The first to come to was Allen. His senses returned to him slowly. First, he felt the searing pain in his left arm and the dull ache that seemed to consume his entire body. That was what struck him as odd first, closely followed by not so quiet sobs.
Miranda, Allen thought sluggishly.
"Al-Allen," She hiccupped.
Slowly, Allen opened his eyes, unsure of his surroundings. Just moments ago he had been fighting akuma. Was he still in town? Purple was the first colour that registered in his mind, followed by candles, and dolls.
Allen's eyes widened when he realized he was most definitely not in town anymore and Miranda's hands were...stabbed to her clock. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks as she looked to Allen helplessly.
He tried to situate himself, perhaps to move closer to comfort Miranda, when he realized that the pain in his left arm was hindering such movement. Glancing over, he saw multiple candle shaped daggers stuck through his arm and through the wall behind him. The thing that struck Allen as odd was that he was feeling remnants of pain. Had something happened to Katsu?
Panicking, Allen glanced around quickly for Lenalee and Katsu. Were they here too?
"What a beautiful doll," A girlish voice said, admiringly.
"Rhode-sama, why are you dressing up an Exorcist?" An akuma asked.
"Exorcist dolls are so rare to come by," Rhode answered, almost sounding dreamy.
Doll? Allen thought wildly. Does she have Lenalee and Katsu over there? He moved his head around, trying to get a better look behind her. He was unsuccessful. He had to wait for Rhode to turn around. When she did, Allen noticed it was Lenalee trapped in the chair, unresponsive. Horror ran through Allen. "Lenalee!"
Rhode smiled, "So your name is Lenalee," she said to Lenalee, rubbing against her against the unmoving Exorcist in an affectionate manner. "What a cute name." She turned to Allen, "I see you're awake. I wonder if your other friend is as well. What a shame it was that she passed out before we could have any real fun." Rhode pouted. "We'll just have to have all the fun now! Akuma! Bring in the other girl."
Allen panicked, what happened to Katsu?
Slowly, the akuma rolled out a long table that held Katsu's stretched out body on it. Her limbs were fastened to the table, and she appeared to be unconscious. From what Allen could see, she appeared unharmed.
"Why are you with the akuma?" Allen demanded. He activated his eye, seeing the souls of the three akuma around Rhode, but there wasn't a soul above Rhode.
"That's because I'm human. Can't humans be friends with akuma?" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"But akuma were created by the Earl to kill humans," Allen countered.
"Are weapons not made by humans to destroy humans? The Millennium Count is my brother. Me and my other siblings are the chosen ones. You, Exorcists are the chosen ones of a false God." As Rhode spoke, seven cross like insignias appeared on her forehead and her skin grew darker until it was a greyish brown. "We are the true apostles of God, of Noah's Clan."
There was a moment of tense silence before a loud screeching ensued.
"Rhode-sama!" The pumpkin umbrella screeched, getting in Rhode's face. "You aren't supposed to tell that to outsiders~lero! First you take me out without permission and now you act against the Earl's plans~lero. He's going to give you a right telling off~lero."
"Millenie won't do that to me, Lero."
Allen was fuming. He didn't believe for a minute what Rhode saying, and he hated it even more that she had hurt his friends and sister.
Rhode smirked at him. "You don't believe I'm telling the truth." Slowly she crept towards him, dragging his own Exorcist uniform on the ground as the excess fabric draped off her slender frame. When she was standing directly in front of him, she knelt, embracing him in a hug.
Allen seethed. She felt human. It couldn't be right. Humans didn't work with akuma.
He desperately wanted to attack her. The only thing holding him back was the potential pain it would cause Katsu. He truly didn't want to give her another reason to hate him. But he was useless and open to an attack if he remained bound like this.
I'm sorry, Katsu, he thought as he began to put pressure against his arm. He pulled, straining against the pointy candle like daggers. Allen bit his lip, biting back a scream of pain. Why was it hurting so much? Was Katsu...?
Eventually it became too much for Allen to hold back. He let out a long cry of pain, as the points began to wedge free of the wall behind him. He was panting in relief when his arm was free, the candles falling to the floor with a clatter. Allen wanted to lift his arm to attack Rhode, but it simply hung lifeless by his side. It had taken all his strength simply to get it free.
"If you're the same as other humans, why would you...?"
