Sorry in advance, this chapter will be short. And quite mourful. Tell me if I managed to make it angsty, if I failed tell me what to improve so I can improve my writing. Thanks :)
Thor94: Yep, That Fateful Night has arrived at long last. I'll try to portray Allen's and Crowned Clown's thoughts and feelings to the best of my abilities.
ShyMaryButterfly: I'm doing my best to make the story dramatic and full of suspense.
Also thanks for the follows and favourites, they make my day :)
Chapter 11
An ominous, plump figure was towering over him as he sat in the snow with a wide smile, that had no warmth. The colourful clothes of the strange goblin-looking creature made him stand out of the monochrome night. He wore beige trench coat and white pants with green stripes; he had white gloves, oversized black shoes and an eccentric top-hat that had a creepy crescent moon curl around its rim. Round glasses hid the malicious golden eyes perfectly. He looked like a devil manipulating a human into a twisted trade.
He IS the Devil! Allen, listen to me! You've gotta run! - his Innocence panicked sensing the overwhelming amount of Dark Matter pouring out from the person before them, not even that goofy looking smile could hide his bloodlust. Quickly, they had to get out of here, they had to survive! If Allen died now, how would It be able to face Its guilt for taking the chance of normal life away from the boy? What could he say Allen, what was all this long decade of misery was for?
The psychological dam the boy erected warded off his warnings, making them bounce in the emptiness. It shivered. It could feel it again, that horrible feeling of hopelessness It felt for seven thousand years.
The question echoed in the void of Allen's heart. He heard a silent cracking sound that overpowered the faint, almost non-existent whispers in his mind. Revive Mana. That's impossible. Mana is dead, he will never come back. This person was bullshitting him.
...But what if it's true? This individual... He can't be human. Humans abused or plainly ignored him. The only reason why Mana took him because poor fella was not right in his head. A crazy clown who was running from-
"The Millenium Earl..." Allen found himself whispering. His voice was coarse from not talking.
The Earl tensed a little, then tilted his head to the side. "Oh~? You know me, Allen?"
So it was him. The boy turned his dull eyes to the grinning phantom. "I heard you can turn people into Akuma."
The Earl didn't seem offended by this, on the contrary, he looked rather amused. "That is true~ I can call back Mana from that hateful and cruel God." With a flick of his hands, he summoned a metal cage where a strange skeleton was entrapped. It had no hands or toes, nor eye socket, however it had unnecessarily sharp teeth, that rather looked fangs. "With the help of your voice, I can tie your Mana to this artificial body I made. The two of you can be together forever~."
What a twisted forever you offer! Allen, don't listen to his lies! Run!
Call back the soul to the other world and tie it to a new body? A tempting proposal indeed. The Earl must be very powerful.
But he wasn't stupid. He knew that it had its price. A huge one at that. He always knew that. Everything had its reason. Everything had its price. His parched lips parted. "His soul for mine... right?"
Allen, no! Don't dare you even think about it! Stop it!
Surprise could be sensed from the Millennium Count. A person - a child - who knew about him, who saw through him, yet not feared him. Moreover, he was willing to bargain with his life as if they were talking about the weather. "You're a smart child. But even knowing the price for my services, you're willing to trade your life, Allen?"
"One, people don't do charity." Allen said as he stood up. "The seldom occasions too, are just morsels, not what others would truly need. And certainly not when such value is on the line. Two, even if I were to refuse, I think you'd still kill me."
The Earl chuckled. "Yes, very smart, very interesting. Too bad you're right. Maybe if we met in my white form we could have had talked over an afternoon tea. But you know the saying-"
"Business before pleasure, eh?"
"Exactly."
A strangely comfortable silence settled between the two. It was a morbid and twisted amusement that hung in the air, joking about one's death with such nonchalance. It was strange, they only met, they didn't even know each other. Yet, Allen felt as if he was talking with someone he knew from a very, very long time ago.
