Hello my wonderful readers! I am back with your "weekly" (More like quarterly :[ ) chapter! I really hope you all enjoyed the last one, cause I sure did, and I cannot wait for you guys to read this one. And yes, I know I said this would be a once a week sort of thing, but... well... just wait till the author's note...
Oh yeah... just in case you guys haven't noticed. I changed the rating of this story from "T" to "M," and there's a very good reason for that. Just keep reading...
Warning: From here on out is when we dive into Allen's backstory, I compiled it based on what little we've seen so far, and the recurring themes of the nineteenth century. I'm just warning you that it's going to get a little f'ed up.
I know that I promised you guys one chapter a week; however, that kind of fell through the floorboards... I'll explain more in the author's note. Until then, let's get on with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own -man or RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners. You guys know the drill.
Chapter 21: Passion and Cinders
Allen watched as the syringe broke skin and entered his body. Road, Lenalee, Ruby, and all of the others were already long gone. Road wanted to stay, but the doctors wouldn't have any of it. They still had to take blood and tissue samples, and that required a sterile environment. By the time the rest of Beacon started to wake the nurse was mostly finished. The several holes in Allen's shoulder healed quickly, and soon he was back in tip-top shape. After taking a minute to stretch, Allen found his eyes wandering to the cross that lay in his breast pocket. How could such a small thing cause him so much pain? Without even thinking Allen picked up the cross and gave it to Timcanpy. "Go put that somewhere safe." Allen said as Timcanpy scooped up the crucifix and flew out of the window. Thrain followed soon after. Timcanpy and Thrain are becoming inseparable. He thought with a smile. "Am I good to go?" Allen asked the head nurse. After double-checking all of the paperwork and samples, she nodded and showed him to the door.
"Be careful Allen. Even with your superhuman healing noahs aren't immortal. So please try your best to stay out of trouble." With that the nurse handed Allen his gold-embroidered exorcist coat, and closed the door behind her. Allen sighed as he stared at his hands. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything from his dream.
Well there's always next time. Nea said as Allen made his way to the dorms. He never got a chance to properly thank Road for saving his life. Plus, he was feeling anxious. Maybe it was his inner noah talking, but he wanted to be around his family. Nea grinned. If only you knew what those three were planning for you, my dear – innocent – nephew...
"So wait what's going on?" Devit asked Yang as he, Jasdero, and Wisely, were pushed out of their dorm room. Yang smiled and tossed them some pillows and toiletries before jabbing a thumb towards her sister.
"These three are having a slumber party, so you'll be staying in SSSN's dorm tonight." Yang said as she jerked the three noahs towards the neighboring dorm. "Hey Sun! I've found you some roommates~" Devit couldn't help but roll his eyes when he saw Sun and Neptune open the door.
"Yeah there's no way in hell these two are going to be able to hold me back. Remember I'm a noah–" Out of nowhere Sun and Neptune dropped to the floor, and for good reason. Without any warning Yang lifted the three noahs up and tossed them into the dorm's back wall.
"Ow! Hey what the hell was that for?!" Devit started as Yang slammed the door shut. She couldn't help but laugh when she heard a noticeable thud coming from the other side of the door. Devit may be a noah, but he sure was stupid. Yang cocked an eyebrow and grinned when she saw a few of Road's candles floating outside of SSSN's dorm room. When Jasdero tried to leave the room they immediately began to fly towards him. He managed to dodge just in time; however, some of his golden-locks weren't so lucky.
"Okay! Okay!" Jasdero yelled as he dived back into the dorm, now half-bald. "I get it Road! Enough with the candles!" Yang laughed, those three wouldn't be a problem tonight. After taking a second to crack her knuckles, Yang patted herself off and made her way back into AJWR's dorm.
"Are you sure we should do this?" Weiss asked Yang as she helped braid Road's hair. "I mean, Allen literally just woke up after suffering a major medical trauma. Don't you think we should give him some room to rest?" Road thought for a second before shaking her head. When it came to Allen, things were never that simple.
"Besides a little bit of cold sweat, Allen should be fine. I sealed away the memories that were damaging his subconscious. If anything, he'd be wanting company now." That was a fact. Even though she knew Allen kept people at a distance, at least when it came to his physical problems, he was a very sociable person.
"I wonder, how sociable was Allen when he first arrived at the Order Lenalee?" Ruby asked her. Lenalee thought for a moment or two before snapping her fingers together.
"If I remember right, he was one of the more social ones." Lenalee's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think back to that time. Besides Daisya, Allen was one of the only new exorcists that had arrived entirely of his own free will. Kanda, Marie, and her were taken in by the Order when they were children. Suman and the other members of the Socalo unit had all been coerced into joining the Order. Lavi and Bookman were outliers as they were primarily there to record as bookmen. So, at that point, there weren't many exorcists in the Order who could say that they arrived with good graces. Allen changed all of that, he helped convince both Miranda and Krory to join the Order on their terms. Even after enduring so much psychological and physical trauma, he pressed onward. Lenalee honestly didn't know how he did it. It probably stemmed from his upbringing...
"Is there a problem Lenalee?" Yang asked her, she had been spacing out for a solid four minutes. Lenalee realized this and quickly shook her head. "Let me guess. You were daydreaming?" Yang whispered with a very-naughty smile adorning her lips. Lenalee blushed and quickly shot that suggestion down.
"No I was just thinking about Allen's past, or lack there of, to be more accurate." Road and Ruby both looked at her with their eyebrows raised as Lenalee splayed herself across one of the beds. "I can safely say that, besides Cross, I know the past of every one of my comrades. Even Kanda, to an extent. However, besides the origins of his cursed left-eye and the fate of his foster-father, I really don't know anything about Allen." Lenalee puffed out her cheeks and furrowed her eyebrows. Cross made sense, after all, he was gone so often that she never had the chance to talk to the general. But Allen was one of her closest friends! They frequently went on assignments together and fought through hell to complete them. In that time, Lenalee had told him so much. About how she was taken from the Order, and how Komui managed to rise up through the ranks to become chief. Hell, she managed to get more information out of Lavi than she did with Allen. Every time she'd ask he would always try to redirect the conversation.
