A/N: Hi, guys! *wave* So I know a few of you have been waiting on this chapter for a while - we're seeing Allen again, he's the focus of this chapter. Finally. *rueful smile* By the way, for those of you who have (understandably) forgotten, we're at 15 days, and there's only one chapter left in it after this, which means I'm going to have to plan the next arc soon. *chuckle* Also, none of you seemed all that disappointed that Chaoji was dead... Luckily, I was sort of expecting that.
Thank you to jy24, Katherine Sanderson, karina001, InsanityOwl, KitKat758, neah20, and Yami-The Lord of Darkness for reviewing!
Title: Fear of Infinity
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: None
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Warnings: None
Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.
"I'm going to throw you," Allen directed, ignoring Alexei's wide, alarmed eyes. "And you need to flip in midair and land on your feet."
"I cannot do that!" Alexei protested. "I am not understanding!"
Allen smiled. "Don't worry, it'll make more sense once you're in the air. You understand basically what I said, right?"
"...Yes…"
"That's good, then I promise you can do it." Allen ruffled Alexei's hair. "It's hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it, and it's surprisingly useful in the field."
Alexei gave him an uncertain look, but as promised, Allen hadn't yet asked him to do something he genuinely couldn't do. "...Okay."
Allen's smile softened, and he stepped back a little, studying Alexei and then gesturing for him to follow.
It took a few hours, but Alexei worked hard, and Allen was a surprisingly good teacher. By lunchtime, Alexei was consistently landing on his feet, and for those times he didn't, well, that was what the mats were for.
They broke for lunchtime and walked to the cafeteria together. It was a little awkward, but not as much so as it could have been; while it was only their second day training, they'd spent almost every minute of it together, working hard and fast.
They had to move a little more quickly than Allen might have liked - there was an awful lot of material to cover before Alexei's first mission - but Alexei was a good student, and determined. He'd be alright.
Allen would make sure of it.
"Master, where did you learn all of this?"
At Alexei's sudden question, Allen started slightly, and then looked down at Alexei. Alexei's eyes were on the ground, hands clasped behind his back. Allen gave him a thoughtful look, and, after a few moments, answered,
"I worked for the circus when I was younger. From when I was about five to the time I was ten, I think."
"Five?" Alexei looked up at him now, pale eyes wide.
Allen smiled uncomfortably and nodded. "Just about. I didn't start learning until I was seven, though." He chuckled softly. "My foster father was a very good teacher."
"So are you," Alexei said without thinking, and then ducked his head and frowned at the ground. He wondered what Allen's father had been like.
"Thank you," Allen laughed, "but you're really doing most of the work."
Alexei shrugged uncomfortably. "What are we going to be doing after lunch?" Training would pick up again as soon as they were done and then continue 'til dinner, and then for a little while after, until Allen had decided Alexei had had enough for the day.
The night before, it had been almost ten, and Alexei had been exhausted. He'd woken up aching.
He wasn't going to let that stop him, though.
Allen 'hm'ed thoughtfully. "I'd like to for you to be able to turn yourself in midair, so that you're facing your target when you land. We'll work on that."
Alexei winced, but this time, didn't object.
"Allen! Alexei!"
Allen started slightly and looked up to find Steve striding toward them, looking like he was trying for a smile and failing miserably. His eyes looked dark and unhappy, and Allen instantly grew concerned. "Captain! What happened?"
Steve's attempt at a smile fell away, and he grimaced. "We found Rhapsody." After a moment spent struggling for words, and then finally settled on, "Lavi's… giving her Innocence to Hevlaska."
Immediately, Allen deflated, eyes falling to the ground, and Alexei's widened dramatically. The younger boy paled sharply, and Steve winced; he probably shouldn't have said as much in front of the new exorcist, especially one as young as Alexei. But he was still a little in shock. The mission hadn't technically been the worst of his life, wasn't even close, but God, it felt like it. He hadn't lost anyone in a damn long time.
"Oh," Allen said quietly. He glanced at Steve, silver eyes concerned. "Are you okay?"
Steve grimaced. "I'll get over it." Rhapsody wouldn't. "I'm sorry."
Allen started, and then waved his hands insistently. "No, no! It happens sometimes. I'm glad you and Lavi and Bakanda got back okay." He hesitated. "You… did all get back okay, right?" Steve nodded, and Allen sighed in relief. "That's good." He turned to look at frightened Alexei and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. You made it as far as the Order, so you should be okay as long as we're careful. That's what the training's for, after all."
Alexei nodded hesitantly, but he didn't look entirely convinced.
"Oh!" Steve made a visible effort to perk up and looked at Allen. "How is that going?"
Allen smiled, and forced the thought of the lost accommodator away to think on later, after he and Alexei were done for the day. "It's going rather well, actually. Alexei's stamina is up about as much as it could be from two days' training, and he's learning to balance and shoot while moving."
"He is still here," Alexei complained, struggling to move past the previous topic as easily as the two older males had.
