The clearing was silent after the Noahs' departure.

Lavi, tired of the tension, broke the silence. "They're gone… We fought them off. We did!"

"So we did," Lenalee pressed her palms to her cheeks and rubbed under her eyes. She drew out a canteen of water, drank from it, slopping water down her front.

Kanda prodded Link with the toe of his boot. "He's alive."

"Must you be so unfeeling all the time?" Lenalee stooped to haul Link into a standing position.

Link blinked a few times and then closed his eyes again. He was as pale as the morning sky. "My head. Bad dream…"

"It wasn't a dream," Kanda said grimly.

Kanda turned to Allen, who sat at the edge of the clearing gripping the hilt of her glowing sword. Now that the Noahs had gone, the adrenaline level in his blood had faded, along with the worry Kanda had felt at the sight of the Noahs.

There was only cold anger in Kanda's eyes when he spoke. "Couldn't you have fucking told us?"

Allen looked up, as if seeing Kanda for the first time. She shook her head, blinked and stared again.

"What, we weren't important enough?" Kanda advanced on Allen.

"Kanda," Lavi said, tugging on Kanda's sleeve, "she looks pretty washed out, maybe we should—"

"Shut up," Kanda said roughly, yanking his sleeve out of Lavi's hands. He glared at Allen. "Did you ever bloody think—"

Allen recovered her senses and her thinking faculties. "Of course I thought, BaKanda! That's why I left!"

"You're a coward. I never took you for one before but now I know."

"I'm not a coward." Allen stood up, letting the Innocence sword trail behind her. "I took the wisest course of action I could find."

"A brave person would have stayed."

"Kanda," Lenalee said urgently. "Please. She's bleeding."

"I left so Leverrier can't force me to do despicable things any longer!" Allen shouted.

"If you hadn't left we could have stopped him!"

"Stopped him?" Allen laughed. It was a terrible sight to behold. "How? Locked him up? Put a knife to his throat as per your usual brand of persuasion?"

Kanda flinched a little. "You should have trusted us to—"

"No, I can't trust anyone now," Allen said. "I can only trust myself and maybe Neah—"

"Trust the Fourteenth? Bull!" Kanda said rudely.

"I have my own path to walk," Allen said. "Now leave me alone."

"We can't," Link said.

Allen stared at Link. "So you're here too. Well, I suppose you lot are here to capture me."

"You're right," Kanda said. "Now come with us."

"No, I won't." Allen started to back away. "I can't fight the Earl by returning to the Order. Please leave."

Lavi raised a placating hand. "We have orders to take you back, Allen. Please come with us. We won't mistreat you, you know that."

Allen held a hand out in front of her. "I said, I can't fight the Earl from the City. Which part of that did you not understand?"

Lenalee looked pleadingly at Allen. "It's the safest place for—"

"No." Allen swayed and fell to her knees. She clasped her hands to her forehead, the top of which felt as if there were little pinpoints of fire burning steadily though her skin.

"Al?" Lavi said. "What's wrong? Are you injured? Lenalee?"

"Don't—don't come near me." Allen clawed her fingers against the ground, and found it difficult to stand while her head felt ready to split open. "Stay away. I don't want to harm anyone."

Kanda stepped forward. "You're coming with us."

"No, I'm not." Allen decided it was easier to crawl. The pebbles and stones rubbed against her knees, and the soil scrapped her fingers, but she carried on.

Allen had only managed to get a little distance away from the clearing before hands slipped around her waist; one moment she was pulling herself across the ground and the next she was kicking her legs in the air, her abdomen pressed against something hard and highly uncomfortable.

"Let me down, you jerk!" she cried, raining fists upon Kanda's back.

"Not likely to," Kanda replied, looking back at Lavi. "Come on, what are you waiting for? There's shelter ahead."

Lenalee asked, "We're not heading back straightaway?"

"She's injured," said Kanda.

"I think we all need a good night's sleep as well," Link said, still a little wobbly on his feet.

"Come here." Lavi slung one of Link's arms around his shoulders. "It's not far."

Mana Walker's house was a veritable bower of dust and cobwebs.

