Cross My Heart
Author's Note: Hello again! I've been M.I.A. for a while, I know. Nevertheless, all excuses aside, I managed to FINALLY finish! Go me!
To Lathya: I'm such a terrible author/updater. Go on. Let me have it! I've kept you hanging for so long...lo siento, my friend! Lo siento!
To laguna-moomba: Thank you for your kind words! I worry too much, apparently. I'm funny as anything, though. "Debtors can't be choosers..." I have no idea where that one came from...And yes. The girls' bathroom. Best spot EVER! But, again, don't know where that one came from either...I guess that's what I get for writing in the wee hours of the morning...
To Reanie Campal: I've never written anything quite like...this before, so thanks for the encouragement! Plus, I didn't want their relationship to develop like every other romance story out there...no more cliche!
So here you go...
Chapter 16: Bombardment
He didn't know how much time had passed since the heavy steel doors slammed closed behind Leverrier and what appeared to be a squadron of crimson-clad CROWs from Central, but it had been long enough to cause Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi to begin whispering loudly among themselves, much to the older exorcist's chagrin. The Japanese exorcist shifted slightly on the windowsill, ignoring his three other comrades leaning against the wall a few yards away. Howard Link stood silently nearby like the good little Junior Inspector he was.
"What do you think Central wants?" Lenalee asked while glancing at the conference chamber.
"No clue," Lavi replied. "Komui just said that we're here to observe the meeting between the senior generals and branch heads with Central Command at the American Branch."
"How can we 'observe' if we aren't even allowed in the room?" Allen asked with a scowl.
"Think about it, baka moyashi," Kanda interjected before Lavi could answer, "you're the Fourteenth Noah. Why would they let you in a room full of important members of the Order?"
Allen glared at Kanda for a moment before turning back to Lavi and Lenalee.
"I have a bad feeling. Something doesn't feel right," the white-crowned exorcist murmured.
"Don't worry, Allen-kun. I'm sure everything is fine," Lenalee said with a reassuring smile.
Allen returned the gesture, but Kanda could tell that the boy was still somewhat skepticdal despite Lenalee's infectious optimism. The Japanese exorcist was on edge as much as Allen was. They all were. The Earl was going to make his first move in months, and the exorcists could do nothing but wait as the shadow continued to creep ever closer towards them.
"So Lenalee, were you able to talk to Rouge-chan some more last night? You know…about that?" Lavi asked after a long silence.
"I was planning on talking to her after dinner, but she said she wouldn't talk until she got cleaned up," Lenalee replied. "I waited for her for a while in the cafeteria, but she never showed up, so I left."
Kanda felt his cheeks grow warm and turned to glare at the window before the other three exorcists could notice.
"Where do you think she went? It's not like Chloe to just disappear without saying anything to anyone," Allen asked.
"I don't know. It must have been a spur of the moment thing," Lavi stated.
Kanda knew exactly where Chloe had been and what had kept her from meeting back up with Lenalee. He pressed his cheek up against the cool glass pane and prayed it would erase the blush staining his pale skin.
"Ne, Yuu-chan, did you see Rouge-chan yesterday after your mission debriefing?" Lavi asked.
The Japanese exorcist didn't have to look to know that the red-haired boy was grinning widely. He could hear it in the Bookman apprentice's voice. Lavi wanted Kanda to react, but the Japanese exorcist wasn't going to fall for the bait.
"Che. Why would I be anywhere near Bellerose?" Kanda asked with a frown.
"Because friends hang out together, Yuu-chan, that's why!"
"Lavi's right, Kanda," Lenalee said. "You and Chloe-chan are friends, so it's only natural that she'd come to see you."
"Bellerose and I aren't friends," Kanda grumbled in his best annoyed tone.
"Guess it'll remain a mystery then," Lavi said with a dramatic sigh.
"Miranda-san said that she has a room near Chloe's. Do you think she would know?" Allen asked.
