I don't own -man. This chapter uses the prompts goodbyes and last words. It focuses on Allen and Cross. I think this is my best chapter so plese enjoy.

Promise me you'll never forget me. Because if I thought you would I'd never leave. – A.A Milne.

Neah had lied when he said that the world of light and blazing wheat swaying in the wind would be his final resting place. He had fought and raged against Neah's hold on his mind and soul.

Whether or not the Cross he had talked to was real or imagined he had reminded Allen of his promise. He needed to continue walking forward, there was too much for him to accomplish just give up to his reincarnating uncle. He wasn't going to break his promise to Mana or to Lenalee.

But even with the fire of survival in his soul Neah pounded relentlessly at his defenses. He wasn't going to just let Neah take over. Cross had said that there were answers for him in the mansion if he could make it there. His master was many things but he was not a liar. He might withhold or manipulate the truth but he had never lied to Allen.

Those answers were in his grasp. He'd stumbled through an ark gate into the wheat field that was so familiar to him. He'd shaken link during Apocryphos' last attack and had fled, vaguely hearing that the Noah had captured the sentient innocence. Now that he had wrestled control back he was going to get answers.

Neah's relentless pursuit exhausted him and his low mental state heaved under the injuries he had received fighting Apocryphos. It was all he could do to work his way up to the mansion. The mansion looked exactly like it did in his dreams. An immaculate mansion surrounded by acres of wheat swaying under the sun. Except that this place felt real and separate from his dream world.

He just hoped that his answers were still there. It had taken him longer then he thought to wrought control from Neah. Allen stumbled up the steps to the mansions grand door and his right shoulder collided painfully with the doorjamb. He slumped tiredly against it. Neah was relentless and it would be so easy for him to just give up; but he couldn't do that to Cross and all of the other people who were supporting him.

He knocked loudly on the door and winced. His arm hurt and it had taken way too much energy and effort to complete such a simple task.

The door opened on a face that Allen had only ever seen in Neah's memories. She was older then she was in the memories but one should expect that with time. 'Why did Cross tell me to come here?' he thought as Katerina Campbell looked at him curiously and with concern, eyes widening at the sight of blood.

"Oh dear. Come in young man and we'll help you." Katarina reached to help him through the door way and Allen staggered into her hold.

"Thank you." He whispered. He was exhausted and his vision was starting to go dark and Neah still wouldn't leave him alone. He had reached his limit and he sagged in Katerina's arms. Allen thought that he saw Road but everything was so jumbled he didn't know. All he knew was that he was exhausted to the very core of is being and that Katerina Campbell's embrace felt warm and safe.

'Of all the places,' he thought, 'he told me to go to my grandmothers house.' But it didn't matter what he thought because everything was spinning into darkness. From far away he heard Katerina shouting at Road to help her and everything, even Neah, went blissfully silent.

He semi-woke to Neah fighting to take control of his body and in his half awake state everything was malleable and he pulled control back to himself. He thought that he heard someone say his name, but he was already sliding back into darkness.

Neah was silent for what Allen determined to be several days based on the amount of times he remembered waking up. Once Cross' booming voice had woken him but it felt to dream like to be real. When he finally woke for real Neah was clawing at the back of his mind again. He was lying on a soft bed and sunlight streamed in through the window. Even with Neah trying to take over he felt better then when he had arrived.

A quick look around had turned up his clothes freshly cleaned and he changed into them. The entire time Neah's presence creeped into his control and pushed Allen away. It was relentless now and beyond his ability to block and inevitable ending that he was continuously dodging. It was foolish of him to think that he could win against something so strong. He knew that now and he was going to leave. He couldn't subject his grandmother and Road to his transformation, whether or not he wanted answers.

He was a failure, or he was going to be, time was a little irrelevant at this point as he moved through the mansion. He was letting everybody down and he couldn't fulfill his promises. He also didn't want to be the reason that they were sad.

"Where are you going?" Road asked, appearing behind lollipop in hand.

"I'm leaving, Road."

"Why?" she asked even though she could feel Neah threatening to erase the boy with his imminent transformation.

"I cant… I just can't stay."