"Why is this place so dark and dirty?" Kanda said.

Lenalee squatted before the fireplace with the rusty poker in her hands, trying to scrape out all the ashes left over from the fires of yesteryear. "Obviously, no one has lived here for a very long time."

"I found some firewood," Lavi said. He threw the firewood into the fireplace and looked around for something with which to light the fire.

Kanda placed the still-struggling Allen into the nearest bed. He pulled at the ends of his hair tie until the cord came loose and his hair fell around his face and over his shoulders like a dark veil.

Lavi had been staring. "Why is it that you looked so great doing that, Yu?"

"Don't call me that, you fool!"

"We've got food in that pack," Link said weakly. He was sitting by the door, too exhausted to move any further.

"Let me go!" Allen said, trying to push Kanda away.

Kanda bound Allen's feet together. "Stop that."

"What do you think you're doing, BaKanda!"

"Now you can't escape," Kanda said as he tied the end of the cord to the bed post.

Lenalee went over to the bed, hands on her hips and a tight smile on her face. "Let's see that wound. Please, Allen."

Lavi hovered around the end of the bed. He stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to smile too. "Come on, Al, don't be like this. We just want to make sure you're safe and well, yes?"

For all their efforts, the only response they got from Allen was an angry cry.

"Look, we can talk this through," Lavi said, pacing along the foot of the bed. "We won't haul you back right now. Just… just rest. Wait, Kanda, what are you—"

There came a resounding crash.

Lenalee screamed and then pushed past Kanda to lay a trembling hand on Allen's forehead. "God above," she said. "Of all the idiots in the world!"

Lavi frowned at Kanda. "That wasn't necessary, was it?"

"You could have killed her!" Lenalee checked Allen's scalp, pushing back the hair to scrutinise the skin. She muttered under her breath about lovesick fools and people whose couldn't think before they acted.

"You can't see a concussion, Lena," Lavi said, laying a calming hand on Lenalee's shoulder.

"I know, I know…"

"It was the only way to quieten her down," Kanda said. "Is she hurt?"

"I hope not." Lenalee shot Kanda a reproving look. "Don't do such stupid things, Kanda. You aren't ten anymore, and humans aren't as sturdy as wooden posts."

Kanda shrugged and pulled at Allen's neckline. The raw red edge of the shoulder wound could be seen through the damp fabric.

"Ouch," Lavi said.

Kanda started to tear the sleeve and the rest of the shirt.

Lenalee pursed her lips. "Wait, what are you doing, Kanda?"

"Cleaning the wound. What else?"

"I mean, let me do it. You shouldn't…"

Lavi snickered. "Oh, Lena, I think they're quite past that stage… Let Yu be. He wants to feel better about clobbering his beloved on the head."

"Shut up!" Kanda said harshly.

Lenalee swatted Kanda away. "I'm much better at cleaning and dressing wounds. Now stop bothering me and give Allen some air."

There was a winding road, and tall grass on either side. The road wasn't so much a road as a path carved through the land by the frequent passage of carriages and horses.

Allen toiled along the road, cold and shivering in a coat that reached only to her waist. The sides of the coat were torn and tattered. Its elbows were held together only by well-worn stitches. Her feet hurt; there were stones in her boots, and one of her toes poked out through the worn leather into the wet night air. Overhead, the harvest moon stared at the wasteland of the earth, like the baleful eye of the heavens.

In that strange, shifting darkness, Allen felt herself compelled to say, "Mana."

Hearing herself, she pressed a hand to her mouth, as if by doing so she could catch the words and put them back into her thoughts. As if she could undo the works of the past, as if she could rewrite the trembling thread of the future. But she couldn't recall her words, and the leather of her gloves lay cold against her lips.

"Mana isn't here." The voice came from the thick grass that bordered the road.

Allen stopped to peer at the grass. "Who's there?"

"Who do you suppose? I'm not in the grass, Allen. Look over here."

Allen followed the sound of the voice. "I still don't see you."

"Here, Allen."

Amidst the tall grass, something took shape; the darkness swirled together, rippling like a field of ripe corn.

