Fading Future Chapter 1: Lost and Found, a d.gray-man fanfic

Building crashed and crumbled as the once populated and beautiful city of London became nothing more than rubble. Bullets that came from demons of both the land and sky tore through people and structures alike. Quakes shook the earth while fire colored the night sky a hideous scarlet... how fitting for all of the blood that was being shed. The few that still remained in this now-hell where retreating as fast as they could: mothers screaming for their children, children crying for their mothers. The few that stood against these squadrons from Hell were being overwhelmed quickly, and were slowly being pushed back to their final limits. Their leader, a man of twenty or so years, who was cloaked with a tattered white cape and shining silver hair, turned to his comrades who where still fighting desperate

A young Asian woman of about the same age as the General tailed him from the sky, aiding him whenever demons, or Akuma, as they called them, swarmed too thickly around her leader or began to overwhelm him. She looked around noting that the few that were still standing were falling as quickly as flies. She saw, with relief, that both a red-haired man and another Asian man were still fighting. The red-head was controlling what seemed to be a column of flames molded into the form of a snake and the Asian's blade glowed with a blue aura for a moment before traveling up his arm and down the other to create another shining blade. They both were defending the body of a boy, who looked to be only twelve or so years of age. He seemed to be unconscious but there was a strange beast flying at the creatures around the other two, radiating a feeling of blood-lust, not for the human prey below but for its own kin.

A blond haired man rushed past the Leader his once regal clothes in tatters, his normally well hidden blades were switched out of his now dirt-stained silken sleeves, glinting red in the bloody light. Shield cards flew from his hands as spells, collecting on several of the monsters and exploding or suddenly becoming an asset and covering the fallen and beginning to heal them. He gazed at the silver haired man with cool determination and the general nodded, slowly and tiredly, pain both emotional and physical covering his pale features

Then seeing no other option he motioned for the battered group to retreat as he flicked his palm upward, opening a portal to another world. A safe haven. A city of white buildings undaunted by the sight of destruction that they were being shown. It was a Heaven in the middle of a Hell.

A small golden orb was fluttering around the Followers' heads forcing them to notice the escape that the man had chosen. The Asian man attempted to bat it away with his shining blades, not wishing to leave after he had fought so hard to defend what he had. He soon simply ignored it and it moved on to another, its wings beating frantically.

The only woman that was still fighting was flying around gracefully in the sky watching them all retreat safely before she herself allowed herself to depart to her Leader… her one and only comfort in that darkening world. Though, she quickly turned as demented chuckling lit the air as if to be fuel to the already searing flames that covered the landscape.

The crew looked up to see a figure appear on the horizon, floating down gently to the earth via a small umbrella. All the groups' faces twisted in fury as the looked at the man. From his silk, cream-colored coat to his ever present smile: every single part of him they hated. He was the antagonist in their ever changing play; he was the one that tore through their lives leaving so much death and destruction that they molded themselves into soldiers in an attempt to stop him in his tracks. If only it had worked like that.

Anger seared in all of the Soldiers of God's' hearts as they gazed at the man's fading figure though the Leader simply forced himself to turn away and began to make his way to the entrance of the ark that would save their lives. He refused to lose anymore of his comrades, his only true family for that matter. An African man was the first to reach the ark and in his hands was a limp from of a brown haired woman, though if you looked closely you could see that her bloody tunic still rose and fell faintly with every breath that she willed to enter and exit her lungs. The demon that had been devouring its own suddenly burst to sand and the brown haired youth awoke suddenly and without a moment to rest the Red-haired man grabbed him by the collar and called to the other male desperately, wanting for him, too, to follow; though for a moment the Japanese man faltered, his cobalt eyes glinting like the steel of his swords, before slowly trudging after his companions. Though that was only after he had sent a wave of terrifying other-worldly creatures at the remaining level threes knocking them back and startling a few.

