Hey, Leahcar-Soutaichou! Thanks a bunch for the reviews, I'm really glad I wasn't abandonned! And also, yes, I know, the romantic tension is fun as hell to read and write.

Answer: As said sooner, Gabriel was once an Exorcist too. So, of course he and the Earl would have met at one point. Of course, there's more to it, but I know better than to give away those spoilers too quickly.

Enjoy!

"Where are we?" asked Krory, looking around.

"Hell if I know" I shrugged.

"What's up with this hallway? It goes on forever…" Lavi scratched the back of his head.

"Don't think too much, Bookboy, you might hurt yourself" I patted his head.

Well, tried too. Was it me or everyone seemed taller now?

You're just short.

I hate you.

"Don't try to pat my head, you might hurt yourself" replied the redhead, smirking.

I hate you both.

"Where is the next door?" Krory turned to Lero.

"Searching for it is your job- Lero!" it retorted.

"Don't be such a tightwad!" protested Lavi.

The hallway started shaking on it's foundations, and I couldn't help but glance at the door we just came in with.

"Another room is collapsing" alerted Allen.

My blood turned cold as a strange sense of emptiness crept in my heart.

Trickster, what's happening?

It's Kanda's Innocence… it's not destroyed, just… not there? I don't really get it either.

Is he dead?

I don't know. I'm sorry, Hime.

"Let's move, we can't stay here much longer" I ordered, snapping everyone out of it.

"But Kanda-"

"He was probably beaten by Skin- Lero!" cackled the pumpkin.

"If both of them were in the room, than it doesn't matter who won and who lost" I retorted coldly. "Both shared the same fate. Now let's go"

Taking the lead, I could fear their hesitation before they fall in step with me. I could hear Allen talking to Lenalee in a low tone, probably trying to reassure her, but I couldn't find it in myself to hope too much.

"Tenshi, what's this about?" Lavi asked quietly, just to my left. "Yuu is-"

"I can't feel him" I said in the same tone. "With Archangel, I can feel the Innocence, but his just disappeared. He's not dead, he's just… absent"

He nodded in understanding, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Then it's a good thing, right? That means there's still a chance to save him" he remarked.

My heart missed a beat as he smiled at me.

Lavi and Ary, sitting in a tree, K-

Trickster, I swear I'm going to find a way to skin you, just you wait.

I'll be waiting then, Ary-chan.

As he laughed, I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. However, my mood turn drastic once again as my thoughts turned back to Jerkface.

Trickster… why do I fell so empty? It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel good either…

You are the Protector and Savior of Innocence. Each fragment is linked to you, one way or another. However, it's a good thing that it's not hurting. That means it hasn't been destroyed.

I guess it is a good thing…

Just focus on now, alright? We'll find a solution when we have the time.

… okay. Okay, we'll do that.

With the Noahs

After holding the farewell party for Skin, the tears had dried and the hurt of the loss was replaced by anger.

Jasdevi, who had joined him not so long ago, were cursing their Marshall, who seemed to be as unapproachable as ever.

"Damn that Cross!" yelled Devit. "Making us pay for his debts again and again…"

"When we find him, we're going to kill him!" added Jasdero, a chicken in his arms.

Road was checking out the debts papers that the twins had brought back with them, and saw a very familiar name on the list.

"Ne, ne, Jasdevi" she gained their attention. "Do you know who that is?"

"Uh? Oh, it's his apprentice" blinked Devit. "He left some for him too"

"Well, let me tell you something interesting" she smirked. "He's here"

"Here?" they repeated in one voice. "As in here on the Ark?"

"Yep!" she popped the 'P'.

"Your other target is there too" added Tyki, playing with the silver button once again.

"Seriously!?"

He hummed, throwing the silver ornament in the air before catching it.

"We've got specific orders for her, though"

We had been walking down the hallway for some time, now. No one was talking, and even I couldn't find it in myself to start the usual banter with Lavi, or strike any sort of socializing with the others.

It just… didn't feel right.

"Man, this hallway's so freaking long!" whined Lavi. "I wonder when we'll find the next door"

Well, not all of us. The redhead was trying to lighten the mood since I told him about Kanda, which was more or less working out.

