Chapter One:
~Elena~
She stared across at the man before her, his eyes was staring at her from over the lens of his glasses with a sense of seriousness. This told her that she had come here to receive a mission from the head supervisor.
'Listen carefully Elena, there have been strange activities occurring in North China,' the head supervisor said as Elena flipped through the briefing that was handed to her. The details were vague but were specific to the point that there was actually something to investigate.
'What type of strange activities are we talking about, Komui?' she questioned further as the man coughed and curled his fingers around the coffee mug beside him on the desk. He picked it up and took a swing from the steaming contains before responding.
'For all we know, a village's water supply has slowly depleted and no one is certain of what is causing this. Also akuma have been frequently sighted in the surrounding area,' Komui's words made Elena shiver as she stood up and nodded the boat of her coat brushed around her knees as she strolled to the door.
'Oh, good luck Elena and come back safely,' Elena glanced over her shoulder as she watch the man raise his mug in a cheerful farewell his eyes soften to the fact that she would be gone for a week at least.
'I'm off Komui,' she called back as she slipped out of the room and wondered down the isle of desks piled high with paper. Barely visible from where she was standing, she knew that the scientists were brooding over the multiply things they had to analyze and understand.
She exited the science department, a warm pair of arms wrapped around her as she noticed the long hair of her dear friend, Lenalee.
'Are you going already, Elena?' her friend asked as she followed Elena to the docks held below the headquarters. Elena sighed and flicked her annoying long white hair over her shoulder.
'Yes, I'm sorry it came up shortly after you returned from your mission… with Kanda,' Elena said slyly as Lenalee blushed before glaring at her.
'T-that's none of your business, Elena, but it doesn't matter, we'll talk once you come back,' Lenalee stammered as she said her farewell to her friend and Elena descended the stairs towards the docks where a boat was moored. A finder was waiting for her as she stepped into the boat and the boat was pushed away from the dock.
….
~Tyki~
He glanced up from the book lying lazily in his lap as a small figure with spiky purple hair waltzed into the room swing around a distressed umbrella. He was sitting in the study in front of a roaring fire bored out of his mind.
'Let me go, ~lero,' the umbrella whined as the girl crackled menacingly enough to make him shiver as she began to spin around as I ferocious spin. He quickly averted his eyes to avoid get dizzy himself feeling himself pity the poor umbrella.
'Road, is Lord Millennium aware that you have Lero?' he couldn't help but ask as he closed the book and leaned his head on his white gloved hand. The girl stopped spinning and glared at him.
'So what Tyki, its not like I'll get in trouble for it,' she said bitterly as she poked her tongue at him. The umbrella, Lero, began to squirm frantically in her grasp before finally freeing itself and diving behind Tyki's chair.
'Protect me, Tyki-dono, ~lero,' Lero pleaded with him but Tyki rolled his eyes and casually strolled away. He wasn't in the mood to get caught in one of his niece's games. But before he could leave the room a bloated figure entered the study and greeted them.
'Ah, Road, Tyki-pon, so this is where you've been hiding,' the large man said as the two blinked at him. The umbrella literally flew from its position behind the chair and over to the man, tears streaming from the black eyes on its pumpkin head.
'Earl-dono!' it cried out if relief as the Earl briefly looked at in mild surprised and eyed Road suspiciously.
'Stop taking Lero without my permission,' the Earl said sternly to the girl as she pouted her lip but didn't protest to his words. He quickly glanced at the retreating Tyki before he had a chance of getting out of the room.
'Where are you going Tyki-pon? I have a job for you,' the Earl said in a leveled voice as Tyki sighed with annoyance at the nickname the Millennium Earl had given him ever since he had awakened as a Noah.
'I do wish that you'll stop calling me that,' Tyki complained in a low voice but came back into the room despite this because of the 'job' the Earl was referring to. He was certainly relieved to find out that he wouldn't be hanging around here any longer.
'Don't be rude, Tyki-pon, Road don't you have lunch with Sheril soon?' The Earl called down to the girl who was trying to retrieve Lero again. Road blinked up at the Earl and grumbled before leaving the room. Finally when they were alone, the Earl pulled a card from his coat pocket.
Tyki's gold eyes eyed the card eagerly as he wondered what it contained before the Earl handed it to him.
'Here is the location of where I want you to check out, it seems to be drawing the interest of the Order as of late,' the Earl slowly explained before taking a sit before the roaring fire. Tyki glanced at the card as the image of a mossy ruin flickered at him; it seemed ancient and mystifying at the same time.
'As you wish Lord Millennium,' Tyki said with a respectful bow and excused himself from the man's presence as smile graced his lips as his heart skipped a beat. There was a slight chance she'll be there.
….
~Elena~
She glanced around the seemingly large yet bleak village. The water cannels were empty of even a drop of water as the plants hanging from flower boxes began to whither and die. Komui hadn't been kidding when he said that the village was water deprived and suffering because of it.