There were eyes, with no pupils; there was a mouth, with no lips; there was a snub nose, with no nostrils. There were no eyebrows, no eyelids, no neck. Just a face, and a shock of hair falling over the ears and high forehead of the creature.

"It's me, Allen. Don't you recognise me?"

Allen peered at the face. She recognised the purple hair and the lilt of the voice. "Rhode? But I thought—"

"You thought I was dead?"

"I thought I purged the—"

"You couldn't have," Rhode said. "I am recuperating."

"Why are you in my dream?"

"You know that this is a dream? How?"

"It's not autumn yet," Allen said, pointing at the moon that shone over-bright above them, "and the earth is not a wasteland. Yet."

"Oh, goody. You picked that up real fast."

"Why are you in my dream? Haven't you learnt your lesson?"

"What lesson?" Rhode's smile was as empty as that of a sawdust doll watching the world through button eyes from a high and dusty shelf. "I want to speak to Neah."

"You can't," Allen said.

"I can't? Not in the dream? Then I shall have to come to you."

"No!"

"Yes, I will," Rhode said, "as soon as I am fit to travel again."

Allen folded her arms over her chest. "Well, I won't give you the chance to kill the people I love again."

Rhode's smile vanished. "I'm not asking for your permission, Allen. And I am serious. I need to speak with Neah."

"Why?"

"To affirm my decision."

"What decision?"

Rhode's creepy smile flashed across her waxy face. "Wouldn't you love to know? I will be with you shortly."

"Wait!" Allen cried, but the face had already started to break into motes of dust dancing in the moonlight.

Then the dream world folded in on itself, the moon fell like an unscrewed chandelier, the stars went out, and Allen went tumbling into the liquid darkness.

Allen found herself face to face with Neah. They stood before a red-bricked house bordered by a field of golden wheat. The morning sun climbed above their heads.

"Well, that was an unexpected dream you just had," Neah said. "Why didn't you let me speak to Rhode?"

"Why would I do that?" Allen said sourly.

"Don't be so touchy."

"Get out of my head."

"How? I do happen to be part of your head, you know."

Allen sighed. "Neah, please."

"Let me contact Rhode." Neah held out a glittering silver object, shaped like a key. "I can get into her dream for a short moment."

"No, you won't."

"She had something important to say," Neah said. "Look, I promise not to harm you in any way while I visit her dream."

"Maybe she wants to kill you. How would I ever learn how to kill the Earl if that happens?"

Neah's hand hovered over the middle of his chest. "Do you meant to tell me you care for my wellbeing?"

"No."

"You're really touchy today."

"And isn't it partly your fault?" Allen grumbled. There was a sharp pain in her shoulder, and she really wanted to sink into dreamless sleep instead of arguing with a voice in her head.

"I need to speak to Rhode. Honest. It is very important to ascertain what she said. Let me take control for five minutes, alright? This may help to turn the tide."

Allen stared at Neah's serious expression. "Are you sure?"

"Very."

"Fine. But only for five minutes."

"I understand," Neah said. "Now hush."

Lavi lay a motheaten blanket on the ground for Link to lie on. "It's a little old and full of holes, but it'll have to do for tonight. And it's thick, so it'll be better than sleeping on the floor, eh?"

Link made himself comfortable on the blanket. "Thank you."

Lavi set down another blanket for himself. As he moved to lay down a third blanket, he happened to glance at the cobwebby bed. "Kanda?"

"What?"

"Why's Allen flailing her arms around like that?"

Kanda bounded over to the bed. "Fuck! She can't be left alone for more than one minute, can she?"

Lenalee and Kanda each grabbed one of Allen's arms.

"She'll hurt herself if this goes on," Lenalee said. "We should—"

Lenalee's opinion on what they should do was drowned out by Allen's sudden scream. It was a bloodcurdling sound straight from the gates of Hell; it was the frenzied cry of a bereft child; it was the crunching of bones underneath the unrelenting wheels of the Great Juggernaut.

Link sat up. "Heavens above. She sounds like she's being murdered."

"The Fourteenth," Kanda said through gritted teeth.

