Chapter six of Requiem is here after a long wait! Once again I slipped out of the fandom after uploading the last chapter (I keep getting distracted by other fandoms) but after re-watching the first two seasons of the anime, I kinda pulled myself back in. (Can't wait till I get to the Hallow arc of the anime)

Also! I have gone back and completely revamped the previous five chapters of this story, and I would highly recommend a read through of them. Because in this chapter, I've added a lot of things and changed a lot of things that wouldn't make sense with the old version. (Like a heavier plot and a different tone to the writing in general.)

Okay, now that's out of the way! XD

Without any more insistent babbling, happy reading!

Act 6:
Snow Globe City pt.3

Allen remembered feeling tired, remembered Mana picking him up, but he didn't remember when exactly he fell asleep. But it was soon evident that's what had happened because when he opened his eyes again, he was back in 'that' place. It was just like last night; he had fallen asleep and woken up here again. So he knew he was dreaming, but that didn't stop the panic and fear from telling him otherwise.

He tried to see if he could force himself to wake up. He tried forcing his eyes open, even if they seemed to already be open in his dream. Nothing happened. He tried scrunching his eyes shut as tight as he possibly could, hoping everything would fade to black and everything would fall completely silent. Nothing happened.

He tried slapping his cheeks and pinching his arms to see if that would be enough to rouse him from slumber. Nothing happened; no such luck. Allen let out a distressed whine when he realized he was trapped here with no way to wake himself up.

At least this time he wasn't chained down to the floor. He was still in the same room as last night's dream, but there were no machines, no beeping, and no tests. There was nothing here but himself. He took a tentative step forward, the sound echoing off the metallic floor and pinging off the steel walls. When nothing happened, he stepped forward again. The same steely sound was made just like the first time but nothing changed.

He kept stepping forward until he was in the center of the room. He looked over to his left where there was a large one-way window situated into the wall. He knew that some of 'them' liked to watch his progress from the other side of the glass. He never could see through it, nor could he hear anything either.

Until now.

There was someone standing beyond the other side of the glass, watching him. Allen's eyes widened and watered when he realized it was his only friend watching him. She looked exactly how he could clearly remember last: Black dress with frilled sleeves, long green hair a mess down her back, and her tired lilac eyes.

When she last looked like that, he remembered that she was tired of staying inside, tired of making her innocence wake up all the time. He remembered the last thing she said to him…

"I envy you."

Her mouth spoke and her voice rang through the glass the same time Allen thought those words. He slowly started to approach the glass with his still-watering eyes.

"You can't awaken your innocence…" She stated from behind the glass.

Allen kept moving forward. This was playing out just like the last day he saw her.

"Since you can't awaken your innocence like I can…" She continued, her eyes tearing up just like his.

Then, one of 'them' stood before Allen, hindering his advance towards his only friend behind the glass. This particular person was always the one in charge of his activation process; the one that liked using the whip. The person's face was blotted out like usual, just a silhouette where there should have been a face. He couldn't see his friend, but he knew the words that would come next.

"That means you get to go outside."

Allen remembered how in his past and not in this dream, that those words were the last things she said to him before she walked away. Then the next day, he had been hit, he fell asleep, then woke up in that alley.

But the dream kept going.

"I really, really envy you. You get to leave." She said.

As soon as she spoke that, the person blocking his path pulled out their favorite whip, the one they always used to punish him. They took one heavy step towards him and Allen quickly forgot all about trying to reach his friend. He took three hurried steps back with a quivering whine.

"Hey…what does it feel like, knowing that they're letting you go?" She asked with a lilting smile.

The whip cracked against the ground, the person now taking more than just one step at a time to reach him. Allen kept backing up and making incoherent noises of fright, that is, until his back pressed up against the wall. Now he was trapped. The whip was firmly grasped in between both of the person's hands now.

"You always wanted to go…didn't you?" She mused.

The blotted out figure drew nearer, snapping that whip in his hands just by pulling on it. Allen's legs gave out and his back slid down the steel wall, watering eyes now crying.

