Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.

Warning: Slight Canon-AU, Major Spin in Some Characters' History

Chapter 5

"Uncle Neah, where did you disappear for sixteen years?" Ailin immediately inquired when the mentioned person walked into the room. She resisted the urge to take a step back when the older male approached towards her with a smile on his visage. Ailin could feel cold sweat and shiver running down her person when Neah's gaze swept across the room, meeting her gaze, and then shifted to her comrades.

Neah continuously smiled as he approached to his darling niece, and tilted her chin with his fingers so that she could not escape from his grasp. "Darling niece, what have I told you not to do?" he inquired as he peered down at the younger girl.

His cold tone sent a shiver down her spine as she resisted the urge to look away from her uncle's piercing gaze, knowing that it would only further enraged him. Ailin wetted her lips, and let out a whisper of, "Not to reveal who I am or what my powers are to the mortals."

"Very good," Neah responded in a calm tone that sent warning alarms in Ailin's mind. His eyes shifted towards the three Exorcists in the room before his attention returned to his niece, whose frightened eyes looked back at him. "And what did you do?" he questioned, despite knowing the answer to the query.

"I broke the rules," she responded in a low tone with her eyes casted downward, and instantly added, "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" with her eyes closed.

"It's not her fault!" Lavi interjected from the sideline, nearly shrinking back when his eyes met Neah's cold amber ones.

The older male's lips curled into a sneer before he stated, "Shut up, boy. This is none of your business." Neah then looked back at his niece and let out a sigh as he released her from his captive, and then ran his hand through his slightly wavy hair. "Ailin, I thought you disliked mortals?" he questioned in an ancient tongue used in Underworld.

The mentioned girl nodded in response with her hands clasped behind her, "I still do; but these people… and some at Black Order… I can tolerate them. Please don't punish them, Uncle Neah."

"Darling niece, you do realize that humans are not supposed to know about us," Neah whispered as he patted her head. His eyes looked warmer than before whilst he looked at her with a soft expression, and finally let out a chuckle at her slightly trembling person. "There is no rule that says you cannot tell them; but for our safety that mortals are not supposed to know our existence," he continued solemnly.

"I'm sorry…" Ailin whispered melancholically.

Neah simply let out a sigh and ruffled his hair as if he was contemplating how to deal with the situation. In the end, he spoke, "What's done is done. I'm sure your brother told you that some of the Fallen Angels are rebelling?"

The young girl nodded in answer as she inwardly wondered what her uncle was getting at, but did not voice it out loud. Her eyes then landed on the sword he was carrying, silently questioning why he had it. As far as Ailin knew, Neah did not carry weaponry because his powers are far stronger than everyone in Underworld; that is, everyone except her grandfather.

"I've also heard that some of the low-class angels are rebelling as well," Neah continued in a soft tone as he flicked his wrist. He took a seat on a recliner that appeared out of the blue, and gave a glance towards the Exorcists, fully aware that they were listening in his conversation with Ailin. "We're unsure of the cause, but don't worry about it. We'll deal with them as they come. In the meantime, you should prepare yourself for the Judgment; when it'll be held will be a surprise," he stated with a smirk at the end.

Lavi glanced at the two entities, unsure if he should inquire the lingering question in his mind. In the end, he asked, "What is this Judgment?"

"You've seen Ailin's wings, correct?" Neah began as he plopped his sword against his chair, and leaned back whilst he eyed at the group. When they gave a collective nod in response, he continued, "If your parents are Fallen Angels, you'll get black wings; if your parents are Archangels or Angels in general, you'll get white wings. Of course, there are selected few with gray wings, but they are low-leveled angels and they do not have a realm to belong to. It'll only be a matter of time before they are stripped of their powers. The Judgment is to decide if her black wing will turn white, or if her white wing will turn black. It will decide which realm she belongs in… or if she will be stripped of her powers and become a mortal."

Ailin let out a soft sigh as she leaned against a wall with her arms crossed, and softly said, "Uncle Neah."

