Requiem of Time: Chapter Forty-Seven - Allen

"So what can you tell me about them, Hev?"

"You're Innocence created it. It, Allen Walker. You must understand that the Destroyer of Time is a single entity, no matter how many it seems like you are facing."

"Okay... My Innocence created it how?"

"I am not certain, but I have given it thought lately. By how it appears completely untouchable by Innocence, I presume it to be Innocence itself. At least a form or copy of it. However, I've handled Innocence all my life, and while it was similar, there was certainly something... darker about it. You have seen how an Innocence-user turns into a Fallen One when corrupted... I believe this to be Innocence itself corrupted."

"Corrupted Innocence? Crown Clown did that? ...How do I stop it?"

"Remember, that is merely my current theory. Don't take those words to heart yet, Allen, and I believe it has more to do with your Noah in origins than your Innocence. Now, to stop it, as I'm sure you've guessed, your Innocence must be destroyed."

"I can't do that, Hev."

"That is the answer I want to hear. Now, this is unproven, but I have two alternatives. One is the destruction of the the Fourteenth within you. The other is the destruction of the Millennium Earl. Either may work, or both may fail. I cannot tell."

"...Hev, you already told me that one of those is impossible, and I know that the Fourteenth is here to stay. Unless you have a plan...?"

Allen felt that wandering was becoming a new hobby of his. Here he was, yet again, drifting from place to place with no destination, just going through the motions as his mind worked in overdrive. This time, he wandered outside the Ark, sticking to trails and visiting towns and villages.

Lulubell liked going for walks. She could be here too.

One of his tasks on this aimless journey was converting the Akuma he saw. Most of what he came across was useless Level Ones, but any group of those almost always had leading Level Twos. Sometimes multiple. Allen confronted, converted, and shipped them back onto his Ark.

Another task was visiting the rioted towns, exposing himself to the effects of the Destroyer of Time. Many places weren't near as bad as Görlitz, others worse. Some places looked untouched, just the rumors of a madman executed or ran off into the wilderness.

Allen sighed, digging his hands into his pockets as his boots thudded along the dirt road. Those who got away worried him. Who knows what mischief they could manage with that freedom? Only warnings from the Fourteenth, old warnings from the first life, told him the possibilities.

Revolution... At war with the world itself... A jihad.

Humans united against humans. The concept still didn't make sense to Allen. People should unit against the Earl. How could they possibly war among themselves when a threat so real constantly hounded them?

"Ah, pardon me," Allen muttered as he bumped shoulders with someone. A few steps later he grinned in slight exasperation, tilting his head back to take in a cloudless, blue sky. He could hear that the Finder he had bumped with hadn't yet moved. Things would get interesting if any Exorcist or Marshal was in the area.

He kept walking.

XXXX

"Pitiful Akuma, let your souls go free," Allen whispered, and then the explosions followed. His eyes turned to the one remaining Akuma.

"H-h-h-hey there... Y-you got this crazy look in your eye and- WHOA! - You got a sword, I see that!" the green Level Two Akuma stumbled out as it backed up, waving its arms in front of it. "That's a nice, big sword, and I- Please don't kill me!" It fell to its knees, arms before it in prayer style. Allen drew his sword back, ready to cleave it in half. "Eek!"

The sword swung, and a sudden stream of runes danced around the blade in the arc. Allen had perfected his spell some time ago, and now he could severe the soul away in just a swing. He had to rely on a focal point to stabilize it, though. Thank you, Tyki.

The Akuma peaked through its fingers once it realized it wasn't dead, but then the effects became obvious and it let out a sudden hiss as it lost connection with its power source. Allen opened up a Gate to his Ark and pointed at it. "Go inside and meet with the others. Find Kawamura, she'll instruct you further."

"I-I'm free?" the now modified Akuma gaped, staring at its hands. Then, its form began shifting inwards, altering, slimming. In the end, a boy looking around sixteen was standing there, looking at his hands. The clothes came with the illusion. He beamed a big smile at Allen, practically skipping as he ran sluggishly into the Gate.

Allen sheathed his sword back into his arm and closed the Gate. He adjusted his jacket, scanned the many faces peaking out of buildings at him, then began walking forward. He was done here.

Allen couldn't help it as he strolled through the town towards the exit; he was looking for a particular cat. This was the town divided by the river, the one he had first met Lulubell in. Both times he had met her here as a cat, and the feeling to look for her nagged at his mind.

This was a town affected very little physically from the Destroyer of Time he and Lulubell had created here, despite the extended proximity. Only one elderly man now preaching the goodwill of God. Allen had met him, shaken the man's hand, heard his story (was from 8 years in the future, God sent him back), and now was leaving after cleaning a little Akuma infestation.

It was near the edge of the town Allen's hope became founded, though it was not how he expected.

He slowed his gait, eyes sweeping the eleven faces staring at him. Was he in danger? Not exactly, but smooth sailing was out of the question. He smiled slightly, removing his top hat and bowing formally once he was in distance. "Good evening, House of Noah."

They were all there, everyone except Rhode and Adam, and at their forefront was Lulubell. Predictable, but why wasn't Rhode there? He felt the answer did not lie in her off doing separate business. He didn't buy the 'grounded' excuse anymore, either. There was no way Sheryl could get her to do something against her wishes for that long (schooling excluded).

"You know why we are here, Allen Walker?" Lulubell asked, her voice unusually soft and emotionless. Well, unusual for them lately; that was her normal voice back when they hadn't known each other.

Allen placed a hand on his hip, inside his open coat. He had the perfect appearance of casual, though his thoughts were back to whirling. He couldn't allow the Destroyer of Time situation to get any worse, especially in populated areas. Even though they were at the edge of the town, surely people would be within the buildings surrounding him.

From what Allen knew, activating his Innocence would summon the DoT immediately, though not activating it at all could delay for only so long. He needed to get out of here quickly and without Crown Clown or Sarah. All in all, his type of fun. The only way to make things better would be the sudden appearance of the Fourteenth.

"My guess would be to take me back to the cell," Allen shrugged. It was strange calling that plush and colorful room a cell, but that's exactly what it was.

"Wrong," Lulubell countered in that soft voice. All business here, the Earl's pet. "We are here to kill you, by the Duke Millennium's command."

Allen tilted his head and nodded. He didn't have any catnip on him, of course, but situations like this weren't new. The DoT situation was, though.

"Hey, hey, why do you run so much, Master?" Allen asked as he panted in the alleyway, across from Cross Marian. "I was told men confronted their problems."

"Only a fool confronts a problem he doesn't have to," Cross muttered with self-assured confidence. "A real man chooses his fights carefully. He has the arms to deal business when necessary, and the legs to run when necessary." Long drag on a cigarette. "That's a real man."

Such a terrible teacher you were, Master, Allen thought too himself jovially. And yet here I am taking that to heart.

"It seems like you've forgotten something, Lulubell-chan," Allen chirped merrily, subtly testing himself for running. He stretched nonchalantly, cracked his fingers and neck, shrugged his shoulders...

"And what is that?"

Grin. "You'll have to catch me first." And then he was sprinting in the other direction.

"After him!" Lulubell commanded sharply, already in motion. Her expression was dark, but inwardly she felt the tingle of amusement. The Earl would need more than just them to bring down the notorious Allen Walker, her former pupil and... friend.

Allen slipped through crowds and around buildings, somehow gaining distance between him and them. The Noah could only barely catch glimpses of him, and even then it was just the flash of retreating gold or wisp of black coat. The chase was soon becoming futile for the offending group.

"Split up," Lulubell's melodious voice called. "Spread out and confront him upon sight." The rest of us will easily be able to trace the destruction if another makes contact.

On the corner of a roof, Allen smiled when he saw the eleven superhumans split up and branch out to search for him. Legs crossed and not easily detectable, he watched as they ran past his hiding place, then jumped from there and sprinted back towards the edge of the town.

If he was lucky, he had managed to escape before any black Crown Clowns... the Destroyer of Time could appear.

He reached the town limits, and, smoothly skirting around citizens and passersby, broke out on open terrain. The nearby forest looked like a good place to recoup, and the mountain that it surrounded was bound to have a cave to rest in. He could have simply retreated into his Ark, but honestly he had had enough of that maze of emptiness. He needed to be out in the real world for now.

The forest was a friendly place, and Allen found himself enjoying the walk through it, beams of light breaking the canopy of leaves. It would be sundown in a few hours.

A short time later he reached the mountain, and his sturdy boots did well on the light hike up it in search of a cave. Luckily, the colossal chunk of rock was littered with niches and incroppings, and he found an appropriate cave easy enough.

Allen started himself a fire and sat down to think.

He was hungry, but that was nothing new so he ignored it for now. Rhode, he hadn't seen for nearly three weeks, and he was missing her terribly. He wanted answers for her absence. Understanding the nature of the the threat of the Destroyer of Time made dealing with it easier, though he was not yet any closer to solving its problem.

Sighing, Allen leaned back on his hands and stared at the pitiful blaze he had started. He still didn't know what to do. Hevlaska - Hevlaska! - had told him that that it was impossible for him to destroy the Millennium Earl, all but informing him everything he had done and prepared for was in vain. What could a weathered and beaten war-leader like him do if not scheme to defeat that damnable Earl? What kind of life did he have outside of that?

"I see you're the only one to find me," Allen acknowledged to the air, eyes not straying from the small fire. It was twilight outside now, cloaking the world in the lightless blue.

Then there was the soft pad of footsteps on dirt, and a new figure appeared at the mouth of the cave. Just as Allen had planned? Maybe, but presently he didn't really mind if she had shown or not.

"Black clothing on a white building is quite obvious to a searching eye," Lulubell reprimanded mildly, "and I could smell this fire from the forest below."

Allen knew he didn't have catnip, knew he couldn't deter her if she wanted his blood, but still he gestured to the space across from him, on the other side of the fire. "Please, sit."

Lulubell glanced at the gestured spot and sniffed. "Why do you presume familiarity while I am on a mission for the Duke Millennium?" Yet she moved with graceful steps and folded herself down across from him.

Allen ignored her question. She was the only one he could get answers from right now. "Do you have news on Rhode? I haven't seen her in three weeks."

There was a pause between them, a silence filled by the small snaps of the fire. Then, she glanced up at him with her golden eyes dancing in the orange glow. "She is being held, now. The Duke Millennium fully discovered the connection between you and her, and in his hatred of you, he is detaining her from leaving the Ark."

Ah, that was it. Adam was the only one with enough influence over her to make her do as he wished. It appeared Allen's only option was to rescue her. "Where are they?"

Lulubell looked mildly surprised. "You expect me to betray the Duke Millennium?"

Allen's grey eyes turned to her, hard as steel. "I expect you to tell me where my wife is."

Lulubell held that gaze, unaffected by it. Then, "If I do, what will I get in return?"

"Whatever you want."

She considered it for a moment. "And if I ask for your head?"

Allen barked a laugh. "Well, it kind of defeats the purpose of breaking her out, but... But I don't think that's what you want."

Silence.

Allen thought back, his heart beating just a bit faster when he realized what he was going to ask. He thought back to what the Fourteenth said in his private room, for him to have Lulubell and Rhode both; what Road said in the dreamworld and what Rhode had said in her game, that he himself loved both...

"Lulubell, tell me honestly..."

Her touch had come to mean a soft caress as much as an instigator of pain. After the hell of his many months here with her, Allen took his guilty pleasure in those touches.

Her game was simple. Answer the question correctly, and the caresses would continue. Answer incorrectly and the pain would return. Lately, he had been more correct than incorrect.

Flash!

"Damnit, Lulubell, this isn't a game!" Allen growled. "You can't transform yourself to look like Rhode to sleep with me."

"Did you not find it enjoyable?" she asked, carelessly sprawled under his sheets.

"That's not the point!"

Those golden, slitted eyes turned to him. "The point, if there is any, is that you still cannot look past the appearance of a body. Could you not notice I kiss differently than my sister? Did my touch not come as alien to you? Those are what should have been obvious, in addition to the many other factors you need to see."

Flash!

"...Rhode," Allen addressed calmly. The two of them were snuggled together in bed and had just woken up. The smaller bundle hummed against him in question. Allen remained just as calm. "Why is Lulubell in our bed?"

Rhode wiggled closer to him, not even bothering to lift her head or open her eyes. "I invited her."

Allen took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Oh..." Wait, what?

"What do you feel about me?" Allen asked, forcing himself to hold her gaze.

Lulubell only stared back, unblinking and unreadable. She stared until Allen began to feel uncomfortable, but he didn't look away. Finally, she whispered, "We moved to Portugal, above the city Lisbon."

She turned to leave then, rising from her place, but Allen was there suddenly, stopping her by grabbing her hand. "Lulubell..." She faced him, still remarkably expressionless. Allen squeezed her hand slightly. "Thank you."

A white flash briefly lit the cave as Allen's Ark's Gate formed behind him. He released her hand, seeing the continued stone, and he stepped back into his Gate.

Lulubell watched him go, unmoving. She continued standing there until the white Gate sealed and vanished, meaning Allen was gone for good. Then, she broke down.

Emotional walls crumbled as Lulubell collapsed to the cave floor, crying. She didn't wail or cry out, but her body shook with sobs, the dirt below her splashing with tear drops.

She had, with no gains, betrayed the Duke Millennium... for Allen.


AN: Hope none of you mind the Destroyer of Time abbreviation DoT. That's sorta the name I've used for it since chapter 4 in my outline, written just after chapter 1. So yeah, I'm used to it, but it's taken 49 chapters for you all to be able to see it. xD

Oh, and next chapter ended up being only 1k words, even shorter than my usual short. Dun worry, I'll think of something to make it worth your while. :D