AN: So this is basically a re-do of my other fic In Memoriam. I read it over a discovered that I really didn't like it, so I'm trying again, with some changes made here and there. Hope you enjoy the re-vamp, I know I do.
"KANDA YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING SO SERIOUSLY?"
Kanda ignored the brat's yelling, narrowing his gaze at the demon in front of him. The swordsman refused to recognize this…thing, as his once beloved, dare he admit it, friend. The figure straightening up before him, blood dripping from the gash in it's side and oozing from between the sharp teeth in its maniacally grinning mouth, was not Alma, could never be Alma, and would never be Alma again.
The akuma grinned at him, taking a jerky, almost mechanical, step forward, "Yu, you really are cool, you know," it said.
Kanda didn't respond, responding meant revealing emotions he shouldn't feel, he tensed, ready to spring at the slightest indication of a threat.
It didn't come.
The thing that had once been Alma sank to its knees, letting out an agonizing scream that forced Kanda to drop Mugen in order to cover his ears. The high-pitched wail was enough to make his head split. Kanda had never heard a more terrible and frightening noise in his life. He shivered violently as the Akuma continued to screech. Through the noise, however, he was able to distinguish words.
"It…hurts…it hurts so much…my head is going to split."
My sentiments exactly, Kanda thought tersely. When the screaming finally died down, he renewed hi firm grip on his sword and looked up, breath hitching in his throat as he saw the changed being before him.
"Oh fuck," he murmured, heart hammering and threatening to leap out of his throat. Déjà Vu hit him in a whirl of dizzying astonishment. This aura, he knew it all too well, it was the same as when he had been in the ark, fighting that moronic sweet addict.
The Noah of Wrath was before him once again.
"Yu…has my hate done this to me?" Kanda blinked as the Noah spoke to him. He opened his mouth, yet nothing came out. The aura changed, mixing with the Alma of his childhood. Alma was standing before him again, looking at him with those big, questioning eyes.
"Alma…you're…" Kanda said hoarsely, "You can't be…"
"Yu, you're loosing your cool," Alma said, smirking, his skin darkening as he took a step forward. Kanda, in turn, took a step back, redoubling his grip on Mugen, "Do I scare you? Do you finally see me as a threat? Or do you pity me? Don't deny it," he added, seeing Kanda's expression, "I saw it the last time, that look in your eyes, you felt sorry for me, sorry that I didn't regain my original memories, sorry that I had snapped, sorry that you couldn't save me in any other way. Yu, the truth is that you're the pathetic one, if you had a stronger resolve, you would have finished the job properly."
Kanda stared at him, sword hanging loosely in his grip by his side. He had no response, could form no response, to Alma's heartless words.
Alma tilted his head to one side, giving him an almost piteous expression, "Oh Yu, don't be so shocked, I'm merely speaking my mind," he said, "Now tell me, did you find the survivors I left for you?"
Kanda suddenly snapped back to reality, memories float unbidden to the forefront of his mind: The toppled wheelchair, the blood, yet the relieving sound of painful groans, signaling the life of those two inhabitants of the Asian Branch. He nodded, "Yes."
Alma nodded to show he understood, "Good, and how are they? Kai, Grandpa Zhu?"
Kanda swallowed thickly, gesturing to the obliterated remains of the North American Branch, "Zhu was in there. When you woke up, the force of it destroyed the entire branch."
Alma blinked, "Really? Oh well," he chuckled at Kanda's seething look, "I honestly don't care, Yu, he was nice to me, so I let him live. Besides, Zhu was getting old, I'm sure."
Kanda glared and sprung, slashing at Alma with all his might, leaving a long, though extremely shallow, gash on his chest.
"Seems I struck a nerve," Alma said, kneeing Kanda in the gut, "Now, what about Kai? Where's Kai?"
Kanda didn't answer, just kept up his attack. Dodge, spin, lunge, stab, dodge, duck, jump, slash, stab, parry, repost, the irregular rhythm of his fighting style, one step to the next, fluidly moving against his opponent, shutting down his emotions, using his sword as an extension of his arm.
He was just making to make another jab when the ground shuddered dangerously beneath his feet. They sprang apart as it suddenly exploded violently, sending rubble and concrete in all directions. A fountain of water erupted into the sky, cascading everywhere as a blast of wind knocked both Kanda and Alma off their feet.
