AN: Wow, whirlwind week. I'm back in my own province now, but am trying to recover from poor sleeping habits (Jet lag sucks...). I can't even think of all the things I wanted to say in this AN other than we'll be going down a different road from the series very shortly, so you can expect the Lyle/Rev emotional stuff to be cut back quite a bit in the upcoming pieces. I'll respond to the reviews here as my PMs are being iffy today.

Stormy: I'm so glad to hear you say that! I really hope I can hold onto it after getting it back for the last chapter. Yes, Gallagher is an interesting head-case...I've dug through some of my textbooks and am treating him like a projected personality from Disassociative Identity Disorder. Criminal Minds does the same thing for me now :P They really have amazing quotes on that show...I really need to find a list of them all (I'm sure there's one online if I look). I can see how that one relates here :D. Don't worry about not responding right away, I'm just as hectic lately it seems. Anne: No worries! It's that busy time of year where no one has time for anything other than crying over lost free time. I really tried to imagine this story without Anew, but I couldn't do it. As much as I couldn't understand their relationship, I couldn't cut her out either. I'm glad that you like the way she's incorporated! Deiter will take a more important role shortly :D. I feel like Gallagher is hot to write, but I'd find him scary in person. I'm not sure why. I've been working at fixing my capitalization with he said/she said, but as it turns out Word 2007 likes to auto-correct those 'H''s to capitals...*shakes fist at Word*

I listened to 'You' from The Pretty Reckless for Rev's part, although I don't really have that atmosphere in my head, I just needed a song with that kind of tune. I'll be on a Pretty Reckless bender for a few chapters I think. I listened to Eminem and Hollywood Undead for Hallelujah's part...I think he'd appreciate either set of songs.

Warning for language courtesy of our favorite potty-mouth.

Heads or Tails

"Don't taunt the alligator until you've crossed the creek"

Tieria watched as bright flashes of light shot from Reverie's handgun, disappearing into one of the many gel targets in Ptolemys's range. He wasn't watching her with any kind of obvious movement, but he was keeping an eye on her nonetheless. Her marksmanship was horrible today, miles away from the records he'd watched over the past few weeks as she'd become better and better. His attention towards her had come as a result of Katharon. Apparently they had an information leak in their temporary European branch, and they'd requested her assistance in finding the culprit. Tieria wasn't so readily willing to let her go.

She snarled in frustration and hit the reset button for her target. He wasn't sure why she'd asked him to come to the range with her. He wasn't known for his time spent in the range, nor was he known for his admittedly impeccable pistol skills. Then again, anyone could shoot. Tieria would much rather be remembered for his excellent term as a Gundam Meister. This train of thought left him more confused about her request than ever. Couldn't she have asked Lockon's brother to accompany her? He finished his grouping as she sighed and raised her handgun again.

"I still don't know why you asked me to come here. My marksmanship is excellent, and although yours is not you don't seem interested in my advice." He quipped, hoping to get an answer more than anything. He didn't really have an interest in belittling her anymore. He'd somehow come to accept her. He wouldn't say that he liked her by any means, but her presence was no longer unwelcome.

"I told you when I asked you, to blow off steam." she replied, resetting her target again.

He looked at her sideways, then fired another set of rounds. "I fail to see how you could be under enough stress to need to 'blow off steam', unless you count your terrible shooting today." Alright. Maybe he still enjoyed belittling her a little.

She lowered her weapon. "Well, I can't hear Anew Returner's thoughts." she said, ignoring his comment about her shooting. "That's got to count for something."

He didn't reply right away. He wasn't sure what to think of Celestial Being's newest member. Yes, she was a well-needed addition to the team, but she was a little too well-fitted to their needs. He may not have been human, but he believed in common sense enough to know that 'too good to be true' was the real golden rule. His gaze shifted away from her to her Haro, who was notably silent. "That has been bothering me as well." he said, studying the white ball.

