She hadn't understood why her master had given her a cushy winter coat before she left India. It wasn't until she had entered Europe and realized how cold it was, especially at night. She now wasn't as mad at him as she originally was three months ago. He had called her in after another night of drinking. She had assumed he was just going to tell her to settle his debts again, but was surprised when he threw a box at her. She was even more surprised when she found it was a new outfit, and a new pair of boots. They fit perfectly. But to say she wasn't cautious as to why he would give her such a gift was an understatement. She was very aware that something must be up if he was being nice to her.
"Ellen," he started as he took a sip from his glass. "There's a reason why I'm giving you a new outfit." She knew it. Something was up. "It has been a little over three years since you became my apprentice. It's now time for you to grow up and hold your own. From this day forth, I permit you to formally call yourself an exorcist."
She was feeing giddy now. "Really?" she asked in what she had hoped wasn't the voice of a child being told they could have cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She blushed, not wanting to come off as immature.
"Yes," continued the man with long dark red hair. "But," he began. There was always a condition when it came to this man, Ellen thought as she gave him her best poker face. "In order to do so, we must go to the headquarters together." He sighed and took another sip from his wine before continuing. "You know where headquarters is, right Ellen?" She nodded, not exactly understanding why this mattered if they were going together.
"Good." He began. "Because I hate that place. I'll leave my golem behind to accompany you. I'll also make sure to send a letter of recommendation to Komui, the head officer, on your behalf. Get going as soon as you get up." He finished with a giant grin that sent shivers down her spine. Just as she was about to ask what he meant by his last statement, she saw him pull out a mallet and before she could react, everything faded to black. She swore she had heard him chuckle before being overwhelmed by the pain.
When she had woken up, she found her head throbbing from the impact. Her long white hair was now stained with dried blood, but thankfully there wasn't enough blood to freak her out. After a quick shower, she changed into her now clothes and set of for France. She knew the headquarters to the Black Order was on the outskirts of Paris, but hopefully she would be able to find her way there soon.
She was finally in France, hungry and cold. Her stomach began cramping up. It was that time of the month for her and she was very hungry. She knew headquarters was nearby and had decided to wait until she arrived. But now she began to regret that decision, as what was in front of her was a high cliff rising out of the ground with no mean of entering the ominous tower that was sitting so far away. Sighing, she knew she would have to climb that monster cliff.
"Why did they have to build that thing there?" she asked her golem exasperated. She was trying to hold in a pout but she already knew she had failed. Sighing, she started climbing. She wasn't liking this one bit but the grumbling in her stomach had convinced her to keep climbing. She would eventually get to the top and when she did, she would ask for a huge dinner. A buffet of a dinner. A dinner that would satisfy her grumbling tummy.
After what seemed like hours, she had finally made it up. She was breathless, but relived she had finally made it up. After catching her breath, she stood up and walked up to the door of the tall building.
"Hello? Is anyone there? I'm Ellen Walker. Father Marian Cross sent me here. I'd like to request an audience with the head staff of the order." She called out, feeling silly for talking to a door. But as if someone had heard her, a voice spoke up.
"Please get a physical from the gatekeeper behind you."
Turning, she looked to see the gatekeeper, but couldn't see anyone. And without explanation, the giant face by the doors suddenly moved closer to her and peered at her intently. She wanted to scream but stifled her surprise and stared back at the gatekeeper. It shouted out something about an x-ray exam and a light was suddenly on him. And without any explanation, the gatekeeper began shouting.
"HE"S OUT! HE'S BUGGED! HE'S CURSED BY THE PENTACLE ON HIS FOREHEAD! HE'S OUT!"
Frozen, she tried to figure out what was going on before it hit her. Her cursed eye made him think she was an akuma. She opened her mouth to explain her situation, but the gatekeeper kept screaming. And before she knew it, a young lady with long black hair jumped down the building and near her reach.
"You've got some nerve coming here alone…" she said in a deep voice. Something seemed off to Ellen about this young girl, but she didn't bother asking. There was a sword pointed at her.
