For those of you still wondering about the Easter Egg, just watch it. It's Father Ted, which like D-Gray Man, I neither own nor am getting paid to advertise it. But both of them are great franchises.

Blake and Lucia had just arrived at the town's hospital. It wasn't as big as the one in London, and it somehow looked even less clean, but Blake and Lucia couldn't complain; it was better than having no hospital at all. Or so they thought.

"Lucia, this hospital looks kind of dirty," Blake commented after they signed the proper forms and obtained visitor status.

"You think so too? The Black Order's infirmary is cleaner than this, and that place has patients going in and out almost all the time," Lucia added.

"Could just be elitist mentality. You and I did both come from decent wealth, and apparently, we're both used to better standards. So maybe we have certain expectations?" Blake suggested.

"Don't lump me in with you. I came from a family of merchants. You were an aristocrat. If anyone's an elitist, it's you," Lucia retorted.

"I was a criminal for a few years," Blake pointed out.

"Your base of operations was a two-floor manor house in the country with dozens of rooms," Lucia shot back.

Blake considered this. "Point. But still, this place...something just feels off about it. Maybe it's because the floor and walls aren't shining white, but...it just looks dirty for some reason."

"Well, then, I'm sorry my hospital does not meet such high expectations," a male and clearly sarcastic voice sounded behind the Exorcists. The two turned to see a portly, moustached man glaring at them.

"Your hospital? Are you the head doctor here, or maybe the main sponsor…?" Blake guessed.

"The head doctor." The man pompously enunciated each syllable.

"Well, Doctor, while it might not look very impressive, I've heard nothing but good things about this place. And if gossip tells true, then your hospital is the very example of "don't judge books by their cover," Blake replied, a weak attempt at flattery.

Still, the doctor seemed to accept it, as his face changed to a half-smile. "Hmph. You two are the Exorcists Nurse Riza mentioned?"

"Yes. I am Lucia Remier, and my companion is Blake Phantasia. We're only here to see the patient Lenny and nothing more, Doctor," Lucia explained.

"I know why you're here. I simply wished to see God's chosen for myself. You should know that here, we do not put much stock in magic or holy power. We are a facility of science, and…"

Blake held up a hand. "Before you launch into a long spiel about science or magic, Doctor, you should know that I don't agree with the Church, either. If anything, I'm willing to see just how science can explain things after its condemnation in the Middle Ages, leaving us perhaps a few centuries or so less advanced than we should be." He smiled then. "But because of that very lack of advancement, modern science is not enough to explain the things we Exorcists have seen."

Lucia nodded in agreement. "We've seen monsters, demons, and our own strange, inexplicable powers granted by our Innocence, made up of a material found nowhere else on Earth. Doctor, until science can explain these things, it can only be known as 'magic.' Call it a trick if you will." She shrugged uncaringly.

"Tricks are only known as magic until the trick is revealed. And if you'll excuse us, we'll use these 'tricks' to at least assist your patient. You can come along if you want, though," Blake invited. Without waiting for an answer, he took Lucia's arm and began to escort her through the halls of the hospital. A glance behind told them that the head doctor had followed.

Blake navigated by room number; the hospital was at least organized well in that way, and they arrived at Lenny's room. There was a sink and soap nearby, as well as a mask dispenser, so before entering, each person washed his or her hands as thoroughly as possible before putting on a hospital mask. Blake knocked on the door. "Miss Riza? It's Blake Phantasia and Lucia Remier, the Exorcists. We met yesterday?"

There was a loud coughing sound before a voice called out, "My wife isn't here…"

Blake turned back to the head doctor, asking permission to enter. The doctor nodded, and Blake and Lucia walked in to see an emaciated man who looked ten years older than he should have. He smiled wryly when the Exorcists entered. "Lovely. As if consumption wasn't enough...do I have demons, too?"

Blake chuckled. "I like him already. No, Mr. Lenny, we're here to try to help alleviate your pain. Or rather, she is. I'm something of her escort."

