So this is going along pretty well, right? Thank you all for giving so many reviews! I think another chapter or two and I will have more views from this fic than any other I have done so far. Then again I haven't written very many. Pleas enjoy my semi-filler chapter. It is a little blegh because it follows the story line a little more accurately. Oh and if any of you think I'm being a little harsh on Lenalee, I apologize. I don't really like her too much. But don't worry, I'm not going to kill her off.

Chapter 9

Reunion

"The Akuma are coalescing into an even bigger one," Crowley growled. Bookman gave it a single glance over before returning his attention to his Apprentice's fight with the curly haired Noah. Suddenly the Akuma grabbed Lavi, throwing him at the group of Exorcists with enough force to break through the roof that they stood on.

Everyone was dazed after the rough landing, Lavi himself sported a serious concussion that nearly rendered him unconscious. Crowley was the first one to rise on his hands and knees, then Bookman.

"Lavi what are you doing? Pull yourself together!" The red head winced upon hearing his master's voice. He reluctantly rolled onto his stomach and sat up slowly before cradling his head in his hands. His entire body hurt everywhere.

Suddenly they heard a scream coming from the top of the roof. They were all on their feet at once and began to make their way to the where the scream had come from. The trio found Lenalee standing there, facing the Noah of Pleasure with hatred in her gaze. Her entire body trembled with rage.

"What did you do?" Lavi demanded. The Noah smiled.

"Relax. I only told her the truth," he replied. "I was there with your friend, the white haired General, in the forest in China. I am the one who killed Suman-"

He broke off, suddenly leaping away. A blade slipped through the tiles of the roof. Everything exploded violently and a dark figure appeared from the midst of the dust. Tyki's smile became uneasy as he realized that another Exorcist had appeared.

"So many new faces," he complained weakly. His eyes widened as Kanda rushed forward to attack him. Tyki had not expected that speed. "You are certainly a lot faster than your fellow Exorcists..."

"Shut up," he growled. "There's an Exorcist missing from this group, a white haired short one."

Tyki was more than a little surprised by the question and he was glad he was saved from having to answer. He had a nagging sensation at the back of his mind, something he was beginning to suspect was a form of jealousy. While he understood that Allen possessed many friends and remained an important figure the Noah did not like thinking that there were others who shared an interest towards the one he was hoping to call his lover.

"He died in China," Lenalee told him. Her voice had been shaky from the initial shock, but now it was as hard and as resilient as a diamond. This Noah killed him."

Tyki turned his attention back to the long haired Exorcist to study his reaction. While he did see the man express some emotion, he was relieved to find that it was simply anger. No grief or sorrow; simply anger. Out of the corner of his eye Tyki saw that the colossal Akuma was tethered down by several thin strings like piano wire.

"Kanda, ignore that Noah and get to work!" Marie shouted. "You can deal with him later."

The Exorcist looked tempted to gut Tyki at that moment but he growled and spun himself around. He took a single leap into the air, raising Mugen above his head. He brought it down with a single strike. Tyki watched as the hit obliterated the Akuma. A drop of sweat ran down his back; this Exorcist was powerful enough to be of a General class. The Earl had made no mention of Kanda's strength and skill. To be this close, Tyki could already tell he would have a hard time fighting just that young man. As the others slowly surrounded him he became all too aware that he was pretty much screwed. Bookman, Lenalee carried by Lavi, Crowley, Marie, the General Theodore, and finally Kanda all made a circle around him. He could feel their killing intent. While it excited him, Tyki really didn't want to have to tell Allen that he had killed one of his friends so early in their relationship.

"So you are the one that killed young Allen Walker?" General Theodore asked calmly. Tyki cast a wary look around them as they all advanced. He threw his hands up defensively.

"Hey, wait a moment!" he exclaimed, quickly trying to undo the mistake he had made. "Let me explain.

"What is there to explain?"Even Marie sounded frightening and the Noah of Pleasure began to wonder why he had ever implied that he had killed Allen. Just the thought made him sick to the stomach. Had it been a slip of his Dark side?

"I didn't kill Allen Walker," he said quickly. When he saw that all doubted his words he quickly held up the card he had been given and tossed it to Bookman. "Look; Bookman, I know you have knowledge of how this list works. Do you see the name that is still there?"

The old man peered into the Cell and squinted at the name. Sure enough, Allen's was still there, no matter how many times the prisoner tried to clean it away. He nodded to his companions.

"The Noah tells the truth. General Walker remains in this world." Everyone sighed in relief (except for Kanda, he merely lost some of his anger).

