Reviews (I was hoping not to do this, but...):
Iris Irene: Please don't misunderstand. As mentioned in A:5's AN, and implied earlier, Allen is ONLY SLEEPING with those women. Not intercourse; Sleep, to find escape from his nightmares. Perhaps I should have made that more clear, sorry. He wasn't paying them like prostitutes, but instead to simply be there. As for Lulubell, well... that's where things get fuzzy. It's not what you think, though... At least, I think it's not what you think. Thanks for the review.
Book Thief101: Well, if I'm going to break my 'silence' rule for Iris, I might as well for someone whose reviewed every chapter since chapter 6, not to mention each review longer than anyone elses... You asked about Allen's hair a while back. Well, IMHO, and from what I've taken from the manga, Allen's hair is straight when it's just long, and it's curly when his Noah side is starting to show. When he got stabbed by his sword, from your example, his Noah side was showing - the same is true when he woke up from after the dream (his hair was curly), yet it straightened again when he saw Lenalee. Thanks for reviewing.
Requiem of Time: Chapter Eleven - Noah
Rhode leaned back in her chair, homework before her expertly forgotten, and sifted through the memories her latest brush with the damn cloak had given her (at least had appeared once it was removed by Allen). The memories, however, almost made the pain worth it. There were more fragments than before, more images of her and Allen, although now a few fragments had been expanded to brief scenes only seconds long.
Brief scenes included the complete transition of Allen's face when she had first kissed him - from raw determination to surprised to that silly dazed expression that lingered - and, Rhode had to smirk here, her first night with Allen. Of the fragments, however, several images interested her.
She could conjure a hazy image of Tyki with Allen's "Millennie" sword sticking through him, with an attached emotion of fear. Also, she didn't know whether she was imagining things or not, but she could see Allen as a fellow Noah. His white hair turned curly, skin a matching ashen, and a band of stigmata, though his scar and Innocence remained starkly the same.
For some reason, Rhode associated the white claw/arm-cannon Innocence with the sleek black and metal form she saw in some images. To the practical part of her, they were very different, although to the memory-influenced part of her they were the same. She knew that the next time she saw Allen, if he had the arm another memory called Crown's Edge she wouldn't be the slightest bit confused. Definitely interesting.
Other interesting images included an older Allen in regular Exorcist uniform - not a Marshal. Rhode could only wonder what that meant. Also, she had a faint recollection of being the one to cause Marshal Yeeger sing that song; she knew she had been intending on it in the first place, yet she hadn't done a thing and still he sang. She wondered if the cloak gave him images as it did to her… If the cloak was actually the source. But the source of what?
Rhode knew she could amuse and frustrate herself for hours by reviewing the memories of what never happened. She felt like Allen was the cause of it and that she should be angry at him for such pain and confusion, yet she could not deny an even greater longing for him. If it would not have raised comment from her father, she would have went out and found Allen herself; to be with him or to play with him, she wasn't sure, but she did miss him whatever which way.
Next to her, Tyki had his head in his hands, and he looked a mess. While the others conversed and goofed, he asked her, "What happened out there, Rhode?" He rubbed his chest like it was a learned habit. "Why do I remember painful scars that I've never had, white devils, and the name "Joyd?""
The moment the name was out, a dozen fragments flocked to Rhode: long hair, thick scars, and rather immodestly clothed images of Tyki, as well as a few others that unnerved Rhode. With her legs crossed together on the chair, head in hand on knee, Rhode lazily let out an, "I don't know."
The voice of the Earl of the Millennium caught their attention, or perhaps the subject of his speech did. The fat-man form had his arms crossed, and he was staring at the gathered Noah. "The reason I've assembled you all today is regarding the fight against the Exorcists…"
"That's it!" Debito cheered, while Jasdero finished with, "Is it going to be time for Jasdebi to make a row?"
Rhode frowned as the Earl laid out his plan for them regarding the attack on Barcelona, Spain. For some reason, she already knew about it, yet she couldn't recall when the Earl had specifically told her. As she listened, she found herself anticipating each thing he, or anyone else, said.
Once Jasdebi and Skinn started arguing over who got to kill the Exorcists, Rhode felt a sense of déjà vu as she laid her claim. "I call dibs on Allen Walker!" Tyki inclined his head to glance at her through the corner of his eye.
"Everyone has their preference, but I already have your targets selected," the Duke Millennium announced, shuffling several cards. With a glance, he dealed them to those assembled.
"Skinn, you are to "delete" Marshal Tiedoll. Jasdebi, Cross Marian is all yours. Tyki…" the Earl's smile widened as he faced Tyki and showed him two cards. "For your first task, you are to go to this location with me as my servant."
Tyki took the card and read the name. He sweat-dropped. "That's pretty damn far away…"
"Come on, don't say that," the Earl said pleasantly. He showed the other card. "And your second job… Please "delete" the peoples whose names I've listed."
Reading the names, Tyki smiled in exasperation. "That's a lot..." Then, "Understood."
Duke Millennium stared at him only for a moment longer before turning to the cat that had been silently drinking from her bowl of milk on the table. The cat faced him attentively, eyes unblinking. "Originally Allen Walker, a petulant brat capable of seeing the souls of Akuma with his left eye, was on Tyki's list, but his surprising rise to Marshal means he needs special attention. On top of that, he is currently heading towards Marshal Cross. In order for our plan to defeat Cross to be successful, we must not allow them to meet. Please "delete" him before he can make the rendezvous."
Rhode started at this, not so much at the thought of a dead Allen as the fragments of "new" memory that came associated with her Noah sister. One that stood out the most was waking up one morning with Lulubell in her bed along with Allen. As it was an isolated fragment, Rhode couldn't tell why Lulubell was there or how that ever happened - and of course there was the problem of not knowing if the image was even real seeing as it never happened - but still Rhode was surprised.
Cards dealt and targets acquired, the Noah began filing out. Tyki walked with Rhode. In the hallway, he looked down at her. "Is this really the first he's spoken of that attack on Barcelona?" With a look, Rhode shrugged, causing Tyki to sigh.
Looking at the card with the names again, Tyki was reminded yet again of the phantom memories. He remembered, if faintly, killing all of those Exorcists. He even remembered the spot where Allen Walker's name used to be, and where he had delivered the 'execution'. When it came to Suman Dark, however, Tyki frowned when he only got a flash of a Fallen One. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
Parting with Rhode to retire to his room, Tyki sighed again upon sitting in one of his chairs. He still had several days before the invasion, though he could not return to his 'white' form until after it. He decided to use that time to puzzle out exactly what those phantom memories were.
AN: Short, yes, but the next will more than make up for it... Damn it, this story is supposed to be short. -_-
Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed this solely Noah chapter. Please excuse me if the update rate slows down. This story is secondary to another, and the chapters for that can get... rather long, ya'no?
