Right. I think I'll classify this chapter as Angsty, Fluffy, Comedy. Something like a mix of those. Anyway, mid-length chapter, but I will write more next time. I do not own D. Gray Man or any of its characters, only the cardmaster exorcist.

Reviews: Lalala, thank you so much for continuing to review. It's really hard to write a fic that's edited and stuff while I'm slaving away to the IB course. It literally sucks your life away. Thanks for the encouragement. I really needed it.

Tyki Mikk is sprinting. It feels rather strange, really, as he has never had the need to rush before, only to hasten. Not bothering with doors, Tyki cleaves a straight path toward Skinn's room, passing through the walls as if they were inconstant smoke, hanging like heavy curtains between him and his goal. As he runs, he formulates his plan. Not a very good one, either. I'll tell Skinn the Earl's looking for another prisoner.

Tyki knows at some point the smooth stone and wallpaper will turn as unyielding as Innocence-painted concrete, marking the dividing line between two dimensions. He must stop soon, and find a door. But not yet, not yet. I must reach Skinn as fast as I can, or Evelyn would–

CRUNCH.

Black. Crimson. Twisting tendrils of fog cloud Tyki's mind, sending his thoughts swirling like river water, muddy and confused. A painful spot at his forehead throbs in sympathy with each tortured heartbeat. Dimly, Tyki becomes aware that he is lying flat on his back on a polished surface, cool and smooth to his skin, and he moans as he struggles onto his side. Each eyelid takes eons to force open. When Tyki's vision clears into a sharp world of pain rather than a fuzzy one, he finds himself looking stupidly at the rough stone bricks of a white wall. Stretching out a hand, he caresses the surface, finding it as impenetrable as…well, as stone-bricked wall. Oh. Right. Then a pair of patent-leather black shoes stop by Tyki's outstretched hand.

With a trace of concern, the Millennium Earl asks, "Tyki-pet, what are you doing?"

Looking up, Tyki groans, "Millennium Earl. I was just…"

"Running full-pelt into an inter-dimensional barrier? And may I ask why you are in human form?"

Tyki lets grey wash over him, grimacing as the throbbing returns to his head, along with the dreary darkness in his music. "I was…distracted." He pulls himself slowly into a sitting position.

A long, dangerous pause. "I see," the Earl drawls. As always, his eyes are hidden, his emotions impossible to read. Then the Earl seems to jump with excitement. "Tyki-pet, you must listen to this. I have found…blahblahblahblah."

Tyki groans once again, silently, as the Earl launches into a speech dull enough to send even Jasdevit to sleep. Worry gnaws at him. From the state of things, whoever is fighting with Skinn must put up quite a fight if Tyki can get to him in time.

And Tyki must get there in time, or Evelyn will kill him.

So he lapses into a state of stupor, eyes seemingly fixed on the Earl, but his hand gently strokes the poker chip in his pocket. Unbeknownst to him, he grins a half-smile.

Tyki isn't aware of the Earl's eyes following his hand, narrowing under the reflective glare of his glasses.

(:~:)

In many lab experiments testing the intelligence of animals, a tiny furry hamster would be set in a giant maze, twisting around sharp corners, hitting dead ends and fleeing as if demons were at its heels.

That is what Evelyn feels like now.

She had been running for a while, minutes, hours, she doesn't know. The only sense she has is the blurring of the walls and a thousand different corridors weaving into an endless burrow of claustrophobia. A hallway lined with mirrors, one of them a door, leading to another place or time. Stone and candles, metal and bulbs, wood and ambience. Whenever Evelyn happens on a door, the key finds its way into the keyhole, and however disproportionate the key is to the slot, the door opens into another dimension, another world.

Evelyn knows the doors may never end. Desperation threatens to seed tears, and exhaustion slows her pace. Finally, she collapses, heaving for breath, by a wall painted a black so deep that it shimmers with the absence of light.

What to do…Evelyn tries to think logically, but her whirring thoughts tell her only what she does not want to hear. Angrily, she brushes them aside, her cards humming in distress. Glancing down, Evelyn is surprised to see an amethyst glow emanating from the bag at her belt. A cautious finger flips open the catch, and her cards flurry upwards like snowflakes caught in a gust of wind. Entirely without her control, they dance about Evelyn, toying with her hair, lingering at the cut on her finger, and whispering to her. Well, not whispering exactly, but as Evelyn closes her eyes and listens, in a moment like when she first used Innocence, she knows, inexpressibly, what to do.

