Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! Sorry it took so long... The next one will come much quicker! I promise! Also, there is a Poll on my profile concerning this story! Please vote to tell me what you prefer!
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Chapter Thirty Six: Innocence Retrouvée
As the rest of the group had used a portkey to head to the Sohma's beach house, Allen had taken another one with the destination of his next mission. He did not particularly like the idea but, he was an exorcist and that was his job, to follow orders and to retrieve the Innocence while destroying the akuma around the world.
Therefore, once the portkey activated, Allen was transported onto the outskirts of a small, French village halfway up the French Alps, where the eternal snow started. He quickly got to his feet, brushing off the snow from his hair and coat. He looked around and, ignoring the cold wind blowing around him, started to make his way towards the village.
Once there, he took a look around, wondering where his two companions would be. The sun was already low in the sky and the temperature was quickly dropping. Thinking it would best to check an inn, he quickly made his way to the nearest one. Once inside, he sighed in relief, not only because it was much warmer in there, but his first guess was correct and he spotted the two men.
They were sitting near the fire, their backs to the wall. When they spotted Allen, the tall red head waved him over while the Japanese man just stared at the boy.
"Hey Rabi!" called Allen, running towards them.
"Bean Sprout! You made it!" cheered the red head happily, pulling a chair from an unoccupied table and placing it at theirs.
"I got lucky with this inn," explained Allen, taking a seat. "I did not know which one you two would be in."
"Wow, your luck is changing," laughed Rabi, patting his friend on the back. "Usually you have none."
"Thanks," replied Allen sarcastically, laughing as well.
"Will both of you shut up?" asked Kanda, annoyed.
"Ah, Yu is getting mad already and we haven't even started," teased Rabi, pocking his other friend.
"Do that again and you will no longer have a finger on that hand," snapped Kanda, reaching for his sword.
"Man Yu, you're in a sour mood," remarked Rabi, leaning away from the man.
Allen laughed at their antics. During his stay at the castle, he had secretly missed the times with his exorcist friends. Hogwarts was fun but, Allen needed action. He needed to defeat the akuma to save the souls trapped inside of them. Therefore, as part of him wanted to go to the beach house with his friends, the other half wanted to fight the akuma and go on the mission.
"Well, we'll head out tomorrow morning, early," explained Kanda, standing. "We need to rest and if one of you is not awake by dawn, ready to leave, you're staying behind."
"Fine Mr. Grumpy," sighed Rabi, also standing.
The three of them made their way upstairs to the room which the two other exorcists had rented for the night. Inside were three single beds, two of them with bags already on them. The last one, Allen figured, was his. He placed his bag next to it and removed his coat.
"'Night," he called to the two men as he crawled underneath the covers, fully dressed.
"Goodnight," replied Rabi as Kanda just grunted.
The next day, Allen, Rabi and Kanda set off towards the Alps, determined to scale the side of it to find the Innocence which was supposedly on them. They climbed the steep side, their boots starting to soak through with snow. Allen and Rabi were following Kanda who was holding the map which the finders had given them to lead the group of exorcists towards the location of the Innocence.
They continued to walk until sunset, taking only one break for lunch. Compared to the two others, Allen was the worst of at the end of the day. As they made camp, Allen could not stop shivering. Also, as they prepared to sleep in the sole tent, his teeth would not stop chattering.
"Allen, are you okay?" asked Rabi, looking at his friends.
"Sure," replied Allen, rubbing his arms to warm himself.
"Right, that's why you have not stopped shivering, your teeth chattering or your lips turning blue," remarked Kanda indifferently.
"All right… I'm a little cold," replied Allen, holding on more tightly to his arms, trying to get warm.
"I think you are past a little cold," remarked Rabi, reaching into his bag and pulling out an extra cover. "Here, take this."
"Thanks," whispered Allen, shakily reaching for it and placing it around his shoulders.
"Where is your winter coat?" growled Kanda, eyeing the younger boy.
"Komui said you brought it," replied Allen softly. "When none of you gave it, I figured you didn't have it."
Rabi and Kanda looked at each other, remembering what Komui had told them. Rabi now felt guilty for Allen's situation because it was their fault he did not have a thicker coat for the temperature outside. Kanda just cursed, knowing now that he owed the younger boy.
"We're sorry Allen," whispered Rabi, moving next to his friend. "I'll keep you warm."
"Thanks Rabi," replied Allen softly, dozing off.
Rabi sighed and wrapped an arm around his friend, pulling his shivering body close to him. The red head looked up at Kanda, worried. The swordsman just shook his head and rolled his eyes. He turned around and pulled out his own cover, throwing it in his companions' direction. Without a word, he took Rabi's and lied down, ready to sleep.
"Thanks Yu," whispered the red head, placing the cover over his shoulders and Allen.
"Don't call me that!" he whispered harshly. "Just wake me up when it's my turn to keep watch."
"Sure thing."
The next day, Allen appeared to handle the cold a little better and they set off in search of the Innocence. The small group walked for half the day until the arrived at their destination. The destination in question was in fact a large castle. However, what made this castle different was that it was encased in ice.
"Allen, are there any akuma in there?" asked Rabi, taking out a tiny hammer.
Allen closed his eyes and, when he opened them, a round, red piece of glass covered his left eye. He looked through it towards the castle, scanning it over.
"There are about twenty," he replied, pulling off his left glove.
"Just great," growled Kanda, taking out his katana.
"Innocence Activate!" they all cried.
Rabi's twirled his tiny hammer above him. Within seconds, it started to grow. Once Rabi was satisfied with the length, he brought it in front of him, ready for battle. As for Allen, he brought up his left hand and the cross in the middle glowed a bright green. When he brought it down quickly, the arm grew into a large claw. Finally, Kanda had brought his katana in front of him and placed two fingers near the hilt. Passing them over the edge, it turned from black to silver, the sharp edge revealed.
"Let's go," called Rabi, running towards the castle.
They entered the frozen palace, ready to fight. Thankfully for them, the floor was not completely covered in ice: only the edges near the walls were. The small group walked cautiously through the main hall, Allen searching the place to see if there was any akuma in that room.
Suddenly, the ceiling caved in, rumble falling right in front of the small group. The three of them backed away quickly, trying to see through the amount of dust.
"Akuma!" cried Allen, changing his arm into a cannon-type weapon and pointing it where the ceiling collapsed.
More than a dozen monsters flew out of the hole and shot towards the exorcists. The three boys backed up, creating a small, tight circle. Rabi's hammer grew larger and larger until it seemed much too heavy for him to carry alone. However, he swung it towards a group of akuma with ease, hitting a couple of them. As for Kanda, he swiped his katana towards the enemy, creating many bug like creatures which destroyed a part of the akuma. Finally, Allen's changed arm shot beam of light towards the monsters, destroying another part of them.
The three exorcists continued their attacks as more akuma came through the hole they had created in the ceiling. As they fought, they were slowly pushed further into the castle, into a deeper, darker part of it.
"Damn it," growled Kanda, slicing another akuma down. "I thought you said there was only twenty, Bean sprout!"
"There was! But more came! I don't know where they were hiding!" replied Allen, shooting down more machines as they continued to surround them.
"But there all coming from upstairs. The Innocence must be there!" suggested Rabi, pointing his large hammer in the direction of a staircase.
"Fine, let's go now," ordered Kanda, swiping at another akuma.
Allen ran towards the stairs first, destroying the enemies to clear a path for his friends. As he got closer, he noticed some akuma flying in to block their path. However, Allen managed to defeat a good part of it, reaching the staircase.
"Bean sprout!" called Rabi, worried.
Allen turned around wondering what had happened. An akuma was right behind him. He raised his arm as the enemy swiped its large sword in the boy's direction. It hit the arm, making Allen fall backwards. A large piece of ice had broken off one of the stairs and, as the boy fell, his back got cut on the sharp, thick piece. He yelled out, pain shooting through the side of his back. He raised his arm and shot a beam of light towards the akuma, destroying it instantly.
Kanda and Rabi ran towards the stairs, fighting off the enemies. However, before they reached their destination, an akuma shot bullets towards the small alcove leading towards the stairs, destroying it. Rumble and stones fell between the two exorcists and their friend.
