I believe this chapter kind of speaks for itself, both in a positive sense and in a not so positive sense. For now, I shall make no further comment…

- o0o -

The Master's Return

- o0o -

"Hello Cross." He sounded a lot calmer than he felt at that moment, but a hint of resignation still leaked into his voice, intermingling with undeniable bitterness all whilst he cradled his still aching head in his hand, quietly wishing for this newest nightmare of his to end and preferably do so swiftly.

For a brief moment, silence reigned, and since that bastard on the other end did not seem all that intent on breaking it, Allen found himself speaking up once more. "It pains me to admit it," he said. "It pains me to admit it, but my main reason for coming here – to this place, to this godforsaken country – can no longer be considered valid…" – he paused briefly, tired eyes scanning the room. – "I came here to kill you, to have my revenge, but now… it all just seems meaningless," he went on, and he spoke truly. "I still find you an utterly despicable person and I still think that you are a pathetic excuse of a human being, but I really can't say that I hate you, at least not enough to kill you."

Not yet, his mind whispered. Not until we manage to find another reason, another excuse, another way out…

Truly, he had fallen, and this time around he was positive he could hardly sink much lower in regards to anything.

"And what brought about this sudden change of heart, brat?" Cross echoed right back at him through the static and Allen closed his eyes briefly in a feeble attempt to keep the world from swimming.

"Does it matter?" he responded, cradling his head. "He hasn't awakened yet."

There was a sound from the other end of the connection, sounding suspiciously much like a curse, and Allen's eyes narrowed slightly in response. "What I encountered was not the Fourteenth himself, but rather a piece of data programmed to contain part of his memories and personality, hidden away within his greatest creation," he finally said, testing the other's reaction.

"Hoh…"

"Is that all you have to say?" Allen asked bluntly, having stumbled over to the piano in the room, where Timcanpy had settled and was projecting an image – a score – featuring signs that proved strangely familiar to him.

"What more is there to it?" Cross drawled right back at him, and even through the gradual increase and decrease of static, Allen found that he could hear the other without much difficulty. "I had no idea that such a thing existed, but I can say that I am happy it did since it saved me the trouble of explaining the situation to you. You know what you're here for, right?"

Tiredly, he surveyed the room – the secret room of the Fourteenth – all whilst narrowing his eyes at the blinding whiteness of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow there – lurking in the mirror – and found himself turning his head slightly, directing his eyes and attention towards it. "Back then…" he began, pausing momentarily to gather his thoughts. "Back then… I was blinded… by my hatred for you and forgot my purpose. I won't do the same mistake twice."

It's too late to go back, an inner voice calmly informed him, contradicting his mind's initial judgement. Now, you can only go forward.

I didn't want this, he answered it, even though it was with all due likelihood an utterly futile thing. I never wanted this…

Even so, you have to move forward, was the response. Even so, you have to make the best of it all…

Then, the voice of his former master – of Cross – cut into his inner thoughts, silencing them. "Tch. That's what they all say, brat."

It might be what they all say, but what else can be said?

"If you had just explained your mission to me beforehand, then I would've been more cooperative," he retorted, unable to keep some degree of bitterness from leaking into his voice. "I made the salvation of the souls of akuma my purpose, and you knew that but you still didn't tell me."

"It was top-secret."

Tch, top-secret?

He lifted the lid from the keys before pausing in his movements once more, addressing the other. "Still, that mission was part of your reason for picking me up, wasn't it? To create a connection to the new Musician so that it might benefit you once you got around to infiltrating the Ark on your mission to destroy the Akuma Plant…"

He heard Cross snort, muttering under his breath. "Idiot. My reasons for picking you as my apprentice are my own."

"Call me an idiot all you like, but I can't be that far away from the truth," Allen responded, remaining where he was, leaning against the piano. "Still, what continues to puzzle me is the fact that you went through all that trouble of taking me in as your apprentice only to mistreat me to such a degree that I went off to join your arch nemesis… Call me an idiot all you like, but at least give me some sort of reason? Was all that mistreatment and abuse some sick way of conditioning me into my future role? Were they just tools to break me down or to push me to such an extent that I felt like I had no other choice than to leave and join the other side, leaving you with a sleeper agent on the inside? If so, then tell me… was it all worth it?"