Turning toward the dark void of the wall, Evelyn examines the surface intently, not touching it, but drinking in every little detail. The black plane is so smooth, it could be liquid, or even nothing. Yes. It could really be a void. So if Evelyn were to make a door, to pass through this emptiness…

"Innocence," Evelyn commands quietly, "Level two release." Her cards rotate to face her, and as if suspended from strings, flutter backward to the wall, forming a small door, barely large enough to enter crouching. And of course, the door is completely invisible from the side. Evelyn considers this, then whispers, "Open." Incandescent light flares from the edges of every white rectangle as the cards connect with the Ark, wrestling for control of that tiny piece of wall. Then the colours fade, leaving only a quiet hum of power. Evelyn reaches forward, inserting Road's key into the cloverleaf in the centre of the ace of clubs, on the left side of the door. The key turns with oiled silence, and with a single push, Evelyn is through, into hell.

The world is shaking around Evelyn, reverberations crashing into her. The night sky is strangely coloured, with childish stars painted around a chalky-white moon. Ash is falling like burning sleet, suffusing the air and making it impossible to breathe. The room is collapsing, I must– Then Evelyn lowers her gaze to the slope of the hill below her, and she sees him.

She sees Kanda Yu.

Kanda wipes blood from his mouth, struggling, and failing, to get to his feet, his ragged uniform flapping in the gale around him. His hair flutters about his many wounds, and his hands, empty of the weight of Mugen. Kanda raises his eyes, and they widen as he meets Evelyn's desperate face. The cracks widen in the ground around him and he shakes his head, motioning. Go back.

"Kanda!" Evelyn screams, taking a step forward, but an arm circles her waist. As she struggles, she wills for her cards, but a firm hand reaches around her and keeps them in the shimmering portal. So Evelyn is pulled backwards, back through the little door of cards, tears escaping her eyes, forever locked to Kanda's gaze.

As the door swings shut, Evelyn sees Kanda's last smile of relief at her safety, through the narrowing gap of light in a hail of stone and explosion of sound, fading into the void.

Then he is gone.

Evelyn crumples by the door, staring at the rectangle of cards, their link with the Ark fading, barely held up by the power of Road's key. Through a film of tears, she sees a hand that is not her own reach forward and gently remove it. The cards tumble to the floor like broken dreams, their poetic order cascading into chaos, over Evelyn's boots and the hands cradling the key.

Evelyn gaze follows the white sleeves up to Tyki's sorrow-filled face. She can hardly breathe for sobs.

Tyki's voice is tinged with regret. "I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough. The Earl…" He stops. He knows no words will ever be enough. They stare at each other, Evelyn's tears drawing trails of diamond down her cheeks. Behind them, there is a flicker of movement in the empty wall, and stars flare into existence, as if the two figures are framed by the cosmos and the heavens, glittering with stars.

Unbidden, two words dripping like blood enter Evelyn's mind. Withered lotus. She leans against the wall and closes her eyes, grieving in private. Tyki watches her cry for a while, his heart empty and bleak. His hands move of their own accord, gathering up Evelyn's cards and tucking them back into the pouch at her belt. The knowledge that he has broken his promise lends his movements a certain pain.

Then a drop of liquid falls onto his hand. Looking down, he sees the glimmer of a mote water, and to his shock, he realises his cheeks are wet. His orchestra wails in a crescendo of melancholy notes.

"What?" he whispers, before he can stop himself.

Evelyn glances up, and smiles sorrowfully. "So you do feel pity, Tyki."

Tyki hurriedly wipes at his streaming eyes. "They're coming out on their own. I don't know. Skinn was the Noah of wrath. Perhaps the death of wrath is affecting the Noah in me. But…I feel some of these may be real."

"Family always cry for each other," Evelyn murmurs. "Kanda was a brother to me."

For a moment, Tyki feels unimaginable relief at this, then disgust at his thoughts overwhelm him.

Tyki lets his tears run in shining rivulets onto his sleeve. How many of these tears are real? How many are for Evelyn? He pushes the thoughts aside. They disturb him. He wonders, almost to himself, "Because I am a child of the Noah, the Noah side of me instinctively wants to kill exorcists. I seem to be the most adept at suppressing it, but for how long?"

Something, on the edge of his words, surprises Evelyn. Does he fear the return of the Noah?

Tyki quietly reaches for Evelyn's hand, and they lean silently against a backdrop of stars, drawing what little comfort from the touch as they can, and wait.

And that is how Road finds them, white tracks of tears streaking their faces, clinging on to each other's hands, their backs to the world.

(:~:)

The study floor is littered with tissues, like a layer of snow and frozen tears. Evelyn had cried until the tears no longer came, and is now nursing a cup of tea on the sofa next to Tyki. Tyki had grabbed a huge wad of paper towels and stacked it on the table before him, before faceplanting into the white. He hasn't moved since then, except to acknowledge Evelyn's hand on his wrist. The towels are turning into soggy pulp.

Road lies in a corner, delicately dirtying tissue after tissue. Both she and Tyki ignore their respective cups of tea. The only sound in the room is the ominous ticking of the clock, counting down to the last second, when the Ark will be no more.

