I'll start on this while my beta is too busy writing her Doctor Who fic. XD Thanks for letting me know about that, Polka-Dotted Sock! :( Thanks to ilikedan, TooLazyToLogin, WillowC1, Kuraun Kuraun, and LightMyBulb for reviewing. Also, thanks to DemonicPride2001 for adding this story to their favorites, Kaite1211 for reviewing and adding this story to her alerts list, popo623 for the review and adding this to her favorites and alerts list, and dreamcatcher-fluffysama for reviewing and adding this story to her favorites and alerts lists, too! I'm also going to stick in a callout to my beta, the Polka-Dotted Sock. For all you Whovians out there, she has a story titled It Can Come Back. I highly recommend checking it out. It's fantastic!
Dobby's Imaginary Sock
Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize from the D. Gray-man manga belong to Katsura Hoshino. They're just my play things right now. :)
Part Twenty-Two: Panis Angelicus
"Oh, miraculous thing!
This body of God will nourish
Even the poorest,
The most humble of servants."
Sacris Solemniis, Saint Thomas Aquinas
The others seemed to be just as grumpy as he was about the meeting. They might be practically immortal beings, but they could still feel exhaustion. With all the Earl had the Clan of Noah doing now- the war games, the raids on innocent villages, the infiltration into circles of the elite- it was little surprise for Neah to see his relatives so worn out. He was probably the best of the lot since he hadn't been called up by the Earl for the last two days. Neah always became slightly anxious in these cases, for the Earl did like to keep him close when at all possible. He had been more lenient earlier on in the year, but now his grip was tightening. Family meetings were called more often, giving him less free time to sneak off to Rome with Sanjiv. Because of this Bookman told him to just leave his apprentice there with the others during their last trip. The old geezer really hated gaps in information and with their excursion down south coming up soon, there was apparently a lot to take down.
It had been during one of these drop-off sessions that he'd received the summons. After leaving Sanjiv in the darkened row house with Allen, Sophia, and Mana, Neah made his way back to the Ark. Like always, they met in the dining room. It was a hall so large that you couldn't hope to see the ceiling or even the walls around you. Gas lanterns sat on the white table cloth casting little halos of light around them, just enough so that he could make his way to his seat by the Earl's right side. The Earl seemed to be fully awake unlike the sallow faced, sleepy-eyed Noah. Neah wondered if the man ever slept.
Road was the last to enter the room. She blushed furiously when she realized she was the only one to show up in her nightclothes. Uncle Sheril rolled his eyes upon seeing his young charge and motioned for her to sit down. Once she did, the Earl stood.
"Brothers and sisters," he began, "you may be questioning why I've brought you here tonight. I will say that it is not so unimportant that rest should come first."
Everyone looked sown the table to where Uncle Devit sat with his head down on the table, snoring loudly. Uncle Jasdero scowled and hit Uncle Devit upside the head, causing him to wake up. "Idiot," muttered Uncle Jasdero.
"As you've all been aware for the past two months we've been working extensively in the Americas. Things are on track in the northern continent, but a new issue has arisen in the southern continent. The Black Order recently dispatched General Elias Drakos to Rio de Janeiro to lead a clean-up of the city. It's a risk to our two centuries of work in that city, so we'll have to make a statement so that they'll know not to lay a hand on that city. Does anyone have a suggestion?"
"We could negotiate with the mayor of the city," stated Uncle Sheril. "Enough money should convince him to prevent the General from obtaining entry."
"Then he'll just land somewhere up the coast," retorted Uncle Maitora. "He'll get there in the end."
"Why don't we just send a swarm to some other place in the Americas like Canada?" asked Aunt Lulubell. "A big enough distraction should keep them from sending him to Rio."
"They'll still send someone else, then," replied Uncle Tykki. He took a swig from his champagne. "And it won't be some trainee. Just last week I lost ten Level Ones to some sword wielding exorcist who replaces General Yeegar."
Neah cursed that the exorcist, who must have been Khanna, didn't discover his uncle at that scene. He wasn't fond of the Indian exorcist, but if there were any exorcist out there with a slight chance of defeating a fully grown Noah, it would probably be Indivar Khanna. Then he would have only had to worry about twelve very distraught and distracted members of his family. Perhaps next time he'd be lucky and some more foolish member of the family- like Uncle Jasdero- would be discovered and destroyed.
