Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

* Diamond Eyes - Everything *

Strolling lazily towards her house rather than flying, Raven could finally take a deep breath and think about the past week. \'One hell of a week I\'ll tell you that much!\' she thought to herself while yawning.

"Say Tu," she called, "is there anything interesting outside of Earth? Out there in space I mean," she asked as she was curious.

\'Hm, that depends on your preferences I guess,\' Tu answered in her mind space, \'it is definitely different in many aspects as the universe is a mysterious place. But at its heart, every civilization is the same.\' he said after some thought.

\'Different creatures always want power and control,\' he continued, \'I have witnessed the downfall of many civilizations, heck, I\'ve been the cause of many... but once in a century or two, one gets to meet someone that\'s not tainted like the rest. Someone with a real goal in mind...\' Tu said as Raven realized he was deep in thoughts again.

"Did you meet someone like that?" she asked.

\'Uhm, a long time ago...\'

"I see," she said as she didn\'t want to pry any further.

\'There are many wonders as well,\' Tu continued while trying to be a bit more cheerful, \'things that you don\'t get to see here or in any of the other common planets.

\'I have seen places where the simplest laws of physics, such as gravity and magnetism, don\'t exist. In addition, I\'ve seen civilizations living in strange floating bodies of liquids, castles built in the skies, caves dug in the stars, and even objects that can gain consciousness and will of their own.

\'The most unbelievable places, however, were areas where peace actually exists... when the residents of one planet unite together to master the arts of technology, sorcery or magic, wonders are easily born.

\'The universe... it is such a vast place after all.\' he finished with a smile. Raven could feel the longing in his voice.

"Uhm, I hope I\'ll be able to visit such places one day..." she muttered out loud as Tu nodded in agreement.

\'I am sure you will,\' he said with a genuine smile that made Raven feel strangely at ease.

...

Entering the mansion\'s gates, Raven could see three sports bikes parking near the entrance. "Oh, not f*cking EDA again!" she instantly complained as she was tired of dealing with them.

The main reason she thought they belonged to the EDA was because she wasn\'t expecting anyone to else visit.

The bikes were coloured black with another colour that varied from bike to the other, which made them look threatening in a way.

However, just as she entered the mansion\'s doors, expecting to see a bunch of people in suits, she heard some distant chatter.

Blinking twice, Raven followed the source of the laughter until she reached one of the living rooms that was particularly closer to the bedrooms.

"Oh Raven, you\'re back!" Maria announced as soon as she saw her.

"Sup!"

"Hi"

"Hello!"

"Long time no see, how have you been?"

Looking around her, Raven saw her friends from school; Mike and Remi. Both Rachel, the new transfer student, and Jake, the smart kid in the class were with them too.

\'Looks like they\'re all still having fun together, huh?\' she smiled as she found it rather refreshing, just thinking about her school life back when she was, more or less, normal.

She was surprised that Mike and Remi became friends with Jake, but she didn\'t have anything against it.

Rachel looked rather nervous, always avoiding looking her in the eyes, while Jake was almost initiating a staring contest with her.

"Hi, Mike, Remi, Jake, and Rachel. I missed you guys, hehe!" she said with a smile as it was the truth, at least for the first two. She didn\'t have an opinion about Rachel yet, and Jake... wasn\'t particularly her favourite.

Just remembering her time playing soccer and attending school made her happy as it might have been the most relaxing experience she has ever had and she still misses it dearly.

Jake and Rachel were surprised that she had remembered them. Jake tried to act as if it was nothing, while Rachel seemed to get the courage to look her in the eyes for a few seconds before looking down again.

"So, your friends were telling us how they haven\'t had a chance to see you in a while, and they were wondering if you\'d go with them on a small trip." Maria said as soon as Raven took a seat.

Of course, Maria had to hide the fact that Maya was nagging on her to let her go with them. But she knew she couldn\'t let that happen.

\'If Maya was to go with them, someone would surely develop a PTSD condition from this trip...\' she said to herself while thinking back to the incident in the Soccer Stadium. Back then, a boy had tried to act tough with Maya and that obviously was the worst decision of his life.

"A short trip, huh?" Raven tilted her head to the side while looking at Mike who had a toothy smile plastered across his face.

He\'s always been so excited around Raven, and it had always given her a deep feeling of happiness around him.

"Yes," Mike confirmed. "Rachel was so generous as to offer us a place to stay in, a little bit away from the city."

"It was my dad\'s idea so it\'s absolutely fine." she replied quickly, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks just got warmer.

"And it\'s a waterfront cottage that\'s really close to the local forest in the area." Remi continued excitedly. "According to the local news, there are some rumours about ghosts and supernatural activities going on there! We can investigate further and maybe organise a Ghost Hunt!"

\'Ah I remember now,\' Raven muttered to herself. \'She has always been into stuff like that.\' Remi was so excited that it made Raven smile subconsciously.

Of course, this detail wasn\'t hidden from Maria who was extremely happy for Raven.

"Grow up, Remi," Jake said while adjusting his glasses, "everyone knows that ghosts aren\'t real!"

"Everyone used to say that about aliens and well... what do you think now?" Remi said back with raised eyebrows. She was referring back to the portal incident were many unknown races attempted to invade Earth.

Her blonde hair fluttered slightly as she shifted her gaze towards Jake.

"Aliens are creatures from different planets so it\'s only natural that they exist. Ghosts however are supernatural beings, just like vampires, werewolves, and demons. All of which don\'t actually exist." Jake answered while looking at Remi as if challenging her to prove him wrong.

"Actually, demons are real." Raven said, surprising everyone.

"..."

"Why did you all get quiet all of a sudden?"

"Demons are not real, they can\'t be..." Jake said in a skeptical manner.

"Yet, they are..." this time it was Maya who said while cracking her knuckles, then neck, as if getting ready for a fight.

"Anyway, Raven if you\'re going with them, be careful of that witch." She said while pointing at Rachel who found herself pale all of a sudden. "Something\'s fishy about the way she looks at you..."

"Also," she continued, "let me know if this idiot gets you into trouble, I\'ll teach him a lesson myself." She pointed at Jake who suddenly felt as if he had gotten shorter while looking up at the small girl.

"Mike, and Remi," Maya looked at the two of them as they gulped loudly, "I heard you two are her best friends, you better take care of her, do you hear me? If anything bad happens to her in any way, shape, or form... I will hunt you down, torture you, and then slowly cut your throats. Am I making myself clear?"

In the background, Axane was nodding in satisfaction while Camilla was having trouble holding her laughter back.

"..."

"..."

"Did you not hear me?" She asked coldly as she gazed at the two of them menacingly, in response to their silence.

""Yes, ma\'am!"" they both answered together, in fear.

"You seem lacking, but it\'s ok for now I suppose..." she said while shaking her head in dissatisfaction. "You little witch, Rachel, was it? Can I talk to you in the back garden for a moment? Privately, if you don\'t mind..."

"MAYA!" Raven suddenly collected her thoughts and realized what was happening. "Stop it!"

"Raven?" Maya suddenly acted all innocent and cute, as if she was a different person.

Approaching Raven, she held her right hand between hers, while giving her an apologetic smile. "I only wanted to make sure you\'re not going to be mistreated, you know. Did I do something wrong?"

Seeing how she changed her attitude all of a sudden made Maria almost faint. \'What did I raise?\' she wondered in fear.

*sigh*

"Maya, you\'re not a little kid anymore, I think you know what you need to do now, right?" Raven scolded, yet not harshly as she couldn\'t be harsh on Maya.

"Ok... if you say so," Maya looked down in sadness. "I\'m sorry everyone, I should not have yelled or treated you like dummies, I only meant to warn you that if any of you, even by accident, dares to mistreat my Raven I will personally make sure-"

"MAYA!!" Raven yelled again.

*Cough*

"I mean, ahem, sorry. Please take care of my dear Raven, I can\'t stand the fact that I\'ll be leaving her alone with you..." Maya said while looking at Maria with renewed hope.

But, if anything, Maria now had a stronger reason to keep Maya from joining them on their trip.

"I\'m sorry guys," Raven said while clutching her head between her hands, "she might seem aggressive, but that\'s because she\'s just really sweet. I promise you that she\'s very kindhearted in reality."

"Of course!" Maya said with a smile and nodding head. "I\'m the sweetest!"

\'Oh My God...\' Raven muttered in embarrassment.. "So, um, when do we leave?" she said with a forced smile as she didn\'t know what else to do.