A/N: I own nothing

Allen gently smoothed Clio's hair as she laid, silent and still, on the ground before him. If it wasn't for the gaping wound in her stomach, he would've thought that she was asleep.

"She looks so peaceful." he said softly.

"Death does that." said Nea from where he was standing on the other side of the cave. He had been searching for a way out of the cave but there were no entrances and no exits, which made him wonder how Apocryphos had gotten them in here in the first place. What really frustrated him was the fact that he couldn't use his Noah ability to blast an exit out of here. The reason being that he could sense that this cave was directly on a nexus of ley lines and if he tried to blast his way out, he would blast both himself and Allen to kingdom come as well. He had also discovered that neither him nor Allen could summon an Ark gate, their influence on the Ark just wasn't strong enough to reach through the interference of the vast magical energy that surrounded them.

Only Clio would've been able to do so had she been an awakened Noah but as it stood... he and Allen were basically doomed. If Apocryphos didn't come back and kill them, they would die of starvation.

"Why?" asked Allen suddenly "Why did it have to be her?"

"I don't know, Allen." said Nea "I honestly don't know. Fate works in funny ways."

"But it isn't fair!" said Allen, his voice almost loud enough to be a yell "It isn't fair! She didn't deserve it! She hadn't done anything to deserve it!" there were tears in his eyes again "She was the kindest and most caring person I have ever met. Her heart was gentle and pure and she could still bring herself to love people even after they treated her like the scum of the Earth!" he sobbed a bit as he added softly "I wish it had been me instead. Why couldn't it have been me?"

Nea looked away from the scene, tears flowing down his face as well. It hurt, god it hurt to see Clio laying on the floor, cold and lifeless, and the pain welled deep inside of him, deep inside his soul.

He knew that his time within Allen had affected his soul, making it resonate at a near identical frequency to the white haired Noah and had connected him to the same mate.

Clio...

She was different. He had known it from the first moment Allen had met her. Nea had felt some long hidden part of him call out to the black haired girl with the bright green eyes that held so much pain. Clio was bright and shining like the sun yet dark and warm like the night. Ill will held little place in her heart which, while scarred and wounded, overflowed with compassion and kindness.

When Allen had claimed the White Ark, the memory he had left there had rejoined him and he had seen the first time she stepped foot into the Ark. It was at that time that Nea had realized exactly who Clio was.

She was Eve, the most beloved of the clan and the lost wife of Adam.

The Ark loved Eve and it had recognized her even after all these millennia despited her having a new form and a different name. It had summoned her without her knowing in order to reforge their connection, which was far deeper and more intimate than what either he or Allen could ever hope to achieve.

Shaking his head, Nea made his way back over to Allen and couched next to him.

"Allen." he said "I know how your feeling. I was part of you soul for a long time after all. Believe me when I say this, if we're feeling the pain of her death, the Earl is feeling it as well." Nea leaned back on his haunches as he looked up at the ceiling "It is more than certain that he will lose whatever bit of sanity he had left." Allen looked up at Nea and a faint glimmer of fear was visible in his eyes.

"That isn't good, is it?" asked Allen.

"Let's just say," said Nea as he looked at Allen "That the world might end again."

"I feel even worse now." said Allen. A heavy sigh passed Nea's lips before he jerked suddenly, his hand coming to rest over his heart as he leaned forward a bit.

"Nea?" said Allen in shock "Are you alright?" Nea didn't answer him. He was too busy trying to figure out why it felt like his heart was trying to leap out of his chest all of a sudden, each beat sounding painfully loud in his ears. He felt something but he didn't know what that something was until something came to the front of his mind: His Noah powers had come from a shard of Eve's soul.

Then it struck him.

He had a shard of Eve's soul inside of him!

And that shard felt as though it was reaching for something.

Clio's body, perhaps?

"Nea?" said Allen curiously as Nea moved to the other side of Clio's body "What are you doing?"

"My powers were born from a splintered part of a specific soul." said Nea "A soul that was later reborn as her." he motioned to Clio "That shard of soul is still inside of me. Perhaps we can use it to call her back."

"Is that even possible?" asked Allen.

"We will never know unless we try." said Nea "And we have no choice but to try, the fate of the world depends on her." He took a calming breath before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Clio's. To Allen's amazement, both of them began to glow and when Nea began to pull back, a silvery vapor passed between their parted lips. The glow faded from Nea and grew brighter around Clio until it began to pulse.

Then there was a brilliant flash of light and power that sent Nea and Allen skidding back and they their arms raised to protect their faces from dust and debris that had been kicked up and, oddly, heat. As the storm of power ebbed, Nea and Allen lowered their arms and were amazed by what they saw.

A glowing figure was standing there before the glow slowly vanished, revealing Clio.

Only she looked different.

Her hair seemed even blacker, so black that it had gained a blue tint to it, and it cascaded in soft waves down to mid-calf, which was more than double its previous length. Her pale skin had darkened to the gray hue common amongst Noah and she had gained seven stigmata on her forehead while her eyes were now a brilliant golden color.

"Clio?" said Allen as he hesitantly stepped forward, only to find himself with his arms full of his crying mate. Allen blinked as tears gathered in his eyes and he hugged her close for a moment before pulling back and kissing her.

When they finally parted, Clio looked up at him.

"Allen." she said, tears falling from her eyes "Allen, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Clio." said Allen as he nuzzled her cheek "It's alright."

"I hate to intrude." said Nea "But we need to get out of here and do something about Apocryphos before his plan becomes reality. And to do that, we need an Ark Gate, which neither Allen or I can summon at the moment."

"It's already done." said Clio with a smile as an Ark Gate opened up beneath them and swallowed them.