A/N: Hey everyone! Here I am with another monthly update for you!(; (Don't count on it lasting though… -_-). But enjoy it while it lasts!^.^
Thank you so much to kickassdani, negimarules52, Vangran, Gamma Cavy, 3789976, CloudCarnivore, Guest, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Josiphii, leafpool5, Lucia Tsukiyomi-hime, bougainvillea blossom, Seraphinit, 9foxgrl, OtakuDrag0n, kurie-tibiti, Snipperita, hobozrule, and maleficus-lupus! You're all much too kind!:3 I really love reading what you guys have to say! And I hope you continue to let me know your thoughts.(;
Now, without further ado, unto this chapter!:D
Disclaimer: Though I know I'll have to continue to repeat this for the rest of my life, I once again claim no ownership to the lovely manga known as D. Gray-Man. :(
Chapter 9
Time Frame — Night of July 5th, 1895
—3rd Person POV—
~Allen~
Deprived of oxygen, Allen desperately wrenched Alma's hands off with a harsh gasp. Admittedly, he'd put much more force into it than he'd needed, as Alma's already weakened state was only reinforced when he toppled back onto the cot with a pathetic whimper. Rubbing at his bruised throat, Allen carefully sat up and cautiously observed the other boy, not bothering to restrain him. Alma had clearly used up what little strength he had. Curling into himself, Alma let loose rough breaths, though this didn't inhibit his ability to glower at Allen.
Slightly exasperated, Allen ruffled his snowy locks, unsure of how to handle the other boy. Trying not to make any sudden movements, the Exorcist warily stood and stepped over to the small kitchen, keeping Alma in his line of sight. Too feeble, Alma could only continue to glare at Allen, though even that seem to dim slightly. Allen swiftly put together something to eat for the broken boy, anxious that he could slip back into his coma at any moment.
"Here," Allen encouraged softly, as he sat back down next to Alma and began to carefully feed him. Alma was hesitant, but hunger eventually won out.
"You never answered my question," Alma croaked after he swallowed his first bite with a small wince. In response, Allen placed a cup of water at his lips, which he greedily gulped up.
"It's a bit difficult to answer when the life is being strangled out of you," Allen finally answered in a dry tone of voice. When Alma's fierce expression only deepened, Allen continued, "But if you must now, I'm Allen Walker."
"Hmph," was Alma's only reply as he took another bite. Allen discreetly rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to dignify that with an answer. He'd only managed to get Alma to eat half of the food before the boy cringed and refused to further be fed. Putting the food aside with a small sigh, Allen stared at him a slight frown, uncertain of what to say. For crying out loud, he'd practically been speaking with this boy nonstop for the last couple days, but when it came down to it, he was speechless!
"Was it worth it?" Alma unexpectedly asked in a raspy voice.
"Huh?" Allen blinked, glancing back at him.
Taking in a shuddering breath, Alma slowly spoke again, "You… I remember you telling me… about accidentally traveling to this time period. And that… you were fixing your mistakes… regrets… Was it worth losing your friends?"
"I… You remember that?" Allen's eyes widened. He hadn't counted on Alma remembering anything he'd said! This could lead to some serious trouble…
Before Alma could reply, the wooden door to the small hut was brusquely slammed open, causing Allen to stiffen, Crown Clown ready to activate at a moment's notice. Fortunately it was just the lady from before who'd stormed in, moving about in a whirlwind of hysteria, as she grabbed a satchel and began to pack it with a large amount of food and water, even throwing small stash of money into it. Her young daughter had also scampered inside, and was anxiously tugging at Allen's sleeve, saying in a hurried whisper, "Hurry! The bad people are coming!"
Allen stared at the little girl, shocked as he realized that they must've sent out reinforcements in order to search for them. Swiftly, Allen slipped of the bed, slinging Alma onto his back as gently and hurriedly as possible, receiving a small grunt of protest, which he easily ignored.
"Here!" The older lady hastily handed him the satchel she'd stuffed with supplies, and was rapidly pushing him towards the backdoor which led out into the dark depths of the forest.
Offering her a grateful smile, Allen didn't waste time and sprinted through the wildlife, just barely escaping. Fortunately, he never heard the CROW ruthlessly invading the fragile hut in search of them.
He was ready to collapse.
