This story is based on the D. Gray-man anime series. I started it from where the anime got cut off, so I realize that some of the facts don't match up with the manga. I might make an epilogue for the manga too, but I still haven't finished it. Please review! :D
It was Lenalee's birthday, and Komui was throwing a party for her at the Exorcist Headquarters. Everyone was relaxed. Komui's newest present sorting robot invention kept dumping presents on Lenalee's head. She eventually got mad and gave it a good kick. Akuma attacks had become a lot less frequent now that the plant was destroyed. The exorcists hadn't heard anything from the Noah Clan for a long time, and assumed that they were dead. They had even recruited two new Exorcists, Tyson and Emma. Tyson could control weather and Emma's weapon was a songbird. Everyone was happy, everyone except Allen Walker. The 14th inside him knew that the Noah Clan weren't that easy to kill. Tyson came over and grinned at him, "Time for Lenalee to open her presents! Come on."
Allen felt uneasy but didn't want to ruin the mood, so he followed Tyson towards the table. Predictably, the robot was now lying in a crumpled heap on the floor with Komui sobbing over it. Despite the 14th, Allen smiled at the familiar scene.
The Millennium Earl surveyed his Akuma. Their numbers were decreasing, but there were still around a thousand. Enough to destroy the exorcists and take over the world. Of course, there were also his fellow Noah. Allen Walker and his friends had caused them damage, but Road alone could easily kill them all if she used a surprise attack and took the Akuma. Skinn Bolic wasn't strong enough to fight yet. The Millennium Earl fumed at the thought of his clan being hurt by those annoying humans. He smiled freakishly as he planned his attack on the Black Order Headquarters.
Back at Lenalee's birthday party, the 14th sensed the Millennium Earl's plan. Allen Walker stiffened as it dawned on him too. No, he couldn't wait any longer. He motioned to Lavi and Kanda. Kanda muttered, "Bean sprout." under his breath but followed anyway.
"The Millennium is planning to attack us very soon. He still has hundreds, maybe even thousands of Akuma in Japan." Allen said when they were in his room.
"What can we do? We might be able to take on the Akuma, but if we also have to fight the Noah it'll be impossible." Lavi sighed in frustration.
"We should train our new members. Tyson and Emma usually only have 50% synchronization with their weapons…" Lavi suggested, "And Komui should know."
Allen agreed, "Yeah, but not today. He hasn't been so happy for a long time."
Just then, Cross Marian stumbled in with a bottle of wine, drunk. "Hello my dear apprentice! What are you doing here? You should be giving Lenalee a nice kiss for her birthday. If you don't, I will." He strolled out again. Allen tried to refrain himself from punching his master in the face as he grabbed Cross Marian's arm, "The Noah are planning an attack!"
His master looked startled and spilled half of his bottle's contents, "That's not good." He took another swig and appeared to forget what Allen had just said. He sauntered out again.
"Thanks for stating the obvious." Kanda muttered at his back. The three of them stayed in Allen's room for the rest of the afternoon. They didn't feel like celebrating anymore.
Road randomly chose a town, skipping into it, followed by a few level ones. She swung Lero around her arms despite his protests, giggling at how easily humans died without the protection of Exorcists. They rarely showed up during these small attacks anymore. They had lost so many members that they couldn't afford to sacrifice more for the sake of a dozen people. Road found it sad, really. A level three Akuma flew into view.
"Road, the Millennium Earl wants you and Lero back immediately."
"Aw, but I was just planning to have some fun with this town!" Road slapped Lero against the wall of a building.
"Ow, you're hurting me lero! Let go, we must go to see the Earl lero!" The umbrella screeched in its weird little voice. Road sighed, looking wistfully at the unaware townspeople, "Oh well, at least it means I'll see Allen Walker again soon." She motioned to the level one Akuma and sat on Lero, who flew towards the Noah's headquarters.
