Ronald wasn't sure he'd heard it right. "Near? Why would she be dream-talking about near?"
"Nea," Lavi corrected him.
"Right," Ronald nodded. "Near."
Lavi shook his head. "It's a name. Nea. Never really got the full story 'bout who Nea is but he ain't good news. He-" Lavi cut himself off as a pair of hands wrapped around his shoulders. The smell of candy and fresh nail polish gave the person away. "Hey, Rhode. Take it ya saw that too?"
She stuck her lip out, almost pouting. "Yeah, I did. I'd hate to think that traitor would even show his sorry hide again. I was really hoping he wouldn't reincarnate again."
He could hear the bitterness in her words, not that he could disagree. Lavi was there, witnessing the massacre of the final battle between the Exorcists, the previous Noah, and Nea. Nea was probably the only victor in the skirmish, managing to kill most of the Noah and half of the Exorcists, nearly taking the Earl's position as head of the family if he hadn't been killed by the Earl at the same time.
"Traitor," Ronald echoed. "Now I remember, that 14th that killed us all twice. Well previous us." The Noah memory kicked in, reminding him who the traitor was. He didn't fully understand it, the memories inside of him that were relatively recent and still somewhat fractured. Being one of the older members of the family, he was young when the first massacre happened some 40 years prior, but somehow was here now, remembering it as if he'd been there. Then there was the massacre 5 years ago.
"Tyki said the Earl started meandering again," Rhode frowned.
Almost on cue, Tyki had rounded the corner, nearly colliding with the group peeking around it. "What are you three doing?" but as quickly as he'd asked, he could tell just looking at them. "It happened, again, didn't it? Call everyone together."
…..
Much time had passed since the entire family had gotten together. Each was off on their own thing, some creating akuma, others trying to seek out someone lost, and yet others stirring up trouble for the sake of eliminating the unenlightened. And yet here they were, gathered in the tea room at Rhode's estate in the dead of night.
All had gathered there without hesitation, all of the awoken Noah in one room. Even Lili Bell had shown up, curled up on the table between the sofas and chairs. The rest of the Noah and Lavi had settled down on the seats, listening to Tyki inform them of what had gone on recently. The talk ran more like a meeting, though Tyki looked much more worried than usual.
"So you're telling us that bloody traitor is back," David leaned forward, jabbing a finger on the table emphatically, "and we're sitting here like bloody fish in a barrel, waiting to be shot?"
"Fish, heeeee," Jasper echoed.
"We all know we cannot go after the 14th directly," Tyki reiterated, "if the last two massacres are any indication of his power, fully awoken or not-"
"Then let's kill the bloody bastard before he fully wakes!" David sharply interjected.
"Easier said than done," Tyki calmly replied, habitually pushing his glasses up his nose. "We have no way of knowing who holds the 14th's memory or how it is even passed on. He is different from us and more like the Earl." He turned to Lavi, not really expecting an answer. "Did the Earl ever tell you about the 14th, little brother?"
The Bookman shook his head. "Nothin'. Always answered with 'In time, you will know~ .'" He paused a moment, pondering if he should even bring it up. Without the Council of Bookman to stop him, he could share information. Not that the Council ever did stop him. He just never told them that he'd interfered purposely with history. And this sort of interference wasn't to curb a war or influence. It was survival of his family. "Though," Lavi added, "I'm bettin' the Order knows somethin's up. Lately 'stead'a tryin'a kill me, they wanna talk."
"They must think you know something," Cyrille chimed in, leaning forward on with his elbows propped up on his knees, his hands knit underneath his chin.
Lavi rolled his one visible eye. "They always think I know somethin'. Which they ain't exactly wrong this time, though it's not from the Earl. I think I might'a encountered the 14th accidentally."
The Noah turned to stare at him.
"Ya remember that library fire I got caught in, yeah?" he continued. "I'm havin' trouble 'memberin' it all, which is really strange, but I'm certain I heard piano music just as the fire started."
Rhode leaned across the chair and sofa arms, practically hanging on Lavi like a child. "Like the Ark's piano?"
Lavi nodded. "That same eerie kinda tone t' it."
"But why would the 14th go after a library?" Tobiasz inquired, leaning back in his chair. "It doesn't seem balanced or justified at all."
"Can't figure that one out," Lavi replied. He was almost hesitant to say more, but he simply kept the details vague and left the information about Dagrun at a minimum. "Found out one'a the other Bookman was bein' followed. At some point, I was too, prob'ly t' find the location of the library. 'Sfar as I know, that library might've had a piano, but I really doubt it would sound like that. But I heard rumors'a some sorta artifact buried deep within the halls."
"The Unenlightened always covet that which doesn't belong to them," Tyki remarked, pushing his glasses up his nose again. Though it left him to wonder, if the follower was the 14th and there was an artifact in the library, just what was this artifact and why did the traitorous Noah covet it so much? Or was there truly more at play here?
"Artifact, schmartifact," David snorted, leaning back into the couch, folding his hands behind his head. "Who the bloody hell cares. I want this bastard dead."
"Deader than dead, heeee!" Jasper echoed.
"We can't go in guns blazing," Tyki countered. "That's likely to get us killed. Again."
