A few days before...
The Millennium Earl had been watching the Akuma Egg intently ever since its creation. He was mulling over what he had seen from the Akuma's Eyes in the last month.
He was happily surprised when the Level 3 Akuma he sent against the Exorcists heading to Edo, unveiled a potential wielder of the Heart of Innocence... until a few days later he found out that Allen Walker was still alive.
Despite Tyki's report on successfully disposing of Allen, he was still alive and well. But there was something odd with this Allen Walker.
Normally, when an Exorcist notices an Akuma (especially Allen Walker), they would immediately act. Allen however, wore a confused expression when he activated his cursed eye. So he came to a conclusion... Allen Walker had lost his memories.
He wasn't quite sure what to do with the information he had received regarding the two exorcists. He could possibly leave Allen alone as his Innocence was already destroyed and his memories lost. In fact, it would seem more logical to focus his attack on Edo and the Lee girl... but that still leaves the question on how did Allen Walker survive. Unless Tyki lied or messed up, Allen should have been dead.
Weighing up the pros and cons of the situation, he decided to focus his efforts on Edo.
He would just send a Level 3 Akuma towards Allen Walker through the Ark.
Speaking of which, the Ark was something that the Millennium Earl had wanted to get rid off ever since the betrayal of that black sheep. He couldn't however, since the Akuma Egg was still in the process of completion. The Egg had to be completed before it could be transferred to his own Ark. If only he had foreseen the betrayal of that musician.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts. No, what's done is done. He'll just have to make use of the Ark until it has served its purpose – after all the special ability of Noah's Ark when compared to his own ark, is its ability to pierce through heavily barricaded areas. There was a limit of course to what it could pierce, but the fact remains that it had the ability to do so. He hadn't added that feature to his own ark, yet. But once the download begins, he would be able to secure most of the secrets of the musician and along with it, destroy the ark.
Skipping over to his black piano, the polar opposite of the piano that the musician had, he started playing a low melodious tune. The music unwittingly brought back memories of his first encounter with the young boy.
'Allen Walker...'
There was something special about Allen Walker that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He always asked himself as to why he didn't dispose of him when he was a child. Was it a mistake on his part? Or was it because of fate?
Presently at the Xu Mansion...
"Are you Allen Walker?"
The Akuma was staring intently at him, as if sizing him up.
Allen wasn't intent on telling him who he was, but his left eye activated against his own volition.
"That cursed eye!" The akuma was elated to the sign of confirmation from his target.
"Damn..." Allen immediately fell into his kenpo stance. He knew he wouldn't be able to defeat an akuma, but it couldn't be helped now since he was the target.
The akuma rushed towards Allen with its blades, intent on ending Allen's life. Allen quickly reacted by ducking, and bringing down his right palm towards the targets chest.
The thrust shattered a small amount of the akuma's armor. Despite the minor damage, the akuma was surprised that a thrust could damage him. Immediately reacting, the Akuma acted.
Allen realized it a moment too late, and was grabbed by the Akuma's massive hand by the head and thrown towards the walls of the mansion like a rag-doll.
Xuilan, having seen Allen thrown through walls and landing in the living room, went immediately to his side and aid him despite the inherent danger.
"Nee-san... You should run..." Allen said in between breaths, "I'll hold the akuma off..."
Xuilan however, was having none of it. "You can't hope to beat him Allen! Akumas can only be destroyed by Innocence and you don't have one!"
The akuma rushed out from the garden heading directly towards the direction of Allen. Allen, acting on instinct, immediately placed himself in front of Xuilan as a mean of protecting her. Xuilan closed her eyes just as the akuma was going to impact Allen.
Xuilan truly expected that she would have been blown backwards, but once she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a metallic silver claw protruding from Allen's left arm.
"What the - ? I thought master Tyki had destroyed your Innocence already!" The akuma said in frustration.
"Innocence...?" Allen muttered, but just as he realized what was protecting him, the claw dissolved into green lights and was sucked into the stump that was his left arm.
The Akuma didn't falter and immediately began attacking Allen once again.
Allen acted accordingly and created a basic seal targeted towards the place where his palm impacted the Akuma.
"Restrain!"
A single rune glowed from where Allen impacted the Akuma. The Akuma froze and its arm was brought to its side, as if invisible ropes were tightening around it.
Allen knew that he couldn't hope to restrain the Akuma for very long, so he quickly took advantage of the few precious seconds given to him. He quickly took hold of Xuilan and carried her bridal style (as close as he could with only one arm).
They managed to reach the grounds before the front area of the mansion. The four remaining groundskeepers were already gathered at the area.
Gently placing Xuilan to her feet, she began taking control of the situation.
"How's the defenses? Has everyone been evacuated? And how did the Akuma enter within the barrier?" Xuilan shouted one after another to the groundskeepers.
