Maiden-of-the-midnight-moon: Yes, I believe that I just implied that Allen is the Earl's grandson—well, physically he is. But his soul is a part of Neah Walker's.
Chapter 16
"What's going on, Allen?" Mei Lin asked as Allen hurriedly focused on something. Then she gasped as a huge structure appeared in front of her.
"We have to leave. Come on," Allen held out his hand to her and Mei Lin grabbed onto him. She let Allen pull her through the structure and shuddered as the dark pressed around her. Then, there was light. Mei Lin opened her eyes and gasped at the sight before her. It was a white town filled with pretty Western houses and beautiful flowers.
"This is amazing," She gasped.
"We have to hurry, Mei Lin." Allen tugged on her hand, seeming somewhat nervous. "Kanda?"
"I'm here." Kanda came out of the door behind them.
Allen frowned, as if hearing a sour note in the air and he gasped. "There's no more time. We'll have to hide within the Ark itself."
Kanda stared at him. "They will find us." He said in a low tone.
"I know. But there is one room that they do not know of. As long as they do not know or cannot enter the room, we will remain safe." Allen replied, humming a tune under his breath quickly. Another door appeared in front of them and Allen took them through, just as a checkered door appeared in the Ark.
"We'll be safe here." Allen told Kanda, leading Mei Lin to the couch in the room. Kanda deposited their bags on the floor with a grunt and collapsed into one of the chairs littering the room.
"How did they find us?" Kanda asked.
"I don't know. I am sure that they don't know…" Allen frowned then he realized something. "Of course! They have Wisely with them!"
"Wisely?"
"He has the ability to read other people's minds. When we were at the manor, I was wondering about where we should go to—he must have picked that thought out of my head." Allen explained.
Kanda looked slightly worried. "But don't you have anything to block him out of your mind?"
"Well, since I am the Noah of Destruction, I can use my abilities to destroy that connection that his ability uses to connect to my mind, preventing him from 'hearing' my thoughts. Of course, it is a tricky process and I haven't been using my powers in such a long time." Kanda noticed a cold gleam in Allen's eyes and understood that he was talking to Neah.
"What's happening, Allen?" Mei Lin asked, looking up at Neah with wide eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"Don't worry, Mei Lin," Neah gave her a fake smile. "Everything's alright. We just have a problem with my family."
"What's wrong with them?"
Neah smiled, "Let's just say that they don't really approve of my choice and they're trying to get me to change my mind about joining the Black Order." He lied cheerily. "Now then, let's see what's going on down there." He walked over to the piano in the room and pressed a key. A huge screen popped up in front of them, displaying six Noahs entering the Ark through a checkered crowned door.
"Huh," Neah said, "They sent Road, Tyki, Jasdevi and Wisely after me. This could be tricky."
"What are you going to do, Allen?" Mei Lin asked curiously.
"Nothing much. Just welcome them to the city." Neah replied absently as he pressed a black key. The sour sound filled the room, sounding discordant in the silence.
On the Noah's side, a small doll popped out of the ground immediately. It looked like Tyki with longer, straighter hair. Jasdevi and Tyki jumped at sudden appearance of a doll, but Road and Wisely paled. They recognized who the doll represented.
"Hello, my fellow siblings~" the doll said, an exact imitation of what Road did to Lavi two years ago. "It's been so long since we met, don't you think so?"
"Siblings?" Tyki asked.
"Neah," Road gasped. "You're still alive."
The doll tilted its head to one side. "Well, hello, Road, I hadn't expected to see you here."
"Neah?" the twins asked Wisely.
"That's the name of the previous incarnation of the 14th Noah." Wisely told them. The fact that this figure would appear here… No, the only one who could manipulate the Ark like that was Neah Walker… This meant that Neah was still alive.
"Neah," Wisely said to the doll. "What are you planning?"
"Oh~ Wisely, it's been a long time since we met…" the doll turned to him and smiled eerily. "Well? Can you hear what I'm thinking now?"
Wisely blinked at focuse on the doll, not expecting to hear anything from it. But what struck him was a plethora of images from the time that Neah had gotten drunk—and what he'd done.
"Stop that!" Wisely yelled as he dove behind Road, trying to regain his sanity. "That's uncalled for, Neah!"
The doll laughed in amusement before it did a small twirl. "So, why are you here? Come to check up on me?"
"Yes and no." Surprisingly, it was Tyki who replied. "Tell me, are you the one who is residing in Allen Walker's body?"
The doll blinked. "Residing?" it laughed. "Such an unpleasant word! Although… I'll have you know, Tyki Mikk, that I am not residing within Allen's body, but rather that the boy is part of me."
"Part of you?"
"Of course. His soul was part of mine, once."
Road gasped and the doll smiled horribly, "Yes, Allen Walker is the 14th Noah, but I am also the 14th Noah. In short, we are kind of like the Noah of Bond."