Suddenly, the twisted feeling came back along with a weird pounding sound in my ear, which kind of reminded me of gunshots.

Noahs. Two of them.

Yeah, I kind of guessed. And we've –well, I- only met…

The morons.

Exactly.

Looking ahead and trying to spot them –I mean, how hard could it be in a fricking hallway?- I merely saw a bunch of bottles rolling our way. Everyone stopped, and I frowned a little. The hell was going on? All the bottles came to an halt, a mere meter away from us. There were a lot, all alcohol, and all apparently empty.

"What're those?" Chaozii asked.

"Alcohol bottles?" frowned Lavi, confused.

"Why are there things like that-"

"A bomb's hiding among these bottles!"

We all stiffened as the new voice echoed on the bare walls.

Damn, it's really them. What're their names again?

I… don't remember.

Hime, you're really useless with name.

Oi, you're no better!

"If you don't find it and deactivate it, you'll all go 'BOOM'!" cackled the same voice.

It came from farther away from the bottles. I narrowed my eyes, but the alley was too dark for me to see anything.

"A-a bomb?" repeated Krory.

I eyed the glass containers suspiciously. We couldn't see a thing in them, and it could be anywhere!

"Gah! Find it!" Lavi started checking the bottles.

Not wanting to waste time, I grabbed a few and sent them flying at our opposite. There was the distinct noise of broken glass as they landed on the floor, beyond the darkness, and their were some precipitated steps.

"O-oi! You can't throw these at us!" protested the same Noah as before.

"Sure I can!" I retorted, kicking a few more their way.

"I-I recognize all these brands…" said Allen, just behind me. "Yes, they're definitely all brands of alcohol… I bought for my Master…"

"Cross Marshall?" asked Lenalee.

"And… they're all on the bar's tabs…" he pursued, looking a little sick.

As he sunk into a depressed state at the remembrance of his harsh childhood, I kept kicking the bottles. Rather them going 'BOOM' than us, I'd say. However, the noises soon stopped, and the bottles started rolling back at us, sign they were catching them and sending them back.

"STOP KICKING THEM!" yelled the Noah.

"STOP SENDING THEM BACK!" I retorted, getting more agitated.

"The most expensive brand of alcohol here is… Shumatsu!"

He grabbed the one I was about to throw back, and a flash of light on the surface revealed the bomb hidden inside.

"Deactivate it!" yelled Krory.

"Hurry!" added Lavi.

"How!?" panicked Lenalee.

"The timer inside's going to run out!" warned Chaozii.

"Quick! It's going to blow- Lero!" added the umbrella.

They're all fucking idiots.

Seeing as he wouldn't react in time, I grabbed the bottle and threw it with all the strength I could muster in what I hoped was the Noah's way. There were screeches, steps, and an explosion.

"Thank goodness" sighed Krory.

"Good throw, Tenshi" grinned Lavi, ruffling my hair.

"Of course it was" I grinned back.

"Why was my Master's favorite alcohol here?" asked Allen, troubled.

He looked sick again, which kind of worried me.

"Could he be in the Ark at this moment?" he pursued.

"He could well be, Allen" remarked Lenalee.

"Your Master would set a bomb trap for his student!?" Chaozii's eyes widened in fright.

"My Master would never do something like that!" exclaimed Allen.

I snorted.

"Is what he'd like to say" I completed with a huff. "Trust me, the stupid womanizer isn't above these sorts of things, but it wasn't him"

"What do you mean?" asked Lavi, surprised.

"He might be here" I conceded. "But that wasn't his voice, was it? And there were two of them. Noahs, most likely"

"And exactly how do you know that?" he insisted, crossing his arms.

"Logical deductions, a skill you ought to learn if you want to be a Bookman" I retorted, poking his chest. "Now let's move before they come back with another crazy plan"

However, barely two minutes later, two wired gates trapped us in place, and the ceiling –covered in spikes- started descending on us.

"Now what?" I barked, a little impatient.

It was the twins again, that I could tell with the annoying sound that kept buzzing in my ear. However, they weren't exactly brilliant, from what I've gathered. We could escape easily, but it seriously slowed us down.