A female groundskeeper answered her last question, "The akuma seemed to come out from a blue light that protruded from the ground. It happened the same instant that the barriers fell."
Picking up from where the other groundskeeper left off, another groundskeeper spoke up, "Everyone who wasn't in the immediate area of the explosion and the akuma has already been evacuated... Those who were less - fortunate... were all killed."
Another explosion shook the mansion.
Reed then placed a paper seal on both Xuilan and Allen's back, "Get out of here while you still can! Those seals will prevent the akuma from seeing you for a short amount of time, now run!"
An explosion blasted the front area of the mansion, scattering the debris towards the groundskeepers, Xuilan and Allen.
Everyone, with the exception of Xuilan, created a barrier around them to shield themselves and Xuilan from the debris. The akuma however, pierced through the shield and impaled one of the groundskeeper, it then tossed the slowly shattering dead body towards another groundskeeper.
"RUN!" The remaining two conscious groundskeeper attempted to restrain the akuma, desperately hoping to hold it off to protect there mistress.
Allen wanted to stay and fight the akuma, but if he did, he may have just let the death of the groundskeepers be in vain. So grabbing hold of Xuilan's hand, he ran towards the forest in hope of escaping the akuma.
After running for five whole minutes, Allen decided to stop. Xuilan was exhausted and was definitely not ready for this kind of situation.
They were in front of a huge lake, where the moon was eerily reflected towards its calm surface. The serenity of the lake was such a huge contrast with the chaos that ensued a few minutes ago that it almost seemed surreal.
After a moment of silence, Xuilan spoke up, "I guess, I should tell you something..."
Allen perked up and listened intently while making sure the akuma wasn't anywhere near them.
"When I found you unconscious at the bamboo thicket, you were wearing Exorcist clothing." Xuilan said quietly.
"I'm... an exorcist?" Allen asked more to himself than Xuilan. His right hand went to his bandaged left arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I guess.. it was because I was selfish..." Xuilan muttered, "You didn't seem to have an Innocence when we found you, and I pretty much assumed that when you lost your left arm, you lost your Innocence... but what we saw at that brief moment inside the mansion, falsified my suspicions."
"The claw that came out of my left arm... that was my Innocence?"
"Yes... but I'm guessing that your innocence isn't fully synchronized with you yet..." Xuilan then began to think about the reports that her informants gave her regarding Innocence. "Your Innocence is still at its raw form, that's why you couldn't maintain it or activate it willingly."
"But, I still have the Innocence within me... so I alone can stop that akuma..." Allen said as his face morphed into one filled with determination.
"Allen... but your Innocence hasn't fully activated yet! And you don't know if you'll be able to take that Akuma out! That Akuma is definitely a Level 3 Akuma!" Xuilan was desperately trying to persuade him to stop and think about his situation.
"Nevertheless, nee-san... That soul within that akuma is begging me to release him from his bindings." Allen felt something within him pulse with warm energy, as if agreeing with his sentiments. 'Is this what my Innocence calls out to? To save the souls of these akumas?'
Only silence could be heard as Allen and Xuilan looked around cautiously. There was no longer any sounds of explosions or screams being heard from there current location. They both hoped it was due to the fact that they were too far to hear anything from the mansion...
Just as they were about to start moving again, Allen's left eye acted up again.
"Run Nee-san - !" Allen wasn't able to say anymore as the Level 3 Akuma burst from the trees and took hold of him, the akuma then immediately tossed him towards the lake.
Allen righted himself mid-air and landed at a shallow area near the center of the lake. Gathering his courage, he prepared himself to take down the akuma before him.
"I've finally caught up to you, Exorcist!" the Akuma began to lick its lip as if savoring the moment. "You've got nowhere to run, so let's end this!" The akuma rushed to him, intent on killing him.
Just as the Akuma was to make contact with him, Allen leaped into the air. He then landed at the back of the akuma, steeling himself and concentrating, he tried to invoke his innocence, "Innocence, Activate!"
Just like last time, a large metallic silver claw came out from the stump of his left arm. As he began to bring it down towards the akuma, the claw dissolved into green light and was sucked back into his left arm.
'Damn it!'
The Akuma quickly acted, by grabbing Allen and tossing him down to the lake. Wasting no time, he brought his blades down towards Allen.
The dark matter within the blade of the akumas ton-fa began to destabilize his very being. Allen screamed as his body was breaking apart.
He was slowly losing consciousness. His eyes slowly closed as he finally lost the battle with the pain.
Within the darkness of his mind, a voice pierced the silence.
'I love you Allen.'
'Huh?' Allen thought. Then he remembered, 'Mana...'
A pulse came from within him, as if another something else was living with him. It pulsed again, as if trying to shake him awake.
'Innocence...' Allen thought as he remembered the familiar pulse.
Within his mind's eye, several memories began to play out. Saving a child from an akuma, using his own body as a shield and protecting innocent people. Though he couldn't quite remember who they were or what he exactly he was doing, he knew he was doing one thing.
'Protect...'
He fought not to eliminate akumas, but to save their souls. He fought for everyone's sake. His right was meant for humans, and his left – his Innocence, was for Akumas. 'I fight for both akumas and humans... To save and protect...'
He then saw himself at a road. At the very end of the direction he was facing, was a bright inviting light.
Looking back, he saw several familiar faces, some of which he couldn't quite remember but knew for a fact that they were all somehow important to him.
The images of those people slowly vanished, leaving a crying turquoise colored haired maiden. Repeating the words that broke his heart and made him ache with guilt.
'I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry...'
'Lenalee...'
Despite the fact that if he took this road, he wouldn't need to feel pain again, he purposely turned his back towards it and walked away from it. If he died now, he wouldn't be able to protect those important to him and more importantly, he still needed to meet her, touch her... be with her.
Allen's eyes flashed open with renewed strength. 'Wait for me Lenalee...'
Xuilan watched in horror as Allen, her adoptive little brother was stabbed by the akuma. His screams rang throughout the forest. She herself started screaming for the akuma to stop even though she knew it was in vain. When the screaming stopped, she felt her whole being freeze with fear.
She slowly collapsed unto her knees as the realization of what the silence meant. She didn't even register the fact that the akuma was now looking at her. Only at the crumbling hand of Allen which was the only part that wasn't submerged in water.
The akuma then let loose purple colored energy hands from its mouth which headed directly towards Xuilan.
Xuilan's didn't attempt to dodge, but just as the hands were about to reach her, a white gloved hand emerged in front of her from the lake. The white hand burst out of the water revealing a white cloak with a clown mask. The being then uses itself as a shield to defend Xuilan.
Xuilan was shook from her despair when she realized that someone had just defended her. Looking at the being shielding her, she was stunned to find that it was merely a sentient cloak and mask.
"What the heck is that?" The akuma attempted to attack through close-range, but the being held firm.
The being then let loose a white light, repelling the akuma and destroying its arms, the being rushed towards Allen's outstretched hand, leaving a small part of itself over Xuilan. Allen's hand was then engulfed by a bright white light.
"Allen...?"
The light slowly faded, revealing Allen donning the white being as a cloak. And where Allen's missing left arm was, a slim black claw-like hand took its place. The white cloak had web-like parts of itself lodged deep into the lake, making Allen appear as if he was floating on-top of the water. His left eye had changed and now had an odd gear-like-monocle floating over it.
Xuilan turned her attention towards the Level 3 Akuma. For some strange reason, the Akuma was smiling, as if it was waiting for this very moment.
Allen then placed his gaze towards the Akuma. He then spoke to it, "O, pitiful Akuma, may your soul be saved..."
The akuma said nothing and charged towards Allen. Allen calmly stared at the akuma, once the akuma was within striking range, Allen acted. In a quick flowing motion, Allen brought his claw upon the opponent.
Instead of swiftly finishing the akuma, he severed its feet using his claw while using his cloak's tendrils to pierce the akuma and hold it in place.
"Tell me akuma, why were you after me..." Allen calmly asked.
The akuma chuckled to itself, "I'll tell you if you save me."
Allen nodded to it.
"I was sent here by the Millennium Earl..."
When the word Millennium Earl was mentioned, Allen suddenly felt a surge of anger course through him. He didn't know exactly why yet, but from what he could remember a few moments ago, the Millennium Earl was the cause of Mana's death.
"...from Edo through Noah's Ark to eliminate you."
"Noah's Ark?"
"Yes... The light that is still in the garden of where you live, is a pathway that would immediately lead one to the ark... and through it, to Edo."
Allen nodded to himself and stared at the Akuma one more time, before finally finishing it off by forming a cross shaped light over its body. The soul of the akuma, mouthed a silent thank you to him, happy it's now out of suffering.
Allen looked towards the crescent moon, his destination set and his determination firm, "Wait for me Lenalee, I'll be there... I promise."
Author's Notes:
Allen has finally obtained his Innocence once again! The events that led him to the epiphany was pretty much the same with few minor differences. Despite the fact that I stated this fan fiction won't go off tangent until after the Noah's Ark arc, I've decided to change certain events but would still ultimately end the same (I won't be saying much, in fear of spoiling).
One thing to note that I haven't quite stated in any of the notes thus far: this is mainly written from Allen's point of view, while sometimes shifting to other character's point of view. So you may notice in the following chapters the lack of focus on the events taking place in Edo (so just assume everything happens just as in canon until I focus on the said characters involve).
I've actually finished this chapter a few weeks ago, but I had to rewrite several key scenes... Anyway, to those that don't know, the normal update speed of this fan fiction is 2-6 weeks after last update – though this varies depending on how many reviews I receive.