"What did you do to him?" Lenalee wanted to know. She still didn't trust the Noah, but she had hope that he would tell her about her friend.

Tyki pondered the question. He would obviously have to lie about it. And he couldn't tell them anything about the visit he took to China.

"I had a chat with him in the forest," he said with a wide grin, hoping to play this part off well. "He was so very tired, and his Innocence had been pushed to its limits. He couldn't even fight me off."

Lavi ground his teeth together and Lenalee flinched. Marie's face grew grim, his General's expression did not change.

"We had a lovely chat-" Kanda suddenly punched Tyki, his fist phasing through the Noah. The Exorcist wasn't surprised as he drew back his fist. They glared at one another, trying read the other person. Reluctantly Tyki tore his gaze away.

"I didn't want to fight someone in such a weak condition," he continued in a more serious tone. "I let the Asian Branch take him in so that one of the Akuma could pick him up on this night. He should rejoin us at any time within the hour."

Eerie laughter began to echo across Edo. Tyki recognized it in an instant and used it as a distraction to get away from the group of Exorcists that had surrounded him. He settled safely above them ad followed the direction in which their attention had been given.

The Earl was floating down using Lero, a ball of Dark Matter forming.

"Insolent fools~" the First Apostle sang, his voice dripping with derision. Then the orb expanded, flattening Edo.

**::**::**::**::**::**::**::**::**::

Kanda forced himself up despite the pain his movements caused. He could here others stirring not far off. One in particular he recognized as Marie.

"Cross's people all have very weak heartbeats; they're barely alive!" the blind said with genuine concern. He tried to move a little quicker in order to help his comrades. Kanda glanced over his shoulder to where Marie was. Just past him he could see what remained of the Cross Unit. Bookman and Crowley were laying side by side, both of them unconscious. So were the non-combatants and Miranda. Lavi was forcing himself back up. It was then Kanda saw the strangest sight: a crystal that appeared to glow from within. It was singing, a beautiful and painfully sad song that all of the conscious Exorcists found to be too ethereal for mortal ears, especially Marie.

Suddenly they saw the shadow of a hand tough the crystal, then that hand became a fist, banging on its surface.

Someone...help me! Help me, I'm in here! Lavi? Kanda? Is anyone there?!

The two Exorcists stared at the crystal in shock and in awe, both whispering the captive's name. "Lenalee?"

Kanda felt himself whirling around on instinct, bringing his sword up once more. He found himself face to face once more with Tyki. The Noah was grinning happily, a new fire of excitement lit in his eyes.

"If I were you, I would just hand over the girl," Tyki suggested. While he was smiling, there was a strange seriousness in his eyes that Kanda couldn't quite understand.

At the same moment, Lavi found himself roughly grabbed by a huge man and tossed on the ground like a rag doll. He cried out in pain as he felt the hard ground slam against his bones and skin. The red head reached for his hammer, which had landed by his side. A foot stomped down on his arm, and he yelled out as he felt the definite breakage in his bone. He opened his eyes in order to get a better grasp of who he was fighting, and what he could possibly do to get out of this situation. Instead of seeing his opponent, Lavi saw that strange crystal standing alone. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the familiar figure rushing at it with a deadly black orb in hand.

"Lenalee!" he shouted in panic, trying to warn her, warn anyone that could help her that the Earl was about to kill her. The black orbs were just about to touch her crystal when suddenly the sky split open, illuminating the night with white light. Everyone froze, Exorcists and Noahs alike, to watch the peculiar and new spectacle. The light slowly dimmed, a gateway crumbling into nothing. There everyone recognized the familiar white cloak that stood between the Earl and Lenalee's crystal. There was no mistaking that jester's mask as it rushed to be face to face with the Earl. Even more shocking was that the figure had only used one hand to halt the Earl's attack.

"It's been a while, Allen Walker~" the Earl purred. While the Exorcists knew nothing of the Earl, the family of Noah did. And they couldn't tell if the First Apostle was happy to see the General or if he wanted to kill the fifteen year old at that moment. Tyki found his own heart going out to Allen, for he could see the confliction within his lover.

Allen, for his part, kept his emotions in check. In a voice low enough for only the Earl to hear,

"I don't want to fight you, Adam," he said carefully, softly. "Please let her go."

The Earl jerked his hand away, summoning Lero from what appeared to be thin air. Allen's eyes widened as he saw the transformation from umbrella to sword. He had never seen this weapon before, and he could not believe the striking similarities he noticed. The young General quickly raised his arm up when that large sword was swung at him. He winced as it jarred against his left arm, the one made out of Innocence. He could feel the powers colliding between the two and it made his teeth pulse as well.