"What do you think, Neah?" inquired the Earl. Everyone at the table looked at him, waiting to hear what the Earl's favorite had to say about this situation. As much damage as Aunt Lulubell's strategy would cause, it was obviously the better one in this situation. He'd just have to be willing to deal with whatever moral implications this action would have later. "Well I think-" he began, drawing his words out to stall for time.
It had been a bad choice. "Let's just kill the general!" declared Uncle Skinn, slamming his fist down on the table. The only good thing about this situation was that Neah was temporarily off the hook. All eyes were now on Uncle Skinn who only glared back at the rest of the Clan. "I'm damn tired of hearing about the exorcists and their damn Innocence. Let's just do something for once!"
Uncle Jasdero and Uncle Devit looked at each other and burst out laughing. The others joined in with more stifled, awkward laughs. Uncle Sheril straightened the collar of his shirt. "I'm not sure that's the most… civil thing to do."
"We're the Clan of Noah," retorted Uncle Tykki still sloshing his champagne around in his glass. "I never saw anything in our description saying that we are civil."
"But what if we were to be caught?" questioned Uncle Toraido.
"Why would one of us be caught?" asked Road.
"Well, an akuma wouldn't be able to kill a general," explained Uncle Maashiima, folding his hands in front of him. "It would have to be an assassination, so one of us would have to go. In the event that person fails, then the Black Order would most likely be able to trace the assassin back to us."
"Oh," said Road with a pout. "I'm not going, then."
"This will never work," grumbled Aunt Lulubell. She looked at the ceiling with her bored, golden eyes.
As the others began to nod in agreement, Neah became certain that this debate was over. However, when he looked over at the Earl, he could tell he had other plans. "I wouldn't say never," stated the Earl. He grinned maniacally at Uncle Skinn. "Kill a general, you say? It's an absolutely crazy idea. Luckily for us, the Black Order only considers rational ideas when making plans. This is so mad that it just might work."
For once, Uncle Skinn appeared quite pleased with himself. The others muttered amongst themselves giving both the Earl and Uncle Skinn wary looks. "But, my lord," countered Uncle Sheril, "we've spent all this time- the past forty years, for goodness sake- building our reputation as a well-to-do, upstanding family. This would certainly be too great of a risk. Only you could pull of the feat of killing a general, but you are far too busy to plan let alone carry out an assassination. I beg of you to reconsider."
"Oh, you don't need me to plan this out," chuckled the Earl. "I've got someone clever in mind for that."
Neah felt spiders crawling up his back. He had a bad feeling about who this clever person could be. It was moments like these where he wished that he were a bit craftier like his brother Mana. Hardly anyone suspected that the juggler was intelligent because Mana did such a damn good job of hiding the fact. Someday Neah would have to learn to take a leaf out of his brother's book.
"You really think that Neah could figure this whole thing out?" inquired Uncle Maitora in disbelief.
"He has planned over half of the missions from the past month," argued Uncle Toraido. "If the Earl can't devote his attention to it, then we might as well let Neah plan it."
The Earl looked over at his favorite Noah. "What do you say, Neah?" questioned the Earl.
His Inner Noah rejoiced at being asked this question, egging him on to take this opportunity before the Earl changed his mind. The entire world seemed to stop except for the venomous words running through his head wishing death to the general, death to the Clan, and most of all death to the Millennium Earl. He pushed these persistent thoughts out of his head and began to think. Honestly, he didn't really care about this General Drakos, but he himself didn't wish for the man's early demise. It would be difficult, but he could play the too inexperienced card and hope that the Earl gave up. Unfortunately, the wild gleam in the Earl's eyes meant that the man was determined that the general would die. If it wasn't Neah who planned it, then the Earl would just ask somebody else. All he could do was stall for time and think of a better solution to this problem. Neah took in a calming, deep breath and stared back into the Earl's beady golden eyes. "Give me a month," he replied. "I'll have the plans for you then."
With that said, the meeting adjourned. Everyone whispered excitedly amongst themselves, wondering just what the Noah of Destruction would plan for General Drakos' demise. Neah went to his room before Road could even think to find him. For once the desire to play the piano did not overtake him. He sat there for the rest of the night staring down at his hands shaking in his lap.
oOo
If he wasn't so jumpy at the moment, Mana Walker would really enjoy looking around the city of Naples. Just like in Venice and Rome he could feel the ancient beauty speak out to him as he walked with his suitcase through the crowded streets. To his dismay it seemed like the whole of the Italian peninsula had congregated in the city, unknowingly waiting for the spectacle that would occur later today- a spectacle that had nothing to do with his now perfected acrobatic clown act.
