Chapter Title: Worldly

Chapter Description: A dream ends and a nightmare begins. When the bookmen leave the Order, Allen gets news about his beloved that he doesn't want to hear.

A/N: This chapter… was a witch to write. Seriously. This fic has been pretty good so far, and been coming on time each week, yeah? (Well, at least compared to the other stuff that I have on the site…) And I've been pretty diligent about getting it done on time but… MAN. I could not write this week at all (writer's block, not lack of time), which is why this is a lot worse than usual. Plus, fanfic was being all weird about this document. I could have been able to post this two days earlier, but it was acting all wonky... I apologize and maybe for my mental sanity, I may take the next week off. The good news is, I finally know where the plot is going! That's good, right? Ahaha. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, you all make me smile. And to all of you people who favorite or alert this story without reviewing… shame on you there. SHAME. But have fun reading this, though it's shorter and later than usual. I'll try to get over my writer's block as soon as possible

Disclaimer: I do not own -Man, because if I did, Timothy would appear more. I like that kid's spunk.

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"I had a dream that you were with me, and it wasn't my fault."

-'My Never' by Blue October

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"How is it that you're even here right now?" Lenalee asked. "Is this real?" The way that his breath felt warm and prickled on the back of her neck and the way that while she leaned against his chest she could hear his heartbeat felt real enough. If it weren't real, then how could she hear the faint buzz of the Innocence keeping his heart from falling apart or the moistness of each sweet breath of his?

For a moment Allen buried his head into her hair, just enjoying the feeling of being with Lenalee once again. It had not occurred to him how lonely he was amongst the Noah. Yes, they were cordial, but even Road didn't know him the way that Lenalee and the other exorcists did. "I don't know. I'm asleep right now; I really am… Or at least I should be." Allen had the face that he always had on when he was confused. It was nice to see that just because he was now a Noah, not everything about him was different. "I do remember going to bed."

It was apparent to Lenalee that parts of Allen had changed, besides the skin. More assertive than before, he was unafraid to hold her close to him, and while he had once been so polite in speech and manners, all formalities of his speech were gone. It had been less than a week since the two of them had parted, but Allen seemed to have matured a lifetime.

"So did I." For a moment the two of them were silent, but the subject that had been on the top of Lenalee's tongue the entire time came tumbling out. "Allen, the Order is probably going to try to kill you first. With the knowledge you have, you're a bigger threat than even the Earl right now." Pausing, she put her hand in his. "I'll probably have to try to kill you the next time we see each other." A single tear fell down her cheek. A gray hand reached up and wiped it off, lingering on her skin for just a moment.

Sighing, Allen removed his hand and placed it on hers. Gradually, Allen guided her hand up to his cheek and placed it there, cherishing the warmth. "And I'll have to try to kill you too, along with everyone else in the Order because we're enemies, and that's what we have to do." As he spoke his grasp on her hand grew tighter, more pained and anguished. He didn't want her to see how insecure and how frightened he was of what was going to happen to all of them, but for a moment his vulnerability shined through his mask.

Before being able to protest, there was a voice from some place seemingly above them. "Lenalee! Lenalee!" His attention shot up, and Allen looked apprehensive. His grip tightened exponentially on her hands and she turned her face over to see the same look that Allen had every time that he was desperate about something.

Placing his hands on both of her cheeks he frantically said, "Goodbye Lenalee, I love yo-"

"LENALEE!" Violently being shaken awake by Lavi, Lenalee was pulled out of her dream before she could even hear Allen's last word. A tear fell down one of her cheeks; who knew when she'd be able to hear him say that again? Part of her wanted to curse Lavi for waking her up to soon. There was so much that she had wanted to tell Allen, even if it was just a dream and not the real person. "Thank goodness, are you alright?"

On one side of her was Lavi, on the other was Link, and both of them looked somewhat worried for some reason. "I'm fine. What happened downstairs?" Her voice was breathless and there was a thin layer of sweat on her skin. As she was sleeping Link and Lavi could hear her mumbling, a few times she said Allen's name. The two boys looked at each other for a moment.

It was Lavi who spoke the terrible news. "Lenalee, we've been ordered to kill Allen if we ever come into contact with him, no exceptions. Now he's our number one priority now, and anyone seen making contact with him in any fashion will be punished severely."

"Oh." Was all that Lenalee could say. She knew that she should speak out against Allen. Her brain cried out for her to angrily announce to everyone how traitors deserved to die and that she would be more than willing to be the one to take Allen's life, but her tongue failed her. Instead she said nothing and did nothing but stare vacantly towards Lavi.

There was a look in Lavi's eyes, something in-between pity and regret. It was a sort of look that Lenalee could relate to in the past couple of days. But why it was directed at her, she wasn't sure. "Why are you staring at me like that?" She whispered to the two boys. A pit of fear formed in her stomach. It wasn't like Lavi to be so quiet.

