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Chapter Nine - Tentative Alliance

"I can't believe that he was actually telling the truth about that attack…"

After discovering the truth of the Musician's words concerning the Millennium Earl, General Cross made the decision to continue with their alliance. Even though he still didn't completely trust the brat Cross was banking on the fact that the Noah could provide useful information. And, should the Noah decide to turn on them at any point, then Cross could always deal with the situation when it arose. He did not doubt that the brat was powerful but Cross was fairly certain that he wasn't a match for three Exorcists.

"So do you think this meeting will be anything like our last?" Maria asked as she followed along behind her husband.

"No idea," Cross said with a shrug. For his part he hoped that the Noah brat wouldn't be telling them about another ambush planned by the Millennium Earl. He had better things to be doing than running off to save people from the Black Order. They thought that they knew it all so why the hell didn't they know when they were a target? Unfortunately Cross couldn't leave them to their own devices, since he was technically a member of their organization. Which meant that if the Noah told them of another assassination plot he would be forced to foil that one as well. "But I bet that the brat won't be happy to see all of us."

Cross was leading the way toward the spot where they were supposed to meet up with the Noah of Praise. And of course he was choosing to break the one rule that they had both agreed upon in the beginning. The Exorcist was well aware of the fact that these meetings were supposed to be between he and the Noah solely however he thought that this experience would be good for Lyssa's training.

As well as insurance should the brat decide to betray him.

For her part Lyssa was glad that Master Cross was choosing to include her and Maria in these meetings. But her reasoning was completely different than his. She still maintained that the Noah was someone worth saving and, after the little encounter with him, the young woman took this as somewhat of a challenge on his part.

Nicholas didn't seem to think that he could be saved and had all but dared her to try. And Lyssa was not the type of person to back down from a challenge. And the stubborn part of her refused to give up on someone who was so obviously in need of help.

"I mean seriously," the young woman mused to herself as she followed along behind Cross and Maria. "He's barely older than me, if he even is older than me. There's absolutely no way that he's beyond redemption."

As they walked along Maria gazed over her shoulder at the young woman who was trailing behind. It didn't take a genius to tell that Lyssa was preoccupied by something and Maria had the sneaking suspicion that it was the young man whom she was dwelling on. She had noticed the light that had appeared in Lyssa's eyes after meeting the young Noah.

And she was determined to allow things to run their course, whatever that course might be. She just hoped, for Lyssa's sake, that things didn't turn out badly. The girl wanted to save everyone and Maria fervently hoped that this wouldn't be the moment when she learned the hard truth of life.

Not everyone can be saved.

Of course she would never dream of telling the girl that she shouldn't make an attempt to save someone. No matter how far gone they may appear. Maria was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason so she would never try to dissuade Lyssa from doing what she felt was right. But that didn't mean that she didn't worry about the young girl. She had grown very attached to Lyssa in the months that the young woman had spent traveling with them and knew that she would be heartbroken should anything happen to her. She was almost like a younger sister to the older Exorcist at this point and Maria watched her skills grow with all the pride of an older sibling.

Before long the trio of Exorcists arrived at the designated meeting area. And, as they entered the clearing, their gazes simultaneously fell on the Noah who was there awaiting their arrival.

As the group entered the clearing where he had been awaiting their arrival for several minutes, Nicholas offered them a roguish grin. He felt his heart rate quicken as his gaze fell upon Lyssa but forced himself not to give away his emotions. He had to maintain his calm around the Exorcists, lest Cross grow suspicious.

"So Marian," the Noah said, his expression smug as he gazed at the red haired Exorcist. It was always amusing to get a rise out of his 'comrade' and Nicholas never missed an opportunity. Hopefully the self-satisfied expression would serve to annoy him. "Did you find the information that I provided to be useful?"

As much as he hated to Cross was forced to nod his head in the affirmative. So he did so grudgingly.

"Lord Millennium was most displeased by the fact that the three of you foiled his plans…" Nicholas' voice was devoid of emotion as he delivered this piece of news, as he was trying to return to his normal, detached manner. "I would watch my back if I were in your position."

