White Demon, Red Scribe
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations Crossover

Almost three weeks was quite a long time to have to attempt keeping Allen in check while they awaited news of some kind, either from Kanda and the Bookmen, or from Demir. Both were taking their sweet time, but waiting for one was finally rewarded.

Lavi received a return letter that he took back to his private place to view, reading it's contents. Unfortunately, there was potential bad news. It wasn't the worst of what could have been returned, but it wasn't the best either.

He knew that, at the very least, Allen wouldn't be happy about it.

Leaving his own Bookmen-addressed letter, he took with him the one most immediately concerning Allen, heading to the Assassin's den to find the white-haired man.

Allen was sulking in the main room, sprawled across the pillows and smoking his hookah - this time filled with some stronger tobacco. He was nervous and edgy and he was getting restless by every passing day.

The letter should have been back by now!

He hung his head and plopped another grape into his mouth, scanning the room. There were few assassins lazing about, some dozing off, others talking.
Allen cursed silently and counted the days since Demir promised him the information. Nothing. Still, bloody, nothing!

He took another drag when he heard steps echoed from the corridor leading outside. He sat up and stared at the entrance in anticipation. When he saw the familiar mob of red hair his eyes lit up. "Lavi!" He called. "Any news?"

Lavi nodded acknowledgement.

"We-ll... yes and no," he hummed, coming to sit beside his friend and hold the letter and pendant out back to him. It wasn't a letter from Kanda - it was the same one Allen had written. "I received a response back from one of the other Bookmen, so I know it went through. It seems they weren't able to find Kanda to give him your letter."

Before Allen might have the chance to explode, he quickly interrupted wherever his thoughts might be going.

"Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It means they also didn't find a corpse or any record of death, and it also means that they didn't find any trace that he might have been captured or jailed, and Bookmen are very thorough. As far as I can tell, he's simply not in Italy anymore, but the downside to that is that I really have no idea where he is. I'm sorry."

Allen felt cold sweat wash over his body. The smile instantly vanished from his face and with a trembling hand he reached out to take his pendant. He didn't touch the letter, though.

He stared at the jewelry in silence for a while and swallowed hard.

"Thank you, Lavi," he said and then nodded, forcing himself to smile feebly. "You're right. He might have... just left Italy."

Allen knew that it most probably was not just a coincidence. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to force the memories of what happened to him and his dear friend in Italy out of his mind. But how ever hard he tried, he could not make the pictures disapear.

Neah. The same happened to him. They erased him from existence. Allen remembers how he searched for him for months in vain, only to find him half dead when he himself was captured and tortured.

He looked at the pendant again, forcing himself to calm his racing heart. Kanda would not let himself get captured.

Right?

Lavi nodded at the thanks, offering a hand on the other man's shoulder for comfort.

"Look, I know you're worried, but it would probably be best not to think too hard about what if's. There could be a lot of reasons why they couldn't find him. It could be that whoever he was hunting left Italy and he's still after them, or he could have gotten injured and escaped, and is just lying low to heal until he can continue whatever he needs to do. Maybe he was even just overlooked. Even for a Bookman, there's no way to search absolutely every corner of the country. If something... happened to him, I think we would have heard something about it."

Maybe it wasn't what Allen wanted to hear, but it was the best he could offer honestly.

"And we still have things here that we need to deal with. You're going to need a clear head to deal with your own hunter, once we find out where to find them. Afterwards, we can put more focus on finding out what happened with Kanda, alright? But that isn't going to happen if we're reckless and you get yourself killed, so try not to let it distract you from keeping a level head."

Allen smiled weakly and nodded, squeezing the necklace in his still trembling hand. "Yeah, you're right." There was a pause and Allen distractedly looked around. "I-I´m going upstairs." He stood up, murmuring a silent ´sorry´ and left.

He tied the pendant back around his neck and when he entered his room, he sat down on the bed and buried his face into his palms.