Kanda's eyes widened slightly upon hearing that information, and he made a mental note to find the German woman and interrogate her the moment they returned to Headquarters.
"I dunno. No harm in askin'," Lavi replied.
The conversation ended as the heavy doors slowly swung open, and the four exorcists waited anxiously for any familiar face among the crowd pouring out of the conference chamber. The first to appear was Komui, followed closely by General Tiedoll and General Cloud Nine flanking the supervisor with General Sokaro bringing up the rear.
"How did it go, Nii-san?" Lenalee asked.
"All is well, Lenalee-chan," Komui replied. "Are you guys ready to go home?"
Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee nodded, and Kanda leapt off the windowsill. As the group neared the Ark room, Allen winced and brought a hand up to cover his left eye. The party drew to a halt as all attention turned to the Brit.
"What's wrong, Allen-kun?" Lenalee asked while placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"My left eye hurt for a second," the white-crowned exorcist replied as his hand dropped back to his side.
The boy's cursed eye wasn't fully activated, but the white of his eye had turned black. Sanguine liquid dripped from Allen's eye in a morbid semblance to tears.
"Allen-kun, you're bleeding!" Lenalee exclaimed while reaching into her jacket for a handkerchief.
"Can you sense any akuma?" Komui asked as Lenalee wiped up the blood dripping down Allen's cheek.
"I thought I did," Allen replied. "I felt something for a moment, but then it was gone."
"We should hurry," Cloud Nine stated with her usual frown.
As soon as the words left the general's mouth, a shrill alarm bell began ringing. It was the signal for an outside attack. Without a word, the exorcists all but sprinted down the hallway towards the Ark gate room. The group made it only as far as the steps leading up to the Ark before a commanding voice bid them all to halt.
"What's going on Inspector?" Komui demanded as Leverrier walked towards the group.
"There has been a security breach. No one is allowed to leave the building until I say so!" the man hissed.
"What kind of 'security breach' do you mean?" Komui asked.
Leverrier scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.
"During the meeting, your branch was attacked by a squadron of akuma," the inspector stated after a moment. "Link has been attempting to communicate with your secretary, but the connection was lost about ten minutes ago."
"What are we standing here for? We have to protect our home!" Allen exclaimed while turning towards the Ark gate.
Leverrier grabbed the back of the white-haired boy's uniform and hauled him away from the stairs.
"I said that no one is leaving! Not even you, Allen Walker!"
The man tossed Allen towards his fellow exorcists. Lavi managed to catch the boy before he hit the ground and glared at the inspector.
"Why the hell not?" the Bookman apprentice asked. "We have the right to protect our home and the people livin' in it!"
"All of you are precious exorcists that we cannot afford to sacrifice, Bookman Junior," Leverrier replied.
"Let us go! Chloe-chan and everyone else are there fighting for their lives! We can't just sit here and not help our friends!" Lenalee cried in despair.
"They joined the Order knowing that their lives could end at any moment. Besides, who will protect this branch should the lot of you leave? How many more lives will you be risking then?" Leverrier shot back.
Before any other retorts or challenges could be issued, Link came skidding into the room.
"Inspector, we have managed to make contact again!" the junior inspector exclaimed whilst catching his breath.
"Good work, Link," Leverrier said while heading for the exit.
Komui waited until the two inspectors were out of earshot to turn to the group of fuming exorcists standing behind him.
"All of you received wireless transmitters last week, correct?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?" Lavi replied.
"I will follow after the inspectors and listen in on communications between the branches. I will give you orders as soon as I know the full details of the situation. Lenalee knows the frequency," Komui stated while turning towards the door.
"Be careful, Nii-san!" Lenalee called as her older brother disappeared into the hallway.
Silence fell heavily over the group of exorcists. Waiting was the last thing they wanted to do knowing that their home was being attacked. However, with no other options, the exorcists stayed put. Komui would call them when the time was right.