Then the short, quick steps of a fat man ring out on the wooden floorboards outside the study. "Road, Tyki-pet? I need a word."

Like an oiled otter, Evelyn slips silently under the table, the laced fringes of the pristine tablecloth swinging soundlessly. Tyki starts upright with a convulsive movement, sodden tissues clinging to his face, giving him a pathetic appearance. He quickly reverts to his Noah form.

A half-second later, the Millennium Earl bounces into the room, looking approvingly at the rather damp Noah of pleasure. "I see you feel the loss of our brother Skinn as much as I do, Tyki-pet."

Road glances over at the Earl, the last of her tissues joining the others by her feet. "What did you have to say?"

"There is but an hour until the download completes, and the exorcists wiped out like the vermin they are." The Earl seems to swell with joy.

Tyki feels an icy hand grip his ankle under the table. Wincing slightly, he asks, "Where are Jasdebi and Devit?"

"I sent them to play with the exorcists for a while. If they don't kill all of them, then the download will."

A slight choking noise emanates from the general direction of the sofa. As the Earl peers questioningly at him, Tyki clears his throat, smiling, "I'm sorry, my voice is a bit hoarse."

"Ah. Drink your tea then." The Earl half-turns to leave. Then he becomes unnaturally still. "Strange. Very strange indeed."

Tyki straightens slowly. "I beg your pardon?" It is hard to speak past the hammering of his heart.

The Earl minces further into the room, halting in front of the low table. "Both Road," – he indicates her – "and you, Tyki, have a cup in front of you. So who, may I ask, drank from that?"

Tyki closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them, the Earl's finger is hovering above Evelyn's half-finished tea.

Road's crystalline voice floats across to them. "An exorcist. She's under the table. Tyki's girlfriend, actually."

Tyki's does his best to translate his horror into an acid glare at Road. She smiles slyly in return. The hand tightens around Tyki's ankle, and he smiles painfully at the Earl, saying through gritted teeth, "Road, that's not funny."

The Earl examines him through his glasses for the longest while. Tyki holds his gaze coolly. Then the Earl takes a breath and says in a singsong, "No, I don't think so." He thuds to the door, pauses, and calls, "Tyki, the control room, in five minutes. And do not go sneaking off to help Jasdebi and Devit. I will find out."

As the Earl's footsteps recede down the corridor, Tyki becomes aware of the tightness in his chest. He lets out the breath he has been holding, fills his lungs, and strides calmly over to close the door. Tyki stands for a moment, fingers on the warm oak doorknob, then turns to stare at Road. Evelyn, in the process of straightening up, does the same.

Road shrugs, and says, "He always underestimated you. And you make a terrible liar. This way, he wouldn't suspect."

Tyki quells the anger simmering within him, walks back to the sofa, and takes a sip of tea. Then he stops in shock. I've never been able to stop my anger before. But he pushes those thoughts aside. There are more important things present.

So he turns to Evelyn, sitting next to him, and murmurs, "I have to go to the Earl. I'm sorry, but your friends will have to hold out on their own."

She smiles sadly. "You did all you could. Don't be too long."

"Wait for me." Tyki drops her hand and crosses the carpet in silence, the sound of his stride tapping over the maple floorboards outside.

Evelyn gazes blankly at the wallpaper, emotionally drained.

"Don't be so depressed." Road's voice tinkles. "Let's go. We have to change for dinner."

Evelyn looks up, startled. "What?" She asks warily.

Road rolls her eyes, a smile spreading. "The Earl will probably order Tyki to welcome the Exorcists with a dinner before he orders Tyki to kill them." She darts across the room, grabs Evelyn's hand, and drags her out the room, ignoring her protests. "I can open any door to any room, so I'm sure we'll find something that fits you. This'll be fun!"

Evelyn feels like a hamster again. But Tyki will not harm my friends. He will keep to his word.

(:~:)

Tyki knocks gently on the massive double doors to the control room, hearing the sound echoed in a thousand drumbeats in the gloom. A premonition, perhaps? After waiting an appropriate amount of time, and hearing nothing, Tyki pushes the heavy slab of mahogany, soundlessly surveying the room.

"Close the door behind you." The words are bone-chilling, spreading ice in the air.

Tyki complies, and slowly makes his way towards the raised platform from which the silver pipes of the black organ rise like towers. The Millennium Earl faces the instrument, his back to Tyki. To Tyki's annoyance, the Earl's elevated position means that he must look up at the Earl. A clever play on power, indeed.

When Tyki speaks, his voice holds a resigned tone. "Earl of the Millennium, why are we here?"

There is no trace of syrup in the Earl's answer. "You have not been entirely truthful to me, Tyki."

Tyki cocks his head, grinning, "So I'm not Tyki-pet anymore, now that I've crossed you?"

