A/N: Special thanks to: GothicGirl12, Shadow of a Life, ErzaScarlet14, -Pon, kazza-spexy, The White Wanderer, AnonymousShadowReader1, cute-nina, Tendencies, XxXxSeriously InjuredxXxX, Peculiar Top hat, Panda-Hiroko, Sachiel Angelo, dgm-mega fan, and lemonlimediddies! You guys are Seriously awesome! 15 reviews for the last chapter~~~~~ so happy~~~~~ and now my story has reached 80 reviews~~ super duper happy about that~ Anyways. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, favorited and/or put my story on your story alert list, coz those three things seriously make me SUPER happy. :) You guys are the ones that motivate me to write. :) And if you haven't dropped a review? Drop me one already~ please?

OMG~~~~~~~~ I finally updated... it's been 5-6 days since I last updated. I am so sorry~~~ O.o I do feel bad for not updating for almost a week. I didn't really have any writer mood this weekend and I was busy. So then I started writing on Monday... and then soon... the chapter dragged on... :P I don't know what happened, this story just wrote on its own... and I wanted to make up for not updating for nearly a week, so I decided to have a SUPER long chapter... coz guess what? This chapter was nearly 20,000 words! So just a warning... if you don't have a lot of time... wait till later to read it. :) This chapter took me a while to write and then proofread... but I was super happy b/c of how many reviews i got and all of you guys' support... which made me motivated to continue. :) You guys are seriously awesome, btw~

And... WARNING: I, for some reason, really like using the 'hell' word, so yeah. you are going to see quite a few in this chapter. :) and a few other swear words I guess. would 'damn' be considered one? no idea. whatever. Oh and Yaoi warning..

Since this has been decided to be a Poker Pair fanfic, I do have a few Poker Pair moments in this chapter. I hope you guys will like this chapter... coz it cost me... a lot of time and 20,000 words. XD This is the longest chapter I have written... yet. :) But don't expect future chapters to be as long as this, coz it's probably not going to be... Sorry~

ENJOY~~


Chapter 09 – The Surprise


It's been almost a year since Allen has started staying with the Noahs. Allen has grown closer to everyone in his new family, especially Road and Tyki. Lulubelle has become something like a mother and older-sister figure to him, always watching over him silently with affectionate eyes and offering comfort whenever he needed it. Skin Boric usually kept to himself, like he did with the rest of the family, but whenever he saw the boy, he would always offer Allen some type of sweets; Allen knew it was just Skin's way of showing his affections and Allen always loved the sweets that he got. Jasdevi were always the mischievous and up-to-no-good ones in the family, but even when playing with Allen, they would be caring and affectionate, careful to not hurt their youngest little brother. Road has always been playful and easily bored, but whenever she was with Allen, she was never bored, even when he is just reading or doing homework. Tyki…well, Tyki was just Tyki, but he was always gentle and caring when he was with the Allen. Even the Earl had a soft spot for Allen, whenever Allen got hurt, which was rarely because of the protective members of his family, the Earl would get overly-worried and whoever caused that injury, unless it was Allen's own 'clumsiness', that person tend to have dreadful fate.

Even though Allen has lived on the streets or locked up most of his life, Allen was such a bright child that he had easily caught up with Road in her studies and was done with school by mid-summer. Road was, of course, ecstatic since she can now hang out with Allen and play with him. Allen was a little startled at first that their teacher was a human, but then Cyril explained that if it were an akuma, it was very likely that Road was going to use her Noah powers to influence the akuma and so, it was safer and much more beneficial for the teacher to be human.

At the Earl's encouragement, Allen also started learning how to play the piano and violin. When he first played, his teacher was shocked and questioned Allen whether he was really a first-timer or not. When Allen blushed and nodded, the teacher joyfully exclaimed that he was a music prodigy. When the Earl got hold of the news, he requested Allen to play for the family and since Allen couldn't possibly refuse, he chose Canon in D Major by Pachelbel, his favorite classical piece and played it on both the violin and piano. At the end of his performance, the Noahs were blown away by his beautiful music.

Allen's Innocence training had also gone well, Tyki and Road didn't just train his Innocence, they also trained Allen's agility, speed, acrobatics, strength, endurance and battle techniques. Even when it's not Allen's Innocence training day, Allen has to continue working on every single area covered by his Innocence training every single day. But because of that, Allen has extraordinary abilities and even without having the special abilities that the Noahs have, Allen is still able to fight on par with the Noahs and can sometimes even overpower his opponent. The Noahs and the Earl were very pleased with how well Allen was doing. If Allen was going to aid them in their war against the exorcists and the Order, and Allen was dead insist on it no matter how much the Noahs were against it, Allen needed to have above-normal fighting abilities or else he would have a hard time against the exorcists and the Noahs didn't want Allen to get hurt and be able to defend himself easily.

Tonight, the Earl and the Kamelot family had decided to hold a ball for Allen for his birthday. How they knew when Allen's birthday was, he questioned but didn't receive any answer. It was also a Christmas Ball, because well, today was Christmas. They were going to celebrate the first moments of his birthday with him along with everyone else who was at the ball. Allen felt happy and was overjoyed. The Noahs had already given him his Christmas presents and he had loved them all, especially Tyki's.

Tyki didn't buy him anything special; it was just an ordinary looking ring that was made of pure silver, but inside the ring carved the word shounen in beautiful scripted handwriting. It might not be special to other people, but it was the most special thing Allen had ever gotten besides the locket necklace Sylvia gave him before she died. Tyki also made the promise that he would be away less often and be with Allen as much as possible. Allen's heart instantly warmed at the promise and threw his arms around Tyki, giving said man a hug and a grateful smile that was filled with happiness. In return, Allen promised that he would always wear the ring and Tyki just smiled a dazzling smile as he wrapped his arms around the boy.

Allen was looking at the ring fondly when he remembered what Road had told him before the ball had started:

"For your birthday present, our whole family has planned a surprise for you that we are sure you will love." Road had said mysteriously with a smile before she skipped towards the Millennium Earl. Allen had been very intrigued by what Road said and wondered what kind of surprise it was going to be.

'What could this surprise possibly be...' Allen thought as an idea started to form inside his head. He lifted his head and looked around for the target in mind. 'There he is…' Allen's target was leaning against the railing and watching the scene below him

Allen silently slipped across the carpeted floor towards his target and when he was sure that his target didn't notice him, he prepared himself and jump-glomped his target's back as he said cheerfully, "Father~!"

"Ah!" Allen's "father" yelled out in surprise and when his recognition system kicked in, he called out affectionately, "Oh it's you, Allen. You surprised me."

"Yay! I have a question, father," Allen said as he used his hands and feet to shift himself so that he was hanging off of Cyril's front instead.

"What is it, son?" Cyril said with a smile and his face was beaming with happiness. Ever since he had adopted Allen into his dear family, he had grown very fond of the boy and treated him just like Road.

"Can you please tell me what the surprise the family has planned for me?" Allen said as he looked at Cyril with an expectant face that was very hard to refuse. Tyki and Road's training didn't just teach him things related to fighting, they had also covered the ability to act, have a poker face, how to lie smoothly and the body language. At this moment, Allen was very glad that they had taught him those stuff.

"I am sorry, but it's a surprise, so I can't tell you," Cyril said as he looked away from Allen's eyes and his heart wretched at the way the boy's face had fallen when he heard his father's reply, but it couldn't be helped.

"Why not? Don't you love me anymore, father?" Allen asked with sadness-filled eyes and Cyril's eyes instantly snapped back to face Allen's in surprise.

When Cyril saw the boy's eyes, his heart was aching and without hesitation he said, "Of course I love you, Allen!"

"Then… then why won't you tell me?" Allen asked as his eyes began filling with crocodile tears and he inwardly smirked at how well his plan was working.

"Be-because…" Cyril was speechless and his heart ached even more as Allen's eyes filled up with tears.

"F-father, please?" Allen begged as he looked at his father's eyes pleadingly. The look in his eyes could easily break anyone's resolve and no one in the family has been able to not fall victim to those eyes.

"Al-alright, I will tell you, but don't let the others know I told you, okay?" Cyril said with a defeated sigh as his resolve to keep the surprise a secret from Allen disappeared completely.

"Thank you. I love you, father! Tell me~" Allen said as his eyes lit up and his face was filled with expectance and happiness. Cyril's eyes filled with love when Allen said those words and his inside was filled with warmth.

"Your father is so happy! Now… the surprise is―" Cyril began with a big smile as Allen started doing a winning dance inwardly.

"CYRIL!" But then an all-too-familiar voice interrupted both Allen's dance and what Cyril was saying. Allen's eyes immediately snapped to fiercely glare at the voice's source.

"Cyril… what is going on?" Tyki asked as he backed away a little from the fierceness of Allen's glare. And Cyril immediately snapped back to 'reality' and realized just what he was about to do.

"Sorry Allen, I can't tell you," Cyril said with an apologetic smile as Allen's eyes filled up with crocodile tears once again and Cyril's resolve began crumbling once again.

Tyki immediately understood what just happened and sighed with exasperation before he said, "Allen just almost persuaded you to tell him what the surprise was, didn't he? If I hadn't interrupted when I did, then the cat would have been out of the bag, wouldn't it?"

Cyril slightly winced at how easily Tyki figured out what happened and turned to face Tyki, about to answer Allen said three words that pierced through his heart and his blood went cold. His face filled with shock and his eyes widened as his head slowly moved back to face Allen. The boy's face was streaming with tears and his eyes were filled with hurt and sadness, making Cyril's heart break even more. "I hate you, father," the boy sobbed quietly, so that only Cyril could hear what he said once more.

"Allen―" Cyril began as he felt like his heart was starting to stop beating.

"I hate you, father." The boy whispered a third time as he looked up to meet Cyril's eyes, to make sure what he said went through Cyril completely. "I hate you."

Tyki was looking at the father and son in interest and confusion, wondering what was going on between those two. Tyki had seen that flash of shock and hurt in Cyril's eyes before Cyril turned back to face Allen and he could see that Allen was saying something to Cyril, but he couldn't read or hear what the boy was saying. Suddenly, Allen turned his face to look at Tyki and he mouthed five words that completely shattered Tyki's heart into pieces and made Tyki's blood run cold.

"I hate you too, Tyki," Allen mouthed once more as his sadness-and-hurt-filled eyes looked into Tyki's eyes. When Allen got the reaction that he wanted, he released himself from Cyril's hold and crumbled against the railing with eyes staring into Tyki's. Cyril was still frozen from what Allen had said and Tyki was starting to freeze up as well as Allen's eyes continued to stare into his, sucking him into the silver abyss.

Inwardly, Allen was annoyed at Tyki for interrupting his almost success and he was smirking that he got the desired reactions from Tyki and Cyril, he sort of felt bad for them, but it wasn't enough for Allen to rescue those two from the heartbreaking.

Something in Cyril unsnapped and then he ran towards Tyki with opened arms and eyes that were beginning to stream tears. "TYKI!" Cyril cried out as tears started to pour down his face.

When Cyril threw his arms around Tyki's back and started sobbing, Tyki began to unfreeze and broke the eye contact he had with Allen. "What the hell! Get off of me!" Tyki yelled in annoyance, but he was still too shaken from Allen's words to do anything.

"But dear Allen said he hated me. FOUR TIMES, Tyki! He said he hated me four times!" Cyril sobbed into Tyki's now-wet dress coat.

"Cyril! Get off! You are making my dress coat soaking wet!" Tyki exclaimed as he looked at his brother whose tears seem to never end. Tyki switched his gaze back to the white-haired boy and he found the boy was still looking at him, but the boy's eyes seemed dull.

"Tyki~ Father~" A cheerful voice called from behind Tyki making Allen look up to the voice's source. Road came into view in her knee-length pink and white corset bodice dress with ruffles and when she saw the scene before her, her eyes narrowed and the wheels began turning in her head. A shock-filled, sobbing father that was against Tyki's shoulders; Tyki who looked like he was frozen to his spot and the end of the world had come; and Allen who was sitting by the railing and tears were flowing out of his red and puffy eyes.

