Home Again: Intrusion

Chapter 10: Intrusion In The City, Part 3

Tyki's POV

As Allen began to lose his balance, both Tyki and Apocryphos raced to catch him, though each had their own intentions and the noah worried for what the heart's guardian would do, if he were to get ahold of the boy. This reaches far beyond my duties to protect the fourteenth. Even if the Earl opposes my feelings for Allen, I want to protect him.

He lunged forward and brought out a ball of dark matter, turning sideways midway through the air to face the human-shaped innocence, who looked over at him with that ever-present smile every noah hated. The innocence lifted it's hand and wrapped it's fist around the dark matter, reflecting it as they finally planted their feet on ground.

The boy's body dropped onto the ground in front of them as purple light shone like beams from between their hands. The akuma that surrounded them seemed to grow in numbers as they frantically proclaimed that they needed to protect their master. This somewhat brought Tyki's attention to them and he narrowed his eyes, remembering that the Earl would likely be watching the fight through those akumas eyes. I can't kill them right now – my hands are full. Does he already know? But if he's been watching, surely he would've sent someone to help me out with this guy, right?

"Tyki", he heard Road yell from across the room. He looked over at her, diverting his attention and somewhat lessening the flow of his dark matter. This gave Apocryphos the advantage he needed and he lunged forward, cackling maniacally, "Gotcha!" He wrapped his hand around the noah's neck, pinning him to the wall violently and crushing the stone wall so that several pieces of it crumpled around them. The entire cathedral seemed to shake violently, as though it was planning to fall apart. To his relief, the shaking stopped almost as quickly as it started, though the dust falling from the ceiling didn't make him feel any better.

Road skipped forward, bringing her candles with her and jumping onto the heart's guardian's back as she opened a door behind her. As Apocryphos looked up at her, his grip loosened and the eldest noah yelled, "Hurry, Tyki! Grab Allen and go through the door!"

Without hesitation, he slapped the innocence's arm out of his way, ran forward, and picked up the ex-exorcist, throwing his body over his shoulder, and running toward the door. An explosion from Road's direction stopped him in his tracks and he looked over at her, suddenly worried. She was being held above the innocence's head with his hand around her neck, choking her so she could hardly speak. "Road", Tyki asked, though barely audible.

"Go", she barely managed to choke out.

The noah of pleasure found himself more conflicted than ever as he took note of the boy hanging over his shoulder. He grit his teeth together, panicking at having to decide who's more important. I need to get him to safety, but she can't fight that thing alone. Since when did he become more important to me than my own family? I don't have time for this, I'll get the Earl's help – where is he?!

He tightened his hand into a fist once more before finally deciding and running through the door.

Allen's POV

It felt like he was laying on a bed of water – so comfortable despite how it rippled below his body. And it was completely silent, like the white room he hadn't wanted to call his bedroom since Tyki opened his own room up for Allen to join. With how comfortable he was, he didn't want to wake up. It was like being back in the order – no longer having a care in the world.

"Not even about Mana", a creepy, yet familiar voice asked.

His eyes shot opened and he looked around, though all he could see was white. No one was there – not even the shadow that he was sure would be there to greet him once he'd awoken. This isn't my room, he thought to himself. Am I.... dreaming? No, this feels to real... He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned before lifting his hand and pinching his cheek rather roughly. "Ow! Ow! Ow", he yelled, letting go only after he was sure the pain was entirely real. Okay.... So, this is real, then? Where am I?

As though he'd spoken aloud in a large, empty room, his thought echoed throughout the white nothingness, though the voice sounded distorted and creepy as it moaned "Where am I?" repeatedly. As the voices began to overlap each other, the pale ground began to lift up in some places, like hills suddenly beginning to raise up. Those hills formed into human-like figures, though they didn't have shape to their faces, hands, fingers, or eyes. It looked as though the ground was a sheet and dozens of people were standing under it, clawing to get out from under it. The only holds that opened up were blow mouth and eyeholes, the mouth holes appearing to be the source of the echo he was hearing. But they all sounded identical to the shadow that lingered behind him in the mirrors, so often.

"What-What is this", he asked, stepping back in a panic, though he only back directly into a tall figure, which wrapped it's arms around him.

He stiffened up, ready to attack, when he realized that this figure wasn't white and shapeless. This one had grey skin and a black three-piece suit on. Allen turned his head to see the noah lower his face so that they looked directly at each other.

All the shadows around him began crying out for help with desperation, like the akumas' souls that had always cried out when they were killed by something other than innocence. They cried with that cry that said they were clinging to their last hope and that last hope was the innocence that Allen couldn't seem to activate.

"Shounen", Tyki purred.

He could feel his cheeks catch fire as he gasped, "Tyki?!"

No voice responded, only that warm-hearted smile that noah had always given him, even before he'd come to live with the noah. That smile that he had first seen when they met in the forest after Tyki had killed Suman. The same smile that had always made Allen question his own decisions and the smile that had somehow taken the place of the akuma, in his heart.

"Snuff it out", the white blobs began to groan. As they continued to cry, his heart seemed to skip a beat and realization hit him. "It's all his fault – snuff him out!"