In the last chapter...
Allen stood up, and then something caught his attention. Liz was floating in the air, enveloped by a shining light. Her eyes were open, and he had already seen that form before.
A prophecy.
"It's time, brother." Elizabeth said, and caught everyone's attention. "The final war will begin in three days."
Chapter 9 - Behind the cursed eye
Allen continued to stare at Liz. He knew how she would be after this, he knew the meaning behind her words.
The time has come.
Stretching out his right hand, he patted her head softly.
"It's okay, Liz," he soothed. "It's okay now. You can rest."
And somehow, the light shined weaker, until it finally stopped, prompting Elizabeth to fall down exactly on Allen's arms. Carrying her bridal-style to the bed, he called Alice over.
"Get everyone together at the Vault." Seeing that she would use her innocence, he warned her. "Running. This raisers aren't recharged yet, and we will not spend our reserves until the fight begins, ok?"
Alice pouted. She would have to leave those two alone again (she wasn't considering the sleeping Liz). But then, Allen smiled at her, she blushed and smiled back, nodding her head and rushing out of the room. Lenalee turned an angry look towards Allen, who only waved one of his hands dismissively.
Allen looked back to Liz. She was pale, shivering and sweating at the same time. He caressed her head, turning to her and giving her a loving and fraternal look. That person, that small life, was his only blood-related family. The last link to the parents he would never see again, the life that he couldn't live.
Lenalee looked at him with sad eyes. This man in front of her was the sun of her life now. He was suffering and she couldn't do anything to help him. Cursing her uselessness, she approached behind him, placing her arms around his neck and rested her head on top of his. Allen used his free hand and placed it upon hers, squeezing it.
They stayed like that for a while: Allen caressing Liz's head and squeezing Lenalee's hands that were still firmly embracing him. Suddenly, Lenalee started humming a lullaby. Allen let himself be engulfed by her melody, closed his eye and drifted off.
He woke up on an endless corridor, with very little illumination. In the very end was a cross shaped door. A soft song echoed through the air, and Allen understood.
He was inside the 14th's memories again.
Reaching out to the door, he opened it, only to find the same organ room that seemed to be in his dreams lately. Only that this time, there wasn't anyone on the piano. Looking around, he noted numerous empty frames hanging on the walls. On the corner of the room, right in front of the instrument was the only frame with a picture on it. The same picture Allen had in his room back at the Order.
"Mana," he thought, and suddenly the world surrounding him began to change.
The scenery started to take form again as he heard a voice far away.
"…-ght? "
He heard the same voice for the second time, a voice that he recognized and knew very well.
"Master!!!"
He blinked, and the image changed to a lost alley in England. Allen's visible eye widened as he saw the two people that were in the place.
"Hey, are you alright? Oi!" Cross Marian hated the type of things that he had to do as an exorcist. He liked beautiful people (women, as he would prefer), wine and gambling. But now he was stuck on a dirty and smelly alley, looking for a young man with various crosses decorating his forehead.
Crosses?
"A noah!" He thought, and smiled. Finally something worth discovering. Perhaps he could do some experiments…
His line of thought was interrupted as the younger one awoke.
"Where am I?" Cecil blinked, trying to put away the haziness he was feeling due to blood loss.
Blood? "Ah, the Earl…" Cecil thought, reminded of why he was in this state. He looked up to see a red-haired man, barely thirty old, wearing a coat with an emblem of a cross on his left breast. Cecil knew something about that man. He heard the Earl saying things about this…
The Black Order.
Exorcists.
Our enemies.
The noah smiled evilly. Who could have guessed that his chance would come so early?
Revenge.
Cross stared at the young noah who stared back at him. Their minds were almost synchronized.
"This one will be of some use…"
---
Suddenly, the memories began to accelerate, and Allen could see all of the so-called adventures that the 14th claimed to had with his master. They argued, laughed, almost killed the other but, without notice, they had become "friends".
Allen snapped as a special memory passed by. He closed his eyes and prayed, something he hadn't done for a very long time. Then, it slowed down, and stopped at one moment that Allen somehow knew was the turning point of all the events.
As he saw the duo entering a particular city on England, he clenched his fists and followed them.