"What happened?" Road asked as she approached the scene. Hearing his daughter's voice, Cyril instantly ran off with his arms out towards Road.

"Road! My dear daughter! Allen has been being mean!" Cyril cried out as he flung his arms around Road. Road wrapped her arms around her father in an attempt to comfort him and make him stop sobbing.

"Father, please don't get my dress dirty. I rather like this dress. But how has Allen been being mean?" Road looked up to meet Allen's eyes and was instantly sucked into them.

"R-road!" Allen called out as Road's eyes met his and he inwardly smirked.

"A-allen told me he hated me!" Cyril said as he sobbed even harder, his heart hurting as he said those icicle-like words.

"R-road, father wouldn't tell me what my surprise is," Allen cried out as he increased the amount of crocodile tears flowing out of his eyes and the depth of sadness and hurt in his eyes.

"Father!" Road instantly blamed Cyril for the look in Allen's eyes and her heart was aching at the sight before her.

"B-but! It's a surprise! And you especially told us to not leak a word to Allen!" Cyril cried out. At this new revelation, Allen narrowed his eyes and looked at Road accusingly.

Road began filling with guilt and looked away from Allen's accusing eyes. "R-road, how could you?"

"Al-allen! Father, let go!" Road said as she squirmed out of her father's grasp and ran over to Allen, flinging her arms around him when she reached him. "I know you will just love your surprise, so just wait a little longer, okay?"

"F-fine. I love you, Road," Allen whispered as he snuggled in Road's embrace and decided that this was enough for now and he should probably end his façade.

Even though Allen whispered those four words to Road, Tyki had heard it, loud and clear, and started glaring at Road's head. Feeling a murderous aura near him, Allen looked up and inwardly smirked at the expression on Tyki's face. Road had also felt the sudden drop in temperature and turned a little so that she could see what was happening behind her from the corner of her eyes. When she saw the look on Tyki's face, her face pulled up into a devious smirk and wrapped her arms tighter around the boy. "I love you too, Allen."

At once, the temperature dropped another feel degrees and Allen suppressed a shudder that was about to go through him.

"I love you two too!" A joyful voice cheered before the voice's source wrapped his two children in a bear-hug.

"Father… ca-can't … breath!" Allen said as he struggled to get out of Cyril's grasp.

"Oh! Oops!" Cyril giggled and lightened the grasp he had on his children so that they could breath.

"Much better," Allen said as he sighed in relief.

Then Cyril also began to feel someone glaring daggers at his head and hesitantly, he turned his head around and shrunk back a little at the sight before him. Tyki looked like he was about to murder Road and Cyril.

"H-hi, Tyki… would you like a hug as well?" Cyril asked as he released the grasp he had on his children and slowly stood up. The temperature rising a few degrees when he did so.

"No way in hell." Tyki said without hesitation as the aura surrounding him lightened up a little.

Cyril smiled like Tyki had said yes and ran towards his brother with open arms, relieved that his younger brother was back to normal. Before Cyril had gotten within hugging range of Tyki however, Tyki's arm pressed against Cyril's chest, stopping Cyril from getting any closer. Then he looked at Allen who was still in Road's embrace and his eyes narrowed. "Road, you can let go of him now."

Suddenly, Cyril could go forward, but what met him was open air and not realizing it, he continued forward and met with a pillar rather violently.

"Ouch!" Cyril cried out when his body impacted against the pillar.

"Father! Are you okay?" Road asked with concern when she heard the impact and turned her head to look at her father.

"Yeah, I will be fine. But that was rather mean, Tyki-dear!" Cyril said with a pout on his face as he looked at Tyki who didn't seem the least bit sorry.

"Maybe that's why you should stop trying to hug me!" Tyki said with a smirk.

"No way! You will always be my adorable little brother!" Cyril exclaimed and Tyki's smirk faltered slightly before putting on a poker face.

"You are impossible." Tyki muttered as he shook his head in exasperation and turned to look at Allen. "Let's go, Shounen."

Allen looked up and with narrowed eyes, he said, "No. I still hate you, Tyki. You interrupted my plan."

Tyki's blood ran cold and his smile visibly twitched as Road's smile pulled into a devious smirk.

"Let's go, Al-len!" Road said in a singsongy voice and straightened herself up before holding out a hand for Allen. Allen took her hand and without a second glance back, he left with Road to her next destination.


Some time later in a luxury room on a train…

"Tyki… where are we? And why does it seem like the ground under me is moving on its own? And can I finally remove this… cloth around my eyes?" Allen asked hesitantly as his hands wrapped around the cloth on his eyes.

"Go ahead." Tyki said as he walked towards the canopy-style, queen-sized bed in the room. Allen's hands traveled to the knot that held the cloth on his face and quickly untied it. Then he blinked his eyes several times as he adjusted to the light - or in this case, lack of light - inside what he assumed was a room.

"Where are we?" Allen asked as his eyes quickly ran over the room, trying to find any evidence that might give him a hint to where they were. Then his eyes locked to the window that was on the side of the room and walked towards the window. "Why is the scenery outside moving?"

"It's not the scenery that's moving, it's us." Tyki replied sheepishly as his eyes suddenly found his shoes very interesting.

"Why… why are we moving?" Allen asked, afraid of the answer, as he turned his head so that he was looking at Tyki.

"Because we are on a train…" Tyki prepared himself for the outburst that he knew was going to come. Tyki stood up and slowly walked towards the boy.

"T-TYKI! WHY are we on a train?" Allen exclaimed as his body started shaking with annoyance and slight anger and he turned away from the approaching man, staring out into the scenery before him once more.

"…because we need to?" Tyki had reached Allen and he carefully snaked his arms around the boy's waist and settled his head on the boy's.

"If we needed to get somewhere, couldn't we have just used Road's door?" Every single trace of his anger and annoyance was gone the instant Tyki's arms wrapped around Allen. Allen settled himself into Tyki's embrace and leaned his head back against that man's chest, he could never stay mad at the man for long.

"True. But Road needed some time to prepare for everything at our destination, so we took the train instead. And this way, I can also spend time with you, my shounen."

A tint of pink crept up Allen's cheeks and he said, "Where is this train heading?"

"Not telling you," Tyki said with a smirk.

"Aw. Please?"

"Nah-uh. And don't try using your tears on me."

"Aw. So you figured it out." Allen said with a devilish smile.

"Of course. Please do remember that you did learn all that stuff from Road and me," Tyki said with an amused smile.

"Hehe. Of course. But my plan did work… that is, until you interrupted, which I am still annoyed at you for." Allen said as he snuggled closer to Tyki.

"Don't you think I have already gotten my punishment? You walked away every single time I tried to approach you for the rest of the night. And those words that you said really hurt," Tyki said, his arms around Allen's tightened.

"Should I say it again then?" Allen said with a grin, he wasn't really feeling sorry for Tyki, but he did miss Tyki's touch and soothing words.

"Shounen, please don't. Don't say those words, ever again, okay?" Tyki's heart ached as he relived through the scene where Allen had said those words to him.

"Alright, Tyki." It had just dawned to Allen that when he saw the expression in Tyki's eyes when he had said those words, he felt guilt and this unexplainable ache in his heart.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

A comforting silence set between the two as they stared into the moon-lit scenery in front of them.

"Hey, Tyki?" Allen suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"Those buttons on your shirt are really bothering me." Allen said with a smile making Tyki chuckle.

"Hm. Then should I take my shirt off?" Tyki said with a smirk making Allen slightly blush.

"Pervert," Allen muttered, "Tyki, is there a bathroom in this room?"

Tyki chuckled and replied, "Yes. Why?"

"I need to take a shower, please do tell me you brought me some of my clothes from home."

"Yeah, Road took care of that before we left the house. It's over there in that suitcase by the bed. Your night clothes are also in there."

"I should thank Road later. Alright, then I got to take a shower. I need to change out of these clothes, way too formal." Allen said as he released himself from Tyki and Tyki pouted at the lost of contact.

"Okay… Should I join you in the showers?" Tyki asked with a smirk as he saw Allen's cheeks deepened in red.

"N-no t-thank y-you!" Allen stuttered out and rushed towards the suitcase on the bedside to take out what he needed before rushing towards the bathroom.

"Next time then!" Tyki said with an amused smile as Allen shut the door to the bathroom louder than necessary and locked it. Not long after, the shower started and Tyki walked over to the suitcase to take out his own night clothes, which was just a pair of black sweats and a pair of boxer.

In a few minutes, Allen came out fully dressed in his night clothes and he was drying his hair with a towel. "I am done," Allen said as he looked up at Tyki.

"Good, did you enjoy it?" Tyki said as he looked at Allen.

"Course. My formal clothes are in there though. Where do I put it?" Allen asked as he walked over to Tyki.

"Just leave it in there for now. I will grab it on my way out when I am done."

"Okay."

"Then I should shower. I will be back soon." Tyki said as he got up from the bed with his sweats and boxer. "Is there another towel in there?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," Tyki said as he passed by Allen and used the hand that was not holding stuff to ruffle the boy's drying hair.

"Hey!" Allen said with a pout. "And I just straightened my hair out too!"

"Hehe. See you, Shounen!" Tyki said as he walked into the bathroom and closed the doors. Soon, the shower turned on.

Allen said as he walked to the window and sat in a nearby chair while drying his hair with the towel. I wonder where we are going… Allen thought to himself as he watched the bypassing scenery.

When Tyki got out of the bathroom, Allen was still focusing on the outside view and Tyki was in his pair of sweats with drying hair and a bare chest. In his hands was a towel and a stash of clothing. He settled the clothing on a nearby chair and walked towards the boy while drying his hair.

"Enjoying the scene, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he approached Allen, making Allen yelp out in surprise and jump up a little.

Allen placed his left hand over his chest, trying to calm down his heart beat, and turned to glare at Tyki, "Did you have to really appear out of nowhere and approach me so silently?"

"You were just too focused on the scenery." Tyki remarked as he settled some of his weight onto the armrest of Allen's chair.

"Whatever." Allen muttered as he looked back at the scenery. Then he seemed to remember something and turned towards Tyki, asking, "Where are the rest of the family?"

"Skin, Lulu and Jasdevi are in a first-class cabin somewhere near us. Cyril stayed back with Road to help prepare and he will be arriving at the destination with Road. The Earl is staying back to deal with the phones and such."

"Okay… how come you are with me then?" Allen asked suspiciously.

"Because I would much rather stay with you alone than with the twins and Road. Plus, I promised that I would be with you as much as possible, did I not?" Tyki replied with a genuine smile and looked at Allen with a softened gaze. Allen's cheeks turned pink and he turned back to look at the very interesting scenery.

Allen began slowly, "Y-yes, you did, but―"

Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted whatever Allen was about to say.

"Yes? Who is it?" Tyki asked in annoyance.

"It's Lulubelle."

Tyki stood up and walked to the door in long strides. When he unlocked the door and opened it, he was faced with a grim-looking Lulubelle.

"Lulu? What is it?" Tyki asked, instantly turning serious.

Lulu looked around her before asking, "Can I come in first?"

"Oh! Of course, come on in."

"Hello, Lulu!" Allen greeted with a bright smile as he walked towards Lulu whose gaze immediately softened when she saw the boy and his smile.

"What is it, Lulu? Did something happened?" Tyki asked as he shut the door and Allen's smile dropped.

Lulu looked at Tyki with a flicker of irritation before replying, "No, nothing that serious. There are just some exorcists on the train as well."

Tyki's eyes narrowed and cursed under his breath and Allen's forehead scrunched in displeasure. Tyki asked, "How many?"

"Three exorcists and one finder," Lulu replied, but the look on her face showed that there was still something that was bugging her.

"Anything else?"

"One of them is a General."

"Shit. But… Five Noahs and an Innocence user who can fight on par with the Noahs is more than enough to defeat them if that does happen."

"Yeah. That is true, but we should avoid being in contact with them," Lulu replied.

