Okay, so this is pretty much self-betaed because my normal beta's internet is down and I wanted to put this up.

This is really where you might want to start reading The Monster Within as it will start applying to the plot more and more.

If you don't want to take a little time to read it, eventually, I'll have Lavi and Bookman explain a portion of the backstory.

Otherwise, enjoy!~

A few days had passed and it was finally time for Arisa to return to school. Her leg was almost healed, cutting off the extra recovery time the doctor had recommended. He had claimed it to be a miraculously fast recovery when she had gone to get it cleared for school use the day before.

As Arisa finished tying up her hair, the phone rang, and as no one else was home, she of course would have to answer it. She limped downstairs as fast as she could and picked it up.

"Hello, is this the guardian of an Arisa Rosalind?" Something about the pompous tone and arrogance made her unnerved.

"Who wants to know?" She used her best impression of her mom because a sixth sense of sort made her not trust this person. Plus, anytime someone asked for her guardian, her mom generally made a quick escape to the restroom.

"Malcolm C. Leverrier of the Dark Religious Order's Central Offices." The tone grew more annoyed. "We wish to have a word with your daughter, Ms. Rosalind." They must know her mom somehow, If they were using her mother's maiden name, her mom never legally removed the last name of her father nor was he officially declared dead. So how then, did someone from The Black Order know this?

"On what terms is this talk?" She kept up the impression for good measure, something about this didn't feel right.

"We simply wish to have a word with her about her," A slight pause, "Future." He finished.

"On what terms." She demanded this time.

"We have valid evidence that leads us to believe she may possess a fragment of the only known substance on this Earth that can destroy Akuma, innocence." Arisa took in a sharp breath. This was new! After a long and shocked pause, the voice came through again, "Ms. Rosalind? Will you agree to let us take your daughter back to our headquarters?" Her eyes grew cold, hadn't he said 'talk' about her 'future'? What was this about being taken? She knew she was no exorcist! All thoughts of returning to school were forgotten. She licked her lips as they were getting a little dry.

"What evidence do you have? How do you know it's my daughter, neither we nor her know anything about any of this." Her voice dropped to her normal pitch for a split second, if they found out it was her on the end.... what if they were waiting outside?! She had a feeling she wouldn't like this man. Something about him was both scary and threatening.

"We have both scientific and religious evidence, Ms. Rosalind. One way or another, Arisa will be coming with us." Arisa was more than scared now. Maybe she'd stay home after all..... What did 'One way or another' mean?

"Sir, I don't enjoy you calling my home, saying strange things about my daughter and then threatening to take her away from me. If you threaten me or my daughter I swear to you I will seek government help." Her impression was now thickened by fear but it held up decently. She was surprised to hear a chuckle from the other end.

"I'm afraid, Ms. Rosalind, either you'll be cooperating with us or cooperating with the enemy and I must say, you'd be much better off on our side of this war. Our enemy is far more ruthless than I may seem to you right now and they have corrupted our government. So I bid you farewell and I do hope that your daughter will be present at the time we come for her later today. I fear if she's not, things might not go so well for you. We'll be around at 7:00 pm." The dial tone cut on but Arisa didn't bother to put the phone down on the bracket. She was frozen in place from a mixture of Fear, Shock, Rage and Utter Helplessness.

Leverrier put the phone down. What a disagreeable woman! That tone of voice! At least he had gotten his point across. Central had done some research on the family and found out a somewhat sad history. That woman should have absolutely no problem giving up the child who bore the same face as her late ex-husband yet she had been so adamant! Something wasn't right here....

Then it clicked. The girl had been staying at home from a broken ankle. He had just revealed everything to the girl he was trying to keep in the dark. Leverrier was NOT happy. The small apartment building contained only himself and a few crows, luckily, for if it had been anyone else, they would have been crushed under the weight of his mood. He stalked out of the room to re-brief the crows.

Arisa, after finally getting over the huge shock, had gone down into the hard to access and find basement of the house. Her mom and brother probably didn't even know it existed. She may not love her family but she sure as heck didn't want to be an exorcist. They could take this innocence or whatever but she sure as heck wasn't coming with them! She went into the small hall closet, lifted up the small rug and pulled up the hatch that led into the surprisingly spacious basement room that was almost deserted and always had been. The only inhabitants were a few mice and spiders and a wooden crate or two. She had found this place once when her mom had come home from a bar somewhere and had started yelling at her for no reason.

