Hello! GummyRabbit here~ Thanks to all who reviewed! You guys all cheered me up!(Xz: Thanks for the reminder, but somehow the italic shows up when I open it, sorry...) Apparently, Lulubell is actually Lulu Bell, as in the first and the surname, so that has to change! This chapter is thanks to a lovely Guest reviewer who urged me to write longer chapters. So here you are. Enjoy!
Neah, Lulu Bell, Tyki Mikk & Mana Walker
Allen was woken up abruptly by Neah's voice, Allen WAKE UP! Perhaps it was because of the desperation in Neah's voice or perhaps because of the sheer volume that Neah managed to muster, that Allen's eyes snapped open. A glint of sharp metal drew a line from above him to his left arm, aiming for the Innocence. He yelped and rolled to the side. The knife stabbed into the mattress. The boy looked up and found the the inn owner's daughter standing over his bed, knife in hand again. Something is different about her... In the dark it was hard to tell, but was her hair always that dark? When she turned around, Allen felt a chill. She has molten gold eyes, almost glowing in the night. Timcampy fluttered around, another gold spot in the room, panicked, his fright is contagious. Allen, run! Get out of here! Prompted by Neah's voice, the boy dashed out of the window, disregarding the fact that he's on the second floor, as he landed on his feet, hitting the ground running. "Wait! Fourteenth!" Called Lulu Bell's voice.
Somehow, he arrived back in the woods, heart beating erratically, not from the run but from panic. She could've killed me! No, she's only aiming for your Innocence. Allen remembered where the knife was aimed at- "What did she mean by the fourteenth?" Neah didn't answer. He knew something. But how is that possible? He's a part of Allen's imagination, right? So how can he know something Allen didn't know? Who are you, Neah? There was another silence. You knew about 'Innocence' before I did, didn't you? Neah did not answer Allen. Tell me, Neah! Get down!
He ducked, half on reflex, just missing a whip in the back. She's already caught up! He took one glance behind and ran further into the forest. You better explain everything after, Neah! Get out of this situation first, would you? Despite the current predicament, Allen had to smile. Neah is back to normal, even with the sardonic flair, he only felt relief.
Mimi chased after her Lulu Bell-sama, sharp metal fans at the ready. "Lulu Bell-sama!" She cried as she caught sight of the familiar silhouette of her master. Lulu Bell stood still for a moment so that Mimi could catch up. The akuma felt a sense of pride that she is significant enough for Lulu Bell to wait for her. "Lulu Bell-sama! Who are we after?" Her master turned off into the woods, "There's no need to hurry. Tyki will be here soon. The fourteenth cannot escape."
Allen ran until all his sense of direction is gone. He's lost, and spectacularly so. At least she hasn't caught up yet. Neah, explain. I thought you would have me to explain it after we get out of here... Neah sighed. Don't joke, I want an explanation now. There was a silence. It stretched long enough for Allen to think that maybe Neah's not going to answer him, but then, No choice, then, do I? Allen stood still. This way, he'd hear people approaching. Well, to start off, I'll explain who that woman is, then? Or rather, what she is. Allen gestured impatiently for him to continue, We haven't got all day, you know? Right right. She is one of the Noah. Noah is a clan of thirteen apostles, supposedly chosen by God, or so they claim. They can control Dark Matter, and the Innocence's enemy. The Earl is the First Apostle. Every single person has what is called the Noah gene. The story of the Innocence you heard from the exorcist talked about the Noah's Flood. All people are descendants of Noah, but something will trigger some people to awaken their Noah gene, hence gaining the power to control Dark Matter. There would always be thirteen apostles in total, each with their different attributes. Allen recalled what Lulu Bell called him, Then what's with the 'fourteenth'? Yes, I'm getting to that. See, in the last generation of Noah, there is one more Noah, which is then referred to as the fourteenth. This shouldn't have happened. But the Noah didn't really question it. You can imagine how surprised they were when the fourteenth tried to kill all of them. The fourteenth killed all but two apostles. That person was me. My name is Neah Campbell, younger brother of Mana D. Campbell, which makes you my nephew.
Allen was still processing the information when he heard the tell-tale signs of someone walking towards him. He turned toward the sound, expecting Lulu Bell to stand there. Instead he found a well-dressed man with a top hat, and a mole under his eye. Under the moonlight, Allen sees his unnatural dark ash skin and gold eyes. Another Noah. Yes I can see that. "I can see what Lulubell meant about you being one of us, but is not." The Noah smirked. "Who are you?" The Noah advanced a few more steps before answering, "How rude of me. My name is Tyki Mikk-" The man leaned forward to peer at Allen's face, "Ah! It's you! Cheating boy A?" Timcampy looked insulted at the nickname, even though it's not for him. "Enough talk, Tyki. My master wants him now." Lulu Bell melted out of the shadows, followed by a silver-haired maid which Allen recognised as an akuma. "I know that. First, we'll remove the Innocence."
The whip lashed out, and Allen leaped out of the way, barely touching the ground before he had to dodge Tyki's attack. He activated his Innocence, aiming his gun at Lulu Bell and shooting. It missed, predictably. "That all you got, Shounen?" His arm turned into a claw and swiped at the wide-eyed Tyki but as his back is turned, Lulu Bell's whip found its mark. Fire lashed across his back and he stumbled from the force of the blow. Tyki took the chance to land a hit on his chest, hand covered purple with Dark Matter. "Ugh" Allen tried to regain his footing. Damn! Their speed and strength is inhuman. Allen managed to block the whip and a few hits from Tyki, but he is deprived from sleep, they managed to bring him to his knees. They are going to take his Innocence away. As soon as he realised that, he panicked. They can't! As they moved toward him again, Allen made his decision.
"Innocence. Activate to maximum!" Allen shouted with effort, dredging up the last of his energy and the entire silver claw glowed green, growing in size, and before the three could react, the boy pinned them all to a large tree. "Damn you, fourteenth!" Growled Lulu Bell, slipping out of her calm facade. Tyki, however, seemed amused, "Shounen, do you think this will keep us forever? You know activating to maximum has its consequences." He knows. Master had at least told him something. His eyes widened as he felt resistance. Allen's Innocence is slowly being pushed back. He gritted his teeth and dug his heels where they are. The advance stopped momentarily, but started up again, "You can't win this fight, Shounen. Even an Innocence activated to its maximum, if the exorcist is not synchronised enough with his Innocence, you are still not strong enough to win against one, let alone two Noahs." His whole body trembled with the effort to keep them immobile. "Give it up!" The akuma sneered, "You cannot win!" Allen didn't answer, he only pushed his Innocence harder. Please, just this time, just a little more...
Allen heard something break.
The green light disappeared. His entire arm is exposed. His ugly, red arm with the green cross. His arm that is twisted at an impossible angle. The agony came all at once, wild fire that is his left arm. The boy's eyes widened, "Ah-" His trembling lips opened and a wail filled the air.
Once the pain abated slightly, Allen was once again aware of the unwelcome presence of the two Noah and the akuma. His arm is mostly numb, trembling uncontrollably once and a while sending shooting pain up his arm. He's on his knees, too drained to even move. "Now, for the Innocence..." Tyki walked right up to Allen, kneeling down beside the boy, hand on his left shoulder. Allen was sure he's unable to experience even more pain. Yet another scream tore from his throat as Dark Matter ate away his arm. His left arm fell to the ground, and so did Allen. "Did you know, Shounen? We can destroy Innocence. Us Noah." Allen stared at his arm, "Stop." His voice trembled and Tyki talked like he never heard him, "All of the Innocence I stole from the dead has already been destroyed. If any of those Innocence I destroyed was the 'Heart', all the Innocence you guys have would have been wiped out. That's the sign that it was the right one. I wonder if your Innocence is the Heart? But right now, I have to get rid of it so that you can join us."
Tyki leaned down. "Stop..." His hand touched Allen's Innocence. "Stop!" Allen shouted as he watched his arm be ripped apart in the purple light of Dark Matter. The Noah held in the palm of his hand the green cross, and he crushed it in his fist. A flash of green light escaped between his fingers before disappearing. Tyki opened his hand and the boy sees green dust drift out and vanish.
Allen could only feel a very slight amount of surprise when Tim flew in front of him, attempting to shield him from the Noah. "Tim?" He breathed. "Oh, we can't have that, can we? I'll have to destroy the little golem too." Tyki said. "Tim, go." At least Timcampy would survive. Master would be mad if Tim didn't make it. Allen smiled faintly as the golem shook itself vigorously. "Go, please." Tim made a split second decision and flew off at the speed of sound. "Even your golem abandoned you, didn't it?" Tyki stared down at the boy, "You'll be coming with us."
Tyki felt his eyes widen as he felt the presence of Innocence. Namely, the boy's Innocence, seemingly manifesting itself again. The claw swung his way, and in his surprise, he barely avoided it. "Whoa! Where did that come from?!" As fast as it came, the claw broke apart into powder again. His eyes narrowed. He was sure he'd crushed the Innocence, yet there it is, in the air like it never got destroyed. "Tyki... this is..." He nodded, "It could be the Heart." Such tenacity. Its physical form is destroyed, yet it still exists. This way, Tyki can't even destroy it this time. "The Innocence is stubborn. We can't separate the fourteenth from it." Lulu Bell turned away, having lost interest. "We can't bring him to my master like this." Then she and her servant left. Tyki sighed and looked at the boy, then shrugged, "Well, the fourteenth betrayed us anyways."
"Since you and your Innocence are so stubborn, lets have you dying slowly." Allen listened, but didn't care. His arm is gone. What good is he now? "Tease, listen carefully. Just make a hole in his heart. It's better to give him a bit more time before he dies. He will die as he agonises over the fear invading his body as blood pours from his heart." Pain he could never get used to tore through his battered body once again. "Ah-" Something warm flowed out of his mouth, taking with it the rest of the heat in his body.
