Chapter 3

"That can't be true! He was here, in Japan, and then the Akuma took him away!" Lenalee argued. Tyki was about to reply when a thump sounded beside him.

"Need help, Tyki?" the gravelly voice of Skin Boric asked him.

"I've got it handled, but maybe you would like to try that samurai boy out? He looks pretty interesting…" Tyki suggested to Skin. Skin turned his head and observed the young man who was glaring at them.

"Yeah… he was on the team of that general I was assigned to kill…" Skin said, drool almost trickling out of his mouth.

Tyki was curious, "Why didn't you kill them?"

"I wanted to see who was the strongest, and then I'd compete with him…" Skin answered in a dead voice. Tyki sweat dropped, I should have known… he was thinking.

Just then, he caught sign of a huge fire snake twisting its way through the air towards them.

"Sorry guys, you should have had your discussion back there!" Lavi shouted as he sprang towards them.

The lady, Lenalee stood to one side and could only watch as the fight proceeded. Skin took on Kanda and Bookman, Miranda and Lenalee could only watch their comrades fight the Noahs. The Earl, who had been watching the two Exorcists fight his kin suddenly pulled his mind back from the battle and started planning his upcoming plans.

"Jasdevi, I want you to go and find out what happened to the Ark. It appeared just now and the Akuma Tyki-pon sent has not returned from its mission." He ordered.

"Eh… Watching out for an Akuma? Can we destroy it after it has reported to you?" Jasdero asked sullenly.

"No, no, we need as much Akuma as we can get. The level ones seem to be going out fast even though the level threes are all right and can handle the Exorcists for now. I hope a level four comes soon!" the Earl commented suddenly. The twins could only agree to the Earl's request. With the help of Lero, they managed to get into the Ark, at first they were dumbstruck by the town in the Ark and after wandering a bit, they were more accustomed to the place. But even as they looked, they couldn't find any sign of the Akuma.

"I guess we can only tell the Earl that his Akuma has been destroyed or something…" Debit sang as he tramped around the town, trampling on pretty plants, not caring one bit for it. Jasdero got influenced by his actions and started shooting the place down. This continued for quite a bit until a nearby door opened but no one stepped out.

"What? Was that a ghost?" Jasdero cried as he clung to Debit.

Debit stared at the door, when it did not move again, he said, "It must have been the wind, Jasdero. Don't get scared by such things." It was just to console the now sobbing Jasdero who was starting to wet his clothes with his tears of fear.

"If we want to be the most powerful people, we cannot cry." Debit tried after a while when Jasdero did not stop; thankfully, on the mention of his ambition, Jasdero stopped crying and nodded happily.

Meanwhile…

The Earl had got bored of watching the Exorcists battle with the Noah, what should I do to the Exorcists? It's so boring sitting here and doing nothing… Too bad I can't play with them, they're much too weak… he contemplated. Allen could have made it, but it was just too bad he wasn't here. He wasn't dead, not yet; but he would be dead, killed by the Earl himself who harbored a strong sense of hatred towards him. The boy, who had defied his plans, destroyed his Akuma and had a connection to the 14th. As he looked at the battle, he felt the amusement draining out fast and his mind was telling him to just kill the exorcists now. Even though he had never admitted it, the Earl was afraid of Innocence and the exorcists, he was afraid that they would surpass his abilities.

Their Innocence kept evolving, all because of the Heart. How he wished they didn't exist, but they had to; for his motivation and his sense of challenge.

What should I do to get rid of those two irritating exorcists? He wondered, fiddling with his thumbs as he thought through the wonderful things he could do to torture them. He wanted to dispose of them as quick as possible.

'Hn… This would be the best way…" he said as he formed a ball of dark matter in his hand. He warned Tyki and Skin before he discharged the ball and they managed to get to his side just in time.

"Eh, why did you do that for, Earl, I was having so much fun." Tyki complained as he landed on air beside the Earl.

"We have to dispose of them quickly, Tyki-pon. Exorcists meddle too much for their own good. Anyway, we need to get on with our plans." The Earl reminded Tyki of the reason he was there. Tyki shrugged and turned to the mist and tried to look out for exorcists who had managed to escape the dark matter. It was highly impossible that anyone had survived; the Earl's dark matter was highly destructive. He caught a hint of dark blue and his eyes swiveled to the spot.

"Ah… it seems that one rat has managed to survive…" He mused. Lulubell, who had appeared in the middle of the battle, was looking out for exorcists for her master. Tyki had never doubted Lulubell, she was a sister, but sometimes the servant attitude was pretty weird, if you knew Tyki well enough…

Tyki sneaked a look at Skin; he looked rather delighted that his opponent was still alive.