As Komui made his way into the inspector's "command center" as they called it, he could hear a familiar voice echoing through the room over a static-filled transmission.
"The akuma haven't broken through the barriers yet—shit! Get away from there, idiot!"
For a few seconds, the only thing anyone could hear were gunshots, explosions, cries of agony, and curses. When the harsh sounds died down, Leverrier spoke into a microphone.
"General Bellerose, have the akuma gotten inside the building?"
"What do you think, Leverrier? We need back up! We're outnumbered one hundred to one!"
"I can't do that, General Bellerose. You will have to deal with the situation as—,"
"This is not some simple 'situation,' Leverrier! There are scientists and civilians that could be killed, not to mention Hevlaska! Lose her and you lose every piece of Innocence we have fought and bled and died for!"
"That's precisely why you, Miss Bellerose, are hereby ordered to protect Hevlaska with your life. She is irreplaceable. Leave the scientists and everyone else to their own devices."
The connection went silent except for harsh breathing and static for a moment. A long string of curses in French and Spanish suddenly spewed from the speakers as another series of explosions sounded nearby.
"What are your orders, Komui?"
All eyes widened and immediately searched the room for the Chinese scientist. Komui stepped out of the shadows with a smirk.
"Protect everyone, Chloe. Hevlaska, the finders, the scientists, the exorcists, Jerry, Matron…everyone," Komui replied.
"Understood. Can I expect back up anytime soon?"
"Consider it done," Komui said while reaching into his jacket.
He pressed a small button on a concealed transmitter in his inner breast pocket, and a smile graced his lips as Leverrier and Link raced past him towards the Ark room.
"I owe you one, Komui."
"We're even now for the time you saved Kanda, so you don't owe me anything," Komui stated.
"If you say so."
"Lenalee and the others should be arriving soon, so don't you die, Chloe. Do you understand me?" Komui asked.
"Aye, aye, el Capitan. I'll do my be—sapristi!" (1)
"What's wrong?"
"What's the combination to open the weapon's vault?"
"Why do you need that?"
"Now's not the time to ask questions, Komui! What's the damn combination?"
"Watch your language, Chloe!" Komui chided. "You're in the presence of God!"
"Komui!"
"10-13-21."
"Took you long enough."
Komui heard a loud click and another string of curses.
"You've been hanging out with Kanda again, haven't you?" Komui asked.
"As much as I'd love to talk about my personal life right now, I've got akuma to kill and people to protect. Can we talk about this some other time?"
Komui chuckled.
"Got get 'em, Chloe-chan. Buena suerte." (2)
"Adios, Komui."
The line filled with harsh static a moment later, and Komui silently prayed for a safe return…for everyone.
The group of exorcists split up just before they entered the Headquarters gate. Lenalee and Cloud Nine headed East from the gate, Lavi and Sokaro went West, Allen and Tiedoll went South (after much negotiation), and Kanda headed North.
Kanda only encountered level 1s for a while, but the closer he got to the center of the building, the stronger level the akumas became. The Japanese exorcist realized grudgingly that he wouldn't be able to go any further forward without assistance. However, he quickly found that turning back was not an option either, not with a band of level 3s at his heels. Kanda cursed silently. He was being backed into a corner.
"Kanda!"
The Japanese exorcist didn't spare the familiar face a glance as he slashed through another level 3. Before he could attack another akuma, the killing machines were caught up in a tangle of wires. A familiar hymn filled the air a second later, and the akumas screamed and writhed in the wiry prison until they exploded.
"What're you doing here, Marie?" Kanda growled out while wiping the blood from his Innocence weapon.
"Saving you, apparently," Marie replied with a smile.
Kanda glared at the blind man but didn't comment.
"What's the situation?" the Japanese exorcist asked after a moment of silence.
"I'll explain when we get to the cafeteria," Marie replied while turning his back to Kanda.