His voice came out no louder than her own had been a few moments before. "Lenalee, Inspector Levrier wants to see you in the morning." As Lenalee's eyes widened in horror, Lavi looked away, his voice filled with anguish. "You're being tried for treason against the church for helping a Noah."

--

It was incredibly strange to be traveling without his hammer. Not since it was destroyed in the Ark had Lavi gone anywhere without it. In a way he felt naked without it hanging on his leg, naked and vulnerable. That Innocence was really his lifeline; it could withstand attacks from akuma and make travel a hell of a lot easier. Without it he felt weak.

"Junior, keep up. If you lag behind then I may just leave you." Walking at a much quicker pace than usual, Bookman hurried along a path unknown to Lavi. Their destination had not been told to the junior bookman, but he could guess where they were heading.

"Aye, gramps, what's the rush?" He said as he caught up to the older man. "I think that it will still be there even if we take this at a leisurely pace."

Without any warning, Lavi was unceremoniously hit on the back of the head. "Stupid junior." Bookman hissed as he took his hand back. "If we don't find it quickly then there's no saying that it won't move again." He said as Bookman quickened his pace. It was sunrise and it felt like the brightness was burning Lavi's eyes.

Knowing that it was useless to ask what Bookman was talking about (each time that he had tried, he had gotten various sorts of bruises), Lavi continued along, trotting along behind Bookman, not knowing where they were going.

"What's this I see? Not one, but two exorcists without their Innocence." Laughing, one of the Noahs seemed to appear in front of them from nowhere. "What should we do with them? Rip them limb from limb ourselves or let the Earl have some fun?" The one who spoke Lavi remembered as being named Cyril. The white haired one next to him, however, Lavi had not yet seen.

The white haired one and Lavi locked eyes for a moment. "Cyril, they're not here to fight." A smile grew on his face and Lavi couldn't help but to think that it was rather sinister looking. "They're not exorcists, they're bookmen."

The other one looked at him with a funny face. "But Wisely, they're exorcists! I've seen them with the others multip-"

"We are bookmen, we go where the trend of current events leads us," Lavi was waiting for the repercussions that would happen from interrupting the Noah, but strangely, they listened to the old man. "Which is why we are here. The exorcists are now on the losing side of this war, and in order to document things we must change alliances." For a moment he paused with something like hesitation and fear in his demeanor. Apparently Wisely picked up on this.

Wisely grinned, loving the vulnerability that the bookman showed for the first time. "So you've come to us, because we're going to be the ones winning this war?" Bookman nodded. For a moment Cyril and Wisely made eye contact with one another, as if deciding something between the two of them without speaking.

"Cyril, I'll let you handle these two." Was the last thing that Lavi heard before Lavi and Bookman's bodies began to move without their consent, and as they, like zombies, began to stumble away, they both blacked out.

--

In all honesty, Allen really liked the insides of the Ark. It was so white and pure; it was a place that always seemed to be summer. Light from the artificial sun made the white buildings sparkle and glitter like a city of jewels. Lost in thought, Allen could spend hours just wandering around the beautiful city.

From behind him Allen could smell smoke. "What is it, Tyki?" He asked annoyed. This was his day off. Since he and the others had done so well annihilating the Asia Branch, today was supposed to be a day where Allen could just relax and adjust to being a Noah. Though it was increasingly difficult to set his mind on killing things when dreams of Lenalee had kept him so…

"There's some news from the Earl, lad." Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Tyki smiled. "Something that I thought that you'd be somewhat interested in." Allen turned around to face the grinning Noah, and said nothing. "A few of your friends are coming to stay, lad."

Allen's determined looking face turned confused. "What do you mean by that?" He asked. "I thought that all of the Noah had awakened. Why would more come?"

In response Tyki laughed. "Of course they're all here. That's not what I'm talking about."

Irritated, Allen narrowed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to play Tyki's games. "Then what are you talking about, Tyki?"

A cruel and torturous smile formed on Tyki's face as he smoked a bit more. Watching Allen get worked up over such small things was getting increasingly more fun for Tyki each day; it was nice for him to have a new toy. "Two of your exorcist friends, have ceased to be exorcists."

The words made the color drain from Allen's face. Mouth agape, Allen was prepared to ask whom, but Tyki just laughed. "You should see that look!" He said as he cackled away. After regaining a bit of control, though still chuckling, Tyki continued to address Allen. "I don't mean that they're dead, lad. I said that they quit being exorcists." It was hard for Allen to hide his sigh of relief. "The bookmen have joined us; they've given up their Innocence and will be documenting the story from our side until it's over."