Cards landed on the floor around us.

"Cards?" asked Allen, puzzled.

"You have to make the hand we tell you too within three seconds" announced a new voice, probably the other twin. "If you can't, you'll all become shish kebabs!"

Their was a cackled, and my irritation grew somewhat.

"Three of a kind!" yelled the first one.

Allen instantly jumped into action and grabbed the necessary cards.

"Here!"

"Correct! Now, a Full House!"

The white haired boy executed the order perfectly once again, and my patience came to an end as they asked a 'Royal Straight Flush'. Stomping to the gate before us, I activated my wings for barely a second and sliced through it, before deactivating them again.

The two weren't aware that I was their other target. If they were, they would most than probably already have made a comment. They were stupid enough to do so. However, I wasn't about to show them my true identity just yet. Better play it safe for now.

Don't underestimate them.

I'm not. They're just morons.

The wired gate's pieces fall on the flagstones in a metallic cacophony, which gained the attention of the others.

"W-what? You can't do that, that's cheating!" protested the second Noah.

"Yeah? Well I don't fucking care!" I retorted, heading outside. "Come on, guys"

They paled a little, apparently terrified by God-knows-what, but followed nowadays while the twins protested fervently. I let them take the lead, not trusting the two Noahs to not attack us in the back.

Hime, they're scared of you.

Bullshit.

I'm kind of scared too. You can be truly terrifying when you want too.

That's-

"Hey, Ary… are you… okay?" asked nervously Lavi, keeping a good meter away from me.

"Yeah. Why? I'm totally fine, sure, why wouldn't I be? I mean, we're just stuck in a stupid dimensional plane that's about to disappear, Jerkface's still nowhere to be found, we've got the Noahs out to get our heads and we have –what, less than an hour?- before all dying, but yeah, sure, I'm okay, why wouldn't I be? Après tout, ce n'est pas comme si on risquait nos vies chaque seconde qui passe et que ces putains de gamins n'arrêtent pas de nous ralentir alors que tout pourrait sauter alors qu'on est toujours prisonniers ici, right!?"

There was a moment of silence as he stared at me with wide eyes. I had kept my rent quiet enough so that the others wouldn't hear, and I suddenly felt really stupid.

Then, the redhead chuckled and hugged me tightly.

"Stop freaking out, Tenshi" he said against my head. "You get snappy when you're nervous"

"Sorry" I sighed, burying my head in his chest. "I'm just tired of this sick game. I just… I want to go home, Lavi…"

His hold tightened a little.

"… me too" he admitted. "And we'll be back there, all of us. We'll go back together and you know what?"

"… what?"

"I'm going to get you as much hot chocolate as you want" he assured.

"… you promise?"

I could tell he was smiling.

"I promise"

I nodded, lingered a little longer, then pulled away with a sigh.

"Come on, before the others get into some other trouble" I grunted, turning around.

He chuckled once again, and I quickly turned aside to hide my burning cheeks, my own words still lingering in my mind.

I want to go home.

Hime…

Please, Gab. Just don't. I'll be fine, just a passing blue.

He didn't say anything more, which I was glad for, and we managed to catch with the others just in time to see them surrounding a…

"Now it's roulette?" questioned Lavi.

"Allen, let's not bother facing them and move on" proposed Lenalee.

"Agreed" he nodded.

"Hold it right there!" called the second Noah's voice. "If you don't take the challenge, you all go 'BOOM' right here, right now! Your lives are the chips!"

"Gonna pick black?" added the one in a vicious tone. "How about red?"

"Either way, you're going to blow us up!" I retorted, calmer but still annoyed.

"Well, life itself is a gamble…"

"Here we go again" I slapped my hand to my forehead.

And there goes Allen in another of his mood swings. Deciding not to intervene this time, I simply walked next to Chaozii and Lenalee.

"Feeling alright, you two?" I asked quietly. "Chaozii, I'm sorry that you got dragged here, by the way. You're not qualified for these types of situation-"

"Otherwise said, I'm kind of a dead weight" he corrected.

I smiled apologetically, but he simply smiled back and shook his head.

