Disclaimer - I do not own DGM nor any of the characters.

A/N - Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Allen's Lover, Noah of Faith, Random Reviewer, PeanutAngel, Mistical Kat, Joker Oak, 14th Noah, Areceus the Creator, fan girl 666, Narutopokefan, LyssiBug, hitsugayataichoda, Peculiar Top hat, and anime-lyric! Your reviews all brought a smile to my face and I sincerely hope that you all continue to enjoy the story and follow it to it's sequel.

Chapter Forty-Three - Save Me From the Dark

Nearly four years had passed since Mana and his foster son Allen, along with the boy's little terrier Star, began their lives as traveling performers. In the beginning this transition had taken a tremendous amount of adjusting but now it almost seemed as though the trio had been destined for this lifestyle from the very beginning. For reasons that were known only to him, Mana kept them moving from circus to circus, but Allen didn't really mind their nomadic lifestyle. It was kind of fun to travel all around, seeing different things that most kids his age would never get to experience. He and Star quickly became the stars of every circus that they joined, their act always eliciting roars of approval from the crowds.

And yet, secretly, Allen still absolutely despised being a clown. His fondness for them hadn't grown at all in the time that he had spent in the company of the circus performers. He could interact with the clowns, even counted a couple of them as friends, but he still didn't like them when they were all in costume and acting stupid. There was just something about them that he inherently didn't like. He even called his father a stupid clown quite frequently, even if it was only in a teasing manner.

Sometimes it was just way to much fun to tease the man.


"Allen have you seen my juggling balls?" a questioning voice called out from inside the tent that Allen and Mana were sharing while at this particular circus. It was unremarkable and much the same as the places they had lived before. For the most part only the setting changed with this particular lifestyle. With a slight sigh the brown haired boy stopped his practicing with Star to stick his head inside the tent. "No… can't you remember what you did with them after last night's show?"

"No," Mana said, rummaging around in a trunk that held the various props that he used for his act. Several of them were now scattered across the room, making it look as though a moderate wind had blown through and disturbed things. It was out of place because Mana was normally neat to a fault. "If I could find them then I wouldn't have asked you if you'd seen them."

"Stupid clown," Allen muttered as he moved to help his foster father search for the brightly colored rubber balls that he used in his juggling act. Not that the child knew that Mana wasn't his father. He had completely forgotten about his real father during the years that he and Mana had been together. Of course not even this stopped the eleven year old from using the insult that he had just tossed at the clown. "And you're always telling me to keep track of my stuff…"

"Hey!" Mana said, a mixture of amusement and reproach evident in his tone as he turned and pointed his index finger at the eleven year old. He narrowed one eye as he gave the child a pointed look. "There's no need for that attitude Allen Walker."

Allen stared at him for a moment before conceding to the fact that he had a valid point. Shifting his gray eyed gaze to the floor the boy murmured, "You're right, I'm sorry."

"I've no idea why you delight in tormenting an old man anyway," Mana continued, with just the barest of nods to let the child know that he had both heard and accepted the apology. His tone was light and teasing once more as he resumed his search for his props. "Can't believe I managed to lose them."

"Y'know Father," Allen said, sitting back on his knees and looking about the tent thoughtfully. "You don't think maybe you left them out somewhere that Star could have gotten to, do you?" This thought occurred to the child because his little terrier enjoyed playing ball and there wasn't really any difference between the balls that belonged to the dog and those that Mana used in his act. So it was highly possible, even probable, that the little dog had taken them when no one was looking.

"I hadn't really thought about that," Mana said, momentarily pausing in his search to once again turn his gaze in the direction of his son. "But you've got a point, m'boy."

"I'll see if I can find th-" Allen halted mid-sentence as he heard the sound of his little dog barking, noticing the fact that the sound seemed to be getting further away. Jumping to his feet the brown haired child dashed out of the tent and toward the barking, wondering what exactly was going on. He hadn't thought anything about leaving Star to his own devices, since the little dog always stayed close by, but now he was regretting this somewhat. "Star!" the child called out.

"Allen!" Mana exclaimed, getting to his feet a little more slowly as the boy ran off. He didn't like for Allen to be too far away from him, given the boy's past and the creatures that were searching for him so he quickly followed after his child. Of course he wasn't anywhere close to the boy as far as speed was concerned so he soon lost track of Allen.

"This isn't good," Mana muttered to himself as he came to a halt, gazing around for any signs of either Allen or his little dog.


"Star!" Allen called out as he made his way across the circus grounds, turning his head this way and that in search of his little dog. The sound of the little dog's barking had all but disappeared so now the brown haired boy was just traveling in the general direction that it had been coming from before. He hoped that this would result in him finding his companion but at the moment he wasn't really sure anymore. "C'mon Star, where'd you go?"

This question was answered as Allen heard a high-pitched whining noise, coming from what sounded like only a short distance away. Taking off in that direction it wasn't long before the boy saw exactly what had prompted such a noise and his eyes narrowed in anger. One of the other clowns who worked for the circus, a man who went by the name of Cosimo, was standing near Star's crumpled form with his leg lifted as though to kick the dog.

"What the hell are you doing?" Allen demanded as he ran forward, intent upon rescuing his dog before the man had the opportunity to do anything else to him.

"Go 'way brat," the man snarled, sounding as though he were intoxicated. His rather dull eyes shifted from the dog and came to rest on the boy, dislike evident within the dull brown orbs. "Run back to yer momma before som'thin' bad happens t'ya." This said the man gave the little dog yet another vicious kick, eliciting another yelp of pain as Star rolled across the ground.

Allen was enraged and his gray eyes flashed golden as he glared at the man. "You… bastard…" the boy growled in a voice that sounded as though it should belong to someone other than a small boy. The tone was menacing but also held a strange musical quality to it, the tone rising and falling in a lilting manner.

Cosimo was stunned, to say the very least. Subconsciously taking a couple of steps back he glared at the boy. "What the fuck's wrong wit'ya brat?" he demanded, the cruel glint in Allen's eyes serving to give him pause. This wasn't normal… there was absolutely no way in the world that this could be normal. People's eyes just didn't change color like that. He had to be hallucinating; maybe this was a side effect of the alcohol or something. Yea that was it, it had to be. This thought served to renew some of Cosimo's courage and he stepped toward the boy, his eyes narrowed in anger. "How dare y'speak t'me like that y'little abomination…" he growled, his speech slurring slightly because of the alcohol. "I'll show you…"

Allen merely stood calmly and allowed the much larger male to approach him, his eyes calm and almost calculating. Then, the instant that Cosimo reached a hand out to grab him by the shirt, his own hand shot out and grasped the man by the wrist. The move was lightening quick and left the drunken clown with absolutely no time to react. All he could do was let out a howl of pain as the child bent his wrist back with almost inhuman strength.

There was a glint in his strange golden eyes that hinted at the fact that he was actually enjoying himself. Hearing the howls and whimpers of pain coming from the man brought the ghost of a grin to his face, making the child look somewhat demonic.

And only serving to increase Cosimo's desperate attempts to pull his wrist free from the little demon's grasp.


Hearing a howl of pain Mana got the strangest feeling that he should head in the direction from which it had originated. He knew that it wasn't his child who was crying out in pain, the voice belonging to an adult man, but there was some inexplicable force that seemed to be pulling him in that direction. Deciding to follow his instincts, since they had served him well in the past, Mana quickly made his way toward the sound. Rounding a corner around one of the large tents Mana froze as he saw Allen holding the wrist of a very large man, whose face was contorted with pain. Rushing forward he grasped the little boy around the waist and lifted him. And yet despite this the brown haired child refused to relinquish his grip on the man's wrist.

Cosimo howled again as Allen tightened his grip so that he wouldn't lose it.

"Allen!" Mana exclaimed, gazing down at the boy and gasping as he noted that the child's normally stormy gray eyes had turned a malevolent gold. What in the world was going on?

"Get th'little monster offa me!" Cosimo screeched, his face still contorted with pain.

"Allen, what's gotten into you?" Mana asked, his tone quiet and yet containing a slight note of sternness. He had no idea what had caused the boy to act in such a manner but, more importantly, he had no idea how Allen had gotten so strong. It didn't make any sense.

At least not until he thought back to everything that Cross had told him. About his brother and about the powers that he had possessed. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that this must be somehow connected to all of that.

"ALLEN!"

Allen's eyes widened as he heard Mana calling out to him and, after a couple of seconds, they shifted back to gray as he released his grip on Cosimo. The man quickly put some distance between himself and the little freak of nature, cradling his injured wrist against his body. "Father…" the boy murmured, sounding exhausted. "Is… is Star okay?"

It took a moment of searching but Mana finally located the little dog. He was lying on the ground and whimpering and the man quickly walked over and knelt down beside him. Supporting Allen with one arm, the clown used his free hand to gently search the little dog's body for any signs of broken bones. Thankfully he found none and he offered Allen a reassuring smile. "I think he'll be alright Allen… he's just a little sore."

Having somewhat recovered from what had just happened, and feeling a little safer now that Mana was on the scene, Cosimo strode over to them. He felt braver looking down at them and he scowled. "You'd best do som'thin' wit that little monster o'yours," he snarled.

Casting his gaze upward Mana offered the drunken man a look that was almost equal to the death glare that Allen had been giving him earlier. "Since I know you're responsible for what happened to Star you're in no position to be making threats. Now get out of here before I make you pay for what happened." His tone was darker than his normal, light-hearted voice, and Cosimo took notice. Pausing for just a moment he quickly turned tail and ran away.

"Come on m'boy," Mana said as he scooped Star up into his arms and then turned to look at Allen. He saw the ghost of his brother reflected in the child's eyes and had to shake his head quickly to banish this vision. "We should head back."

So much had happened and Mana was at a loss as to how to deal with this new development. He didn't want to think it but was forced to concede that something serious might have happened had he not arrived when he did. This only served to further complicate an already complicated situation. He just had to keep moving forward, keep walking, but at this point, he just didn't know how he was going to be able to do that.

Casting his gaze to the sky he whispered, "Help me…"

A/N - End of another chapter, hope that you enjoyed. Sorry for the massive delay between chapters and I really hope that people will continue to read this. Allen was a little bit dark in this chapter, hehe.