So yeah, here's my story, it's a pleasure to have you. The title is actually based on the first cover image of DGM. She said she drew it to look like the figure in a music box, and since the story is always talking about fate and the destroyer of thos and the destroyer of that it was about time someone gave them the credit for being the opposite/balance thing that is such a magnet in other series. It's not given much credit because she just HAD to give him a mask, but to me that just makes it all the more dark and exotic. You can say what you like, i think this stands out at least a little from some of the other noah allen storys i've read, and it's not going to end with a happy allen, he may not even survive to be fair. PLEASE COMMENT.
In the shadow of the circus tent the ring leader stood in front of a cloaked man, change clinking between them in a silent agreement of what was to come. The ring leader smiled as the coins slid into his hands and gestured to the back of the tent.
"The boy with the bad arms in there; Take him at your leisure." He said without a hint of concern heading back to his own tent.
The black figure stood for a moment before heading in the direction he had been pointed in, a thin yet cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Finally" he whispered "Something new".
Towards the back of the tent a boy stood in the dark, unaware of his owner's previous deal, standing before a make-shift cross where his pet dog, Allen, was buried less than a week ago. The boy was happy he'd found somewhere to live, and that the strange man Mana had adopted him, but that didn't prevent him from missing the only friend he'd known. He stared at it sorrowfully.
"I miss you, Allen. We're leaving in the morning, so it looks like I can't visit you anymore." He sniffled "Wherever you are, I'll always remember you." He then turned from the grave and began to head home, only to run directly into the legs of the tall cloaked figure.
"Hey watch where you're going!" he looked up, balling his tiny fists at his sides.
The man looked casually down at his left arm.
"Ah yes I thought it was you, your Red aren't you? Come with me." He grabbed Red's arm jaggedly trying to drag him away.
"Wait who are you?!" Red struggled vigorously in the man's grip, twisting and turning like a fish yanked out of the sea "Let-GO!"
"Look, don't make this harder on yourself kid-" the boy bit into the man's arm, causing blood to flow steadily to his fingertips. "GAH!"
Quickly Red slipped from the man's arms and began running towards his home "MANA! MANA HELP!" he yelled, trying to get the attention of the only person he knew. Unfortunately the man's pain ruined his patience, grabbing Red by the back of his checkered jacket and clasping something wet across his mouth. Before muffled screams could even escape his lips the world drifted from his feet, and all was darkness.
Hours later Red awoke in the dark, a gentle fragment of moonlight crossing over his face in the pitch black of the room. The floor beneath him was hard and cold, and he could feel bruises forming around his arms, neck, and back from being tossed around in whatever transit he had taken to arrive here. Though he could not see he could feel the weight of a chain around his right ankle, barring him to the dank stone wall.
"W-where am I?" he whimpered, cool tears pressing at the corners of his eyes.
Red, being only 7, could not help but to sob, tears streaming from his eyes. He curled up in a ball in the corner of the room right beside the barred window on the wall and cried himself to sleep as the man listened from the next room, wondering what tomorrow would bring for the poor boy.
The man had no desire to harm him, only to experiment. He had been an alchemist since youth and was far too exited not take what he had found. On that boy was an unknown substance known as the gods crystal, he knew that much. He also knew how rare it was, and how the church tried to confiscate it whenever it was found through the black order, a disturbed organization to say the least from his point of view. He had to do it for the sake of both god and science, and one boy's childhood was well worth it to him. The boy had, after all, just been a circus rat with no home. At least now his life would mean something.
For the next few months the man kept Red in his basement, taking pieces from his arm and trying to activate it, tormenting him with constant experimenting. Still the boy clung to life, hoping god was merciful and that when he had found what he was looking for he would let him leave to anywhere but here. One day, however, things were different than their usual routine.
The man led Red upstairs, which he rarely did. Red did not know what was to come, nor did he care. He was certain it was just for more scanning, or blood, or god knows what, but when he reached the main floor they turned down a corridor they had never gone before. The man remained silent, keeping a constant pace without looking back at Red for fear of the guilt that would wash over him. He couldn't waver now, not when he was so close.
They entered a room on the left, the inside of the room looking like an old doctor's office. He turned on the light and it flickered exhaustedly, the dying bulb as worn out as Red felt. The man coaxed Red onto the bed in the room, and filled a syringe with strange liquid from a vile on the counter. Red looked away from the needle, not bothering to squirm or panic. He had had so many shots that he didn't even register them anymore. The man slid the needle into his arm, and looked at Red directly, his hazel eyes pleading something that Red could not grasp in his exhausted state. Something like sorry maybe? He couldn't care less about what the man thought, but something about that look worried him. It took him a minute to realize that he'd never had that look, no matter how much he had hurt him. Suddenly ice began to poor through his veins as his left arm went numb, catching a glint of metal in the man's hand.
