Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Nineteen - Plan Set Into Motion

Skipping down a corridor in the tower of the Ark, Road Kamelot turned a corner and suddenly drew up short as she spotted a familiar figure walking in front of her. It was the Fourteenth, seemingly preoccupied by something, and this discovery served to brighten her mood. She had been searching for a way to occupy her time for what seemed like ages but none of her siblings wanted to play with her.

They all made the excuse that they were busy and didn't have time for her childish games.

A fact that caused a pout to form on her face as they one by one turned her down. Wishing that Lord Millennium hadn't taken Lero with him the young girl was forced to search for something else to do.

Which was the reason why she was so ecstatically happy to run into the Musician. It was easier to convince him to play with her than any of the others, for which Road loved him. Smiling brightly she called out to him in her most charming voice.

"Nicky-pet!"

The silver haired Noah visibly cringed as he heard the sing-songy voice that was calling out from behind him. Pausing mid-step Nicholas glanced over his shoulder, watching as Road skipped toward him. She wore a broad smile on her face and it was blatantly obvious by the sadistic gleam in her golden eyes, that she wanted something. And since she had used the much loathed nickname Nicholas was willing to wager that she wanted to play one of her deranged games.

Which, needless to say, he was NOT in the mood for at the moment.

"What do you want Road?" he questioned, his voice devoid of emotion despite the fact that he was beyond annoyed. She was the last person that he would have chosen to run into, which was of course the reason why it was her and not someone else.

"Do I have to want something in order to speak to my favorite brother?" The expression on her face was one of pure innocence but the Musician wasn't fooled.

"Yes," he deadpanned.

Road merely stared at him for a moment before she beamed at him. Taking a couple of quick steps she seized him by the hand, before he had time to register exactly what she was doing. As she gazed up into his eyes her impossibly wide smile grew even wider, though Nicholas wasn't exactly sure how that was even possible. "Well actually… I'm bored Nicky-pet. Let's play a game!"

The Musician was cautious around her at the best of times but the moment the word 'game' escaped her lips he was on high alert. Mainly by virtue of the fact that he had learned soon after his arrival that the Noah of Dreams didn't have a normal concept of fun.

Thinking fast Nicholas attempted to come up with a believable excuse for why he COULDN'T play her games. Much to his chagrin nothing immediately came to mind. So instead the young Noah decided on Plan B. living with his rather odd and sadistically dysfunctional family Nicholas had learned that it was always a good idea to have a Plan B… and sometimes even a Plan C.

"Tell you what Road," Nicholas said, doing everything in his power to keep his features impassive so that she wouldn't become suspicious. "Give me a few minutes to change clothes and then I'll play your little game."

"Okay!" Road chimed, happy that for once someone had actually agreed to play her game.

Without the need for coercion.

Inclining his head to his sibling, who was barely managing to contain her obvious impatience, Nicholas continued on his way. His constant companion Timcanpy was flying along beside him. Turning a corner, out of sight of Road, the Musician nodded his head ever so slightly. Taking the hint Timcanpy flew forward, opening the doorway to the secret room.

The Musician's inner sanctum.

"Road isn't going to be happy," Nicholas muttered as he stepped through the open portal. "But I don't have the time nor the patience for her fun and games at the present moment."

The quiet of the white room was a welcome respite but of course the young Noah found it impossible to relax. Despite the calm that came with being alone in a space that was solely his. Shoving his hands roughly into the pockets of his trousers Nicholas began to pace about the room in a restless manner.

"I can't believe that I actually allowed them to talk me into this ludicrous plan," he muttered as he paced.

Over three weeks had passed since that rather fateful meeting with the group of Exorcists and yet he was still stunned by his own agreement to go along with the plan. Despite his reservations he had told them that he would do it.

He'd been second guessing himself ever since.

The Musician had had nothing but time to dwell on this perceived mistake on his part. Biding his time, in an effort to not appear overly suspicious, Nicholas had merely been pretending to search for his assigned target. A performance that was necessary in order to keep his cover in place. Owing to Timcanpy's ability to track Nicholas knew that he would have little difficulty finding the red haired general but that would look strange to his surrogate family.

So he was forced to wait.

He still thought that it was a big mistake to involve the two female Exorcists but of course his opinion hadn't really been taken into consideration when they had discussed the various options.

"And she honestly thinks that this is a good plan," the young man muttered darkly to himself as he continued to pace. While it was true that he'd been forced to retreat to his secret room by Road's insistence that he play with her, now that he was trapped Nicholas was feeling decidedly like a caged tiger. He couldn't seem to sit still, or sit at all for that matter, and not even the piano could hold his interest. All he could manage to do was wear a hole in the floor with his incessant pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. The very repetitiveness of the motion was enough to drive him mad and yet the Musician simply couldn't stop.

