Requiem of Time: Chapter Twenty-Three - Allen
Months, days, weeks… somewhere in between, this… confinement had begun. To keep him safe, so they said. If that was so, why was Howard Link still attached to his hip?
Allen drummed his fingers on the table, as he had ever since his cards had been confiscated. It wasn't his fault they wished to play for money. Of course, 'gambling is a sin' came after they had lost everything to him. His fingers itched for the feel of the cards again, to shuffle if nothing else. Just something to pass the time…
Central, a rather detestable place. The personnel were cold, uncaring, and hypocritical at times. Dragged to Italy, locked in (they said to keep Noah out) the Vatican, and under the direct watch of the Pope himself. Wishing to see this man of both sides, this Allen Walker, Critical who was not Marshal, Noah who fought the Earl, Exorcist who was born not made… Only nineteen years old.
Allen groaned as his twitchy fingers continued their tuneless beat. "Link…"
"No," the man replied stiffly.
Allen's head hung, no longer staring unseeingly at the dull grey, plastered walls of his room (cell). Furnishings included bed, mat, table, two chairs. And locked door, of course. That was unlocked whenever the Pope spared a moment for Allen or it was time to eat. After all, it was inhumane for a man to not be allowed to sit under watch at a table away from everyone in the cafeteria, with three inconspicuous Thirds keeping tabs on him. Yes, much more humane, that, than having to eat in his room.
Allen sighed again and stood, positioning himself for another endless batch of one handed pushups… balancing from one of the chairs.
It was mainly because of Marshal Winters, however. The scourge of Akuma, titan of a man, the Marshal had extraordinarily been struck down suddenly, after a mishap with several choice Noah and a rather large batch of Level Fours. The man had proven unstoppable up to that point, and upon receiving his 'Torment'-free corpse, the other Marshals had been slammed into lockdown.
He and Cloud Nine had broken up shortly before this, so heartache wasn't an issue, yet he wouldn't deny a strange reoccurring pattern of dreams including a certain blue haired Noah. This complete cut-off from the war was surely the cause of that. Dreaming about his enemies…
Allen had only reached fifty when a sudden agonizing pain in his eye sent him tumbling into the floor, nearly screaming. His pentacle scar outline, now black with its third level, flared again with pain before force activating. A black 'D' appeared over his eye, gothic font, and began searching wildly for the closest Akuma. The pain of finding none had Allen biting his hand to prevent from crying out.
It had been so long since he had last been to the battlefield, and his eye was reminding him of that often. The pain was also coming more and more often. Howard Link watched Allen writhing with a face of stone, long past wincing and calling for help. There was nothing either of them could do now, only bear with it.
Far too long later, the pain was in its final throes, and Allen was left breathing hard against one of the walls. His eyes had a haunted cast to them, and silence reigned between him and his guard. It was only broken when Allen gave a hollow laugh as he wiped away the black blood left from the episode.
Noises were soon heard from the outside hallway, and Link prepared to take Allen out for his evening meal. What neither expected, however, was the door suddenly breaking inward, slamming into the far wall near inches from Allen's head. Allen didn't flinch at that, only stared at who came into the room after that.
Bondomu stuck their heads in, grinning, while Joyd stood behind them. "Alright, this is a break out! Nobody move!"
****
Even hearing Tyki's earlier declaration, Rhode was still surprised to see Allen walk into the room, not only unharmed but with that special arm and cloak her phantom memories had told her of. Lulubell had… failed. A small grin broke out on her face as she scooted her chair back. Allen was by far the most interesting human she had ever met. She ignored that curly haired, grey skinned image that formed in her mind.
"Alleeeeeeen!" Rhode yelled cheerfully as she tackled the Marshal in a flying hug.
His name, her smile… Allen's chest clenched painfully as he responded to her affections with a weak smile. Of those who seemed to be the ones from Allen's first life, this Rhode was not among them. Still, the feel of her arms inside his coat, the smooth material of one of her blouses, her breath against his cheek. It was so painfully familiar.
He looked down at her smiling face, that cheerful face that hid daggers as often as showed amusement. She was so close, all he had to do was crane his neck just a bit and he could capture her lips in a kiss. She wouldn't mind, he knew she wouldn't, but something, something held him back, just from the brink.
"Good evening, Rhode-chan."
Rhode giggled, and her eyes opened to that half-lidded look so different than the first time he had seen her this life. "Oh, so I'm your Rhode-chan now?"
You always have been. His smile was the response, but as much as he wanted to banter with his former wife, there were things that came first. With one of his arms wrapped around the lithe girl, Allen focused on commanding magic. With a slight rumbling of the ground, a dark shape began to rise behind Rhode.
There was something oddly nostalgic about this, an echo of Rhode's own door, as a coffin rose from the ground before Allen. Poor Skin was the only one who had no idea who Allen was or what the hell was going on. Only after the coffin was completely out of the ground, standing boldly, did Rhode turn to take a peak at what Allen had done.
"And what's this, Allen?" she asked, still with that sing-song voice that only Allen could tell was genuine curiosity.
Addressing the whole room, Joyd included, Allen said, "Sorry about this, but I have this theory…" As he began to explain, Allen maneuvered his human arm onto his Innocence, almost hugging Rhode but not quite. "These strange little objects have been following me around lately, particularly when I'm around Noah, and I believe that it might have something to do with my Innocence…" Allen closed his eyes for a moment, not needing the ace for this quick spell. "On… Abata-ura-masarakato-on-gataru! Grave of Sarah Limit, Release!"
A golden light burst into the dim room from the appearing cracks in the coffin, and soon it broke apart to reveal Allen's latest regret, beautifully dressed with a mask similar to Crown Clown's. Still as a corpse she stood there, not breathing, not even a hint of movement visible. Nothing but a tool now - Allen's tool.
A new light lit the room as Allen drew his sword out of his arm, the massive blade appearing and ending with a seal on his shoulder. At this, Rhode stepped into his open coat and occupied the space his arm used to, staying in his embrace. Equally important to that, to Allen at least, were the two apparitions that had appeared.
Black, formless shapes; one was just in front of him, the other hovering over the dining table. Then, a heartbeat later, the shapeless jumped into itself, and two cloaks similar to the one he wore were there. The black Crown Clowns, two of them.
Allen noted their number, and was confused. Off of previous experience, there should have been four or five, depending on if Bondomu inspired one or one each. Regardless, he gave neither cloak time to react. "Sarah, Amoveo Terra!"
Faster than Sarah ever could in life, spires of carpet and table - respectively - impaled the cloaks, leaving writhing masses of black. The tips curved back, and before they could re-impale the cloaks, the two tips broke into dozens of separate shafts that all made contact, several breaking the black metal masks.
Although Sarah had had more practice, it was Allen who achieved over 100 percent synch with Innocence, allowing him greater control over Sarah's Terra's Touch than she ever had. For example, apart from the speed, Allen had witnessed the Innocence touching air, and through that channeled to the floor before creating the spires, whereas Sarah had needed direct contact with what she was transmuting.
Problems now solved, Allen used Sarah to transmute whatever material those black cloaks were to wood and carpet - part of the spires - and those slowly receded back into the ground without a trace. With a bow of thanks to the dead, Allen re-sheathed his sword and led Rhode over to the table.
Rhode was surprised to find Allen unopposed to her sitting in his lap, although the position produced a small flock of memories that weren't hers in the same position. Several even suggested how to make herself more comfortable while doing so, and after wiggling herself in place, Allen even place his human arm around her waist like several memories said he would.
Allen Walker - always interesting.
Speaking of, the almost systematic method he had of destroying those cloaks suggested a change in him since he and her and last met. They had proved a great challenge to him back in the rewinding town, a hassle when she and Tyki confronted Yeeger, and now Allen managed to beat them as easy as breathing. Interesting…
Allen couldn't deny himself a little guilty indulgence, letting his body respond on instinct to Rhode's advances. But now, with her on his lap and his arm around her waist, he turned his attention to what was more important.
Looking at Joyd and the two halves of Bondomu, he asked, "How is it that both of you are the ones I know?" He had already spoken with Tyki about it, but maybe with Bondomu's stories he could piece something together.
What he didn't expect, however, was Rhode shifting her body to look up at him and asking, "Oi Allen, what do you mean?"
Allen's fake smile was probably not comforting to her. However, it was either that or break down crying. Instead of dodging the question, it was time to just flat out tell her the truth. This would be the most painful moment in his life - the truth would push her away, surely, make her resent him, probably, and try to kill him, maybe. At least, until he could get her memories back, like Joyd's and Bondomu's.
That last thought became a mantra, fueling his smile and mask. Yet, as he opened his mouth to just let it all out, the door opened yet again. Everyone looked up at that, and who was there nearly had Allen lurch to his feet. He would have, if Rhode hadn't been so comfortably perched on his lap.
Cross Marian, flanked by two rather gorgeous modified Akuma (twins, by their looks), stood there. The man's woman-winning smile was in full-force, and Allen couldn't resist tightening his grip on Rhode. The man's perverseness knew no bounds. Allen would know. Still, for Cross to just pop into a room full of Noah…
"I figured you would be here, idiot apprentice," Cross announced casually, selectively ignorant to Skin's rising rage at two Exorcists being present. "I was thinking we could have our talk now."
AN: MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone! I spent my Christmas Eve slaving over your present, and now here it is! And, as a special gift for icedragon, there's some AllenxRhode action. I'm getting excited folks, the story is going to really kick off in the next few chapters or so. The world's gonna get shot to Hell, and in the midst of that Allen's gonna have to forge his own way... Hey, Hevlaska warned us, eh?
Hope your days were full of presents and love, folks. Here's another one for you!
