2A/N: Hello, everyone! Been a little while since the last update, but I'm finally back with the next chapter! So I hope that you all enjoy, and please tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men evolution or Beast boy (DC owns him)! However, I do own my characters, Evy and Elena!
After returning to her office, Alexandra decided to look over her youngest daughter's files, just wondering if she should take Charles's offer. After the juggernaut incident, Charles wanted to speak to her about how Elena was doing after his last visit. While Alexandra appreciated his worry, she was quick to question why he asked to see her in the first place when he could simply have called her.
"I think it would be good for Elena to come here for a while. I'm worried about how what happened could affect her and does around her, mainly Evy. I also worry about how this could affect her powers, as well." Charles cut to the chase as he starred into Alexandra's eyes.
"I haven't heard anything from Elena or Evy about any problems." Alexandra smiled back. However, she was aware that Elena has shown to have problems controlling her powers before the current incident. She didn't lie about not hearing anything from Evy or Elena, but the thought of them kept secret from her did cross her mind.
"Alexandra…" Charles sighed. "I'm not suggesting this because I don't believe your school can help her, but I'm just worried about how this thing could affect her mentally. Elena already had enough to deal with growing up, and this could have a very negative effect on her." Charles tried to explain, hoping his sister would understand.
"Charles, I understand you're only trying to help, but even if her father and I can't always be there to help her, Elena does have Evy-" Alexandra started. Still, Charles cut her off."But would Elena be willing to open up to Evy about these problems?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Alexandra replied as she narrowed her eyes at her brother.
"Alexandra, we both know that while Elena and Evy do care for one another, this could be a complicated topic for both of them, and one that Elena may not be willing to share with Evy," Charles commented.
"And why would you think that? Not to mention, why do you think her coming here would help her more?" Questioned Alexadrea once again as she glared at Charles.
"Because Elena told me that herself, two years ago she called me and wanted to meet up, she, herself, asked for my help because she had nightmares, and she was worried how they affected her. I don't wish for her to go through something like that again." Charles explained calmly. "And if it makes Elena feel more comfortable, and Evy would like, then Evy is more than welcome to come here as well."
Alexandra stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and offered Charles a polite smile. "Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Charles. I will be sure to think about your offer!" With that, she left the office.
Looking over Elena's files now, Alexandra quickly notices that they weren't all that positive, and it was evident that she needed help controlling her powers, more than Alexandra initially thought. More than a few notes in the files alone from teachers worried that Elena had little to no control over her powers and was a danger to not only herself but the other students. Scrolling down to the psychology report revealed that Elena's mental state hadn't changed much, but Elena still seemed reluctant to share certain things with them, as well.
Maybe Charles did have a point about Elena needing a change in her current environment. Elena would probably be more willing and comfortable to share with her uncle than some of the school's top psychologists, not to mention that she had allowed Charles to see into her mind before. But while all of this was important to consider, Alexandra also had to consider how it would affect the bond her daughters shared between them. In other words, Alexandra worried that without Evy around, Elena could be at risk of losing the little control over her powers that she had, much like what happened when they were younger. Not to mention the possibility of Evy losing control of her abilities as well in progress.
When he first made the offer in his office, she honestly thought that it was ridiculous since there was no chance that her eldest daughter would agree to it. Still, her youngest wouldn't have so much against it… she trusts Charles, and so did Alexandra, but the thought of sending her girls there could result in more trouble than it was worth.
...But was it worth the risk?
Suddenly there a knock on the door, and Evy's voice came through the door. "Mom, you wanted to see us?"
"Yes, I did, girls. Please come in and take a seat."
As both Evy and Elena took a step inside, Elena making sure to close the door behind her, they both turned to look at their mother. They each took a seat in the chairs across from their mother.
"Okay, girls, I will get straight to the point here. Your uncle has offered to help Elena deal with what happened. However, he feels it would be best for Elena to move in at the mansion for a while, temporarily. If you like Evy, you're welcome to go with your sister. But I want to know how you both feel about this before I call him back, so?" Alexandra explained as she looked from one sister to the other.
"No." Evy answered as she stood from her chair and left the room without another word. Alexandra sighed and turned to look at Elena, who seemed to be thinking about the offer. "Well, Elena? What do you think about it?"
Elena took another second to answer as she nodded her head. "I like that." She turned to look over to the close door Evy left through. "But Evy doesn't seem to agree as much… and there is no way I can go alone." Elena sighed.
"If you like to take your uncle's offer, then I will talk with Evy about going with you… unless you like to go by yourself? Some of the students who live at the school are about your age so that you won't be completely alone."
"It's not about being alone… without Evy, I won't be able to have any control over my powers after it gets dark outside…"
"I understand that, but I'm sure I can discuss something with Charles if Evy doesn't want to come with you. If you want to, you could ask one of your friends to come with you instead. Maybe that would make you feel more comfortable?" Alexandra suggested with a little smile. She may no agree with Elena going without Evy, but she meant it when she said that this was Elena's choice to make, and if she explained the unique problem Evy and Elena had to Charles, maybe they could find a way around it. Hopefully.