"Why is she so strong?" Lenalee asked. Despite her grip on Allen's hand, Allen's hand still managed to move.

Lavi took over from Lenalee. "Woah, she's really strong!"

"Slap her," Kanda said. "What are you waiting for, Lenalee?"

"I can't just—"

"She's caught in Neah's webs," Lavi said. "You have to try to wake her!"

"I—"

Lavi found himself propelled forward by the momentum of Allen's struggles. "Please, Lena! I can't hold on for long!"

Lenalee put out a trembling hand and cracked her palm across Allen's jaw. Allen shuddered for a long moment and then lay still.

"Christ," Kanda said, releasing Allen's arm.

"I can't believe that worked." Lavi released the other arm. "Maybe we should—oh, you're awake."

Allen's eyelids flickered open. "Why did you hit me?"

Lenalee ran her hand across the top of Allen's head. "I'm so sorry, I had to hit you to—"

Two things happened at once.

Kanda shouted, "Look out!" and swung Mugen towards Allen.

Lavi pulled Lenalee backwards. They tripped over the carpet, and both went crashing into an undignified heap of limbs.

Link tried to stand. "What is—"

"Noah!" Lavi yelled, having extricated himself from Lenalee and the carpet.

Allen's irises had indeed taken on a golden hue. She grinned and stretched her back like a lazy cat, seemingly uncaring of the sharp blade pressing against her neck. "Hello there, Allen's friends."

"Noah," Kanda said. "Get out of there or I'll cut you!"

Neah shrugged nonchalantly. "Do that. She'll die too."

Lavi and Lenalee drew their weapons as they flanked Kanda.

"Don't be rash, Yu," Lavi said. "We'll have to use our brains for this one."

"Why did you take over?" Kanda asked. "Did she let you?"

"She did." A slow blink. "But that was because I wanted to speak to Rhode. Rhode Camelot. You do know her?"

"I know the creepy witch-brat," Kanda spat. "And I'll kill your little friend the next time I see her. So don't even hope to see her ever again."

"I just spoke to her, young man," Neah said. "You're very rude, you know. Is this how you treat your elders?"

"Not when you wear her face."

"My," Neah said. "You've got it really bad, haven't you? I wouldn't put so much stock into her, if I were you."

"What do you mean?" Lenalee said. "Do you know something we don't?"

"Little girl, I know many things you don't. I wouldn't even know where to begin explaining—"

"Shut up," Kanda said roughly. "Or I'll sew that mouth shut for you."

Lavi glared at Neah. "If you've spoken to Rhode Camelot, then let Allen come back. You've overstayed your welcome."

Neah pouted. It was a strange expression on Allen's face—not least because she wasn't one for pouting, but also because the pout jarred with the cool gaze and the stiff set of her brows. "I'm thinking it would be easier to fight the Earl if I—"

Kanda shifted his weight and pushed down on Mugen. "Let her go."

"Ouch." Neah brought a finger to the spot where blood trickled from the skin cut on Allen's neck. "You do know you're harming her body?"

"Just leave, fucking Noah!"

"She's a Noah too," Neah pointed out.

"She's the Priestess," Kanda said. "I'll really cut you."

Neah's eyes hardened. "I'll play with you, pretty boy. Now I'm getting serious."

"I'll get you out of her."

"Will you?" Neah's smile did not reach his eyes. He tossed his hair and brought his fingers to his eyes. He blinked once, and his feet were no longer bound. "Let's see how many of you I can kill."

"Watch out, Yu!"

Kanda didn't have to heed Lavi's warning—he had already sensed the danger. He leapt backwards and away from Neah, landing in a compact crouch by Link's side.

Lenalee and Lavi moved in, charging at Neah, but Neah brushed them aside. Lenalee flew across the room and landed on Link's blanket; Lavi hit the far wall and collapsed with a sickening crunch.

"We'll see how much of a fighter you are," Neah said, springing towards Kanda.

Kanda was on his feet at once. He slashed at Neah with Mugen, careful to avoid areas like the neck and the chest.

"Are you looking down on me?" Neah said.

"No." Kanda slashed again. "Just being cautious."