"You're going to die, Allen." The forced cheeriness in the Earl's voice was gone, instead an uncharacteristical seriousness could be detected in his voice. "Aren't you scared?"
His reaper was caring for his mental well-being? The Devil sooner felt pity for him than God? Hah, what a joke. What a twisted and cruel joke this life had been. Enough. This life, it was enough. He didn't want more of this hell. He didn't want to be left behind over and over again, he didn't want to be mistreated and ignored and abused and hungry and cold and hurt and ultimately and eternally alone- To be reminded always that you're unwanted, a curse, a freak, a monster, a no one; who has nothing and no one and has nowhere to go; nowhere to belong to, no one to belong to; to know that you're a fatal mistake; that you shouldn't exist, that youshould have never been born-!
Allen forced his haywire emotions back. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. He lost the strength to struggle against the bids of fate. Mana died because of him, because he protected someone who should have just disappeared from this world long ago. Mana was so much better than him, he deserved to live. The idiot should have just let him die. He could only shrug. "There are things worth to die for." If he could see Mana's face for even a flash, for the final time... Then maybe he could say that his life wasn't so worthless in the end.
After a second of hesitation the Earl accepted his answer. "...As you wish. All you need to do is to call out to Mana's name from the bottom of your heart."
No! Allen! Please, don't do this to yourself! Don't do this to us! Allen!
The boy exhaled great, believing it to be his last. Then, he inhaled as much of the cold air - if things went well he didn't have to feel it ever again - as he could, before he screamed out the name of his beloved. "MANAAAAA!"
NOOOOOO!
His voice thundered through the silent night. Suddenly light darted into the metal skeleton, not a moment later Mana's name was carved on the skeleton's forehead in cursive. The deed was done. There's no going back now. Finally, he could do something good, he wasn't worthless anymore.
Hello, Mana.
The jaw of the skeleton twitched. "A...A-llen." The boy's heart leapt with joy hearing the voice of the only person who ever cared for him. Mana was back. Allen can exchange his sorry excuse of a life for his, he can undo his horrible mistake. Now Mana could find his brother, Neah.
...Goodbye.
"You've made me into an Akuma."
Tears burned Allen's eyes. It was so unreal, to have Mana by his side again, even if only for a minute. His only gift from fate, to see the man whom he came to love as his Father again for a final time... However, he flinched when he felt something dragged down on the left side of his face. The boy stumbled back, touching where he felt dampness on his skin. A lump formed in his throat seeing blood. His Innocence cried out in panic and trashed in the restrictions Allen formed upon sensing Dark Matter in the boy's system. Before either or them could react wires curled around the young Apostle's throat and lifted him off the ground, ready to choke him.
No! God, please, no!
"Allen!" Mana's voice boomed with anger. "You've made into an Akuma! I'll curse you! I'll curse you, Allen!"
Curse him? Why? Wasn't Mana happy? Didn't he want to see Neah? Why was Mana punishing him?
Could it be that Mana regretted saving him?
The thought made his chest tighten, and now he was unable to breathe for a completely different reason. He readied himself for the final blow...
.
.
.
CRACK!
The boy watched in horror as his defective arm came to life, transforming into a huge silver claw and attacked Mana. Mana was flying back from the force of the hit. Just as the claw landed on the ground it started dragging the boy towards the broken skeleton.
The Divine Substance managed to crack the dam the boy erected.
I made it! I actually made it! I finally activated! I can finally save Allen! With that thought in mind, the claw lunged at the Akuma, ready to save both.
Destroy.
"Mana! No don't do this to Mana!" he begged. He just got Mana back, he could finally undo his mistake, he couldn't lose Mana again! He couldn't bear the thought of killing him again! Mana NEEDED to live!
The terror-laced words and self-despising thoughts shook his Innocence to the core, every tear the boy shed only added to the agony It felt, but It didn't stop. The Akuma needed to be destroyed, Allen needed to be alive, even if the boy grew to hate the crystal for that.
Destroy!
Allen shook when a foreign feeling practically set his blood on fire. The need to use this claw... to destroy... to end Mana. No! He attempted stopping by sinking his other hand in the ground. His nails broke and flesh was ripped open from the effort to keep himself anchored to the cold ground. No matter how much he held on, it was futile, the huge monstrosity was pulling him too strong. Realizing that he couldn't stop himself, Allen changed tactics and pleaded Mana. "Run! Run, Dad!" Please don't die again! Don't leave me alone again!
DESTROY!
The huge claw stopped to give Mana a chance to say goodbye. "Allen...I...love you..." The boy choked on his sob. "Please destroy me."
DESTROY IT!
Dark Matter flowed in the left part of his face through the cut. The vertical injury came to life. It twisted and ripped the soft flesh of the boy, rearranging itself. It took on the form of a pentagram on his forehead, then came down through the blackened - cursed - eye, it twisted to the left before descending again and ended like a teardrop. It also had a shorter line just under his socket. And then he saw Mana in the Akuma.
In a swift slash, the claw ended the machine, cutting Allen away from the hideous view, but it was too late. It took only a flash to engrave the horrible sight in his memory. Allen cried out in both physical and emotional pain. Bile rose up in his throat and he vomited. The young Accommodator crawled away from the mess and leaned against Mana's gravestone.
Mana... Mana... he looked like a rotting corpse that had a chain dig into his already decaying flesh. His life was sucked out little by little. But worst is that Mana was crying. He did such a horrible thing to Mana...He betrayed Mana...And yet Mana...
Allen didn't understand.
Was Mana in pain?
Was he scared?
Was he disappointed in Allen for not walking forward?
Was he angry at him?
Did he really want Allen to die?
Or...
Maybe...his brother was already with him on the otherworld...?
Did he separate him from Neah? If so, would he able return now that Allen called him back?
But then, why did he said he love him?
Renewed tears were streaming down on his face freely. He was so confused. He just killed Mana! But then why? Why and where did this sense of accomplishment came from? Why did he feel that way? He felt so sick of himself. What kind of monster had he become?!
"There is no freedom for the soul within the Akuma." A familiar voice said out of the blue. His eyes refused to focus, but now that he spoke up, Allen registered the presence of a human. The read-headed priest, Neah, Allen realised. The person Mana kept searching. He was still alive?
Allen felt a little relieved when he realised Mana's brother was safe.
However, that absolve was short lived.
This person was Mana's brother. The person Mana had been searching for. How could he even look this person in the eye? How could he tell the man that it was his fault Mana died such horrible deaths?
"You're trapped within it for all eternity, and you become the Earl's toy. "
Trapped. The vision in which he saw Mana flashed before his eyes. His stomach twisted again at the image. No wonder Mana attacked him.
"There's no way to help it other than destroying it." Destroy it? Was Mana asking to be destroyed so he could be free again? In the otherworld? Free of worry, free of the need to live his life as a fugitive, as a pariah? As someone who doesn't belong to anywhere or anyone? Was he angry at Allen for taking his long-desired peace?
Did this mean, that he actually did good? His defective hand, the part of him that moved to destroy Mana was doing good? Did that mean that the rest of him was evil? The only good in him was his ugly arm that mirrored the his own hideousness?
"Being born with an Anti-Akuma Weapon... What a destiny you carry." Anti-Akuma Weapon? He was born with a weapon? What did that make him?
"You too are someone who has been given destiny by God." Destiny by a God who abandoned him? Who took away the only one he loved? Who made him a freak?
No, he didn't care about that guy. The only one that mattered was Mana and Mana was-! ... Mana was...
How could Mana ever forgive him? How could he ever undo this sin he committed against him? How could he atone for killing Mana again?
How did Mana even manage to love him?
Mana... Mana...Please, tell me...What should I do?
"You wanna become an Exorcist?"
XXX
On a scale of neutral to crying (maybe I aimed too high? Waaay too high...) how much did this chapter depress you?