the last request

chapter 12

Lenalee sat by Allen's bed, holding his hand, staring down at him with a look of concern on her face. Much worse than Cross had anticipated, or at least, much worse than he had indicated, Allen now had a severe fever, and had been unconscious for over a week. His breathing was shallow and ragged, and not only did he appear to be ill, he seemed to be having nightmares. Every so often, Allen would begin muttering in his sleep. It was never the same nightmare twice, but it always had something to do with the Noah, or the Earl, or Akuma, or the Order…

Always he mentioned her name, though, and every time she heard her name spoken, whether she was awake or asleep, she instantly awoke, and tried to listen to the rest of what he was saying. He only ever spoke in broken sentences, though, and sometimes, what he said wasn't even intelligible. It was frustrating to know that there was nothing that she could do other than put fresh washcloths on his forehead from time to time, and sit there.

Komui came in and out of the room from time to time, mostly to check on Lenalee, and to try to get her to go back to the hotel to get some sleep. He also came in to check on Allen's status so that he could continue to make reports to Rouvellier, who had returned to the Order upon learning that Allen had gained power that should only belong to a Noah. Allen was not in as serious trouble this time, as he had proven the previous time that he had not betrayed the Order. However, Rouvellier still didn't like Allen, and as soon as he got back, he was sure to get a pile of paperwork to fill out and a personal visit from Link again.

Lenalee sighed. Allen had just gotten rid of Link. Although he was a nice enough person, his tendency to appear everywhere Allen did was irritating at best, and downright annoying most of the time. However, it wasn't like they had a choice. Allen had powers that the Vatican couldn't account for, and they had to get to the bottom of them. Of course, the Vatican itself had undertaken some fairly unscrupulous experiments to create better Exorcists in the past. But they weren't likely to see that when they were studying him. They only saw what they wanted to see. And what Rouvellier would always see when he looked at Allen was a dangerous element not to be trusted. His powerful Innocence was proof enough that he could cause trouble were he to turn on the Order. But he also seemed to have powers that ranged from being able to see Akuma to being able to regenerate, despite there being no record of him ever having been a subject of the Third Exorcist experiments. And apart from that, he had proven vulnerable to the Earl's manipulations in the past, having turned his own adoptive father into an Akuma, his adoptive father being none other than the older brother of the Fourteenth Noah, Neah Walker, the Destruction of Noah, and Allen seemed to have gained some of Neah's abilities, such as controlling the Ark, and some other things that only the Fourteenth could know. Rouvellier didn't like Allen at all, and he was going to keep a close eye on him.

In fact, Rouvellier had come in once himself, with Link in tow, to check on Allen. His official reason was to see that Allen was alright. But Lenalee knew the truth. Allen's wounds were no longer life threatening. Rouvellier wanted to be there as soon as Allen woke up so that he could interrogate him. And Link was there as extra power. Lenalee had seen Link do battle. He was an able combatant, and not to be taken lightly, especially by one who, despite his regenerative abilities, was still convalescing.

And in fact, Lenalee could now hear that same man walking down the hall, Link's footsteps behind him, and Komui trying to convince him to return later. Lenalee miserably steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation that would ensue from her coming across Rouvellier. She hated him with a passion, and at the same time, was terrified of him. Something about him struck every wrong chord in her. Unfortunately, though, now, Allen seemed to be stirring. She could hear him moaning, and feel his hand twitching as he slowly awoke again. His fever was still fairly severe, and Lenalee didn't want Rouvellier interrogating him at the moment. So, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, hoping that he would understand her.