For the past couple hours Allen had been tearing through the wildlife at full speed, the obscure shadows of the night hardly delaying him. The slight energy he'd received from his earlier snack was officially spent, but he was too paranoid, too anxious at the thought of being caught, and had forsaken any sort of respite in order to fully escape. The only decent news was that Alma occasionally awoke, mumbling incoherently, before succumbing back into unconsciousness. It at least meant he hadn't slipped back into a coma.
Glancing up as the sky began to brighten to a dim, ashy blue and the light of the luminous stars and moon started to diffuse, Allen began to slow to a gradual stop with a small, weary gasp.
"Wha's goin' on?" Alma mumbled clumsily against his shoulder.
"Just taking a break," Allen answered back in a faint voice, gently setting him against a soft, moss-covered tree. He then sat down next to him with an ungraceful thump, entirely ready to yield into the wonderful thing called sleep. Allen missed it. Unfortunately for him, Alma didn't seem ready to slip back into his slumber this time around. Allen held back a groan.
"You didn't answer my last question," Alma muttered as he rubbed his eyes with a wide yawn. Allen's brows furrowed into an exhausted frown, failing to recall Alma's last inquiry. And frankly, Allen didn't want to bother. He just wanted to sleep. Was that too much to ask for?
"If you regretted it…" Alma trailed off, slumping against him, eyes heavy with drowsiness. Despite this, he refused to sleep for the time being.
"Oh," the cursed boy mumbled back, and then continued with his own yawn, "Ah, no. I'd rather my friends be safe than dead. Our friendship doesn't factor into that equation."
"Really? I'd rather my family be dead than endure the misery I had to," Alma replied bitterly, causing Allen to have a recollection of Alma's blood-spattered history. He'd also destroyed all of the other eggs; one's that could have become part of the Second Exorcist Program.
"Right…" Allen muttered, feeling too drained to bother arguing with the morality of it all.
"… You don't agree," the scarred boy finally concluded.
His reply was blunt. "Frankly, no. Murder is never an option."
Alma didn't grow furious, or defend himself, as Allen had expected. Alma simply replied with a humorless laugh, "They deserved so much better. What they were being transformed into was revolting. My only regret is not being able to join them…" He then did the last thing Allen had expected. Alma burst into uncontrollable tears.
Burying his continuously, tear-streaked face against Allen's tense shoulder, he blubbered, "I-I tried to kill Kanda too, you know? I-I bet he totally h-hates me now!" Alma continued to wail.
Allen sweatdropped and logically pointed out, "But Kanda hates everyone."
Sniffling, Alma gave him a wide-eyed, tear-filled stare and asked pathetically, "You really think he'll forgive me for trying to slice him into tiny, little Kanda pieces?"
"Err, sure…" Allen lied straight through his teeth. Kanda had never even forgiven him for trying to shake his hand when they met back in the first timeline, but he wasn't about to be the one to burst this kid's bubble. He'd leave that up to Kanda.
"Wow! You sure are a lot nicer than Kanda, Allen!" Alma suddenly beamed at him through his tears.
What is wrong with this kid? Is he bipolar or something? Allen thought, smiling back awkwardly. Not ten hours ago, he'd been strangling the life out of him, and now he was acting like they were the best of pals!
"Well, I'm still tired, so if you'll be kind as to let me sleep, that'd be great!" Alma suggested in a chipper voice as he curled up into a comfortable position. Before Allen could indignantly point out that he'd been the one who'd refused to shut up, Alma had already begun to snore softly. Face-palming in exasperation, Allen let it go, and just decided to follow his lead. He'd need all the sleep he could get.
Time Frame — Morning of July 15th, 1895
Allen had yet to decide whether he should feel relieved at Alma's quick recovery, or if he should just bash his head hard enough against a rock to end it all.
"Hey?" Alma persistently tugged at his coat. "Are you even listening, Allen?" Alma pouted, taking in Allen's zoned-out expression.
"Eh? Yeah, sure Alma."
"You are not!" Alma objected crossly. Instead of bothering with a reply, Allen suddenly began to ease himself out of his Exorcist coat, and turned it inside-out, so that it was a simple pitch black. Thrusting it into Alma's arms, Allen simply commanded, "Here, put it on."
"Huh? How come?" Alma asked, perplexed. Despite this, he began to do as told.
"Put the hood on as well. Timcanpy's been scouting ahead, and we'll be nearing a town. Your appearance will attract too much attention," Allen clarified.
Alma pouted again. "What's wrong with how I look? And why did you turn this inside-out?"
"Um…" Allen blinked. Had Alma really not realized it? The thick scars running across his body that disfigured him; hair, almost as pale as Allen's, growing in patches on one side of his head; the strange tattoos. Even his outfit was bizarre! Shaking his head, Allen finally said, "I'll explain later. As for the coat; it's so that the Rose Cross is hidden, otherwise you'll attract Akuma."
"Akuma?" Alma suddenly perked up, interested in the new word.
"… You don't know what Akuma are? You do realize this is practically the reason this whole organization was created for; so that we could destroy them and their Maker," Allen wearily elaborated, stunned to know that Alma had never even been informed as to why he was created in the first place for. It made it all the more sickening.
With a sheepish smile, Alma explained, "Well, I was only ever focused on synchronizing with the Innocence. I guess it slipped my mind to ask why I was doing it in the first place."
With a slight exasperated shake of his head, Allen finally said, "I guess I should begin to fill you in then."
"That'd probably be helpful!" the other boy grinned, and began to listen attentively as Allen described everything he knew, from the history of the Black Order to the Millenium Earl and the Noah themselves. Still being paranoid, Allen avoided mentioning the Fourteenth. When he finally broke off from his lengthy dialogue, Alma contemplated what he'd been told before tentatively asking, "And how is it different now? You must've changed something from when you traveled back."
Allen blinked in surprise, not having expected that in response from the other boy. "Err, well I've befriended some Exorcists I didn't know before, and I've recovered Innocence from missions I had in the other timeline. That's about it. I'm just trying my best to keep everyone alive and keep them from repeating past mistakes. That's all I can really do now, since all of the events I know of that come to pass are not to happen for over another year," Allen briefly summarized, not bothering to mention Lavi and Road. Alma didn't really know Lavi and his difficult position, and Allen shuddered to think of what bizarre comments he would come up with in reference to Road. Allen wouldn't put it past him to totally overlook her Noah status.
"Oh, and by the way, keep the information on the Noah to yourself. They've yet to out themselves, so most of the recruits don't know much about them. Showing any knowledge on them will only cause for them to be suspicious of us," Allen pointed out.
"No problem, Big Brother!" Alma beamed, and Allen sweatdropped at his newly given title. Hopefully this wouldn't raise too many questions…
Thankfully, Alma remembered to pull the hood up once they reached the lively settlement, before they could be spotted. Entering the bustling town, Allen made sure to avoid the market area. He didn't need the attention of persistent vendors when he was so exhausted. Unfortunately, Allen hadn't been as aware of his surroundings as he should have been, if his cursing was any indication.
"Speak of the devil himself! Look what we've got here, Wisely!" an all too familiar voice suddenly exclaimed, a sadistic tone entering his voice. Allen could practically hear his smirk. He tensed up as they neared, trapping Alma and himself between them.
"Hello there, boy," Tyki—in his neat, Noah form—smirked at him, causing Allen to frown. Why is he acting like we've already met before?
"Because you already have, kid, but you were probably too young to remember," the other Noah snickered. What the?! How is he…? The Noah, looking to be about fifteen, with disheveled, pale hair covered in a long scarf, suddenly tapped Allen's head—a bit harder than was necessary—and elaborated in a mocking tone, "Let's just say I can hear and see a lot more than anyone would like me to."
Before Allen had a chance to show his horrified reaction, Tyki spoke up, "Yeah, and that's why you're such a pain in the ass. Now take the other kid along. We'll meet up with you later." Immaturely, the other teen stuck his tongue out before snatching Alma and dragging him along, not giving Allen a chance to protest. "Relax, boy," Tyki attempted to placate him.
"How do you know me?" Allen asked in an accusing tone, trying to get his thoughts together. Better to do it now, than later when he was once again confronted with the mind-reading Noah. This only served to trouble Allen all the more. He was absolutely positive there hadn't been such a Noah in the old timeline. They'd been confronted with all the active Noah when they'd made their way into the ark. Could it be possible that his actions had caused things to move along faster than they had before? Allen shook his head in denial. It couldn't be…
Ignoring the various emotions flitting across Allen's face, Tyki replied blandly, "I met you back when Road carried you around in her arms and stuffed you with copious amounts of sugar."
"Oh…" Allen blinked, feeling slightly awkward. He sure hoped he hadn't said anything that might have exposed him.
"Why? Have you met me before?" Tyki peered down at him with an unreadable gleam in his eyes, discreetly fingering the thick pair of glasses resting inside the pocket of his trousers.
