So, fourth chappy! Took longer than I expected. And I guess I should write a disclaimer but too lazy laa~.
-Black Order-
Allen Walker had been gone for months. They had given up on him, given up on the hope that one day he might return as the cheerful Exorcist they had come to know.
But one day, Lenalee's black golem rang when she was in her room. A voice appeared on the other end, a voice that she could easily recognize. "Lenalee…are you doing okay?"
It took her almost a minute to reply, "I guess. Depends on your definition of okay."
"Look, I'm sorry. Are there any Exorcists at Central right now?" He asked.
Lenalee closed her eyes to suppress all those emotions, "I don't think so. Why?"
"Make sure there aren't. Bye, Lenalee…" Allen whispered and hung up. Lenalee stared at her golem for a while, unsure of whether or not it really happened. It was probably a warning, that there was going to be an attack on Central. Oh god, what was he doing? Was he going to be there? Lenalee thought for a long time, weighing her options, and came to the conclusion that she had to go. Maybe she could stop him from inflicting damage. Maybe she could bring him back.
"Bye, Komui, I'm going shopping." Lenalee smiled as naturally as she could, hoping her brother couldn't tell how afraid she was of what might happen.
"Can I come?" Komui asked.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea…I'll buy some coffee for you though. I'll be back soon, bye!" She hurried towards the main door of the large Headquarters building. As she reached for the doorknob, Tommas' hand clamped over hers.
He looked into the girl's eyes, "Are you going to meet Allen?"
"Of course not!" Lenalee replied indignantly, but her voice wavered.
"You're. Not. Going." Tommas said.
"I have to!" Lenalee tore her hand away and ran out. She knew that her fellow Exorcists weren't as fast as her.
Kanda caught up with Lavi, "You shouldn't go anymore than her."
"You know I have to, Kanda." The redhead stared at him.
Kanda sighed, "I know I can't stop you, but if it comes to violence, don't feel too guilty to lay hand on Allen Walker. He's not your friend anymore. And he's fucking everything up for us."
When Lenalee arrived at Central Headquarters, her brother gave her an anxious call, "Why aren't you back yet? Tommas and Lavi said something about going shopping with you. What's up with you three?"
"I'll be back soon." She lied and hung up. As she looked up, she saw a cloud of black silhouettes coming over the horizon. Oh god, there were so many of them…Lenalee could only hope that Allen was there. Somewhere. As the time ticked away, she was more and more doubtful of her plan. Why did she even bother to come? There was a good chance Allen wasn't even there, and that the akuma will kill her. Why did she even care about Allen? He was a traitor. She had Lavi and Tommas now. The Exorcist squinted against the dust. One of the figures, the shorter one, had a grey tint to his or her skin. But the other one didn't. She was pretty sure his hair was white, too, either that or some light blond colour. He looked like Allen Walker. He had to be Allen Walker. Because if he wasn't, she was as good as dead against the hundreds of akuma drawing closer.
Lenalee ducked behind the walls. She shuddered as deafening akuma bullets broke through the walls. The Exorcist could make out a person near the back of the army. No, she couldn't call out to him now. She had to wait for him to get closer. It wasn't long before Lenalee was discovered by a level 2. It turned towards its companions, but Lenalee kicked it before it could give a warning.
Where were all the people that worked at Central? The building seemed deserted. A cloud of poisonous gas rose up. Another safety measure carefully planned by the Central people. The akuma nearby all fell and turned into sand, but it had no effect on Lenalee. Of course the people at Central had emergency precautions. She was the only human there, stupidly trying to hide behind a wall that was rapidly crumbling away.
Soon, dozens of akuma discovered the Exorcist. She defended herself the best she could, but a single Exorcist wasn't enough against the huge number of akuma the Noah had sent. She bit her lip in pain when a bullet hit her shoulder. Lenalee knew that her time was limited now. But Allen was still so far away…She crawled into a small shelter formed by a piece of a broken wall and two pillars, defending herself the best she could. More akuma bullets pierced her flesh along the way. She huddled there in a broken heap as blood pooled out.
"Allen!" Lenalee shouted. Ugh, why was her voice so weak? She could only hope that he heard her. Footsteps came closer. She closed her eyes against the pain. There was nothing to do now but wait until she was found or dead.
"Allen, we should leave now." Road called to her partner in crime as they surveyed the debris. Although all the "important" people were cowering in some escape-route shelter, they had caused a significant amount of damage to their science equipment. Mission successful.
"Yeah…" Allen's voice trailed off when a glint of gold caught his eye. It was unharmed by the akuma bullets. He gasped in shock when he realized that it was one of the hairpieces Anita gave Lenalee back on a ship, in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Allen tried to control his emotions as he slowly picked it up. A single drop of scarlet blood stained the surface. The boy's head snapped up when he heard a faint sound that sounded like his name. And it sounded like Lenalee. No, it couldn't be. He refused to think about that. It had to be his imagination…Allen slipped the gold hairpiece into his pocket along with the communication earring and hurried over to where Road waited.
He took one last look before stepping into the heart-shaped doors. The land in front of them was reduced to heaps of rubble. No, Lenalee wouldn't be there. She couldn't. Because he couldn't bear the thought that he might have killed her.
The earpiece buzzed against his leg at lunch one day. Only Road, sitting next to him, noticed that his pants seemed to vibrate. She raised her eyebrows at him with amusement. He ignored her, pretending it didn't happen.
Allen settled into an overstuffed velvet couch in one of the many living rooms before calling Headquarters back. To his relief, Lenalee's voice appeared on the other side.
"Hey, Allen. I want to meet up with you." She went right to the point.
He was slightly disappointed at Lenalee's slightly sullen tone, but he couldn't blame her. He replied eagerly, "Sure! Where? Look, I'm sorry about everything that happened. And I'm so glad you're fine! I was worried about you."
Lenalee gave a humourless chuckle on the other side and said, "Central."
"But…it's…"
"So? Be there at midnight tomorrow." Lenalee paused, then said in a sweeter voice, "I miss you, Allen-kun. Please be there."
The Noah looked up to see Road standing there with a sad expression. Bloody hell, she wasn't supposed to know! She pouted and left.
"I'm sorry, Road…" Allen called after her and grabbed her arm.
"You could've just told me, you know? I'm not as judgemental as all your little Exorcist friends. It's not like I'll ban you from your precious Lenalee." Road shook her head.
"I care about you. I didn't want you to get mad over something that wouldn't affect you. And it won't." Allen tried to explain.
"Jesus, Neah, I already said I'm not banning you from going! Stop acting like I'm some overly-emotional teenager." She spun around. Then her eyes widened when she realized that she had called him Neah. Almost all the other Noahs called him that half the time, but she never did. It was because Allen was becoming more and more similar to who was once her love. He would also try to protect her from what he deemed dangerous. And he was always sympathizing with those damn Exorcists.
Allen sighed, "I'm sorry, Road." He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head contently against her shoulder, her expression almost childlike. She gave him a light peck and fingered his white locks. Although Allen was technically a Noah, he was much more at ease with his human form. Then he asked a question he'd been wondering for a long time, "Why can't I see Akuma souls anymore?
Road shrugged, "I honestly don't know. But it makes your life a lot easier, don't you agree?"
The Noah left, probably to go to one of the many fancy parties with Tyki Mikk and Sheryl Kamelot. He stared off into space for a while, then decided to play the piano. There was a hidden closet in the white room stuffed with compositions, from every composer ever heard of and some written by the Earl and the 14th.
The Noah picked out a Bach prelude and improvised on it. He started sorting through the memories stored in his head, almost a millennium's worth of them. There was so many that he'd never bothered thinking about them. But now, as his fingers danced over the keyboard, his mind began sifting all the most important things from the 14th, and his own, memories.
He wanted to ask Road if his feelings were mutual.
Joseph Lustheart once confided in him that he wanted to overthrow the Millennium Earl. Eventually, he tried, but the Earl killed him. Allen blinked in surprise. Joseph Lustheart was a Noah around his age, but he didn't know him that well because he seemed pretty shy. Did he know what happened in his past life?
That was the tipping point for Neah, who already was in doubt about the Earl's plans.
Many of the Noah didn't like the Earl. It was a delicate balance, everyone wary of each other and their various alliances.
