"Is she waking up?" a blurred voice asked.
"I don't know, but she sure is pretty," another voice commented.
"Hey! Don't say that to her!" another shouted.
"Oi, Allen, calm down. It's not like she's your twin sister or something."
"W-Well, she looks like me, and she and I almost have the same voice."
"So, Allen? They could be your evil twin or something."
"Then that makes Allen a girl!" a young person exclaimed. "Or the other person into a cross dresser."
"Ouch," I moaned, fluttering my eyes to open and wake up.
"She's waking up, everyone."
"Che, we know that, Moyashi," a different voice snapped.
"My name is – Good afternoon, miss," the boy with white hair greeted me, smiling. I shook my head and felt ready to pass out again. He looked so much like me. It was as if he was my long lost twin.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You are at our hotel," a girl with black hair replied. "You suddenly passed out on the ground. We brought you here to rest your head."
"Oh. Thank you," I said, my face flaming in embarrassment.
"Wow, she talks so politely. She really might be your sister, Allen!" a boy with red hair and an eye patch commented. The boy with white hair, Allen, blushed.
"She's even got your hair," a small boy said, tugging on a lock of my hair. I pulled away and wobbly got to my feet. My right eye twitched again, and I slapped a hand on it again. Although it hurt, for some reason it was not as bad as usual.
"Is something wrong, miss?" Allen asked. I hunched my shoulders and looked down.
"I'm sorry. I have to go," I said in a hurried voice. My stomach growled, and I blushed again.
"You can stay and eat," the red head offered.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "I will get in trouble with my family. I'm sorry; I have to go."
"But what happens if you pass out again? We won't be able to help you," the small boy protested.
"I am sorry, but I –"
All of a sudden I felt a sword poke my neck. A tall boy with long hair swept up in a ponytail glared at me.
"Stay," he ordered. I gulped and nodded my head very, very slowly.
"Ignore Kanda," the girl with black hair said to me. "He's just cranky. He will warm up in a little bit. My name is Lenalee by the way."
"Alicia. Alicia Warner," I said, shaking hands with Lenalee.
"And we're Lavi and Timothy!" the red head and small boy responded.
"And I am Allen Walker, Miss Alicia. How do you do?" Allen stretched out his hand. I stretched out mine and shook hands with him. An electric shock went through our bodies.
"Allen! Allen!"
"Go away, Alicia!"
"But Allen-"
"Go back to sleep, sis."
Sis. Although all I heard were voices, I knew it came from this Allen Walker. We let go of our hands, though we kept staring at each other. The rest of the group swiveled their stares from me to Allen and vice versa. Allen Walker's eyes teared up, and so did mine.
"Allie? Is it really you?" Allen whispered.
"Al?" I said, using his childhood nickname. I barely remembered my childhood. For some reason, I woke up as a ten year old in a nice big mansion with a loving mother and father, a carriage carrying away a man and a small boy away. I never found out what happened to my past life. Never. Until now.
I remembered now – I remembered what happened to me as a kid. And I remembered why my home went on fire last year.
"You," I hissed. Allen looked at me, confused.
"Yes, it's me. It's your twin brother, Allie," Allen said.
"Don't call me that! I remembered now what really happened. I saw you, Walker, fighting off some monster with an older man. I saw you! You led that thing into my home and made it destroy it!" I yelled.
"Allen?" Lenalee looked at Allen in confusion.
"No! That's not true! The akuma followed me, I dodged and its missiles landed on-"
"Akuma? Are you nuts?" I snapped. "It doesn't matter. You are still at fault. Do you know what happened to my mother? She was burned from head to toe! Now she is wrapped in bandages and is too ashamed to go out! My father's hands are burned from saving her!"
"Allie, I didn't mean to. I am so sorry," Allen told me. I shook my head and pushed him to the ground. I used that diversion for my escape. I ran out of the room and practically sprinted down the stairs. Allen and his friends called out to me, but I ignored them and kept running.
I kept running once I got out of the hotel.
I kept running once I reached the streets, dodging people and carriages.
I kept running, faster and faster, my heart and right eye thumping like crazy, as I ran away to go home.
"Hey, watch it!" a man said crossly when I bumped into him.
"Sorry, sorry," I mumbled under my breath as I kept pushing and shoving away passer bys. A horse snorted as it almost ran me over when I ran in the middle of the street. My nice shoes stepped on a puddle and the dirty water splashed all over my light blue dress. Great – now Mother would be very mad.
I stumbled onto a bench and made myself sit down for a quick rest. I took in huge gasps of air, my right eye's pain soon fading away. I leaned back on the bench, my white hair now loose and down, all thanks to that running. People strolled down the street without a care in the world, chatting happily to themselves and laughing over some jokes.
Paris was my new home. My family and I had lived in America for a long time, but none of the doctors there could help Mother's "illness". So Papa had us move to Paris, where the air was said to be better for my mother's wounds and where maybe a doctor could finally help her.
