A/N: Shocking, right? Updating twice within three days! Haha, this is how it probably would be all the time without writer's block and school (I'm currently on break for the week)!(x Haha, I hope you guys appreciate it!n_n

I'd like to thank MiYuki Kurama, kickassdani, bougainvillea blossom, Not-Gonna-Update, Takei Daloui, Lucia Tsukiyomi-hime, ultima-owner, urbangirl98, Kiomori, leafpool5, 3789976, CloudCarnivore, Eron Elric aka the malchemist, Ennael, Josiphii, KK, CallmeEevee, 9foxgrl, hobozrule, and Sora Arashitori for the lovely reviews they left me last chapter (despite the fact that half of them seemed to find some odd joy in screaming)!(x Hehe, I love you all the same~!:3 And please take the time to review again! It's always enjoyable to read them.(;

Now onto the chapter!:D

Disclaimer: Nope! Never will I own D. Gray-Man! xp

Chapter 10

Time Frame — Morning of August 12th, 1895

—3rd Person POV—

~Allen~

Allen wished he had never come to awareness. There was a severe, splitting sensation towards the forefront of his skull that wouldn't let up and made his brain feel like mush. He released a small, pain-filled groan as the throbbing in his head continued to increase, and a burning agony spread further across his skull in a crushing vice grip.

"How do you feel?" a small subdued voice, that Allen recognized as Alma's, asked him.

With a small, anguished moan, Allen replied, "Like my head is trying to tear itself apart."

"Here," Alma suggested, and suddenly, Allen felt a cool pressure against his forehead. And though it didn't completely relieve the torturous constriction against his brain, it numbed it somewhat.

"Thanks," Allen muttered gratefully, sluggishly blinking open his heavy eyes. "What happened?"

Before Alma could reply, and all too familiar voice sneered, "Consider that a light punishment, Idiot Apprentice. I could have done much worse…"

Slightly sitting up with a wince—Alma still holding the icepack to his head—Allen offered him his fiercest glower, ignoring the agony it caused him. In a disdainful voice, and knowing that the General could do further damage, Allen carefully greeted him, "Hello, Master. Can't say it's a pleasure to see you again."

"And you think I can stand to see your hideous face? That bruise is quite the improvement though," General Cross scoffed.

With a sniff, Allen forced through his clench teeth, "You really should learn to be more polite, Master. It's quite unbecoming for someone your… age."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" the red-head growled lowly.

A wicked smirk forming on his face, Allen elaborated, "Can't you see it? Master, you're getting quite… old. Hmm, is that a few gray hairs I see? That isn't very attractive."

Launching to a stand, Cross towered over him like a demon from hell as he snarled, "You fucking little—" But before he could get any further, Alma jumped in between them and yelled furiously at Cross, "Leave him alone, you creepy bastard!"

Suddenly taking in Alma's appearance, Allen's eyes widened. "What happened to you, Alma?!" The dark-haired boy before him was covered in multiple bruises and scratches; he even spotted a bit of dried blood along a cut on his cheek. "Cross, what did you do?!"

Taking in the livid expression of the younger boys, General Cross scoffed in disinterest and sat back. "The stupid punk went absolutely rabid after I punished you yesterday, and came at me kicking and screaming. I shoved him off me, and then the pale-faced freak lost it when the brat landed on him and tossed him aside. Obviously the little monster is untrained because he easily hit the side of a building." Alma's glare deepened, while Allen's eyes widened. Krory was known for being extremely jumpy. He must feel horrified.

"Leave him be. He's just a kid," Allen immediately defended him.

The General paused and gave him a contemplative stare, before pointing out, "And you're not?"

Allen didn't reveal to the fact that he knew he'd made a mistake. He simply shrugged and said, "I'm mature enough."

"Hmm…" Cross hummed, and then suddenly pointed at Alma. "You! Go get a job and bring me some money!"

"Eh?!" Alma gave him an incredulous stare, not understanding.

