Here we have the XIV chapter!

Wow, I still can't believe that I'm going so far with this fic… I thought I wouldn't be able to keep on writing with school and all the rest, but instead… somehow I'm going on!

I didn't plan to make this an important chapter at the beginning, I imagined this as a filler or something of the kind, but then things changed: I happened to have some strange intriguing idea and I put them into this. The story becomes creepier and more complicated at any chapter… Everytime I start writing I add something and the whole tale takes a different direction than that I've planned… Sigh…

With my big disappointment, there is only a little of Kanda and Cassandra here, but the fans of Link and of the third exorcists, if they do exist, will love this chapter, I hope ^^

The title of this chapter was actually taken by the name of one of the FFVII themes by Takeharu Ishimoto.

Soundtracks for this chapter were the songs of the Arc-en-ciel, in particular:

" Drink it down"

" Driver's High"

" Daybreak's bell"

" Ready steady go".

This band is awesome and Hyde's voice is so particular… You MUST listen to them, really!

XIV CHAPTER- PRELUDE OF RUIN

Headquarters of the Black Order, Leverrier's office, morning.

" I'm here, my Commandant."

As always, those were the firsts words Link pronounced in presence of his superior.

" You're finally here, Inspector Link! Is the reckoning that I requested ready?"

" Yes, my Commandant, it is." Link answered with a bow giving him a closed letter. Leverrier took it immediately and asked: " Where is now our suspect?"

" He's still sleeping. After all it's the six of the morning."

" Do not trust him, Inspector Link. A spy is full of surprises and I dare say that they wouldn't be pleasant for us." Leverrier warned him while opening the letter.

" Of course, my Commandant." Link answered. Meanwhile his superior had frowned:

" What does this mean? There are only two names here!"

" The names I wrote are those of the only two persons in the Order who ever had a fight with Allen Walker."

" Are you sure?" Leverrier asked staring at Link in the eyes.

" Have I ever failed you, my Commandant?"

"No, Link-kun, you have never failed me." His superior said and smiled warmly. It was a real smile that showed affect, a rare thing from his part.

When he acted in that almost-friendly way towards Link, the Inspector remembered why he had decided to follow that man until his dying day. Leverrier was the one who had given him a reason to live, he had been a master for him, a father, a hero, everything! There was no way Link could fail him, and the Commandant knew that and trusted him like no one else.

When he was only a boy between the hundreds that were trained hoping that they would become part of the task force, Link would have died for the slightest sign of recognition from Leverrier's part. All his adolescence had been a continue training in order to become the best, to be recognized by that man who had saved him, the man who had showed him that his life could have a meaning.

Of course, now things were a little different, Link had learnt to see many of the vices and faults of his 'hero', and yet his devotion towards him hadn't changed. He would have still died with a smile upon his lips in order to get Leverrier's affection.

He, that had always been alone, no family, no friends, wanted that strange man to think of him as a son. It was his lifetime wish, the only thing for which he had lived when he was young, and all the rest: the Order, the Noahs, the Millenium Earl, the exorcists, even God, to all this he didn't give any significance.

But now? Now something was changing inside him and Link didn't like this. He hated not to be sure of his only belief.

Meanwhile, Leverrier was staring at the list blankly. His brain was at work.

" Well, " he finally said, " two names are few, but they'll be enough. Fortunately, the Inquisition needs only two testimonies to condemn someone."

" Wh-What, my Commandant?" Link hesitated " Are you going to put Walker under a trial and to use those two I reported as the testimonies of the accuse?"

" Oh, you've understood me immediately, Link-kun!" Leverrier complimented him " Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

" But, Commandant, even if those two have things of some importance to say against Walker, even if they agree to testimony against their companion, even if the Inquisition will condemn him, what's the meaning of doing so, now? Until now, Walker hasn't showed anything that can make us think of him as an enemy and we are in need of exorcists! It isn't… stupid… to kill one of our better exorcists now, without a valid reason?" Link asked trying to appear reasonable and objective.