Cross shrugged off the warning; he was completely unconcerned by the knowledge that he was now a target of the Earl. As an Exorcist this was to be expected and the red haired general was arrogant enough to think that he could manage to hold his own against the fat man.

For her part Lyssa was trying to figure out exactly what had happened to the young Noah. He seemed oddly emotionless at this present moment but the young girl knew that he had feelings. She had personally borne witness to that fact during their last meeting. Granted the emotion had been anger but it was still an emotion. Now he seemed completely blank; impossible to read.

"He must be trying to hide them," she thought to herself. It seemed to her that he was trying really hard to convince her that he was beyond salvation. But she wasn't buying it.

She still saw in him someone worth saving.

Suddenly Nicholas visibly stiffened. "Akuma…" the young man breathed. "They can't know that I'm here. If they discover me here with you then…" He didn't finish the statement but then again, he didn't have to. They all knew what would happen to the Noah of Praise if the Millennium Earl ever learned of these meetings.

"How many Akuma are there?" Cross demanded, knowing that the brat had the ability to sense the Akuma.

"Looks to be around twenty level one," Nicholas replied, pointing in the general direction of the gathering Akuma. "And three level two."

"Is that all?" Cross scoffed. "I can take care of them by myself." And, having said this, Cross began to make his way toward the spot that Nicholas had indicated. However he didn't get very far before Maria seized him by the cuff of his sleeve. Turning the red haired general found himself staring into a pair of very determined looking blue eyes.

Maria knew what her husband was thinking and, while she didn't doubt his skills, she still wasn't willing to let him walk into battle alone. She had taken a vow to stand at his side through good times and bad and that was something that she took very seriously.

And heaven help him should he try to stop her.

"You aren't going alone," Maria said, her voice indicating that this wasn't something she was willing to negotiate.

It was evident by the look in the man's one visible eye that he would like nothing better than to argue. But of course Cross was well aware of the fact that he wouldn't win the argument so it was simply wiser not to engage in it. With this thought in mind Cross turned to his apprentice. "Lyssa, wait here. This shouldn't take long."

Lyssa opened her mouth to protest but didn't get the opportunity. Pulling Judgment from it's holster, Cross ran off toward the location of the Akuma. Followed closely behind by Maria.

"So it would seem that you are once again alone with me…"

The coldness of the man's voice shocked Lyssa and she gazed toward Nicholas, trying to get a feel for why he seemed so different than the last time that the two of them had met. His voice was distant and cold and he seemed to radiate a complete indifference. The sane and rational part of her brain was telling her that she should be scared of him. But the other part, the insane and irrational part of her, was telling her that it was all just an act. And, for some unfathomable reason, Lyssa chose irrationality in this case.

"So it would seem," she said as she took a couple of steps toward him. A slight gleam appeared in Lyssa's brown eyes as she gazed intently at the young man. Her face was serious but her eyes betrayed a hint of amusement. "So were there really Akuma or did you just want an excuse to be alone with me?" Hoping to add to the overall effect, Lyssa batted her eyelashes couple of times.

Completely unable to believe the woman's audacity, Nicholas lost a measure of his carefully maintained composure. His gray eyes widened, showing his shock over her statement. "I beg your pardon…"

"Alright," Lyssa said, a smile spreading across her face. She'd merely wanted to see if she could rattle him enough to make him lose that cold façade. And, judging by his reaction, it appeared as though it was indeed possible. "Since you're begging I suppose that I will give it to you."

Stepping toward the young Exorcist, Nicholas gazed down at her. "You're not like the others…"

"I know," Lyssa said, tossing her chestnut hair behind her. "I'm naïve and delusional and I'm sure that there are more such words that describe me well. Unfortunately I can't really think of them right now but if you give me a few minutes I'm sure that I can come up with some more."

Tilting his head slightly to one side all Nicholas could do was stare at the girl.

"It was a joke…" Lyssa sighed as she closed the gap that separated them. "You're supposed to laugh, grin, something. Come on, work with me here."