Allen nervously shifted on his feet. Ugh! He must have said something. Either way, Allen obviously denied it with a plain, "No."
"Hmm. I guess Wisely is useful for some things…" Tyki contemplated in a thoughtful voice, causing Allen to frown deeply. He'd need to find some way to keep the slightly older Noah out of his head. Maybe it wasn't too late to start reflecting on the many ways he could make his Master suffer… Nah, the sadistic Noah might get a kick out of it and read his mind all the more. He'd think of something else.
"What do you want?" Allen finally demanded.
Tyki gave him a thoughtful look, as if answering was an option, before he finally decided to reply, "Road's been keeping tabs. She told Wisely and I about your dirty little secret, and is worried that the Order might soon find out. When she heard they were searching for you, she ordered that if either of us spotted you, we were to help you out. Momentary truce, if you will. As long as you're not with the Order, that is. You can leave whenever you want of course, but we didn't even think we'd run into you like this. Some would call it fate, boy. Don't you think?"
"Err… Right…" Did Allen think it was creepy that Road had been keeping taps? Yes, though it didn't surprise him, what with recent happenings. Did he think this was an absolutely terrible idea? Probably. Was Allen going to let the opportunity of safety and most importantly, food, slip him by? Certainly not! Even if it meant being harbored by the enemy…
"So, what do you say then, boy?" Tyki asked.
With a small nod, Allen agreed, "Okay."
Tyki did a double take. "Okay? That's all you have to say?"
"Are you backing out on your offer?" Allen narrowed his eyes dangerously, surprising the much older Noah.
"Err, no… Alright, let's go then…"
Time Frame — Night of July 15th, 1895
"Royal Straight Flush!" Black Allen exclaimed with a wicked smirk, as he set down his cards.
"Oooh!" Alma exclaimed in awe. "I wanna learn how to do that, Big Brother!"
With a dark chuckle, Allen replied, "All in good time, Alma."
Tyki, clad in only a pair of boxers, threw his cards down with a fierce scowl. "Damn it! How are you doing it?! I know you're cheating, boy!"
"Tyki, you fucking pansy! This what I get for betting on you!" Wisely glowered down at the pair.
"You're the mind reader! Maybe if you actually made yourself useful, you could prove that he's cheating!" Tyki growled back, causing Allen and Alma to snicker at his childish reaction. This was totally priceless. If only they had camera. Ah well, there was always Timcanpy.
"Well, maybe if he quit thinking about how wonderful his Innocence is, it would quit frying my brain!" Wisely defended himself adamantly. Allen smirked triumphantly. It had been Alma's idea, and had worked perfectly thus far.
"Damn it! You're all useless!" Tyki abruptly got up and began to stomp away, before suddenly hurrying back and snatching his clothes from Allen's grasp. "I'm taking these back!" As he stomped back out, Allen and Alma broke out into full blown laughter. Allen had never thought it possible for Tyki to lose his composure the way he just had. He really hadn't, but apparently having both Allen and Wisely pissing him off was much more than he could take.
"Well, I'm going too! Your thoughts are giving me serious headaches," Wisely grumbled, soon leaving them on their own.
With an amused chuckle, Allen flopped down unto the lush carpet. Despite being childish, the new Noah wasn't so bad. They had always perplexed Allen. They had such human personalities. But they weren't human. Not really, anyway. No true human could enjoy their level of sadism. And any that could, shouldn't be considered as such. A part of Allen truly wished he could do something to help. He'd attempted to exorcise their Noah, but he still didn't know how well that had worked out, if he were to be honest. The Earl had saved Tyki even after that, and Allen doubted he would have if there hadn't been a way to restore the Noah.
"You're thinking too hard again~" Alma pointed out, poking at Allen's furrowed brows.
Blinking, Allen stared at him and asked, "Err, how do you figure that?"
With a shrug, Alma simply replied, "I've been talking with you for over a week now. You usually get the look when you began to zone out from whatever I'm saying."
"Oh," Allen said, offering him a slightly sheepish and guilty smile. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright!" Alma grinned, shrugging it off. "So are you going to explain now, then?"
"Huh? Explain what?"
"The thing you said about me needing to cover myself up with your coat, before we entered town," Alma recalled. Wow, this kid sure has a good memory. I'll have to remember to not make any stupid promises, Allen thought.
"Ah, right. Well I think it'd be easier if I just showed you," Allen decided as he got up and began to lead Alma towards one of the bathrooms in the small, but modest house that the Noah had provided for them. Thankfully, the Noah had foregone making any mention of Alma's appearance once they'd arrived and Alma had decided to fling the coat off. Leading him into the darkened bathroom, Allen hesitated for only a moment before he finally flipped up the ON switch.
"Oh," Alma muttered as he took in his appearance. "Kanda sure did a number on me…"
"Yeah," Allen awkwardly replied back with a small frown.
"Oh well!" Alma suddenly shrugged, his old grin back in place.
"Eh?!" Allen exclaimed, having not expected Alma's reaction. Even Allen had taken some time to adjust when he'd first made note of the shocking changes to his physical appearance when he was younger. He didn't think Alma could take this level of change so easily. Then again, Allen had no idea how he'd looked prior to. For all he knew, this could be an improvement!
"I could just regenerate and fix all the damage if I wanted," Alma nodded to himself, assured. Allen blinked, and then recalled Kanda doing something similar. It made sense. After a moment, Alma continued, "But I think I'll wait awhile."
"How come?" Allen immediately asked, not bothering to keep his curiosity at bay.
With a simple shrug, Alma explained, "I'd rather the Noah not recognize me after this, just in case. I don't know what your relationship with them is, but you've told me enough to know that they're not to be trusted. They're supposed to be our enemy after all."
"Yes… It's… complicated," Allen finally replied, rather lamely.
"I figured as much," Alma nodded with a small grin. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I doubt they'd give me the same treatment if I were to be alone, so it'd be better if they were to not be familiar with how I look." With a sheepish laugh, Alma added, "And thanks for pointing it out. I don't think I would've noticed for quite a while otherwise."
Chuckling, Allen said, "Of course. Now are you still up for those Poker lessons?"
With a wicked grin, Alma astutely replied, "No. But I am up for those cheating-at-Poker lessons!"
"Then I hope you're prepared for the consequences," Allen warned him with a malicious grin.
Black Allen had emerged once again.
Time Frame — Afternoon of July 29th, 1895
Allen smirked triumphantly over Alma's head, at a glowering Tyki. Wordlessly, they had made it a competition to see who could better teach their pupil in playing poker, and Alma was practically annihilating Wisely. In his defense, Wisely was dreadful at any sort of card game (he had yet to understand how Go Fish even worked) and was having difficulty keeping up. Allen was a bit disappointed that Alma hadn't yet tested out any of his newly acquired cheating skills he'd mastered in the past two weeks. Alma was doing pretty excellent—not that Allen had taught him every trick, because Allen never lost. And that was a fact.
"Ugh, why are we even playing this? This is completely pointless!" Wisely grumbled. Not even his mind-reading abilities were of any assistance. He could hardly understand any of the strategies Alma thought up over half the time. And the fact the Alma didn't even need to cheat made it all the more embarrassing.
"Okay. I guess I could let you off with the little dignity you have left," Alma snickered, causing Wisely scowl back in the "little" dignity he had left—that being the boxers and scarf he had yet to take off.
"You're as worthless as ever," Tyki concluded around the cigarette hanging precariously between his lips, irritated about indirectly losing to the brat yet again.
"Tch, whatever. I'm out of here," Wisely muttered and stalked out, eliciting more snickers from Alma and an amused grin from Allen. Unlike Tyki the first time, he seemed to have forgotten that he'd walked out without any clothes on.
"I think I'll go as well, boy," Tyki decided, standing back up.
"What? Too ashamed to face the source of your suffering defeats?" Allen asked rhetorically, amused grin still in place.
Snatching up Wisely's clothing, Tyki blandly replied, "I actually have things to do, boy. And someone's bound to notice Wisely walking around naked." And with a simple wave, Tyki left them behind on their own.
Before Allen could suggest playing a game of their own, Timcanpy, who'd been resting on the couch up until then, suddenly began to vibrate and release harsh, static-y sounds. Reaching over from where he was sitting down with Alma, Allen gently to a hold of him with a worried frown.
"Allen Walker? Do you copy?" Allen barely made out the familiar voice through the heavy static and buzzing.
"Komui?" Allen asked, slightly shocked. It made sense, but why they were contacting him now of all times was certainly strange. He'd been gone for almost a month now. You'd think they'd have contacted him as soon as he'd gone missing. Before anymore could be said though, Allen gave Alma a pointed look, silently commanding him to stay absolutely quiet. Easily grasping his meaning, the other boy wordlessly nodded.
