Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Twelve - Risking It All

"Please… please help me find somewhere I belong."

As Lyssa made her way back to the inn where she and the others were staying the young woman couldn't keep her thoughts away from the mahogany haired young man that she had just spoken with. Nicholas, the Noah of Praise, had actually asked for her help. And even though she had vowed to help him when he had proclaimed that he was beyond all hope Lyssa couldn't help the small voice in the back of her mind that questioned whether she would actually be able to help him.

But this voice was all but silenced when the young woman thought back to the look in the eyes of the Noah. Those gray orbs that had been practically begging for help to escape the world he felt trapped in.

"How am I going to keep this one a secret from Master Cross?" Lyssa thought as she made her way back. That was fairly high up on her list of priorities, although it wasn't at the top of the list. She knew for a fact that he wouldn't approve of the choice that she had made but at the same time Lyssa was determined to follow through with her promise to help Nicholas beat the darkness.

This train of thought brought something else to Lyssa's mind and she realized at this point that she was going to have to lie to her master. Something that she rarely resorted to but also something that was unfortunately necessary owing to the circumstances. As they said, one lie inevitably led to another and another. It was a vicious cycle. Lyssa knew this and yet she'd still found it so easy to tell that first lie. She'd told him when she left that she was going out to search for a job but since that had been a lie she had no money to give to him. "Well this isn't going to go over very well," the young woman couldn't help but think to herself. And yet, for some reason, she was still in a remarkably good mood.

The time that she had spent with Nicholas had made Lyssa feel all giddy but she didn't want to admit this fact. The feelings that she harbored for the young Noah were strange to say the least and something that Lyssa tried her best not to dwell on for any great length of time.

"I'm so in denial…"

Lyssa found herself muttering these words as she approached the room in the inn that was designated as hers. Of course the fact that she could admit this to herself gave her hope for the future but it was only to a small degree. The more practical part of herself knew that she was risking a great deal with her current actions.

"Please Nicky… please don't make me regret this decision."

This was one of the main things that Lyssa kept repeating; begging for the Noah not to make her regret the decision to help him. Even though she had absolutely no intention of ever saying it to his face the young woman still couldn't keep from thinking it to herself. Because she really was risking a tremendous amount in order to help him.

In fact she was risking her very life.

Even though Master Cross was secretly allying himself with the young Noah, Lyssa was well aware that she was taking an even bigger risk. The Black Order would never see Nicholas as anything other than a threat and they would view the fact that she was attempting to help him as an act of heresy. Which was as good as a death sentence.

And yet Lyssa was still determined to do everything in her power to help the young Noah with the haunted gray eyes. Simply because he had asked it of her.

"Lyssa!"

The young woman jumped slightly as she heard this voice call out to her. Glancing over her shoulder Lyssa watched as her master walked toward her. This was the last thing that she expected but in hindsight Lyssa realized that she should have expected it. Because it was simply the way that her luck ran; if something bad could happen then it was almost a guarantee that it would.

But she hid her surprise and frustration and offered Cross a smile. "What is it Master?"

"Where have you been girl?" Cross demanded, gazing at Lyssa through his one visible red eye.

This question caused Lyssa's pulse rate to quicken as she thought back to her meeting with Nicholas but she forced her mind away from those memories. Before she slipped up and gave something away that she would regret for the remainder of her life. "Just out looking for work… which I was unfortunately unable to find."

Cross studied his apprentice for a few minutes, as though sizing her up. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "Go and gather up your things. We're leaving."

And, without so much as another word, Cross turned and walked away.

Lyssa watched as her master walked away and then, once he was out of sight, she rushed to her room. Pulling the key out of her pocket the young woman let herself inside and promptly collapsed to the floor. Her body was trembling and she was mildly surprised that she hadn't given herself away with her clumsy ways. "I'm going to end up with gray hair before this is all over," the young woman muttered to herself.

After taking a couple of moments to collect herself Lyssa quickly changed into her Exorcist uniform before packing up her few meager belongings. She didn't see the need in having very many personal possessions so all that she owned easily fit into a small shoulder bag.

"I wonder where we're going…" Lyssa thought to herself, one eyebrow arched. "And why Master Cross is in such a big hurry." Then, after a few minutes of thought, the young woman shook her head. "I really hope that we're not running away from debt collectors again."

That was a constant in her life that Lyssa could definitely do without… and this time she didn't have any money to use in order to pay off her master's debts.

"I shouldn't have to pay off his debts," the young woman thought bitterly as she moved about the small room, straightening it up a little bit. If they weren't going to be paying for the rooms that they had used then the least she could do was to make sure that hers at least was tidy. It would help alleviate some of her guilt.

Then, once that little chore was complete, Lyssa threw her bag over her shoulder and left the room. Stepping back outside the young woman saw that Master Cross and Maria were standing outside their own room. And of course the red haired Exorcist general was looking impatient.

"I'm coming," Lyssa called out in a placating tone, rushing over to join her companions.

"Let's go," Cross said gruffly.

Lyssa was used to the gruff demeanor of her master and merely shrugged it off as she fell into step behind him and Maria. She didn't ask where it was that they were going, figuring that she would find out that information when Cross deemed it pertinent. Which meant that she would most likely know where they were going when they got there. Par for the course as far as Lyssa was concerned.

Nicholas wasn't sure how he felt as he made his way back toward the Ark, accompanied by Timcanpy. He had opened up to the girl named Lyssa; had asked someone whom he barely even knew to help save him from the darkness of his won soul. There was a part of him that felt absolutely mortified by this obvious show of weakness on his part but there was also a part of him that felt hopeful for the first time since he joined the ranks of the Millennium Earl.