"I'm not an Exorcist, I should have thought about it twice before jumping in" he shrugged. "I should be the one apologizing for dragging us down"

"You're doing nothing of the sort" I assured honestly. "I'll tell you when you do, don't worry about it. And my promise concerned you too, but the way. We're all going back"

At that, though, Lenalee looked down.

"But Kanda…"

"I'm not going to say he's fine" I sighed. "But he's alive, I can assure you that with a one hundred percent certainty"

She didn't look really convinced, which kind of offended me.

"Lenalee, I never was one to sugarcoat things" I told her seriously. "You know me. If I believe Kanda was dead, I'd say it plain and simple. I don't like lying, and I ain't about to start today. Jerkface's alive and we're going to find a way to get him back, and that's that"

The doubt left place to determination, and she nodded. At the same time, there were exclamations from Krory and Lavi, clearly indicating that Allen had managed to win our lives.

Doesn't surprise me, though. He cheats like I never saw someone cheating.

You sound weirdly venerating with that, Gab. Should I be worried?

Hime, I know talent when I see it. And that is real talent.

You're hopeless, Trickster.

"Hey, you cheated again!" accused the second Noah.

"Do you have any proof?" retorted the white haired boy.

"Kiddo, are you really going to argue?" I rolled my eyes.

"Stop calling me that! And they can't blame me if they didn't see me" he retorted.

"Kiddo, everyone saw you"

"Your leg bumped the table!" cried the first Noah. "It bumped it! It's not fair!"

"People who don't have the galls to show themselves have no right to dictate what's fair" I snapped their way –somewhere up in the ceiling-.

There was an angry huff.

"Fine then, we'll show ourselves to you" announced the second one. "Keep going straight ahead. We'll be at the end of the hall"

"If you can get there, that is" cackled the other.

Their was a weird sound behind us, making me stiffen. Allen did the same.

"Allen? What's wrong?" asked Krory.

"I thought I heard something" he frowned.

"I did too" I nodded, kind of worried. "Let's move, and fast"

Just as I finished my sentence, the floor cracked open and the flagstones started falling.

So, we did the only thing we could do.

We ran.

In the end, we weren't fast enough, so Krory turned to his vampire-like self, grabbed us all under his arms, and set off at a speed that had my head spinning. After around four seconds, we burst out in a new room and crashed onto the floor. Wincing a little, I got up popping my shoulders.

"Tenshi, please stop doing that" cringed Lavi at the noise.

"Feeble heart" I rolled my eye.

Then, I looked around, and felt my mouth go dry.

"Oh my God…"

Books.

Books everywhere.

"A study?" asked Lenalee, quickly up on her feet.

"This is heaven" I whispered, practically jumping in place. "Have you seen all these books? The shelves reach the ceiling! This is amazing!"

"And this is where we're going to die if we don't move quickly" replied Lavi, grabbing my shoulders to keep me in place. "Even if I crave it myself, we seriously don't have the time, Ary"

"Tche"

"Gah! Yuu, free this body!"

"Moron" I whacked the back of his head.

The others laughed a little, and some tension that was present since the beginning eased up at our usual banter.

"Yo, Exorcists"

At the more than familiar voices by now, we turned to the center of the room, where stood a weird pedestal, were the twins, standing on top of it. Even with their Noah form, I easily recognized their hair and the strange toys guns they were waving around.

"Name's Devit" presented the black-haired one.

"Jasdero" added the blond.

"Together, we're Jasdevi!"

"I've got a weird sense of déjà-vu" I massaged my temples, feeling a headache coming.

"J-Jas…" Krory trailed off.

"Another funky guy's coming out" sweatdropped Lavi.

"I knew it was you, Lord Jasdevi- Lero!" exclaimed the umbrella. "Uh? Weren't you supposed to be after Cross Marshall- Lero!?"

"Shut the hell up!" they yelled in one voice.

But they fall back calmly the moment after.

"We've got another target here, and the Earl asked us to take care of it right now" added Devit.

"Or rather her" cackled Jasdero.

They all tensed, most probably thinking they were talking about Lenalee. I've decided to clear all the doubts immediately.