Komui was staring at the ceiling again. Not that he had much to do. But he didn't regret what he had done. Reminded of Lenalee these past one and a half years, he cherished the thought of her happy again.
Her smile.
Allen's face appeared, and he felt a bit of resentment towards him. But at the same time, memories of Allen and Lenalee together and how happy she was with him flowed in his mind.
At this time, he was glad his little sister had chosen the white-haired boy.
"Lenalee is getting married."
He snapped and activated his battle mode.
"L-LENALEEEEEEE!!!! MY SWEET LITTLE LENALEE!!! WHO'S THE BASTARD??? WHERE IS HE??? WALKER, IT'S YOU, ISN'T IT???"
He returned at normal as he caught sight of the one had said it.
"Reever!! What the hell are you doing here? You'll be accused too!!"
"Did you really think we would let you stay here, Chief? Besides, they're so occupied preparing for the battle that the security here is low. Not that would be a problem for the science division anyway…" The Australian man said, as he skillfully handled a laser cutter to break a hole into the cell.
Komui sent him a bemused look, then sighed.
"Now let's hurry up!! Everyone is preparing to depart already!!!" Reever said, as Komui left the cell and the two of them started to run away from the prison. The Australian completed "Let's help your brother-in-law."
A huge "whack" echoed in the Order.
---
A carriage rushed through France's streets. Inside, the Millennium Earl, Road Kamelot, Tyki Mikk and Cecile silently waited to arrive at the port, where a ship waited for them.
"Why can't we use the new Ark or simply use some akuma to fly over there? We're sloooooow!!" Road whined, impatient. She couldn't wait to meet Allen again. Her vision caught Cecile staring blankly through the window, and she sulked. Somehow, that person awoke terrible memories…
She snapped back to reality as Tyki spoke to her. "Your father said he needed time for the arrangements, didn't he? So we can waste some time until we arrive at England."
As he said that, his wounds ached briefly. He himself couldn't wait anymore.
"Maa, maa!!! Calm down, you two. It's really rare for us to travel together like this, so let's enjoy it!!! Cecile, why don't you sing for us? It'll make time pass faster!!" The Earl exclaimed with false jubilance. He was growing tired of playing his games…
Cecile stared at him, and then her mouth opened to produce a lyric-less melody. As she sung, the carriage accelerated.
Road put her head out of the window to let the wind run by her hair. "Awesome!!! Faster!!" She looked ahead to the front and saw the driver and the horses passing their limits. "I think we'll need a new carriage…"
As soon as she said that, the carriage started to slow down and stopped. They got out of it and noticed that they were already near the port.
"Humm… We can walk the rest of the way, can't we?" The Earl said, sweat dropping, causing Road and Tyki to turn accusatory looks towards him. They sighed and proceeded towards the bay.
As they put some distance from the carriage, the horses and drivers turned into ashes. From far away, a shadow observed them, and the Earl congratulated the youngest noah.
"Good job, Cecile."
---
"Everyone is here?" Leverrier stated, eyeing every Crow member in the room.
"The Order personnel isn't here, commander… We assumed that they're planning something behind our backs, sir!" The leader of the Crows shouted.
"Pay them no attention. We've already achieved what we desired: we had the Vatican approve to begin the war and extinct the noah from the face of earth." The toothbrush-moustached man exclaimed, gaining the attention of everyone.
"In the following days, we'll march through fire. Doesn't matter what circumstances we face, this unity will not back down!!! We're the holy army of the conquest!!!" He cried out, reinforcing the belief inside them. "We'll show them the real power of the Third Genesis of the Exorcists!! Unity Crow, set out!!"
"YES SIR!!!" They exclaimed in unison and marched through the Order's front door. Out there, a militia sent by the Vatican waited to aid them. Three thousand men and he had them at his command. Malcolm grinned evilly.
"It's time. The name of the Leverrier family will soar through time!"
As he said that, Rou Fa, Rikei and Crowley watched as the so called "army" set out to the battlefield.
It was time to update the situation to the supervisor.
Allen continued to follow his master and the 14th through the streets. It was uncannily familiar to him and, at the same time, unknown. Something caught the duo's attention as they rushed down an open alley. Allen accelerated as well, not wanting to lose sight of them.
