The damp odor of the dark cavern was not at all like the gardens within the Order. Allen briefly wrinkled his nose at the musty stench as his claws ranked into the gelatinous blue creature known as a Flan. It faltered and melted into a pile of ooze before vanishing from sight, further increasing the disgust the teenager felt.

Allen did not dislike caves. In fact, he rather enjoyed looking at their natural formations and, on more than one occasion, would observe the stalactites and stalagmites that made up the majority. The only downside was that daemons were known to spawn in their depths.

A Flan-sized hammer crushed down on yet another glutinous creature before reverting to it's smaller form. The green daemon was splayed everywhere in disgusting drops before disolving. Allen casted his companion a briefly annoyed glance as some drops of the Flan that had made it's way onto his clothing also evaporated. Lavi grinned broadly at him as his visible green eye flashed with amusement and his small hammer was being twirled around his fingers with some expertise. "What?"

Allen shook his head once in response, his snowy-white locks flying in the air before he continued his decent down into the cavern. "Let's just finish our mission."

"Mmkay."

The duo continued making their way through the cavern. The atmosphere weighed heavily in the air yet they seemed completely unfazed by it. Even Timcanpy, a mechanical golem that seemed more alive than machine, had wormed his way from Allen's pocket to fly happily by his Master's side. Lavi had made the mistake of picking up a rather shiny bracelet -which might sell for a lot of Gil in Allen's mind- before a group of Goblins (small, thin creatures with a long nose and pointed cap) descended on them. The daemons were quickly dispatched and the redhead soon gave Allen the bracelet as an apology. He sighed and took it, which in essence would mean that the apology was accepted.

Then Lavi earned quite a scare when Allen tripped him as they were crossing over a naturally formed bridge over a large chasm.

"That's not funny," he complained, fixing his mess of red hair as he readjusted his bandana and flashed Allen an accusing look. In turn, he recieved a chuckle. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

Allen merely hummed in thought, neither confirming nor denying the statement as he bypassed Lavi.

"Um..." Suddenly very wary, the redhead hurried to catch up and held his arms casually behind his head as he walked, his small hammer gripped in the confines of his fingers as his sharp eye was focused on the shorter boy. "You're not, are you?"

He was glanced at in turn with mismatched (one was silver and the other one black-and-red with a gear-shaped monocle floating in front of it) eyes. A small, innocent smile grew on Allen's lips he tilted his head. "That's up to you."

An icy chill crept up Lavi's spine as his footsteps slowed. Ever since witnessing Allen's poker skills first hand, he saw that smile more as an ominous leer instead of one filled with comfort and friendliness. Resisting the urge to shiver, he once more hurried to catch up to Allen and was rather grateful to see that the bridge had expanded until they were no longer by the chasm and walking over what could be Lavi's potential death.

He didn't get much of a breather though, when a tall, humanoid daemon formed from thin air (in a literal sense). It's face was shielded from view with it's straw hat and it donned an elegant yukata of creme and purple. A pale hand held the sheathed katana over it's shoulder as if waiting to draw. Lavi dropped his arms in front of him and readied his hammer.

"Let me."

The redhead paused when Allen adjusted the cuff of his uniform. Despite the look of calm on his face, a dark gleam was prominent in his eye. A quick flick between the boy and the demon was all it took for Lavi to understand. "You sure, Allen? I heard that they're suppose to be tough."

"If BaKanda can kill one, so can I." A rare look of pure irritation that only one person could successfully create flashed across his face. "This Yojimbo reminds me of him. It's annoying."

Lavi grinned broadly at the comment even though he would never be able to understand Kanda and Allen's rivalry. Despite his childish antics, Lavi usually tried to avoid getting into a physical confrontation with the samurai but Allen was always keen to step right up to the challenge. "Alright. I guess I'll linger back here with Tim."

The teenager nodded before summoning his weapon once more. With his left arm becoming a monstrous, adamantine claw, he lunged towards the daemon in full preparation for the fight.

Sparks flew as the Yojimbo quickly brought it's sword up to block Allen's attack. Gritting his teeth with annoyance, the teenager kicked the daemon away and charged after him once more. Since the creature was not human, it easily drifted out of the way as the claw went crashing into the ground and kicked up lots of dirt. The daemon didn't even get a break before a volley of blue beams shot from the dust and Allen was there a split second afterwords, his claw now having changed to where the end of his arm held a glowing spear of hard light.

