Chapter 29
"He's there," Cross said.
"What's going to become of us?" Allen said. "Master, we –"
"That," Cross said gravely, "depends entirely on you, Allen."
As he finished speaking, the earth itself seemed to shudder. Allen looked away from Cross, turning back to the decaying plains before the Walls, and saw that the writhing darkness had conquered more ground. The portly Earl was now with the Noahs, and they were all looking up at her.
The darkness was coming.
The Earl was here.
Death was beckoning.
"He's here for you," Cross said. He laid a heavy hand on Allen's shoulder, but the act offered Allen little comfort. "Do what you can."
Allen heard Cross not at all. She was rooted to the ground, her gaze fixed on the ageless sorcerer, and he looked back at her, and there was malice in his eyes and desperation in hers. She did not, and indeed, could not, doubt that his was the victory.
:::
Kanda tapped a boot against the ground, waiting for General Nyne's command. His men stood in tidy columns behind him, all ready, all expectant. For Kanda was to lead a party of men in conducting quick, short offensives outside the Walls. Marie had already led another sortie out, and they were now awaiting his return.
He should be back soon, Kanda thought. He let his pocket watch fall from his hands; it dangled from its chain against his thigh.
"You might want to keep that, Kanda."
Kanda turned his head. "Chief," he said, tucking the watch back into a side pocket. "Why are you here?"
"I couldn't concentrate, so I came over."
"You shouldn't be here."
Komui tried to smile. "I know, but I want to be here. I know it's too dangerous for someone like me, but… our people are dying here and getting hurt here. I can't sit in safety and – you know what I mean."
Kanda nodded. "It's better if you stay further away from the Walls."
"Thank you, Kanda, but I'll stay right here," Komui said.
A shout distracted Kanda from Komui's obstinate actions. He spun around, glaring at the column of soldiers from which the shout from originated. "Who made that sound?"
None of the soldiers replied. Instead, they stared upwards at the sky, seemingly immobile. Kanda glanced up too, and saw that the sky had turned a nasty, chilling shade of grey, a grey that inched towards a darkness that was more intense than black.
"Oh good heavens," Komui said. He had moved to stand beside Kanda. "Save us all."
"What's this?" Kanda asked.
Komui shook his head, lips pressed together in silent agony. "This is bad. This is very, very bad. We… we are…"
Kanda glanced up at the higher levels of the Walls. Uniformed soldiers rushed up and down the walkways high up on the Walls, gesturing wildly. Kanda could hear them shouting as well; the wind was not strong enough to muffle the fear and desperation in their voices.
Then there was a flash of red, bright against the dull grey of the sky – it was red hair, on second glance – it was General Cross who was himself running along the walkway towards the point where Allen stood. A lump formed in Kanda's throat as he watched Cross. A paralysing fear snaked through his veins; he felt his limbs weaken as his heartbeat rang in his ears. What happened? What exactly happened?
Kanda pulled out his spyglass and trained it on Cross, who had by then come to a stop beside Allen. Cross looked unusually serious. He said something to Allen. Allen turned away from Cross, and now all Kanda could see was the back of her head.
What did he tell her?
Then the earth shuddered, as it had never shuddered before (at least not in Kanda's memory). There was a thunderous moan, as if the ground itself was straining against the bonds that kept it solid, as if hell had fallen in on itself and all the dark creatures of the underworld sought release from their dark, long imprisonment.
Kanda bent low, pushing Mugen against the ground, waiting for the moment to pass.
"What's this?" Komui said. He had fallen, and now sat on the ground, his white coat stained with patches of brown.
Kanda helped the Chief up. "I don't know."
Kanda brought his spyglass to his eyes again. Allen and Cross were still talking. He could see their mouths moving, but he knew not at all what was spoken between them.
All he knew, in that terrifying moment, was that she needed him, and that he would answer her silent plea for help.
:::
Tyki picked his top hat off the ground. "What's going on? Was that an earthquake?"
Ever graceful, Rhode had not lost her balance during the shuddering. "That wasn't an earthquake, Tyki."
"I know," Tyki said. He pulled out a white linen handkerchief and commenced wiping the dirt from his hat. "So what was it? Do you know, Rhode?"
"I might know, Tyki, but if I did I wouldn't tell you."
"You can be such a brat sometimes."
"I'll remind you that I'm older than you, Uncle Tyki."
Tyki threw his dirty handkerchief on the ground and rubbed it into the ground with the sole of his shoe. "You don't act like it."
"Someone's angry today," Lulu Bell said.
"Why are you human today?" Tyki returned.
"Excuse me?"
