Based on an RP on Yourrole (see the homepage)
Put into fanfic format by Sailorstar165
Characters:
Allen Walker: Sailorstar165
Lenalee Lee: Sailorstar165
Lavi: love4Sora
Kanda: love4Sora
Timcanpy: Everyone
Lvellie: Sailorstar165
Millenium Earl: Shimanishiki
Road: xTwilight_Angelx
Tyki: xTwilight_Angelx
Lulubelle: xTwilight_Angelx
Jasdero and David : xTwilight_Angelx
Akuma: Everyone
Allen wanted to die.
He ached all over, and when his body wasn't aching, he felt as if he was on fire. But it wasn't the pain that made him want to die. It was what he was becoming.
He knew it was coming. He didn't want to believe it, though, until he'd looked into the mirror that morning and saw the cross-shaped cuts starting to form on his forehead. He was becoming a Noah.
He looked at Lenalee, who was sitting in the chair at his bedside. She was dabbing his face with a cool damp cloth. It didn't help though. The pain wouldn't go away, no matter what she did. And he knew it would only get worse before it got better.
Everything started swimming before his eyes again. Lenalee was a swirling fog, while Lavi--he was watching the door to make sure no one was coming--became a grinning demon. Everything was distorted.
That's when he saw it. Mana's smiling face was in front of him. Allen cried out again, "Mana!" He reached up to his "father." He knew nothing was there, but he didn't care. Mana was the only comfort in his pain. Lenalee and Lavi... They'd soon be dead. He knew that once his transformation was complete, he'd have to kill them.
Mana was already dead. Allen couldn't do anything to him now...
Lenalee glanced hopelessly at Lavi, who was watching them both. Allen was so feverish he was seeing things. She placed the damp cloth on his forehead and waited for his delusion to pass. He was crying out for his father, and she could see the tears in his eyes as he did so.
"Lavi, are we doing the right thing?" she asked. "Allen said that if he were to become the 14th Noah... that we should kill him... But I... I don't want Allen to die!"
They were keeping it a secret. No one knew about Allen's transformation. In fact, they only knew because they'd gone to check on him when he hadn't come down for breakfast. Allen had been curled up on the ground in front of his mirror, holding his forehead. When they'd finally managed to pry his hand away, Lenalee saw the cross-shaped wounds. Lavi had judged that the transformation had started sometime in the night by the amount of blood on Allen's hands. Despite all of this, Lenalee had gone and lied to both her brother and Lvellie that Allen had a bad cold. She'd said that she and Lavi would keep an eye on him, since the matron was in bed with her own illness.
She glanced back at Allen, who had stopped muttering about Mana and was fast asleep again. Lenalee smiled sadly and touched Allen's left arm--he'd reached for Mana with it, so it was uncovered by the blankets. "It'll be all right, Allen," she said. She knew he couldn't hear her, but she wanted to reassure herself as well as him.
Even if he wasn't allowed to exactly (since he's the future Bookman and all), it pained Lavi to see Allen in so much pain and so confused. Lavi hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to help his friend. Lavi bent his head down far enough so his hair was in his eyes, and faced the door once more. He heard Lenalee talking and turned to face her again.
Softly, he replied, "I don't know, Lenalee. Perhaps it would be best if Allen was to die, and he would never become a horrible monster. One half of me wants to end his life for his own sake, while the other just can't get myself to hurt a friend."
He knew Lenalee was probably looking for a better answer than that, but Lavi was just as worried and confused as she was.
Lavi once again faced the door and leaned against it. He looked down at the doorknob, and noticed it wasn't locked. Right away, he locked it tight.
Without facing her, or moving, Lavi asked, "Lenalee, how long can we keep this a secret? Allen's transformation is nearly over, and soon enough, the Earl or any of the other Noah will come for him. We won't be able to keep it a secret once he's gone... right?"
Lenalee shook her head. "I don't know how long we'll be able to keep this secret... We have to find a way to keep Allen as Allen, though. There has to be a way. He's an Exorcist, right? He was chosen by the Innocence. God wouldn't leave us like this, would He?" She was trying to find comfort in the idea, but it only pained her more. A voice in the back of her head knew better. God has left you before, it seemed to say, like when Suman became a Fallen One, or when Yeegar was killed. God hadn't helped us then, so what makes you think it'll be any different with Allen?
Lenalee felt the hot tears roll down her cheeks and watched them land on Allen's hand.