"Innocence, activate. Lux," Lucia ordered, holding her arm out to the side. Her bow formed, along with three arrows of light. The head doctor cried out, but Blake kept him at bay as Lucia took aim at Lenny. Lucia smiled. "You'll feel better soon."

Lenny feebly struggled, but he could not escape Lucia's arrows at such close range, and all three were shot into his torso. Lenny twisted, expecting pain followed by a whooping cough from the shock, but neither happened. Instead, he let out a pleasured sigh as Lucia's arrows did their work. He sank back into the bed, his eyes closed in total relaxation.

Unfortunately, the whole scene looked entirely different to the head doctor.

"You...you killed him!" the doctor cried. A cry of shock sounded from the doorway, followed by the sound of something being dropped. Blake looked past the enraged doctor just in time to see Riza rushing into the room, the fallen tray of medicine forgotten behind her.

"LENNY! LENNY!" she screamed, hysterical.

To her surprise, her husband opened his eyes with a pleasant smile. "Yes? Are you okay, Riza?"

"But...but...you're not…?" Riza couldn't finish her thoughts, so Blake did so for her.

"No, he's not dead. We told you we had a way of helping him, didn't we?" Blake asked, another wry smile hidden under his mask.

Lucia was also smiling as she deactivated Shining Gloom. "My arrows of light have healing abilities when I use them on people I don't consider enemies. It won't help to cure diseases totally; maybe it might speed up the recovery process at best, but the main point here is pain alleviation."

Lenny looked at her gratefully as he sat up in his bed. "Can you do it again?" he asked.

Lucia shook her head. "Not in the short time we have left in this town. We are rather pressed for time, and besides, I can't say for certain what the side effects of repeated exposure might be. Who's to say that the effects aren't as addictive as opium?"

Blake looked at her, surprised. "You've been concerned about that?"

Lucia nodded. "Of course I have. The Black Order's Head Nurse told me about certain pain relief medicines that have addictive effects. I obviously haven't needed to use Shining Gloom on someone so often, but it's better to be safe than sorry," she replied.

Blake smiled again. "Very good, Lucia. Always be concerned about negative effects." He turned to Lenny. "Are you satisfied with this, Mr. Lenny?"

Lenny smiled. "Very satisfied," he sighed. "Thank you, Miss…"

"Remier. Lucia Remier," Lucia introduced herself again. "And it's no trouble. We…"

"Doctor! There's been an emergency!" another nurse called from outside. The head doctor whirled around to address the situation. "It's Sara's husband...there's been an accident!"

Lucia and Blake left Lenny and Riza to their business, joining the head doctor. He frowned as they fell into step beside them, but kept his tongue, having been impressed by Lucia's power.

They followed the head doctor to the emergency room, where Blake and Lucia were surprised to see Allen rushing alongside a stretcher. "Allen! What happened?" Blake demanded as they joined the rush.

The look Allen gave him was one of hopelessness. "It's Mr. Tibus, Blake...a horse cart ran into him!"

Blake looked down, and his face fell as he recognized Mr. Tibus. "Not him...you have to pull through, Tibus!" He whirled to the Head Doctor. "Doctor, can you help him?"

"We will try all we can, Mr. Phantasia. Miss Remier, please come with me! We could use your power!" the doctor ordered.

Lucia nodded and gave a short but comforting hug to both Allen and Blake. "I swear I'll do everything I can!"

Allen nodded. "Please, Lucia!" he called as Lucia followed the doctors and nurses into the operating room. Allen and Blake stopped once they reached the waiting room near it.

"Where's Lenalee?" Blake asked.

Allen sighed. "She took Tim back to Mother's church. She said she'd join us as soon as possible."

"It was an accident, right?"

Allen wearily shook his head. "It most likely was. The driver apologized profusely. His fear when I confronted him wasn't the type of fear from Crown Clown or from our reputation, and there was no sign of Akuma nearby. This was just an accident," he emphasized, a tone of warning in his voice.

Blake nodded, but Allen continued. "That being said, if Tibus dies, there might be people who try to take advantage of the situation."

"Namely the Earl." Blake stated the obvious.

"And anyone who happens to be working for the Earl."

"So we have to be on guard even while our friend is in the operating room," Blake growled.

Allen looked up at the flash of green light through the doors' windows. "If something happens, Lucia can handle it. Don't you trust her?"

Blake sighed. "You know I do, Allen."

Allen patted Blake on the shoulder. "Exactly."

Lucia quickly went all out after activating her Innocence. "Avert your eyes, everyone!" she ordered. When the doctors and nurses did so, she transformed into the phoenix.

Doctor, my healing abilities are limited to pain alleviation and acceleration of the healing process. I will need you to put any displaced organs, muscles, and bones back into their original position, and my light can seal the gaps and breaks permanently. Let me deal with as much as I can! Lucia suggested, ignoring the shock of those around her at the transformation.

The Head Doctor frowned, but nodded after only a second of thought. "Just let me anesthetize him!" he growled, attaching Tibus to a respiratory machine. "Chloroform, Miss Remier. Inhaled, it can keep a patient under for an hour past the end of exposure."

Good to know, Doctor. But please, Allen and Blake are counting on us. We must hurry. Lucia flitted to high above the hanging lamps, providing extra light to the working surgeons and allowing for preliminary healing on Tibus's more minor injuries.

The doctor nodded, and he and his team proceeded to work on Mr. Tibus's more severe injuries, starting by incising into the main torso. They started with the various broken ribs and cracked sternum. Lucia reset the sternum, but the doctors had to carefully realign the ribs, especially since one of them had bruised Tibus's heart. Lucia restored the heart's original form before restoring the ribs. Fortunately, none of the other internal organs in Tibus's torso were injured, and after suturing the torso incision, the doctors worked on Tibus's limbs. Lucia declined to fix the sutures for risk of further infection due to the strings remaining in the body.

The operation went smoothly. The doctors reset Tibus's injuries, and Lucia resealed and fixed them where she could. However, despite having helped in the Black Order's operating room with her healing abilities where she could, Lucia was still anxious about the outcome for a few reasons.

First, she was working amongst strangers, people who did not know her methods. If anything went wrong, she would be the first one to blame.

Second, she had never used the phoenix form in the operating rooms before. Although she knew for a fact that the phoenix's healing abilities were far more powerful than her light arrows, she had no idea of their limitations or their full effects.

And third...They're counting on me, Lucia thought continuously throughout the event. For once, Lucia could show her friends what she was capable of. She knew Allen and Blake trusted her implicitly, and she had no intention of letting them down.

The operation continued, until, two or so hours later, all of Tibus's injuries were addressed and treated properly. Lucia's light had dimmed somewhat, but it was nothing compared to the exhaustion she had displayed against the Level 3 Akuma. The doctors and nurses, satisfied that the treatment was done, filed out of the room for a quick break. Lucia flitted down from the light.

"Thank you, Miss Remier. Your presence made this whole job much easier," the Head Doctor said, with a nod of respect.

I did all I could, Doctor. If you don't mind, I would like to stay in here longer with the patient, just in case there are complications.

The Head Doctor nodded, and left the room. Lucia turned back to Tibus, and surveyed his body for anything she or the doctors might have missed. Finding no immediate issues, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes in thought. You will be fine, Mr. Tibus. You'll live to see your wife again!

A sudden jolt made her snap her eyes open. Tibus was convulsing on the table. Lucia screeched, but the surgeons were already rushing in, shoving her aside.

What's going on?!

"What did you do, Miss Remier?!" one of the surgeons demanded as he and some nurses struggled to hold Tibus in place.

Nothing! He was fine just a minute ago! Lucia insisted.

"I don't understand, we treated all of his injuries!" a nurse exclaimed.

"MOVE, Miss Remier! GET OUT!" Lucia didn't have to be told twice. She fled, running into the Head Doctor along the way.

Doctor…

"I will ensure that you are not blamed, Miss Remier. You did all you could. But now, leave it to the professionals!" With that, he left Lucia to deactivate her Innocence.

Lucia couldn't believe this. How could such a perfectly done operation have gone so badly? She was absolutely certain that all of her powers had been used properly, and she knew from experience that whatever was done to a patient by her healing powers would remain even after she deactivated her Innocence, or if the patient died. The autopsy on General Yeegar's body had confirmed this.

So then why? How?! I did everything that I could…how was it not enough?!

She had no answer to these questions. She could only stagger out, back to her friends. At some point after, she opened the doors leading to the waiting room.

She was only aware of the tears streaming down her face when Lenalee's offered handkerchief came into her view.

Tibus had not lasted another night, despite the hospital's best efforts. A few days later, the Exorcists looked on from afar as the townsfolk walked alongside the beloved jeweler's coffin. The Head Doctor had kept his word, and none of the official blame was placed on Lucia. Tibus's death was ruled an accident by the police since any blame placed on either the hospital or the Black Order's Exorcists would reflect badly on the accuser.

In a normal situation, Lucia would have taken the death with solemn dignity, befitting that of an Exorcist. None of her comrades had blamed Lucia, either. They all understood that she had done everything that she could.

But the thing that bothered Lucia was the cold, pensive look in Blake's eyes when Lucia tearfully cried out the bad news that day. Although he did not treat her any differently, Blake could never hide the frosty expression that he adapted whenever he was angry. He was very good at fake smiles, but his sharp eyes revealed his true thoughts.

All of his friends except Timothy knew that Blake's reaction to Tibus's death was not mere grief; it was pure anger. And they had no idea what he had been angry about. When they had pressed Blake about it, he only scowled and waved away their questions.

And now, on the day of Tibus's funeral, the Exorcists watched from an overlooking hill as the wake continued. Sara was weeping, dressed in black mourner's garb. As they watched, Timothy leaned into Lenalee, who held him tightly back with one arm. Allen stood close to Lucia, ready to comfort her if necessary. Blake stood slightly more distant from the rest, his arms folded, and his face adorned with the same pensive frown he had worn intermittently for the past few days.

As the procession neared, Allen was about to lay a hand on Lucia's shoulder when his left eye suddenly activated. At the same time, the grieving Sara began to convulse. "No way!" Lenalee exclaimed.

"Innocence, activate! Aqua!" Blake commanded as Sara's body began to contort and expand. The rest of the procession screamed and gasped, dropping Tibus's coffin as the Level 1 Akuma formed out of Sara's skin.

The Akuma was killed in mere moments when Blake rushed forward and pierced it with a single, fired, large icicle just as it emerged. Its pained screech lasted the rest of its life as Blake fired four more icicles into its body, advancing as he did so. The fifth one pierced through it entirely, and the Akuma's wail faded completely as it vaporized.

The other Exorcists rushed over to calm the procession's members. "Is everyone all right?" Lenalee asked.

"Anyone hurt?" Lucia added.

Fortunately, no one had been injured by the Akuma or Blake's icicles, and after they calmed down enough, the procession soon continued. The Exorcists except for Timothy each paid the gravestone etcher a small sum to add Sara's name to the marker, and another bit of cash went to the undertaker for preparing Sara's discarded skin for burial alongside her husband.

As the Exorcists watched the procession continue, Blake growled deep in his throat. "This death was no accident."

"You think so too?" Lenalee turned to Blake, who nodded.

"Lucia used her phoenix abilities during the operation, and every single doctor and nurse in that room was more than qualified as a team to save Tibus's life. Lucia's presence should have accelerated the healing process exponentially," Blake said.

"Exactly. But then that convulsion, and then his skin turned blue…it just wasn't normal!" Lucia exclaimed, grimacing at the memory.

"It didn't take long for death to occur...a few hours at most. And considering those symptoms...only one thing comes to my mind," Allen said.

"Poison?" Lenalee guessed.

"And judging from the speed of death, inhaled poison. Lucia, there weren't any needles in that room, right?" Blake asked.

Lucia shook her head again. "No. Usually we inject anesthetic, but this hospital used an inhaler." She gasped. "Are you implying that someone tampered with the substance?"

"Exactly. Maybe the poison wasn't pure, or it might have just been an overdose of chloroform, considering that it took quite a while for Tibus to finally succumb, but the fact remains that if we're right, this death wasn't an accident. Mr. Tibus was murdered," Blake growled.

"But why? He was just an innocent jeweler, a civilian! And why would the Earl turn Miss Sara into an Akuma?" Lenalee asked. But she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Turning souls into Akuma is the Earl's very nature, but if he does happen to be connected to Tibus's death as well, then this whole thing was to get to me and Allen," Blake growled. He turned to Lucia. "Besides you, who else could have tampered with the inhaler?"

Lucia sighed. "After the surgery, every single doctor and nurse surged out of the room. I never left, so I was the prime suspect. But I can promise you all, I did not touch it."

Allen nodded. "We believe you, don't worry. But we don't have a suspect now, and no methods. Even though we're Exorcists, we'd be dismissed as insane if we report this to anyone."

"Not necessarily," Lenalee said. The others turned to her. "Officially, Tibus's death was ruled an accident. But while that report was given by the authorities, we know that it was a cover-up to protect our reputation and the hospital's reputation. No one really knows why and how he actually died."

"And if nothing else, I would prefer for it to stay that way, especially if the Earl was responsible. There's no point in stirring the pot now, especially since there's no one besides left to really care how he died." Blake morbidly gestured at the few mourners who were forced to carry Sara's discarded skin. "We can still investigate the hospital though. Say that it's a routine investigation. If the Earl is involved in this case, his work will be evident. Before we leave, we should make sure this place is as clean as possible."

The Exorcists didn't take long to return to the hospital after paying their respects to Tibus. This time, Timothy was allowed to come along, but his need to explore was kept firmly in hand by Lenalee's grip. Lucia led the group to the operating room where Tibus had died. Fortunately, it had been cordoned off for sterilization, and the Exorcists were able to convince the sterilization team to leave them be for a few minutes.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Timothy asked.

Lucia pointed at the respirator. "That's the machine they used to deliver the anesthetics to Tibus."

Allen stiffened. "Lucia...what did you say they used again?"

"Chloroform, why?"

Allen moved closer to the machine and took a small whiff. "Chloroform doesn't smell like almonds."

Lenalee and Timothy moved closer, and Lenalee got confused. "I don't smell anything. Do you, Timothy?"

Timothy looked up at her as Blake and Lucia moved closer. "What are you talking about? There's this weird nut-thing smell."

Blake didn't even take a whiff. He just whirled around and moved to usher everyone out as soon as Timothy mentioned the smell. "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Get out, get out!"

"Blake, what's the idea?!" Lucia demanded as soon as he shut the door. Blake didn't answer as he went to warn the sterilization team, then returned to his friends.

"Cyanide?" Allen muttered.

"I'm gonna have to take yours and Timothy's word for it, but yeah," Blake replied.

Lenalee's eyes widened. "So then it was tampered with! But who could have done it?"

"Lucia, who was closest to the respirator during the operation? You had a bird's eye view of the room, who was it?" Allen asked.

Lucia thought about it. "I don't remember very well. I was focused on healing the entire time."

"Please try to remember. Was it a nurse, a doctor…?" Blake tried to prompt.

Lucia snapped her fingers. "The Head Doctor. I don't know where he was during the operation, but he's the one who told me it was chloroform they were using on him. At the very least, we should ask him first."

Allen stopped a passing nurse. "Excuse me, Miss. Do you know where the Head Doctor is?"

"I saw him talking with Riza a few minutes ago. Why?"

"He asked us to meet him so he could give his condolences about Mr. Tibus's passing. But we don't know where he wanted to meet us. Where did you see them?" Allen lied easily.

The nurse pointed down the hallway, towards Lenny's room. The Exorcists thanked her and headed down there.

They stopped suddenly when they heard a shrill scream. "Was that Miss Riza?!" Blake asked. Lenalee and Lucia were already running ahead, the boys a step behind. They stopped at Lenny's door and tried to shove it open, but it was locked.

Blake banged on the door. "Miss Riza?! Are you okay?! It's Blake Phantasia!"

"Everything's fine!" Riza cried out.

The Exorcists looked at each other, still suspicious. "Are you sure? We thought we heard you scream," Lenalee pressed.

"Everything's fine!" Riza repeated.

Blake looked back, a question in his eyes. Allen shook his head, Lenalee was gesturing for them to move away, but Lucia was glaring at the door. Blake exhaled deeply and moved away. "If you say so," he called. "Allen, stay here and listen in. The rest of us will move away, pretend like we left. Timothy, you stay here with Allen," he muttered so that Riza wouldn't hear.

Allen nodded and quietly moved towards the door as Lenalee, Lucia, and Blake stomped their feet loudly as they moved away. Allen kept his breathing still and gestured for Timothy to keep quiet as he put his ear to the door.

Riza whimpered as the Head Doctor sneered and lowered the scalpel he had put to her neck. "Stupid Exorcists. Trying to get in my way, ruining everything."

"Why? Why did you do this? Why did Lenny have to die?!" Riza cried, looking at the peaceful body of her husband in the bed behind the Head Doctor.

"Because the Exorcists killed Sara only a day after Master Earl turned her into an Akuma. And now you are going to replace her," the Head Doctor replied.

"I thought you were going to help me...I thought you wanted to help people! Isn't that why you became a doctor?!"

"The only reason I became a doctor was to make money, and I couldn't do that here! Even being a Head Doctor doesn't mean anything in this backwater town! But the Master, Millennium Earl...he promised me more wealth than the entire town twice over could make in a year! And all I have to do is help reunite the dead with the living! It's a win-win!" The Head Doctor picked up a phone in the room and held it out to Riza. "I will get my money...and you will get your Lenny back. My master is waiting for your response, Miss Riza. You should be smart and follow what Sara did."

Riza looked at the offered phone and hesitated, looking back at Lenny's body. She swallowed and shook her head, glaring defiantly at the Head Doctor. "I refuse."

The Head Doctor's sneer became a murderous glare, but just as he was about to advance on Riza, the door burst open behind her, having been kicked in by Allen. The Head Doctor stumbled backwards.

"Timothy!" Allen ordered. Timothy's eyes glowed, and his wisp entered the Head Doctor's body, quickly subduing him.

Lenalee rushed past Allen to tend to Riza. "Miss Riza, are you okay?" she asked.

Riza crumpled into Lenalee's arms as the others filed in. "Lenny...Lenny's dead." Lenalee simply hugged her tighter. "It'll be okay. We're here now." She looked at the others. "I'll take her to get some water. The rest of you, do what you can to clean this mess up." The others nodded, and Lenalee sent a spiteful glare at the Head Doctor before taking Riza out of the room.

"Timothy, how long can you keep possessing him?" Allen asked.

Timothy laughed in the Head Doctor's body, and Tsukikami joined him in Timothy's body. "As long as I want. Tsukikami and I can even switch places if we need to."

Blake looked wide eyed at Timothy's body. "Wait...Timothy's in the doctor's body, so that means the one in his body is…"

Tsukikami gave him a sardonic smile. "Yeah, I'm Tsukikami. Timothy's Innocence." Blake gave him a nervous smile back.

Allen smirked. "Sentient Innocence. That's nice. I don't suppose you could give us secrets of the Innocence, can you?"

Tsukikami zipped his lips. "Sealed."

Allen sighed. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Oh well. What should we do with the doctor? We can't exactly leave him here; he would only continue selling people to the Earl."

"While I would just love to end his life right here, that's not exactly up to the standards of Miss Remier, I would imagine," Blake added.

Lucia shook her head, somewhat annoyed, but then she got an idea. "What if we tender his resignation?" she suggested.

