The New 14th Noah

Allen smiled at Road. "Thanks, Road," he said. He glanced at the clock on the night stand. It was almost ten. "I'm going to sleep now. See ya in the morning." He closed his eyes and, hugging Timcanpy, fell asleep.

"So how's life as a Noah?" the Noah Allen asked.

Child Allen opened his eyes, like he'd been asleep. He rubbed his eyes and asked, "Road said that you were like a split personality. What are you exactly?"

Noah Allen thought a moment. "I'm me, which is you."

"That makes no sense."

"Yeah, it didn't to me either, but there's not really a straight answer to this one..." The Noah Allen closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree behind him. "I guess... I'm sort of like the Noah you, but not at the same time... I guess I'm just the you that was created by the Noah genes." He chuckled. "I really don't know what I am either. Sorry, kid."

Child Allen frowned up at him, but didn't move from where he was sitting. "Then... Can I ask you something else?"

"Shoot."

"What am I supposed to do? They want me to kill the accomodator and destroy her Innocence, but... I don't know if I can... so what am I supposed to do if I mess up? They'll kill me if I don't do it, but I don't want to kill a human."

"That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself," the Noah replied. He came closer and patted child Allen on the head. "You'll know what to do when you get there."

Child Allen closed his eyes, and everything around him disappeared with the dream.

"Tim's probably following Allen," Lenalee said calmly. "We're almost there, so I'm sure he'll come back when we reach the station." She was only pretending to be calm, though. In reality, she was worried that Timcanpy had been eaten by a cat again. Of course, that was a silly fear, since he was about the size of a small cat, so there was no way one would be able to swallow him.

Timcanpy twitched out of Allen's arms enough to get a good look at Road. He bore his teeth threateningly up at her, as if to say "Don't touch him." While he glared at Road, he hit Allen with his tail in an attempt to wake his owner up.

"Tim, it's too early," Allen muttered sleepily, not quite remembering where he was. He felt Timcanpy hit him again. "Tim, I'm tired. Lemme sleep in." Again, Timcanpy hit him. "Tim! Go away. Bug Master or somethin'..." Then he remembered what was going on.

Allen shot up, knocking Timcanpy over. "Ah, sorry Tim," he said, embarrassed. He picked up the golem and smiled at Road. "Sorry if Tim was causing trouble. He gets that way when I'm sleeping. He once bit Lavi for trying to write stupid things on my face." He glanced around the room. "Hey, where'd Tyki go?"

Allen stretched his arms over his head. "Floors don't bother me. In fact, they can be a lot more comfy than hotel beds." Allen would know. Whenever his eye sensed Akuma in the area at night, he would sleep under his bed to get the jump on the killers.

"Road, what would happen if we screw up on the mission today?" he asked. "What if some exorcists interfere or the girl's better with her Innocence than we thought?" He tried to calm his pounding heart. He didn't want to have to fight his former teammates, nor did he want to kill the girl. He just wanted to go home--it didn't matter if it was the Ark or the Order--and pretend like none of this ever happened.

Allen sighed. He would be the one to screw it all up, wouldn't he? "Yeah, let's find Tyki."

Timcanpy hopped off Allen's shoulder to the table in the room and held the top hat up for Allen to take.

"Thanks, Tim," he said, still slightly downcast. He put the hat on his head so it hid the scars and followed Road. The sooner they found Tyki, the sooner they could finish the mission and forget about anything that happened.

Allen sat down at the table and picked at his food. "I'm kind of nervous," Allen admitted. "I'm not used to this at all... I don't want to... to hurt anyone... especially not a human." He held a sausage up for Timcanpy on his shoulder. His hand was shaking ever so slightly. "I'm scared... I don't know if I can do it."

"It's in a Noah's blood to hate the Innocence." Tyki said to Allen as he waited for Allen to finish eating, "You might feel nervous now but once you're actually in battle, the instinct will come naturally to you. Kinda like there's another you." Tyki of course was speaking from personal experience of how he felt when the Noah genes would take over and killing and destruction became almost like sex to Tyki.

Allen flinched at the words "another you." There really was another him, or that's what Road had said when it came to his two dream-selves. "You really think I won't have any trouble?" he asked. He didn't want to have to do it. "You don't think the Innocence will stop me--if there's any left in my arm, that is..."

"Your Innocence converted to Red Innocence remember?" Tyki said as he threw a curious eye to Allen, "You know the more you talk about this, the more I'm suspecting that you're going to intentionally ruin this mission."

Allen shoveled some more food in his mouth to avoid having to respond to Tyki's comment. He was just scared. Until now, he'd always been on the recieving end of all the Noah's actions, whether they were simply murdering a Finder or destroying an Innocence. Allen was just scared by the sudden change of roles. It wasn't that he was trying to mess everything up; it was that he was trying to make sense of everything that was happening.

After a brief moment of silence, Allen put his fork down to his now empty plate. "I'm sorry," he managed to say. "I'm just... confused right now. I think I'll be okay once we get this all over with."

Tyki stood up from the table and said, "Its alright Allen, It's your first time. it's expected you'd be slightly nervous. Now let's go and find this Tyra."

"That's her?" Allen whispered. He could see the girl on the otherside of the iron gate, looking around the garden with her one eye as she sketched it. "She doesn't look like a threat."

But Allen knew exactly what she was--an accommodater. He could feel his pulse quickening as he looked at the innocent girl. His arm ached as his urge to kill her rose, and it frightened him. He took a hesitant step back.

Lenalee felt the train slow at last. "Lavi! Hurry up!" she said, shaking her friend awake. "This is where Tim was headed. We have to find him!" This was the end of the line, anyway. They would have to get off, regardless of whether this was where Timcanpy and Allen were or not.

She glanced around the emptying train. No one seemed to notice them, but she noticed one person in particular. "Lavi! Get down!" she hissed, pulling her friend back down. At his confused look, Lenalee whispered, "Kanda's over there. Why on Earth is he here?"

Allen tried to keep as straight a face as possible as Road lied to the girl. He had a good idea what her plan was: befriend the girl, go through her things, find the Innocence, destroy it and the girl. It was as simple as that.

Still, it made Allen feel a little ill. While Road continued to convince the girl of her story, he fussed with his hat to make sure his scars weren't showing. He tried to stay straight faced and calm, even as he worried about Timcanpy. He'd left Tim behind with Tyki when Road had dragged him along for her plan. He had to keep calm, or Tim might pick up on it and blow their cover.

Lenalee followed Lavi off the train. She glanced around nervously, just waiting for Kanda to discover them. "Lavi," she whispered, "where do you think Timcanpy and Allen are?" For the first time since they left the Order, she truly felt scared.