History of a Mystery
-The Player-
At almost thirty years old, Neah had been planning the destruction of the Noah clan for nearly ten years. His plans were about to be set into motion and the final piece was the exorcist to whom he was trusting everything he had.
The tension in the family was rising as everyone began to suspect that Neah had more up his sleeve than messing with the Ark. He couldn't wait for Cross any longer. He was going to have to use an upcoming attack to begin executing the clan. It was now or never.
In a large meeting room, several hundred people were gathered. The usual formalities, however, like silence, were completely abandoned as the purpose of the meeting was announced by the Finders.
"What do you mean they were killed?" The question rang throughout the Black Order Headquarters as Supervisor Mackley was told the news.
"Just what I said, sir," the Finder who'd seen the event couldn't seem to get it through is head, "The Noah clan was almost completely annihilated!"
"What happened," everyone in the meeting room rang out in unison. As soon as the noise stopped, the Finder began his story.
The dark night was interrupted by a large, cube-like object appearing in the sky above the plains of eastern Europe. This object, the Ark everyone had been talking about since it appeared above the exorcists in Africa, settled on the countryside in silence. A small group of people hid in the bushes nearby (the Finders) and watched the events unfold.
The entire Noah clan emerged from the Ark swiftly and silently and prepared to converge on a tiny town only a few hundred meters away. Their movements were so quick that even the Finders had trouble keeping up with them.
"What could be so important that all fourteen Noah are going after it at once?" One young Finder asked his division leader. The older man simply shook his head.
"I have no idea, but it's big. We're here following rumors of a large mass of Innocence. Perhaps that's what they're after, too."
The tiny village was not far from their hiding spot and it didn't take them long to get there, but the Noah beat them to it and just as they reached the edge of town, the Finders could hear screams. The Akuma were shortly behind, ransacking what few houses weren't hit by a Noah. Hundreds of these living machines descended upon the village, leaving no stone unturned and no person alive.
The Finders could only freeze and watch as the entire town was destroyed right before their eyes. The attack took less than five minutes, but the devastation was great. The Noah gathered in what was left of the town square and assessed the situation. The young Finder, Devon was his name, glimpsed at the group in confusion and turned to his superior.
"There are Noah missing. I thought all fourteen were here. Now there's only twelve. Where'd the other two go?" The older man simply shrugged at his subordinate before turning his gaze back to the group of men and women in the clearing.
"I have no idea, Devon. Perhaps they aren't finished searching yet."
"There's nothing left to search for. They decimated the entire town. If there was Innocence here they have all of it." Devon frowned at the thought that the Order was about to lose so many Innocence fragments, but realized that there was nothing that could be done. He just sat and watched with the rest of his unit.
The Noah clan seemed to notice the missing members as well. The Earl stood in the middle of the group and tried to get each one to tell him where they'd last seen the missing two. None could answer immediately.
Devon tried hard to listen in on the conversation.
"Where'd that blasted boy go? I hope he doesn't have anything to do with Wrath's disappearance." The Finders recognized who was missing now. Cross, through the young Noah Neah, had given the Order the names of all the Noah clan family members, including Neah himself. They knew for sure that one of the missing Noah was Wrath, the possessor of the anger memories. As to who else was missing, Devon knew that none of the names had come with faces so none of the Finders were able to identify who else wasn't there. However, the answer to his unspoken question wasn't too far behind.
"Damn that blasted Musician! If he started anything it'll be the death of him!" The Earl's anger was unheard of in the Order. He was almost always calm whenever anyone came into contact with him.
The identity of the other missing Noah was none other than their correspondent in the clan. Cross had explained that although his name was Neah, he was often referred to as the Musician or the Fourteenth since he didn't seem to have a proper Noah name like the rest did.
The Finders listened carefully as the Earl ordered everyone to spread out and search for their clansmen. The eleven people fanned out while the Earl stayed in his place. His anger was too great to help with the search. He'd destroy everything and kill everyone in his rampage, especially if he found what the young female Noah found only a few minutes later.
"MASTER EARL!" the scream rang out from the North end of town. The entire family moved to respond, but the Earl simply raised his hand and issued an order out of anger, "Keep looking. She's most likely only found one. I want the rest of you to continue looking for the other." With this he made his way to where the young girl was located.
The division leader signaled Devon to move to the North end to see what was going on. He obeyed and as soon as he made it into position the issue of who'd been found was resolved.
"You've found him, Rhode. Don't worry. He'll return to us in time." The Earl told the girl, who'd started crying. The bloodied mess of a body that, judging from the Earl's response, must've belonged to Wrath was lying amidst the rubble of a small shop.
Now the only remaining mystery was the whereabouts of the Musician. The man had disappeared after Wrath had been found and was nowhere to be found. The Earl expressed his observation that this fight had been too easy and that the only way Wrath could've been killed was by another Noah. Of course, Neah was the prime suspect now that he had fled.
But was he truly gone?
The Finders didn't think that the Noah was going to give up easily now that he'd begun his rampage. The others were still searching for him as an eerie tune began to permeate throughout the village.
"It's him!" The Earl yelled, "He's here in the village! Find him before he strikes again!" The clan fanned out again to look for the traitor.
Devon returned to the unit and reported his observation to his superior, "The missing Noah Wrath was murdered, sir. The Earl is searching now for the Fourteenth to kill him before he kills anyone else."
"Yes, I've noticed," the older man commented, staring off into the fields between the Ark and the village. Devon looked in the direction the others seemed mesmerized with and soon joined in their surprise.
The man in question was standing in those fields with an evil smirk on his face. The music Devon had heard on the North end of town seemed to be coming from him, 'That must be the Fourteenth. The Musician in the act.'
Neah was standing in the field with his hands in his pockets. He watched with glee as the clan began to realize what was going on. He was corralling them into the field towards him. The pack on Devon's back buzzed as a message began to arrive from an unknown source. The others looked at him in surprise as he slowly pulled his pack off to answer the phone.
"This is the Latvia unit." He answered slowly.
The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, yet seemed to know the Finders were there and who they were, "You must get out of here. I cannot guarantee that you won't be collateral damage in this upcoming battle."
"Who is this?"
"Telekinesis is a wonderful ability we Noah possess. I have kept the Order informed on the Earl's movements, and now they're trying to catch me in the act. Tell the Order to send General Cross Marian to Edo in one week." The connection cut out as a wall of energy engulfed the Noah clan gathering in the field. The Finders could still see what was going on inside the transparent dome, but could no longer communicate with their informant.
"Was that the Musician?" The division leader asked quietly. Devon shrugged, "I guess so. He did say he was keeping the Order up on the clan's movements."
The group's attention returned to the field where the Noah were descending on their attacker. Neah stood with the same grin on his face he'd had the entire time. That evil smirk fit the personality which Cross had spoken so much about.
Once the clan stopped moving the Earl opened his mouth, apparently to ask a question. The youngest Noah answered his master's question and the attack began.
The Finders could only watch in awe as the Noah attacked one of their own.
-END-
Yes, I intended to end this chapter in the middle of the flashback. There is a rhyme to my reason, so please bear with me. Send a review and I will give you the next chapter!