Stay rational, stay calm... Allen repeated in his mind slowly. Lavi is right - it could mean nothing.

Lavi sighed silently, not sure whether to stay or follow. He figured that the man needed a moment alone though, so he stayed put for now.

Not more than a few minutes after, one of the assassins returned and briskly walked past, immediately heading up the stairs and making a bee-line for Allen's room. That had him curious, so he followed, though not the entire way.

"Arkadaşı, there was a messenger. I did not recognize him, but he wanted me to pass a message along. He simply told me to tell you the snake curls in wait for the withered flower, and mentioned the Hippodrome in the south Imperial district. Perhaps it means something to you?"

Allen stared at the assassin with wide eyes and mouth opened until his brain digested what his ears just heard. He bolted from the bed too look out of the window quickly but he couldn't see anyone.

"Yes, thank you!" He said with a breathy voice. "Don't tell anyone about it," Allen ordered, patting the man's shoulder and darting out of the room, almost colliding into the bookman. "Lavi! Follow me." The white-haired man gasped, turning the other man around and running off downstairs again and into the tunnels. Allen hastily dug though his robes and pouches until he produced a key that fit into the door he stood in front of.

Lavi blinked and tried to ask what had Allen in such a rush, but didn't quite get the chance as the man spun him around and pushed him forward by his shoulders, going quickly. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about grabbing his spear, since he had been toting it along with him from the start.

"So, uh... this aforementioned 'snake'..." He had no trouble admitting he had been eavesdropping somewhat. "I'm guessing it's this Demir guy?" And what did he mean about a 'withered flower'? Lavi wasn't sure it was his place to ask.

"Yes, it is him. Seems like we are finally going to know the identity of my hunter," Allen answered heatedly as he ripped the door open. Immediately after he entered he undid his sash and began to strip, throwing some of his clothes on the ground and some of them, accidentally of course, on Lavi. "Do you have anything dark to cover yourself with? A cloak? Anything?" He asked, stepping closer to the only thing that occupied the room - a stand with black armor.

Lavi nodded as he heard what Allen had to say. "Let's hope so." He couldn't fail to notice the tone that Allen used, but he guessed that was only natural, after having lost two people to whoever their mystery-man was. Even so, he'd have to keep an eye on Allen, make sure he didn't do anything too reckless. He flinched as an article of clothing landed on him, smirking and peeling it off to drop by the wayside, distracting his eye with the sidelong wall. "And no, not immediately with me... but it shouldn't be hard to get one."

"Go fetch it then," he paused, kneeling on the ground and spreading a thick cloth that lay under the stack. He took out a long belt with small knives. "-and take this, it might come handy." He shoved it into Lavi's hands and began to undo the belts on the armor, carefully putting it on the ground until he could remove the clothes beneath it. "Go get that cloak and wait for me on the roof. I'll be there soon."

Lavi merely nodded his head, turning to head out. The nearby tailor's shop was his destination, and it didn't take long for him to get something, merely a simple solid-colored cloak, nothing too flashy and easy to blend in. While he was at it, he secured the hook-blade Allen had given him before to his arm. Looks like it was finally about to see some real use.

Once he had that done, he waited on the roof just outside where Allen had instructed him to, also keeping an eye out for anything immediately worthy of attention, but nothing stood out as far as he could tell. With any luck, hopefully this entire deal with the murderer would be over soon.

Allen snuck out of the den and climbed the building. He spotted Lavi looking around and ran to him, gently tapping his shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked, last-time checking if anything on his new gear felt out of place. "Let's hunt."

Lavi nodded, stretching his limbs and shaking them out.

"Yeah," he agreed, letting Allen take the lead toward the channel and docks ahead of him at first. They would have to take the ferry to the other side of the city, then head to the far southern side of the Imperial district from there. It was once they were across that Lavi went ahead, since he was a better navigator and knew where the Hippodrome was.