"Alright, does Skin and Jasdevi know?"

"Yeah, I told them already."

"Hey… Lulu… what does the General look like?" A voice spoke up and Lulu and Tyki remembered that they weren't alone, they had completely forgotten about Allen and were surprise when he spoke up.

"Why?" Lulu finally asked.

"Oh, nothing, just curious."

"Alright. The General is a female and has dark blonde hair. She also has something that looks like a monkey on one of her shoulders." Lulu explained, buying Allen's reason. Allen's eyes widened and he quickly looked away.

"I see," Allen said, "I should go to sleep now."

Lulu and Tyki had not missed the reaction Allen had on and they were clearly suspicious of it.

"Allen… what is it?" Tyki questioned.

"Nothing." Allen quickly replied.

"It doesn't sound or look like nothing to me," Tyki said with narrowed eyes.

"I said nothing!" Allen said as he got under the bed's covers.

Deciding not to press it any further, Tyki replied, "Alright. Lulu, you should go back now."

"I agree. Goodnight, Allen," Lulu said as she headed towards the door.

"Goodnight, Lulu." Allen was glad that they didn't press on. It couldn't be her, could it?

Lulu opened the door with a smile and closed the door behind her. Tyki walked over to the door and locked it. He then walked over to the bed's unoccupied side and got under the covers as well.

Once Tyki was completely on the bed, Allen instantly rolled over into Tyki's chest and placed his right hand over Tyki's heart.

"Are you okay?" Tyki asked as he wrapped his arms around Allen and smiled a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I am fine. Thanks for asking." Allen said as he cuddled into Tyki's chest, replacing his right hand with his head.

"Goodnight, Shounen," Tyki said as Allen's eyes closed.

"Goodnight, Tyki. I love you, Tyki." Allen whispered as he cuddled even closer against Tyki and Tyki had a smile on his face that was made of pure happiness.

Allen was fast asleep and Tyki continued to stroke the boy's hair. A gleam of light in his eye's peripheral vision caught his attention and his eyes settled onto the ring that was on the boy's index finger of the boy's right hand. Tyki's face instantly pulled into an even happier smile and he whispered affectionately, "Sweet dreams, my dear shounen."

Tyki soon closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with a happy smile.

The following morning…

Allen had woken up that morning with a smile as he saw that he was still in Tyki's embrace and surprisingly, Tyki had woken up already and was watching him with an especially gentle smile. A blush instantly appeared on the boy's cheeks and he greeted, "Good morning, Tyki."

"Morning, Shounen."

"How long have you been watching me?" Allen looked up and stared into Tyki's comforting golden eyes.

"Maybe about ten minutes or so, not sure." Tyki replied with a grin.

"Why are you up so early?" Allen asked as he cuddled closer to Tyki and Tyki's hands tightened around his Shounen.

"It's already past 11, Shounen. I think Lulu got you some breakfast though. You should go eat."

"Really? Hm. Lulu is a lifesaver." Allen couldn't believe how late he had slept in.

"Yeah. You must have been really tired. And you didn't have a single nightmare too!" Tyki remarked with a smile.

"Psh. You already know I never have nightmares when I am sleeping with you, especially when I am cuddled with you," Allen said with shy smile. "And now if you could, mind letting go so I can get ready and go eat breakfast?"

"No. This is too comfortable." Tyki said with a slight pout making Allen sigh.

"Doesn't this happen every single time I wake up with you? And aren't you forced to let go anyways every single time?" Allen said with a smirk. "Shouldn't you just learn to let go the first time I ask already?"

"But it's too comfortable!" Tyki protested like a child, knowing Allen was right. And every single time after Tyki lets go, Tyki was either on cloud nine or with a few bruises. Tyki was willing to risk getting a few bruises and he was glad that he was a Noah with regenerating abilities.

"Fine." Allen whispered with a sigh. Since Tyki gave him such a special gift yesterday and Allen was in a particular good mood, Allen decided to send Tyki on cloud nine. "If you let go and let me get ready, I will give you a kiss…" Tyki's eyes lit up and a bright smile appeared on his face. "…on the cheek."

Tyki's face fell a little, but his face was still beaming with happiness. This was the first time Allen had offered him a kiss, even if it's just on the cheek, as an offer. Other times, it had either been "I love you's" or hugs or something that can instantly send Tyki to cloud nine.

"Okay!" Tyki said as he gave one last hug before letting go of Allen.

Allen quickly gave Tyki a peck on the cheek and got off the bed. Even though the kiss had lasted less than five seconds, Tyki felt like his skin was burning with a pleasant fire where Allen had kissed him, he was on cloud nine, as expected, already. Allen smiled at Tyki who was on cloud nine and hurried got the clothes he needed from the suitcase before stepping into the bathroom to change and do his morning stuff.

An hour or so later…

Allen was sitting by the window reading a book he had 'borrowed' -aka steal since the Noahs didn't bother to bring any books with them even when they knew he had to be on the train for a few hours before arriving at the destination- from a passenger without the passenger knowing. After all, Allen wasn't called a master thief for nothing and at this, Allen had on an evil grin on his face before returning his attention to the book he was reading. It was a book about the cities and country-sides of Europe and every now and then, there would be a painting or a picture, rarely, of the scene or city it was describing.

Tyki told him that he was going to wander the train a little and take care of some business after making Allen promise him that he would stay inside the room at all times, unless there's a fire or something like that, and don't open the door unless it was him or the other Noahs. Allen agreed and smirked as he held up his newly-gained book saying that he had something to occupy himself with and Tyki couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face.

As Allen was flipping the page, he noticed that the train was slowing down and when he looked out the window, his suspicions were confirmed, they were approaching a train station.

Suddenly a knock was heard in the room, making Allen look away from the window, Allen called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Tyki, shounen," came the reply from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" Allen said as he placed his book on the window-still and bounced up from his seat, heading towards the door.

Meanwhile… on the other side of the door…

A woman with dark blonde hair in a black and gold uniform was getting out of her cabin along with her fellow company. It was their stop.

Suddenly a shock of white in the corner of the woman's vision caught her attention and her head snapped to the direction of where she had seen the white.

Her eyes widened in shock. No, it couldn't be, could it? Down the hallway not too far from them, there was a white-haired boy letting a raven-haired man into his room. The white haired boy then turned his back to the hallway and quickly proceeded to closing the door before locking it.

About to further investigate, the woman was brought to a halt by a call of her name.

"General Nyne! We need to get off now." A voice called out from in front of her. She looked up and saw that one of her fellow company was waiting by the exit of the train car while the other two was standing on the train station's platform.

Annoyed that she couldn't further investigate, Klaud Nyne let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards the exit. "Coming!"

Back in the room…

"So how did your 'business' go?" Allen asked curiously as he hopped back to his seat and the window-still. A shock of dark-blonde hair caught Allen's attention and his eyes immediately snapped up in shock.

"It went well and according to plan." Tyki said as he settled down on the bed.

Allen was staring at the back of an all-too-familiar dark-blonde woman wearing the black and gold uniform of an Exorcist. Allen had completely blocked out the world behind him, so he didn't hear Tyki's reply, his senses were only focused on the dark-blonde woman.

When he didn't receive a reply, Tyki looked up at the white-haired boy who looked like he was frozen and staring out of the window. Worriedly he called out, "Allen? Are you alright?"

Outside the train car… on the train station platform…

Klaud Nyne felt like a pair of eyes was watching her, so preparing herself in case of an attack, she slowly turned her head and what she saw completely took her by surprise. A pair of shock-filled silver eyes on a very-familiar face was staring at her in shock from a window on the train. Klaud Nyne instantly froze in her track and she turned around fully so that she was facing the boy. Her face mirrored exactly what she felt inside- shock, surprise, relief and gratefulness- and her legs began to slowly take her back to the train. However, the train had already started moving and even her speed as a General wasn't quick enough to catch up to the white-haired boy. But before the white-haired boy could fully leave her sight, his mouth had formed a word that Klaud read easily and a wave was directed at her direction. And then he was out of sight.

Tears began to form in her eyes and she fought to hold them back. She had seen the boy she had been searching for for almost four years now, finally. Even though it was only a meeting of a few seconds, that was enough because she now knew he was safe and still alive. Her face pulled into a sad smile as she used the sleeves of her coat to wipe away the tears that had managed to spill out. As long as he is still alive, I will still have a chance of finding him again, Klaud thought as she remembered the words that he had said, "Goodbye," but she knew that this wouldn't be the last time she saw him, as long as he is still alive, she swears that she will find him again and be able to talk with him.

"General? Is something wrong?" A voice hesitantly called out behind Klaud Nyne.

"No. Everything's fine. Let's go, Sol," Klaud replied as she turned around and walked towards Sol, who was looking at her worriedly. He noticed her slightly red eyes, but he decided to not question on it.

"Alright, General."

Back in the room…

So it was her… Allen thought sadly as he turned away from the window-still and met a pair of worried golden eyes.

"What's wrong, Shounen?" Tyki asked with worry-filled eyes when he was a footstep or two away from his Shounen.

"Nothing…" Allen said as he looked away with a sad smile on his face.

"Allen…" Tyki said as his index finger reached up to cup the tears that were sitting at the corner of Allen's eyes. "If nothing's wrong, you wouldn't be crying."

Allen's eyes widened when he saw the tears that were on Tyki's finger, he hadn't known he was crying. "I am not crying. Something just got in my eye, that's all."

"Allen, we both know that's a lie," Tyki lightly scolded with a slightly stern tone and worried eyes.

"Tyki!" Allen cried out as he flung his arms around Tyki's waist and cuddled his head against Tyki's abdomen.

Tyki wrapped his arms around the boy gently, but protectively and began to stroke the boy's soft white hair.

Near-quiet sobs and sniffles could be heard while they stayed like that for a minute or so. Soon, the sniffles died down and Allen finally became collected again.

"I think I am going to clean up a little. Thank you Tyki," Allen said as he pulled his head back and looked up at Tyki.

"Alright." Tyki said as he let go of Allen. Allen walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Then sounds of running water could be heard and Tyki released a soft worried sigh.

I should probably change into a different shirt… Tyki thought as he looked at his now-partially-wet shirt and headed towards the suitcase. He found another dress shirt in there and quickly pulled off his current dress shirt, throwing it towards the pile of used clothes on the chair by the bathroom.

As he was putting on his new shirt, a knock was heard from the other side of the door.

"Who is it?" Tyki called out with slight irritation as he walked towards the door, prepared to open it.

"It's Lulubelle." A voice sounded from the other side.

"What is it, Lulu?" Tyki asked after he unlocked and opened the door.

"The Exorcists have gotten off." Lulu said with a small smile that faltered when the white-haired boy that she was expected to see was nowhere in her vision. "Where is Allen?"

"I am right here, Lulu," A voice replied as the bathroom door opened and out stepped Allen. Lulu's mouth pulled into a relieved smile. "Why are you here?" Allen asked gently.

"The Exorcists have gotten off," Lulu repeated as Allen walked towards her. When he heard this, Allen faltered in his steps just slightly, but it wasn't gone unnoticed by Lulu or Tyki. Tyki's mind instantly connected the dots and a vague summary on the boy's sudden outburst formed in his mind.

"Allen… did something happen?" Lulu asked with worry when she noticed that boy's slightly red and puffed eyes. Tyki immediately sent her a warning glance which she caught and confusion clouded in her eyes but she replied with a barely-noticeable nod.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," Allen replied with a faux smile that could easily convince others, but it didn't work on the two Noahs. They decided to pretend that they were tricked, Tyki because he didn't want to bring it up to Allen and Lulu because of Tyki's warning glance.

"Alright then. We will arrive at our destination in a few hours and a carriage will be waiting there for us," Lulu said with a small smile.

"Okay." Allen replied with a more real smile.

"I am going to go now… to make sure the twins are… not making trouble." Lulu said reluctantly as she turned around.

"See you later, Lulu!" Allen called out. Lulu replied with a wave before entering a door not that far from where his and Tyki's room were.

