Loop: Well, I just have to upload this story ;v; So yeah, it has been a rough month for us, always go in and out of the hospital, too much pressure lack of sleep. I'm now a caregiver of my mom and I'm proud. She's okay, but sadly she's deteriorating everyday..

I will just leave this story an update and such :D

Shattered

Chapter 2: Trouble in the train and the tearing moment of a certain fat man

Previously…

"Ah, is that so!" he said with a smile. "Me and my sis here were going there also" he moved his hand to her shoulder and gave her a pat. "We're just travelling there to see the Great Wall, isn't that right sis?" he said and his mother nodded. "By the way, my name is Jack and my sister's name is Gil, pleasure to meet you" he pulled out his hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you Jack" the exorcist girl said as she took his hand with a shake. "I'm Lenalee" she said as she gestured to her friend "…and this is Lavi" The red head nodded and gave him a grin. "Nice to meet cha'!" he greeted.

Nea nodded and gave them a smile. "Pleasure to meet you both" he said. He took a glance on the red head and noticed that he was giving glances to his mother. Did he know her? Or maybe that he was suspecting his mother that she was an Akuma?

Lenalee lifted her hand to his mother and noticed that she was not responding. Nea mentally chuckled at his mother's little act. "Sorry Miss Lenalee, but my sister is blind and can't see your hand" he said and gave her an awkward chuckle. "Is that so?" the girl frowned and noticed pity on her eyes. She was about to say sorry but he cut her off. "She is also mute so don't expect her to answer if you wanted to talk to her" he said as he scratched his head, making a little apologetic bow.

He took another glance from the red head and he seemed to observe his every movement including his mother. He then turned to the girl, Lenalee and started a little friendly conversation and maybe the red head will stop giving them observing glares. "If I may ask, who is this friend of yours in China?" he said and tilted his head.

Lenalee smiled and took something out of her pocket. Nea blinked as the girl presented him a picture of a red haired man. The man in the picture has long red spiky hair and had a half mask on his right side of his face. He was also wearing glasses. He seemed to be a weird man, Nea thought… and judging from his exorcist coat, the trim and the rose cross on his chest were gold, which means his level was a General.

"His name is Cross Marian, we are kind of searching for him, you see… and the people we ask said that he went to China" the girl said with a small smile. "Do you by any chance know him?" she asked.

Nea shook his head. "Sadly no, I don't know the man" he said earning him a frown from the girl exorcist.

For some reason the atmosphere around him dropped. It became cold… 'Strange' he thought. 'When did it become cold?' when he looked at his mother and noticed the tight grip on her clothes and the shaking of her hands. Does she know the man? He might ask her later… but the red head exorcist beat him to her.

"Gil, do you by any chance know Cross Marian?" Lavi said, his sharp emerald eye looking at her.

His mother looked up and her trembling continued but it was minimized that only he could see. He had hoped that the red head exorcist wouldn't notice it. When he looked at the Innocence, he could feel the pulse getting stronger. It was not that strong that could notify their accommodators but something about the pulse was very wrong… Did his mother drop the barrier? Did the Innocence sensed her? Crap…

It took a while to regain her calm posture… She looked at the male exorcist and gave him a nod. 'So she knew him this Cross Marian…' Nea thought.

"Sis you know the man?" Nea asked. His mother nodded and reached for his hand which he gladly offered to her. He opened his palm and she wrote something on it.

'He's your uncle'

Nea blinked and looked to his mother with a worried frown. 'This Cross Marian is his uncle?' he thought then something clicked into his mind. 'Does it mean that… the exorcists were searching for him? Was it an order to get him and use him as a hostage to pull them out?! That monster!' Nea frowned. This was not good… The Heart is too desperate.

Calm down Nea. His subconscious said at the back of his head. He must not jump to conclusions just yet. He doesn't know this Cross Marian, all he knows that this man is his uncle and an exorcist maybe working for the Heart or maybe the man ran away from the Order to get away from its clutches. He doesn't know… He just has to ask his mother later.

"What did she say?" the red head said and looked at them with a critical eye.

"Oh, ahh… she said that this Cross guy is a… womanizing bastard?" he said earning him a little chuckle from his mother. Nea looked at her. Hearing his mother's soft chuckles made him a little smile inside. Lenalee chuckled also but Lavi was giving them the 'I don't believe you look' which put Nea on the edge. "I see…" Lavi said, his eye was still looking at them suspiciously. "When and where do you by any chance met Cross? He kind of moves from place to place and it's hard to track the man down" the red head asked.

Nea looked at his mother as she write something on his palm.

'Tell the rabbit that I met Cross in a circus five years ago'

Five years ago? He and his mother were in a circus that year. Was it a lie? Or the truth? He will ask her later… "My sis said that she met this Cross five years ago in a circus" Nea relayed her answer to the exorcists looking at the red head.