There was no response from the other end – only static – so he pressed on, previously unsaid words pouring over his lips. "For years and years, I tried to kill my own humanity and tried to forget that I was ever human, but I never succeeded since my hatred was not strong enough… not strong enough to erase the love I must have felt at some point, against better judgement. I was this close to beginning my descent into madness at a certain point…" – No, he had already descended; he had already fallen. – "I'm not you apprentice anymore; I left that path a long time ago, yet here I…"

"You did venture on different paths than I expected, but in the end, you played right into my hands… again," Cross' cut into it all, and Allen found himself heaving a sigh.

"Perhaps, but I came here by my own free will. I take no orders from you."

"Shut up," Cross barked right back, evidently impatient. "Play the stupid piano. Take control of the Ark, weave your hopes into the music, blah blah blah… whatever, you should know the rest already without me telling you."

Allen did not even bat an eyelid at this, a bleak but wry smile threatening to break out on his lips. "I do know the rest, but why should I go along with it?"

"Do it."

"Or else what?" Allen asked, unable to and rather unwilling to refrain from relishing the fact that he now – seeing that they were all in effect prisoners of the crumbling ark – held the other's life in his palm."What do you have left to threaten me with?"

"I could shoot you," the man readily offered, and Allen was positive he heard the sound of a gun – presumably Judgement – being cocked in the background.

"Using Innocence on a person hosting the Memories of Noah?" Allen responded, his face largely blank and his tone undeniably wry. "That surely doesn't sound like such a great idea, seeing that those Memories are what enables me to play it in the first place."

"You're testing my patience," Cross responded, and there was the sound of something crashing in the background, followed by yet another bout of static.

"And you're wasting my time," Allen responded without skipping a beat, waiting for a response.

"Time is running out," Cross informed him, as if he did not know that quite well already. "Play it."

"So… Not playing means we'll both die here?"

"Feeling tempted to drag us all down with you?"

Yes. "Mildly," he finally responded. "Seeing that I am going to die soon anyway…" – Sooner rather than later, if recent events served as any kind of indication. – "Luckily for you though, I still have things left to live for…" – He didn't – or just maybe – but in any case, he needed to continue this game of pretend. Indeed, he had fallen – fast and far – but even so, dying was still…

He positioned his hand, closing his eyes as he pressed down on a couple of keys, and as the scattered notes resonated within him, strengthening his resolve. "Go," he told Cross, taking note of how the connection had once again cleared up a bit. "I've halted the download, so make sure you destroy the plant."

The initial lack of response to this surprised him somewhat, and for a brief moment he wondered whether or not the other had actually heard him. Then, a slight sigh was heard from the other end and he found himself kicking up an eyebrow in response, seeing that heavy sighs were not exactly very characteristic of the mentor he had once – and to some extent still – demonised. "I might not have done such a great job in fostering you as I could have," Cross finally yielded, voice low but perfectly audible. "But I really hate dirty brats."

"Then I shall hope you'll never end up having any children of your own," Allen calmly responded, still leaning against the piano. "Because you'd make a lousy father."

There was an undeniable snort from the other end. "Perhaps," Cross yielded, his voice blunt. "Then again, you seemingly turned out alright, so who knows?"

Truly?

Allen sat himself down and played, his hands guided by an unseen force. Then, once he had played enough, he tore his hands from the keys and swiftly hid the latter with the designated lid, shifting in his seat so that he had his back turned against the piano, pulling his knees closer to his chest, hugging them. I'm doomed.

Then again, knowing his luck – or rather, lack thereof – it ought to be a grave understatement.

- o0o -

"We're in this together, remember?"

- o0o -

"We've got to stick together, you know?"

- o0o -

"We're in the same boat, aren't we?" He directed his eyes towards the Fourteenth in the mirror where he sat, addressing the reflection. "But do we steer it onto a better course… or do we sink it?"

- o0o -

In the hours that followed, he came to learn that love has many expressions.

"Allen! Thank God you're alright!"

Some people – like Lavi – hugged.

"We were so worried about you! Why did you go off without us, you-…?"

Other people – like Lenalee – cried and slapped people in the face… or tried to at any rate.

"What the Hell are you hitting me for?" Allen snarled, having caught the first hand but been hit by the second, shoving the girl away none too gently, something which was curiously enough not openly remarked upon – or even noticed from the looks of it – as most others seemed to be far too busy enjoying themselves at his expense.