"Kanda! Rabi!" yelled Allen, reaching out towards his friends.
"Bean sprout! Go get the Innocence! We'll find another way up!" yelled Rabi, his voice muffled from the amount of rumble.
"What?" replied Allen, not believing what his friend had just said.
"You heard us!" growled Kanda, his patience thin. "Now get going!"
Allen hesitated for a moment, his right hand in a fist. He sighed in frustration and turned around, running up the stairs as fast as possible. Damn it! Why do they do that? Why do they always think they need to stay behind? He thought as he reached the next floor.
He looked around, wondering where the Innocence could be and what it could possibly look like. Innocence always had different forms and the exorcists could never know exactly how it would look.
However, more akuma appeared around him. Allen jumped back, aiming his arm towards the enemies. May your souls rest in peace, he thought as he shot beams of pure, white energy towards the akuma.
After the ceiling over the staircase collapsed, separating Rabi and Kanda from their friend, they quickly turned around to take out some more akuma, wanting to find another route upstairs.
Rabi, after the small incident the other day with Allen's coat, felt that he needed to be there for the white haired boy. He wanted to help him out as much as possible since he knew that Allen would never give up on him. Hang in there Bean Sprout, we're coming, he thought, defeating more akuma with his hammer.
Kanda on the other hand, was just losing his patience with the amount of akuma in the castle. In addition, a constant nagging feeling in the back of his mind kept reminding him he owed Allen and he should go help the white-haired boy as soon as possible. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! He cursed repeatedly, swiping his sword at more akuma, defeating them.
The two exorcists continued to clear a path towards another staircase which they hoped would lead them to Allen so they could help him. After what seemed like an eternity, Rabi and Kanda had finally managed to destroy all the akuma on their floor.
"Come on Yu," called Rabi, running towards a staircase he spotted. "We have to go help Bean Sprout!"
"Shut it baka!" yelled Kanda passed irritated. "And don't call me Yu!"
The two exorcists ran up the stairs, keeping their weapons close. However, halfway up, Rabi suddenly stopped. Kanda cursed behind him and was going to push passed the red head when he spotted the reason why his friend had stopped: Allen. He was sprawled across the steps, shivering and covered in blood. Rabi quickly knelt next to his friend, shaking his shoulder urgently.
"Bean Sprout! Bean Sprout! Allen!" he called, worried as Kanda stood a little back, his grip on his katana tighter.
"Cold…," murmured Allen, slowly opening his eyes.
"Allen! You're awake! Are you all right?" asked the red head quickly, relieved.
"Cold… I'm cold," stuttered the younger boy, shivering.
Kanda sighed in frustration at how Allen acted. Damn that baka, he thought, pushing past Rabi. He could only go up two more steps before he felt a slight tug on the hem of his coat. He looked down and spotted Allen, holding on to him.
"Let me go Moyashi. There's still the Innocence to retrieve," grunted Kanda, pulling out of the white-haired boy's grip.
"I have it…," he whispered, his teeth shattering.
"Good, then let's go," replied Kanda heading back down.
"I can't…," breathed Allen, looking at his friends. "The Innocence… it's freezing me… it's so cold…"
"What?" yelled Rabi, not believing his ears. "How?"
"I don't know…," whispered the younger boy, taking a deep, shaky breath.
Once Allen had taken care of most of the akuma on the second floor, he ran through it, searching for the Innocence. He avoided moving his left arm too much since the wound in his back hurt even more when doing so. He turned the corner in a hurry and skidded to a halt, sliding and falling backwards once he spotted what was on the other side.
There was a hoard of akuma surrounding a large, irregular pillar of ice. Inside, Allen could see a soft, pale light emitted from a small, snowflake-shaped object. That must be the Innocence! Realized Allen, readying his weapon. The akuma noticed his presence and turned around, laughing.
Allen frowned and aimed his weapon at the nearest akuma, firing the beam of bright light. It hit it and the enemy disappeared. However, as Allen continued to fight off the akuma, the cold started to get to him. He began to shiver and his arm, shake as he continued to shoot the enemy.