Although he didn't voice it, Tyki also secretly hoped that his prey was still breathing, as well as Allen Walker. He was troublesome, but hell, he was nice to play with; if the boy was still alive, they might manage to sneak in a game or so of strip poker. The game would be decidedly fun since Tyki was seeking revenge to his abused skills of poker.

"Let me play with them a little more, Earl!" Tyki said as he launched from the roof and headed towards Kanda. Skin didn't stop him from going to fight with the samurai guy, but before Tyki reached Kanda, a glitter of aqua blue caught his eye; using his abilities, Tyki stopped in mid-air as he watched the mist unravel itself and reveal a big monstrous statue.

"What the heck…?" Tyki muttered to himself.

However, the situation with the exorcists was different…

Kanda coughed out blood as he removed Mugen from the ground. Raising his head, he tried to seek out the location of his companions. They were nowhere in sight, but there was something beyond the mist, he was sure of that. Rising, he held Mugen in a defensive position was he disappeared into the mist. Somehow, he met the idiot bunny, Lavi, who was gaping at something,

"What's wrong, Baka Usagi…" he made out as he followed Lavi's gaze to a monstrous structure.

"What is that?" Kanda choked out when he got past his surprise.

"Kanda… Lavi… everyone… Let me out! I want to fight with my friends!" an unmistakable voice emerged from the crystal as a hand emerged from the swirling blueness of the statue and hit against the hard wall of the statue. It nearly answered all of Kanda's questions as well as bought up more.

"It's Lenalee's Innocence. It became like this when she fought against the level three on our way here. The damage isn't too great as Allen helped her out a little." Lavi replied as he walked over to the Innocence.

"Moyashi, what's he got to do with it?" Kanda asked, scoffing at the idea while thinking that he would skin the moyashi to bits if anything happened to Lenalee.

"We don't know either, Lenalee wouldn't tell us about it and Allen hasn't said anything as we just met up with him a few days before. That was before he was taken back to the Earl." Lavi confessed.

"Che, that moyashi is still alive, he isn't with the Earl. We saved him after he was taken from you." Kanda snapped out, irritated at the young boy's mood. For whatever reason, he was not sure of it either and he didn't care.

"Really, he's still alive?" Lavi was looking overjoyed, but even as he said this, someone said,

"Kanda, the Noahs are heading for Lenalee! Look out!" Kanda warily looked around and caught glimpse of a dark haired man cutting through the air towards him as he barely managed to defend himself.

"Aw… Couldn't you just stand still and die at my hands?" the man smirked as he jumped away from Kanda, angering him with insults about his temper and looks.

"Shut up, will you?" Kanda growled as he swung his sword at the laughing Noah.

"Anytime, exorcist-chan. If you would get in bed with me and let me kill you, certainly!" Tyki laughed as he dodged the blows. Everything Kanda did was futile; the Noah would keep evading his blows and try to strike him back. It was like a never ending dance.

As for Lavi, he was dealing with a large Noah of anger who seemed to like sweet things a lot. General Tiedoll, who was busy fighting with the huge Akumas that had formed when they arrived, was trying to keep them away from Lavi and Kanda, or else they would sustain even more injuries saw a plump figure floating down towards Lenalee's crystal.

"Damn! Bookman, the Earl has gotten to Lenalee!" he shouted to the elderly man who was battling some other Akumas that had been unable to form the huge Akuma due to lack of number.

Bookman cursed lightly and shouted, "Oi, idiot apprentice! Take care of Lenalee!"

Lavi heard the old man, but he was tangled up in the fight between him and the Noah, so leaving the fight would be almost impossible. He was going to appeal to Kanda when he saw that he was involved in a fight with the other Noah too. He tried to get near to Lenalee, but there was a barrier blocking the way.

Would you like me to help? The voice breezed across the battle field; it was familiar yet a little heart-wrenching.

"Allen…?" Lavi whispered as soon as the voice registered in his mind. There were several sounds of destruction on the other side of the plains and a streak of white flew to his and Kanda's aid by wrapping a white substance around the two Noahs.

Then it shot off to the direction of where Lenalee was, but Lavi shouted a warning to it, "There's a barrier around where Lenalee is! You can't get in!"

But it shot on and suddenly, the sky split open and a purple figure descended through the crack.

AINAINAINAINAIN

Allen commanded Kanda to go out and meet their companions, but said that he would be traveling on his own for a while. To tell the truth, Allen said that so that he could have time to wait and see if his master was coming. He also needed to deal with the issue of the song that was singing in his ears. It was horribly familiar and he was getting headaches from hearing it over a long period of time. He felt a pang of sadness as he watched Kanda reunite with their friends, and then he turned away and walked into the dark forest.

