Requiem of Time: Chapter Thirty-Nine - Malcolm Leverier
Perhaps he shouldn't be, but Leverier was quite the happy camper.
The Dark Order Headquarters was still in shambles from the attack, and many men still out of commission while others were pressed into service for damage repairs. He himself had been assaulted, as had Supervisor Komui and many other higher ups. Link had taken that... unholy cloak off him, abomination that it was. The pain of the experience stayed with him, the consuming agony that he was so helpless against.
The last time he had been that helpless was the Alma disaster, and this seemed painfully similar without the casualties. Only one of those had been reported, some underling Leverier would never remember the face of.
But what had him in such a good mood was what had come of this little... bump. The intriguing Allen Walker, whom Central had suspected for some time, revealed himself to be a previously unrecorded Noah. A sympathizer to the Earl, just as he had thought initially. Youngest Marshal ever found? Ha! Just some sorcerer's trick, surely.
And in light of this betrayal, there was of course only one standing option available.
"If you would please add Allen Walker to your black list," Leverier mentioned pleasantly to the lead Crow agent, and the man bowed his hooded head slightly in reply. The squad would soon head out and end the heretic forever more.
Strange, however, was sudden flurry of images that would pass his minds eye at inopportune times. Images like memories, but the sort of which he wasn't sure were his. Not necessarily a form of insanity, but it would certainly take a great imagination to conjure those otherwise. Allen Walker a Noah yet an ally? Really? That was laughable.
But some of those that came to mind brought forth things he had... overlooked. As a Noah with a fragment of Innocence, perhaps some use could be found for him in the form of experiments. Cross Marian had known about this – the memories told him so, at least – but when he went to confront the wayward Marshal, the man was gone.
More, the uses of Allen Walker's eye. The stages of it. Allen Walker's relationship with the other Noah, especially the young looking one called Rhode Camelot. Allen's sword he never mentioned, a match to the Earl's. He remembered something called Third Exorcists, and that Allen had opposed them despite their usefulness. Of course he would oppose them; Earl sympathizer...
Those flashes of memories and more were now lodged in his head, and with no legitimate way of verifying a one of them. They did confirm the danger of Allen Walker, however. He now had sufficient evidence to be done with the man. The riots, the black cloaks, and now this. All of it would end with Allen Walker.
Leverier left the silent Crow members to strut down the halls, Link trailing him as he always did. The boy was good, and true at heart. He had even seen Howard Link strike down an Akuma on his own, once; a Level One. The boy knew Holy Magic, too, making him even more valuable, as well as revealed himself as a former Crow agent.
He ended before a door, and without knocking Leverier entered.
Three heads swung his way, and he smiled at them collectively. The remaining Marshals. A shame Yeeger wasn't with them, but nothing could be done about it. Winters, a former convicted criminal turned into the greatest weapon on the side of right. Tiedoll, aged and artistic yet sharp and steady. Cloud Nine... Yes, the woman was quite the looker, save for the unsightly scar she hid. Other than that, very attractive.
"Can we help you, Inspector?" Tiedoll asked, as the other other two tried to mask looks of disdain.
Well, at least one of them knew respect. Leverier's smile didn't tweak. "Why yes, you could. The... 'Marshal' Allen Walker, as you know, has escaped. I'm sure you are aware of his Noah heritage. I have a mission, decreed by the High Marshals, for all three of you to track down this Noah and exorcise him."
Cloud Nine narrowed her visible eye and stepped past the two men to take the proffered mission. Purple eyes scanned the sheet and proved his words true, reluctantly handing it over to the other two. Tiedoll seemed as reluctant as her; Winters seemed excited. Leverier personally didn't care what each thought, so long as they did their assigned task.
With the same smile and a parting word or two, he and Link left the room.
"Link," Leverier muttered as they walked, once a distance from the door. The boy was listening. "Inform the Crow that they are to trail the Marshals. When they find Allen Walker, they are to make sure they do the job right and retrieve that fragment of Innocence. Thank you."
"Yes, sir!" Link snapped, and suddenly his boots were echoing in the other direction.
Leverier's smile stretched just a bit wider.
"I'm coming for you, Allen Walker."
AN: Alright, well... A few of you are probably wondering, "wtf why hasn't the author updated?! He is suppose to do it once a week!" To start with, no I don't have an ultra large amount of chapters done and ready for the posting. As a matter of fact, this chapter is even quite small. My unexpected delay is because, in a word: busy. In another word: lazy. :D
I'll summarize it all for ya, if you care enough. RAAAANT: First, I started (and finished) another story. In the time of a month I wrote 200,000 words. And then, I moved from the lofty town of San Clemente to another... not so lofty town somewhere north of it. And I don't know if any of you will know what I'm getting at, but I moved from a big house into a small house. Downsized. My room (and house) was literally stacked boxes everywhere. I don't even have a bed anymore - no room for it - and that was follwoed by weekends and weekends of organizing and selling. And then, well, Starcraft II beta came out, and I had the male equivalent of 'yaoi fangirl mode' activate. When I slowly got back to writing this, the SCII beta Campaign Editor came out. I squealed and dove right in. Now, I'm almost finished with my map and am dividing my time between the two. So you can expect weekly updates again.