"That's Lenalee expressing her love; you'll get used to it," they laughed, and he wanted to escape but he couldn't, because while not physically restrained in any way, he was still trapped in the same room as them all, in the secret room of the Fourteenth in a room with a shadow only he could see. Truly, it was a terrifying scenario, especially seeing that all of those previously trapped within the previously crumbling Ark seemed to be either in excellent condition altogether or sporting already healing scrapes, courtesy of Miranda's still invocated Innocence.

"Anyways," Lavi finally said, amusement fading somewhat in favour of some degree of seriousness. "I'm glad you're alright, but why…?"

Being in the position that he was, Allen already knew that the question would arise eventually; that the matter would be brought up, seeing that it was bleeding obvious that he had played a major part in preventing the Ark from crumbling entirely with him having remained in the room, standing now but still hovering about the piano, not quite sure as to what to make of himself now that the most pressing matter of their continued survival had seemingly been dealt with.

Truly, such a troublesome question…

Thankfully – though he had never thought that he would ever think of said man's presence as something to be thankful about – Cross chose said moment to make his arrival, lazily stalking into the room as though he owned the place, momentarily diverting everyone's attention and thankfully enough making good use of it. "I had a mission to accomplish and I required some assistance."

"General!"

"Cross!"

Truly, that the day would come when Allen would actually come to draw a sigh of relief the moment Cross Marian entered the room.

- o0o -

A few minutes later, most had left it, either heading off to explore the Ark on their own in smaller groups or in attempting to keep up with Cross to make sure that the man did not once again disappear whilst only one of the exorcist party remained in the control room with Allen.

"Say, Allen… How is it that you can control this place?"

Lavi – Bookman Apprentice – was curious to a fault and – once he felt like it – also far too observant for his own – not to even mention Allen's – good. Truly, Allen would have to tread carefully around this one since the latter was by no means as stupid or careless as he made himself out to be…

Allen shrugged mildly in response, his face and body language schooled not to betray anything beyond some mild discomfort and exhaustion and nothing of the I-have-just-switched-sides-again and if-anyone-finds-out-what-I-am-I-will-be-killed. "I told you I was a special case, didn't I?"

It was a weak excuse at best, but it was still better than denying things outright.

"…Are you a Noah?"

How troublesome indeed…

A wry smile came to adorn his pale features. "An Innocence-wielding Noah? Now that would have been very interesting…"

His sole listener did not seem convinced, not even in the slightest. "Then why is it that you can-?"

He needed to deal with this quickly. "My foster father taught me," he finally responded. "Then he went and died and then I had this foolish idea of bringing him back…"

The single emerald eye watching him widened noticeably. "Don't tell me…"

"He cursed me," Allen said, knowing well that the other would catch him if he lied outright. "In return, I destroyed him. Then that bastard turned up to rope me into this grand scheme of his…"

"Grand scheme?" Lavi echoed, genuinely intrigued.

"To infiltrate the Noah's Ark and to ultimately destroy the Akuma Plant within it."

"But…"

"But obviously, he didn't tell me right away and since he didn't treat me very well, I eventually took off," Allen explained. "Of course, then I was finally made privy to his purpose and realised I had my work cut out of me. And of course, seeing to the fact that it was top-secret and all, it wasn't like I was able to ask for any assistance either, leaving me to hunt him down all on my own…" – He paused briefly before continuing. – "And obviously, as some of you have already borne witness to, things didn't always work out splendidly…"

"Got yourself captured," Lavi grinned. "What a disgrace," he added a bit playfully.

Allen merely snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "And thanks to that, the Earl started paying attention to me, so I thought I'd try to make use of it," he said. "Let's just say that one backfired big-time."

"In other words," the Bookman apprentice responded, obviously in the middle of trying to piece everything together. "Something you did caught the Earl's interest, initially leaving him calling for your imminent assassination and then for him to order that you'd be taken alive, right?" – Allen nodded once at this. – "And those Noah – while certainly vicious enough on occasion – began treating you differently; familiarly even…"

Uwa… dangerous. "I think…" Allen began, weighing his words and options very carefully. "That they think that I might be someone that I'm not."

"And that someone is…?"

"Complicated."

"Huh?"

He shifted his posture, averting his eyes. "It's complicated."

"In other words…" Lavi began. "You don't want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

He clearly saw movement out of the corner of his eye, indicating that the redhead had got up from where he had been sitting, nearly closing the distance between them in just a few strides.

"Allen?" The annoying redhead now stood beside him, looming over him. "You don't look too good."