"Hey, Tim, will master be coming to Edo?" Allen asked Timcanpy. Timcanpy nodded its head, and then it shook its head.

Allen was confused, "Huh? Be more specific, Tim. Is it a yes or no or maybe?" he asked. The golden golem sighed and shook its head, abandoning all communication with Allen and contented itself by settling on its head. Allen sighed too and returned to the troubling matter of the lullaby that had resounded in his mind ever since he had awakened. Unbidden, some phrases rose to his mind and he started to sing them out softly. He felt Tim jolt on his head but ignored it and clutched his head.

"Urgh… Tim, why do I feel like I know this song? Mother sang it before, I recall… but why now? It's such an old memory, I would have forgotten about it if… if it hadn't…" tears were starting to run down his face. That memory was painful, his mother abandoning him when his father commanded her to. His grandparents had looked at him with that haunted yet loving look. His father was the devil in his family, as soon as he saw Allen's disfigured arm, he had isolated himself from his son. Allen was two years old when it happened.

"Forget it… forget it!" Allen screamed to himself when the grief became overwhelming.

"Stop it!" he screamed out loud and collapsed to the ground. Timcanpy fluttered around him, flustered by what Allen had done and anxious about the boy's condition. Allen was, after all, his master. But Allen was currently pulled into the darkest waters by the murky hands of his parents and his past…

The woman panted and screamed from the excruciating pain as she pushed the baby out into the world. She lay down on the blankets as the doctor and mid-wife fussed about the baby's condition and finally, they handed the baby over to her. The woman smiled as she cradled the baby in her arms and when she felt something stiff prodding her, she looked down. What she saw made her gasp; her baby was disfigured. There was a hideously wrinkled red arm with a green cross in the middle of back of the hand. It was a glowing green and when she touched it, a jolt of electricity shot through her. She removed her hand quickly and looked down at her child, what had she eaten, done, so that her baby was like that. Then a back flash of her past made her remember something…

She was eleven years old when her father came home wounded; he was holding a green substance in his hand. He made her eat it, as his death wish. After that, she had severe stomach aches and nothing happened. Her father, however, did not have any tummy aches and died on that night. His last words warmed her heart, "Walk on, Sarah. I love you, my daughter." With that, he left her alone and the whole family grieved him.

Was it that green substance in her that had passed out, into her child? But no matter, the child's father must not see him. He would be killed then; perhaps she could get the mid wife to take care of him… but no one would love him when they caught sight of his arm… The woman, Sarah started to panic but she couldn't do anything for at that moment, the door of the room opened. She hastily covered the child's arm and looked at her husband who was entering the room.

"Hello, dear." She greeted him with a fake smile on her face. The man smiled at her and his gaze was directed to the crying bundle in her arms.

"Our child is…he all right?" he asked with a tone of concern, anyone would have been deceived by this, a man who was concerned for his child. But deep beneath, he was a man who married her for her looks and cared for the child as he was going to be the heir of a huge business.

"Yes, he's in perfect condition." Sarah replied, trying to keep a tremor of fear out of her voice and watched his face as he looked at… their child. The thought that this man was her husband disgusted her.

"He looks like us so much… May I?" the man asked, holding his arms out for the baby, Sarah placed him in the man's arms gently. Then, leaning back, she had a good look at the baby; he would look like his father, the brown hair. He did not inherit the white hair that she had although he had her face shape. The man smiled when the boy stopped crying and stared at his father with wide dark eyes, then the man gasped, "Oh god, his eyes!"

Sarah jolted, "What? What's wrong with his eyes?" she asked concernedly as she tried to stand and walk to her husband, but stumbled and fell back to the bed.

"The colors aren't settled…" he looked at the child with an awestruck look on his face. Then he walked until he was by her side and sat down near her.

"Here, look." She peered at the child's face and saw nothing but dark soulful eyes staring at her. He hadn't inherited her eye color or the man's eye color. It was the black color, like her father's, her dead father's. She was reeling at this when the child's eye color changed to a pale milky brilliant white and back to the dark black.

Sarah gasped, "What does it mean?" she whispered in horror. What did that green substance do to her child?

