Hana: This is where shit gets real...wow, no one else here? Damn, maybe Lavi made them all party too hard...-cackles- fools~ mwa-haha! I don't own D. Gray-man, neither does XavierForest. Enjoy the new chapter, and hey, happy new year!
Allen: Did I miss anything?
Kanda: I think she's done, moyashi.
Lavi: Wait, there was a party!? And I didn't know about it?!
Lenalee: -sweat drops-
Raku: The actual hell?
Hana: ...didn't even hear 'em come in...
... ... ... ...
+ - Chapter 35 - +
It was the wee hours of the morning when a scream rang out throughout the mansion. Hevlaska jerked up from her restful sleep, and hurried out of her room, to find the source of the terrified shriek. "Malcom! Oh, gods, Malcom!"
It was her sister, she realized, as she increased her pace. Tokusa and her agreed that nothing would be done unless she and her sister were away on their holiday. Meaning, someone must've snuck into the estate. But what became of her brother-in-law?
Her answers came to her seeing her family member on her knees, hugging close a parchment as she cried in the center of her shared room. He wasn't dead. Perhaps not yet. Hevlaska was more than certain of that. She quickly rushed to her sister's side, placing her hand on her shoulders. "Ssh, ssh, please, take a breath, I'm here, tell me what had occurred here?"
"H-Hev..." The younger woman hiccupped, "Malcom was...I-I woke up to a scuffle...th-this was left b-behind..."
Gingerly, the older sister took the paper from the younger, and read the text written in a scrawl.
My patience has worn thin. The usefulness of a pawn is only as good as its worth. Whether or not God wishes salvation to such a damned soul, is not up to me to decide. It matters not, for my goal is in my sights now. I will take back what was stolen.
"This..." Hevlaska breathed.
"Seems we have a change in plans." Tokusa's voice stated. "I'll let him know. You take care of your sister."
"Take this with you." Hevlaska said, handing the paper to the CROW. "I think it may prove helpful to the cause."
Tokusa nodded, and was gone in almost the blink of an eye.
"H-Hev," her sister said between sobs while rubbing her wet face with the right sleeve of her pajama top, "Who w-was that?"
"That's unimportant right now. Let us get you calm, and then I shall explain." Hevlaska promised.
The younger nodded, and said no more.
. . - * - . .
"Hey, boss. We got a situation." Tokusa said, leaving no time for Madarao to ask his reasons for calling.
"Situation?"
"The nest was invaded, the hawk isn't here anymore."
"What happened?" Madarao demanded.
"I can't give you first hand details, but it appears Rouvelier was...I don't wish to say kidnapped…perhaps douche-napped is more appropriate?"
"He's gone?" Madarao asked, "Who took him?"
"Judging by the creepy note with all these religious references that our douche-napper left behind, I'm guessing it was Apocryphos," Tokusa supplied, looking down at said note in his hand and scanning over the words written there once more. "And he doesn't seem happy."
"Dammit...this isn't good."
"Why, exactly, isn't it a good thing?"
"It means he's closer to finding Allen Walker than we are, and if he finds him, we can be assured that the next time Apocryphos goes under the radar again, we won't have the opportunity to sniff either of them out."
"That is a bad thing." Tokusa grimly agreed.
"We need to hurry," Madarao said, his words terse and to the point. "Either Walker or Apocryphos must be located before they meet again."
"Just say the word."
"I will. For now, I've sent Kiredori to track Cross."
"Why?"
"Because Link claims Cross knows where Allen is exactly. By having her following him, we may find Walker...and hopefully we'll get to him before Apocryphos has the chance."
"Huh." Tokusa was glad he'd been stationed at Rouvelier's and not, say, delivering that particular bit of news. "Our boss'll be torn between killing Cross and undressing the kid if this turns out to be true."
Madarao sighed on his end. "Hurry and return. There's little time left."
"Roger that." Tokusa stated, before hanging up. He stopped at the front door, and looked behind him at the foyer. "It's been fun, but looks like my overstayed visit is finally over."
. . - * - . .
Lala bit her lip, trying hard to focus on her task, but finding it difficult with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Everything around her felt...tense, for the lack of a better word.
"What's wrong with you?" Lero asked, bored out of his wit's end. Apparently, it was Neah's turn to look after the guy's kids, as Lenalee had her classes that day.
"You look like you're witnessing someone kick a rabbit or something." Timothy agreed. Timcanpy whined, placing his head on the coffee table where Lala was seated.
The Italian descendent look to the others, unsure how she could possibly describe the feelings she had since she'd woken up that morning. And she'd been awake since before her father and the sun. "I don't know."
"Maybe you're hungry," Timothy guessed. "Because that always makes me feel weird."
The blonde-haired girl stubbornly shook her head. "That's not it. I've been feeling off all day. It's like somethings wrong... I don't know what though."
