Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. I just wanted to thank all of my reviewers for keeping me inspired!
"Stay close to me, and hold your breath until we clear the fumes."
They were standing outside of the double doors that led into the mess hall. A cold silence had replaced the sounds of battle and death that Lenalee remembered leaving behind only an hour before. Her eyes traveled from the eerie quiet doors to the man in front of her. The air around him seemed electrified with tension, his shoulders so stiff and straight that she was sure if she landed a direct hit on him with her Dark Boots he wouldn't budge. Allen splayed his fingers of his left hand on the doors, took a breath as if to steady himself, and then stepped through the threshold with Lenalee trailing close behind.
Going through the double doors was like entering a freezer. Lenalee was sure that she would have been able to see her breath ghost about her face if the room hadn't already been filled with a thick, corrosive gas rising from a layer of what appeared to be silt on the ground. With a shocking jolt, she realized that the ashy covering was the remains of her friends who had been killed by the pentacle rash – a gift from the Level 4s. Her hand flew to her mouth, stopping the sick that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt something wet land on her fingers and she realized that she had begun crying.
"Lenalee? We should keep moving," she heard Allen say tersely as he moved to place a comforting hand on her back. But Lenalee twisted away just out of reach. She couldn't bear the physical contact, let alone from the man that doomed them all. She hardly noticed Allen's hand lingering outstretched in the air.
They began to walk again, treading carefully over the black smoking sand. The gas was so dense that she could barely see a few feet in front of her and so thick that it muffled the pair's footsteps. Chairs and tables splattered with food emerged out of the heavy fog, quiet ghosts that reminded Lenalee of how her life had been just before the attack. The further they moved into the mess hall the quicker her heart raced.
Up ahead, it appeared the gas was clearing. A horrible feeling washed over her as she could almost make out two blood-red numbers floating near the ceiling ahead. Then, the arc came into view, along with the winners of the war.
Lenalee's eyes first recognized the fat, bulbous body of the Earl. He stood at the front, the other Noah standing in a line behind him with the exception of Road, who hovered above, riding a clearly indignant umbrella, which was punctuating its reprimands with huffy "Lero!"s. Lenalee gritted her teeth at the sight of his incessant smile.
"Ah, welcome back, my dear Musician. I see you've caught another one to add to the pile," the Earl's sickeningly sweet voice cut its way through the fog as he nudged a pile of rags at his feet.
A pile of rags that let out a groan and shied away from his touch.
A pile of rags with red and black hair.
"Lavi! Kanda!" The names tore themselves from Lenalee's throat as she bolted out from behind Allen who lunged desperately to pull her back, but she was too fast and danced nimbly out from between his fingers. Her feet barely touched the ground as she flew to a sliding halt on her knees, directly in front of the barely conscious pair.
"Lena…Lenalee… what's up? Jeez, you look awful," wheezed Lavi as he squinted at her with his swollen eye. Kanda simply grunted but lay motionless. It seemed that moving was a task too difficult for him at the moment. The girl let out a short, wet laugh, genuinely smiling through her tears of joy. If they were alive, then there was still a chance. Hope was still alive. All of her determination and strength desperately clung to the lives of her friends. She would protect them. She would be strong. She would–
A light touch on her shoulder shook her out from her thoughts. Silhouetted by the lights overhead, Tyki had moved behind her, his hand tightening into a painful claw-like grip. He stared down at her, catlike. Her heart stilled as she heard him murmur,
"I want this one."
"Now, now, Tyki-pet," the Earl chuckled. "It's only fair that Neah gets to keep his spoils, isn't that right?" Allen shifted uncomfortably in his place but didn't object. The Noah of Pleasure sighed, releasing his hold on Lenalee who moved to cradle her shoulder, feeling slightly nauseous.
"Well, if that's the case, I get Mr. Moody. That's no fun," Tyki whined, stuffing his hands into his pockets and sauntering back to his position by the Earl.
…Spoils? Lenalee's brow furrowed. Is that all they were? Toys?
"Now you've got it, woman," a voice drifted in lazily. It was Wisely. "What are we supposed to do for a year while we wait?"
"Wait for what?"
Wisely smiled knowingly, but turned away, having lost interest. Even more troubled now, Lenalee looked back down at Lavi and Kanda, brushing a loose strand of dark hair from the latter's face. They looked so peaceful asleep. Meanwhile, Allen had joined the other Noah, moving rather stiffly. He kept turning back, shooting quick glances at the three exorcists. The Earl gave the mess hall one more look-over, as if satisfied with his work, before retreating back to the Arc.
"Come now, children. We must prepare for the next stage."
And one by one, the Noah filed into the inky blackness that was the gate of the Arc. Lenalee suddenly felt herself standing up. Panic flooded her system, followed by confusion as Lavi and Kanda followed in her stead, their eyes still closed and heads bobbing loosely. She tried to call their names, but found that her mouth wouldn't listen to her thoughts.
"Don't act so surprised, woman," Wisely. "Now hurry along." And like sheep following a shepherd, the three exorcists found themselves stepping into black oblivion.
The tinkling of a melody sang softly through the air, full of melancholy and futility. It rose from the white grand piano like smoke, dissipating slowly into the room of white walls. The Musician played away, pouring his thoughts and emotions into the music. He could tell his music anything and everything, and it would always be there to listen. But… but now, listening wasn't enough.
