Book Thief101: About the C: chapters... Well... It was supposed to just be Crowley, but then Cross had his part, which screwed everything up. Like how both Lenalee and Lavi start with 'L', they have similar beginnings. Except, all I have to do is add one letter to show the difference for Lenalee and Lavi (IE 'Le' and 'La'). Crowley and Cross are very... irritating. The first three are the same, so to make them different it would have to be 'Crow' and 'Cros', but 'Cros' just seemed bad, yet if it was the full 'Cross' that would just make everything look stupid because eveything else is abbreviated... So, really, C just stands for both of them. IDK if it'll always alternate, but C just means both. :D


Requiem of Time: Chapter Twenty-Seven - Allen


The blinding white ceiling Allen saw upon awaking reminded him of a hospital.

It wasn't, of course, but that's what he first thought once his eyes finally opened, conscious returned. Pain assaulted him from all angles, from the throbbing in the back of his head to the burning in his right arm, but as always it meant little to him. He tried sitting up, but all he gained from that was the knowledge he was without his coat and a migraine that sent him back to his former position.

At least what he was lying on was comfortable. Barely turning his head, he saw it was a couch. That oriented him, and this time he was able to sit up.

He was on his Ark, particularly the Fourteenth's room. And he was not alone.

Scattered memories battered an aching mind, but Allen picked through enough to glare at the red haired man sitting on the bench before the piano, facing him. Cross currently had his coat removed as well, leaving him in just his black pants and white dress shirt. Even behind the white half-mask and square glasses, Cross had a gravely serious look on his face.

"I could have ended this damn war before it even began!" Allen growled sharply, yet he lacked the energy to do more than glare. "Why the hell did you stop me? Why did you help the Earl?"

Cross's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he didn't move beyond that. Once Allen finished, he said, "While you stormed off to go play hero, that gentleman Noah and I came up with a theory. Leaving that black Crown Clown on the fatass was probably the biggest mistake you ever made."

Allen's glare didn't soften, but curiosity over came anger momentarily. "What do you mean?"

"…Idiot apprentice! Did you listen at all to what that little girl said?" Allen twitched at that. "The memories came after the cloak enveloped her, both times. I guess it takes idiots like you to not see that the memories and those cloaks are related." Allen scowled, but Cross pressed on, eyes now closed and arms folded. "Those cloaks are giving memories, and we reasoned that the longer it stays on whoever it envelopes, the more memories that are released."

Allen blinked at him, taking that in, while Cross continued. "So whoever gets enveloped by those black Crown Clowns gains more and more memories from the them of our time until it reaches a certain point: when they have gained all their memories. And that, as it has proved so far, is when the them from our time 'reawakens' verses the people of now with simply then memories, like your wife."

Allen's mind spiraled back to Yeeger, and the cloak sinking into the Marshal, and what came after…

"And so, you moron, by leaving that cloak on the fatass, you were giving up the only the advantage you had in this damn war. Already he has to have some idea of that with the little that he gained from your stupid mistake, and as soon as he manages to figure things out, you can know there will be hell to pay."

Allen was stunned by this. Why didn't he see it sooner?! It seemed so obvious now. The cloaks, that was the solution. They were the difference between now and then; it made sense that they would have at least something to do with it. But then…

Allen knew that sound. He had only heard that type of scream once before, and that was the only time Rhode had ever been in pain that he had seen. That cloak was hurting her! Rage flooded him immediately, and Allen charged despite his wound.

The cloaks hurt whoever fell victim to them. Rhode, Tyki, Lulubell… And it wasn't limited to just Noah, Allen knew, remembering Yeeger's screams.

Looking up at Cross seriously, Allen asked, "And Rhode?"

The man's hard look actually softened, seeming to understand. "Let it finish." Sometimes Allen was reminded that his master was human too… Sometimes.

Although anxious and excited, allowing hope to blossom in his chest for Rhode, Allen tried to look past that. His whole body and mind still ached, but he knew enough. "What's going on with the Ark?" It should have downloaded by now, unless he had been knocked out for shorter than he thought.

"I'm using Lenalee as a focal point for slowing down the downloading of the egg. With more time this time, I slowed it to a much greater degree than before," Cross answered casually, while Allen winced. Human focal points, while not necessarily bad, were certainly unpleasant.

