Tyki was dead; Allen had killed him. If there was anything he remembered from the Arc it was killing Tyki somewhere between fighting Lavi and Cross showing up. It was just before his world dissolved into a billion complicated pieces. Tyki died and so had Road and those twins and whatever Noah Kanda ended up fighting. Skinn? They all had really weird names and it didn't matter because all of them had died. Tyki died.

He's dead. He. Is. Dead.

In reality everyone who went into the Arc died. Everyone, but himself and Lenalee. He never mentioned it to anyone, but he knew about Kanda and Lavi and Chaoji and Crowley. He felt them die because he felt everything that happened in the Arc. He knew every move that everyone made. He heard every word they said. He felt everything they felt. Not so much in an explicit they got punched in the face and he felt it, but he still knew if they got punched in the face. Either way he knew everything that happened.

Everything.

He'd felt those Noah die and his friends along with them, but when he'd sewn the Arc back together; played music and reversed time (and that was still messing him up at night) his friends returned. Their souls lit up like little candles scattered around the Arc; tiny, but warm and bright and alive.

The Noah? No. They didn't come back. He didn't feel them come back and it wasn't because he wasn't looking or was too focused on other things. As soon as he'd figured out just how deep his connection to the Arc was he focused on them. He wanted to know if they came back. He wanted to know if they're were going to come for them again. Try to take his comrades away from him again. He would have been the first to know and he would have been the first to take action.

So how was Tyki here now?

"How ?!" Allen heard the word and it sort of sounded like it came out in his own voice, but it also sounded strangled and ragged; something like an injured animal fighting to take its last breath in peace. Maybe it wasn't a word at all. Maybe he was just screaming.

It didn't matter. He couldn't stop. He didn't know why and for some reason as white blinded the edges of his vision Allen lost the will to care that he couldn't stop. For a moment he could feel fear; this wasn't like him, This wasn't like him at all. He wasn't someone easily triggered. He wasn't someone who just swung off the handle. Not unless someone he cared about was in trouble. That's who he was.

That's why everyone around you keeps dying.

What? Allen froze mid swing as Tyki moved just barely to avoid being sliced by his innocence. Which he didn't remember activating. Which was tugging on his arms and legs and chest and his everything to keeping going. To keep fighting; keep swinging downwards and then up again until his claws were ripping Tyki apart.

This wasn't like him at all. This wasn't him.

Allen pulled his arm back, slowly. His hand shook and his arm wobbled against the tugging and pulling and pushing in his core that was fighting his every muscle. It was like a wall was pushing him from behind or like someone had tied strings to him and were tearing at him from every angle.

Stop!

The tension disappeared and Allen swung his arm away from Tyki. The unexpected drop in resistance caused him to stumbled backwards a couple steps only to find his knees were to weak to hold him. He fell to the ground; splaying out onto his back and stayed there, shaking.

Aw, you're no fun.

Kanda watched as Allen lurched forward, his innocence wrapping around him faster than he'd ever seen before. Watched as Allen moved faster than he'd ever seen him move before and make a noise he'd never heard Allen make before. Sure, he'd heard Walker scream in the past. He'd heard him scream and cry and laugh and sing and make all sorts of noises he wasn't sure the bean sprout was capable of making, but even this was a whole new level of 'did that just come from his mouth?'

It was inhuman. Some sort of howl that was stuck between a legitimate screech of anger and a sob of despair. Both reactions would be appropriate given what happened the last time either of them had seen Tyki, but there was something else underneath it all. Something in Allen that made it seem like seeing the Noah again had just shattered Walker's entire world.

Which couldn't be very far off from the truth. They thought that Tyki at least was dealt with. That him and Skinn and those other three weren't a threat. They were at least a few things off a very long list of enemies that they could check off as taken care of. Now? Well, if Tyki was alive then what about the others?

Kanda grit his teeth. If he had to fight that mind numbingly dumb Noah again he might want to scream like Allen just had out of pure frustration. Tyki was annoying sure, but at least he could carry out full sentenced conversation and wasn't obsessed with candy.

Tyki, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying their little reunion. He barely needed to dodge as Allen made a dash for his face and then froze mid step, mid-swing, practically in mid air and then white crumpled to the ground.

Kanda had Mugen out and pointed at Tyki as soon as Walker hit the ground, but the Noah paid no mind to the sound of unsheathing metal. He chuckled at Allen with a grin so wide that it looked like it might hurt. "So he is in there and he wants out."

Allen didn't respond or move or do much more than shake a little and Kanda finally let his feet move . He pushed himself between Allen and Tyki with a swipe of his sword and kept Mugen up, ready. "The General. Where is he?"

Tyki sighed, already bored with the conversation. "I told you he was fine."

Kanda shifted his feet. "Why the hell would I ever believe you."

"Because I didn't kill Walker twenty seconds ago like I could have? I told you, I just wanted to have a small chat. You don't need to be so twitchy." Tyki cocked his head to the side, looking Kanda over once. "You seem… different."

"Forget this." Kanda raised himself onto his toes and launched himself forward. Tyki jumped back somewhere stuck between laughing in amusement and frustration. "Where is he?!"

He wasn't going to indulge this lunatic with any sort of 'chat'. Tyki was lying, plain and simple. General Tiedoll, for as naive and silly he played at being, would never, in a million years, ever make a deal with a Noah. Not to ensure anyone's safety, not even Kanda's. Not to draw Walker out in what was so obviously a trap. He hadn't survived for as long as he did within the order by being a mediator of words.

Because Kanda had seen just how deadly his teacher could be and Tiedoll didn't mess around when it came down to the fine lines. No one in the order did.

So he was done 'chatting'. He was going to figure out what the hell was going on with General Tiedoll and then he was going to figure out why Walker was still laying on the ground twitching like bird that flew head first into a glass window and looking like he was somewhere between a panic attack and being too scared to move.