"Just go, Alma," Allen quietly convinced him. Despite wanting money, Allen could see that his Master just needed to talk with him. After a moment, Alma finally nodded in agreement and with a last, cautious glance, left the room with a small click of the door. They soon heard his fading footsteps. At this, Cross left his chair, and sat beside Allen on the bed, with an unreadable expression.

"Who the hell are you?" the General asked quietly.

Despite being shocked at the question, Allen didn't let it show. "What do you mean, Master? Have you already forgotten?" Despite the tense atmosphere, Allen still attempted to diffuse it with his usual, rebellious comebacks.

"You are not Allen Walker. The last time I saw Allen Walker, he was so terrified of me, all he could do was squeak and tremble," his Master accused.

His eyes widened. Damn it! I forgot I was only apprenticed to him for a year before I left. He remembers me as the scared little boy I used to be, not the insubordinate teenager! What the hell am I going to say now?!

Receiving only silence, the masked figure continued, "So I'm going to ask you again. Who are you?" When Allen only frowned, unsure of what to say at this point, Cross continued on to say cautiously, "If it's you, Neah, I really don't know why the hell you're hiding from me."

Before Allen could help it, he blurted out adamantly, trying to assure himself, "Neah isn't awake yet! Not for as long as I can help it!" Allen winced slightly, but figured it didn't matter at this point. His Master was already suspicious; there was no point in trying to hide the fact that he was somehow different. A little more subdued, Allen added, "And I'm not lying. I am Allen Walker. So what if I've grown a backbone? Doesn't mean that I'm a completely different person."

General Cross narrowed his eyes dangerously, taking in his pupil's defiant stare. After a stretch of silence, Cross finally asked, "And how exactly do you know of the Noah."

"Uh, I've been in contact with them," Allen muttered, shifting awkwardly. Would his Master see him as a traitor? Not that he knew why he should care about what his Master thought of him. But still…

"Have you now?" Cross gave him an expectant glare.

Swallowing the nervous lump in his throat, Allen elaborated, "Road. She revealed herself to me when she accidentally looked into my mind and realized who I was. She's told some of the Noah, though I don't understand why she refuses to tell the Millenium Earl. I've run into them a couple of times, and there's been a sort of unspoken truce that we won't attack each other." Allen didn't bother telling him how close the Noah had been acting with him. It would only make the situation seem worse, and make it look like it would weaken him. It wouldn't. He knew his goal, and he would accomplish it.

"But she shouldn't have been able to." Allen froze. "Those memories were sealed, Allen. For her to see that, you must have already known. There's something you're not telling me." Before Allen could have a chance to protest, Cross suddenly wrenched up from his seat and stalked over to the doorway. Yanking it open, they found a guilty looking Alma.

Defensively, Alma immediately asked, "What?! I just got here! I just heard something about Allen keeping something from you. And here's your stupid money, you old creep!" With this, Alma shoved a couple of crumpled bills into the General's hand before scurrying back over to Allen's side. "Has he done anything else to you, Allen?"

"This is pathetic!" Cross roared, just as Allen chuckled and told him that he was perfectly fine.

"Alright! Honestly though, you should really tell him, Big Brother. You need someone who can help you, and who better than someone who isn't loyal to the Order?" Alma suggested, much to their shock. Allen instantly made the connection though. After the disaster all those years ago, Allen knew Alma would never be loyal to the Order again.

"And what makes you think I'm not loyal to them?" the older man asked as he went and sat back down.

"Duh, Allen told me about how much you hated that place," Alma shrugged, like it should have been obvious. "Anyway, if Allen isn't willing to tell you, I will."

"Alright, out with it brat," Cross demanded.

"Alma don't! What do you think you're doing?! This isn't your secret to tell!" Allen fiercely scolded him, a slight tone of desperation slipping into his voice.

"No, Allen. I know that you need the help. From what you've told me, your Master has a lot of secrets, but if we tell him this one thing, he'll know you have valuable secrets as well. He'll be forced to tell you the things you want to know." The argument was surprisingly good, but Allen was still apprehensive. He'd been holding this secret so closely to him for so long that suddenly outing himself just seemed so wrong. With Alma, he hadn't actually thought the boy had been listening, but his Master's attentive gaze was making him fidget.

"But Alma—" Allen attempted to protest. He wasn't given the chance.

Turning back to the General, Alma blurted out without hesitation, "He's a time traveler."

Allen wasn't sure how long the silence lasted. It was heavy in the air; the tension penetrable. He could hardly breathe; too fearful to break whatever spell had befallen them. Cautiously glancing towards Alma out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the boy did not seem regretful. He had the expression of someone who'd done their job, and knew they'd done it well. Not exactly satisfied, but not bothered about the potential consequences. As for Cross; he was unreadable.

"Is he lying?" Cross asked in a low voice, tersely.

Locking his jaw, Allen gave the stiff reply of, "No."

"What the fuck were you messing with?" he growled; and was that a splash of worry coloring his tone? No, not likely…

Allen slumped down slightly. It had been a long day, and he was starting to feel its effects. "It wasn't intentional. There's an Exorcist at the order with a time-based Innocence. We were in a huge battle, and her Innocence was damaged. Someone who was unqualified tried to fix it, and by the time we managed to pull him back, her Innocence latched onto the nearest person; me. And it spit all my back memories into this body."

"It happened that night you left, didn't it?" his Master finally asked, though he already seemed to know the answer for himself.

With a small nod, Allen said, "Yes. I believed that I would do more good if I were an active Exorcist, so I left." He didn't miss the swift frown that crossed his Master's face, but didn't bother to mention it. Allen doubted he'd even take the trouble to answer.

Suddenly, his Master asked something unexpected, "Where did he even come from?" He pointed at Alma. Before Allen could deny any accusations, he continued, "He's not wearing an Exorcists coat, and there are no Akuma or Innocence around, so you're not on a mission."

Instead of explaining, Allen bit out sarcastically, "Gee, Master, your observational skills simply astound me." That was a mistake. The irritable General gave him a firm smack to the head, and while this normally wouldn't be a big deal, Allen's already wounded head began to pulse in pangs of hellish agony. Tenderly holding his head in his hands, Allen released a small whimper.

"Hey!" Alma shouted at the red-head with a vicious glower. "If you must know, he rescued me from the Order! Now quit hurting him!"

"So you're on the run," Cross concluded.

"So what if we are?!" Alma scowled, not bothering to tell him they were going to the Order anyway.

"You're both dumbasses…"

With his own scowl, Allen asked through gritted teeth, "Instead of insulting us, why don't you do something about it?"

"As hard as it is to believe, I was. I was planning on sending a letter to Komui to let him know about the vampire freak, but I'm sure I can include some bullshit about the brat being another one of my apprentices. Those idiots will believe anything," Cross sneered.

"Err, wow. Thanks Master," Allen replied, surprised. Despite the insults, it was shockingly helpful.

"That's right, punk. You better start learning some respect!" Cross demanded, before getting up. "I'll be back later."

Allen had a doubtful feeling he would really be back, but was too exhausted to dwell on it. Taking advantage of the fact that he had a bed, Allen finally succumbed into a fitful sleep.

Time Frame — Morning of August 13th, 1895

"Allen," Alma whispered, gently shaking him awake. It took Allen a moment to fully open his eyes, the sudden movements making his head further ache.

Finally, the white-haired boy asked groggily, "What is it, Alma?" Cautiously, Allen sat up, gently rubbing his eyes, trying not to further aggravate the large bruise along his forehead.

"He's gone," Alma glowered grumpily. "And he left us a present." Allen narrowed his eyes, a dreaded feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had a hunch as to what this was about. Wordlessly, Alma held up a sheet of paper for Allen to read. He'd been right. His idiotic Master had left them a list of debts!

"You know what?" Allen suddenly had an idea. "Put the tab on the Black Order."

Alma blinked, and asked, "But wouldn't that let them know where your Master is? I thought he was in hiding."

"Exactly," Allen confirmed with a wicked smirk, soon mirrored on Alma's face. Quickly doing as Allen told him, Alma finally left the sheet of debts on the table, for the debt collectors to pick. Swiftly cleaning themselves up before returning to their journey, they packed up what little they had, and were soon exiting the inn. Just then, something occurred to Allen. "Where is Krory?"

"Huh?" Alma blinked, uncomprehending.

With an exasperated roll of his eyes, Allen clarified, "The tall, pale guy with the dark cloak."

"Oh!" Alma wrinkled his nose. "Your—err, I guess technically he'll be considered our Master now. Anyway, he sent him to help a lady down the road with her gardening so he wouldn't get in the way, or get distracted."

"Ah, alright. We should go and get him then," Allen nodded, giving Alma an expectant gaze, as he seemed to know where to find Krory.

With a pout, Alma argued, "Do we have to? I mean, can't he find his way to Headquarters on his own?" Allen cocked an eyebrow at his petulant attitude.

"What's your problem?"

"My problem?! He's the problem! He threw me into a brick wall!" Alma defended himself indignantly.

Chuckling slightly at his childish thoughts—though Allen didn't look much older than him—he pointed out, "Alma, it was an accident. Krory is a pretty decent guy. A bit skittish around others, but knowing him, he probably feels terrible about what happened. And I'm sure he's already apologized. Am I right?"

"Yes," Alma grumbled, scuffing at the ground with the toe of his shoe and avoiding eye contact.

"And what did you say?" Allen asked, curious.

"Well… I didn't really say much of anything," Alma smiled sheepishly, ruffling his hair in a nervous gesture.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Allen suggested, "Well, when we see him, you should tell him you've decided to forgive him. Now come on, we should get going."

"Alright, Big Brother!" Alma beamed at him. As they continued further down the road, Allen began to wonder what had motivated Krory to leave the castle, if it hadn't been Eliade's death. Shuddering as to what his Master could have possibly said to him, Allen decided to not think on it too much.

Time Frame — Afternoon of September 1st, 1895

Allen cautiously led Alma and a jittery Krory throughout the gloomy halls of the Black Order, attempting to carefully follow the directions they'd received from the numerous Finders they'd run into. They'd all given him the same directions, but Allen was adamant about double checking, much to the confusion of his companions. Too embarrassed, Allen didn't bother to explain the problem he had with getting lost, especially in a place as large as Headquarters. Fortunately, they made it to the entrance of Komui's office unscathed.

Believing him to be asleep as usual, Allen didn't bother to knock, and simply let himself in. He blinked, slightly surprised, when he was greeted with not only light, but an awake Komui, along with Lenalee. Before Allen knew it, the female Exorcist had tackled him into her strong embrace. "We were so worried, Allen!" she exclaimed, relief coloring her tone in copious amounts.

Gently patting her back, Allen murmured in reassurance, "It's alright, Lenalee. I'm okay." He was certainly glad that his bruise had disappeared by this point.

Pulling back, she offered him a teary smile, and then said, "I found the letter from General Cross." At this she eyes the two new Exorcists with a friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm Alma!" the dark haired boy introduced himself, enthusiastic as ever.

"And this is Krory," Allen introduced the older Exorcist, knowing that he was already having trouble making eye contact with anyone in the room. "Komui, do you mind if we go down to the dining hall before I have to write out any reports? I'm starving!"

With a small, amused smile, Komui replied, "Sure, Allen. You know the procedures, so you can write your reports on your own time; but we will need them soon. And I'm sure you can bring Alma down later to register him in as an official Exorcist. But we'll need Krory to stay. He hasn't had any official training, so we'll need to discuss some options."

Glancing at Krory with a worried frown, Allen asked, "Will you be okay, Krory? I could stay, if that'd make you more comfortable."

"I think we've got it, Allen. You go on; I'm sure the others will want to see you. After this I'll give him a tour, and then I'll take him to the dining hall myself. Is that alright with you, Mr. Krory?" Lenalee double checked with the older man.

Receiving a nod, they were soon ushered out by Lenalee, hearing a quiet, "Thank you, Allen." from Krory, just before the doors were shut.

Beside him, Alma fidgeted nervously before he tentatively asked, "Do you think Kanda will be there?"

Offering him a reassuring smile, Allen replied with a shake of his head, "No. I spoke with Komui just before we arrived. His departure from Central was delayed, but he should appear sometime in the next couple days."

"Ah, okay," Alma nodded. "Ooh, so do I get to meet your friends?" he asked eagerly.

With a small cringe, Allen nodded. Whether he was cringing at the thought of them meeting Alma, or Alma meeting them, he still hadn't decided.

"Allen!" a pair of voices yelled simultaneously, and before he knew it, he'd been tackled to the ground by tweedle dum and tweedle dee.

"Lavi. Daisya," Allen greeted them respectively in a slightly dazed voice.

"The shortstack is okay!" Lavi cried triumphantly as he finally got up.

"Yeah! You had us so worried for a moment there, squirt!" Daisya agreed.

Staring at their identical smirks, Allen asked dryly, "Really now? I never would've guessed…"

"Oh, you wound me!" Daisya cried dramatically, while Lavi wiped away a fake tear and nodded furiously in agreement.

"You guys sound kind of stupid," Alma pointed out bluntly, clearly not impressed. His comment suddenly brought about the attention of the two older teens to him, and they began to examine him to the point of making him uncomfortable.

"What do we have here, Lavi? Is it a squirt#2?" Daisya mused.

"No, no. I believe this is an even rarer specimen," Lavi replied, managing to keep a straight face. Allen almost regretted the idea of letting the two become friends, but knew there was no going back at this point.

"If you two don't quit it, I think I'll just go and get myself kidnapped for a third time," Allen threatened with an irritated scowl. Couldn't a guy just simply walk in here, without any trouble, and enjoy a meal or two… or three… or seven… or—okay that wasn't the point! He just wanted to eat!

"Not sure we quite believe you, squirt," Daisya began.

And Lavi finished, "But we'll let up for now, and go save you two a seat!"

Finally being left alone, Allen released a grateful sigh, and led Alma over towards the line to order food. While waiting, Alma spoke up, "Allen, your friends are pretty stupid." Before Allen could even think to form a reply, Alma grinned at him and finished, "I like them."

Allen sweatdropped. I don't think I'll ever understand this kid…

"Hey, do you think they have mayonnaise here?"

Yep, definitely not…

Time Frame — Morning of September 3rd, 1895

"A-Allen? W-what is he?" Alma stuttered fearfully.

With a silent shake of his head, Allen muttered back, "I-I think he's already spotted us!"

Before they could make a run for it, the large man growled, "You little monsters! Com'ere!" General Winters Socalo was not a man to be messed with. He loomed over them at his 6'9"—that was about a foot and a half taller than them—with callous features; dark, ashy skin, colorless eyes, tattoos that extended down from his hairline and another that extended across his nose. His glower was only made nastier with his sharp, pointed teeth peeking out. Unlike the fancy coats most generals wore, Socalo wore much heavier material in preference, that covered every inch of his body, with a spiked half-ring resting on each shoulder in form of his Innocence; a pair of golden stripes on each sleeve and a Rose Cross were the only indications of his status. His usual, metal-like mask was held at his side, as he stalked towards them.

"Um, y-yes, General Socalo?" Allen swallowed. Admittedly, the General was quite daunting, but it was the intense gaze directed towards them in form of a scowl that had Allen stuttering.

As he neared them, the enormous General demanded as he pointed towards a trembling Alma, "You! You're the new brat around here! You'll attend to me while I'm here! Cross' brat, you're dismissed!" Their eyes widened in horror.

"H-hey! I'm Cross' brat too!" Alma defended himself indignantly.

"You don't have to sound so proud," Allen muttered, slightly irritated.

"Better Cross than him!" Alma hissed back.

For a few moments, Socalo watched them intently through narrowed eyes. He then decided in his deep, rough voice, "Fine; both of the Cross brats will attend to me!"

"Eh?!" both cried out. Alma continued, resentful of his orders, "Don't you have your own apprentices?"

In one swift movement, General Socalo had taken a fierce grip of Alma's dark locks, slightly yanking at them, eliciting a pained yelp from the small boy. "The hell if it's any of your business, boy! Now get moving!" he commanded with a snarl. Releasing him, the General pushed them aside, and continued to trek down the dim hall.

Alma glared defiantly at his retreating back, before reluctantly following Allen. He muttered under his breath, attempting to keep the General from hearing, "Can't we just try and ditch him?"

"Trust me, he'll notice," Allen murmured back with a small shake of his head. Alma scowled.

And that's how the pair of Exorcists found themselves as the unwilling servants of General Socalo…

Allen was surprised when they once again found themselves in the dining hall. They'd been there not an hour ago, eating their own breakfast. What could the General need help with here? Stalking over to a nearly empty table in a slightly threatening manner—which became fully empty when his approach was noticed to the terror of the scientists and Finders—he took a seat and then gave the young Exorcists an expectant glare. "Well?" his brutal voice boomed.

"Um, did you want us to get you something?" Allen asked, shifting awkwardly. Was this guy being serious?

"Get to it!" Socalo ordered with a nasty smirk. Having a vague notion that asking him what he wanted would be a mistake, Allen simply gave him a stiff glare before dragging Alma along. No need to test fate by leaving those two alone. An eruption was bound to occur.

As they neared the front of the line, Allen contemplated as to what they could order for him without having a blowup. When Allen glanced at the General, all he could think was meat. A lot of meat. Yeah, that could probably work. But when they were confronted with Jerry, Allen didn't even get a chance to speak up. Alma had decided to take the stereotypical jerk route, and ordered him a whole bunch of Mexican food. Keeping his smile at bay, Allen lightly scolded him, "Alma! Are you trying to get us killed?"

With a mischievous grin, Alma replied, "I don't know what you could possibly be talking about, Big Brother~!" Allen didn't bother to dignify that with response.

Much to their shock, Socalo had actually been satisfied with the food. Allen thought he'd even heard him muttered something along the lines of, "Hmm, I guess you idiots are good for something." Alma had pouted petulantly the whole time, and Allen was just relieved that they had postponed being maimed by the intimidating General.

Just as they were finally exiting the dining hall, they passed by Lavi and Daisya, who gave them curious looks. In reaction, both Allen and Alma gazed at them pleadingly. It took only a second for Lavi to make the connection between the pair and the General. Quickly whispering his discovery to Daisya, the wild-haired teen quickly nodded in understanding, and the last glimpse Allen caught of them was the thumbs-up they were giving him and identical smirks plastered onto their faces.

Allen gave a slight wince. Whatever both Lavi and Daisya had planned could only end in disaster.

Time Frame — Noon of September 3rd, 1895

But Allen would take a disaster over this any day. Training was good and all, but this was just taking it to a whole new level of extreme. Was he aiming to slice them apart into pieces? It was utterly ridiculous! For the first time in his life—and probably the only time in his life—Allen was grateful for becoming General Cross' apprentice; despite the fact that he'd been a lazy, womanizing, debt-wracking bastard. Still, at least he'd had the decency to keep him somewhat alive. Allen was staring to believe that the General was truly seeking their demise.

In truth, General Socalo just wanted to use them as life dummies; though Allen refused to believe that considering Socalo's cruel tactics. And it was increasingly difficult to combat alongside Alma. While the boy had a natural talent of wielding the numerous knifes that sprung from his right arm, creating a horrendously jagged sword, he still lacked practical training. After all, the only time he'd ever used his Innocence had been years ago, and he'd been aiming to kill then. Now, he was just trying to defeat the older man. Even so, it was unlikely he could've have killed him even if that had been his intention.

Though they'd practically been demolished at first, Allen had begun to take notice of the small quirks in Alma's developing fighting style, which led him to making certain moves when he knew Alma wouldn't accidentally interfere; as had been the case in the beginning. For instance, Alma had peculiar habit of assaulting with a combination of five kicks or punches or slashes. Whatever it was, it only amounted to five different strikes. Though he knew in time he would improve above that, Allen had used the advantage of knowing this by preparing a constant attack with Crown Clown in order to give Alma a quick breather. Despite their now unspoken method, they were still continually defeated by the resilient General. Allen knew that if they could both stage an attack at once, it might be more effective, but anytime they tried, the pair of Exorcists would somehow interfere with each other's attack, leaving it to be futile.