"Why are you asking so many irrelevant questions today, Tyki?" Rhode said.
"No one wanted to tell me why the earth shook."
"So peevish," Lulu Bell remarked.
Rhode laughed. "Master Millennium did it, of course. What did you expect, Tyki?"
"I don't know," he said. "I didn't know the Earl was coming."
"Oh yes," Rhode said. "He's here." She raised a slim hand and pointed into the grey sky.
Indeed, the Earl floated torpidly through the heavy air, his huge, crazy grin visible even from a distance. He was approaching them.
"Master Millennium!" Rhode cried, running towards the Earl.
"My dear Rhode," the Earl said, landing. He immediately embraced Rhode. "How are things here, Lulu?"
"Not too good, I must admit, Master."
"We will turn things around, don't you worry," the Earl said.
Tyki stepped forward to bow to the Earl. "How do you plan to do that?"
The Earl laughed. It was not a happy laugh, Tyki thought. It was laughter filled with sadness, the product of a long lifetime of heartbreak. "I will break the girl today, if I can. If I can't, I will at least sow seeds of doubt in her mind."
"There are too many Akuma dying out there," Tyki said, sweeping his arm outwards in the general direction of the battlefield. "I don't mean to question your judgment, Earl, but surely we would have little to gain from such a –"
"I know, my boy, I know," the Earl said. "But certain sacrifices have to be made. Sheril has my orders. He knows not to retreat until the last Akuma falls. This has to be done."
Rhode linked arms with the Earl as he turned away to face the battlefield. Then she looked back at Tyki and grinned. "Today will be a small victory for us even if all the Akuma here die."
"We have plenty of Akuma left," Lulu said, brushing past Tyki. "Even you must know that, Tyki."
"They aren't infinite," Tyki said.
"But we have enough," Rhode said. "Am I right, Master Millennium?"
"Plenty of them," the Earl agreed. "And they will die if need be. They are all here to further my cause."
:::
Allen fiddled with the clasp of her cloak. The metal lay cold against her trembling fingers, a stiff circle of gold which glinted softly in the ashy sunlight. She tried to open the clasp, but the metal would not budge. She tried again – nothing, again nothing.
"Allen?" Lenalee said. She placed the tips of her fingers on Allen's shoulders. "Are you – are you going to fight the Earl?"
Allen brushed hair out of her eyes. Lenalee's question echoed in her mind, but she did not know how to answer, or what to answer. She could feel Cross looking at her, his gaze burning the top of her head. She looked up to meet his eyes; his expression was more serious than any she had ever seen on his face in all the years they had known each other. And somehow, that made her feel worse.
The world was crumbling at last. The world she knew, that last bastion of hope and rebellion, was a creaking castle decaying from the inside. The Earl's blow would take them all – if not now, then soon.
"Allen?" Lavi said. He was beside her now, bending down, his one green eye staring unblinking at her.
Allen felt her breath catch, felt her mind race, felt her heart thud thunderously in her chest. Her fingers were colder now, and so were her toes, for there was an artic chill running through her veins. In her head there was only a heady, creeping fog of fear and nothing else.
"Let her be," Cross said, motioning Lenalee and Lavi away. "Give her some time to clear her head."
Allen raised a hand. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I'm fine, Lenalee, Lavi."
"Give her some space," Cross said, pointing with his cigar. "Go on. I'll take care of her for now. You two can take a short break over there. Or something."
Lenalee and Lavi moved away to their appointed corner. Allen looked at the general, gratitude in her sea-grey eyes.
"Thank you, General."
"So. What exactly are you going to do, idiot apprentice of mine?" Cross said. He stooped over her, his cigar blowing smoke into her face.
Allen coughed, waving the smoke away. "I don't know, to be honest. I feel that I should go out there to fight him, but – I can't – not today, not in this state. I'm not powerful enough. But if I don't go … how will we ever chase them away?"
"You're absolutely right on both counts."
"I don't know what to do, Master."
"To tell the truth, I don't know either. So don't expect me to tell you what to do."
Allen glanced up at Cross; even in the midst of her fear and anxiety she noted the worry in his eyes, the almost-fear in the straight line of his lips.
"It would be best if you went out there," Cross said, after a while. He turned away from Allen, blowing smoke rings as he looked out over the battlefield below them. "But you can't stay out there for long. Distract them, and then come back."
"How should I –"
"I do not know. You'll have to figure that out yourself, idiot. I've already said that I can't help you with this."
"So I have to go."
"Yes. Go now," Cross said.
Allen pulled her sword of Innocence out and looked at it. It gleamed in the sunlight, a magnificent crystalline weapon. Please, work. Save us all. "I will go now," she said.