"Oi, Jasdevi!" I called. "It's been a while. What, about a month or so?"

"So you did knew it was us" Devit raised an eyebrow.

"Nope" I shrugged. "I just don't trust every idiot in the street"

"Idiot yourself!" they both snarled, pointing their guns at me.

"Wow, wow, wait a sec" intervened Lavi. "You know these guys?"

"I'm their targets, Bookboy" I precised. "Met them at the port before the attack. Mikk told me about them. So what now, you want to kill me too?"

"Not exactly, not now" Devit shook his head. "You see, we're incredibly vexed right now. Allen Walker! We don't have much of a grudge against you"

"But Cross has been getting on our nerve lately, and his pupil's going to pay for it!" added Jasdero.

"So he's your scapegoat?" sweatdropped Lero.

They merely raised their guns to the white haired boy, and I tensed a little. They didn't look much like toys anymore.

"Divine punishment!" they exclaimed.

"Wait, what did my Master say?" Allen tried to catch the fall.

They started shooting at him, but I relaxed instantly. They weren't real bullets, but paper balls. The others soon came to realize the same thing.

"These are invoices" announced Krory, reading one of the papers.

"It's not what he said, Kiddo, more like what he did" I scoffed. "He set them up for paying his bills all while they chase after him like headless chicken"

They jumped from the pedestal, and landed on each side of him. This time, they were serious.

"A pupil's got to work off his Master's debts" remarked Devit, eyes glinting with malicious intent. "Loading: Blue Bomb!"

Knowing Crown Clown would protect him, I didn't move from my spot, instead getting closer to Lenalee and Chaozii. They were easy targets, and even idiots like Jasdevi would remark it.

"T-the gun's power changed!" exclaimed Lavi.

"It's not the guns. We changed the bullets" corrected Devit, smirking.

"I see" said Allen.

The twins seemed surprised to see him still standing, with his white glowing cloak floating around him and acting like his own shield.

"Those tricks earlier you were doing…" pursued the teen. "Are you the Noahs after my Master?"

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" I gripped my hair in despair. "Are you seriously fucking asking!?"

Seeing as none of them were listening to me, I sunk lower into my depressive state. Lenalee patted my back in pity.

"Judging by the fact that you're attacking me, and not Ary –who is apparently your other target-, it is safe to assume that my Master is well enough to cause trouble… Clown Belt!"

His cloak expanded, sending the twins crashed into opposites walls.

"Are you alright, Allen?" asked my only female friend present.

"Hai" he nodded, gripping his right arm. "But be careful. The bullets they're shooting aren't normal"

I narrowed my eyes at the ice forming on his arm. They could create ice?

There's something more.

I know.

"Hey, I want to know something!" called Jasdero. "If we used you as a hostage, would Cross come to us?"

"Not a chance" affirmed flatly the boy.

"Allen… your eyes say you don't trust him either" shuddered Lavi.

"No one trusts him, Bookboy" I rolled my eyes. "If we did, we'd probably all be dead by now"

"He's kind of a shady type, this Cross Marian" giggled the blond.

"He's the type of Master who'd throw his pupil as a diversion so he could escape" replied Allen in the same tone.

I snorted at that. It's because he did, the fucking asshole.

"Well then, this game…" Jasdero placed his gun on his own head.

"Will be a war with Jasdevi!" concluded Devit, doing the same gesture. "We'll let you be our diversion, Mr. pupil"

I don't like this, Hime.

Me neither, Gab. Diversion for what exactly?

How about you ask them? They seem stupid enough to answer.

I thought we weren't supposed to underestimate them.

I thought they were just morons.

Touché.

"Loading: Blue Bomb!" they shot at him once again.

"Try one of these, Cross's pupil!" yelled Jasdero.

As Allen evaded their attacks as best as he could, I couldn't help but remark that the gunshots were just like the one that kept echoing in my ears ever since they got here.

Each Noah, just like each Host, have a different aura. You can make the difference between them. Tyki and his smoke, Skin and the sweets, Jasdevi and the gunshots… it'll be difference each time.

Why don't I feel my friend's, then?

Because you're always around them. If you concentrate, you'll be able to sense them too.

