Requiem of Time: Chapter Fifty-One – Compilation


Rhode

After Allen left the following morning, Rhode went about exploring the Ark.

The many modified Akuma attending tasks reminded her much of Millennie's own Ark, and only for a moment did she feel a reminding touch of sadness. No, she shook her head, things would be alright in the end, thanks to Allen. His plan would work.

Rhode allowed her thoughts to drift to her family, wondering only briefly how Tyki was taking her departure. Then they turned right to Lulubell. She still had received no word on how far along Allen and her Noah sister had come in her absence. Allen had mentioned nothing of her yet, so obviously not far enough... But certainly some distance, Rhode thought with a sly smile, since Allen had to know about Millennie's Ark location from someone.

That Lulubell would do that, knowing how much it would displease Millennie if he found out, also gave more hope for Allen's insane plan. Seriously, how could he...? Rhode giggled to herself, proud of her husband and confident in his ability. If everything worked out, which she felt they would, she would give him an extra special reward that night.

Again, Rhode had to wonder how Lulubell would change things once Allen fully accepted her. Rhode no longer doubted the necessity of it, and she would force that relationship along if that was what it took for Allen to stop being stubborn. Men could be so childish sometimes, hurting themselves for what they felt was the 'greater good' or some other idiotic proclamation. Allen would marry her again, because Rhode wanted her ring back, and then he would marry Lulubell, because he held some special attachment and rightness to the practice. Two wives, not that difficult. Just ask the apostles Jacob or Solomon, the former had also had two wives and the latter... much more.

But to the matter at hand, Rhode would be stuck sharing Allen. Sharing with her sister, which was proper, but sharing never the less. That would mean less time with him, and his attention divided between her and Lulubell... Rhode wanted to pout. Although, he would be much happier once it happened, and that was what mattered. Not to mention, Rhode knew she wouldn't be 'taking turns' with Lulubell. This day was her day, the next day Lulubell's day. No, both of them together could be with Allen at a given time, like what they would already do at gatherings except now better and more intimate.

Time would have to tell how things worked out.

Rhode turned her exploring to finding some of Allen's friends. She wanted to talk with them.

The first she managed to find was Lavi. The bookman had been source of entertainment to many of her games, though he was never as interesting as Allen. Merely good at puzzle solving. Regardless, she didn't dislike the man, just never cared to get to know him. He would have to do for now.

"Hey," Rhode greeted, plopping herself in a plush chair across from him. Now officially unbound to the Earl, Allen had given Rhode full control over his Ark, as the Eldest Noah. Allen was still the Player, but Rhode was able to keep her position and could still materialize furniture to rest on.

Lavi looked up at that, having been buried in a book. Oh, he knew when she had entered the room, but he had no reason to address her. "Yo, Mrs. Walker."

So he remembered, Rhode smiled inwardly. However... "That doesn't apply to me anymore... At least, I think it doesn't. Anyways, I want to know how Allen's been sleeping. Has Lulubell been over?"

Lavi turned sheepish. "I just met with Allen yesterday for the first time in over a month."

"Oh..." Well, there went that idea. And Allen had mentioned not knowing where the others were... "How was he when you saw him?"

Lavi's grin was lopsided. "Determined to find you." Just then, Chomesuke walked back into the room. Lavi noticed, but his eyes remained on her and his expression turned serious. "But Mrs. Wal- ...Rhode, is it true? Have you really turned your back on the first Noah?"

A flash of pain at the reminder, but Rhode refused to acknowledge it. Lavi had no answers for her. It was time to go. "Record this moment, bookman... Last night, I left Millennie for Allen."

Lavi's book was closed and set on the table next to him before he pulled a unsuspecting Chomesuke into his lap, but after a brief kiss his gaze returned to Rhode. "Will you fight with us?"

Rhode stood, and as she moved to leave she turned a final grin to Lavi. "You are dangerously close to playing a game with me." She winked and left the room.

Once the door was closed behind her, Rhode brought a hand to her hand and sighed. She was in a total funk right now, not even able to talk to Allen's friend properly. Apparently she wouldn't be getting the answers she wanted today, so she would have to wait until Allen got back.