Once all of them were taken care of, Allen fell to his knees, out of breath. He shivered uncontrollably, his back stinging continuously. His returned his left arm to normal so he could grip his right arm where a large gash was now visible, gotten during the fighting. Why is it so cold all of a sudden? He thought, trying to take a deep breath.
He closed his eyes, trying to stop his teeth from shattering. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his left leg. He yelled out, cursing his bad luck. His arm turned back into his weapon, ready to fight off another akuma. However, when he turned around, he did not see an enemy. He was confused but, when he moved his leg once again, pain shot through it, making him grit his teeth. What in the world…? He thought, looking back at his leg.
It was not what he had expected. What caused the pain was actually a sharp, heavy icicle which had fallen from the ceiling, straight into his leg. Allen groaned and reached back, pulling it out. He gasped in pain as it was removed and he tossed it aside. He slowly got his feet, shaking and his teeth shattering.
He approached the large pillar of ice, limping as blood dripped out of his many wounds. Once he got close enough, he slowly reached out and touched the ice. Suddenly, a bright, white light flashed from the pillar and Allen moved back, shielding his eyes. When the light died down, the small, snowflake shaped object was left, slowly floating down to the ground.
Allen was in shock as he stared at the piece of Innocence on the floor. At least we now have it, he thought, kneeling down with great difficulty. Once his hand gripped the Innocence, a shot of cold crossed through his body. What…? Why is it always so cold? He thought, pocketing the piece. Now to find a way back downstairs, he concluded, looking around.
He slowly made his way through the large corridors of the castle, limping and shivering as he went. Halfway down the hallway, he stopped suddenly, noticing someone wrong. Allen tried to move his left foot but he found it almost impossible. What in the world happened? Why does it feel like my foot is… my foot is frozen! He realized, starting to panic. I have to get out of here now before I freeze to death…
Allen tried to move quickly down the corridor but the rest of his leg started to freeze up as well. His breathing became heavier and he realized that he was tiring fast. By the time he found a staircase, his entire right leg was stiff and his left one was not looking any better. He took a step down but lost balance.
He tumbled down flight of stairs, crying out in pain. Halfway down the stairs, he finally came to a stop, his body in pain. He shivered uncontrollably, closing his eyes. He wanted to bring his arms closer to his body, to try to warm him up but his right arm was throbbing in pain and his left one was pinned underneath him and he could not move it.
He shivered on the ground, unable to move. After a while, he closed his eyes, too tired to move an inch. He almost lost consciousness completely when he felt someone shake his shoulder, calling out his name. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to see who it was.
"Cold…," was all he managed to utter, realizing it was Rabi. "I'm cold…"
Allen did not have enough strength as he spotted Kanda pushing past the red head, heading upstairs. He'll want to know if the Innocence is safe, thought Allen, reaching for the hem of the man's coat, his muscles protesting immensely.
"Let me go Moyashi. There's still the Innocence to retrieve."
Allen felt him tug on his coat, trying to get him to release him. However, all it did was cause more pain on the wounded arm and back. Allen held back a groan as he tried to find his voice to warn his friend.
"I have it…"
"You did something right for once Bean Sprout," replied Kanda, heading back down. "Let's go."
Rabi pocketed his now tiny hammer and helped his friend to his feet. However, Allen could not stop shivering and his legs were now completely stiff, completely frozen.
"Come on Bean Sprout, I could use some help," stated the red head, noticing how limp Allen felt, leaning next to him.
"I… I can't Rabi… My… My legs… They're frozen… Stiff…," replied the younger boy, stuttering from the cold.
"Yu," called Rabi, turning back to the other exorcist. "Help me put him on my back."
"We don't have time for this," growled the Japanese man, frustrated.
"Then would you want to carry him?" suggested Rabi, knowing the idea would work since Kanda would never agree to that idea.
"Fine," grunted the older boy, sheathing his katana and approaching the two others.
Kanda helped place Allen on Rabi's back, the younger boy still shivering uncontrollably. Once it was done, the three of them made their way done the staircase and then out of the castle. However, as they left, Kanda noticed Allen's whiter face and his lips that had turned blue.
"Bean Sprout," growled the Japanese man, catching the other exorcists' attention.
"What…?" breathed the younger boy, slowly looking back.
"Where is the Innocence?"