"Bring them with you," Cross said, waving Lenalee and Lavi over.
Allen turned bloodshot eyes to Cross. "I can't do that – they have no –"
"We'll go," Lavi said. "Allen, we'll accompany you. This is our duty."
"Should we get Kanda too?" Lenalee asked.
"No – not him –" Allen said.
Cross looked at Allen, frowning, his eyes questioning. "No? You don't want to bring the pretty boy? Well, alright then. You don't have time to find him anyway. Hurry along, you don't have all day."
:::
Before Kanda could think of a good plan to help Allen, there was another flurry behind him. He turned around, annoyed with his men, only to realise that a small group of people had just rushed by him. They were headed to the nearest gate.
They were all cloaked, but Kanda startled to recognise the slim, swaying gait of the cloaked person in the middle of the group. That's her. Where is she going? Why are they letting her go out?
The gatekeepers opened the gate. As the spikes went up, the group hurried through, none of them looking back. It was as if they had taken no thought of their own safety, of the possibility of failure, of the immense cost of failure of whatever they were about to do.
Before Kanda realised what he was doing, he had already rushed to the gates, running through just as the spikes came down.
I have to follow her. I have to protect her.
:::
The Earl twirled his umbrella. The grey of the sky was darker now, the serpentine grey of a wintry evening. The world was in its death throes now, and the Earl was waiting.
"Don't you think, Earl, that it's getting too dreary?" Tyki said. He twirled his top hat between his hands.
"Yes, it's dark, Tyki. I know."
"Are you doing this to the sky? On purpose?"
"Why, Tyki, do you really think that I have such a power?"
Tyki sat up straight. "Why not? You don't?"
"No," the Earl said sadly. "It would be good to have such power. I have no idea why the sky's this colour either. Perhaps – just perhaps – I cannot say it."
Tyki dropped his hat again. "Damn," he said. "Wait, Earl. What were you about to say?"
"Nothing much, Tyki."
Tyki rolled his eyes. "I know you were about to say something, Earl. Won't you tell me?"
The Earl only smiled.
It was Rhode who cleared her throat. "I can tell you what Master Millennium was about to say."
"What?" Tyki said.
"Something is about to happen between Master Millennium and Allen Walker. And the forces of nature know it."
"I don't believe this," Tyki said. "You're making it all up."
"I'm not," Rhode said.
Tyki rolled his eyes, a ready retort rising swiftly to his lips. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lulu Bell rose at that very moment, a hand raised to her brows.
"Hark," she said, "I spy some riders coming towards us."
"They must be here," Rhode said, hastening to Lulu Bell's side. "That one looks like Allen."
"Where?" Tyki said, joining his brethren.
"I knew she would come," the Earl said, remaining seated.
Rhode turned to face the Earl. "Master, why don't I –"
"No, Rhode dear, it is not necessary at all. I shall face her myself."
"But –"
"It will be so. I came here with this thought," the Earl said. He grinned and clapped his palms together. "She will not be able to harm me, so do not worry. She has to see things from our point of view, and only I can do that."
Rhode fidgeted. "I can send her into a dream –"
"You could," the Earl said, "but your dream might destroy her mind."
"She can't be as weak as that," Tyki interjected.
"Whether she is or not… is not for us to say," the Earl said. "I want no mistakes today. We have the one chance, and one chance only."
"That can't be," Lulu Bell said. "We can kidnap her if necessary."
"No, that would make her suspicious to the Order," the Earl said. "That would not be a good turn of events at all, my dear Lulu. All I need is half an hour with her."
"What is he going to do?" Tyki asked Rhode.
Rhode turned sad, fearful eyes to Tyki. "I don't know. And I – I'm so worried, Tyki. What if – what if Master Millennium…"
"Yes?"
Rhode brushed her sleeves against her eyes. "All will be well. But – what if God awakens this time around? What will happen to us? I cannot imagine our fates if that –"
God? Awaken? Tyki walked in a circle around Rhode. "I don't understand," he finally said. "Why would God awaken? I thought – I thought the Earl might have – I thought he had –"
"I thought so too," Rhode said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Above their heads, a sonorous roar resounded, the mighty ring of the anvil of a forgotten, heathen thunder god. Carrion birds took flight as bright streaks soared across the grey sky.
"I fear he is awaking," Rhode said. She faced the sky and watched as fallen leaves were swept up into the wind. "I fear he has already awakened. His power… you noticed the grey sky, Tyki. Master Millennium said it wasn't his doing. So the only conclusion…"
"Is that he's awake," Tyki said. "I see."