Allen thought he heard a sigh of relief, before Komui finally spoke, "Oh, thank God Allen! We've been trying to reach you for weeks, but for some reason none of the messages ever reached you!"
He frowned. Had someone been interfering? Either way, Allen knew he'd have lie straight through his teeth. It made him feel a little guilt, but he hadn't gone this far, only to end up revealing Alma himself. "Yes, I've been trying to do the same, but there seems to be some sort of interference between the lines."
"It seems so. We'll have to give Tim a quick checkup as soon as possible. At first, we just assumed he'd been destroyed, but there were times where it would momentarily connect, so we didn't give up hope. Anyway, how are you? From what little evidence there was, we could only assume that whatever experiment down in the Asian Branch had failed, was accidentally triggered. We don't know what could have motivated it to kidnap you, but the man that had last been found in the lab has already been executed for treason of releasing such a dangerous creature," Komui explained, causing Allen's eyes to widen in shock. That had been the man he'd been listening to. That one that had led him to Alma. Allen closed his eyes in grief for a moment, before finally shaking it away. He could brood on it later.
"Komui, what information do you have on this 'dangerous creature'?" Allen decided to ask. Better to go in fully informed.
He thought he heard a tired sigh, before Komui began, "To be honest, not much. Before the execution, the man was interrogated, but we only managed to extract a brief description of the experiment from him that someone has drawn up. He wouldn't say much else. But you must already know of its appearance. The majority of the room was flooded when it escaped, destroying any and all evidence we could have snatched. Any papers that survived were pieces of data that is now useless to us, since we don't fully understand what it means. Unfortunately, no copies of the files were ever officially documented after whatever disaster occurred all those years ago. Not even Supervisor Chang knows much, and he'd been present at the time."
"Does anybody know anything?" Allen stressed.
"The only person we know of that might have any knowledge is the Asian Branch's Guardian Deity, Fou, but she refuses to speak. Other than that, it's Central that will hold any information. For some odd reason though, they believe that Kanda might be a part of it. He's been over there for quite a while now, being questioned. But for now, they have decided to close down the investigation, so I believe he'll be home soon. They believe it is only wasting our time, so unless it is sighted once again, the case will no longer be examined," Komui finished. Allen stayed silent for a moment, contemplating what he'd been told, eliciting Komui to further speak, "And what about you, Allen? We've been terribly worried. What happened?"
"Well, I don't know his motives any better than you, Komui," Allen carefully began. "I think he might have been trying to use me as shield, just in case we ran into anybody. I thought it was odd, but I really wasn't sure what was going on, and by the time I'd tried to do anything about it, he'd knocked me out and left me somewhere in the middle of the forest. I know I should have probably returned, but I've been trailing him for the last couple weeks. I keep losing him, but I did manage to get close a couple times before he would escape again." Allen made sure to add some frustration into his voice, and noticed Alma holding back snickers out of the corner of his eye.
"What is your current status on the search?" Komui asked.
"I lost him again a couple days back, but if given more time, he's bound to slip up sooner or later," Allen replied. In the end, he could easily say that he'd been unable to find any further trace of him and simply return home. Fortunately, Komui solved the problem for him.
"Cease your search, Allen. If it is not in the vicinity and there is now way you can catch it at the moment, then return back to Headquarters. We're already pulling in any troops that were on the lookout, and your no exception," Komui ordered.
Glad to know he would be heading home soon, Allen simply agreed with a small, satisfied smile, "Understood."
"And Allen?" Komui began. Allen thought he could hear a smile on him as well. "We've missed you. We'll see you soon." And with that, the connection cut off.
"Wow, this turned out way better than I thought," Allen murmured to himself with a pleased grin.
"Really? How so?" Alma piped up, bouncing excitedly.
With a small chuckle, Allen explained, "Well, they really have no information on you, so you popping up as new Exorcist hopefully won't draw out too much suspicion. You probably won't even have to change your name. We'll have be careful though, if Central ever decides to get involved for some reason."
"Okay!" Alma smiled with an agreeable nod. "So do we get to leave now?"
Allen thought about it for a moment, before deciding, "Yes. But you should probably use your regeneration powers to fix yourself up first. Just in case we accidentally run into any of the retreating troops. They do have a description of you, after all."