"But that can't be!" Road protested, "The twins are the only ones that that bond—"
"Ah, but you see, Allen and I are joined with the soul but we are sharing the same body. It's rather funny, isn't it? And when the Earl falls, I will have a hand in it too…"
"You wouldn't get anywhere near the Earl," Tyki muttered as he pulled a Tease out from his body, sending it towards the doll and destroying it immediately. Then he turned to Wisely, "Can you hear anyone within the city?"
Wisely turned around in a full circle, apparently trying detect signs of people. "No." he shook his head finally.
"Well, then, that doll was just a distraction." Tyki stretched, seemingly disappointed. "The hunt is on."
"So that's what you meant by using your powers?" Kanda asked Neah as the Noahs left the Ark.
"Yeah. They're dependent on Wisely, who tells them what the prey is planning to do or whether their prey is there or not." Neah replied. "However, if Wisely cannot find you, it usually means that the other Noahs can't, too."
"And?"
"And what?" Neah looked at Kanda.
"What are we going to do now? Are you going to leave the Ark and have them find you again?" Kanda asked.
Neah thought for a moment before he shook his head. "I will stay here. I have the information I need to figure out the Final Exorcism and Allen will need to train that little brat without any disturbances, anyway."
"What about food, then?"
"We can get those easily. I can open a door to a village or something and you can go and buy stuff from there. You can leave the lodging to me, I'll open doors to some of the rooms in the Ark that have beds." Neah replied.
"Fine."
"Allen, could you tell me the story of how Innocence came to be again?" Mei Lin asked as Allen tucked her into bed.
"Alright," Allen said as he settled himself next to Mei Lin. "Once upon a time, there were fourteen angels that helped God to judge the souls and send them to Heaven or Hell. However, the angels soon grew tired of their work and decided to rebel. Just then, a demon appeared and offered to help them in their bid for freedom, although, in actuality, he was casting a spell over the angels that enabled him to control their actions and thoughts. Frightened that the angels would realize what he had done to them, the demon removed the essence of the fourteen angels—their faith and love in God. He divided their essence into a hundred and nine pieces and scattered them around the world before unleashing the fourteen angels. After which, the first humans found the Innocence and started the First War which resulted in a Period of Darkness. Years later, humans discovered the essences of the fourteen angels and a record left behind from those who had fought in the First War. They decided to name the essences Innocence."
"What happened to those angels?" Mei Lin asked sleepily, "Were they able to escape the demon's holds?"
"Well, as far as I know, not yet." Allen replied as truthfully as he could. "But one of them is free from the demon's holds."
"Really?" Mei Lin said, eyes sparkling. "You never told me, Allen."
Allen smiled, "You never asked."
"What did he do to escape?"
"Well…" Allen frowned in thought, "I don't know about that either, but his powers allowed him to escape, I suppose."
"Will he free the others too?"
"Yes, he will. One day." Allen told her.
Mei Lin looked rather thoughtful. "You know, Allen, I saw this vision in my crystal ball the other day…"
"Vision?"
"Yes… It was of a group of men with strange weapons fighting another group of men… Then there was you, watching them from the sidelines… Then suddenly, when all of them were engaged in battle, your Innocence activated and stopped all of the men in black suits and there is a bright flash of light and all of the Innocences appear and enter the men you captured. There were also some black strands unraveling from them and then the vision stopped." Mei Lin told Allen.
Allen nodded as he took in the information. She had seen him carrying out the Final Exorcism. While this showed that there was a possibility that Allen would be able to carry it out, he was well aware that he did not know the actual process of the Final Exorcism. What if he couldn't control his powers? He could easily destroy most of the battlefield without much effort as his powers were highly destructive.
"Allen?" The aforementioned looked down at Mei Lin. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing, Mei Lin." Allen smiled kindly. "I was just thinking. Now, go back to sleep."
"She saw me carrying out the Final Exorcism, Kanda." Allen told his lover as he flopped into a chair. "Now, if only I could figure out how am I going to release them from this 'curse'…"
Kanda listened in silence as Allen repeated what Mei Lin had told him. Then he spoke. "It seems as if it has something to do with black strands woven around their body."
"Yes, those are probably evidence of the 'curse' left on them." Allen replied, his tone holding frustration. "But I can't even see those strands of darkness that she mentioned about!"
Kanda remained silent for a moment before he asked, "What about your eye?"
"What eye?"
Kanda gestured towards Allen's left eye. "Weren't you able to see human souls with that eye? Surely it would make sense for you to be able to see those black strands."
Allen reached up to touch his bandaged eye. "It has not recovered yet." He replied.
"I know that too." Kanda said. "But don't you think it is a possibility?"
"Well…" Allen sighed, "The last time this happened was when I met Krory. It evolved back then."
"Don't you think that could happen again?" Kanda argued. "Your eye evolving again to suit your needs?"
"It isn't exactly that, Kanda. You don't understand." Allen retorted heatedly, his spine stiffening. "My eye has nothing to do with what is happening now."
"So you say." Kanda bit back. "But don't you find it funny—how you seem to get defensive about that eye when I talk about it?"
"I—" Allen stopped and rubbed his temples. "You're right." He admitted finally. "It must be Beelzebub."