The finder beside her was silent and seemed to be equal to that of her shadow flickering on the walls and ground as they continued to walk on to the only inn available in the village.
'I'll get our reservations,' the finder said quickly as they entered the foyer and left Elena to stare at the poor withering plants again with a pitiful sigh. This seemed to be a draining mission to be sent on as the finder returned with two keys in hand. He handed one over to Elena and led her towards where the rooms were.
Her room wasn't too big but comfortable with a bed in the corner and a table with a few chairs. The oriental design of the room gave it an exotic appeal as Elena softly smiled at the decor.
After they had placed their belongings into their rooms, they returned to the street and glanced around as she noticed a large group of villagers gathered around a large vat.
'What's going on?' Elena couldn't help but ask as the finder stared at her with sad eyes.
'After the water was finally exhausted, the villagers have resorted to retrieving water from the neighboring village,' the finder explained to her as her silver eyes glimmered gravely. Elena knew that the situation was bad, but didn't know that the villagers had to resort to the charity of others.
'Where does their water supply mainly come from?' Elena asked as the finder smiled at her.
'I knew you'd ask that sooner or later, follow me,' with that the finder led Elena away from the gathering of people and out through one of the village's many gates. The path winded its way up a steep slope as Elena took note of the well-worn stone steps carved into the side of the hill. The way the mossy and plants decorated the forests, it was clear that it had been apart of the scenery for more than a thousand years.
Elena paused suddenly as she glanced at part of a rocky cliff face before walking over to it and examined the surface. It was damp and glistened with water as Elena quickly called the finder over.
'We've noticed that to but for some strange reason the source of its water is unknown,' the finder had to vaguely nod at it before they continued their ascent before Elena gasped at the sight as they step through some ancient looking stone walls.
The place seemed to be a ruin of a temple from long ago as Elena took the sight in through her silver eyes. The place was surprisingly lush and fertile with mossy smothering most of the stony ruins. The pale yellow stone softly shone in the sunlight that filtered through a leafy canopy of several large trees with their branches entwining.
'Is this the source of their water?' Elena said in a low voice, she seemed conscious that any loud sound would disturb the tranquility the place gave off. The finder nodded his head before fiddling with a talisman he had brought along with him. He turned the dial to a certain symbol and a bright beam of light shone through and pierced the darkness of a corridor.
To Elena, it looked as if the dark was retreating from the light as they stepped into the corridor.
'It is said this was a temple built to honor a water dragon that is suppose to dwell in this very mountain,' the finder explained flickering the torch around them as Elena admired the faded paintings on the corridor walls. They seemed to tell a story long forgotten but the moss made it difficult to tell what exactly was going on.
'How far does this go?' Elena asked the finder as she found herself walking through a puddle of water. She paused and glanced at her feet, she noticed that water seemed to be rising around them the further they go. The finder didn't seem surprised by this and continued on.
'It is suppose to go to where the dragon is said to slumber,' the finder said in a low voice as Elena shivered as she felt the water rise up to her ankles.
'I thought that this place was deprived of water,' Elena voiced her doubt to the finder ahead of her but she shielded her eyes as the finder stupidly pointed the bright talisman at her.
'Only the village's water supply was cut off, but they dare not take this water because they say it is sacred,' Elena sighed with relief as the finder turned the light away from her and continued walking. This time she felt the water rise further as she began wading with it coming half way up her thigh. She couldn't help but groan aloud with displeasure, getting wet wasn't the bad part it was the temperature. It seemed to be below zero somehow.
….
~Tyki~
Tyki stood in what looked to be the courtyard of a ruin; the mossy was a vibrant emerald green with the pale stone seemed to shimmer like gold nuggets. Behind him, two level fours and a level three hovered nearby awaiting orders patiently as the Noah ran his finger over the rough sandy rough.
'It a shame such a beautiful place is about to be washed with blood,' Tyki sighed as he entered the dark tunnel that yawned before him.
'Get some lights going,' Tyki ordered the level three, which quickly obeyed and a strange orb of purple lit filtered through the darkness but not to brightly as to draw attention to their presence if anyone was around. His shoes sank slightly in the soft soil under his foot as he made his way slowly down the passage, eyeing the craftsmanship of the paintings that decorated the walls.
They were faded with age but still pleasant to the eye as the two level fours jittered anxiously behind him. Tyki paused and through a threatening glare over his shoulder to silence the level fours and kept going. Soon enough, he began hearing the swooshing of water around the bottom of his shoes as he glanced down mildly humored by the change of conditions.
The temperature in the air had dropped considerably but what caught his attention were footprints making deep impressions in the watery soil.
'Bring the light here,' Tyki said with a flick of his wrist as the level three came closer and offered better lighting to get a clearing view of the footprints. There were two pairs of them; they seemed to be walking side-by-side, one large and the other slightly smaller. Tyki crouched down to get a better look, the larger of the pair made deep heavy impressions making it easier to make out in the dim light but the smaller ones were slender and made the Noah presume that the other had a lighter step compared to their companion.
