Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

*ILLENIUM, Tom DeLonge, Angels & Airwaves- Paper Thin *

"A dangerous maneuver? What do you mean?" Aella asked, concerned. 

Even though she resembled the undefeatable might of an army, Raven felt as fragile as a flower that was made out of soft glass, one gust of wind was enough to blow her away. 

The barriers protecting her emotions were paper thin that anything and almost everything was enough to harm her.

"What could possibly require your help that other people can't get done?" Aella asked while leaning closer to Raven, her eyes red in anger.

Seeing how her voice was rising, Raven understood that she was deeply concerned for her, and she didn't blame her. 

Raven was aware of how hurt she was. She wasn't naive and so she knew that adding more pressure to her plate was ought to eventually break her.

Yet, she couldn't just sit by and wait for Maya to magically appear in front of her. No, even as wishful as she was, she knew that was crossing the border of stupidity.

In addition, she couldn't watch as more members of her friends and family got hurt by stupid invasion attempts or other means.

"A demon war." Raven replied with a smile as she tapped Aella's forehead to calm her down. 

Turning bright red at Raven's gesture, the latter held her hand within hers so she could focus. "Say what again?"

Explaining the situation to her, including the information provided by both Red and Scott, made her pale.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "And why do you have to be the one taking care of that? Aren't there people that get paid for that?"

*Sigh*

"Uhm, they're simply not good enough…" Raven said with a sigh. "Well, rather not strong enough."

Thinking back to the recent incident and how Raven was the one to stop the dark haired girl, Aella understood that under such circumstances, only Raven would be able to stop a demon invasion. 

After all, even herself and her brother didn't stand a chance against the girl, even though they obviously had more experience.

'We got company,' suddenly, Kayla informed Raven who instantly was on guard. 'No, no, I mean Maria and the rest, don't be alarmed.' 

Hearing her, Raven took a deep breath as she stood up and dusted herself.

Not too long after, Maria, Axane, Lizzy, Joey, Mike, and the rest of her friends came up the staircase.

Ignoring everyone, Aella and Zeru's eyes snapped wide open as they launched themselves on Lizzy who was caught off guard.

Before the siblings could touch her, however, Raven flickered like lightning in front of her and blocked both strikes. 

Even though they were stopped in their tracks, the powerful blows still managed to send a violent gust of wind that would have hit the group, if not for the barrier created by Raven in that instant.

Realising who the person blocking their hits was, the siblings seemed rather confused.

"It's a long story," Raven smiled and Aella instantly recognised that it was a fake one. Nevertheless, she didn't want to go against her or question anything now.

Lizzy who saw everything happen so fast felt her knees go weak as she fell on the ground, hugging herself and shaking.

Seeing that, Raven felt her heart ache. Biting her lower lip and patting Lizzy's head, she smiled.

"It's alright, Liz, I'm here now," hearing her name mouthed by Raven seemed to knock her out of her panic episode as she stopped shaking. 

Looking up at Raven, she instantly hopped up and gave her a tight hug. Immediately, she felt as though she was reunited with a part of her soul that was long lost.

Suddenly, her body was no longer cold, her mind was no longer blurry and confused, and instead, she was now at ease.

"You seem better now," Raven said while continuously stroking her dark locks.

Seeing that, Maria and Axane could not help but think how much Liz resembled a lost child that suddenly found her mother.

They weren't against what Raven was doing, but at the same time, they knew Raven wasn't being herself.

Making Liz rely on her so much was never good. Yet, they understood that the poor girl was also a victim, and Raven didn't want to treat her harshly.

...

Moments later, the atmosphere seemed rather relaxed as the soccer team members had a lot to share about their trip.

They were aware of what had happened, and mostly trying to make everyone feel at ease.

The duo, Dan and Danny, seemed to be doing a very good job at that as Maria and Axane seemed so engrossed in their stories and funny reactions.

Joey seemed down as he knew that even if he was present, he would have probably been another victim and nothing more.

It took some effort from Raven to raise his spirits. But even then, he had vowed to himself to become stronger and protect his princess, no, but rather his dear friend, Raven.

The siblings took some time to completely understand what Raven had said about Liz and how she had no control over her actions. 

In addition, Raven herself had full control of how much power she could release, meaning she was absolutely harmless now.

"Um, so how old are you?" Aella asked Liz awkwardly. After all, she seemed quite young, judging by her appearance and actions. Since the moment she got up here, she hadn't left Raven's side.

"I'm actually twenty," Liz smiled, feeling confident and refreshed near Raven, even though she knew she was younger than her, she couldn't care less.

"Wait, are you serious?" Aella asked, her mouth wide open. "I thought you were far younger! Then why do you act as if Raven is your lost mother? Shouldn't the roles be reversed?"

"Hehe, maybe you're right age wise, but there's no way I'd be as confident and kind as Raven is," she smiled. "Even though I'm older, I'd happily admit she's my mama!" She said with a wide smile plastered across her face.

Hearing that, Raven instantly made a weird face and tried to get away from her.

"Hey, I'm joking!!" Liz suddenly said in panic as she hugged Raven's arm and refused to let go of her. 

"I- I am not usually like this, I promise," she said, her eyes watery, "just give me some time to recover, ok?"