Bak was baffled. He'd never seen anything like it in his life, in fact they had scarcely caught up even with how quickly Fo had called. Not only was there a mysterious innocence in particle form, but it was traveling on it's own. Could it sense its accomodator nearby? With Komui's help, the exorcists were on it's tail immediately, wherever it may lead.

Perhaps they'd get a new disciple of god after all.

-1-1-1-

"Woah."

It was all she could think to say upon entering this supposed "ark". Something felt incredibly familiar, and right, but at the same time off, as though there were something about this place she were forgetting. She kept close to Tyki's side as the other noah with her echoed the first bit of her thoughts around the room. The last half was replaced with thoughts of home. Lucky.

"The genes of the noah inside you are causing that sentimentality~" A voice floated from above them. She cringed. This would be hard to explain. "After Noah escaped from the great flood, this is where he created the ancestors of current humanity. This is your original birthplace~ I've mentioned this to you before, haven't I? This ark of Noah is truly the original home, the birth place of man kind. that's what I recall saying~"

"A birthplace, huh? And now it's a manufacturing plant for akuma." Tyki smiled.

"It's hilarious how the humans and akuma are born from the same place." Devit added.

"Hilarious, hee!"

"I feel that that's somehow poetic in a way I don't understand," Allen said with a carefully neutral expression.

"Someday Esther shall control it~ It is the job of the fourteenth~" He paused. "By the way, why are you all here and not doing your jobs~?" He took another pause and his aura seemed to darken. "Tyki-pon, where is my dear Esther's arm?"

"I-"

"I asked him to remove it," Allen covered in before her husband could speak.

"...Why~? After we made you that nice bracelet to hide it and everything~"

"It was really hurting me lately, I guess because I've been in my Noah form more often. Besides, it's only ever been a burden anyways. For it I have only bad memories."

"...I see~"

-1-1-1-

The two exorcists raced through the wasted landscape of Japan, through rubble and past empty buildings, cutting straight across memories no longer held by the living. That was the entire country now- a past no one remembered, save perhaps for the Earl himself. The only souls they passed were those of akuma, and even those paid them no mind, instead trudging slowly across the fields, as though in a dream, or speeding through the sky without so much as a glance in their direction. It killed them, but they returned the favor. They had to keep their eyes one the prize, and that innocence certainly wasn't slowing down.

Still, they had a bad feeling about this.

-1-1-1-

"SO PLEASE DO YOUR JOBS!"

Allen flinched, cringing in sympathy for the noah brothers.

"W-we're sorry..."

The Earl seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts for a moment, staring out over Japan. "Perhaps it is destiny that we are both present in this country, Cross Marian... Let us meet on the eve of my new ship's departure~"

"Is he okay?" She whispered to Tyki. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak the Earl suddenly swung Lero out towards the ground as thought pointing and screeched.

"Go, my akuma army! Attack the generals as one!"

-1-1-1-

"AH! The Millennium Earl got eaten!"

"Don't be absurd~. This attack isn't even on par with a general's level~" The Earl sing-songed, floating in the air by his umbrella. "Come one out... you little rats~"

The smoke cleared to reveal a large group of exorcists. "We won't let you get the generals, Earl!"

"Ha~ Do you think you can win~?"

"I see... is that silly looking fat-ass the earl, Bookman?" Said the one Allen recognized as the man she helped on the train. Come to think of it, the redheaded one with the eyepatch was there too, wasn't he?

"Yes." A small old man with dark circles surrounding his eyes bowed his head solemnly.

"He's the akuma manufacturer." The eye-patch from the train added.

"Are you really gonna fight against him!? Besides this large army, five of the noah-sama are here too! You'll never win! You'll die, 100 percent!" Berated a young woman that oddly enough looked almost like an akuma. Wasn't she an optimistic one.

"Don't say that, Chome..." argued the eye-patch. "We know how incredible their strength is... but we have no intention of fighting a losing battle."

"Lavi...but..." the akuma girls eyes started to water. "It's already a losing battle!"

"What a blithering noisemaker. We won't know if we'll lose until we try!" The sucker from the trained argued. Was it just her, or was he a lot... sweeter, on the train.

"That's right. We might end up winning hands down!"

"We won't know 'til we try!" They shouted, rushing forward.

"Millennium Earl, I'll handle this." Tyki stepped of the roof.

"No, Tyki, wait!" She leaped up after him, rushing over to his side before the exorcists. If he took issue with her presence, he didn't say anything.

"If it isn't the gentleman and the eye-patch from before."

"Before?"

"I have some free time at the moment. Keep me occupied again."

"What do you mean again?"

"Should we tell him, menina?" Tyki acknowledged her casually, looking down at her with one hand in his pocket and a trickster-esque smirk.

She shrugged wearily. "I don't see why not."

Slowly the medium grey tint of her skin lightened to a pale alabaster, her gold eyes reverting back to their original light watery silver.