Without any reason, the man started laughing. Sarah looked at the man, wondering if he had gone mad. This man, James Lee, was a Japanese man even though he was brought up in Britain. He was a rich and powerful man, spoilt and loved her until he abused her daily in their enormous mansion. She thought he was a kind man when he picked her up along the road and chatted with her as he offered her a home in his grand house. She had fallen in love with him, but when he started to abuse her, raping her and beating her up, she couldn't stand it and tried to contact the police, that hadn't worked. When he found out, she suffered a beating. His parent was all right, at least, James was the son of the Earl. He would come to visit them every day and since he was her father-in-law, she liked his sense of humor. That was the bright aspect of her life in that horrible mansion.

Then the worst thing came, she became pregnant with his child; she was horrified but he was delighted and cooed to her bulging stomach each day as the months passed. He no longer abused her but he crooned sickening sentences to her every day. She almost committed suicide, but she had fallen in love with the child without her knowing it. He desired perfection among everything else.

There was a time when a gypsy told her that her child would be a Destroyer of Time. From that point on, James banned her from meeting strangers and she saw him planning out study schedules for the unborn child. She didn't know what was going on, why he was acting this way; she didn't care, all she cared for was the safety of her child.

But the worst thing happened that made her snap back to the present, the child moved. A rustle of sheets was enough for her to know that the baby's secret was about to be discovered. James froze with that awestruck expression on his face as he looked down and uncovered the sheets with a trembling finger. What he saw made him scream with rage and she snatched the child out of his arms quickly.

"There is Innocence in that child! How can it be a child of Noah this way!" he shouted at Sarah, spittle flying out and landing on the woman; it was unsightly, but he didn't care. All he cared was that the plans for Noahs were destroyed and he was going to take his anger out on the woman. He was going to blame her for not giving birth to the baby properly.

She was right. After she got rest from the giving birth process, James hit her and beat her. But he left the child alone and never touched him. Except when the child demanded to play with his father, he decided to set a fake façade up and played with him. She decided to name the child Allen, for no particular reason; it just sounded nice on her lips. Anyway, that's what the gypsy had whispered to her: call the child Allen. James didn't dare to touch the child after he realized it had a strange arm, when the Earl found out; he didn't say anything but everyone knew that he was angry.

As for the child, Allen, he managed to have a peaceful time and his father made no order for the child to be killed. However, she could feel the murderous intent burning off him. The Earl had grown even more distant from her and she was alone in the dark world with a child to protect, and a light coming from that child. Her happiness with the child was short-lived though; at the tender age of two, Allen witnessed his mother being killed by a blood thirsty father as a maid cuddled him to her bosom; they were hiding in a closet and Allen was awake at that time. After his father left the room, the maid stepped out from the closet and Allen saw the redness of the blood, staining everyone…

She had fled with him, and managed to find lodging in a circus while the maid bought him up but she died when he was three years old. Lucky for him, the ringmaster took pity on him and allowed him to stay, provided that he continued to work with them. Allen was paired up with a man, Mana Walker, the clown in the circus; the ringmaster decided that it was time Mana took on an apprentice as they were running low on clowns that were acting in the circus.

Mana took care of Allen and they developed a strong father and son-like bond. Things were as normal, until that day… In some part of Allen's subconscious, he could still remember it; the day when Allen had met the 14th. The man had staggered into the tent at night, when Mana had gone out; Allen was surprised, but he had seen this man before… not to mention that he looked just like Mana.

"Where's Mana?" he asked, his words slurring together, Allen noticed then that there was a red patch on his shirt and reddish liquid was dripping down his face.

"Blood… you're bleeding!" Allen cried out as he moved forward to touch the man. But he moved away and repeated his question.

"Mana's gone out. I don't know where he's gone to." Allen replied absentmindedly, still staring at the man's blood.

"Good." A sigh of relief and worry reached his ears; he looked up and started to ask why when the man stabbed his through his chest. The pain was dull and he couldn't feel anything anymore. All that was left in the world was his breathing and the man's breathing.

"I'm the 14th, Allen…" the older man murmured as he slumped onto Allen and they fell to the ground. Their blood was intermixing already, there was something at the edge of his mind, pushing to get in… the barrier fell and a surge of something flooded in as he fell unconscious. The next day, he woke up with no memories of Mana or the 14th. He forgot everything that had happened between him and Mana, the relationship was built again. But during those last months of Mana's life, he started acting weirdly. These memories had never troubled him… until now.

Allen woke up with a jolt. That dream… it had been so real… He thought as he shook his head. I must have fallen asleep… the boy thought as he looked around. Master had not reached yet… He could not stay here forever… and the battle had begun. For some reason, he knew the events that happened to his comrades during his doze… Allen sighed as he got up; it was time to go to battle.

It's the end of yet another chapter. Thanks for all the reviews!