"… I will think about…" Whispered Elena as she stood up and left her mother to her work. She left the office and hurried down to the greenhouse, where she found Ayame tending to her plants.
Elena stopped right outside of the greenhouse, looking in as she watched her best friend dancing around as she watered the different plants. Ayame truly loved her plants or her 'babies' as she would call them. The greenhouse is the first place Ayame would go nearly every morning, after school and after training. Elena stood there for a moment before turning on her heel and decided to return to her room. She had planned to ask Ayame to come with her, which seemed like such a good one at first, but now she couldn't help feeling guilty for even thinking about asking that of her best friend.
Ayame loved her plants, even so far as referring to them as her 'babies,' not to mention that she would spend a lot of her free time in the greenhouse, tending to her plants nearly every day. Elena couldn't possibly ask Ayame to leave her 'babies' for who knows how long. At the same time, there wasn't much of a chance that she would be able to convince her sister to go with her either, something that Evy had made clear as crystal.
Unfortunately, that didn't leave anyone else. In contrast, Elena had tried to be social and could talk and hold a conversation with her classmates; that didn't mean that they were friends. Maybe she would have more luck asking one of her teammates? Nope, that probably wouldn't work since she wasn't as close to any of them either.
Maybe she should go by herself… it would probably be better for everyone involved if she told her mother that she would be fine by herself. But then what will she do if she was to lose control? She would be all alone…
"Look on the positive side. Isn't Kurt one of your uncle's students? Maybe this would be a good way for you two to spend some more time together." The voice of a shadow sounded in Elena's ear, resulting in her cheeks heating up.
"Oh yeah, that's true…" Elena got lost in her fantasy of speaking time with the sweet blue Elf, forgetting about her problems for a second.
"What's true?" A voice snapped Elena out of her little fantasy and made her turn around only to come face to face with her sister, Evy, who was giving looking at her with a suspicious look as she stood there with her arms crossed.
With her face still red, Elena quickly thought up some dumb excuse and hoped that Evy wouldn't notice the blush or ignore it as she usually did. "Anything I can help you with, Evy? Or did you rethink about coming with me?" Elena asked with an awkward smile. As much as she loved to spend some time with Kurt, Evy coming with her would be best for both their sakes. Sure, Elena didn't wish for Evy to learn about Kurt just yet, but she worried more about accidentally losing control over herself and hurting someone ...maybe even accidentally hurting Kurt… Having her sister by her side was the safest idea. If Evy were to come with her, things would probably be much safer for everyone else involved as well. It would be safer for her to sleep at night, knowing that Evy's light would keep the shadows at bay. Not to mention the little fact that if Evy were to come with her, maybe this would help Evy and their uncle's relationship out a little as well!
"But it would also mean that I wouldn't be able to spend much time with Kurt as much as I want to…" Elena thought sadly to herself, still keeping the awkward smile glued to face.
The look of suspicion in Evy's eyes didn't disappear as she narrated them. "It takes a lot of things for me to change my mind about something, so that's still a no about coming with you. But luckily for you, I already 'asked' your little flower friend to go with you instead. She seemed happy enough about it, so I told mom about it as well. She insisted that it would be better if I were to go, but talking it over, mom agree to let Ayame take my place instead." Evy answered with a tone filled with boredom.
Elena's eyes widened as she heard this. Evy had asked Ayame to go with her? When? Why?
"You want me to go? Without you?" Elena questioned, confused. "And your willing to be down two teammates? And potentially lose control over your powers?"
Seeing the look of surprise and confusion on Elena's face, Evy couldn't help laughing a little. "Want you to go? No, I still think it's an utter waste of time, not to mention a bad idea, but I won't stop you if you want to go. To answer your other questions, I have already talked to mom about it. You and Ayame will still be attending school and training here, then travel back to the mansion afterward. This way, neither the team nor your education will suffer!" Evy finished with a smirk. While she wasn't planning on going, she wasn't about to let her perfect planned team training routines go op in smoke. Granted, she wanted Elena to get help for more than one reason, but at the same time, she wasn't about to let go of all the hard work that the team had been working on for the past few months. "And about our powers. Mom's sorting out the details about it right now, something about making unique lamps infused with my powers to use at night so that your powers don't go out of control. As for my powers. Well, you will be here in the day time, so we don't have to worry about that."
"I have a feeling that I don't get a say in this, do I?" Elena questioned.
"Of course, you get a say. It's your trip, but that does not mean either you or Ayame gets to skip training. We have been working for months, and you know that our teamwork depends on everyone doing their part. If you two were to leave, or if I were to request some replacements in your sted, things would fall apart way too fast for my liking," Evy explained.
"When did you even have time to ask Ayame? I just saw her in the greenhouse."
"I met her out in the hallways after I left the office. I told her all about it, and she seemed happy enough to take my place." Evy explained. "Something about been there for her best friend and all. I thought it was sweet of her to agree so quickly as she did, and honestly, I'm happy she did agree. I may not want to go, but letting you go by yourself would probably be an even worse idea. With Ayame coming with you, it's a win-win situation for both of us."
