Title: Cuckoo's Nest
Summary: Being stabbed by Kanda had another consequence on Allen. A cuckoo hatches. Semi-Alternative Universe/Universe Alternation
Genre: Angst, Suspense, Family
Characters: Allen Walker, Millennium Earl, Mana Campbell, the 14th
Pairings: None
Rated: T
Warning: Canon-typical violence, altering between the referring to the Earl as both Mana and Adam, Canon-Divergence
Cuckoo's Nest
Low crackles rumbles softly in the air, dancing with the flickering ash floating in the air. The stench of burning meat and poison blended into a fragrance revolting for most but exciting for the Clan of Noah. The battlefield that was filled with chaos and havoc seconds ago went dead silent. Duels suspended for the sake of turning their horrified or gleeful gaze at the cooling body of the boy, the Exorcist, the hero, the martyr. The ashening skin like a proof of his sacrifice.
No longer interested in the deadly lover's spat between Kanda Yuu and Alma Karma, the Earl of Millennium floated over to the broken body that hosted the 14th.
"Get the hell away from him, fatso!" Golden eyes flickered over to the orange haired Guardian Deity, currently held back by an enthusiastic Tyki. She was indeed a splendid warrior but had no power, no Innocence to stop them, so Adam entrusted her to the fully awakened Third Apostle.
He kneeled down, amber gaze softening at the ugly Innocence inflicted injury. It was undeniably painful, but it had to be done. Road jumped off his shoulder and kicked herself back to her Noah form, thin arms reaching to brush a strand from Allen's frowning face tenderly.
"I wonder what sort of dream he sees right now," Road whispered wistfully.
Adam hummed. "It is a pity that neither you nor Wisely can access his memories. Blasted Innocence." His hand picked up the teenager's left, inspecting the dully glowing green ember buried within. The subtle proof that Allen's soul has not left this plane yet. "But that's fine. Everything will return to the way it was."
Gold speckled grey irises snapped wide open, the elegant flutter unleashing a powerful blast, smashing into everyone in range save for the ones behind the Earl's barrier. Blackened eyeballs rolled around, taking in the sight. Coming to his senses, the white haired youth attempted rolling away but halted with a pained gasp, hand flying to his pierced stomach.
"Easy there, even if your body has finally awakened, your cells are still delicate and you're injured," the Earl chastised.
Golden glowing eyes seethed hate. "Why would you care about me?" the boy spat. "I'm an Exorcist and you had me stabbed."
"I'm sorry I had to hurt you," the Earl apologized, "but it's your interest. And now, my dear child, you're one of us now."
White eyebrows scrunched in confusion, moreso when Road handed over a hand mirror with an uncharacteristically kind smile. One filled with love. One that she's been giving him ever since this whole fiasco started.
Suspicious eyes shifted between the two, until he could no longer withhold his aching curiosity and stole a glance in the mirror.
Breath stuck in his throat, restless power surging down his spine, shattering the mirror in his hand. His pulsed picked up, sweaty palms quivering, breath growing heavy along with the rising volume of his heartbeat.
He barely recognised his own face because of the striking difference of no longer alabaster but umber skin, golden shining eyes and seven stigmatas rowing on his forehead. His shaking hand reached up, tracing their outlines, feeling if it was truly there or just his eyes were playing tricks. He wasn't so fortunate.
"Ah, you reconnected with your Noah power, magnificent," the Earl continued, undisturbed. "Usually the memories come first, but you've always been a special case."
His senses screamed at him, eyes focusing on the approaching hand. Adrenalin exploding in his veins, he summoned his Innocence claw, slashing at the Earl's face. Road jumping between the two of them decreased the impact with her body, but the blades did not stop, they swiftly ripped off the Earl's head. The thud of impact following Road's one was much softer than a body part's though. The Earl's inhuman grinning face folded like the piece of fabric it was.
Allen then doubled over from the pain of having both Innocence and Noah part awake in his body. In the very next moment his Innocence dissipated back into his body, unable to maintain the synchronisation.
