"Robin, open the door!"

"There's no escape."

"Teacher, I think something's wrong with Robin! She's on the roof and has blocked off the door!"

"Is she suicidal?"

"Don't make us call the fire department again!"

Young Robin backed away from the door, unwilling to listen any further. Hero Robin saw the long shadow behind her stretch up and take form as her uncle.

"Robin." He called. Hero Robin watched as slowly, Young Robin was cornered by her uncle, and Mr Dawkins. But, right as her uncle blew up, Robin stepped forward, and caught that uncle's arm.

"Who are you!?" The uncle finally saw Hero Robin.

"Me? Hmm...You could say that I was on very good terms with this girl's father." Robin replied.

"Hah! You? Go back to your cosplay convention! This is family business-Ack! Let go! Let go of me!" The uncle yelled out in pain as Robin began to tighten her grip.

"Oh, I am not a cosplayer. I am something far, far stronger than that." Robin replied. "This girl is under my protection. Should you enact any violence upon her, I may need to take precautionary actions in her defense, don't you think?"

"Let go!"

"Choose which you would like to retain. Her fortune, or your life?" Robin spat out, almost breaking the man's bones. To the side, Mr. Dawkins was already starting to fall to the ground in a heart attack.

"I-I won't bother her again, just let go!" The uncle was scared stiff by the sharp glare in Robin's eyes. Robin let go, and the uncle stumbled over himself as he ran towards the now open stairwell.

Robin looked about. The Trader had disappeared. She then turned towards Young Robin.

"W-who are you?" She asked.

Robin smiled. "Little Robin, don't worry. Your brother is on his way with the police. That uncle will not get far."

Hero Robin patted Young Robin on the head.

"Don't let this incident traumatize you. You'll grow up and find true friends. You'll even find people whom you'll regard as important as your parents. I have it on good faith that you'll be adopted as a niece by a lovely couple in the future. That's why, you need not pay any respect to these villains in the future, okay?"

"Are-are you gonna become my new uncle?" Young Robin asked. "Aren't you just here to go after my fortune, like all the others?"

"No? I have a fortune of my own, you see. I do not need yours." Robin replied.

"You...who are you?" A voice rasped from the ground behind them. Mr. Dawkins gasped, looking in Robin's direction.

"You weren't here on that day. Were you someone who regretted not being able to protect her? Are you one of her brother's men?" Mr Dawkins asked.

"Is it that important?" Robin asked, walking towards him, and crouching down with a cheerful grin. "I should think there'd be more important things to ask, at least for a dying man."

"What happened to her uncle?" Dawkins asked.

"Jailed for 10 years on attempted murder. Fined most of what he owned for mistreatment of a minor. Oh, and in addition, as a trafficker of minors, he was given an additional sentence of forty years." Robin replied.

"Don't you hate me?" Dawkins asked.

"Why should I hate a dead man? It is enough as long as Little Robin never sees him again."

" ...Perhaps it is a clarity brought about by the last moments of death, but somehow... I want her to know that I was not myself these past few months."

"If you were not yourself, then who else could you be?" Robin sneered.

"No, actually, this all started to happen after I was struck on the head by a strange black ball, that vanished. I would black out at times, say things I had no intention to, I'd even act completely different than usual. The one time I managed to wake up properly was the moment the judge's hammer fell. But, even then, I ended up dying there on the floor. Who would have thought that I would still have to live through all this over and over again. Even now, I have no control over my actions until the moment of death. But, I understand that for my actions, I truly deserve to die."

Robin stayed there, silent through it all. These symptoms...it was almost as if the Trader was involved in this. But, that was ridiculous, right? There's no way someone like the Trader could have appeared on earth, right?

This had never come up in previous run throughs. Was it a result of her recent run in with the Trader's pet? Did she subconsciously pity, or wish to exonerate the terrifying Mr. Dawkins?

Robin stared at the dying figure. Just the addition of a small story like that, was it enough to allow her to forget all the terror she had felt because of him? Was it enough to resolve the mental trauma that she had buried in her heart?

"If only I could know if it were true." She murmured. There had been an autopsy, but nothing had been said about blunt force trauma to the head. She shook her head. That was a question to ask the Trader at a later point.

"There was no evidence of you being hit by a ball-" She paused, suddenly recalling a piece of news she had overheard from her brother talking to a co-worker over the phone.

"h.e.l.lo? Oh, it's you! Good timing! I was actually just about to call you. Is everything all set for the upcoming meeting?.....What? Cancelled? Why?...Uhmhum....No way! Dawkins did? Tch! Just because he got hit by a ball, and went to the hospital, we've got to postpone?" Her Brother's voice echoed to the front of her mind.

"But, I do seem to recall your hospital visit." Robin admitted. After all, it was a dream. She was getting a bit tired of seeing the same ending. Perhaps, if she made it go a different route, she would be able to dream of something else.

'Come to think of it, Mr Dawkins was a man that father trusted and respected before his death. I thought it might have been a well-constructed mask, but would father really not be able to see through such a thing?' Robin stood up.

"Perhaps this is something I should ask the Trader." She said.

Mr Dawkins shuddered, then said with a firm conviction.

"Boy, if you don't want to become an eternal toy, then I beg of you, please do not go anywhere near the Trader. Anyone who meets with him become entrapped in his terrible magic."

Robin looked down on Mr. Dawkins. "Of course, I already know this." Robin replied. "But, Mr. Dawkins, how do you know this? Did you perhaps meet the Trader before you died?"

"Even worse....even worse....I am-" But, before Dawkins could give the answer, the light died from his eyes and he died.

Robin looked at the dead man's body, and sighed. She would have to ask next time they met. She turned towards young Robin.

"Shall we go?" She asked.

"D-do you honestly think that he was telling the truth?" Little Robin asked, looking at the dead man in fear and disgust.

"Who knows? I have heard that sometimes, old sinners can have a moment of clarity upon their deathbed. Perhaps this was a token of his desire to atone for all the wrongs he'd done to you." Robin replied. "But, regardless, it's all over, for now."

The sound of police sirens approached the building. Robin waited. It was around this time when she would usually awaken from her dream. But, this time was not like other times. This time, the dream did not end.

Robin waited until the police had arrived at the school. Finally, she realized that she was not waking up just yet. Perhaps was this a continuation of her dream? A break in the nightmare spirals?

"Shall we go?" Hero Robin asked little Robin. "Your Brother should be here by now."

"Mmn." Little Robin placed her hand in Hero Robin's as they walked down the now-normal sized steps and ordinary hallways of the school.

------

"Hmmm?" Skye glanced up, and looked around. It felt as if an invisible presence had left the area.

'Odd...' It thought to itself before returning to its task.

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