The Yojimbo weaved past a swing Allen had made and a flash of steel was the only indication the teenager had before he narrowly avoided a well precisioned strike with the katana. They went back and forth like that, the teenager's dodges becoming exceedingly close. A few scratches from the katana grazing him was beginning to sting at his neck and right arm.

A spell then hit Allen full in the chest. He jerked to a stop when his limbs felt like they've become encased with ice. The Yojimbo was there before he could even blink, bringing the sword down on him. Allen forced himself to roll sideways before the sword sliced the air where he had just been shortly before. Ignoring the cold feeling, he spun around and slashed at the daemon's ankle. It faltered momentarily and collapsed to one knee. Shaking off the effects of the ice spell, the teenager used the small span of seconds he bought to bring his arm down upon the fallen daemon.

A large slash through the torso of the Yojimbo tore it in half as it went from it's left shoulder diagonally down to just above the right hip. The daemon released an agonized cry before collapsing into dust. Allen let his arm transform back to normal and wiped the sweat that was beginning to roll down his forehead. The dust cleared in the air and he had to admit, he did feel a lot more lighter after killing the Yojimbo.

Allen paused momentarily when his daemon perception cut off and left him blind to the entirety of the layout of the cavern. The monocle over his eye disappeared as the colors reverted back to it's normal mercury iris and white sclera. Lavi grinned and clapped the shorter male on the back. "Looks like we cleared the cavern. Time to free the pyreflies."

Allen nodded as he smiled in return and pulled his glove back onto his veinous left hand and held it out to Timcanpy. The golem was more than willing to widen it's mouth and drop a jaw to allow a small jar with condensed white light to fall into his palm. He uncapped the jar and held it outwards.

One by one, small orbs of pure light floated out of the container and into the air. They grew in size until they were taller than Tim and floated leisurely around the air as they began to spread across the cleared cavern.

The pyreflies were not sentient. It was a device the Black Orders' Science Division had managed to harness from the energy recover from the Meteor of the Six. By extracting it's heat from the shards, they created pyreflies.

To ensure that the pyreflies would not float away, the Science Division had created steel rod dubbed "Checkpoints" that emitted a magnetic field from the sky blue orb situated at the top of the pole. The magnetism was strong enough for the kinetic energy of the pyreflies to revolve solely around their designated area.

The bright light that was emitting from the pyreflies prevented daemons from returning and helped ease the burden on hunters should they had the bravery to descend into the caves' depths. The word pyrefly came from pyre- a combustible material and fly- to travel through the air. Or so Lavi said. Allen would reluctantly admit that he didn't have much education and things involving books weren't exactly in his skillset.

Lavi had set a Checkpoint in the corner of the cavern where it was least likely to be messed with by an actual normal animal and began to head back to the entrance. More pyreflies continued sprouting from the small jar and Timcanpy settled comfortable in Allens' snowy locks.

After creating a few more Checkpoints, the two soon found themselves back in the mountainous area of Duscae. Allen capped the near-empty bottle and held it outwards for Tim. The beloved machine took flight almost immediately and gobbled it up.

Allen and Lavi took a shortcut back through the trees until they reached the road where their Ferrum motorcycles were. Each one was Order-issued and, just like their uniforms, were specifically made for the use. Since Allen fights with his arm, the controls and design for his Ragnarok made it far more easier to drive one-handed and the entirety of it was light so that his aerial combat would flow much better with his agility. Lavi tends to fight with his hammer and his more heavier Mjolnir made it easier to barrel through enemies.

Allen threw a leg over the seat and started up Ragnarok. The silver and black motorcycle roared to life and it wasn't long until Lavi's did the same. Timcanpy had taken refuge in Allen's pocket in favor of not being flung off while the two slid on their riding glasses.

Lavi looked a little silly with the lens being positioned over his eyepatch but Allen didn't breath a word of his amusement as they kicked into gear and went flying down the road at high speed. The teenager smiled briefly as the wind whipped through his ivory locks. Riding a motorcycle wasn't as adrenaline rushing as fighting a large and dangerous creature to the death but it was relaxing. He enjoyed it far more than the extravagent car rides with his master. Especially when Cross Marian continued to waste their saving on a pricey vehicle.

"I'm not sitting in some damn rust-bucket," he'd say.

Traveling some distance, Allen and Lavi pulled off the main road into a large forest. The branches of the trees shielded them from the sunlight as they weaved their way through the trees with familiarity, going down the path with more speed than someone sane would surely attempt. No words between the two could be said and even if they were, it would be hard to hear over the drowning motor.

A large cliff-face rose suddenly before them. Neither of the two slowed even the slightest as they headed for the rocky wall. Their motorcycles slipped through the surface with no damage and they continued their way onto the man-made path, weaving and twisting until they finally arrived at the garage.

Kanda's dark blue Jormungandr was the first thing Allen saw when he slowed to a complete stop and got off his motocycle. He shot the other bike a withering look, knowing fully well that it meant that he was here. Lenalee's Valkyrie was nowhere to be seen however and several of the Generals' motorcyles were still gone.

"Man, I'm beat." Lavi took off his glasses and stretched. At the same time, a large yawn tore from his lips and he was over heading towards the elevator. "I'll tell Komui that we finished up."

"Alright." Allen took off his own glasses and slipped them into the small pocket of Ragnarok before following the male. He felt Timcanpy squirm in his pocket until the golem took flight and settled on his head as the elevator began to move. He clasped his gloved hands together with an expectant smile. "I can't wait to head to the cafeteria."

"Of course." The redhead snorted. "When are you not hungry?"

Allen grew sheepish as he elicted to respond with a "It's not my fault" before the elevator stopped on his designated floor and he left Lavi to himself. His smile slipped off as he walked through the pyrefly-lit halls of the Black Order. The Order was a large, ominous tower that was situated at the end of the large cliff. Both him and Lavi entered through the secret entrance which, by the way, was a lot more better climbing it. He was flushing with both embarrassment and annoyance when Komui informed him that he didn't have to climb it.

The cafeteria was bustling with movement as various Finders were enjoying their meal. One glance around informed him that Kanda was not there. A soft sigh escaping in in relief, he approached the counter.

"Well if it isn't little Allen returning from a mission~."

Jeryy, the dark-skinned cook, was leaning on the counter while his spatula dangled precariously from his fingertips. "The usual, hon?"

The mentioned boy gave a nod, flashing the male a closed-smile. "How are you today, Jeryy?"

"Oh, I'm fine, darling. Happy now that one of my favorite regulars came back. Just give me a moment and I'll whip up your food real quick."

Jeryy did not disappoint. It didn't take long for him to make Allen's usual order and minutes flew by with the two conversing before he was walking to a nearby table to set his plates down. He sat down in front of the massive meal with a smile and began to focus on the first plate of a rather succulent piece of steak.

"-a week ago, Niflheim has ordered a cease fire and offered a treaty to Lucis."

His attention caught, his mercury irises flitted to the large flatscreen that was placed on the entirety of the wall on the side of the cafeteria. A male was standing in it, holding a microphone near his face as the tall and glistening city of Insomnia shined behind him.

"In a few days, King Regis Lucis Caelum, the 113th monarch of the throne, and Emperor Iedoles Aldercapt, leader of the most magetik-influenced region, are going to sign a peace treaty and put the war between kingdom and empire to rest. Now we'll return to a break-in at the Insomnia..."

Allen turned his face away from the screen in order to focus on his third plate. He sincerely doubted that Niflheim wanted peace. The empire was like a raging fire that devoured anything and everything before it in it's lust for power. Well it wasn't exactly his problem. He never really cared for the conflict between powers before and wasn't going to start now. The Black Order was created to find the source of the daemons and wipe it from existence regardless of what empire or kingdom they were in and since he had arrived, Allen found that to be true. Komui stated that he worked under the Great Generals who, in turn, authorize orders by the Pope and it seemed as though the Pope cared less about politic matters. Although Allen wouldn't deny the fact that he wished that Regis would be alright. He was a good king.

"Allen?"

Hearing his name, he lifted his sights up to find Lenalee peering into the cafeteria with a smile on her face. "Komui wants to see you. Are you finished eating?"

As a matter of fact, he was. It seems that while his mind was racing, his body did the honors of gulping down the nourishment for him. Allen stood up from his seat and walked over to her with his own smile prominent and Tim flapping by his side. "Did you just get back from Niflheim?"

"Yes." The two began to wander down the halls as Lenalee's face shifted the slightest to show discomfort. "It was freezing. It's no wonder the daemons were piling up there. No one in their right mind would go there willingly. And those magetik solders were always getting in the way." She gave him a sideways glance. "How did your mission with Lavi go?"

"It was fine. I'm sure that cave would be daemon-free for a while. There was no Crystal Shards of course."

"Hm... Well, we have found some pieces and a few of those have bound to some Exorcists... I think the more we find, the more difficult it would be to search out the rest." She smiled at Allen. "We can do it though. We've come so far."

He nodded as he returned her smile with one of his own. "Yeah, you're right."

They made it to Komui's office. With Allen opening the door, he smiled briefly when he saw Lavi leaning casually on the Chief's massive bookcase but that smile soon dropped when grumpily sitting on the couch symmetrically placed in front of Komui's drooping and messy desk, was Kanda.

"Alleeeen," Komui went. The Branch Chief clapped his hands together as he smiled. "Welcome, welcome. Lavi had just told me that your mission went well. Now come, sit down."

The teenager shut the door after Lenalee before making his way over to the couch and sitting on the complete opposite side of Kanda, who in turn tch'ed and looked away. Rolling her amethyst eyes at the two boys, Lenalee sat in the midst of them and placed her hands in her lap. "What did you call all of us here for, brother?"

"Ah, I'm so glad you asked, Lenalee." Komui held up his finger. "You see, I need all for of you to head to Insomnia."

They all have mild reactions and it wasn't at all what the Chief was hoping for. A subtle eyebrow raise from Kanda, furrowed brows from Lenalee, confusion from Allen, and a calculated look from Lavi. Allen was the one to speak out of the four.

"Why there? I thought daemons couldn't enter the city."

"And they can't. It was King Regis himself that reached out for our dear help."

Komuis' smile brightened when he saw visible shock flit across all their faces. Save for Kanda who, although glancing his way, continued to scowl.

"The king?" Lenalee tilted her head curiously. "Why?"

"That's what he wanted to talk with you guys himself. He told me to send all the able-bodied people I can so here you are. Don't give me that look, Kanda. If you ask me, I think going would be worth it."

The mention male harrumphed and didn't deign to respond.

"Now as I'm sure you're all aware, the Innocence you all have are a part of the Crystal itself. Then some hundreds of years ago when the daemons first appeared with the Starscourge, the Six blessed one person to have the Shard. The details of what happened are a bit obscure but the end result was that the person disappeared and the shard broke into a hundred pieces and are now scattered throughout the regions."

"What's this got to do with Regis?" Lavi's piercing eye bore into Komui.

"I was hoping that you go there to assist him and maybe politely ask the Crystal where you might be able to find the remaining pieces of Innocence. That shouldn't be too hard, as long as Kanda doesn't try to demand anything from it."

Komui clapped his hands together. "So, any questions?"

"Are you sure the Crystal is even sentient?" went Lenalee as her fingers played with the hem of her skirt. "How do we even know it will talk?"

"Your own Innocence display a level of sentience. Since the Crystal was a gift from the Hexatheon themselves, I see no reason on why it wouldn't be."

"But..."

"Come on, Lenalady." Lavi grinned as he held his arms behind his head. "We've never had been inside Insomnia before. Especially since we didn't need to go. I heard it's a pretty neat place with tall skyscrapers and even their own currency!"

"They don't use Gil?," she inquired.

"No." It was Allen who had answered. "Their money is converted into coins and notes commonly called a pound. The bills are lighter than Gil. It makes it easier to carry more currency."

All heads turned, Komui's included. Seeing various expressions of bafflement on his coworkers' faces, Allen had shrugged. "I've visited Insomnia a couple of times beforehand."

Lavi was instantly there bombarding Allen with questions. When did he last visit Insomnia? Was the city actually powered by the Crystal? Did he get to see Regis in person? The teenager was growing immensely uncomfortable.

"Looks like that's all then." Komui made a shooing motion. "Out you go. Go on. Don't keep the king waiting."