"Maybe he just wants to keep his past a secret?" Road mumbled as she stared out of the window. In all honesty, she didn't care at all about Allen's past. The mystery that shrouded the boy was one of the reasons she was so attracted to him. In a way, the more she learned about Allen, the more frustrated she got about her constantly-failing advances. She wouldn't unwrap that present until she knew it was hers. A lustful grin that could rival Yang's formed upon her lips. Of course, as she was staring out the window, nobody else saw it. There were some things she knew about that Ruby and Lenalee didn't. I'll have to thank Lulu the next time I see her. When Allen's mine, her tips will definitely come in handy.
"Maybe... although I don't understand why he would want to." Lenalee sighed, why did things always have to be so difficult. "I guess I can always ask him. After all, if this works out, we'll have the entire night to badger him." A round of girlish giggles went around the room.
"Alright!" Yang yelled as she clapped her hands together. "We have to come up with some party games before we leave. So why don't we get brainstorming?" Ruby laughed when she heard Road suggest darts, of course that was what she would come up with. Lenalee grinned, this seemed like it would be fun and — if everything worked out — a little informative. As she walked up to the window Lenalee gasped when she felt her foot knock against something. Looking down, she discovered her's, Road's, and Ruby's presents to Allen. Her's was wrapped in simple blue paper. Road's was wrapped in — of course — a lavish purple-green striped plastic, while Ruby prepared hers in a vibrant bright red.
"Yeah be careful with those please, some of those items were expensive." Ruby said as she snatched her present up from the ground. Even though it contained a fully-fledged iron pistol, Ruby cradled it as if it were a baby. As she moved to place it in a higher — safer — position above the windowsill, Ruby saw Allen walking into the dorm room.
"He's going to be so surprised when he finds all the Christmas stuff we put in the lobby~" Weiss said as she slipped on her shoes. Something told her that they were about to take a walk down to the commons. Yang and the other huntresses seemed to agree with her, as it didn't take long for all of them to pour out of the door. "Try not to jostle him too hard you three, remember, he just recovered from a seemingly life-threatening condition..." Weiss stopped when she noticed Ruby carrying her present. "Uh Ruby, we still have a week until Christmas, why are you bringing your gift?" Ruby just pouted and strutted right past her.
"I've decided to give this to Allen a little bit early, think of it as my get-well present!" Ruby said as she bolted down the hallway. Yang sighed, if only her little sister was a tad bit smarter. Road and Lenalee grinned and laughed as they watched the dust begin to settle. As much as they hated letting Ruby get a head-start on them. None of them could deny that — after spending some time with the young huntress — that she was almost unrealistically innocent. Either way, Road and Lenalee knew Allen's heart wouldn't wane on a simple early gift, not with how dense he was. Plus, the door to Ruby's dorm was now locked, and she had the only key.
"Now she'll have to buy another gift. She should have waited till Christmas." Blake mumbled as they made their way to the elevator. However, they found that it was a bit crowded. SSSN, JNPR, Wisely, and Jasdevi were all there. And if the two twin-shaped holes in the wall were anything to go by, Ruby had paid them a visit. Road couldn't help but laugh as she watched Devit and Jasdero climb out of the ruined wall. Both of them were covered in insulation foam, and were covered in splinters.
"Dammit! I'd like to not be sent to the hospital today!" Devit yelled as he tossed a small piece of plywood towards Ruby. Of course, Ruby dodged the projectile effortlessly; however, the same couldn't be said about the person behind her.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Went the, slightly muted, voice. The plywood must've bashed the poor guy's nose in. Lenalee smiled when she realized who it was. After all, there was only one person in the world with teeth like those.
"Krory!" Lenalee said as she jogged over to help the exorcist up. Krory gladly took her hand as he tried to stop the blood pouring out of his nose. Thankfully, his injury clotted up quick, and soon he was as good as new. And he wasn't the only one.
"You really should watch where you're going Krorykins." Lavi said as he hoisted his comrade up from the ground. Kanda and Miranda followed soon afterwords. "Hey Lenalee, we were looking for you..." he trailed off when he saw Road and the other noahs staring at them. The lack of trust was evident. "So tell me, what's with all the noise? Are you guys having a party?" Lavi said as he crossed his arms. Yang — as always — was quick to try and diffuse the situation. She quickly pranced over to Lavi and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Smashing his head against hers. "That... hurt..." Lavi mumbled as he felt his body go limp. Yang's head must have been solid iron.
"Enough with that edgy war look. For your information we're all going to welcome Allen back. You guys are welcome to join, if you like." Yang said as Lavi tried to keep his brain from falling out of his head. Yang really did a number on him, hopefully he didn't have a concussion...
"Allen's back already?" Miranda said with lit-up eyes. She knew Road had helped him, but for Allen to heal so fast — especially when considering the condition he was in — was simply a miracle. Lenalee smiled and nodded, if there was one person she knew the other exorcists would trust. It was her.
"Well come on then!" Lenalee said as she grabbed Miranda and Lavi's hands. "Let's welcome our sick friend home!" She didn't even wait for her friends to agree as she shoved the other exorcists into the elevator.