They stopped somewhere ahead, looking on the next alley to a young man slightly older than Cecil.
"Mana!!!" Allen exclaimed, though his foster father couldn't hear him.
Cross looked to the noah, then back to Mana. Confused, he asked.
"It's him?"
Cecil stared at his brother with emotionless eyes, but Cross could see his hands shaking.
"Yes."
"That's it? After twenty-three years separated from him, that's all you have to say?"
Cecil continued to stare at Mana. His older brother was doing acrobatics with a ball. The way he looked seemed somewhat like a buffoon…
A clown.
Allen smiled to himself. Mana was the same he remembered: Stupid, crazy and always trying to make people smile. A smile he himself couldn't bring, neither could the tears.
Then, people started to run and the sky turned a dark tone. Allen's left eye ached behind the eye-patch and he struggled to breath. Maintaining the concentration on Mana, he heard the 14th inside his head speak.
"Get ready, lad. Now you'll understand everything. And when you do…" He paused, trying to dramatize the moment. "…I'll be reborn."
Allen tried to spoke, but the pain on his left eye was mind-numbing. Looking to Mana with a blurry vision, he saw a group of akuma attacking the citizens. Mana tried to protect a small girl, when an akuma rushed towards him.
Cecil's mind was blank. His body moved by itself as he put himself between Mana and the akuma.
"Ahh!! My experimental sample!!" Cross cried, putting his hands on his head. Then, he switched to a more serious tone "Maria isn't here. I'll have to make a little mess here."
Clutching his gun with his left hand, he aimed towards the akuma who was going to strike Cecil.
"Invocate!"
Allen looked to his master, still trying to remain conscious. Cross shoot three timesto eliminate the threat.
"Now, you stupid brat, if you do something like that again, I'll hit you until you can't even walk!" The general shouted to Cecil, who seemed unaffected by it.
In that split second, both of them forgot about the little girl. Mana looked to her.
"Are you alright?" He asked. The girl smiled at him. But that smile turned into an evil grin as she transformed into an akuma.
Allen tried, tried hard to rush, but the pain only get worse. Then he heard the 14th's voice again.
"Stay here, boy. There's nothing you can do anyway. Just watch… until the end."
Cecil turned rapidly, his legs moving faster then he thought possible. The wounds the Earl inflicted on him 3 years ago started to open. Cross had said one time that they would never close. Grinning, he reached his pocket to bring out a mouth organ, and played it. The akuma slowed down, but it was already too close to stop.
And so, Mana closed his eyes and waited for the worst. He felt something warm on his face. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the akuma with an arm through Cecil. His younger brother looked to him with sad eyes, then said,
"Long time no see, brother."
Cross rapidly executed the akuma but, before he disappeared, his words echoed in the air.
"You'll never be at peace… traitor."
Cecil's eyes widened briefly, and was reminded of what he still had to do.
Revenge.
Revenge.
Revenge.
Cross was at his side first, with Mana paralyzed where he was. Without saying anything, the General kneeled down, as the noah said,
"If you look out for Mana, I'll come back to him." That said, Mana approached him and grabbed his hand. Cecil's hand shined for a moment, and something was passed to Mana right there. Looking back to his brother, he watched as he disappeared in ashes.
Allen stared, shocked, confused, but he understood. Everything.
"You see, boy? The reason I was called "the player" wasn't just because of my instruments." The 14th said, as Allen's memories passed by.
His first encounter with Mana.
The song.
Mana's death.
The cursed eye.
"I played with the Earl's greed. With Cross's good-will. With yours and Mana's relationship."
Allen was angered beyond the limit by now.
"I knew that I would've had my chances at revenge better with an "unsuspicious" existence. You're my cover." The noah said, and continued. "I knew that Cross would believe me. I knew that you would try to revive Mana because of the feeling of family he awoke in you. I knew the Earl wouldn't resist a new akuma. By the way, how is that cursed eye of yours?"
The white-haired one clinched his teeth as the noah provoked him.
"I'm the responsible for Mana's death."
----
68 hours until the final battle.