Earlier:
Crashes echoed above the American Branch's underground lab, supposedly unheard by its occupants. For the most part, that was true, for all but one of the inhabitants were not alive. This one outlier was suspended, upside-down in a cylindrical tank of a transparent greenish-bluish liquid. Various tubes and IVs were attached to this strange phenomenon, providing its means of life. The ring of metal around its head, linked with wires to a large machine outside the tank were constantly downloading information, thereby preventing deterioration of the brain's intelligence and allowing it to grow and mature. This particular being could not breath under water, thus the mask, covering only nose and mouth, providing oxygen from another machine outside of the tank.
All these measures were taken to ensure that the contents of the tank would remain alive, healthy, and functional. Reni Epstein and Bak Chan had personally taken on this task because they new how important is was to keep this being alive. They knew it would be devastating to lose an apostle.
And that was exactly who occupied the tank.
This particular exorcist had been sent on a mission to Houston, Texas to investigate strange disappearances around a certain ranch. It was supposed to be quite the easy mission, well within the capabilities of an exorcist at thirteen years of age and with five years of training and fighting experience. However, unbeknownst to the exorcist and the finders that had accompanied her, what awaited them was not innocence, but a horde of level two akuma. At the time, the most commonly seen akuma had all been level ones and level twos were extremely rare, in fact. In order to protect the finders that were with her, this exorcist had used her maximum invocation (a very dangerous idea for an exorcist below the 100th percentile synchronization rate) and shielded her comrades, with both body and innocence, from the onslaught of bullets and other attacks from the akuma host.
Fortunately, this exorcist managed to eliminate the monsters without sacrificing her life. However, she had suffered much damage to her body and had fallen into a deep coma. In order to keep the exorcist alive until she regained consciousness, central had ordered the specialized tank to be created that would keep the exorcist ready for battle upon revival.
The exorcist was the only one who heard the collapse of the branch from that dark and lonely laboratory. Her green eye (only the right one was visible at the moment), opened slightly at the commotion from above, it widened as pain shot through the mark inscribed between her shoulder blades and a gasp escaped her lips. Of the two life-lines connected to her own, one was shifting, suffering horribly as it changed into something unbelievably deadly, the other was straining was straining itself, going beyond to its forbidden limits.
The desire to go to them, to stop them, to do something, was so overwhelming it made her heart ache. If there was anything she fought for, this was it. Her desire to protect her friends and the lives tied to her through and unbreakable bond far outweighed her desire to impress her grandmother, the woman who had always driven her life. Now she was seizing control of it herself, but in order to protect her new family, she needed power, she needed her innocence, she need to the WAKE THE HELL UP.
The pain in her back suddenly subsided, but redoubled itself when it moved to her left eye. A silent scream broke, unbidden, from her throat as the white-hot pain intensified. The water around the exorcist began to swirl and bubble around her. The IVs and the band around her forehead shattered, allowing her to clutch her head in pain. The oxygen mask split at fell away, allowing the liquid to flood her nose and mouth. She didn't care, though, all that mattered was the pain, not the fact that she might drown.
Next thing she knew, the liquid was gone, blown away by the silver wind that now twisted her about her and seemed to be carrying her upwards.
The roof of the lab shattered above her and she fell to the ground above, panting and still clutching at her throbbing eye. She dully felt the remnants of the liquid raining down on her and the silver wind dying down about her. Finally, the pain faded and she was able to lie there for a moment, regaining her senses.
"Kai?" the voice came from her left, her blind spot, she turned her head and smiled weakly at the man who had spoken her name.
"Yo, Kanda, 's been a while, hasn't it?" she said, pushing herself into a sitting position. She noted how much longer her friend's hair had gotten as he knelt beside her as well as how much older he looked, "My God," she said, staring at him, "how long has it been?"
He shrugged, "'bout four years, I think," he said, "You ought to be careful standing up, your legs haven't supported you for a long time."
Kai looked down at them, a feeling of unfamiliarity washing over her. They were longer than before, and much thinner, toned in all the right places, but undeniably a lot thinner than before. Was her bone structure really that thin? Neither of her parents had this frame, so where did she get it from? Kai ignored the hand Kanda offered her and attempted to stand on her own. Stiffness shot through her legs as she straightened them. She swayed dangerously at first, but finally regained her footing. She flexed and stretched all the muscles in her body, getting rid of all the stiffness from being immobile for four years. Kai's head was still spinning with that knowledge.