With a strained gasp, Allen skidded across the room. Noticing Alma's trembling form out of the corner of his eyes, Allen advanced with another assault, swiftly leaping and twisting in the air, strands from his cloak blinding Socalo from his front as he struck him from behind with his claw—he'd forgone using his Sword of Exorcism, as that would only pass through the General if he managed to land a strike; it was only useful to use it in training when his opponent was also a swordsman. Unfortunately, Socalo managed to take a hold of his cloak, and before Allen could do any damage, he was wrenched forcefully through the air and mercilessly slammed against one of the pillars.

"You're both pathetic," General Socalo spat, though there didn't seem to be as much malice as there usually was in his voice. That bastard was actually enjoying himself!

With a small, pained groan, Allen shakily rose to his feet, leaning against the pillar for support. It didn't seem like Alma was planning on attacking anytime soon, if his slumped over form and heavy breathing was anything to go by. From behind his helmet, Socalo smirked, showing off his pointed teeth, towards Allen. Narrowing his moonlit eyes, Allen took a deep breath, but before he could launch another assault, a static-y voice broke the tense silence.

"General Socalo! Do you copy?" Was that Komui? Allen then noticed a black, bat-like golem flapping its wings in their direction.

Irritated at the interruption, Socalo growled, "What do you want, Komui?"

"I was going to ask one of the lower level Exorcists to do this, but since you love bloodshed so much, I figured I'd ask you." Allen could hear the amusement in Komui's voice. "There's a small group of Akuma passing through the town. Would you please take care of it, General?"

"Hell yeah!" Socalo smirked wickedly. "Let's get to it, brats!" Allen was slightly surprised they had to come with him. Then again, they could probably hide out for the rest of the day, and then who would he get to order around?

"Come on, Alma," Allen encouraged the boy as he helped him rise to his feet. As he was having difficulty standing on his own, Allen was practically forced to drag him as they followed after the quick General. Thankfully, the elevator that would lead them down to the canals was nearby, so it gave Alma a couple moments to regain a bit of strength.

It wasn't too long before they reached the outskirts of town; though they didn't have to travel much farther than that. A strange group of people was ahead of them, heading in the same direction. Allen could see the wretched souls through his activated eye, but didn't need to point it out. General Socalo was already preparing to attack, warning them just before he did, "Stay out of this, punks! They're mine." Allen rolled his eyes and wanted to ask what the point of them coming was, but by then the General was on the move.

It honestly didn't take much more than a few a minutes, and Allen couldn't help but resent the older man for forcing them to come with him. For one, he certainly hadn't needed their help; and two, they were utterly exhausted. Allen and Alma had been training with him all morning long nonstop, and Allen's body could barely handle to stay upright at the moment. As it was, he had to bear half of Alma's weight, as the dark-haired boy was leaning heavily against him.

"You worthless little punks! Get moving!" General Socalo roared from a distance behind them. Eyes widening, Allen realized that the General had already made headway in the direction of the Order. Shaking an unusually quiet Alma out of his stupor, Allen hurriedly tugged him in the direction of General Socalo.

"Hurry up, Alma!" Allen urged the dark haired boy who was practically tripping over his feet. They were both worn out, but if Socalo took the only boat currently available, they'd be stuck between trudging through waist-deep water, or climbing up the cliff, and at this point, Allen was willing to do neither.

Fortunately, they made it just in time, and before long they were back in the gloomy castle. Allen was starting to wonder if Lavi and Daisya were ever going to show.

BOOM!

A great explosion shook the hall tremendously like an earthquake. The quavering passed in a few moments, and soon Allen and Alma—who'd been startled out of their trance—were rushing after General Socalo in order to investigate the accident. Just as they rounded the corner though—

BANG!

