Twenty-nine

Steps Towards a New Beginning

I have a newfound respect for Tyki.

It's already been a few weeks since the night I woke up after meeting Katerina, the same night that Tyki and I found out about my new pregnancy. To say that we are ecstatic would be an understatement. And the respect that I'm talking about for Tyki comes from the fact that he's been like a hawk watching over me despite his constant work. Every morning he reminds me not to go close to Sheril while every night he asks me how I'm doing. It's a bit smothering but I appreciate the gesture.

That we haven't said one word to anybody about this, though, has us somewhat at ease. We talked about it the night we found out and agreed not to say anything to anyone. Tyki wanted to keep this a secret for as long as possible so that no one could use the knowledge against us like they've done in the past. And although I know this won't keep those who can sense it like Apocryphos can away for long, I'm all on board for a full non-disclosure agreement until I start showing. That won't be until a good few months and we'll have to think about another way to keep me safe then.

One thing that I don't like about having my own guard dog with me 24/7, however, is that it's impeding me from searching for the Campbell Manor's location. Even though it might be better to simply tell Tyki and ask him about it, something tells me that I shouldn't. It's that same gut feeling that's always been with me, keeping me alive, and for now I think I'm going to flow with it. For as long as it's safe, anyway.

This morning, though, I think I caught a break. Tyki's new mission is sending him off somewhere for at least a couple of days and although he vehemently disagreed with it, he had no choice. He left early this morning and told me to not leave the room until he returned.

"It's our safest bet for now," he said and I agreed.

Not counting the fact that I was crossing my fingers behind my back. Now that he's gone I can go search for clues about this manor. And surely the Kamelot's who're close to the Millennium Earl and retain such a huge array of information must have something.

But as my morning quickly turns close to evening for my first day alone and after I've rummaged through a good two thirds of this damn library, I can't seem to find crap about anything relating to the Campbell family. Despite finding mentions of them here and there on official documents, they all lead me to dead ends. It's like any information of the Campbell family goes to perpetual black holes.

Library isn't any good then.

But the rest of the evening just before bedtime is just as useless when I spend it searching elsewhere for any clue about them. This whole fucking day was truly for nothing.

Having skipped lunch and dinner, I don't really want to go to sleep but also knowing that the kitchen is closed for business, I'm debating whether or not to just go. My rumbling stomach and the fact that I'm also with child makes me drag my feet down to the kitchen. The eerie darkness makes all the corridors I go through seem pretty terrifying but that fear is quickly deterred when I reach the large kitchen.

Thankfully for me, it's as empty as I'd hoped it would be. Not wasting a second I ravage through the cabinets and find whatever it is I'm up to eating. It surprises me that even in my last pregnancy my cravings weren't really exactly cravings but more like a binge attack. Not accounting for my being a parasitic-type, I'm eating five times what I weigh in food…at least.

My lips press against the cool skin of an apple as a thought hits me. I reach down with my hand until I can touch my stomach and imagine for a second what it'll be like in three or four months when it extends and I can feel my baby moving inside of me.

Not just mine. Tyki's, too.

That just makes me smile to myself at the thought of getting another chance at this. Of being able to experience motherhood and having a child to take care of. Surely, back in my world, I would've never thought about settling and having a family, especially at my age. A young woman of twenty-two like me would have spent her time better getting interviewed for medical school. The prospect of that had once filled me with joy and pride, one that I feel ten times over as I think about what my future will be with my new family. Yep, nothing could beat this.

But as I bite down on the apple to taste the sweet flesh of the inside, I can't help but worry once more about the world I'll be bringing them into. A world of war, death, and sadness. But I won't let fear or doubt about this world deter me anymore. I'm going to face it, head on this time, and change it myself.

"Find this place where my sons—where my Nea and Mana lived. Here you can gain the power and wisdom to protect all, if only you dare to see the world and its people not for what they are but for what they could be."

Katerina's words still ring true to me. I don't believe her to be a bad person despite not knowing anything about her. And it might be naïve of me to think this way but I believe she doesn't wish me ill. A mother like her, who's known the sorrow of losing her children, wouldn't deceive me.

I wish for the world she speaks of, the one that could be. A world of peace, of no hunger, of no untimely deaths, no violence, no sorrow. That's the world I want my child to live in. That's the world I want Allen and the other Exorcists, who have fought and sacrificed so much, to live in. That's the kind of world that I want the Noah to witness, to know that it is possible for it to exist.

It's possible for humans to coexist and live peacefully. It's possible for us to fight against what threatens the world and do better for ourselves. It's all possible.

If only we try.

But I won't just try.

I'll succeed.

With new determination filling me to the brim, I toss the core of my finished apple towards the trash can that's nearby but groan when I miss it. Walking over to it, I bend down on one knee but don't catch my balance quickly enough when I slip. As a reflex, I reach out to grab onto anything that I can and catch one of the brooms that's lying around to break my fall enough for it not to hurt. What does hurt my eardrums is the ruckus that follows afterwards when the mops and other brooms that were lying nearby topple over like dominoes. They fall over each other and one catches the end of a candle holder and moves it up to the side. Curiously enough, it holds in place and it's followed by the shift and sudden pop of air next to me. Right beside me, my eyes catch the slit of darkness that appeared when the wall opened inwards.

A secret passage. Like the one that I found near Sheril's office.

I had completely forgotten about that. So much had gone on that I haven't had the time to even go back. The fact that so many people passed around there so often also didn't give me much leeway to go explore. But that there would be more than just one entrance made sense especially if what's inside this manor is a whole interwoven tunnel system.

More than one entrance means more than one exit.

And that also mean that they're hiding something under there as well. Peeking through the slit, I see nothing but pitch darkness. Standing back up, I grab the closest lit candle and take it with me as I tread into the space that's opened up. Once through I instantly feel a little claustrophobic. The hall's made so narrow that it only allows for one person to go through at a time. Not wanting to scare myself out of this, I take one step after another with one hand on my candle and the other against the wall as I make my way through the pathway. Darkness encroaches around me fast despite the entrance being a few feet behind me. No light from the kitchen pours in anymore and I'm only left with the small wick of a candle.

Slowly and carefully I tread my way through cobblestone stairs and smaller passages; the deeper I go the colder it starts to feel as well. It feels like an eternity later that I find myself in a large enough space to have my arms spread out before me. The liberty to move gives me a small sense of ease until I see that splitting paths have appeared. And although they're only three the dread I feel at seeing them doesn't disappear.

A mild panic sets in on me at thinking about choosing the wrong path by accident and it leading me to somewhere I don't want to be.

Sheril's face would be the worst, in my opinion.

But before I can doubt myself further, my gut feeling from before urges me to look up to the left most passage. Why in the heavens would I even listen to it is beyond me but I do anyway and make my way through it. The paths become narrow again and I find myself going down more stairs. It's exhausting because they keep getting steeper and it makes me wonder just how deep below ground I really am. It's a few minutes later that I find myself at the bottom and on solid ground amongst a big open space. It's dark with nothing around and I have to step lightly just to assure myself I'm being careful.

I only take a few steps towards what I assume to be the middle of the room when I hear a faint noise. It stops me right in my tracks and my breath hitches with the fear that someone or something is in here with me. I'm silently praying it's nothing but when I hear out for it again, I hear the faint sound of someone breathing.

Very shallowly. As if…in pain.

That instantly washes away my fear and instigates me to go after the breathing. I start slightly jogging but soon stumble against a flat surface that reaches up to my chest and pushes me back upon impact. I fall down onto my back, almost losing the candle, but I don't fail to hear the screeching of furniture.

Whatever I stumbled upon moved. Crawling to it, I reach out with my hand in front of me and feel what I think is velvet underneath my fingers. Following its silhouette with my hand, I help myself up with it and start feeling it to make it out, the light of the candle not being enough. It doesn't take me long to figure it out though.

It's…the back of an armchair?

My hand keeps moving around towards the top of the chair but the moment I do, I feel a tuft of hair that makes me draw my hands back and gasp at the unexpected sensation.

"Who…?"

My ears perk up when I hear a very quiet and hoarse voice speaking, the labored breathing from before becoming very apparent now. Walking around the armchair, my candlelight comes to shed light upon an old man with a very tattered uniform and I recognize him instantly.

"Book…man?"

The old man's breathing is heavy and I can see some bruises on him in the faint light. He lifts his head and glances at me with one fully open eye, the other slightly hooded.

"You're…that Exorcist…" he murmurs and wheezes making me cringe at how painful it sounded.

Putting the candle aside on the floor, I reach up with my hands and use Heaven's Touch to mend some of his injuries, at least the outer ones. I've only done it for maybe a minute when his hand comes up and grips my wrist.

"Don't." It's terrifying that I can feel his weakness from his shaking hand as he holds it. "He…will know."

The Noah...? No, Sheril.

"I can't just leave you here, either. You're badly hurt."

"You must," Bookman replied. His hand slips from my wrist and lays beside him, his body lightly trembling each time he takes a deep breath. "I will…be fine."

The sudden thought of Bookman being here reminds me of the other person that was also supposed to be under Sheril's care for the three-month period. But with one simple glance around the room, I can tell he's not here and turn back to him. "Bookman, where's Lavi? If I can find him, I could heal him enough for him to esca—"

He scoffs and that surprises me. It didn't sound like an undermining remark but more like a defeated one. "He's long gone now." The statement is vague but I don't have time to think about it when I begin hearing a far off clanking. It makes me freeze and my lungs stop breathing for a second as it echoes down to us.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Someone's coming.

"Go."

He nudges me away with his hand but it does nothing when I recall some of his connections. I might be in danger and so may he, but he knows something I have to know.

"Bookman." Clank. "Please, tell me where the Campbell Residence is."

Bookman only stares at me with one eye from where he's seated. "What…?"

Clank. Clank.

"Katerina Campbell, in a dream, she told that there's something in that mansion that will help me." Clank. It's getting closer. "Please, Bookman, tell me."

"I see," he breathes out, his voice getting softer. "You're her…proxy."

Proxy?

Clank. Clank.

Shit. It's on this floor.

But out of nowhere, Bookman grasps the closest thing of mine, my hair, and painfully yanks me near him. Close enough to have his face next to mine, cheek to cheek. It's then that he speaks, they're a few words but I think that's all he can give before releasing me.

"And know…even a foreteller—can be wrong…" he whispers before laying his head against the chair.

Clank.

Fear takes over me and I quickly take the candle in my hand before jogging precariously back up. The narrow stairs seem never ending as I take them two at a time, even tripping and falling sometimes but not once stopping. My breath's gone and my lungs are burning by the time I finally see a bright slit of warm light coming from the exit.

Yes, God!

Basically tripping out of the narrow pathway, I turn and forcefully close the entryway shut. Now that I'm out, I just stand with my hands against the cobblestone wall and try to calm my breathing.

Not wanting to spend another second there, especially with how freaked out I am, I leave the kitchen and go directly to my room praying that I don't meet anybody on my way back. And thankfully I get back with no problem. The terror from the close encounter, though, keeps me awake for most of the night including the fact that I most likely left Bookman there to die. That single thought keeps me up until I can't anymore and I fall asleep from the exhaustion.

The next day I wake up feeling somewhat defeated. The lingering remorse of having left Bookman behind to God knows what wrenches my heart but I can't let that deter me. He said all those things to me at a very high price, some I still don't quite understand, but the parting words he left me with stick plainly out like a sore thumb.

Even a foreteller can be wrong. What's that even mean?

Because Bookman and I never really socialized during my short time at the Order, I wasn't even aware that he knew about what I am. But those words from last night proved otherwise. He knows exactly who I am, and more precisely the things that I am and the ones I am not capable of.

Like Nea, Cross, and Hevlaska told me before, a foreteller is someone that knows the outcome of the world and is able to change the paths that lead to the pithed points in the timeline but not the pithed points themselves. But I know that's not true anymore. Katerina told me herself that the powers I can gain can be mine only because I dare to see the world differently.

I don't see it as it is, headed down its predestined path.

The way I see it is outside of those tracks, able to be formed by the people.

"Fate. Don't give me that crap. Fate doesn't exist."

"Perhaps you and I are at odds then."

The lucidity of that one thought clears everything away from my mind. That's what is different…about me.

I didn't accept fate; my fate of being an orphan with such a screwed up life had been one I hated with all my being. It was what drove my desire to wish for another life in such a fantastical world. That desire was what drove Nea to choose me.

But even I can be wrong.

And I was…but not anymore.

I know exactly what has to be done. Despite not knowing how this story ends or where everything's headed, there's no need for me to know. If I just continue as I've lived, then I can make it work. The things that must be done for it to happen, though…they're a lot and some quite dangerous.

My hand comes to my stomach but my determination doesn't falter.

I'm done waiting around letting the fate of this world drag me along with it. But this time, I'm not going to go against it. I'm not going to hate it for what it is.

This time around I think there's a much better way to work with the powers I've been given.

It's been three months exactly since the attack that happened at the North American Branch. And if I remember correctly, Tyki and the others will go find Allen soon in some town along with Kanda Yuu and Johnny Gill.

And I have to be there.

If what Bookman told me a couple of nights ago is true, then I can surely find the Campbell Residence. I just need one more thing.

I need to be there when that point in time happens.

It'll be hard convincing Tyki, though.

He'd said something about the Earl wanting to go out to find Allen Walker the night he returned and that Wisely could very well look for him now. Seeing as Allen is probably engulfed by Nea so much, it might actually be easy to find them using the Akuma that can sniff out the Noah's presence.

The day comes when they're to depart and I wake up early and prepared to fight with Tyki for my way out. But when he comes out of the bathroom after showering, he's surprised to see me awake.

"Up early, lil' queen?" he asks toweling his hair dry. Now that it's short again, it seems to be much easier. And the fact that he's only wearing trousers that aren't even buttoned, his bare chest exposed, I have to concentrate a little to remind myself what I want to tell him.