Elena couldn't help smiling at that. No matter how cold her sister could come off sometimes, Evy did care about her, even going so far as to make sure she wouldn't be all alone in a new place. However, Elena was still planning to talk to Ayame about it later to make sure Evy hadn't talked her friend into agreeing.
"Thank you, Evy, that means a lot," Elena replied as she pulled her sister into a hug.
"Your welcome, but you better start getting packing since you will be leaving in a few days," Evy commented as she tried to free herself from Elena's bear hug. Elena quickly complied as she released Evy and continues her way back to her dorm room.
Over the next few days, Elena managed to catch Ayame and talk about their little trip, making sure that Ayame actually wanted to go with her, even if it meant leaving her plants. Nevertheless, to say Elena was surprised when Ayame suddenly broke out in laughter. "Elena, I'm planning to take some of the small plants with me and take care of the bigger ones after class before we go back!" explained Ayame happily, with Elena nodding along with a small smile.
At the end of the week, both Ayame and Elena had managed to pack down what they needed without packing down their entire room. That Friday, Alexandra called the girls to her office to explain what would happen in a few more details.
"I discussed the situation with Charles, and he has already prepared a room for you two. Since you will be arriving in the morning, it will get you time to settle in before meeting the rest of the students later in the afternoon. Monday, a driver will come to the mansion to pick you and Ayame up and drive you to school, then later in the afternoon, drive you back to the estate. Any question?" Alexandra explained.
"Does any of the students know that we are going to stay there?" asked Elena when her mother finished.
"I don't know if your uncle has said anything, so I can't be sure." Replied Alexandra.
"Do we need to take our training uniforms with us, or can we leave them here?" this time, Ayame questioned, leaning back.
Alexandra smiled. "I don't think it would be necessary, but I will leave that decision up to you." The girls nodded. Ayame and Elena asked a few more questions about what they could be expecting and if there was anything else they should know.
All of a sudden, the sound of knocking on the door filled the room. A burly older man opened and poked his head in before saying. "Ms. McClain, the car is ready to go, so whenever the girls are ready, I will be waiting downstairs." He informed before leaving and closing the door behind him. Alexandra turned back to the girl sitting across from her and offered them a smile. "Well, if there isn't anything else, then I like to talk with Elena alone for a moment, Ayame." She received a nod from Ayame, who nodded and left the room.
As Elena turned back to face her mother, she felt confused about why her mother had asked her to stay, and when her mother handed her a bottle of pills, the feeling of confusion only grew, but Elena continued to wait for her mother to explain.
"These are sleeping pills that should be able to help you fall asleep at night. I'm sure that the lamps are going to help, but just in case, I think it would be useful, but it is up to you if or not you want to take them." Her mother explained, and Luna looked down at the pill bottle in her hands. "Listen, Elena, even if the lights do help, I worry that being away from Evy could cause more problems for you, so I also like for you to contact me if anything happens. " She once again received a nod from her daughter.
Elena stood from the chair and stepped around the table to hug her mother. "Thank you, mom. I call you when we get there," said Elena as she let go of the older woman and quickly left the room. A few moments later, Elena found herself sitting beside Ayame in the back of the black car as it drove away far and far away from the school.
Ayame was looking out the window at the passing trees. "Do you feel nervous?" Elena questioned as she turned her head to look at her friend.
"Not really. I'm a little excited, actually! I guess it's because all of this feels like some small adventure." Ayame smiled as she turned to face Elena. "Do you feel nervous?" She asked as Elena nodded.
"Yeah, I mean, I agree with you about this feeling like an adventure, but I can't help feeling scared that something could go wrong…" Elena stared. "Maybe it's because it feels like Evy and I have always been together through our entire lives, so not having her here now feels … wired."
"You two always had to stick together because of your powers, right?" Receiving a nod from Elena. "Why? Is it just because of your powers?"
"I guess, yeah. Ever since I was young, my powers seem to be… so out of control… no matter what I tried, and I never seemed to be able to stop it. Whenever Evy was near me, it feels like I can't feel my powers; sure, I can still hear the screams from shadows, but I don't feel like they are going to pull me into the darkness." Elena tried to explain as she turned her face to look at her hands, which laid on her lap.
Ayame just looked at her for a few seconds before deciding to ask. "Do you feel like that right now? Like the shadows are trying to pull you into the darkness?" Even as she asked the question, she wasn't sure if she wants to hear the answer. Elena had told her before how she could hear many voice voices but hadn't ever really gone into any details about it.
"In a way… since there is a lot of light outside, I don't feel it as badly, but I do still hear them…" Once again, Elena tried to explain but felt like she didn't explain it the right way. "… and I can't help wondering what's going to happen when it gets darker..."
Ayame suddenly grabbed one of Elena's hand, as she declared. "It's going to be okay. I promise that no matter what happens, I will do my best to help you through it!" She offered Elena a smile, which Elena returned, even if she didn't turn to look at Ayame.
"Thank you, Ayame…" Elena whispered as she closed her eyes, still not letting go of her friend's hand as they continued the rest of the ride in silence.
A/N: Again, I hope that you all enjoyed, and (once again) Please tell me what you think of the story so far, please!. Anyway, until next time :-)