This eruption was much sharper and echoed around them, as whatever had blown up released a thick, dark haze about them. Before they could feel its affects though, the young boys were pulled back from the mist by two sets of hands. They were then dragged through a few corridors before they recognized the culprits.

"Lavi! Daisya! Damn it! What was that?!" Allen yelled in a raspy voice, coughing the bit of fumes that had made their way into his lungs.

Slowing down to a stop, the older teens turned towards them with playful grins. "Why, Allen! Wasn't it you and Alma that wanted to escape?" Lavi pointed out, grin widening.

"Wasn't the a bit drastic?" Alma wheezed, and then released a few coughs himself.

Patting him on the back, Daisya reassured him, "Nah. At least this way, he won't know where to find you!"

Narrowing his eyes, Allen asked, "What did you do to him?"

"Oh nothing," Lavi waved it off and said, "Just a couple of Komui's experiments we wanted to try out and see how they worked when blended."

"What?!" Allen demanded with a yell. "Why the hell were you messing with that stuff?!"

"Well, after your de-ageing incident, we…" Daisya trailed off with a roguish smirk, and Lavi finished for him with a similar expression, "We were curious."

That's when they heard a thunderous roar. With wide eyes, they all did the logical thing. They ran. Despite Allen and Alma's earlier fatigue, they suddenly had the energy to move as quickly as possible. At one point, they lost Lavi and Daisya—though Allen had a feeling that had been intended on their part. After a while, they broke down to a stop. Gasping harshly for breath, they each heavily leaned against the wall, officially spent of all energy.

"At this point, I'm not sure if that was worth it," Alma panted, and all Allen could do was nod in agreement, as he was still struggling to catch his own breath. After resting for a bit, they both managed to find the strength to stand, and just as Alma began to lead the way around the corner—they'd been planning on going to go get a quick dinner and Alma had a better idea of where they were—he swiftly turned back around and almost crashed into Allen.

"Huh? What's wrong, Alma?" Allen asked tiredly with a confused blink.

Eyes as wide as saucers, Alma managed to stutter out, "I-it's Kanda!" Before Allen could manage to reassure him in some way, Alma continued frantically, "What do I do, Allen?! What if I say something stupid?! What if he thinks I still want to kill him?!"

Smashing his hand atop his mouth, Allen swiftly suggested, "Why don't you let me talk to him first?" Allen didn't really know what he was getting himself into, but he had to try something! Even if he had no idea what he was going to say… With wide, terrified eyes, Alma nodded anxiously behind his hand. Taking a deep breath, Allen rounded the corner himself. Fortunately, Kanda hadn't made it too far down the hall.

"Uh, Kanda?" Allen awkwardly called out, fidgeting nervously. When Kanda turned to give him a disinterested gaze and simply raised an eyebrow, Allen continued, "Um, how was Central?"

"Che, fine," was all he received in answer to his pathetic question.

Hurrying after the retreating swordsman, Allen, persisted, "Wait! Kanda, I was wondering about something…"

Pausing again in an irritated manner, Kanda demanded, "Make it quick, beansprout!"

"Err, I was wondering if Alma…" Allen shifted uncertainly as Kanda's eyes narrowed, but ploughed on ahead, "If you ever found him, what would you do?"

Kanda stayed silent for a moment, and Allen noticed him fingering his katana. With a nervous laugh, Allen asked, "You wouldn't kill him, would you?"

"No," Kanda paused, as if contemplating the matter further, and then suddenly turned and continued on his trek down the dim hall. Before Allen could ask him any further questions, Kanda spoke up again, not pausing in his stride.

"I'd fucking slaughter him."

A/N: Well, wasn't that a lovely ending right there? Hehe, anyway, if any of you are wondering why Cross didn't immediately question Allen about what he knew from the future, it's because he's trying to play his cards right. What he's willing to give away in order to get the information he wants. So it'll be put on hold for now.

Hey, could you all do me a favor since I updated so quickly? I posted a new D. Gray-Man fic, called Counterparts! Could you guys give it a chance and read it? Please and thank you!(:

But before you do, don't forget to review this chapter please!^.^