"W-wait a minute!" Ellen began. "There's been some kind of misunderstanding!" she yelled at her, but to no avail. The Asian girl attacked, making Ellen activate her arm in self-defense. They started fighting and Ellen noticed her hand was damaged but before she could react, the Asian girl with the oddly deep voice asked her something.
"Huh?" Ellen said, not catching what was said.
"Tch. I asked what was with that arm." She repeated herself.
"It's my anti-akuma weapon. I'm an exorcist." Ellen said, wondering why she was asking when it seemed so obvious.
This surprised the Asian girl. She turned to the gatekeeper and began shouting.
"GATEKEEPER! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" that voice of his scared Ellen, but even more surprising was that the gatekeeper seemed scared as well. Ellen noted that maybe this chick was crazy scary and made a mental note not to piss her off.
The gatekeeper began blubbering about, trying to explain he can't see the insides of others.
"I'm human!" Ellen yelled, banging on the gatekeeper's giant chin. "Yeah, I ma be a little cursed but I'm still human! Honest to God!" she yelled at it as it yelled at her to keep her grubby hands off his face.
"Well," began the deep-voiced Asian girl. "The only way to find out if you're really human is to slice you open." She finished as she drew her sword and prepared to lung. "I'll tear you to shreds with my Mugen!"
"Wait! Seriously, hold on! I swear I'm not your enemy! Master Cross should have sent a letter of recommendation!" Ellen yelled, trying to stop the sword from killing her. It seemed to have worked. The Asian girl looked at her puzzled, her sword a few hairs away from ramming into her head.
"A letter of recommendation? From the general?" she asked, dubious if this was a ploy to let her go.
"Yes." Ellen said. "It was addressed to someone named Komui." She finished, hoping this would be enough to get the sword away from her face. After what seemed like a long pause, a voice spoke up.
"Kanda, cease your attack!" it vibrated throughout the cold night air. "Open the gate, gatekeeper! You are granted permission to enter the castle, Ellen Walker!"
Ellen sighed, relived she wouldn't die at the hands of some scary Asian chick with an unusually deep voice. But before she could react, the other girl kept her sword on her.
"Komui, what's the meaning of this?" she asked, apparently angry.
"Sorry!" the voice boomed, "We jumped to conclusions too soon! She's General Cross's pupil! Here...apologize section leader Reever!" another voice pitched saying none of this was his doing. The voice spoke again, "Timcanpy is proof enough. She's one of us." The girl named Kanda just glared at her. It seemed she was trying to decide what to do. But before she could do anything, someone hit her over the head and scolded her. It was another Asian girl, but this one actually sounded more feminine than the scary one. She pulled both of them in, and closed the doors.
"I'm Lenalee Lee, the head officer's assistant. I'll take you to see him." She smiled at her, guiding her inside the building.
Before following Lenalee, Ellen turned to the scary girl. "Oh, Kanda, that is your name, right?" she began, watching as the other girl turned to face her. "Nice to meet you." Ellen said, holding out her hand for a handshake.
"I don't shake hands with someone who's cursed." Kanda said before turning and heading off in the other direction.
Ellen was surprised and somewhat shocked. That was cold. Who knew such a pretty girl could be so mean.
"Sorry, Kanda's irritable after returning from a mission. Now let's go so you can meet the head chief." Lenalee smiled at her and guided her in a different direction.
Lenalee was at least nice and polite to Ellen, showing her around the castle. In a matter of minutes Ellen learned where the dining hall was along with many other locations. She made sure to remember where the dining hall was however, since it would be her place for refuge soon. They soon found their way to the basement.
"Hi, how ya doing?" asked a tall Asian man dressed in white. "I'm Komui Lee, head officer of the science department!" The man smiled at her, appraising her.
"Welcome Ellen. By the way, sorry for the misunderstanding earlier!" he said as he lead her into a room that seemed to be like a doctor's office.