Kanda followed after Marie with a scowl. Neither exorcist said anything until the large room was reached, and the Japanese exorcist was almost shocked to see only a few of the tables covered in bloody bodies. Matron and the other medical staff moved from table to table with Miranda and Bookman nearby tending to any wounded person brought into the room. Most of the Science Department and the finders were crowded onto one side of the room among various other Order members, and strangely, most of them seemed relatively unharmed.
"Miranda is keeping the most grievously wounded within her Innocence's barrier so the doctors have a chance to save them, and Bookman is doing everything he can for the ones the doctors must overlook. Chaoji and Krory have been periodically delivering injured people here for the past couple of hours," Marie stated. "Chloe sent Timothy to the Asia branch when the attack began, and she assigned Krory, Chaoji, and me to protect the cafeteria at all costs."
"I'll stay until the vampire or the idiot shows up. They're probably on their last legs anyway," Kanda stated with a frown.
Marie smiled and made his way over to Matron and the other medical staff to see if they needed help. The older exorcist knew what Kanda really wanted to do and was glad the boy had enough impulse control to refrain from leaping blindly back into the fray. Maybe the boy was growing up after all...
Lavi knew that General Sokaro was slightly insane, but not that insane. The man was destroying the building as much as he was destroying the akumas. It didn't take long for the red-haired boy to get separated from the general. Lavi cursed his bad luck as he dodged the akuma bullets flying towards him. The level 1s and 2s weren't difficult to take out. It was the higher leveled akumas that were becoming a real pain for the Bookman apprentice at that moment.
Lavi cried out when an unexpected blow to the back knocked him off his feet and into a wall hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs. His vision went in and out of focus as he forced himself to take in oxygen, and he realized with great horror that his hammer had been knocked from his grasp when he hit the wall. The red head cursed when he saw the level 3 towering over him with a blade-like arm poised to impale him. He closed his eye as the akuma lunged and hoped dying wouldn't hurt badly.
"Allez vous-en, sapristi!" (3)
Lavi gasped when the blow meant to end him was parried, and he cried out in surprise when he was shoved completely to the ground. He lifted up his head in time to see a sword being shoved into the level 3's chest. With an agonized cry, the akuma exploded, leaving Lavi to the mercy of his mysterious savior. A dirt-streaked hand was shoved in his face a second later.
"Rouge-chan!" the Bookman apprentice exclaimed as he took the red-haired girl's hand.
"As touching as this reunion is, I suggest you activate your Innocence before the next wave of akuma shows up," Chloe stated while sheathing the blade she held.
Lavi nodded and reached for his trusty hammer. Chloe began to jog down the crumbling corridor, and Lavi followed closely at her heels after activating his weapon. The red-haired boy noticed that his fellow red head was covered head to toe in dirt, sweat, and various sharp-looking weaponry. She didn't seem injured, but with Chloe, one could never tell until she passed out or was in Matron's capable hands.
"Where're we goin', Rouge-chan?" the Bookman apprentice asked as they weaved through several unfamiliar passages.
"Hevlaska's chamber. I need to strengthen the barrier again," Chloe replied.
"You can make barriers?"
"It's one of my many special talents."
Lavi chuckled at Chloe's attempt at humor.
"How many came with you through the Ark?" Chloe asked as they neared Hevlaska's chamber.
"I was with General Sokaro, but he went off on his own a little while ago. General Tiedoll is with Allen, General Cloud Nine went with Lenalee, and Kanda went off alone," Lavi replied.
Chloe nodded while drawing to a halt. Lavi stopped as well and watched as his fellow red head lifted her right arm up in front of her. A glowing orb of light emerged from Chloe's upturned palm a few seconds later, and the air shimmered briefly a few inches from her fingertips as if it were an invisible wall. The ethereal sphere of light slowly rose up and collided with the nearly imperceptible wall, filling the dim corridor with blinding radiance. Chloe made a satisfied grunt as the light faded. Lavi blinked the dark spots from his eye and attempted to catch up to the red-haired girl as she strode quickly down the crumbling hallway past him.
