Wow, thanks to everyone for reviewing this. I didn't expect it to get...well, anything in the first day I posted. For pictures of Tock in both her dormant form and activated form please visit my website, the link is in my profile. Until then, enjoy another chapter of: TCE
Chapter 2
The Story of Tock and her Clockwork Innocence on a Train Ride to Southern Italy
"Kandaaa!" Tock called as she scanned the woods, her eyes acting like beacons in the dark. "Kanda get over here the instant!" she huffed, "I know you can hear-eek!"
She yelped and rolled away as something hit the ground next to her. She hopped up and prepared to defend herself, her tail lashing the air. But she stood down when she saw that it was only Kanda.
"Kanda!" She growled, "what the heck was that for?"
Kanda smirked, taking off his blindfold.
"At least your guard isn't down more than usual."
Tock pouted.
"It's time for breakfast," she said.
"You don't eat." Kanda reminded her.
Tock wiggled, grinding her claws into the mossy ground.
"I know that! But you still need food! I won't have my partner starving himself!"
Kanda was about to brush her off when his stomach growled. Tock smirked as she watched him try not to look embarrassed.
"Che…fine." He grumbled, sheathing Mugen and putting his shirt back on.
Tock smiled and hopped up on his shoulders. A few moments later, Tock was lounging on the kitchen counter. Since she wasn't able to eat, Tock satisfied her longing for food by hanging around Jerry during mealtimes, smelling the food.
"Oh Jerry," she said, "when I get my body back I'm going to eat you out of house and home."
"I'd be happy to oblige that girlfriend!" Jerry laughed.
"Um…excuse me?"
They turned to see a scrawny looking kid with white hair and a red mark on his face standing at the window.
"Howaya boyo! Remember me!" Tock said, bounding up to him and sticking out her paw, "I'm Tock the Clockwork Exorcist!"
The boy hesitantly shook her paw.
"Hi…I'm Allen Walker." He said.
Jerry was about to take Allen's order when there was an almighty crash.
"Oh bollix." Tock said, standing on her hind legs to get a better view of what had happened.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY? I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN!"
Tock's gears made a low cranking noise and she released a jet of steam with a hiss.
"Bullocks." She muttered, hopping down and trotting into the crowd, tail held high.
"Stop it Buzz."
There were two finders, one trying to hold back his friend. Someone had pissed them off, and that someone slapped his chopsticks down with a clack.
"BE QUIET!" He snapped. "I can't eat if you keep talking about dead people."
Tock huffed, releasing more steam. Kanda could be quite insensible when it came to other people. Not that she was any different; she just knew when to shut her pie-hole.
"Is that how you show respect for your comrades?" Buzz said, "We finders support you with your lives and you're complaining about losing your appetite?"
Buzz suddenly aimed a punch at Kanda. Tock thought about jumping in to break it up, but then she remembered the last time she had tried to break up a fight between her partner and a finder by intercepting a blow. She shuddered as the whirr of Komui's drill echoed in her mind.
By the time she opened her eyes; Kanda had dodged the punch and was holding Buzz up in the air by his neck.
"Support us?" Kanda smirked, "All you can do is 'support us'. You guys were the ones who weren't chosen to carry innocence." He tightened his grip on Buzz, "if you don't want to die, you can run away any time. Your insignificant life can be replaced-"
Kanda stopped suddenly, and looked down at his arm. Tock was hanging on to his arm by her teeth.
"Don't fink I won't draw blud…" she growled.
Kanda was about to shake her off when something else stopped him, something with a red hand. It was Allen.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you when I have nothing to do with this but, I don't think this is a good way of resolving things."
"Back off, bean sprout." Kanda snarled.
Allen frowned, offended.
"I'm Allen!" he said.
Kanda smirked.
"Heh, if you don't die within the next month I'll remember your name. There are plenty who die here, like these guys."
"Wet 'im go!" Tock said, wiggling her long body and sinking her teeth further into Kanda's arm.
Allen squeezed Kanda's wrist, making him drop the finder.
"I don't like your way of thinking." He said.
Kanda gave the boy a cold stare.
"You're gonna before your time kid, I hate your type."
"Oooohhhh…" Tock groaned through Kanda's coat as she felt the tension in the air escalate.
"Hey guys!"
The three exorcists looked over to see Reever and Lenalee waving to them.
"Finish eating and report to the command post, you three have got a mission!"
Tock let go, dropping to the floor with a clink.
When they got to the command post, they found Komui fast asleep on top of the mountain of paperwork that was his desk.