The surprise was almost too much to take. "You mean-?" The words came out too fast and too excitedly. Internally swearing, Allen tried to make himself look more apathetic. "You mean Lavi and Bookman have joined us?"

Around Tyki a swirl of smoke began to form. Swirling to and fro it formed small patterns and shapes that disappeared in a matter of moments. There was something sad and beautiful about the impermanence of it. "Yes, lad, that's right." There was no smile in Tyki's voice anymore. As he turned to walk away he added, "Maybe it'd be a good idea for you to stay away from them. They may cause you a bit of trouble."

Tyki walked away, the cloud of smoke following him.

Allen didn't know what to do. The bookmen had no contract with the Order; it was their choice to do as they pleased. The only reason that the two of them joined the Order in the first place was because they thought that they should document from the side that was more convenient. Apparently, convenience meant the side that was winning.

Were the Noahs winning now? It was a strange thought to have. For so long Allen was so sure that the Order would triumph in the battle between black and white that he had never even considered the possibility of the Noahs having a chance at victory even though he had become one of them. But if Lavi and Bookman were changing sides, then it was quite possible that he was now on the winning side of this war.

His initial gut reaction was to immediately go find Lavi and Bookman. To apologize for what he did to the Asia Branch and try to get them to tell him any news of Lenalee that they knew. Allen's second thought, however, was that he should stay put. To heed Tyki's warning and to stay away from them because they would just make old memories and emotions that he was trying to suffocate resurface and make his loyalty to the Clan of Noah waver even more than it already was.

In an instant, Allen's decision was made for him. "You seem contemplative, Allen, that's sort of new, isn't it? Did it come with your new skin or something?" Allen turned around to see Lavi behind him, his eye narrowed and angry.

Lavi's words made Allen angry. "You betrayed the Order just like me, Lavi." With that remark Lavi's eye widened for a moment before reverting back to its glare. "Don't try to deny that fact and don't try to act as if you're better than me, human." The language tasted foreign on his lips, though two days ago looking down upon mortals seemed natural. Inside of Allen anger and fear stirred together making him feel like vomiting. Part of him had hoped that he would never have to see his friends again; that he would never have to face them as the enemy. This was not the scenario that he had hoped for.

"Don't compare our situations, Allen. It's not like I could choos-"

"It's not like I could choose either, Lavi!" Allen yelled, and Lavi looked slightly taken aback. "You can choose not to be a bookman, if you don't want to, but me…" He trailed off and staggered a few steps backward before speaking once again. "I couldn't choose this. It just happened."

For a moment Lavi felt some sympathy towards the traitor, but just for a moment. "Sure, Allen, and you couldn't just walk away from here and decide to live a normal life?" Momentarily he paused. "Even if you didn't want to be an exorcist anymore, anything would have been better than becoming a Noah."

Terrifying thoughts filled Allen's mind; Lavi didn't know what it truly meant to be a Noah. There was no escape. This love for his family and for the Earl was not his own. It had been thrust upon him and he was forced to accept it. If he were to go against the Earl it would have been so painful that it would be like going through the worst kinds of torture. "What about you, bookman?" He managed to say. "What about the fact that you're supposed to have no worldly connections? You seem to have become pretty attached to the Order as of late!"

It was a low blow, and Allen knew that. Still, it was the only thing that he could use in this battle of verbatim. There was silence between the two of them for what seemed like forever, and when Lavi spoke, his voice came out as almost a growl. "It's not the Order that I care about. It's someone there that is most dear to me."

"What? Who?" Allen asked. There had always been a rumor that Kanda had been harboring some feelings towards the red head, but Allen would have never thought that to be reciprocated. In fact, Allen would have thought that Lavi would have had better taste than that, if men were what he was interested in…

Lavi turned his back to Allen for a moment. "Allen, this afternoon Lenalee is being tried for treason in front of the Vatican's court. If she's found guilty they'll probably put her under lock and key and only let her out when she needs to fight, or even worse, they'll kill her." Words failed Allen; he hadn't thought that this outcome would come so quickly. "Bookman wanted to leave before we could help her." He turned back to Allen, a whole new level of determination in his eyes. "She's being tried for helping you Allen, for keeping your identity a secret." The words coming from Lavi's mouth stung. The worst part, however, was that they were true. If something happened to her, it would be his fault. "Allen, go save her. You're the only one that can."

For a moment Allen stood there speechless, not sure what to do. Saving an exorcist was not exactly a Noah's job… But if…

With a new sort of mission to his step, he began to run. As he ran he yelled back to Lavi, behind him. "Don't worry Lavi! I'll save her! Just wait!"

Knowing that the one thing that he needed done but could not do himself would be in good hands, Lavi slumped down, a smile on his face.

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End of Chapter Five