"Does it mean she's an innovator, like you?" she asked, slipping the safety on the handgun and idly examining it. He wasn't sure about that. It was a possibility, that much was certain. There were only two other people whom Reverie Traum couldn't hear, and both were innovators. He hadn't known what he was until he'd met Regene Regetta. If Anew was one, she most likely would be oblivious to it as well.

He looked away. "I'm not sure. It's quite possible that she could be. I wasn't aware that I was one until I met Regene, and I'm proof enough that Celestial Being and Innovators aren't necessarily natural enemies." He slipped the safety onto his handgun and slid it into his atmospheric holster. Now that Ptolemy was on Earth they were armed at all times. "On the other hand, there isn't a lot of information about her. Feldt could barely bring anything up, and although I'd like to believe that her information was erased, it isn't likely. We tried to hide the Meister's identities carefully, but even they have histories here and there if one digs deep enough." He didn't like to admit it, but it was true. He was an exception like Anew Returner. There wasn't much information on him at all prior to his training with Virtue. Being an innovator definitely had to play a part in his lack of a 'past'. If one dug deep enough, they could find Setsuna on tape running through Krugis, Allelujah's file at the Super Human Institute, and Lockon's list of speculated assasinations, along with an embarrassingly large amount of information on both Lockons' childhoods. Mileina and Feldt escaped an Earth-bound history as they'd been with Celestial Being their whole lives, but outside of what Sumeragi called 'Celestial Babies', everyone had a traceable past.

"And me?" Reverie asked, holstering her own weapon.

Tieria snorted and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "As far as anyone knows, you disappeared from the AEU's medical facility and haven't been seen since. There's been speculation that you ran off with Katharon, or that you died, or even that you'd been reassigned under a new name to carry out interrogation work. Covering for your brother and stepfather was harder to do." he admitted.

She stared at him warily in thought for a moment before understanding his point. "If either of them was discovered to be working with Katharon, the Federation would likely reopen my file and speculate about my possible involvement with Celestial Being."

For how much he berated her intelligence, she was quite quick. He nodded. "That would work against us. Of course, A-Laws undoubtedly knows you're on-board Ptolemy. Unveiling their own telepath is proof enough of that." Despite what he said, he'd come to realize that the other telepath wasn't sharing as much information as A-Laws would have liked. Reverie easily knew the location of several Katharon bases, Celestial Being's supply locations, and several of their hiding places on Earth. If the other telepath was really interested in bringing down the organization, those locations would have become prime targets for A-Laws. Even though a decent amount of time had passed, they hadn't been attacked. It confused him. Why would the telepath keep that kind of information to himself?

"Tieria? Are you alright?" He didn't realize that he'd become distracted, but she was watching him curiously.

He nodded, then smoothed out his uniform shirt. His eyes darted to the clock as he looked for an excuse to leave. "It's time for Allelujah's round of regeneration to be completed."

She nodded. "Yeah, I have some calibrating to do with the NILE System." Apparently she'd caught his meaning. She straightened and stretched, her back making an audible crack that left him wondering about her health. They slipped out of the range and stood awkwardly for a moment in the hall, neither really knowing how to exit properly. Haro bounced happily and Reverie spoke first. "Well, thanks for coming with me, Tieria."

He nodded and turned to leave before stopping. "You know…"

"Hm?" she questioned, having already picked up Haro.

"We should do this again in the future."

"Shoot together?"

He nodded. "Or as you said, 'blow off steam'" He'd liked it. Normally he went to the range on his own for his standard marksmanship assessment, but somehow having another person there was comfortable, even if it distracted him marginally.

She looked at him warily, then smiled. "Sounds good to me."

5 Hours Later

Reverie walked away from the damaged observation deck and sighed.

She'd gone to the expansive glassed-in room to see if she could see Lyle anywhere. His thoughts hadn't been reaching her, and she was more determined than ever to talk to him and find out exactly what was going on. The problem was that he was always away from Ptolemy and out of her range of hearing. Intentional? She was almost sure of it. That was why she'd found herself on the observation deck, looking dejectedly for her friend. As it turned out, the particular shade of green that he wore stood out against the landscape remarkably well. It didn't stand out nearly as well as the bright pinkish-red of Anew Returner's jacket, though.

