"We found them!" Komui shouted. Immediately everyone stood up from where they were sitting and moved closer so they could hear. They had been notified that a young boy with white hair was seen yesterday. Instantly all of the remaining exorcists, Lenalee, Timothy, Krory, Marie, and Miranda, had practically run to the town, where they set up tap wires. Now they had found Allen and were listening to his conversation… but who was he talking to?
"Here, take the gun," Allen said, "shoot me if anything goes wrong." Timothy glanced at Lenalee and saw tears forming in her eyes.
"No! You're my friend! Even if you turn into Neah I wo-, "A voice said, but he was cut off by Allen. "Johnny, please. I don't want to hurt you again." The exorcists eavesdropping gasped at the mention of Johnny's name. They heard wailing behind them. They turned around to see Reever on the verge of crying. Only a week ago he sent Johnny out to find Allen and here he was, with Allen.
"Will you shut up and get on with it already bean sprout!" A second voice snapped. Komui frowned and turned to look at Marie and Lenalee with an expression that said they were in for big trouble later.
"Well, here goes nothing," Allen said.
"Switch to the golem!" Komui said. Reever flipped a switch and a screen turned on and showed the figures of Allen, Johnny, and Kanda. Kanda was lying on the bed, clutching his arm and sweating as if he was in extreme pain. Johnny stood next to him holding the gun, pointed at Allen. Suddenly, Allen began to turn black, panting, trying to keep from becoming Neah completely.
"Everyone! Be ready to move out!" Komui shouted. But they stopped dead in their tracks. Kanda had pulled up his sleeve to reveal the white, coarse skin beneath; he was turning into a fallen. Allen slowly reached toward Kanda's arm with his left hand, his Noah hand. Closer, and closer, and closer; he was toughing it but he didn't stop there, he kept going, his hand going into Kanda's as if it were thin air. Then the muscle's shifted and the screaming started; Allen had grabbed Kanda's Innocence. Slowly, he pulled it out and Kanda's screaming worsened. In the hidden room Komui was shouting orders, sending people out.
Kanda continued screaming. All most there, Allen thought. Kanda kicked, but Allen dodged it without moving his left hand at all. "Hold him down!" Allen yelled angrily at Johnny. Slowly Kanda's Innocence emerged and Allen pulled it out quickly to make it as painless as possible. Kanda's screaming stopped abruptly and he was now lying on the bed, panting. Johnny let go of him and dropped the gun on the side table.
"K-Kanda, are you ok!" Johnny asked worried. "I'm fine, " Kanda said as the ripped flesh on his arm began to heal. "Thank god ," Allen said, smiling. However, his smile quickly disappeared.
"We have to leave now!" Allen shouted. "The order found us!" Grabbing their packs (Johnny carried Kanda's) they were about to run out the door when they heard footsteps from down the hallway. Allen motioned toward the window. Kanda went first, then Johnny, and finally Allen who escaped just as the door burst open.
They ran as hard as they could, jumping over crates, dodging people here and there. Soon they heard shouting behind them and ran harder. It was broad daylight so it made it even harder to escape. Allen was leading the escape, followed by Kanda, slowed by the injury, and Johnny close behind. They were now entering an empty square. The order was so close now that they could almost grab Johnny. In the path to the square were boxed stacked up on the sides. Allen knocked them down so they fell perfectly between Johnny and the order. They were about to continue running when Allen stopped dead in his tracks.
Lenalee broke the boxes with her innocence and the order quickly ran into the square so they were on Allen's sides, however they too had stopped. Allen's arm was turning into feathers and before him stood a single man, a cardinal to the order but to Allen it was Apocryphos. Allen handed Kanda's innocence to Johnny.
"Allen-kun! Why did you run away! Why didn't you just stay at home! Now everyone thinks you're a criminal!" Lenalee shouted with tears pouring from the corners of her eyes. "You still have a chance to fix everything if you come back now," Komui added.
Allen remained silent and continued to glare at Apocryphos. "It's not nice to ignore someone's question, Allen Walker," Apocryphos said with an evil tone added to the last part of the sentence. "You should be a good boy and not run away from your home."
Allen gave a abrupt smile. "Hah, you would love that wouldn't you," He said. Apocryphos gave an evil smile back and approached Allen slowly shifting into his true form. Lenalee jumped between them. Allen looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I won't let anyone hurt Allen!" she said defiantly. "Honestly Allen, all of your friends are the same," Apocryphos said menacingly and he ran quickly toward her, making his arm into a point with the intent to kill her. "Lenalee!" Komui shouted.
It had all happened so quickly. Everyone had dove in to protect Lenalee but only one could, and that was Allen. Lenalee looked up. She was on the ground. Had someone pushed me out of the way? She thought. Regaining her focus, she saw Allen in front of her; she began to cry when she saw what was happening; Apocryphos was absorbing Allen. He continued to be sucked in until only his face remained. He was smiling that same old stupid smile that hid his true emotions. He was gone.
A light burst out of Apocryphos. A leg emerged from inside him. "Impossible," Apocryphos shouted. A figure slowly emerged from within Apocryphos. It was finally out but was holding onto something still inside Apocryphos. The figure pulled and pulled; a second figure came out. Shading their eyes, the members of the order tried to identify the figures bathed in an ominous light. Slowly the light faded and everyone gasped at the identity of the figures. It was Allen and General Cross. Looking closer, Kanda noticed something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
BANG! General Cross shot Apocryphos right in his gut but was soon hit by his apprentice. "Idiot! Innocence doesn't work against him!" Allen shouted at his master. His face twitching with anger, Cross yelled back at his pupil, "Since when did you have such a bad mouth!" He was about to hit Allen when he saw him turning his arm the black color of a Noah. Allen pulled is arm back behind him and ran straight up to Apocryphos with lightning speed, hurling him through the glass of a shop. However, that's where the order stepped in.
"Restrain him!" One of the crow shouted. In a flash they surrounded Allen and chanted, "Secret Spell – Binding Wings!" Allen was surround by paper seals and they latched themselves onto his body making it ten times heavier. Allen fell to the ground with a pist off expression on his face.
"Let me go!" He screamed at Komui.
"This is for your own good!" Komui replied.
Apocryphos was rising from the ground in his true form, crunching the glass noisily as he stood. Hurridly the exorcists stood between Allen and Apocryphos.
"I won't let you take him!" Krory shouted.
"Timothy stay back," Lenalee said firmly.
"No! He's my friend too! And besides you can't always have all the fun," he replied.
"All of you move," Cross said. He had removed Allen's seals and was holding him by the back of his collar like a puppy.
"Uh shishou (master), can you put me down?" Allen asked nervously.
"No. This is for your own good," Cross replied flatly as he threw Allen straight towards Apocryphos.
"Eh?" Allen shouted as he was flung into Apocryphos and absorbed.
"Allen!" Everyone shouted with tears in their eyes.
Lenalee fell to her knees with her head in her hands. "Why?" She shouted angrily at Cross. Kanda glided across the plaza and punched Cross straight across his nose. Cross didn't even attempt to defend himself as he was flung onto the ground. He simply continued to stare into the distance. Kanda met his gaze and was frozen in shock.
Everyone else turned to see where they were looking and they too stared. In front of them Apocryphos was coughing up blood and his limbs were slowly turning into feathers. It began at his toes and fingertips and quickly spread like poison, crawling up his elbows and knees. It continued spreading until it reached his face, then his body began to break apart. It fell apart, disappearing into the wind like a dandelion being blown away. The bits that fell off turned to dust soon creating a cloud, blocking their vision to the point where they wouldn't be able to see their own hand if they put it in front of their face. They coughed and sputtered from the dust and covered their mouths to breathe more easily.
"Lenalee do something about the smoke!" Marie shouted. She jumped into the air, far above the cloud of dust and began a to jump around the square at the speed of sound, creating a swift wind that quickly cleared away the dust and revealed a figure standing in the place of Apocryphos.
"Allen-kun!" Lenalee happily as soon as she saw the white hair, landing lightly next to Timothy. Allen looked up but did not say anything, he just stood there. Johnny ran up to Allen and gave him a huge hug.
"I th-thought you were gone," Johnny sniffled through his tears.
Allen sighed and said, "Cross, can you answer one question?"
"Yeah what is it?" Cross asked with an unchanging expression.
"Is he really dead," Allen asked. "Allen…," Johnny said. Cross looked at him with surprise. "Was Mana really killed?" Allen shouted with tears pooring from his eyes.
To be continued 3