They're coming next week. Hundreds of level ones and level twos, at least 50 level threes and a dozen level fours. They're coming, they're coming…Allen Walker groaned in frustration at the 14th's constant thoughts, but he couldn't really blame him for worrying like this. Everyone was worried. All the Exorcists and most of the supporters from the other Branches were planning to move into the Black Order HQ. However, most of them weren't hoping for much. It was pretty much a lost cause, a few fighters against a thousand Akuma, one last stand they were sure to lose. It made Allen sad to see Lenalee so worried when she had been full of happiness a mere few days ago. There are only 15 exorcists…
The Noah had launched their attack. A huge swarm of Akuma flew in the sky, casting whatever they were over in shadows. People who turned up to look, curious about what had caused the sudden darkness, were instantly reduced to a pile of sand. Finders stood in a large protective circle all around Headquarters, their large flashlights held in front of their chests. The demons with their vacant stares drew closer in organized rows: a row of level ones in front, followed by the level twos, then the rest of the level ones with the level threes and fours in the back. The Exorcists rushed out, dressed in their gear. The Finders turned on their flashlights. It was an eerie sight, level ones and twos suspended in midair by boxes of light. They were soon reduced to ashes as the Exorcists slashed through with their weapons. But more Akuma came forward to replace the slain ones. Lenalee, still not completely recovered, was soon tired. Miranda concentrated on her time reversal, making sure that all their wounds healed as soon as they appeared. Suddenly, she stood up and said, "Fast forward!"
To everyone's amazement, a circle of light surrounded the Akuma and they started shuddering. After a few minutes, they began levelling up. Lavi ran over to her and shouted, "What are you doing? They're becoming more powerful now."
Miranda shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. One of the level fours became a level five. Allen gasped and tore his eyes away when he saw the Akuma's soul. He couldn't bear to look at the agony it was suffering. Another few minutes passed. He heard Lenalee give a gasp of surprise, and looked up to see that some of the Akuma were disappearing. They could no longer endure their pain, and self-destructed. Miranda drew the ring she controlled the time in smaller so that it only surrounded the more powerful Akuma.
"Ah, smart. Must be running out of steam, so she's only concentrating on the powerful ones that will die sooner." Cross Marian said in his usual cocky way when he saw puzzled looks on a few of the people. As the last high-levelled demons vanished, blowing away in the wind, Miranda collapsed on the ground. The rest of the Exorcists rushed forward again with newfound hope. Lavi and Allen fought the level threes together, as Tyson and Emma killed the level ones in a swirl of wind of birdsong. Kanda slashed at any Akuma that ventured near him. Cross Marian covered all the fighters with Maria's invisibility. He whistled as he shot off bullet after bullet. For the first time, they thought they had a chance. They were tiring, but there were a lot fewer Akuma now. No, you will not win. You still have to beat the Noah, and you will not succeed in this state. Allen Walker gritted his teeth against the 14th voice.
Suddenly, Emma gave a cry of pain. A level three had slashed her back. She knelt on the ground, blood rapidly pooling around her. Allen's master frowned and ran to where she lay. He felt her pulse, then grimly shook his head. Miranda rushed over with her time innocence.
"It's no use. You'll have to make time go normally eventually, and she'll die anyway." General Cross said sadly. Lenalee began crying. Emma was the only other girl Exorcist around her age. They had instantly bonded in the few months they knew each other. Allen and Lavi both gave her a long hug. Allen was furious at the Noah, for using the poor souls trapped in the Akuma to kill innocent humans. He felt something slip outside of him, like a part of his mind was suddenly gone and left an emptiness in its place. He wondered what it was. His synchronization with his innocence was still at 96%, so it wasn't that. He heard Lenalee give a little shriek. When he looked over, Emma was blinking a bit sleepily.
Cloud Nyne shouted, "Watch out!"
The little group crowded around Emma and Lenalee looked up to see a spray of bullets coming their way. Allen raised his sword from instinct, but it wasn't enough to block all of it. Kanda leaped at them, the bullets deflecting off his Mugen. "Useless bean sprout." He muttered. "Hey! Name's Allen Walker." Allen automatically responded.
Emma said, "Hey, let's concentrate on the battle."
Allen looked at her for a while, then said, disbelievingly, "You're the 14th, aren't you?"
Emma smiled, "Yes I am." She raised her arm and her songbird innocence landed gracefully on it. The two of them began singing together. The Akuma shook when the music's vibration hit their ears and they began dying in huge numbers. Regaining confidence, the Exorcists finished off the Akuma. However, they all knew in the back of their minds that the worst was yet to come.
The Millennium Earl soon came into view, flanked by his fellow Noah, a few level threes and two level fours flanking him and Lero. Miranda gritted her teeth and levelled up the two level fours. The Earl nodded approvingly, "I see you have all improved during the last few months. Well, that makes it more fun for us."
Road Kamelot ran to Allen and smothered him in a hug, "Allen Walker! I've missed you! I pick you to be my opponent."
"Lero, don't hug that human exorcist lero!" The umbrella said.
Tyki Mikk, surrounded by his purple butterflies, smoothly whipped a card out of his pocket and smiled smugly at Road, "No, he's MY opponent, remember?" He was now a creepy looking man with glowing eyes and tentacles sprouting from his back. (It's too bad, because personally I thought he was hot before).
"Now now, let's get to business. So, 14th, I see you have chosen to join them. That's too bad, really. We would love to have you back." The Earl said.
The 14th, using Emma's body, once again began singing with her bird. The Noah winced as the sounds vibrated through their skulls. Tyki Mikk spread out his arms, butterflies a continuous from his palms. It would have been beautiful if they weren't deadly flesh eaters. Most of them attacked Allen Walker, since he was Tyki Mikk's original designated opponent. A few of them shot towards the others. Kanda sliced at them, but they were too fast.
General Tiedoll motioned to Tyson, Emma's sweet singing voice covering their speech from their enemy, "You take care of the butterflies and whatever they throw at us. The rest of us will do direct combat."
Tyson nodded and strong winds gusted around them, blowing the butterflies into the distance. Jasdero and Davit raised their guns at him. Cross Marian shot off his bullets at the same time, so the three bullets smashed into each other and lost their tracking ability. Cross Marian and Jadevi began fighting. Allen Walker and Tiedoll both went up against Tyki Mikk, the other three generals attacked Road, Lavi and Bookman fought Lulubell. But wait. Didn't the exorcists kill her already? Skinn Bolic wasn't there. The rest of the exorcists also each picked a Noah to fight with their companions. It was hard to tell who was stronger. True, last time they fought the Noah were only slightly more powerful than a single exorcist, but they were tired from killing the Akuma. All the Noah seemed more powerful than they were in the Ark. Allen wondered if they somehow levelled up after being killed.
The Millennium Earl just watched with an amused expression on his face. He made it clear he wasn't going to fight, but they suspected that he was doing something to make them feel sluggish. Allen Walker wondered if he should attack the Earl. He was probably the only one who could take him down, if anyone can. Lero flitted around, saying, "Lero!" every couple of minutes. Everyone wondered if the anyone would get too mad if they chopped that umbrella in half, even the Noah. No, they couldn't do that. Road Kamelot would be very pissed off and possibly be a tougher opponent in her anger. Allen Walker ducked as one of Tyki's freaky tentacle things slashed at him and sliced his weapon down in an arc. He was weakening, and Allen decided that the General could finish him off. He turned his arm into a gun and shot some bullets at the Millennium Earl. The Earl snorted and floated into the air. Cross Marian, Lavi and Lenalee looked over and decided to help Allen against the Millennium Earl. They wondered what his speciality was. He didn't seem to have any powers, even though technically he was the oldest Noah. He took off his hat and exposed horns. Lenalee gasped.