She sighed again.

She was frustrated. Her frustration didn't stem from seeing the two together at all, but arose instead from her gut reaction to the sight. Her stomach had twisted uncomfortably almost immediately, and the reaction confused her. Was it anger? Frustration? Jealousy? It shouldn't have been any of the three. There was no reason to be feeling the awkward emotion that was tugging at her nerves, yet she was acting like a preschooler, jealous that her friend was paying attention to someone else. Was she even allowed to be jealous of something as simple as human interaction? No. She wasn't. There was absolutely no reason for it. She and Lyle were friends, nothing more, as they'd both come to understand after their awkwardness at Lagrange Three. Even if they had been more than that, the situation didn't call for jealousy at all. They were walking. They weren't even close to each other as they walked, yet the tension in her stomach wound like an over-tightened guitar string. She was being ridiculous.

Right?

She nodded as she walked through the hall, as though physically making a gesture would make a difference. She was being completely ridiculous. She should be happy that he was making friends outside her, and even if something did arise between him and the new addition to the team, she should be happy for it. She and Lyle couldn't work, even if she wanted it. She'd come to realize years before that no one could get close to her without resenting her abilities. Never having a private thought took its toll on those around her, and it had cut whatever connections she'd still had to her life before the accident. Her casual relationships had died, her family life had been destroyed, and her friends had distanced themselves shortly after that. Who could live with having someone continually in their head, always knowing their true feelings and intentions? No one. She knew that. Lyle would be no different, even if she wished he could.

Her chest was suddenly heavy. That was the real issue, wasn't it? That was why she'd been so scared by the idea that he was there for her. She wished that he could prove history wrong…it was stupid of her to put that on him.

"You're sad! You're sad!" Haro chirped at her, bouncing as well as he could in the gravity-rich atmosphere.

She picked him up and watched his white ears flap. "Only a little, it's alright."

"Smile! Smile!" He ordered in his little robotic voice.

That made her laugh under her breath. "You can't order that kind of thing." She pointed out. She couldn't hide the smile that pulled at her lips, though. She was starting to get used to the little ball, even if he was strange and disconcerting. She was strange and disconcerting too, and that somehow made her like the little bot more. They were a good team. "Come on, it's about time we went to see Allelujah, don't you think?"

"Marie! Marie!" Haro agreed. He loved the silver-haired girl.

"Yes, and Marie." she agreed.

She changed direction to head to the infirmary as she tried to push her depressing stream of thoughts out of her head and think about something else. There were a million other things that she should have been thinking about. She'd made some changes to the NILE system, under Haro's supervision of course, which would make it easier to operate it if she had to get suited-up last-minute. She could think about the fact that Allelujah and Hallelujah could communicate again and the various implications of that, or she could think about the fact that her sedatives were starting to become ineffective. She'd woken up an hour early this morning, something that shouldn't have been possible after being sedated as usual. An hour wasn't a huge deal in the scheme of things, but an hour could easily turn into two, then four, then not sleeping at all. That would be bad, she was dangerous when she didn't sleep.

She looked through the glass of the infirmary's lounge as they arrived. Allelujah was awake and was lounging very comfortably in the center of the main sofa. Marie was nowhere to be seen, but Reverie assumed that she'd run to the kitchen now that Allelujah was awake and apparently fine. Feldt, Sumeragi, Lasse, and Tieria stood and sat randomly around the room, along with Shia, who was chattering away about this or that.

There was something strange about the scene inside. No one was near the Meister. Sumeragi shifted nervously as she glanced at him, then back at Shia, then back at the Meister again. Tieria had his face buried in his hand in annoyance, and Lasse was sitting across from the super-soldier, looking at him as though he were staring at a Rottweiler.

