Late AND short (cringes) but there are big plans for next chapter so… There is something I'm REALLY excited to change/ write about but it's so far away… And people seem alright with the idea of making this more AU which is good. On that note, should Mana curse Allen? Another thing, and this has been bothering me for quite some time: who was Lenalee's master? Was it a general that passed away? Should I make an OC? Or since she always came back to HQ, did she only train with generals nearby? Kanda had a master so Lenalee must have one to, right? Or is that why he's stronger than her? (This will be relevant shortly I'm not just venting, gomen!)

Thank you to Jinx, Ern Estine 13624, Ryuakilover, Guest, Sacredfire44, Lena-luvs-cats, MesuNeko, and SakuraNyaa for reviewing, and others for favoriting/ following!

Chapter 5

"Those with a synchronization rate below ten percent are not compatible with a fragment. On occasion syncro rates would rise above that but still remain below twenty percent. They usually fell." The echoing voice of Hevlaska filled the chamber. She was referring to previous experiments, hoping that Komui would understand without the need for clarification, for the children's sake. Lenalee shivered, tears pricking her eyes but never falling. The look she sent the boy was desperate. A chill ran down his spine as he turned to gaze up at Komui.

"Are you saying...?"

"No. His Innocence seems fairly stable. However I have never seen a parasitic type… Non-accommodator." Komui stilled in horror at what this may result in.

"Can you learn anything from the Innocence?" This was still war. Central was rather unhappy at the ban on human experimentation. If someone else was the true accommodator of his Innocence...

"It's too soon to tell. If his syncro rate is raised there is a chance... " Her voice took on a note of sadness. No one present had any knowledge of how to go about doing that, least of all the boy.

"Thank you Hevlaska." A curt nod, and the elevator began moving upwards. Komui led the pair, hurriedly, to an examination room he recently had installed in the Science Section. On the way he offered a brief explanation of the Holy War, going on to provide a far more detailed explanation of Innocence. Throughout the trip, Allen remained eerily quiet, absorbing the information and being assisted by Lenalee in keeping pace with her brother. Some of the scientists ceased their bustling about when they caught sight of the chief's face. Their concern only increased upon seeing the children, and the varying states of shock they were in, as they jogged along despite their injuries. Komui held the door to the examination room open for them, closing it as quickly as possible.

"Please have a seat Allen." He did so, taking the metal chair in the center of the room. Upon Komui's instruction, he placed his left arm atop the metal table accompanying the chair.

"Allen, could you please take off your shirt so I can look at your whole arm?" His voice softened drastically, and the need to exam his Innocence quickly dissipated as he saw the boy's look. He was steeling himself for something, no doubt the repercussions he thought were sure to come from showing his arm. Allen obeyed slowly, not bothering to mask his suspicion, but struggling to hide his fear with a glare. He only removed the left side of his shirt, turning his head away. He flinched at the sound of something scraping against the floor. Komui jumped too, startled by the unexpected noise caused by Lenalee as she pulled up a chair on Allen's left side, worry clearly showing.

"Don't be scared, brother's going to help you." Her tone was reassuring, but laced with concern. He looked up at her, startled. Komui walked beside his sister, scooting her chair over slightly so he could kneel down and exam Allen's arm. He only looked at first, asking permission before he finally touched it. Normal skin collided with that formed by the Innocence, creating a vague pattern down his arm. Some of the skin around his left shoulder bulged slightly under an unusual crimson hue. Komui pondered this before moving further down his arm. The texture was rough, the better length of his arm was covered in a thick, uneven layer of blood red skin, almost scab-like. Wrinkles lined the surface as well, bulging at random, but concentrated mainly around the cross protruding from the center of his hand. It looked to be of glass, and had Hevlaska not informed him the boy was a parasite-type, he would have mistaken it for such. Green radiated from the center, catching the artificial light from above. The bone structure seemed slightly varied as well, thicker: It reminded him of Lenalee's boots. They looked to be regular flats, but had the characteristics of steel.

"Does it hurt?" It appeared rather painful. The boy offered a shrug, eyes still fixated on the ground. After a brief moment of silence, he continued.

"It's numb. Never been able to feel anything…" He paused again.

"Kinda hurt when I-" He stopped speaking of his own accord, not that his voice had been distinctly audible to begin with. Komui stepped back for a few minutes, thinking.

"Can you move it Allen?"

"Eh?" Allen looked up, startled, confusion momentarily blocking the fear. He finally met Komui's eyes. Komui looked back down, slightly startled himself by the child's confusion.

"Can you move your arm?" The boy sombered, glancing back down at the table before he rolled his shoulder. Nearly full range of motion. Komui noted before Allen continued. He lifted his arm off the table, but not very much. He quickly set it back down. Slightly more concerning, maybe- He proceeded to bend his arm at the elbow, only managing to make it move somewhat. After three tries, he managed to bend his arm about half the amount it should already be capable of. Allen lay his arm back down, stopping for a moment, struggling to hide the increased amount of labor in his breaths. Lenalee leaned closer, squirming so as not to interfere, though she really wanted to. She cast a desperate look in Komui's direction. He was wincing, but he had to know.

"Can you move your hand at all?" His voice was soft, he returned to kneeling beside Allen, offering comfort to him and Lenalee. A fierce glare was held in his silver eyes, hyper-focused on his hand. His jaw was set, but in determination. Breathing became far more difficult and his right hand curled into a fist. A few minutes later, he had managed to bend his wrist, barely, but his fingers had no more than twitched, if that. He was left panting from the exertion, and Lenalee gently placed a hand on his back.

"That's enough. It's okay." She offered a smile before casting her brother a pleading look. He nodded.

"Thank you for trying Allen. Has it always been this difficult?" A nod. Not good. He sighed, brow furrowing in worry.

"Lenalee, would you mind moving to Allen's other side?" It was a command more than a question. His tone was resolute, the same as when he sent her away on missions. She tensed, scurrying to drag the chair to Allen's other side. He jumped slightly as she laced her fingers through his, holding his hand. He turned to question her, only to catch her worried gaze. He instead offered a small smile, before turning to face Komui as her eyes widened. He gave Komui a look suited for someone much older than six.

"Allen, I need to figure out what's wrong with your arm." A pause.

"Has it always been… Red?" The boy turned his gaze away, but the resoluteness failed to dissolve. He nodded.

"I'm going to exam your Innocence. It looks like most of the nerves in your arm are clustered there, so it's probably going to hurt. Can you be brave?" He nodded. His right hand, hidden beneath Lenalee's tightened slightly. She offered him a small smile and squeezed back.

Ten minutes later, Komui emerged from the rooming, practically running, leaving the door to slam behind him. Suppressed screams fell from the room before being cut off by the door. After watching this transpire, Reever got up, abandoning his efforts to rouse the new recruits, unaccustomed to the heavy workload, and darted after the chief. A few minutes later, Lenalee poked her head out, violet eyes darting about. Heads turned, and someone even called to her, concerned. She ducked her head back in the room as Reever stormed back.

"What are you numbskulls looking at?! Get back to work!" They did as told, fearfully and unfocused. Reever went into the room, closing the door slightly. He spoke to the children in a soft, whispered voice, inaudible to those outside straining to hear while feigning to work. Reever emerged then, carrying Allen on his back, while Lenalee darted around him, casting nervous glances about the room. They left quickly and quietly.

After returning Allen to his room, Lenalee left to go find Mana, as she had promised Allen she would do. He was where they had left him, though this time he was awake and wandering. She brought him back to the room, only just managing to, due to the frequency of which he got distracted. She wanted to stay, out of worry for Allen, but he was asleep and Mana scared her, so she returned to Komui's office. Mana was a good clown, but he was always a clown. It was strange, which made it scary. Just like everything else.

Days blurred together after his trip to Hevlaska. Allen spent the majority of that time resting, eating, and trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with Mana. His guilt had subsided enough to the point where he was perfectly fine with snapping at Mana. But enough of it remained that he continued to tolerate his tiring nonsense, which increased tenfold given the fact that Mana bored of their room almost instantly. However he refused to leave Allen alone while he rested.

After a few days the bruises began to fade, his swollen skin subsided greatly, and he began gaining weight. His eye, blackened by Cosmos, no longer had to be wrapped, but it was still slightly swollen possessing an unnatural hue. It was around this time, that Allen began seeing things. Flashes of gold from the corner of his eye, accompanied by the ever present feeling of being watched when no one was there. The shadows, just out of sight but always visible. It was unsettling to say the least. Ultimately he attributed this to too much time spent with Mana, his craziness may have been wearing off.

"Hey Mana?"

"Hm?" He replied distractedly, continue to tie a balloon animal. Allen seemed rather fond of the dog-shaped ones.

"Do you ever see things?"

"Whenever my eyes are open. And sometimes when I'm asleep to." This was not sarcasm, this was his genuine response, and it infuriated Allen. Regardless, he swallowed the dozens of snarky remarks that popped into his mind, in favor of remaining of topic.

"That's not what I meant…" He mumbled after a heavy sigh. The man finished off the creature, hesitating to give it to the boy.

"What do you mean?" At this, silver eyes snapped up to lock with gold. Mana's tone hadn't been this serious since… Since he snapped. Allen swallowed nervously, shifting his weight.