"Where're we goin' now?" he asked as Chloe took a turn down a corridor he didn't recognize.
"To the cafeteria. I want to be sure Matron and the others are safe."
The girl stopped suddenly once again and turned to face the wall on her left. She pressed one of the cement blocks that made up the wall, and Lavi's eye widened when he heard a soft click followed by the sounds of multiple gears turning.
"What is that?" the Bookman apprentice asked when the blocks of cement began to move around to create a hole in the wall.
"Shortcut," Chloe replied while taking a step through the new entryway and into a narrow passageway.
"How did you find this 'shortcut"?" Lavi inquired as he followed after his fellow red head.
He jumped when he heard the blocks beginning to return to their original positions and heard Chloe chuckle softly from a few feet in front of him.
"I couldn't sleep," she said after a few moments of walking through the darkness surrounding them.
"So…you went lookin' for secret passages to pass the time?"
"You could say that."
After a long silence had fallen between them, Lavi opened his mouth only to collide with something in front of him in the sightless abyss. He stumbled back a few steps with a wince.
"What're we stoppin' for, Rouge-chan?" Lavi asked while rubbing his aching forehead.
"There's something up ahead," Chloe replied.
"Then what're we standin' here for? Shouldn't we go an' investigate?"
Chloe remained silent. Lavi would've repeated his question, but he shut his mouth upon hearing steel scraping against iron.
"Lavi, I know you can't see, but can you go back the way we just came?"
"Sure, but why do—?"
"Please, Lavi. Just trust me and go back. Allen and General Tiedoll are nearby. Go with them to the cafeteria to regroup with Kanda and the others."
"But what about—?"
"Lavi, just do as I ask. Please."
The Bookman apprentice could hear Chloe's seemingly commanding tone trembling with every word she spoke. He didn't want to comply, but he knew Chloe wouldn't be telling him to leave without good reason. Lavi slowly turned around and placed his hand on the wall. He took a few tentative steps forward before coming to a halt.
"Once we finish with the akuma, we're coming to get you, you hear me, Chloe?" Lavi said.
"Loud and clear, Lavi. Now, go. Quickly!"
Lavi walked away as quickly as he could. He realized after a moment that he didn't know how to open the entrance to the passageway and contemplated turning around again. However, light suddenly cut through the darkness in front of him. Lavi chuckled as he neared the newly formed exit. Chloe never ceased to amaze him.
Lavi had just emerged from the secret passage when he heard the sound of steel clashing against steel followed by a strong gust of wind that sent him flying through the air. The moment the Bookman apprentice scrambled to his feet once more, the hole in the wall was sealed up. Lavi cursed and sprinted down the hallway. He needed to find help, and fast.
Translations:
(1) Sapristi = "Damn it" in French.
(2) Buena suerte = one of my personal favorites, which means "Good luck" in Spanish.
(3) Allez vous-en = "Get out" in French.
(1) & (3) were provided by The Awakening by Kate Chopin. It was the last novel we read in my AP English class this year, and I sort of...borrowed a line from the text. Yes we, the book was very enlightening and taught me many useful French phrases I bet French teachers wouldn't tell you! Ha!
Anyway, this is the first chapter I've posted since...March? Sounds correct. Sorry about that. I was the dork (a.k.a. IDIOT) that decided to sign up for 4 AP classes this year. Yeah, that came back to bite me these past three months. However, I'm done with school and have no exams to worry about anymore! (Now if I could hurry up and graduate, that would be great...)
I apologize for the fact that it took FOREVER to update. Don't be too angry...please? And yes, you're probably pissed because I didn't pick up where the last chapter left off. I'm working on it, I swear!
Until next chapter! :)
(Reviews make the author feel good, whether you hated it or loved it!)