-Am I even strong enough to handle him?- Lasse's worried tone flicked through Reverie's mind. Why would he need to 'handle' the gentle Meister? She dug further around the room, but no one was giving up an explanation. Even Allelujah and Hallelujah themselves were too busy bickering to give her anything of use. She shook her head. She'd have to find out on her own.

"Allelujah! Allelujah!" Haro chirped as they entered the lounge. The Meister looked over his shoulder from his position on the couch. He was sitting languidly, watching the others in the room as though they weren't waiting to jump at the slightest sound. There was something very strange going on. Tieria left after huffing about last-minute changes to something or another.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to stop in." he said, clicking his tongue. His expression was strange as she stopped just inside the doorframe. "What? Not gonna come introduce yourself, doll?" he teased, drawling out the last word.

Doll.

Hallelujah. Reverie resisted the urge to shiver as she realized that she was facing Allelujah's less-altruistic personality. Her eyes flicked to the others in the room who watched her worriedly, then met Hallelujah's mismatched eyes again. The connection made her conscious of the intense predatory crosshairs that she was caught in.

"Hallelujah. It seems we finally get to meet." she said, setting Haro down so he could roll to Feldt.

His eyes didn't leave her as the white ball rolled past him. He smirked. "Don't you wanna come over here and make sure? Allelujah says touch is what works best for you…"

She could hear Allelujah, and he was far from suggesting anything of the sort. In fact, he was begging her to just ignore him. Please, if she could, if she cared for her sanity, she shouldn't provoke him. That was what Allelujah was saying. She sat across from him, a little closer to Lasse than was probably necessary. She looked up at Shia. "I take it this isn't considered a good thing?"

Shia shrugged but didn't offer an answer. –We've already had one incident, don't test him…-

"If you say so." she replied, looking around the room. Hallelujah continued to watch her curiously. Was she surprised? Not really. She'd been the only person he could communicate with for the past few months, and the first person he'd spoken to in years. The thought made her shiver.

"He's been doing that all day..." he drawled, examining his fingertips disinterestedly.

"Doing what all day?" she replied. She knew better than to ignore him, it would only make him bored, and a bored Hallelujah was an attention-seeking Hallelujah.

He looked up at her. "Not telling me a fucking thing."

"What do you want to know from him?" she asked, providing distraction as Sumeragi nodded to Shia and left, sending an uncomfortable glance at Reverie. Feldt followed shortly after, taking Haro with her as she slipped out of the door at the other end of the room. They were very clearly scared of the situation, and Lasse wasn't faring much better. Feldt's mind was full of worry over Allelujah, who was trapped under the surface. Sumeragi was a mix of relieved and fearful, and Shia was trying to think of any excuse to get out of the room. Short of Lasse, Reverie was, for all intents and purposes, alone with the frequently homicidal Haptism. Hallelujah also happened to be the one she was angry with, not that she would bring it up if she could avoid it. She doubted that hurt feelings were on Hallelujah's list of top ten interesting things, unless they could be exploited.

"It's not what I want to know from him…it's what I want to know from you." His grin said that whatever it was, she wouldn't like. He didn't seem to care that the others were slinking away one-by-one.

She bit back the urge to sigh. "And that is…?"

His eyes danced with mischievous fire when she took his bait, and if she hadn't known better, she would have thought she was staring at an amused panther. He grinned. "How does it feel to sit across from the man who ruined your life?"

What? Her blood ran cold. Did he know? Had someone told him that he'd been the one to tear apart the ship she'd been serving on years ago, or was he fishing? It was a statement too specific to be fishing. She took in a slow, silent breath to steady her words before she responded, and pulled together her best clueless look. "I don't know what you mean…" she said, tilting her head.

Hallelujah laughed as though she'd told a joke that only he was privy to. His laugh subsided and he stared at her. "The good doctor didn't think to watch his mouth while my dear Allelujah was being operated on…" he said, intentionally leaving the thought unfinished.