He was almost down the stairs to the entry way when his grandmother's voice rang out making him pause and turn to look at her at the top of the grand staircase. "Why can't you stay, Allen?"

Allen didn't know what to tell her. He didn't know how much she knew and he didn't want to let her know that he was fading away. Instead he bowed his head and stared at his hand on the stair railing.

"Allen, I know that I am your grandmother. I am asking you why you cannot stay and you will answer me."

His watery silver eyes met hers as Neah threatened to take control. "I'm sorry," he told her making his way to the door.

"I'm sorry too, Allen," she told him clutching her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "But you are always welcome here, Allen. Always. You are family so please be safe."

Allen wanted to cry at her words but he couldn't let her see him be taken over. He was just about to open the front door when he heard a sound that he thought he would never hear again. Maria was singing and it drowned out all thoughts of Neah's fast approaching take over.

'Maria only sings for one person,' Allen thought. Forgetting about his demise Allen spun from the door on his heel and dashed up the staircase barreling past his grandmother and dodging a grab from Road. He printed down the corridors following the singing, Road and Katarina hurrying after him.

Neah's control surged with the pounding rhythm of his feet. He gritted his teeth and continued on. The singing was getting louder and Allen didn't know where he was getting the strength to keep going.

Allen burst through the door and paused panting in the doorway. Slowly, as in in a daze, Allen took in the room. Maria was singing to an awake and very alive Cross sitting in a chair looking out the window.

Cross had looked up startled at Allen and Allen could see that the left side of his face was no longer a mysterious mask but a messy, ugly scar. Maria stopped singing and Allen's eyes grew wide. He hadn't actually expected to find Cross; not after seeing the vision Apocryphos had shown him.

Cross surged shakily to his feet, cane in hand to aid his balance. The wound had taken more then his good looks from him. "Allen?" he asked and in that moment he looked older then Allen had ever seen him. So very unlike the strong man who had, albeit rather terribly and grudgingly, raised him.

"I hate you!" Allen choked out dropping his bag of stuff that had come to the mansion with him. "I really do hate you, you bastard." He cried and strode across the room to stand in front of the proud general.

"You've grown taller," Cross said like he hadn't just missed months of the boy's life and never expected to see those silver eyes again. That he hadn't told Allen not to die in this war but had himself almost died. Like he hadn't left the one thing in the world he had left to the boy.

"Stupid Shishou!" Allen cried and surged forward to bury his face into the man's chest, almost knocking over his frail body. He wrapped his arms around the general and sobs started to shake his shoulders. Cross scowled but slowly wrapped his arms around the boy.

Katerina and Road watched in silence as Cross held the sobbing boy. Road had thought that Cross hadn't cared about the boy until she had taken a trip through his mind. Now she knew that the man cared deeply for Allen but just never tried to show it.

Katerina was shocked. Road had told her that Cross had cared about her grandson but she hadn't truly believed it. It was hard to reconcile the Cross she remembered and the Cross at present. Parts of him were still just as annoying and detestable as they were in the past; but parts of him had matured and changed. She still couldn't picture him taking care of child, but clearly he hadn't done a bad job.

Allen untangled his arms from around Cross and rubbed at his nose, sniffing softly.

"Are you done crying now, idiot apprentice?" Allen wiped his running nose on his sleeve and nodded. "That's disgusting," Cross told him and Allen sheepishly rubbed the sleeve on the back of his pants and Cross just sighed and drug a handkerchief from his pocket.

"I thought you were dead, Allen said softly. "There was so much blood." He continued looking down and wringing the soiled handkerchief in his hands. "Central wouldn't tell us anything and Tim kept going back to your room."

Allen looks out the window to stare at the gracefully swaying stalks of wheat. "I really thought that you had died. Even Tim couldn't find you." He choked out staring at his feet again. "Leverrier accused me of killing you." He finished, meeting the general's eyes.

Cross opened his mouth to say something to the distraught boy but couldn't think of anything to say so instead turned to look out the window he had been staring out of earlier and then back to Allen. The boy looked like he was going to start crying all over his shirt again. He liked the shirt Katarina had gotten him and he didn't want snot getting all over it.