"You always said you hated it here…how you wished they'd let you leave…" She recalled.

That silhouette of a person was now standing right in front of him, their large shadow casting Allen in darkness. The tears flowing from his eyes were viscous as well as salty when they entered his unhinged mouth and touched his tongue.

"So, does that make this goodbye?" She giggled.

That tall figure was now bending over, the whip growing close to his face. This person was going to strangle him to death. This isn't what he wanted. This wasn't what he meant by wanting to leave. He wanted to go outside, he wanted to be free from his steely box…he didn't want to die!

Why? Why did his only friend sound like she was enjoying this? Why did an eerie smile suddenly spread across the blotted out man's face? Why was that the only thing he could see even though that whip was close to his neck? Why couldn't he find the strength to get up and move?

"Allen!" A voice cried.

Before he knew it, there was a new person standing in front of him. He couldn't see who they were –their back was towards him, but their arms were spread out and the way they called out his name made them sound ferociously angry.

This figure was protecting him from the shadow person about ready to strangle him. The silhouette with the whip backed up, the sneering grin on their face forming a tight snarl instead.

"Allen, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" The guardian voice breathed.

It was then that this mysterious savior glanced over their shoulder and Allen got a good look at their face. A smile of relief swept across his face even as the tears kept flowing. It was Mana! How did the older man find him?

"Get out of my way!" The shadow voice yelled, raising that whip to strike.

But Mana quickly spun around, sank to the ground, and then threw himself over Allen. Then there was a sudden gust of wind so powerful that he had to close his eyes. The wind made the tears on his face feel like ice, but it was oddly soothing. Only when the cold breeze stopped did he finally dare to open his eyes.

He was completely baffled and in awe when he realized the whole scenery had changed. No longer was he in that cold, metallic room, but now he was in a large green field underneath the cover of a cloudless blue sky. There were flowers all around; an assortment of creamy yellows, blues, and purples swelling and breathing in the wind. There was even a rainbow in the far-off distance even though there was no rain or moisture in the air at all.

"Everything's alright…you can wake up now."

And Allen's eyes shot open.

For some reason, he was panicked when he awoke. His eyes were snapping in every direction they possibly could, honing in on every small detail they could find. But when his frantic eyes soaked in the sights of people walking by on the sidewalks, the snow blanketing the ground, and the soft gray clouds above, he realized he wasn't actually dreaming still. He was outside, but not dead.

They weren't moving, so they must have stopped somewhere. They were still on the sidewalk, but they were closer to a building and away from all the foot traffic. He was still a touch asleep, so he wondered why they had stopped in the first place. Was it because Mana could tell he was having a nightmare?

But Allen soon felt a hand gently rest against the back of his head and smooth out his hair as if it were fur on a cat. His scarf must have come undone from his head.

"Did you have another bad dream?" He heard Mana ask, his voice almost rumbling because of how close he was to the man's face and chest.

"A little…but not all of it was scary." Allen responded, feeling a lot more calm with the older man still petting away at his hair. "You were in it." He added.

"Was I now?" Mana gently smiled, the action turning the corner of his lips up slightly.

"Yeah. I dreamt I was in 'that' place again. My old friend was there too, but she was acting weird. Then a shadow person appeared with a whip and I think he was gonna choke me…but then you showed up, Mana. You saved me." Allen explained.

For some reason, hearing that made Mana feel full inside. He probably appeared in Allen's dream because as soon as he noticed the boy was having a nightmare, he was quick to stop what he was doing to hush and console him, making sure to hold him close and tell him that everything was alright.

"You saved me from the shadow and then there was a big gust of wind and then we were in a big green field that was really pretty and then…then I woke up." Allen finished.

"My, that sounds like quite the dream. Good to hear that it got better at the end." Mana commented with the same small grin on his face. "But you woke up at a good time." He added as he stopped petting the boy's hair.