"Five years ago?" Lenalee asked and looked at her with a frown. Nea tilted his head and could see a hint of doubt in her violet eyes. Does she saw something on her lie or truth? This was not good…

He saw Lavi whispering to the exorcist girl making her look at them with suspicious and doubt. 'This is bad…' he thought. If he won't make a plan soon…

He needed to keep it cool. He and his mother's life were on the line. The Innocence pulse from the exorcists were getting stronger than before and sooner or later they will notice it and they will be put into questioning or worst that monster will find them. He cursed on his mind. Were the Innocence sensed his mother lost control of her posture and lie? Why was the train so slow?! Was it a mistake that inviting this two exorcists inside?! If only there's something that could distract the two. Maybe an Akuma attack or something!

As if by chance there was an explosion.

The train rocked back and forth and Nea held and hugged his mother to protect her, hiding her now exposed face from the exorcists' eyes as the hood from her head fell down. "What the hell?!" Nea cursed and shouted. He didn't expect that his tiny little misfortune wish will come true. He and his bad luck, a blessing and also a curse. The explosions continued ringing on the train. Outside, they could hear screams of the people and the tapping of their shoes as they ran away from whatever attacked the train. The exorcists looked at them and told them to stay put as they will handle the situation. Lenalee looked Nea in the eyes. "Don't go outside the cabin"

'Fuck that idea' Nea thought as he stared at the violet eyes of the girl exorcist. If he and his mother will stay any longer here they might be killed straight away by the Akuma or Akumas that lurk about. "Are you two both lost your mind?!" he shouted at them. "We're sitting ducks here if we don't run and get away from whatever just attacked the train" The two exorcists opened the cabin's door, ignoring his shouts and activated their Innocence ready for battle. "Just do what we say and maybe the both of you will live through another day" the red haired exorcist, Lavi said to them as if telling the assurance of their lives and then they were gone as they ran off to the source of the attack. Does every exorcist in the Order just have too much pride in them? No wonder they will get easily killed in battles. He does hope that the Akumas that they are dealing with were only mindless Level One's, if not, they will be in a very tight spot here to escape. He looked at his mother with worry. She was heaving, sweat rolled down to her delicate face. Her fingers were trembling with fear.

"He knows…" she said as she opened her eyes. The life from her eyes was gone as it was replaced by fear and anxiety. Her color was paler than before "…he knows we're here" Nea took her trembling hands and clutched it tight. "Who knows we're here?" he asked with worry. No it couldn't be… Nea thought as he looked at his mother's trembling fragile form. Could it be the monster? She slowly looked at him in the eyes.

"…The Heart"

Nea gritted his teeth. "Fuck" he cursed. That monster somehow broke his mother's protective spell. With two Innocence, that monster must have noticed her presence and used it to channel his energy to force her to put the protective spell up making her drain all of her energy. When the pulse of the Innocence were getting higher… Nea mentally facepalmed. Why haven't he seen it sooner?

He held his mother's shoulder and looked at her in the eyes. He and his mother must get away. Fast. Soon, Apochyphos, the lap dog of the Heart will come and they will be in big trouble. "Mom…"he said as she looked at him. He must not panic. Panicking will get everything worst. "That monster will never get us, so don't worry" he said and gave her a small smile. "I'm here and when I'm here that monster will never get you or me" he gave her a hug. He looked at his mother and saw the life on her eyes were back and her trembling ceased.

"My little boy all grown up!" she said with a smile. "Just like your father… always know what to say" The good and happy atmosphere around her glow.

Nea could only sigh in relief. His mother was now good and back to her good and happy self. But it was not the time to be jolly. The train was under attacked and there was another explosion not far from here. "Mom, we need to get out of here and fast" He grabbed his things and also hers. His mother grabbed Timcanpy and they exited the cabin and run off the opposite way.

"Do you think you can hide from me forever my sweet Allen?"

The venomous voice of the monster echoed through her mind as she and her son ran at the top of the train, searching for a door to get out.

"Ah, don't look at me like that my dear, it's not your fault"

From the darkness of her mind, his voice kept on replaying.

"It's the Noah's offspring that blew your cover"

He spat with a hint of disappointment on his tone. She felt cold. As if the monster's ghostly hand was on her skin, touching her every being as if the monster was just beside her, gently whispering to her ear.

"Do you honestly believe that I could NOT remember the face of the Noah that I use as a puppet to destroy that Earl's pathetic family?"

He chuckled. Anger and fear were all she felt. She could feel the monster's cold hands took hold of her and hugged her tight in a possessive way, suffocating her

"Ah, what a shame, maybe next time we'll be lucky"

She grimace. She shook her head to get rid of the monster's voice on her mind. She looked at her back and saw a cloud of smoke from the previous explosion. The train was long and there was no luck of finding any doors to escape through. Her son was in front of her, looking another way of an exit. If the train will hit a tunnel soon, they will be in the dark and the Akuma might use it to its advantages to fight the exorcist and by chance kill them, her and her son.

"Mother, this way" Nea said to her as he opened the last door of the train and saw their getaway exit at the last train cabin. He smiled at her and looked at the door. He took a breath in and as if in a blink of an eye he kicked the door away. She saw the blurry scenery outside. Now it was her turn, she took a deep breath and muttered a spell to protect them both once they will jump out the train.

"LOOK OUT!"