"So you were here too?" Kai whipped her around, noticing another unfamiliar weight. She made a mental note to find a mirror the first chance she got, then turned to face the person who had spoken to her. She stared as she recognized him.
"Alma? How?" she asked, her own voice feeling odd to her ears. Maturity was definitely something she'd need to get used to.
Alma smiled, though it was more like a grimace, "You can walk?"
Kai nodded, "The paralyses was only temporary."
He sighed, "Shame, if you had stayed that way, then those humans may have repented. You and Yu have both disappointed me."
Kai stiffened, "I'd rather have my legs rather than an apology," she said coldly.
Alma opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by someone's yelling.
"TOKUSA! YOU'RE OKAY?" Kanda, Alma, and Kai turned in the direction of a white-haired boy that the latter two did not recognize. He was supporting a blonde man who leaned on him heavily.
"His arms are…okay?" Kanda said in awe as he looked that the pair. He then turned to Kai, "Must've been when your innocence power-surged."
Kai shrugged, "It works in weird ways, can't say I'm too surprised."
"You're an exorcist too?" Alma asked, crossing his arms.
Kai nodded, then turned to Kanda, "This is your fight, I know, but don't go into the forbidden techniques, keep to Nigen for now. I'll take care of any other opponents and check and see if I can find Reni."
Kanda nodded, "Reever and some others are here too, see if you and the sprout, that white-haired kid over there, can find 'em, but watch out for the other Noah."
"Noah?"
"The Millennium Earl's kin, the clan Alma's just become a part of."
Kai swallowed, then nodded and sped off towards the white-haired boy, who had collapsed with the blonde.
"Are you alright?" she said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
He gaped at her, "Who're you?" he asked, his speech slurred from exhaustion.
"Kaida," she said, "But you can call me Kai. I'm an exorcist under General Tiedoll, but we can explain that later, right now we need to get you somewhere safe."
"Gate."
"What?"
"I'll make a gate and close all the other ones around here so the earl can't follow," he said, "name's Allen Walker, by the way."
"Um-"
"WALKER!" Kai looked to see another blonde man running towards them, a girl not far behind. He ran up to them and lifted the boy into a sitting position. The girl rested his unconscious companion on her lap. The man with the braid looked at Kai, "You are?"
"Kaida, but we really don't have time for introductions, do we?" she said tersely, "I have to find Reni and the others before the enemy gets to them."
"Wait, you're that exorcist? The one who was comatose for the past four years?" the girl asked.
"Don't remind me," Kai grumbled, "I don't suppose any of you know where to look for the others?"
"Wireless…" Allen held up a earpiece shakily and handed it to her, "Take that and call Johnny."
"God, how many people are here?" Kai exclaimed as she hooked the wireless onto her ear, "Yo, Johnny, you there?"
"Huh? Who's this?" The voice was indeed Jonny's, Kai stood as she spoke again.
"It's Kai, don't ask questions," she said hurriedly, "Just tell me where you and Reni are."
"I'm sorry, I can't give you an exact spot," Johnny said, "But don't you have some sixth sense or something? I mean, you were pretty good at finding the science section under our mountains of paper work, weren't you?"
Kai let out a soft laugh in spite of herself, "Right, been a while, though, so just hope I can still do that." She closed her eyes, focusing on her surroundings. Luckily, the wind had picked up and she could better sense her surroundings. Alma and Kanda were going at pretty fiercely not far from her location, she'd have to advise the others to move. There were one, two, five bodies observing them, most likely the Noah that Kanda had mentioned. The others…One, most likely Johnny, was a little ways south of her, a group of six were a little father east, and another group of three was directly in between.
Kai smiled to herself, still got it.
"I found them, but it'd be best if you joined the group towards the southeast, they're farthest from our enemies."
The braided man looked at her in surprise, "How did you do that?"
Kai smirked, "that's my little secret," she said, "Now go, I'll cover you," somehow…
The man nodded and shot off.
"Oh like hell we'll let you go that easily," Kai was just in time to block a blow from a man with ash-colored skin and golden eyes. His long brown hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and cross-shaped wounds dotted his forehead. So this was what a Noah looked like.
She sprang away from the man, slipping into her stance.
