Allen is never going to catch a break... It's too addicting.

Well, here's chapter ten – a day after the last update? Woo! I had a lot of free time tonight, so I thought I should put up chapter ten since the chapter was sitting on my computer for a few hours after I wrote it. Anyways, this chapter gets a bit angsty. I think the end of this chapter will surprise a lot of people; or not. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And to my anonymous reviewers, since I can't personally respond, thanks a lot! I do appreciate it. A lot. :3 If you'd like, you can drop me a PM, with your email/something of the sort so I can respond. (Of course, I'm not going to ask you to write it in your review since it's private, and I have no problem if you prefer not too.) But either way, I do read your reviews – and I absolutely love receiving them.

Without anymore rambling - except, I finally switched scenes! - here's chapter ten! Drop a line? :)

One final note; I'm thinking of doing a pre-story, of Allen's time with Cross. It won't be for a while – this is my first priority, and I'm doing the Christmas story – but I'd like to plan it in case some people are interested. Let me know? I might do one with Mana, too.

10.

[sorrow's flame]

"We meet again, Allen. I won't fail this time."

i.

"The train is leaving in an hour. Are we catching it, or not?"

Allen frowned, glancing over to Lenalee. She looked worried, and he couldn't blame her; they were told to return to the Order, but Allen felt that it was wrong. After the attack at Dile's house, the group had returned to the hotel, next to nothing salvageable in the small wooden house. Allen had left with a sad look in his eyes – it wasn't right, that the man wasn't who he thought he was. He felt a bit guilty as well, because despite not having the use of his eye, he had still laid down some trust for the stranger, all because of the connection with Cross, and it had almost cost him his life. He could still recall Lavi's words from the first time they met, so many months ago, yet he had taken it for granted. Because of his lack of judgement, they had been wounded and Allen swore he could feel life draining from his body. Komui had reached them the next morning, and ordered them to return; but the family had still not been found, and Allen didn't feel it was right to just leave when they could still be out there.

"I don't know… Maybe we should take one last look around."

Lenalee nodded at Allen, who just took a seat on the bench as his head started pounding. A large bruise had formed on his neck from the strength of the grip Dile had him in, and the blow his head had taken left dried blood encased in his hair at the base of his neck, which took a long shower in the middle of the night to wash out. Coupled with newly opened wound on his chest, he was engrossed in a large amount of pain, but he did his best to ignore it – he had gone through worse.

"I agree with bean sprout – "

"It's Allen, Lavi."

" – we should probably go back to the forest, just to see if there's anything else. If we miss the train, we'll catch the next one."

Kanda was the only who didn't respond, and Allen glanced over to the samurai, a confused look on his face.

"Well, what do you think, Kanda?"

He just shrugged, not really caring, and Allen's confused look turned into a glare.

"Tch, does it really matter? Either we go and look and get in shit from Komui, or we return and leave this mystery."

Allen nodded, looking around at his comrades. Lavi and Lenalee were seated on both sides of him, and Kanda was leaning against the brick wall of the station. The small area was filled with a few locals, and a few people gave the exorcists rude glances. Allen sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. It would be smart to return – since it was under direct orders – but it wouldn't be right to leave the family. It was still their assignment.

"All right," he started, standing up. "We'll look around the forest a bit longer – let's try and get to the other side, since we've only made it about halfway."

Lenalee nodded as she stood up, followed by Lavi. The latter looked a bit skeptical, and Allen sent him a look, trying to figure out what the red head was thinking.

"Allen… You're still pretty injured. What if we run into more level four's?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. I can detect them now, and since Dile's gone… There shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm fine, anyways."

Lavi still looked doubtful, but Lenalee placed a hand on his shoulder, her short hair blowing around her face from the sudden wind. Allen looked to Kanda, the blue haired exorcist nodding as he stood up from his position against the wall. Allen was a bit surprised at his sudden co-operation, but he assumed that Kanda didn't really care what they did, as long as it was productive. It had been a while since the four of them had gone on an assignment together, he realized, or had been together at all. The last time he could remember was during the Ark, and that had been unconventional. Thoughts of the Ark started to make his stomach turn, the Fourteenth's legacy echoing in his head.

How much longer?

Allen cast his eyes downward, following Kanda and Lavi as they led the way. Lenalee was walking slightly behind Lavi, the wind causing her to shiver slightly. Allen could feel the cold as well; the change in temperature lately had built up his immunity to it, though the biting chill still caused him to shiver. Pulling his hood up around his head, the white haired boy shielded himself from the onslaught of wind.

"Oi, moyashi, keep up."

Allen looked up at Kanda, who didn't turn around. The cursed exorcist rolled his eyes, expecting the constant torment – it wasn't anything new. The group settled in a comfortable silence, though Allen was far from relaxed. The constant thoughts he had before continued to mull over in his mind, and the ill feeling had returned, the darkness settling around him like a blanket. He didn't want to lift up his hand, in fear of seeing the mixing shades once again. His nightmares and dreams had haunted him as well, confusing him and worrying him. He felt off, unbalanced – he hated it.

Is there something wrong, or am I really just imagining things? I don't imagine the Fourteenth's shadow. It's there. It's always there.

Timcanpy bit his nose, causing Allen to yelp, losing some of his dignity. The three exorcists ahead turned around, seeing what the fuss was about, and Allen quickly smiled and assured them he was fine. He held his nose gently, a drop of blood erupting from the small cut. He glared at the golden golem as it flew around his face, smiling with it's sharp teeth. The three ahead turned back around, Lavi shaking his head at what he just witnessed.

"Tim," Allen whispered. "Why do you insist on tormenting me?"

The golem seemed to shrug, continuing to just fly around as if nothing happened. Allen glared a bit more before sighing, taking his hand off of his nose to pull his hood around tighter, fighting the wind. Tim had been acting weird too, he knew, for the golem had seemed to be more aggressive. He had rarely seem Tim get aggressive with Cross – only once, when Cross had forgotten Allen in one of the many bars, Tim had bit his head, and Cross had reluctantly gone to retrieve the thirteen year old – so the sudden behavior was worrying him slightly.

"Are you mad, Tim?"

The golem shook in a way that meant 'no', and Allen furrowed his brows, grabbing the golem in his hands. The golden creature was cold, but Allen didn't care, holding Tim tighter as a sudden gust of wind almost knocked him back. The familiar, heavy fog began to cloud his vision as they reached the edge of the forest, and as they made their way in, the small dribble of rain turned to white flakes, and suddenly, the four exorcists were engulfed in a fierce snow storm. Allen heard Kanda curse, the latter pulling up his own hood of his red and black uniform.

"First the fog, now a blizzard? What the fuck is wrong with the forest?"

"Yu, calm down, would'ya? It's only snow."

Allen heard Kanda mutter something unintelligible under his breath, and Allen laughed, blinking away the snow that landed on the lashes of his eyes. Although the white flakes were cold, it felt of kind of nice as the snow melted into water on the cut on his face. Timcanpy escaped his confinement, landing on Allen's shoulder to shield itself from the cold. Allen grabbed his hood, helping his golem so it didn't freeze – even though it was a golem.

"The snow is getting thick; do you think we should head back and try later?" Lenalee asked, causing Allen to look up.

"I don't think so," Allen responded, his voice almost outmatched by the wind and snow. "If we head back now, we might as well get on the train, since the snow doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon – "

"Hey!" Lavi shouted, interrupting Allen. "Look up ahead – I never noticed it before, but there's a cave up there."

Lavi pointed straight ahead, and Allen followed the line of sight, spotting a thinly veiled entrance to a rocky cave. It looked suspicious, and after the events that had transpired the night before, he didn't feel like testing it out. Kanda seemed to have the same idea, quickly turning the idea down.

"Tch, we'd also be sitting ducks for any akuma, even with moyashi's eye."

For once, Allen agreed, not bothering to correct the annoying nickname. Lavi seemed to pause, thinking for a moment as he looked around.

"Good point. But how long are we going to last out here before we turn to popsicles?"

Allen chuckled a bit, walking up ahead of the other three. Snow wasn't anything new to him, and despite the chilly ice, it didn't bug him as much as it would others.

"We'll be okay. Our uniform's are durable, so."

He could hear footsteps follow him after a few moments, and Allen shivered a bit, another gust of wind almost knocking him back. It must have been over an hour since they had first started, and Allen figured they were almost halfway through the small, misted forest. The fog was getting heavier, which strengthened his assumption.

He saw it before he felt his eye whirr.

Out of nowhere, the akuma jumped out of the trees, attempting to attack Allen. He blinked before activating his Innocence, immediately destroying the level one. The others seemed speechless, all stopping to stare at the mess on the now snow covered ground. Kanda broke the silence, his face stoic.

"That's the first level one I've seen in a long time…"

ii.

After another two hours of walking, exhaustion began to take its toll on Allen, the exorcist having to force himself to stay awake. Lack of sleep was catching up to him, and he cursed whatever luck he had that the toll would happen when he needed to be alert. The group had split up once they reached a three-way fork, Kanda going one way, Allen taking one route, and Lavi and Lenalee taking the remainder. At first, everyone disagreed on who would go with who – Lenalee had loudly proclaimed that Allen should not be on his own in case a level four attacked in his condition, but he assured everyone – again – that he was capable of defending himself; the forest wasn't very large, either, so it wouldn't be hard to come to rescue if he needed it. After a few minutes of constant arguing, Kanda finally got annoyed and pushed Allen in one of the directions before storming off on another, and no other words were said.

Allen didn't regret his decision, despite the desire of falling asleep on the comfortable-looking ground. The thought of another appearance of a dream kept him moderately alert, and his eye was thankfully reserved, not detecting any akuma nearby.

But that doesn't rule out Noah's.

The snow had receded a bit, giving a bit more – though still limited – visibility as he made his way through the twisting trees and soggy ground. His boots kept out any unneeded wetness, making his trek slightly easier. Tim had left his comfortable spot on Allen's shoulder to help lead the way, and Allen was grateful that he wasn't completely on his own. If worse came to worse, he could send Tim to the others.

He just hoped it wouldn't happen. Not again.

The pain, the stabbing, burning pain – he could feel the life drift from his body, his heart pierced irrevocably –

Allen shook his head, trying to disperse of the memory that haunted him even in the lightest of nights. It wouldn't be easy to forget about the night that Tyki had nearly killed him, but despite the fear of dying and the ways of the war, he'd never stop walking, because that was what he had promised to Mana.

"Hey, Tim," Allen said, grabbing the golem by it's tail. "You've gotten bigger. Maybe it's all of my food you've been eating."

Allen laughed when Tim bit Allen's finger, not able to pierce through the gloves he wore. At the thought of food, Allen thought he might have been sick, but he swallowed the bile – food was the last thing on his mind, despite his need for it because of his Innocence.

"I wonder why Leverrier called Link back. Maybe that's why Komui wanted us to come back?"

Tim just continued to fly around as Allen let go of it's tail, the golem peaceful. Suddenly, a high voice came over Timcanpy, and Allen sighed, waiting for the lecture he was going to get – they never reached the Order to let Komui know they had – or hadn't – gotten on the train, and Komui was probably worried. Allen felt a bit guilty; he really didn't want to worry the head chief.

"Allen! Did you guys catch the train all right?"

"We decided to look around a bit longer. We'll catch the train tonight – "

"Why would you do that? I told you four to return to Headquarters immediately. You defied a direct order – "

"Komui," Allen interrupted. "I know, but we can't just let this family issue go. They could still be out here."

Komui was silent, pondering Allen's words. The white haired exorcist waited patiently for what was to come, hoping to God Komui wasn't that angry at them. Allen would take the blame, anyways.

"Komui, it was my idea. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Allen. Just be careful, all right? And if you don't find anything by the end of the day, return to Headquarters immediately – no ifs, ands, or buts. Understood?"

Allen nodded before realizing Komui couldn't see him.

"Yes."

There was silence once more, before Komui gave his partings words and hung up.

"Be. Careful."

When Allen heard the click, he sighed, lowering his head and closing his eyes. His head was starting to pound, and the constant ache was beginning to get on his nerves. Perhaps he was getting physically sick, and that's why his stomach couldn't handle anything except the occasional drink of water. After the beat up of all the akuma appearing within the last few days, he figured his body was worn out to an extent of pure exhaustion, and he desperately wished he could have one good night of sleep without seeing images of the past – or images that could potentially become his future. Even as he was lost in his thoughts, he continued to walk, opening his eyes to avoid any trees or stumps on the ground. The fog was getting lighter and lighter, and Allen figured he was getting to the end of the forest. However, there had still been no sign of the family, nor anything that could be considered suspicious – the arm they had found only a day prior was gone, and Allen couldn't figure out for the life of him where it could have possibly gone. He doubted the wind or rain moved it, but even the dried blood had been washed away.

"Timcanpy, do you think the family is still here? Or had Dile ordered the akuma to hunt them down and kill them?"

Tim – obviously not capable of speech – was silent, seeming to ponder Allen's question. His question was rhetorical, since he didn't expect an answer, but just by asking it out loud, it helped him to think. Static over Timcanpy caused Allen to tilt his head to his side, wondering why Komui would be calling again.

"Moyashi, we're out of the forest. Where are you?"

Allen had forgotten that Kanda had another golem with him.

"Still in the forest, but it looks like I'm nearing the end."

"Make it quick."

Kanda hung up, and Allen huffed at the rudeness.

"Nothing new, I suppose."

Tim nodded, also used to Kanda's lack of manners around Allen. It didn't phase the cursed boy anymore, though he sometimes wished Kanda was slightly more thoughtful. Despite the crude way Kanda could act, Allen still cared about his comrade – when Kanda had said he'd stay behind to fight Skinn in the Ark, Allen was more worried then he let on. When he had thought Lavi and Chaoji had plummeted to death, he had been lost in his anger, fighting the Earl. And when he played the Musician's melody, Allen had immediately thought of his friends, desperate to bring them back.

But we're all alive now. Except Master…

Allen rubbed his nose, the cold making it itch slightly. He froze when his eye made the familiar sound, the wheels turning as it detected nearby akuma. The detector didn't show any at first, but slowly, more and more began to arrive on the radar – five grew to six, six grew to seven, eventually turning to be eleven. Allen began to panic slightly, activating his Innocence. He swore he could see the outer edge of the forest, and he began running, Tim keeping up with him.

"Tim, connect to Kanda's golem!"

Tim did just that, and he heard the connection before yelling.

"Kanda, are you there?"

"What is it now, moya – "

Allen cursed, interrupting the samurai as the akuma began to get closer. A laugh played over in his head, and he knew there was at least one level four. Panic tried to settle, but he warded it off, knowing it wasn't the right time to lose his head. His Innocence would protect him, and even with his injuries, he could still fight.

"Eleven akuma are heading my way. Do you know what path I'm on?"

Lavi's voice came over the golem, sounding extremely worried.

"Are there any level four's? We know what path, but we don't know where you are!"

Allen sped up a bit faster, the laughs getting louder as he realized there was more than one level four.

"Sounds like… Half are level four. I'll ward them off a bit; I won't reach you in time. Just follow the path!"

Kanda took control of the golem once again, sounding between pissed off and… A bit worried?

"Just defend, moyashi. Don't go fighting them head on, you're – "

"In no condition, I got it, but I'll take out any lower levels."

"All right. We shouldn't be too long."

Kanda ceased the connection, and Allen stopped running, rolling his human hand along his Innocence as it turned to the familiar sword – it was the easiest way to defend. His Innocence seemed to read his body movements, his cowl protecting him with Crown Belt. Allen watched as his vision became slighting obscured from the silver mask, but it barely affected him anymore. He set his sword in the ground, the snow flying up around him. His eye could still detect eleven akuma, and they were getting closer, but he swore he could also hear speedy footsteps getting closer – he assumed it was his comrades, but he realized too late he was wrong. The eleven akuma burst from the trees, snow and fog flying everywhere, causing him to cough into his arm, trying to protect his face from the intrusion. A sick laugh entered his ears, and Allen felt the blood drain from his face, the eleven level four akuma circling him along with someone far too familiar.

"We meet again, Allen. I won't fail this time."

Tyki. Oh no.