Disclaimer: I do not own. I only own Katsu and any part of the plot that is not recognizable from the -Man manga/anime. All mistakes are mine. Feel free to point them out so I can fix them. :)
Allen bit back a groan as he dragged Kanda and Toma through the underground maze. His muscles burned with the strain, and his breathing grew ragged. It didn't help that he was completely and totally lost.
"Please Master Walker, leave me here. You're also wounded, you shouldn't strain yourself," Toma whispered from his place over Allen's shoulder.
"I will do no such thing. Besides, I'm fine." Allen replied cheerily.
Toma didn't reply and Allen knew that Toma was doubtful about him being fine. Allen himself was growing increasingly worried, over something else altogether. Despite the blood stains on his Exorcist uniform, there were no wounds on his body. He felt no pain other than the strain of supporting two men on either shoulder.
Allen knew that he had taken many-very serious-wounds. He had felt the initial pain of getting flung through multiple walls, and of the Akuma stabbing him, both through the shoulder and stomach. Yet, after that initial pain, it had melted away and his wounds healed themselves. This had never happened before to this extent. His wounds would always be his own, but the pain caused by them would always fade. What could possibly cause the change now?
Regardless, he needed to find a place where he could rest and try and help Kanda and Toma with their injuries, without the oh-so-helpful Akuma butting in.
Allen's ears perked up when a soft vocal melody drifted to his ears. A song? What could be causing the music down here?
Taking his chances, Allen shifted his direction towards the sound hoping it was a sign of a safe place to rest.
Slowly he shuffled, focused on the direction of the music. As he shuffled along, he managed to come across a large stadium like room. In the center sat the girl and the man that had been with Kanda earlier. From this distance, he just managed to make out the last of their conversation.
The girl flung herself around the sick man, declaring, "Lala is Guzol's doll. What shall I sing next?"
Guzol coughed, "I am ugly…an ugly human."
Allen stumbled as his toe caught on a lose stone on the ground, and he toppled ungracefully to the floor. The loud noise caused Guzol and Lala to turn their attention to him and his unconscious comrades.
Allen lifted his head, rubbing the back of it both in nervousness and to ease the already disappearing pain. "Ah, sorry for interrupting. I don't mean to appear to be eavesdropping, but…you're the doll, aren't you?" Allen said, focusing his attention on Lala.
Lala's one eye glared at Allen as he pushed himself up from his position on the floor. Allen's eyes stayed locked on the hand that was tightening around the pillar next to Lala. Instinctively, his arms grabbed for Kanda and Toma who had fallen beside him.
In the second it took Allen to blink, Lala had the pillar up in the air supported by her arms and aimed dangerously at Allen.
"Eeh?" Was the only thing he allowed out of his mouth as he scrambled to pick up Kanda and Toma to pull them out of harm's way. Eyes widened as the breeze of the flying pillar rustled Allen's hair. From the corner of his eye, he watched the pillar miss them by millimeters and hit the wall that had been behind them.
"Just wait a minute!" Allen frantically called out, "Let's talk about this…calmly!" The last word came out louder than intended as Allen narrowly missed getting hit by another large rock.
Alright, talking isn't her thing at the moment. Allen thought as he rested the two men gently on the ground. Once both were settled and out of harm's way, Allen removed his glove and activating his Innocence. He ran in another direction from where he had placed his comrades, in hopes to diverge Lala's attention from them.
It worked as she followed Allen's movements by aiming the next pillar at him. The moment Allen stood still, Lala threw the rock. Anticipating this action, Allen threw up his Innocence arm, and catching it with his claws. Lala's eyes widened as he threw the rock back at her. Shocked, she stood waiting for the impact.
It never came. When she opened her eyes, she came face to face with Allen holding the pillar in his silver arm as he lounged in front of her with a peaceful smile on his face.
"You have nothing left to throw," Allen said, trying not to anger the girl. "Please tell me what's going on. I'd rather not fight a pretty girl."
Lala sat, silent. It was obvious this boy was different than the dark haired one that had rescued them from those monsters. Perhaps he would be more willing to understand. He hadn't let the pillar hit her, after all. He would have been able to get her heart had he simply killed her.
"Guzol's going to die soon!" She exclaimed, her voice breaking on the word, die. She loved him; he had understood her when no other human would. She wanted to be there for him, in his last moments like he had always been there for her. "Please let me stay with him until he's gone. Once he is, I'll give you my heart!"
Shakily, Lala explained how she met Guzol, and watched the boy hesitantly. She searched for any sign of him denying her, her wish, but nothing showed.
Hope welled through Lala's voice as she clung to Guzol, exclaiming, "Please just let me stay with him until the end. I can hear his heart weakening. Just let me stay with him until it stops, then I'll give you my heart, I swear."
"No."
