Requiem of Time: Chapter Forty-One - Allen

Only Cross, Joyd, Bondomu, Lulubell, and Allen were left standing as the black swirled around the others, Crow dancing away as their Holy Magic burst to life in response. The cacophony of screams arose to join Allen's laugh, and those remaining stared at him.

The chuckles dimmed and slowed, but still Allen's head was tilted back, grinning widely. The sound died, masked by the many screams, and only then did Allen tilt back forward to survey the world around him. Cross's eyes narrowed suddenly as he gripped Judgment; Bondomu and Joyd shared a look; Lulubell, she gave only the barest hint of surprise. Allen's grin encompassed her, and he winked.

Allen's right eye, it was gold. On his forehead too were the splits of stigmata. However, his skin was still the normal color of flesh, and his hair held only the slightest curl against what it normally was.

"Hey, bro, what happened to him?" the dark haired twin asked Joyd. "Is that some sort of partial Noah transformation?"

Joyd's grin was uncertain. "I don't really know. Maybe he and the Fourteen are merging. Any ideas, Lulu?"

The dark haired woman jerked suddenly as she broke her stare with Allen, and her gold eyes bore into Joyd's. Seeing her just as uncertain seemed uncharacteristic of her. "It doesn't matter. Let's just do what we came here for."

Joyd looked past her, to the still roaring Skin, Sheryl, and Wisely. "What about them?"

She frowned at her downed siblings, then shook her head. "There is nothing we can do about them. Perhaps it is in Duke Millennium's interests that they also reawaken." Joyd shrugged.

Allen hummed softly to himself in time with the Music, gazing fondly at Lulubell's flawless and beautiful face for a moment longer before he turned to the rest. Cross was still staring at him, meaning the three Marshals were still screaming. All but one of the Crow members succumbed to the cloaks, and the one that had taken down his own black Clown Crown was struggling against retaliatory Crown Belts as he tried to help the others. The Noah had made no move to assist their kinsmen.

"On... Abata-ura-masarakato-on-gataru! Grave of Sarah Limit, Release!" Allen chanted, and after the runes spiraled down his hand, the coffin he had brought from the Earth split open.

Allen understood his master suddenly as he reached out his hand and met Sarah's. The magic prolonging her held her hovering in the air, limbs stiff with death, yet she took his hand as he reached and wrapped the long, foreign fingers of Terra's Touch through his. The Anti-Akuma weapon was warm, as if she was still alive. For a moment, Allen could just believe. Believe he hadn't made the mistake, hadn't killed another apprentice.

But then it was time to get to work. His grin didn't dare lessen. "Sarah, Amoveo Terra."

Her other hand, the left, was touching the air, and the air was touching the ground near the Marshals. The Innocence, with over one hundred percent synchronization, knew exactly what to do, and the spires that rose from the ground and split into the many spikes were careful to impale only the cloaks and not those within – some going so far as to curve around the mask and break out from behind.

As the three black Crown Clowns writhed in agony, Allen realized that he had still to take them off. So he used Sarah again to make hands of dirt rise and grip the cloaks by the punctured masks and handfuls of cloth before having them remove the offending articles. Those hands then finished them off.

A loud sound behind him had Allen turn, and he saw a wall of Crown Belts – from the real Crown Clown – separating him from a suddenly close Joyd. Gunshots entered the fray, and both Bondomu and Joyd retreated back, turning their attention to Cross and Judgment.

Well, that was them. Where was... Water erupted from the grass Allen stood on, unnaturally swirling off the ground around his legs and in an instant consuming him. The world around Allen distorted as he became trapped inside Lulubell. On instinct he stopped trying to breath, and he was pleased to find a reasonable amount of air – there were times in that awful training she had trapped him after exhaling.

The blackness in his mind fled as Allen felt himself cough, yet the sounds themselves seemed smothered. What could possibly- He opened his eyes to eyes that were an entrancing dark purple, surrounded by an innocent face he knew all too well. Rhode was kissing him. Again!

He broke the kiss and was about to shout at her when he realized something. The last thing he remembered was Rhode taking him and Lulubell into one of her worlds – a world of water – and then Lulubell trapping him inside her water form, and then losing consciousness.

Rhode hadn't been kissing him. "You... saved me?" he asked, then coughed a few more times. At least Lulubell was a good tasting water, so no strange taste was left in his mouth. Err, was it him or did that sound strange in itself?