Other than a few testy Byzantines shouting about staying off the rooftops, they went unconfronted, and simply ignored the men to keep moving for the most part. Lavi didn't intend on stirring up unnecessary trouble, and Allen didn't seem to care for anyone except his prime target, who hopefully they would know the identity of soon enough and be able to finish their 'business' with.

Just before they reached the Hippodrome, he paused to pull out his folded spear, snapping it together, just in case, and flicked the hood of his cloak over his head, which had been flown back during their run. The thought that perhaps they could be walking into a trap of some kind wasn't an idea that escaped his mind as a possibility, so he wanted to be prepared.

"Well, this is the place," he mused aloud, his eye scouring the structure as they neared. All except for themselves, it looked empty.

Allen looked around the place, trembling with anticipation. "Where is he?!" He growled silently, looking from behind a pillar.

The place was deserted but he figured that Demir would not just stand in the middle of the Hippodrome and welcome him with opened arms.

He was just about to walk forward when someone grabbed him from behind.

Lavi cursed and whirled around when Allen was yanked aside and flipped around so that his back was to a wall. Demir hummed amusement and his eyes twinkled.

"Hello, little flower~" he purred, having pinned Allen's wrist and hidden blade again, so as not to be stabbed through the neck. "It's been too long." He smiled and his eyes slid sideways to Lavi, who was watching him stone-faced and ready, the point of his spear having already found rest against flesh just beneath Demir's ear in warning. "And you brought along your little Bookman friend. He has fast reflexes," he noted, not overly concerned by the fact that the redhead could lance him through the head at any second if the man chose to.

"Friend of yours?" Lavi prompted, not taking his eyes off Demir or relaxing until he could be sure from Allen.

The nerve of this man!

Allen sighed and rolled his eyes, tapping the hookblade against the man's crotch. "You can say that. Hello, Demir, how have you been?" He asked with faked and exaggerated politeness. "Get off me, would you? I hope you have what I asked for," Allen demanded more than asked, nodding at Lavi to let him know that he could relax. "Also, I would appreciate if you did not call me that!" he threatened with a low growl.

Lavi nodded and eased up, backing off, though not going very far. He could already tell why Allen didn't particularly like the guy, and how bad their first 'meeting' had probably been.

Demir chuckled and finally backed off as well, his voice silky smooth.

"But of course," he hummed, his eyes momentarily scoping out the area carefully before he continued. "You and your friends are very keen, to have suspected the priests. Your little scouts made my job all the easier."

He must have noticed the assassins that had been staking out the place, then, and keeping an eye on the people there, Lavi noted. Must have figured out why they were there. He was definitely a sharp one, the redhead would give him that.

"There's one man among them who is responsible. You may have met him at least once already," Demir smiled, before he paused slightly as a finch sung somewhere distant, his eyes sliding of distractedly at nothing. He lowered his voice slightly. "Apollo Cristaldi. He's your man." He nodded, and stepped back in retreat, further into the shadow of the structure. "And you may not need go searching."

Allen cursed under his breath and unsheathed his dagger. Suddenly, a slow clapping echoed throughout the ruins. The assassin spun around with a savage growl.

"Come out you bastard!" He shouted. The clapping slowly ceased and a figure stepped out from the shadows opposite of them. Lavi caught the hinting quality to Demir's voice just before the man disappeared, just in time for their newly revealed target to appear. Had Demir been followed, or had they? It didn't really matter, Lavi turning to face the "priest" steadily. He should have known - no, he had known - that it was him. He had just needed a little more proof before they could act, to make sure there were no mistakes.

"Congratulations! You have ruined my excellent entrance. And kind of saved me the trouble leading the White Demon away from his den," the man called, but his voice clearly carried the message that he was not happy that his identity was revealed. "Did you like my heartwarming present, Allen?" He mocked, putting a hand over his heart.

