What if… the Fourteenth got his own body (and it was a bit smaller than expected) and things kind of spiralled from there?

-o0o-

"Well, fuckity-great. Fan-fucking-tastic."

This wasn't the plan. Even so, Neah could only stare at his hands in disbelief. "Cross, this wasn't the plan."

Seated across a chair next to the bed, a considerably older but no less recognisable Cross Marian huffed lightly, cigarette in-between his teeth.

"I'm like tiny!" Neah snapped. "There's no way I'll be able to defeat them like this!"

Cross said nothing, bringing a hand up to his mouth to remove the cigarette. It stayed there for a while though, and Neah had a sneaking suspicion that the man might be hiding a smile behind it. But such matters could be addressed later, because Neah had far bigger fish to fry. "Where's Allen?"

Cross exhaled and Neah wrinkled his nose, restraining a surfacing urge to stuff the cigarette down the man's throat. "Why do you need him?" Cross asked, as if it wasn't perfectly damn obvious that Neah needed to ask the guy when and how he had managed to fuck up Neah's Plan B.

"You know why."

It took a while, but Cross finally relented, turning his head slightly. Then, he called out towards the doorway. "Hey, brat!"

At first, nothing happened. Then, Neah became aware of footsteps; small ones, if his ears were not completely mistaken. After a while, the door creaked open and someone, a small someone, peeked out from behind the doorframe.

"Get in here!" Cross snapped, and the child obeyed, scowling all the way. "And shut the door behind you."

The child had red hair, streaked with white. Although it was on the longer side and looked as if it had been brushed fairly recently, it appeared a bit dishevelled, as if recently ruffled. There was also a somewhat unnatural pallor to the skin, making it nearly blend in with the bandages covering the left part of his face. However, what really caught Neah's attention was the single eye darting about, first to Cross, then briefly to Neah and then back to Cross.

"How old are you?" Cross demanded, harshly as ever.

The child hardly seemed fazed though, practically rolling an eye at the display before raising his hands slightly to display ten fingers and−

Neah felt as though he was going to be sick. "Isn't that−? How?"

"Don't ask me," Cross scoffed before turning his attention back to the child. "Hey, brat! What's your name?"

Again, the child scowled. Then, instead of speaking, he used his right hand to spell out letters in the air.

A-L-L-E-N

"Since when?" Cross persisted, and the child (Allen?) looked down and then turned his face away. Then, just as abruptly, the child looked towards Neah, frowned, and then back towards Cross, spelling out W-H-O before pointing to Neah. Rude much?

"You're not getting an answer before you answer my question, Allen," Cross retorted. "You don't get to leave either."

The child shot another look towards Neah and then turned his attention back towards Cross, stubbornly silent. Neah was starting to wonder if he could even speak when finally− "Since Mana, and I killed him, and I can kill you too."

The voice was thick and hoarse from disuse, but it was the words, the words that caught him off guard−

"As if you'd succeed," Cross scoffed, averting his eyes from a gaze that looked ready to try it.

Neah just stared, because− What. The. Ever-Loving. Fuck?

-o0o-

This had not been the plan, but Neah was nothing if not adaptable. He didn't particularly like relying on Cross, but with so few alternatives at hand, what choice did he really have? Because Neah was at a clear disadvantage; his information network was more than twenty years out of date, his old body was gone, and his new body was tiny. And, to make matters worse, it did not seem to be growing any older, which left him perpetually stuck in the body of a ten-year-old.

The only silver lining was that he didn't have to share it, because sharing a room with 'Allen' was bad enough; sharing a body would have been an outright nightmare. That said however− "Where's the Annoyance?"

Cross barely even deigned him a look. "Do you need him for something?"

There was no sign of 'Allen'. Timcanpy was also gone. Neah had a bad feeling about this. "Cross, what have you done?"

The man just scoffed, putting out his cigarette in the process. "I sent the brat to infiltrate the Order."

"Hoh?" Neah said, restraining a sudden urge to shed blood. "Without consulting me?"

No answer.

Well, screw him then.

"Don't go after him," Cross said just as Neah reached the door. "Even with a new name and looking like that, you might be discovered."