Allen pulled his head away from Mana's shoulder and glanced at him with eyebrows furrowed in confusion, wondering what he meant by that. The older man turned a little, that way the young child could get a look at what was behind him without having to turn his neck too far.

"We've arrived at our next destination." Mana announced as he finally set Allen down.

The white-haired boy glanced up at the building. There were strange symbols above the double doors of the nice looking building, but he couldn't make out what they were. They weren't numbers, so they must mean something else. He cocked his head to the right a little bit and squinted at the symbols, thinking maybe if he peered at it hard enough then he'd understand what they meant. He had no such luck though.

He kept leering at those strange images until he felt Mana take a hold of his mitted hand. He then glanced back to the double doors and soon they were both moving. They stepped across the sidewalk at a comfortable pace, powder snow crunching under their feet. It hadn't started to snow, but with how dark those gray clouds were looking, it just might pick back up again.

But the clouds were soon out of sight when he was lead into the building, the doors closing behind them and separating them from the rest of the world. It was warmer in here, but much brighter than outside. It had Allen squint when he accidentally looked at some of the lights hanging from the ceiling for too long.

Instead of cement, the ground under their feet had changed to tile. If Allen squinted hard enough, he could see his warped reflection in the glossy white squares beneath him. He had almost forgotten he had gotten a haircut until that blurry reflection reminded him otherwise. He brought his eyes back up and glanced around the rest of the shop.

It was rather small, but it was at least bigger than the barber shop. There were multiple rows and stacks of all kinds of clothes stretched out beyond the entrance: browns, blacks, whites, grays, and probably every color of the rainbow too. He saw more strange symbols perched on some of those racks and rows and he squinted at them again. If only he knew what they meant; it bothered him that he didn't.

He did take notice that there were barely any people in here at all compared to being outside. He liked it. He didn't have to feel so self-conscious about his hair or the bright red pentagram mark on his face.

Mana gently tugged at his mitted hand before he started to walk, leading him to follow the older man. He scurried to an even pace as the man led them to a certain section of the store. They traveled towards the left for a little bit before they turned down a small aisle and headed towards the back of the shop.

Allen's eyes roamed over the colorful clothes. He didn't know they could make clothes so bright and pretty. He was only used to whites and browns and wearing things that were way too big or way too small on him. At least the clothes he was borrowing currently were soft and comfortable, but they were rather large. He was a little surprised that the rolled up cuffs hadn't come undone yet.

Then they stopped. Well, technically Mana did; Allen kept going while looking elsewhere until he accidentally bumped into the older man with a small noise of surprise. At first, he thought the man would be angry with him, but it ended up being the opposite. Instead, Mana just softly chuckled and ruffled his white hair a bit.

"Now, let's find you some proper clothing." Mana stated, "You let me know if you see anything you like, okay?" He added as he gently squeezed that mitted hand before letting it go.

"Mm." Allen hummed in agreement.

He then stepped away from the older man and looked at all the clothes they had displayed. There were so many colors and styles and there were so many choices too. There were long sleeved and short sleeved shirts, as well as jackets and coats and shoes too. How was he supposed to pick? How much was he even allowed choose anyway?

He'd start small for now. He'd pick out one thing and call it good. He wasn't used to having choices or picking things of his own before. In 'that' place, everything was just given to him whether he liked it or not. Most times being he hated what he was given: the clothes they gave him were scratchy and uncomfortable, the food he was given was bland and tasteless, the bed he slept on was lumpy and hard…the list seemed to be never-ending.

He didn't want to wear scratchy clothes again. He hoped Mana wouldn't get mad at him for picking something soft. His brows furrowed and a pout formed on his face without him realizing it. He didn't realize how hard it was being away from 'that' place. He was glad he wasn't there anymore of course, but with all these new things to get accustomed to, it was almost overwhelming.

But Allen's maladaptive thoughts were quick to stop when his gainsboro eyes caught sight of a pear green diamond-patterned coat. He reached out and ran his normal right hand over the fabric, eyebrows raising when he realized how soft and smooth it was. It wasn't made from the same material as the clothes he was currently wearing, but it still felt rather comfortable just from touch alone.