For the first time since he was kidnapped, he screamed.
The feeling of the blade was unbearable. Though the skin and flesh had been numbed, the feeling of the rough blading sawing through bone, the sickening sound it made, it was enough to make him vomit, unable to fathom escape. It was too late. He stayed awake through the entire thing, only passing out in shock at seeing his disfigured limb separated from his body.
After the operation, if one could call it that, was complete, the man gingerly removed the limb to the place he had set aside for it. He then looked back at the boy, blood leaking from his body at a sickening rate. After checking for a pulse and not finding one, his inevitable guilt came quickly, and although the grief was sharp, it was brief. He had known this was the likely ending for him from the beginning, and he wasn't sure how long he had to work with the arm before it deteriorated. He had to move the body somewhere else and quickly.
Wrapping him up in some bed sheets to hide his tiny body, he carried him down the street as dusk settled over the town. At first he had considered placing him on a street corner or hiding him in someone's trash, but neither seemed fitting for the poor child. The last place he came upon was the grave yard named Angels pass cemetery, two large elegantly carved stone angels standing on either side of the gate. As he looked down at the ball of sheets in his arms he realized this was the place to leave him. Someone would find him and bury him here at least. He laid him on the ground at one of the angel's feet, and quickly ran off back to his home to check on the arm he had salvaged.
Little did he realized that under the sheets the boy still lived, his breath so shallow and heart beat so low that no instrument of the time could read it. His eyes slowly flickered like that light had, staring up at a dying orange sky, stars traversing into it through the black that came as the moons cloak, signaling the end. For a moment Red lay there motionless, waiting for the end to take him, but something inside him would not sit comfortably, like another being was stirring inside him. Red's eyes opened again, this time catching a glimpse of the angel that stood aloof above him in the dying sunlight.
"Why god?" he choked, barely audible "why would you do this to me? Why would you even create something like me, knowing I would be abandoned and die like this? Are you even there?" tears slid down his face. "Are you?!" there was no reply.
He looked down at his mangled self beneath the sheets.
"I don't want to die like this. I don't want this to be my fate. I want to LIVE. I won't let god do this to me, after suffering so much I can't-" he struggled to sit up, stunned at the pain that shot through him "I won't…." more tears fell, but the longer he stayed up the woozier he felt. The lack of blood was finally catching up, making it apparent wasn't much time left for him.
He sat there leaning against the angel, when suddenly he saw a figure in the distance. As it wandered closer he began to make out what it looked like. At first he had thought maybe it was Mana because of the tall top hat perched on his head and his unusual dress sense, but the more he saw the less he looked like him. He seemed taller than Mana, and his shoulders where broader. He facial features seemed more angular as well, though the unique step he had in his walk would have made him think they were brothers side by side. He was beginning to lose consciousness, so he struggled to stand in one last effort.
When the man reached the gates he looked over at Red, perplexed though seemingly not at all surprised by him. He kneeled down to the boy's level as Red struggled to stand freeing himself from the blood soaked sheets. The man smiled just a little.
"So what happened to you then?" he said calmly. "Is someone looking for you?"
"No" red whispered, barely audible. "Please, help."
"I'm sorry" the man looked away for a second "I'm not well prepared to deal with the dying. Only the dead unfortunately for you." He was about to stand up and walk on when Red grabbed the end of his tie as tightly as he could in his weekend state, staining it with blood.
"No I won't die here I WONT!" he bit down hard, struggling to stand up and look at the man. "I won't let god do this to me…." He looked down trembling and gritting his teeth tightly trying to keep standing despite the pain.
The man's eyes widened for a moment, a bit shocked at the boy's sudden outburst. In his line of work it was not uncommon for him to hear begging like this, but it was never for themselves. As the boy shook below him weakly something about his defiance was almost….familiar. Shock was replaced by curiosity as he slowly lowered himself eye to eye with Red.
"So you want to defy fate?" he smirked a bit, his piercing gold eyes staring into Red's fading silver ones. "Fortunately for you that issomething I know how to do. I was planning to catch up on my work, but I suppose it will have to wait till tomorrow."
Red looked up at him surprised.
"So you'll help me?" he said.
"Yes. But first I'd like to know your name." he replied.
Red wasn't sure if he wanted to give this stranger his name. Even though he said he would help him there was still something awfully suspicious about him. He looked up quickly.
"It's Alle…." Suddenly Red lost consciousness, the man quickly swooping Red up in his arms.
"Allen hm?" he looked down at the small child in his arms brushing some of his red-brown hair from his face. "Well Allen, you have no idea what you've just gotten into." He smiled lightly "I should probably get you fixed up before you bleed out though. For once it seems you're more useful to me alive."