Though as the Leader followed the rest he looked at the Asian woman who was gazing at a certain spot of wreckage that they all knew too well, for it was their home once, its awe-ingly magnificent walls were crushed to dust, they knew that the brave folk that had chosen to protect it had not gone down without a fight, though in the end it had not been enough. The Black Order had shattered. It was now only words on the paper that the red-haired man used to keep track of the history.

The few looked on as their home lit with the burning flames like the entire city. They remembered the other Generals, who had refused to leave, despite their student's near begging. Two men and one woman, both wonderful fighters. Slowly thoughts of the others flowed into their minds; the friends that they had lost when they had chose to go and attempt to fight the demons head on instead of staying behind to guard the fortress and their Masters. They knew nothing of the Thirds, nor of any of the finders… or the scientists.

The Chief had gone down before the battle had truly began in a chemical explosion, the Section Leader had fallen second when the Akuma shields broke and he was in the firing line.

The Asian woman looked at the burning wreckage with tears beginning to flow down her faces for they all knew that she would never see her brother, the only remaining relative she had left, again. The Leader turned to the blond haired man who was gazing off in to the distance with emotionally veiled eyes. He could never believe that he had once thought the man an annoyance, for he turned into a very valuable fighter. One that the General trusted with his life.

Slowly, he turned to look back at the city, its charred ruins, and slowly gave his group a smile. It was his defense mechanism, a way to prove to those around him that all would be fine. It was a mask to hide the feelings of terror that shook his body, as he turned away. The Asian woman reached out as if to halt him, though he smiled at her sadly before walking away, drawing a long broadsword, watching as it glinted with the light that only weapons of the angels could muster. He stood there a shining symbol of resistance as the portal closed and the Japanese man was forced to hold the woman back as she thrashed to get to the only man that she had ever loved. A piercing wail broke the air as she was sealed away from danger and there was only one figure standing against the upcoming darkness.

This was an act of resistance, but also a sign for the future. It said that no matter how much darkness and hatred riddled the world, there would always be a shining hand to fight for the light, no matter how hopeless it seemed. That was the reason that he had chose to stay, chose to fight. He cared not if it led to his own death as long as he sent that message to the Devil's Steward.

That was the last time that anyone saw Allen Walker, last remaining Head-General of the Black Order, alive.

The Innocence was lost, and the few that remained with the holy stone in their blood scattered across the world, in a vain attempt to create a home for themselves. Eventually everyone forgot the meaning of the word Rose Cross. The Innocence remained dormant, and for a time the demons of death stilled as well.

But there would be a time that the world would need a savior, and when that happened, one would remember: that the Holy stone was simply forgotten, not lost. The Crown Clown Innocence was not dead, oh no, for they had left out an important piece: the General's heir.

That being would be the one, the one who would lead the next war against the Earl and his minions when the call was needed.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Bye guys!" I called and turned to wave to Minnie and Alastair's retreating forms. Their black curls bouncing as they laughed goodbye to me and I walked into my home.

"MOM! I'm home!" I called, and immediately followed my nose to the kitchen where the scent of garlic and tomatoes wafted from like a heavenly aroma.

There was my oh so beloved mother, watching as the stew softly bubbled on the stove, every so often stirring the mixture with a gentle smile on her pale face, her short, Asian black hair falling down from its loose bounds.

"Elena." She said happily and embraced my lovingly, "How was school?"

I cringed immediately, and the Parent-Teacher–Conference slip in my pocket felt like a pound of lead. Chewing my lip softly I attempted to come up with something that would make, blowing up an entire chemistry lab not sound as bad as it truly was.

"Uhhhh… Well ya see~" I started and that was all that she needed, for she turned to me, her hands on her hips, her delicate features twisted into a scowl.

"What did you do today?" a familiar stern but not uncaring voice called, and I found my heart drop. There was no way that I could escape now.

"Heh... hi, Uncle Link." There was my 'Uncle' as I called him, simply staring at me with his calculating blue eyes squinted. The fact that there were accounting books in his hands told me that I had chose the possibly worst time to come home, 'cause when my uncle had to check house's bills he was normally in a very, very, bad mood for the rest of the day.