Lala looked over, heartbroken at the denial. However it hadn't been Allen who had spoken. Instead it was the dark haired man, Kanda. Even bloody and weak, he sat up, glaring. "We came here to protect the Innocence. We don't have the time to wait for that old man to die. The Akuma will find us soon and we need the Innocence before it gets it." He turned his glare on Allen. "Take the Innocence now."
After a moment of tense silence, Allen shook his head. "I can't do it." He couldn't tear those two apart when it was so obvious they just wanted to spend their last moments together.
Kanda snarled as he threw Allen's Exorcist jacket back at him. He had originally given it to Kanda as an added support to his wounds. "This isn't a pillow for the wounded. It's an Exorcist's jacket. As an Exorcist, there are sacrifices that must be made." He pushed himself off the ground, stalking past Allen, towards Lala who was encased in Guzol's arms.
He unsheathed Mugen, holding it level to Lala's heart.
"Wait, then I'll do it." Allen interrupted, turning in Kanda's direction harshly. "I will destroy the Akuma. Then there will be no problem in waiting for the man to die. They should at least be able to have their last wish granted."
Kanda stared silently back at Allen, his gaze hard. Allen tried to read what was going through the swordsman's head with little success. However it became painfully clear when he got a punch to his cheek, snapping his head to the side. The effect was not lost, even as Kanda fell to the ground out of physical exhaustion. In the background, Toma could be heard calling out to Kanda in worry.
"How incredibly naïve of you. Risking your life for some strangers. Don't you have something important to fight for?"
Allen lifted himself off the ground from where he lay, due to the force of Kanda's attack, eyes distant as he responded. "I did have something important…but I lost it long ago." Regaining a sense of reality, Allen met Kanda's gaze. "I'm not doing this for noble reasons. I just don't want to see them hurt in their final moments."
Kanda glared, "What about Katsu, your sister? Are you going to die without getting the chance to know her?"
Allen tilted his head slightly as curiosity flashed through his eyes. Why did Kanda care for Katsu so much? He seemed so cold and distant, yet he got defensive about her. Allen briefly thought back to how the dark haired Exorcist had stood up for her back at the Order.
Allen, however, felt no immediate attachment for the girl. True she was his twin, proven through Komui's scientific tests, but they had only just met. She was nothing more than an acquaintance to him. One that appeared to hate him for reasons he couldn't understand. Allen shook his head, bringing his mind back to the moment. "I hardly doubt she'd miss me. We don't even know each other."
Kanda's lip curled, "Then don't do reckless things before you get the chance."
Allen blinked owlishly before shaking his head a second time, glancing at Lala and Guzol. "But they also deserve a chance to get a final happiness. At the moment, I could care less about what is needed elsewhere. If someone in front of me needs help I will do everything in my power to help them. I want to help everyone I can!"
"Che, only a Moyashi like you would be stupid enough to throw his life away recklessly," Kanda scoffed.
Allen's eyes narrowed as he stood, trying to appear threatening. "My name's Allen. But a BaKanda like you would have a hard time remembering, right?"
"Are you the one who has a hard time remembering things? I told you if you survived the month I'd bother learning your name. It seems I was right not to bother with the way you're headed. Might as well die today."
Due to the duet's bickering, they hadn't noticed the long silver claw that stealthily crept up from behind Guzol and Lala. In a swift movement that startled all five people in the room, the claw hooked around the two, pulling them away from the Exorcists.
"The Akuma," Allen growled, turning towards the direction the claw disappeared. He couldn't see anything amongst the gathering cloud of dust.
With a whirr, Allen's eye activated at the same moment the Akuma exploded from the sandy ground, throwing the dust particles everywhere. A large inhuman smile adorned its face as it held a much more doll like looking version of Lala in one hand with the other claw sticking out through Guzol's chest. "I've got the Innocence!" It sang happily.
Allen watched wide eyed as the Akuma dropped the two hostages haphazardly, not caring that they fell like rag dolls to the ground. It was much more focused on the Innocence within the container. It starred, amazed at the thought of successfully completing its mission. Oh, how the Earl would be so proud of him!
Unexplainable, uncontainable rage swelled through Allen, burning its way through his veins and pooling within his heart and left arm. He stared at the Akuma blankly, unable to let even a sliver of his rage show through his face. Though the deadly calm expression did seem much more frightening. "Give it back." Allen demanded, not even noticing his arm react harshly, changing and reforming itself. "Give the Innocence back."
Alarmed, the Akuma stared back at Allen, unmoving. How entertaining, these Exorcists were. The Akuma almost wanted to laugh. That feeling quickly dispersed as he noticed a shadow from above him, and the white haired Exorcist no longer in the spot he had previously stood.
In midair, Allen aimed his arm at the Akuma as if it were second nature. He watched as his arm had molded itself into a gun like shape and began shooting at the Akuma. It was as if he was watching it happen to someone else. It was as if his arm had a mind of its own.