Walking again, Rhode thought back to what Allen was doing currently. She was confident in his ability, but she was still worried for him. It was dangerous. He wouldn't come back from this unscathed. Please, Allen... Stay safe.


Lenalee

Allen had his emergency Gates open.

Lenalee breathed a sigh of relief and entered, leaving behind the musty forest to the old smell of the Ark, ancient marble buildings now surrounding her. She hadn't seen Allen in weeks, and she was worried. The fool Marshal up and left without her to go fight the Earl, and he had lost. By these Gates being open, she knew he was still alive, but a beating heart was the least of her concerns. She still had his mind to worry about.

And so, after closing the door behind her, Lenalee immediately swept down the streets and alley ways of the Ark's city to reach the door that would lead her to the interior. She found it, the one distinguished from the others because it didn't open Gates to the outside, and she entered.

That modified Akuma were here again as maids was obvious from the first step. The air no longer seemed as stale, and the floor and many mounted artifacts were no longer dusty. Allen had been busy.

The first Akuma she came across, Lenalee asked where to find Allen. Once told that he wasn't on board currently, Lenalee asked for the next best thing. She was guided to where Lavi was currently residing.

Lenalee opened the door to a scene reminiscent of her past. Lavi, in bed, tangled in the arms of some girl. There was a time that would have been her in that embrace, but she was long past those days. "Ahem," Lenalee coughed, and she waited.

Lavi opened his one eye blearily, and it narrowed when he noticed his door was wide open and someone was standing in it. He slowly maneuvered himself so that his body was between that person and Chomesuke, but then he recognized the green sheen on the person's hair and the womanly silhouette.

Yawning and stretching, Lavi waved briefly before settling back down in bed and wrapping his arm around the still sleeping Chomesuke. "Yo, Lenalee. You realize it's like 3am right now, right?"

"Not in North America," Lenalee shrugged. "Where is Allen?"

Lavi sighed and closed his eyes again. Everyone, always so concerned with Allen... But, they had a reason to be, he presumed. "Gone. Left this morning. Or yesterday morning, whatever it it right now."

"Where?" Lenalee pressed.

"I dunn-oooooooooooh! Excuse me." Lavi's speech was interrupted with a loud yawn, and he finished with a small smile. "I didn't think to ask."

"Lavi, it isn't safe for Allen to be out on his own anymore, and you know it. Do you know when he'll be back? Has he changed since you last saw him? Lavi? Lavi!"

Lavi groaned. "Get in bed or come back later, too tired right now..."

Lenalee pinched the bridge of her nose and turned on her heel. Was she the only one legitimately concerned with Allen's welfare? Before she managed to close the door behind her, Lavi left her with one final comment. "Rhode is with us now. She left the Earl for Allen. Goodnight, Lenalee."

It took her a moment to steady a suddenly rapidly beating heart, but Lenalee closed the door and set out again. Allen had his wife back, for good this time. But was that a good thing? Lenalee knew all about Rhode and her games, the torment she had contributed to Allen's mind. Allen was happy with her, loved her, but was that in his best interest? Lenalee didn't know.

Too many unknowns. Lenalee didn't like a bit of it. She was so worried about Allen. What she wouldn't give to see that innocent youth she had met eight years ago...!

XXXX

Lenalee waited.

For a time, she only caught rumors of the renegade Marshal. He was in China, no he was in Africa. Apparently, he would appear on the Ark at times, according to the Akuma, but it was only for a short time before he would leave again. Lenalee never managed to catch him.

Until, one day, Lenalee saw him stumble out of a Gate.

Allen reached his hand out for the stone railing, but his hand was slicked and he slipped off, leaving a smear of red on it. He hit the ground hard, groaning slightly. There was blood. Lots of blood, all around him.

"Allen!" Lenalee shrieked, running over to him.

It was worse than she thought. It stained his hair, damped his coat. Once she gently flipped him so he was on his back, she could see lacerations and holes leaking the crimson life over aged scars. This was awful!

"Allen, can you hear me? Say something!" Lenalee was getting frantic. Where was Miranda when you needed her?

"I'm... fine..." Allen wheezed out. There was a spark of something, a sudden relaxation to him, and those wounds began to heal before Lenalee's very eyes. "Get me... to... Rhode..."