"That's weird, lero." Lero sighed.
"Why's it so glum in here?" Neah asked as he looked through to the living room from the kitchen. "I didn't think kids were supposed to look so serious."
"We're bored. Because you and your house are boring." Lero looked at Neah with an expression as dead as his tone. "Also, Lala's a weirdo."
"I am not!" The only girl argued. "If anyone is the weird one, it's you. Why do you always say your own name at the end of most of your sentences?"
"I don't do that!"
"Yes you do." Neah and Timothy had said at once. The orangey haired boy glowered.
"Prove it, lero!"
"There! Right there, you just did it!" Timothy said with a grin. "Why do you do that?"
"I don't know," Lero admitted grumpily, annoyed that everyone seemed to be ganging up on him. "I don't notice it, lero."
"I don't see anything wrong with it," Neah sighed. "But it is quite strange."
"You just said it was strange after saying there wasn't anything wrong with that." Lala pointed out.
"Ah...so I have..."
"Leave my speech habits alone, lero," Lero muttered. He cast a glare at the man who'd adopted him. "And it's not strange."
Neah gave Timothy a warning glare, and the retort the boy had was instantly gone. "In any case," Neah spoke up after the silent warning to the blue-haired child, "how about lunch?"
"Yes please!" Lala said with delight. For now, the bad feeling was put on hold, but that didn't mean it would go away.
. . - * - . .
Tyki prided himself with many things. Most to which he shouldn't be prideful of, but there were some he would still consider his best achievements. Getting information from people through whatever means was one thing, and killing two loyal goons of Apocryphos were another. Both had been accomplishment enough, but like Kanda and the others had told him before, it was a dangerous game...and his life was the very thing he was gambling in this one.
But the wager had been worth it after his time pretending to be Apocryphos' goony. Espeically when he had managed to sneak into the man's office one day, knowing full well he wouldn't be back until that night. Hidden in a compartment under a false drawer's base, were tabs of different people. One name caught his eye almost instantly.
"Suman Dark, hm? What a familiar name." There were other names, an interesting file simply labeled 'Mother', and others to which had the overly familiar names of 'Raku Kanda', and 'Allen Walker'. He skimmed through the documents, impressed by how well put together they were. It was obvious Apocryphos hadn't seen these yet. Tyki grinned, and carefully placed the most important of files into his messenger bag. What the crazy sonnova bitch didn't know about, would mean he would only find out much later.
For now though, prolonging Apocryphos' next big move for as long as possible was Tyki's mission. Stealing said psychopath's information in the process and using it to further his own group's goals was also high on Tyki's priority list.
And an added bonus, if he was going to be honest. "Should I stick around a little, or should I bail?"
Being found out and captured, however unlikely that may be, would lead to his torture and death at Apocryphos' hands. Tyki could stand a little torture; he didn't necessarily like it, but as a NOAH he had been trained to endure. The problem was dying. He really had to bring his findings to one of the CROW.
"Who's in there?" Tyki quickly put everything as he found it, securing his bag over his shoulder. Well, if ever a sign to get the lead out, that was definitely it. How lucky there was an escape window just for him?
Tyki Mikk was gone before the knob had finished turning.
. . - * - . .
"Someone really did capture that sonnova bitch." Kanda muttered as he clocked in that morning. The office was in complete chaos. The only people who seemed chill were those who didn't exactly give so much as a rat's ass for that man.
"You would think the president is being held captive." Link noted.
"Or the Ambassador of some foreign country." Robin added.
Kanda looked at the people all rushing about before snorting and moving to his desk. "At least that asshole won't be breathing down our necks anymore."
"I suppose so." Link murmured. "But, it is unsettling."
"Unsettling?" Robin asked. "How so?"
"How was the information of Rouvelier being abducted distributed so quickly? Isn't it a little too...what would that word be?"
"Suspicious." Kanda supplied, realizing where Link was coming from. "Sounds to me like that sick psycho still has a final use left for that bastard."
"Oh." Robin moved closer to Kanda, because even though everyone else was busy running around like headless chickens, it would be bad if they were overheard. "So you mean he isn't gone permanently? Damn."
"At the very least, not yet." Link affirmed. "You don't suppose he's trying to lure someone out?"
"Who would willingly go on a rescue mission for that sonnova bitch?" Kanda sighed.
Robin paused to consider that, and eventually came up with an answer. "I can only think of his wife."
"I'm doubtful." Kanda said, "I think there's something else he's after. Besides the chaos in this office."
Link thought a moment, before speaking his mind, "What if this is an indirect way to get you on the scene?"
"Why the hell would he go through all that trouble?"
"Aren't...you one of the best in our unit?" Robin asked. "I think...he's accounting for Mrs. Rouvelier to send out the best men in our field..."