The train was about to leave when Kanda was hit around the head by a gold golem, "What the-" He's seen the golem before... where? "Are you... General Cross' golem?" The thing is frantic, flapping around annoyingly. It wants Kanda to follow it. "Hey! Yu! The train is leaving! Hurry!" Kanda wanted to introduce his Mugen to the Baka Usagi's gut, but right now, he has other matters to attend to. "Go on without me! I'll catch up later!"
"You... Where are you leading me?" Kanda growled, impatience evident in his voice. The golem just kept him leading on. Finally, they arrived at a clearing. Kanda stared in shock, "Moyashi?" When the boy didn't respond, he ran to him. Kanda grimaced. The boy's left arm is gone. His breathing is laboured and uneven. Humans. So damn fragile. The older male picked him up. The white-haired boy coughed and blood stained Kanda's exorcist uniform. Unrest settled in Kanda. This... this is serious, right? The Asian Branch should be very close.
"What do you mean, you can't tell what's wrong with him?" Kanda scowled. Already his patience is nearing its limit. He's going to have to break something soon. Maybe a few bones. His nerves are frayed from carrying the moyashi all the way here, with the boy coughing blood on him every so often. Bak looked lost here too, "Why not? Our scanners are the same prototype as the Gatekeeper's in the European Branch, right? It should be the latest model." Wong shook his head, "It seems like the only thing the scanner picked up was Walker's cursed eye. Everything else was just an incomprehensible blur. All we were able to conclude is that he's suffering from intense internal bleeding but nothing else." Bak looked thoughtful, "Why would the scanner be unable to pick up anything but the scar on Walker's face?"
Even though its been nearly a week, Kanda still stayed and looked out for the troublesome moyashi. Right now he looked at the white-haired boy again. He's getting better. Even Kanda can tell. "Hey, Bak, how did the moyashi get his scar?" The head of the Asian Branch looked at the exorcist curiously. "Haven't seen you so interested in someone since Alma." Kanda stiffened at that, but Bak moved on, "The boy's past could possibly be on a par to yours in terms of sadness." Kanda would never have noticed. The boy always acted so... naïve.
"He was abandoned as a child because of his left arm, as you can guess, but he was adopted by Mana Walker. However, three years ago, Mana died." It is quite a sob story. Someone who has no parents. Kanda somewhat understood that feeling. But to have known what it's like to have a father, then losing it... "As you would think, Allen couldn't move on. The Earl took advantage of that." Kanda's expression must've been pretty ugly, from the way Bak looked at him, "He turned his father into an akuma?" How did he survive that? Before he could ask, Bak answered it for him, "Not only that, Kanda. His own Innocence activated and destroyed his father."
That silenced Kanda. "He got his scar from that encounter. Do you know? The nature of Walker's curse?" He shook his head no. "Apparently he sees the soul of akumas. Though that hadn't been confirmed to be true or not, Walker had always been able to find akuma even when they wore human skin, so there's little chance for that to be a lie. The soul of an akuma... I wonder what that would look like. Somehow I know it won't be a pretty sight. Just what kind of a world does Walker perceive?" Just how ugly is that world? The question hung in the air between them, unspoken.
A white disk hovered over him. The moon... It's big... It keeps on getting bigger. In fear, Allen lifted his hand, trying to ward off what is coming at him. No... Don't! Don't come any closer... Stay away!
He's in a white room. He felt his back pressed into an armchair, both his hands resting on the arms. Both his hands... He stared at his left hand. Normal, just like any left arm. Allen let out a breath. The arm embedded with Innocence is gone. The arm that destroyed his father is gone. Why does he feel so hollow? "Allen..." He looked up. A young man with messy black hair and black eyes smiled tentatively at the boy. "Neah..." He looks like Mana. The resemblance hurts. "Are you ready to wake up? Kanda is really worried right now." He looked down at his left hand again. Normal. Like the rest of him. He's no longer an exorcist. "BaKanda? Why?" I'm no longer an exorcist. Why should he worry about me? "Allen, you have to wake up." You have to wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
His eyes opened slowly. There's no feeling in his left arm, and he knows it's gone. I am still alive. Why am I still alive? He stared at the brick ceiling. This... is not a hospital... "Where... am I?" He croaked, throat parched. He screamed a lot, after all. "You are at the Asian Branch of the Black Order, moyashi." Eyes swivelling to the source of the sound, he spotted the long-haired exorcist, "It's Allen. Why did you bother?" The exorcist gave him an annoyed look, but then, when had Kanda not been annoyed? "Why did I bother what?" Allen ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair. It had been cleaned, "Saving me. I'm no longer able to destroy akuma, you know?" The other male grunted, "So what? Because of that, I'm going to leave you to die?" Leave him to die... He covered his face with the back of his hand, "Yeah... I should have just died three years ago."
As soon as the akuma that is Mana was destroyed, Allen's life had lost its purpose. From then on he merely lived for the akuma. He merely lived for the dead. Now he can't even do that. This powerless form of himself. This self that had not grown a day since Mana died. He hates it. Cool fingers gripped his wrist, a thumb brushed his cheek, where hot tears flowed down silently. Kanda didn't say anything. Allen was glad for that.