Thank you all so much for the support!
I've read and cherished every review, though I might not have responded to all of them... being a senior in high school is very stressful, you know. Loads of homework and all that good stuff.
I'm not sure where this is going, but I definitely had fun writing it!
Hope you enjoy :D
:Speaking through mind-link:
Thoughts will be in italics.
"And how do you expect us to get past the ocean?" Black demanded after he had regained his composure. His expectant expression was briefly illuminated by a flash of lightening, followed by the low rumble of thunder. "Did you even think of that?"
Nea tapped his chin thoughtfully, purposefully ignoring the scathing glare sent his way. He truthfully hadn't accounted for this desolate prison to be located on an island, but he supposed it made sense to discourage the thought of escape.
As for a solution... using the Ark was completely out of the question. He wasn't keen on revealing all his cards to the wizards, which was why he hadn't simply used it when he first arrived. They could have been monitoring him, for all he knew, and he wasn't going to take the risk. Better to be paranoid than having to reveal the Aces up his sleeve, something he knew Allen would readily agree with. He'd already used Dark Matter to blast through the walls, which was suspicious enough from even a wizard's standpoint, if Black's wary look was anything to go by.
However, he didn't fancy the idea of having to swim across the ocean until they reached land, either. As resilient as Allen's body could be and as powerful Noah he may be, carrying out such a task in their weakened state would be foolish and reckless. That would most definitely turn out to be a disaster, what with Allen's wonky sense of direction having affected him as well – a fact he made sure to regularly complain about.
Well, there was nothing else but to rely on his 'friend' to get them out. He glanced at Black, taking note of the way the man fidgeted, constantly observing their surroundings.
"You're a wizard," Nea stated brightly, as if the meaning of his words should have been obvious. He received a 'so what' look from the man, and exasperatedly elaborated, "So perform some magic." He would have rolled his eyes, were it not an un-gentlemanly act.
Black fixed him with an odd look, a mix of disbelief and exasperation. "How do you expect me do that without a wand?"
"You require a wand to perform magic?" Nea asked, his surprise evident as he blinked owlishly. He briefly thought back to Allen's Black Order days, recalling how proficient and skilled the Crow were in spell-casting… although, some of their spells had required the use of spell strips. Still, no need for fragile sticks as a focus.
"How the times have changed…" Nea sighed unworriedly, thinking aloud. "Such an inconvenience."
Ignoring yet another scathing glare sent his way, Nea lifted a single shoulder in a careless shrug. He might as well humor the man with an honest answer. "I hadn't even known there was an ocean."
Black sputtered in disbelief, pointing a finger at him in shock. His fury and panic were nearly tangible, quite an amusing sight, really. "Y-You… I can't believe – how are we supposed to escape when Aurors could be arriving any second?!"
Yes, he understood that the situation was dire. Given that they could soon be facing off against who-knows-how-many well-trained wizards (which he assumed were the 'Aurors' Black mentioned) and that the fate of their freedom – and life, in Black's case – was on the line, it all added up to form a very tense and serious atmosphere.
Then again, Noahs essentially thrived off of danger. Reveled in it.
Black's worries meant nothing to Nea. In fact, he actually found it rather entertaining.
He sent the man a devious grin, just barely suppressing the urge to allow it to widen demonically. "All the more fun, isn't it?" Thunder rumbled ominously as a light rain began to drizzle.
:Don't push it,: he heard his nephew snap. The warning in his voice was as clear as the Earl's fondness for top hats. :This man could lose everything because of what you did.:
:When the opportunity to cause destruction and chaos presents itself, on a lovely silver platter at that, I simply can't help myself. You know as well as I that it's in our nature~:
:You're enjoying this too much.: Allen growled like an irritated kitten. It didn't escape Nea's notice that he hadn't denied his words. :Shouldn't you get back to escaping?:
:Ah, right...:
His mental conversation with the angry kitten – :Uncle!: – hadn't taken very long, but in that short amount of time, Black had managed work himself up splendidly.
"...wonderful. Just wonderful," Black cried, his voice rising in hysteria. Nea raised a brow at the sight of the man pacing and gripping his head as he spoke to himself, looking much like the madman he had first suspected him to be. "Aurors will be arriving any second, and that'll be the end of it… they'll give me the Kiss, the Kiss! And I'll never be able to see him, to protect him from that cowardly, backstabbing little rat..."