"So you can still use Innocence?" A voice spoke up. Allen momentarily froze. "Now that was quite unexpected." He knew that voice. Golden shining silver eyes trembled at the sight they took in. He recognised each winker and the expression they manifested. That warm gaze prodded loose old memories that he failed to recall for long.
Distantly, he registered Road recovering from his attack within seconds, like it was nothing, but not even a guilty conscience could force him to look her way. He couldn't tear his eyes away from that face.
Aged eyes softened and pulled into a wry, apologetic smile. "Hello, Allen, it's been a while."
Out of the Millennium Earl's husk, the familiar face of Mana Walker greeted him.
Allen's voice was a mere choked whisper. "Mana." His stomach rolled uncomfortably at the memory of that fateful night; he remembered, he remembered the cold, the pact, the horrible deed, his atrocious betrayal against Mana and God, the agony of having his face ripped apart, the agony of Mana being angry at him and cursing him, the pain pain pain pain.
That constant ache in his chest worsened to the point that it was hard to even breathe.
Before he could begin to collect himself, he was pulled into a warm, welcoming hug. His head was pushes into the man's collarbone, a warm hand cradling him like something precious while the other rubbed soothing circles in his back.
"6 years," Mana said. "It's been 6 years that I could hold you like this." Allen flinched when the man pressed a soft kiss on top of his head. "I missed you so much, Allen."
His heart pounded painfully in his chest, a terrible ache that sucked the power out of his limbs, out of his will.
He wanted to bury his face in this broad chest.
He wanted to push away.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to claw off the face this man wore as mockery.
He wanted-
The chaos in his head crippled his burned his eyes, but refused to fall.
Finally Mana let go, only to keep him within arm length and cradle his face gently. Lovingly.
"Welcome home, Fourteenth."
The spell broke. Hearing that cursed name fury exploded, surging through his nerves; he slapped away the hands and shot a look of pure contempt at the mildly hurt expression of the man he loved the most.
"I'm not 'Fourteenth'," he snapped, voice much deeper, much intimidating than ever. "I'm Allen Walker!"
Ma- the Earl flinched, taken aback by his sudden outburst, wagging his head to the side slowly. "But of course, you are Allen. You might not be Neah, but you are the Fourteenth. I know because I was the one who gave this power to you."
Allen was sure his chest was moving but he couldn't breathe.
HowWhyWhen- the questions collided into each other, rolling and creating havoc; doubt and unease settled into the pit of his panging stomach. The loudest one was: Was everything a lie?
Seeing his shock Ma- the Earl elaborated. "Cross probably told you that once the Fourteenth awakens, you will cease to exist. Now don't make that face, he wasn't deceiving you," he comforted seeing Allen's panicked expression. "He was simply misinformed. He thought you were the person who Neah entrusted his memories to. But that's not true. It was another person, who was named Allen, a friend of Neah, who offered up himself as sacrifice so that Neah could be reborn through him."
Amber eyes glanced to the side as they recalled the fragments of phantom memories of another life. "Naturally, I went to seek him out and retake that power, so that it didn't fall into the hands of the Order or worse, the Heart. And so I did. I loved Allen too, but I couldn't let him have that power." Brows creased, golden eyes turned distant, twinkling with Allen recognised as sorrow and pity. "Maybe it was mercy though, to kill him before Neah's erased his existence. He and the last vestiges of Neah are part of me."
He paused, as if commemorating the old friend he killed. "Either way, like this, the Millennium Earl, I became whole again. That was when I regained my senses and realised what I did. And I almost lost my mind. Even I could not understand why I- why we both did what we had done. It was too much, the pain of losing everything and everyone I loved like that. I wanted to forget all…"
Empathy flickered within Allen seeing the raw emotions laid bare in his beloved father's eyes; he understood well, the cold, bitter loneliness, the never ending cycles of misery-
He squashed the sentiments cruelly, ruthlessly. These feelings were dangerous. This man wasn't his father, not his Mana.
Mana was warm, loving and endlessly forgiving. He gave up revenge so no one had to die.
This was nothing like his Mana.