"Wait a minute! Lenalee!" Lavi started as the elevator doors began to close. But it was too late for him to escape, they were going whether they wanted to or not. Soon afterwords Yang, the noahs, and the rest of the huntsmen and huntresses followed suit. The elevator opened with a ding, to reveal a veritable wonderland. "Wow..." Lavi whistled as he looked at the decorated lobby. "You guys really went all-out on the Christmas thing." His eyes bulged when he saw the mountain-like pile of presents shoved underneath the metallic tree the huntresses had found. He couldn't help but get curious when he noticed that many were addressed to him. However, before he had the chance to do anything, Miranda swatted him away.
"You'll have to wait until Christmas Lavi!" Miranda said as she stared at the wondrous decorations. However, amidst all of this, there was one thing in particular that caused her — and the others — moral to soar.
"Wow... this is incredible..." They heard Allen say as he walked into the lobby, completely covered in snow. Immediately, Ruby pounced on him. "Ruby! What's all this?" Instead of answering the boy Ruby just shoved her present into Allen's arms. "Is this..." He mumbled as he stared at the — strangely heavy — box.
"It's an early present for you Allen, to celebrate — ya'know — not dying." Ruby couldn't help but blush as she pushed Allen to open the present. She felt like her chest was going to explode.
"Come on Allen! Open it!" Yang yelled, "it's rude to keep a girl waiting!" Allen blushed at Yang's teasing as he proceeded to carefully open Ruby's gift. He opened one layer of paper after another, until finally...
"Thank you Ruby." Allen said as he tore off the final layer of wrapping. Only to find... "A gun?" He whispered. If he were paying attention Allen would have heard Lenalee and Road start to snigger. At his reaction Ruby felt her legs start to go weak, did he not like it?! That would destroy her. Thankfully, Allen made sure to crush those doubts as he embraced Ruby in a loving hug. "Again, thank you Ruby. It's nice to know that you care." The whole room — even Lenalee and Road — started to laugh as they watched the young huntress blush up a storm.
"I think that's our cue!" Yang yelled as she clicked a few buttons. The room then filled with beautiful Christmas music as the huntsman brought out snacks and drinks. "You really should thank the chefs at that charity drive, they sure taught you two how to cook." Yang said as she patted Sun and the other members of SSSN on the back. The party was now completely underway. But there was one thing that was missing...
"Now then, no party's complete without this bad boy!" Sun said as he took out a disk from his pocket. Blake sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew that movie.
"Well, what trash-fire does he have to show us today?" Weiss asked Blake as they watched Sun start the movie. Blake rolled her eyes, whatever it was, it was definitely another cheesy b-movie. Sun had really gotten into those recently. As the opening credits started to roll, everyone was captivated by Sun's unbelievably excited face. He really loved this movie. To the point that it made everyone laugh, well, everyone except one person. While Ruby and the others were distracted by Sun's enthusiasm, Allen just walked over to a small recliner near the back of the lobby and sat down.
Allen... Nea started as he caught his nephew staring at the dust pistol Ruby gave him. It was relatively simple in its design, in fact, it looked just like a revolver. The shiny metal had a few tiny dents in it, and it was wonderfully polished. For something so small, Allen found himself captivated by it. Is something wrong? Allen shook his head.
"No... its nothing..." Allen started as he stared at the weapon. It was so shiny and smooth, if he looked close enough, Allen could see his reflection. It wasn't until he found said reflection that things started to turn sour. For when he found it, his visage distorted by the bent metal, he began to feel memories pour into him. The scary part was that, unlike noah memories, these ones weren't painful. They felt just like normal memories, his memories, and that was because they were...
Nine years ago...
"Those assholes..." Red said as he spat some blood into an already-filthy handkerchief. Cosimov and his gang beat him again, and this time was way worse than the others. His vision was going blurry, and he could feel the frigid winter air begin to seep into his body. In all honesty, he'd rather be chased around by bloodthirsty villagers again than spend another second outside. But that was how it was. The one time he tried to escape this hellhole, he spent a solid month alone in the streets. In that small time he was hunted by fanatics for his left arm, called a monster, and nearly died of starvation. That was two years ago. Now it seemed like that was a mistake. Red felt his body begin to tremble as he coughed up more blood. "Dammit..." He said as his legs gave out. His, already broken, nose driving itself into the cold, hard, unforgiving ground. As he lay there in that cold bed of snow, one of Red's eyes darted towards a large pink gate. It had glowing neon lights plastered all over it, and a giant clown face was printed on the side. That was the circus's main gate. I just want to go home... Red thought as he weakly lifted a hand towards the opened gate. He was so weak from the beating that he forgot he didn't have a home to go back to. But anything was better than here.
"Hey! There you are you little bastard!" Red didn't even move as he felt a boot implant itself into his gut. A massive white hand reached down and wrapped itself around his skull. Lifting him up from the ground like a puppet on strings. "I didn't buy you so you could just lay around!" The man yelled as he slapped Red with an unbelievable amount of force. "I don't give a shit that you don't want to be in the show! As long as you're my property you'll be working, got it?!" Another kick, this time to the groin. "The horses stables need shoveling, I want you to clean out every one of them and throw the waste out back. Make sure you make a nice pile, as that will be your bed for tonight!" After a few more hits the man, named Cosimov, threw Red's limp body into the mud. "I swear, this is why I hate dealing with kids." Cosimov said as he spat on Red's body. Thank God the man was tired, as he — for once — wasn't in the mood for another beating. The clown and his thugs smiled and left, leaving Red half-dead in the snow. It took a good while before his tired — malnourished — body had enough energy to cry again, but when it finally did, the tears came forth like a flood.
The water drained from his swollen eyes and into the snow. Freezing into small little puddles. They would have been sort of pretty, if it wasn't for the blood mixed in. After what seemed like an hour of crying Red managed to pick himself up. Cosimov had given him a job, and as much as he hated it, if he didn't do it he would have to go yet another week without food. Red's tummy rumbled as he picked up a nearby shovel. The rumbling stung his bruised stomach as he made his way to the stables. Thankfully, the cold managed to numb that pain, at least for a moment.
With no bandages to speak of Red had to make do with his own clothes. He carefully tied his filthy sleeves together in a sort-of sling, and rested his — definitely broken — right arm into it. At the very least he knew it would heal, unlike the other freaks his body seemed relatively healthy. Plus, he was young, so that always helped. His body was always good at fixing itself, he didn't know why. Deep cuts would heal within two days, and broken bones would only take a month or two. Sometimes it made him cry at night, knowing that if he didn't have such a young body, he'd probably be dead already. "Hello you guys." Red said as he brushed the horses manes. He always did like animals, besides the fact that they didn't hit him, they seemed to enjoy his company.
One of the mares, Red called her Emily, licked his hand when he reached up to brush the burrs out of her fur. The saliva felt warm. It felt nice. This was one of the — very — few reasons why Red kept going. As he lowered the shovel into stable after stable, Red felt his arms ache, but he fought through the pain. After all, pain was a constant here, so it wasn't that unusual. "Thank God, the last one..." He whispered as he walked into the final stable. Red rolled his eyes when he felt the ground begin to shake. That was definitely tonight's audience. He watched them all pile in from one of the tiny stable windows. They were all dressed in extravagant clothing, and had gigantic grins upon their faces. Red felt a pang of envy shoot through him as he watched a boy, who was not that much older than him, grab a piece of cotton candy and head into the tent. If only he knew the blood, sweat, and tears that went into that little snack. Then he wouldn't be smiling. "Ugh. Go away!" Red yelled when he felt one of the horses tug at his sleeves. These animals were so impatient...
And so Red continued to shovel, and right when he was about ready to give out from exhaustion, he felt his the iron blade hit something hard. After closer examination Red found what looked to be a large rock, buried beneath the mud and excrement. "What is this?" He mumbled as he pushed the much away. It wasn't until he uncovered a — filth covered — ear that he realized he was digging up a body. Immediately Red dropped down to his knees and frantically tried to uncover the body. "Hey man! Are you okay?!" When he got no response Red bit his lip. This was not the first time he found a body, he discovered a pair of children — who were also sold to the circus — frozen to death on a ridge just outside of town. Since nobody wanted to claim their bodies, Red buried them where he found them, with two small stones to mark their graves. "Please God don't make me dig another grave." Red prayed to no one in particular. In all honesty, he had given up on God quite a while ago.
"Water..." Red gasped when he heard the body speak. It was a man's voice, and upon further inspection, Red was shocked to find a massive — meter sized — boil protruding out of the side of his head. He must've been another freak, and judging by his severe injuries, Cosimov had paid him a visit. With what little energy he had left Red dragged the man to a nearby tent. This one belonging to the circus's traveling doctor. In all honesty, the doctor still despised him and the other freaks, but unlike Cosimov, he wouldn't hit them. The doctor would just patch them up, and proceed to throw them back outside.
"Doctor!" Red grunted as he opened the flap of the tent. The doctor, who looked to be in his upper sixties, scowled and waved his hand. He must have been in a bad mood.
"Go away you freak, if you aren't injured, I don't want anything to do with you." Red ignored his underhanded insult and proceeded to lift the unconscious man he had found onto one of the tables. In all honesty, he had no idea how he managed it. The man must have weighed two-hundred pounds. Thank heaven for his left arm, it never seemed to lose its strength no matter how weak he was. "Shit, dammit Cosimov, you sure love making me work." The doctor cussed as he got up off of his chair. He proceeded to grab a few bandages, as well as a splint and some medicine. This was going to take a while...
"Is he going to be okay?" Red asked the doctor as he cleaned some mud off of the man's wounds. After taking a second to clean his glasses, the man sighed and turned his attention to his new patient.
"At a glance I can tell that he's suffered multiple concussions, there are also some minor lacerations near the lips and thighs. This man sure took one hell of a beating, but he should be fine." The doctor proceeded to grab some bandages and started to dress the man's numerous wounds. As he worked the doctor turned to Red and snapped his fingers, motioning for him to move. "Hey kid, I need you to grab that telephone over there. Do you see it?" The doctor asked, his eyes never leaving his patient.
"Yeah, it's that weird black thing right?" Red said as he handed the receiver to the doctor. The man snatched it out of his hands without a second thought. This was why he hated dealing with kids, and freaks especially, they were all so stupid. How in the world did this kid go so long without knowing what a telephone was?
It took a few minutes for the operator to find him the proper line, in that time the doctor managed to take out a cigarette. He was nearly finished with it by the time he connected to the circus's head manager. That pudgy old fool should have been dancing his ass-off if the main tent right about now. But even though he looked like a happy clown, both the doctor and Red knew he was anything but kind.
"You know, you could have called me at a different time. I'm currently busy with something, or someone, to be more exact... hey! Have you found him yet?!" Red heard the manager yell. Something must have happened. The doctor sighed as he took another drag from his smoke, the old fool wouldn't like this one bit.
"Let me guess, you are looking for the freak of the century right? The one with the malformed face?" The doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes as he waited for the manager's response. Thankfully, it didn't take long. He could already hear the cogs begin to move outside.
"Yes that's him. He's supposed to be working right now! I have a very important client that paid to see him specifically!" The doctor said nothing as he continued to work on his patient. At the very least, the man's breathing seemed to have steadied. "I know that you're working right now, what happened?"
"Well one of the other freaks found your man-of-the-hour unconscious in the horse pens earlier tonight. I've managed to get his vitals to stabilize but he'll need a proper hospital." The doctors eyes darkened as he glanced over to Red. "Whatever he has may be fatal, if we take him to a hospital it will cost us dearly." He could almost hear the manager gag as he put away his scalpel. There was one thing neither of them liked, and that was spending money.
"If I send a few of our 'guests' men to pick him up, do you think he could make the trip?" The manager whispered, Red couldn't hear him no matter how hard he tried. The doctor rubbed his chin and smiled as he swiveled around in his chair.
"Well, well, well, are you sure about that? I though you wanted our friend working — after all — if your guest is who I think it is, then wouldn't it be better to send him to the morgue?" Yet again the manager's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Our client would rather have a complete product than a liability. That freak may be unbelievably strong, but in the condition he's in, he's no good to us. Oh..." The man paused and seemed to be speaking to someone else, "are you sure? Okay then, he's in the brown tent on the left..." The doctor's eyes narrowed, why did he feel like he was about to bury another body? "My client still wants to see him before he leaves. His men will 'take care' of the freak, just ensure you don't waste any more medicine. And thanks for going through the trouble, my friend, I'll be sure to throw in a extra hundred pounds for your next paycheck." With that the line went dead.
"You know he could at least have the decency to say goodbye, I mean hanging up like that is just rude!" The doctor mumbled to himself as he began to put away the medicine. Red cocked one of his eyebrows and tugged at the doctor's coat.
"Sir, that man is still sick, aren't you going to help him?" The doctor just rolled his eyes and shoved Red off of him. Little kids like him had no business in this sort of thing. Plus, he could already hear the manager's 'client' drawing near.
"Get off of me freak, go bug someone else!" The doctor proceeded to pick Red up and toss him outside. At the very least he did it gently. After a few bouts of cursing Red got up and patted the mud off of his pants. Why did the doctor kick him out? And why did he stop helping that man? Red couldn't help but scowl as he grasped his left arm.
"This is all your fault." Red mumbled as he made his way to a nearby box. He collapsed into it and yawned, if only he could sleep here, away from the cold mud. However, if he did that Cosimov would find him, and then the beatings would only get worse. Red sighed and looked up at the starry night sky. How can something so beautiful hang over such a shitty world?
The answer to that question eluded him for hours until he finally heard the bells begin to ring. The carnival must have started... Red yawned again as he began to close his eyes. Cosimov would be busy until the carnival was over, so he should have plenty of time for a little nap. Sadly, right before he was embraced by the sweet release of sleep, something jostled him awake. "Hey Doc! We're here for the broken goods!" A man yelled. Red bolted up and hid behind the pile of boxes he was sitting on. There were at least twenty men surrounding the doctor's tent, while at the center of it all stood a — well endowed — woman. Her beauty and long-brown locks were breathtaking, but Red wasn't fooled by her facade. One look at her face and he knew who she was. Her name was Melissa Maloy, and she was one of the crime bosses that governed outer London. Granted, Red had only heard of her via a few snippets of conversation with customers, he didn't even know what she looked like. However, he didn't need to know her face, the multiple armed guards were proof enough. He knew it was her. And that terrified him.
"If you want to bury him do it out back. There's an old mound I use near the trees, there the soil is nice and soft." The doctor said as he walked up to the crime boss. The thugs who had walked in were already dragging the injured man out of the tent. It seemed like they were in a hurry. "So..." the doctor started as he lit up a new cigar. "What did you want him for originally? I mean, if you wanted to use him as an assassin, there's no shortage of strong hitmen in London. There's literally thousands of people who would be a better fit."
"Ha! Do you and that manager really think I wanted to use him as a hitman? Do you really think I'd be that stupid?" Melissa started as she shook her head. "No, I wanted him because I was curious." The doctor rolled his eyes as he leaned up against one of the nearby lamp posts.
"If you wanted a man you could have gone to a brothel, hell, don't you own a few?" The crime boss just grinned and shook her head. As carefully as a spider she lifted the injured man's chin up. Besides the swollen boil, his teeth were good, and his muscular arms were impressive. However...
"It's as I thought, he's useless to me." Melissa sighed, his eyes were all wrong. They were full of fear, and she hated fearful men. "You can't be an escort if you're constantly afraid, now can you?" The doctor rolled his eyes. "At my brothels we pride ourselves on having options for everyone, and there's quite a few women who would love to spend some time with you. Of course, we don't just cater to women, do we men?" She smiled as her bodyguards began to chuckle, they were all frequent customers. After a bit of laughter herself, the crime lord smiled and held out her hand. One of the men proceeded to walk over and handed her his weapon. "Now then, let's put this little lamb to the slaughter." She said as she cocked the gun. "Oh and doctor, please tell your manager to stop overselling. I'm giving him a second chance because he's been good to us in the past, but I don't like it when my goods are damaged." The doctor just sighed and waved his hand.
"Do what you want, I'll be sure to give him your message." With that, the man disappeared into his tent. He never had a stomach for these sort of things, even if they did pay unbelievably well. Red gasped as he watched Melissa raise her weapon to the man's deformed forehead.
"You're useless to both me and this circus, I'm sorry, but you are going to die here." The man didn't even react as she pressed the cold metal against his skin, apparently he was still unconscious. That was good, it meant less noise which meant less trouble. "You have around a minute until the circus bells start to chime, enjoy it." As much as she hated waiting, Melissa knew that she'd have to. After all, she couldn't just fire randomly, people would hear her then. And so she and her men just stood there, waiting as the seconds ticked by.
What do I do?! Red thought from his spot behind the crates. He couldn't take on twenty men! Hell, he couldn't even fight one! But I can't just let him die! Red gritted his teeth. However, he knew he didn't have the luxury to wait. That woman was about to kill him! If he didn't do something there's no way he'd ever live it down. But what could he do? Red frantically tore through the crates as he tried to find something useful. Party poppers, confetti, clown costumes, gloves... Dammit there's nothing here! Right when Red was about to give up he felt his left hand brush against something metallic. Immediately he lifted the strange object out of the box. This is! Red couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a gun, a small revolver lay dormant in his left hand, as if begging to be used.
