(ok. So...I'm going to write this part, then take another break. Writing every day is starting to get on my nerves.

Seneca searched around the void Underground. It was bare and a dim wasteland of what she remembered. Not a SOUL in sight. She knew what happened, and that most of it was her fault, but she would much rather help collect what was left, instead of the risk of telling everyone. Risking her relationships wasn't worth anything. Not when she had so few of them.

She took a breath and counted what she had so far. Eight. Only ten more, and she will be able to leave. Couldn't be that hard, right? It had been smooth sailing thus far, since it was so empty. Nothing was down there with her.

A chill ran down her spine. She blinked in confusion, glancing around to try and figure out what caused it, but saw nothing. Not a thing was different. Damn, why was she so paranoid? Nothing was down there. Nobody was down there except her. Seneca was sure of it. Absolutely sure of it. With a feeling of waning confidence, she continued on her way, leaving nothing but a distant memory behind her.

It may have been why she didn't notice the gleaming eyes from afar.

Nine. Ten. Eleven. . . .making steady progress.

Suddenly, it all stopped. She was frozen in place, unable to move or see what was happening. Even her hair didn't inch around from the wind. This confused her greatly. How, and why, was this happening? She thought everyone was dead. Of course, the people who sent her there may have missed something. There's always little critters lurking around, or monsters in hiding, waiting to be let out.

What she saw was not only surprising, but answered many questions.

"Ah . . . .Reaper. . .can I ask why you're here?"

The man in question momentarily tightened his hold on her before letting her go. He seemed quite relieved it was only her and not someone else.

"Seneca. . .ah. . .I was sent here to do my job. Why are you here?"

She wanted so badly to remove his hood. To see him fully and without any restraint. She wanted to see his face. Though, it seemed she wouldn't be able to, as she risked death if she touched him. And she would rather not do that.

"I'm here. . .to pick some stuff up. I don't know exactly what it is, but. . apparently it's important."

~°~

He decided to help her, in exchange for her helping him in the future. Seneca considered it a fair deal. After all, maybe it would help convince him to take off his hood. She was so down for that. So they collected as much as they could, but only came up with seventeen.

One more. Where could it possibly be? Maybe they missed a spot? Or hadn't been looking hard enough?

"Great. Well, I can't leave without all of them. Maybe I missed one back at the entrance-."

Before she could leave, Reaper pointed to her necklace. The teardrop-esque pendant in the middle matched all the others. But it didn't seem likely. Seneca knew it was fake. But, she would try his strategy, taking off her necklace and laying the pendant in the middle of the pieces.

It shown off a bright light for a few seconds then calmed down. It effectively blinded both of them out of surprise, as they weren't expecting it, and therefore weren't covering their eyes. After it was done, she saw a crystal flower pendant replacing the previous one on her necklace. When she touched it, it glistened and felt cool to the touch, the details not missed by whoever created it.

Curious, she put it on, and turned to her new companion in hopes he would understand. Reaper looked back with a bit of bewilderment, not of what happened, but because he'd seen the exact flower before. He reached forward and grabbed it, touching Seneca in the process. This scared her enough to pull away.

But. . . .nothing happened. She touched him, this time with her hand on his, and still nothing happened. This delighted her, but made him speechless. In the sense of knowing that, now that she was immune, he could touch her. He could finally make up for all the eons of time he wasted being unable to have proper physical contact.

She hugged him, to which he was hesitant to return. And with a teasing glance, sticking out her tongue with a smirk, she pulled his hood down. She expected to see nothing there. But the appearance caught her off guard. He had a head, likely obvious. Yet, his eyes. . .oh lord, his eyes. They were probably the kindest she'd ever seen. Reaper felt self-conscious and went to cover his head again, but she gave a gentle smile and held his hands in her own, hoping he'd understand that there was no fear. She didn't fear him.

~~~~~~~

(And with that, I am done.