"My, what a doll," Neah said. He stretched his hands out languidly.

"Are you surrendering?"

"Not at all." Dark globes appeared from Neah's fingers. They grew and grew, splintering off into tiny bubbles. "We'll see how you survive this."

Kanda had barely enough time to take cover before the black rain fell upon him. He was fast enough, however, and the rain hissed against the barrel behind which he was sheltering. The smell of charred wood soon reminded him of the danger.

Kanda snapped out of his shock and ran at the distracted Neah.

They tussled. At one point Neah got hold of a sharp kitchen knife, a murky copper-red around the edges, and tried to stick it in Kanda's throat. Kanda grasped the blade, turning it from himself with his bare hands. Blood dripped down his fingers, warm and sticky, and yet he did not turn the knife on Allen's body.

The battle was over as quickly as it had started. One moment Kanda sat atop Neah, wrestling for control of the rusty knife, and the next moment the golden irises had morphed into a tired sea-grey. It was Allen who looked back at Kanda.

"Why are you—"

"Shut up," Kanda said. He let the knife fall, and wiped his bleeding fingers against his trousers.

"You're sitting on me," Allen said, trying to wriggle away.

Kanda stood up at once. He glowered at Link, who was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand, and said, "Shut up, two-dots. Check on those two if you have that much energy."

"Why am I on the floor?" Allen asked.

Kanda squatted by Allen. "The Fourteenth took over."

"I know, I let him—"

"Speak to the girl Noah. I know. But he didn't return your body after speaking to her."

Allen looked at the way Kanda held his injured hand and at the dark red stains on the ground. "He attacked you? Oh, good Lord, he promised me—"

"You shouldn't believe everything he says."

"I—"

Kanda noticed the gashes on Allen's arms. "You're injured. I didn't mean to hurt you but—"

"It's okay," Allen said. "They're quite shallow. I can dress them myself."

"No, come here." Kanda tugged Allen to her feet and prodded her towards the bed. "I'll bandage them."

"There's really no need to—"

"Sit still. Stop fussing."

As Kanda doused the wounds liberally with alcohol, Allen's face scrunched up in pain, and Kanda noticed.

"It'll pass," Kanda said.

"Your hands," Allen said. The bandages in Kanda's hands had been stained red with his blood. "Your fingers—"

Kanda poured alcohol over his hands. "I'll see to your wounds first."

"But your injuries are more severe! Don't be such an idiot, BaKanda!"

"Don't call me that, stupid Beansprout." Kanda pulled Allen's hands towards him and started to wrap the bandages around her forearms.

"But—"

"Don't talk."

Allen fell asleep before Kanda finished seeing to her wounds. When Kanda was finally done, he carried her back to her bed and tucked her under the covers. His fingers lingered for a moment on the top of the blanket before he turned away.

Link had, by that time, seen to Lavi and Lenalee's injuries and carried them to the blankets Lavi had laid out before Neah attacked them.

"They're fine," Link said in response to Kanda's questioning stare. "How are your fingers?"

"Fine. Go to sleep."

Link joined Kanda at the dining table. "Let me help you."

Kanda turned his back on Link. "Just go to sleep."

"I'll help you," Link said, grabbing the bandage roll. "You can't possibly do this yourself."

"I can—"

Link grabbed the bottle of alcohol and eyed the amount left in it before pouring everything left inside onto Kanda's hands. "Maybe you could do a slipshod job of it if you were alone, but you're not alone, Captain Kanda."

Kanda stared at Link for a long moment. There was no sound except for the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner. At last, he said, "Why are you wasting your time? You know I heal fast."

Link proceeded with bandaging Kanda's wounds. "You know, that was very brave of you."

"What?"

"What you did just now."

Kanda said, "I was just doing my duty."

"No, you were protecting her too. I saw it, Captain Kanda, and I don't doubt my eyes."

"Maybe you need a monocle," Kanda suggested.

Link yanked on the bandage a little harder than he was supposed to and let out a vindictive smile at Kanda's grimace. "Don't be such a… cad, for the lack of a better word."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you care for her," Link said. "I've always known."