Immediately he reached for the chamber, and when he opened the hatch he was shocked to see that it was filled with six bullets. How did this get here?! For a moment Red forgot about the commotion outside, and just focused on the gun. Besides the fact that he found a weapon in a freaking prop crate, it was fully loaded. It couldn't have belonged to the criminals outside as it was far too old, but Red knew it was real. Maybe I should... "Gah!" Red jumped and quickly covered his mouth as he felt something slither past him. "A—a snake?" He whispered as he watched the serpent crawl out of the crate, only to disappear underneath the tent.
"Ma'am, we have twenty seconds." Red's eyes widened when he heard what one of the thugs said outside. Now wasn't the time to be shocked! After all, it wasn't like the snake left him the gun, right? As carefully as can be Red ran outside and quietly lifted up the gun. Surprisingly, when he held it in his left hand the weapon was unbelievably light. It felt as if it were a part of him. Then, right when he heard the sound of the bells ring throughout the circus, he fired. Five hearty splats and a satisfying ting rang through the air as the circus bells came to a close. Immediately, as if they had sensed his presence, the crime boss and her thugs turned around. Three of said thugs were lying dead on the ground, a bullet lodged squarely between their eyes. The two that were holding the injured man still had each lost a hand. While Melissa's gun lay on the ground nearly five meters away with a large hole through its barrel.
"Y—you little bastard!" One of the thugs yelled as he send hit foot right into Red's stomach. After he had gotten a few punches in the remaining thugs all piled on top of him. One of them smashed a pistol onto his left hand, no bone broke, but it sure felt like it did. As if summoned by God the doctor rushed out of his tent, when he noticed the corpses the man's posture slumped.
"Ah shit, I'll have to bury all of these won't I?" He started as he turned to watch the thugs hammer down on Red. "Hey!" he yelled as he ran over to pull the men off of the boy. As much as he hated the freaks, he couldn't let them kill one of the circus's few — moderately healthy — workhorses, now could he? "Do you mind telling me why you all are beating up this kid?" He turned to one of the thugs.
"This little brat just shot five of our men! And he ruined my pistol!" One of the larger thugs said as he stamped his foot into the ground. He was going to make this kid pay. "Are you ready to go to hell boy?" The man finished as he tore one of the other pistols from his another thug's belt. In response Red just spat in the man's face.
"I'm not afraid to die, go ahead and kill me!" As Red watched the man smile and pull the trigger he was shocked when he found that the bullet never came. When he opened his eyes he found that the crime boss, Melissa, had stopped the man from firing.
"Boss what are you doing?! This kid shot Clide and—" The boss just ignored his pleas and opted to step around him. As quick as a viper she gripped at Red's left sleeve and tore it off of him. Everyone, except her of course, grimaced when they saw Red's deformed left arm.
"Is he one of the freaks?" She asked the doctor as she inspected Red's teeth and body. The doctor nodded and frowned, he knew exactly what she was doing.
"Don't tell me you want to buy him." He said as he pulled one of the thugs off of Red's body. In response Melissa just grinned and nodded.
"This kid looks to be about six, but here he is wielding a revolver like an absolute pro. In a matter of seconds he killed three of my men, while also wounding other two. And then there's the matter of my pistol..." She said as she lifted up the destroyed remains of her weapon. With a look that would even make the most hardened of criminals shiver, Melissa proceeded to grasp Red's hand and lift him up. "He's perfect!" And his eyes were too, there wasn't any fear staining them at all. "I know of quite a few lords and ladies who would pay me a fortune to spend some time with you lad!" She then turned to the doctor, her hand still firmly grasped around Red's. "Where's the manager? I would like to make a purchase!" The doctor sighed as he walked back into his tent, he had a few calls to make...
"What do you mean he's not for sale?! I thought all of your freaks were!" Melissa whined as she yelled at the manager. The man, who was quite terrified for his life, sighed and took out a piece of paper from under his desk. It looked like a contract.
"His parents promised me that I would have him until he was eight, and he's six. If I let you have the kid now I'd just be losing money, even if you bought him from me." The manager sighed as he scratched his forehead, why did things have to get so complicated? Useless brat. The man thought as he glared at Red — who was currently being held down by a couple of thugs.
"Are you sure he's six? I mean the kid looks like he's — at least — ten years old." The crime boss said. Yet again the manager pinched his nose, he was getting a headache.
"To be honest I don't really know his age. All I know is, when I bought him, he was still so young he couldn't speak. Then again, that might be do to the fact he's a freak. I mean who knows? Due to his condition, his growth was probably stunted for a few years, and is only now starting to catch up." The manager shook his head. "Either way, you can't buy him. The contract I have renders him mine for eight years, regardless of his actual age." Yet again Melissa sighed. Her brothel would really get a big publicity boost if she had someone like that kid...
"What if you rent him out to me? At least until your contract is complete." The manager stopped and placed a thumb on his chin. That could work... in fact, that situation would be unbelievably lucrative if he played his cards right. When Melissa noticed the man smiling she proceeded to get out a journal and a simple ink-pen. "How much?"
After a few moments of thought, the manager decided. "I want four-hundred pounds for every night he spends in your establishments. But that's on off-days, during the busy season I'll rent him for six-hundred." Melissa didn't even hesitate as she wrote the check.
"Your busy-season doesn't start until, what, two months from now? I'll take him until then." She said as she handed the slip of paper to the manager. Once the man ensured the check's validity, he nodded and motioned Melissa to the door.
