CHAPTER 7- Explosion in . . .

A little known fact about General Tiedoll was that he had a photographic memory. He could take one glance at a far off city and paint it in perfect detail years later. He noticed the small details about people and filed them away in his head; people, lovely things that they were, came in all shapes and sizes and they were all interesting in their own way. Tiedoll had his preferences though and exorcists were his favorite people to study. Each one was unique and vibrant and he enjoyed the company of most of them, especially the younger ones.

The younger ones matured so quickly or he only met them once before they died. So Tiedoll tried to honor their memories by remembering them as they were. Not soldiers of a war but individuals with their own thoughts and dreams.

He could perfectly create the texture and beautiful straight edges of Yuu's hair with charcoal; or paint Lenalee's slim hands and neatly cut nails in acrylic; the wild red locks Lavi kept out of his face with different headbands (Tiedoll had counted 14 different styles so far) were perfect for watercolor and he always thought Allen Walker's smile would shine through best on ink and parchment.

Sculpting was not his forte, but Innocence made him want to become a master. Those heavenly weapons came in so many different forms it was inspiring. The sharp blade of Mugen or the soft curves of Dark Boots - but he felt that Crowned Clown would look marvelous sculpted. Carved white marble splattered with gold to form Allen Walker in a forward stride with his innocence activated - it would make a stunning piece. He would think about it later; the boy in front of him had his full attention.

Lovely auburn hair had been pulled up into a messy ponytail. Pale skin that had a few shades of blue splashed across it saddened him. Those silver eyes looked into his own and he saw fear hide itself behind a cautious stare. He smiled back, hoping it would calm the child but Tiedoll was no fool; he had seen this face and its features before, albeit the color palette had changed.

Silver eyes he had only seen in one person - yes, he knew who this was at first glance. Timcampy peeking behind a too-thin shoulder cemented his suspicions. The features were the same but the emotions were different.

The guarded expression was certainly new.

'Oh my,' he couldn't help but think as he crouched down. 'What happened to you, Mr. Walker?'

"Quite the bruise you have there, child. Would you like me and Yuu to take you to the infirmary?" he ignored his apprentice's glare. "I'm sure one of the nurses could fix it right up for you."

The child looked at him for a long moment before replying.

"Thank ya but no can do," Tiedoll smile widened, charmed at the accent that tumbled out. "Been assigned to help out on the next mission. Just waitin' for the rest to come along now an' we'll be off."

Oh, what a clever little lie! Pity he wasn't the first one to try that excuse; he had done so well saying it.

"There's no need to pretend." Tiedoll called him out as gently as he could. It seems that whatever reversed Allen's age also took his memory. Tideoll would need to proceed with caution until he had the whole story. "I know this place can be frightening but there's no need to run. No harm will come to you here."

Yuu made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat at his lie and Tiedoll buried the guilt in his heart as he always did. Before he could say more, Yuu strode forward and studied the boy.

"You're a terrible liar." he said, poking the child in the shoulder with Mugen's sheath. Trust his apprentice to go straight for confrontation. "You're not dressed for travel, no boats are ready to go out and the finders always have everything prepared before the exorcists are informed. Make up a better lie next time you want to run away, Moyashi."

Ah, so Yuu recognized his friend in his altered state. Tiedoll had to hold back happy tears at the thought.

The boy bristled and roughly shoved the weapon away. It looked like he was about to snap back but stopped himself short. He looked at Yuu for a long moment before replying.

"Who're ya?" The question made Yuu's eyes widen a tad - the only sign he was surprised - before he returned to scowling. He must have caught on that there was more here than a simple age regression.

"That's none of your concern." Yuu grunted and began to walk away.

"Izzat so? Then what I do ain't no concern of yers either, arsehole." It was muttered under the breath but Yuu had better hearing than most. He stopped, turned on his heel and stomped back to them.

"What did you just call me, Moyashi? Do you have a death wish?" he asked, thumb clicking open the sheath at his hip. Tiedoll saw the child visibly tense and was about to intervene when the boy steeled himself, took a deep breath, looked Yuu in the eye and said loud enough for everyone to hear:

"I called you an arsehole cuz that's what you are. What, you think yer better than me just cuz you got a fancy sword?" he scoffed. "Go ahead, slice me up; attack a defenseless kid if it makes you feel better about yerself."

"Brave words for a weak brat."

"If yer gonna hurt me, then stop blustering about an' do it." That sentence made Yuu stop short and look at the boy with wide eyes. Tiedoll was surprised too. The boy was serious.

