101 Attempts Chapter Two

Thanks to everyone who reviewed :D I'm sorry if I can't get back to your reviews yet- I'm always so busy so it's hard to get back to everyone, and then there are those who switch off private messaging ^^ But I promise that if I haven't responded yet that I soon will :]

Title: I Believe I Can Fly

A/N (Edited)

-…-

As a child, Allen didn't understand the concept of pain. He didn't know what could hurt him or that he wasn't invincible. Eventually he learned the hard way that one could not simply jump from a high distance and expect no harm- physical, emotional or mental pain- to come out of such an act.

He smiled foolishly as he strapped himself onto one of the many seats of the ride known as the "Whirligig." On this ride, riders had their own individual seats. The column in the middle would move upwards and they would be lifted into the air, the riders circling around the column rapidly on their swings. Keyword: rapidly. That was the entire point of him bothering with this strange contraption. His plan was to jump off of the ride mid-air to send himself flying up into a tree or on top of a building where he wouldn't be found. He just didn't know how poorly that would end- he thought he would be just fine.

Allen had escaped from his master, Cross Marian, just a little over an hour ago. He had stumbled across this city's amusement park (again) by chance (not really) and had snuck in because their security still sucked. He'd been amazed by his surroundings, being a child who had never had the chance for much fun. Then he had spotted Timcanpy flying after him and realized capture was inevitable as long as that golem was around, but at the very least he could hide somewhere where Cross wouldn't be able to put him through that insane training of his. Just for a while. A break was the only thing Allen was asking for, other than for his master to stop drinking so much.

And to stop piling up so much debt.

And to stop womanizing.

And to just go away.

There were a lot of things Allen wished his master would do, but he never got his way because the author of this story was mean to him for no inexplicable reason.

The ride began and Allen waited for the seats to ride, a slow rotation turning fast and the other children looking down at the park below with delighted faces. Satisfied with the speed, Allen unclicked the belt and raised the bar that kept him in, standing on his seat and then jumped.

His body went soaring through the air and he went flying over other guests and other attractions. For a few moments he really believed that he could get away, but gravity brought him hurtling back down towards Earth. He screamed as he realized that there was nothing he would be able to grab onto and that he would probably fall face-first into the pavement below. Had he been older and more educated, he would have understood that what comes up must come down, or that the fall would hurt.

Lucky for him, there were many objects that could cushion his fall.

Unfortunately, however…

Allen let out a yelp as his body crashed into something soft, the wind knocked out of his lungs from the impact. He gasped and cursed himself for thinking up such a stupid plan, then became aware of his surroundings. Specifically, the person holding him in their strong arms who carried a rather imposing figure. A golden blur rammed into his stomach and Allen's breath hitched. He looked up at his "savior," only to see red hair, a white mask that covered half of the face, one dark eye behind glasses, and the trademark black hat. All of the traits of the person Allen feared and hated so much all together at once.

He really was unfortunate to have fallen on the one person he had been running from. What were the odds? Why, out of all people, did he have to fall on the one person he had tried to escape? Why? Did God hate him?

"Why are you here?" Allen shouted at his master, who didn't seem phased at all by the fact that his apprentice had fallen on top of him from nowhere. In fact, he kept walking as if Allen had never fallen on him. "Go away!"

Cross looked down at him as if just noticing him for the first time.

"Oh, it's you," he drawled before he dropped Allen.

Who did you think I was? Allen thought sarcastically as he hit the floor, scrambling to get back up to run away. A hand caught him by the scruff of his neck and picked him up, but held him harshly as if he were a cat that had just scratched its owner's face.

"I heard your stupid, pathetic screaming and wondered if any akuma had shown up," Cross explained while he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, letting out a sigh as he held his apprentice at arm's length with the other hand. "You ran away while I was shooting at you during training,-" isn't that what anyone would do? –"so I thought you were going to take care of the akuma but after you didn't come back I decided to help you out. So where is it?"

"Eh?" Allen responded ever so eloquently.

"The akuma. Where is it?"

Allen didn't say anything. He wanted to bang his head against the wall and die of a crack in his head. He wanted to retry that jump so he could throw himself at a ride in motion and die. He wanted to burn himself alive. Anything but this.

For the meanwhile, Allen lied, "… I killed it. It's gone."

"Oh, I see. We better get back to training then."

God… if you're out there, please kill me. Kill me right here, right now. I don't care how, just get me away from this crazy man.

-…-

*Naturally, God didn't answer Allen's prayer :) *

This turned out better than I originally pictured this chapter :] Feedback is always appreciated, and once again I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/favorited this story :D It makes me really happy to see that people are actually reading this… this thing I've made. Whatever this is.