Allen noted to himself that there was a lot more to this family than he realized. From the Exorcists' perspective the Noah were a single nemesis, not power-hungry individuals each out for the highest position. Which was what they really were. Calculating, backstabbing Noah.
There were other ways, more efficient ways, to turn the dead humans into akuma. They caused much less pain to the human soul because it could be liberated before becoming a weapon.
Was that true? He shook his head in annoyance. Road poked her head back inside. She wore a white, corseted dress with blue lace threaded throughout. Her hair looked girly for once with the spikes tamed down and forced into soft curls. She opened her mouth and paused, noticing the troubled expression on her friend's face. Then she said anyway, "Wanna come tonight? Tyki suggested that it'll be nice for you to introduce yourself to the town. You can say you're a family friend!"
It was funny, in a not very funny way, how the Noah cared about their position in society. It was just another pointless thing humans created for entertainment, really. Yet Tyki Mikk was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in their town, and he made sure it stayed that way. And now that Road Kamelot was 17 she was quickly rising to the top of the social scene with him. "Nah, I'm not up for that yet. I might go next time."
"Are you meeting with Lenalee?"
Allen ran his fingers through his white hair. He fingered the piano for a while, then said, "I'm not sure. I won't if you're completely against it."
"Like I said, I won't decide for you, but are you sure it's not a trap? I mean, it might not even be Lenalee you're talking to."
Allen's eyes flashed dangerously, "Those are my friends you're talking about, or ex-friends. But they won't do that kind of things to me."
Road rolled her eyes, "Only some of the people at the European and Asian Headquarters were your friends. Let's face it, they now think that you're a backstabbing ruthless traitor. And Central Headquarters never liked you from the start. They're not above manipulating and sacrificing people for what they believe in. Rouvelier isn't much less cruel than the Millenium Earl, Allen. It's the only way he can be an obstacle to us. Nice people don't get far in society, you know?"
Tyki Mikk also entered the room. He was wearing an elegant black suit and a matching top hat. He waved impatiently at Road, "You done yet? We're going to be late."
She turned her eyes to her "uncle", and Allen noted that with eyeliner and mascara they were even bigger than usual.
"Are you worried that Allen will leave us, or that he'll get hurt?" Tyki's question surprised both of them.
"That he'd get hurt. I trust him." Road replied.
"I think he'll be fine, Road. He's one of us now. We can kick an Exorcists' ass any day." Tyki grinned slyly, waiting for a reaction from Allen. Allen stared defiantly back but didn't say anything.
"Well, we'd better go. Here's your coat." Tyki tossed it at her. Road skipped out. Her last words to him were, "I still think it's a trap. Be careful, 'kay?"
Allen stared at the empty doorway for a while. She was probably right. She often was. But he cared about Lenalee enough to take that chance. If his former best friend was at the Central attack, it was the least he could do for her to meet her. Why did he care? Wasn't Road Kamelot enough? He switched to his Noah form, because he played piano better that way. Allen flipped through the pile of music scores and decided on one that he was sure would take him to the destroyed Central HQ.
The Noah could feel the Ark shifting with the chords, until there was a path that lead him to where he wanted to go. It was like a sixth sense.
The Ark was in one of the many empty rooms, a stack of glowing geometric shapes surrounded by four blank walls. It would be Allen's first Ark travel alone since he'd become a Noah.
Despite being the cause of the destruction, Allen was once again amazed at what was left of what was once the biggest Black Order Headquarters. The grand structure was reduced to a pile of ashes and rubble. Black stars dotted the ground, a reminder of the akuma. He looked up at the stars that were just beginning to appear in the darkening sky. It was a summer night, and he had gotten there early. 2 hours until midnight. Allen was about to sit down to wait when he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure in the distance. His heart lifted. The figure saw him at the same time and ran towards him.
This chapter wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. –cries- But I promise the next one will be awesome! It should come out faster than this one because I have most of the details figured out already. Just didn't start on the actual writing yet.
And just saying, the D. Gray-Man manga is seriously slow at updating. =.=
Please review, I didn't get as many for the last chapter as I hoped. Just tell me what you think of the story so far. Reviewers get Halloween candy~ (Well that really depends on whether or not I'm feeling generous and how much candy I get.)