A/N: Because this is an AU, I decided to get creative!(: Hope no one minds~.
And a big thank you to Walker's Annoying Voice, Alaia Skyhawk, jy24, Lena-luvs-cats, Takei Daloui, and Amelia Loves Anime for reviewing! … Even if most of you did yell at me for that cliffhanger! ^_^ Hehe~.
And here we are, getting straight to the letter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I could spend the next decade writing for this fandom, but it wouldn't get me any closer to owning it, now would it?
Chapter 32
Allen,
First, I'd like to apologize on Cross' behalf. He's a real asshole—there's no getting around that. But… it was best to leave you in his care.
I don't even know where to begin, but knowing your position as an Exorcist, this will come as distressing news—you're truly a Walker. As much a Walker as Mana and Allen were; as much a Walker as I am. There's no getting around it. You are an Exorcist born of the Noah Clan.
Twisted as it is, it all goes back to your mother and father. At the very least, you may be relieved in knowing that neither of them were actual Noah themselves. Allen Walker—your father—was born to our mother Katarina, a few years after Mana and myself. Back then, we were known as the Campbell's, but that's a whole different can of worms. Regardless, your father was a stubborn man and I only managed to shield him away from the dangers of the Noah Clan for a few years. For a while, I didn't know what had become of him, but when he returned, it was as a Recorder. He'd gone off and become a Bookman Apprentice (don't even ask me how) just so he'd be able to return to my side. I loved him dearly for it.
And your mother… I am sure Cross will strangle me for revealing this to you, but your mother is Maria Cross. I am sorry to be the one to relay this horrifying news to you, but Cross is in fact, your uncle. Once more, my sincerest apologies.
As for their story, we never anticipated their tragic end. They didn't really know much of each other until many years after the war. The disastrous outcome between Mana and myself put a great stress on Allen. He retired from his Bookman duties on the guise of death, but the training he was forced to undergo with them coupled with Mana's betrayal and death had almost irreversible psychological effects. Though I sometimes like to believe that I was able to help in some way, it was really Maria who altered his life once she came into the picture. Maria, much like her brother, was also an Exorcist. At the time, we didn't think them to be in a great deal of danger. Mana's demise brought an end to the manufacturing of Akuma—at this point, their job was simply to eliminate the Strays.
But in turn, the Exorcists also became careless.
Which is why, two years after your birth, Maria Cross was killed by a Level 3 Akuma.
We were terrified of your father's reaction. But he was a smart man (he had to have been to be accepted into the Bookman Clan). Although he grieved, it would be a long time before we would unveil his schemes.
At the time, Road became your caretaker. (That is, Road Kamelot. Though it remains unknown to the Black Order to this day, she was the one member of the Noah family that survived the massacre.) It was becoming more and more difficult to get your father to pay any attention to you, and we knew that whatever it was that he was obsessing over was only worsening his health. So Road and I took to randomly disappearing so that he would have no choice but to tend to you.
It worked, for a while. But I believe Road and I will always regret the night your father begged us not to leave. At the time though, it had been a real necessity. Cross had unearthed a whole nest of Level 3s who were on the verge of transforming into a Level 4, and with the Ark Gates, we were the quickest backup he could call for. We figured he would be okay for a couple hours, but your father was a desperate man and nothing could have stopped him from that night's actions.
In his dire need to reclaim Maria, Allen recreated Mana's ritual and called her soul back down to her corpse.
To this day, I still don't know how he managed it. It wasn't until after that, that I took Mana's research and notes and burned it all to the ground.
But it didn't erase your father's deeds. And the worst part? He succeeded. But it came at a price.
Allen wasn't a Noah or an Exorcist. The level of magyk he invoked killed him. With no master, Maria's body grew out of control. She was full of irrepressible rage and she demolished everything that surrounded her. And at some point, we believe her fury was directed towards you. (The only thing that could possibly explain the white hair and scar.)
By the time I returned with Road and Cross, the house we occupied at the time was a flattened wreck and you were nowhere to be found. Maria had exhausted the majority of her ire and Cross was able to confine her. Her body, which still contained the Innocence, was tainted with Dark Matter; she was deteriorating from the inside out. Fortunately, Cross was able to halt its progress with a magyk barrier around her core, but without her rage, she merely became a lifeless puppet willing to do Cross' bidding.
I am sure you've made the connection by now. You have come to know her as the Grave of Maria.
I'm sorry, but you need to know this, and Cross isn't one for long discussions.
And I am also sorry for abandoning you. We don't know what happened that night, but it wasn't until you were almost five that Cross stumbled across you at a circus as part of the Freak Show. And he wouldn't have recognized you, if it weren't for your arm. After that, we decided it was best for you stick with Cross. He could teach how to handle your Innocence, whereas Road and I mostly drifted about, never sticking to one place for too long. Despite the treaty, there is no love lost between us and the Black Order.
Which is why I write this letter to you now. You're only five years old, so I know Cross won't be giving you this letter at present, but maybe he will someday. (If he doesn't end up misplacing it, that is.)
So, this is the truth of our past. Wretched and horrid as it is, I hope you come to accept it, despite being an Exorcist. Because in spite of it all, we're still family.
Your Uncle,
Neah
P.S. Another confession, if you will? I can never tell another soul, so I'll write it down here, where it will go unread for years to come… Mana is not dead. I couldn't go through with it. I'm sorry.
A/N: Ahh! I put a good amount of creativity into this, so I'm not sure how any of you will react. I really hope you guys liked it though! *Nervously chews fingernails as I wait for reviews*