Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

It's that time of year again. I'm sick and can't smell or taste a damn thing, my lips are chapped from breathing out of my mouth and my throat hurts. All-in-all, I feel like shit.

But I'm going to update, just for the hell of it. I had this chapter just sitting in my documents, so I decided to get it over with before I forgot.

And I'm sorry for doing that to Allen but it had to be done for the plot! *prepared to dodge any flying tomatoes* Hey… but the ending was sweet, wasn't it? Anyways, on with the story.

And yes, I do have a plot for this story (kinda).

NewMoonFlicker: I'm glad you enjoy the story ^^ I wasn't really expecting any reviews. And thank you for the comment, though I'm sure I could do better. I hope your story works out, as well. Good luck~

They carried on back to the hotel for the rest of the night, after all, it was still pretty early. The sky was still completely black. Once inside the room Allen sat down on the bed and curled his knees up to his chest, placing his chin on his knees. Lavi picked up a blanket and placed it on Allen's shoulders, who didn't respond to that. He turned back to Lenalee and Bookman who were sitting on their own beds, the cover drape tugged off.

"I take it you heard us fighting?" Of course they did, how else would they have known where to go?

"Yeah… what happened?" Lenalee looked worriedly around Lavi to Allen. She wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was okay, but it wasn't. If she did that, he would probably break down or not respond at all.

"I'll tell you later." Lavi sighed and sat down on the floor beside the bed. Might as well give Allen his room. He purposely avoided Bookman's gaze that said that this wouldn't be forgotten.

"I guess… we should go back to sleep." She put the cover back up and lay down.

"Yeah." He stood up and gently laid Allen down then crawled over him onto his own side, this time turning so he was facing Allen. He seemed to have snapped out of his thoughts and tugged the blanket until it was covering his face. But Lavi didn't miss the tear that escaped.

Lavi sighed and placed his hands on Allen's shoulders, startling him. He smiled in reassurance and pulled him closer into a hug. "It's all right, you know. I'll stop him." Allen nodded into Lavi's chest, feeling comforted, and closed his eyes. He was quick to fall asleep in Lavi's arms.

Lavi, meanwhile, was awake for an hour or two afterwards. What exactly happened when he wasn't around Allen?

Once they were all awake, they decided to set the plan into action. They paired up the same as they had when they first arrived. Allen with Lenalee, and Lavi with Bookman. "Okay, let's all try to get a lead, at least." Lenalee said. The others nodded and they dispersed.

Lenalee pulled the jacket closer to herself and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She glanced over to Allen, and was relieved to see that he looked a lot better. She'd noticed that yesterday he completely lost that gleam of life and joy in his eyes, but it was back now. It wasn't near as bright, but it was still there. He caught Lenalee's staring and looked over to her in concern.

"Is everything okay, Lenalee?"

"Yes, of course! I… was just worrying about you." A blush lightly dusted her cheeks.

"Worrying about me? I'm just fine." He smiled, "Thank you for the concern, though. Are you sure you're okay? You seem to have a fever." He reached out and gently cupped her cheek, checking for any signs of said fever.

She stuttered "Y-yes I'm sure. Let's continue searching for Innocence! S-shall we?" Allen retreated his hand and frowned but nodded.

They continued their search in comfortable silence. Every here and there Lenalee would steal a glance to Allen, but all she got was a peaceful smile on his face. How was he able to recover so fast? She still wanted to know what happened, but it wasn't the time nor the place to ask such a personal question.

"Your eye hasn't caught sight of any Akuma yet?"

"I'm afraid not. I have a feeling that's not a good thing. Remember yesterday, how the town was covered? It's almost as if they completely disappeared from existence." He frowned thoughtfully.

"Hm… maybe they found the Innocence or were ordered back?" Lenalee suggested.

"No, if they were retreating then they would have to pass near us and my eye would have activated. It's the same if they found the Innocence." Allen concluded.

"Oh.. maybe we should head towards the edge of town and see if they're over there?"

"It's the best lead we have right now, so I don't see why not." Allen smiled and they changed their direction so they were going around the border of the city.

Bookman stuffed his hands into his sleeves and looked to his apprentice as they walked. "Tell me what happened." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a demand. Lavi sighed. "I wasn't there to see the whole thing, but I'll tell you what I can." After a nod from Bookman, Lavi began explaining, with incredible detail, what he saw.

"So the Fourteenth Noah took over, and basically said that he can come back any time he wants." Bookman summarized. Of course, he memorized every detail told.

"Even Allen said he could." Lavi confirmed.

"So we need to keep a watch on him. I trust Lenalee can keep anything from happening, though."

"Of course. Lenalee's strong will to protect others will surely keep the Fourteenth at bay!" Lavi cheered.

"Stupid apprentice…" Bookman muttered.

Lenalee looked around, but not a single thing seemed to be out of place. "How strange… it's as if somebody drove them off" Lenalee was too busy to notice Allen's wince.

'Don't tell me this is my fault… then again, I think that half of the people I… killed… were Akumas.' Allen bit his lip as the memories rushed back. It made him feel sick. Those last few thoughts made him accidentally bite into his lip, but he paid no heed.

"Allen? You lip's bleeding!" Lenalee exclaimed.

Allen started and looked up, processing what she said, and wiped away the blood. "Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me." He gave a strained smile. "Allen… why can't you tell me what's wrong?" Lenalee quietly questioned.

"I just don't feel comfortable involving people in my concerns…" Allen sighed "Then are you saying you can't involve your friends?"

"Lenalee…" He had a pained look on his face. "It's not that, I promise. I just want to involve you."

"So you can't let your friends help you, you just want to carry the burden by yourself?! We don't want to see you suffer alone!" She turned and stalked off.

"Lenalee-" "Allen, let's just get this mission over with." Lenalee cut him off, walking a fast pace ahead of him, who still had yet to move.

Allen sighed and closed his eyes, gathering his bearings. He heard a slight shuffling sound, so out of curiosity he opened his eyes. Only, he had to go cross-eyed to see what was pressed against his face.

It was a gun. Of a Level Four Akuma.

"-!"

The sound of a gunshot (Or whatever they sound like) echoed the field in which they were currently occupied in.

Sorry for the cliff-hanger… I'll keep working on it, the chapter, that is. I rather enjoy cliff-hangers.

Review, please~? And this last part, along with most of the next chapter, will be based on a dream that I had that's been eating at me to write about. (Wow, I reread this last part and realized I had a lot of typos. I must have been tired or something.)

Hope you liked the chapter!~

Now, time to listen to Vocaloid. (Meaning for me Miku, Gakupo, and Gumi. I have a loooot of their songs downloaded on my computer.)

Random Fact of the Day: Gakupo has a vocalist in a few demo songs named Gackt. Gackt tends to cosplay as Gakupo as well, and looks very much so like him when he does.