Chapter Seven

Allen sat in his bedchamber, furious. He didn't really know anymore just who he was angry at. Angry at Road for deceiving and betraying him. Angry at Lenalee for hurting him like that, and for being stupid enough to think that he would be better off like that. For all he cared, Kanda could have her, and he hoped they were happy together. He still hated Kanda, but he didn't really bear him any particular ill over Lenalee. Most of all, though, he was angry at himself for being angry at everyone around him, and for being such a moron. After all, was he really so stupid that he so easily fell into Road's trap? Lenalee, Allen thought, must have thought him a real loser for being so naïve. Did Road ever really love him, or was that all just part of her plan? Did she just want information on the Dark Order? Maybe the Millennium Earl had put her up to it. And she had nearly succeeded. She had nearly gotten him to have sex with her. He felt so dirty suddenly, like he had touched something impure and unholy, something viler than the foulest pile of trash imaginable.

Immediately after he had gotten back to HQ, he had gone into the baths and locked himself in, staying in there for ten hours. Even he hadn't been sure what he was doing. The water had long since gotten cold by the time that he got out, and he hadn't washed himself, so he had only succeeded in wasting water and wasting a few hours. People had occasionally come up to the baths and tried to talk to him. Contrary to what he and Lenalee had believed, nobody was angry at him, and he wasn't in trouble. They weren't going to punish him for fraternizing with the Noah Clan. He wished they would, though. He wished they would whip him, or put him in prison, or do something that would prove to everyone else how pathetic he really was.

He was in such a deep state of melancholy that he had sort of drowned out the outside world. He wasn't listening. He wasn't paying attention at all. He just didn't care enough. For some reason, he was exhausted. Being miserable took a lot out of him, and he wasn't used to such loneliness. He felt like nobody cared about him, that nobody understood him, and that everyone was against him. Because of his melancholy, he didn't hear the knocking on the door that had been going on for almost five minutes. Miranda was standing outside with a tray of food for him, and she was hesitant to come in without his permission. The door wasn't locked, but she had never just barged into anyone's room before. Finally, she sighed, and spoke.

"Allen, if you don't object, I'm coming in…" she said gently. Miranda had changed a lot from the depressed, and chronically unlucky woman that they had met in that town. She was a lot more cheerful, now, and she could smile, and laugh, even. She was still quiet and a little bit shy, but she was reliable, and was always there to help when she was needed. After waiting another moment and not getting an answer, she pushed the door open and walked in to find Allen just lying on his bed, facedown in his pillow. He wasn't crying. He didn't have enough energy left in him to cry. He was just lying there, waiting for who knew what. Maybe he was just waiting for death's cold embrace to claim him. He hadn't eaten in a little over a week, and it was showing. He had lost weight, and his clothes were baggy and droopy on him.

At first, Miranda thought he was dead, since he wasn't moving, and it looked from behind like he wasn't breathing. She screamed and dropped the tray where she was standing, causing several people to look up and come running, including Lenalee and Komui. When they got to Allen's room, they saw Miranda by the bed, shaking Allen fruitlessly.

"Calm down, Miranda. He isn't dead…" Komui said with a small smile. Komui looked back and told everyone else to leave. "Lenalee… Perhaps you should go back to what you were doing."

"No! I want to talk to him!" Lenalee protested loudly, looking at Komui with determined eyes.

"I'm not sure if…" But he stopped in the middle of his sentence and nodded, walking out of the room, but silently waiting on the other side for a moment, before finally walking away. When Lenalee was certain that Komui wasn't listening anymore, she walked over to Allen and sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Allen looked over at her, eyes rimmed black from lack of sleep and from lack of food. His whole face had become terribly pale and gaunt, and his cheekbones were beginning to protrude from under his eyes. His normally beautiful white hair was limp and frizzy from over a week of bed head. He would have looked funny had Lenalee not known that the situation was so dire.

"Allen-kun, talk to me…"

"Don't call me that. She called me that. I never want to hear that name again…" he said, not yelling, but in a soft, rather cold tone that indicated that he wasn't really interested in talking.

"Allen, I know you're angry at me, but can you at least listen. You don't have to say anything, just listen to what I have to say."