"Let me see it." he commanded, and I shakily handed him the piece of paper from my pocket. Immediately after reading it, his face darkened.

"Elena." He muttered, and immediately I began to babble, "It wasn't my fault! Besides it isn't a expulsion yet! I-I didn't know that mystery element was sulfur, so I just added it with a little water! I didn't know that putting them together would cause them to react, and, and... and I'll go to my room." I finished sulkily and trudged from the room dragging my feet.

As I got to my room I closed the door quietly, and turned to my horribly messy room. It wasn't that I didn't clean it, I did... and that was the sad part.

Shuffling through papers I found the small box that I was looking for. A small mahogany cube with golden hinges and a strange symbol that looked suspiciously like a music note tensile in gold paint adorned the top.

Opening the small lid a bunch of metallic shards came to view, surrounding an orb-like creature with half-finished wings and tiny horns. This had been my main project for about a month now, ever since I had found the box in the corner of the attic tucked away under some old science textbooks.

For some strange reason it had caught my attention and sparked my stubbornness when I realized that it was probably unsalvageable. Uncle Link said that I got not only my looks from my father but his pure thick-headedness, which often got me into trouble seeing as it went hand in hand with my natural curiosity for anything that had to do with science... more specifically chemicals... or any other things that go 'boom'.

Frowning, I placed another metal feather on the tip of the wing: my father...

From what I had learned a long time ago he was killed before I was born. Other than that and the fact that I looked and acted a lot like him I never heard anymore about him.

I hated not knowing things, at one point I went through the entire attic space searching for information about that mystery man. That was until Uncle Link found me, and I had never seen his scowl so deep. That's the thing about Uncle Link: he didn't ever raise his voice to yell at me, he wrote it down in a book that he kept in his room.

Looking down I noticed that there were only three small pieces left to the little winged-thingy. Slowly I placed the last feather on, and followed with the small limb that looked like a leg, and lastly placed the last horn on to its tiny head.

I nearly screamed, for after a moment, it gave a feeble twitch and then rose so that it was eye-to-cross with me. Okay, screw the 'nearly': I did scream, and luckily no one heard me because the thing bonked me on the forehead, crying from non existent eyes, and then began to chew fondly on my hair.

After chasing it for about ten minutes I grabbed it and flipping it over, desperate to find an off switch, but to my horror there was nothing except a gold little belly.

"Oh, my, god, what the hell are you?" I said, and using its mouth like a hand, it grabbed a pencil off my desk and floated over to a piece of paper and wrote in scratchy handwriting 'T.I.M.C.A.M.P.Y.'

"Timcampy? Is that your name?" I asked and it nodded, before going back to buzzing around my room, which I was fine with until it began to chew on my curtains.

"HEY, stop that!" I yelled and we were soon in a tug of war with my lace curtains, until I jerked back and sent the poor thing flying until it hit the opposite wall.

All of a sudden it started buzzing, and suddenly opening it mouth it acted like a projector.

A young woman came in to a shaky view, her short dark hair sprayed with brown mud and something that looked suspiciously like... blood? She trashed against a young raven haired Asian man, attempting desperately to get to a portal that was closing. The city beyond the gateway was burning and seemed to be utterly in ruins. Though that was true she desperately attempted to get back, and he held fast to her, forcing her back. They weren't alone, for around them was a group of five others. They all seemed barely able to stand, wounded and ragged.

"KANDA! LET ME GO!" She shrieked, tears streaming down her face from her reddening eyes.

"No."

"PLEASE! WE CAN STILL GET BACK TO HIM!" She shook violently as the gate to that place suddenly closed, and she seemed for a moment to be in shock before she jerked back, and with all her might punched him across the jaw bone and took off running, as the others called after her.

She continued until she couldn't she simply couldn't go on and finally collapsed in a heap. When a pale hand reach out to her, "Come Ms. Lee, we must find the rest of the group." She looked up to find herself looking at the blond haired man.

"Come Ms. Lee, the group is looking for you." He whispered, his normally cool voice attempting to be considerate, though the young woman simply stayed where she knelt.