"Can you show me your arm?" he asked her as he motioned for her to sit down on a medical bed. She complied and rolled up her sleeve. "You damaged your weapon earlier when Kanda attacked you, right?" he continued as he examined her arm. "The nerves have been damaged, it seems." He paused, thinking of what to do. With a simple 'aha!' he turned to his assistant. "Lenalee, can you get the anesthetic? Good. Now Ellen, can you invoke it?" he asked her.
"Sure thing. Invocation!" her arm grew and became a giant claw. Komui examined it and made a few sounds before speaking up.
"You're a parasitic-type!" he said with a satisfied smile. He paused to take a drink from his pink bunny mug.
"I'm sorry, but what is that?" Ellen asked, not seeming to understand what he meant by a parasitic-type.
"A parasitic-type is a type of accommodator that can morph their body into a weapon. It's the rarest type of anti-akuma weapon of all. A parasitic-type accommodator and their weapon are synchronized. Hence, they are symbiotic." As he finished explaining, he pulled out a few medical instruments that looked more like drills. She was beginning to feel nervous. This seemed all too familiar to her. "Now, shall we get started with the repair?" he smiled at her, sending chills down her arms.
She had wanted to pass out. She had wanted to cry but held it in. Her arm was now numb. She knew she was pouting now. She didn't even bother hiding it. She couldn't move her arm at all and it probably wouldn't function correctly for at least another day or so. She vowed right there and then to never break her arm again.
"Ellen? Do you know about innocence?" Komui asked her as he lead her onto an elevator.
Puzzled, she stared at him. "Well, yes. Master has always told me to never let a man take me." she was embarrassed but had no idea why this was relevant.
Komui looked at her before laughing. "No, not that type of innocence Ellen. Innocence is what we use to fight against akumas. It's what your arm is made of!" he laughed again. Ellen was mortified. She had just made a fool of herself. She didn't know how to speak up after such a blunder, but thankfully, Komui continued with his explanation.
"The innocence of God, the power of the almighty. Exorcists are the chosen ones to wield the innocence's power to it's full capacity." The elevator stopped and Komui looked up at what seemed to be a ledge. The dim lights showed five cloaked humanoid figures sitting on high chairs. "Those are our bosses, the Great Generals. Now, prove your worth to them." Without any further explanation on how to prove herself, something grabbed her from behind and pulled her up, holding her up to what seemed like a giant snake-like woman. Scared, Ellen tried to activate her arm but before anything could happen, the thing spoke up.
"It's useless to activate your innocence, young miss." It spoke in a soft voice.
Komui smiled and addressed the thing. "What do you think, Hevlaska? How do you like this solider of life?"
Ellen was grossed out. She felt as if the thing named Hevlaska was probing her within. She silently commanded her arm to activate. It wouldn't transform at all. She began cursing it, daring it to activate. And as she cursed it, it finally activated, ripping the bandages apart.
"AHHH!" she screamed in pain. It felt as if her arm was being ripped apart. Without missing a beat, the thing Hevlaska spoke.
"Don't force an invocation when your nerves are numb. Please calm down. I am not your enemy." She bent her head and touched Ellen's forehead. This seemed to restore her arm to its original form. "It's extremely dangerous if the anti-akuma weapon and the accommodator aren't properly synchronized when the invocation happens." She explained. She then began counting numbers and stopped at 83.
"Eighty-three percent! You should be fine now. It seems like your current maximum synchronization rate with your weapon is 83 percent." It spoke again. She set the girl back down onto the elevator.
"Synchronization rate?" Ellen asked, unsure what it meant.
"It's the numerical value that reflects your ability to invoke your anti-akuma weapon…the lower the synchronization rate, the more difficult it is to do an invocation, and the accommodator is placed in danger. It wasn't my intention to scare you…I only wanted to touch your innocence and learn about it…" she finished, staring at the girl before her.
"You wanted to learn about my innocence?" Ellen asked, looking back up at Hevlaska.