" Without a valid reason?" Leverrier frowned " Link-kun, don't you think that the mere fact that Walker can manipulate the Ark means that we can not trust him? Even if he's not spy, we must not forget that there is the Fourteenth, a Noah, inside him, who is waiting for his moment to awake. No, Link-kun, exactly because we are so week, we can't allow spies and dangerous elements between our disciples. That's why General Cross was eliminated and that's why his disciple will suffer the same end." Link had to do his best not to tremble at the idea.

" Besides that," Leverrier added in a lighter tone, " we are not so weak as you think, Inspector Link. We have the third exorcist with us, and the second too. They are not indifferent in the balance of this war." He stared at Link in a meaningful way and the Inspector nodded obediently.

Then the blond added: " My Commandant… May I ask you something? You've not to answer me, I just want to say it out loud. May I?"

" Of course Link-kun. You're my best subordinate after all." He said in a puzzled tone. Link bowed deeply at the compliment.

" I have the impression, my Commandant, that you're hiding something. Though all the reasons you've listed are true, I have the impression there is something more, a reason far more dangerous and important, that made you act with such haste against Walker. Who wants Allen Walker dead, my Commandant?" Link dared to ask, at last. He remained bowed; he didn't want to meet his superior's gaze.

There was silence after the Inspector had ended his monologue, complete silence, full of anxiety and tension. Link began to think that he had done wrong asking so directly. He had been too brave.

Then, to his surprise, Leverrier started to answer him, but he didn't seem himself: his voice was lower than usual, there was no trace of arrogance: his voice was shaking!

" As always, you've guessed well, Link-kun. Since you have understood so much, I'll answer you, but do not ask anything more, nor now, nor in future. It's for your own safety. The less you know about these things, the best it is for you."

At those words, Link rose up his gaze, but Leverrier was looking away, out of the window, at something that was not there.

" It is the Pope himself that wants Allen Walker dead, Link-kun, the Pope himself. Do not ask me why, I do not know, but so it is."

The inspector eyes flashed open at hearing such a thing, but said nothing. He couldn't trust his tongue to speak. Then, after a while, noticing that it would have been rude to leave without a word, he said:

" Thank you, my Commandant, your trust his honouring me more than I ever dared to hope." He bowed again and left, adding nothing more.

Meanwhile, Leverrier had kept on looking out of the window. In his hand he still held the letter Link had given him.

The two names that were written upon it were:

Chaoji Han

Yuu Kanda

Headquarters, training room, morning.

" Kanda-chan! I knew I'd find you here!"

" Hi, Angel…" the swordsman sighed with resignation. Now he could say goodbye to his idea of a peaceful morning spent meditating. And infact…

" Why are you sighing so? Aren't you happy to see me?"

" Oh, yes, so happy…" he replied with sarcasm.

" You're cruel, Kanda-chan! I've come there to spend a little time with you and you chase me away like this! That's ok, I'm leaving!"

An hand held her back: " Did I say that you could leave?"

" Kanda-chan," Angel raged, " you insulted me and showed clearly that you don't want me around, so, I'm leaving." Her expression was so determinate and her face was even more beautiful when she was angry. Kanda made a grin:

" I've changed my mind. Remain here." He asked and it wasn't an order. Angel shuddered with rage.

" Is he making fun of me?" she thought while she was sitting down beside him, still angry.

" That's why you don't have a girlfriend!" she commented

" What makes you think I don't have a girlfriend?" He provoked her. Angel's eyes widened in surprise:

"Do you have one?"

" Why do you want to know?" Kanda began feeling a little uneasy now.

" Just answer!"

Silence.

" Kanda-chaaaaan…" she singed childishly.

" What do you want?"

" Answer me!"

The man sighed: " No, I don't have a girlfriend."

Silence again.

"That's strange…" Angel commented after a little while, " Wherever you go, girls always look at you, but you don't have a companion… that's strange… I fear it's my fault." She added finally and Kanda blushed. What the Hell was she thinking?