Allen and Blake both grinned. "Explain," Blake urged.

"Well, we have control of his body. All we have to do is pretend he resigned, either by notice or by voice. Possibly both. We'll call some Finders to pick him up, and then leave him to the higher echelons of the Black Order." She smiled. "Even you two were afraid of going into the inner workings of the Vatican. There will be a lot of paperwork involved but this is still going to be cleaner than any sort of murder."

Allen and Blake nodded in agreement. "We'll do it your way, Lucia." Allen, Blake, Tsukikami, and Timothy walked out of the room, taking the Head Doctor with them. Lucia took a few moments to look back at Lenny, her eyes sad.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Lenny. I wish we could have done more to help you. I promise you, your death will not go unpunished." She steeled her face and followed the boys out, closing the door behind her.

It took about a day, but the group had the Head Doctor shipped off to the Black Order along with a group of Finders. While the idea was suggested that one of them go along with the escort, there was no time to waste. General Cross was known to be incredibly mobile when he wanted to be, and the sooner they got back on the trail, the better.

Fortunately, it was time to get their lead from Mother. The Exorcists, Barba, and Mother were all sitting around the table, eating a hearty supper. "Well, you kids did what I wanted. Good job," Mother said as she sipped her tea.

"You didn't know the Head Doctor was an Akuma broker, did you?" Allen asked.

"I'm not like you brats. I don't like games. If I had known that, I would have told you from the start. And I'm too old to get involved in this fight anytime soon," Mother grumbled.

Lenalee smiled. "Normally I would agree but you are way too wild for me to think so."

Mother scoffed. "Bah. Now, I believe you all want information about that idiot?"

"It would be very nice, Mother," Allen replied.

"I don't know how helpful this will be, but the last I heard, Cross was heading to the East. He has been sending me a collection of letters, all of which show the path that he took. You all can either follow that path or try to go directly to his most recent destination," Mother suggested, holding out a large plastic bag of opened envelopes.

"East, huh? That's the direction Timcampy was going. I guess we have no choice but to continue following him," Blake sighed.

Lucia opened up one letter, scanned its contents quickly, then opened up another. "There's no dates on these. We're gonna need a map to determine the eastmost location and then try to go directly there to find him. Although…" She looked at the second letter she pulled out. "It looks like China is the clear winner."

Lenalee frowned. "Does it say anything about a province or city? China is absolutely enormous."

Lucia shook her head. "Nope. It just says China."

Blake swallowed the last bite of his food and grunted. "I guess that's where we're going. Maybe we should stop at the other places along the way, find out why in the world he would go to China. Pass me some of those, please?" Lucia handed him some more letters from the bag. "We'll have to plan a route. And maybe some travel methods. Mother, if you don't mind, I would like for us to stay for one more night if possible."

Mother glared at them. "Only if you catch breakfast for us. Between you, Beansprout, and the other tiny ones, my food stocks have been spiraling down."

Lucia gasped at being called tiny, but Allen nodded. "I'll hunt for you first thing in the morning. It'll be a good opportunity to teach Timothy…" He ruffled the boy's hair. "How to shoot things." He smiled at Lucia. "Lucia, you want to join?"

Lucia groaned. "I was hoping I could sleep in tomorrow…"

Allen gave her a pleading look. "But you're the best archer in the Black Order! I could really use your help."

Lenalee put her hand on Lucia's. "You, Timothy, and Allen sleep early tonight. Blake and I will do the planning." She glanced at him. "Any objections?"

"None at all, Lenalee. Let's just hope we get this done quickly. I'll join you as soon as I help Barba with the dishes," Blake said as he gathered up the empty but dirty plates.

Lucia sighed. "Okay...come on, boys. We can at least help Lenalee organize the letters before we turn in."

Throughout the years since I last updated, I've been adding to this slowly. It's a pity it took so long to come out, and that I only have time now because of the current pandemic. Still though, I hope I was able to cheer you up a little with this.

Stay safe and healthy, my readers. See you all soon.