When Neah had said that he wanted to convert akuma, Mana thought that it would be one. However, one was not good enough for his little brother. So here they were in Naples with the objective to either take over or destroy a factory full of akuma. It was a steel factory belonging to a gentleman named Signor Doriano Bianchi. He was a young man who knew very little about the outside world due to his aristocratic upbringing. His estate and position in society were all handed to him from birth. The only thing he could claim as his own was his skill in painting. In short, he was very much like Neah. Of course, his brother did not want to admit it, saying that the personal life of Doriano Bianchi was of little importance.
It was a simple plan: Cross, Sophia, and Neah would sneak into the factory, find the akuma, and get to work. Sanjiv and the kid- Allen, he had to keep reminding himself to call the kid by his name- were in charge of running the wireless radio Cross had swiped from the Black Order last week. The radio was a rather nifty device that was, of course, not yet available to the public. Cross said that it was just like the voice transmitter that he'd brought over when in the early stages of developing the Thing, except the electromagnetic waves were transmitted through the open air instead of through wires. Mana wasn't quite certain that he understood it, but he seemed to have a better grasp on it than Neah, Sophia, or Allen. His part in the plan was the simplest: Mana was the lookout.
He chose a clear spot in front of the Church of San Francesco di Paola. People gave him odd looks as they walked past, some even scoffed and stormed angrily past. He supposed they thought it was sacrilegious for a clown to be performing in front of a church, but he personally thought it was rather hypocritical to think that he was the sacrilegious on. The church looked like the Pantheon in Rome, so it would be more of an insult to the Roman gods than to God in that case. Plus, it was in the Piazza del Plebiscito- the one main square that absolutely everyone in the city had to pass by during the day. If anyone from the Order or- God forbid- the Clan of Noah were to show up in the city he would know and have ample time to warn everyone else.
His hands shook a bit as he tossed juggling balls into the air, but he still managed to catch them. Mana realized that he had to calm down. Now was not the time to be frightened and turn tail. If it were only him, then he would undoubtedly run away, not because he was a coward, but rather that he knew when to avoid a fight. But today, he had his brother and his friends depending on him. He couldn't afford to be afraid. With that thought in mind, he caught all three balls with a flourish and gave a graceful bow. While his small audience applauded he took the moment to turn on the transmitter connected to his hat. It wouldn't hurt to be safe.
oOo
They arrived at the gates of Bagnoli without any incident. Already there was a long line of men at the front gate either gaining entrance by showing their employment papers or shouting and waving at the foreman outside. It was rather clownish seeing them harrassing the foreman in a vain attempt to gain employment for the day, but Cross had seen worse. Neah's nose wrinkled a bit as he watched the dirty faced men shaking the bars of the gate. Of course, the young lord didn't look much better himself. They had actually convinced him to smear some dirt onto his clothes, hands, and face to better look the part of a teenage boy looking for employment. Sophia was once again dressed like a little boy since the mill wouldn't hire girls. Hopefully the foreman wouldn't notice, but if he did then she was to stay outside as a second look out. Her absence, though, would make everything much more dangerous. He wasn't sure how many akuma were actually hidden inside this factory or whether they were active.
Cross stopped about twenty meters from the front gate and turned to talk to Sophia and Neah. "You both have your radio bits, correct?" he inquired.
Sophia pulled out the pendent of the Virgin Mary from her shirt. He'd attached a transmitter to a flattened metal disk and gave it to her to wear on the chain with the pendent. Neah pulled off the fake pair of glasses and looked at the side where the transmitter sat, yet another element of his disguise. "Yes," they both said.
He pulled his transmitter out as well. Cross wondered if Dr. de Orta would be more impressed or horrified if the old scientist found out that he had turned a rosary into a voice transmitter. "Let's test them before we go in," he said. "Sanjiv-"
"I'm here," stated the young Bookman over the air. "So is Allen."
"How come I didn't get a transmitter?" whined the akuma.
"We agreed on one for each position, except for the people going into the factory," grumbled Neah. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "So stop whining about this."