We have been living in Paris for three months now, but I still missed my old home. Paris was nice and all, but it wasn't home. It never would be. My old home was much better than our new one, and I wanted to go back now. Well, at least Paris had delicious pies. I had just been searching for a pie bakery, but I became lost, soon bumping into –
"Alicia! Alicia!" a voice yelled out from just a few feet away. I turned and almost passed out at the sight.
"He-He found me? No way!" I told myself.
Allen Walker, my supposed long lost sibling, was screeching at the top of his lungs my name. He kept yelling and yelling, hollering out "Alicia! Allie!" right behind me. I sank down into the bench, my heart practically trying to tear itself out of my chest. People glanced at Walker, either really amused or really scared.
"Who is that boy calling out to?" a woman asked one of her friends as they walked by the scene.
"Oh, I don't know. Oh, look at that white hair!" her friend said. "He's cute, you know. I wonder if he is calling out to his girlfriend." I gagged at that, causing their attention to go to me. Both girls gasped.
"Oh, no," I squeaked, sinking further into my bench.
"Young man!" one of the girls called out. "Are you looking for someone?"
"Yes, ma'am! She has white hair and looks like me," Allen called back. "Have you seen her?"
"Well, she's right here. She is slumped over this bench," the other girl told him.
"Eek!" I squeaked, and I was about to jump out of the bench when Allen Walker did a running start towards the bench, then performed a perfect somersault over it, and landed with one knee bent in front of me. His smile was triumphant, cornering me in just a few minutes without a bead of sweat. Goodness, I still could not believe that he was my twin.
Unexpectedly, my right eye seemed to take over my entire sight, and I was flung back into a cold winter. I saw two children playing in the snow. Their clothes were dirty and seemed to be living off the streets, but they were having the time of their lives. Both had snow white hair.
Oh, no. My memories were coming back.
"Allie-Oop!" Allen cried out, tackling me to the ground. Little me squealed with laughter and tried to get away. We both tumbled around in the ground, tugging on hair and poking at Allen's arm that had mysteriously been turning red. But we were kids, so seeing an arm change color was fun. Then, large footsteps came into hearing.
"Eh?" Allen and I went. A man in a dark suit and a top hat glowered over us. Allen jumped in front of me and spread his arms wide. The stranger simply tossed him aside with a kick, and as I screamed for Allen, the man looked down and reached towards me . . . arms stretching closer and closer . . .
"Get away from me!" I told him, shoving myself away from him. I was thrown back into present time, accidentally shoving Walker to the ground. I dashed off, my muscles cramping from all this running.
"Allie, wait!" Allen shouted to me, waving his hands around. My jaw dropped a little when I saw that he had my short brimmed hat in his left hand. I patted my head as I kept running, and all I felt was my head of hair.
Oh, what was I going to do? I couldn't go back and have Walker give it back to me. He would most likely take me away and try to lie his way through burning down my home. However, if I left without it, my parents would be suspicious. I begged them to let me buy it, because it hid all my white hair perfectly.
How would you feel if people judged you by your hair? It was embarrassing and the worst first impression to everyone. Ugh, how many times have kids called me Granny? How many times have old men started inching towards my side and asking if I could leave the party early? *shiver*
"Alicia!" Allen called out again, and he stepped forward to start another chase. My hat waved back and forth in his hand. I bit my lower lip in frustration. A horde of carriages were coming by, and I zipped through them before Allen could catch me by the shoulder. I stood on the other side of the carriage line, anxiously watching for any sign of the white haired boy.
And then I saw him, moving side to side, trying to find an opening. He caught my eye and waved his hands frantically. He beckoned to me, signaling me to come back. I shook my head and began to run away again.
"I'm sorry, Alicia!" Allen yelled. I stopped and carefully glanced at his shifting figure. He did sound sincere, for a boy who burnt down my house. Lips pursed, I gathered my skirts and met him face to face on different sides.
"I . . . I think I forgive you," I told him. Then, I bolted and rushed off home, my hat now too late to be rescued.
"Oh, Mother is going to kill me," I whined, and I gathered up my skirts again and hurried on back home.
My stomach whined with me too.
ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER . . .
"Everybody, Allen's back!" Lenalee announced.
"Hey, did you bring your sister?" Lavi asked with a cheerful smile. Timothy was on a couch snoring, while Kanda had stalked off to find if there were any soba noodles nearby. Allen slumped on a couch close by and shook his head. He twiddled with Alicia Warner's hat.
"Allen, I am so sorry," Lenalee told him, sitting next to him. "But don't be so down. If you found your sister – whom you absolutely never told me about – then I am sure she can be found again."
"Yeah, you're right," Allen said, starting to cheer up. "But how can I find her? She probably migrated to China by now because of me."
"The Black Order is everywhere. I'm sure we can send out messages about your twin sister and they'll keep watch. How hard can it be to find a girly version of Allen?" Lavi said.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Allen guessed.
"Depends on what you view as a compliment," Lavi teased.
"Maw," Timothy snored in his sleep, turning over.
"It is late, everyone. Tomorrow, let's take the day off to search for Alicia. We'll find her faster if we work together," Lenalee said.
"Sure thing. As soon as I find her, Timothy and I will go 'Strike!'"
