The Will of Noah

FINAL CHAPTER

Allen stumbled exhaustedly down the hall after Lulubell. His feet felt like cement and there was a throbbing ache traveling through his body. That plus his growing dread of having to confront The Earl in his weakened state meant that Allen wasn't having a very good day. He was steadily falling behind Lulubell as they headed toward what he assumed was a dining room. Lulubell quickly took notice and stopped to wait for him. When Allen reached her he was panting slightly. Lulubell sighed and crouched down on the ground with her back to Allen.

"Get on." she said.

"What?" he yelped taking a step back.

"You're taking too long," she sighed, "we can't keep The Earl waiting." Allen looked around anxiously, trying to find some alternative to riding a Noah piggy back. Not seeing any, he embarrassedly wrapped his arms around Lulubell's shoulders and she hoisted him up. They walked like that until they reached a pair double doors where she set him on his feet.

"Now listen here Walker," she growled, pointing a threatening finger at him, "No funny business in there. You are going to be polite to The Earl! Do you understand?" Allen just glared defiantly at her finger. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and jerked him forwards.

"Do you comprehend boy?" she snarled.

"Yes!" he spit angrily. She released him and he backed away.

"Good! You best remember that." she said. She then straitened her shirt and pushed the doors open.

Allen only caught a short glimpse of the dark room draped in reds and purples before he was knocked to the ground by a blunt force to his middle. He blinked his eyes dizzily and looked at his chest to see Road smiling brightly at him.

"Road you shouldn't be jumping on him when he's weak like this." Lulubell said, walking over to the large dinner table in the center of the room and taking a seat next to The Earl.

"Sorry Lulu," Road said happily, getting off Allen, "He just looks so cute!" Allen looked up in a daze, trying to overcome his pounding head and regain his composure. Tyki walked over to Allen from the window where he had been smoking. Tyki smirked down at the stunned boy before grasping the boy under his shoulders and lifting the boy to his feet. Allen blushed lightly but allowed Tyki to lead him to the table. Road followed them to the table and sat at Allen's left while Tyki sat at Allen's left between him and The Earl.

"I really like what you did to his hair Lulu," Tyki said smoothly, twirling his finger around one of Allen's snowy curls. Allen gave an angry huff and smacked Tyki's hand away.

"I didn't do that," Lulubell said monotonously, making everyone at the table look up at her. "I actually wanted to ask you about it Master Millennium. I thought your device wouldn't start to physically change the boy yet." Allen's eyebrows shot up at that. Whatever they were planning just got a whole lot worse to Allen. His body tensed up as his urge to escape was renewed. His eyes began to dart about the room, searching for an escape route, when he felt Road put a hand on his knee. It wasn't a malicious touch, just a warning, "stay put or else". Allen relaxed his body, he would bide his time and wait for an escape, but he had to hurry up or he could end up stuck here for good.

The Millennium Earl rubbed his chin thoughtfully and glanced analytically at Allen. "Well my lovely little invention seems to be working perfectly," The Earl said, getting up from his chair and walking over to Allen's, "but you're right Lulubell, the physical changes shouldn't start for at least another week. I'm not sure why they would have started early. That is unless….." The Earl leaned down to stare into Allen's eyes. The boy leaned back and darted his eyes around, trying to look at anything besides his mortal enemy that was leering right above him.

"Tell me child, has this happened before?" The Earl asked, leering over Allen. Allen nodded tersely, not meeting The Earl's eye, before turning his head away.

"Hmm, I see," The Earl muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He firmly grasped the young Walker's chin and forced the boy to look at him. "and have you been having headaches?" Allen's eyes widened in surprise for a second before fading back to a glare. He gave another short nod to The Millennium Earl.

'What's he getting at' Allen thought agitatedly. He certainly didn't like being this close to his most hated foe. Having The Earl squeezing his chin he liked even less.

"What about nightmares?" The Earl asked with masked glee, "have you had any bad nightmares as of late?" Allen felt a shiver go up his spine as he recalled his most recent night terror. He gave a shaky nod and The Earl let out a sinisterly cheerful chortle.

"Well then there's no problem then," The Earl said gleefully, patting Allen's head and returning to his seat at the head of the table. "He's already started his transformation so my lovely little invention is just speeding up the process a bit."

Allen was panicking inside his mind. What did The Earl mean by transformation? Transformation into what? He was tired of being confused! He wanted answers! He glared defiantly at The Earl and stood up from his seat.

"Alright! I have had enough of this!" he growled out angrily, "you've threatened my friends, dragged me to your home, attacked me with akuma, put me in a bloody collar, and now you're prattling on about some transformation! I want some answers and I want them now!"

Lulubell hissed at him from across the table. Tyki frowned and Road grabbed his arm and pulled him back down into his chair. The Earl's eyes narrowed and he stood from his seat.

"Well well aren't you a feisty one." The Earl said, chuckling darkly. He strode over to stand over Allen. "I suppose that we have kept you in the dark long enough. But we're going to do this civilly. So if you can be a good little boy and ask you questions politely then maybe I'll answer them."

Allen wanted to scream in frustration but he knew that it would get him nowhere. He was outnumbered and trapped in The Earl's domain, he would have to play The Earl's game. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would have to calm down, getting angry could get him killed if his company was anything to go by.

"Why did you capture me?" Allen ground out quietly. The Earl's grin widened and he ruffled Allen's hair.

"There that wasn't so hard was it?" The Earl asked smugly, sliding his hand down Allen's face and stroking the boy's scarred cheek with his thumb. "We brought you here to join your true family and save you from that deplorable order before they poisoned your mind any more."

Allen's face paled. "What?" he asked breathlessly, "What are you talking about?"

"You are a very special boy Allen Walker," The Earl said giddily, "you've been a thorn in my side for quite some time. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you carried the genes of my most favored brother."

The Earl watched mirthfully as Allen looked up at him aghast. "That's right my boy," The Earl continued, "You are a Noah."