He was relying on his Noah regeneration, Lenalee realized. That wasn't good, not one bit! She knew how that brought him into conflict with the Fourteenth. However, she said nothing and lifted him onto her shoulder, supporting him as they made their way back inside.

"Allen, what happened to you?" Lenalee asked as they made slow progress. "Please tell me, what are you doing out there?"

"It's not a failure..." Allen mumbled against her shoulder, barely keeping his legs under him. "I can do this... More time... Rhode..."

Lenalee bit her lip, wondering how far she should push him when he was so weak like this. Allen... What are you doing?

Fortunately, Rhode appeared before they went very far, and she took Allen from Lenalee. The slight girl had a sad look as she cradled Allen against her, and the weary Marshal allowed himself to drift off asleep in the safety of her arms. Rhode gave a single nod to Lenalee before both she and Allen vanished suddenly, disappearing into the ground below them.

Lenalee sighed, wiping Allen's blood off her hands and onto her clothes. Allen had mentioned that Rhode's Doors were just for show, that she could go anywhere with just a thought. Lenalee would speak with him once he was feeling better, after he recovered from... whatever it was that was done to him.

XXXX

Fool of a man!

Lenalee was getting tired of Allen and his games. This was the fourth time now he had come back heavily injured and slipped away without a word. Rhode would let no one in their room while Allen was recovering, and he would leave immediately after, without a word to anyone as to where he was going. Rhode would shed no answers, either.

Lenalee finally just chose a spot and collapsed into a chair, burying her face into her hands. She wanted to help Allen, but how could she do anything if he wouldn't even talk with her? Bookman didn't know anything, Lavi didn't know anything, Miranda – having finally returned as well – didn't know anything, and none of the many modified Akuma could say anything of use.

Cross, he might be of some help, but apparently he had run off again after escaping with Allen and Rhode.

She felt so useless right now. Allen was supposedly on the verge of ending the war, nearly dying each day because of it, and she was stuck inside some ancient cube waiting for instructions. But there was nothing to be done, besides wait. Why, oh why, was he being so tight-lipped about this? Allen always tried keeping everyone safe if he felt he could do something by himself, but was there another reason?

Lenalee heard rapid footsteps approaching – someone was running towards her. Curious, Lenalee lifted her head to see what all the commotion was about. It was Miranda, the German Exorcist haggard but with a brilliant smile on her face. She took a moment to regain her breath, leaning against the door frame, but then the words just spilled out of her.

"Tyki has come! Allen came back with Tyki!"


Miranda

"Ah, if it isn't the pretty German girl. Please, sit," Tyki gestured to the seat across from him.

And it was Tyki, not Joyd. Allen had finally sealed away the Noah of Pleasure. Unfortunately, the resulting fight for that ended with Allen's cursed eye becoming Level Three, but Miranda tried not to dwell on that. The smile on that boy's face, new eye or not, as he staggered in with an equally weary Tyki, made it entirely worth it. Allen was accomplishing something.

Miranda blushed lightly as she sat across from the gentlemanly Noah. This was the man who had helped her get over the death of Noise Marie, once upon a time. She was excited to be able to talk with him once again. "Mr. Mikk."

"Please, just Tyki."

Miranda smiled slightly, still blushing. "Tyki... I was wondering... if you could..." She cleared her throat, her hesitation amusing the Noah. Her blush deepened. "Could you tell me..."

"Why both Rhode and myself are on this Ark, instead of my Duke Millennium's?" Tyki offered. Miranda nodded. "You can thank Allen for that. I'm in it for Rhode, but the boy's idea is pretty sound. He might actually be able to pull it off."

Miranda, hands on her skirts, looked at him curiously. "What plan? Allen hasn't mentioned anything to any of us yet..."

"If he hasn't mentioned anything, perhaps I shouldn't say anything either." Tyki rested his face in his hand, looking off to the side for a moment. Then, his gold eyes flicked back to Miranda, and he smirked. "I do have something to say, though. Did you know that in order for us Noah to exist, there must always be a Millennium Earl?"

XXXX

Miranda paused.

Allen, that God-forsaken eye of his blaring its painful reminder, was unconscious. Bloodied, hurt... How many times would he come back like this? He was in Rhode's arms, and the girl disappeared with him, likely back into their room.