"I don't have any talents in particular. I'm just invincible." He grinned at them. The exorcists exchanged a glance. They unleashed their innocence at the same time. The Millennium Earl stood there, unfazed. He grunted a little when he was hit but nothing happened. He's not invincible. However, you can't defeat him physically. Allen Walker was surprised to hear the 14th voice again. He's all the Noah combined. Like Road, he has his own…mental realm. Allen Walker heard a piano sonata sounding in his head. He was drawn into a hazy secret place…Lenalee had a worried look on her face. Was Allen-kun fainting? She grabbed his hand the moment he went across and accidentally went in with him. On the last thought, Allen shouted to his master, "Take care of my body! I'm going to fight the Earl!"
That stupid apprentice…Cross Marian thought as he glared at the two teens' bodies, So I'm their body guards?
They were in a large cave with tunnels going out on both sides. Wait…they? Allen Walker looked to his left to see Lenalee smiling weakly at him. He groaned, "Shit, what are you doing here?" The girl shrugged, "I just grabbed your hand and ended up here. But it's a good thing we're in this together! Allen-kun, I'll protect you."
Allen stroked her hair. To his amazement, it grew under his fingertips. It's an illusionary realm. To Allen's relief, the 14th voice was still there. He was used to it now, and found it rather comforting. The two of them picked a tunnel at random and walked down. "It's so dark…" Lenalee whispered, "You think we can make a light? The way you made my hair grow?" Without waiting for an answer, she shut her eyes and a glowing orb of light appeared in front of them. "Wow, Lenalee, that was awesome!" Allen cheered. He tried too, and Timcanpy popped out. "Hey, Tim, you know where the Earl is?" The golem flitted away back to the cave.
They walked down another tunnel for what seemed like hours. Allen finally sat down and sighed, "Tim, you don't really know where he is, do you." Timcanpy gave an embarrassed little twitch of his tail. Lenalee turned away for a while, then sat beside Allen and put a little device in his hands. "I invented a GMEPS! It's short for Global Millennium Earl Positioning System!" They followed the little dot on the GMEPS screen. A stream of water trickled steadily into the tunnels as they got closer. "Allen-kun, I think he's trying to drown us. We should run." She took one long stride and tripped. Allen Walker ran to catch her, and he fell too. Lenalee landed on top of him and their lips met for an instant. Both their cheeks turned red.
They would've stayed like that for a while if Timcanpy didn't start frantically slapping them with his wings. This isn't just water. It's incredibly slippery, and when it gets deeper creatures will come out of it. Make a submarine! Allen Walker, like most of the people in his century, had no idea what a submarine looked like. He ended up making a boat with a plastic cover on top. They got in and went deeper into the tunnels. Just like the 14th predicted, Akuma were jumping swimming all around them. The boy turned away from the level 6, 7 and 8 Akuma because he couldn't bear to look at their souls. He ended up lying on the ground with Lenalee controlling the boat. It kept on shaking from the Akuma attacks. Now, if only he could get some sleep…and food… A huge bed suddenly filled their little boat, complete with pillows and a breakfast-in-bed meal. However, as soon as he was about to lie down, the boat cracked open.
Lenalee and Allen screamed. They clung on to each other, trying to stay afloat on the bed. It wasn't as romantic as one would think it would be, considering they were too busy trying to stay alive and avoid Akuma to think about the fact that they were lying in bed together. Ash tried to convince himself that the demons weren't real, but was HE real? Or was this part of his imagination?
The two of them built another boat around themselves and warded off most of the attacks. Lenalee tried to make their attackers disappear, but it wasn't possible.
"I hope you realize that we're going in circles…" Allen sat up suddenly, making Timcanpy slip off his head. The golden golem flapped its wings in annoyance. He recognized the tunnel snaking off to their left, and the rock that jutted slightly out of the water.
"You know what, maybe we can make some sort of a door. Like Road does." Lenalee said as a heart-shaped door appeared. The three of them jumped through.
"Well well, so you finally came." The Millennium Earl gave his creepy cackle, "I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out. So, Allen Walker, the boy destined to destroy me, we meet again!" Somehow, Lero, or a copy of him, was there as well. The two Exorcists attacked their enemy. It wasn't much of a fight, because the Earl just grinned at them as he avoided them. They were getting tired, and no one had gotten hurt yet. Let me come in. I know his weaknesses, and I can help you. Allen Walker paused uncertainly. The 14th had helped in the past, but he still wasn't completely sure if he was completely trustworthy. Besides, how could the 14th get there when he was in Emma's body? Your body's here too, remember? Getting in will be easy, but only if you let me. Timcanpy nodded at Allen. Allen sighed and let the Noah in. He gasped when he saw himself dividing into two Allen Walkers, then 4, then 8, forming a circle around the Earl. It's an imaginary realm, remember? All of them turned their left arms into swords and dove into the middle. All this happened in less than a second. His coat was sliced open. Instead of blood, purple-grey smoke poured out of his side.
"So, I see the 14th has joined you. That's too bad. I wouldn't want to hurt an once dear family member." As the Earl spoke, a swarm of dead Exorcists flooded out from behind him. "Allen…Lenalee…" They moaned with blank stares in their eyes.
"Don't listen." Allen Walker gritted his teeth when he saw Lenalee take a step towards them with a pained look on her face. You can't die when you're here. You can only be lost forever. The girl shook her head and turned back to face the Earl. The dark boots levelled up to level 2, then continued changing as she leapt in a whirlwind, sweeping across the Earl.
"Ah yes, you two are both possible candidates for the Heart. I wonder who?" The Millennium Earl was leaking grey smoke, but didn't seem to be wounded. The Heart! Allen Walker suddenly knew what to do. He thought to the 14th, Can you stay here with my appearance and let me go back to my body? He could feel the 14th nodding. The boy passed back into his body. Cross Marian was still there, defending himself and the bodies from Tyki Mikk. His arm had been cut by a tentacle. For the first time, he seemed unsure of himself. Allen Walker was still a bit dazed. He activated his innocence and was about to help his master when the 14th spoke in his head again, That's not what you're here for. He can still fight for a while.
Allen Walker raised his left arm up and opened his hand. Tyki Mikk looked at him in amusement, but didn't do anything. Lenalee's boots began to glow, activating by themselves. The innocence floated out and into Allen's palm. A wind began to stir, and glowing green dust from all the crushed innocence flowed into his hand as well. He could feel Hevlaska letting go of all her innocence as well. The Exorcists and Noah paused, looking at the 16-year-old with wonder. Their innocence went in as well. When the Noah realized the danger they were in, they attacked the now powerless Exorcists with their full force.
Allen Walker activated all the innocence, and a blinding white light swept over the battleground. When it cleared, everyone had fallen to the floor and he held the Heart. It rose from his hand and rays of light came out. The Noah turned to sand when they were hit. Allen Walker was drawn back into the Millennium Earl's realm. The 14th, in his body, was dying. Allen Walker held out his hand to Lenalee, the Heart reappearing in front of them. As the Millennium Earl disappeared, he said, "Noah can't die. They aren't humans. They are just pure human feelings placed in bodies. They can eventually be recreated, downloaded into a new human."
Lenalee and Allen hugged and went back. The Exorcists had long figured out that the Noah were impossible to kill. But Innocence couldn't be destroyed either. In thousands of years, they would appear again, and new Exorcists would be there to defend the innocent. It was an endless cycle, but the Exorcists would win because they had the Heart. It wasn't one Innocence, it was all the Innocence combined, and it had the power to delay the Noah for several more millenniums. But maybe they would discover the Heart's true power someday, and put an end to the suffering for once and for all. Now that they knew one of the secrets behind the Heart, they might be closer to deciphering the cube's mysterious predictions. Probably not anytime soon, but they could hope.