Eloise stared, standing beside Lavi at the exit of the narrow alleyway. Before them stood a blond in a brown suit. "He has two spots on his forehead."
"'Swhy I call him Two-spots," Lavi nodded.
Link furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. "My name isn't Two-spots. It's Link." He shook his head, regaining his composure. "I'm here to talk."
"This old tired charade again?" Lavi shook his head. "I see yer CROW hangin' out in the shadows again. Ya really gotta be more discrete than this, Two-spots. Figured ya would'a realized that after the last time we did this dance, yanno?"
Eloise didn't even need to use her observation skills as a Bookman to see the tension between the two. She could see it too, the subtle movements of the shadows around them. While Link wasn't wearing the black uniform like that archer that nearly attacked them, she reasoned he was somehow related to this coveted, perhaps even forbidden record Lavi was recording.
But Eloise wasn't the sort to stand still in matters involving history or knowledge. Sure the holy war had confused her, but her surprise was short lived as she suddenly stormed up to Link, leaning forward to look more intimidating despite her shorter height, and jabbing a finger at him. "Let me guess, you want to erase some history too?"
Her words jarred Link so much that he simply had to stare at her for a moment before answering. "Erase history?"
"Do I need to say it 'n other languages for you t'understand?" Eloise jabbed a finger at him again. She wasn't about to let some two-spotted punk in a nice suit erase whatever history Lavi was recording. "Geschiedenis wissen! Effacer l'historique! Delens historia! Cancellare la storia! Viŝi historio!"
Link frowned sharply, taking a step back from her. Who was this woman? She was forward and very certain he was doing something erroneous. Part of him couldn't disagree. The Bookman did hold a lot of information Central was after, but the redhead was still also very human and neither Noah nor akuma. The two ideas had been conflicting in his mind since he encountered the Bookman in that small English town. Perhaps the redhead hadn't had any contact with the Noah, as Lenalee had said, and his own actions had driven Lavi straight into their hands. There wasn't much he could do about it now other than carry out his orders. "I can understand English just fine, but I think you're misunderstanding what's going on here."
"Why else would ya be after a historian?" she jabbed a finger at him again, attempting to bore a hole through him with her sharp glare. She narrowed her bright emerald eyes at him. "Ya one'a the Unenlightened, attemptin' t' hide history?"
Lavi could hear the emotion behind her words. This wasn't a Bookman protecting history. She'd become like him, so entranced in the current record that she'd become part of it, become an Illuminati protecting history and knowledge. Lavi could pick it out clearly, as he felt the same way with the Noah he'd become entangled with.
Link found himself at a loss for words. Had the Noah taken to swaying humans to their side? Or perhaps this woman was a Noah herself. Yet her manner of speech and those particularly green eyes had him pondering otherwise. Glancing at Lavi, he noticed the redhead seemed particularly unfazed by the interaction, taking to shoving his hands in his pockets. This was some sort of ploy, wasn't it?
He didn't have much time to ponder what it was as thousands of black butterflies burst out of the alleyway. Link leapt backwards, making an arching motion in front of him with one hand to summon a barrier of spell papers to ward off the Teez's approach.
Eloise stared. They were the same type of creature that Lavi had released from his pocket. She stepped back to stand next to Lavi. There were many legends she'd heard, that black butterflies carried the souls of the dead. "Butterflies of death?"
"Teez," Tyki corrected her, stepping out of the shadows of the alleyway in his Noah form. "These creatures feed upon the Unenlightened like this foolish Two-spots here."
An inhuman smile twisted itself across his features. Months had passed since he'd encountered Link, the one who attempted to kill Lavi when they first were reunited. While they didn't clash, Tyki did see Link at the top of the hill with CROW back in that small English town. "It's been awhile since I did have some fun," he added. "Consider this payment for nearly drowning my Bookman."
"The attempted drowning was against my orders!" Link spat back. It was strange though. Twice now he'd been called Unenlightened. It couldn't be a coincidence, but as far as he could tell, the woman was noticeably human. Link frowned at himself. Why was he attempting to even reason with a Noah? They were the enemy, nothing more.