Allen had hoped that, for once, Kanda would have thought of anything else but the mission. He was wrong. The younger boy sighed softly, leaning his head on Rabi's back.
"In my pocket," he breathed softly.
Kanda moved next to them and searched in the boy's pockets. Once he found the small, snowflake shaped object, he pulled it out and, taking out a small piece of cloth, wrapped the Innocence in it, placing in his pocket.
"Let's hurry and get some shelter before Bean Sprout freezes to death," he suggested, picking up the pace.
"Thanks… Kanda…," whispered Allen before drifting off to sleep.
"Once I finally woke up," continued Allen as Yuki finished healing his wounds, "we were back at the Inn. Komui had sent two portkey to us, one for Rabi and Kanda to return to Headquarters and one for me, so I could come here."
"I don't think you'll ever see snow the same way anymore," laughed Link, ruffling his friend's white hair.
"So it really was the Innocence that started to freeze you?" wondered Edward, surprised.
"That's what we think. After Kanda had taken it away, I slowly started to warm up," replied Allen, moving his legs to show them.
"So the Innocence has different powers," concluded the short blond boy, thinking. "Yours is your arm, Kanda's is a sword, Rabi's, from what you told us, is a hammer and if I'm not mistaken, Linali's is her boots."
"Yup!"
"Interesting. Do you know any others?"
"Well, I know one of them is a clock and another is his teeth! He looks like a vampire but he's really nothing like that without his Innocence activated!"
"Boys! Is anyone hungry?" called Tohru from downstairs.
Allen quickly got to his feet, his stomach growling. He quickly reached for another sweater and put in on as Link, Daisuke, Yuki and Edward all stared at him, laughing.
"You'll eat us out of house and home!" laughed Daisuke, watching Allen turn red.
"It's not my fault I have to eat a lot!" he replied, embarrassed.
"Let's go," snickered Edward, making his way to the door.
"Yes, I also have to go apologize to Arisa. This was not her fault," stated Allen, standing next to Edward, opening the door and heading downstairs.
"Well, he may be in for a surprise," remarked Link, confused.
"Him or Arisa," added Yuki, shaking his head.
"He is way too nice that boy," stated Edward, turning to the others. "Let's go down quickly to see how this turns out."
"Count me in!" laughed Link, jumping off the bed and heading down the corridor.
Once the four boys had reached the main floor, Allen was apologizing to the blond girl who, like Saki next to her, had a confused face plastered on. Well, now they know how Allen reacts to fights with his friends, thought the group. He apologizes when it's not even his fault!
"Who's hungry?" asked Tohru, coming out of the kitchen with a plate full of snacks.
Since Allen was done apologizing, he quickly made his way towards Tohru, smiling brightly. However, before Allen's hand could reach for a snack, Link, grabbed his arm, making him stop, confused.
"What is it?" asked Allen, puzzled.
"If you eat all of them, you better run!" laughed Link, taking one and biting into it.
"Don't worry, I'm not that hungry," laughed Allen, taking a snack as well. "I'll leave something for you, even if its crumbs," he continued, sticking out his tongue.
"You do that," called Arisa, laughing with them, "and you really better run!"
"I've managed to run away from lions, all of you can't catch me!" challenged the white-haired boy, taking another bite.
They were all left speechless, staring at him. Allen flashed an innocent smile at them as he continued to eat. What in the world? Thought Arisa and Saki, puzzled on the change of attitude Allen seemed to have. He smiled at all of them warmly, taking one last snack before sitting down on the sofa.
"You are a weird one, Walker," remarked Arisa, shaking her head.
"I completely agree," nodded Saki, smiling as well.
"That's not the first time I've heard that," replied Allen, smiling at them warmly.
Saki continued to observe the new arrival and noticed some resemblance to Link, Daisuke and Edward. His aura looks like theirs, she realized. The outside is pure white but deeper, the white turns to gray and then black. He's part of all three of them and yet they are separate. Why? However, she was not going to ask any more questions to Allen, seeing as they already knew about his arm which he had tried to hide. Another time.
Author's Note: End of this chapter! Review Please! And Vote on the Poll! Greatly appreciated! PS, The story is far from finished! Don't worry readers!