"The same?" Rhode interrupted, sounding slightly angry and offended. Allen paused, waiting for some sort of angry outburst. Instead, she grabbed his Innocence arm. Allen tried to fight it but he was still struggling to gather enough strength. It left him helpless as she dragged it across her face.
Allen watched horrified as his claws deformed Rhode's face.
"We are nothing like you sub humans." Rhode's face began to repair its self almost immediately. "We inherited the gene of Noah, God's oldest apostle." Concluding her statement, she grabbed one of the candles that were on the ground and stabbed Allen in the left eye.
There was a moment of silence before twin voices cried out in unimaginable pain.
Rhode pulled the candle away almost immediately, bringing it towards her face as she grinned down at Allen who was desperately holding his burning eye. Her tongue daintily brushed along the candle, licking the blood like it was a lollipop. She held Allen's angry, pain filled gaze for a moment longer before turning around to the girl she had tied up on a table.
"Did our friend finally waken from her slumber?" Rhode walked towards the bound girl intrigued. She had heard many stories about this one, even more than about the one with the cursed eye. Rhode felt lucky that she managed to run into both on the same day and gain the chance to play with them as well. She leaned over Katsu's body, happily intrigued when she saw the girl was bleeding tears, both eyes blood red. Her body was tense and fists clenched.
"Are you awake yet?"
"Did you do that as a wakeup call?" Katsu demanded, her voice unwavering.
Rhode smiled. "No, I didn't think of that. I was just having some fun with Allen."
Katsu snorted. "Why would you do that? He's a boring bastard."
From somewhere that seemed far off from the two's conversation, there was an offended half-hearted cry from Allen.
Rhode kept a close eye on Katsu, a finger to her chin. She seemed much more confident than what she had heard and that wasn't much fun at all. Perhaps she needed to use more of her candles to make her reactions more fun. Besides, she was curious as to why she had been injured when she had stabbed Allen.
"So you're saying that I should play with you then, if Allen is so boring," Rhode grinned.
Katsu repressed a shudder. Why did her mouth have to decide to start running without asking her mind if what it was going to say was a good idea or not?
She struggled against her restraints. Damn, this was the last situation she wanted to be in, especially with her lack of sight. Damn Allen for not being able to control his eye around the akuma in the room. Oh how she had the strong desire to be able to see right now. The laughter, always in the back of her mind was serving as an awful reminder, slowly pushing her self-conscience into full blown panic attack.
"Rhode! Don't do it!" Allen yelled, causing Katsu to tense. What was she doing...?
"I'll just take your silence as a confirmation then," Rhode giggled, as Katsu felt a long searing pain across her collar bone. She could feel the scar tissue tearing once again.
Katsu quickly tried to regain control of her scream, biting her lip until it began to bleed.
The laugh that came from Rhode's mouth then, greatly resembled the one in the back ground. Without another warning, Katsu felt Rhode cut through another scar, reopening the wound and the memory that was tied with it.
Even as Katsu fought to refrain from making a sound, tears fell from her cheeks freely, painting shimmering red paths along her cheeks. They were back. All those years perfecting the wall she had crafted to keep them out, was for nothing. It crumbled as Rhode began to trace the swirl patterns on her arms.
"I'm so glad we ran into each other." A voice said gleefully as a second, higher in pitch echoed in its agreement. "Hai, Hai. So glad. Exorcists are so much fun."
Katsu slowly opened her blurry, tear filled eyes to be faced with a pair of twin faces just as different as they were alike. One looked fairly normal, with dark hair falling in his face, and dark eye make-up around one eye. The other had long blond hair held back with a headband that reminded Katsu of bug antenna. This one also had what appeared to be stitches covering his mouth, though it didn't prohibit his speaking ability in the slightest. When he chose to speak, that is.
"I think we should play another game with the Exorcist. What do you think, Jasdero?" The dark haired one said, grinning down at Katsu's bound and weary form.
"Play, play, play!" The blond-Jasdero-replied with vigor.
"N-No," Katsu stuttered, barely able to gather the strength to make her voice work. "No games. I-I can't..."
"This one doesn't involve so much of your physical participation," The dark haired guy...Devit crooned. "We'll simply play with our toys."
"He he, toys. Our toys are the best."
Instantly Katsu was trying to open her mouth, to protest but before she could muster any sound, she was gagged. All Katsu could do now was be glad they were in a playful mood. She wasn't sure her body was in a condition that would allow her to survive one of their darker moods.
Katsu wished she had the power to fight these bastards. But there wasn't much she could do anymore. They were barely feeding her, her body was weak and injured and they were much stronger than she was, even for being a small, barely past childhood, girl. She didn't even understand why they were referring to her as Exorcist. It had to be a part of a larger game they played.
"The game we're going to play today," Devit started, "is called..."
"Exorcist painting!" The two finished together.
"We've always wanted to try being artists, you see," Devit explained.
"Exorcists are the best canvases," Jasdero added, waving a rather pointed object in the air like it was a paint brush.
Katsu's muscles spasmed in fear, as the blade drew closer to her skin.
"Katsu!"
That wasn't one of the twins' voices, Katsu noted. Her brain barely functioning through the pain.
"Ah, Ah, keep your distance, Allen."
That wasn't one of their voices either...
Rhode laughed. "You think you can kill me? Did it make you angry that I hurt Katsu?" Rhode mocked. "Why would you protect someone who is obviously resenting you? I saw it in the pub and at the carnival tent."
"She's my sister. I protect those I care about," Allen growled.
"How can you? All you do is hurt her? I don't know all the specifics, but if my stabbing you in the eye was anything to go by, I'd say you're hurting her more than protecting her. You should let me put her out of her misery."
A loud shot rang out. Katsu felt something warm and bright fly past her face. This sense of immediate danger managed to fully pull her out of the recesses of her mind, if only for a moment.
"You might want to be careful Allen. You almost hit your sister," Rhode mocked.
There was a snarl before another shot.
"You can't kill me, Allen." Other loud noises rang out throughout the room, before it ended with a grunt and a thunk as a body hit a wall. "Are three akuma too much for you?"
Katsu struggled against her bonds before gasping. Each and every limb felt as if it were on fire. How much did Rhode cut her up while she was out of it? Was she even in any condition to be an aid to Allen if she could get these damn bonds undone?
"It's about time I got rid of you too," Rhode muttered.
Whimpering came from in front of Katsu, in the direction her feet were pointing. She recognized that sobbing...Miranda. Miranda was in danger. Katsu struggled against her bonds. Rhode had already done who the hell knows what to Allen and she had no idea where Lenalee was. The best she could do was help Miranda. She couldn't fail in another mission to retrieve Innocence.
"Ah, ah, ah. Don't think I forgot about you, Katsu..." Rhode warned, a sharp object pressing against Katsu's cheek, where she had her cross. "Perhaps you didn't spend enough time Jasdero..."
No, they weren't here, were they? Katsu wouldn't survive a second encounter with them, she wasn't ready. Besides, she needed to save Miranda.
The darkness that was encompassing Katsu's vision faded, as she was swallowed into the vision of her mind's eye.
Allen watched Katsu from his place on the ground in fear. What did Road do to Katsu? Who was Jasdero? Regardless of that, Allen was in incredible pain. Not only did he feel the ache in his arm, but he also felt the pain from being smashed into the wall, causing his limbs to burn in several places. He couldn't remember the last time he felt pain like this. Why now?
Rhode turned away from Katsu suddenly, facing Miranda once again. "Now to get rid of you so I can play with Allen freely." She raised her hand, pointing it in Miranda's direction. Instantly, the candles that were hovering around Rhode's head sharpened and turned in Miranda's direction.
Miranda was unable to look away from her imminent death, her eyes wide, taking in every aspect of the pointy objects that were going to end her miserable life.
Allen acted quickly, ignoring the pain in an instantaneous reaction. He rushed to Miranda's side, arm still activated. He slid behind her, and lifted his silver arm to protect the both of them. The candles were already flying by the time Allen raised his arm, barely missing getting hit by the deadly points.
He shook the candles that got wedged in his arm free and used his other hand to pull the Miranda's hands free from her clock. The moment she was free, Miranda rushed to the other side of the room, in the direction that Allen had come from.
Allen couldn't be bothered to raise his head as his arm slumped to the ground. All his strength left him, and his limbs fell beside him limply, feeling numb. His hair fell in his eyes as he managed to raise them to look up at Katsu.
She was still bleeding in a dangerous amount, and her muscles were tense. Allen could barely make out her chest raising and falling quickly and her neck strained back as if she was holding back a scream.
Allen felt ashamed. Did he hurt her? Was his pain still being transferred to her now, even as he was feeling it himself? Was he forcing her body to try and cope with his pain as well as her own?
"A-Allen..." Miranda called, her voice hoarse. "Allen...d-don't die."
Allen lifted his eyes in Miranda's direction, and he tried to smile reassuringly at her. He didn't need to worry her with his worries for Katsu. They were his to deal with alone, since he was the only one causing her pain.
"It's...it's alright." He forced his smile wider. "I'm fine." Allen struggled to keep the lie strong on his lips. His body was weak, and his strength was fading. He could barely lift his finger, let alone anything else. But he couldn't let Miranda know that, he had to be strong, protect Miranda and continue to walk, until he stopped breathing.
Rhode laughed. "Oh, you sub-humans are so amusing!" She narrowed her eyes at the woman who was crawling back to Allen. "What are you doing?
Allen heard Miranda sob and a pair of arms wrapped around his frame. What...?
"What am I doing?" Miranda responded, slightly hysterical. "What can I do, but try?" She pulled Allen's body gently, so his head could rest in her lap, eyes filling endlessly with tears.
A bright light shone through the darkness, suddenly blinding the few spectators, allowing Allen and Miranda to disappear from the Noah's view.
Allen, who had been barely holding onto his consciousness by a thread, was jolted with a moment of mental clarity when the blinding bright light broke into his line of sight. He promptly shut his eyes to get away from the painful light. After a moment, Allen slowly started to open them to the sight of a dome of light encasing them. Miranda's hair was free of its constraints and was flowing with some unknown wind.
He looked slightly behind Miranda, where the clock caught his eye. Its hands were moving backwards like they had that first night in the Rewinding Town. The Innocence was activated.
"Miranda..." Allen was slightly surprised to find that his voice was stronger. With even more passing time, he could feel his body regain his strength. Even his body was losing its injuries as several clocks were lifted from his body.
"Allen, can you move?" Miranda asked.
Allen tried, slowly lifting himself in an upright position. Though it didn't cause him pain, he quickly searched himself for any sign of injury. He was also shocked to notice that he was now able to look out his left eye. He grinned up at Miranda happily. "You activated the Innocence Miranda! It responded with you again." Allen bowed his head, "Thank you."
Miranda grinned happily too, as more tears welled in her eyes.
Startled, Allen pulled back. "Is something wrong, Miranda?"
Miranda shook her head. "You thanked me. I was useful."
"You were. Thank you." Allen smiled.
He then focused his attention on the dome. Katsu and Lenalee were still on the other side of it, injured. He had to help them too. But he was sure he'd only have the moment of surprise to grab one of them before they would expect him to get the other. He couldn't just leave one of them injured and at the mercy of Rhode...
He would have to try his luck at getting both of them then.
Activating his newly healed arm, Allen tried to remember where Rhode had placed Katsu and Lenalee in relation to the clock. If he wasn't mistaken, Katsu was in front of him now, Lenalee slightly to the left.
Swiftly, Allen extended his left arm, in Katsu's direction. Startled cries of the akuma followed as they tried to dodge his arm. His claw brushed against a metal leg of the table and he instantly grabbed it, pulling it towards him. Soon, Katsu was in the lightened dome, still strapped to the table.
Not wanting to give the akuma any time to recover and try and protect Lenalee, he instantly attacked in her direction. However, they had been expecting it like he had guessed. He felt someone grab hold of his arm, pulling him out of the dome. Allen went flying. Gravity quickly pulled him back to earth as he smashed into the ground below. With a groan towards the initial pain, Allen rose, facing his attackers.
The akuma faced Allen, providing a barrier between him and both Lenalee and Miranda's Innocence. Rhode floated above the akuma, on the pumpkin umbrella.
"Did you make the right choice? Was Katsu truly the right person to save?" Rhode taunted. "If you ask me, she looked fine physically, after you disappeared. Though I'm not too sure about her mental state. Can the clock Innocence take back the mental trauma too? If not, you're on your own." Rhode rested her elbow on her knee, then her head on her hand.
Allen froze. Mental trauma? "What did you do to her Rhode?" Allen demanded, glaring up at the Noah.
"Nothing more than release what had been pent up in there already. I just helped her remember."
Allen snarled. Like hell she did.
No, he needed to focus. He had to get Lenalee to Miranda, and hope that what Rhode was telling him was nothing more than a lie to get him riled up.
"I'm not lying," Rhode said, as if she had read Allen's mind. "I heard all sorts of stories about her from my brothers. They kept saying she was the best toy. She's good, but I'd have to disagree with them. I find you're the best Allen. And the fight hasn't even gotten started yet."