" Maybe girls are afraid you're already mated seeing you always with me…" she said and the swordsman relaxed. He sighed with relief: he had feared she had strange ideas in mind.

He didn't know hat the worst part hadn't come yet.

" But I'm happy of this!" Angel exclaimed all of a sudden making Kanda yell a loud: " WHAT?"

" I'm glad that you don't have a girlfriend and I devilishly like the idea of girls being scared by me."

" WHY???"

" Because I'd hate you thinking about other women and forgetting about me." She declared innocent, her voice a bit sad as if she really feared that to happen.

" Oh, that's impossible." Kanda assured her with a serious expression.

" Really?" she asked hopefully with wide eyes.

" Of course. How can I forget you if you're always here pissing me off?!" he smiled, but…

" Kanda-chan!" the woman raged and hit him making him loose balance, " You're always naughty to me!"

" It's not that I'm naughty with you, it's only that I'm a bastard with everyone."

" You've said it!" she confirmed

Kanda smiled devilishly, then, suddenly, his expression changed completely becoming serious and painful. If Angel hadn't known him so well, she would have bet he was going to cry.

" Kanda-chan," she asked, " what's wrong? You're so pale, all of a sudden…"

" That's nothing."

" Kanda-chan." She warned him wearing her most threatening expression. He gave up:

" It's only that I had forgotten it."

" What?"

" The words you said to me… I've already listened to them, from another person, long ago."

" Who was she?"

" How do you know it's a 'she'?" he asked surprised

Angel rolled her eyes: " You may call it female intuition."

" She was my sister." He confessed at last. " You know, sometimes you resemble her a lot, not in the appearance, but… the way you act, the things you say…"he smiled slightly

" Where is she now?" Angel asked with a dreaming look. She was not ready for the answer that Kanda gave her:

" She is dead." He said and there was something hard and fierce in his painful voice, but he didn't even blink. Angel was shocked: she hadn't expected such an answer.

" I- I'm sorry" she whispered and didn't dare to ask more. Kanda didn't move a finger.

" She was very jealous and protective over me. You shouldn't act like her. Do not affectionate to me." He said looking straight in front of him, his eyes closed again.

" Sorry," Angel tried weakly to smile, " but it seems that I can't do otherwise." She rose on her feet and surprisingly kissed his forehead before leaving the room.

" Don't dare." Kanda whispered to her while she was going away. She heard him and said nothing.

North America Headquarters of the Black Order, Laboratory, afternoon.

Renee Epstein, Supervisor of the North American science branch, was worried.

In front of her, bound to special elettronical technologies were her last creations: the third exorcists. It was a control of routine, nothing more, and yet Renee was worried.

The third exorcists were half- akuma beings whose DNA had been altered, so they needed uninterrupted controls to verify that there hadn't been any strange reaction to the new genome.

Until then, nothing serious had happened, nothing that could put at risk the life of the specimens, but yet Renee wasn't sure, she couldn't calm down that strange anxiety: examining all the data she had got from the controls, she had discovered something unique in the mutation of the nerves. It was something without precedents and no one could tell what would have happened when this umpteenth mutation would have ended.

Rene gave the signal and the computer started to absorb data from the specimens and to analyze them. The scientist studied them carefully: the mutation was going on with its course, but there were not signs of this in the external appearance of the specimens. They didn't seem to react in any way to what was happening within their bodies.

" I'll say nothing of this for now, there is no reason to do so," Renee thought observing her subordinates who were freeing the specimens, " But I'll ask to Madarao and the others if they noticed anything strange about their fighting abilities. That's all I can do for now." She concluded.

She went straight to her personal office and the third exorcists followed her in silence, as they always did after the controls.

" How are we going?" Kiredori asked, an annoyed look on her childish features. She was only fourteen when she had been transformed and now she would have kept that young aspect for as long as she would have lived. Renee found this frightening, but it seemed that the little one didn't notice this; she hadn't ever seemed upset by that fact.