Thoroughly confused and unwilling to make an effort to understand just what the raving wizard was talking about, Nea entertained the thought of leaving the man behind and using the Ark where he wouldn't be seen. Considering the situation (there had to be some sort of alarm triggered when he'd blasted the walls), it was the best and only option for getting his nephew and himself out of this dreadful place before it was too late.
He sensed Allen's disapproval, but before his nephew could scold him, there was a flash of light and Black suddenly crumpled to the ground.
Taking advantage of ingrained battle instincts neither he nor Allen had had to use in decades, Nea swiftly darted to the side in time to see a jet of red light fly past the space he had been occupying, a thrill of adrenaline rushing through his system.
Ah, too late then, Nea thought to himself, simultaneously whirling around to face the newcomers and dodging various spells sent his way.
He sent them a disarming, polite smile. The two wizards – really, only two? That's slightly insulting – paused for a moment, unsure of the strange prisoner's intentions. Nea bowed shallowly, tipping his head as he greeted them with a refined, "Good evening, 'gents. Lovely night for a swim, wouldn't you say?"
Suspicion rolled off of the duo in strong waves, their wands raised high in vice-like grips. The older of the two lifted his chin up a bit, before saying in a loud, clear voice, "You are hereby under custody of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to await trial for attempting to escape from Azkaban. Please come quietly. It may help reduce your sentence."
Nea regarded the man playfully, allowing a dark smile to stretch across his face. "The weather just seems to be perfect, and I've never enjoyed a good swim under a thunderstorm."
:Uncle...:
The man who spoke earlier frowned, though his younger partner seemed to be growing steadily uneasy. "If you refuse to cooperate – "
"I've never minded the rain, although I much prefer the snow – "
He was interrupted by a panicked, :Nea!:
:Allen? What is it?: Instantly on alert, his senses heightened and immediately detected that something was off. Wrong. How had he missed that?
:I sense – !:
Before his nephew could finish, something firm and pointy dug itself into the base of Nea's neck. A wand-stick, his mind supplied the term helpfully.
Time seemed to slow as Nea realized that there was a third wizard, standing behind him with a wand-stick ready to incapacitate him, should he make the wrong move.
The two wizards in front of him sagged with relief, lowering their wand-sticks a bit and a smile of victory tugging on their lips.
His earlier anticipation and delight at the thought of finally being able to play with an opponent for the first time in ages were harshly ripped away, only to be replaced with outrage toward the coward who had dared to sneak up behind him. A smaller, more rational part of him burned with self-loathing for allowing someone to slip past his senses so easily.
I hadn't been that distracted, he silently fumed, his clenched fists the only sign of his inner-turmoil. I know I wasn't. I'm not dealing with ordinary humans. I know not the extent of a wizard's power. That's it. It must have been a spell.
"What a cheap move to pull, so early in the game," Nea chided the mystery wizard behind him, masking his ire with a sing-song lilt to his words. The wand-stick dug harder into his neck.
"Shut it, you," a gruff voice rumbled. So, male then.
Not one to follow orders, Nea defiantly replied, "What terrible manners you have. So, you're barbaric as well as a cheat, hmm?"
The wizard answered with a growl – yes, definitely barbaric – and quickly man-handled the Noah so that he was pushed against the nearest wall with the tip of the wand-stick pressed against his throat.
The mystery wizard was revealed... Nea was unimpressed.
He'd seen his fair share of freaks and weirdos. With Mana, even Allen, having to live among them at some point and Nea having lived with the Noah family, it was safe to say that he'd seen stranger things than the man standing before him. The scars were the first thing he noticed, as well as a good-sized chunk of nose that appeared to be missing. The second thing he noticed – which really should have been the first – was the man's blue, independently moving eye. The other seemed to be just a normal eye.
:Like me, I suppose,: Allen's voice sounded thoughtful.
Nea silently agreed, smugly taking note of the man's irritation at his lack of reaction. He couldn't help himself, really, he couldn't.
His Noah genes flared, his anger unforgotten as he gave the man a viscous, impossibly wide grin. "Wake up on the wrong side of bed, did you?"
The One Who Watches: the non-bolded text in the flashback was Nea's thoughts in real-time. :)
It's weird how I've barely written anything over the summer, but when school starts a sudden burst of inspiration leaves me winded and struggling to write all my ideas down... I know it isn't that long, I thought it would end with our boys outta Azkaban... but please review anyway, if you don't mind. I value everyone's opinion, as it would help me improve my writing.