What was he doing? Why was Allen getting hurt so much? Tyki had given her no answers, besides a pleasant conversation.

And then he walked in.

Massive form, dressed in a brown trench coat, hair held back by a purple band... "What are you looking at, Exorcist?" The gargantuan huffed.

Miranda eeped.

The man sniffed. After another moment of silence, he looked to the left and right. "Tell me... do you have any sweets?"

Skin Bolic was here.


Rhode

"Allen... How much more of this can you take?"

The white haired boy made a sound much like a groan. His wounds had closed again, and he was working on healing the tissue under the skin. The once impressive amount of scars he had taken was now amplified a hundred times over. Even with Noah regeneration, those would take time to disappear.

Rhode cradled Allen to her, stroking his unique hair as he rested his eyes. She had fought against Allen for years, by herself and with her siblings. She had seen him near death, seen him lose, seen him hurt... Never, never had it been this bad before. Each time he came stumbling back, it was only moments from a finishing blow that would forever take him away from her.

Six times now, six times he had managed to slip through a Gate just in time. Six times fortune had shined on him just enough to where he could live to fight another day. How long until he doesn't make it back? How long until he is just one step too far from his Gate, or until a wound is too damaging to regenerate?

Rhode clutched him tighter.

With a hiss, Allen lifted himself off her. Turning, he beamed a smile to her. Not one of his polite smiles, or the fake ones he gave when the need arose, but a genuine smile that Rhode felt take a load from her burdened heart. Supporting himself with one hand, Allen snaked the other behind Rhode's head and pulled her into a deep kiss.

Rhode let her worries melt with the kiss, and it was some time before he finally pulled back. The haze in her mind cleared to see Allen with that wonderful smile, and Rhode smiled back. Until she noticed how that supporting arm was shaking, the black Innocence too weak.

Rhode moved herself to support him again, and she rested her forehead against his. "Stay the night, recover your strength. You body can't keep holding up if you continue at this pace."

"I have to go. The time and the place was agreed upon," Allen breathed back, eyes slipping closed again.

Rhode tsked. "Allen, it'll just be a trap again, and you know it. Rest the night. Stay with me." He couldn't though, and they both knew it. Those traps, they meant something in the scheme of things. He had to walk right into it, willing, and he had to say what he could before staggering back. Hopefully, he'd come back alive.

"I love you, Rhode," Allen muttered. "No matter what, I love you." He was smiling again, she saw.

Rhode groaned and dropped the both of them on the bed, burying her face into his freshly washed coat. It seemed every time he returned that Marshal jacket needed bloodstains washed out of it. "Don't die out there, Allen. I won't forgive you if you do."

"I'll see you soon," Allen concluded with a kiss, and he drew back from her. Only partially regenerated, and already he was heading out again.

Feet splayed before her and arms behind, Rhode watched Allen go from her place on the bed. A small, sad smile was on her face, and nervous butterflies were in her stomach. Allen straightened out his coat, slipped that top hat back on his head. Charming and gentlemanly, Allen turned one final smile to her, gave a polite bow, and turned to leave.

Rhode couldn't stop a laugh at his bow, but once he was gone she fell back, head hitting her pillow. She felt like hugging herself. Allen was going out again, back into the lion's den.

XXXX

Rhode thought of her almost-husband constantly, worried as a night and a day passed with no return. When she wasn't hiding herself away, she was speaking with Tyki. The man became her beacon of strength while Allen was away... Or at least a distraction.

But for the most part, she isolated herself from everyone. Allen's friends would pester her with questions she wouldn't answer, and the two members of her family only reminded her of what Allen was facing currently.

Finally, as the second night was rolling around, Rhode was preparing herself for another lonely night. She didn't have the same problem Allen did – this inability to sleep alone – but she would be lying if she said she liked sleeping without him here.

As she settled herself under the covers, Rhode sighed. There was silence, - no breathing next to her. It was cold – no body next to her. It was lonely – no Allen next to her.

Rhode sighed again. She hoped he would come back soo-

CRACK!

Rhode's eyes flew open as the door to her room suddenly broke open, the fractured wood littering all over the carpet. What in the world was going on?

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" a voice boomed.

"Eh?" Rhode asked, her blanket up to her chin.