"Wake up ya dosser!" Tock barked, jumping up and down on him.
"That's not how you wake him up, let me try." Reever said.
He leaned in close and whispered:
"Lenalee's gonna marry someone."
In a flash the Supervisor was up and begging his sister not to leave him.
A few awkward moments later…
"Ahem, sorry about that," Komui apologized, "I didn't get to sleep until late last night."
Tock and Kanda both rolled their eyes.
"All right, we don't have much time so after you are briefed move out. If you want more detailed info read this on your trip over."
Tock accepted her mission briefing with a thank-you and began to paw through it.
"You three will go as partners."
The three exorcists startled.
"Isn't that overkill? Three of us?" Kanda growled.
"Well you know Tock simply refuses to work with anyone else."
"I think he was thinking of dumping the kid." Tock pointed out, curling herself around Kanda's shoulders, should someone try and separate them.
"No excuses, with three of you this ought to be over in no time at all." Komui pulled down a map and pointed to Italy. "We've located some innocence in Southern Italy but it's in danger of being taken by and Akuma. Your job is to locate and secure the innocence."
"Hurry up bean sprout! We're going ninety to the dozen up here!"
Allen looked at the small, mechanical dragon that was flying above him. Tock had activated her innocence, turning her into a larger version of herself, complete with wings and a very long, spiked tail. She went into a dive and slammed onto the train, gouging her claws in the roof to get a better grip before returning to normal size.
"You heard her." Kanda said, launching himself after her.
Allen gulped and followed suit, landing with a thump next to them.
"Illegally boarding the train…" he gasped.
"We've always done it this way." Their finder said.
There was a groan and a whimper next to them. Kanda was slowly and painfully getting up, a slightly squished Tock crawling out from underneath him. She moaned and held her head before growling:
"Brilliant fecky the ninth, jus' brilliant! Jaysus I think I swallowed a spring!"
"You think I wanted to land on you? You nearly broke my back! "
He grumbled something in Japanese and pried open the train's escape hatch before jumping inside. Tock huffed and, tail held high in the air, hopped in after him. Allen and the finder followed soon after. Allen was surprised to find Tock once again curled around Kanda's shoulders, not even a hint that they had been arguing seconds before.
"Uhm…excuse me…you can't be here. This is the first class car, all other passengers need to be in the second class car…and you can't just enter like that…" the steward said.
"We're with the Black Order, please prepare us a cabin." The finder said.
Tock rose to her full height (All of 2'8") and let the silver cross engraved on her breastplate glint in the lamplight. The steward gasped and bowed.
"Yes sir, right away!" He said before rushing off.
Allen stared blankly.
"What was that all about?" He asked.
"The cross on your jacket proves you're affiliated with the Vatican and grants you access to any place you desire under the New World Order." Tock said, pointing at Allen's jacket. Then she turned to the finder, "So, what's your name? My partner may not give a flying fark but I do!" she grinned.
"My name is Toma, I will be supporting you until we reach Martel." The finder said.
"Nice ta meet 'cha!" Tock grinned wider, shaking his hand.
Kanda huffed and walked away, Tock nearly losing her balance again.
"This arrangement we have won't work until you learn to stay still!" Tock hissed, pulling at a lock of his hair.
"Then stop riding around on my shoulders." Kanda growled.
"But I need your height and long legs! I'll never get anywhere with this tin can of a body!"
"Che." Was her partner's only answer.
When they had settled down in their cabin, Allen finally got up the courage to ask something that had been nagging him since his arrival.
"So…what exactly are you?"
To his surprise, Tock beamed and wagged her tail.
"Oh I love this story," she said happily, "even if the ending leaves me arseways," she cleared her throat, "ahem, I am Tock the Clockwork Exorcist. I'm from a small Irish village and my family makes clockworks for a living. I was trained by Arcchon Burrike the Archer Exorcist. About three years ago Kanda and I were on a mission in Germany and were attacked by several level two Akuma. In the attack I was fatally injured. But as my body died, my innocence took my soul and transferred it to the body of my innocence weapon, a mechanical dragon. So the person slash dragon you see before you is I, Tock, the clockwork with a human soul. I still have the innocence inside of me and it allows me to transform myself and use my own body as an anti-Akuma weapon. I do, however, hope to regain my body one day. That is my mission." She smiled and looked lovingly at Kanda. He just glared.
It was a long ride to Italy but Tock was more than happy to answer all of Allen's questions and even play a round of poker with their finder.
She was pretty good at it too.
