Disclaimer: D. Gray Man is Hoshino Katsura's property.
Warning: Character death... and the stuff about Cross's Magdala Curtain is a pure creation of mine, necessary for the plot (you'll see when you read). I hope no one will mind it. :]
Chapter 11
Lavi and Kanda were both fighting against Tyki while Lenalee and the 14th were busy dealing with Lulubell; no side had the advantage on the other one, but the Exorcists were clearly starting to get exhausted. A sudden explosion distracted them for a second, and Lenalee cried:
"Oh no! It's coming from Miranda's spot!"
"Don't let your attention down, Miss." The 14th reminded her as Lulubell charged at him.
"I have to go help her!" Lenalee replied, and immediately left the battle to run towards the clouds of dust raised by the explosion.
She saw Miranda's silhouette in the middle of the dust; she was running completely out of breath, blood trickling from her temple. She called the Chinese girl out as soon as she saw her:
"Lenalee! There's another Noah…"
"Just come here quickly!" Lenalee cut her.
Another blast almost hit the two female Exorcists, but thanks to her Dark Boots, Lenalee had managed to quickly grabbed Miranda's hand and avoid the hit. She then jumped back to the battlefield, where her friends were having a hard time.
"I'm sorry, Miranda, I should never have let you alone over there…"
A new sound of an explosion made them jump again, but this time, it came from the building. Even the Noahs seemed surprised, as they turned their heads to the direction of the house, only to see it starting to crumble to the ground.
"What happened?" Lulubell asked.
"Beats me. Hey, Sheryl, was it you?" Tyki asked the Noah who had joined up with them.
"Me? Are you kidding, Tyki dear? How could I destroy our own house?"
"Then who…"
Two shadows appeared in the middle of the clouds of dust. Two familiar silhouettes.
"Earl!" Lulubell cried out.
"It's Cross!" Lavi said at the same time.
Indeed, the Earl and Cross were facing each other, the general with his gun pointed at the Earl, and the latter with his sword out.
"Cross, you're being very irritating you know?" the Earl spoke. "I'm getting tired to see my mansions being destroyed by you."
"Hey, hey, it wasn't me last time." Cross sneered. "And as for this one, I heard someone demolishing a wall, so I thought I'd do the same. Blame the one who started it."
"Well, nevermind that now. I have something more interesting to do right now."
The Earl turned his head to the Exorcists, and landed his terrifying eyes on Miranda, or rather, on the golem she was holding.
Neither Cross nor the Exorcists had time to react. In less that a second, the Earl had disappeared from his spot and reappeared next to Miranda. He displayed a wicked smile as he watched the golem which was now in his hand.
"How did you…" Miranda started to ask, but the look the Earl gave her was enough to shut her mouth.
"I thank you for this, Exorcist. Now…"
"Damn! The golem must be destroyed!" The 14th suddenly shouted. "We can't let the Earl have it!"
Cross immediately aimed at it, shot, but missed his target. He cursed.
"Oh, no no no, Cross. I won't let you do that." The Earl said sweetly. "However, since I have no use of you anymore, I shall now get rid of you all. Except for my dear 14th, of course. Lulubell, Sheryl, Tyki-pon, you may resume the battle while I put this little golem somewhere safe."
He barely finished his sentence that the three Noahs had already charged at the Exorcists, with the firm intention of not disappointing the Earl.
"We can't let the Earl keep the golem!" the 14th said again. "Damn it, if he managed to activate the gate, your Black Order is done for!"
"Care for yourself first before thinking of the Order." Lulubell said calmly as she plunged her knife in his side.
"Allen-kun!" Lenalee cried in horror.
"Don't worry, the Earl wants you alive, so I won't kill you." The female Noah said to the 14th who was on his knees holding his bleeding injury, wincing in pain. Lulubell was about to grab him when Lenalee jumped on her, making her step backwards.
"I won't let you lay a finger on him." She said threateningly.
"Even if he's a Noah?" Lulubell asked.
"We'll make Allen come back, no matter what. We don't care about the 14th or whatever he is."
"Hmpf. Very well. I'll simply kill you quickly then." She rushed to the Chinese girl.
Miranda had taken advantage of that little talk to carry Allen, no, the 14th some place farther, and activated her Innocence to heal his wound temporarily.
Meanwhile, Lavi and Cross were facing Tyki and Sheryl respectively. The apprentice Bookman suddenly asked in the middle of the fight:
"Where's Yuu? I don't see him!"
"The other brat? Right behind you kicking the fatty's ass!" the General replied while dodging one of Sheryl's attacks.
"What??" Lavi quickly glanced behind him.
Indeed, the Japanese hadn't wasted any time and was fighting the Earl, fully intending to take the golem back, or to destroy it if he had no choice. So there he was, clashing swords against the Earl who was still displaying a broad yet evil grin.
Kanda didn't know what was giving him all the stamina to charge again and again, with no hesitation, no pause, like he was driven by some invisible force. There was only one thing in his mind, that he couldn't afford to fail this mission. 'Moyashi, I'm taking you back with us, I swear.' Don't ask Kanda where did that thought come from, for even he himself didn't know. He had no idea why he was thinking about Allen Walker while he was facing the one considered as the most fearsome enemy ever. To give him strength? 'Like hell.'
Under a sudden impulse of recklessness, Kanda unleashed his second illusion, Nigentou, and launched a powerful blast at the Earl. The explosion was terrible, but Kanda, breathless, could discern the Earl's silhouette in the middle of the smoke. He was slowly coming towards the Exorcists, and as soon as Kanda could see his face, he could tell that the Earl wasn't happy at all.
"Damn you, Exorcist…" his voice was shaking in anger. In his hand, the last pieces of the smashed golem were falling to the ground. "I'll make you pay for that."
"Yuu! Retreat!" Lavi's voice rose.
Kanda glanced at him; he saw Lavi waving at him. The red-haired man, along with Lenalee, Miranda and the moya-the 14th were all gathered under Miranda's Innocence time shield.
"Hurry up and come here, idiot!" Cross added, while shooting at the Noahs. His another Innocence, Maria was also there.
The Earl was ready to kill Kanda, so the latter didn't hesitate, he rushed to the group of Exorcists. As soon as he reached them, Cross ordered:
"Magdala Curtain!"
The protective veil fell on them, making them invisible to their enemies' eyes.
"Pfew, right in time, Yu." Lavi let out a sigh of relief.
"That was pretty good, you managed to destroy the golem." The 14th commented.
"Look at the Earl now. He looks frightening…" Lenalee replied, slightly shaking.
Indeed, from where they were, they could see the infuriated face of the Earl, and the startled looks of the other Noahs. They could hear them also:
"They are still somewhere around here. I can feel it." The Earl said.
"But where? Damn, I hate that Cross Marian." Tyki sighed.
"Keep watching the area, they didn't leave the place." The Earl ordered.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I can feel it." He merely replied.
Under Magdala Curtain, things were not much better.
"Damn, they are not leaving!" Lavi cursed.
"Heeee? Why did my Time Recovery desactivated?" Miranda exclaimed. "Oh no! You're bleeding again!" she added when she saw the 14th bent in two as the wound was back.
"It's because you are under Magdala Curtain. Here, no attack can reach you, but neither can you use your Innocence." Cross replied. "Sorry, dude."
"Very convenient…" the 14th replied, visibly in pain.
"Well, now we've got a problem. How the hell are we supposed to go back to the Order? We need to hurry there to treat him." Lavi pointed out.
Silence.
"Can't you create a door?" Miranda asked the 14th.
"Hey, hey, I'm a musician, not a magician. I don't make doors appear at will." He replied. "Moreover, I'm pretty badly injured. Show some mercy to me."
"As useless as ever." Cross sneered.
"Look who's talking…" the Noah snapped back.
"Could you just stop arguing like children? You kinda remind me of Yu and the beansprout, you know." Lavi sighed.
Kanda glared at him, but Lavi pretended he didn't notice.
"Hmm… well… I think I have an idea, but I don't know if…" Miranda started hesitantly.
"Just spill it." Kanda cut her impatiently.
"Y-yes. Well, I was thinking that I could use my Time Recovery to make the gate appear again."
"Oh, why not? We could try." Lavi said.
"No, there's a problem." Lenalee cut. "General Cross will have to cancel Magdala Curtain in order for Miranda to activate her Innocence. Which means we'd be all exposed."
"Damn, you're right."
"Well… I could activate both my Time Recovery and my Time Out to prevent the Noahs from attacking us." The German woman added. "I've been training on that for quite some time, but I can only last up to two minutes, and that is when I'm fully rested."
Lavi scratched his head.
"Which means we'd have only two minutes to go back to the Ark. Think it's possible?"
"Yes, the corridor wasn't that long, but since Miranda couldn't follow us, there's no point in it." Lenalee replied.
"Then we can just leave her here." The 14th said.
"Don't even think about it." The Chinese girl immediately replied. "We won't leave anyone behind, and remember that she came for you. Allen-kun would have never even mentioned it." She added coldly.
"I'm not your Allen-kun…" the 14th replied, panting slightly.
Silence again.
"N-no, he's right, Lenalee. You have to leave me behind." Miranda finally spoke out.
"Not happening." Lavi replied straightaway.
"We don't have the choice. The stupid moyashi needs to be treated." Kanda said. To him, dark skin or not, stigmata or not, Allen Walker was still Allen Walker. And at that moment, he didn't care at all if a sacrifice had to be made in order to save him.
"He's right. We can't afford to waste any more time here." Cross agreed.
"B-But…" Lenalee started.
"No. Now listen to me." Cross's voice suddenly turned dead serious. "We're in a state of emergency, so emergency decisions must be made. I can't see any other option, so we're going for this one."