"Two months it is then. Just ensure he's back here by that time." The man didn't even take his eyes away from the check as he watched Melissa and her thugs drag a — very much squirming — Red away. Thank God they had the idea to gag him. Who knows how much that brat would have yelled? A few seconds later the manager heard the sound of his front door closing. That would be the last time he saw Red for two months.
Qrow
Qrow couldn't help but smile as he walked through the frigid Beacon campus. It wasn't often that he got a day off, and he wanted to make the most of it. There was just one problem... "You know Ozpin, a day off usually means that — for once — I don't have to look at my boss's face." Qrow grimaced as he turned to Beacon's headmaster, who was walking right alongside him. Ozpin smiled and took a sip from his coffee mug.
"I've already told you, this isn't a day off Qrow, consider it more like a well-deserved break." Ozpin said as he patted his friend on the back. "Plus, I want to see how your niece is getting along with the exorcists." Qrow sighed, he hated when Ozpin was right, which was all of the time.
"Just try not to crush my style." Ozpin laughed as they walked up the steps to the dorm hall. They could already hear the music. "It seems like they've already started." Qrow said as he opened the door. It didn't take long before Ruby noticed them.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled as she wrapped her arms around him. Qrow just grinned and patted her head.
"How are you doing kiddo? I'm glad your back on your feet, especially after that scare yesterday." He said as he watched Yang walk over to him. "Yang! Are you doing alright? She hasn't been giving you any trouble has she?" Yang smiled and shook her head.
"I guess I could ask Ozpin the same question about you." Yang joked as she turned to the headmaster. "Speaking of which, why are you here?" Ozpin smiled and took another sip from his coffee. After a few more awkward moments, Ozpin turned and motioned to Qrow.
"I'm here to ensure he doesn't drink. And to check up on our recently-sick friend." Ozpin said as he waved to the other huntsman and huntresses. Even Lenalee smiled and gave him a wave. Kanda only scoffed at him, but that seemed to be natural. "So where is Allen Walker?" Ozpin asked. Yang just shrugged and pointed to the back of the lobby.
"He's been sitting over there since the party started. Allen's probably busy 'admiring' that gift you gave him Ruby." Yang joked, Ruby sighed and blushed again. Qrow laughed as he patted the two sisters on their shoulders and politely walked past them.
"Thank you, we'll talk to you guys in a bit. We're just going to check up on Mr. Walker first." Yang and Ruby both gave Qrow a thumbs-up as he and the headmaster walked towards the white-haired huntsman. From this distance, they could tell that Ruby had gotten him a gun. Qrow sighed, of course it was a gun.
"Would you expect no less from her?" Ozpin joked as he walked up to Allen. "Hey Mr. Walker," Ozpin said as he knelt down to properly speak with the boy. "Me and Qrow just wanted to ask you how you were feeling, you gave us all quite the scare the other day. So we just want to make sure." Allen didn't respond, even after a minute had past, he remained silent. Qrow sighed as, he too, knelt down to talk with the boy.
He must still be sick. Qrow surmised as he asked Allen the same question. "Well Mr. Walker, how about it, we've met before I'm Ruby's uncle Qrow. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay." Again, there was no response. Qrow cocked an eyebrow as he stared at the boy. He wasn't unconscious, both of his eyes were wide-open. Walker's two silver orbs were busy staring at the gun in his hand, which he clung to as if it were the only thing in the world. "Walker?—" Qrow started, only to be cut off by the sound of the movie Sun was watching.
"It's time for you to know the meaning of pain, you villain, now die!" The movie went, that line was immediately followed by a hailstorm of bullets. In the scene Sun was watching the machine-gun fire came down from a seaside cliff, only to land into the water below. The movie was quite loud, and for that brief moment, all they could hear was the sound of the — shockingly realistic — gunfire. And just before Qrow was going to ask Sun to turn it down, he saw something that horrified him. Even more so than Allen's near-fatal condition yesterday. He and Ozpin watched as Allen's eyes began to close. His sweaty palms proceeded to wrap themselves tightly around the grip of the gun, holding onto it for dear life, before curling down into a ball. Almost as if he were trying to dodge bullets, and then Allen began to shiver. But Qrow and Ozpin knew damn-well Allen wasn't shivering from the cold, he was shivering from the fear.
Quick as a flash Qrow walked over to Sun and ripped the remote out of his hands. He then turned the movie off, and ejected the disk. "Hey, what the hell dude?!" Sun started, getting everyone's attention. Qrow just shook his head and pointed to Ozpin, who was motioning them to come into the back room. Normally they would have written behavior like this off as some sort of joke. But when Lenalee, Road, Lavi, Ruby, and everyone else, saw the seriousness etched onto the two men's faces. They knew something was wrong. Without complaints all of them moved into the back room, once they were all in, Qrow closed the door behind him.
"Uncle Qrow, what's wrong?" Ruby asked as Qrow took a deep breath, this was going to be hard. Even Ozpin was having a tough time keeping his composure. As Qrow gulped, he proceeded to turn to Lenalee and the other exorcists and asked them a question...
"What do you know about Allen's past? As in, before he joined your Order?" Qrow asked, Lavi and Lenalee cocked an eyebrow and let out a sigh of relief. For a second there they thought Qrow was about to tell them that Allen was dying again. Lenalee thought for a moment before speaking. Ozpin and Qrow already knew about Allen's abilities, innocence, and the noah, so telling them a little about the boy's past should be fine.
"Well you should already know that, before he became general Cross's apprentice, he accidentally turned his foster father into an akuma." The two men nodded, everyone frowned when they heard that. They knew that was how Allen got his strange left eye, but that was it. Qrow shook his head and waved his arms.
"We already knew that, I'm talking about before that happened!" Lavi was the one who answered him that time, he didn't know why Qrow was so serious about this, but it wasn't like there was much to tell.