Tyki closed the door and locked it before turning around to face the boy, who he found was walking towards the chair by the window-still.

"What are you going to do now?" Tyki asked as he walked towards the boy.

Allen grabbed his book off the window-still before replying, "Read."

"Can I join you?" Tyki asked as he sat down on the chair where the boy was going to sit.

"You really should button up your shirt already, not that I mind much," Allen said with a smirk.

"Too lazy, would you like to button it for me instead?" Tyki replied with a mischievous smile.

"No way!" A blush crept up the boy's cheek and then he muttered, "I much prefer leaning against your naked chest than a shirt with annoying and uncomfortable buttons anyways."

Tyki let out a chuckle as he motioned for the boy to sit on his lap and the boy complied with a smile. Once the boy was settled, he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and sat his head on top of Allen's. Allen leaned into the man's chest and said, "Much more comfortable."

"Am I just some sort of pillow to you?" Tyki questioned jokingly with a smirk.

"Yup!" The boy said cheerfully without any remorse.

"How could you think of me like that?" Tyki asked, feigning hurt.

"Because I love you," Allen replied with a knowing smile, surprising Tyki with his answer.

Tyki was unable to move for a few moments, letting what Allen just said so casually sink in. Then a blinding smile appeared on his face and moving his head so that his lips was right next to Allen's right ear, he whispered with a velvet-like voice, "I love you too, Shounen."

Tyki's whisper sent shivers down the boy's body, but a genuinely happy smile appeared on the boy's face. "I am glad," Allen said as he shifted his head and landed a kiss on Tyki's cheek, surprising Tyki yet again with his sudden display of affection.

When Tyki finally got hold of himself, he whispered seductively into the boy's ear, "I want more."

"Nah-uh," the boy said in a melodic voice and under his breath, he muttered, "Pervert."

Tyki just chuckled and with a pout, said, "Fine." Tyki moved his head back up and settled once again on the boy's soft and fluffy hair. "So what is the book about?"

"The cities and country-side of Europe," Allen replied as he flipped the book open to where he had left off.

"Huh. Where are you at now?" Tyki said in interest, he liked to read books as well and he especially loved reading with Allen.

"Venice, we should visit there sometime," Allen replied with a smile.

"Just you and me?" Tyki asked with curiosity.

"Yes, just you and me." Allen replied with hope-filled eyes as he looked at the picture it had of Venice.

"Alright. No problem, consider it granted. It will be very fun," Tyki said with a gentle smile as he stared at the picture the book had of Venice as well.

"Thank you, Tyki."

A few hours later…

"Um... where are we?" Allen asked as the carriage pulled to a stop and he tried glancing pass the curtains that were covering the windows, but he couldn't see anything. They had gotten off the train about a half hour ago and waiting for them at the train station's entrance was two carriages and two Noahs. Road instantly jump-glomped Allen and Cyril had rushed towards his brother trying to hug him and hugged Skin, who was standing behind Tyki, instead.

"You will see when you get out and you will instantly recognize where we are," Road answered smoothly with a smile. "Lulu, mind coming with me to prepare before Allen gets off?"

"No problem," Lulu replied with a small knowing smile as Road opened the door. Allen instantly tried to see what was past those doors, but before he could really see anything besides blinding light, a pair of hands wrapped around his eyes and pulled him towards a familiar chest.

"Tyki!" Allen protested with a pout. He could hear a chuckle behind him and the sound of Road and Lulu getting off. He also heard some bustling of voices and he concluded they were in a town.

"No peeking," Tyki said with a grin as he held the boy closer to him.

"Are we in a town?" Allen asked and Tyki was proud that Allen had figured that out so easily.

"Yes, we are. Your training really paid off," Tyki replied, knowing his affirmation won't hurt anything.

"Can you let me get my vision back now?" Allen asked with a satisfied smile, happy that he had gotten the right conclusion and got praised at the same time.

"Oh, oops. Of course," Tyki said with a chuckle as he removed his hands from Allen's eyes, but then relocated them around Allen's waist.

"Weren't we in a similar position for the last few hours?" Allen asked with a smile, recalling when they started reading the book Allen had 'borrowed' together.

"I suppose so, but I know you enjoy this, and so do I," Tyki replied with a smile.

"True," Allen replied as he leaned against Tyki's chest. Tyki was slightly surprised that Allen didn't try to deny it.

"So... how do you feel about...humans?" Tyki asked hesitantly.

Allen was taken by surprise by the sudden change of topic, but his eyes instantly narrowed at the mention of humans, "Hate and disgust, why?"

"Just wondering... after all, it will be bad if you hesitated in the future when the Earl finally starts the plans... I don't want you hurt." Tyki lied smoothly.

Allen let out a dark chuckle and said, "Why would I hesitate in killing those filthy things? My past has only proved the need for us to rid the world of them."

"That is certainly true―" Tyki began and was about to continue when a knock on the carriage door interrupted him.

"Tyki~ We are ready!" Road called out joyfully and Tyki grinned.

"Let's go then, shall we?" Tyki asked.

"Of course! I have been waiting a little too patiently!" Allen exclaimed as he sprung up and waited for Tyki with his hand out. Tyki locked his hand with Allen's and slowly opened the door, allowing both of them to adjust to the light before fully viewing their surroundings.

Allen's hand started shaking when he saw where he was and soon his body shook as well. "What are we doing here?" the boy asked with fear leaking through.

Voices around them instantly increased in volume as recognition and fear flickered in their eyes and slowly they backed away from the shaking white-haired boy.

"Why are we in Tonnerre of ALL places?" Allen exclaimed as tears started breaking through his efforts to hold them back.

Tyki wrapped his arms around the boy and the words he whispered instantly stilled the boy, "Because it's time for them to pay for what they did to our beloved Allen."

A glint of realization flashed through his eyes before a maniacal and dark smile appeared on his innocent and once-crying features. "Really?" Allen asked as his mischievous eyes looked up and met Tyki's.

"Yes, it is time~!" A cheerful female voice said as its source bounced up to Allen with a similar smile to Allen's.

"Hehe, this is a great present and surprise, you guys~! I love it!" Allen said and his smile reverted to a grateful smile that he flashed to everyone in his family before returning to the maniacal smile.

"I am so glad!" Cyril cried out in delight before his face twisted into a Noah smile.

The townspeople could feel the sudden change of aura surrounding the oh-so-familiar boy and the group of people surrounding him, they could feel the murderous intent and their instincts were telling them to run away as fast as they could, but no matter how hard they tried, it seemed as though their feet were glued to the ground.

"What the hell is going on?" a voice boomed as its source appeared behind the crowd and the crowd made way for the man.

"Say, Tyki and Road, would you mind if I had this guy for myself?" Allen said as his smile widened.

"Of course not. You can choose whoever you want, but save some for the rest of the family. Any special reason why you chose him though?" Road replied.

"He is that guy who led the group that beat me to a pulp," Allen replied and the rest of the family's murderous aura increased even more. They then eyed the man with pure hate and the man couldn't help but cringe back slightly.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" A scream filled with pain was suddenly heard and every head snapped toward its source. It was a woman whose body parts were twisted in odd and painful looking angles.

"Oops!" Cyril said with a proud smile and didn't sound apologetic at all.

Road's smile just widened and she looked at the woman whose blood was starting to gush out. "Don't mind. But that blood sure looks tasty!" Road said as she licked her lower lips with her tongue.

"Would you like to taste it?" Cyril asked.

"May I, father?" Road asked in anticipation.

"Of course!" Cyril replied without hesitation and Road immediately started to skip towards the bleeding woman. "Try not to get your clothes dirty though, okay?"

Tyki and Allen couldn't help to sweat-drop at Cyril's 'request'.

"Monsters!"

"Demons!"

Shouts erupted as they watched Road happily skip towards the woman and poked her index finger into one of the body's bleeding source. When she pulled the finger out, she brought her finger up and licked the blood of her finger. "Yum!" Road said with satisfaction before poking her hand into another bleeding source and tasted more of the woman's blood.

"Demons!"

"Monsters!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Not affected by those words as he was in his dark and Noah-like mode, Allen's face only pulled into an even more maniac grin.

"Hey Allen, do you still recognize the people who beat you up?" Lulubelle suddenly asked, her question making every Noah's attention, even Road's who was enjoyably 'drinking' blood, snap towards Allen.

"Of course I do! How could I not?" Allen replied as his eyes scanned through the crowd. "Him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, and the leader. There is still one or two guy missing though," Allen said as he pointed at each man separately at the mention of 'him'. The guys that were pointed out shrunk back slightly at the gazes of pure hate were flashed towards them.

"Why is everyone gathering over here?" A man's voice asked as he made his way to the front of the crowd, standing near the leader of the mob that had attacked Allen.

Recognition flickered through Allen's eyes and his eyes narrowed. "And I want him as well. But I will save him for last," Allen requested as he pointed at the new arrival. The new arrival's eyes snapped up at the familiar-yet-different voice and his eyes were filled with fear when he realized who was standing before the crowd, the devil's child who disappeared after the mob had passed out for unknown reasons. The town had just assumed that their unconsciousness was due to the devil child's doing and believed that the boy would never come back, but they were wrong.

"Anything special about him?" Tyki asked as he looked at the man Allen was pointing to.

"He was the guy who suggested I be crucified and burned with holy fire." Allen spitted out with disgust as all of the Noahs' eyes narrowed and glared at the man.

"Saving him for last is a great idea, anymore request?"

"I also want him and him and her," Allen said pointing to each person he was referring to.

"Alright then, shall we begin?"

"Not yet... Cyril...?" Allen called out and he looked at his father.

"Yes?" Cyril replied with a serious tone.

"Can you use you powers to make sure no one tries to run out of town and no one within 150km of the town can hear or see the fun we are going to have?"

Cyril looked slightly surprised at the boy's request, wondering where Allen had gotten the knowledge about his power and abilities, sure, he mentioned them a few times, but never went in depth about them before. "Alright, no problem, dear Allen," Cyril replied as he went to work.

"Oh, and can you also make sure this man here," Allen pointed to the man that had suggested Allen being crucified, "and this man" Allen pointed at the former leader of that mob, "will be watching me at all times and not try to run away from me?"

Tyki chuckled at Allen's words, knowing what Allen had planned. Cyril answered, "Alright then. Anything else?"

"Nope! Well at least not right now~ Thank you, father" Allen said with a devious smile.

"Then let's get the fun started!" Tyki declared with a Noah smile. And everyone charged towards the target they had in mind with a Noah smile on their face.

In ten minutes, most of the townspeople were already either dead or bleeding the life out of them. Allen was sitting down in the middle of the two main men that he chose, he had already finished the targets he chose and even killed off a few others before he decided to just sit back and watch and witness as the town began to be more and more covered in blood. Allen's maniacal grin just widened every single time a scream was heard and every body that was slashed in his sight while the two men beside him just watched in horror.

"Road," Allen called out softly and instantly, Road appeared in front of him.

"Yes Allen? Why are you just sitting here anyways?" Road asked as she licked some of the blood off her fingers.

"I got bored of killing with my Innocence and decided that watching you guys would be way more fun," Allen chuckled at the irony of him using Innocence to kill off humans instead of saving humans.

"Hehe. Well, if you want to start killing again, feel free to join in. And don't worry about anything because you won't turn into a Fallen One," Road said as she settled on Allen's lap.

Allen winced a little at the mention of a Fallen One, but he wasn't really worrying about that. Now that Road brought it up, he was curious. "I wasn't really worrying about that but okay... How do you know I won't turn into a Fallen One anyways?"

"Because I asked Dreamworld Allen, aka your 'guardian'," Road replied as she traveled down memory lane.


~memory lane starts~

"Hey, Allen!" Road called out as she skipped through the barrier of the purple dome.

Said Allen looked away from the screen and a pleasant smile adorned his lips when he saw his visitor, "Hello, Road. Fancy seeing you here."

"Psh. Don't be so cold," Road said with a pout as she skipped up to him.

"Do I look like I am being cold?" Allen asked as Road approached him.

"Not really… but… there's something different about you, and I can't seem to place what it is," Road said as she analyzed the Allen before her and tried figuring out what is difference between this Allen and the Allen she saw the last time she visited, which was a few months ago.

Allen let out a chuckle and an amused look took place in his eyes, "You have sharp eyes, Road. So what brings you here today? I haven't seen you in a while."

Remembering what brought her here, Road replied, "Well I have a question or two for you and I missed talking to you."

"Aw, how sweet," Allen flashed her a sweet smile before getting straight to the point. "So what are the questions?"

"Well… I was wondering… if Allen does start using his Innocence against humanity and the filthy exorcists, would he turn into a Fallen One?" Road asked with a worried look.

"What brought on this question?" Allen asked even though he already vaguely knew the answer.

"Because I have a feeling that the Earl will soon take action and since Allen is so set on helping us, it will mean that he is going to have to start fighting against humanity. Also, I have an idea for a great birthday present for Allen, but I need to know that this present won't turn Allen into a Fallen One," Road explained with a sad smile. Allen was a little surprised at the last part because well, he didn't know about it until now.

"Don't worry, Road. Allen won't ever turn into a Fallen One," Allen said confidently with a knowing smile, there wasn't a single hint of doubt on his face.

"How are you so sure?" Road questioned suspiciously and soon she turned a little on the desperate side. "Innocence wielders do turn into Fallen Ones if the Innocence judges its user and if it comes to the conclusion that the user has betrayed it, it tries to kill its user! I don't want Allen to die! Allen will be killed by the Innocence from within! How could you be so damn calm and sure!"

"Road! Calm― Actually even if I tell you to calm down, you won't, so it's no use saying that but seriously! Settle down!" Allen said as he got up and placed his hands on Road's shoulder. Road had started breaking down a little and tears were starting to escape. Seeing the Road before him, Allen brought Road into an embrace and wrapped his arms around her, then in a soothing tone whispered, "It's alright, Road. Allen would never turn in a Fallen One. Trust me. Allen won't be killed by its Innocence."

Road's tears and sobs died down and slowly, she looked up. "How are you so sure?"

"Because Allen is special," Allen said with a sad smile as he looked at Road.

"How? You never did tell me more details about how Allen was special."

"Allen is God's chosen child."

Road just speechlessly stared at the Allen before him with shock clearly evident on her face. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Allen is God's chosen child, just like Noah was especially favored by God, Allen is as well, but he is slightly different than Noah," Allen said with an unreadable face but his eyes did give hint that he was slightly troubled.

Not sure how she should reply to and take in this new information, she asked the question that was bugging her, "Does Allen know?"

"He will, soon. I am planning on telling him. He has a right to know and he should know," Allen said with a sad smile, he knew that this new information was going to trouble Allen as well.

"But God's chosen child? Mind explaining more on this?" Road asked unsurely with a troubled expression.

"I guess you can say he is a double-edged sword. He can either bring destruction to this world or he can save this world from destruction."

"You mean… you can't possibly mean that. But why Allen? Why?" Road asked with slight disbelief. Allen was still just a child. Why would God place such a big burden on a child like that?

"Because he is special, as I have said many times before. I am afraid I can't tell you more."

"I thought God was gone already? I thought God had already ceased to exist! Why does he have to dump this on Allen of ALL people!"

"God created this world, as long as this world still exist, God will always continue to exist, some form or another. Even a tree can be the form God has decided to become." Allen replied calmly.

"But wouldn't Allen killing off humans with his Innocence be technically considered as betraying God and going against him?"

"In a way, yes."

"Then why would God still choose him and not turn him into a Fallen One?"

"Because God doesn't want to make the same mistake a second time and don't you remember that it was God's original will to destroy humanity?"

Road was slightly taken back by how much this Dreamworld Allen knew and how true his words were, "Yeah… your point is?"

"God has two contradicting views now since he has remembered what he did. He wants to either save humanity or destroy humanity. I guess you can say the Noahs aren't really fighting God anymore and are just fighting the humans now. But anyways, God still hasn't made up his mind yet and Allen is his chosen one. Allen is sort of like the one making the decision in God's place, but God is neutral, he's not going to help humanity or go against humanity. But because of this, God would never want to kill off Allen with the Innocence, even if Allen is against humanity. And the Innocence would never betray God's will."

"How do you know so much?" Road could see the point in Allen's words, but she was annoyed at how much more this Allen knows than most of them.

Allen released a humorless chuckle and replied, "I am afraid I can't tell you, dear Road. But do be reassured, as long as Allen is on your side, I will be on your side as well. Besides that, I like you, Road and I like the rest of the Noahs as well. You guys have given Allen the love and care he has always needed and wanted."

Road decided not to press on the matter and her lips pulled into a concerned smile, "Do you know what Allen is going to do? It's going to be hard for him to make that choice, will it not?"

"Actually no… as a matter of fact, it will probably take Allen less than ten seconds to make his choice," Allen said with a smile.

"Wh―really?" Road asked with surprise.

"Yeah. Do you not remember about Allen's past? Why do you think he will start wanting to save humans?" Allen asked with a mischievous smile.

"Oh yeah… that's right." Road said as a genuine smile appeared on her. She was pleased by what Allen is probably going to choose.

"Anyways… mind letting me in on this surprise Allen is going to be the center of?"

"Alright… fine. I guess you deserve it for replying to my question and relieving me of my concerns," Road said with mischief clear in her eyes, "We are going to bring Allen to Tonnerre!"

"Ah!" Allen said with a knowing smile, instantly understanding what the surprise will be. "That sure sounds fun. I bet Allen is going to have lots of fun. Those humans do deserve it."

"Yup~ It sure will be~!"

~Memory lane ends~


"Ah… him. So how many times have you met up with him already?" Allen said with understanding, snapping Road back to reality. He knew of how Road would sometimes travel to his dream world to visit his dreamworld self and his dreamworld self would sometimes even tell him about what had gone on.

"Uh… at least five times? Do you mind?" Road replied with a sheepish smile.

"No. Not really. I am sort of glad that he has some form of companion," Allen said truthfully.

"Have you always known he existed?" Road asks with curiosity.

"I have known for sort of a while, I guess. I am guessing he also told you about me being God's Chosen Child and how I will never turn into a Fallen One?"

"Yeah… So I take it he told you as well?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to stand besides my fellow family members of course. These humans are too corrupt and selfish." Allen said without a hint of doubt. His mind was set and he was absolute in his decision.

"Oh, I am so glad, Allen!" Road bounced up and wrapped her hands around Allen.

"Road… We are about done here. Oh there you are, shounen," a voice spoke up behind Road.

"Tyki, did you guys have fun?" Allen asked with a devious smile.

"Yes we did… but why is Road hugging you?" Tyki said as he started glaring at Road's back.

"Oh, don't be such a prick! Allen is mine. So of course I can hug him whenever I want~!" Road released Allen and sat on his lap again, looking at Tyki as if challenging him to say otherwise.

"Road, when―" Allen began to protest.

"Road, if you wouldn't mind, can I have my dear Shounen back?" Tyki asked with a way-too-pleasant smile.

"Tyki!" Allen protested with a blush in his cheeks and slightly annoyed that both of them are claiming him as his and he doesn't even have a say in the matter! He doesn't belong to either of them anyways.

"Yes, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he walked towards the two sitting down. The two other prisoners that were beside Allen didn't know what to think of the scene playing out before them.

"Is everyone almost done? I would like to start my fun soon as well," Allen said as he looked around the town that was almost entirely covered in blood.

"I think we have gotten everyone… except those two. So you will probably be able to start soon," Tyki replied with a knowing grin.

"That's good. I was getting bored of just watching anyways," Allen said as he glanced at the two prisoners at the corner of his eyes. "Say, Road… is it possible that you have brought some… toys to use?"

Road let out a giggle, "Actually I brought a whole closet of 'toys'. Is there any special ones that you had in mind?"

"Ah yes, I do," Allen leaned in to whisper the 'toys' that he wanted with Tyki easily hearing all of the requests. When Allen was finished, Road and Tyki both had very-Noah grins on their face. Seeing the expression on their face, Allen added with a playful tone, this time loud enough for the prisoners to hear, "And is it possible that you also have two big crucifixes?" The prisoners' face widened in horror.

"Unfortunately no," Road replied and the prisoners released a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. "However, there is one in that church over there and we can have Skin or father make one on the spot," Road added with a devious grin as the prisoners' face widened in pure horror once more.

"That would be much appreciated, Road. Can you help me take care of the preparations then?" Allen replied with a way-too-innocent smile.

"Of course! I will have Lulu and the others help me, but I am guessing Tyki is staying with you?" Road said as she got up and straightened herself.

"Of course I am staying with my beloved Shounen," Tyki said even though the question wasn't directed at him. Allen just blushed furiously at Tyki's words.

"Alright, then. I will be back soon, Allen!" Road said with a stick of her tongue at Tyki before skipping off to wherever her destination was.

"Meet you by the church!" Allen shouted to Road who acknowledge that she heard it with a wave of her hand. Allen then got up and walked towards Tyki who had his arms open. Allen approached Tyki's side and wrapped his arms around Tyki.

"Did you have fun so far, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he placed his arms around the boy.

"I did. But my fun hasn't ended yet," Allen replied and flickered a glance towards the prisoner. "Let's head to the church."

"Alright. Get up, you two," Tyki said as Allen released him. At the look of displeasure shown on Tyki's face, Allen grinned and just locked hands with Tyki and Tyki immediately had a satisfied smile adorning his lips.

"No way in hell would we listen to you two monsters," the leader of that mob shouted with disgust while the other man just nodded furiously at what the leader had said.

"Now, now. That wasn't very nice, was it?" Tyki said as he appeared a split second later in front of the leader. Tyki's right arm plunged into the man's body and got hold of his heart, giving it a light squeeze making the leader gasp in pain. The other man just watched what was happening to the leader in horror and shock.

"What the hell are you?" The leader spitted out with fear.

"Tyki," Allen said with a pout as he walked up to the man, "Please don't kill him… I don't want my fun to be halved."

"Sorry, Shounen," Tyki said as he looked at Allen who was now next to him and took out his hand from the man who was now watching them with fright.

"And now your gloves are dirty too!" Allen said with disapproval as he used his right hand to grab ahold of the wrist that the dirtied glove was on. Then he brought the gloved hand towards his mouth as his tongue appeared and Allen looked up at Tyki as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead," Tyki said with a knowing look. Allen then started licking the blood off of Tyki's glove, but the blood had already stained the once spotless leather.

When Allen had finished licking off all the blood that he could, he had a pout on his lip, "It already stained! And that blood didn't taste that good either. Too... foul-tasting and bitter, but it's better than nothing."

"Sorry, Shounen. Should we get going now?" Tyki said with a small smile and flashed a glance towards the now-frozen and horror-struck prisoners.

"We should. Let's go," Allen said as he released the wrist of Tyki's right arm in exchange for Tyki's left hand.

"Come on, you two. Or would you rather have us force you?" Tyki motioned for the humans to follow them with a devilish smile.

Too fear-struck by what they had just witnessed and experienced, the prisoners nodded their heads and immediately got up.

It was a pretty short walk towards the church with the two prisoners hovering behind Allen and Tyki, who were walking with linked hands. By the time the four got there, everyone was there already and they were expecting them. There was also a treasure-chest-like chest sitting underneath the twins who were swinging their legs back and forth while waiting. Behind the family and in front of the church, there were also two wooden cross that were each held up a feet or so off the ground by a wooden post.

"Ah~ You are finally here, Allen! Hey, Tyki~! What took you guys so long?" Road asked as she bounced up to Allen and threw her arms around him.

"We got a little held up by those humans, but… it was easily taken care of," Tyki explained as he started glaring at Road.

"Road… do you have everything?" Allen asked with a smile.

"Yup! Everything is in the chest and the crucifixes are behind the family," Road replied as she released Allen and jumped back a step.

"Can someone please help me hold them up while you and I pin them up?" Allen asked with eyes glittering with mischief, "You do have some hammers and nails in that chest, right?"

"Found them!" Jasdevi said as they held up two hammers and a few nails. They had gone searching for the hammers and nails at their mention. Allen flashed them a smile as he released Tyki's hand and walked towards the twins.

"I will help Allen hold up his prisoner. I can reject the air around the prisoner so it will be an easy one person job for me," Tyki said as he followed Allen, still a little displeased at the loss of Allen's hand in his.

"Alright. I can have Skin and maybe daddy to help me with mine. Skin, can you help me? I will give you a lollipop later," Road asked as she turned to Skin.

"Okay, but promise?" Skin asked with a flicker of hope in his eyes.

"Promise." Road said and a ghost of a smile appeared on Skin's lip. Smiling at Skin's happiness, Road turned towards Allen and asked, "Which one of them do you want?"

"The guy who suggested I be crucified. You can have the leader," Allen replied with a wicked smile and in his right hand was a hammer while the nails were wedged between the fingers of his left hand. "Father, mind helping me drag him to that crucifix?" Allen pointed to the crucifix on the left.

"Of course, Allen!" Cyril said as he grabbed ahold of the man's shirt-collar and literally dragged him to the crucifix.

In the background, Allen can hear Road already beginning to nail down her guy and the screams of pain coming from the man were just beautiful.

"Tyki, mind helping me lift him up?" Allen asked when Cyril reached where he was.

"My pleasure," Tyki replied as he began using his power to control the air around the man so that the floating man could be lined up perfectly with the crucifix.

"Father, can you please lift me up?" Allen requested and Cyril nodded before picking the boy up so that the boy was sitting on his shoulders.

"Thank you!" Allen said gratefully as he lined up the nail in his hand to the man's wrist and began hammering the nail through the wrist and into the wood.

Shrieks of pain and pleads to stop could be heard as the man tried wriggling to free himself, although his attempts were futile. Allen just smiled as he listened to that beautiful 'music' coming from the man while Cyril just stuck out his tongue to catch the occasional drops of blood coming from above.

When he was done, he let out a satisfied "hmph" and then asked his father to walk to the other side so that he could finish up the hands.

The man started screaming in pain once again as Allen resumed his hammering and Allen's smile just widened even more and Cyril just stuck out his tongue once again.

"You know, the blood doesn't taste too good. A little foul tasting and bitter," Cyril commented as he caught another drop of blood.

"Him as well?" Allen seemed amused.

"What do you mean?" Cyril asked in slight confusion as another drop of blood descended past him.

"The other guy's blood was foul tasting and bitter as well," Allen said as he reached out one finger to catch a drop of blood and licked it. "You are right."

"How do you know how the other guy's blood taste? Please don't tell me you decided to become vampire-like," Cyril was not too pleased at the suggestion he made.

"Yuck. No way would I be a vampire," Allen's face pulled into disgust as he continued hammering the nail in, it was a little troublesome hammering through human bone, after all. "Tyki just decided to plunge his hand into the guy's chest, so I licked Tyki's glove off, but the blood still stained," Allen said with a pout in the end.

Cyril threw Tyki a look of disapproval and Tyki just looked away to avoid meeting his brother's eyes. Cyril was began scolding him, "Tyki~ Now you need another pair of glove. What―"

"Done!" Allen exclaimed with satisfaction. Then he added as he threw a you-owe-me look at Tyki, "Can you please lower me down, father?"

Completely forgetting how he was about to scold Tyki, Cyril said with an adoring smile, "Of course, my dear Allen."

Once Allen got down, he quickly finished up nailing the man's two feet and when he turned around, he found Road standing by Tyki and Cyril. "So you are done already?"

"Yup~ It was easy~" Road replied with a grin.

"Alright then." Allen looked over at the other group of Noahs. "You guys can do whatever you want with that man! Have fun and enjoy!"

The twins had on a Noah grin and let out cheers while Lulu just looked pleased. Skin's expression looked like he didn't care, but his eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"Cyril you can join them if you wish or you can stay with me," Allen said as he looked at Cyril.

"Now. Why would I want to leave my dear children and adorable Tyki-pon!" Cyril said in a why-would-you-think-I-would-even-want-to-do-that tone, making Allen chuckle and Tyki wince.

"Alright, then let's get the fun started. Let me look in the treasure box for some 'toys'," Allen said as he headed towards the box.

"I want to help~!" Road said in a child-like voice as she hopped over to Allen.

"Alright, come on then," Allen said with smile as he began searching for the 'toys' he wanted.

After some discussion and compromises, Allen and Road took out all the 'toys' that they wanted and headed back to where Tyki and Cyril were watching them.

Without warning, Allen used the special whip that was in his hands to lash towards the man. The man cried out in agony as the very sharp spikes that adorned the whip connected with his flesh.

"Hey Road, how many lashes should I give him?" Allen asked with a devilish smile.

Road pursed her lips in thought before replying, "Mmm… how about… 26 to celebrate your birthday?"

Allen raised his eyebrow in amusement and chuckled, "Alright then, should I start over or just count that lash as the first lash?"

"I would love for you to start over, but then it wouldn't be 26 lashes, it would be 27," Road said with a smile while Tyki and Allen felt a cold sweat running down their face. Road was strangely technical during the most 'unique' moments.

Allen let out a nervous laugh and began lashing at the man in front of him, shredding through his clothes and skin while the man screamed in agony.

By the time Allen was finished, the man's clothing was in shreds and barely covering his body while the man was covered in blood and lacerations.

"Is it my turn now?" Road asked as she looked back and forth between the man and Allen with barely contained excitement.

"Yes, but―" Allen began with a smile.

"Road-dear. You shouldn't be looking at that man in front of you. You are simply too young," Cyril lightly scolded as he covered Road's eyes with his hands. Allen and Tyki just watched in amusement.

"Daddy! There's nothing in front of me that I haven't seen before!" Road said with a pout as she ducked under her father's hands to face him. Cyril gasped in mortification.

Cyril widened his eyes in shock. "Road-dear! What do you mean! Please tell me you are just joking."

Road crossed her arms and said with a mischievous smile, "I meant what I said~ I have seen everything already before. And it's my turn now~" Road turned around and walked forth as she grabbed one of the 'toys' of the ground.

Cyril followed Road and he was furious, his eyes were flaring with disgust and murderous intent, "Road-dear, who is this filthy thing that tainted you like that? I must erase his existence after making him suffer in eternal pain."

"But Daddy, it's not a thing, it's things!" Road said with an up-to-no-good glint in her eyes as she began slashing through the man's body with the knife in her hands.

Cyril gasped in horror and the fury in his eyes doubled, "Who are those filthy things then?"

"One of them was tortured dead...by me…" Road said with satisfaction as blood began gushing out of the newly-created wounds. And then with a devious smile, she turned around to face Tyki and Tyki raised his eyebrow questioning her while the wheels in Allen's head turned and he release a dark chuckle. "…and the other thing is dear Tyki."

Tyki's eyes widened in horror and he began stuttering out, "Wh-what the HELL are yo-you talking about, Road! I never did such a thing!" The murderous glint in Cyril's eyes doubled as he turned around to face his adorable little brother.

"Tyki! How dare you taint my dear little daughter!" Cyril growled out as he menacingly walked towards Tyki while the devious smile on Road's face widened. Tyki involuntarily began to back away from the approaching Cyril before he decided that the best thing to do right now was making everything except the ground go through him and just run.

Cyril began chasing after Tyki with a murderous aura and shouting out, "You little! How dare you! My precious little daughter!"

Soon they disappeared out of sight and Allen, who was previously watching the scene with amusement, turned to face Road with raised eyebrow and said, "Brilliantly done, Road. But I do feel a little bad for Tyki."

Road just burst out laughing and turned back to face the crucified man, "I couldn't help it, it was such a good opportunity to pay Tyki back, I just couldn't pass it up~"

Allen let out a chuckle and asked, "So, about done yet?"

"No, not yet, I am carving something on him right now," Road said as she carved out a 'n' on the man, who was barely conscious.

"What are you carving?" Allen asked with curiosity as he walked up to Road.

"Sinner," Road replied as she carved the 'e'.

"Befitting. But he is barely conscious… should I help him wake up?" Allen said as he reached Road and looked over her shoulder at her work.

"Sure. That would be great, I miss those screams," Road said as she flashed Allen a wicked yet grateful smile.

"Alright then," Allen replied, then turning towards Lulu, he called out, "Lulu!"

In a matter of seconds, Lulu was standing in front of Allen and asked, "What is it, Allen?"

"Do you mind fetching me a bucket of water?"

"Not at all… but what happened to Tyki and Cyril?" Lulu asked with raised eyebrow.

Allen let out a chuckle and replied, "Well… Road accused Tyki of showing her his naked body and… well… Cyril went after him." Allen burst out laughing again.

Lulu's eyes shone with amusement and let out a few chuckles, "Serves him right. I hope Cyril won't go easy on him."

Allen raised his eyebrow and asked, "What's up with everyone wanting Tyki to suffer?"

"It's because he is way too close with you and you are way too attached to him, Allen~" Road answered as she looked up with a smirk and Lulu had on a mischievous smile.

"So wouldn't it be… my fault?" Allen asked with an amused smile and a little guilt in his guts.

"Of course not, it's that good-for-nothing's fault," Lulu replied without mercy.

Allen just raised his eyebrow again. "Huh."

"Well, I will get the water then."

"Make sure it's super cold." Allen called out to Lulu who was walking away.

"Alright, be back soon," Lulu said before she disappeared from Allen's sight.

"You done?" Allen asked as he looked at Road's work.

"Yup. What should we do next?" Road said as she licked the blood off her fingers and the knife and narrowed her eyes at the taste, "Foul-tasting and bitter, yuck. That woman's blood was much tastier."

"Hehe. That's what Cyril and I said about his blood too. That guy over there's" Allen gestured towards the guy Jasdevi and Skin were 'playing' with, "blood doesn't taste that much better either."

"Huh, maybe it's because they are so demonic. Oh yeah, did I mention that we found some akumas hiding in this town as well?"

"So they are still here?"

"What do you mean?"

"There were akumas here the last time I was here too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They were the ones that killed off those humans that 'disappeared'. I did try killing off a few of them, but there were still a few left."

"Damn those akumas," Road muttered.

"I think you already damned them by killing them off, which I assume you did," Allen said with a chuckle.

"I think it was Tyki who ordered their self-destruction after torturing them for a little while. Wish I was the one who did it though."

"I bet their screams were just a pleasure."

"I heard one or two and yeah, it was a pleasure." Road said with a smile.

"Allen, here's the water," Lulu said appearing out of nowhere, making Allen jump slightly.

"You scared me, Lulu. Mind not doing that again?" Allen asked as he turned around and took the bucket of water from Lulu with ease. "Thank you, Lulu."

"My pleasure. So those two still aren't back?" Lulu said as she looked around.

"Nope. They probably won't be back for a while." Allen replied with a smile as he held up the bucket and poured its contents at the crucified man.

The man's eyes shot open, releasing a choked scream, and he hissed in agony as the water rolled over all of his wounds.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten to ask… what is your name?" Allen asked with an angelic smile as the man's face contorted in pain.

"Why the hell… would I tell you? You monster!" The man said and gasped with pain when a hand slapped him across the face rather harshly. Allen looked up and saw that it was Lulubelle who had slapped him.

Her eyes were blazing with hate and disgust, she shouted furiously, "How dare you call him a monster! You are the monster here."

"It's alright, Lulu…" Allen said with a sad smile that turned into a wicked one when he continued, "…after all, I am not done with him yet."

Lulu just smiled back with a sad look in her eyes and took a step back.

"Road… mind pulling out your candles?" Allen said as he turned to look at Road.

"Of course not," Road said as an army of candles appeared behind her.

"Road… I think you can put away some of those. I only need like… 20 or so." Allen said with a nervous laugh.

"Alright," Road said with a pout and only about 30 candles were left behind her.

"Mind getting me something like an iron rod?" Allen asked and Road nodded before bouncing off to the chest of 'toys' to retrieve what Allen wanted.

"Here you go," Road said as she bounced back towards Allen with the iron rod in hand and handed it to him.

"Thanks, mind lending me some fire?" Allen asked and a candle came forward with its flame. Allen placed the tip of the rod in the fire and holding it in place, he turned to face the horror-struck man with a smile. "Now… if you tell me kindly, I might not use this against you."

"D-doriel, my name is Doriel," the man said as he shook with fear.

"Doriel. Huh. Well, since you so kindly suggested I be crucified and toss into a holy fire, I think you deserve this one," Allen struck the now burning rod onto the skin that was over the man's heart, right above Road's 'sinner', making the man let out a bloodcurdling scream. "My, what a pleasant sound you make."

"I agree, can I please use that next~?" Road asked with pleading eyes.

"Sure, why not. Lulu, would you like to have some fun as well?" Allen asked with a childish look on his face.

"Yes, I would. I do want to pay him back for calling you a monster," Lulu replied with a smile. Another bloodcurdling scream could be heard, "May I have that, Road?"

"Sure. I wonder where you are going to strike…" Road said with a thoughtful look as she handed the rod over to Lulu and stood back.

"You will see," Lulu replied with a smirk as she held the rod into the fire.

"Fine, hey Allen, what should we do next?" Road asked as she turned to Allen.

"Maybe I can borrow some of your candles as target practice? I did skip some training today because I was on the train." Allen said with a smile.

"Can I join you?" Road asked just as another muffled scream was heard and Allen and Road turned their head so that they could see where Lulubelle had strike, it was the mouth.

Allen let out some chuckles while Road just watched with an amused glint in her eyes.

"Hey, Doriel…" Said man looked up. "Did your town finally have some peace after I disappeared?"

"Of course we did! After the devil's child disappeared, the town returned to how it was before!" Doriel said with a smirk, but what he said was a little muffled, courtesy of Lulu.

"Well, that's a surprise since I would have thought you guys would have been slaughtered… after all, that serial killer did escape…" Allen said with a smile as Doriel's eyes widened in shock at this new revelation.

"Wh-what the hell do you mean? Th-that's impossible!" Doriel asked.

"Well you guys just wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain the last time I was here," Allen said as he grabbed ahold of one of Road's candle. "It wasn't me who set the place on fire and I wasn't a murderer. You know the serial killer?" Doriel nodded. "Well, it turns out he had an accomplice that probably set the place on fire while he was trying to rescue to serial killer. That accomplice just decided to save me as well. And you know how you said I was the murderer?" Allen held up the candle. "Well, it was probably that accomplice who killed all those people you thought I killed, not ME!" Allen plunged the candle into the man's lungs. The man's scream stifled slightly by the sudden hole in his lungs, but it could probably still be heard a town or two away, if not for Cyril's powers.

A maniacal smile appeared on Allen's face as he started walking back a yard or so away and motioned for Road and Lulu to follow him. "Hey Road, lend me some of your candles." The candles appeared behind Road again and Allen grabbed one. "These can work like a dart… right?"

"Yup~!" Road said way-too-cheerfully.

Allen threw the candle and it hit its target, the belly button, square on. The scream that Doriel had released only widened Allen's already maniacal smile.

"Aw, Allen. You ruined part of my burnt mark!" Road said with a pout.

"Sorry, Road. Where should I hit next?" Allen asked as he grabbed another candle.

"How about over his heart?" Road suggested.

"Alright," Allen located his target and threw the candle, which landed precisely where he wanted. Doriel let out a strangled scream.

"Your aim is very precise, Allen." Lulubelle commented with a smile.

"Thank you. Any suggestion where I should hit next?"

"The eyes."

"I never would have thought you would suggest that, Lulu," Allen said with a smile as he took a candle in each of his hands.

"Well, that look of hatred in his eyes is amusing, but that look of disgust whenever he looks at you is just too much," Lulu explained as Allen held up his hands.

Allen threw the two candles and the outcry that came next confirmed he had hit his target. Doriel's wrists ripped through the nails that held them down as his hands flung towards his eyes.

"I am amazed that he still has the strength." Then noticing two new presences, his smile grew, "Since you two are back, mind helping me hold that man's arms to the cross so that I can pin them back in place?"

Lulu and Road looked around them in surprise and then two shadows flew by them. In seconds, Cyril and Tyki had appeared beside the man and each had one of the man's arm, holding them in line with the cross. Lulu and Road's eyes widened in surprise, they hadn't notice them, but they were impressed that Allen could sense them when they didn't.

"Thank you, be careful though," Allen said as he seized two candles and threw them. Another agonized scream pierced through the air as Tyki and Cyril let go of the arms and identical grins appeared on their faces.

"So you guys are finally back, took you long enough," Lulu remarked.

"It's a pity we didn't get to join in the fun," Tyki said as he walked towards Allen.

"At least you were back for the finale," Allen said with a smile.

"True."

"So how did it go on your end?" Allen questioned with a smirk as Tyki twitched.

"Annoying. But I am glad that I had Noah powers to help me," Tyki said as he reached Allen and wrapped his hands around the boy.

Lulu, Road and Cyril's eyes just narrowed and they watched the scene with slight displeasure.

"Get away from my son. Don't corrupt him as well!" Cyril said as his hands landed on Tyki's shoulders and pulled the man, who was now glaring at him, back. Allen just watched with an amused smile.

Cyril and Tyki started bickering and Allen just turned to Road, "Mind helping me take care of the rest? I am bored of Doriel already. I need to check on the other man to make sure the twins and Skin didn't wreck him so much that he is unrecognizable."

"No problem~ Should I leave him mostly intact?"

"Yes, please do. I plan on doing something with them later." Allen said with a devious smile.

"Alright then, thank you Allen~" Road said as he skipped towards Doriel who was watching her with fear.

"Lulubelle, mind coming with me?" Allen asked as he started heading towards the other crucifix.

"My pleasure," Lulu replied and she followed Allen after flashing a glance at the still-bickering brothers and inwardly smirked when they didn't notice they had been left alone.

What greeted Allen on the other crucifix was a man covered in blood and still-bleeding-lacerations. His clothing was tattered, barely covering him, while his eyes were a cloud of pain and fear. Allen was happy that the man was still mostly intact physically.

"Hey, Skin! Hey, Jasdevi! Did you guys have fun?" Allen asked as he approached them.

Skin nodded with the ghost of a pleased smile while Jasdevi shouted, "Hell yeah!"

"Good. Then Jasdevi, can you please help me start lighting the town on fire?" Allen asked.

"No problem!" Jasdero and Debitto said, completely in sync, and then they instantly dashed off and pulled out their guns. Roars of fire starting up could soon be heard and Allen smiled at the twin's efficiency.

"Tyki!" Allen called out without looking at the man. Almost instantly, said man appeared out of nowhere with a smile.

"You called?" Tyki asked as a "Where the hell did he went?" could be heard from behind Allen.

"Yes I did. Can you please help me reject the fire from reaching the crucifixes and the men that are on them? I would like them to still be intact and recognizable when others discover them," Allen requested.

"No problem, but why?" Tyki questioned and started getting to work.

"Because I want them to be seen and I have a message for the ones who find them," Allen replied and out of nowhere, a dagger appeared in Allen's right hand and he approached the crucified man.

"What message?" Tyki asked as Allen plunged his dagger deep into the man's abdomen and an anguished cry could be heard.

"You will see later, mind lifting me up to where his arm is?" Allen said as he pulled out the dagger and the air under him began rising him. Allen began carving some words on the wood with the bloodied dagger and when he was done he had on a satisfied smile.

"Bring me to Doriel please," Allen said and his eyes met confused golden ones. "Doriel is that other guy."

"Oh I see." Tyki said as he, Lulu and Skin began following the floating boy.

"Road, you done?" Allen asked as he approached Doriel and Road who was standing in front of the man with a wicked smile.

"Just about. How about the other guy?" Road asked as she looked up. Allen looked into Doriel's eyes and he could tell the man was in Road's dream world.

"He is going to bleed to death. I have already told Jasdevi to start lighting fire. We should go soon, where are the carriages anyways?" Allen asked as he reached the man's left wrist.

"I had daddy and Skin bring them just outside the town's entrance before any blood could get on it." Road said with a smile as Allen started carving on the wood with his dagger.

"That's good. It would be suspicious if we had blood on our carriages."

"Yeah… what are you carving?" Road peered up at Allen with curiosity.

"A message for the people who are going to find them fully intact," Allen replied with a grin.

"What's the message?"

"I will tell you later."

"We are done!" A voice exclaimed behind Allen.

"What are you doing, Allen?" Another voice asked.

"Hey Jasdero. Hey Debitto. I am carving a message. Can you please help me light a ring of fire to surround that man over there? And please do try not to get the fire onto the man, but I did take the precaution of having Tyki use his power to reject fire from the air around these two man. After you are done with that man, come back and I should be done by then, so do the same thing with this guy, got it?"

"Hai (yes)!" the twins said before bouncing off to the other man with their guns out.

"Okay! Done! Please let me down, Tyki." Allen called out a few moments later and the air under him gently let him down. "Thank you."

"Oy, Allen-"

"-you done?"

"Yes. You can do it now," Allen replied as he spared a glance at the twin's direction before walking towards Tyki. "Let's go, guys, it's time. Jasdevi, meet us by the town's entrance."

"Okay!" Jasdevi replied as they began shooting red bullets at the trail of oil they made on the ground.

Allen turned around to start towards the town's entrance and then realized there was fire surrounding them everywhere, "Damn it, Jasdevi! Shouldn't you have remembered that we still needed to leave? Why did you light the entire town on fire AND surround us with fire!"

"Oops!" Jasdero winced at the harsh tone Allen had used.

"Sorry Allen!" Debitto apologize and hoped that Allen wasn't too pissed off, because even though Allen was still a 11-year-old, he could be as scary as the Earl when he was seriously pissed off.

"Whatever. Tyki, mind rejecting the fire from the air around us?"

"Alright." Tyki replied with a smirk and began doing as he was asked.

"Thanks. Jasdevi?" The twins looked at Allen. "You guys are going to have to get through the fire yourselves," Allen said with a devious smile.

"But that will burn us!" Jasdero protested.

"You guys are Noahs, you will be able to regenerate." Allen said coldly as he began walking away with the rest of the Noahs besides Jasdevi.

"It will still hurt!" Debitto said as he was suddenly grateful he had regenerating abilities and that Allen wasn't too pissed off.

"That's your own problem!" Allen said before he disappeared out of sight along with the rest of the family.


At the Black Order... two days or so later...

"Komui! They are back!" A voice called out as its source approached the messy desk. There was a sleeping man buried under a bunch of work. When the voice's source didn't get any response, the source inhaled a big breath before shouting out into the sleeping man's ears, "KANDA IS MAKING A MOVE ON LENALEE!"

Komui's head instantly snapped up, making the stack of books and paper that was on top of his head tumble, landing on the man's back and everywhere. "Ouch! LENALEE! Kanda! How could you!" Komui jumped up from his seat, but tripped over a book that had fallen down and landed face-first on another book. "Ouch."

"Komui! The group is back!"

"Oh it's just you, Reever. What group is back?" Komui asked as he looked up from his position.

"General Nyne's group!" Reever replied with annoyance.

"Oh! They are? Are the two corpses and crucifixes with them as well?" Komui asked as he straightened up.

"No, they are going to arrive separately on a carriage later," Reever replied with a serious glint in his eyes.

"Then let's meet General Nyne's group. Can you also bring us a finder that is from Tonnerre or from around that area?" Komui requested as he walked towards his office's door.

"Alright, where are you heading?"

"The boat deck and then we will be coming back to my office," Komui said with a serious face.

"Understood."

A few minutes later...

"General Nyne, Sol, Tina and Soma, come on in!" Komui said as he pushed open the doors to his office and motioned the three exorcists and one finder to enter his office.

"Alright. Komui, did you find out anything that might help us with this?" General Nyne said as she stepped into the office and headed towards one of the couches.

"First, can Soma please tell us everything that happened?" Komui asked the finder as he sat down on his chair and clasped his hands together.

"O-of course! Well, I suddenly got a call on my portable phone and on the other end was another finder who was in a panic because his group had found a burning Tonnerre and two men crucified. I informed the Exorcists-sama about it and they told me to tell that finder that we will get there right away since we were the nearest group to that town. So after getting on the first train that headed towards the train station near Tonnerre, we traveled on the train for a few hours while keeping in contact with that group. When we got off the train, we rushed towards Tonnerre on foot and when we neared the entrance of the town, we could see the group of finders. They quickly explained to us what they saw that had brought them to Tonnerre, the entire down was burning in flames. The way that they described it was particularly weird. They said that one minute there was nothing but forest in front of them, the next they saw a big mass of burning fire a mile or so in front of them. By the time they got to the entrance, they couldn't do anything but watch the town burn because there was no water source anywhere near them but inside the town, and the town's entrance was impossible to pass through. They also said that when they glanced around, they saw two carriages quite a distance away. By the time my group got there, the fire was almost dead and everything was in ashes except for two crucified man that stood in the middle of the clearing completely unharmed from the fire. We then quickly contacted headquarters after some investigation. We also found some words carved onto the crucifixes of the two men and the two man appeared to have been tortured," Soma explained as he looked directly at Komui.

"How badly tortured were they?" Komui asked.

"They were in very bad shape. From what I could tell, one of them probably died from blood loss. The other, I am not sure."

"Do you still remember the words carved on the crucifixes?"

"Yes."

"Can you please repeat them to me?"

"One of the crucifixes said: "Those that have sinned shall pay." while the other crucifix said: "These people will be damned even after death.""

"What have the people of Tonnerre done to deserve such a fate?" General Nyne suddenly spoke up and her question was directed at Komui.

"I am not sure, but I have had Reever help me retrieve a finder that either comes from Tonnerre or around Tonnerre. Maybe he will be able to give us some clue," Komui had a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly a knock was heard. "Come on in," Komui called out.

The knocker opened the door and it was Reever, behind him was a man dressed in Finders clothing. "This is Marcel, and he is from Tonnerre. He just became a finder about 3 years ago," Reever introduced while the man behind him bowed in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Marcel. I am Komui and these fellows here are General Nyne, Sol, Tina and Soma, I have called you here because I have some questions concerning Tonnerre," Komui said as he pointed to whomever he was introducing.

"I see, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. My duty is to aid you guys in any way I can," Marcel said with a smile.

"Well I think we should first tell you something before we start, do you know what happened to Tonnerre?" Komui asked.

"No, can you please tell me?" Marcel inquired while looking at Komui.

"Well... Two days ago, a group of finders discovered the entire Tonnerre in flames and they couldn't do anything but watch while the entire town was reduced to ashes," Komui explained and Marcel gasped in shock with widened eyes.

"I-is everyone okay?" Marcel cried out.

"No, everyone that was in the town during that time has passed away and I have come to the conclusion that they were all murdered before the culprits decided to leave." Komui explained with a grim-looking face.

"I-if you said that the place was completely reduced to ashes... how could you tell that they were all murdered and not just burnt alive?" Marcel croaked out and his eyes were clouded with grief and pain.

"Because there were two crucified men that were completely unharmed by the fire but from what I have heard, they were brutally tortured before they died. Also there were some carved words on the crucifix that have led me to believe they were murdered," Komui said with a troubled expression while Marcel's eyes widened even more with horror.

"Wh-what are those words?" Marcel said as tears began to well up in his eyes. His brother's family and his parents were still back in Tonnerre and chances were, they were probably dead, all of them.

"They were carved separately... Soma, can you please repeat the words?" Komui said and Soma replied with a nod.

"One of them said: "Those who have sinned shall pay." while the other said: "These people will be damned even after death."," Soma repeated and Marcel's eyes were now filled with even more horror.

"Marcel, we were wondering if you could tell us anything about what might have led to these people's fate? And normally, the police would have handled this case instead of us, but our finders found the scene first and this case is just too...mysterious," Komui said.

"Well... I think I might know what this 'sin' is, but I am not sure who the culprits could be..." Marcel replied as he remembered something.

"Please do tell us what you think the 'sin' is," Komui's eyes flickered with hope.

"Alright. Well, about five years ago, a white-haired child came into our town," Marcel started and Klaud's eyes widened in shock, but the others were too focus on Marcel to notice. "No one would house him because of his white hair and deformed arm, except for this old lady. However, a few days later, that lady disappeared and the town couldn't find any traces of where she possibly could be, so the townspeople just assumed it was the white-haired kid who had something to do with it, but they didn't have enough evidence. A few days later, more people in Tonnerre disappeared, including my younger brother, the townspeople immediately accused the boy as the cause of the disappearances so they decided to frame the boy with fake witnesses and they successfully sent the boy to jail. But the night before the transfer of a few prisoners, including that boy, and the trial of a recently-captured serial murderer, the jail and police station suddenly caught on fire. A rescue team was sent in because there were particularly a lot of police officers and prison guards that night. However, the rescue team came back out empty-handed and said that everyone in there was brutally murdered and they couldn't check the jail because the fire had blocked them. Suddenly, the white-haired kid came out of the fire and was mostly unharmed. The townspeople started accusing him of being the murderer, a monster, the devil's child and the one who started the fire. Someone suggested that he be crucified and burned in holy fire so that peace may come back to Tonnerre. They started preparing but that kid started running away and ran into the forest. The townspeople began chasing the kid and after a while, screams of pain could be heard coming from the forest. Suddenly the screams stopped and after a hour or so... The people who went in came back out saying that after they caught up with the kid and started beating him, but then they said they heard a woman singing and soon lost consciousness. When they came to, the kid was nowhere in sight and they decided it was time to go back," Marcel explained as he relived through those memories in his mind and he had a troubled expression in his eyes.

"How could they do that to a kid?" Tina suddenly spoke out in anger.

"Calm down, Tina. I think Marcel still has something to say, don't you?" Komui said as emotionlessly as he could. This was a horrible thing to do to a kid and it reminded him of Lenalee.

"Yes, I do. Actually one of those nights before the kid was sent to jail, I was returning late from the forest and I saw this monster looking thing in front of the kid and one of the townspeople. The monster started shooting at the kid and that other guy. The kid tried to protect the guy, but that monster knocked him to a tree and then shot the guy with this light. The guy's body began covering in black stars and then he was reduced to ashes. The monster turned to the kid but then the kid's left arm had turned to this claw-like thing and pierced the monster with it. That monster exploded. I went up to the kid and he was a little surprised I witnessed it and made me promise not to tell a soul about what just happened. I promised and he told me that the monster was called an akuma and that arm of his was called an Innocence. He also told me a little about finders and Exorcists. A few days later, that kid was framed and arrested. I would have tried to help, but I caught a pretty bad fever and sore throat. The night the police station caught on fire, I was almost back to shape, but I still had to stay in bed, so I couldn't say anything. I watched everything from my house's front porch. After all that mess, I told my brother about what I saw and told him that we need to clear up the kid's name, but my brother thought I was having hallucinations and stuff and told me not to tell anyone about what I just told him. A few months later, I met a couple of Exorcists and a finder, I asked them if I could become a finder and then after bidding my goodbyes and telling the town I was going to find an out-of-town job, I followed that group," Marcel explained. The people in the room were all amazed, shocked, horrified and speechless.

"That kid's an Innocence accommodator? And how does he know all this stuff anyways?" Sol exclaimed, speaking everyone's thoughts, except General Nyne's.

"H-hey, Marcel..." General Nyne said and looked up at Marcel.

"Yes, General Nyne?" Marcel asked.

"W-would you happen to know that kid's name?" General Nyne asked and she was still a little shaken by what she just learned.

"Yes, I do."

"What is it?"

"If I remember correctly, it's Allen."

General Nyne's eyes widened and her suspicions were confirmed. There can only be one white-haired kid with a deformed in all of Europe that is named Allen. By now, everyone's attention was focused on Marcel and General Nyne and they didn't miss her reaction.

"What is wrong, General Nyne?" Komui asked with a worried expression.

"N-nothing," General Nyne quickly said, she didn't want to let the Order know that Allen was her former teacher's grandson and she had begun training him a little before he disappeared. Komui and the others weren't fool by General Nyne's answer at all, but they didn't dare to press on. After all, the General was higher ranked than they were and if she wanted to say what was on her mind, then she would have done so already.

"Alright, if you say so, General. However, does anyone have any idea who the culprits could be? And I am sure there's more than one because one person couldn't have possibly caused so much damage," Komui asked with a frown.

"Could it have possibly been that white-haired kid, Allen?" Sol suggested.

"But if it was him, wouldn't he have been turned into a Fallen One? After all, his Innocence would have judged him," Komui said as he thought about Sol's suggestion.

"A Fallen One? What do you mean, Komui?" Tina asked.

"You guys probably don't know this, but a Fallen One is an accommodator whom the Innocence has judged as a traitor to God and itself and thus, will turn against its accommodator and destroy them from within," Komui explained, but he wasn't telling the whole truth. "And we haven't heard of any Fallen Ones lately. If Allen did take part in murdering the town, his Innocence would have probably judged him for it and turned him into a Fallen One."

The others just looked at him in horror except for General Nyne who seemed to be slightly relieved at this new revelation, but a tad worried because she had seen Allen on the train that was heading towards the direction of Tonnerre.

"Anyways, we will have to find the culprits because this case is just too unusual. We also need to be on the lookout for that white-haired kid, Allen, because we now know he's an accommodator and the Order needs all the exorcists we can find."


Back with the Noahs…

"Hey Allen~!" Road called out as she bounced into Allen's room in the Earl's mansion. They had decided to use Road's door to get back after disposing the carriage so that they could return home faster. Allen was sitting on Tyki's lap, which Road glared at Tyki for, and they were reading a book.

"Yes, Road?" Allen asked as he looked up from the page and greeted Road with a smile.

"Did you have fun with your surprise?" Road asked with expectant eyes.

"I sure did, Road. I love your surprise. Thank you very much," Allen replied with a wicked smile.


Hey guys... so how was those 20,000 words? happy? like it? enjoyed it? not satisfied? It does finally have bloodshed and at first I did think about just breaking this chapter in half so I could update faster, but then I didn't really feel like going along with that idea and i didn't rly want to have to think of another chapter name and use another chapter for this little 'arc'.

So... Klaud finally meets Allen again. And she might have a little OCC-ness (not sure), but you can't rly call it OCC-ness since they didn't really develop her character that much. and same for Skin... well. actually they did have almost an entire episode for Skin. but still. :) Anyways... Klaud finally sees Allen again... after about 3-4 years. She also learns a little about what happened to him.

Allen is such a little actor. :P and a devil. :P

How were those TykixAllen moments? i had several 'cloud nine' in this chapter. XD maybe that's why I wanted to use Klaud Nyne instead. In case you don't know, cloud nine is a state of perfect happiness/blissfulness. :) I feel a little bad for Tyki for having to suffer under Cyril's... wrath. :P Road~ :P So... Allen is God's Chosen Child huh. :) How were those bloodshed? I love that whip. "Those that have sinned shall pay." and "These people will be damned even after death." XD

The dresses that Lulu and Road wore are in the "~In the Closet~" place on my profile~ if you wanna check it out, feel free~ :) If I made any typos or mistakes, feel free to tell me coz.. by the time I was proofreading this I was a little tired.

Okay... I am getting a little tired... so I am actually going to hit the sack early tonight...or early morning. :P I wonder how many review alert emails i will get in the morning... *expectant eyes* that was 20,000 words that you read! So.. please drop your author a review~~ I would appreciate it tons.

Cya next chapter~

~Zen