The other was too close; suffocating him with his presence. Allen took a step back, finding that it took a great deal of effort on his part not to stumble. "I'm not feeling too good either…"

- o0o -

"Allen?! Hey?!""

- o0o -

"Allen?!"

- o0o -

"Let him rest."

- o0o -

"General Cross?"

- o0o -

"He's had a rough week. Leave him be."

- o0o -

Collapsing pathetically into the arms of a highly irritating and far too observant Bookman apprentice had by no means been a part of his vaguely formulated plan, and neither had having Cross of all people just waltzing in to save him from whichever fate would no doubt have awaited him at the hands of the aforementioned who – in a rare fit of something possibly related to panic – had appeared just about ready to start giving first aid when Allen had just suddenly dropped. Then again, what was all the more unusual – possibly even outrageous – and all the more perplexing was the fact that Cross hadn't actually made use of this opportune moment of him being far too out of it to reveal something positively incriminating, and had instead opted for the latter option, that is to reveal little or nothing whatsoever. When asked about the truth of Allen's statement, Cross had merely shrugged and claimed that Allen had answered truthfully to the extent of his own knowledge, which was true, in essence.

Even so, even though the man ought to have owed him at least that much for in essence having saved both of their hides, Allen still found himself questioning whether or not he ought to feel indebted to the man, and especially so considering all the bad blood that still lay between them. To be truthful, Allen really did not want to feel as though he owed the man anything, and all things considered, there was no guarantee whatsoever that the man would continue to vouch for him in the future. As such, it made sense to rope another into this forming scheme of his, because if he – in the offhand case that he ended up with the Order after all – wanted to make it, he would need more than just one or two potential allies on the inside; he needed sympathisers, and he needed them imminently. If not, then he would no doubt have had a fit about the persistent redhead nearly constantly hovering about him, keenly watching his every move.

"Stop staring," Allen finally snapped at him, finally having reached the end of his patience.

"I'm not staring," Lavi protested, holding his hands up slightly.

Silver-grey eyes narrowed slightly. "You are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Are."

Again, he averted his eyes, scoffing. "I'm not falling for that."

"Pity." The grinning moron who wasn't actually a moron took a seat beside him where he sat on the sofa which was the only piece of furniture in the white room besides the piano and the stool accompanying it. "So… you're alright now?"

"I've been better." – Definitely. – "Then again, I've been worse."

"But you'll live, right?" the redhead quipped.

Allen smiled wryly in response. "Hopefully."

"You're not sure?"

Had it been entirely genuine, the concern would no doubt have been heart-warming. Now however, it was just sickening.

"Well, if you're beginning to feel queasy, tell me," the Bookman apprentice readily offered, his voice gradually dropping from cheerful to thoughtful. "And if you just want to talk otherwise, talk."

"Are you here to interrogate me?" Allen inquired somewhat rhetorically, even though the answer to that question ought to have been obvious, all things considered.

"Why would I be here to interrogate you?" Lavi responded, feigning hurt and ignorance. "You've explained yourself and Cross has verified the info you've given us, so why would I…?"

"Because you're curious," Allen snapped, cutting him off. "Because you're a Bookman."

"Apprentice," the latter corrected with a smile. "But curious, yes."

Again, Allen averted his eyes, wishing there were other things to talk about. "Where are the others at?"

"They're off wandering about, probably looking for an exit."

"Then why are you here?"

Truly, the apprentice did not even seem bothered in the slightest at the hidden accusation. "Well, someone had to keep an eye on you and I offered, so here we are," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "So…" he then said, pausing momentarily before continuing. "Will we talk?"

Persistent. "If we talk, what will happen?" Allen asked instead, answering the question with another question.

The Bookman apprentice remained quiet for a few moments, clearly contemplating his words and alternatives before formulating himself. "It depends entirely on what you want to happen, I suppose."

Hoh, what a positively ambiguous response…

Allen tilted his head slightly, looking at the other out of the corner of his eye, gauging the other's reaction. "As a Bookman, you're supposed to be a neutral party, yes?"

The other shrugged a bit helplessly in return, but once that was over with there was little hiding the calculating glint in the other's eye. "Supposed to and failing at it, I'm afraid. But if you want me to keep your secrets, then I'm all ears."

Truly, how positively devious…

He averted his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the one watching him so intently. "I can't."

"You… can't?" The other sounded doubtful.

Allen retained his neutral expression. "They're not my secrets to tell."

"Then whose secrets are they?"