It was a little big, but not big enough to where it would swallow him. It was long too, and there was even a little belt around the middle of it which made it look like a puffy trench coat. He touched it with his mitted hand, and even though he couldn't feel it, the sound the two fabrics made was rather pleasing to his ears.

"Did you find something?" Mana asked.

Hs voice startled Allen for a moment as he almost forgot the older man was there. Before he could say anything, the coat was picked up from where it hung and was inspected by Mana's deep brown eyes.

"This is quite nice." He stated with a half-grin.

He held the coat in front of Allen, as if to measure the size without actually wearing it. For the boy, he was a little confused at what the older man was doing, but the coat was soon pulled away and he was given a heartfelt smile.

"It suits you well, Allen." Mana professed.

For some reason, that little comment made him blush. He averted his eyes as a tiny grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, one of his cheeks dimpling in the process.

"Did you find anything else?" Mana queried as he hung onto the coat now.

Allen turned his eyes back to older man and gave him a blank look. Was he supposed to pick more than one thing? But his expression was greeted with endearing laughter.

"You can pick more than one thing, child." Mana chuckled, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

"…I can?" Allen approached hesitantly. He wasn't used to having more than one choice.

"Of course. You can get anything that suits your fancy, I'll handle the expenses." Mana confirmed with a playful wink.

Allen glanced back to the rows and stacks of clothes, blinking sudden moisture from his eyes. Mana was so kind and caring. He treated him so nicely, so much so it was almost strange at first. But he was really growing to like it. From having nothing but the ragged clothes on his back, to having the whole world given to him with a bright and loving smile.

He wiped the wetness from his eyes and continued looking through the clothes. He wasn't going to take advantage of this kindness. He'd just get enough to last him a few days. He found himself gravitating towards bright colors rather than the plain whites and browns he was used to.

He ended up selecting an orange long-sleeved shirt with thin red and yellow stripes on it, as well as a plain white long-sleeved shirt that was soft enough to sleep in. He also ended up choosing a light blue shirt and a green shirt too, those were short-sleeved. He even found a purple one he liked too. For good measure, he picked out one last shirt; that being a tan sweater with a white collared shirt underneath.

Mana approved every shirt he got with a smile on his face. He would state how one color looked good on him, or how he'd look dashing in a certain shirt. Each comment always had him blushing and fidgeting nervously. The older man even picked out an outfit or two for Allen to wear, which he didn't mind at all.

Once enough shirts had been picked, they moved on to a different aisle in the same section and started to browse through pants next. That was a lot easier than picking shirts because most of the pants were all similar. For those, he picked out two shorts –one was black and the other was brown, then he picked two pairs of pants that were the same colors as the shorts. He even found a pair of pants and shorts that were super soft and he figured he'd use those to sleep in.

Then they moved over to another section where rows of shoes sat. Two pairs were picked from there; plain black shoes and tan boots. They also picked up some socks of other necessities from that area. Now the two both had small lumps of clothes in their arms.

Feeling sated, they finally left that section and headed back to the front of the store. When they arrived at the front of the building again, Allen almost walked right out the front door. But he was swiftly yet carefully pulled back by Mana and told they had to buy the clothes before they could leave with them.

So the clothes were quickly payed for, then placed into nice looking bags by some people working the front counter. They didn't say anything about Allen's hair or the mark on his face, which the young boy was grateful for. It didn't stop him from hiding his face from the new people though. The less they saw the better.

Then the two finally left the store and headed back outside and into the open again. As soon as they stepped outside, a cold gust blew through the town bringing some fresh snow along with it. It chilled Allen down to the core, making him shiver forcefully. He quickly ducked behind Mana with a sharp, quivered hum, using the older man to keep the wind and snow from chilling him.

"Oh, how foolish of me." Mana chided himself with a laugh.

He rummaged through one of the three bags in his left hand until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the coat that the little white-haired boy had picked when they first entered the store. He should have done this inside, but the thought slipped his mind.

He gently guided Allen to stand in front of him, which the boy was still flinching from the cold. But the small wince on his face vanished when he tossed the small green coat over the boy's shoulders. His face blushed a rosy pink as he helped guide his arms through the sleeves and even fasten his coat closed. He even popped up the hood of the coat and adjusted it snugly over the boy's head.

He also pulled out the boots from the same bag and helped the child into those as well. Now he didn't appear to be as cold. He looked a little cuter in clothes that fit him properly. He looked almost like any other normal child now; not in the sorry and dirtied state he had found him in yesterday.

Now that they had the matter of clothing out of the way, it was on to their next location. Thankfully, the small toy store wasn't too far away from where they were at. After all, Allen was still rather young and Mana didn't have many things to occupy a child's time with. He just had his books and records.

But Allen would have plenty of activities and things to do once they started traveling with the circus again. But he just wanted to get him a few things to hold him over until then. They did still have two weeks to spend here in Britain for the holidays.

"Just one more shop to visit and then we'll be done." Mana spoke as he took hold of Allen's mitted hand once more.

"Okay." Allen responded.

They fell into a comfortable stride on the sidewalk, having plenty of space to themselves since most people were inside stores or at work now. While there were still a good number of people outside, there weren't near as many before.

Knowing there were less people around eased Allen's worries. He knew his red arm was covered and the hood on his new coat kept the mark on his face hidden a bit, he was still wary that someone would find a way to get a good look at him and call him something nasty. It happened quite often, so it wasn't like it was anything new.

But at the same time, he had Mana to protect him now. When Horris –the barber from earlier, had mentioned something about his hair and eye, Mana was quick to defend him, even lying about how his mutated appearance came to be. He promised he'd look out for him and keep him safe. So even if he was wary about other people, he didn't have to worry too much.

This time, Allen was the one to squeeze Mana's hand –instead of how it normally was, which was the other way around. He heard a lilting hum from the older man and his hand was squeezed back. It was something he liked as well; it was a sense of security, a way of saying 'I'm here' without needing to speak it. He walked a little closer and a small smile turned the corners of his mouth up.

He really, really liked being with Mana. Even if the outside was still scary, even if the people were wary, and even if he felt overwhelmed by all this freedom, he still liked it. He wasn't alone anymore and that was the most comforting thought to ever enter Allen's mind.

But he was soon brought out of his daydreaming when he heard a gentle clamor from up ahead. He glanced ahead to see what the quiet commotion was, but was soon wanting to quickly turn tail and run the other way. There was a small group of children and adults huddled around a little corner-store. They were currently looking in through the shop's display window, but it wouldn't be long before they passed them and they would see his face.

It was easy to hide from adults since they were so high up and would have to get really close to see his face. But with children, that was another story. The kids crowded around the window were all the same height as him –give or take a few inches. Even with his hood up and scarf donned, they'd see the mark on his face for sure!

He had frightened many children away when he lived on the streets. They would come up to talk to him, but would immediately run away crying or scream in fear when they saw the pentagram stained to the left side of his face.

Allen was so worried that he didn't even realize they had kept walking and were now standing right next to the window with all the other kids. He froze on the spot; shoulders tensed, fingers crinkled, mind on edge. He waited for the whispers and the screams with baited breath…but they never came.

When he dared to look at the other kids, he came to realize that they were too engrossed in whatever was displayed in the shop window to even notice him. It lessened the tension in his shoulders and he allowed himself to breathe normally. Since eyes weren't on him, he took a look at what was beyond the glass too.

He wasn't sure what the object exactly was. It was shaped kind of like a fat cone and had a cylinder piece coming out of the top of it. The display showed it spinning really fast, like it could spin forever. When he looked around other parts of the windows, he saw strange symbols just like the ones from before. These things appeared above the door to the clothing store and now they were here. But what did they mean?

He found himself squinting at the symbols again, even though he still wouldn't be able to make them out. He wondered if anybody else knew what they were?

"Daddy! Daddy, can we get one?" An energetic girl cried out from Allen's right.

"You already have plenty of tops at home, Sara." The taller man holding one of her hands reminded.

"But daddy, this one spins waaay longer than any other top! That's what it says on the sign right there!" She argued as she pointed to the symbols all around the spinning thing.

Allen was back to looking at the symbols when she pointed that out. What did she mean by 'that's what it says on the sign'? The 'sign' didn't say anything. If it did, it was too quiet for him to hear. Maybe this girl knew what the symbols stood for? If that was indeed the case, maybe everyone else knew what they meant.

"You don't need any more than you have already." The older man said to the little girl.

"But daddy!" The little girl whined.

Allen didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation because he was gently pulled away from the window and all the other people. He kept his eyes lingering at the symbols still hanging in the shop window even as he was led away.

"Mana, what do those symbols mean?" Allen asked, keeping his gainsboro eyes still locked on the sights behind him.

"Symbols? What do you mean by that, child?" Mana inquired with a gentle sounding incredulous tone.

"In the window-" Allen pointed where his eyes were still looking, "The symbols in the window." He clarified.

"Oh, you mean the writing on the sign?" Mana suggested with a small all-knowing kind of grin, the corners of his eyes faintly crinkling.

"Writing? What's writing, Mana?" Allen asked, his eyes finally glancing away from the window and towards his caretaker instead. Curiosity sparkled behind them like stars.

"Well, they're written words; words that stay."

"Words that stay…" Allen pondered aloud, face frowning tenderly in thought.

But he didn't have much time to think about what that meant because they had already stopped walking. When Allen glanced around to see where they were, he was surprised to find that they had only walked a few feet away from the still crowded window. When he looked to his left, he noticed they were standing in front of a door that lead into the store with the crowd outside of it. Was this their next stop?

It probably was, since Mana was already opening the blue glass door. Allen took that as his cue to slip inside, the gray afternoon lighting changing to a soft yellow from the incandescent lights inside. The door shut with a little tinkle; a small bell causing the chiming noise. When he stopped staring at the lights, he had a look around the building.

There were all kinds of knick-knacks scattered about on shelves and racks and even as piles on the floor. Balls, hoops, cuddly looking stuffed animals were scattered all around. Any kind of childish curiosity and oddity lay in captivating colors and distracting arrays, which had Allen's eyes looking in each and every vibrant direction they possibly could.

When he heard Mana stand next to him, his eyes looked up and his normal hand tugged on his coat to get his attention. When he had it, he asked, "What's this place?"

A kind smile spread across the older man's face, cheeks dimpling slightly, "It's a toy store. I figured you'd like to have a few fun things to do while staying with me."

"So…these things are…fun?" Allen mused as his eyes took one more glance over the store.

"Why, of course. Did you not have any toys or anything to call your own in the place you came from?" Mana asked, almost sounding appalled that he didn't know toys were fun.

Allen thought about it for a minute. If toys were objects that were fun then…he really didn't have any. There was one thing he rather enjoyed, but he didn't own it. The yellow thing belonged to one of the Generals that oversaw his care. That General may have never been the one to administer his punishments, but he was strict.

But, come to think of it… That man was the only one who would ever look him in the eye. If he really thought about it, he could recall that on some days when his tests didn't go well at all, then the man would sometimes send the little yellow thing in to cheer him up. Allen knew it had a name, but he couldn't remember what it was called.

Maybe that man had been looking out for him somehow? He wasn't the one to throw him away either. It was funny…how could he remember all these things about 'that' place now and not remember them while he was 'there', living it? Maybe it was because he wasn't there anymore. What if while he was there, he was unable to see the few okay things about that place just because he focused so much on the really bad things?

It was a bad place for sure, but not all of it was bad. He had two or three things from that place that he could consider good. But he still liked it out here with Mana way better, even if it had only been one day.

"…Allen?"

He wasn't even aware he had been spacing out until he saw Mana suddenly eye level with him and looking at him in a concerned fashion.

"Are you alright? You fell silent and a troubled look crossed over your face." The older man acknowledged.

"Oh, I'm okay. I was just thinking if I ever owned anything before…and…I don't think I did…" Allen responded, still feeling a little lost in his thoughts.

"Well, that's alright. No need to worry about that." Mana smirked, "You'll have plenty of things to call your own when we're finished here."

"Really?"

"Certainly. How about you take a look around and see what you like? Just like with the clothes." Mana suggested, adding a small reminder with a bigger grin.

"Okay." Allen responded as he stepped away from the older man and started to have a look for himself.

So, just like with the clothes…then that meant he was free to choose a few things he liked just like before. A tiny little grin pulled at the corners of his mouth and made his eyes glow brighter. He was starting to get a hang of this whole 'choices' thing.

He made his way down one aisle of the well-lit store, looking at the numerous items on each of the shelves to his left and his right. His head was darting back and forth between the two rows much like a metronome. He didn't see anything he liked on these shelves, so he rounded over to the next row of trinkets.

His eyes noticed that the shop window was now a few feet away from him and he was staring right back out in the open world. He found that the crowd was all but gone now. All he saw were passerby's and clingy children sticking their hands on the glass as if that would keep their parents from pulling them away. The sky outside was still a dark gray and snow continued to fall.

He averted his eyes back to the shelves and kept looking. It was a little hard not to be distracted with everything outside so different and constantly changing. But Allen soon slowed to a stop when his silvery eyes set on a particular thing.

It was one of the stuffed animals: It looked fuzzy, and it had bright tan fur as well as droopy ears and a long tail. There was a little scarf-type thing around its neck and it had a tiny bell attached to it. Blue marble eyes stared back at him and a tiny pink tongue stuck out of its snout. His hands were quick to pick it up and his mouth slightly parted when he felt just how soft the little animal was.

He ran his good hand through the bright tan fur of the stuffed animal, taking a keen liking to the texture and how each lock of synthetic fur moved under his fingers. It was soft, it was cute, and it was comforting; even if he didn't know what it exactly was.

Allen decided to hang onto this one. He would show Mana what he found once he saw him again. He was too short to peer over the racks of toys to find him, so he'd just continue his looking for now. He rounded into the next small aisle, metronome movement in his head again.

It didn't take him long for his eyes to see something they liked. He approached the middle shelve on the left and cocked his head to the right as he looked at it. The object wasn't very big, probably small enough to fit in his hand. It was round and it was thick too. It was colored a faded looking red, but it still caught his eye.

He tucked the stuffed animal under his left arm and grabbed the circular toy in both his hands. It had a bit of weight to it, but was also on the light side too. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he saw a string coming out of the middle of it. He grabbed the string and pulled it. The circular toy spun in his hand and it only stopped when he stopped tugging on the string.

He noticed a small loop in the string. He hummed through his nose and looped one of his fingers around it –it seemed like that's what the loop was for. But as he looped it around his right index finger, the toy slipped from his hand. He let out a strangled gasp, not wanting to break the toy on accident. But when he went to try and pull it back up, the spinning toy bounced on the string and came back up until it spun right back into his hand.

Allen's eyes were wide and his lips were pursed, completely surprised and confused at what just happened; he dropped the toy but it spun right back up the string and into his hand! How did that happen?

So he tried it again, but this time he let it spin all the way down. It didn't come back and it landed on the floor with a small clatter. His puzzled frown deepened even more, making small lines appear in between his eyebrows. Why didn't it come back this time?

He wanted to show Mana this strange thing, so he kept the string looped around his finger and dragged the circular toy with him, the red sphere-like object making a small skidding noise across the wood floor he walked. He still wasn't sure where the older man was, so he'd go through the last aisle and see what was there first. Maybe he was still by the front of the store?

He spun into the last row of trinkets and knick-knacks, the red circle toy gently sliding into one of the racks, but then going right back to slithering on quietly behind him. This time his eyes caught sight of two things they liked. Allen scurried to inspect the closest one. It was a small mesh full of small spiked-looking things and a ball.

He didn't know what they were used for, but he liked the way they looked. So he took that for inspection too, carrying that one in his mitted hand since it was easy to hold. The other thing was off to his left and he eyed it with great interest; it was a large hollow circle, nothing more than that. Carefully, he reached out and grabbed the silver circle, pulling it down from the hook that held it in place. It was large enough that he could squeeze through the large hole and jump out through the other side if he tried.

It was round, so maybe he was supposed to roll it? He held it against the floor with the palm of his right hand, then pushed it away with a small amount of effort. The hollow circle rolled down the wooden floor, wobbling as it did so, but staying upright. Allen grinned and soon found himself running with it, the red circular toy scraping along behind him.

But he was so focused on chasing and watching the hollow circle that he failed to see where he was going. Both he and the circle collided into a bare wall with a muted smack. Allen's hood flew off his head and he fell to his rear with a thump. The circle rolled like a poorly spun penny before it fell still.

His head swam and his vision swayed, making him feel dizzy and disoriented. The left side of his face was throbbing, specifically around his ear and temple –seeing as how that part of his body hit the wall first. He held his hands to his head, hoping that would ebb the pain away and help making the spinning stop.

"Allen?" Mana called curiously.

If his head wasn't spinning and throbbing like a drum so bad, then he'd turn around and try and see where the older man was. But for now, he was going to sit right here until the dizziness and drumming pain went away.

"Allen, are you alright?" Mana called again, but this time his voice was closer and it sounded more strained.

Then in his blurred vision, Allen saw the familiar form of Mana appear on his right. He had crouched to the ground and he felt a steady hand on his shoulder. That helped him feel more anchored and less dizzy.

"What happened, child? Did you hurt your head?" Mana asked as he started to inspect the boy's condition himself.

"Mm'okay…" Allen slurred, "I rolled the circle n' I chased it but I ran into th' wall…" he explained.

"Well, you look alright… but you sound a little dazed."

"I'm a lil' dizzy."

"Can you stand up?"

Allen attempted to get off the floor, but his dizziness prevailed and made him fall over to his right. With a quiet inhale, Mana was quick to catch him before he fell against the floor.

"Well, I think this is a good place to wrap up our outing. I'll go ahead and purchase the things you found and we'll go straight home." Mana decided.

Allen was then gathered up in Mana's arms along with the fun things he found. He still wanted to tell the older man about the strange things he found, but he was still a little dizzy and now he was starting to feel very drained.

He hadn't ever had to interact with so many people or things for such a long period of time before. From getting a haircut, getting clothes, and these strange yet fun toys, he was exhausted –not even including the worry and panic in between all of that. Plus the pain from running into the wall didn't help that either.

His dizziness didn't start going away until after the items were purchased and bagged; now he just felt tired and groggy. He didn't much feel like talking either, he just wanted to nap. Mana took great care in walking cautiously out of the store, as to not jostle him around. One arm supported his small frame and the other carried the bags with all of his things in them.

Once back outside with the gray snowing sky and chilly winter wind, Mana momentarily set the bags down long enough to pull his hood back over his head tenderly, then picked the bags back up and continued on down the street.

Allen decided he'd tell Mana about the interesting things he found in the store…but only after another quick nap.

A/N: And I'll be ending this chapter here! Finally finished up this little three part thing and can move on, hurrah! But…what to move onto next? Hmm…

Aside from that, please leave me some feedback if you enjoyed it! To quote another author: "Follows are my drink, favorites are my food, and reviews are my life force."

Until the next chapter!

Millennium Earl: *wicked grin~*

But technically he's always grinning?

PS: If you're curious about what in the ever living eff happened to me these past some odd years, details can be found on my profile because there's too much to say in an A/N XD