"But that would have been unfair to the dear brother I had killed." Ma- The Earl carried on, drawing him back into the story. "The least I could do was remember… Still, I couldn't stop missing Neah. There wasn't even hope that he'd be reborn or I could convince someone to make him into an Akuma - that way I wouldn't have had to worry about him rebelling again. His soul was devoured, never to return to the Helix of Life. Even as a necromancer, I could do nothing for him."
Tears were brimming the Earl's eyes, but just like long, long ago-
I can't cry. Maybe my tears are dried up. They just won't come.
Stop it! Don't remember! Don't pity him!
"I spent decades on researching a possible way to save Neah - in vain," he whispered, voice hollow, soul empty with grief. Before him was a broken man who lost everything, over and over again. But why did he know that? "I hit the bottom once again… That's when I came to an entirely new perspective. If I can't reverse it, then I can redo it." Those sad, sorrowful amber irises brightened as they met his. The grief was still there, but another, much warmer emotion seeped into the man's heart and out to the boy to see. Pure adoration. Mesmerized by the gaze, he failed to detect the hand approaching him until it cupped his cheek. "That's how you were born," he said, voice full of a nostalgic warmth, of love that only one person gave him-
STOP, STOP, STOP!
"I added my DNA to the Egg, making it an artificial womb for you to develop in, and then 9 months later, I took you out of the Egg," he explained, his voice turning excited.
The Egg, Allen remembered, the tool Lulu Bell went so far to seize. Did she really murder hundreds for a mere object her Master had emotional ties to?
"You looked just like a human baby, but you were not. You were- you are so much more," the Earl cooed proudly, caressing his cheeks lovingly, as i trying to brush his shocked expression away. "My perfect creation who surpasses Akuma of all levels: the first Second Generation Noah. A Noah who is capable of furthering our bloodline and conceiving new Noahs. The new Adam."
No way, no way, no way-
Noah.
No way, no way, no way-
Noah conceiving Noah.
No way, no way, no way-
Hearing it, Allen could no longer deny, no longer pretend he was just hallucinating. He knew that whatever Mana said was true, he would automatically believe as true. Even after all this time, he was still so dependent on him.
"No," Allen shook his head furiously, eyes moving frantically, looking for some sort of reason in any of this- "that… can't be. You make no sense. If all what you say is true, then how come I am compatible with a piece of Innocence?!"
The expression on Mana's face withered into a heated glare that made Allen flinch. Seeing Mana like this was terrifying; another slaplike reminder that this wasn't his Mana.
"Everything is because of that damn Innocence," he hissed with so much loathing that Allen felt personally threatened.. "You and I were perfectly well for the first 5 years. Though at that time, I called you Neah," he injected. "A selfish decision from me, I apologize. Of course, if you wish, I'll call you Allen because you seem to prefer that name."
After the brief interlude, Mana carried on with his explanation. "I raised you with all the love I had, playing and educating you. Teaching you how to use your powers and privileges as a Noah. That was also the reason why I turned Cross back to human from the Skull that served me for centuries - you needed a caretaker to watch over you while I tended to my duties as the Millennium Earl."
Cross was a Skull. His caretaker.
Which meant that all long, Cross had been with him because he reported to the Earl?! He wanted to deny it, but it made so much sense. Cross always seemed to know him to an unexplainably intimate degree. He saw through his mask of distanced politeness and saw the suppressed grief and honest reactions, his deep seated loneliness that none of his friends managed to ease. He knew that Allen knew the score - probably even that Mana or he himself had taught him. He never lied, but kept the truth omitted and even went as far as using Allen as a bait so he could remain in the shadows, plotting.
As the Millennium Earl. Mana wasn't possessed by the Millennium Earl, he was the Millennium Earl. Allen felt like throwing up, but he lacked the strength to do even that much.
"Everything went well until the Innocence found us. It happened when I brought you along to a circus, because you loved clowns." A small smile adorned his face at the fond memory, which withered recalling the following nightmare. "We were ambushed by Apocryphos. That guy would be a dangerous opponent under normal circumstances, but being caught off guard was disastrous."