Tyki didn't care if he did or didn't give the order. He didn't bother to stop them. He dashed forward, choosing to engage Link directly himself. He was clearly enjoying the fight, Link fighting back more skilled than he'd expected. The blond had a few tricks up his sleeve, literally, as he pulled a pair of serrated blades out of them to fight.
The CROW leapt from the shadows, attempting to backup Link. Tyki avoided many of their attacks but was ultimately assisted by Spot, the akuma dog, as it leapt over him, ripping one of the CROW apart, consuming him and his robes, causing it to grow slightly larger.
"What level is that thing?!" One of the CROW shouted.
"There's no markings!" another replied.
Several more akuma dogs emerged from the Teez covering the alleyway. [ More than one Spot? ] she mumbled in the Bookman's language. Eloise was attempting to figure this all out, observing every detail, her mind a whir as much as the redhead's beside him, though unlike him, she knew nothing about his record. But for a moment, she pondered if she should. The Illuminati's Grand Magus's right hand was there, controlling black butterflies, fighting some holy man who wanted to erase Lavi's record. The records were crossed. It made sense why she encountered Lavi so often.
[ Ronald's been busy makin' em, ] Lavi noted, much calmer than Eloise. He was more accustomed to this fight, though his observant eye was watching for any sudden sneak attacks. He'd been attacked by Kanda that way before. Who knew if there would be another Kanda lurking in the shadows. [ Wonder what these're named. His daughter named the first one. ]
[ The Grand Magus... ] Eloise continued. [ She's involved in this, isn't she? ]
Lavi nodded, recognizing the title as a name for the Earl within the Illuminati. He quickly noticed a CROW slipping past the front lines, aimed right to attack him. "Look out, Red!" Eloise quickly shoved him out of the way as the CROW's blades pierced her skin. She couldn't let this valuable history disappear from the world. Without the records the Bookman Clan held, his history would die with him. She couldn't have that.
"Eloise!" Lavi shouted, springing to his feet. He reached for whatever he could to grab the CROW and yank him back. She was never supposed to be involved. This wasn't her record. Damn the Black Order. Damn them for involving her. He couldn't let another Bookman die. The Clan was already suffering enough.
"What are you doing!?" One CROW shouted at the offending CROW. "She's a bystander!"
The CROW easily pushed the redhead off, Lavi having no means to channel his elemental abilities to fight. Lavi could feel the twang in his shoulder, the injury that seemed to be reopened repeatedly lately. It wasn't the first time Lavi had encountered bloodthirsty CROW. They had tried to kill him back at that small English town in the lake. It was the same voice as before. It was like that scene repeating again, though this time, Eloise had fallen victim to their ignorant foolishness.
Eloise was right. They really were unenlightened.
With Tyki entangled in a battle with Link, Lavi couldn't rely on him to help protect Eloise. Or himself. Lavi hated fighting. This record, and the previous linked with it, had drawing him into battle more times than he cared to count. He'd rather observe, to watch the Noah tear these wretched CROW apart, but this CROW before him was quite intent on taking the Bookman down, plastering binding papers on him before the Bookman had a chance to object. They always went for the wrist first. Did they somehow know about the shard in his arm?
Lavi stumbled a step backwards right into someone. He jumped, expecting another CROW, but instead finding the familiar gentle touch of a Noah brother. Tobiasz stood behind him, in his black Noah form, a long, thin cloth still across his eyes, tied in the back and trailing down his back. He hadn't taken it off, even though his eyes had healed from the Church's mutilation back in Poland.
"Another Noah," the CROW seethed.
"Your worth must be judged," Tobiasz stated flatly in reply.
The CROW paused, probably staring at Tobiasz from underneath his faceless hood, before springing into action. As he flung spell papers at the Noah, Tobiasz quickly guarded, pulling his blade of truth from his heart and using it as a shield against the onslaught. He could smell it, that stench of Innocence on the CROW. He could feel that desire to kill anything that opposed the Order and the Church. This CROW had to die, but Tobiasz also had to ensure Lavi's safety. The Bookman was covered in those papers, and another lay on the ground, unmoving, an ally.
Instead of moving, he whistled. Bullets fired forth from the darkness of the alleyway, striking the CROW and covering him with a goo that started eating away at his robes. And as the CROW fought against the acid goo, the papers lost their grip on Lavi, falling to the ground.
"Anyone who wants to kill our Bookman answers to our guns, ya bloody dolt!" David's voice echoed on the buildings around them.
"To our guns, heeeeeee!" Jasper echoed.
The two stepped forward, both still wearing trench coats, though Jasper's stance almost looked like his knees would buckle from beneath him. "Can't deny it would be bloody enjoyable to knock these Church wankers down one by one. Or three." David grinned eerily, aiming his gun at the CROW jumping about. Jasper followed suit and the two shot down several CROW, striking them with the acid goo that rendered them essentially useless, if not dead.
"Withdraw!" Link quickly barked the order. The Noah's Bookman was much more protected than last time. The Noah were quickly gaining strength, perhaps faster than the Order could. Extracting information from Lavi seemed futile, though Central was certain he could be 'compelled' to give them whatever information on the Noah he had. Right now simply wasn't the time to do it, else there would no longer be a squadron of CROW to do the job.
Using the spell paper as a shield, the CROW and Link disappeared in a flurry of papers. Tyki scoffed. "Just when it was getting pleasurable." He dusted off his vest, straightening it out as he turned back towards the others. He pushed his glasses up his nose with a bit of a sigh. "To think, the Order would even attack Eloise."
Lavi knelt down beside her. "We got chased by a bunch'a Exorcists thinkin' she was some sorta Noah or akuma." He scoffed. The Exorcists had been particularly presumptuous lately, and strangely Korbinian's personality had practically flipped. Lavi hadn't expected the CROW to show up as well, but perhaps that was simply coincidental. Perhaps not. But his focus right now was his fellow Bookman who now lay still on the street. He stared at her curiously. There was blood around the spine-like knife sticking out of her shoulder, but not enough to show signs of a mortal wound. "Ya ain't dead, are ya."
She stirred, gasping a breath. She'd been holding it in, attempting to keep still as to not get caught in the crossfire. "Can't get anything past ya, can I , Red?" She carefully pulled back the collar of her jacket, revealing that the spine knife had impaled the book Lavi had given her in the cafe. "Unenlightened ones always go for the books." She attempted to move but to no avail. "Whelp, I'm stuck." The blade had extended through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground beneath.
Tyki frowned, kneeling next to her and taking the blade in one hand. It shattered beneath his grip, and he helped her sit up.
"'Course," Lavi frowned. "Innocence blades. Shouldn't'a expected much else from CROW."
David leaned forward, scrutinizing her. "So who the hell are ya?"
"Who are you, heeee?!" Jasper echoed, mirroring his brother and leaning forward as well attempting to get into her face.
She rubbed at her shoulder. The spine blade had drawn a bit of blood, though the book had taken the brunt of the damage. "The name's Eloise. I'm like Lavi ov'r there. I'm a Bookman." She didn't bother explaining. They had already had a Bookman recording their story. They knew what one was. She offered a grin at Tyki. The Illuminati had never outright said that Eloise was a Bookman, just an elite historian. "Surprise?"
"I reasoned a guess," Tyki pushed his glasses up his nose habitually. When he'd regained some of his Noah memories, even before he'd been reunited with Lavi, Tyki had some understanding of what a Bookman was. Her manner of speech was uncannily similar to Lavi's, and those green eyes even reminded the Noah of his at the time lost little brother. "Come, let us return to the manor before more roaches come to infest our streets."
…
Author's ramblings:
Link is one of my faves. I love to drag him into my chapters. The chapter is named after the first thing Link says to Lavi in Dawn Goddess.
The languages Eloise uses to yell at Link are in the following order:
"Geschiedenis wissen!" German
"Effacer l'historique!" French
"Delens historia!" Latin
"Cancellare la storia!" Italian
"Viŝi historio!" Esperanto
It looks like Eloise is now involved in this mess. Hooray?