"Got it!" Alma replied before hopping up and dashing over to the bathroom. While he did that, Allen decided to prepare for their journey. They were quite a ways from the European Branch after all. Somewhere down in the southern region of China. But knowing his luck, Allen knew it might be a while before he had a chance to clean up, so he went and took a quick a shower in another bathroom and got dressed in some of the clothes the Noah had graciously provided for him—he imagined it had probably been Road, who had surprisingly continued to keep her side of the bargain to leave him be. Finally throwing on his Exorcist coat, Allen grabbed a leather backpack, not unlike his own, and began to pack it with money he'd found around the house—though he could always charge anything to the Black Order now that he was an Exorcist and out on mission, albeit an unintentional one—and food and anything else he thought they might need.
"I'm ready!" Alma called from behind him just as he was finishing up. Looking up, Allen's eyes widened as he took in Alma's new appearance. No longer was he the scarred and broken boy he'd known up until now. Looking to be around Allen's current age, Alma now sported pitch black hair—a shocking contrast from before— that created a halo of messy spikes about his head, the only tame strands being the ones framing his face. Any trace that scars had littered his body had completely disappeared, the only remaining one being the notable mark across his nose. He had even cleaned up rather nicely; his hair was still slightly damp from the shower, and he was now dressed in a pair clothes slightly similar to Allen.
"You okay, Big Brother?" Alma grinned at his shocked expression.
"Err, yeah. Sorry, you just look really different," Allen finally spoke after a moment of silence. And wasn't that an understatement?
Unable to keep his enthusiasm at bay, Alma insisted, "So are we going now?"
With a small, rueful smile, Allen replied, "Sure. Let's get going; we have a long way to travel."
Time Frame — Morning of August 11th, 1895
"Wow, it really doesn't seem like Kanda has gotten any better," Alma decided as Allen told him about the current Exorcists. They had been traveling nonstop for over a week across Asia, and now Europe, in mostly trains; though they'd ended up hitchhiking a couple of times. At the moment though, they'd decided to take a brake and were simply strolling around the large town.
So far, they'd made it to Germany, but they still had a ways to travel. It actually made Allen miss the idea of having the Ark, but there was no way he'd even attempt that. It would most likely accelerate the speed in which the Noah in him was awakening, and he'd like to keep him asleep for as long as possible.
With a small scoff, Allen said, "Tell me about it."
"Okay!" Alma decided, taking Allen's statement literally, as he launched into a long tale on the many transgressions Kanda had caused him all those years ago. Allen shook his head in amusement, as he listened to his indignant voice. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen suddenly caught a swift flash of black that seemed all too familiar. With a small frown, Allen tuned out Alma and began to hastily trail the other Exorcist.
"Huh? Allen, wait up!" Alma called out, as he hurried after the other Exorcist. "What's going on? Do you know that guy?"
"Not yet," Allen muttered with a small frown, letting Alma easily discern that it must have something to do with the other timeline. "I just don't understand what he's doing here…"
"Is it bad?" Alma asked, slightly worried.
"Well, no, I don't think so, but I'm not sure what it means…" Allen trailed off as he continued to follow the much older, and quite oblivious, Exorcist with the funny white streak in his hair. At least he wasn't wearing the Exorcist uniform, otherwise Allen wouldn't have known what to think. Still, it was odd the Krory would have even decided to leave his castle in the first place.
Surprisingly, Krory finally spotted them, and swiftly turning on them, he asked them in a nervous voice, "A-are you following me?"
Before Allen could reply, Alma suddenly piped up, "Why? Are you expecting to be followed?" Allen thought it was a pretty good point. If that hadn't been the case, he was sure Krory would have never noticed them.
"Y-you have that symbol. Like the o-other one," Krory stuttered in an uneasy voice as he pointed one, long finger towards Allen's silver Rose Cross on his chest. The other one…? Damn it! Allen's eyes widened at the meaning behind his words. How could he have been so stupid?!
"Well, if it isn't my Idiot Apprentice," the voice Allen loathed most suddenly spoke up with a sneer, right behind them. Turning, Allen spotted the red-headed devil himself. And that was the last thing he saw as his Master suddenly pointed the tip of his gun to Allen's forehead, and pulled the trigger with a sharp BANG!
A/N: Ah, I just seem to get a kick out of hurting poor Allen!xD Twice in row I've ended with Allen being in pain! Ha~! I can't help it, it's so much fun.
Oh well! Now go review, and tell me what you think please~!n_n