Allen lifted his hand and wiped away Lenalee's tears. "Don't cry," he said, putting on a weak smile. His breathing was labored. To him, it felt as if he really were dying. The only thing missing was the end of the pain and the numbness of death he'd experienced before when Tyki had pierced his heart. "Please, Lenalee... I don't want to see you cry..." His eyes were dulling. He knew he was going to fall asleep again; he also knew that when he awoke, he'd no longer be an exorcist, but a Noah. "Please, Lavi... If you and Lenalee can't kill me... get Lvellie or Link to... Hell, I'm sure Kanda would be perfectly happy to finish me... He's always saying... that he's gonna kill me for somethin' or another..." His eyelids felt heavy. He had to stay awake! He wouldn't be himself when he woke up!
"I don't want to hurt you guys," he said drowsily. "I'd rather be dead than betray the Order..." His eyes closed and he was once again asleep.
Lavi lifted his head a little, and glanced back over at Allen. He really didn't want to talk about who would be the one to kill Allen before it was too late. A part of him wanted to do it himself, but another part just couldn't do it.
"Allen...I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but you can't expect us going around being your grim reaper or something. You're our friend--" Lavi stopped and then looked at Lenalee. "Then again... friends do things for other friends, no matter what the cost is... But," Lavi turned his head towards Allen again, but looked away from his eyes, "I don't think we could actually kill you Allen. I would be happy to put you out of your misery, but the guilt of killing you--my friend--would certainly come to haunt me..."
Lavi didn't want the thought to come to mind, but it had been haunting him the second he found out about Allen becoming a Noah. He's just put the cruel, upsetting thought aside until now. "I'm sorry, Lenalee, but if God was truly on our side, this would've never happened. I'm afraid it might be too late for Him to jump in and save Allen now."
Lenalee looked at Allen. He looked so peaceful asleep. It was as if he'd just come back from a mission, and the bandages on his head were simply from a wound inflicted by an Akuma. She wished that that were the case. "Lavi, what should we do? Should we tell Lvellie or my brother about this...?" She didn't want to. Telling anyone else would mean certain death. She ran through their list of options.
Miranda wouldn't be able to help. She might be able to stop the transformation or reverse it, but that would be until she deactivated her Time Record. She didn't want to put that much strain on her friend.
Krory wouldn't be helpful. Krory sucked Akuma blood, not Noah. His vampiric Innocence would be completely useless in this situation.
Lavi's hammer wouldn't be any use either. The only stamp that could possibly work would be "Wood Stamp," but that controlled forces of nature, not Noah genes.
Her Dark Boots couldn't do anything. They were meant for destroying Akuma, not getting rid of Noah.
Kanda's Innocence would only be useful if they decided to kill Allen. That would be a last resort.
"Allen!" she said, trying to shake her friend awake. "Allen! Wake up! You can use your Innocence to destroy the Noah!"
Allen struggled to answer. His eyes were barely open, but he was able to reply with a, "I tried, but I couldn't activate my Innocence... I think the Noah genes aren't letting me concentrate enough to Invoke it... Or maybe..." and he hoped that this wasn't the reason, "I'm not an accommodator anymore..." He was nodding off again. He knew they wouldn't be able to wake him up this time. "Lenalee, Lavi... I'm sorry..." he muttered. His eyes closed. "Whatever you choose to do... Goodbye..."
"I don't know what we should do. If we go tell someone, they'll end Allen's life before it's too late. And....I don't want Allen's life to end. But what's better? For him to die now, or for his human life to die while the Noah takes over?" Lavi knew the answer to that question. They all did, but Lavi couldn't imagine Allen dying, here and now. He tried to run the thought through his head. During that time, Lenalee was trying to get Allen to activate his Innocence. Lavi heard the reasoning of why Allen couldn't, but he didn't want to believe, let alone hear it.
Lavi looked over at them and watched as Allen's eyes close. "Allen!" Lavi ran over to the opposite side of Lenalee and hovered over Allen. He grabbed hold of Allen's shoulders and began to shake him, trying to get Allen to open his eyes. "C'mon, Allen! You can't give up like this! You have to keep trying." Lavi's eyes were wide with fright, with tears at the corner of each eye. "Don't give up! Think about us, your friends. And... Mana! Think of your father. He wouldn't want you to give up like this!"
Lavi tightly shut his eyes, trying to hold back the tears, but they kept coming. By this time, Lavi was falling down to his knees on the ground. Without lifting a finger, Lavi slid both of his hands down to Allen right hand and held it tight. Lavi spoke just loud enough so that Lenalee and possibly Allen could hear. "Please, Allen, don't give up."
