A/N: This chapter is shorter than the previous two, but it's about average length compared to the others. To be honest with you... I'm really unsure about this chapter. But I also don't know how to change it, so I'm going to stick with this. I can work with it, so it's no trouble in the end. I just pray that you guys don't find me working too fast, but frankly, this won't be a super long fanfiction. It most likely wont even stretch to twenty chapters. Sorry if this news disappoints you, but it's what I'm seeing as the future right now. But things could possibly go in a different direction, so we'll see. It all depends on what I choose to do in the next to chapters after this one. Alright?


[11]
.Too Far Gone.

When Allen emerges from the interrogation room, my face is devoid of anything negative. Instead, over the course of his questioning, I calmed myself down and brought compassion and comfort into my body to tame the wicked feelings and to be ready for Allen when he needs to come to me for support.

But as soon as he's brought out, they clip handcuffs to his wrists.

Startled and a bit angered, I leap out of my seat and rush to him. "What are you doing?!" I bark at the officers cuffing my Allen.

"He's under arrest as a suspect for the murder of Christine Alyce," Link states mildly.

I scowl and shove my wrists at them. "Then you need to take me in, too. I won't let him rot in the county jail while you set up a court date. Plus, I'm a possible accomplice, aren't I? So you need to take me wherever he goes."

"Lavi…" Allen murmurs softly beside me. "Don't do this."

"Actually," Cross interjects as he comes in between everyone and raises a finger in objection, "They can't do this, so the redhead doesn't need to. See, Allen is a minor, which means he can't be held in a county jail. At least not in this state. So they have to instead tail you with an investigator or put you under house arrest. They can't keep you."

I breathe a sigh of relief. Okay, so many I don't entirely dislike Cross. He has his moments. "Thank you," I mouth to him.

The man winks, but it's not directed at me. It's directed at his nephew.

"In that case," Link says steadily as he gives a glance in Officer Krieg's direction, "We would like you, Mr. Cross Marian, to sign consent forms for allowing me access to monitor your son's actions while at home. Nothing much, simply a timed house arrest anklet that will be active all of the time of the day outside of his hours at school. While he is at school, I will be in the building looking out for suspicious behavior and communicating with his peers for information. Before this interrogation I already received a fax from the Head of the school board, Mr. Levrier, confirming his permission of my presence on school grounds. Also, I personally will be searching his locker for evidence."

"Great," I mutter under my breath, "So Allen's old stalker strikes again."

"Did you say something, Mr. Deak?" Howard Link shoots at me.

"Nothing I want you to hear," I answer stiffly. I only ever liked Link for one reason: when Allen wanted to escape the investigator, he would come to me for a distraction. Other than that, Link was always someone I got jealous of quickly. And it seems that I'm going to get jealous again, if Old Howdy-on-Duty tries to get up close and personal with Allen.

Link sends me a look, but it's just as easily dismissed as it was brought on. "I feel we have nothing further to discuss. You are free to go. Later today, we will drop by to equip Mr. Walker with his anklet. Good day, sirs," Link responds firmly before turning and exiting the room. He disappears into an office with the words 'chief investigator' printed on the window.

"Come on, Allen, let's blow this joint," I murmur agitatedly. I grip his arm a bit too strongly as I lead him out of the station. Our guardians follow behind, not bothering to say much of anything. I can tell that Cross is feeling rather… well, cross, and Gramps is feeling much the same. Out of the four of us, Allen seems to be the lone person who is level-headed. But I think it's mostly because he's numb. When he's ready, he'll probably tell me all of the things they said to him, and what they asked him. I'm dying to know.

When we reach our cars, there's a girl leaning against the 'no parking zone' post, a bubble of gum expanding form her mouth. "I take it things didn't go too well?" she smirks.

"Rhode," I curse under my breath. Allen's blank face droops into a scowl. Oblivious, Cross and Gramps get into their cars and wait for us. But Allen and I aren't moving.

"So you know my name?" she says with a light smile.