Allen grumbled, but didn't otherwise protest. "I'll take this as you can hear both me and Neah," replied Cross.
"Yes," responded Sanjiv. "How about-"
"Did I miss anything?" questioned Mana rather loudly.
"No," said Cross. "We're just testing the transmitters right now."
"Might I ask that you talk a little less loudly?" asked Sanjiv. "I'd like to keep my hearing."
"Oh, sorry," chortled Mana as he lowered the volume of his voice. "I was afraid these things wouldn't work."
"Well they do," retorted Neah, rolling his eyes. He placed the glasses back onto his face. "Can we get going now?"
"We haven't finished the transmitter tests yet," snapped Cross, smacking Neah on the arm. "Sophia."
"Hello?" she inquired, holding the transmitter close to her mouth. Unlike Mana, she didn't shout at the top of her lungs. Her voice came out almost like a whisper that seemed to dissipate into the noisy air.
"I can hear you, Sophia," replied Sanjiv. "I suggest that you speak a bit louder, though. You're going into a mill, so there will be plenty of noise to cover your voice."
"Right," she stated a bit more confidently. "Shall we go then?"
Neah looked at the line at the front gate, his eyes focusing on the dark, smoky factory. "Yes," declared Neah. He strode purposefully towards the gate. "Let's go."
Cross and Sophia jogged in order to catch up with the young Noah. They joined the back of the line and pulled out the forged work papers. He still wasn't sure how Neah convinced Bookman to sign the documents. It seemed a bit counter intuitive to the whole unbiased aspect of being a Bookman. When they reached the front of the line, the foreman looked at their papers and then at them. He was a very muscular man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a tangled mass of facial hair that Cross supposed was mutton chops. If he ever grew facial hair in the future, it would never be mutton chops. They just looked ridiculous.
"Just starting today, are you?" questioned the foreman. All three of them nodded and mumbled a brief word of ascension. "Alright then, go into the front room and get your assignment from Signor Bonaducci."
With that said the foreman stepped aside and let them into the factory grounds. The closer they came to the factory, the thicker and darker the air became around them. Cross noticed that his shirt was already becoming a light gray color from all the soot raining out of the sky. As soon as they walked into the doors they sidestepped the line and ducked down a corridor. Neah looked around to make sure that nobody was listening. "We're inside," he said quietly.
"Good," replied Sanjiv. "The sound quality is still fine. Not quite as clear as before, but that's to be expected since you're inside."
"Thanks for the update, Sanjiv," responded Cross. "Is it on to the next phase, then?"
"Yes," stated Neah. He took on an air of command. "Sophia, you take this corridor all the way back to the first warehouse. Cross, you go through the blaster room to the second warehouse."
"Of course I have to go through the most fucking dangerous room in the factory," he muttered.
Neah glared at him. "I'm going through the shipping dock to the third warehouse," he sniffed. "That means that I have to sneak past just about everyone working here today. Do you think you're capable of that?"
Cross wanted to remind Neah that it was Mana and him who were virtually untraceable to all of their enemies. However, now was not a good time to argue. It would be too risky to start a feud with Neah in the middle of his scheme. "Never mind," he grumbled.
Neah seemed satisfied with this, and turned to return to the main corridor. "Put a message through to me when you two reach your locations," he said. With a wave of his hand over his head, he left his two companions.
Sophia set her gaze on the end of the corridor. Cross put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around to face him. "What is it?" she asked.
He didn't really know exactly why he'd done that. Cross felt the muscles in his back tense. "Do you remember where to go?" he inquired. He felt very foolish immediately afterward.
Sophia rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "I walk to the end of this corridor, turn left at the first branch, and then take the door at the end of the hall," she responded. Sophia looked at his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure that you're alright? You seem more uneasy than even I am."
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he quipped. "Be careful."
"I will be!" she replied. Sophia then darted down the corridor.
Cross watched her for a bit and then turned and walked out to the main corridor. He used all the noise from the shuffling workers to try and clear his muddled mind. It wouldn't do him any good to be distracted. Soon he reached a fork in the hallway. The workers split into two groups here. One group went to the left, which led to the main section of the factory where the steel would be poured into molds. The other group went to the right to the blaster room. He joined this group and walked further into factory. Some of the workers looked at him as if he were some kind of abnormality. He supposed it stemmed from the fact that he wasn't burly, hairy, sweaty, and shirtless like the rest of them. Cross avoided looking at them, hoping that they'd stop staring.