The light like bullets flew at the Akuma in rapid succession, throwing sand in the air as some hit the ground around it. Eventually, they began to form a tower as they landed on top of each other, allowing Allen to fall from his jump and onto the tower. He looked down at where the Akuma had previously been and saw nothing. A sense of satisfaction swelled within him.
It was short lived, however, when he saw something crawling through the sand. Allen watched it with a critical eye. As his eyes passed over Guzol and Lala lying on the ground, his resolve for defeating the Akuma grew. He would not let it get away for hurting those two.
As it burrowed through the sand, its laughter could be heard. "You can't hit me when I'm sand!" It exclaimed proudly.
Regardless of its boastful comment, Allen aimed his gun in the direction of the Akuma, ready to shoot. In the split second it took for Allen's gun to prepare fire, the deformed version of Allen's claw shot out at him from the sand. His quick reflexes were the only thing that stopped him from becoming a shish kabob…again.
While he was distracted, the Akuma flew towards Allen, while wearing the sand a shield. Still being suspended in the air, Allen didn't have much of a chance to twist himself out of the way. As a result, he got engulfed by the Akuma, swallowed into its sandy stomach.
The Akuma appearing like one big sand monster, laughed while holding its stomach like a jolly Santa. "I've got you now!" It raised its claw threateningly. "I wonder how many times I will have to stab you this time before you die?" Instantly the Akuma began to blindly stab its silver claw into its own stomach, trying to hit Allen.
Allen moved and dodged, despite his lack of sight. Once he noticed that all the attacks were directed at his front, he stuck his arm protectively in front of himself and let the Akuma hit him. The force of the Akuma's attack caused the claw to pierce Allen's arm. His arm was sturdier, stopping the claws from penetrating any further and letting the rest of the forward momentum to push Allen out of the Akuma.
The next moment was unexplainable to Allen, much like how he managed to work his new gun like weapon. It acted on its own, as if it was its own entity. As if the Innocence took control of Allen's brain, guiding him, showing him what to do. In a smooth movement, one of the light bullets extended its way out of the gun. But instead of firing, the gun closed around it, forming a sword.
This happened all in the course of a couple seconds, giving Allen ample time to slash it through the Akuma's sand skin as he fell back to the ground.
The Akuma was distraught. "No, not my sand skin!" The skin around the Akuma fell away, revealing its true form.
Allen landed on his feet, raising his arm. He swiftly changed his arm back into a gun, charging it for a large attack. "I won't give you another chance to put on another skin."
The Akuma merely smirked, not worried in the slightest. "I still have your arm!" It proclaimed proudly as it thrust it towards Allen.
The two attacks met head on. Allen focused his power into his attack, his mind running over what he had overheard Guzol say to Lala. He let these thoughts fuel him and over power the Akuma, drive it backwards until it collapsed through the wall. (Allen felt a small sense of satisfaction giving the Akuma a taste of its own medicine).
The victory was short lived. Just when Allen thought he had the upper hand, his body jolted, doubling in on itself. His arm deactivated and he coughed. As the dust cleared from the force of Allen's attack, he coughed again, covering his mouth. With surprise he found his hand covered in blood.
Shocked, Allen's body collapsed. What was going on? Allen groaned, as he continued to cough up blood. Pain wracked through his body. A terrible pain he had never experienced before in his life. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and pray that the pain would stop.
Taking advantage of Allen's temporary lack of attention, the Akuma reappeared from the wall. It grinned hesitantly, until it saw the injured Exorcist on the ground. Then it grinned widely, cackling. It was more than happy to attack Allen again.
Allen couldn't even focus through the pain. The only thing his mind was able to comprehend other than the pain was to question why this was happening now and what was exactly happening.
The attack never hit its mark. A loud clang rang out instead. Blearily, Allen looked up, surprised to see Kanda standing before him, his katana blocking the Akuma's silver arm.
Kanda glowered down at Allen. "What the hell are you doing, you stupid idiot? Weren't you the one blabbering on about how you were going to save those two?" Kanda winced, wrapping his arm around his middle as it began to bleed through the cloth. It was the only indication that his body was under strain from fending off the Akuma. "I hate naive idiots and I especially hate people who don't keep their promises."
Allen coughed again, but tried to cover it with his left hand. He didn't want to appear weak before Kanda, nor could he let the severely injured man kill the Akuma. "You hate me either way then," Allen quipped with sardonic smile.
Kanda simply, "Che'd" in response.
Biting back other cough, he spoke through the tickle in his throat and tried to hide the obvious pain from his voice. "And I will fulfill my promise; I was just taking a break."
"Irritating," Kanda hissed, as he tensed before drawing his sward away in a movement that caused the Akuma's arm to fly up in the air.
Allen simply smiled weakly, raising his Innocence arm into the air, activating it. In a synchronized motion, Kanda activated Mugen's First Illusion while Allen shot the light bullets from his arm. Together, they destroyed the Akuma.
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