"I didn't even think it was possible for me to feel hope again…"

The Noah of Praise had given up on ever feeling these emotions that were connected with humanity. Humanity was something that he had given up when he made the decision to embrace his Noah side. Even though he hadn't fully realized the implications of that decision at the time the fact remained that he had made it willingly. Had walked away from his brother, the only family that remained to him.

And oh how he regretted that decision.

Nicholas wished that he could go back to that fateful day and make a different decision but it was too late for that. He had chosen to walk away from Mana and knew that he didn't deserve to even ask his brother for forgiveness.

"I have no right to expect him to just say that everything is okay," Nicholas thought to himself as he continued on his way. Timcanpy was fluttering along beside him and the young man absently glanced at the golden creature out of the corner of his eye. "Because everything is decidedly not okay. And I don't want to put him in danger."

The thought of putting his brother in danger should Nicholas ever have contact with him again served to bring home the seriousness of exactly what he was doing. The risk that he was taking. An image of the Millennium Earl and the other members of the Clan of Noah flashed unbidden into Nicholas' mind. He was well aware of the fact that his demise would be brutal should the head of his family learn of his betrayal.

But it wasn't fear for himself that served as his main motivation for keeping this a secret from his surrogate family. It was fear for the young woman who had grown to mean a tremendous amount to him in the short time that he had known her. The angel that he was hoping would be able to bring the light back into his worthless life. The person that he had to protect at all costs. What the Earl would do to him for the betrayal paled in comparison to what Lyssa would suffer and this train of thought caused a much more disturbing image to appear in the Noah's mind's eye.

The image of Lyssa lying dead and bloody on the ground, the members of the Clan of Noah standing around her. Sadistic grins spread across each of their faces.

Taking a deep breath Nicholas banished this image from his mind. Clenching his hands into fists the young man thought to himself, "I refuse to allow that to happen."

As though he sensed his master's distress Timcanpy gently nudged the side of the young Noah's head. Nicholas was somewhat startled by this motion, not having been expecting it. But when his gaze fell upon his little companion the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "I don't want anything to happen to her because of me Tim… but at the same time I'm too selfish to let her go."

Shaking his head Nicholas removed his top hat and ran a hand through his thick, mahogany hair. This nervous gesture still irritated him to no end but there was nothing to be done for it. It was just one of the quirks of his personality.

"What am I supposed to do Tim?"

Nicholas didn't know what made his ask the question to the golem. He knew that Timcanpy couldn't answer him yet it brought him a measure of comfort just to be able to speak to someone. Of course what he really wanted to do was speak to Lyssa but that wasn't currently an option.

By this time Nicholas had reached the Ark and he was met this time not by the Millennium Earl but by Road. The young girl immediately threw herself at Nicholas, wrapping her arms around his neck and gazing up at him through adoring eyes. "I've missed you Nicky-pet!" There was a slightly petulant tone to Road's voice. And she had once again reverted to using that vile nickname that he despised. "Why did you leave for so long?"

"I was only gone a few hours Road." Nicholas spoke in a calm voice, at the same time working to extricate himself from the stranglehold that Road had on him. It really was a good thing that the Noah genes made them more resilient than normal humans or else he might have suffered serious injury due to the intensity of her greetings. Not to mention those so called games that she liked to play. "And I left because I had business to attend to."

"What kind of business?" Road pressed, reluctantly releasing her grip on her favorite sibling. "I wasn't aware that Millennie had issued any orders."

"I wasn't acting on Lord Millennium's orders," Nicholas conceded, the mask of the Noah of Praise descending to cover his emotions. "Or at least not any orders that he issued recently. He told us all to keep tabs on the movements of the Exorcists so that we can find the shards of Innocence before they do."

"So you were tracking the movements of Exorcists?"

"Unfortunately." It took much more work for Nicholas to make his voice emotionless but the young man knew that he had to succeed. Or else he would put Lyssa and the others at risk.

Something that he was desperate not to do.

"You poor thing!" Road's voice was filled with sympathy. She knew exactly how boring it was to track the movements of the stupid Exorcists and was glad that she hadn't been in Nicholas' place. Because she wasn't entirely sure that she could abide by the no killing rule. "I can't wait until we can kill those fools."

Nicholas watched as a sadistic smile spread across Road's face. He was well aware of her desire to kill the Exorcists and this only caused him to renew his vow to keep the knowledge of Lyssa from his 'family' at all costs. For a moment the carefully maintained mask that Nicholas wore slipped however, thankfully, Road didn't notice. Completely oblivious the young girl seized Nicholas by the hand. "Come on… I know what will cheer you up."

An image of Lyssa flashed into the mind of the Musician, bringing with it a soft smile.

Seeing her again was the only thing that would serve to cheer him up but of course he couldn't say that to Road. So he merely allowed her to lead him along the twisting maze of the Ark and to the manor that belonged to the Millennium Earl. He was only vaguely curious about where she was taking him and mostly hoping that this wouldn't involve him being forced to fight for his life against his 'sister'.

Because that was Road's idea of fun.

This turned out to not be the case however. Instead of summoning one of her doors and taking him to her private domain, Road instead led Nicholas to the large parlor. Then, once they were inside, she pushed him toward the piano. A smile appeared on the young girl's face as Nicholas took the hint and sat down at the piano, fingers poised over the keys. "This should cheer you up Nicky-pet!"

In the past simply sitting at the piano had always served to lift the young Noah's spirits but things were different now. He placed his fingers to the keys and began to play, as Road expected of him, but he didn't smile.

That is until his mind conjured up images of a violin accompaniment and an angel standing beside him.

Her image alone caused a true smile to spread across his face. And in this moment Nicholas vowed that this would someday be more than a vision. A dream that helped him get through his days.

"It's going to be a reality…"

A/N - The end of yet another chapter in the story of Nicky and Lyssa. I hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. 'puppy-dog eyes'