…Forever young…

Maybe someone could find beautiful this idea, but Renee couldn't help, but be terrified of what they had done to Kiredori: her body wouldn't have grown, no matter how many years could pass, but her brain, her conscience… that was another matter. What would happen if she ever realized how terrible her fate was? For now, she seemed uncaring of it, but she was so young, she couldn't understand completely what they had done to her, not still… but one day she would.

Lost in these thoughts, Renee forgot to answer to Kiredori's question and she remained in silence until the young half-akuma shouted: " Are you ignoring me? Don't dare, or I'll…"

She was so quick at anger. Renee interrupted her:

" I'm sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts. There is nothing wrong with you guys, don't worry, nothing abnormal."

"Nothing abnormal except us." Tokusa tried to joke with a half-smile. No-one laughed, but Renee gave him a weak smile in reply. She really didn't know how to act.

" Anyway, I have to ask you," the scientist went on, " only to be sure, if you have noticed anything strange lately. Is everything going as usual or do you felt something changing?"

The third exorcists gazed at each other, then Madarao answered for everyone: " We didn't notice anything strange. Maybe the data don't agree with our report?"

" No, no," Renee answered quickly, " it was just to ask." The answer had come too quickly, she was hiding something, and this was obvious to everyone, but the scientist who didn't realize how ridiculous her behaviour had been.

" Can we go to our rooms now?" Kiredori asked with the same impatience of before. She too seemed to hide something, but she would have never admitted it. Anyway, Renee didn't notice this and answered:

" Yes, of course, you may go." She pointed at the door with a tired gesture and the third exorcists left in a hurry.

"Goushi, why didn't you say anything? She may help you, you know?" Tevak asked to her giant companion who was laying on his bed, trembling.

" You know perfectly well why he didn't say anything!" Kiredori scolded her, " For the same reason why we all kept our mouths shut!"

" Kiredori's right," Tokusa said, " Renee may decide to help us as well as to destroy us, you know: she would declare that we are putting the Order in danger with our very existence and then they would sent exorcists to destroy us."

Kiredori looked at both surprised, then she directed her sad gaze towards Goushi and knelt beside him, brushing tenderly his hair away from his face. If she hadn't appeared so ridicusly small against the enormous figure of her friend, she would have seem a mother worried for her ill son.

But Goushi was actually ill and nobody knew why or what to do.

It had begun as a strong headache, nothing to worry, "just sleep and it will pass away" they had said to him, but it hadn't passed. It had become stronger, instead, at each day, driving him into the confuse land of madness where nothing seems right or wrong, where nothing is certain, not even your very existence.

He had been like this for a month now and nothing had changed, the pain Goushi felt was only more unbearable and he was always weaker, always nearer to madness. There were moments when somehow he seemed to manage it, but there were other moments when pain was too intense for him to pretend that he was all right. And now the crises were always more frequent: this was the second in a week.

Madarao looked at his ill companion. They had been friends, once, when they were still human, before Tevak had entered in their life. Then everything had changed: they had become rivals, both trying to conquer her love, no matter what. Tevak… so beautiful and gentle, she appeared so weak in that slender, little body, and yet she was the strongest among them. She had her certainties, her values, she believed in them and this gave her the strength to face all the horrors she had seen since she had become a guinea-pig for experiments.

Madarao remembered very well the day when he had discovered that his parents had sold his sister, Kiredori, to the Black Order and when, the same day, he had found out that Tevak had chosen the same destiny on her own will. His sister and his lover were condemned. There was nothing that Madarao could have done for them, but to follow them on that sinful path. He had worked in the Black Order, he knew what they would have done to them, and he couldn't leave those two alone since he loved them both, though in different ways.