The Earl leaned in closer to Allen, smiling wider than usual. "Thank you for becoming a part of my play~"

Allen's eyebrows furrowed. He briefly wondered what the Earl was plotting and did not get the chance to question the First Apostle before he was violently shoved away by the broad sword. Allen did not expect the amount of force behind it and found himself flying into Skin. He blinked up at the Noah who gave him a knowing smile before he promptly dropped Allen next to Bookman's Apprentice.

Before he could recover, Allen felt the whisper of a Tease fluttering against his cheek before leaving. He shuddered at the sensation and sat up. The Noah were gone, and each of the Exorcists had been tossed aside, with the exception of General Theodore.

Suddenly Allen found himself in the suffocating embrace of his red headed friend.

"You're alive!" Lavi cried out with varying degrees of relief, disbelief, and happiness. The young General tried to detach the arms around his waist, almost certain that one of the red-head's arms had been broken from the force of Skin's weight.

"L-Lavi, I don't think you should be moving like this-"

"Get back here you fool!" shouted a familiar voice. Allen's eyes widened and he felt Crown Clown wrap around him and his friend just as he saw a flash of light. "Die!"

Allen winced as he felt the force of the attack on his cloak. It was almost as strong as a General's and had a bite to it. The young man slowly lowered his Innocence so he could glare at the attacker. Sure enough, it was Kanda.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he asked bluntly. While he sounded angry, Allen found it hard to read his expression.

"Who said I died?" the General demanded. "I just needed to take a break!"

Kanda 'tched' and looked around. The frown on his face deepened when he saw that none of Noahs had remained. He scowled at the General, accusing him.

"It's not my fault!" Allen snapped.

Allen watched as Lavi carefully placed Lenalee on the ground, making sure that the girl was comfortable. Miranda's Innocence had temporarily healed everyone's injuries. Most of the members of the two Exorcist units had begun to sort through food supplies and tend to the fires. Marie was tending to the few injuries that had not been healed. Kanda was the only one that remained a good distance away, for he was keeping an eye out for possible enemies.

"It does my heart good to see you alive my friend," General Theodore said from behind Allen. The young General turned, smiling as he shook the older man's hand. "It never ceases to amaze me how dismissive you are with the safety of your own life."

Allen chuckled uneasily. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"It is my sadness, Allen. You are young, and I hate to see you continue fighting when your body has become tired," Theodore replied. "I am not the only one who thinks this; you possess many friends who share this worry."

Allen blushed with shame.

"I-I know that," he murmured. He didn't feel that he needed to explain himself to Theodore. The man had already known him for a while and understood that tenacity was simply a part of his personality. Allen's gaze wandered to Lenalee, the emotion in his eyes changing abruptly. "The Earl is going to target her now. She has the potential of carrying the Heart, more than anyone before."

Theodore put his hand on Allen's shoulder. "You forget that you have the same potential as she does. He will target both of you now because you are special." The older man's grip tightened. "And I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to be protected as much as she does."

Allen opened his mouth to protest.

"Yes, I know how powerful you are," Theodore interrupted. "But your power comes at a terrible price. You are like Yu. Using too much power will drain your precious life force."

Allen reluctantly conceded with General Theodore's argument. He hated to admit it, but that was the truth that all parasitic Accommodators were forced to live with. And as much as he hated the idea of being protected, he would rather take that option than lose precious time he could spend with Tyki.

"Allen, I think Lenalee is waking up!" Lavi called. The young man hurried over to his friends, gladly burying the content of his conversation until it was in the farthest reaches of his mind.

He arrived just in time to see the girl's eyes open weakly. For a moment, she simply stared into his face.

"You're alive," she whispered, voice cracking a little. Lenalee reached out to touch his face. "Welcome back, Allen."

Tears ran down the young man's face. He suddenly felt that he had betrayed her, all of his comrades upon hearing those sweet and kind words. Because he knew that his family had caused her to be in this condition. And the worst thing about that was he didn't even regret his love for them, or the new relationship he had just begun with Tyki. It hurt to whisper those next words because they were lies that burned his mouth like acid. "It's good to be back."

Suddenly a circle opened beneath Allen, a black star-shaped void appeared. Before he even had time to breathe in, Allen was falling alone in the darkness. He could hear his friends calling his name. Then everything became black.

And that is the last bit for this chapter. It's a little late, but I have a valid reason. I've been working on my Bleach Fanfic and have decided that until I finish it, or come within the last few chapters, I will work on it. I am sorry to say that this one will not be updated for a while, but I am working as fast as I can on the other one and I hope that I can finish it as quickly as possible.

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