She had to get out of that room. "I don't follow where you're going with this Hallelujah, but I have to go get Haro back." She stood and took long strides to the door before he could say anything else.

She heard his laugh as the door swooshed open and closed and she looked for Feldt. She figured she might as well be honest and go get her Haro. She stepped off towards Feldt's room, but was stopped as she heard a deafening crash from inside the lounge.

-Dammit! My lip!-

-Hallelujah stop it! Go back to the room!-

She'd barely turned to look back when Hallelujah stepped calmly into the hall, his stride full of confident mischief. She kept walking. Her room was two halls away, she could possibly reach it and seal herself in if she didn't give off any hint of panic.

"That was rude, Reverie." he said, his voice chided her playfully, but was loosely covering his annoyance.

"Well, I'm sorry I offended you, Hallelujah." she said, kicking herself for the undertone of sarcasm that had laced her words. This was not the time to piss him off.

"Ah, always so quick-tongued, aren't you? Well, here's a quick thought…I'm the reason that your pretty little head is all screwed up."

Her jaw clenched. He was harassing her to get a reaction, just because he was bored. If she wasn't still so secretly mad at him she could have shrugged it off, but she was, and she couldn't. She could try to, though. She just had to make it to her door. "Oh, you think I'm pretty?" she quipped. "I'm flattered." Tone be damned, there was a chance that he'd be placated with getting a small, sarcastic rise out of her.

"I think you're a freak." he said, now walking just barely behind her. Don't snap, don't snap, don't snap. The steady mantra kept repeating in her head, bubble-wrapped by Allelujah's insistence that Hallelujah was looking for a fight.

"You're one to talk, personality number two." She'd have to apologize to Allelujah for that later. She could see the hall that lead to her room.

"You can insult me all you want, but I've got you figured out. I'll bet that before I fucked you up, you were little miss perfect, right? Perfect job, perfect education, Daddy's little girl."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had been irritated before, she was mad now. He was trying to get a rise, that was all, she reminded herself. She had to get to her room. If she made it to her room she could place a steel door between herself and the malicious half of her friend.

"Oooh, you didn't like that, did you. What's the matter? What would daddy dearest think of his little princess working for a terrorist organization?"

-I'm sorry Reverie! He's out of control! Don't listen…-

It was just a taunt. Just a taunt, just a taunt. She didn't respond.

A strong hand landed on her shoulder and whipped her around to face him, throwing her dangerously off-balance and sending her heart shooting into her throat. She felt pressure against her arm and realized that she'd whipped her handgun from its holster, barely catching his uniform with its tip. Her heart jumped at the realization. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"That's interesting…" He leaned into the weapon and she felt the pressure up her arm as the muzzle embedded in the thick uniform fabric. He leaned toward her, his large frame making it easy to shorten the distance created by her arm. She shivered. He grinned like she'd just confessed to murder.

"What are you gonna do with that, Reverie…?"His mismatched eyes flicked to the weapon and laughed with the promise that she wasn't walking away from her predicament. She had no idea what to do. She heard the faint sound of footsteps up the hall and she watched his eyes flick behind her, over her shoulder. "Seems we're not alone." He muttered. "This is getting interesting."

She heard the click of another holster down the hall, and the next few seconds were a blur. In a flash of orange and with a loud yelp she found herself slammed into the wall, the super-soldier's bodyweight crushing her and forcing her to drop the firearm that had kept him at bay. She felt the muzzle of her weapon against her ribs, she didn't dare move, not that she could. His arm lay across her throat with dangerous, threatening pressure, and her feet dangled above the ground. Someone gasped, but she wasn't about to try to see who.

-Stop it Hallelujah! Let her go or I'll-!