A little eyebrow went up at their silence. "Well? If ya can't do it, then why are ya still here?"

Muffled snickers broker out around them and Yuu's face went cherry red. He broke from his stupor and glared at those who were laughing. Suffice to say, the waterway was quickly cleared until it was just the three of them - Yuu had that effect on others sometimes. Quicker than the eye could see, but thankfully still sheathed, Yuu used Mugen to whack Allen on the head. The resounding thwap made Tiedoll wince in sympathy. Holding back was not something Yuu was known for.

"Stupid Moyashi!" Yuu yelled over the boy's yelp. "If you wanna die that badly, go throw yourself in the river."

"That ain't my name, you wanker! And you can just fuck right off with yer snooty attitude!" Allen yelled back and kicked Yuu in the shin. Over Yuu's cursing Tiedoll heard the boy speaking to Timcampy. "Can you sit on this arsehole? Like ya did the other?"

"Now, now," Tideoll chuckled, intervening by drawing the boy into a gentle hug to distract him. "There's no need for violence. Perhaps we can stop by the cafeteria and have a small snack? Yuu and I just came back from a rather exhausting mission, though we did get to visit a beautiful little village in southern France. Would you like to hear more about our adventure?"

"No."

The answer didn't come from Allen nor from Yuu as Tiedoll expected, but from Cross who had strode into the waterway. Tiedoll raised an eyebrow at his fellow general. Cross normally held an air of apathy and debauchery that Tiedoll disproved of immensely. Seeing his brow furrowed in concern was a new look. That concern only deepened as he stopped near them, Timcampy fluttering up to land on his shoulder.

"He's not interested in your stories and he's coming with me. We have to go over some things."

"With all due respect, General Cross, the child can speak for himself." Tiedoll replied with a hint of steel. He had never approved of how Cross treated Allen. It was borderline - no, it was abusive but Allen seemed to know how to handle Cross so Tiedoll kept his tongue. But as a small child? Tiedoll wouldn't allow it.

"With no respect intended, Tiedoll, shut up. You haven't been briefed on the situation and you're causing my apprentice mental trauma, now let him go ."

Tiedoll blinked and looked down, realizing for the first time that Allen was stiff in his arms. Drawing back slowly, his heart broke at the silent tears rolling down Allen's cheeks.

"Oh my," he murmured lowly, ignoring the impatient tap of Cross' boots. "What's wrong, child?"

Allen looked disorentied, as if he was unaware of where he was. A gentle shake of the shoulders had him refocusing on Tiedoll but even then he was only half aware.

". . .Mana?" Allen asked, voice faint and Tiedoll felt his heart break as Allen broke free from his grasp. His head swiveled from side to side; as if he was confused.

"I don't understand. . . where?" The boy's breathing began to pick up as he clutched at his head. Tiedoll heard Cross curse but ignored him as he tried to calm the child down. Before he could do anything, though, Cross grabbed Allen by the shoulders. Tiedoll frowned at the rough treatment and that frown deepened as, instead of trying to bring Allen out of his panic, Cross pressed a pressure point on the boy's neck, forcing him unconscious.

"Of all the people he had to run into," Cross muttered as he scooped Allen into his arms, Timcampy burrowing into the boy's hair. "It had to be you, Tiedoll. Do me a favor and stay away from him while you're here."

"I'm confused as to why he reacted so poorly to me but I promise you nothing I said should have caused such a reaction." Tiedoll replied. Kanda clicked his tongue in displeasure, glaring Allen.

"Moyashi has the worst luck." he grunted, strapping his sword to his side. "Akuma or Komui?"

"Akuma. Still not sure what its exact ability is but I have a guess." Cross replied as he tossed Allen over his shoulder, ignoring Tiedoll's scowl. "I'm sure you've already figured out he doesn't remember anything. Try to keep it that way. We've given him a simplified version so he wouldn't try to run off and join a circus but clearly that hasn't worked. Komui and the other geeks can fill you in."

"Whatever. He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out of it. I'm going to go give my report." Kanda said, clearly deciding he was done. "Everytime I come back from a mission, this place gets dumber and dumber."

"His name is Red, by the way." Cross called out as Kanda walked by. "Keep using your cute nickname for him if you want, but he won't respond to Allen. Also, the higher ups aren't aware of what's happened. We've reported he's currently in a coma."

"And I should care about that why?" Kanda snapped. Cross didn't reply, just raised an eyebrow at him. Kanda scoffed and continued on his way, though both Tiedoll and Cross heard a faint cry of "Yuuuuuu!" followed by cries of pain and cursing.

"Ah, it's always nice to hear Yuu greet his friends." Tiedoll said, wiping a tear from his eye before refocusing on the boy Cross was holding. "But I was being truthful earlier; I don't know what I did to set off that panic attack. I'll apologize when he wakes up."

"Just stay away from him. Your constipated apprentice can be around him, but I don't want you near him." Cross turned and began to walk away.

"And leave him to your tender mercies again? I think not!" Tiedoll replied and was surprised when Cross stopped but he continued on. "Your actions towards your apprentice are atrocious. I won't allow you to treat him as you have."

". . . and how have I treated him?"

"Harshly. Without a gentle touch. All of us can see how you use him; like a slave, like an object. Have you ever shown him a single kind gesture in his time with you?"

A long moment of silence.

"The last time someone showed him something like kindness, it ended in tragedy." Cross muttered, turning his head to look Tiedoll in the eye.

"You look like him a little bit. Your mannerisms, the way you dress, how you act - they're too close to Mana's for my comfort. That man gave Allen everything, even his name. It's no surprise that Allen loved him, worshiped him, even."

Tiedoll felt his jaw drop a little.

"And just as he gave Allen everything, he took everything away. You can judge me all you like, Tiedoll. You can call me an abusive asshole and an unworthy master. You can hurl every insult in the world at me but it won't change anything. I found this boy broken in snow and I spent a long time putting him back together. It's true, I am not nice to him. I yell at him, I insult him, I kick him and throw him into situations where he could die. I remind him how the world is, and it is not kind."

Cross began to walk again and he didn't turn back as he gave his parting words:

"Mana was kind but he was also a liar, just like you."

Allen Walker, for once in his life, was not lost. But considering where he was, he really wished that wasn't the case.

"Ke heh, hee, do you like it? Do you like it? My special ability is something else, right? It's impressive, right? So what if I'm only a Level 2? This ability is better than anything a Level 3 or 4 could dish out!"

This akuma was talkative but at least it wasn't larger than a human adult, so its size wouldn't draw attention. They were in a forest but Allen could see buildings in the distance.

"Um," Allen started as he dodged another punch. "Yes, it's a very lovely ability. Perhaps you could explain it to me?"

"Ke heh," his foe cocked its head to the side before lunging at him, "Exorcist's thinks I'm stupid, does he? I'm not, I'm not! The Earl trusted me with this! Gave me the best ability, I won't let him down!"

"I'm sure you won't!" Allen assured with a smile as he dodged again. "It's just, as you said, a brilliant ability. Much better than my Clown Crown."

"Your hand is disgusting."

'No, the most disgusting thing here is you.' Allen thought but wisely kept his mouth shut as the akuma began to cackle. Allen took that moment to attack.

"My Time Swap is so much better than your ugly hand! So much more interesting! So much more - ah!" It stopped gloating as one of Allen's attacks skimmed its side. Jumping back a few feet, the akuma studied Allen before nodding to itself.

"Tired, too tired to deal with you. Later. I'll destroy you later." The akuma said to itself and vanished before Allen could attack again.

"Great," he muttered to himself, deactivating Crown Clown, sitting down against a tree to take a breath and study his surroundings.

At first, when he was fighting the akuma and it activated its ability, Allen had thought it was a simple teleportation ability. And in a way, it was a teleportation ability but simple? Hah.

The snow-covered pines they ended up in were familiar. Out of the corner of his eyes, he had spotted something colorful that he recognized but didn't have time to focus on while fighting.

Now, though, through the trees on top of the hill he was on, he could see the tents and lights, the bright colorful clothes of the crowd and could hear the cheerful shouts of the performers.

"Come one, come all! Come see the magic and wonder of Garvey Circus! We're open 'til Christmas!"

Garvey Circus.

Allen hadn't thought about that name in a long time. Not since he was Red, or Red Arm as the more acidic workers liked to call him.

The akuma hadn't explained its ability but with a name like Time Swap he could take a guess. His top two theories at the moment: he was either in the past or in a different dimension. It could be an illusion but he doubted it. Cross had put him through a lot of different illusions while training so he could usually tell when he was stuck in one.

He kept watch, trying to see if he could recognize anyone. His breath hitched and it felt like his heart was being squeezed when he caught sight of a clown dancing through the crowd, performing a juggling act with his dog.

Even from far away, he knew that was Mana.

It took everything in his being not to run down the hill and into the other's arms; to not tumble through the snow screaming Mana's name at the top of his lungs. Kanda always complained on their missions that Allen was impulsive and Allen could see why Kanda might think that, but he wasn't a fool.

One does not live through Cross Marian and come out the other side a fool. Most people saw the drunk and forgot the man was a master at spells and magic. And while an akuma is a machine, their abilities are more often than not magical.

Messing with magic by itself was dangerous but magic intertwined with time? That was when one really did have to tread lightly. Allen didn't know enough about Time Swap to know if interacting with the past could change the future and he didn't want to tempt Fate.

Because Fate seemed to have a great dislike towards his person.

So with great reluctance and restraint, he doesn't go to the circus, he doesn't walk closer to catch a better glimpse of Mana. He doesn't try to see if he can find himself, weak and overworked in the crowd. He doesn't sneak behind back to see if he can catch a glimpse of Delilah, whom he was fond of.

Instead he makes his way towards the town. The one nice thing about the akuma he had been battling is that it hadn't injured him to the point that he needed medical attention. Some people on the streets steered clear of him but he knew that was because of his scar. That reaction was a norm he was used to. Still, between his hair, scar and coat, he should probably try to blend in a little bit before going akuma hunting.

The tailor at the little shop he stepped in to buy some clothes gave him one look over and pointed at the door. Allen, though polite to a fault, wasn't about to be sent away without testing his luck. One sad smile and sob story later, he left the shop in new clothes and suitcase in hand. He had even gotten directions to a cheap inn that doubled as a pub. The Hungry Hog, as it was called, was easy to find. Stepping inside, sighing in relief at being out of the winter chill, he took in his surroundings.

The plave was filled to the brim. Loud laughter and drunken stories were being told at several different tables. Card games of all sorts were out and money was being gambled away at a high rate. Allen even spotted a gold watch in a pile on a poker game as he made his way to the bar to buy a room for the night.

He stopped short and looked again.

He knew that watch.

That watch was the Ringmaster's. The one Cosimo had accused him of stealing.

And sitting there, smirking like he had already won was the bastard himself.

In that moment, the impulse issue that Kanda accused Allen of having came out in full force. Mana had taught him to 'forgive and forget' but that lesson hadn't really stuck the same way as 'treat people the way you want to be treated' did. That and Cross reversed a lot of what Mana had taught Allen. Faintly, he recalled that Hevlaska had said he would be the Destroyer of Time and wondered if it would come into play here. If so, that would be a bit disappointing.

So Allen sat down in the empty chair next to Cosimo and gave him and the rest of the group the sweetest, purest smile he could muster as they turned to look at him.

"That's a beautiful watch." he said, ignoring them as they judged his appearance. Cosimo was the first to recover, used to seeing odd costumes and strange looking performers at the circus.

"Yeah, it is!" Cosimo laughed, shuffling the cards. "Boss gave it to me. Nice gift but I don't really need it. Let you have a chance at it but you gotta prove you want it." he said, smirking.

"Of course," Allen replied as he threw a wad of cash onto the table. "Please deal me in." he had always wondered what Cosimo had done with the watch. It was petty, but a part of him had never let that slight against him go. He knew that what he was doing would probably result in a beating for Red later but, hey, Red got beat up all the time and survived.

In any case, Cosimo had sworn up and down that "That little brat took it, Ringmaster! He stole it, sir!"

Allen smiled, looking at the cards that had been dealt and decided to turn Cosimo's lie into a truth.

Author's Note:

Unfortunate soul that likes my writing: I heard that if you buy an iced mocha and whisper TimelessTears 3 times while looking in a mirror, she'll show up with a half-written chapter.

Other Unfortunate Soul: Yeah? I heard that if you offer up a cat as an offering for a new chapter, she'll appear. No new chapters, but she'll talk about her ideas while petting the cat.

Other, Other Unfortunate Soul: Nah, man. Didn't you guys hear? She's been dead since 2018. Girl ain't crawling out of her grave for anything.

Millennium Earl, appearing out of nowhere: I can help you with that.

*all three look at each other before tentatively agreeing*

Me, an akuma: There is a whole series dedicated to showing you why this is a terrible idea.

2018-2019 has been the pits. I need to stop saying the next year will be better because evidence has proven that to be a lie. One bad thing after another. Am I Allen Walker now? Is that what happened? Have I been cursed to have the rotten luck of an anime protagonist without the good looks and cool powers? Not fair, Life, not fair.