She had come down here just to make sure no one else had been and that the hatch into the backyard was still able to open. Her brother was supposed to lock it from the outside a year or two ago and she was hoping his incompetent streak had kept up and he hadn't. It was only about 11 am, time for 3rd period at school, she supposed, but it always paid to be prepared. She pushed against the hatch and it came up easily enough, with only a small amount of creaking as protest.

Thank you oh god for giving me such an incompetent brother who even after two years of prompting still doesn't do simple chores. She gave a silent thanks. Might as well leave an escape root open in case someone actually did realize they had a basement. She sighed and sat down on the floor by one of the few things down here, a large wooden crate. She had never bothered to explore it and decided maybe now would be a good time. She lifted open the lid of the crate and gasped.

I thought mom had all these burned or thrown out..... In the crate their were pictures of a man who was the spitting image of her, or rather, she was the spitting image of him. She had always been told she looked just like her father but this was ridiculous. On the top there was a letter, addressed to her mother. It was written in a mans scratchy scrawl and wasn't very long. She checked the date. It was the same day her father had left....

Curiosity drove her to pluck it up and open it.

Dear Kristin,

I am so sorry Kristin, but this is the way it must be. I do love you and Kyle but I can't stay. I know it will be hard to keep her around you, but hopefully you won't take out your new found hatred of me on our daughter. I promise that if you shelter her until she's 16 and a half, one of two people will come for her and she won't be your responsibility anymore. I hope that it will be the Dark religious order who comes for her first, that way she'll be safe and might be able to to help end this holy war, but if it's the other side, then horrible things will happen. Make sure she receives the flute I'm leaving behind. It's very important. If you like, after she's 16 and a half, feel free to set her loose or kick her out but until then, please shelter her and make sure she's okay. I'll probably never see any of you again but I really will miss you and I am so so sorry. Also, never let her near choir or singing classes! Swear to me no matter how talented a vocalist she is, you'll never hone that talent!

Lastly, I love you Kristin, no matter what you might think now, just know this: You took my life from all about work and all about disaster and taught me how a family should be. You taught me how to love after my heart had almost finished freezing over. You saved me, Kristin, from becoming like those people from my former occupation. You saved me, and I only hope I managed not to hurt you too badly. Please, if it makes you feel better, forget I existed, but know that I will always love you.

~Damien M. Sayone

Arisa didn't even realize she was crying until she felt a salty splash against her tongue. This was why her mother had been crying that night. She, at 3 years old, along with a 7 year old Kyle had sat in the hallway and watched their mother pull her hair out while she was practically wailing, it was her earliest memory.

Her father had told her mother it was okay to throw her away at 16 and a half! He had written an instruction manual and her mother had followed it! That was why she had been disallowed choir classes, why she had been given the flute, why her mother kept her around! It was all because of the father she had always imagined as kind and caring had given her an instruction manual to follow! Anger reeled through her like a wildfire and she felt the ring on her finger pulsate. It was a warm pulsation and it only made her more furious.

How could this happen?! How could her entire family have not a care in the world for her!? Had she been born to be thrown away to a religious organization as a soldier?! Was she totally useless?! Did anybody even care about her?! The warmth and pulsations grew stronger and she felt the ring start to twitch. She was so furious she didn't even care, but there was also a deep rooted fear. Am I going to be thrown away? Am I really unloved by everyone? Will Mom really throw me out in 3 months when I turn 16 and a half? The ring started expanding and fell from her finger, only to be caught involuntarily by her other hand as it grew long, longer than a flute for sure. She looked down at the long silver, double end bladed spear held in her hand and grinned. But it wasn't the grin of Arisa Rosalind that looked back but the image of a woman who looked just like her, except older and with golden eyes. She was startled and the image faded leaving her feeling alone and hopeless and the long utensil in her hand turned back to a ring and clattered to the floor. She felt more tears come from her eyes but the ability to be angry had totally left her and slid back to the floor after having stood up to read. She sat deflatedly and cried, clutching the letter that had caused her misery tightly to her chest, to prove that this wasn't a nightmare. That letter hadn't even mentioned her name, nor had he said he loved her. Only Kyle and her mother. She supposed that if her expectations hadn't been so high, this wouldn't be so shockingly depressing, but she had always clung to the hope that her father had loved her and would've taken her with him if he could. Most kids in her situations dream, she guessed. It was ironic, really, that she had always thought her mother had been too lazy or had hated her too much to sign her up for choir, or was too lazy to find foster care for her but it had all been her fathers 'What to do with Arisa' manual that had made all that happen. She felt pathetic, sitting there so she got up, glanced at the ring, kicked it into the corner and went back up to her room.