"You sick monster!" the assassin yelled and charged at the wanna-be priest. Apollo dodged his first swing and countered with his own, making it look as if he drew his own dagger out of thin air. However, he only managed to slash the space where Allen stood a second ago.

Lavi swore as Allen charged forward to attack, readying his own weapon.

"Don't let him taunt you into recklessness!" he called out, rushing forward himself, though notably with less anger than Allen did. He had learned quite some years ago that anger was rarely useful in a fight. Not the kind of anger Allen was exhibiting, anyway. It only fogged the mind and gave the enemy an advantage, and that was the last thing they needed right now. "He just wants you to make a mistake so he can get the better of you!"

Even as he said this, he lunged forward with his spear, more trying to separate them and gain some distance at this point, since he didn't think the blow would actually hit anything vital enough to put an end to it, even though he still aimed his blow as such. Neither of them could simply blindly charge in and expect to get anywhere. Lavi already knew from talking to Apollo before that the man wasn't dull-witted or without calculation. They were most likely going to need a solid strategy to defeat him without either of them also dying in the process.

"You are a nuisance, Mr. Bookman," Apollo scoffed as he bent under the redhead's spear and lunged forward at Allen who mirrored him. Their daggers clashed with a loud screech. He said, grabbing Allen's arm and turning them over, using the man as a shield against Lavi.

Lavi didn't let the words affect him, moving to lunge again, but he was forced to pull back, dancing a few steps away to avoid hitting Allen as he did so.

"You have something I want." The assassin's answer was a kick to his leg, which made Apollo stumble with a muffled grunt and let go of his arm. Allen took another swing but the man was faster and blocked it, drawing another dagger from the folds of his robes and slashing the lad´s thigh which made him back away with a strangled cry. Lavi's eye was watching and he saw the blade flash from Apollo's clothing a second too quick for him to bark out a warning. "Nice pendant you've got there." The fake priest muttered, his eyes flickering to Lavi for a second.

The bookman was more than glad when Allen and Apollo separated, taking that moment to his advantage as he leapt between them, the sharp end of his spear pointed in warning, while he backed Allen off slightly with the blunt end.

"This guy is no novice when it comes to fighting," he said, low and under his breath. Besides that, Allen was already injured. "Whether you like it or not, we're going to have to work together on this one, but the final strike is yours," he promised.

"I know," Allen growled, taking out a smaller blade to throw it at their opponent who easily deflected it. He lowered his voice to minimum and whispered, "Try to make him block your spear with both weapons."

He readied another blade and nodded.

The hunter only stood there, tilting his head. "If you tell me where the thing is I will let you live."

"Keep dreaming!" Allen spat back, throwing the blade and waiting for Lavi to make a move.

Lavi nodded, taking a moment to size up Apollo and his stance, before he leapt forward. His first jab forward missed, and he could see that the man thought he had the advantage since Lavi's weapon was a pole-arm, typically better at mid-range and almost entirely useless in close, which made for an easy target in close-combat.

Most of the time, Apollo would be right to make that assumption and try to close the distance, but in this case it was a mistake. With a swift, deliberate twist, Lavi separated two of the segments and caught Apollo's blade on the chain before it could hit him, smirking at the look of surprise that crossed the man's features.

The man seemed to realize and re-think, leaping back, but he wasn't quite quick enough. Just the same as Lavi had separated the segments, he made them into a whole piece again, swiping upward and catching the pit of the man's arm, not enough to sever it, but enough that it would make it that much harder to fight.

He smirked. Older and more experienced, Apollo might have been, but he was a little less nimble. It was only by a fraction, but it was enough for Lavi to notice, and more importantly take advantage of.

"That the best you got, old man?" he taunted with a small grin, lunging forward with his spear. If he could back the guy into something, he'd have no choice but to block instead of dodge, and then Allen could make his move.