"Lavi!" Lenalee exclaimed.
"Oi, Lavi," Allen said in a low voice. Horns suddenly sprouted from his head. Lavi leaped back, knowing what was going to happen. Allen's now cold eyes creaked towards the Bookman apprentice. Shivers suddenly went up and down Lavi's spine.
"A-Allen, I was only joking," Lavi stuttered, backing away. "Besides, how can you become so protective over someone you just met, eh?"
"Because," Allen said, activating Crown Clown with a sneer at Lavi, "I remember everything!"
"Yaah! Yuuuuuu!"
"Achoo!" Kanda sneezed, a few blocks away from the hotel. He sniffed and wiped his nose with a napkin.
"I'm catching something. Must be because I hang out with Moyashi and Baka Usagi too much," he said to himself.
TWO DAYS LATER – ENGLAND
Alma had just returned from lunch. Germany had nice prey, but England's folk had more flavor. He never knew how much fun it was being out in the world until now. He still remembered being back in the lab, being experimented on, and treated like an object.
Alma scowled and shook those memories off. At least he killed off everyone in there. He made sure of that. Well, except-
"Urgh! Where is he?" Alma shouted to the sky.
He plopped down to the roof he was on and crossed his arms. Night had come, and lights were lit in the streets. Nobody was outside, save for a few couples strolling down a block and into a large mansion. Curious, Alma hopped on a few roofs, landing on a light stand just a few feet away from the mansion.
Lights were on full blast at the mansion. Alma guessed it was a party of some sort, whatever a party was. He saw men in fancy coats and top hats, leading beautiful women with dresses of all different colors and silk gloves. Young men and women who were single walked into the mansion with big smiles, bringing Alma to lean closer.
Now, although Alma was a human-akuma hybrid, he was still a teenager. A BOY teenager, to be more specific. So when he saw the young women giggling and chatting to each other, Alma knew instinctively he had to go down there. He hopped down from the light stand and pressed himself into the darkness of the night, carefully watching the men with a watchful eye.
He looked down at himself. He had no human clothes, just his akuma armor. He was about to turn down his idea, when he heard again a giggle coming from the mansion. Doubt was wiped away as he transformed himself back into his human face, along with sleek looking gentlemens clothes. He smirked to himself as he placed a hat on top of his head.
"Yu can wait," he told himself, walking confidently into the mansion. A big bulky man at the entrance glared at him. However, as Alma approached, the man smiled and let him pass. Alma nodded at the akuma in disguise and entered the fray.
"Ho, ho, what do we have here?" The Earl hosting the party commented as he caught one of his newest creations mingling into the crowd.
"Ah, it's Alma!" Road exclaimed, twirling around in her pretty dress. "How did he get all the way over here? He must still be hunting for Kanda."
"You are right, Road. He is hot on his trail." A light bulb suddenly lit up in the Earl's head. "Road, do me a favor."
"Okay, what?" Road asked.
"Bring me Tyki. I think he and the young man need to arrange plans."
SAME NIGHT – PARIS – WARNER MANSION
Ting!
"Miss, you should go to bed now," a maid suggested.
"All right," I said, and the maid bowed her head and exited my room. I quietly played another key on the piano. I never really played the piano, only jammed my fingers on random keys. Papa loved the piano, though, so he had it brought all the way here. He was the only one in the family that played it, even if his fingers still held burn marks.
Ting! Ting!
"Miss," the maid from before warned in the hallway. I sighed and closed the piano, then went to my bed. As I dived under the covers, I wondered how Walker was doing. It had already been two days, and I locked myself up in my home, worried that he would find me. But then again, I did kind of miss him.
I sat up in my bed and slapped my cheeks, thinking myself to be going crazy. Miss him? Miss Walker? Ew!
"I am going insane," I whispered to myself. "Totally, completely insane!"
But as insane as I was becoming, I wanted to meet Walker again. I guess being cooped up in my home made me think things through. Allen was only trying to put back together our family again. He only wanted to see his sister after so many years of separation, right? Nobody would go so far as to chase me down the streets of Paris and holler out my name with my hat in their hands.
I fiddled around with my bed covers. Maybe, maybe I was a bit too harsh on Allen, even if he did burn down my whole entire house! Ahem. Anyway, maybe I could give him a chance and explain why he intentionally did that. He had to have a reason for doing that to my family.
No, I told myself. He would just keep lying to me. He would try to convince me it was not his or the other man's fault. Still, wouldn't it be worth at least trying to approach him and let Allen tell his side of the story?
"Ugh, this is so confusing!" I groaned.
"Miss Alicia!" the maid from outside snapped. I sighed and put my pillow over my head.
Okay. Fine. I would end all this tomorrow. I will find Allen Walker and have him give me nothing but the truth.
But what could I wear tomorrow?
"Ugh! This is so hard!" I groaned again.
"MISS ALICIA!"
"Sorry!" I yelled back. "I'm just having a really hard time on what to wear tomorrow, and what to say to someone, and-"
"GO TO SLEEP!" everyone in the household said together. Face blushing, I ducked under the covers and made myself shut up and go to sleep.