"I'm going with you."

My words make him stop and he sighs heavily before turning up to look up at me. His eyes are pained but I can see the defeat in them. Wow, I haven't even said one thing yet, either. He comes closer and sits down beside me, resting his arms on his knees and his clasped hands against his forehead.

"I wish you wouldn't," Tyki confesses and the tone of his voice shatters something in me.

He's tired.

Not physically but…mentally. It's then that I remember him telling me about the awful time when I died. About how he was so afraid that it shook him completely to his core. The way that he spoke to me then is what I'm hearing now. He doesn't want me to go. Tyki's afraid of losing me again.

My hand comes up to touch his gently. He looks up from beneath his curls and smiles wryly at me. I reciprocate with a small one of my own and untangle one of his hands from his head before weaving my fingers through his. Tyki simply squeezes my hand before letting out another defeated sigh.

"But I think that having you with me, even now, will be safer than leaving you behind."

"I think so, too."

He leans back slightly before leaning up to me to capture my lips with his. The kiss is small and sweet, gentle and passionate. Soon he pulls back and lays his forehead against mine.

"I love you, Reina." A smile quirks up from my lips and I can't help but love this man that much more.

"I love you, too, Tyki."

I give him one last chaste kiss before standing up to head to the bathroom to shower, too. It doesn't take me long but when I get out, I find Tyki just outside waiting for me still without a shirt.

"S-Something the matter?" I ask, sheepishly covering myself with a towel.

"Can I help you?" he asks in kind and motions to the pile of clothes that I have neatly folded on the countertop next to the washbasin. The request is small and kind of cute so I give it to him. Stepping out of the shower, I let him dress me. Or at least that's what I expected.

But his hands didn't pick up my clothes and instead start touching my body, the water still on me making the sensation better. At first they're just against my arms, then they travel down onto my hips and thighs where they lay unmoving. A tiny bit of myself hopes that his hand keeps going and I'm not disappointed. Tyki brings his left hand down to my knee and up the inner side of my thigh until he reaches the apex of them. A moan comes out from my throat when he gently strokes me with the knuckle of his middle finger. He keeps doing it slowly and painfully, raising a fire below my stomach and leaving me wanting more.

"Looks like you wanted to, too." The sly comment and grin that he shows me have me somewhat confused and I look up at him. Tyki's grin simply widens, the sadness leaves his eyes, being overtaken by that familiar mischievous glint. "I'm not moving."

Not…moving?

When I finally process what he said but still fill the sensation of his knuckle rubbing against me, I notice that it wasn't him but me moving my hips against his hand. Immediately I stop but when I do he pulls me up to him, my breasts coming flush against his chest.

"Why stop now, my queen?" His finger comes closer into me—just a whisper away from being in me but not quite so.

"We have to leave—" my words and breath hitch when he lightly presses against my entrance. "In fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen, huh?" he asks with a hum in his throat. Without warning his hand leaves me before coming to pick me up by my thighs so that I'm straddling him, easy to carry. He bursts out of the bathroom holding me on one arm and doing God knows what with the other while I hold onto his neck for dear life. When he finally reaches the bed, he climbs on it with me still on his arm and sits down before letting me down in front of him.

It's then that my back touches something slick and wet that sends chills down my spine.

So that's what he was doing.

A chuckle comes out of me and I can't help but think how truly absurd my life has become.

"What's so funny?"

Wiping a tiny tear from my eye, I turn my head to smile at him from over my shoulder. "How everything's turned out. Really, who would've thought that you and I would be like this."

"Like this how?" he asks, his arms underneath mine as he reaches to grasps my hands. Our fingers intertwine and I feel the largeness and warmth of them along with the heat that's coming from my back against his chest.

"Together." One of his hands comes undone from mine to hold my breast in it, his fingers caressing my hardened nipple. "In love." He buries his face against my neck, licking and nibbling, sending jolts of electricity through me. "With a child." His hand holding mine brings them both to where I'm throbbing and gently begin to touch me, but I'm at a loss as to whether it's just him or me too. "Soon to be a family of our own."

"Sounds like a fairytale, doesn't it?" he asks with a low chuckle.

"But it's not," I assure him and force him to stop for a moment. "Why can't you believe that?"

Tyki's arms suddenly wrap around me and hold me tight, his face still buried against my neck. "Because I've seen how easy it can break. At times…I've wondered why I even bothered keeping you. Why, despite trying so hard, I never destroyed you like I should have. You creeped into me like nothing ever before has and now you've become something I can't live without."

My eyes begin to sting with unshed tears at hearing his words. So filled with pain, with sadness, but most of all with love. Not wanting to let go, I hold onto his arms as they tighten even more around me and lay my head against his.

"Before everything, I always denied it. Thinking that if I didn't start anything, if I never did anything, then I wouldn't be able to lose something I didn't have. I thought 'If it's just going to wither and die anyway, then it's better to just do nothing.' But I couldn't." Out of nowhere, he pulls back and the sudden emptiness that he leaves shatters me. "Now I can't help but hate myself."

"No," I exclaim and try to turn to see his face but he quickly denies me that when he lays his forehead against my back. But when I feel small prickles from drops, I stop.

"You don't understand, Reina." My own tears start to fall down my face as I hear the pain in his voice. The pain enlaced through with the deep love that's searing through him. "I've never been afraid of anything in my life. But now…it's like I'm slowly dying from the fear. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to suffer…because I fell in love."

"I don't want you to suffer, either." I reach behind me to grab his hands in mine and hold them as tightly as I can. He might not want me to see him like this, and that's fine, but I won't let him drown in such senseless despair. "I love you too much to see you hurt because of me. I don't want either of you to ever suffer from losing me. I won't do that to you."

"You can't promise me that," he retorts.

"No, I can." His hand slightly tenses at my words and he remains quiet. "Because I won't let anything else happen. I'll always be with you, here." I reach up with his hand intertwined in mine and place it just above my chest, right over my heart. "And we'll live through this, all three of us, to live together. To love each other. And never again be afraid."

"You can't—"

"You love me, right?"

"With everything I've got."

"Then believe in me just as much, Tyki, and I promise that no matter what happens, you, I, and this child will survive this war. I'll do everything in my powers and beyond to make it happen. Nothing will stand between us. Not even God."

There's a slight pause before he breathes out a sigh and chuckles. "When did you become so strong?"

"Around the same time I figured that I loved you," I reply and smile. "And if it makes you feel a little more at ease, I'm afraid of something just as bad too." His head raises slightly and I simply continue. "What terribly scares me now more than ever…is having lived for so long without knowing this warmth. I never want to live again without you. I want to love you until the day comes that you say enough."

His hand comes undone from my hand and comes up to my neck and chin to tilt my head to the side as he lifts his head. Those dark mesmerizing pools of gold hold me in a trance and the passion I see in them fills me to the brim. "That day will never come."

"Then I'll love you forever," I say just before we lips meet.

It's gentle and loving, so much like him.

He's got me so distracted by this that I don't notice his legs coming under mine, his feet going over my ankles as he spreads me open. I try to pry away from his lips to protest from the slight embarrassment but he doesn't let go of my chin. The other hand slides under my thigh to hold my backside and lift me over him before slightly shifting and letting me fall, impaling me. I can't help but cry out slightly at the sudden feel of him filling me to the brim as he kisses the deepest part in me and I can even hear him groan deep in his throat as buries his face against my neck to play with it.

The hand on my neck slithers down to my breast while the other, still under my thigh, pulls me off just enough to let me drop again. My hands reach up to his on my chest and hold his hand tightly as he does this a couple of more times before I finally stop hurting so much. When he stops, I can't just sit there and start lifting myself up only to come back down to feel him again. He leaves it to me and I can't help but get impatient with my limited movement since he's holding back my legs.

"L-Let—go." My cries come out high-pitched and a groan comes out when he spreads them even further the instant I come back down.

Tyki's amused chuckle comes from deep in his throat when he reaches up to grab my neck and jaw with his right hand and move it directly ahead. My eyes are bleary and I can't see at first what he's trying to show me.

"But look, Reina…" I'm still thrusting him in me, harder and harder, when my vision finally clears and I see our reflection on the mirror just ahead of us that's clearly reflecting us. My cheeks dusted in red from the exertion and eyes wide while Tyki gazes lustfully at my reflection. His tongue drags along my ear, his hot breath so close against me as we're doing it, and I can't help but arch my back wanting the pleasure even more. "You're taking me in so beautifully. Truly a work of art, my queen."

"N-No—ah!"

My throat runs dry when he starts to thrust into me himself, accompanying me. And just the deepness of where he is ravages me with pleasure. My eyes instinctively open to see our reflection and I can't help the fire that's quickly pooling in me, wanting release.

I want it…together.

"Reina…I'm—"

"Ty—ki-" I reach over my shoulder to bring his face up and kiss him, his tongue swiveling against mine seconds before I give into pure bliss. Tyki growls and thrusts in me a couple times more before I feel him climax too, the warmth feeling me inside adding to my own pleasure.

Neither of us move until I pull away from his lips to look him in the eye. Tyki gazes deeply at me before giving me a small chaste kiss.

"Look at us now," he chuckles and raises his head towards the mirror. "All dirty and no time left."

I chuckle myself at his nonchalant tone and lay my head against his as I stare at our reflection, a smile on my face. "If we shower together now, we can still make it out in time."

He nuzzles his face against my cheek and smirks. "If we shower together now, I won't let you leave for another hour."

"Oh well," I say and lay back against him. "What's another hour?"

"I don't even want to think about what kept you for so long."

"You don't have to," I say with a smile.

Wisely's frustrated groan makes me chuckle as he simply looks out the window of the carriage we're on. It's odd to be using a carriage to get to town but what's even stranger is the fact that the Earl is here, sitting next to Wisely and in that human form of his.

Mana.

But I shake the thought from my head not wanting to think of something that could get me in trouble. Despite having Tyki here with me there's still some lingering fear I have about the Millennium Earl. Mostly, I think it stems from the fact that I know so little about him not only as the First Apostle, Adam, but as the person he was before.

Now that he's so absent-minded and with that far-off look, it just makes him that much scarier.

There's nothing but silence the whole ride there and I can't help but think that I'm suffocating. It's one thing to ride with Tyki and Wisely since I've gotten used to both their presences but the Earl, as quiet as he's being, just forebodes something that I can't pinpoint as of now. Before I can sink any deeper into this strange omen, the carriage halts not far off from the swarm of people that are going on loudly about in the plaza.

"Why did we stop?" I whisper and Tyki simply shrugs still staring out the window as well.

"We're waiting." My eyes come to look at Wisely at his words as he too stares out towards the plaza.

For what?

He only smiles. "You'll see." A sudden strain comes to him and he grimaces while holding the side of his head. "Ah, seems like Apocryphos showed himself not far from here."

A sudden fear strikes me at hearing that. My palms become clammy and my throat turns dry. Instinctively, I move closer to Tyki wanting to assure myself that he's here and that I'm okay, far off from that…monster.

Tyki's hold on my hand tightens to a slightly painful grasp that makes me wince. "Allow me to go, Earl. I'll pummel that thing back where it belongs."

"That would be ideal," Wisely added. "Though I'm not much of a fighter, I wish to see that thing gone, too."

"Millennium Earl—" But Tyki's plea is rendered quiet when the Earl lifts one hand to stop him. The two await his answer sternly. Although to me he just seems to be gazing out at nothing.

"Bonds. Desires. Mercym." Jasdevi and Sheril? "Hunt that insolent blight down."

Despite speaking out in the open there's some shift in the air that tells me they've listened. They're on to hunt down Apocryphos and a part of me actually thanks the Earl for not sending Tyki away to do it. Filled with rage, who knows what stupid thing he'd do to kill it. And so long as I'm far away from that monster, I'll be happy.

"Joyd, Wisely. Go seek the boy out."

"Yes, Millennium Earl," the two answer in unison. Tyki's hold on my hand doesn't go away and he begins to pull me out when the Earl raises his voice.

"Leave the child."

"Earl—"

"Leave the child."

Tyki doesn't let go but by the tone of his voice, I don't want to test the Earl as he is now. Using my hand, I undo his grasp around my other one and give him a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll be okay." By the look he gives me, he just wishes he could yank me out of the carriage. My gaze turns to Wisely for a brief second before my thoughts spill through.

Wisely, please, take him before he gets in trouble.

"Tyki." Wisely grabs onto his shoulder making him glare at him over it. "Let's go."

Thank you.

His jaw locks for an instant before he grudgingly releases my hand, giving me one last look before following behind Wisely. He leaves the carriage door open and it lets the breeze from outside come in. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I let it cleanse my body and thoughts for a minute to calm myself down. I may be alone with the Earl but it's exactly what I wanted. There's nothing but silence until the Earl decides to speak.

"Your insolence never ceases to amaze me."

"I wouldn't call it insolence," I reply with a grin. "Audacity sounds better; don't you think?"

"I don't wish for any idle prattle," the Earl say with a blank stare.

"Really?" I ask and rummage through the bag that I brought along with me. "Then don't worry, I won't hold your attention for long. In exchange for one little talk, I'll give you these." In one hand I hold a ball of yarn and in the other two straight needles. His gaze turns slightly away from the window to me. "Deal?"

He remains quiet but instead of letting my fear cripple me, I act as if nothing's wrong. I pretend in my head that I'm just with some old man, an uncle perhaps, and raise from my sit and walk the short distance to sit next to him before passing the ball of yarn and the needles to him. He doesn't waste time and in a few minutes already starts with the base of a scarf. The craft seems to have calmed him down quite a bit, a small glint of something in his eyes, so I take my chance to speak then.

"Despite being who I am—someone outside your world and of a different time—there's a lot about your world that I don't understand. The silver linings of this war, if there are any, seem quite hard to see for me at least."

"We must bring upon the world and humans the Three Days of Darkness once again," he simply replies not taking his eyes away from the needles that masterfully go through his fingers. On the corner of my eye, I notice his fingers flinching for a second. It's working. "That's Adam's mission."

"Yes, Adam's, I understand that. I just don't understand why, though. Is it to destroy the Innocence that you fought 7000 years ago?" He doesn't answer that question and I sigh but it wasn't the question I wanted answered anyway so I keep going. "Whatever it may be, it's clear that there are two sides so far: The Noah, who wish to destroy the world, and the Heart and Innocence, who wish to save it. But the more I think about it the more I agree that that's not all there is to this world."

"What else is there to a world then?" he asks, and sounds somewhat childish to me.

"People," I reply. "Their hopes and their dreams. Their strife towards the future. And although there are those who are selfish and do horrible things upon the world, there are also many more who struggle to make the world a better place for everybody. And most importantly, there is the will that they have to keep living despite the hardships they find. It's my belief that that's the unseen force, the third party, that plays a role in this war and it's what lurks within both the Noah and the Black Order."

"Nothing lurks in my family."

"That 'nothing' seems to have caused quite a chasm in your family thirty-five years ago," I say and sense how the atmosphere shifts a little at my comment. Not my intention, what I want is to talk to him, to reach him so that he can hear me. And this is my best shot. "But you're right. It's not lurking, exactly. It's inherent in all humans. Even in your family and even in the Exorcists. All peoples living under the surge of the Holy War are not just soldiers or puppets, they hold a will of their own and by extent a mind to think with. They know that not all is white or black, they are aware that the world is worth saving. At least that's what I believe."

"You sound…very much like someone I knew."

That makes me chuckle slightly because I know who he's talking about. "She got me thinking about it actually. Made me realize that I've never really seen the world as it is, always striving against my pessimism to see it as it could be. Not the world of darkness you want, nor whatever war-free world the Black Order wants. When I think of the world, I think of a place that can struggle and live on its own, the people doing the same to not just survive as times progress but actually live."

"Is that what you wish to accomplish then? A world free of fate, free of your hand as a foreteller?"

Free of my hand…

"Yeah," I answer with a small smile. "I think that's it. A world where fate—or those like myself that have a hand in interfering—cannot change people and their lives. A place where, if it exists, Allen and the others would have the liberty to be the young adults they are and be free of the burdens of war. A place where Tyki wouldn't have to be torn apart by duty and his own desires, where Jasdevi could be together and never be separated again, where Wisely could be free of pain and with a family, and where Road, Sheril, and Tricia could be a really happy family."

"A pipe dream."

"Sure sounds like it, doesn't it?" I ask and lean my elbows against my lap before resting my chin on my hands. "But it's possible. Like you said, I am a foreteller. And as such, if I gain the power that truly belongs to me then I'll be able to erase the tracks that fate has set in motion."

"You intend to erase this world?"

"Not erase but I won't change it, either." The ruckus outside the carriage has begun to die down and I'm pretty sure I have only a few minutes before the others return. "That's not the part I wish to play. No, what I want is to sever the chains holding the wills of people stagnant. I'll sever them and with it all power that myself and those like me have upon the world and its people. They will be the ones who will hold the power to change the world, their world."

"You would doom the world to sink under the will of worthless beings? What a sad existence you are."

"Maybe," I agree. "But if the world is destroyed and falls to shambles or whether it blooms into a prosperous thing, I'll be satisfied knowing that it was done by the choices people made and not because it was meant to be."

"Then all these talk about pipe dreams and the like are nothing more than a self-serving ideal."

"I know, right?" I say standing up and turn to smile. "How human." A slight chuckle comes from him and that makes me extend my hand out, noticing the sudden stop of his needles. "Despite all that's happen, I'm glad I got to speak to you like this at least once. I'm Reina Amaro, by the way. Who might you be, mister?"

He raises his head, large eyes staring at my hand before coming up to gaze at my own. His hand reaches out, so large that it engulfs mine whole as he shakes it.

"Mana."

I share a smile with him and I see a small quirk on his lips. "Nice to meet you, Mana. I hope you don't forget what we talked about today and…that one day I'll get to speak to you again."

Releasing his hand, I come sit back down across from him and remain quiet as I watch him on the corner of my eye. He stares blankly at the hand I just shook, in his eyes a very warm shine until his whole expression changes. His eyes lose the light that had surfaced throughout our talk and he stares down at the yarn and needles, baffled at them as if it's the first time he's seen them. The Earl picks the needles up and continues to knit completely ignoring my presence.

I hope I managed to set this is in motion correctly.

Because if not, it'll cost the world much more than just my simple mistake.

The door of the carriage rattles a bit before opening. Wisely walks in and sits next to the Earl, a satisfied grin on his face until he notices what the Earl is doing. He turns towards me with an arched brow but I simply smile and shrug. Wisely sighs and sits back against his sit comfortably, closing his eyes. If I remember correctly, Wisely will contact Road soon before the Earl disappears to find Allen. Good. I just need a few more pieces to set.

"Where's Tyki?" I ask, nonchalantly.

"Out with Fiidora," he replies. "Was everything all right?"

"Everything's a-okay." A small yawn overcomes me and I lean my head against the carriage window, the coolness easing the raising headache I'm getting from thinking about so many things at once. "I'm somewhat tired, though. I might just nap a bit here."

"Tired, huh. Then perhaps you shouldn't have wasted an hour—" He raises a hand to stop himself from thinking about what he surely got from my and Tyki's head when we first left the mansion. "You know what, I'm not even going to go there. Just sleep. I'll be here to watch."

"Sure you will," I mumble and lay my head back before shutting my eyes. Although I see nothing but dark, I can still slightly figure where they are. None move from what I hear but when there's absolutely no moving, I chance a peak and notice that Wisely's completely concentrated, most likely speaking to Road. Opening my eyes fully, I glance at the Earl and notice the stillness of him. He's not even knitting anymore.

"What a cheeky little human you are to have snuck in like that."

The deep tone of that voice and the cackle that follows it sends chills down my spine. When I meet his eyes now, there's no longer any kindness like there was before when I spoke to him. Now there's this coldness and anger in them, a madness that's driving him.

The Millennium Earl. He noticed.

"To have lured him out with such talk, your arrogance knows no boundaries."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, my brow furrowed as I try to sink back into my sit. My eyes dart beside the Earl to look at Wisely but he's not disturbed by his loud voice. In desperation, I try to even shout at him through my thoughts but it's useless too. He's too far gone, already.

"Sure you do," he coos sweetly just like his usual self. "But whatever the reason may be, it'll do you no good. What you're trying to prevent is inevitable."

"You can't sacrifice the world, Earl," I confess. "I won't let you."

"You have no power, little girl." He raises from his seat and the most grotesque thing I've ever seen happens. His powers are curling around his human form covering a half of him with the clownish Earl as he glares at me. "Foreteller or not, you have nothing in this world. And you will never have anything."

Out of the blue, his hand reaches out quicker than I can see and his fingers brush against my abdomen just below my stomach. Terror washes over me like ice water coursing through my veins. My first reaction is to push him away but he won't budge. No matter how much I push or shove. I can't even scream. When I try, the words don't come out of my throat.

Please no.

From his hand an eerie purple glow starts to emanate and I feel it against my skin; it feels like Heaven's Touch when its searching through my body. He must be doing the same but it feels different. "What a pretty little lamb your nurturing."

That he verifies it only aggravates my fear all the more. Dear God, no.

"Do not fret. I won't kill it." He reaches up and holds my neck in his hand, not forceful enough to cut my airway but hard enough to surely leave bruises. "The little Isaac you are bearing will be a fine sacrifice to God."

W-What?

Before I can lose my composure, I glare back at him. "I won't let you hurt it. I'll kill you and anybody who dares touch my child."

The Earl laughs and tightens the grip on my jaw. "What you do won't matter. The moment you conceived the lamb you sealed its fate. You have taken the fidelity of one of my own, a lamb tainted by the world is a wasted sacrifice. But I will accept Isaac in his stead; the flesh of Joyd's flesh."

Before I can even absorb all that he said, he releases me and turns away, the human side completely visible to me cries from his eye.

"Nea…"

There's nothing I can do as he barges out of the carriage following after whatever he felt. I stay seated for a few seconds longer trying to compose myself and regain some semblance of calm. It wasn't something I expected, the fact that even having this child would implicate something like its sacrifice.

"The moment you conceived the lamb you sealed its fate."

If its fate that also binds my child to die, then I'll sever them. I'll tear the chains of fate apart and release this world from them. It doesn't matter now what'll happen if I destroy the source of what gives me my powers and sense of being in this world. I might be a foreteller but, first and foremost, I am my child's mother. And I'll be damned if I don't do everything in my power to protect it.

Standing up, I reach over to Wisely who's still lost in trance. The Earl's gone, Wisely is still talking to Road, and Tyki will be here soon. Even if I tell him, this isn't something he can stop. It seems I'm the only one with the power to do this.

Not wanting to regret it any more than I already am, I grab the butterfly that has been attached to my necklace for so long. Once having been a collar—a symbol as the Noah's pet—it has become a treasure of mine that brought me back to this world. But at its source, it also did something else.

"That's your tag. You go anywhere besides where you're supposed to and that Tease infused on the chain will alert me."

Please forgive me, Tyki.

Tearing the chain off from my neck, I let it fall upon the carriage floor before stomping down on the crystal butterfly. The instant it breaks, I feel something in me break, too, but I pay it no attention. I shouldn't doubt myself now.

Not when there's so much at stake.

Not when I still have much to do.

Not wasting another second, I exit the carriage and follow after the Earl's wake as fast as I can. I mustn't lose him. The place I must to go to, the people I want to meet, the things I want to change; I'm sure I'll find my answers there.

Along with the power to free them all.

"Hey…"

Silence.

"Hey…"

He was really not in the mood for this.

"Wake up, Wisely!"

At Tyki's shout, Wisely jolts awake and irritated beyond belief. The young boy couldn't help but be peeved at being bombarded with useless question like where the Earl was. When Tyki shouted at him again with the question, Wisely couldn't keep himself from shouting back.

"I said, right next to me! Knitting…"

But the seat next to him was as empty as could be except for a half knitted scarf, the needles stuck on the ends of it.

"I was a moron for leaving him with you," Tyki says, tired of having to deal with such people. He quickly starts mouthing off Wisely to find the Earl with his Demon Eye after Fiidora informs him that the twins, Sheril, and Mercym have captured Apocryphos.

But his anger quickly drains into cold fear when after searching for her, Reina isn't anywhere to be found.

"Wisely, where's Reina?"

"Huh?" he growled, trying hard to pinpoint the Earl's position.

"Reina! Where is she?"

"Rei—" His eyes widen at recalling something while he was speaking to Road. A voice, scared and petrified at the back of his mind, calling for help.

Wisely…please!

She'd been calling to him through her thoughts.

"Wisely!?"

"I-I don't know!" Wisely answered and ran his hand through his matted hair. "S-She was calling to me, I think. But I couldn't answer her, she must've ran off."

"You useless—" but Tyki didn't finish his thought and instead ran back to the carriage to see if she left behind anything. There was nothing to find until the light from the window refracted to hit something on the carriage floor. Glancing its way, Tyki's eyes widened at seeing Reina's gold necklace strewn on the floor along with the remains of the broken butterfly charm that had been attached to it.

His fingers curled around the chain to pick it up to his eyes to make sure. There was no mistaking it, though, it was hers. He frowned not wanting to let his mind go to the worst scenario. Reina had promised not to do reckless things again. Never anything that would risk herself or their kid.

There has to be an explanation.

"That's right." Tyki turned to Wisely as his face contorted in concentration. "The Earl. I vaguely heard them talking. It could be possible that she's with him."

"Then find him. Now," Tyki ordered and placed the chain in his pocket.

The people are in full commotion as I pass them through the streets of town. There's been a destructive wake all over town from what I think was the fight with Apocryphos. But I don't pay that much heed and instead keep following my gut to where the Earl was surely now with Allen.

No, with Nea.

Going down the alleys, I hurry through a narrow one before I come across a pretty destroyed pair of buildings, the floor beneath them cracked and full of craters. Standing face-to-face are the two I've been looking for. Allen's hand is gently on the Earl's cheek while Crown Clown crackles threateningly by his side.

I'm too far away to hear whatever it is they're talking about but it's not important. All they have talked about I already know. It's what I read in my world. The last one that I remember reading. From now on, it'll be me and my wits against this world's fate.

When the Earl suddenly starts backing up, confused, I ready myself for what's to come. A surge of power explodes from the Earl when his mind starts to falter but before Allen can do anything many talisman barriers hold him in place.

This is it. From this point on, it's free for all.

But since I'm not about to take a sudden leap into the unknown, I let the events unfurl as they will for now. Besides, my only goal is to follow behind him.

"We're from the Black Order!" one of the Finders exclaims. "Surrender, Allen Walker!"

Great. They've caught him, just what I needed. But it doesn't last for long. The Earl starts to go berserk killing all the Finders, a tendril of white shooting through them and turning them into small particles. More shoot out at the poor man that stays behind despite Allen yelling at him to run. Despite being so far to hear what they're talking about, I can still feel the earth shake as the Earl's anger ignites his powers further and more white tendrils come out aimed at Allen.

Before there's anything else for me to think, I threw out my hand and a compacted shield appears around him but my shield isn't what stops them. It's six CROW needles that plunge deep into them and stop them in their tracks. Turning towards the alleyway, I'm surprised to see that man, Howard Link, stepping from the shadows and using countless of talismans to bind the Millennium Earl down in place while another needle liberates Allen from the tendrils binding him down and my shield.

The large sphere of energy that the Earl is and that's being held back by the spells from Link is terrifying in power. The sphere opening and shrinking quickly, like lungs trying to expand but unable to. If there ever was a time for running away, this would be perfect.

The moment I see a row of talismans wrap around Allen's body and begin to lift him off the ground, I run with all I've got towards him and reach him just as he's gone, catching him by his ankle. The energy from the talismans hurts me, a trace of electricity circulating my body, but Heaven's Touch rapidly goes to work wrapping a protective shield taut against my whole body. It flies us off towards a far off building and when I see we're about to land, I release his ankle before falling to tuck and roll as safely as possible. I slightly lose my footing when I come back up and almost crash into a chimney; had the sphere not popped up when it did, I would be unconscious.

Thank you.

A whistling in the air makes me turn just in time to see a needle crash against my shield. I glare at Link for the stupid action but his ineptitude isn't what's much of a worry right now. It's the talismans that start to go around my bubble that really bother me.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," I tell him with a tired sigh.

Link raises from checking on Johnny before aiming one of his needles my way. "You're that Exorcist, Reina Amaro; You're here hunting Allen Walker down."

"Correction." My hands come up to my sides and expand my shield against the talismans. The force is enough to make energy crackle between them until Heaven's Touch works and dispels the bindings around me. "I'm here to accompany this little shit."

"Link?"

My heart stops at hearing Allen's voice again after so long. We both turn to face him as tears start to build in his eyes. It wrenches my heart to see him like this but I know better.

"It's really you, Link. You were alive, huh…" The tears finally fall down his face as he holds tightly onto his injured shoulder. "Thank goodness…"

But it seems Link isn't the least bothered and instead checks his injury. They completely ignore my presence as he tells him that this isn't a good place to stay for long. Link lifts his hands, the last three fingers upright, and speaks.

"Come out, Atuuda."

The catfish or…whatever it is comes out and attaches itself to Allen's shoulder and when it comes off the injuries are completely gone.

"Link?" Augh, this is irritating as hell. "What are you…"

"By the way," Link says, halting his sentence. "There's no need to pretend to be Walker in front of me." He doesn't let Allen explain anything and instead goes on to explain how he can see he's acting because of his 'ki.'

So he did notice, too.

"Wait. Eh…?" Oh this is getting old. "What are you talking about, Link? I'm not pretending. I'm still Allen Walker…"

"Oh just stop it already!?" I shout and raise my fist to punch him right on the face, sending him flying off towards the chimney I almost crashed in before.

"What the hell, Reina!" he shouts holding onto his reddened cheek with an annoyed expression.

"You noticed it, too?" I ask Link while not taking my eyes away from Allen for one instant. "That killing intent that's practically sipping from him."

Link doesn't seem too fond of me but he finds it necessary to answer. "Yes. All I can feel from him is a cold, murderous intent. Completely different from the Allen Walker I know."

I click my tongue unable to believe this asshole thought me, if not us, that stupid. Coming towards Allen, I don't mind the footsteps I hear follow behind me. Stopping just in front of him, I place my hand on my hip and scowl at him.

"You're the 14th, aren't you?"

The question goes unanswered, at least verbally. What does answer my question is the sudden change in personality that we see come over Allen's face. No, this isn't Allen in control anymore. It's Nea.

"Ki, huh. Indeed, it seems I can't hide it from either of you." He gives us a petrifyingly adoring smile that sends a chill down my spine but I don't falter as I see Link slightly do beside me. "So? What are you guys going to do about it? Link, you seem like a bit of a pain to me, so I kind of want to kill you… As for Reina, well, you seem to have come here with your own goals in mind."

"Yeah," I answer, not losing my scowl. "Kicking your ass senseless being one of them." The needle that threateningly lies next to my throat doesn't faze me as I feel the glare that Link sends my way. "Don't think your guard dog's going to let me though. So I'll settle with the punch I just gave you for now."

"You don't seem scared," Nea retorts with a scoff.

"That's because you don't scare me." His eyes narrow on me and I wave his acerbic scowl away. "But that's not why I'm here. The reason I am is to cash in that favor you owe me."

"Favor?" he calls in quizzically.

"You said it yourself a long time ago. We're mutually working on this scenario. You brought me here with that in mind and even said that you didn't wish me any ill will."

"That was when I needed you to get the body I wanted," he replies. "Now that I have it, there's no more use for you."

"Oh is that so?" A cocky grin comes to my lips as I raise one finger for emphasis. "I don't think you'll think that way after you've heard what I just put in motion." He arches a brow at that and his incredibility just amazes me.

"And what would that be?"

"Not telling you." My finger comes up to the needle still pointed against me and lower it with much force. "But I will, eventually. Until then I'm cashing in that pro bono you offered me; as I believe, you heard me before when I said that I'm accompanying you."

"There isn't any merit in you joining us," Link adds and I hear Nea cry out 'you don't have any, either?!' but ignore him completely to turn to the CROW before me.

"Look, two dots. I don't know what crazy martyrdom mission Lvellie sent you on and I frankly don't give a damn about it, either. Neither do I care about the plans that the Order, the Noah, or even Mr. Asshole here have. All that matters to me is doing what I came here, to this world, to do: my job."

Nea chuckles beside us and this shit-eating grin comes to his lips. "You're finally accepting your fate as a foreteller?"

That statement in itself makes me want to laugh but all that comes out is a smirk of my own. "I'm not accepting squat. I'm going to override my fate and change this world."

"Change it?" Link repeats.

"You know what I mean," I tell Nea with a nudge of my chin. "The things that I can do with the powers that I can get."

"The chains, huh?" he ponders with a sigh. "Even if you obtain that power, there's no way for you to sever them. They're not even visible or tangible to the human world."

"On that you're wrong." This piques his interest enough to smile kindly at me. Despite this though I still feel the horrible sense of dread that he brings me. Having him in the flesh truly is different that hearing him in my head.

"How so?"

"Won't tell. Just take me with you where you're going."

"You don't even know where it is I'm headed."

"Doesn't matter. I'll still go."

Nea doesn't speak until he sighs defeated. "You truly wish to release this world to itself?"

My smirk only widens when I recall words from long ago. Words that a certain someone told me one night in woods frozen solid. The night it all started.

"You told me so yourself: I wanted my life to change. And it has. Now, I want live for a better tomorrow, not just for me but for this world, too. And I'll succeed."

"Such brave words spoken based on the pipe dreams of a little sick-minded girl," he added with a grin of his own.

"You're the one that cherry picked this sick-minded girl for the job." Proxy or not. "And whatever you saw in me then, I see it now, too."

Nea lets out a sigh that's hard to distinguished as relieved but it's certainly close. He chuckles and scratches his head idly. "What a foreteller you've turn out to be. But you won't ever be able to safe everyone. That I'm here as I am proofs it. Because if either of you came to save Allen, it's too late for that now, you know."

That sends a tick to my jaw but I ignore it when I see Link kneel down before Nea. He tells him of the mission that I knew he was sent here for, about Cross and Lvellie forming some kind of pact, and the fact that he intends to protect the "14th" as his new ally.

"Please use my life as you wish."

Nea backs off with a sickened expression on his face. "Ack, scary."

A tired and irritated sigh escapes me as I witness what I have to look forward to following this pair of idiots. My heart wrenches as the words he said repeat over in my head.

"Because if either of you came to save Allen, it's too late for that now, you know."

But I don't believe that.

The little beansprout is stronger than that. Even if it'll cost him his everything, he won't let Nea have his body, not without a fight. I believe he'll come back to us. And when he does, I'll be there by his side to help him.

If what I've deduced out is right, then all that I've put in motion will come into play once he returns. Once Allen is back then I'll let the pieces play where they have fallen. That's the last I'll do as a foreteller. The last hand I'll play in this world before I completely sever its connections to its fate and leave it to the actual people who live in it take the reins.

Until then…I'll ride this crazy train.

My hand reaches up to my stomach and send a small prayer up to whatever God there is and mostly to my child.

Please watch your mother, little one. I'm going to do my best to change this world that you'll be born into. And when you see it, you'll be amazed at what we've done. That's my hope, the one that I intend to make a reality.

Epilogue

A haze came over his view and the crystal ball in front of him clouded. The small hands held onto it so tightly as his stomach turned.

All this time able to see everything as it unfurled only to have it stop now. He wanted to know how everything went. The anxiety was practically killing him. The young boy, perhaps of seven or eight, laid his chin against the crystal sphere and frowned. His bright emerald orbs stared out at the horizon before him as he sat at the edge of a cliff, a vast forested area beneath his feet; unruly strands of his black hair fell over his eyes, one with a befitting mole under it, curling becomingly around his tanned face while the rest fell around him on the floor braided into a thin plait.

None of what he had seen made any sense to him; all he had witnessed fell nowhere in place. The pieces of the puzzle he so fervently wanted solved were still laid all around his head, skewed. But he wasn't about to give up.

Surely there must be a way to meet her.

To go to that place and stop everything.

After all, his were the strangest powers they've ever seen.

He wasn't capable to phase through solid objects per se. His connection to any one place—any one world—wasn't strong either. But could it be that simple? The source of his powers…just an oddity that occurs once every full moon as they say?

"Nicolas."

Hearing his name, the boy turned and found his companion. The girl stood behind him with a wicked grin on her face, her bright eyes pools of molten gold. Her dark skin glowed under the sunset and the marks that laid across her forehead were the only distinction he really saw. Her attire was more eccentric that his; a white dress that barely covered her with black here and there.

The older girl came over to him and laid herself against his back, leaning her chin against the top of his head.

"Nothing yet?"

"The scenes vanished again. But surely once I gain a strong enough connection, I'll be able to jump. We'll get there for sure this time."

"That's what you said the last five times," she complains with a wave of her hands. She raises and comes to sit next to him, her transparent feet dangling over the edge.

"Your form…"

"It's weak anywhere other than my world," she replies, staring at her hands that are also transparent. "Your energy's been a real help in keeping me in a solid shape. But you know already that I can't remain here much longer. I'm still weak."

"Then go back to the nether realm of yours or whatever it is," Nicolas tells her grudgingly. "At least there you won't bother me."

"Aww, someone's pouty~" She leans against his shoulder and pokes at his cheek. "Eager to see her?"

"Eager to stop this," he retorts. "You need to go back to your world. And I need to stop what's happened in mine from happening again."

"Mm, an impossible mission, don't you think?" she asks. "After all, where there's death, there will always be death."

"I'll stop it. So worry about your thing and I'll worry about mine, Road."

"How uncute of you," Road coos with a smirk. "Just like your mother."

"Not an insult."

"It should be."

"She's a wonderful person."

"Stubborn as a mule."

"So's dad and you don't say squat about him."

Road smiles then. "What can I say against family?"

"Plenty considering who you are, auntie Road."

"Blegh!" she complains instantly, sticking her tongue out. "Don't ever call me that again. It's horrifying!"

"Not as much as how old you really are, hag."

"I'll snap that pretty mouth off your face, Nico."

"Gouge out my eyes, better. At least that way, I won't get to see you all wrinkly and stuff. God forbid I ever see that nightmare."

Road can't help but frown. "You're no fun. I should've never picked you up lost as you were."

"Didn't ask you to. I would've been fine by myself. Always have been." He grasps the crystal ball and watches as the last rays of sun hit it, leaving it with a greenish hue. "It seems to me that you're the one that actually needs me to get back to your world."

"Humph, don't think so much of yourself. You're just a glorified portal."

Nico doesn't answer as he starts to feel the familiar stir in the air. Wanting silence, he closes his eyes and when he opens them back up the world around him changes. Instead of a colorful scenario, all he sees are the different dimensions of the world. Like layers, he could see the earthly plane of the world they currently were at, the conscious or spirit plane where Road currently clung on, and the one that mattered most, the gridded dimension. The one that showed him the connections that this world had with the countless of others connected to it.

All are different. All exist parallel to each other. Except when they don't. Those were the disturbances he was able to see. The ones that interrupted the flow of all worlds and caused all sorts of phenomena. The same ones that triggered his powers.

Finding the source of this particular disturbance, he channels it through his body and sees the moment in time that this world was connecting to with the other. They were never ones to his choosing and they were never consistent, but this one was exactly what he needed.

The haze in the crystal ball cleared and Road leaned over to see the images in it. A proud smile then spread across her lips.

"You found it."

"Hold on."

Road didn't think twice to listen to his call and held onto his shoulder. Nicolas only took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was to come next.

And just like that they disappeared.

A/N:

The title seemed vague. I'm pretty sure the ending was confusing as fuck too. But I'm proud yet slightly sad to announce that this marks the end of Pleasure's Pet.

Many things were left unanswered, purposely so. The little epilogue too was something to look forward to as well. Both things connect to the fact that once the DGM manga continues and more of the story unfolds, this story will be picked up again for a sequel.

Hope you guys are excited as much as I am for when that time comes c: Hopefully this chapter wasn't disappointing or anything else.

Let me give one last thank you to all the people that Favorite and Followed this story:
- fianna2452
- shareenuh
- SpicyMiller
- HopelessXDayXDreamer
- SmilesAreln
- KiraKiraBluemoon
- myrielyzie
- Jinni Pinilla
- xXYuseiXAkikoXx
- colorfulimagination123
- eliina
- volley-14-ner
- Plume85
- TykiAllen
- PandoraxDestiny

And let's give one last answer to the reviewers I couldn't reach:
- pomxxx: Sorry I left you hanging for so long for an update. And huzzah for you too because, well, as you can see…this kid is well and kicking.
-Guest: Thanks so much! Welcome, sadly, to the last update. Really glad that you're such a hardcore shipper of TykixReina x3 That makes me happy in sooo many levels.

Most of all I want to thank every single one of you that ever read, reviewed, favorited, and shared this story. It's a gem that I started last year and that I'm proud to have finished fully so quickly. It's been a thrill ride getting to hear what everybody thought and how they wanted everything to be. But for now, I suppose there's nothing more to do but wait.

Join me if you'd like on the rest of my stories but for now I'll say this to you all one last time!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next installment! :D