"We know what you are," I reply hotly. I clench my fist until my nails dig into my palm. "You aren't fooling us, not this time. But what I want to know is: why aren't you dead? I thought you burnt to a crisp on the Ark?"

Her smile twists unnaturally, her golden eyes flickering like a smoldering flame. "Some tricks are better played than others," she chuckles darkly. "And sometimes, when you wish to live forever, your wish is granted."

"Have you been waiting for us all this time?" I hear Allen rasp out.

"If you mean that I've been outside of the police station, then my answer is no. But if you meant my entire life thus far, waiting until you two were reincarnated again… then yes." Rhode pops her gum at the end like a final period marking our soon-to-be finish. "Uncle Tyki, Lulubell and I have been waiting for you two to appear again. We've been planning and planning all this time, praying for our chance to get our revenge. And now that you're old enough – about he same age as you were when we knew you – you're able to understand and possibly remember why it is we would be doing this."

"This can't go on, you know!" I hiss at her, my face growing closer to hers as I raise my fists to about chest height. "I see what you're doing. And I can stop you."

Behind me, my grandfather honks the horn. It's like he doesn't even know that Rhode is here.

"You can't stop us, Lavi-dear," she murmurs in a tone that sends an array of goosebumps along my arms. "We're just too clever for you."

And she laughs, and Allen cringes, and I want to scream, all in one simultaneous second. But then a light bulb goes off in my brain. "Rhode," I say carefully, my tone calmer, "Have you seen Tyki? I'd like a word with him."

"He thought you might say that. He told me that if you did, I should give you this," she sighs, her eyes rolling in annoyance at my lack of attention on her. She hands me a bar napkin with a date and time written on it, the bar name circled. "Bad luck, Lavi-dear," she smirks, wishing me the worst instead of the best. It's then that she turns to Allen and before I can stop her, leans in to pinch his cheek. "You're still as cute as I remember, Allie," Rhode coos. Then, as I'm reaching over to rip her hand away, she pulls away long enough to slap Allen across the face. "But I still hate you!"

I'm about to attack her, a roar building in the back of my throat, when she dashes off down the street, her gum flinging to the ground behind her. Beside me, Allen's cheek reddens with a handprint mark. He touches it lightly. "I can't believe what's been happening to me today," he mumbles in a hurt tone. "I wish things stayed as good as they began this morning."

I drape my hand over her shoulder. I notice that Cross's car is gone; he must have gotten impatient, or assumed that Allen was going to come home with me again. I suppose it's for the best; with the way Allen's acting, it's clear that he's still in need of me.

"I know, love," I whisper into his ear as we walk back to my grandfather's vehicle. "But things will brighten up. I'll make sure of it."

"I don't think I like that vengeful tone in your voice, Lavi," he replies as I open the door.

I chuckle mystically, as if I know the future and he doesn't. "You shouldn't," I tell him as I, too, climb into the car. "But you can't stop me from doing what I now know I have to do."

"I figured as much."

o0-0o

Puddle of Mudd blasts in my room as I throw together a mesh of clothing, a fake ID, money in cash, and body spray onto my bed. I slide on the clothes in layers, stick the ID in my back pocket, stuff the money in my front pocket on the opposite side, and shoot the spray all over me to mask the scent of the shower I skipped today.

It's Thursday presently, four days following the police station incident. Today is the date scribbled in classy scroll across the crumpled bar napkin, and it's about half an hour before the time written beneath it. The bar itself is a gay bar, which makes me terribly weary since I'm already taken, but after discussing it with Allen I've figure out a way to be safe: only use my ID to get in, but not to order drinks (or take any offered). That way, I won't get drunk or drugged, and won't end up in someone else's bed tomorrow. It's a shamefully paranoid thought, I know, but you can never be too careful. I would do the exact same thing even if I was going to the usual 'straight' bar in town.

On Sunday, Allen and I had spent our time on my couch watching movies, our bodies huddled together as if our lived depended on the shared body warmth. He wouldn't let go of me that day, and I didn't want to let go of him. There are new forces shoved upon us, some of which are similar (if not completely the same) as they were in the past. I hate how history tends to repeat itself time and time again. It pisses me off. Why can't we simply be?

I won't lie; somewhere between movie two and movie five, Allen and I stirred up both serious conversations and deep kisses. I don't know which meant more to me, since the talking included problem-solving and confessions, but the kissing included passion and escape. Although neither of us said the magic words (I love you), I could feel them dangling in the air between us. Allen told me that no matter what, he wasn't about to let the Noahs tear us apart or ruin our lives. I promised him that when I met with Tyki, I would accomplish exactly that. He had smiled and kissed me again, and I had timidly touched his skin as I kissed back.

I think, with all the support from Allen, there's plenty of resolve in my mind to carry out my plans.

My plans are this: to interfere with Allen's framed situation and either trick, persuade, or blackmail Tyki Mikk into ceasing his damn revenge operation. If I have to, I will give up my life to clear Allen's name.

I turn to my stereo and click the off switch, the Famous CD by the aforementioned rock band stopping mid-spin. Then, with a wave to Gramps and a push on the remote on my car keys, I head out the door into the fresh late-October air.

It takes me about ten minutes to get to the bar. The entire ride, I sat silent and paced my breathing. Now, as I step up into the brightly colored neon lights and the bouncer at the front checks my ID and flashes me a creepy grin, I can feel my nerves escalating to dangerous levels. I feel cold and hot at the same time, my innards icy but my flesh white hot.

At the head of the bar next to the bartender and nearest to the dance floor, I see Tyki sitting up on a stool. I recognize him by his hair and his strangely familiar silken top hat. I breathe in heavily and let it out slowly to calm some of my nerves. Around me, guys look me over with hungry eyes, and I try to focus on my target. I attempt to drag my anger to the surface with thoughts of injustice. Allen, the boy you love most in the world, was framed by the guy in front of you. He's innocent, but he could be sentenced to a life in prison when he's older because of this man. Remember what Tyki has done, and what he is doing. Remember, and feel that furious burn in your chest.

It works. I can feel my nerves ebbing to the back of my mind as I pace closer to the taller, slightly older Noah. I take my sit on the stool beside him and open my mouth to speak first. But he cuts me off before a single sound comes out.

"Why, if it isn't Lavi Deak," Tyki grins, his head inclining towards me. He tips the brim of his hat upwards, a few curls of his dark brown hair spilling onto his forehead. "I see you're not as much of a coward as I thought you were. Congratualtions."

"I didn't come here to listen to you patronizing me. I came here on business," I retort sharply.

The bartender steps over to us suddenly. He's smiling lightly and placing a hand on his hip. "Would you like a drink, cutie?" he flirts heavily. He's one of those girly, cheerful gays, the kind that reminds me of Jack from the sitcom Will & Grace. He even has the same lanky build as Jack, only his hair is blonde and dyed pink on the tips of his sideways bangs.

"I'm not much of a drinker, thanks," I answer in a forcefully polite voice. "I'm just here to negotiate something with him," I add after a second of thought. I point my thumb in Tyki's direction.

The bartender pouts. "Aw, so you're taken, then? …Unless… you two are breaking up?"

"Yes, I'm taken, but not by this guy. He's far from a romantic interest, thank you," I grumble as I pick at a napkin I find near my elbow. "Anyway, if you'll excuse us, we have some issues to work out." I hate it when people butt in and stick their noses where they shouldn't. It's none of this bartender's damn business what Tyki and I are doing here. He should have stopped talking as soon as I said that I didn't want a drink. Tch.

"Alright, alright," he bartender sighs. "I have customers to attend to, anyhow." And he marches back down the bar to respond to an order.

Shaking my head, I shoot a glare at Tyki, who seems highly amused by my small spat with the bartender. "Now then, tell me what the fuck you Noahs are doing by framing Allen."

"Temper, temper!" Tyki says defensively as he raises his hands in mock surrender. "Are we not here to converse like gentlemen?"

"Not when you're trying to get my boyfriend and I in some deep shit," I snap coldly. "How the hell did you pull it off, anyhow? The cops said that Allen's DNA was on that woman's body, but he wasn't anywhere near her!"

He laughs, his voice shockingly loud against the music. "Lavi, my boy, I know you're smarter than that. Don't you remember what my abilities are?"

"You can pass through solid objects," I retort. "You tore the organs out of bodies without so much as a poked hole on the surface. You're a sick bastard, which means I know that you killed that poor teacher. But what I want to know is how you got Allen's DNA on her!"

"I can pass through solid objects," Mikk repeats for emphasis, "Which means… I could have easily slipped into someone's home and collected the DNA I needed, no?"

I blink as the possibility of – no, the truth of – this dawns on me. My fingers grip the wood of the bar with painful strength. "So that's how my backpack wound up in my car when I know that left it in my room. You went to my house, and Allen's, and place everything where it needed to be in order to get us in trouble… And with your damn ability, none of your fingerprints would show up on anything, so you could have easily killed and dumped the body in my truck…" I bite down on my own teeth, the hard clatter of bone on bone ringing in my ears. "How did you get our addresses? And why did you choose that day, of all days? Why, right when everything was going so well, did you…?!"

"Keep your voice down, boy," Tyki grins. That fucking smile hasn't left his lips yet, and it's royally pissing me off. "And would you stop swearing? It's ugly."

"Answer my questions!" I hiss between my grinding teeth.

"I got your addresses from your schools' computer files. Everything you figures out is true, of 'course. And as for why… well, it's because everything was going so well that I had to ruin it. The three of us – Lulubell, Rhode and myself – are the last of our family, the only ones to have survived. And yet everyone from the order that I've encountered in the past have been reincarnated and spread across the world. It wasn't until I came to this rat-hole town in the States that we found Allen Walker and yourself. And after we watched you both for a while and saw how you two came together, we knew that we had to take action now before things got serious. After all," Tyki reminds me as his smile turns frosty and faker than it was a moment ago, "It was the bond between Allen and yourself that led to our destruction. All of us; the Akuma, dear Earl-sama, and the rest of my family. Because of… of that love you two shared –" The way he says the word 'love' is equivalent to the way someone might say 'cow manure' or 'vomit' "– Everything I cared about came crashing down. So, as payment, we are going to destroy your lives."

His smile contorts into a sinister grin lined with the ghostly whispers of maniacal laughter. I shrink back slightly, the hairs on the back of my neck rising with oncoming fear.

Swallowing hard, I bend an imaginary shield of confidence around me. "I will stop you, Tyki. It won't come to that. Allen has some of his innocence in his new body, and his left eye can track you like it used to with Akuma. You won't be able to hide; I can expose you to the authorities, and if that fails, then I can kill you myself. Like I told Rhode, this won't go on."

For a minute there, I truly believed my own words. They sounded fierce and threatening.

And yet Tyki starts to laugh. Loudly, as if no one else is in the bar. It's a laugh of pure insanity. "Now then, you wouldn't want these authorities to know that you're having sex with a minor, would you? After all, you're legally an adult, but Walker isn't… Besides, if you opted to ignore this blackmail and kill me instead, then the authorities will definitely have a murder on their hands, with my blood staining you guilty."

I bite my lip. "But I'm not having sex with him, and even if I was, you couldn't prove it. And as for the murder… well, I could handle the consequences if I knew that you were finally sent to hell."

"Maybe you're not sexually involved with him yet, but how would the police know? There are plenty of ways to prove that it's true." His tone is cocky, his eyes fiery with more that of insanity. "And for the record, I've seen Hell. It doesn't scare me anymore."

I'm caught at an impasse. I can't say anything more without him trapping me further, and I have nothing more to say that isn't completely unintelligent. So I stand, preparing myself to leave. "Fine, Tyki. You win this round. But I'll come up with something… I'm not going to sit by and let all of this happen without a fight."