When he walked into the blaster room, he walked over to a table like the other workers and received a pair of black industrial gloves. He pulled them on even though he would have rather left them out. It was hot as hellfire in this room. The workers down by the blasters looked like demons dancing around a fiery pit. Smoke and soot hovered over them like a thick blanket. It made the hazy blue cigarette smoke in the Science Department in Headquarters almost seem friendly. Bursts of flame rose from the mouth of the blaster, beckoning all the workers to come towards it. It was a wonder that none of them fell into it, for there were no guardrails blocking it off. Cross turned away from the blaster and began making his way carefully through the room. He ducked his head as a large crate swung over his head. A man nearby him shook his fist at the workers pulling on the rope to guide the crate, telling them to watch it.
He had to back up when a little flame spat out at him. It almost latched onto his rosary transmitter, but it sputtered out before it could eat away hungrily at the dark wood. Cross then adjusted the rosary to tuck it into his shirt. It wouldn't do any good to have it destroyed before reaching the warehouse.
"Hey, is anyone still listening right now?" asked Mana quietly.
"Yeah," muttered Cross. He hoped that whatever Mana had to say was pretty damn important. No one else responded. "This is Cross."
"Well, uh, I just wanted to say that you guys should play it safe," he mumbled. Cross could imagine his friend's face turning slightly red as he said this. "I wouldn't want any of you guys to get hurt or anything. Also, could you keep an eye out for Neah? He tends to do stupid stuff."
"Alright," he grumbled. "No need to get your pants in a knot. I'll keep an eye out for your idiot brother and the others."
Mana seemed to chuckle a bit. "Thanks, Cross," he said. "It really means a lot."
"Right, right," he stated. Cross tucked the rosary inside his shirt and then exited on the far side of the blaster room.
oOo
He'd seen worse cafes when travelling with Bookman. Sure, the floors looked like they hadn't been washed for the last ten years and the tea was lukewarm, but it was completely empty except for the woman who ran the place. After observing the kid and him for a few minutes she went into the kitchen without a word. It seemed like she trusted them alone out in the front.
That was when he set up the electromagnetic transceiver on the table. It looked like a tin lunch pail on the outside, but inside there were several dozen knobs controlling the volume and frequency of the sound waves. He set the transceiver to channel fourteen like Cross had told him to do upon arriving in the city. From his recollection the factory should fall into the range covered by this wavelength. That seemed to be the case for only a few moments later did Cross first contact him.
"Sanjiv-" said Cross' voice. Sanjiv's eyes turned to the right to where his transmitter was located: a stud earring in his right ear. Mana and the kid had found it hysterical when he'd explained that every person in the Bookman Clan had their ears pierced when they were young. He'd never thought it was funny: it was just one of the markings of being part of the clan. Sanjiv hadn't even known that most men didn't have their ears pierced until he'd travelled to Europe with Bookman.
"I'm here," replied the young Bookman. He adjusted the volume settings for his transmitter. "So is Allen."
"How come I didn't get a transmitter?" pouted the akuma, crossing his arms indignantly in from of his chest.
"We agreed on one for each position, except for the people going into the factory," grumbled Neah. The young Noah sounded just as stressed out as he had this morning when they left their respective inns. He'd roomed at a place close to the café with Neah and the kid. Mana, Cross, and Sophia had been at another place three blocks away. It had been one of many safety precautions they had taken in case if someone from the Clan of Noah tried to contact Neah. There was hardly anything suspicious about him meeting up with the Bookman's apprentice or an akuma. They'd just think that Neah was up to some kind of mischief. "So stop whining about this."
'Allen' grumbled, but didn't otherwise protest. "I'll take this as you can hear both me and Neah," replied Cross.
"Yes," responded Sanjiv. He finished adjusting the dials for Neah's transmitter. Satisfied with his work, he decided to move on. "How about-"
"Did I miss anything?" questioned Mana rather loudly. Sanjiv almost jumped at his chair but settled for gripping the edge of the table. He almost missed the sound of the kid falling out of his own chair since his ears were now ringing loudly.
"No," said Cross. "We're just testing the transmitters right now."
"Might I ask that you talk a little less loudly?" asked Sanjiv. He rubbed his temples as he tried to regain his equilibrium. "I'd like to keep my hearing."