Sheryl was there, and he rushed from the destroyed door to the bed. The man swept Rhode into a hug around the blanket, descending into blissful gibberish.

"Eh?" Rhode asked, getting swung side to side by her excitable father.

She saw him, then. Allen. The Level Three cursed eye, the pentacle scar now deep black in its deactivation. He was leaning against the door frame, obviously tired and weak. But he was back, safe, alive, and he had brought her her father.

"Hehe!"

"Well, if it isn't our treacherous little sister."

Two voice called from behind Allen. Rhode's heart fluttered in her chest. Not just Sheryl...?

"Hey, bro, doesn't that make us traitors now, too?"

Rhode didn't stop the tears from coming, returning the hug to her adoptive father. Allen's plan was working. These weren't just family, either, but family with all their memories back, inner Noah reawakened and resealed. She felt even more confident of Allen's plan, and presently, she could only feel happiness.


Lavi

"No, Allen!"

Lavi, red faced, stormed up to the man he called a friend. "No! You know what they did! I will not, I cannot allow those two to set foot here! I can't, Allen!"

Allen glanced at him, and Lavi almost took a step back – he would have if he weren't so furious at the moment. Haggard, pale, but dangerously determined, Allen's face bore into Lavi mind like a nightmare. But that new eye, the black pentacle and blood red eye – even deactivated...

Allen wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead, one arm swung around the masked Mightra. Dried blood was caked onto those fingers. After a moment, Allen sucked in a breath and detached himself from the Noah. He swayed for a moment, then steadied like a mountain. "Find your own rooms. You are welcome here."

Lavi felt a growl in his throat. These two... These two Noah, Fiddler and Mightra... Marshal Winters, just when Lavi had learned to like the guy, learned to work with the guy, met his approval... These two butchered him in cold blood. No, Lavi would not stand for this. "No, Allen! Get these two off this Ark right now!"

Allen began walking forward, towards the door that would lead him to the city of the Ark and thus the Gates. Lavi stopped him with an arm, leaning in. "Allen..." he hissed. "The rest I understand, for whatever reason, but not them."

"Ha... haha..." Allen's unsteady breath became audible that close, and Lavi's sharp eye took in the rest of Allen, beyond that singular determination.

"Allen, are you even here right now?"

"Hahaha..." Allen's lips twisted into a smile. "Can't stay, he says. Can't do it, they said. Can't stop me, that's what I say... Haha..." Allen shouldered past him.

Lavi sneered as he watched Allen stagger past him. That was the man Lavi allowed to lead him, unconditionally. Allen used to mean something, used to stand for something as the leader of the third faction. Now... this, this was not worth following.

"You let them stay, Allen, and I'm leaving." The ultimatum was set.

Allen stopped his shambling. Good, he understood. Lavi waited.

Then, without turning to look back at Lavi, Allen continued forward and disappeared inside the door. Lavi sniffed, the decision was made.

Turning on his heel, Lavi began to head back towards his room to pack. On the way, Chomesuke came bounding up to him, dressed teasingly in a French maid uniform. "Lavi! Guess what I just-"

"We're leaving," Lavi cut in, not slowing his pace as he came up to her.

"...Cho?" she asked, quickly catching up and stepping under his arm, forcing him to hold her. "Why would we leave, cho?" She liked being a maid here, a new found hobby for her.

"Allen," was Lavi's curt response. After a moment, though, he reigned in his temper, at least the flames trying to burn Chomesuke. His expression softened, and that arm around her actually held her. "Sorry, but I can't stay here anymore."

Allen didn't want to let him in on any plans? Fine! Allen wanted untrustworthy Noah on his Ark? Fine! Allen was going insane? Fine! Let the man do whatever the hell he wanted, but Lavi wouldn't let himself nor Chomesuke be involved with it anymore.

He was packing his things and leaving, end of story. He was out of this damn war for good.


Rhode

Tryde and Mercym had come.

Rhode was almost giddy. There weren't many left now. Allen's plan was almost ready.

Better, that meant there were less to ambush Allen with, and that meant his over all safety had increased. Her foolish husband still lived, after a miraculous nine times of being critically wounded – to the point of temporarily comatose, even with the regeneration – and what felt like a countless number of times he was too exhausted to stand, or just slightly wounded, or some other ailment.