The mentioned Fallen Angel turned to look at his niece, exchanging silent conversation, before he let out a small smirk and nodded. His expression had once again converted into a serious one as he remarked, "Well then, I ask that you three keep my darling niece's identity a secret. If not…" He left his statement incomplete as he stood up from his spot, and gathered his sword.

"In any case, Ailin," Neah continued with his conversation, this time on a different topic. "Your brother and I will be busy handling the revolts. I want you to keep an eye out, and stop them if necessary. You and I both know that your power of Creation is far stronger than you show," he commented.

"I understand," Ailin nodded solemnly in response, and added, "Be careful."

Neah let out a smirk at her remark, and gave her a slight wave as he stated, "You too, darling niece. As much as it pains me to do this, I'll have to revoke some of your powers as punishment, as per my order. Oh, and grandfathers want the Palaces spotless once you get back. So good luck with that, young lady." He extended his hand towards Ailin, making two balls of light – one black and one white – extracted from her body. With a smirk on his expression, Neah disappeared from his spot in a whirlwind of black feathers before she could say anything.

Ailin let out a deep defeated sigh, as if she was accepting her fate without much of a protest, and shifted her attention back to the Exorcists. "Well, let's get back," that was all the warning the three mortals received before Ailin snapped her fingers, and they were transported back to the wrecked battlefield. "If we're lucky, we might be able to leave this island without my second shadow," she muttered darkly under her breath.

"Allen… do you have something against…" Lavi trailed off uncomfortably, unsure how to properly phrase his question.

The immortal girl shifted her attention to him with a small smile gracing on her expression as she tugged her hair behind her ear. She then changed her gaze onto the wreck 'battlefield', and responded, "I dislike humans to the point that some shouldn't even be born. My experiences of when I first came to Earth only further fueled my dislike; but… there are a handful of people that I can tolerate."

"Why do you dislike humans, Ailin?" Lenalee questioned with a small frown as the group began walking towards the dock. The female exorcist could not help but be surprised by the fact that they had managed to defeat the Level 5 Akuma that quickly. Well, Ailin was the one who did most, if not all, of the work; nonetheless, she was certainly astonished to know that Allen was actually a girl.

"You've experienced first-hand what they can do, Lenalee," Ailin responded in a soft tone as she walked alongside the older girl, and placed her hands in her pocket. Her eyes scanned around the premise to anything unusual whilst soft evening breezes echoed in her ears. "It hasn't changed for many years, and I highly doubt people can change that quickly. For the most part, people only care about themselves and those within their circle; they are not afraid to kill… to hurt someone, to treat someone as an experiment, and to commit cold-blooded murders. Of course, there are some who are different… that's why, a part of me has given up on humanity, but another part of me is still hopeful that mortals can change. That's just my perspective; I'm not forcing you to accept it or anything," she continued.

Ailin did not say anything as she continued walking through the forest until the dock appeared over the horizon. Lenalee and Lavi exchanged concerned glanced among one another, unsure what to say to her earlier monologue whilst Kanda grumbled under his breath about his displeasure towards this whole ordeal. It was not long before the four arrived to the dock to see Link and the Finder waiting for them.

"Uh… Ailin, how are you going to explain to Order about you being a girl?" Lavi trailed off in a low tone with an eyebrow raised.

She could not help but let out a small smile when she heard worry laced in his tone, making her briefly wondered if he was worried about her fate. "I'm not going to," Ailin responded with a small smirk as strong gust of wind blew around the group, causing the three Exorcists to shield their eyes. "Which is why, your silence on this matter is necessary," she continued in her Allen Walker's voice.

"Whoa, I'm so not going to get used to this," Lavi remarked as he eyed at his comrade with his jaw dropped, and choked out, "How is this possible?"

It was not Ailin who answered to the query, but a certain CROW member in a displeased tone, "How is what possible, Bookman Junior? And where and who is that young lady who was with you earlier?"

"The only young lady with us happened to be Lenalee," Ailin interjected in a bored tone as she walked ahead to board the boat, and slightly turned around to say, "Are you sure you don't need a pair of glasses, Two-Spot?" in a mocking manner. With a satisfied smirk, she entered to one of cabins, locked the door behind her, and walked towards the bed.