"You'll do nothing, Allelujah, just like always." Hallelujah snapped, then smirked, leaning against her throat so heavily that she felt like it would be crushed. Gun be damned, she needed air. "What's the matter, Reverie? Nothing smart to say when I'm in control? Allelujah and I are quite strong, aren't we?" He leaned further and she felt like her throat was cracking. She had to get away. "Shut-up Allelujah!" he hissed. She was struggling, pulling at his arm and thrashing, trying to get away from the crushing force that was stopping her from breathing. "I'm so sick of this self-important little bitch thinking that she can insult me and get away with it…"

-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I should have kept control!-

Black dots started in the corners of her vision and she stopped thrashing, trying to save whatever useable time she had left with her haphazard lungful of air. She could hear sounds, voices, but they were starting to be drowned out by the thumping in her head.

"Rev!"

-What the hell!?-

"She's a little busy right now, try later." Hallelujah's breath fanned across her face as he laughed. His mismatched eyes smirked at her as she grasped at his uniform, wordlessly begging him to let her go. Her head started to swim, then her vision slowly dimmed to a pinpoint that centered on a golden eye. Then the pressure was gone.

Air.

She hit the ground and clutched her throat as she sucked in as much as she could, coughing and hacking against the life-sustaining element. She was dazed and the world was slowly rotating as she stared at the ceiling, curling in on herself. Her throat burned as she breathed over and over again, in and out. She rolled onto her side to see Hallelujah a few feet away, not quite conscious. A set of twelve little needle marks sat neatly in a circle on the side of his neck. Someone had tranquilized him. She rolled to her knees and sat up, holding her throat and still trying to recover her breath. Her throat was more raw than she'd ever remembered it being. Her Haro rolled to her, chirping about her irresponsibility.

"Reverie, are you alright?" A figure knelt beside her and dropped a tranquilizer gun in front of her. Lavender hair framed an exquisitely pretty face that looked at her in worry. Anew Returner. Reverie took another breath and nodded.

"Yeah, he's fast." she half-croaked, the vibration of her voice hurting her throat. She felt small hands on hers, pulling them away and checking over the sore area.

"It doesn't look like he did major damage…I'll have to do a scan to be sure though. There's definitely going to be some bruising." Anew said, pressing a fingertip against a particularly sore area. Reverie flinched, nodded, and stood, finally looking around the hall. Lasse was sporting a fresh cut on his lip that was probably earned when Hallelujah left the infirmary. Feldt pulled Haro back, warning him that now was not the time to pick on his friend, and Tieria was cursing his terrible luck at Hallelujah's return. Finally, Lyle stood across from her and Anew, watching her and Anew. His eyes flicked from hers to the barely conscious Meister on the floor.

"We're gonna have to cart him back to the infirmary." Lasse said, tapping at the cut.

Lyle nodded his agreement and knelt to tug at Hallelujah. They balanced his weight between them, his head resting on Lyle's shoulder, half-closed eyes to the ceiling.

"I'd better take a look at you right away." Anew said, standing and offering her hand as they left.

"Anew Returner, you can examine her in Sumeragi Lee Noriega's room." Tieria bit out, staring the brunette telepath down.

"What?" Reverie choked out.

He sighed and buried his face in a gloved hand. "You should have known better than to pull a gun on him. Go. Sumeragi will deal with you."he said, pulling out his data drive and opening a window to the bridge.

Reverie wanted to argue, but the burning in her throat said that it would be a horrible idea. Sumeragi would probably be more reasonable than him anyways. Anew slipped an arm around her waist and guided her away from the bespectacled Meister while explaining the damage that had most likely occurred. She wasn't really concerned with it though.

She wanted to see what Sumeragi would have to say.

AN: A note on Alle/Halle that I didn't want to put in the beginning for spoiler-ness: I view Allelujah and Hallelujah as sharing certain desires and differing on others. I know that Hallelujah would insist I'm wrong and that Allelujah secretly wants the things that he does, but I think he's being a bit of a liar and loves to rub that idea in Allelujah's face just for the sadism. "Come on, you know that you really wanted to kill all those super-kids. We want the same things, after-all" (Alle cries, Halle laughs).