feeling her lungs constricting in pain from the lack of oxygen. Quickly, her vision began to blur, the sand that slipped through her hand as she desperately clawed at it coming in and out of focus. Static filled her ears in the end as she lost herself in the breathlessness and blurring vision.
Static that was suddenly broken through by snippets of a voice.
"—"
What—
"—i—"
What are you—
"C—i—"
What are you?!
"It's me."
The voice rang in her head like a bell, clearing the static and giving her nothing but silence.
Never had she heard such a voice before.
"I'm here."
So airy, soft, and sweet.
"Find—"
Celia screamed at the pain that rushed up her arm, electricity jolting out and swirling all over the place. Sparks flew as the energy went haywire, her right hand grasping at her left to keep the appendage as far away from her as possible. The energy lighted in bursts as it came with bursts of pain that stabbed at her insides until she finally had had it.
"Enough already!"
A high-pitched noise was left ringing in her ears from how abruptly the electricity simply stopped at her command. Through ragged breaths, her heartbeat finally slowed back to normal, her lungs pained but were no longer burning, and her vision returned just in time to see the fading glint of fluorescent green from Hand of God.
"Celia-dono! Celia-dono, what's the matter?!"
"Nothing." Her voice rang out too harshly and she gulped down her hectic emotions to answer more calmly, "It's nothing, Hugo. Just…forget about coming over. I'll go back to you guys. We'll resume tomorrow."
A pause later, he answered. "Yes, Celia-dono."
Celia allowed herself to kneel on the sand for a few minutes longer to allow herself time to fully calm down. Once her breathing, which was the last to return to normal, quieted, she turned upward at the sound of Navi's tinkling with a frown at noticing the golem facing her, the eight-pointed star outlined bright red.
"Whatever you recorded, erase it." Navi's star beeped twice before swaying back and forward, tauntingly. "Goddamn it!" Jumping to her feet, she snatched the golem by its tail before it could fly out of reach and stretched it by its wings, taking immense pleasure in the way it began to squirm. "Erase it, you piece of junk."
Finally heeding her threat, Navi's star blinked red a few times before turning blue and returning to black at last. Celia sighed at getting rid of that, her shoulders slacking visibly as her mind started to wonder about what just occurred to her.
This wasn't like any side effect she'd ever had. She hadn't even used the other Innocence for 2 minutes, so what gave?
Electricity shot again through her fingertips and rapidly traveled up her arm, through her spine, and up to the base of her head. The sudden itch inside her skull was eerie and had her slapping the back of her head without a second thought and groaning a mild 'ow' at her own stupidity. As if that would scratch the itch.
Maybe I just miscalculated my time.
It wasn't like it hadn't happened a few times before while she was learning to use this side of Hand of God. Perhaps that's all this was.
But then…the voice…
The sudden ache that came to her heart this time around wasn't painful. At least not in the physical sense. It felt like a void that had suddenly opened up at the thought of it. Empty yet heavy at the same time.
Tinkle.
Her gaze lifted to meet Navi as the star blinked between red and black before slapping her cheeks softly with her wings. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips at the golem's attempt to cheer her up and pressed her forehead against it for a brief moment before pulling away.
"C'mon," she whispered as she released the golem into the air. "Let's head back and take a nap. We'll continue this tomorrow."
The desert night was deathly quiet after the tremors. Though the small amount of fauna that had been residing there was disturbed, they were only bothered while they lasted. Once they had settled and the ground beneath them steadied, the peacefulness of it all took over once more.
A lone jackal trotted out of a tunnel, its head swiveling back and forth and sniffing at the ground and air as if searching for something as it stepped out of the shadows created by the moonlight, its front paw injured.
"...Jan..."
Its head turned towards the low whisper carried in the wind, its ears twitching momentarily before it darted off towards the shadows created by the towering landmasses that bordered that part of the desert.
A small hand surfaced from the shadows and the jackal hurried towards it, entering the shadows as it's shape changed, shifting into a taller human figure hidden in a dark cloak. The figure caught the hand coming from the shadows with a rather bloodied and bruised one of its own. Sensing his touch, the small figure allowed itself to fall forward against them as heavy ragged breaths exited them.
"Why are you out here? You should've waited for me." A somewhat deep voice reprimanded her, his accent lilting his words. He gritted their teeth but refused to reprimand the smaller figure further as he helped support them against his body. "Are you alright?"
The smaller figure lethargically shook their head before letting it lay upon his shoulder, their breathing laboring even more, and their small hands trembled as they grasped at the cloak around their body tighter against them.
"We need…to hurry," they said breathlessly.
Grimacing, the taller figure nodded after much pause. Readying to carry the smaller one while she recovered, they couldn't help but shudder at the way the smaller figure's voice repeated those words against his ear as they now rested on his back.
Breathless, painful, but resolute.
"Hurry…"
|A week later.|
"So there's no Innocence."
Celia shook her head despite knowing Komui couldn't see her through the intercom.
"Whatever attracted the Akuma there is either gone or wasn't there to begin with." Hand on her neck, she bent it to one side, sighing at how good the crack felt after the week she had. "I cleared the tunnels in two days and we've been searching since, but there's nothing. Hand of God hasn't reacted either. Whatever it is, it's gone."
"All Akuma have been disposed of?"
"The one's that there trapped in there at least. Yeah. No new ones have appeared either, so my guess is that they're gone for good."
Komui's low hum of approval came from the other end. "We'll leave Finders just in case the Akuma return, but I say that this mission can be considered complete for the time being."
There was no hiding the long sigh she let through her nose at hearing those words.
Finally.
"Great, can I come home now?" Celia's groaned into the receiver, feeling the headache she'd had for the past five days beginning to intensify again with the heatwave that was rolling by. "It's disgustingly hot here and I've got sand in places I didn't know sand could get into."
Komui chuckled at her comments and she frowned in return. What a douche, making light of her displeasure like that.
"For as much as I would like to say you can, I'm afraid we already have your next mission. And it might be a long one."
Fantastic.
"What do you mean long?" Setting the receiver between her shoulder and ear, Celia's hands busied themselves by playing with Navi who kept slapping away at her poking. "I've been out here for almost 2 months, Lee! This better be important if I can't stop by Headquarters and get a good bath before leaving."
"The generals are being hunted down."
Her body tensed at his words, her hands stopping midair in their ministrations and earning a rather puzzled expression from Navi.
"What do you mean 'hunted down'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
The Head Chief took the liberty to explain their current predicament then. General Yeager had been what set the alarms off. Celia hadn't known the old general but she remembered hearing about him from Tiedoll. Always said he was a pleasant man to have a chat with over tea and snacks.
He'd been murdered. Or brought to the brink of death, anyway. What had been left of him had been used as some sort of messenger.
The Earl's warning and promise.
"I've never heard of anything like the Heart before," she said when that topic of Yeager's message came up.
"An Innocence that is the core of all. If found it could be our greatest asset in ending this war, but if destroyed…"
You all disappear, she solemnly thought as she consciously caressed the crystal cross on the inside of her wrist.
"They're targeting them because the Heart could very well be a strong Innocence, I'm guessing," she said.
"Precisely," Komui replied. "I've already contacted all Exorcists out in the field and divided them into groups in order to protect the Generals."
Celia groaned under her breath at what that certainly meant. She was not looking forward to searching for the mangy priest again.
"Just tell me where I'm meeting up with Al and his group and get my misery over with."
"Allen? Why would you think I would send you with Allen?"
This time, it was her turn to be utterly confused, her voice rising in pitch to match. "I mean, it's the logical choice, isn't it?" She pointed at herself in disbelief. "The two disciples going to search for their rotten excuse of a master?"
"That would be the logical choice. That is if there weren't a more efficient one~"
Oh no. She definitely was not liking the way this was headed.
"What…do you mean?" she asked cautiously, eyes narrowing the more that a sinking feeling started to grow in her stomach.
"Allen already has Tim who is guiding them towards General Cross. Which means having you two together in the same team would be a waste of resources. So you're being sorted in the team searching for General Tiedoll instead!"
Her face blanched at that, a sudden realization dawning at what that meant, but that she had to confirm all the same.
"And the members?"
"Would be his disciples: Marie, Daisya and Kanda. Which technically does also include you. Ah, hello?" The phone receiver fell to the floor with a loud clatter. "Hello? Hello~ Celia-chan, are you there?"
Shoving her face into her hands, Celia let out a muffled screech as the phone continued to sound off from the floor.
This was going to be a long mission.
A/N:
Holy crap, I can't believe I'm on a roll! I've been writing nonstop for a few days now and it feels awesome to be back at it. I'm making time between studying for my final exams which are stressing me tf out and this has been helping me tremendously.
This was a very basic chapter for me to write since as the titled states it was nothing but Celia reuniting with people after her long time gone. Also just to clarify something, I kinda messed up in when counting the years. I've fixed it so that instead of "six years" in the last chapter, it's five. I'm horrible at keeping track but in case anyone's curious:
6 - 7: Get adopted by Madame; she passes, is turned into an Akuma and Cross takes her in, subsequently traveling with him.
8: Cross sends her to the Order.
10: Gets locked into solitary by Lveille.
11: Komui joins the Order as Head Chief.
12: Leaves to find Cross and meets Allen.
13: Almost absorbs Allen's Innocence. Parts ways with Cross and Allen.
15: Meets a certain redhead and old man; sends them back to the Order with the message "tell them General Cross' pupil sent you."
17: Encounters Kanda and Allen in Mater.
So essentially, if I've finally gotten my maths right, this makes Celia 2 years older than Allen, 1 year older than Lenalee, and 1 year younger than Lavi and Kanda. Hope that clarifies that.
For those of you who come from N:O:oU, you might recognize our new little shapeshifting friend and could possibly even take a guess as to who the one with him is as well. They'll definitely come back but not till later, i'm thinking.
Surprisingly this is coming along at a faster pace that when I originally wrote it. Granted I'm cutting out a lot of nonsense that just wasn't worth much to the story but I'm also thinking of adding stuff, too. I might even write up that meeting with 'the redhead and old man' when she was 15 if ya'll want. Unlike the original, i want to make this an all inclusive OC instead of just OCxKanda, though that will continue to be the main one. Although i'm leaning towards making it AllenxOCxKanda too just for the fun of it :3
Tbh, Celia's character never felt fully fleshed when I first wrote her. Now that I've been revisiting her, I think I'm liking where she's going (despite the sketchy reasons hehe), but I hope she still gives a reminiscent vibe of who she was when I first wrote her.
Anyway, that being that, I wanna thank all of you for reading and hope that you stay tuned for the next chapter which, hopefully, doesn't end up being an absurdly amount of time again TwT Fingers crossed and I will do my best!
Hoping you have a lovely rest of your day/night,
Evie
