Author's note: Thank you for the amazing support for Silver Bird in a Gilded Cage! The chapter would've been sent out quicker but I had major writers block and my beta is applying to University of her choice. So, on that note please enjoy and don't forget to review or like! Thanks to my amazing beta Hanashi o suru.

Allen continued to read the documents, having nothing else to do for the remainder of the duration of their trip. It wasn't until he found a specific passage, where he broke the silence, "What…? The ghost is actually a…?"

"I can confirm what you're just read, Master Walker." Toma's voice sounded from the door. "I was a member of the expedition, so I have seen it with my own eyes. That ghost of Mater is…"

. . - * - . .

"A doll? The Ghost of Mater is just a doll…" Allen breathed, as he and the rest were racing from the train.

"Perhaps that would make the most sense." Link stated, "Walker, please keep up with us."

"Huh? Ah!"

"It's only possible if the dolls were made using an Innocence fragment." Kanda said, never averting his attention from before him. It wasn't until the abandoned city came into view where the four came to an abrupt halt. Something wasn't right, and they all could feel it.

What is this cold feeling…? Allen found himself wondering, "Where are the Finders?"

"We came here as soon as we could because Toma's radio couldn't get through, but…" Kanda stated, looking to the antient city below them, "They're probably dead."

"So, it would seem." Link found himself agreeing. "I do appologize for your loss, Toma."

Toma shook his head, "We know what we get into…I don't exactly have the luxury to mourn just yet."

"Hey, you." Kanda spoke up, his cold gaze on the youngest male in their group, "Let's get one thing straight. If I think you're hindering the mission, I'm not going to save you even if you're about to killed by the enemy."

"Now you listen here, Yu Kanda," Link was itching to put the Japanese man in his place, but was stopped by Allen, who shook his head.

"What a mean thing to say, Kanda." Allen said. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Link inquired. Allen gestured towards the city, letting Link know that something was close.

None made a move before the streets of the uninhibited city were alight with explosions. All four sets of eyes were instantly on where they could just make out the direction of the source.

"So that's the Akuma." Link noted. "Ugly fellow."

"When the fuck aren't they?" Kanda grumbled, already storming ahead of the duo.

The CROW was ready to fly off when Allen grabbed his sleeve, "Be careful, I think there's more to this one than meets the eye."

Link nodded in affirmation, before going after Kanda. Allen remained where he was a little while longer, before going into the city himself. Kanda, much to his personal annoyance, was going to need his help to find where the Innocence actually was.

. . - * - . .

"Right there, Kanda!" Allen called out, as Link distracted the Akuma. "That's the doll!"

"Right. Oi, twin-mole, do something about that sonnova bitch!"

"I'm working on it!" Link growled out. This issue is; I'm not an Exorcist, there's only so much I'd be able to do…I can't destroy an Akuma at all…tch!

"DIE!" The Akuma screamed, its large claw-like hand going at Link. He didn't have time to dodge.

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Allen screamed, blocking the blow.

"Walker!"

"God dammit, you idiot beansprout!" Kanda growled.

Allen panted, glaring at the Akuma before him. His white claw was already activated, aiming for the Akuma's demise, and the soul's salvation. "Link…help Kanda. I'll be fine."

"I will not—"

"DO IT!" In his momentary distraction, Allen was suddenly swatted away by the foe, crashing through her walls, and causing more ruin to the ruins.

"WALKER!"

"I wouldn't take your eyes off the enemy if I were you~" The Akuma sneered, going in for a surprise attack on the CROW. He was quick to dodge, cursing at his momentary lapse in focus. "Drats! Who the hell are you? He was wearing black, and you're in that garb…nothing like the guys in white."

"Perhaps it's the show we're on a different league?" Link suggested. It wouldn't be too far off a thing to say, though he doubted Allen would apricate the comment.

"A different league, you say? Hmm…oh?" The Akuma looked to its hand, seeing its skin peeling away. "This power…I see now. That brat must be…an Exorcist'."

Link visibly gulped, what did Allen being an Exorcist mean to this Akuma? He had to stay on his guard. Chancing a look over his shoulder, he was able to see some of the rubbish where Allen had fallen was shifting ever-so-slightly. Good, his charge was alive.

…but Apocryphos was going to have his head if Allen wasn't in near perfect condition…if not perfect.

With much effort on his part, Allen managed to shove away the wreckage around him. Groaning in pain, the first thought that crossed his mind was: 'good thing this place is abandoned'. He felt less bad about walls getting destroyed that way.

Without further delay, Allen rushed back towards Link, just in time to hear the demonic creation gloat in its killing achievements. "So…you're the one who killed the Finders!"

"So, what if I did?" The Akuma challenged. "What are either of you two going to do about it, hm~?"

"We'll stop you!" The British male declared, though he was wary of th enemy before him. Allen quickly turned his attention to Link; he seemed to be alright. That was good. But the Akuma soul…

"Walker?"

Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

"You're quite right to be wary~" Ba-thump, ba-thump…The Akuma cackled, "Can you hear my heart? It's beating so rapidly~! I think I'm excited~!" It now stood before them, its ever-present grin never leaving its face.

Ba-thump, ba-thump…

"Link…the soul…why is it different in this Akuma than the others?"

"You haven't come across something like this before." Link recalled. "It's a Level 2…I recommend you keep your guard up."

Allen felt a chill race down his spine when the enemy began to chant erratically. "Exorcist! Exorcist! Exorcist!"

The soul…it's deteriorating! Allen realized.

In that instant, something streaked from the corner of his eyes, Kanda had taken care of a few straggling Level 1s, before landing near one of the fallen Finders, barely holding on to life.

"Kanda?!" Allen asked in surprise.

"There's another one?!" The Pierrot-like Akuma exclaimed. It looked between Allen and Link and then at Kanda. "Gah! The doll! Exorcist…! Doll…?!"

"Link…"

"Stay strong, Walker…be ready for anything." Allen nodded, though remained on edge.

"…kill…I WANT TO KILL! I WANT TO KILL! I WANT TO KILL! I WANT TO KILL! I WANT TO KILL!" Its attention was fully on Allen at that point, as its cold icy glare landed on the white-haired Exorcist. "I'll deal with him, after I'm done with you!"

"Moyashi."

"IT'S ALLEN!"

"Two-spot, don't let anything happen to him. I have the doll. Try and take care of that bastard, got it?'

"As if I would let anything ill happen to him." Link muttered. "Just get the Ghost of Mater as far from here as you possibly can."

In a perfect world, he would've taken the doll and Allen to safety, but as things stood, that wasn't the case. Link trusted the sword-wielding Exorcist enough to make sure the Innocence never got into the clutches of the enemy.

"Just make sure you two clean up this god-forsaken mess." Kanda quipped, before leaving the scene with the duo that was once in the barrier's limited protection.

"I'm fine with it." Allen said, taking a breath. "The sooner the better, right?"

"Ideally." Link said. "We don't know what it's ability is, so stay on your feet."

"Of course." The younger took in the surroundings, "Link, I think I have an idea…just follow my lead."

The CROW merely nodded once. But was caught by surprise when Allen ran towards the Akuma guns a blazing. "WALKER!" If Apocryphos wasn't going to be the end of him, Allen himself most surely would. Link found himself amending.

The force of their charge caused both Exorcist and Akuma to be knocked back, unlike his enemy, Allen was quick to use his left enlarged claw to force stone from the wall, and hurl a burly chunk of it straight towards the Akuma. It countered, destroying the projectile, but Allen and Link were nowhere to be seen.

"NOW!" Allen and Link attacked what they thought to be their target. But knife and claw tore through something too easy to slice. "W-what the?"

"Walker?"

"It's…not there?"

"Because I'm right behind you~" A voice cooed behind Allen. Arms wrapped around him, and what the young boy saw shocked him to the point he couldn't register the wounds that had been inflicted in his torso.

"WALKER!"

The bearer of the Heart gasped, before finally snapping out of it. He shoved the clone off him, holding his chest in pain. Thank god it got him in the right side…had it been his left, Allen doubted his physical heart would've survived the attack. "Why…why does it look like me?"

"My ability~ it allowed me to clone you!" It snickered, as its form began to stretch, reverting to its normal height again, though keeping its upper half to look exactly like Allen…

"A mirrored clone." Link realized. "You've flipped his image."

"You underestimated me, right? I'm a Level 2 Akuma. Nothing at all like the ball-shaped ones." The Akuma gloated. "I have new abilities…though I really only figured it out just now. I've evolved, and this is my ability~! NOW I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"LINK!" Allen managed to shove his friend out of the way, only to be hit by a morphed version of the demon's right arm. The blow was strong, sending the young lad crashing through several walls, several blocks away from the Akuma.

"Dammit! Walker!" Link wasn't a match for the Level 2. Much less one that now had the power of Allen's left arm. Cursing under his breath, he realized he'd need to regroup with Kanda, and hope he can find Allen along the way. While the Akuma cheered over its newfound power, the CROW made his escape into the night.

. . - * - . .

Groaning in pain, Allen managed to sit himself up. His head was killing him, though he supposed that was to be expected. He could feel blood trailing down his face, the right side of his hairline, and he wouldn't have been surprised if he gained a cuccsion after all this was said and done. "What the heck was that?" He murmured. The second the Akuma moved its arm…I saw spear-like things coming right at me! If I didn't stop it with my left hand…

Upon looking at the appendage, Allen just about had a heart attack. "GAH! A WOUND! IT'S DAMMAGED! Komui is gonna try and repair it again! What am I gonna do?!" He found himself sobbing a little, however stopped when he heard cracking.

"AAAAAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Over the centuries, the homes of Mater had floors that weren't stable as they once were. Allen found himself falling into a hole, and under the city itself.

Clink! Why was he swinging now? Allen looked up, and sighed in relief upon realizing he broke his fall by catching hold of a…chandelier?

"Thank god…" He breathed, though had a small fit of nervous laughter. Once he calmed himself enough, his silver eyes scanned the area around him. Just where did he end up?

Crack!

"Wait…crack?" Allen paled, and shook his head frantically. "No, no, no, no don't break, don't break…! AH! OUCH!" He landed on the ground below, none-too-gently on the rubble from his fall prior. That would definitely leave several bruises…and Allen wouldn't doubt it if he had trouble sitting come the following day…much less walking. Deciding to wait just a moment, Allen took his opportunity to really look around.

Pillars stood almost everywhere he looked, most the colors of the checkered patterns were untouched by time. Things were still in ruins, but he was pretty sure everything in here was better off than up there…more or less. "Wait…I'm under the city…this is…!"

. . - * - . .

"An underground passage way?" Kanda inquired of the two persons he was currently with. One was the doll, but he wasn't currently sure which one it actually was. He was currently running atop the buildings, both doll and random person were under one of each of his arms. He was already far enough away from the Akuma and the fight going between it and the duo he left it with. Honestly, he should've been fighting that abomination, not dealing with oversized toys.

"Yes, there's an underground living area that was made so people could avoid the strong rays of the sun." The girl explained. She was small for her age, only having one blue eye visible, while the other was wrapped and hidden beneath a bandage. Most her hair was tucked away under something that Kanda had concluded was basically a witch's hat. The man with her wore a similar one. And both basically sported matching robes. "One of the exits leads to the valley and to the shoreline. The monster chasing us can fly…so I thought…we could hide down there."

It was suspicious that one so young could possibly know such things, but Kanda decided against bringing it up. Right now, he needed to keep the Innocence away from the Akuma.

"Kanda!" Link called out, landing in their hiding spot. "Good, I found you."

"Where's the bean?"

"I was hoping I would've found him on the way…but I suppose I wasn't lucky."

"Great. Now we have a missing idiot."

It was the girl to speak up after much thought, "He…might've fallen."

"The underground passage…fucking perfect." Kanda scowled.

Link could only look with confusion between Kanda and the young girl with confusion. Rather than ask, he was interrupted by the sound of Kanda's golem ringing. "Toma, what's going on over on your end?"

"I've been observing from a separate building, but there was a loud bang earlier, and I'm unsure if Sir Walker is alright." The Finder's voice sounded. "We need Timcanpy's special feature right now."

"Yes."

"Ah! The Akuma just came out of the building! It's going after the Golem now."

"Got it. I'll send my Golem as a guide, so head over here with Tim. It's too dangerous to stay much longer." Kanda told the Finder. "We need TImcnpy's special feature right now."

"Yes, understood." Toma confirmed, before ending the call.

"Now I suppose we wait." Link sighed. "So, in the meanwhile, what's all this about underground passages?"

"Below the city, there's essentially another city below the surface." The girl explained.

"Another city below the surface…" Link breathed in disbelief. "Outstanding…"

"Once we're underground, you'll know the way?" Kanda inquired of the older male among the group.

"Yes."

"Guzol…"

"I've been here 500 years. I know every route." He removed his hat, revealing his face within the light. It was severely disfigured. The flesh having been swollen, scarred and veiny beneath the canopy of his hood. It hardly looked like the face of a human.

"Oh my gods…" Link breathed.

"Ke-ke…ugly, aren't I?"

"You're the doll? I'm surprised you can talk." Kanda commented, as Guzol replaced his hat, once again concealing his face.

"Yes, you've come to take my heart, haven't you?"

"I'd take it now if I could." The sword-wielder confirmed, "It's rather cumbersome to have to carry around a large doll."

"Guzol's the only one who knows the underground route! Without him, you'd just be lost!" The girl spoke up suddenly, standing between Kanda and Guzol.

"What are you?"

"I'm Guzol's…"

"A CHILD ABANDONED BY HUMANS!" Gozul exclaimed, before falling into a coughing fit. "I FOUND IT! SO, I'VE KEPT IT!"

"G-Guzol…!" The female in the group grew worried over her partner's coughs.

"Sir Kanda." The sword-wielding man glanced towards the voice he just heard. Toma.

"So, you've met up with us again, Toma." Link inquired of the Finder. "What do you have?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go either." Kanda spoke back to the duo before him. "I can't have that Akuma take your heart. I don't need to now, but I will take it in the end. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this." He turned from the duo, and went to see what Toma and Link were discussing.

"It's Timcanpy." Toma said, showing CROW and Exorcist the crumbled remains of the golden Golem in his hands. As he spoke, the rubble began to shift, before floating, and reconnecting into the familiar rounded shape.

"Show me what you've seen of that Akuma, Tim."

. . - * - . .

"I guess this means these tunnels are safe from the Akuma…" Allen muttered to himself. "That's good to know and all…BUT HOW THE HELL DO I GET OUT OF HERE?!"

It was bad enough his directional sense was practically nonexistent, but this honestly felt like salt being rubbed into an open wound. Feeling defeated, Allen continued through what he could only describe as being some sort of vent system. Maybe he'll find Kanda and Link if he kept going the way he was. If lucky, he'll find Link. If unlucky…maybe either Kanda or the Level 2.

"In the end, I'm just a real-life Mr. Unlucky." He sighed in defeat. "…I wish Tim or Link were here…then I'd have someone I could talk to."

Wishful thinking at its finest. Allen thought in ire. Wait, what's that drilling sound…?

Before the Heart could so much as blink, something crashed into his face. Reaching up, he found the tail of the perpetrator. "T-Timcanpy?!"

Tim made a growling sound, though it was obvious the troublemaker was happy to have found its owner. He tugged towards a direction, and curious as he was, followed his re-found companion.

. . - * - . .

"Return to oblivion!" The voices were easy to make out, as Allen acted quickly in blocking Kanda's attack. As it turned out, Timcanpy had snuck away from Kanda and Link after meeting up with them, having sensed Allen nearby. That's what the whitehaired male decided to believe at least, considering the golden ball of mischief couldn't really talk.

"Wal…Sir Walker…" The mirror version of him fell over, exhausted after the whole ordeal.

"You're…?"

"Moyashi!" Kanda scowled, glaring at the no longer missing teen. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Link looked at Allen in worry and went into his bag and took out a pill and a bottle of water and Allen took both items and took the pill in question with great relief.

"Moyashi what was that pill earlier?" Asked Kanda, "Why did you defend the Akuma?!"

Allen jumped out of the vent, landing in the alley with the others. "Kanda, I have an eye that can see who's and Akuma, and who isn't…this isn't an Akuma."

"Not the Akuma? Walker, then who is that if not the Akuma?" Link spoke up, storming to the younger, just as the boy peeled away the paper-like 'skin' of the clone. "…what? Toma?"

"KANDA! BEHIND YOU!" Allen's cries were too late, as the Akuma had gotten Kanda off guard. "Crap!"

Mugen was sent flying, landing in the debris. The blade embedded into the rubble…and where Kanda and the Akuma had been, was now a hole in the wall where it attacked.

(* - *)

The Akuma cackled, as it shed its disguise, grinning manically. "You bastard…when did you…?"

"Heh-heh-heh~ when I joined you~" The Disguised Akuma preened, "After I squashed that yellow Golem, I found that Toma guy! I figured, if I copied his appearance, you won't be able to tell! Remember how you were worried about things being reversed? Well, I put the white-haired guy's appearance on him~!" The Akuma then cackled, preening over its apparent intelligence.

"My skin is a paper mirror. You fell right into my trap~!"

"Heh." Kanda sneered.

The Akuma struck. Again, and again, and again, and again. No matter how many times it took, the Exorcist wouldn't die. "DIE ALREADY!

"I'm not gonna die…I…can't die until I find that person…" Kanda's breaths began to slow…

"Guya-HYA-HYA-HYA! AMAZING! HE DIED STANDING UP~!" The Akuma exclaimed in the glee. Its amusement, however, was short-lived.

"CURSE YOU!" Allen growled, attacking the demon by surprise. The Akuma was sent flying, and Allen quickly checked on his comrade. "Thank god…he's still breathing…"

"Walker, I have Mugen and Toma. Can you carry Kanda?" Link called, having caught up to his charge.

"I can…thank you Link."

"I hope you know a way to safety."

"…I might have an idea, actually. C'mon, we need to hurry."

… … … …

Note from the very sorry beta…sorry about the holdup, guys…didn't mean to keep the story over on my end for as long as I have, but life happened…and I took longer than I intended to get back to beta-ing this. But it's here, I'm sorry, and I hope none of you are mad about the hold up…so yeah…

Hope you guys are still enjoying the work put into Gilded Cage!