By that time, his soon-to-be-scars had become actual scars. And his reddish brown hair had turned a stark white from trauma.

Allen was brought back to reality when he almost fell off his big bouncy ball. He quickly composed himself and began juggling his colorful balls once again. When the crowd got bored he switched his balls to daggers.

"Blood... Blood... So much blood... Mana… It's Mana's blood… It's everywhere… The walls… The floor… It's on me, too… And the dagger… The dagger that ended Mana's life…"

"NO!" he quickly thought to himself, "I need to focus. I can't mess up my act, or I won't be able to eat. And that would be going against my promise to Mana."

Regaining his composure once again, he switched from daggers to flaming torches. The crowd went wild. He began to step backwards, making the ball move forward. Then, he stepped a few feet forward and the ball rolled back. He made some more steps and rolled the ball under him around the ring. Cheering and clapping resounded throughout the tent. He did a few more tricks, bowed, and left the ring. Backstage, the ringmaster offered him a raise in exchange for more acts. He agreed, took his paycheck, and left.

At home he was surprised to see Cross sitting on a chair, legs crossed, facing the door. In his left hand was a glass of wine. He had a sinister smirk that sent shivers down Allen's spine.

"Allen…"

"Eek!" thought Allen, "Did he just say my name? Something's definitely not right…"

"Yes, Shishou."

"It's already been three years since you became my disciple... It should be about time for you to work by yourself." Pause for a sip of wine, "From this day forth, you may call yourself a general."

"Are you serious?"

"But for that purpose… You must accompany me to the main headquarters to meet them."

"Eh?"

"You…" Cross got up and began walking over to Allen, holding up a large the mallet. "You know where headquarters is, don't you?" A ray of light reflected off the mallet as he approached his apprentice.

"Yes…?"

"My golem will go with you in my stead." He said, getting closer as Allen backed away slightly.

"Uh-"

"I'll recommend you to supervisor Komui, so…"

"Uh-" He stuttered, backing away as the other continued to approach, slightly crouching.

"When you open your eyes, go there."

"Don't tell me… You're backing out of this, Shishou?"

"I…" He raised the mallet, now yelling, "hate it there!"

"EH?"

BAMM!

When Allen woke up, he was surrounded by dept collectors. He decided to play innocent and tricked them into a game of cards. Of course, he won, and of course, they were mad. They chased him for only a few minutes before he completely lost them.

Now that the dept collectors were out of the way, he had to get to central headquarters. The Black Order, in case you didn't know, (well, of course you don't know, I didn't tell you yet) is a separate branch of the government devoted to fighting a specific organization called NOAH, that is as large as the military itself. The Black Order is almost as big as the entire military, but makes up for their numbers with their strength. The Black Order consists of Researchers and Scientists, Exorcists, Exorcist Generals, and Finders. Exorcists are what you would call a soldier from the Black Order. Basically, that's how you tell them apart from a Black Order soldier and a military soldier. Finders are basically people who work for the Order, but aren't strong enough to be a soldier. Instead, they are more like tour guides, Exorcists' assistants, gatherers of information, etc.

To keep it's secrecy, the Black Order under a dormitory school called the Black Order High. To avoid suspicion, Allen has decided to attend school there, only if the head agrees that is…