"Allen's kind of tight-lipped about his past; the most I know is that — before meeting his foster father Mana — he worked in a popular circus. But why does that matter?" Qrow grimaced as he thought about what to say, this really wasn't something he should tell them at their age. Well, Krory and Miranda maybe, but everyone else would be...
"Uncle! Why do you need to know so much about Allen! Is something wrong?" Ruby asked him, Qrow sighed, there was no way around it. These were Allen's friends and they needed to know. And so, as quietly as a mouse. Qrow slightly opened the door to the lobby. It was just wide enough so that everyone could see Allen shivering in his chair.
"Why's he shivering? Is he scared of something?" Lavi mused as he turned suspiciously to Road and the other noahs.
"Hey! Don't look at us! If Allen was experiencing a memory, or some sort of trauma from his innocence or inner-noah, believe me I would know!" Road yelled as she stuck her tongue out at Lavi. Qrow shook his head and snapped his fingers to regain their attention. And then proceeded to hold up the remote Sun was using.
"Do you know what Allen is doing?" Qrow asked them as he turned back to look at Allen. He was still shivering. When none of them had an answer, he answered for them. "He's hiding, either from someone or something, but he's hiding. That crouching position also implies that he's trying to dodge something. And he went into that position right when bullets went flying in that movie of yours Sun."
"Alright..." Sun started as he shifted around on his feet. "So what of it?" Qrow sighed as he struggled to come up with the proper way to phrase Allen's condition. Thank Monty Ozpin was there.
"I'm sure you all have heard of PTSD correct?" Ozpin asked them, everyone nodded. Lenalee bit her lip as she thought of some of her past battles. Some finders were so conflicted that they couldn't leave headquarters. It was truly a horrible condition. Even Road shifted a little bit as she remembered how Tyki felt after his battle with Allen.
"But Allen doesn't have PTSD." Lavi started as he tried to recall Allen's medical records. "In fact, he's one of the Order's most positive when it comes to our war. His determination has never wavered, not even once." Qrow sighed and nodded. This was going to be hard.
"You're right, your friend doesn't have PTSD. He has something else." When Qrow saw their confused faces he took a deep breath and continued. "There is a condition that me and Ozpin have seen over the years. When we were fighting in some poorer countries, we saw this a lot. Dictatorships and failed monarchies began to run out of soldiers to fight back the grimm, so they started to rely on children to do the fighting. Now, normally that would be fine. After all, we all have you practice against some lesser-grimm at a young age, but the issue was that their responsibilities didn't end with grimm."
"What are you saying?" Ruby whispered. Qrow ignored her question and continued, if he stopped now, then he wouldn't be able to finish.
"Those children ended up being used as the those countries main police-force. With no families to speak of they roamed the streets, taking orders from the government and becoming merciless killing machines. They lived their lives in the filth of society, constantly being put in danger with little to no rest. Now, most of the time these children were either captured, killed, or sold to the slave trade. But every once in a while there were some that managed to live. Before those countries fell, me and Ozpin encountered four such people. Three of them committed suicide after we left, and one was so mentally scarred that we had him moved to a mental institution. "And now..." Qrow pointed to Allen. "Your friend is acting just like one of them. While I doubt that he'll commit suicide, I have to ask you..." Qrow turned to Lenalee and the rest. "What do you know about Allen's past?" When they didn't answer Qrow sighed and opened a cabinet. Inside were a few stacks of glass plates. Qrow took six of them and opened the door. After a few seconds Qrow proceeded to throw the plates at Allen, each one rocketing towards his head like a bullet.
"Allen!" Road started as she glared at Qrow, but instead of answering her, Allen did something different. On instinct Allen grabbed the gun, loaded it, cocked it, and fired at each of the plates. Each bullet was dead-on, and as the plates crashed to the ground they could see Allen begin to shiver again. And so they started to wonder... what did they really know about Allen? Who was Allen Walker before Mana? As they watched Allen slowly stand up and walk over to the roaring fire, that was the only question they could think of.
"That boy," Qrow started as he stared at Ruby, Lenalee, and Road, "has seen the full extent of human-made hell. And that's worse than anything the grimm can come up with. If you want to be by his side..." Qrow said as he looked to everyone in the room. "You may want to find what he's hiding behind that mask of his. Or that weight he's carrying might just crush him."
Author's Note
So yeah let me get this out of the way first. I know I promised you a chapter per week, but there's a problem... recently I have been pouring much more time into my book, and with re-writes and edits, it has made this kind of second string. While I promise I'm going to continue it, each chapter will really only come out around every month, and not every week. The reason I've been on a four month hiatus is literally because I've had to do a complete re-write of the first few chapters. But now I'm back to where I was. So, sorry, but there'll be a chapter every month! Not every week! If I want to finish my book I have to do this, so sorry.
Next up, yeah, I bet none of you expected this shit to get this dark. Especially since it was rated "T" until today. Well, guess what, this was how it's supposed to be. I have my storyboard right and front of me and, let me tell you, this story will be getting DARK. As its going to delve into [my version of] Allen's very dark past before he met Mana. So yeah, get ready, cause this shit's bee D.
And for those of you wondering why I made Allen's past as dark at it is, that's just do to history. Carnival's back in the day were literal hell pits. And with how f***ed up Allen's past actually is (Before you ask, yes, Allen literally does get abused super hard at that carnival) I decided to crank that up a notch.
And trust me when I say that this is for a reason. But I won't tell you yet :)
(And before you all write me off, this sort of cough child thing actually did happen in Europe all the way until the early 1890s. That's right, I actually did research for this shit. So get ready!)
Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you guys on the next chapter of Beacon's Exorcist!
Chapter 22: From Beneath the Gutter
Please review! I love them so much and its what keeps me going! (lie, I'd continue this if you didn't review, but if you do I will be eternally grateful)