Of course, the downside to this was, Allen's sanity had slipped almost too far to control. All that exposure to the Fourteenth, all the willing releases of his Noah abilities... All the wounds, the lack of sleep, the betrayals, the traps, the arguments, the scattered thoughts he forced together each day to keep his plan alive... Allen was a rock, a colossal monolith of marble for all the world to gaze at in awe, but... but even he couldn't take all that without damage. Not his fractured mind, all of it.

The worst part was, Rhode had no idea how to heal the damage. She could destroy a mind, blank one, break one... But never had she ever had the need to fix a mind. Until now.

"Mistress! The Duke has returned!" an Akuma shouted as she rushed into the room, a favorite of Rhode's that she had dubbed Tati.

Rhode jumped off her chair and quickly followed after the girl. Modified Akuma, of course, but those were remarkably similar to the ones stationed on Millennie's Ark.

The sight tore at Rhode's heart as it always did, Allen curled up on the floor in his own blood. She reached his side and knelt, taking his hand in hers, feeling the cold appendage shake like a leaf in her small hands. Rhode kissed Allen on top of his head, nodded once to Tati, then transported Allen back into their room.

XXXX

"That's a 'no' on Wisely," Allen commented, off-hand. One arm went into his freshly washed jacket, and then the other. The black and gold looked brand new.

One night. One night together and him away from all the hurt and heartache of the world. One night of whatever her presence could do for him, one night of whatever the Fourteenth's regeneration could do for him. One night of caught up sleep – a scattered few hours for days lost. One night of legitimate and wholesome rest, and he was leaving already.

So strong. Allen was so strong, so determined. The end was so close, he just needed to hold out a little bit longer...

So it was a no for Wisely... How terrible it was, that Allen himself allowed himself to acknowledge a lost cause. Did he recognize his own instability? Recognize how little time he himself had? Rhode didn't want to know.

She picked up one of his hands and kissed the back of it, then held that hand to her cheek. Allen turned to her and smiled. A black pentacle didn't just cover his old scar, but a giant one covered his whole eye, the entire left half of his face. The Level Four cursed eye. Allen had to be in agony.

Rhode felt like crying for him.

But what could be done? Nothing she knew how to do. If it got to that point, she would force Allen into one of her constructed worlds and keep him locked there and under specialized stimulation until his mind had some semblance of stability, but the whole concept of that was frightening to her. And it would take years that they didn't have, if they were to win this war. Nothing she could see could be done for Allen in the meantime. Only his own strength could lead him and pull him through.

"Well, I'm off again," Allen said that so pleasantly, so off-hand, Rhode could almost picture him leaving to work or school or something equally mundane. His smile, it was so fake now.

Rhode watched him go as she always did, and once the door closed she let her expression drop. Was she losing her husband? Not to Lulubell, as she liked to joke about at times, but his mind. Was it just slipping away, and her cursed to watch it go? Road never loved, in fact the reincarnation that was Rhode was the first time the Ninth Noah had ever experienced it. Right now, she couldn't tell if it was the most wonderful thing ever, or the worst.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Rhode. Where Allen was going. What he was doing. There was only one logical solution.

This would do him good, and more so she would need to be there.

Rhode allowed herself a smile. This was a long time coming. If this didn't start some sort of healing process for Allen's mind, nothing would. She got up and followed him out.


Elsewhere in the World

"The time is close, prophet."

The man gave only one regretful nod. Before him stretched rows and rows of tents, sloping down in front of him and filling a large valley. His Russian comrades, the fellow believers, they were almost ready. He had enough men now to overthrow tyranny, overthrow the hard-hearted government. And after, Russia would go to war with the world.

Through him, the world would see the Truth, see what he had seen. The world would destroy itself in the years to come. Bloodshed would become a common thing, disappearance raising no eyebrow. The fairytales of Akuma spread like wildfire, those yellow robed Finders sprouting out lies and recruitment. The monsters, those that would sell their souls for demonic limbs... No, he would not let the world go that far down again.

This time, he would stop it from happening. As much as it pained him, for he knew what this holy war would cause, all the bloodshed and violence, he was determined to break the world apart and forge it together again. His father had been a blacksmith. Sometimes, the only way to repair something was to smelt it down and recraft it.