"So?"

Link tied the bandage up and said, "There, you're done."

"Took you long enough."

Very quietly, Link said, "I want to give you my blessings."

Kanda said, "What? Are you mad?"

Link sniffed. "I'm not mad. I just wanted to say this to you, man to man."

"Hmph."

"I… I care for her too. As you probably know."

"I know." Kanda's gaze was unnerving, like that of a cat waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Link walked to the window and looked out. "I knew she wasn't for me. Inspector Leverrier made it very clear that she was to be betrothed to you so that… well, you know how it goes."

"Fucking idiot," Kanda said.

"But I cared more than I ought, and for once I couldn't stop myself from—" Link sighed. "I resented you at times."

"I know."

"But today, after seeing what you did for her, trying to protect her even when—I know now what she means to you. I wish you and her all the best and I hope you'll continue to protect her. She needs it, now more than ever."

"You sound like you're about to run off to die foolishly," Kanda said. He sat on one of the blankets on the floor.

"No," Link said, offering Kanda a wan smile. "I won't. I too have duties I must finish."

Kanda rolled over on his blanket. "You'd better not die."

"I won't if I can help it." Link wrapped a blanket around himself. "You shouldn't die either."

"Stop talking, I'm trying to sleep."

The next day, inclement weather prevented them from so much as setting one foot out of Mana's house. It was just as well, for Lavi's knee hurt too much for him to walk any great distance, while Lenalee complained about exhaustion and spent most of the day nursing a headache.

When dusk fell, Link and Lenalee saw to their provisions. Kanda was in one of the other rooms practising with Mugen; he had not spoken to Allen at all that whole day.

Allen stood at the window, staring listlessly out at the stretch of mud road winding away into the distance. She watched as the watery sun sank beneath the horizon, as the deep grey of the sky darkened into a velvety black.

Lavi joined Allen at the window. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, it's you, Lavi. I was just thinking about Mana and Neah."

"Hmm?"

"They must have been happy once, here. Before everything pushed them apart."

"I suppose it must be so," Lavi said.

Allen ran a finger along the windowsill. "He brought me here once. Mana, I mean. We lived in the City, but he brought me out here one day, and he cried and cried and didn't tell me why. Now that I think about it… it must have been Neah's death anniversary."

"Mana mustn't have wanted to live here," Lavi said. "Look, there aren't even any drapes."

"This must have been a place of great misery to him," Allen said. "I can feel Neah's grief at coming back here—even after all this time. Even after death."

Lavi chose his words carefully. "Sometimes there's no way to alter the past, Allen. And Master Neah, if you're listening. We can only try to shape the future into a better time and place."

"I know. Mana used to say that. He would tell me to always keep walking no matter what."

"Stasis and apathy destroys the human spirit. Good men always do something."

"That's right," Allen said. "He used to read from this book of—sayings? Quotations? The words of wise men."

Lavi nodded.

"I'm frightened of Neah," Allen said, "and I know he tries to take over sometimes. But other times, he can be surprisingly cooperative."

"Like when you escaped?"

"Yes," Allen said. "I don't know when I can actually trust him."

"Be very careful when dealing with the Fourteenth, Allen," said Lavi. "Consider that—"

Kanda strode into the room. "Take off your bandages."

"Why?" Allen asked.

"Time to change them, idiot."

"Good heavens," said Lavi, "is the sky crashing down? Is this truly Kanda Yu, the brave warrior with the stoic front and the—?"

"Shut up before I make you," Kanda said, shoving Lavi aside. He unravelled Allen's bandages with practised ease.

"I never thought I'd ever see this day," Lavi said. "Allen, you didn't see how Kanda here was like after you left."

"Shut up, idiot."

Lavi pressed on, "He was absolutely devastated. Absolutely!"

Kanda reached for Mugen. "Would you stop talking for once?"

Lavi ran off to the side of the room. "And while we were searching, Kanda kept looking at the locket he has. Y'know, the one containing General Tiedoll's painting."

"Idiot!" Kanda lunged at Lavi.

"Save me, Lena!" Lavi yelled and ran into the kitchen.