One corner of the Noah's mouth twitched up into what may have been a half smile. Lyssa chose to see it as such and she beamed at the young man. But she wasn't willing to settle for a mere half smile; she knew that he was capable of smiling and wanted to see it for herself. "That's it… come on Nicky, you can do it."

"Nicky?" Nicholas repeated, completely stunned by her words.

Lyssa flushed and averted her gaze from Nicholas, not really having meant to call the young man by that nickname. She'd thought of him as Nicky a couple of times but had never intended to actually call him that. It seemed to represent a familiarity that they would never have. But alas it was said and there was nothing that she could do to take it back. No matter how much she might want to.

And boy did she want to. Shifting her eyes back to the Noah she saw that his eyes had taken on an almost distant look. As though he were deep in thought about something.

Nicholas continued to stare in the direction of the Exorcist girl but wasn't really seeing her. His mind was completely focused on the name that she had called him… a nickname that hadn't been used since he left home to join the Clan of Noah. Of course Road called him Nicky-pet but it wasn't the same and didn't evoke the same emotions that the name did coming from Lyssa's lips. There had been no hidden taunt, no malice behind the use of the name, and that was the part that had him completely stunned.

"Um… I'm sorry." Lyssa attempted an apology, hoping that Nicholas wouldn't hold a grudge over her use of the nickname. "I really didn't mean to call you that."

Snapping back to himself Nicholas shrugged off her apology. "Forget about it," he said dismissively, fighting to keep his voice emotionless… detached. Two things that he didn't feel when he was in the presence of this very odd young woman.

A very palpable silence descended upon the two as each debated what had just happened. Lyssa felt as though she had made a complete fool of herself and was now fervently wishing that she were somewhere else. For his part Nicholas was mulling over why that silly nickname had affected him so much. It wasn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things and yet it had made him lose his cool.

If only briefly.

"I have to do a better job of keeping my emotions in check," Nicholas thought to himself, shaking his head. He also needed to get over his fascination with the young Exorcist girl but that wasn't something that he wanted to put into words… not even in his mind. It was far better to just ignore the issue in the hopes that it would go away of it's own accord.

"Just kill the girl and be done with it…"

"No!" Nicholas thought almost viciously, before he even realized it. And this served to shock the Noah once more, as must have been evident by the expression on his face. Lyssa gazed over at him and immediately became concerned. "Are you alright Nicholas?"

"I'm fine," Nicholas said, clearing his throat. He didn't even want to give thought to what had just occurred; it was yet another thing that he was going to choose to ignore.

"That was the most pathetic battle…"

Both Nicholas and Lyssa turned to watch as Cross and Maria made their way back into the clearing. The red haired Exorcist's gaze went briefly to his apprentice, as though making sure that she was unharmed, and then he sent a smirk in the direction of the Noah. "Those Akuma get more pathetic every time that I battle them…"

This was the first time that Nicholas was ever grateful to see Cross but of course he wasn't going to admit to this fact. Denial seemed to be an on going theme with him as of late. The Noah's mouth twitched up into a half smile, although it wasn't genuine as it had been earlier. Now it was arrogant. "Is that a fact? Well I'm sure that I could round up a suitable opponent for you…" Nicholas let the threat hang in the air, enjoying the annoyed look that appeared on the Exorcist's face.

"Let's just complete our business here," Cross snarled, resisting the urge to draw Judgment and blast the obnoxious Noah brat. It was taking all of his self restraint and the general decided that it would probably be in their best interests to speed up this little meeting. Before he did something that he wasn't likely to regret but that would, none the less, effectively end their alliance with the Noah. Because it was hard to be aligned with someone who was dead. "I have much better things to be doing."

"That's just fine with me," Nicholas said, his voice once again distant.

"It is just an act," Lyssa couldn't help but think to herself as she listened to the once again distant voice of the Noah. She was more convinced of this fact now than ever and was determined to bring out the young man's true nature.

No matter how hard she had to work at it.

A/N - And there's the end of yet another chapter. And Nicky and Lyssa got to do some more bonding. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought!