ALLEN 13

LAVI 17

LENALEE 15

KANDA 18

—

After only ten minutes of searching, the trio come across a suspiciously clean building. The outside is as decrepit as any other, but the inside is free of rubble.
A bright red carpet leads up the stairs and through a door left slightly ajar.

"Should we go in?" Lenalee asks tentatively.
"We don't have much choice." Allen sighs. "It's the only thing we've found."
"…Alright." Lenalee nods. "I guess I'll…"
The steps closer to the door and slowly pushes it open, revealing the darkness behind it.

"…Can you see anything?" Lenalee squints at the inky blackness.
"No." Allen shakes his head. "You ready to take the plunge?"
"I suppose."

—

The carpet stops suddenly, forcing the exorcists' footsteps to echo loudly through the surprisingly large room.

The area is obviously larger than the building itself, despite being located on the third floor.

A stream of light from the door is the only illumination, leaving a large expanse of darkness in front.

Eleven minutes…Not bad.

"There she is." Allen mutters.

I'd be surprised, but I'm not that easy to impress.

"Come on out!" Lenalee calls.

Hmmm… maybe.

A familiar red door bursts into existence a few meters in front of them. The bright red checkered patterns and golden outline standing out shockingly against the backdrop.

Come on in…If you'd like~ I'll be waiting on the other side…

—

The red doors open with barely a push, easily swinging open.

Allen tries not to scowl at the room beyond, looking exactly like it had at his and Road's first encounter in the rewinding town.

"Great." He mumbles.

"Hello there."
Road reclines on the large throne, a large lollipop in her hands and a large grin on her face.
Allen stays quiet, trying to remember if he should know her name or not.

"Do you know where you are, exorcists?" She smirks. "I'm sure you can at least make a guess."

"…You're a Noah." Allen replies, choosing his words carefully. "And this is…your world."
"Hmm…" Road jumps out of her seat, taking a few steps closer. "You're smarter than you look."

Allen bites down a snarky reply, instead, he glances over at Lenalee.

"My name is Road." Road finally introduces. "We met a little while ago, if you can remember something that long ago."

"At school." Lenalee says. "You…You're Mak."
"And it's very nice to see you again, Mei." Road grins, her bright white teeth shining against her grey skin.
"Why?" Lenalee asks, her gaze hardening. "Why did you…"
"Pretend to be human?" Road says. "I was bored and you were fun to mess with."
"What exactly do you want?" Allen demands, glaring at the girl.
"…I want to play a game!" Road giggles hysterically. "You, like mice in a maze, trapped in my world. It's all a bit of fun, isn't it?"
"That's not an answer." Allen says.
"Maybe not." Road shrugs. "But…I think you do need to keep better track of the time."
"Huh?" Allen looks momentarily confused before realising what she meant. "But you said- if we found you-"
"That I might let you leave." Road grins. "You might have some freedom in this world, but on the outside, your lying unconscious with a few Akuma hanging over you, just waiting for my command."

—

"That was easy." Lavi deactivates his Innocence.
"Hmph." Kanda glares at the half a dozen Akuma corpses lying across the beach.
"Not bad." Their CROW agent nods. "We'll be heading back, then."
"Do you think the lady and the sprout are back yet?" Lavi wonders.
"…They should be." A tall Finder nods. "Their mission was to a much smaller area."

—

"Hey!" Allen cries out as the figure of an Akuma appears behind the CROW. "Look out!"
"Oh no you don't." Road jumps in front of Allen. "You took too long."
"Get out of my way."

The bullet barely misses the CROW as they fire spells at the Akuma.
"That's not going to work." Road laughs. "You're still dead."
A phantom bullet slams into the CROW's chest, knocking him forward. The first Akuma fades into nothing, like a mirage, as the CROW falls into dust.
"You-" Allen turns to Road.
"That was fun." She skips back to her seat. "But we're just getting started."

—

"They're not back yet?" Lavi stares at Bailey before looking at their Finder. "But…you said-"

"…We haven't been able to contact them since they arrived." Bailey admits. "We were just about to send someone after them."

"We'll go!" Lavi says quickly. "They're out friends-"

"And you just got here." Bailey inturrupts. "We still haven't cleared you for a proper mission."
"But-"

"Keith has already gone to prepare." Bailey says. "You should go rest."

—

"You remind me of someone, you know that?" Road muses, looking the exorcists up and down. "Well, both of you actually."

"Really?" Allen says.
"We met in a situation like this too." Road continues. "Trapped…"

She leans on the side of her chair, looking thoughtful.

"…You even look a little alike." She wanders over, her expression still pensive. "Maybe…"
Road reaches towards Allen, her fingers brushing his violet bandana, which covers his left eye.
"Hey!" Allen steps back, knocking her hand away.
"Aw, that was mean." She pouts. "Can't I-"
"Stop fooling around." Lenalee interjects, stepping forward.
"Hmph." Road steps back. "Fine then."

—

"Good luck." Bailey nods as Keith steps up to the gate.
"Thanks, but I hope I won't need it." Keith smiles as he steps inside.

The Ark is just as Keith remembers, stark white and filled with useless buildings. A bright blue sky shines down, free of clouds or even a sun.
Keith walks silently through the city, the glaring brightness causing him to squint slightly.

There's an odd unease in his gut, a shuddering hum swelling through the Ark. Keith can only pray that nothing goes too wrong.

—

"This way?" Lenalee looks hopelessly down the bright yellow, iridescent hallway.
"…I can't tell." Allen admits.
"Let's try it…" Lenalee decides, stepping forward. "I just hope there aren't any more traps…"
"Look out!" Allen pulls her back as the floor starts to crumble, falling into a black abyss below.

That's right! Keep going!

"Shut it." Allen mutters as they head back in the other direction.
"We…came from that way, right?" Lenalee points down one hall as they reach the intersection.
"Then let's go this way." Allen nods as they head the other way.

The hall twists and turns, but is no different to the rest of the shining maze. The roof continues to press down, slowly inching closer to the ground.
"We can't even be sure there's an exit." Allen glares at the roof. "We just have to keep going."
"…I'm sure we'll be okay." Lenalee reassures. "…Even then, we have our trump card."
"I suppose." Allen scowls. "But I'm not quite up for giving ourselves away so easily."

—

FIVE MINUTES LATER.

Keith slows his jog to a stop as he reaches the door marked 'Visby'. He quickly pushes it open, entering the shining whiteness with no hesitation.

—

"Seriously?" Allen tries to catch his breath, even as the two continue running from the melting corridor. A small burn covers the back of his right hand, where he'd touched the wall.

"This way!" Lenalee calls out as she spots a small flight off stairs.
"Stairs?" Allen slows slightly as they reach them.
"We have no choice!" Lenalee grabs Allen's left hand as pulls him up, just as the first steps start to dissolve.

—

Keith immediately spots the Akuma, activating his Innocence is a second to slice through them. He's lucky that they were only Level 1s.

Keith scowls at the bodies on the floor. Mei and Ray are slumped against the wall, leaning against each other.

Four piles of ash lie across the ground, lying inside two Finder uniforms, a CROW outfit, and a fancy gown.

"Hey, Bailey?" Keith pulls out his golem.
"Yes?"
"Was there a…a woman meeting them here?"
"Oh, yes. Jennie Bathsheba. She owns the hotel you should be in…Is she alright?"
"No." Keith bluntly answers. "I've found her remains, an Akuma got her."
"Oh…I see. And the others?"
"The agent from Central and the Finders are gone too." Keith reports, heading over the the sleeping exorcists. "Ray- Martin and Myong are…unconscious."
"Are they hurt?"
"I don't think so." Keith moves closer. "Martin's got a burn on his right hand, but there's nothing apart from that."
"Can you wake them? And is there anything else?"
Keith gives Mei an experimental shake to no avail as he answers Bailey. "There were some Akuma just hovering over them."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. They're weren't attacking at all." Keith tries to wake Ray, only to have the same lack of response.

"It'll be best to bring them back, we'll see what we can do."
"I'm on it." Keith moves to pick up Mei, only for the room's door to creak open.

"Oh?"

Keith looks up to see a young girl in a frilly dress standing in the doorway.

"Who are-"
The girl starts to laugh hysterically, waving a finger at Keith.
"Interference isn't allowed." She grins.
"Wait…" Keith rises, recognising the girl. "You're that Noah."
"Please, call me Road." Road giggles. "And since you're so ready to help, I'll put you on the front lines."

—

"Are we out?" Allen moves off the yellow platform and onto the red, floating carpet.
"I think we made it." Lenalee grins, collapsing onto the ground.
"Shouldn't she be here, then?" Allen looks around as the last of the maze disappears.

I've found another playmate!

"Huh?" The two exorcists look up just in time to see Keith Larr falling from the sky.
"Keith!?" Allen jumps back as the man lands in front of him.
"Ray?" Keith looks surprised for a second as he looks around. "Where are we?"
"Road, the Noah, she's trapped us here." Allen explains. "We don't know where she is now, though."

Aw, you care about me!

Road appears behind Keith in a swirl of darkness.
"Hello!" She cheerily greets, unaffected by the trio of glares sent her way. "This is getting fun, well, the more the merrier!"
"What is it you want?" Keith demands, standing in front of the younger exorcists.
"I'm bored." Road admits with a grin. "And you're so much fun to play with!"

—

"Keith?" Bailey scowls as he gets no reply. "Keith!?"

"Nothing?" Asher looks serious, something dreadfully out of character.
"He's gone!?" Lavi stands, plenty uptight after demanding to wait in Bailey's office.
"Great." Kanda mutters. He had also refused to leave, despite being silent most of the time.

"He did say something…" Bailey opens his computer, connecting the golem through a cord.

"Who are-"

"Hahahahahaha! Interference isn't allowed."

"Wait…You're that Noah."
"Please, call me Road-"

"…"

"Road!?" Lavi stares at the golem. "Like…from the school? Mak?"
"What's she planning? Damn Noah." Bailey swears as he pulls out his phone. "No one's getting close to that building until I figure out what's going on."
"What? But we have to help!" Lavi cries. "They're-"
"You getting attacked the moment you get there won't be any help." Bailey inturrupts. "Until we get some stronger information, no one else is being put in danger, I'm sorry."

—

"Your exorcists are tougher than they look. I'm a little surprised. But, don't worry, it won't take long for them to break…"

—

The sharpened candle slams into Keith's shoulder. Road has reverted to her original attacks, something both Allen and Lenalee are far to familiar with.
"Keith!" Lenalee watches with horror as Keith takes the next blows.
"You're a sturdy one, huh?" Road smirks. "But you won't last long."
"Innocence…" Keith raises his blade. "Crash! Jadeite Tide!"

The sword busts with a liquid like energy, tinged a bright green, that crashed down into Road, swallowing her up.
Road struggles momentarily before grinning as she falls still.
The smiles doesn't leave her face as new candles appear in the air around Keith, all pointed towards him.
"Ray!" Lenalee looks pleadingly at Allen.
"I got it!"

—

"Innocence! Activate!"

—

"Something's happened." Bailey reports, causing everyone to stiffen. "Keith's activated his Innocence."
"How can you tell?" Lavi asks, heading over.
"Here." Bailey turns his computer to face Lavi, where a live image of the hotel is shown. The building is glowing green and dripping with green liquid.
"What is that?" Lavi stares at the image.
"That's Keith's Innocence." Asher answers. "But it's not hitting any enemies, it'd dissolved if it had."
"Then…Why'd he activate it?"

—

"Silly exorcist." Road giggles, pushing the liquid out of the way. Her now pale skin gives her a ghostly aura as she moves closer. "Something like that won't hurt me."

"Damn." Keith mumbles as the liquid slowly dissolves and Road summons some more candles.

"Innocence! Activate!"
A white cloak wraps around Keith, deflecting the candles with a flash of white light.
"What!?" Road exclaims loudly, jumping forward. "You-"

A long white strand slams into her, pushing her back.

"Keith?"
Keith looks up to see a silver mask, connected to the white cloak, and he recognises the face behind it.
"Ray?"

—

"It's gone." Bailey scowls. "Keith's Innocence has deactivated."
"What now?" Lavi looks slightly deflated.

"Is Katherine in?" Bailey looks over to Asher.
"She left an hour ago." Asher shakes her head. "Madrid, right?"

"Right." Bailey sighs. "Then, is… is Mattson around?"
"Bethany? I think so." Asher looks thoughtful. "I'll call her."

—

"You…" Road glares straight at Allen, her eyes flitting between his Innocence and his face.

She snaps her fingers and the world around them dissolves into darkness.

Allen stares as Lenalee and Keith disappear, leaving him and Road in an inky blackness.

—

I suppose I should say that it's nice to see you again…Allen.

—

"You need my help? I thought you'd never ask, Bailey."
"Please, Mattson, we're out of options."
"Don't you even worry, I'll slap that Noah bitch so hard, she'll taste asphalt for a month!"

—

this went far longer than I expected. O.o
O well, I hope you enjoy!

(please report any mistakes thanks!)

-Cheese Wizzard