"Oh, sorry," chortled Mana as he lowered the volume of his voice. "I was afraid these things wouldn't work."
"Well they do," retorted Neah.
"We haven't finished the transmitter tests yet," snapped Cross. "Sophia."
"Hello?" she inquired. Her voice was a relief after Mana's shouting. It sounded very much like the day he had met her at Walker Manor. He'd been settling into one of the guest bedrooms when she'd knocked at the door asking if he wanted tea. Back then she hadn't made eye contact with him or anyone for that matter. Meeting her had made him realize that there were many more ghostly figures in the world than the Bookmen.
"I can hear you, Sophia," replied Sanjiv. He turned the volume knob for her transmitter up. "I suggest that you speak a bit louder, though. You're going into a mill, so there will be plenty of noise to cover your voice."
"Right," she stated a bit more loudly. "Shall we go then?"
"Yes," declared Neah. He strode purposefully towards the gate. "Let's go."
So that was all of them. It didn't take long for Neah, Cross, and Sophia to get inside the factory. Sanjiv didn't hear anything more after Neah gave out the marching orders. He wrote down the last bits of the conversation down and then settled back into his chair. Unless Mana spotted anything then they were going to have a long wait. The kid looked positively bored sitting at the table. He sat with his head down on the table causing his brown hair to fan out in a small halo. His feet thumped against the legs of the table and his rickety wooden chair.
"How long is it going to take for them to get to the warehouse?" he groaned.
"As long as they need," replied the young Bookman. Out of boredom he took out a piece of charcoal and began sketching the akuma kid. He was a fair artist according to Sophia and Neah. Most of the time his sketches were only for reference to something he'd written about in his log, but there were a few scattered drawings of towns and more recently his housemates. He'd probably have to tear this one out once he was done. Bookman didn't seem to appreciate when more than one sketch of a person appeared in his log. This drawing would be doomed to lurk among the dark recesses of the bottom of his bag along with at least a dozen other sketches.
"But that's boring," moaned the kid. He opened one eye to look up at Sanjiv. "They didn't give me anything to do besides sit here and listen to your stupid jewelry."
For a moment, Sanjiv almost had the urge to smack the kid. He'd gotten enough grief from Mana about his ears earlier. "It's Neah's plan," he responded. "If you have a problem with it, then talk to him about it later."
They sat there for awhile in silence, Sanjiv sketching while the kid kept his head buried in his arms. The light coming in from the window by their table gave the sketch a nice lighting effect. When he finished with the shading he had a pretty good drawing of the kid. He carefully pulled the page out of his log and stored it at the bottom of his bag.
The transceiver emitted a bit more sound, this time coming from Mana and Cross. He hurriedly wrote down the short conversation, although it really had nothing to do with the mission. However, Bookman would never forgive him if he missed one detail in his log. The old geezer was still pretty sore about the fact that he was unavailable to come with them to Naples. The Earl was having a meeting with some politician in Bohemia, so Bookman had also travelled there. Sanjiv didn't need any other reason to piss off his mentor.
"I still think that Neah should have let me be the lookout," said the kid. "Mana is too worried about him and everything else to focus."
He had to hand it to the kid, for that was a pretty good observation. "Don't forget that Mana is a juggler and an acrobat by profession," the young Bookman added. "He's accustomed to focusing on many things at once."
"Yeah, yeah," mumbled the kid. He burrowed his head further into his arms. "It still does no good worrying too much about your brother."
"I suppose you're speaking from experience," remarked Sanjiv, latching onto that last comment. Considering they still had some time, it wouldn't hurt to learn a bit more about the kid if possible.
The kid tensed up for a bit and then relaxed. "Yeah," he replied as he lifted his head from the table. "I had a little brother once."
"Once?" questioned Sanjiv. He flipped to a fresh page in his log and started an entry.
The kid glowered at his pen for a bit, but then gave up. "Well, you can't be two people in one body," commented the kid. "My brother, Allen, was the one who made me into an akuma."
"I see," stated Sanjiv. It was a bit odd talking about this, for it really highlighted the fact that he was talking to a deceased soul masquerading about in another's skin. "Allen was your little brother. Why do you use his name?"
'Allen' shifted in his seat nervously. "Well, it doesn't feel right to go by any name," he muttered. "I'm in his body."