'Seems like we got company,' Tyki murmured as a bubbling desire to seek out these unfortunate souls who had come to the same place as he did. The water began to deepen but he wasn't hindered by it as he skimmed over the water as if he was a skater over ice. Luckily for him, the passage way had a ceiling that despaired into darkness above their heads as a flickering of light caught his attention.
Tyki slowed down his pace and stopped all together, he was almost up to the owners of those footprints as the light darted around several metres ahead of him.
Stay here, I'll check this out, Tyki murmured telepathically to the akuma behind him as he skated cautiously towards the light and paused as he reached the corner. He glanced around and caught sight of a tall figure covered almost completely by a hooded tan-coloured coat. The Noah instantly recognized the finder as he turned around, Tyki ducked behind the pillar again but not because he was afraid of being caught. The stupid idiot was flashing the torch they had around without thinking of the consequences.
Tyki felt very annoyed by the finder and merged into the wall and skirted around till he was right behind the unsuspecting finder. Before the finder turned around, Tyki clasped his hand over the man's mouth and smirked sadistically as the man froze in his grip.
'Good night,' the Noah whispered into the finder's ear as he quick jerked the head in his hands inevitably snapping the finder's neck. Tyki gently lowered the body into the water as the level three caught the falling talisman. The level fours were right behind it.
'There is a good chance that an exorcist is ahead, go deal with them,' Tyki ordered the level fours as the whizzed passed him, the wings on their backs a blur with excitement. The level three patiently waited for its orders as Tyki glanced at the body bobbing in the water.
'Sink it, it's wrecking the beauty of the place,' Tyki growled as he turned on his heel and slowly walked down the corridor the akuma had disappeared down moments ago.
….
~Elena~
She had left the finder behind when she began to notice how nervous the man was getting. Her left hand traced along the wall to guide her through the darkness as she began to feel herself sink again into water but this time it came around to her waist.
'Why me?' Elena couldn't help but bicker in a low voice as she continued to slowly make her way along the corridor. Without the finder around, there was no light around but it didn't bother her that much because it was more likely that she'd go blind if the finder continued to hang around her.
To her surprise, the wall ended suddenly leading her to stumble and full head first into the bone-chilling water. Elena gasped in shock as she stumbled in the darkness trying to find anything, just anything to let her have an idea of where she was. She had the worst sense of direction of anyone she knew and with it being dark and all made it even worse.
Suddenly her hip painfully smashed against something solid, Elena stretched her hand forward and felt the reassuring feel of solid, dry ground before hulling her wet self out of the water. She stood up and shivered as the water ran off her uniform and dripped onto the stone underfoot. Elena had been glad to finally be out of the water but it depressed her that she would have to worry about freezing to death.
Again, Elena found herself stumbling around in the dark, as she was careful not to fall into the water again. Sliding around of he feet made her feel very silly indeed but who was there to see. Well that was until her left eye activated, the darkness around her didn't seem to phase her eyes as it clearly made out the entire cavern in not in enough detail as with a bright light.
Her eye settled on the approaching souls of two level fours as she felt her stomach somersault. She gazed around, using her cursed eye instead of her normal sight and quickly came upon a path winding its way down a corridor in the other direction of the advancing akuma.
Elena hurried down ignoring the loud wet slapping sounds of her boots against the stone path as she desperately tried to get away from the level fours. She was able to deal with one level four with some difficulty but two was out of the question as she caught the outline of a door coming up ahead of her.
She was tempted to look around to see how far behind the akuma were but she dreaded seeing the degrading human soul of those tragic creatures. The sight of a level four's soul was enough to make her sick and Elena didn't want to experience that anytime soon.
Elena reached the door and began to fumble with the door handle, her gloves were wet and their grip was poor. It forced her to discard them and grip the handle with her bare hands and wrench open the door and quickly close behind her.
Through her cursed eye, the room held no body of water much to her relief as her stare fell upon a stared object into the middle. From the little detail she was given through her eye, it seemed to be some sort of grate like bowl filled with large clumps of dry roughness. Elena stepped closer to get a better look and her foot rolled on a hard object.
With a yelp of surprise, Elena fell over and glared at the object that had dared trip her. It was small and fitted easily into the palm of her hand. Beside it was another similar shaped object, as she weighed the two pieces in her hands.
Elena quickly stood up and hit the two rocks together subconsciously and watched several sparks fly and disappear as soon as it hit the ground. An idea quickly took shape in her head as she walked over to the grate bowl and scraped the objects against each other creating a flurry of sparks.
Soon enough one of the sparks burst to life engulfing the wood that was placed in the grate bowl. Soon enough a cheery warm fire was crackling in front of her as she turned to face the door. At least she had light now as the level fours covered that last few metres separating them.
….
Author's note:
Fem. Allen x Tyki,
Allen/Elena is wearing Allen's second uniform, the one he wore during the ark arc (if that makes any sense)
Please review….