"That would drive the Earl literally mad," Rhode added, her words carrying a rather heavy weight with them. "Like last time." They hadn't seen it, but she had. After the first massacre, the Earl lost his mind until the Noah were reborn again. He would disappear at times, and she had no idea where he'd gone.
"Dammit," David scoffed. He certainly didn't want the 14th actually winning this time, though going in guns blazing did sound like a good idea in the future. Even though he and Jasper had just awoken, it was important that they didn't just die as well.
The room fell silent for a moment. The Bookman glanced at each one of the Noah, watching and observing, as his mind noisily debated with itself what to do. He knew the fire in the Clan's Hall of Records was somehow linked with the Runetracker, but he was also possibly linked with the 14th. Dagrun had come to Lavi, concerned about the runetracker, but as soon as they'd swapped pens, the runes had begun to form underneath Lavi's own mu markings. Had the runetracker used their markings to gain access to the Hall of Records solely to destroy it, or was there another ulterior motive? He could've been after whatever artifact lay deep within the Halls, but why burn them as well?
But there was another thought on his mind as well. That Exorcist, Korbinian, had been acting strangely. Even Lenalee had said it. And even stranger, Dagrun had been purposely trying to get Lavi away from the Exorcists. Was there something she knew that she hadn't been able to say? Did the Exorcists know something that no one else did? Dagrun was a by-the-books Bookman. If she knew something, she wouldn't say it, but that didn't mean she couldn't subtly hint at it.
"I got a theory," Lavi suddenly spoke up. He had debated on saying anything, as this sort of information could potentially impact and change the outcome of the holy war. His Bookman side and the side that desired to not see the Noah massacred again were in terrible conflict but somehow the latter had won the internal battle. He couldn't watch them die again. He spent years attempting to recover from what he saw, the most horrifying thing he had ever observed. As much as he attempted to deny it, his heart constantly ached from it. Emotions really sucked.
"What sort of theory?" Tyki folded his arms. No memory ever told him of Lavi speaking in such a way. He was always an observer, not a divulger of information. Something was truly bothering him for him to speak of a theory.
"Whenever I was certain I was bein' tracked," Lavi replied after a bit of silence, I'd always seen two Exorcists right before." After he was certain he'd seen the rune underneath his own mu runes, Lavi had retraced the paths of where he'd encountered Dagrun and the rest of the Exorcists. Sure enough, where either he or Dagrun had placed a mu rune on a doorway, there was an Ingwaz rune. This tracking wasn't a recent thing; it had been happening since Dagrun had first shown up and encountered Lavi and the Noah in Paris shortly before the relic incident of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. He had seen them before, but there were no doorways left after The Fallen had flattened the village. The two Exorcists in question had already been with the team.
Tyki suddenly smiled a grin that nearly distorted his human features. "It's that same team we always encounter, isn't it? But which two could it be?"
Ronald pondered for a moment. There was only one Exorcist he saw more than the others, the little bird that attended the funeral for the Father Rhode had killed in their hometown. "The archer."
"And that bloody vampire that was with him!" David would've kicked the table, if it had not been the glare Rhode was giving him. His Noah memory recalled the fight with that vampire and the scars that resulted from it in their predecessors' defeat.
"Vampire, hee!" Jasper hissed.
"Those two tried to kill our little brother, those limey bastards!" David added emphatically.
Lavi didn't need to say anything. They figured it out themselves. He hoped in a way that Dagrun wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. All Bookman needed to survive as long as possible and rebuild the lost history. But Lavi wasn't about to interfere and protect an Exorcist. They had to be on opposite sides, no matter the outcome. That was the Bookman way. Dagrun would probably stubbornly survive anyway.
"Then if these two are responsible for stalking our Bookman," Tobiasz pointed out, "then they must meet justice, 14th or not. And if they are not the stalkers, then their violence towards him must also meet justice."
"Then let's kick their bloody asses!" David shouted, getting riled up.
"Kick them, heee!" Jasper echoed.
Cyrille leaned forward, knitting his hands again, curling his fingers over one another in an almost inhuman manner. He paused to glance at Tyki. "You're the strategist, Tyki. What do you think? What about the Earl?"
Tyki had folded his arms, mulling over the situation. "Sit down, you two." He shot a rather sharp stare at the twins, who quickly complied albeit with a huff. "Rhode and Lavi can likely confirm, the previous Earl was erratic and emotional in matters involving that traitor." He emphasized the last word with great disdain.
"He became utterly useless at times," Rhode frowned. Adam was capable of fighting when Nea had awoken the last time, but then he was also terribly capable of bawling his eyes out. Whatever happened with those two remained a mystery.
"But we still have no idea how the traitor will awaken and if our current Earl will react the same," Tyki noted. "However," he added, finally unfolding his arms to habitually push his glasses up his nose, "we are still acting in the interest of the Family. The fewer Exorcists the better. But as before, we must keep their knowledge of how many are awoken limited. A few should stay with the Earl to tend to her and possibly find new brothers and sisters. But for the rest of us? Perhaps it's time to test out one of those new akuma."
….
Author's ramblings
Ah it's fun to get all the awoken Noah together and see the vast array of personalities present! Poor poor Lavi is in such conflict with himself, trying to balance that Bookman side with the side that wishes to protect the Noah.
And what will this new ambitious effort bring?
What of the Earl?
So many questions, not enough answers. Perhaps in time….