"The hottie from the train!"

"The what?" He narrowed his eye at the eye-patch. "This is my wife, eye-patch. She's not available."

"Um, thanks, I guess?" She frowned. "Listen, I'm gonna go ahead and apologize now."

"Apologize for what, noah?"

"For killing you."

Her husband blinked down at her in surprise, but with an interested smile. "What was that now, menina?"

"Or you killing them. I apologize for either. It's just... I'm certainly not gonna let you fight alone. I don't want you to get hurt."

He scoffed, but it had a bit of a laugh in it. He still smiled. "So selfish, menina."

"What can I say, I'm a small woman."

"Yes, and not just in the fact that the top of your head doesn't quite reach my armpit."

"Hey, it's not my fault you're a goddamn gia-" suddenly she froze. Surrounding her was a cloud, or something that looked like cloud. Something about it felt familiar and made her stomach turn at the same time. She heard Tyki hiss and real away from it, but she herself felt no pain.

"Menina?" She head him call, sounding mildly concerned, but almost more curious.

"I'm fine, it's just..." She watched as the cloud seemed to inch smaller and smaller, concentrating around the stub where her left arm used to be. She heard feet hit the ground below her.

"Lenalee, Miranda!" The eye-patch greeted. "Are those the innocence particles you were following?"

"Yes, but why are they concentrating around the noah?" A short haired girl wondered aloud.

"Is- is that something bad?" a depressing looking woman fretted from beside her.

Meanwhile Allen could feel a pain growing onto her, like when her arm was destroyed, but the image was for some reason in reverse. Bit by bit she gaped as her left arm pieced itself back together, until eventually it was back in its original red, twisted state, green cross and all. She squeezed her eyes like a dam, a barrier to her tears, as she curled and uncurled the fingers on her newly regained hand as tough to be sure it were real. Deciding it was she clenched the hand, wandering what kind of sick joke God was trying to play on her.

Surely a benevolent God would not do this to her- curse her with this arm, then after years of torture allow her to taste the freedom of its loss, only for it to show up again days later out of the blue. For it to lead her to Mana and have him die. God had led her to him, and taken him away- but had he not led her to Tyki, too? She had to believe it was her own guidance, her own failure at direction that allowed them to meet that day, but still she couldn't shake her worry.

There was an audible gasp from the Chinese girl, and even eye-patch and vampire-boy looked surprised. "But how...?"

They watched as the redhead struggled to fight off tears, and with the innocence finally having taken shape they watched Tyki rush forward, wide-eyed and curious. "Você está magoada, menina? Are you in pain?"

"Stop that," she winced, flinching a bit as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "How would you feel if I spoke French all the time? Donc, non, Tyki, je suis parfaitement bien."

"What?"

"Exactly." She gently pushed away his hand. "I said I'm fine. Really, I am, though I can't say I'm honestly overjoyed to have it back." She gave a small smile, reaching into her dress pocket and puling out the silver bracelet, clasping it firmly onto her deformed arm, returning it again to its facade of normality. "C'est la vie."

He grinned. "Even I know that one, menina."

"I figured as much."

"Oi!"

The man frowned as he turned around back to the exorcists. "What? You're all still here?"

"How did you get that innocence to attach to you, noah?" The eye-patch called.

"I was born with it, unfortunately." She glared. "It's never been anything but trouble, trust me, I was glad to be rid of it."

"Has this ever happened before?" The short haired girl asked in the direction of the eyepatch and old man.

Eyepatch shook his head. "Not that I've ever heard of."

Old man stayed silent.

"What are we all standing around for?" Allen said, stretching her now matching arms after a moment of silence. There were these exorcists, and there was her husband. She'd realized long ago it was one or the other- she'd made her choice. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Don't be so eager, menina, that's my job," her husband purred.

She scoffed, making her way towards the exorcists, now with a small flute in hand. Even if it hurt, she'd made her choice. "You need to learn how to share, mon vilain."

"You have not yet given me a reason to, menina."

She smirked an emotion that contradicted her eyes. "I will."

-End Chapter-

AN: Okay, apparently Cross is next chapter... I'm not particularly happy with this one, but I'm sure some people will point out my errors in the reviews. I dislike this chapter enough I may edit based upon them this time.

WHO ELSE IS HYPED FOR DGM NIGHT 219 TOMORROW!? I AM! Now I just need to find it in English so I'll understand more than every other word they're saying T.T

Also I just finished reading the Silence of the Lambs sequel, Hannibal, and after oddly shipping them in that book and movie I just feel so justified now and shall continue to ship it for the rest of my days. Unlike Silence of the Lambs the Hannibal movie was only okay though. Anyways, my point is they also make me feel that if Hannibal the Cannibal and Clarice the FBI agent can end their story dancing over a dinner that may very well contain human liver in Buenos Aires, Tyki and Allen can have a happy ending too, dammit!