"Allen!" Lenalee cried. She tapped his cheek and sighed when he didn't respond. "I'm not sure, but somehow... I think this is the last time we'll talk to Allen while he's a human..." A clock chimed ten o'clock somewhere in Headquarters. "We have to do something, Lavi. We have to think of a way to save him."
Allen felt Lenalee and Lavi fussing over him but couldn't open his eyes. He heard Lavi talking, trying to get him to not give up. He wanted to tell Lavi that he was far from giving up, but he couldn't move. It was like he was trapped in his pain, unable to escape. He wanted to tell them to kill him, despite his having not given up. He'd sworn that if he became a Noah, he would end his life somehow. Even if he didn't want to give up, he had no choice. It was either become a Noah, or die.
Just finish me, he thought. Just end this life. I can't do anything like this.
It was early morning in the 15th Ark and Tyki was just waking up for another uneventful day. Ever since they made this 15th ark, the Earl didn't allow the Noah to go anywhere until quote on quote, "the upper hand was given to them," which was so boring and so... unpleasant... to Tyki. It was when Tyki had just gotten dressed nicely for breakfast and was heading out the door, that a level 3 Akuma approached him with a message from the Earl himself.
"The Earl request a task from you, Lord Tyki Mikk," it said in a hallowed out voice.
Tyki sighed and asked the Akuma, "This early in the morning? What does he want?"
" A new Noah has appeared, and he wants you to go pick him up," the Akuma said with a demonic smile, "He believes it's the Noah of Sorrow." The Akuma handed Tyki a card and said, "Here's where he is."
Tyki took the card from the Akuma and read it. He then was stunned at the name at the top: Allen Walker. Tyki smiled and said, "Well now, this is most interesting indeed..."
Even with the 15th ark, it still took him three hours to get to The Black Order and bypass the security. Tyki made it to the room right below Allen's and carefully poked his head up through the floor. He retracted back down when he realized that the Heart girl and Eye-patch-kun were with him. Tyki held his head like he usually did and transformed to his rose demon form.
Tyki reached up through the floor with two thorned vines, grabbed Lenalee by the wrist and Lavi by the ankles and dragged them through the floor. Because he couldn't make Innocence phase through anything, Lenalee's boots and Lavi's hammer remained on Allen's floor after he dragged them down. When the two exorcists came down into the room he was in, he said to them in a demonic voice, "Just here to pick something up. You don't mind if I just grab it and go, do ya?" He flung the two of them into the wall of that room and then jumped up through the floor, up to Allen's room.
As Tyki phased through Allen's floor, he changed back into his sophisticated clothing and walked up to the side of Allen's bed. He looked down upon the sleeping, former exorcist who was struggling in his sleep from pain. Tyki took Lenalee's seat and looked down at Allen with saddened eyes. I can still remember how painful it was when the stigma kicked in, he thought to himself as he took off his top hat and rested it on his thighs, It pains me to see this boy struggle with it too, even if he was my enemy.
Tyki found it ironic that the one exorcist that gave him the most trouble was now going to become his brother. Either way, though, he had a job to do and he couldn't take Allen easily if he was thrashing around so much. He pulled off his right glove and rested his hand lightly over Allen's eyes and forehead and started to sing to him in a baritone voice:
"Soshite bouya wa nemuri ni tsuite
Ikizuku hai no naka no honoo
Hitotsu, futatsu to..."
Tyki knew this song very well. It was the melody that used to control the previous ark before It stopped working for the Earl. The Earl would play it anytime he had it moved and would also play it for his "children" to entertain them.
As Tyki continued to sing the song, Allen's thrashing became less and less violent. The song controlled the ark, but it also doubled as a lullaby for the Noah.
By the time Tyki had finished his lullaby, Allen was now calmly asleep. Tyki replaced his hat upon his head, his glove on his hand, and gently lifted up his new brother into his arms. He had his left arm under Allen's knees and his right arm supporting Allen's upper back. Tyki rocked him, and he whispered to Allen, "Its alright Nii-san, we can make the pain stop. We just need to take a little trip first."
Allen heard the familiar song and felt the pain ebbing away. The painful darkness that had engulfed him disappeared and was replaced by a strange dream.
Standing across from Allen was himself, but with gray skin and gold eyes. While Allen was wearing his usual black jacket, the other him was wearing white. The other him smiled. "It's my turn for a while," he said.
"Who are you?" Allen asked.