"Oh?" Kanda raised his brow. "What about Neah? He seems to be subconsciously influencing you."
"Neah is one thing, but I originally used to be part of him, so this is not relevant to why I am acting this way." Allen replied. "Beelzebub must be trying to get me under his control again." Kanda noticed the change in Allen's speech.
"Well, Neah, what are you planning to do now? You have to admit that that left eye does not have anything to do with what is happening." Kanda said.
Neah nodded once. "A blessing from Mana. Did you know, Mana used to be the apprentice of Bookman, once?"
Kanda stared at him. "Bookman?"
Neah nodded. "He left, though. That's why Bookman had to find another apprentice this late in his life."
"What did he exactly do when he left that curse on Allen?" Kanda asked again.
"I'm not sure, either." Neah frowned as he touched the bandaged eye. "It has been marked by an Akuma, yet it leaves no threatening residue of dark matter behind. But to be marked by a soul of one who has loved you... and to survive the initial assault by the Akuma that was that soul's prisoner… Very intricate." Neah mused, shaking his head. "I think that this is the link we have back to our world."
"Our world?" Kanda said.
"Oh, I was just thinking to myself." Neah waved a hand at Kanda. "But I'm not referring to this world. I'm referring to the world of the dead."
"You can't mean—"
"We will have to leave this world, Kanda." Neah explained. "Angels are not part of this world and neither are Innocence or Noahs. We are meant to be under the service of the Lord. It was only because of that demon's interference that we Fell and came to this world to create chaos. Demons are the ones who will tempt those of this world to Hell and even they have very little power over humans. It is only rare cases that bring them here. We are the ones who do the administrative work—we are the judges, in a sense. And that is why we are needed by the Lord. Although I sense that we will have a millennium's worth of work to complete when we return. And then some."
"What about you?" Kanda asked, his voice strangely choked. "Will you…" his voice trailed off.
"I will be leaving with them, Kanda." Neah sat back in his chair, looking strangely amused. "You don't think I would be here forever, did you?"
"I… Well…" Kanda stammered, seemingly at loss for words. Neah laughed at him.
"I can understand what you're going through, Kanda." He told the teen, smiling at him. "However, I have a word of advice to you: don't choose the wrong person."
"What do you mean?" Kanda choked out finally.
Neah's smile widened. "Who do you like, Kanda? Me or Allen?"
Kanda had no reply to that.
"It's starting, Earl." Tyki settled himself at the table, the last to show up for the family dinner as he had been busy carrying out the Earl's orders. "The Exorcists are out of the nest and trying to control the Akumas swarming the world."
"Good, good," The Earl clapped his hands together, announcing the start of dinner. "Good work, Tyki-pyon."
Then he turned to Wisely and Road. "How did the mission go?"
Road poked at her food. "He got away."
The Earl smiled, "How?"
Wisely broke in. "I think he's starting to regain his memories, Earl."
"Yes, I think that too. But how did he manage to get away? Wisely could have found him, couldn't he?"
"Uh," Wisely said wisely. "I can't hear him anywhere… So I think he's in that room of his."
"What room?"
"That room that we never managed to find in the Ark." Wisely said. It had started out as a challenge to find the room, but none of the Noahs were able to find it and it remained a secret until this day.
"The 14th's room." The Earl mused. "That accursed room!"
The Noahs stared at the Earl in fear. Never of them had ever seen the Earl this furious. It rivaled the fury that the new Noah of Wrath, Sklein Buriec displayed.
"You will find that rat and kill him." The Earl turned to Road. "Do not fail!"
And for a moment there, Road saw the image of a figure darkly imposing upon the Earl; bat-like wings and eyes filled with flame, strands of darkness trailing out of its hands and wrapping around each of the Noahs. A mouthful of sharp teeth and red skin that wept fluids at a slightest movement it made. It grinned in delight at its prey, raw muscle showing through its skin.
And then, it was gone as soon as she saw it. Road shook her head, dispelling the disturbing image and replying to the Earl. "I understand."
It had been at least a week since they had resided in the Ark because of the Noahs. Allen was still recuperating (his eye). He had decided that they would remain in the Ark until something from the outside world required his attention. He already had his hands occupied with training Mei Lin, anyway. The girl was learning to use her Innocence and Allen felt slightly regretful that she would not be able to work on her abilities in the future due to the Final Exorcism that would summon every piece of Innocence regardless of where it was back to the angels.
Mei Lin had understood his feelings and had patted him on the hand. "I know that this is the last chance I'll have to work with my Innocence, Allen. Don't worry, I'm sure there will be some other way to help the people out there."
The door banged open, interrupting their lesson and Kanda appeared, looking flustered. Allen and Mei Lin stared at him in surprise. Kanda had been out to get some food for them and he had left only three minutes ago and he had told Allen to open the door for him when he had completed his lesson.
"What's wrong, Kanda?" Allen asked.
"It's starting!" Kanda panted, his eyes wild. He gulped in some more oxygen before he continued. "The Noahs are attacking!"