"Let's go," she murmured, activating her innocence for the first time in ages, "Purge, Bloody Crucifix."
Tyki Mikk watched as wounds, shaped not unlike the cross, opened on the girl's wrist. A silver liquid trickled out of them and crept up her arms, stopping halfway up her upper arms. The thorny pattern also extended down her hands and around part of her fingers, all stemming from the crosses on her wrists. The same occurred on her feet, with two crosses appearing on either side on her ankles and the thorns extending up her calves and down her bare feet.
He cocked his head to one side, "and what exactly does your innocence do, girl?" he asked.
Before he could blink, the girl was behind him, "This," she said, snapping her fingers. Gashes appeared on his chest as the blades of silver wind he had not seen her release, sprang forward to attack him. He glared at her as his blood hit the ground, then smirked.
"Smart move, you got me when my guard was down," he said, "But rest assured it won't happen again."
Kai smirked herself, "As expected, you learn from your mistakes," she said, lunging forward again. Time and time again, she slashed at him or kicked at him, releasing the wind from both hands and feet, yet the stiffness and her muscles slowed her down considerable and the Noah was beginning to find her openings. Twice now, he had landed a hit. Kai new she needed to recuperate and do some rehabilitation training before she would be able to keep up with her new body, but her situation was unavoidable.
"Oy, Miss Kaida," Kai recognized the braided man's voice, "Grab Kanda Yu and head to the south, it's closest to you and we have an escape route ready for you."
"Roger," Kai was relieved to hear those words. She despised retreating, but knew that it was the best course of action to take. She had been trained to be rational and make strategic decisions and decided the best strategy was to pull back so she and Kanda could recuperate before entering battle again, not to mention there was also that kid that desperately needed medical attention.
She turned back to her opponent, "Seems our match is being cut short," she said, "Too bad." With that, she used her innocence to help her increase her speed and sprint over to Kanda, pulling him away from the fight before he knew what was going on. She slowed so he could fall into step beside her as they ran towards the direction Kai had been told.
"Retreating, eh? I suppose it's for the best," Kanda said, "That fourth illusion style took a ton out of me."
"YOU WHAT?" Kai yelled as they continued to run, "WHAT SORT OF IDIOT ARE YOU?"
"Save the lecture until we're back home, Kai," Kanda shortly, glancing over his shoulder, "They're gaining."
Kai glared at him, but did as he said. She slowed as they reached a bright light ahead of them.
"PICK UP THE PACE!" Kanda yelled, "THIS IS THE LAST LENGTH!" They both charged into the light and the next thing Kai knew, they were inside what looked like a Mediterranean city. She gaped at the houses of white marble.
"What is this?" she asked.
"The old Noah's Ark," Kanda said, closing the door they had come through and slumping against it, sinking to the floor breathlessly, "We kind of commandeered it."
Kai didn't ask, but shook her head at her exhausted friend, "You've strained yourself too much, Kanda," she said, "It's bad for your-!" she cut herself off as she noticed the black tendrils creeping across the swordsman's left shoulder. She knelt down in front of him and lifted the left side of his shirt and gasped in horror as she saw his chest. Before Kai had been attacked, she knew Kanda's mark had been normal, now it looked like it was surrounded by a wheel of fire. She couldn't control herself anymore. She raised her hand and smacked Kanda as hard as she could across the face.
"You idiot!" she snapped, "When did you get so reckless?"
Kanda rubbed his cheek, "I fought a Noah on my own and insisted I didn't need help. Deal with it Kai, it's just how I am."
She narrowed her eyes at him, then placed her hand on the mark, "I can only do this once," she said, "And you'll be out of it for a while, but you can consider that punishment for being a moron."
A faint glow emitted from her hand and Kanda gasped in pain before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lost consciousness. Kai took her hand away, breathing heavily.
"What did you do?" the girl Kai had seen earlier had walked over to them.
"I bought him time," Kai panted, looking around, "Where is everyone?"
"The infirmary," she said, "some stretchers are coming for you two as well."
"Thanks, I don't think I can stand any longer," Kai said, rubbing her sore legs and wincing as she ran her hands over her cut up feet. It was stupid of her to sprint barefoot over metal and concrete. It didn't matter, though, they wounds would heal soon. Right now all she needed was rest. Sweet blissful darkness overcame her vision and she was unaware of the finder that caught her before she hit the ground.