"I'll make up some bullshit excuse that I'm busy," Kanda said, and he gestured to the tall, neat pile of reports he had yet to finish writing up. "Which isn't exactly bullshit since so much crap has been going on lately that I'm drowning in paperwork. Besides, that woman may be Rouvelier's wife, but she shouldn't have any power here."
"Unless he expects that." Link hissed in annoyance. "In which case...Apocryphos is going to do whatever he can to lure out Allen Walker into his trap."
"Desperation?" Robin guessed. "Maybe that's good news for us. If that's what it's coming down to, then I think—"
"If a man like Apocryphos gets desperate, it's not good."
"I'm in agreement with Kanda." Link told the white-haired woman, crossing his arms in troubled thought. "If he begins to think with a devil-may-care attitude, we're, for the lack of a better word, fucked."
"Woah...Link dropped the F-bomb." Robin remarked. "Kanda, you're not allowed to hang around Howard Link anymore. You're tainting his vocabulary."
"You act as though I've never cursed." Link muttered. Though thinking back on it...he seldom did.
Robin shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear before."
"It's rare," Kanda said as he took one of the reports from the stack. "But it does happen."
"Huh." Robin mused. "What else don't I know of the prim and proper Howard Link?"
"Do not call me that. I'm far from such."
"You're mannerisms say otherwise." Kanda stated, reading over a file. Nothing interesting to him in that one. "Has anyone heard anything from the others?"
"There's been no change," Link informed the man, glad to have the topic of his speech behind them. "Everyone is continuing on with their assignments."
"Good." Kanda said.
"You know, that pile of paperwork could totally begin to rival Komui's office." Robin said.
"Shut up."
(* - *)
The day almost dragged on, being in that weird state where time flowed quick, but still somehow moved slower than a snail's pace. It was within the last stretch of the workday where Kanda had gotten a call. "What?"
"Someone's grouchy." Tyki's voice huffed, "I got good news, bad news, and news you may not want to hear."
Wary, Kanda placed his pen down, "What news would I not want to hear?"
"We were duped."
"...duped."
"It goes hand in hand with the bad news which is, the boy and Raku aren't where I was hoping they would be." The Portuguese man explained.
"The fuck are you giving me this bullshit in backwards order, you piece of a fucked up shit?!"
"Obviously because that's the order you basically asked it in." Tyki snidely remarked. "But, there is a silver lining."
Kanda huffed angrily and lowered his voice. "What kind of shitty silver lining could you find in this fucked up situation?"
"The information I stole about the boy and your father were false. However, the information on 'Mother', was actually quite accurate until recently."
"...alright, I'll bite. What do you mean 'accurate until recently'?" For whatever reason, Kanda was more than certain that bastard was grinning wider than the Cheshire Cat. "Wipe that shit-eating smirk off your damn face."
"How do you know I'm smiling?"
"Because I hate you," Kanda said, his voice flat. "Now stop screwing around and tell me what you meant."
"You are no fun at all." Tyki grumbled. "I'm with the CROW right now, so I suppose I should let them tell you."
Kanda could hear the phone being passed from one set of hands to another, "Greetings." Tokusa's voice sounded.
"You of all people get the damn phone."
"I'm not nearly as bad as Mikk." Tokusa chided. "So, the information on Mother, was it? I had just read the files myself. Scarily organized shit he's got his hands on."
"Explain."
"Getting there, boss. In all seriousness, the information on Mother was only accurate until a few months ago. Back when Allen had been kidnapped."
"Go on."
"From what I'm reading, her last known location was a half-way that was near that old church that's mostly dilapidated by this point. The time before that? Across the way from a not so friendly neighborhood."
"And?"
"Kiredori managed to track Cross to a point, from there we tracked him until we lost his signal." That wasn't Tokusa's voice. That time it was Madarao. "He's a master at knowing when he's being followed, and when he's being tracked, but it looks like we do have a general location of where he was heading this whole time.
"So you can find the Moyashi?"
This time it was a female's voice that replied, "I hope you don't mind being on speaker, Kanda. But yes, we should be able to find him. With Suman Dark, we'll have the most accurate way to pinpoint Allen's location."
"I don't care how it's done." He couldn't. Not when his lover was so close. The brat was basically within Kanda's reach. "Just find him."
They had to find Allen. Kanda wanted to see Allen so bad.
... ... ... ...
Happy new year! (I said that already) What a way to start the year, yeah? :)
As much as I direly need it, R&R doesn't stand for Rest and Relaxation. Leave a review and let us know how we're doing! Show this story some love by favoriting this work, and if you wanna stay up to date with new chapters as they go live, then follow! Don't forget to check out my Co-author's works if you hadn't yet, and we'll see you guys again on the next installment of...
Light within Darkness!