Allen found it unusual that the Fourteenth had yet to take up the fight for control. In fact, the man seemed strangely silent. Regardless, he did take the time to notice that he was 'inside Lulubell,' and the pun of it almost had him choke out air in a laugh.

Even through the distorted sight, he could still see his targets, and he had Sarah set to work on freeing the others – both the Crow and the Noah.

Unfortunately for Lulubell, who had now turned herself into a humanoid shape of water, this bind was no longer life threatening, and likely it had only been intended to hold him in place as Joyd or Bondomu struck a killing blow. Now that they were occupied by Cross, it was just a slight delay before he broke free.

Submerged as he was, Allen began humming to himself – not feeling even a hint of danger or urgency. In fact, he even took the time to look around – after all, how often is one trapped in a prison of human-turned-water? Above him was the inversion Lulubell's aquatic face, just another of the many she could take at will. He could see where the arms left the torso, little tubes of water. Before his face, he took the time to study the suggestive flow of her breasts appreciatively. Below her torso was just a whirling current of water.

Inspection complete, Crown Clown picked up his desire to get out and into air. The cloak dove towards Lulubell. She dodged to the side, a fluid movement, yet Crown Clown was faster and could maneuver just as well, heavenly cloth flowing like water. Allen felt Crown Clown enter Lulubell and surround him before lurching out the back.

Then there was a peculiar silence. Except for the Music; that, Allen was still humming.

Waterlogged yet standing on his feet with the warmth of Clown Crown around him, Allen looked to see the estranged battlefield at a halt. The side-effect of having the false Crown Clown removed, that sluggish exhaustion, took almost every combatant: Crow, Marshals, and Noah included. Joyd and Bondomu stood together facing down Cross, while water-Lulubell frowned his way.

It was over, Allen was sure. His foot began tapping in tune with the Music. He wondered when the last time he and Lulubell had met not as enemies was. Certainly not once in this life. If times weren't so pressing, and a victory against the Earl so close, he might have offered a meeting.

Perhaps when the ground between him and the Noah began to bulge upwards, Allen shouldn't have been surprised. After all, she always seemed best suited for showing up in the lulls of chaos – she was her own eye of the storm. That bulge of earth and grass turned into an ornate door, and that opened to reveal Rhode Camelot Walker.

Or... Was it just Rhode Camelot? Now that Allen thought about it, could they be considered not married anymore? She no longer had a ring. Allen stopped the thought there. He had the wedding vows etched into his heart; they were married, ring or not... Couldn't hurt to get married again though.

Rhode turned an eye to what she thought would be a raging battlefield, finding only an unusual silence. Allen's alteration unsettled her, not quite a Noah yet not quite the man she knew; however, he seemed in control of himself at least. Well, it was time to do what she came there to do.

With Crow, the Marshals, and her fellow Noah watching, Rhode hovered up a bit on Lero (she had stolen him from the Earl again) and gave everyone there a stern look. "If any of you harm my Allen, I'll kill you."

Silence. Those still standing had heard the declaration before, and those not were too exhausted to be baffled.

Allen's huffed in amusement, and his walk to her brought their attention to him as well. "The same goes if any of you try to touch my Rhode."

Even exhausted, Sheryl leaped to his feet at that. "Your Rhode? Step away from my daughter, or I swear I'll..." Allen blinked at the savagery of what followed that statement; he had almost forgotten how protective the Noah of Desires was towards his adopted daughter/sister-by-clan.

Rhode gave a nervous laugh to Allen before using Lero to fly to Sheryl and whispering to him quickly.

In the meantime, Allen thought about making the same threat in favor of Lulubell. It wasn't that he thought she needed it, because she most certainly didn't, but because he felt an almost equivalent desire to see her safe.

...Or was it the Fourteenth that felt the desire? Allen bit off a note mid-hum and rubbed his head. Things were too silent in there. Fourteenth, you there?

"You shelter a Noah. Your treachery knows no bounds, Betrayer of God," one of the faceless Crow agents snapped, but he did nothing else. He was the one who managed to escape his own false Crown Clown, yet his efforts made him appear as exhausted as the others.

Rhode stopped her talk with her adoptive father at that, turning a half-lidded look towards the speaker. One hand went to her hip as she continued her balancing on Lero, and the other rose into the air with a hint of childlike annoyance. The free hand pointed at the man, then twirled once and jabbed down.