"Damn it," she murmured as she held her head with her eyes clenched closed and her teeth gritted. Ailin tightened her right hand in a fist to the point that there were crescent marks on her palm. "N-not now…" Ailin said in a low tone as her body glowed in black aura and then in white before the two flickered back and forth, as if one power was trying to dominate over the other.

In a matter of a few seconds, Ailin collapsed on the bed with beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Her image then flickered for a couple of times as her body continued to glow, interchanging between black and white, until the two auras stopped as if the battle had not occurred. Ailin was left gasping for breath, trying to get as much as she could into her lungs, as if she had not breathed for a long period of time. A deafening shatter echoed in the stilled air, making the young immortal opened her eyes in shock.

Ailin slowly got up from her curled up position, massaging her temple as she tried to ease the headache, and let out a frown when her long dark chestnut hair fell over her shoulder. She then glanced down to her body, only to grimace when she noticed that her disguise had fallen apart. She took a deep breath before she closed her eyes to concentrate, willing her powers to work, and then reopened her eyes a few seconds later.

The former silvery white haired Exorcist glanced down to see if the transformation had work, and let out a deep frown when she realized that it had not. "What's going on…?" Ailin uttered in near despair tone. She drew her knees close to her chest and buried her head in her arms. "Is it because Uncle Neah took some of my powers away? But it couldn't be…" she whispered to no one in particular.

The door knocks interrupted her lone conversation, which was then followed by Lenalee's worried inquiry, "Allen? Are you okay in there? We heard something shattered in there."

"Walker, open this door instantly," Link's voice commanded rather impatiently. Ailin's eyes widen and her head shot up in surprised when she realized that her comrade was not the only one out there.

"Allen?" Lenalee's voice questioned again with a couple of knocks, and added, "Are you alright? Did something happen?"

Ailin heard quiet footsteps inching towards her cabin door, and after a few tormenting seconds later, she heard, "Lenalee? Two-Spot? What's going on?" It was Lavi.

Lenalee's worried voice once again spoke, "It's Allen. I think something happened in there,"

"Is it okay to trust them?" Ailin whispered to the air as she uncurled from her position, and slowly made her way to the door. "What should I do, grandfathers…? What happened to my powers? Did I become a mortal?" she continued in a low tone. Her hand hovered above the doorknob as if she was trying to decide whether to open it or not.

In the end, Ailin gradually opened the door, and glanced at a lone chair near the door as if it was the most interesting piece of furniture she had ever seen. "Walker? What happened to you? Why are you a girl?" Link immediately questioned with his eyes widened. "Wait, that is you, isn't it Walker?" he added as an afterthought, unsure if the female before him was the person he was supposed to keep an eye on.

"Yes," Ailin responded sullenly, depressed about her lack of powers rather than having her disguise destroyed. "I think the Level 5 had something to do with it," she lied, eyeing at her comrades as if she was silently willing them to agree with her story.

Link let out a series of incoherent mutters as he whipped out his notebook and began jotting down the information. Lavi, and Lenalee, on the other hand, gave a representative confused, and worried glances towards Ailin. The two Exorcists knew that it was not from the Level 5 Akuma; after all, Ailin had destroyed it single-handedly.

"What's really going on, Ailin-chan?" Lavi questioned quietly with a serious gaze.

Ailin massaged her temple once again, trying to ease an oncoming headache, and wearily answered, "I'm not sure. I can feel that my powers are slowly being stripped off." She tiredly leaned against the doorframe, gauging at her comrades' expression as she silently pondered why this was happening to her. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some rest," she stated, quietly hinting them to leave her alone.

"Alright, I hope you feel better soon, Ailin," Lenalee responded with the same worried gaze, and gestured Lavi to leave his questioning until later.

Wordlessly, the young immortal being nodded and gave a soft smile in reply. She then closed the door, headed towards her bed before she tiredly collapsed, missing the bed by a foot. A loud thud echoed in the small cabin, which was followed by an unquestionable shattering sound.

Ailin's fallen figure glowed in black and white aura, interchanging every couple of seconds, whilst black and white feathers pooled around her.

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