Again, the venomous hatred returned. "He brainwashed Cross. He modified his memories and made him into an Exorcist. Maybe I should have concentrated on saving you and kill Cross, but you loved Cross so much - I knew that you'd be devastated if I killed him. Wounding his face did it. But when I finally found you it was too late. Apocryphos has completely erased all your memories and burdened you with a piece of Innocence to suppress your true self and even casted a curse to seek out and kill Akuma, as punishment for being born as a Noah, for being my child."
His glare turned at the dully glowing cross embed in his son's arm, pulsing weakly. It tried to 'cleanse' the boy from the Dark Matter, desperately, pointlessly. Allen's entire existence was made of Dark Matter. It was quite a surprise though that it was still intact and it still clung to Allen. "An unexpected plus seems to be that due to this, you seem immune to Innocence. Your DNA mutated to accommodate Innocence, which will pass down on your bloodline; your own children will be immune and perhaps we can even create a vaccine for the rest."
A vaccine. And with it, the Noah will lose their only weakness. The world will lose its only chance to be saved. In the end,no matter what he did, his existence was a curse.
"Walker!" Allen jolted hearing Fou's voice, heads instinctively turning her way. She managed to slice Tyki enough to win a few seconds. Deep down somehow he knew it was nowhere enough. "Don't dare you listen to their bullshit! They are deceiving you!"
"I assure you, I am completely honest," Ma- the Earl replied, watching disinterested how Tyki tackled her, their fight continuing on. He shifted his attention back to Allen. "I know it could have been worse. He could have completely assimilated you, in which case you would have ceased to exist completely. I can only think he wanted to turn you into a weapon against me. To break me by forcing me to fight and kill or get killed by you. Just like an Akuma."
Demon child, the insult resounded in his head.
In the end, they were not wrong.
"You were suspicious of everyone when you woke up. No wonder, that bloody Cosimo abused you horribly - don't worry about him though, he will never hurt you agian. We have captured him. If you want to, you can take your revenge on him."
Something sneered within Allen and he had to force his facial muscles to not mirror the grin of the Noah within him. He was not supposed to hurt others, this is what Mana taught him. He shouldn't be anticipating carnage.
"Meanwhile, I suspended all my other activities and concentrated on rebuilding my relationship with you. For another five years that we spent side by side, you knew nothing. In the background my Skulls researched day after day to remove the Innocence without harming you. For the same reason, I made the Order experiment with implanting Innocence into people and remove them, but they were truly primitive."
What? He reached that far?! Another wave of sickness washed over Allen, heavily laced with guilt. He was the reason why those people were dead. "I had mere humans' Noah genes awaken. They were not real Noah though. Those children were good enough for experiments."
A freezing chill ran down on Allen's spine. Children. The Earl experimented on children because of him.
"Finally after five long years, the Skulls perfected the technology to remove Innocence safe. I planned on taking you back home… but then Apocryphos and a group of controlled Exorcists came. He forcefully activated the Innocence and forced us to fight. Again, I managed to wound it considerably but I couldn't kill him, or else I would have lost you. "
The rage in his eyes faltered, turning into dulling pulsating embers of sorrow. "I realised that no matter what I do, with the Innocence embed in you," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "I could not protect you from that thing. Worst case scenario, it would have made you Fall…"
His eyebrows scrunched, pained by the mere thought of losing his beloved son like that. But with Allen's full awakening, this long nightmare was finally coming to an end. Soon they would be home and forget this ever happened.
"I couldn't win as long as that Innocence possessed you. The only way you could live was if you fought me. So I decided, I'd play along."
Determined amber irises settled on horrified ones, ignoring the dread in them. Soon when he started remembering, Allen will leave behind these baseless sentiments.
"I took Cross back and brainwashed him myself into a sleeping double agent and entrusted you in his care. Through his eyes, I watched you grow. All the while I pretended to be your enemy. I encountered you time and time again, fighting you fiercely enough so the Order would be satisfied." He paused, then added: "Even being a bit harder on you to make them value you more."