Allen managed to rise from the couch, taking a moment for his mind to stop spinning, and he only briefly noted he was still wearing his gold-lined black Marshal pants. "So everything else is gone? Time to get it all back, I suppose." Cross moved as Allen slowly made his way to the piano.

The black figure following his reflection in the mirror to his right had become so familiar that Allen didn't even take the time to look. In this room, at least, the Fourteenth had his own voice, not leaving Allen to pick apart what thoughts were his and what was the Fourteenth speaking.

"I saw what you did to Lustul. I am not happy," the voice came as it always did, and Allen was not bothered by it.

"Her name is Lulubell," he muttered softly as he sat down.

"They are the same, and you know it," the voice insisted, and for a moment had to Allen brushed aside a quick and sudden grasp for control. It had become almost second nature to him, now, and his movements didn't even twitch as he reached up to rest his hands on the piano.

Instead of responding, Allen turned his head to watched Timcampy fly from Cross's head to land on the piano, opening his mouth to reveal the hidden musical score used to control the Ark. He didn't even know how to play the piano, yet he could play the song revealed as if he was a master.

Starting slowly, the Music pulsed within, echoing the song of its origin. The vocals started, and strangely - as always - the voices in Allen's mind rose to match it. Including the Fourteenth. Including Allen. If one were to 'synchronize' with Noah like one did with Innocence, this would be the way. At times like this, even the passive fight for control, the dull buzz in the back of his mind, ceased as the two minds worked as one.

And, of course, a vision of a time not too long ago rose in Allen's mind…

Allen played the white piano with black keys softly, just enough to keep its powers flowing and exert his control over it. Before him, the screens that normally displayed the zones of the Ark like security cameras flickered unsteadily, with most of the little screens blacked out. Others displayed many battles, and he watched as his Ark was slowly torn to bits by the invaders.

An alarm of sorts had whined loudly in Allen's head early that morning, and it was the Fourteenth who explained that it meant that there were intruders on the Ark. By the time he had got there, the Skulls had already done much damage. Sent there to undo the magic holding the Ark together, the Earl's special team had largely succeeded and were almost finished.

Akuma were there to defend the Skulls, of course, but Allen had known this fight couldn't be won that way. Taking the secret door to the Fourteenth's room, he had begun playing strongly, countering the magic of the Skulls, though the battle was brutal with the already weakened and damaged Ark.

Then the other Exorcists had arrived - Allen's friends - and slowly the invaders were being pushed back and defeated. Still a few teams of Skulls milled about, destroying what they could as they sneaked around the Exorcists, but they would be found eventually.

And so now Allen played, fixing the damage done that he could, idly watching through the screens as his friends fought for him, again. Although most of the cameras were destroyed and the images distorted, the audio was in fine quality, and they kept him updated of their progress.

A clever plan on the Earl's part, but this would be Allen's victory.

And with the last vocal trailing softly, his fingers tapping out the final keys, Allen sighed and allowed himself to relax for the moment. The Ark was whole again, and the Earl's download had been stopped again. The egg was his again, but other things could come first.

Tapping a few more keys, the only door into the room suddenly sealed shut, dark mahogany wood vanishing in place of pristine white walls. Allen turned then, facing his master with a hard look.

The man had avoided this for too long, and the answers he had given back in the dining room were just one subject that needed talking about. Cross, reclining casually on Allen's rich, crimson couch, seemed unfazed by this turn of events, though he turned his head just enough to meet Allen's stare evenly.

And so, with his hands planted on his knees, only raw determination keeping his exhausted and pain-wracked body upright and stilled, Allen said in a voice as hard as he felt, "Now, let's talk."


AN: "Hey, Allen seems alright now." Does he? Hmm…

Well, anyways, I got some bad news. Through mysterious circumstances, I accidentally uninstalled Microsoft Word 2003, which is my GREATLY preferred choice for writing (gone through over half a million words on that program. I like it). My disk for it is hiding in an impossible place (I've looked for days, hours at a time), and I've about given up searching until I move houses again in a couple of months. I have the Word 2007, but... Ugh, fml. Hopefully this won't hurt update times.