"Do you see things that aren't there?" Mana's brow furrowed in a sort of determination, one that strangely fit the man's face, yet was completely foreign.

"Yes." Mana's fingers coiled into fists, and Allen couldn't help but flinch. Upon seeing this, Mana relaxed with a sigh, loosening his fingers to ruffle the boy's hazel hair. He shoved the hand away as Mana smiled.

"Allen still seems tired. We need to move on soon…" He stared at something far off, a distant memory beyond Allen's vision, something that had been occurring in greater frequency as of late.

"Say Allen, why don't you wait here? I can go into town and make some money for us."

His eyes widened, an empty feeling growing at the thought of Mana leaving him. We'll always be together, you said! Before his wave of protests could be vocalized, Mana continued.

"Allen is still sick, and we need money." That did little to soothe him, having been just as injured when Mana first took him into town, if not more so.

"I'll be fine, just take me with you!" Mana offered a smile and a nod, before thinking.

"We can stay here a little longer don't worry, I won't leave you." His smile was comforting and he did nothing to object, when Mana's arm wrapped around him in an embrace. Allen sighed in relief, leaning into Mana. This is so- He shivered, then darted his gaze about. It happened again, that feeling…

"Time for Allen to rest!" Mana announced, scooping him up then setting him on his back.

"Mana it happened again!" The man started to hum, ignoring or simply failing to process the words. Allen halted in his attempts to be heard, thinking back to the conversation that had been avoided with such ease, that Allen had failed to acknowledge it. Of Mana's many tricks, that one was the boy's new favorite. He ran through scenarios in his head, working out the best way to apply it. It was at this time that they were approached; Allen lost in thought and Mana lost in his delusions.

"Allen? Do you two have a moment?" Allen started at the sound, nearly tumbling off his perch on Mana. When he recognized the owner of the voice, he shoved away from Mana, stumbling upon returning to the ground. Mana seemed rather unbothered, turning to smile distractedly, before settling his gaze on the flustered Allen.

"We were hoping you two would talk to us about what happened, back at the circus." He clarified his reasons for interrupting. He had not bothered them since the inspection of Allen's arm, and Komui seemed a tad nervous around the boy still, more so with the clown. Lenalee had visited Allen, a few times, and she informed him of Komui's regrets about having hurt him. She also told him about the things that had been learned about his arm though he was rather uninterested. The wouldn't want someone like him to do anything, regardless of how desperate the girl made them sound.

At the mention of the circus, Mana tilted his head in confusion, visibly mulling over the possible meaning of Komui meant. Allen glanced at him concernedly: Mana was always confused it seemed.

"When can we leave?" He abruptly inquired, startling all present to some degree.

"I'm afraid we would like you to remain here for now." Komui's voice was softer, but commanding.

"Oh." He said, a hint of suspicion flashed across his face, finally noticing the two finder's that accompanied Komui.

"Now that Allen is feeling better, we were hoping you could answer a few questions." Mana hesitated for a moment before nodding, all previous suspicion abandoned in favor of his usual behavior, practically skipping to meet them.

"Stay Allen. I'll be back soon then we can go!" He smiled before following Komui, not seeming to notice the finders falling in behind them.

Allen trailed the four of them. Despite Komui's generally kind nature, it was obvious that he held a position of authority, and Allen was all too aware of what that did to people. He shivered at the memory of the probing his cross. He had told him everything he was going to do and why before he did it, which was… Appreciated, to an extent. But… He rounded another corner, struggling to keep up without being heard, until there were footsteps. He whirled, unable to see who was approaching due to the winding halls. Nevertheless, Allen remained suspicious, pressing against the wall as the owner of the sound rounded the corner. Reever emerged, spotted him, then crossed the corridor to meet him.

"Allen, do you want to come with me for a bit?" No response, verbal or otherwise.

"Will you come with me for a bit?" The boy sighed, which was taken by Reever as a yes. He escorted Allen back through the maze of headquarters, guiding him through the open doors into the chief's room. A small cluster of scientists were awaiting them, talking amongst themselves. Reever gestured towards the couch, but Allen hovered by the door. He heard shuffling behind him, and glanced back to see the majority of the Science Section. They were sitting, scurrying, performing their normal tasks, however in Allen's weary state, the sheer number of them was unsettling. The boy scurried into the room, deciding to take his chances.

He hovered by the crimson couch, indicated to by Reever, refusing to sit until he gleamed more information on the situation, and already planning various escape routes. Some of the members caught the calculating look in his eye with curiosity, while others noted wariness in his gaze and took it upon themselves to resume working.

"Komui probably told you, but we were hoping you could tell us more about what happened at the circus..." Reever's words faded out when he caught the grim look born in Allen's eyes. The boy paled slightly and moved to take a seat at one end of the couch. Those remaining in the room silenced, growing worried, but uncertain how to assist. Johnny fidgeted about, glancing at Tapp, who more or less was doing the same. Reever however sighed, and moved to kneel by Allen, maintaining some distance as he noted the boy's uncomfort.

"Not unless you want to tell us, and just what happened that night." His tone softened, surprising Johnny, who, as a new recruit, had only heard harsh words of criticism from the man. Allen's eyes caught Johnny's as he glanced about the room. His silver gaze was sharp, knowing, as if he could see straight through Johnny. He sighed with relief when the second ended. Tapp shivered beside him, having been a victim of his gaze as well.

"That kid's scarier than Kanda." Tapp whispered when Allen's focus returned to Reever. Johnny hesitated, genuinely thinking about the statement before answering.

"Ya, but in a different way." Tapp paused, before shrugging in acknowledgement. They fully intended to further analyze the comparisons between the children when a moment of free time present itself. Or whenever Reever was not around. Both seemed unlikely.

Allen nodded once, casting his gaze to the floor, obscuring his expression from view.

"The- the circus was…" He was extremely hesitant, surprising a few of those present, who had come to expect behavior similar to Kanda's. He glanced at Reever, who nodded, urging him to continue. Another glance about the room revealed, that the people donning strange, matching white jackets, actually wanted to hear what he had to say. The thought of anyone actually listening to him was unusual, foreign. Unsure of how to proceed, and still overwhelmed by the number of people, (five) he allowed some of his emotions to influence his choice of words.

"Sucked. Got in a fight with one of the performers." He winced, just the thought of that particular performer brought a slew of painful memories, of cold and blood and curses. He felt like a beast, descending from the darkness of shadows, being forced to reveal the horrors of all he had seen. Thus he kept his explanation short, often pausing to weigh the potential effects of revealing certain information.

"Got into a lot of trouble. Ring- ...Leader had me put in a place. Couldn't see what was goin' on. But there was cheering from the main tent, even though the show hadn't started. There were loud noises… And screams… And then…" He swallowed. Everyone waited.

"But this yellow thing came, it was… Kinda big, shaped like a ball, but with wings and teeth." They all still, eyes widening.

"Got me outta the place. But then a guys came. He had weird clothes-" He halted at the sound of footsteps, racing. He looked up, alarm flashing across his face. One of the scientists, with the frizzled hair and massive glasses, pulled a thin book off the shelf. He flipped through the pages until he came to one.

"Like this?" He asked holding up the book so Allen could see. It was a colored design of long, black coat, recognized instantly by those present as the uniform of a boy however, shook his head.

"He had different clothes, they were black but there was more gold on the edges. There was a cross but it was on his neck." A pause, then he continued, going back to explaining the events transpiring that night.

"He told me to stay away from Mana... And that it was my fault." Allen slowed in his explanation, seemingly uncertain if anyone was making sense of his words or even bothering to listen.

"It wasn't your fault." Reever assured, causing the boy's eyes to widen. He ducked his head, shifting slightly in his seat.

Johnny startled everyone when he scrambled from his seat, over to the book cases taking up the entire wall. He pulled out a thick volume and flipped through the pages as he returned to the fidgeting child.

"Like this?"Johnny questioned. He was pointing to a random figure, but the attire was the same. The boy nodded.

"What's that Johnny?" Tapp asked after failing to glance the title of the volume.

"It's one of the Vatican's old records. Whoever Allen saw was dressed like a priest…" The scientists silenced, running through their minds any of the Order operatives who might abandon their uniforms for such an outfit. The boy tilted his head downwards, lost in his own thoughts.

"I remember seeing something like that before. When I was first trying to wake up, there were a lot of people dressed like that around me, talking and whispering…" Everyone stared at the pensive boy, before casting glances in silent alarm.

"You should go get some rest" Reever smiled, but the action was faint and forced. The boy slid from the couch and scurried out, although he seemed unlikely to rest, he was grateful to leave.

"What does it mean?"

"If the Vatican knew he was an accommodator then they would have brought him in on the spot, like Lenalee."

"Maybe-" The group hushed as the door creaked open again.

"I forgot… It probably doesn't matter but, the guy who told me that stuff. His hair was red." Tapp and Johnny's jaws dropped.

"Red?" Reever was not going to assume. It had been years, there was no way…

"Ya, really red and long. He smoked to." The boy trailed off, gaze intently examining their faces.

"Thank you very much" Reever stormed passed the boy in search of the chief. The child in the door shifted nervously, continuing to listen in on the conversation. A few minutes later Reever returned, dragging Komui behind him.

"What's this about Re-"

"General Cross Marian-" Komui's eyes widened. He nearly fell into his chair.

"-is alive. And he seems to be interested in Allen."