"Ellen Walker," she said softly, "Your innocence will someday create a great 'Destroyer of Time' in the dark future….that is what I felt….that is my power…"she finished as her voice faded.
Ellen pondered for a moment, wondering what a destroyer of time meant, unsure if she should bother to ask or not. But before she could voice her question, Komui pulled her aside.
"Well, it must be referring to you!" Komui exclaimed, clapping like an idiot. "Hevlaska's prophecies are usually dead-on. Looks like we can expect some big things from you, Ellen."
"Komui…" Ellen looked at him, and quickly spun around and tried to punch him, hitting his clipboard instead. "You should let me sock you!" she exclaimed angrily.
Komui just laughed it off. "Silly girl, you already took a shot! Sorry, I know how surprised you must've been. I'm sure it was scary. I understand, but new exorcists of the Order have to get their innocence inspected by Hevlaska. It's a rule." He finished in a singsong voice.
Angry, Ellen tried to punch him again. "Why can't you just tell me those things beforehand?!" she exclaimed annoyed. Calming down, she turned to face him again. "What exactly is an innocence?"
""I'll give you a proper explanation." He began, leaning against the railing of the elevator. "After all, the innocence plays a significant role for exorcists who go off to battle. The only ones who know the truth are the Black Order, the New World Alliance, and the Millennium Earl. This all began several hundred years ago, after a "cube" was discovered. Inside was a prophecy from an ancient civilization and instructions on the usage of a certain material. The cube as well was made from it as well. It's a material known as the "Crystal of God," and it possesses mysterious powers. We call it "Innocence". It's the cross that's embedded in your left hand. An innocence that has been processed and converted into a weapon is called an "Anti-Akuma weapon". The creator of the cube says they defeated the Millennium Earl, who appeared with his demons, using the innocence. But in the end, the world was once destroyed. It happened approximately seven thousand years ago. We know it as "The Great Flood" from the Old Testament. However, the cube chronicles it as "the Three Days of Darkness". Also, according to the prophecy from the cube, the world will come to an end once more, this time at the hands of the earl. It will be the return of the Three Days of Darkness. In fact, the earl has returned to this world as stated in the prophecy. With this turn of events, the New World Alliance decided to obey the message from the cube to resurrect the Innocence and establish the Black Order. Our purpose is to gather all those who can wield Innocence, whom we call 'accommodators' because only they can wield the true power of the Innocence. The accommodators of Innocence are also known as exorcists, such as yourself." Komui paused and took a drink from his coffee mug, "However the Earl had not forgotten the past. He also created and army to destroy God. They are known as akuma. If Innocence is white, there is black. It is the "Dark matter" used to create akuma. The more an akuma evolves, the more the Dark matter matures and becomes powerful. The Earl is plotting to destroy the Innocence and thus avoid its resurrection. The Innocence were washed away during the Great Flood and have been scattered throughout the world. There's a total of 109 Innocence. Our mission is to find every fragment and use it to destroy the Earl. The Earl is also searching for the Innocence to destroy it. This is a race to find the Innocence." Komui finished explaining and was about to straighten up when a loud booming voice spoke.
"The moment we lose this crusade, the prophecy of "The End" will be fulfilled. You must fight. That is your fate as one chosen by the Innocence. It is your fate…"the voice trailed off, leaving Ellen lost in thought. She turned to Komui and shook his hand.
"So there you have it." Komui smiled at her. "That's it for the long explanation. Let's both do our best for the world, even if we won't make a penny off of it." He smiled again, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "Welcome to the Black Order, Ellen Walker. With you joining our ranks, we now have 19 exorcists. Most are scattered throughout the world searching for Innocence. I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough." With that, Ellen was shown to her room.
Finally resting from such a long day, Ellen sighed, wondering where Timcanpy went.
"I'm finally here, Mana." She whispered to herself. "I'm finally at the starting line. "Don't stop. Keep walking." That's what you always said to me. I swear I won't stop no matter what. I'll keep on walking as long as I live."