"But Master Millennium isn't afraid, you see. That's the problem. I've told him my suspicions… but he won't believe me."
"He must know what he's doing," Tyki said.
"I'm not so sure of that," Rhode said, now watching Lulu and the Earl as they conferred together. "He has been rather … different recently."
"Yes."
"I am afraid that something will happen when he meets Allen," Rhode said. "I have a premonition."
Tyki looked at his niece; the oldest Noah, with the youngest façade; her face was pale and her lips nearly blue. He placed an arm around her shoulders and patted her arm. "The Earl will be fine, Rhode. He knows how to take care of himself."
And yet Rhode's heart continued to beat with a quickening fear as Allen Walker and her party approached the Noahs' lines.
:::
General Nyne snatched her looking glass from the desk and put it to her eye. "Where is she, Marian? What have you done?"
"I did what I had to do."
"You did what you had to do! Excuses, Marian! You've sent her to her death, nothing more!"
"This is her fate," Cross said.
General Nyne slammed her fist onto the desk. A metal fell off the desk and onto the floor, rolling across the ground until it hit Cross's shoe. He picked it up and replaced it on a nearby, dusty shelf.
"Calm down," he said.
General Nyne brushed her hair out of her face. "Calm down! How do you bloody expect me to calm down, you degenerate –"
A softer voice intruded into the conversation, if it could be called that. "What's this commotion about, Generals?"
Komui stepped into the room. His clothes were dirty and dusty now, and his glasses lay askew across his face, but he was calm and indeed unhurt.
"Why are you here, Komui?" Cross asked.
"Checking on matters, of course, General. Might I ask why the two of you are shouting during a battle?"
General Nyne crossed her arms. "This… Cross here, I left for a few minutes to see to the soldiers over there, and he let Allen Walker out to face the Earl! He has sent the Priestess to her death!"
"I did send her out," Cross said, "but it was the only thing that could be done."
"No, we could have held out –"
"Did she go alone?" Komui asked. "And how long ago did she leave?"
"Ten minutes ago," Cross said. "She went with Lenalee and Lavi. And some of her guard."
"Kanda left too," Komui said. "I saw him sneaking out."
"She's protected, Klaud," Cross said.
"Yes," General Nyne said, still fixing Cross with a death stare. "By a handful of mortal men."
Cross sighed. "What, did you want to send her out with a few angels? Do we have some angels around that I didn't know about?"
"Enough," Komui said. "What's done is done. I want to know your reasons for sending her out now, General Cross."
"It was time," Cross said. "The Earl came for her. She had to test her strength against him at some point."
"Yes, but it didn't have to be today," General Nyne said. "She's unprepared, she's too young…"
"Heros are not made by reason of age," Cross said. "Don't you understand? This is her destiny. To fight the Earl, and live, and fight him again, until one of them dies."
General Nyne walked up to Cross. "What if she dies today?"
"We must believe the prophecy," Komui said. "The way I see it, it's too late to fetch them back. We would sacrifice too many others in the process. Allen must do what she can."
"Your sister is out there with Allen," General Nyne said.
"Yes," Komui said, glancing out the window. "But the world is also in chaos."
Komui walked off, head down and hands clasped behind his back. What the generals did not see were the tears gathering in his eyes. It was only after Komui exited that command post that he pulled off his glasses to wipe away those betraying tears.
:::
Allen and her party pulled up by the decaying stump of a tree which had been split apart by a bolt of lightning. By the stump waited a woman, tall and blonde and slim. It was none other than Lulu Bell.
"You!" Lavi said.
"Yes, me," Lulu Bell said. "I am here as emissary of the Earl. You may not harm me, if indeed you could, if you wish to meet the Earl and to plead with him."
"We aren't here to plead with him," Allen said.
"So be it," Lulu Bell said. "Please dismount. You can tie your horses to the stump."
The party did as they had been instructed.
"Follow me," Lulu Bell said.
And so they followed her, out of the confines of the world they had known all their lives, and walked bravely into the grey, barren fields of the Noah lines. From afar they could see the command post where the Earl awaited them. His lieutenants stood there too, watching Allen's party advance. Allen watched her enemies too, wondering what was to come.
Allen could not still her fear nor beat back the relentless dread that had taken root in the pits of her stomach. The sword of Innocence was cold in her arms, and her friends and guards were silent ghosts beside her, each lost in their own fogs of anxiety and fear. She knew that help would not be forthcoming. She knew that the Innocence might not save her. Most of all, she knew what failure would mean for them all.
AN: Sorry for the long wait again. I have nothing to say except that work is tiring and ... that's not exactly a good excuse. So I'll just leave it here.
Hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading!