The Noah him's smile grew larger. "I'm you, so to speak. Don't worry, I won't do anything you wouldn't want to." He offered a hand to Allen. "Well? Shall I take away your pain for good?"
Allen took his hand and felt his own consciousness fade away. He was still there, but he had no power. All he could do was watch what the Noah did. Still, he existed. He would find a way to return, somehow.
Lenalee rushed up the stairs with Lavi hot on her heels. "We have to hurry! If Tyki gets Allen--!" She didn't want to think about it. She reached the door and tried to open it. She cursed. "Lavi, you locked the door! What were you thinking?!" She could hear Tyki's voice on the other side, talking to Allen. She pulled on the knob a harder. "Lavi! Help me with this!"
Lavi ran over and continuously bashed into it with his body. "Well, Lenalee, I thought that locking the door would... keep people out." Lavi bashed his body into the door harder, and began kicking and pounding his fists against the door. "But I never thought that we would be the ones out here." Lavi continued to pound his fists against the door as he fell down to his knees. "How was I supposed to know that Tyki Mikk would drag us through the floor?"
This was bad. Very bad. Tyki Mikk was inside that room with Allen, and he and Lenalee locked out. The only thing preventing them from reaching Allen was this door.
Lavi jumped back up to his feet, backed away a few a little. Lavi then ran toward the door, full speed. While doing so, he shouted, "Damn it!" Lavi hit the door, then began punching it with all his strength. "Allen! Get up and get away from that Noah. Damn it, don't give in!"
Lavi knew that it was hopeless. If Allen was really still with him and Lenalee, he would've come and ran out by now. It was over.
Tyki turned his head towards the door and heard Allen's friends pounding away, trying to get in. He was unsure why they couldn't just open the door but soon realized that it was locked. He chuckled at their predicament as he went over to the window and opened it. He couldn't phase through any of the walls or floors because Allen had Innocence inside of him. He jumped up onto the windowsill and said to the door, "Say farewell to your friend, exorcists."
He jumped out the window and controlled the amount of air he touched so that he gently floated down to the entrance of the Black Order. He casually walked along the path that led no where. There was an entrance to the 15th ark waiting for Tyki and Allen right at the drop off of that path.
"I can walk, you know," Allen said to Tyki. He had woken up right when Tyki touched the ground. His skin was gray and the stigma had turned to scars on his forehead. He glanced at the black door to the ark. It was too late to turn back now.
Tyki looked down at Allen and said politely, "Oh I'm sorry there. I thought you were still asleep. Glad to see you have... Awakened..." He carefully let Allen down and stood him up. He ruffled Allen's hair with one hand and then patted his shoulder with the same hand. "Shall we press on then, Nii-san?" Tyki asked as wrapped his hand arm over Allen's shoulders.
Tyki was trying to seem kind to his past enemy now that he was his ally with this gesture, but he did this so that if he wanted to try and run back, Tyki would already have a hand on him. Tyki began to stroll with the new Noah down the path to the door to the new ark.
Allen knocked Tyki's hand away, making sure to use his Innocence arm to do so. "I may be a Noah, but I'm sure as hell not your brother." He turned to the ark and walked toward it himself. "I still haven't forgiven you for trying to kill me."
Tyki took back his hand and rubbed it a little and then said to Allen in a semi stern voice, "Like it or not, we're kin now, Allen. You might as well get used to it because the Earl is going to start calling you his child." Tyki fixed his hat and nudged Allen to walk with him towards the ark.
As the continued to walk, Tyki explained to Allen, "Listen...I am sorry about trying to kill you. I only did that because the Earl told me to and back then you were still just an exorcist. Frankly, I would have liked to just play cards with you again..." Tyki was trying his best to seem sincere, and he was, but he had a feeling Allen wouldn't believe him for a long time now.
Tyki pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match. After a few puffs, he said, "I'm not forcing you to believe me I just thought I'd tell you."
"The first thing you can do if we're supposed to kin is stop smoking. It makes me sick." Allen glared coldly. It reminded him too much of Cross and all the debts he'd collected from his master's dirty habits. He felt dizzy and grabbed onto Tyki's arm. He wasn't sure if it was the memory of Cross's debts or if he was still under the weather from his transformation.
Sighing at Allen's request, Tyki threw his cigarette on the ground and stamped it out. "I'm sorry there, force of habit." As Allen grabbed onto Tyki's arm, he was a little baffled at first but then smiled at him. He held his arm up a little and gladly helped his new brother down the path
They continued walking. "Hey, Tyki, is there a way for me to look normal?" Allen asked. His skin was still gray, which meant the scars were still obvious. "I don't like looking like this."