What's wrong with me? I'm a Noah, right? Right? The melody picked up pace, jarring chords slipping in between the cracks that began to form in the music. Then why– his ash fingers slammed on the inverted chords– why do I feel– his elegant song was now nothing but a memory–
"WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I LOST?" Fists pounded the keys, an angry horrible sound screeching from the instrument. The silence that followed was only punctuated by his ragged, heavy breathing. "Why," he whispered, eyes staring at nothing, "does everything feel so wrong?" He slumped in his seat, head down on the piano keys, hands covering his head. He sat there, motionless, even when he heard the barely perceptible creak of the door to the room opening.
"Neah? I figured you would be in here." Her bare feet padded quietly on the pearly floor as the waifish figure of Road quietly sidled up to him on the bench, enfolding her arms around him in a hug and leaning her head on his shoulder. He didn't move.
"The Earl is worried about you," she murmured. "I looked for you all over the Arc before I realized you probably were in the white Arc. You always did like this one more." No response. Road frowned.
"That was a pretty interesting song you were playing," she ventured. Still nothing. Sighing, she shifted and wrapped her arms around her legs, tucking her chin onto her knees. The two of them sat like this in silence before Road finally spoke again,
"Anyway, the Earl is calling for a meeting in about two hours. I think he's going to talk about Stage Two and some other stuff… I wasn't really paying attention…" Her words trailed off as her eyes snuck a peek Allen stayed silent.
"Fine! If you want to just sit here and pout and sulk like a girl, be my guest!" With a huff, Road stood up dramatically and made her way to the door.
"Remember! Two hours!" She slammed the door behind her. Just outside, she slumped to the floor and rested her head on the wall, closing her eyes.
"Neah… what's happening to you?"
Lenalee felt that she should have been more scared, what with being locked in a dark room in the middle of the Arc with no way out and all, but she was glad Kanda and Lavi were with her, even though they weren't conscious. The Noah had taken Lavi's hammer and Kanda's Mugen, but when they realized that her Boots had evolved into the crystal type, they merely wrapped her legs in seals to prevent her activation. Sighing into the blackness, she picked at the seals. It was like trying to peel iron.
The room that seemed to be their current home was empty, or at least she hoped. She would rather not think of the possibility that there was something in the room other than herself and her two friends. There was only one window, and from what she could tell it was nighttime. A shuffling to her right alerted her to Kanda who had awoken from his stupor and was now propping himself up with his arms. He was barely visible in the darkness, the only light touching his body coming from the miniscule window on the ceiling.
"Where…?" he began, sounding as if he hadn't spoken in ages. Lenalee quickly scooted over and helped him into a seated position.
"We're in the Arc right now," she began, looking him over for any glaring injuries she could deal with for the hundredth time. He was in much better shape than Lavi, who did not have the dark haired samurai's impressive healing ability.
"And the others?" His question was met with silence. Lenalee bowed her head. She was about to speak when a second rustling noise sounded beside her, followed by a dazed moan.
"Someone… turn on the lights," Lavi grunted as he less-than-gracefully rolled into his stomach, pushing himself up into what could almost be called an upright position. "Where are we?"
Lenalee repeated herself and also checked the redhead for any wounds she might have missed. His cuts had stopped bleeding, but the large lump on his head filled the girl with unease.
"Do you feel all right, Lavi?"
"Oh yeah, I feel perfectly fine after getting the snot beaten out of me by butt loads of Level 4 Akuma and the Noah Clan. Peachy keen." Catching the look on Lenalee's face, he started and continued, "But if you're talking about my head I'm okay. I know what a concussion feels like." Lenalee let her shoulders relax, but they tightened up considerably when Lavi's voice echoed through the room.
"Where's everyone else? Where did Allen go?" She could feel the two staring at her, but she couldn't bring herself to face them.
"We're… we're the only ones left of the Black Order now." She hated the way her voice trembled as she spoke.
"…even Gramps?" Lavi's voice was much weaker now. "But, what about Allen? No way would he let himself get killed by the Noah."
"Allen is dead," Lenalee heard herself snap quickly, as if the longer she waited the harder it would be say. There was a stunned silence in the darkness, and then:
"What? As much as the stupid bean sprout annoyed me, I find it hard that this situation killed him," Kanda spoke impatiently.
"I mean, the Allen we know is dead. He's with the Noah now." It was as if saying it out loud confirmed what had happened was actually real. Her walls were starting to break – she could feel herself slipping over some invisible precipice, struggling to keep herself grounded. Remember, you still have Lavi and Kanda. They are here with you now, even if he isn't. She took a deep, stabilizing breath, and finally looked up to catch her friends' eyes. Kanda looked stunned. Lavi just looked confused.
"Wait a minute, I don't understand. So he's out there fighting them right now or something?" Lenalee half-wondered if Lavi was faking this misunderstanding to cope with the gravity of their condition. He was a Bookman, after all.
"Don't be a moron, stupid rabbit. She means Allen is the enemy now," Kanda said in a dark voice. He looked downright furious, the thin light casting his face in shadow save for his glinting eyes. "Did you catch his real name?"
Oh. His Noah name. Lenalee frowned, trying to remember. Her mind felt thick and fuzzy. Too many things were happening at once.
"Um, I think it was–"
"Neah."
The trio whirled around to the direction of the voice and Lenalee heard Lavi curse under his breath. When had the door opened?
The Noah of Dreams stood in the doorway. She stood there languidly as her eyes drifted from each of the three exorcists. As they passed over Lavi, her face broke out into a grin.
"I remember you, Bookman," she said gleefully. "Oh, you were so much fun to play with the last time we met." Lavi only scowled, his hand twitching over where his hammer would have been. But finally, Road's eyes flickered over to Lenalee. The Chinese exorcist almost fell back from the malicious intensity in the Noah's gaze.
"You. I need you."