Next to them Road giggled; Allen watched with wide eyes how she leaned towards him, feminine hand settling on his knee. "As the goal approached I grew impatient~ So I decided to visit you." Her expression shifted to a pout, childlike fingers reaching out to trace Allen's scar. "I thought that ridding you of that eye would help, but sadly that was not the case."
"Originally I mean to collect you after Suman Dark has Fallen," the Earl said taking back the narrative. "I was worried when you overstrained your Innocence, so I sent Tyki to at least destroy the most of it and injure you enough to trigger your genes. But that pest is stuck to you stubbornly. Before you got the chance to awaken, it fused with your heart, making my job much harder. We sent an Akuma after you, but that fool attacked you, unknowing of my plans. I was tempted to make it self-destruct, but that would have made you suspicious."
Unconsciously, Allen's knuckles turned white from gripping the broken mirror so strong.
"In the end you did come through the gate and arrived just in time to stop me from killing that other pest. So instead I tried to kill her in a more indirect way, but of course, you always had a knack for getting into trouble. But worry not, we turned this into an opportunity to start your awakening. We guised an exit under the pretense of a death match and you splendidly survived to the very end. A proof how much superior you are to those scum, even when so seriously held back from your true potential. And you did wonderfully by playing the piano, I was so proud. You surpassed all my expectations by taking the Egg," he boasted proud.
An amused exhale tickled by his mouth, as if retrieving that thing didn't cost hundreds of lives. "That was a bit of a problem though, so I sent Lulu to take care of it - it was foolish of me to not take your curse into account. With the ban of you meeting Cross I was in a bit of a bid, but there were plenty people willing to sell confidential information about you. According to my intel, you were supposed to be taken away for interrogation, but you probably took your time to eat. A fierce fight came in which you destroyed the Egg, then the new Level 4 with a little outside help. You got hurt badly, but that served your purpose, as your regenerated parts were Noah cells." As if to comfort him, the Earl patted Allen's trembling hand reassuringly. As if what he did, what he was doing is not something atrocious.
"And then when you accidentally stabbed yourself, I knew the time came. You were nearing your full awakening and thus the Order became less and less safe for you. If I didn't awaken you fully promptly, you were going to get killed. Also," Mana spat the last part, fierce golden eyes tearing into those lying like the maggots they were, "I wanted to show you where the loyalty of these people lied." The very thought he needed to keep his precious baby among these trash made him want to dump Allen in a tub and rub away all the filth these inferior curs wiped on him. Soon.
He turned his gaze back to Allen, eyes and voice softening. Both his hands sought out Allen's shaking ones, feeling guilty that his baby had to suffer so much. But it would be alright soon, they'd love away all the scars and wrap him up in the love that he missed, that he deserved. "This is why, I manipulated Kanda Yuu to awaken you. Firstly, a punishment for killing Skinn and then for hurting you. And finally, because I know that these filth would throw you away like garbage once you regained what you've lost, once you are no longer their canonfodder." Allen's laboured breaths hitched when Mana's familiar calloused hands touched his face again, turning his head at his comrades - who he believed were his comrades. "You can see it too."
The Earl got bittersweet satisfaction out of the terrified and hateful glares drilling into Allen, stripping away all the self-esteem he managed to restore. The self-esteem the Innocence artificially squeezed low so that Allen would be its obedient little puppet. But not anymore. He'd give back everything. Allen just had to see the truth and accept it.
He turned back at the boy with hopeful eyes, enthusiasm faltering seeing Allen's gaze.
"What are you saying?" he demanded, trying to hide his despair, his misplaced guilt behind defiance as he always did. "Is this how you justify killing innocent people?!"
This was going to be a lot harder than anticipated. He could hardly say it was unexpected though, Allen was incredibly stubborn."I did it to save you," he replied.
Hitching gasps stumbled through Allen's chapped lips as he pulled away, hair swishing softly as he shook his head. There was a spark which ignited his fear into aggression.
"They are humans!" the teenager yelled heatedly. "Just like you!"