"I'm not angry at you. I'm hurt, but I'm not angry. I'm not even angry at Road. Manipulation is just in her nature. It's what she does best. A leopard doesn't change its spots. No. I'm angry at myself for making such an idiot of myself. I fell for Road's trap so easily. I can't possibly be that stupid, can I!?"

"Allen, listen, I talked to Road the night that you snapped, remember? She had all of this planned out from the beginning. All the cards were in her hand, so to speak. All she had to do was lay them down. She knew all along exactly what my weaknesses were, and exactly what your weaknesses were. She knew about the memories of the fourteenth inside your mind. That was her offer, to get rid of them, and in return, she wanted me out of the way. Allen, I don't expect you to forgive me… I-I just want to know if you hate me or not…" she said, tears glistening in her eyes. Until that moment, Allen had only been listening marginally. But now, he was at strict attention, listening to every word that Lenalee said. How could he possibly hate her? He had never felt any ill will toward her. At first, he was angry at her for thinking that he would want to be saved like that, by making a deal with the Devil, so to speak, but anyone could have been tricked by Road's honeyed words, and subtle actions. After all, all of this had gone on right under the noses of the entire Dark Order.

"Lenalee, I could never hate you. I don't know if you still believe me, but I really do love you."

"Then, you really hadn't fallen in love with Road?"

"I thought I had. But it was all a lie, just like the cake," Allen said with a small laugh at his own joke. Lenalee looked at him, confused. She didn't think that anyone had ever mentioned a cake. However, she decided not to question Allen's statement, and she hugged him tightly, pulling him into a warm embrace that she wished would last forever. Suddenly, though, there was a loud knock on Allen's door. Allen stood up, smoothed out his hair a bit and walked over to the door and opened it only to see a large package right before him.

"Um, you're Mr. Allen Walker, right?" came a gruff voice from behind the box. Allen nodded and took the clipboard, signing for the package and pulling it through the door. It was heavy, and somehow, it fit through, even though it was bigger than the doorframe.

"I-I didn't order anything. Do you think that I should open it?" Allen asked curiously. Lenalee nodded, so Allen took a blade out of his pocket and cut the box open, pulling out what was inside. It turned out that there was a large assortment of items in there, including a small television and cassette player. The cassette player was ancient technology, but the television actually looked pretty new, and with it, there was a tape to watch. It looked homemade, so Allen plugged everything in and put in the tape. Immediately, a blue screen popped up, and then a picture of Road's own face. Allen fell back, startled at first, until he realized that it was indeed just a video. Behind Road, her room was quite as gloomy and gothic as Allen had imagined that it would be. It had incredibly high ceilings and he watched as Road set everything up and then said,

Is this thing on?

Good.

This final note is to Allen Walker. I don't expect you to believe me when I say that I am truly sorry for what I did to you and Lenalee, and that I wish you both the best of luck together in the future. I promise that I will never bother you again, as I will soon no longer be among the living. Allen, you once said that you believed it was your job to save the souls of the Akuma that fight for the Earl. To that, I can only offer you good luck, and hope that you know what you are getting yourself into.

As at least one member of the Order has probably suspected, Akuma are much more than simple weapons with souls. Indeed, they are the energy source for all of the Millennium Earl's power. I can't say more on this video tape in case this is being listened in on or gets intercepted. I have some friends that will collect this tape, and the rest of the package that you have before you now, and will send it to you. That is how it got there. In addition, I have given you over a millennium's worth of scientific and magical research that is likely to be very intriguing to your R&D Department. I suppose I should count myself lucky that I have chosen to commit suicide, because if the Earl ever found out about this, I would suffer a much worse fate than death, I can assure you. I would be forcibly stripped of my Noah powers, and if that didn't drive me insane in itself, he would torture me for several years, kill me, and then force my soul into an Akuma to become another slave in his army.