Allen turned around and saw a black and red blur. Her heart skipped a beat then all she could feel was pain. Pain on her back and on her head. She had hoped that she will not have a concussion after this. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a boy with red hair and a bandanna. She looked at his clothes and noticed that it was an exorcist uniform. Oh no…

The red haired exorcist groaned in pain and turned around and faced her. His visible emerald eye looked at her. "STRIKE!" he shouted.

Allen's eyebrow twitched. The voice was familiar. Ah yes, the rabbit that was with them earlier. She could feel a hand on her shoulder and noticed that the rabbit helped her stand.

"Are you alright miss? A-re you hurt?" he asked.

"I'm fine" she answered and dusted herself.

"LAVI BEHIND YOU!"

They both look at the incoming attack of an Akuma. Its sharp sword like hands was slammed to where they were standing a couple of minutes ago. Allen blinked and noticed that she was on the arms of a girl and when she looked at her side she saw the red haired exorcist looking so pale.

"Die exorcist scum!" the Akuma shouted as another attack came for them.

Then darkness filled their line of vision. They must have hit the tunnel. She closed her eyes and waited for the attack. She heard her son scream for her. She waited and waited… Seconds… Minutes have passed…

She opened her eyes and saw the Akuma, stood frozen in spot. Its eyes were empty and its mouth hanged open. She saw her son stood frozen as well with eyes filled with panic. The exorcists also were frozen shocked at the frozen Akuma.

"Master Earl…" the Akuma muttered. Its claws pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Understood…" Allen's heartbeat fasten. Did the Earl just stop the Akuma from attacking?

All of the sudden she saw a blur pass through to her and noticed that the exorcists were not by her side. She turned around and noticed them on the back. Beaten.

"I apologize for my act, Lady Walker but it's the Master's order"

"Eh?"

Allen blinked from confusion then all of the sudden she was grabbed by the Akuma in the waist.

"Mom!" Nea shouted and ran to the Akuma ready to punch him but the Akuma was faster and grabbed him on the leg. Holding him up-side down. "What the fuck let me go!" Her son shouted and kicked the Akuma's hand using his free leg but it was no use. It held them tight but not too tight that they could be injured or bruised, it won't let go any time sooner. The Akuma looked at him. "Master Earl said that he needs you to talk to you both…"

This is bad… very bad… She was not ready to face the Earl. She was not ready to face the wrath of the Earl or his deadly hugs for that matter… It's been fifteen years that she hasn't seen the Earl and she also haven't said anything about Nea also. Adam will be furious.

She swallowed the lump that stuck to her throat.

The Akuma jumped up smashing through the roof of the train and flew to who knows where.

Somewhere in the Ark…

The fat man known as the Earl looked down to his unfinished knitted green gloves. He just stopped from his knitting and tears were running through his eyes. "She's alive…" he muttered. "Alive…" he cries even more. "…and they have a child, such good news!~" It was wonderful news indeed. The smile of his face grew wider. "I wonder why she hid junior Nea from me" he said as if talking to someone in the room but there was none. He tilted his head and hummed. Did they eat well? He could only imagine all those years without eating properly! He knows her big appetite and he sure hope that Nea junior didn't inherited it. If he did, he pictured them starving all those years without proper food diet.

Moving around the world… Is that what she and her son been doing? He knew that Allen was jobless and practiced her magic without pay. He wondered why Allen hasn't come home yet all those years ago. After the tragedy happened… Where his brother; Nea, gone into rampage killing every Noah, he was not in control, he could remember when he was on his arms, dying, telling him that he was sorry, he didn't want what happened, telling him that it was all the Heart's doing. His last request was to look after Allen…

He and Road have searched for her, looking for clues that she might be alive… The time after the Tragedy, they went to where the couples lived and saw the damage that was inflicted. The walls were covered with claw scratches, the sofa's were ripped into pieces, Allen's books were burned to ashes. The photoalbum that he gave to the two was now ruined, every picture of his family, Nea was ripped into pieces and what remains to be only the picture of her. The picture frame that the two cherished, the picture was Nea and Allen showing of the rings, knowing that they were engaged if he remembered correctly, what remains of that picture was a ripped picture of Nea with Allen's picture missing. He knew who have inflicted the damage. He knew it was the Innocence…

The Heart was a monster, much crueler than him.

After those years he hasn't given up. He has sent off Akumas to search for her. Even now…

He tilted his head to the other side. She could have at least gone home. He and Road could have help her raise little junior Nea. He shall prepare a big feast for them!~ He hummed again…

"You seemed to be in a good mood Earl"

The Earl looked to his side and noticed Tyki. "Ah Tyki-pon!" he said. "Just the man that I wanted to see"

Tyki raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "I want you to fetch someone in China" he said and clapped his hands. "She's someone very important for the family and I want you to treat her and her son good, she's with an Akuma"

Tyki sighed and shook his head. "Yes Earl"

"Oh and Tyki-pon"

Tyki turned around. "What is it Earl?"

"Please do watch yourself and take care"

Tyki blinked and looked at the Earl like he was insane.

TBC

Next update: Poker with Allen and Tyki :)