So when you s-

"Loading: Red Bomb! Red Planet of Flames!"

"Holy crap!"

A giant fireball flew Allen's way, who stopped dead in his tracks.

"Cross Grave!"

The white haired boy managed to stop the attack, but another one was already coming at him.

"Ary, protect Lenalee and Chaozii" ordered Lavi.

"Got it!"

Krory and him then ran in front of Allen, ready to defend him.

"You bastards…" grunted Lavi.

"Allen isn't the only one…" pursued Krory.

"You should shot at!" they exclaimed together.

Then, using sheer strength and some Innocence, they sent back the fireball… only for it to disappear as the twins hit it with a White Bomb.

"Where'd it go?" the redhead's eye widened.

First ice, then fire, and now sheer disappearance? It's not the guns, it's the bullets. Can they make any sort of ability with them?

At the same time, Lero started cackling evilly, clearly mocking us.

"Oi, you want to meet the wall?" I threatened it's way.

"It's mocking us!" Chaozii gritted his teeth.

But as suddenly as the umbrella started laughing, it's fit stopped, replaced by some sort of fear. Then, it flew at the twins.

"Lord Jasdevi! This is no time to fool around! You have to kill Cross, remember? If Master Earl discovers you're messing around instead of doing your job, he'll be extremely pissed!"

At that, the others stiffened.

"They want to kill Master?" realized Allen.

By Father, this boy…

I really want to hit my head against a wall really hard, right now.

"Kiddo, you were Tyki Mikk's target, and he tried to kill you" I pinched the bridge of my nose. "If the stupid womanizer is their target, don't you think they're out to kill him too?"

"But you're their target too" Lavi remembered, a worried flash in his eye.

"We looked all over Edo and Cross was nowhere to be found, you worn out piece of shit!" yelled Jasdevi, threatening the damn pumpkin.

"What?"

"Okay, that's new" I frowned.

"The Marshall has completely vanished?" exclaimed Krory.

That's not good, Hime.

No shit!

"The Millennium Earl told us Cross might go after the Ark" informed Devit.

"We're only waiting for him to show up!" added Jasdero.

"Plus, we've got a special mission" they added, smirking.

They pointed their guns at Allen once more.

"Loading: White Bomb! Transcend!"

"Ary, what happened to Cross Marshall?" asked Lenalee, worried.

"No idea" I shook my head. "If he isn't-"

"ARY!"

Turning at Allen's voice, my breath hitched when something hit me square in the chest. Gazing down, I saw a hole forming where I was hit, a void expending on my whole body at an extremely fast pace.

"Tenshi!"

I shot a look at Lavi, confused and yes, a little scared, at the same time, before everything disappeared around me.

They pointed their guns at Allen once more.

"Loading: White Bomb! Transcend!"

The bullet flew towards the white haired boy, who was ready to deflect it but, at the last moment, the projectile changed direction and headed for the red haired girl, who was talking in low tone to Lenalee.

"ARY!" he tried to warn her.

She turned to look at him, but didn't escape the attack in time, and was touched in the chest. She looked down at herself as her body started disappearing.

"Tenshi!" Lavi's voice hid more or less his panic.

She glanced at him, confused, before vanishing.

"What'd you do to her!?" he yelled at the twins.

Those two were watching the old ordeal with smirks on their faces, their guns still fuming.

"We had orders for her" simply shrugged Devit.

"She's still alive!" assured Jasdero.

"Maybe not for much longer, though" they both started laughing.

The others clenched their fists. Now, they really had to move on to the last room, and fast. After all, it was the only place where she could have been sent.

Tenshi…

Lavi's grip on his hammer tightened, and his knuckles turned white.

Please, be careful.

So, Ary's been separated from the group! No worries, though. They'll meet back in the next chapter.

French traduction: "After all, it's not as if we risked our lives each passing second with those damn brats who keep slowing us down while everything could very well disapear with is still prisonners, right!?"

Question: It's not exactly a question, but more like a fact... well, since Devit and Jasdero are, phsyically speaking at least, two Noahs, I believed them having two targets instead of one made sense. It's all. I don't have any question for this chapter. Do you?

Reviews please!