As Lenalee and Lavi were about to answer back, the general added in a tone which suffered no argument:
"It's an order. If I consider you to be a hindrance, I'll act accordingly, and don't expect me to be nice."
The two Exorcists tightened their fists, but didn't dare say anything, taken aback by Cross's sudden change of tone.
"It's settled then."
--
The small group reached the spot where the door was supposed to be, under cover of Magdala Curtain. Kanda was helping the 14th walk, which clearly astonished Lavi, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Whenever you're ready." Cross addressed Miranda.
"Y-Yes."
"Miranda…" Lenalee started, then suddenly hugged her, tears falling out of her eyes. The German woman was quite surprised, but hugged back, smiling faintly.
"We don't have time." Cross reminded. "But know that you're a brave Exorcist."
Miranda inhaled deeply, then nodded to Cross. At the same time, the latter canceled the protective shield and the former activated her Innocence:
"Time Out! Time Recovery!"
In a few seconds, the gate appeared in front of them. However, in those few seconds, the Noahs had also rushed to them.
"Hurry and get in!" Cross said.
The 14th, who could now move freely since his wound had disappeared, passed through the gate first, followed by Kanda, then Lenalee, then Lavi, and finally Cross. They ran, as quickly as they could, without slowing down.
But Lavi glanced over his shoulder, and saw Miranda on her knees, trying to keep both her techniques activated. 'Damn it.' He stopped, then rushed back in the opposite direction. Cross noticed that and was about to call him, when Lavi cut him:
"Sorry, Cross. Your order is one that I cannot obey!"
"Lavi!" Lenalee shouted.
"Don't stop running, stupid girl! That guy made his choice, leave him! Don't waste your friend's sacrifice any more by acting foolishly!" Cross ordered as he gripped her wrist tightly to prevent her from going back.
Meanwhile, Lavi was running to Miranda. The Noahs were launching their attacks on her, and her Time Out was weakening. Before Lavi managed to reach her, a shot hit her through her fading shield.
"Miranda!" he cried out. "Hang on!"
Too late. The shield completely disappeared, leaving the injured female Exorcist open to any attack. 'But that means I can also attack them!' Lavi thought as he immediately activated his Innocence.
A long snake of fire came out from his hammer, directed at the Noahs who were forced back. Lavi took advantage of that moment to pick Miranda up.
"Please bear with it a bit more, Miranda! Come on, reactivate your Time Out!" he said while running back to the Ark and carrying her in his arms.
"La…vi…" Miranda's face was twisted in pain. She was bleeding heavily and having trouble breathing. "I'm trying…"
In a miraculous attempt, she managed to put the shield back, but Lavi could see how much it cost her.
"Hang on, hang on!" he kept repeating her. "We're almost there!" he was running as fast as he could.
Eventually, he saw the door to the piano room.
"Look, Miranda! It's almost over!" he cheered up.
"That's… good… I don't think… I can… more…"
"Don't give up!"
He crossed the door, and landed in the familiar white room, where everyone else was waiting anxiously, including Bookman.
"Lavi! Thank God you're alright! And Miranda!" Lenalee gasped as she saw all the blood on her body.
"It's ok now, Miranda. You can desactivate everything." Lavi gently told her.
But the body in his arms was limp, Miranda's eyes were closed. She didn't react when Lavi shook her slightly. Bookman quickly went to her, take her pulse, and after a few seconds, shook his head.
There was a second of silence. The 14th suddenly collapsed on the floor, but Kanda caught him in time. The Noah's wound was open again.
"No…" Lenalee whispered. "It can't be… Miranda…"
"…" Lavi couldn't find anything to say.
Again, silence fell on the room. Cross eventually spoke:
"She died while fulfilling her duty as an Exorcist. You should all be proud of her. But now is not the time to care about the fallen ones. There's someone here who is still alive and can be saved." He said, looking at the 14th, who was breathing heavily and sweating because of the pain.
That brought Lenalee and Lavi back to reality.
"You're right. Let's go back to the Order." The Chinese girl said firmly.
----
Cross was the first to get out of the Ark, followed by Lenalee and Lavi who was still carrying Miranda's body. All of them froze as they saw their welcoming committee. As Kanda also set foot out the Ark, still supporting the 14th, he wondered for an instant what had made them all freeze. Then he understood.
In the room, not only Komui and Reever were there, but also Leverrier, Link and several armed guards.
"You are all under arrest for insubordination against authority. Except for Mr Walker: you are under arrest for high treason." Leverrier merely declared icily.
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This chapter's finally done! First of all, I'd like to apologize for the super huge mistake I made in my last chapter, it's edited now. So, a big thx to .Usagi, kyokoshizuno and kaydoodle for kindly reminding me that Innocence can hurt Noahs.... You don't know how lame I feel for having forgotten something like that --__--.
Anyway, about the present chapter, I'd appreciate feedbacks about it: do I deserve to be bashed for Miranda's death? Is Cross too OOC? Is there something you didn't like?
And thx again to you all readers, and reviewers :]