Apollo's answer was a mute angered stare. Before Lavi could hit him he spun around and kicked the redhead's side with more force than expected, leaving him stumbling backwards. So maybe he was a little more nimble than he first let Lavi assume, which he was just realizing a moment too late to keep from getting a heel planted under his ribs, knocking the wind out of him and slowing his reaction time.

Apollo used the moment to attack bit his blade was stopped by Allen's. If Allen hadn't been there to back him up, Laviwould almost certainly have gotten a wound worth writing home about, if he survived it.

They began a lethal dance in the rhythm of metalic clangs and cries of their blades until Apollo unexpectedly jumped forward aiming for Allen's abdomen. A sickening crunch and the assassin's gasp left them both stand frozen for a second.

Lavi drew in several gasps as he tried to recover, his side aching, but he didn't have the luxury of simply sitting at the sidelines. Struggling back to his feet, he watched Apollo swoop in for a deadly blow, only for Allen to block it with his burn-scarred arm. The redhead grit his teeth and leapt forward, aiming his spear-point toward Apollo's side.

"Lucky you." Apollo mumbled, throwing Allen backwards to avoid the tip of Lavi's spear, which only managed to catch and tear cloth, not flesh.

Lavi split the spear in half again, so that he wouldn't have to maneuver the full length, and quickly changed the direction of his swing towards Apollo's own abdomen, but to his frustration, only managed to cut air.

He was rue to admit it, but he had underestimated the man somewhat. It wasn't a mistake he was going to make again, though, taking this fight more seriously than he had moments before, which he should have been doing from the start.

"One at a time ain't gonna cut it, Allen," he momentarily glanced over his shoulder for only a split second, deciding it was probably time to switch tactics. A pincer move was worth a try. "Take whichever side you want, and I'll take the other. He can't fend us both off from separate directions at once." Not effectively enough to keep from taking damage, anyway.

Allen nodded mutely, swaying a little. He could not feel the pain in his left arm but he sure as hell knew that the wound would slow him down whether he wanted it or not. He noticed that he couldn't raise his arm higher than above his waist. He decided to strike from the left side, leaving the right one to Lavi.

As they both jumped him from the side, Apollo did something neither of them expected - arching backwards and throwing himself at the ground. A second after that, Allen felt the ground under his feet disappear. His face hit the ground hard, making black and white spots dance in front of his eyes.

"Fuck!" Lavi swore, watching Allen hit the ground, dazing him. Lavi wasted no time in lunging towards Apollo, kicking him in the chest at the same moment the man was still finding his feet, knocking him a few feet back.

The redhead glanced over Allen, trying to gauge how bad off he was. He wasn't sure how hard he'd hit. He could have escaped with just a bump, or worst case scenario, he could have a concussion or a hurt neck. He didn't have the time to ponder or check, turning his attention back to the enemy. He wasn't sure he could take the guy down on his own, and certainly not without a few wounds, but he could at least hold him off until Allen recovered enough to help him, or someone else arrived to help.

He licked his lower lip in thought, trying to calculate the best course of action. Even if Allen recovered quickly, retreating would be hard, since his leg had been slashed, and carrying him would be too slow to be any good. Telling Allen to escape while he continued to fight wasn't an option, because Allen would never listen to such a suggestion. Wounding Apollo first and then retreating, if they couldn't beat him, was always an option though, but would Allen really agree to leaving without taking revenge for Emil and Timmy first? Probably not. And since no other assassin's had shown up, he guessed they weren't being tailed like usual. Of course the one bloody fucking time they needed back-up, no one was there to provide it. Typical.

The only thing to do, it seemed like, was keep fighting and hope for a miracle, which the Bookman didn't even believe in.

He lunged forward with his spear, but Apollo was still just as fast as ever, and Lavi twisted barely out of the path of a blade that came for his side, sweeping low. He grasped the clasp of his cloak, suddenly glad for Allen's earlier suggestion to get one, and threw it over the man to blind him for a moment, giving him something else to struggle against.