Tyki stopped before they entered and he explained to him, "You will be able to eventually; it's something you learn how to do yourself. However, the stigma has to set in first before you can do that. As of now, it's still working its way through your body and isn't stable yet."
Allen sighed and nodded. He'd just have to wait. He closed his eyes a moment as they passed through the ark's gate. He still felt sick. Maybe it was the Noah genes and not his memory of Cross after all. He wanted to lie down, but he didn't want to have to be carried by Tyki either. Regardless of what Tyki said, he still didn't trust his new "brother."
After Tyki had helped Allen through the entrance, he turned around to look at the Black Order building and smiled. The Noah now had their upper hand. Tyki then walked through the gate himself and right after he did, it retracted itself into the sky—the two of them were now long gone.
Lenalee heard Tyki say, "Say fair well to your friend exorcists."
She turned to Lavi. "We need help." She glanced up and down the hall, desperately search. She then saw Kanda wandering up the hallway. "Kanda! We need help!"
Kanda looked over his shoulder to see who had called him. It was Lenalee Lee. She was standing next to Lavi, who was banging against Allen Walker's door. He sighed and walked over. "What are you two doing, banging against the Bean Sprout's door?" He glared at Lavi, who continued to bang against the door. Something was up.
Lavi turned to Lenalee, then looked at Kanda. As always, he looked pissed. Of all the people, why Yu? Lavi went back to banging against the door as he said to Kanda, without looking at him, "Allen's in trouble, and we need to get inside." Lavi pouted his lip and glanced over at Kanda. He was glaring at him, which often gave Lavi the chills. "And well... we need you to cut the door down with your sword..."
Great, they want me to actually help him. Kanda crossed his arms without taking his glaring eyes off of Lavi. "And why would I do anything to help the bean sprout?" Kanda hated anything that had to do with Allen Walker. Not only that, everyone in the Black Order knew that. So why would they ask him, of all the people, to help?
"Well... Lenalee and I... um... well..." Lavi didn't know if he should say why. He knew that they were in desperate need of help, but would Kanda just let Allen turn into a Noah? He would probably want to, but Lavi couldn't say for sure. Lavi stopped pounding, and looked over at Lenalee. His eyes were pleading for help.
"Tyki's in there kidnapping Allen!" Lenalee said quickly. "Our Innocence is in there too because Tyki made us phase through the floor! And..." she trailed off. They couldn't avoid it any longer. They had to tell someone. "Allen's turning into a Noah. We weren't sure, but..." She looked at the floor so that Lavi and Kanda couldn't see her face past her bangs. Tears fell from her eyes and she watched them splash on the floor. "We need you to..." She voice failed her at the end. She hoped Kanda would understand.
Kanda's serious, glaring face faded away as he heard what Lenalee had to say.
Kanda knew that it was possible, but he didn't think that it would ever happen to an exorcist. The Noah's enemy was the exorcists, so why would it happen to an exorcist? Kanda knew nothing, and he already had uncountable of questions flowing through his mind.
He stepped forward and pushed both of his fellow exorcists to the side. "Alright, I'll help you get in there, but I'm not doing it for you two or the bean sprout. I'm doing it because there's a Noah in there."
Kanda grabbed hold of Mugen and pulled it out in front of him. He ran his finger along the long blade and said, "Mugen, Activate." The sword flashed blue for a moment, but then faded until it was barely glowing. He then brought Mugen over his head and swung it down through the center of the door vertically. The door snapped in two.
Gripping onto his sword tightly, he walked into the room and looked around. He looked over his shoulder at Lenalee and Lavi, who had followed him inside rather quickly. "No one's here."
"What...?" Lavi ran ahead of Kanda and looked around the room. He even looked under the bed. "Damn it-!" Lavi shivered and then looked over at the window. It was open. He quickly ran over to it and stuck his head out into the cold air. "Allen!"
Lavi knew that it was too late, and that his voice would most likely be unheard. But still, he continuously shouted Allen's name louder and louder, hoping to be heard by his friend... Well, possibly former friend now....
Lenalee's knees buckled. "Tyki must have taken him..." she said. Her vision blurred from the tears in her eyes. "Allen's gone..." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh God, Allen!" she sobbed. "He really did become a Noah! We should have..." but she didn't know what they should have done. There was nothing they could have done.