Kanda would have followed to butcher Lavi, but Allen caught up to him and yanked on his sleeve. "Wait, BaKanda."

"What?"

Allen took a deep breath and slid her fingers up and across Kanda's jaw. "Thank you. For helping me last night. Thank you for everything."

"I did what I had to do," Kanda said gruffly.

"You always do that." Allen folded herself into Kanda's body and wrapped her arms around his back. "I can never repay you."

"You don't have to, you fool."

Allen let go of Kanda. "Nevertheless…"

"Don't go running off by yourself again."

Allen gave a hollow laugh. "Didn't I tell you not to come after me?"

"You think I wanted to? Leverrier ordered us out."

Allen's eyes grew serious. "So he wants me back there doing his bidding. I won't follow you back."

"I know."

"So you're planning to hit me again? Knock me out and then carry me back?"

"No," Kanda said. "I don't know what to do yet."

"There's always a way," Allen sighed.

Kanda glanced out the window. "We can't leave yet, anyway."

The torrential rain continued the next day and the day after. Outside, a wall of rain was all that could be seen; the brown and green of the trees were indistinct shapes through the glass.

Lavi glared at the rain. "How long is going to last? Urgh, I feel like I'm developing cabin fever already."

"Don't kill us," Allen said.

"I'll try not to." Lavi yanked on his hair. "This is really bad. I want to go out."

"Take a run in the rain, fool," Kanda said. He loosened his shirt and shrugged on his boot. "Good exercise."

"Hey, that sounds like a great idea! Don't let those muscles get rusty, eh?"

Lenalee rolled her eyes. "It's a terrible idea. You'll probably catch a cold."

"Not me," Kanda scoffed. He opened the door.

The blanketed pitter-patter of the rain throttled into something resembling the harsh roar of a train engine. Allen could almost see the black smoke belching out from the train cab. Mana had brought her to ride on one of the trains making its last journey upriver towards the City, and that had been a long time ago, a time before sorrow and strife twisted their way into her life.

But it had been a long time since the railways in the country worked, a long time since they had enough resources to spend on both war and science. The railways and trains were rusty relics which groaned on abandoned tracks, once upon a time glorious models of the age of human industrialisation, and now nothing more than the graveyard of shredded dreams and forgotten technology, with only sleepy ferns and the odd animal to keep them company.

Allen wrenched herself away from the memories of the past. She saw that Kanda was already standing in the rain, his face tilted upwards to the clouds, hair sticking to his bare back.

Lavi, still on the doorstep, said, "We'll be fine, Lena. You always worry too much…"

Then Lavi stepped out. Together, Lavi and Kanda disappeared into the greyness outside the house.

Allen walked back into the kitchen. She looked through the remaining provisions, trying to see how long more the food could last. She was so engrossed that she didn't hear the click of a door sliding open.

"Allen."

Allen dropped the packet of smoked meat she had just picked up. "Rhode? How did you know—"

"I knew you were in Mana's house," Rhode said, pulling out a chair. "Neah told me."

"Oh, that traitor," Allen said.

Rhode swung her legs to the rhythm of her fingers tapping against the table's edge. "Now, let's talk."

"I have nothing to say to you anymore."

"Really? Well, I have plenty of things to say to you, Allen. And to Neah. Shall we?"

"They'll hear you and come in."

"No, they won't!" Rhode waved her fingers.

Allen groaned. Not again?

Allen found herself on a busy thoroughfare. Gas lamps glimmered above her head, and peddlers hawked their wares along the sides of the street. They stood near a hawker who hunched over a gas stove, stirring something thick and grey and vastly unappetizing. Allen didn't think she would ever want to eat any of that mush, no matter how hungry she was, and that certainly said something about the cuisine in this part of the world.

Which reminded Allen of the question on the tip of her tongue. "Where are we?"

"We're in our main city," Rhode said. She swung an umbrella around, all the better to whack the legs of the passers-by.

"Why are you doing that? You'll get us in trouble!"

Rhode rolled her eyes. "They're Akuma. They wouldn't dare to hurt me."

"Akuma? So wait—you brought me to your hometown? Why?"