Catching the man's leg with the chain of his spear, he yanked his leg out from under him, sending the man crashing to the ground and thanking the Powers That Be for his own training in combat tactics, because wit was the only thing keeping him from getting killed so far.

"Allen, if you're good to move, now's your chance!"

And the assassin didn't waste it. Ignoring the stinging in his leg and his numb arm, he lunged forwards for the kill. Just as he was going to bring his hand down to finish the man, Apollo threw the cloak aside and thrust his clenched hand in front of him.

"I knew it had to have a deeper meaning, when he struggled so much as I was taking it," he said with a nasty grin. Allen froze in mid-strike, staring at the glistering pendant that dangled from the killer's grasp.

"How...?" He asked with a shaky voice, unable to finish the sentence. His body was no longer listening to the rational side of his mind. Everything faded away, except the pendant and Apollos evil smile.

"I pried it out of his fingers as he was dying."

Lavi was sure that Allen was going to finish it and be rid of his hunter, but it seemed that the sly old bastard still had another trick up his sleeve that Lavi hadn't considered he might have, and that oversight was likely about to turn deadly as his single eye flicked between them and the significance of that pendant and Apollo's words clicked into place like pieces of a puzzle.

It was at that moment that Lavi was painfully aware of how close Allen and Apollo were to each other and that Allen wasn't fucking moving, standing frozen like a statue, and putting him in perfect range for an attack on the older man's part.

Damn it all! Rules about not getting involved entirely forgotten, he leapt forward and grabbed the nearest part of Allen he could get a hand on, tugging him aside hard so that he wouldn't be where Apollo could strike him quite so easily anymore, brandishing his weapon with his other hand and fully ready to kill with it if it came down to that.

Allen barely noticed hitting the ground where Lavi threw him, struggling to push himself to his feet again but fell back to his knees, staring at the ground. His mind kept screaming at him to move but his body didn't budge.

"No... you're lying!" He whispered.

Apollo laughed as he stood up, throwing the pendant his way. "Such a marvelous and deadly fighter. Too bad he died! Want to hear his last words?" He taunted. Allen gripped his head and yelled. "He died with your name on his lips. So tragic. If you tell me where the Apple is, I will tell you where I dumped his body."

"SHUT UP!" Allen screamed desperately.

Why, why, WHY did it have to be him?! Why Kanda?

The world suddenly felt colder than before. He didn't pay attention to the fight anymore. He didn't care anymore. He dropped the dagger and hit the ground with his fists in rage and frustration.

"Tch." Allen was going to be completely useless to fight now. Damn that fake priest. Of all the times for this to happen! He turned his attention back to the man, not wanting to give him the chance to strike first, and especially not since the only thing standing between them now was him. "You shut your damn mouth!"

Apollo was a capable opponent. Lavi hadn't had to work this hard to think of a viable strategy to beat someone else in a long time. Was the man simply that good, or was he just getting that rusty? It didn't matter. He needed to focus.

He traded blows, managed to just barely nick one arm with the tip of his blade, and barely dodged back from getting his face caved in by another blade, a thin line of red left across his check. Had he been even one second closer, he might have been dead. He whirled his blade around to catch the man in the face himself, missed, but didn't stop twirling so that the metal ball on the end swung up and hit him, making Apollo's head snap to the side, though it was more with surprise and irritation than actual force, and rolling his head with the motion just lessened the effect it had.

He locked handle-to-blade, but the downside to having a pole as a weapon was no guard to keep the blade from sliding toward his hands, and he had to let go and back off, catching it as it fell with his foot and kicking it back up to grab.

It seemed more like Apollo was just playing with him at this point, as if Lavi was more a minor nuisance than a threat, and despite his age, he was still surprisingly spry.

Rage. Allen's chest burnt with rage and grief. He forced himself to look up. To see Lavi struggle against that murderer in vain.
That's right. He is still fighting. He hasn't given up yet.

Then he remembered. He carried another kind of weapon. He reached into the pouch hidden under his sash and slowly stood up.

Apollo paused for a second, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Oh, how nice of you! You spared me the trouble of finding it!" He called as he struggled against the redhead. "Now, be a good boy and hand it over."

Lavi glanced over his shoulder as Apollo's eyes lit up, seeing the device in Allen's hand, a sinking feeling starting to stir in his gut. Lavi turned back as he saw movement flash in the corner of his eye, but he wasn't quick enough, cursing his own carelessness. Apollo used Lavi's moment of distraction and delivered a merciless kick to his head, sending him flying to the side.

"Be a good boy and don't interfere!" He growled and stalked towards Allen like a hungry wolf would after a wounded sheep.

Allen shakily raised his bleeding arm with the Apple of Eden, his eyes focusing on his hunter. His melancholic gaze twisted into a seething grimace and with a deep breath, he activated the Apple. The arena was immediately filled with golden light and menacing hum of the artifact's power.

Apollo froze in mid-stride and hatefully glared ahead with bloodshot eyes. He growled and tried to move but the thin, golden lights that danced around him held him in place against his will. Ever so slowly, the hand in which he held the dagger rose and the tip of the blade turned against him. Apollo screamed in rage, fighting against the power to that controlled his body.

Everything seemed as if the time has slowed down until Allen unexpectedly gasped and fell to his knee, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You can't keep it up!" Apollo screamed, struggling to get his own knife away from his neck.

Once Lavi started to recover, his head was ringing. For a moment, he thought it was just from the kick, that maybe Apollo had hit him too hard, but he realized with a wince that it wasn't as he flicked his single eye open and gold threads of light danced around all three of them, finding its epicenter at the orb in Allen's hand.

Lavi staggered to his feet, shaking his head, but the dizzying, keening tempest throbbing in his ears wouldn't leave. The fact that this would be a perfect opportunity to take advantage and just stab that Apollo bastard didn't escape his attention, but neither did the fact that Allen was retching up blood, and no small amount of it.

Suffice to say, he chose the latter to rush towards.

"Allen! You've gotta stop!"

"DIE!" Allen yelled in return, completely ignoring Lavi or the fact that the Apple's power slowly sucked the life out of him. Apollo writhed and cursed, the dagger in his hand was biting the skin of his neck but not hard enough to be fatal. A voice echoed from somewhere behind them but the hum of the light was too loud to hear what it was.

"IDIOT!"

The voice came again, this time accompanied by a figure clad in black. The man to whom the voice belonged sprinted into the circle created by golden threads, throwing himself at the Allen kneeling on the ground.

"Let go of it, idiot! Let go!" The stranger held the assassin from behind, one hand curled around his waist, the other trying to rip the Apple from his hand. With a sound of a shattered glass, the golden light and the deafening hum disappeared, and the artifact rolled away from Allen's grasp, leaving him panting in the arms of the black-clad man, and Apollo panting on the ground. The white-haired man felt something touch his forehead. "What have you been thinking?" The man asked.

When Allen opened his silver eyes and looked at the stranger's face, he felt his breath hitch.

"Kanda...?"

A/N: Weeee~ So Kanda finally made his appearance!(I know so, so many of you were waiting on that!). Rejoice!

On another note, I have another story going, an OC fic, for Shadow of the Colossus. If you don't know Shadow of the Colossus, it's an old PS2/PS3-rerelease exclusive revolving around fighting 16 giant monsters called Colossus in order to grant the wish of bringing someone back from the dead(and if you haven't played it I HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy! Team Ico made a real gem when they created SotC, you're really missing out if you've never played this game).

Anyway, the fic is called What I Wouldn't Sacrifice, and it has four chapters and no readers, even though I've been working really hard on writing it. Some of you might like to check it out if you like this story ;) Pretty please? *nudgenudgewinkwink*