The man turned away, "You are planning on keeping the child." It wasn't a question, and she looked at him with startled eyes, before he continued, "Walker told me before we entered the battle:he told me to watch over you seeing as I am supposed to follow his movements, and if he was to die the person that he wished for me to inspect was his child."

The woman gave a watery smile, "You don't seem too happy about it."

"Him leaving to go and fight on his own interrupted my duties as his inspector. I now have no choice but to follow through with his plan and continue watching you."

The projector suddenly shut off, and Timcampy flew over to me, though I barely noticed. I was too stunned to utter a word. That woman in that picture was... no is, my own mother, and that blond man was more that likely my Uncle Link. What had they been doing to get themselves that beat up? What had happened to my dad? Who were those people that were with them?

What was going on?

"Elena! FOR THE LAST TIME IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!" My uncle's furious yell came from outside my door, which I had forgotten to unlock. He seemed to be out there for a long time, but it was the first time that I had heard him. Suddenly the brass door nob slid out of it's respective hole and fell to the floor with a 'clank'. There stood my down right furious Uncle, something shiny in his left hand... no it was attached inside his work shirt.

"Holy Shit! MOM, UNCLE LINK HAS A SWITCHBLADE!" I continued screaming that all the way down stairs, thankfully Tim stayed rightfully on my room, hiding.

In the middle of dinner the doorbell rang, and slowly Mom got up, a twinge of annoyance on her oriental features, "Who in their right minds would come over at this time of night?" She asked to us, and looked directly at me.

I raised my hands in surrender, "I told Minny not to come after eight, I swear it." The bell at that moment rang again and Mom walked out of the room with an, "I'm coming!"

It was only a moment after that, that she gave a very startled cry, and a gruff voice said, "Do you have to do that every time that I come here?"

Uncle Link turned as my mom stuttered, "B-But you haven't b-been here in... five years!"

"Elena, go upstairs." my mom's friend said sternly, and I immediately began to argue, though I was soon going up the stairs at one look in his eyes. Though half way to my room I stopped and saw that he wasn't looking at me, but at an Asian man. I held back a scream, seeing at that man was the very one in the projection that had held back my mother. Immediately anger began to burn in my stomach, for this man was the one that had allowed my father to die alone and without any aid.

His pale face was cool and stony like marble, his long raven black hair was placed in a painfully high ponytail at the top of his head. His colbat eyes flitted around the kitchen. A strange sword rested against his back. A torn black coat rested on his shoulders. He looked worn from travel but instinctively alert.

"Where is the girl?" he asked slowly, as if he had forced it past his lips.

"I sent her upstairs, why are you here?" Uncle Link asked, and the man nodded, "Akuma are being sighted in Japan and much of Europe. They seem to be heading here."

"What, here, you mean as in they are~"

"Yes Lena, they are coming for your family... and Marie's. I was forced to fight them at the crossing into Britain. They've come back in full force."

"The what can we~"

"Fight." He said solemnly cutting her off, and she looked at him with terror filled eyes, before backing away.

"N-no, I haven't even used them ever sinc~"

"It is either that or we all die. There's at least ten level fours on their way to kill you right now."

"But..." she seemed to struggle in an internal battle before turning to face the window, lost in thought for a moment, "Kanda, I think that you remember that I swore to never use them again unless it is for an absolutely dire emergency."

"This is an emergency Lena, it's either we fight or this entire city gets wiped out again."

I frowned in confusion... what did this guy mean? Why did he want to fight what ever it was that they were fighting.

Suddenly I noticed a flash of gold, and immediately I attempted to grabbed the excited ball of gold that buzzed by my shoulder with speed I barely knew it could contain.

"Wait!" I called and raced down the stairs after, "TIM...campy." I watched in a mixture of shock and horror as he collided with the Asian man's head with as much force he could muster. Well, apparently I wasn't the only person that didn't like this man.

So, like it, hate it? I'm not sure on whether or not to continue this, but give me your opinion and I'll get back to you!

Please review! It'll make me happy!

Marine :)