Truly, curious to a fault…

"You're a Bookman," Allen said, giving the other a meaningful look. "You figure it out."

- o0o -

"Leave."

- o0o -

"General Cross, what are you-…?"

- o0o -

"Hey!"

- o0o -

If anything, it occurred to him what a positively outlandish thing it was for him to actually feel slightly relieved when Cross Marian once again decided to come waltzing in, throwing out the Bookman apprentice along with other remaining members of the peanut gallery. Then again, all in all, the situation was positively outlandish in itself, so he supposed it made sense that nothing and no one really made sense anymore besides Cross, who was obviously his regular rude, foul-mouthed and scheming self despite it all. Then again, Cross had probably been scheming with something like this in mind in the first place, however twisted of a thought it might have been.

"How do I do this?" Allen asked, dropping all pretence now that it was only him and Cross in the room with Timcanpy flying over to the piano, settling down to once again on to the piano to project the score. Admittedly, he had in effect once taken control of the Ark in order to halt the download, but all in all, the fact that he had managed it probably had more to do with the situation and accompanying circumstances than with skill on his part. Obviously, skill had certainly played its part, but it was only so much that he could do without guidance if he did not know the limitations of the power bestowed upon him by the Fourteenth, and with Cross being the scheming bastard that he was, there was no doubt about the man having a hand in it all and likely also knowledge in regards to how it functioned, both in regards to the Ark and in regards to the Fourteenth.

"Visualise," Cross instructed, looming over him. "Use your imagination."

"You're not very helpful," Allen retorted, his hands in position and hovering over the keys.

Cross snorted, shifting slightly behind him, causing him to suppress the urge to flinch or turn around as though half-way expectant that the other would put a bullet in his back in case he wasn't careful. "And you're not very skilled."

"You're not the best teacher," Allen responded, keeping his voice perfectly level all whilst studying the keys with renewed interest.

"You're not the best student either."

Truly…

Hands in position, he began to play, initially slow and a bit hesitantly, gradually gaining more confidence. Initially, there was some amount of resistance which was gradually being worn down as his hand movements became more habituated up until then point when he stopped playing, lifting his hands from the keys without moving from his seat and without looking at Cross. "There, it's done… I think?"

"You've done well." Truly, to get praised by Cross he must have fallen; to be praised by such a man, he must indeed have fallen to immeasurable depths.

"Is that all?" Allen asked, because it could hardly be all, seeing that the aforementioned man had yet to leave even though he had moved closer to the door's exit.

"Later, you'll need to open another one," Cross informed him.

"Where to?" Allen responded, still not turning to face the man.

"The Asian Branch, since you've never been to the European Branch."

"You're bringing me into the Order?" This time around, Allen turned, shifting in his seat so that he was watching the other who now stood in the doorway, pausing but not turning to face him. "What happens… if they find out about Him?"

Receiving no answer, he narrowed his eyes. "Answer me."

"With things being the way they are, there will no doubt be an investigation." Cross finally shifted slightly, shifting his weight and leaning onto one side of the doorway, lighting a cigarette whilst levelling him a look of seeming – and by no means unexpected – distaste. "You've covered your tracks, but not well enough, and even if I were to vouch for you, I doubt the higher-ups would let you slip away that easily."

No. "I could just leave, you know," Allen readily offered instead. "I could just drop the rest of you off with the Order and then…"

"The Earl will hunt you down…" Cross snorted, exhaling a bit of smoke before returning to his cigarette. "And if you run, the Order will know that you are a traitor."

Allen averted his eyes, suppressing a sudden urge to cradle his head in his hands. "How can I be a traitor to an Order I have never joined in the first place?"

"Even so," Cross went on, giving him that self-same look of distaste. "You were chosen to fight."

"And if I choose not to?" Allen asked, silver-grey eyes once again flickering to rest upon the still quite imposing figure of his former tormentor.

Cross' overall facial expression did not change. "Then you would have to live with that choice and all the consequences that came of it."

"Damned if I do, damned if I don't, huh?" Allen snorted, shifting in his seat and levelling the other with a look. "Say… if you had managed to mould me into a proper exorcist, would you have sent me to the Order completely ignorant of my connection to Him?"

Another wisp of smoke was exhaled. "Probably."

Obviously. "And if they had discovered me, would you have left me to my fate?"

"Would you really like an answer to that?"

He averted his eyes again, directing his eyes towards the ever present reflection of the Fourteenth. No.

- o0o -