Neah clenched his hands into fists. Because− "You sent 'Allen Walker' to the Order. Allen! Fucking! Walker! You didn't even give him a proper alias! Or a solid cover story!"

"I sent a letter of introduction."

"A letter of introduction?!" Neah snarled, because− "If you were gonna have him infiltrate the Order, couldn't you at least have been subtle about it?! Allen Walker, Cross Marian's apprentice?!"

It was the same as painting a huge target on his back before shoving him out into the open, and while Neah found that 'Allen' could be incredibly annoying at times, he had a vested interest in keeping the brat alive. First of all, he felt as though he owed his old friend and second of all− "He's not yours to claim; he's mine."

'Allen' might not be Neah's host anymore, but that changed nothing. 'Allen' was his; his and Mana's. It didn't matter that 'Allen' was now much taller; he was still a brat, no matter how tall he got.

"I'm going after him." Neah smiled, turning his head around to look back at Cross. "As for you, you can do whatever. I'm sure you can find a way to sneak into the Ark even without my help."

There was another scoff at that. "Don't get yourself killed," the man muttered at last, lighting a new cigarette. "I'm not cleaning up your mess again."

Neah scoffed inwardly at that. Outwardly however, he just kept smiling. "Screw you too, old man!"

There was no real need for sentimentality; they had never been on friendly terms with one another to begin with. Besides, no matter what happened, they would probably meet again, if not sooner then later for sure. Because, while Neah might have had his reservations about Cross, he knew well that Cross could take care of himself. Now 'Allen' on the other hand−

-o0o-

"Hey!"

He'd made it. Sure, he'd had to run all the way to the station, but he'd made it just in time.

"…What are you doing here?"

"You forgot something."

Allen just blinked. "Forgot what?"

Neah, still trying to catch his breath, pointed to himself. "Your common sense."

Allen looked surprised at first. Then he sniggered. "I thought Tim was my common sense," he said, giving the golem riding on top of his head an affectionate pet. "And my sense of direction, I guess."

"That's fair," Neah agreed, still− "I could be your moral compass…"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Allen grinned, extending a hand. "Your morals are even more skewed than mine."

Technically true. Still, Neah could have just stabbed him for that. He didn't though. Instead, he just took the hand and smiled, allowing Allen to help him aboard the train.

It was crowded though and the train was filling up with even more people for every minute, and Neah was both annoyed and grateful that Allen insisted on having him ride on top of his shoulders. Because getting squished and possibly trampled upon was unpleasant, no matter how old you were on the inside. It was still hot though, seriously.

"I could use some fresh air," Allen said at last. "How about you?"

Well, it was hot and stuffy inside the train and it would no doubt be hot outside as well, especially under the unforgiving rays of the sun. There would be more oxygen though; less people too, probably. "Definitely."

-o0o-

Eventually, hours, even days after setting off, they reached a larger port city, and short while later, they find themselves onboard the large vessel Allen had set his heart on.

"I really don't get it though," Neah could not help but comment once they had relocated to the cabin that would apparently be theirs for the journey. "With your poker skills, we could've easily earned enough money to pay for tickets. Why did you deliberately go out of your way to−?"

"Because this way was faster," Allen answered easily, rummaging through his suitcase. "Besides, it was fun."

Neah could see the entertainment value. He could not see any particular benefits farther along the line though. "And what the heck are we gonna do when that guy starts asking for some favours in return, huh?"

Allen made a slight grimace at that. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll handle it. Besides, it's only until we reach the Mediterranean…"

Yeah, and that was not at all what Neah wanted to hear. "He's a creep," Neah hissed. "I've seen the way he looks at you."

Neah had also seen the way the man looked at him. The man was a predator; that much was for sure.

"As I said, I'll handle it," Allen reaffirmed, running a hand through his hair. "But," he continued, lowering his voice slightly. "Be careful, alright? And if he tries anything, try not to stab him. Use blunt force. It'll be way easier to explain in case someone manages to find the body after we dump it overboard…"

Neah felt somewhat better after that. Still− "I think your moral compass is broken."