"Sorry, Alexei," Allen chuckled.
"Is Allen a good teacher?" Steve asked Alexei, smiling faintly.
Alexei considered it for only a very brief moment before nodding. "I am learning a lot." He wrinkled his nose. "It is being hard, but not too hard, I am supposing."
Steve laughed. "That's good. That's what training should be like."
Alexei huffed and muttered, but then they reached the cafeteria. When they got their food, Steve broke away to sit with Coulson and Link, and Allen took Alexei to go sit with Lavi, who was frowning at his food, looking pensive.
"Hey, Lavi," Allen said, voice soft, sitting down beside him. "Steve told me how the mission went."
Lavi snorted. "Figures. Typical, right?"
Allen shrugged. "It doesn't have to be."
"Should have brought more firepower," Lavi muttered, scowling. "It takes a lot to bring an accommodator to the Order."
"Is it always like this?" Alexei asked, leaning forward to peek at both of them worriedly. Allen took the moment to consume his food, which both his companions ignored with admirable tenacity. "It seems… bad."
Lavi grimaced and then forced a shrug and a grin to the Russian boy. "Eh, not always. There are good times and bad times, I guess." Alexei didn't look convinced. "Don't worry about it. There's, what, two weeks left?" He glanced at Allen, who nodded. "And then it's all over, one way or another."
Alexei flinched lightly, and Allen paused to look down at him, and then he sighed, put his food down, and tilted Alexei's chin up with one gloved hand to meet his eyes, deadly serious.
"Alexei. I can't promise that either of us will make it out of this okay, that any of us will, but I do promise you this: everyone here is going to do their very best to make sure everyone makes it out alive, and I'll do my best to make sure you do. Okay?"
Alexei bit his lip, holding Allen's gaze steady without speaking. After a very long moment, he asked in Russian, "You promise?"
"I promise," Allen replied in the same language, giving the boy a small smile. He let go and returned to English as he looked back at his food. "I wouldn't be much of a master if I didn't."
"Yeah, then you'd be like Cross," Lavi chuckled. Allen wrinkled his nose and scowled.
Lavi and Allen kept talking throughout the rest of lunch; Alexei contented himself with eating and listening. Finally, though, Allen finished and stood up, and Alexei scrambled up as well, caught between dread and eagerness.
"I'll see you later, Lavi," Allen told his friend with a smile, gathering up his trays.
Lavi waved. "Talk to ya later, sprout!"
"My name is Allen!" Allen scowled at him and then moved on to put his trays away. It was on his way to the door that he saw Link dismiss himself from Steve and Coulson's company and start toward them, stride long and purposeful. Allen paused, surprised.
"Master?" Alexei tilted his head back to frown at him in question. Allen shook himself and looked down at him.
"Meet me at the same training room, alright? It looks like I have something to take care of first."
Alexei's gaze lingered on him for a few moments longer, a small frown stretching his mouth, but after a minute, he nodded and scurried off, casting only one glance behind him before he vanished out the door.
Link caught up and nodded at him seriously while Allen waited. "Walker."
"Hello, Link. Is something the matter?" He started to walk, not wanting to have a serious conversation on the edge of the cafeteria.
Link looked distracted. "How is your training with Alexei going, Walker?"
"It's fine, he's doing well. What's the matter?" Allen was not.
Link huffed a little. "Walker, what are you planning to do after we win?" He would not allow himself to consider the possibility of loss. For one thing, if they lost, no one would be doing much of anything ever again.
Allen looked startled, which was what he'd been afraid of. "...You know, I really don't know. I'm not sure what I could do." He considered. "I suppose I could go back to the circus."
Link scowled, and even Allen didn't look too enthused by the idea. "Figure it out, Walker."
Allen stared straight ahead for a few moments, thoughtful, and then he shrugged and smiled. "I'll work something out," he promised, already grappling with this new problem. If… if he survived… what would he do? And what would he need to do it? How would he? He hadn't ever gone to school… And he hadn't even considered...
"Good." Link nodded sharply, and then looked around. Allen's attention was returned to the older male and his concern grew. Seeing no one, Link edged a little closer to him and spoke quietly. "I am not one to betray the Vatican, but I would advise you to, well…" He grimaced. "Be wary, Walker. That's all I'm saying."
Allen turned to give him a wide-eyed, startled look, and Link returned it with a grim one. After a moment, the line of Allen's mouth smoothed unhappily. "Alright, Link. I'll be careful."
"See that you do." Link nodded at him once more, and then turned and headed a different direction, stalk sharp and brooding. Allen sighed, shook his head, and forcibly redirected his attention to Alexei's training.
There would be more problems in the future, but right now, Allen needed to focus on the ones at hand, and he had a promise to keep.
Hey, Allen. Long time no see. *rueful* Sorry, guys, I really didn't mean to sideline him like that. I think he's back on missions in a few days. Also, I accidentally dragged Alexei along for almost the whole chapter. They're very busy. *laugh* Thanks for reading, and please review!