"A fight?" Tyki says curiously with a slightly cock of his head. He leans down over his drink, his chin coming to rest against his knuckles. "Now there's the word I've been waiting to hear."

I freeze in place. "You're doing all this… to get us to fight you?"

"I could use Lulubell to impersonate anyone in the police force, her orders being to drop all the charged against Allen."

My mind works slowly, trying to piece this all together. "And… you'll do this if… we fight you."

"Bingo," he says with a point of his fingers like a gun firing in the air. "A fight to the death would make for much sweeter revenge than making you and Allen rot in jail for the rest of his life, don't you agree?" He pauses as I stand there, mouth agape in stupefaction. "Although, Rhode and Lulu might be a bit angry with me for settling on some sort of battle. Still," he says with a casual sigh, "It would please me more."

I jerk my head. "What if I face you, one on one? Would you make Lulubell drop Allen's charges?"

He shakes his head. "Nope, I want both of you in my clutches. I want to fight you both, I want both of you to die. I can't have one without the other."

"Even the mercy Allen showed you in the Ark doesn't free him from your hatred?" I scowl. My fists are hardening at my sides. If he says one thing more about his fighting business, I don't know what I'll do. All I know is, this is getting out of hand.

"He didn't show mercy! Mercy would have been to finish me off, or not fight me back at all!" he retorts sharply. Someone at the bar glances at us briefly. "So I want a battle. A bloody one, in which one or all of us die. You and Allen against Rhode and me. No one else. We'll pick a secluded area, and Lulu will keep watch. If you and Allen win, Lulu will free you two of charges; you can watch her do it, and then you can kill her. Don't worry, we Noah die without leaving a trace; you won't be caught with murder," he remarks. I can see the desperation gleaming in his sharp eyes.

"So you were bluffing before."

"About murdering me? Yes," he tells me.

"…Why do you want this, Tyki? Why are you getting rid of such a brilliant plan to frame and torture? I'm glad for your change of mind – it obviously gives me the upper hand – but it doesn't make sense. Have you lost your marbles, Tyki? Have the years worn you down to nothing but a man scrounging for blood?"

My words strike him like the blade of a knife across the face. He reels backwards. "I have not! It does make sense. It doesn't give you the upper hand. It… shut up, alright? This conversation is over. Just shut up and leave, Lavi Deak."

His changing moods are dumbfounding me, but I take his order to leave as a gift. I run out of the gay bar and hurry to my car.

As soon as I'm inside, I lock the doors and flip open my cell phone. I hold down the number three, and my speed dial calls Allen's home. He answers after the second ring. "Lavi?!"

"Allen…" I burst out, my breath coming out in a short gasp. "I don't know what just happened in there, but I think Tyki's lost it."

"What?! Did he hurt you?"

"No, but… first, he was acting all sneaky, then he told me what he did, and then he tried to blackmail me, and then he demanded that we fight him. I think, under his mask of cocky bullshit, he's some kind of rabid animal looking for any bite he can get."

Allen's silent for a minute. "That sounds… bizarre."

"It's was."

"…So, uh, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet. Let's wait this out for a little while, and see if any of the Noahs try to contact us again. Something tells me that Tyki has some things to tell Rhode and Lulubell after what he spilled to me tonight," I sigh tiredly. This whole event has left me emotionally exhausted.

"Rhode and Lulubell? You mean there's no one else? Not Skin, or any of the other Noah?"

"That's right," I nod as I switch my cell phone to the other ear. "I don't know why, but it's only those three. Makes it easier for us, though; at least we know that we don't have over half a dozen of them to face."

"True," Allen agrees. He then makes a noise, but I don't know what kind of noise it is. But it sounds thoughtful, like there is an inner debate being made with himself.

"Okay, I'm going to go now, Allen. I have to drive home. I'll see you tomorrow at our usual time."

"Okay, I'll see you at four o' clock, then."

"Goodbye, love."

"Bye, Lavi…"

As I'm about to hang up, I hear Allen's say something small and softly concerned.

"… And be careful."


Next chapter:

[12]
.Explicit Instructions.