Yet, he couldn't thought of himself as someone "good": if Tevak and Kiredori were obliged to become "monsters", as everyone called them, he and Goushi had chosen it on their own free will for one selfish reason: to remain near to those they loved. If something even worse had to happen to one of them, it was right that it would happen to him or Goushi: they were the only sinners, the only real monsters, or so Madarao thought, at least. That's why he couldn't feel any pity towards his suffering companion laying on the bed. They had chosen it freely, knowing what they were getting themselves into, and now they had to face the consequences. It was only normal, there was no need for pity.

But Tevak didn't thought this way: to her everyone in the world needed to be pitied, even them, and that was why she was crying for Goushi now, knelt beside him, but the giant exorcist couldn't notice her tears. The headache was driving him literally mad, he felt that he was loosing control of his own body.

Then he screamed.

Renee was analyzing the data she had gotten from the control. Everything seemed normal, but the mutation which was spreading always quicker across her specimen. Madarao and Kiredori was contrasting pretty well the new genome integrating it with their own, but the others, and Goushi in particular, weren't reacting so well. Was it possible that the mutation was having no consequences?

The answer to her question came a minute after when Kiredori slashed open the door of her office crying out in alarm: " Please, come! Goushi's ill!"

Renee didn't thought a second about it, but followed the little exorcist to the room where the specimen was.

Meanwhile, in the room, Tevak was pleading: " Goushi, calm down! It's nothing, doctor Epstein will come soon and she'll cure you! " she tried to say to him, but the big exorcist wasn't hearing her at all.

He was no longer able to control himself.

Madarao and Tokusa were forcing him on the bed, immobilizing him, but it required all their strength. It was a painful scene to look at and Tevak was secretly happy of her choice of sending Kiredori to Renee for help. At least, the little one wouldn't have to witness to this new horror.

She had just thought this when the door was opened and Renee entered in the room gasping, Kiredori behind her. The scientist opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She wasn't able to. The scene in front of her was worse than she had thought and there was nothing she could do in that moment to stop Goushi's delirium. She needed to take him in a place where he couldn't hurt himself and the others and where she could study him with calm to find a remedy.

She told so to the third exorcists and immediately Madarao used his cannibalism ability to suck out Goushi's energy while Tokusa and Tevak were keeping him unmoved on the bed. Their companion protested, tried to activate and to run away, but it was useless: little by little, as his energy was sucked out, his protest became always weaker and at last he finally fell on the bed, asleep, or so it seemed.

The men of the security came and took Goushi away, following Renee's instructions.

" It's over…" Tokusa whispered in such a low voice that Kiredori could hardly hear him. What was over? She asked to herself: " Is he talking about this fight, about Goushi, or did he mean that this is the beginning of the end for us all?" She wondered, bus she didn't dare to give whatever answer.

It was too painful.

Author's notes--- Here starts the metamorphosis…

The title of this free space has a meaning this time XD

It's referred to almost all the characters because this is a turning point for them all: Link, Leverrier, Kanda, Cassandra, the third exorcists… nothing would be the same for them after this, they've started to change. For some of them this changing will be positive, for others it will turn out dramatically, but there would be time to explain all this if you readers will keep on reading this story!

I enjoyed writing this chapter because I found it interesting from the beginning to the end and I'm happy that I could make the third exorcists appear again… I gave some other hint about their past too…

Now, as always, I beg you to REVIEW! I want reviews, I want reviews, I want reviews!!!

Trailer of the next chapter:

I tell you only that it's all Kanda/Angel centred. If there is some fan of this mad-possible-couple then tell me!!! I love them…

Someone maybe has noticed that now I call Cassandra "Angel". I've been obliged to do so to distinguish the two personalities that share her body. Cassandra is the "goddess", the beautiful and powerful woman Kanda had met in Rome, Angel is the childish, annoying, helpless one. The funny thing is that Kanda is deeply touched by both these two though in different ways… Poor Kanda, since next chapter life will be a Hell for him…

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… Next upload on 15.01.10…

Love you all…

--Eris92--

Rome, 20.12.09