"You're slow on the uptake today, dear Allen. Ah, there's the person we're looking for!" Rhode linked arms with Allen and pulled her forcibly down the road.

They stopped by a coffee house with eaves of gold and black tiles on the roof. Rhode tugged Allen down an aisle and pushed Allen into a seat.

The man occupying the table looked up. Gold eyes, tanned skin, dark hair waving over his ears. A golden chain around his neck, with a pendant of gold—no, it was a golden boat resting against his chest.

"Neah?" Allen said.

"You're here." Neah shut the thick, dusty book he had been reading and laid it aside.

The book's cover was a perfidious black, the colour of heartbreak and lunacy, broken only a red crescent moon. Or—it might have been a smiling mouth dripping with blood. Allen didn't know and didn't want to ask.

Allen turned to Rhode. "Why are we talking to a dead man?"

"Calm down," Rhode said. "We're in one of my dream worlds. I've pulled Neah's memories in here too, so that we can all speak."

"A dream world? But you said this was your city—"

"In likeness," Rhode said. "And for all I know, the Akuma may come here in their sleep. Who knows where the soul travels at night?"

"We're not here to debate the magic of dreams," Neah said.

Allen turned to Neah. "Didn't you speak to her already? That night?"

"I did. But I only told her to look for you at Mana's house, and then to bring us all together to discuss the fate of the world. That was a good idea, wasn't it? If I do say so myself."

Rhode rested her chin on her upturned right palm. She smiled, and her golden eyes glittered in the candlelight with all the uncanniness of a wolf in a patch of dark forest, waiting for a chance to leap. "I'll go first. Neah, why did you betray us?"

"You know why."

"But you left me behind."

Neah sighed. His hand rested by Rhode's left palm; his fingers barely brushed her skin. "You couldn't leave the Earl."

"I was the eldest Apostle, Neah. And you knew it."

"I didn't kill you, Rhode."

"You couldn't have."

"I could have," Neah said. "But I didn't, because I knew you could not betray him. Doesn't that count for something?"

"You left me to live in pain and misery!" Rhode slammed a fist against her chest, right above her heart.

"I'm sorry, I truly am. But I saw no other way out."

"Is Master Millennium's destruction really all you want?"

"Yes." Neah took a deep breath. "I would have stayed to build a future with you, but… I couldn't. Not when I knew what the Earl was doing. That sucked the happiness right out of me."

"If you had managed to kill Master Millennium, would you have done away with me too?"

"I don't know, Rhode. If I had managed to kill him… perhaps I might have slain you too, and then killed myself beside your corpse."

A brief smile passed over Rhode's face. "Like star-crossed lovers."

"Yes. But you would have been the last to die, if anything," Neah said.

Rhode placed her hands over Neah's. "Did you hate me back then? For not leaving with you? For not fleeing the darkness?"

"No."

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes. That was why I cared more than I should have, Rhode. I admired—and still admire—your loyalty. Even if it was to the Earl. I was impressed by it, and I—found it intriguing."

For once, Rhode's façade fell. Her lips trembled and her eyes brimmed with tears. "So that is how it is. You never told me."

"I'm sorry," Neah said. "Please forgive me, Rhode. The bigger picture came first. I couldn't speak once I knew, but I always kept you in my heart."

Rhode dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "That was how it always was with you."

"I'm sorry."

"That was also why I cared."

"I loved you, Rhode," Neah said. "You were my only light in that dim world of hatred and death."

"I blamed you," Rhode mumbled. "After your death. After you slayed all our brothers and sisters. I blamed you and I hated you."

"I know."

"But in the end… I couldn't hate you forever. I defended you when the new members called you a traitor."

"Thank you, Rhode." Neah lifted a finger to Rhode's face, gently swiping away the tears that gathered at the edges of her eyes.

Allen shifted uneasily in her chair. What's happening between these two? Why am I here? Why did Rhode drag me into this? This is highly suspect.

"Allen," Rhode said. "I will join you in your quest."

AN (11.12.16): Thanks for reading! The chapter has not been edited so if you spot any errors do feel free to let me know.