"You left me, " he said quietly tears pooling in his eyes. "You left me and you left me with those stupid words." Allen scrubbed furiously at his nose again. "That was a stupid goodbye and it was nothing like you."

"And…and," the boy was angry now, so angry that he couldn't even get his sentence out. But there was something else in his eye that Cross noticed. "And… you didn't tell me that Mana was the Earl. How can he be the Earl? I killed him." Allen's chest heaved and tears pooled in his eyes again. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm so confused shishou…"

"I don't know," Cross said. "I should have told you. I thought that Neah would take over before you found out." Cross pulled the boy into a hug again. "That way you'd go happy, knowing for sure that Mana loved you. It was all that I could think to offer you."

"You have the worst luck brat, " he said ignoring Road and Katerina watching.

"I know," Allen mumbled into Cross' chest.

"Allen, Where is Timcanpy?"

Allen started crying again at the mention of the golden golem. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry, " he mumbled. "Kanda said that Apocryphos killed him." HE hugged Cross tighter, "I don't know what to do without Tim."

Cross was shocked that the sentient innocence had gotten to the golem. Tim was generally pretty crafty and could get away from anything, except maybe cats. He untangled Allen from his shirt and frowned at the snot there. "Allen…," He gripped the boys shoulders and pushed him out to arms length. "Allen, listen to me. Its okay."

Allen awkwardly swiped at his nose from around Cross' arms. He wanted to cry again he was so upset and frustrated. Neah was going tot take over any minute and he felt so guilty about loosing one few gifts Cross' had given him. "Its not okay," he mumbled. "You gave him to me…"

"Its okay, Allen. It was just a golem." Cross looked away dropping his hands from Allen's shoulders. "He wasn't important."

Allen could see the sadness in his stance and took a step back. He choked back a groan as he fought Neah off and Cross turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he said tears leaking down his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Cross went to grab his shoulder but he took another step back gripping his temples with his hands. "I'm sorry that I couldn't beat Neah." His hands fell to his sides as he sobbed, "I'm sorry" again.

"Its okay," Cross said. "You lasted longer then I thought you would. If you hadn't held out as long as you did then you wouldn't be my apprentice."

"Thank you," Allen whispered.

There was silence for a few moments until Allen breathed, "I don't want to go" and fell to his knees on the carpet of the room clutching his head. "Leave me alone, Neah!"

He clutched his head harder and choked back a sob. "Leave me alone. I don't need Mana anymore…" he sobbed again and contorted in on himself in pain. "I just want shishou and Lenalee and the rest of my family!"

"Stop," he groaned out one last time his "please" ending in a choked whisper.

"Allen," Cross said as the gray started to leave his eyes. His eyes roved around wildly in pain before they met Cross'. "I love you, you stupid brat. I should have been better."

"I know you did," Allen breathed and his body shook and breath hitched. "I did too." He choked out as the raging sun within him drowned out the gentle light of the moon within his eyes.

Allen's body uncurled from its contorted position, skin grey, eyes as gold as the wheat surrounding the mansion.

"Give him back, Neah!" Cross shouted.

"Now Cross, that isn't the proper way to greet an old friend," Neah said golden eyes full of fire in the face of the boy who was until just a moment ago, his son. "Especially one you swore to help."

A sinister smirk grew across Neah's face, at odds with Allen's soft features. "You've grown soft, Cross." Cross glared at him gripping his cane tightly, Maria silently wailing at the loss of Allen. "Don't look at me like that. You got to say goodbye. It was inevitable."

Katerina cried and Road stared at the reincarnated Noah of Destruction. "I hate you," Cross ground out. "I fucking hate you." Cross started limping out the door, turning back to face the Noah. "I'll help you end this ridiculous war. But I will never forgive you. I'll never forgive you, Neah, for taking Allen away from his friends and family. From taking him away from me."

Hello everyone. I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. It was super sad to write and I desperately hope that Allen doesn't get erased in the manga. I feel like this is my best story idea for the countdown and I feel like the quote I chose for this story was incredibly fitting. I'm sorry that this chapter is late. I will continue posting the chapters as I get them done. They may not be on time but I will have the entire countdown posted.