A/N: thank you to everyone who reviewed, I hope this chapter answers a few more questions, I don't know how long I am going to drag this thing out for but I'm really getting in to it now. Tyki's idea took on a life of its own so it's a little different from what I planned but still acceptable. Please rate and review, it is nice to hear what you have to say, even if it's just "interesting story" or "not really my thing" or "please continue"

Disclaimer: I just realised that if I wrote -man because I use stick men most people would be under the impression that Kanda was a girl and that Rhoade was a boy because the only way I have to differentiate between genders is by hair length so I quite obviously don't own -man.

6. Narcissism

It didn't take Tyki long to realise there was someone there, someone he couldn't see. An exorcist obviously, and one whose DNA had unwillingly been injected into his system. He quickly ran through all the exorcists he knew and their abilities. He couldn't think of any with an ability that would stop him seeing them. Something stirred at the back of his mind. First, a memory of Rhoade asking him if he'd changed his brand of cigarettes then one that was hazier. One seen through eyes that had felt more animal than human, driven by instinct, a time he wished he could forget. He had cornered the children and in all likelihood, he would have killed them had the general not appeared then. He didn't remember exactly how only that one second the children had been present, the next the General seemed to be his only opponent.

"I know you are here Cross Marian, and even though my ancestors will curse me for this, I need your help and I get the feeling that you may need mine. I have an idea, one that benefits both of us."

***

Rhoade stood on her candles, as far as she could from Komui. He had a look in his eyes that was usually reserved for Lenalee.

"Rhoade-chan, come down, I'm your big brother. I'm going to keep you safe and then we're going to find Lenalee. Then we can be one big, happy family, unaffected by this war nonsense. Come on, don't be scared, I'll protect you."

"You're the problem" Rhoade howled. Using her door didn't seem like such a bad idea at that moment in time. Not at all unoriginal. She glared at Lulubell, see if she ever tried to make her feel better again. Some people had no gratitude.

Lulubell and Bookman were trying to sort out the next batch of antidote, and keeping as far away from Komui as possible. Bookman was what Komui considered a threat to Rhoade's safety and Rhoade wasn't happy with Lulubell so they were both on his blacklist. They sorted through the potential antidotes, trying to find one that looked promising but they were coming up with nothing.

"Komui! Which one is next in line, which one is most likely to act as an antidote?"

Drawing Komui's attention had not been the best of ideas. His drill popped out of nowhere and suddenly Lulubell got a very bad feeling.

"Silence! You have no right to talk in the presence of my precious Rhoade, Noah who has upset her. You voice will grate on her delicate hearing."

Rhoade, ask him which one we should put in next!"

"Why should I?"

"unless you have plans to join a new family I advise you do."

Rhoade glared at them but turned to Komui. She mightn't like helping them but she certainly knew what was in her interests.

"Komui, which potential antidote should be heated next?"

"One of the ones labelled K2 and then letters, the rest are that stupid Bak's ideas. I based them on the reverse of his formula."

Lulubell immediately picked up the batch labelled K2LME3.

"No don't"

"Why"

Bookman picked some of the ones with Bak's formula.

"Komui is many things, one of them is scientifically smart, he knows enough to have made the one based on the reverse of Bak's formula work. They probably used the affection created by Bak's drugs in the final drafts for exorcists, and we need them to be level headed more than we need the mobs to be. The current draft will probably work for the masses."

"I don't see why."

"Look at how he is behaving now. The only understanding Komui has of love for a girl, is an over protective desire to guard his little sister. Alter that slightly and it'll create a devotion to a person, like now but they created love in the exorcists. To do that they would have needed Bak's work."

They put the concoction in to bake. Unfortunately, they were so intent on the antibody that they didn't notice the mob until it was too late. They poured into the room, hell bent on finding something. For the most part, they ignored Bookman and Lulubell but Komui was not so lucky.

"Where is it?"

"Lenalee-chan needs the antibody!"

"Allen-kun will die and then we will hold you personally responsible!"

Clambering hands pawed at Komui's pockets, upsetting glass vials and science projects with a carelessness that terrified the sane occupants of the room. The other three potential cures fell to the ground. Shattering on impact. They seemed to find what they were looking for. Rhoade noticed with a sinking heart that they had picked up half of the so-called antibody. The Bookman seemed to notice something that the rest of them didn't. He flung open the furnace and grabbed the baking antidote. He ran from the room shouting behind him. He didn't even stop to remove the oven gloves or take the antidote from the red hot metal it was in.

"Get out! He's going to release the fumes from the last batch! Brat, where are you! Come heat this up before it cools down and then we really have nothing left."

Rhoade and Lulubell barely made it. The last thing they heard as they fled the lab and Ark was maniacal laughter and the sound of gas escaping from a container.

***

Lenalee had heard the sound of the mob she'd sent to retrieve the antidote. It had sounded smaller, but that hadn't bothered her. Her brother hadn't got to where he was without creating weapons capable of incapacitating people. All that worried her now was that he might have stopped them getting the antidote. She flitted out, relief filled her when she saw the syringes in their hands. She didn't even stop to listen to what had happened.

"Allen? Are you okay? Don't worry, I'm going to fix this."

She emptied as many syringes as she could into his bloodstream and the breath returned to her body. Already she could see that this had helped him, she made a mental note to kiss her brother when she saw him again.

***

Lavi and Crowley were breathing hard, luckily enough the mob had been to busy looking for other things to pay much attention to them. That didn't mean that once they had done whatever they wanted to that they wouldn't have time to play bash-the-exorcist. Well, more accurately stick-a-needle-full-of-a-maniac's-love-potion-into-an-exorcist. Quite frankly the people in the room consisted of two Noah, who Lavi wasn't particularly fond of, especially the sadistic child who had came close to killing part of him, the maniac, no guilt there, who had created the problem and Bookman. Out of the four people in the room there was only one Lavi would consider saving. He kept an eye out for the one in question and when his teacher ran out of the room, carrying something, Lavi had pulled him aside. It seemed to be some form of antidote. Lavi heated it with hi-ban. They had eventually found somewhere that could be considered safe and had stopped. Bookman had quickly explained all that had happened in the room and they had made plans from there. Crowley and Lavi had gone to try and warn Marie's team that they might have an antibody, and that they could not make one based on Komui's formula, while Bookman went to find Bak. Bookman had kept the antidote and had told them which formula to use so that Timothy could create another batch. They'd been extraordinarily careful and then everything had just gone wrong. Lavi didn't know exactly what happened but Cross and Tyki Mikk had appeared out of thin air in front of him. The next thing he knew he had three needles in his neck and he was flat on his back.

"And you are sure this will work Noah."

"No, your scientist created it, if you can't see any potential problems then I certainly can't but our two test subjects don't seem to bad."

Test subjects? Lavi felt outraged that someone had dared to use him as a test subject. Couldn't they have used one of the more lowly people? Like the finders, or his fans, or another exorcist?

"I doubt Komui allowed for someone doing what you have."

"Well what else could be done? You need to stop the exorcists falling a love with one another. Till there is a working antidote this is the best way."

"Well I guess if you can't love someone else you should love yourself but still injecting them with their own needles…"