There was nothing one could do once Rhode decided to kill someone. Far too many learned that the hard way. Candles, hundreds and hundreds of those colorful, silly, sharpened candles appeared in the air surrounding the Crow agent. With no warning, no final goodbye, no mercy, those candles darted towards him point first. Much too fast for him to counter with Holy Magic, if it could have worked anyways.

"Be careful of what you say about my husband," Rhode warned, shaking a finger at those remaining. Madarao collapsed, thick blood staining the grass through his black garb. A female voice screamed – Tevak.

"HUSBAND?" Sheryl shrieked, hands on his cheeks. Never mind that his daughter just killed someone, he needed answers. Now. Sheryl's eyes darkened as he glared menacingly towards Allen, who was now sweating bullets. "You... You! What have you done with my daughter?"

"Cross, I... don't understand," Cloud Nine remarked, watching as the Noah began advancing towards Marshal Walker yet again. "How can that boy be on our side yet... married to a Noah? Is she serious?"

Cross laughed, then waved a cigarette around as he spoke. "My apprentice has learned well; if you don't want to fight the cute girl, marry her. If I was ready to settle down, I might give that a try myself."

"...I always knew you were a single-minded ruffian, Cross, but sometimes you still catch me off-guard," Tiedoll breathed, eyes a bit wider than usual as he stared. Cross grinned at him, then winked at Cloud Nine. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"If you and my daughter did any strange things in strange positions, I will come after your friends and one by one force them into something hideous!" Sheryl was in full rant mode, Papa-Antenna activated and sparking.

"Uh- No, no! No strange positions, I swear it!" Allen blurted, and Rhode buried her face in her palm.

Sheryl, for his part, exploded. "So you HAVE done things with her! I will never forgive you, no matter how dashing you appear with that fancy sword or stylish cape!"

As Sheryl continued, Lulubell gave the order to retreat. "We are done here. Sheryl, return to the Ark Gate." The man opened his mouth, red faced and angry, but one look at her cold eyes had him grit his teeth and hold his silence. Lulubell – still in her aquatic form of shifting water – looked at Rhode and nodded once. "Eldest." Then, she turned and began moving up the hill towards the two open Ark Gates.

Allen and the others watched her and the Noah go. With the death of Madarao, the Crow vanished when no one was looking, while Rhode remained behind. Just before she entered the Gate, Lulubell transformed herself into a large cat – of the panther variety – and picked up her clothes with her teeth before sauntering through. Joyd and Bondomu followed, the latter still chuckling about Allen's 'chewing out' – with several lewd puns included. Sheryl paused to give one last death-glare, the kind with shadowed eyes and unspoken promises, then stomped through.

As soon as the black Gate vanished, Allen let out a relieved sigh and slumped. Rhode was there suddenly, wiggling herself inside the still dripping Marshal jacket. She grumbled only a bit about the wetness before smiling up at Allen and tracing marks on that white blotch of Innocence over his heart, burning away and regenerating parts of her dark skin.

"Don't let him get to you, Allen," Rhode giggled. "Don't forget I can just command him, as his elder, to behave." She winked.

A twisted relationship between the Noah, that was certain. What kind of normal people has younger siblings as adoptive parents? Allen tilted to kiss her lips, near moaning as the many stresses of the day seemed to bleed away in a taste of cherry. That flavor held a special meaning to him, it was the one that burned and burned at his heart until he let her in, and – once recognizing that – Rhode saved it for... special occasions.

"Things are sliding back into place," Allen sighed after they separated, him resting his head on her soft mane of spiked blue. His partial Noah traits had disappeared, too. "And I don't think it's for the better."

"Allen, things are so different this time around I don't think it matters," Rhode pointed out. "Half the world is on fire, and the other half is preparing for a war on the scale I haven't seen... in a long time." Allen opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but she silenced him with a finger and a small smile. The kind that said it was Noah business and she couldn't tell him.

He just nodded and smiled back, kissing that finger before turning to the staring Marshals. Right, they thought he was a kid. They probably thought she was too. Can't wait to grow up again...

"Let me explain..." Allen announced as he sheathed his sword back into his arm. "I am twenty-three years old, and she is fifty-six currently. We are not underage."

The three Marshals all looked towards Cross in wide-eyed askance, and the man just smirked that infuriating smile as he took a drag. Tiedoll, of course, was the first to sigh and look back towards Allen. "How can that be? Don't the Dark Order records list you as fifteen? I confirmed it through my golem when I first heard of the 'youngest Marshal in history.'"

Allen grinned slightly, "That was a lie I needed to say not to appear suspicious. A twenty-three year old Critical Innocence-user out there not registered as an Exorcist... I believe you see the problem."

Cross huffed and gestured towards Allen. "Don't listen to him; he's just being humble. I first met this kid and trained him since he was eleven. Thanks to my training, he became a Critical by fifteen and has been since. He is the youngest Marshal, even if he didn't register sooner, as expected of an apprentice of mine."

"Oi, Cross, I was there when Allen exceed 100 percent synchro. Your 'training' had nothing to do with it; your a lousy master," Rhode drawled from her place against Allen. A short, unsteady laugh from some of the Marshals – they weren't used to or comfortable conversing with an obvious enemy of God right there in their presence.

And that's why I married her; she is probably the only girl completely immune to Master's charm. Allen smiled darkly and held her closer. Lulubell is too. By your logic, you should marry her too. The first spike of a headache was followed shortly by a sudden desire for Lulubell, a vivid image of her Noah-form face and a very detailed reminder of the curves of her body. Allen slowly forced the thought away. Welcome back, Fourteenth. Where were you before?

Silence. The headache dimmed out. The Fourteenth had left again.

...Was he ever even there?

"Allen, my room is getting lonely," Rhode was saying, and Allen snapped out of his thoughts to see things had changed. The other Marshals were circled up and talking in a low voice, while Rhode had turned to face him.

"Mine too," Allen sighed. He kissed her briefly before asking, "Will you be able to return tonight?" He hoped she would. Well, he always hoped, but this night in particular. It would be the last before he made a direct move against the Earl, and as always that could mean his last move. A final night with his wife was all he wanted before going, and as a general rule between them he couldn't even tell her. He could invite Lulubell too, and celebrate a final night before they were all forced to see each other as enemies.

Allen grimaced then. With the recent thoughts, inviting Lulubell over suddenly took a difference meaning. She was a... friend, and she had been since their whole year together in his training. Him, her, and Rhode had always been a standard gathering in lulls during the war – with the application of catnip when necessary – and now something about that seemed strange. Well, more suggestive than strange, but still things have changed.

And what was up with the Fourteenth? Usually he'd be hounding Allen with thoughts like this conflicting him – pressing his advantage, forcing his feelings for Lulubell on Allen.

Rhode smiled softly, but she shook her head. "A busy day tomorrow. In fact, I have to leave soon before the others start wondering."

Pain blossomed throughout his being like an uncontrolled fire, yet Allen only smiled. He smiled right through the pain, not letting Rhode know exactly what he was feeling.

It was near the end of his training, and already he had controlling pain down... Mostly. Enough to cover a reaction, at least.

Rhode stepped around Lulubell towards Allen, and her hand touched his cheek. She looked annoyed, strangely. "Don't give me that smile, Allen. I want to see your face contort when you're in pain."

Allen gave her a last wet hug, and the kiss following left him tingly and grinning. Resting his forehead against hers, the masses of their hair providing a shade against the high sun, Allen whispered softly, "I love you, Rhode. You know I always will."

She smiled up at him. "I know, husband. Just remember, I married you first."

Allen blinked, and suddenly she was retreating out of his arms, still smiling that smile he couldn't read. She moved towards her still open Door. As Allen stared, trying to realize what she meant by that, Cross moved next to him.

The man took a moment to speak. "The other Marshals have agreed to join us. It took effort on my part, but they'll trust you."

Just before her door, Rhode stopped to face Allen. Funny, he noticed she no longer had Lero. She lifted a finger and wagged it at him. "If you kill Millennie, Allen... I won't forgive you."

Allen smiled softly, and with a lyric the Gate on the hill reopened behind him. "I know."

She blew a kiss and stepped though. Allen sighed – next time they met, it would be back on the battlefield. As enemies. Again.

The three other Marshals joined him and Cross with guarded expressions as they reassessed him. Allen met their stares levelly, then gestured behind him. "Please, step inside. It is from here that we'll make our strike against the Earl of the Millennium, and from here we'll end this eternal war.

"Come with me into Noah's Ark."


AN: Is there anything to say right now? Hmm... Well, I gots myself a bed- Err, actually: I no longer sleep on the floor. That's more accurate. For the first time in six months, I no longer sleep on the floor. I don't have space for a bed in my room, but still. I'm moving up. :D