"Right," said Sanjiv. He continued writing as he spoke. "What did you go by, then, when you were living?"
Allen screwed up his face in thought for a while. "I can't remember anymore," he sighed in defeat. He leaned his head into his hands. "It's been so long since I, well, died. I don't even have a grave to go back and check."
"No family either?" asked Sanjiv.
"None," said Allen. "My parents died when my brother and I were very young. We lived on the streets of London after that. Most of the time Allen just called me 'big brother.' Everyone else just ignored us or called us little vermin."
Sanjiv could imagine how Mana would begin to cry and squeeze the life out of the kid if he ever heard that last bit. He pushed that distracting image out of his mind and returned to his current thread of conversation. "How did a young vagabond like you end up becoming a Level Two akuma?"
"You just don't stop asking questions, do you?" retorted Allen. He gave a slight scowl and then shrugged his shoulders. "If it will get you to shut up, then I'll tell you. Just don't tell anyone else about it. I don't need anyone giving me stupid pity looks."
"No one else will see this besides the old geezer," replied Sanjiv. "I doubt that he'll ever tell anyone about you. It doesn't seem like anything that would interest the Clan of Noah."
The kid sat up straight in his chair. "Didn't think I'd be interviewed today," he muttered under his breath. Allen then looked the young Bookman straight in the eye. "But why me, though? I haven't seen you interview the others like this."
He didn't exactly know how to explain why to the kid. Allen didn't seem like the type who would understand the importance of his existence to the hidden history of the world. "You happen to be here right now," responded Sanjiv, "and I just happen to think that you're one of the most fascinating beings on the face of the planet."
oOo
She was very grateful that Neah hadn't sent her off down one of the main corridors. The farther she travelled in the factory the smaller Sophia felt. It didn't help her feel any more secure at the moment. Sure, she had told Cross that she'd be fine. She probably would be. It was just that she was alone right now, and it was only when she was alone that she'd think about how scared she felt. She'd gotten better about being scared over the last half year. Her movements were less reserved, she didn't shake quite as much, and she was able to face Neah without looking at the floor.
Sophia reached the end of the first corridor and peaked around the corner. There was no one in sight, so she straightened the brown cotton jacket she wore and continued sneaking through the factory. She was very glad for everything Mana and Sanjiv had taught her in preparation for this day. It made her feel a bit better about the whole plan.
She tucked a loose strand of curly black hair behind her ear. Luckily it didn't disturb the cap on her head that hid the rest of her long hair. Sophia had asked Cross to cut it, but he'd refused much to her displeasure. The other boys had refused as well when she asked. Neah had said it would hurt their performance business while Mana gave the excuse that boys could have long hair, too. She supposed he was right, after all his hair was longer than hers. In the end, someone procured a hair tie and they came up with the stupid solution of having her stuff all her hair into a hat. Perhaps if she were as vain about her hair as Road she would have been thanking them a thousand times over, but Sophia wasn't pleased for her head was hot and itchy because she couldn't get a bloody haircut.
It was just another thing to add to her laundry list of things she was strangely not allowed to do anymore. She guessed that Mana and Neah were just trying to be nice by helping out with the errands. Still, when it was her turn to shop for groceries someone would always accompany her. Then there had been the whole incident with the bills, but thanks to Cross she'd finally won that argument. Everything was still odd compared to her childhood. She was used to the scorn that had usually accompanied her name. Sophia Maria. Because of the Camelots she had grown to hate it, but whenever she'd go to the Walkers it would be okay for, to Rhian and Cross, she had just been Sophia. If only she were still just Sophia. After living in Rome for so long she knew that something had changed, that they all thought she was special because she was a girl. She did not need to be patronized. For ten years she labored as a servant in possibly the most brutal household in the entire world, carrying things twice her size from the time she was five years old. Sophia knew how to take care of herself. She smiled to herself as she reached the door at the end of the hall. Cross and Neah would probably be surprised that she had reached her post first.
Sophia tested the door handle and found that it was unlocked. Quietly she opened the door and ducked inside the warehouse. From the first glance, she didn't see anything that looked suspicious. Of course, there were hundreds of large wooden crates that could easily be the bed of a dormant akuma, but she would have to come up with a better strategy than just opening crates and peeking inside. She didn't want to have her head blown off.