"Oh come off your high horse, kid." Tyki slid to the left as Kanda came down from above. "I'm not making this up or anything. I rarely actually ever lie, it leaves a funny taste in my mouth."

"Where?" Kanda repeated the question and he crouched low and jumped, using his momentum to bring Mugen up dangerously close to Tyki's chest.

"Safe." Tyki repeated the answer mid back bend. "I'm not at liberty to tell you more than that, though." Kicking out Tyki's knee caught Kanda in the side as he came back down and with a small shout of surprise he went flying down the street.

Crap! Kanda barely had the chance to twist himself mid air to soften his fall. He hit the muddy ground with a wet 'splash' and tumbled a few feet before bouncing back up to his feet, but the street was now empty of Noah. Only a small golden golem flew in circles over a shaky Allen finally pushing himself up off the ground were left.

Kanda grit his teeth. "Damn it!"

Breathe . And Allen did. In and out. Long, deep, shaky breaths because he it was all he could manage. If he tried to move again he might actually move . Move and not be in control because whatever the hell just happened wasn't him . He didn't fly through the air like that. He didn't activate his innocence. He didn't go immediately for blood.

Someone did, but it wasn't him, but it was his body and his innocence and his hands.

You're no fun. No, no that wasn't him. It wasn't...but there was no one else it could be. Why is this happening?

Is this why he'd been confined to headquarters? Did everyone see something he didn't? Had he been acting so out of character lately and not even notice it? He hadn't tried to use his Innocence since the level four attack- had someone seen something during the battle?

Why was everything suddenly a question?

Timcanpy circled above him and Allen tried his best to focus on the little gold wings. The little golem seemed hesitant to come down from the air and Allen suddenly wondered if it was because of Tyki or because of himself. Because if Allen was to scared of his own actions to even move at the moment it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Tim had been a little more than startled as well.

Allen could hear Kanda just ahead of him obviously very much over having his question ignored by the Noah, but the clash didn't last long and after a small shout Allen heard the distinct thud of a body hitting the ground.

No! Pushing himself up onto his elbows Allen suddenly found himself nose to nose with Tyki's grin.

"Hey, you know what, Walker." The Noah whispered. "I never got the chance to thank you."

Allen bit his jaw together as the tugging sensation began to creep up his arm again.

Tyki stood up straight and bowed deeply, hands out to the side. A clear mockery of actual gratitude. "So thank you, Allen Walker, for reminding me just where we all stand in this petty thing we call a war."

And then he was gone and he was left alone to stand up on shaky legs with Timcanpy still hovering in the air and a very mud covered Kanda cursing from down the street.

"What the hell was that Walker?!" Kanda yelled out right, still standing in the middle of the puddle he managed to roll in. Using the inside of his jacket he quickly wiped Mugen off and put the sword back in his sheath. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"I…" Allen looked down at his hands. They were trembling so violently that even when he clenched his fingers together in a fist the quakes just traveled up his arms and down the rest of his frame. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't explain it. "I don't know."

The tremble was reminiscent of when he got angry, but also mixed somewhere with the anxiety of being scared or even excited. He couldn't pinpoint what he felt. He didn't even know if he was the one feeling it.

"I don't know…" He repeated as he put his head in his hands. His mechanical hand was like ice against his hot face and he look up as he heard Kanda's heavy footsteps splashing closer in the mud. "I don't-"

"Walker." Voice quieter Kanda couldn't have been a foot away.

Allen looked up slowly, dropping his hands to his sides limply. "I don't- I can't- That wasn't-"Me.

And was it just him or did Kanda actually look sort of, a little bit...concerned? Allen blinked a couple times as dark eyes just stared down at him. "I… I'm sorry."

"Forget it." Kanda clicked his tongue and turned to take a step away, but Allen reached out to catch jacket only to somehow managing to grab a handful of wet tangled ponytail instead and pulled accidently as Kanda tried to move away. "What the- Walker!"

Kanda spun around, but Allen didn't let go and soon he was face to face with twitching eyes and red cheeks again, and for whatever reason he found it in him to pull just a little harder forcing Kanda's head down just enough for him to plant a small kiss on Kanda's forehead.

Then he tossed hair aside, turned on his heels, and took off down the road, grabbing Timcanpy out of the air as a flurry of curses followed him through muddy streets. If he could still do that then he was still in control.

If he could still, somehow, defy everything his body (and sanity) was telling him to do (or not do) than maybe whatever just happened was some sort of fluke. A shock reaction to having a figurative rug pulled out from underneath his feet. Tyki was back, Tiedoll was missing, he'd run away from the order, and his innocence was scaring him, but he could still manage to piss Kanda off.

So any kind of usual occurrence was going to be the only thing keeping him from an absolute panicked break down then he was going to take it. And the irony of how he'd started the whole kissing thing to help Kanda turning into some sort of reassurance for himself was not lost on him.

Yeah once Kanda caught up to him he'd regret it, but hey- it'd been less than half a day since he'd arrived in China and he'd managed to somehow get three kisses in. Three moments of normalcy.

Even though a week ago that wouldn't have been considered normal at all. Even though a month ago everything was opposite of their current normal.

Even though nothing would ever be normal again and that was the last thing Allen wanted to face right now. So he ran. From Kanda. And questions. And fears.

But mostly from Kanda.

No guys, you don't understand. I haven't worked on this story in almost two years. I had those first three four chapters written and then nothing and you all kicked me back into it. I know this chapter might not be as snappy as the first few, but I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things and THANK YOU.

Your feedback has been amazing and inspiring and you all have put a smile on my face =)

No fun facts this time- but next time you'll get a lot! Also a slightly longer chapter. Thanks again everyone!