A blur of movement. Tyki raises an eyebrow at the Earl's snarling face, barely an inch from his, top hat tilting, yellowish eyes glinting. "Ah," Tyki comments. He does not step back.

So the ultimatum comes. The Earl spits, "What are you doing, hiding an exorcist in your study?" He shakes with anger, seeming to swell in both height and power.

"None of your concern, lardface." Tyki's words carry steel, all formalities gone.

"You dare speak that way to me?"

Tyki gazes calmly into the Millennium Earl's mad face. "Yes, I dare."

The Earl gives a delusional shriek. "Oh, so being in love makes this permitted, then? Who has ever heard of a Noah in love, or even with emotions?" Turning, he storms up the steps, his fury crackling in the air.

Tyki is silent for a moment. "One of the many things I've learnt recently," he raises his head, "is that just because something is unheard, it doesn't mean it does not exist."

"I'll kill her then. Then she'll be unheard and non-existent."

"No! I will not allow you to hurt Evelyn, not in any way–"

"Enough." The Earl deflates, becoming dangerously quiet. His macabre grin widens. "Fine. If you want her, whatever her pathetic name is, to survive the next few hours, I suggest you get rid of her friends."

Tyki's eyes widen. "But I promised–"

The Earl cuts him off with a single motion. "Noah can lie. Take my advice and learn how to, quickly."

"No! If I–"

"Go. Invite the exorcists to dinner, then slaughter them like they deserve to be."

Tyki closes his eyes in denial, but the Earl is not one to be denied. Slowly, he raises his eyes, hate burning like liquid fire. "And if I exterminate the exorcists?" Evelyn will abhor me.

"Then you can keep her as prisoner," the Earl barks in a staccato rhythm. "Begone."

Tyki stares at him. Then he nods once, turns, and paces slowly away, drums dictating his steps with military precision.

(:~:)

Far away in another part of the Ark, in a room draped tastefully in velvet, covered with floor-length mirrors, a similarly deadly conversation is taking place, though in a different way.

"Road, this is far too much! It's only dinner."

'Evelyn, Tyki will be wearing a tuxedo! You two have to match each other in elegance."

"I'm not a doll, you know. How can I move in this?"

"You're not going to be fighting, are you?"

"Well…"

"But you two are soooooo cuuute together!"

"Road…"

"Shut up. We have to go soon."

(:~:)

Tyki paces by the dinner table, dressed in his sharpest tuxedo. His coat is elegantly cut, his gloves a perfect white, his tie straight. His heart, though, is crumpled. "No," he mutters under his breath, "I must do something about it."

"Do something about what?"

Tyki glances up, and his jaw hits the floor. Evelyn grins and spins in slow circle. Her dress is made of the finest, rich purple silk, tucked in an elegant, yet simple design at her narrow waist, before flowing gently to her ankles. A necklace of silver and single amethyst charm circles her neck, sparkling like the laughter in her eyes. A crystal pin holds her dark hair in place.

"Uh…" Tyki chokes. "You…you look…um…" He turns the colour of beetroot.

"I'll take that as a compliment. You look pretty sharp too," she answers coyly. Evelyn glides over to the table, the black ankle-boots she had chosen over high heels clicking on the floor. Tyki hastens over to pull out her chair for her, before lowering himself into the seat beside her.

Tyki motions at her clothes. "How did you…"

Evelyn rolls her eyes. "Road. She said we had to match." But I'm wearing my fighting clothes underneath, just to be safe. Not that you need to know.

"Thumb war?" Evelyn laughs.

"You're on," Tyki smiles.

Laughing, they play on, although Evelyn notices Tyki is slightly preoccupied with something.

"Are you all right?" Evelyn asks in concern. "You seem distracted. What did the Earl say?"

"He said I must learn to lie." Tyki laughs, but humour is not present in his voice. "So I said I would."

Evelyn cocks her head at him. "Would you to lie to me?"

Suddenly, Tyki reaches forward and traps her other hand with his own, holding them with a gentle urgency. "Evelyn," he says quietly, "Whatever happens in the future, please don't think any less of me." His eyes glimmer with unshed tears, but they remain unshed, for he never cries. Well, almost.

Evelyn laughs, "Baka. What would be the worst thing that could happen? You have changed so much for me already." She looks keenly at him. "You're not going to cry, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Thumb war. I'm still winning."

So their hands are still interlinked as Allen, Lavi, Lenalee, and Chaoji burst into the room. Allen and Lavi take one look at the rapidly blushing pair, and yell, "EEEHHHH?"

Yup. As you probably expect, the next chapter will have more fighting in it (a lot more). So, what to do with Tyki's little promise – shall I be EVIL and put angst in? Or is that what you want? (Yeah, it's probably what you want.) I'm babbling, but whatever. Next week, then.