She focused on her Innocence, trying to get 'in synch' as Cross had called it. Her skills were far from perfect, but she was confident enough that she could form a slight connection, one that would be just strong enough to alert her to the presence of the akuma virus. She was very familiar with the feeling akuma gave off since Allen often followed her around the house. Sophia began to feel the resonance of a connection forming.
That was the moment when she felt it. It was something very dark, but not an akuma. Her head began to throb, so she broke off the synchronization before she could lose control. She hadn't felt that kind of pain before when synchronizing, so at first she thought that it might be something wrong with her. However, when she thought more about it she realized that she had felt something quite like it before. It had not been nearly as bad as today, but the day when Neah lost control of his Inner Noah she had felt a similar malevolence. She thought about attempting to synchronize again in order to trace the presence back to its source, but she realized it wouldn't be necessary. There were three sets of footsteps coming closer and closer to the door behind her.
Hurriedly she ducked behind the nearest row of crates. The door to the warehouse swung open and the three strangers walked inside. They were quiet until one of them shut the door.
"It is an honor to have you here today," said an unfamiliar tenor. He was speaking very good English, although she could detect the slight hint of an Italian accent. "Might I ask what brings you here today?"
"Oh, it is just business, Signor Bianchi," drawled a familiar baritone. It was a voice that drove chills up her spine. He might not be as bad as his brother or his brother's ward, but Tykki Mikk had always managed to frighten Sophia.
"Yes," affirmed a third voice, this one the deepest out of the three. Sophia was familiar with this voice as well: Fiidora. If the man were not a Noah, then she would have thought he were just some bizarre crony. His Noah power- his 'gift' as he liked to call it- involved parasites that he carried around on his tongue. He'd threatened both her and Cross with them when they were little. She'd seen him use them once on a man who used to be a contact for the Earl. Apparently an exorcist from the European Branch had discovered his allegiance, so he came begging for protection. It was just his bad luck that Fiidora had answered the door. The Noah of Corrosion had dragged the man down into the basement of Camelot Manor and infected the man with just one of his parasites. For months the man lay down in the darkest corner of his new prison, crying in terrible pain. Since she was always waiting on Road, Sophia hadn't been able to do anything about it. Every night from her room behind the kitchen she could hear the man scream. One day, though, it had stopped. Later that afternoon as she stood holding a parasol over Road's head as the Noah of Dreams played on a blanket with her dolls, Sophia had seen Sheril dump a large tin of ashes into the creek. That was when she'd been certain that the man had died. "We want to have a chat with Signor Bonaducci. Could you send him our way?"
"Of course," responded Doriano Bianchi. He opened the door of the warehouse again. "Wouldn't you prefer to meet him in his office, though?"
"No, no," chortled Tykki Mikk. "This room will be fine."
They were in serious trouble. In all of Neah's plans they'd discussed the slight possibility of a member of the Clan of Noah coming to Naples, but they'd never considered them actually appearing inside the factory. She was going to have to warn the others, but it would very difficult with those two in the warehouse.
"Is he gone?" asked Fiidora. She heard him walk in the opposite direction of her hiding place.
"Yes," replied Tykki Mikk. She heard him take out a cigarette and his lighter. "That idiot won't show up again."
"What an ass-kissing ninny," chuckled Fiidora. "He didn't even ask why we wanted to talk to Signor Bonaducci. Should you be smoking in here?"
"I don't see why not," sniffed Tykki Mikk. "There's nothing flammable in here besides the boxes."
"I'm talking about what's inside the boxes," emphasized Fiidora. She heard him pat one of the boxes. "The Earl has been waiting for this new oil for months. Just put your damn cigarette out."
As they continued to argue about Tykki's smoking habit, Sophia took the chance to pull out her transmitter. "Hey everyone, we have a problem," she stated quietly. "Some unwanted company arrived in warehouse one. What should I do?"
The other end was completely silent. Sophia waited for a minute, then five. Once ten minutes had passed she finally felt the panic rising up within her. Luckily Tykki Mikk and Fiidora were still talking very loudly, so she began speaking again. "Neah? Mana? Sanjiv? Cross? Is anybody there?"
I have to apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I meant to finish this ages ago, but then, well, school happened and I totally revised this chapter. Much different than what I originally planned out. Luckily, I'm caught up in school, so hopefully the next part won't take nearly as long. Please review!