This, as much as it pained him... was necessary.

XXXX

Ludwig nodded approvingly at the men practicing arms. His chief commander informed him that his followers had reached over 100,000, each able bodied enough to wield a firearm, and scouts reported more on their way.

He knew that not all of them were believers, not like his closest friends. He knew that many of the approaching men were scared dogs just trying to throw their lots with the biggest power. Well, let them. Ludwig could use those dogs.

Germany stood ready. Apollyon stood by his side. This would be a jihad, and there could be no stopping it. God would keep his army supplied and manned enough to win this war. He may have been stopped in his hometown, many of his friends put to death for their conviction, but God's will could not be deterred.

There would be no stopping this.

XXXX

A man raised his hand, signaling to those around him to stop.

They were scattered through the trees, ready to defend themselves should they come under fire. Of course, this party was only a small portion of their forces. Only two dozen men of their 150,000.

The man stopped them at a clearing, the last of the cover before it. Across that clearing, he could pick up the shadows of other men. Other troops, he amended quickly, noticing the female outline of one of them.

"We have come!" the man shouted then, in Mandarin. "Only your leader and two more may approach!"

There was a rustling across from them, shadows moving and whispering quietly. Then, three figures stepped into the light. The man nodded approvingly, and he himself strode forward to meet them. Two friends flanked him, ready to defend him with their lives if this proved an ambush.

He tried to tell them he couldn't die, not for another couple years, but they refused to budge. Their determination left him smiling. Not here though, here he was all business.

By positioning, this party's leader was a female, with a male and female guard. Interesting. Both groups stopped a certain distance from each other, the two leaders trying to size each other up.

The woman had a hard beauty to her, almost like the man's own wife back in his camp. Yes, if she was anything like his wife, she could hold command effectively.

The woman folder her arms before her and gave him a look. "We'll make this quick, where you touched by the Shadow?"

The man raised an eyebrow. That was a closely kept secret, at least from the masses of his army. Only his trusted friends new, and it was them who had told him about it in the first place. So, either she was also touched, or she was well informed. Either way, he liked her. "I'll tell you, but first you must tell how you came about knowledge of the Shadow." Her two guards stirred at that, almost growing hostile before she waved them down.

So, they were defensive and reverent of her, unworried about him. That meant either her own forces were strong enough to crush his – like he was just some inconvenience – or this band was just a bunch of fanatic fools. Somehow, the latter seemed unlikely. How did that change his own plans?

The woman's eyes narrowed as she held his gaze. "I was touched. Now, speak."

He smiled. Yes, this could be quite profitable. "Yes, I was also touched."

The woman tested him for a lie, staring at him hard, then nodded curtly. "Then you understand the plan. What must be done. Come, bring your men and join with mine. We were already on the march when word of you arrived."

The man frowned at this, and his own guards began to stir at her casual disregard. "Are you under informed? I have 150,000 soldiers back at my camp. Things would be much easier if you joined us."

Her haughty smirk gave him a sudden chill. He had thrown that fact out there to impress her, let her know of his army's might. Why would she-

"575,000, last estimated by my scheduled census. Come, join me and make that 725,000. I'll even make you a general, if you can behave yourself." With a wink, she turned and began to leave. Her guards followed her, keeping their eyes on the man and his own.

The man's jaw tightened at her numbers, and he watched all the way until she slipped back into the shadows of those trees. Then, he turned on his heel and began to move towards his own men in hiding.

Before he could even make it to the tree line, the man began laughing. Almost a million men! Yes, that woman could lead! So he wasn't the first she had brought into her fold, he was certain. And likely, he wouldn't even be the last!

Yes, the world would tremble when this army spilled out of China and into the West.

His laughter rang out through the clearing.


AN: Well... Yeah, I've actually had this done for 3 days now, so I could have held to my standard update schedule, but... Yeah... I kinda forgot about it. :D

Two more chapters, then an epilogue! This story is almost dooooooooooone! Wohoo!

*Edit (1 minute after posting): This whole story has to be finished before next Thursday, preferably a few days before. Something for yall to look forward to, perhaps. Quicker updates. :D