She flopped down onto her bed and after sniffling for a few minutes, drifted off into a nightmarish sleep.

Hmmm..... would you like to give it your first try.....? The voice from an earlier dream asked in a soothing tone.

Give what a try....? Do I get more chances...?

Would you like to face the madness? Try to get to the end of the tunnel? I believe you'll have enough drive to get halfway there....

What ARE you talking about...?

I think you're ready, so you're ready. Give it a try. Remember, don't stop, keep swimming. Don't be taken of course by those already consumed. Know your goal: to find the truth.

WAIT! HOLD ON! What are you trying to get me to do?!

Just don't be distracted and you'll be fine. Keep swimming until you reach the truth. If you're lost, you'll never be found......

She was swimming in dark waters, their were eye catching things on either side of her that were beckoning to her. She started to veer of course but a sharp tug kept her going straight. She so wanted to go get a closer look though...... she tried to glance sideways but an overwhelming force pulled her back and she doubled her efforts. Hadn't the voice said 'If you're lost, you'll never be found'??? She pushed forward, surprised at how easily swimming had become in the dark waters. Then she heard the nostalgic tune and stopped short. It was that tune she loved so much.... She smiled and started swimming towards it, getting closer and then realizing that it wasn't the same tune at all...... It was a darker more scattered form of it but she was already so close that she couldn't pull away! She peddled frantically towards the pathway but it started getting less and less clear and she was pulled even more harshly towards the scattered, dark, melody. She saw someone sitting on the bench, playing the piano. They had long mahogany hair, that was thick and pulled back in two braided pleats tied with a black ribbon in the back and they were wearing a black dress. They had a strange gray colored skin but still managed to look lovely in the darkness. The figures face turned towards her and bright golden eyes, like the ones from earlier, looked back at her and she screamed.

Leverrier and his crow squad had changed their plans and were arriving at the house at 1 o'clock to retrieve the girl. The hooded figures walking beside him were as grim as usual as they walked up the walkway towards the small house. They had reports from the neighborhood people that they hadn't seen her leave the house so they walked right in, the door being unlocked. They walked purposefully towards the stairs but stopped short when an earsplitting scream filled the air.

Allen was in his room, playing with Timcanpy when a sudden drowsiness came over him. He laid down on the small bed and was asleep within minutes.

The body he was in wasn't his. He couldn't even control it..... The shell started running towards an especially darkened spot of... wherever this was and he saw two people already there. They looked very much alike but the age difference was clear. The older one was trying to pull the much younger one out of the ensuing darkness and and the body his consciousness inhabited was now helping. The older woman sighed in relief, waved and smiled but then stopped cold. She looked scared and angry. She then rested a hand on the seemingly unconscious younger one, merging into her, turning her skin a gray and her now exposed eyes a rich gold. His body started running backwards as the young form started to shimmer and then disappeared. He felt a small tear roll down the cheek of the shell he was in, a tear of happiness, and then he to disappeared.

Allen woke up, sweating heavily. He looked at the clock. 1 o'clock?! It had been only 11:30 when he had fallen asleep and he hadn't dreamt that long, had he? Tim was settled into his hair and he slid out of his bed, heading down to the cafeteria for some well needed food and company. Was he going mad? It sure seemed like it lately.....

I tried to make it a little longer...... I know Allenand Leverrier were a little coughcoughALOTcoughcough OOC but bear with me, ne?

Review pweeeaz!~

Cast: Please do!~