"My moral compass malfunctions in the presence of creeps," Allen deadpanned without missing a beat. "It must be because I'm still an impressionable child and all."

Ten-year-old 'Allen' might've been an impressionable child, once he got past the traumatised and somewhat feral state he had been in back when Neah had first regained consciousness after the split. (How said split had occurred in the first place was a bit of a mystery, but Neah was not about to look that gift horse in the mouth.)

Anyways, 'Allen' might have been an impressionable child at one point, but now, at age fifteen, the boy's personality had probably settled for good. And, given how much time they had spent around Cross Marian, it was inevitable that Allen had picked up a few of the man's habits along the way. Of course, Neah also saw bits and pieces of his old friend in there, but− Mana had definitely left a lasting impression; that much was undeniable.

Besides that, Neah was surprised to see just how parental Cross had managed to become over time. Granted, even then, Cross retained his outrageousness, and even though the man was probably doing his best to pretend not to care about them, Neah would have to have been blind not to notice. The man obviously loved 'Allen'. Now, Neah on the other hand…

Well, Neah wasn't in this game to make friends, and he had no real need for any father figures, especially not shitty ones.

Then again, Neah hadn't exactly planned on developing this kind of thing with 'Allen' either, but…

"Got any tens?"

"Nope. Got any queens?"

Neah grudgingly handed over his queens.

Odd as it might sound, it was probably better this way. Because, while Neah might never have been one for sentimentality, it would kind of have sucked having to kill his best friend, promises or no promises. Of course, the current situation was far from ideal, but…

"Got any kings?"

Allen dutifully handed over his kings.

"Got any plans for what we're gonna do when we get to Europe?"

Allen looked up. For a long moment, they just sat there, watching each other in silence. Then finally, Allen put his cards down and rubbed his finger underneath his nose; he did that a lot when embarrassed. "Well," Allen said at last. "I was planning on heading to the Black Order HQ in England and infiltrate the Order or whatever, but it's not like I can do that now that you're here. Because the Order's got a pretty strict policies and all that…"

Well, those strict policies would have applied whether Neah had come along or not, so− "What's your point?"

"My point?" Allen gave a slight shrug at that. "I mean sure, I want to continue saving souls and all that, but if I joined, then I wouldn't be allowed to leave, and only generals are allowed to roam as they please. Besides, contact with family would be strictly forbidden, so…"

Family? "You're an orphan."

Allen just smiled. "Maybe so, but I have you."

Fair enough. Still− "Don't you have a problem with the whole 'blood relatives of Accommodators may be seized for study' thing? Because that's pretty fucked up, if you ask me."

"It is fucked up," Allen agreed. "But that shit's also been revoked, so…"

Hoh. "I guess even those people can do something halfway decent every once in a while," Neah commented. "Still, I'd imagine those people at Central would conveniently forget all about that if they actually caught wind of me…"

It would suffice to say that Neah did not have a whole lot of faith in the lot. But in any case− "What are you gonna do about that letter of introduction then?"

"Nothing much," Allen answered simply, shrugging. "Tim's a dead giveaway that we're connected to Cross, but who said we had to stick around long enough to get caught? Besides, even if we do get caught at some point, I'll figure something out."

Neah did not take too kindly to the hair ruffle that accompanied the promise. He still endured it though. "I don't think 'I got lost' will cut it this time around," he muttered.

Allen just laughed. "Well," he said, withdrawing his hand at last. "There's always the 'we were on a top-secret mission and Cross expressly forbade us from interacting with any Black Order personnel before we'd finished it'?"

Neah felt his eye give an involuntary twitch. "The letter of introduction?"

Allen offered up a dismissive wave in response. "We'll just say that he changed his mind midway through and didn't bother informing them. They'd totally buy it."

Well, as a race, humans were pretty stupid and all, but− "I don't like this plan."

Well, truth to be told, Neah hated this plan and humanity as a whole, but… "But until I can think of anything better, let's just roll with it. It's not like most plans survive contact with reality anyway."

…But Neah was still on the fence when it came to Allen.

-o0o-