I know that I am not high on your list of people to trust, but please believe what I say as a last will of sorts. The Millennium Earl is an incredibly dangerous being, and there will be a day soon when he will rise to full power once more. If you thought that he was already powerful, you have not seen anything yet, for he has estimated that he is only at about 5% power at the time. Back 5000 years ago, he ruled the entire known world with an iron fist, and everyone alive and dead were subject to his laws. Beginning on the day when Lunar Perigee coincides with the full moon on 08/09/10 (1910), his full powers will awaken again, and he will be unstoppable. You must defeat him before then, or you will have no hope. The reason that he has not come after the Order and destroyed it already is because while at any one time, he may have enough power, his current level of power could not withstand a prolonged battle with the innocence. Therefore, he will wait until that fated night, and then when he is at full power, he will steal all the souls from both heaven and hell, and force them into Akuma to fight for him. He will have an army the likes of which has never been seen before on this earth.

With that, I must force myself to conclude this tape, as I believe that I am running out of tape to use. Goodbye, Allen. Perhaps, if God sees fit to forgive me, I'll see you in the next life. Lenalee, I beg your forgiveness as well. I was always envious of how strong and beautiful you are. And 1… 2…

Road climbed up the ladder to the beams of her room. Allen and Lenalee didn't want to watch, but their eyes were glued to the screen in horrified curiosity. They watched as Road slipped the noose around her neck and tightened it, and then tied a heavy rock around her feet. Apparently, the beam was pretty strong, if it was going to be able to support such stress on it. They watched as she took a deep breath, and they couldn't help but notice that she was crying while she was doing it.

3

And she jumped. Allen and Lenalee both knew that it was just a video, but neither could stop themselves from screaming out "NO!!" as she plummeted down and they saw the rope jerk and heard a sickening crack that was Road's neck snapping. For a moment, Road gasped, and stiffened, then she went utterly limp. The video stayed on for maybe thirty seconds more, and then cut off, having reached the end of the tape.

Allen looked over at Lenalee, who looked winded and horrified. After a moment of stunned silence, Lenalee hugged Allen again and cried into his shoulder. Allen just sat there, shaking his head. Maybe she really didn't have any other options. Maybe suicide really had been the only way out. But he would have liked to think that there was always another way. Finally, the two got up and went over to the box, which was easily as tall as Allen himself, and looked inside. As Road had promised, there were thousands of documents inside that would have to immediately go to the R&D department. Also inside, though, there was a large bag that was filled with nothing but candy and other sweets. Allen almost laughed when he saw this, but took a piece of hard candy out and started sucking on it. He offered some to Lenalee, but she refused, saying that she didn't really feel like eating at the moment.

*10 years later*

The war had been over for years, and Allen and Lenalee had gotten married. Komui hadn't been happy about it at first, especially because of the way that they broke the news to him. It basically went down the way that it always did, when Allen walked into Komui's office and bent over and whispered in his ear "Chief, Lenalee and I are getting married…"

Instantly, Komui had been on the warpath, but he had calmed down… after a few months, and had decided that there were worse people that Lenalee could have gotten married to. Now, Allen and Lenalee had two children of their own, a boy and a girl, and the girl was at that age at the moment when nothing could quite manage to sate her curiosity. So, that day, she had decided to steal Allen's candy stash and hide it. It was certainly an odd habit, a candy eating habit, but some people smoked, some people drank. Allen ate candy constantly. Overall, it wasn't the worst thing for him. However, he did get rather irritable whenever he ran out, or when someone hid it on him, either as a prank, or to get him to stop eating candy. Well, today, his irritation was directed at Road Kamelot Walker.

The two children looked at their father, wide eyed and giving that pleading look that always seemed to work on him. Then, Road asked, "Daddy? Why do you eat so much candy?" It was a question that she had always wanted to ask, and her brother, Mana Walker, who was the shy one of the two, had also wondered, but had never asked.

"Well, Road-chan… I suppose it started about ten years ago when I was fifteen. An old friend of mine who's dead now got me started, and I suppose I could have stopped, but I continue eating candy in honor of her. You know, if she hadn't given up her life, you two wouldn't be here right now. She saved the entire world from being destroyed…"

"Allen! What kind of tall tales are you filling these kids heads with, now!?"

"Nothing, dear! Just telling them about how I came to be such an avid candy eater."

"You mean how you never met a simple sugar you didn't like!?" Lenalee asked reproachfully. Allen laughed brightly, and said, "Oh, is that what happened!? I had forgotten. Are you sure that I can't interest you in a chocolate bar, honey!?"

The End