Mana blinked in surprise, eyelashes batting puzzled. Then he chuckled. Allen's stomach turned at the sound. "Oh my, it seems you're a bit confused. Allen, you do not belong to these humans. This is my birthright as a part of a more superior species. Right now, humans are aggressively invasive species parasitizing all living beings in this plane. They already caused irreversible damages: climate change, destroyed species - they even enslave those who belong to a different race and ethnicity and use them like tools for their own gains and entertainment. That's even more despicable than us killing for the sake of our survival. You are cuckoo mixed into these rotten eggs that will never even hatch, that will never become proper Noah. I know you want to save them because you're young and want to love so bad... But they are dead ends of evolution and therefore need to disappear. Stop feeling any shred of sympathy for them Allen, they're not worthy, believe me."
Allen ripped his hand away, backing from him, body trembling from pent up aggression, hurt, rage and fear, ignoring Mana's look. "No."
Mana refrained from letting the slithest hurt he felt at the reaction show. "It's time for you to leave their nest and come home, Allen."
"NO!" Innocence burst to life along with the howl breaking free of Allen. For a second there was an almost blinding white sea of feathers sprouting, in the next moment he fell to his knees screaming in agony.
Road and Adam were instantly there by his side. "Allen!" The Earl steadied the boy so he wouldn't fall over while he emptied the content of his stomach while Road rubbed his back soothingly.
"Oh, you dummy," she chastised him gently. "You cannot use Innocence when you are still so unstable!" She sighed, keeping up the comforting gesture as Allen heaved until there was nothing left in his belly. She hoped after this he'd feel better, but to her distress, Allen seemed to shake even more. "Allen?"
To her shock, Allen threw his head back, another scream tearing through him this time along with white feathers coming from his eyes.
"Hold him down!" Adam shouted, grabbing Allen by the wrists before he tried to claw his eyes out.
Tyki was there in a flash, holding down his feet, and Road pushed him down by his shoulders.
"Earl, what's wrong with him?!" Tyki demanded through Allen's screams.
"The brainwashing by Apocryphos, it's becoming undone," the Earl replied, grunting as he had to shove down Allen's flailing arms. "His true and false memories are clashing. It won't be long now, just keep him down."
The agonized screams continued for agonizingly long minutes that seemed like an eternity, until Allen seemed to have run out of steam. His abused throat wheezed for sweet air once and then he promptly passed out.
The Noah surrounding him let out a sigh of relief as they released their youngest.
"It's over - for real now. Next time he wakes up, he will know. He will see. He will truly be Allen." The Earl kneeled down, gathering the boy in his arms bridal style and cradled him gently as he lifted the boy up. "Now we just need to find Raasura... And finally our family is complete."
A Level 4, that hung back, waiting for order until now took the initiative and appeared by his side. "Master Earl," an Akuma inquired, bowing its head in submissiveness before its creator. "What are we to do about the humans?"
Adam thought for a second. "Leave them be. Allen might want to get revenge on them himself," he ordered. "Get back to the Ark."
The pentagram on its forehead grew ominously. "As you wish, Master."
The Earl turned to flash a fake smile at the audience as the Ark Gate flared open behind him. "The party's over. Thanks for your participation. Farewell." He faltered suddenly remembering. "Hey you Third over there," he called out to a disfigured Tokusa who was just about to squash the leader of the Asian Branch who was left defenceless with the destruction of the Spirit Stone. "Turn back and come over, you will be Allen's servant from now on."
The huge monstrosity shook and stilled; letting out choking noises, the creature reverted back to the green haired young man the Order experimented on. "A-as you wi-ish, Master Earl," he replied, body and voice trembling, trying to oppose - he couldn't, the Dark Matter within forcing him to obey.
The Earl turned on his heel, leaving the chaos behind, taking the prize he had been working for. He leaned forward, placing a tender kiss on the fresh stigmatas on Allen's forehead. Looking up, he greeted the rest of his excited family with a smile. He could hardly wait for Allen to wake up and return their warm embrace.
"Welcome home, my son."
Reviews are greatly appreciated. Please tell me which part/aspect/quote you liked the best, I'm curious.