His heart was racing and his hands were clammy, a sensation that he wasn't accustomed to and wholly didn't enjoy. A small part of his mind, the part controlled by the Noah genes that he possessed, couldn't help but think that such feelings were fit only for the weak and pathetic sub humans. But at the same time Nicholas was still human enough to fight against that train of thought. Because the brown haired Exorcist who had so thoroughly captured his intrigue was technically one of the sub humans that he had been taught to loathe and she was anything but weak. Lyssa was one of the strongest people, male or female, that he had ever met but that didn't mean that she was prepared to stand up against any of the members of his surrogate family.

A scenario that could easily become a reality due to her plan.

This was a thought that only served to further unsettle the young man and he came to an abrupt halt as images appeared unbidden in his mind. He couldn't keep Lyssa off his mind, nor could he shake the nagging feeling that something was going to happen. This plan of hers was foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. A thought that Nicholas couldn't tolerate and yet at the same time couldn't force from his mind.

The sight of her bloody corpse lying on the ground.

Shaking his head almost violently Nicholas resumed his pacing, absently running a hand through his already unruly silver hair. This only caused it to stand up even more than normal but that was of little consequence to him. Granted the entire habit was an annoyance that he absolutely abhorred, but when he was stressed Nicholas couldn't seem to stop himself.

And at this point in time stressed was a major understatement.

And, as though all of this wasn't bad enough, the young man also had to deal with the little voice in the back of his mind screaming for the deaths of all three of the Exorcists. Admittedly this would make things easier for him, as well as solve several of his problems. But life without Lyssa wasn't something that he could handle. A direct contradiction to his nature as one of the members of the Clan of Noah but for perhaps the first time Nicholas was almost confident that he could fight against his nature.

For Lyssa.

"I'm not deserving of her kindness," he thought to himself as he made yet another lap around the room. "But I want to become a man who is deserving of her love."

Having reached this conclusion Nicholas once again abruptly halted his pacing, staring off into space for a moment as though transfixed. Then, with a sigh, he turned his attention back toward Timcanpy. The golem had been perched on the piano, in the place where the sheet music was meant to be kept, but he shot into the air the moment that his master turned his gaze in his direction.

"Let's get this disaster over with Tim," the young Noah said quietly, a distant look appearing in his golden eyes.

With a brief nod Timcanpy flew forward, once again opening the door so that the Musician wouldn't have to. Emerging from the secret room, Nicholas strode down the hall purposefully. There was no avoiding the inevitable so he decided that there was nothing to be done for it except to face it head on.

So that became his plan of action.

"Where did he go?" Road huffed as she made her way down the corridor. The Fourteenth had promised to play a game with her but then hadn't shown up. Which of course had put the young Noah girl in a rather foul mood. And made her determined to track down her wayward brother and make him regret that decision. "He promised to play with me and now he's…"

Her rant was cut short as she witnessed Nicholas turn a corner and make his way toward the door. Ducking back so that he wouldn't see her, Road locked her gaze onto the Musician. His features were determined and his steps purposeful… which effectively served to arouse her curiosity.

"Where are you going Nicky-pet?" she thought to herself, making a split second decision to follow her brother. She wasn't aware of any new orders from Lord Millennium so… a somewhat sadistic smile appeared on the girl's face. "Maybe he's found that red haired Exorcist!"

If that were the case then she decided that she could more than likely find it in her heart to forgive the Musician for avoiding her game. After all watching him fight and kill an Exorcist would be much more fun.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

Road was well aware of the fact that Nicholas wouldn't approve of her following along behind him so she resolved to be sneaky about it. Allowing him to exit the manor the Noah of Dreams followed along at a safe distance… and lamented the fact that she couldn't hear what he was saying to his little golden companion.

"I really wish that Nicky-pet would let me play with it," she thought idly as she made her way along the trail behind him. This was a completely random thought but then again that was pretty much the way that Road's mind worked. It took a great deal to hold her interest for any great length of time. Out of all of her siblings Nicholas was the best at keeping her entertained, which was part of the reason why he was her favorite.

And the main reason why she made it her business to know where he was when he was out of her sight.

This thought abruptly shifted to another as she continued to follow him along the path. She had no idea where exactly he was going, or what his plans were, but sincerely hoped that they didn't involve traipsing through the forest all day. Because that was definitely NOT her idea of fun.

"This better not be another one of his nature hikes," she inwardly ranted, recalling the hike that she and the Musician had taken soon after his arrival. They had spent FOREVER in the forest and it hadn't been any fun at all. He wouldn't even let her play with any of the little animals that were hanging around.

Had Nicholas not been preoccupied by his concerns about the upcoming 'battle' with Cross then he may have noticed that an unwanted entity was following along behind him. But as it was the young man was so caught up in his train of thought that the fact that he was being accompanied by Road didn't even register with him. Normally an incredibly observant individual this would become an oversight that would come back to haunt the Musician.

A/N - End of yet another chapter. Sorry for the delay but my muses have been less than cooperative as of late. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought.