Disclaimer: Don't own D. Gray-Man, never will.
Special Thanks To
The awesome beta-reader , All who reviewed, All who faved, All who subscribed, All who voted and All who reads
I tried to update as soon as possible. Hope this isn't too late. 1 more day of holidays and I'll have to go back to school. Sorry to announce but I'm not going to continue this story anymore…
JOKING! No, seriously. Really. The updates are just going to be slower. I hope none of my previous no-update-for-2-months will happen again. I will try to prevent that from happening again. :D
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I guess I'm stuck here.
Desdemona looked around her. It hasn't changed. She's dreaming. Dreaming all this time. The old memories she had buried for so long, someone dug them up again. They were flashing before her like an old film. Reminding her of all the pain, all the despair. However, all she could do now is revive those memories. She can't feel the pain she once did. Maybe she got used to it. Or maybe her senses have turned dull.
She's back in the field of darkness with two separate, contrasting worlds above and below her. She's tired. Really tired. So she came back. The solid surface she stood on has now turned into water. She can't move. She cannot summon even one bit of energy to move, just floating on the water, staring up at the white moon against the black sky of the world above.
She wanted to close her eyes. Everything is tiring her out. If closing her eyes would shut out all the troublesome things in life, she'd do it. But the her troubles do not come from the outside. The troubles are inside her own head. So can't get rid of them, she can't escape them.
It's cold in here.
Allen…
Why is she thinking about him now?
Images of him started surfacing themselves in her mind. His white hair, his silver eyes, his smile, his cursed scar, his arm… Now that she thought about it, he's not that irritating. He doesn't look as strange as she first thought he did either. Maybe she just got used to it.
This feeling. What is it?
She closed her eyes. She's tired. This is a dream, right? She'll need to wake up soon.
I'll need to wake up…
Desdemona opened her eyes.
She didn't know where she was. She's moving. There's something beneath her. Someone's back. It's warm.
There were sounds, sounds of other people running. She can't tell. There's too much noise.
The girl blinked a few times. Right beside her, Lou Fa was running too. The Chinese scientist seemed to have saw Desdemona's eyes open.
"Shifu! Shifu! She's awake! She's awake!" Lou said to the person carrying the girl.
Shifu turned his head around and glanced at the Eurasian girl. She was blinking a lot, as if trying to process all the information in her head. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"
Are they, evacuating? "I'm fine. What's happening?"
"There's an akuma invasion. It said it wanted to take Mr. Walker somewhere. Bak sealed Fou in with the akuma but Mr. Walker still wanted to fight even without his Innocence. I don't know what's happening now, because Lou Fa and I were told to get you to a safe place." Shifu explained.
"I'm fine now, Shifu. Please put me down."
Even though reluctantly, the Chinese man stopped and lowered the girl onto the ground. Her boots weren't on her feet, she realized. Shifu probably can't carry her with them on. She also wasn't wearing her coat or her shirt for that matter, just her black tank top.
"Are you ok?" Lou Fa asked with concern.
"Yeah. Where are my boots?"
Desdemona saw that Lou Fa had a string in her hand. She followed the string with her eyes and came upon her boots on a wooden board with wheels. She mentally sweardropped. These Scientific geniuses…Only if she had half their bizarre intellect.
She reached over and pulled her boots on, fearing she won't be able to walk without them. Lou Fa pushed up her glasses with a curious expression. "How do you wear that all the time?"
Desdemona shrugged. "I guess I'm just used to them."
A loud crash echoed around the cold stone walls of the Asia Branch. It was from the direction they came from. The three snapped their heads to the source of the sound. Desdemona couldn't see anything. It sounded like it was pretty far away. Do they need help? Allen doesn't have his Innocence, Bak and Fou can't really fight an akuma, maybe just restrain it or something.
Should she go?
Go…there's something there…I need to make sure…
"Where are they?" The exorcist asked.
"The hallway outside the training grounds where Fou and Mr. Walker usually are."
"Thanks." Desdemona started walking in the general direction of the said hallway.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Shifu asked.
"To Allen..." The girl answered without turning back. Wait, what did she just say? "…and the akuma." She added.
"No! You can't go! It's dangerous!" Lou Fa stressed.
Desdemona automatically put a hand to her belt. Where Thora was supposed to be, there was just an empty holster. She turned around to the two scientists. "Where's Thora?"
Lou Fa's face suddenly flushed red. "I knew I forgot something! It's still in the infirmary!"
Desdemona thought about it. The infirmary is somewhere in between where she was and where the akuma was. She'll just have to get it. She couldn't use Level 2 either, it's too far. As she calculated the best route to take to arrive at the battlefield while passing the infirmary with her not-so-good directional sense, she absent-mindedly started walking her yet-to-be-devised route.
"Wait! Dem! Don't go! You don't have your Innocence!" Lou Fa said with guilt.
"That's why I'm going to get it." Desdemona pointed out.
To the two Chinese scientists, this logic seemed to be reasonable. "Then we'll come with you."
The three hurried back practically the way they came. There's no one left, everyone evacuated. There was no damage either, seemed like Bak had kept the battle 'contained'.
Go to the akuma…there's something there. The Clown, has awaken.
The Clown? What Clown? And what's there?
You will see.
Desdemona arrived soon before the door to the infirmary, she pushed the wooden door open and Lou Fa rushed inside, insistent on making up for her carelessness. Within a minute, the scientist located the whip and handed it to Desdemona.
As soon as she returned her weapon to its rightful place on her belt, the girl started walking further towards the room where the others were battling. Shifu and Lou Fa caught up to her and prevented her from going any further.
"We were told to keep you safe! If you aren't, Bak's going to kill us!" Shifu said with a frown.
"What about, I'll knock you out and it won't be your responsibility anymore." Desdemona suggested innocently.
"No! You are coming with us!" Lou Fa said, with a demanding voice the exorcist had never heard her use before. She pulled on Desdemona's arm forcefully.
"Yes! You are coming with us!" Shifu agreed.
Desdemona sighed. These two are really troublesome.
Go.
"Yes, yes, onto it." Desdemona answered the voice out loud. The two looked at her in confusion.
Thora, Level 2, Stealth Type, Activate.
The whip at her hip glowed green, it extended and moved with unpredicted speed. Before the two scientists realized, they were tied up by black leather.
This form of Level 2 can only be used when the handle of the whip is in contact with Desdemona, which is quite inconvenient. It would be much better if it could be controlled from a distance so she wouldn't need to go retrieve her weapon, it could just come back by itself.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Shifu tried to struggle free.
"I can't leave you here, I can't leave Thora here. So I must bring you two with me. Sorry for dragging you into this, but I'm going." Desdemona said with certainty.
Half dragging, half carrying, half listening to all their complaints, the Eurasian exorcist moved all three of them to their destination.
The hallway and the training grounds were almost unrecognizable. The walls surrounding the area and part of the floor was destroyed. Wong and Rikei stood in the hallway, staring blankly at a newly formed wall. There was the sound of metal clashing inside. Wong noticed the three.
"Miss Beast!" Wong rushed over. "You're awake! Which is great but…what are you doing here?" The old man glanced behind the exorcist to see two fellow scientists tied up with the girl's whip. "Lou Fa! Shifu! I told you guys you need to keep Miss Beast in a safe place!"
"It's not their fault." Desdemona said, "I wanted to come." She deactivated Thora and released the scientists. Once free, Lou Fa instantly sprang up and did an hour long (really, not that long) lecture, criticizing how selfish Desdemona is and how irresponsible she is. She listened to everything with a constant, rhythmic nod of head while not registering anything the older female said.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND? DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Lou Fa ended her lecture.
"Yes, yes. I understand." Desdemona nodded. She turned to Wong. "Where are they? Allen, Bak and Fou."
"In there, the wall Bak created from the Guardian Diety." Wong gestured to the previously non-existent wall.
It's in there.
In there? Right.
Desdemona walked up to the wall and touched a hand to the hard, cold material. She carefully examined the surface while ignoring all the questions the Asia Branch staffs are firing at her from behind.
"Miss Beast. What are you doing?" Wong asked.
"Did you not hear anything I said?" Lou Fa said angrily, "Don't think about going in there!"
"No! Don't try going in there! A person like Mr. Walker is already a handful for us to handle!"
She searched every single inch of the surface and finally found what she wanted to find. A crack. There was a crack. This wall wasn't sealed properly, as if Bak was sealing it but found something else that caught his attention and lost concentration. But a crack is all she needed.
Thora. Level 2, Stealth Type, Activate
Thora glowed green once again. Desdemona pulled it out by the handle and let the rest drop onto the ground as she too sat down on the ground. As if coming alive, Thora crawled on the floor like a snake before lifting its front up to the crack and started penetrating the wall. Bit by bit, Thora broke the hard material and came out the other side.
Sensory Replacement, Sight, Sound, Activate
Desdemona closed her eyes. The ones behind her were watching carefully, trying to figure out what she was trying to do. For once, they were all quiet.
Shutting out the sounds around her, she was gradually able to hear and see, through Thora.
There was debris, debris everywhere. There was water, seemed like they broke a water pipe and now it's flooding. The sound of clashing metal was gone. Desdemona willed Thora to 'look' around and spotted Bak, holding Fou, staring in awe at something. Thora lowered itself flat against the water's surface and advanced towards the two in a zigzag, like a snake. As Thora neared, Desdemona saw that Fou and Bak looked like they were breaking apart. Cracks were all over them, as if their bodies were going to fall apart.
Thora turned and lifted itself off the water's surface. There, straight in front of its 'eyes', was an akuma and someone else. It was someone in a white-hooded cowl; stiff, spiky white hair and a black, silver and gold mask. The cowl covered most of his body, leaving the exception of his left arm. The arm was black and slender, seemingly very inhuman. At its end, instead of a hand, there were razor sharp claws. They weren't fighting. The akuma seemed to have lost all its limbs, a Level 3. It was immobilized. The person was talking to it.
The Clown, has awakened.
Desdemona, though a bit delayed, recognized that person was indeed Allen. The arm, he got his arm back.
It's there. Look further.
Thora turned around, trying to search for what the Other Half was looking for.
"Please tell me, akuma. Who sent you here and to where were you supposed to take me?" Allen asked the akuma.
Thora continued searching until it found something looking out of place.
"Ahahaha. If you'd spare me, I'll tell you!" The akuma said with humour, knowing full well that's not going to happen.
There was something in the water at the far corner. An arrangement of irregular, 2-D polygons lined vertically. The top polygon had a number on it, '-57-', it said.
"Ok, I will." Allen smiled warmly. "So please tell me."
The akuma laughed. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You don't plan on saving me, you fake actor! It's Master Noah. Master Tyki sent me!"
Thora got closer to the panel. Is this it?
Yes.
What is it?
I don't know. Though some call it the Ark.
Ark? Like a ship?
It is just a name.
"I wonder what's going on about in Edo? Especially with your friends! Master Tyki and four other Noahs are over there, and the Earl too!"
Thora instantly turned towards the akuma. Desdemona frowned. Are the others over there? In Edo? Fighting five Noahs and the Earl himself?
"Allen? Don't you think they are in big trouble?" The akuma said gravely.
Allen gently pointed a talon to the immobilized akuma's forehead and drew a line straight down. The path where his claw went left a shining white path. "Thank you."
"The Noah's Ark…Right there…Ride it. Allen…It'll warp you through space and take you to Edo."
"…Why…are you telling me this?" The exorcist asked, while drawing a horizontal line intersecting the first one, forming a cross.
"Why? Because Master Tyki ordered me to. No…Actually. I don't know…but for some reason…I feel really good."
The white cross shone brighter and enveloped the akuma. When the light faded, the akuma was nowhere to be seen.
"Good night."
The battle is over. And about the Ark, get close to it when you can. Get your Innocence out of there for now.
What's the Ark for?
That, I am not sure. However, there is a heavy presence of Dark Matter.
"YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLY IRRESPONSIBLE!" Bak literally screamed into Desdemona's ear. The lecture Lou Fa gave her, it's repeating all over again, but by Bak.
"YOU DO REALISE YOU PASSED OUT WITH NO SIGN OF LIFE! NO. SIGN. OF. LIFE! DO YOU NOW UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS? THAT MEANS YOU NEARLY DIED YOU SELFISH, IRRESPONSIBLE BRAT!" Desdemona nodded continuously, her neck's starting to hurt.
"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THAT PLACE WAS DANGEROUS! THERE WAS A LEVEL 3 AKUMA THAT PASSED THROUGH THE BARRIER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF YOUR CRIME?"
Desdemona kept on nodding. Her neck hurts. She really didn't see the seriousness of her crime. She's an exorcist, after all. She wanted to point that out, but decided against it.
"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW TO CHERISH HUMAN LIFE? DO YOU NOT VALUE LIFE? IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WERE GIVEN AS A HUMAN! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE?"
Allen listened to the loud 'conversation' in the corridor outside. He was starting to feel sorry for Dem…He smiled. He was relieved, maybe not entirely relieved of all his worries but at least one worry was gone, for now. She's awake and she's ok. What's really important is that she's fine. Wong did a check up on her and found nothing wrong. It's good, it's good.
He absent-mindedly wondered why he was so relieved. A little too relieved in fact. He dismissed it as a wish to never see anyone die again, especially after his failure to save Soman and experiencing death for himself.
Wong loomed over him, checking his arm, his eye and basically checking everything.
"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW SELFISH AND IRRESPONSIBLE YOU ARE?"
Wong laughed. "Oh, poor girl. Bak is really on edge today. I've hardly seen him this angry." Although his words suggested he was sympathetic towards the girl, his laughs made him seem amused by the girl's suffering.
"NOW GET OUT OF HERE AND REFLECT ON YOUR ACTIONS!"
Bak's screaming was followed by the familiar sound of Desdemona's boots hitting the floor as she walked away.
"You're good as new! Perfect condition!" Wong said as he handed Allen his shirt and opened the door for the boy. Allen put on his shirt and headed for the room Bak was in. He glanced down the hallway he heard Desdemona walk down seconds before in hope of catching the girl but she was nowhere to be seen.
~x.X.x~
So…this is the Ark.
Desdemona stood in front of the vertically placed arrangement of irregular polygons. It's quite big.
The other exorcists, they are in Edo, presumably on the other end of this transportation device.
There were a lot of Scientists here. Taking pictures and writing down records on this strange piece of apparatus.
Should she go? Go with him. It would mean more fighting, more battles. She honestly doesn't want to do something so tiring anymore. It's tiring. Plus, there's nothing to gain from going, is there? She will just tire herself out while doing just about nothing. Five Noahs and the Earl himself. It will be tough. One person would not make much difference. If they can win, they can win without her. If they can't win, they won't win with her there either.
It makes no difference. She gently touched the treasured necklace at her neck.
Should I go?
It doesn't make a difference. You decide.
I knew it.
You don't know. I don't mean it in that way…
The voice, Bidelia's gentle voice, trailed off. Desdemona sighed. She won't go. The akuma said the Noah only wanted Allen to go. If she went, it would seem like she answered an invitation that was not addressed to her. Her pride would not allow that.
"Miss Beast!" Desdemona turned around, Rikei was calling for her. "Bak asked you to go to him in the Main Control Room."
Desdemona nodded, "Got that." She glanced one last time at the Ark before heading for the Main Control Room.
~x.X.x~
"So?" Komui said on the other side of the line. "What do you say?"
Desdemona thought about it. "I don't know anything about it. Maybe, just intuition."
"Intuition? On both these cases? Well, I might not say both yet, since there's currently no way of contacting the Cross team in Edo and confirm Lenalee's condition. However, we did confirm the approximate time you passed out the first time and the approximate time Allen was attacked by the Noah. It can't be mere coincidence, can it?"
"…" Desdemona stayed silent. They can't know about the necklace, yet.
"Was my Lenalee really in danger?" Komui's tone instantly changed, from the serious Supervisor of the Black Order Headquarters to a man with sister-complex.
"I'm not sure. It was just a feeling."
"But you were right the first time. Are you sure Lenalee's not safe out there?"
"I'm not sure about anything right now. I'm still confused about everything. No one told me anything. Why did the akuma want Allen to go anyway? How come Allen attacked by the Noah in the first place? No one explained anything to me. I'm the one who needs to do a whole lot of interrogation here!" Desdemona suddenly got desperate. It was true. No one told her anything. She only had her poor imagination and guessing skills to make sense of everything.
Komui audibly sighed. "Calm down, girl. I'm not even sure myself. But I can say that the Noah didn't just attack Allen. Most of the other deceased exorcists showed the same autopsy results. If what Allen told us was true, the Noah that attacked everyone has the ability to pass through anything at his will, hence the weird autopsy results. However, after 'killing' Allen, the Noah stopped attacking Exorcists. Whether his target was Allen in the first place is still unclear."
Desdemona listened and frowned. That doesn't answer any of her questions. All Komui could say is basically that he doesn't know either. This is useless. "All right, so you don't know either. I guess it's futile, asking you. Is there anything else that you want me to do or all you wanted to ask whether Lenalee is safe?"
"Oh yes, Dem. There is something else you can help me with if you can. You know how the akuma said Lenalee is also in Edo? Can I please entrust you with a heavy responsibility that no one is able to take other than you."
"Saying that won't provoke me into agreeing." The girl said, familiar now with Komui's way of words.
"Oh, don't say that Dem. Well, you know how Allen's going into the Ark…He's alone and he's a rash person…"
"I'm not going into the Ark."
"Dem! Please!"
"We don't even know what's inside the Ark! It might be a trap! And plus, the Noah only said Allen should go, it doesn't concern me."
"Because we don't know what's inside that's why we want someone to go with him! Another exorcist is the best choice!"
"Even if I do go, if it's a trap it will make no difference! It's not like it's a trap, and if I decide to go it's not a trap anymore!"
"Yes! But two is always better than one!"
"Oh, so you say two dead is better than one dead."
"No! Desdemona. I'm getting impatient. I do realize you just came out of a life-threatening situation, I do realize that you may still be weak, I do realize that you may be tired from all this. However, for the sake of your comrades, for the sake of humanity, for the sake of the world-"
"Why should I care about the word? Why should I care about humanity? Humans, they do nothing other than hurt each other to make themselves stand at the top. Even without this war, humans are going to kill each other with wars of their own. Why should I do anything to save a world, that is already destructing itself, from destruction?"
"THEN WHAT ABOUT YOUR COMRADES? THOSE WHO FIGHT ALONGSIDE YOU IN THIS WAR! IF THE WORLD DOESN'T CONCERN YOU, WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS? ARE YOU NOT HUMAN? DO YOU FEEL NO NEED TO VALUE THE LIFE OF THOSE AROUND YOU?"
Desdemona opened her mouth, ready to argue back. She had reasons, even though these reasons are not the noblest of reasons or even justified. However, revealing these reasons, it's like revealing her weakness, exposing herself to harm, that's how she felt. There's no way to argue back otherwise. So maybe, she'll have to go…
"DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT EVEN ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS? I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHERS, BUT LENALEE IS A NICE PERSON! SHE WAS NICE TO YOU! DO YOU EVEN NOT CARE ABOUT HER?"
Desdemona widened her eyes. All of those previous questions, they were just a big loop Komui used to subtly (or not so subtly) achieve his ultimate goal. "So, the real reason you want me to go is to make sure Lenalee is safe."
"Um…", Komui seemed ponder on how to word his thoughts, "You see, all the other guys, they really don't care much about keeping everyone alive, especially Kanda. Lavi is a Bookman, he's not really on our side, we can't trust him completely. Crowley…he's just not concerned about Lenalee enough. Miranda, though she's got good intentions, can never do anything right. Allen…he's kind, nice and all, but I wouldn't trust Lenalee to him. After all, he just went through mental instability. And plus, he's rash and don't really think over his actions. So…my only remotely hopeful bet is you, Dem! YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE!"
Desdemona, knowing how well Komui knows her, smirked. "So basically, you are making use of my previously discussed uncaring trait rather than trying to oppose it? Knowing full well that if you said to keep Lenlaee safe, I'd abandon every other untrustworthy personnel to achieve your goal?"
"Oh, Dem! You are by far the most trustworthy exorcist out there these days." Komui said, though Desdemona realized it was an empty praise.
"Ha! I must admit I'm far better than the other guys." Desdemona said cheekily, only to realize the inevitable path her words led to.
Komui's not stupid, he pounced at the chance straight away. "Oh yes you are! And as I can see you see yourself fit for this particular task. Then I'll leave it to you! Thank you!"
Before the girl had a chance to object, the Supervisor hung up. Desdemona stood there listening to the dial tone of the telephone. She's got no choice now. She basically just agreed. She can't go back on an agreement.
Why is she so stupid?
~x.X.x~
Allen stood before the thing called the 'Ark'. There was a butterfly flying above it. Allen knew that butterfly. It was the golem the Noah Tyki had. So Tyki really did send the akuma here after all.
At the corner of his eyes, he saw Desdemona kneeling on the steps, using her whip, she willed it to poke itself in and then quickly out. Once she became certain it could come back about again, she poke more of her whip in. It was quite amusing to watch actually. For once, the girl looked childish. Like a child playing with something new for the first time.
Allen's eyes trailed to her exposed left shoulder as she was only wearing her tank top. Her entire left shoulder was tattooed up to her left upperarm. Allen stared at the curious black patterns, wondering what it meant.
"Walker! Can you come here?" Bak called.
Allen hurried over and Bak held out something thin and shiny. "What's this?" Allen asked.
"It's a wireless transceiver I've been working on. I'm pretty sure it'll be ok but…Apparently, the normal wireless golems weren't strong enough to enter the 'Ark'…"
"Can you hear me Allen?"
"Komui!" Allen exclaimed, recognizing the voice. "Did something happen?"
Behind Allen, Bak tapped on Desdemona's shoulder and passed her a similar earring.
"Oh no, it's just that I'm supposed to keep you from pushing yourself too hard. We still haven't been able to confirm that thing is actually the 'Noah's Ark'. It may be a space-transferring device but there are too many things we still don't understand and it may be a trap. So with this communication device, we can get into the 'Ark' together with you. If I decide it's dangerous, I'll have you come back out immediately…"
"WHAT? NO MATTER WHAT I WON'T RETREAT!" Allen screamed.
Komui sighed. He knew Allen would be like this. "You still speak recklessly, looks like that part of you hasn't changed at all. But you're our comrade and you mean a lot to us. It's only natural for us to want to protect you, or are you trying to say that you don't consider us your comrades?"
"Ok, I'll listen…"
"Oh yeah! Dem's going with you."
"Huh?" Allen looked back to the said girl, Wong was helping to fix another one of the earring-communicators to her ear while she put her shirt and coat back on. She caught Allen's stare. Allen panicked and looked away quickly.
"Ok, it's done." Wong said.
"Thanks." Desdemona muttered. She turned around and stepped into the 'Ark' and disappeared behind the dark panel. Allen walked up the stairs and was about to follow.
"Wait! Mr. Walker!" Lou Fa screamed, running all the way across the room. She held up a set of poker cards. "Mr. Walker, your cards…it was missing the Spade Ace so the three of us made another one…"
Allen took over the pack of cards, "Thank you."
Lou Fa blushed crimson, "T-take care!"
Shifu stuck up his thumb with a smile, "See you again Walker!"
Allen returned the gesture, "Yup!"
Bak spoke into his transmitter that connects to Allen's earring. "Walker, make sure both of you come back!"
~x.X.x~
Desdemona looked around. It's like a town in here. All the buildings were white and there were many doors around. There were plants too. So this is the Ark.
A little while later, Allen appeared behind her from thin air. Upon opening his eyes, he jerked back with confusion. "Huh?"
"Huh? What's wong?" Komui's alarmed voice said.
"It's just very different from what I had imagined." Allen answered.
"What can you see?"
Desdemona started wondering forwards, looking around at the strange constructions and doors. Allen followed.
"It's like a tropical town full of white brick buildings as far as I can see."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok…we're just going forwards."
"What about you? Dem?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The girl said as she looked into one of the plot plants on the side of the 'street'.
"Be careful you two! Don't get lost! And both of you! Don't do anything rash!"
Allen cautiously went forwards as Desdemona looked around, opening some doors and looking through them.
"Komui…" Allen started. "Do you think everyone's ok?"
Silence was heard on Komui's end. Then, he said something completely unrelated to Allen's question. "When you're feeling anxious, think about the happy things."
"Happy things?" Allen repeated.
"Can't think of any right now? Well, for example, when everyone comes back, I'll say 'Welcome back.' And pat everyone on their shoulder. Then, I'll give Lenalee a big hug! I'll have to get a lot of food for you too. Then, I'll try to force Dem to eat something proper. But…if she really doesn't want to, I'll tell her in a serious tone 'Only this once, I'll let you off.' Lavi will probably fall asleep in the middle of nowhere, so I'll have to put a blanket over him. It'll be nice if we adults could have a toast with some wine. Then we'll fool around making a lot of noise. If we fall asleep like that, it'll be really great…Then, he'll be a little late, but Kanda will come in with that grumpy face…"
Allen listened and smiled. These sorts of things. Now, it's not good to be worried, if he keeps these things in mind, there's always something to work towards and hope for.
Desdemona listened to the advice of the Supervisor and wondered what she could hope for in the future…
I just wanted to stay together with them…
That same feeling, the same feeling. An uneasiness, like there's danger and she could do nothing about it. Helplessness.
Lenalee…
Desdemona looked down the road, she has no idea where to go, but if she goes forwards, she'll go somewhere, right?
She looked back to the white-haired boy, who was walking cautiously and looking around in wary. "Hurry up!"
She started running forwards, there were no forks in the road or anything. It only leads to one place. Allen followed, unable to comprehend the sudden hurry.
"Achoo! A~CHOO!" The Earl sneezed.
With only one blow, the entire was reduced to ashes. There's nothing in sight other than darkness.
Lero, the Earl's talking umbrella golem, looked back at the Earl. "Master Earl, are you ok, lero? Your nose is running, lero."
Tyki sat on the roof of a traditional Japanese building. "Oh, I see an exorcist. They survived?"
From the field of darkness, a single katana struck the floor, supporting its master, who was breathing heavily. "Ha…I won't go down!" Kanda frowned and gritted his teeth.
Somewhere behind Kanda, Marie slowly got up to his knees. "Oh no…those in the Cross team…their heartbeats are fainter than ours. They are barely alive!"
Further away, Bookman and Crowley lay motionlessly on the ground.
Chaoji held his head, trying to protect himself. When nothing came, he opened his tightly closed eyes and saw Miranda with her Innocence activated. "Miss Exorcist! You…you protected us?"
Miranda had sweat pouring down her face and a trail of blood running out from the side of her mouth. "I…I couldn't make it in time for the others…" She said, blaming herself.
Lavi struggled to get up. "Lenalee…"
Lavi…
The redhead detected something shining at the corner of his eyes. He turned around. The crystal. There was an Innocence crystal right next to him. "There again…" Lavi breathed, recognizing the crystal as the one that engulfed Lenalee the first time.
Kanda looked at the crystal, "What's that?"
Kanda…Lavi…
Lenalee's voice. It's Lenalee's voice.
Everyone…everyone!
A hand reached out and touched the crystal from the inside.
The Millennium Earl looked down at the crystal with a grin, "There's something about that Innocence…!"
"Kanda! Watch out!" Marie suddenly screamed.
Almost immediately, the Noah with dark, curly hair attacked. Kanda blocked him with his sword. "I'll be taking her." The Noah said with a smile.
"YUU!" Lavi screamed as a large explosion was seen where Kanda was standing. Suddenly, something large blocked his sight. Lavi looked up, there stood a Noah, nearly twice as tall as Lavi.
The extremely large akuma that Kanda slashed clean in half seemed to restore itself. General Tiedoll stepped up to it and drew his weapon, a cross and a sceptre-like rod. The rod suddenly shone of a light in the shape of a chisel.
"Witness the beauty of this world…" Tiedol said, before hammering the chisel into the ground, creating a large cloud of white dust that took on the shape of a giant, matching the size of the akuma.
Lavi dodged an attack from the large Noah. Lavi glanced over the shoulder of the Noah, the Millennium Earl descended slowly and yet threateningly down to the crystal in which Lenalee was. "LENALEE!"
The Earl drew back his hand, a ball of Dark Matter energy gathered in his palm. His permanent exaggerated grin only made him seem more frightening. The Earl hurled the black ball of energy towards the crystal.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to 'split', revealing a bazaar arrangement of dark, shiny polygons. Something white shot out from one the panels. An arm, a left arm, shot out from thin air, grabbing the Earl's wrist, stopping the attack.
"Good evening, Earl." Allen said with a polite smile.
"Good evening. So we meet again, Allen Walker."
Desdemona came out behind Allen. Even though she was the one who said to hurry, he shot out with his Innocence activated first. Why does he have to beat her to everything?
She looked in the direction Allen went and her eyes widened with shock. Is that…is that the Earl of Millennium?
Allen was holding one of the Earl's wrists, where the black ball of Dark Matter shrunk as it lost energy. However, with his free hand, the Earl summoned another ball and directed it at Allen, who dodged it just in time in a white flash, landing several meters away from the Earl. He charged back at the Earl again.
The Millennium Ear took a hold of his umbrella and drew out a broad, long, two edged sword. Its edges were white and the centre was black with a large white cross. The Earl swung the sword at Allen, who blocked it with his left arm.
"That form…" The Earl began, "You look like, the White Clown that chases after the Auguste Clown*…don't you think?" The Earl grinned wider. "You're such a strange child."
An explosion came suddenly from where the Earl and Allen were. Desdemona got a face-full of dust to welcome her to the battlefield. She bumped into something and tripped over. Why the hell did I come again?
Lavi's view was obstructed. Out of the white dust, something white with a mask suddenly appeared before his face. What's this? An Akuma?
The white thing landed beside him. "Lavi?" Allen exclaimed. He seemed to be blown away by the explosion. "Have you seen the Earl anywhe-"
"OI! STOP IT RIGHT THERE!"
CLANG!
"DIE!"
Allen instinctively lifted his left arm to block the attack. Lavi, who saw from the side, recognized the Japanese. Kanda wondered why his last step felt a bit weird, maybe the dust disorientated his senses.
Desdemona was just about to get up when something landed on her back, pushing her painfully down back onto the ground. That thing was heavy but it was gone just as fast. Desdemona lay there, unwilling to get up. Her back hurts…
"K-Kanda?" Allen exclaimed. Kanda widened his eyes in surprise as he recognized the Bean Sprout. Even though the two recognized each other, they did not withdraw their weapons. Lavi sweatdropped.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Kanda said in a threatening tone.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Allen replied, no less gentler.
"I was after that Noah guy with the curly hair! Oi Lavi! See where he went?"
Lavi looked around looking for his own opponent. "Eh? What happened to that bug dude I was fighting?"
The three looked around. The dust hasn't cleared yet. However, there was no sign of the Noahs or the Earl.
"CHE!" Kanda cursed in Allen's face.
"What are you tch-ing at me for! You got in my way!" Allen had a vein pop out at his forehead. "They for away because you're slow Kanda!"
"What did you just say? How dare you say that when you came poking in later, you slow Bean Sprout!"
"My NAME is Allen! How many times must I tell you that? Oh, never mind, I forgot not only you are slow, but you are also SLOW-WITTED!"
"OF ALL THE NERVE I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S SLOW-WITTED! DAMN! I'LL SHAVE OFF THAT WHITE HAIR OF YOURS AND SELL IT TO OLD GEEZERS!"
"BLACK HAIR WILL SELL FOR A MUCH HIGHER PRICE!"
Lavi watched the two give each other fairly severe tongue-lashes. "Uh…isn't this supposed to be a touching reunion…?"
The said two turned rigidly and glared at Lavi with each of their own deadly glare, each of them scary in their own way. Allen's was dark, like a demon. Kanda's was scorching with rage. Lavi recoiled.
"Lavi, just shut the hell up." Allen said, calmly, politely, yet extremely threatening.
"I'LL SHAVE YOUR WHOLE BODY HAIRLESS!" Kanda spat. (Yes, red hair does sell the best out of the three)
What? Kanda, Allen and Lavi? They were to Desdemona's right, according to their voices. She slowly and painfully got up. One of them must have stepped on her. Rage overtook her as she pinpointed the three conversing loudly through the white dust. How dare they STEP ON HER?
The three suddenly felt a chill down their spine. No, it's not that the temperature dropped. No, it's not a chilling gust of wind. It's a fearsome aura. Murderous.
The three male exorcists slowly turned to their left, where a dark silhouette was seen through the fading dust screen. They swallowed as a pair of frighteningly piercing eyes glared at them.
"D-dem! Hey! What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Lavi tried. He didn't know why she was emitting such an aura, but it was mysterious enough she was there in the first place. Wasn't she supposed to be with General Klaud? That aside, her eyes were not at all less frightening that Allen's or Kanda's, maybe even more frightening. Women tend to be scarier in general…
Allen shivered. That feeling, it's familiar. He had experienced it before, the time when she attacked him straight after he woke up from the anaesthetics from Komurin 2. It wasn't pleasant. She threw him head-first straight through a shelf of books and hitting the next, which was already bad enough. After he landed on the floor, the books on the second shelf began falling down on top of him, then the first shelf decided to lose balance and tip backwards onto Allen. He stayed in an oxygen-deprived environment amongst horrifying books for around 2 hours before he got dug back out. All in all, it was a pretty horrifying experience. He whispered to Lavi, "She came with me on the Ark."
"Who…" The girl said, so quiet and yet so clear that none of her wrath was unheard. "happened to mistake my back for the ground?"
Lavi and Allen froze. They weren't sure what exactly she was talking about. However, they did know that whoever she was talking about will not be let off easily. Allen knew it, he knew it too well.
Kanda addressed the girl with a bored expression. "No wonder that step felt weird…" He muttered. The girl's sharp ears didn't miss it. Her head turned slowly towards Kanda.
Sensing impending danger, Lavi and Allen evacuated quickly in the blink of an eye.
Swiftly and quickly, Desdemona drew out Thora at her hip. It activated straight to Level 2, which made it look like she drew a blade straight from her belt. In one single swipe, the girl drew the blade and slashed at Kanda.
The Japanese will not lose on speed and reflex. Moreover, this has become a battle of swords; his samurai pride will not allow him to lose. With the obvious skill difference, he will not lose anyway. Kanda blocked the attack with his still drawn katana, trusty Mugen. The impact made a loud clanging noise that echoed through the empty field with still patches of white smoke lingering about.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" The now angered Japanese spat.
Without a warning, the double-edged sword broke apart in sections yet still connected, making it flexible and bent downwards. With a strong pull on the hilt, Desdemona wrapped the blade-whip onto the katana, she pulled more, threatening to disarm the Japanese exorcist.
Kanda sneered, if she was competing with strength, she would definitely lose. His samurai pride will not let him be disarmed. Letting go of one's katana will signify letting go of one's pride.
The girl smiled slightly. This man is certainly simple minded, his head filled with stupidity.
Level 3, Thunder Rage.
The blade-whip crackled with electricity along its length. Kanda widened his eyes, half-guessing what the girl was about to do. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it.
She didn't wrap her weapon around Kanda's to disarm him. She did it to immobilize him. She knew he wouldn't let go of his weapon to dodge the attack. His pride will lead him to ruin.
The small electric sparks turned into a bright, electric blue light, enveloping the entire length of the blade-whip. The large amount of electricity travelled at great speed through Mugen and then to Kanda. Metal conducts electricity.
The Japanese was engulfed in the crackling blue electricity that was short-lived. It disappeared as fast as it came, leaving a burnt/blackened /cooked exorcist standing idly with black smoke emitting from his body.
The girl calmly deactivated her Innocence, which turned back into the black whip and returned to her belt, and turned around to look at the previously evacuated two.
Lavi and Allen swallowed. Will they be next?
~x.X.x~
Somehow, they managed to gather everyone and settled themselves under a nearby bridge. Lenalee came out of the crystal but she was still unconscious.
"I didn't come here with the intention of helping him." General Tiedoll explained, referring to General Cross. "He thinks of others as nothing but pawns. As far as I know, you guys were decoys to buy some time for Marian to escape. Understand so far?"
"Yes…" Bookman answered quietly. "We came here after we got a warning, so we expected something like this to happen."
"Hm…" General Tiedoll contemplated on the reasons behind General Cross's actions. "Right now, the only living exorcists are Hevlaska, Sokaro, Cloud, Marian and the 10 of us here. Since I believe it is not the time to battle with the Millennium Earl, it should be your top priority as exorcists to stay alive until the time is right…"
Desdemona stood outside the tunnel formed by the arc of the bridge. Kanda has attempted to kill her several times now and was still occasionally glaring at her back from behind. She can feel it. However, she seldom bothered to turn around. She looked up at the blue sky. This is the home of millions of akumas, is it not? But that didn't affect at all the beauty of a cloudless sky. She rarely sees those in England.
"I think that Team Cross should leave the battlefield immediately!" General Tiedoll continued.
Lying on the ground, Lenalee blinked several times as her vision became clearer. Leaning above her was Allen, Lavi was right next to him. They smiled warmly down at her.
"It's me Lenalee, yes, it's me. I'm so sorry, so sorry Lenalee." Desdemona heard Allen's voice. Lenalee is awake? The Eurasian girl turned around and saw Lenalee trying to sit up. Desdemona smiled. At least she's fine and alive. Komui would not bother her now.
"What are you apologizing for? If it has to do with Suman, don't be sorry. He didn't die in vain. I'm certain that you saved Suman's soul, Allen. Welcome back…" Lenalee said, in an attempt to comfort the boy.
Desdemona watched from a distant away. Lenalee slowly sat up and touched a hand to Allen's cheek. Allen was about to cry.
Something tugged in the girl's chest as she quickly turned the other way to stare at the sky again. Why are they so embarrassing! Desdemona hates it when people cry. Touching reunions are the worst.
"I'm back, Lenalee. I'm finally back!" Allen's voice shook as tear started rolling down his face. It was followed by Lavi teasing Allen about crying, Allen saying something about Lavi crying too…
Desdemona slowly turned back, catching Lenalee's stare. The older girl flashed a warm smile, Desdemona smiled back.
Suddenly, Lenalee seemed to fall into the floor. Where there was solid ground, now a shining circle with a black pentacle at its centre seemed to suck the exorcist in.
"LENALEE!" Allen screamed, he extended a hand and grabbed Lenalee's hand, wanting to pull her up. However, the force was too strong, Allen too was pulled in. Lavi grabbed Allen's leg, Chaoji grabbed Lavi's hand, Kanda grabbed Chaoji then Crowley grabbed Kanda. Desdemona was about to draw her whip and wrap its end onto Crowley when a bright light shone from where the exorcists were. Desdemona shielded her eyes away from the blinding light.
As soon as it appeared, the light disappeared, taking the exorcists along with it. They disappeared into the ground…
What the hell happened?
* Some manga translations translate it as "The Whiteface that chases after Auginiste" another one said "the White Clown that picks on the Auguste Clown"
Here's the explanation. In the world of 'clowns' there are different types of clowns that plays different roles. The Whiteface is a character that is serious, all knowing and the one with most authority. The Auguste clown however, is foolish and often the anarchist. The Whiteface is head-to-toe white, hence the resemblance to Allen's Innocence. The Whiteface has authority over Auguste. He often orders the Auguste around and the Auguste creates humour when he fails or messes up the orders the Whiteface give him.
The Auguste clown is very colourful and often performs gags. This has a striking resemblance to Mana. The reason I chose the phrasing "The White Clown that chases after the Auguste Clown" is pun. It can both mean Allen looks like the Whiteface Clown that picks on and orders around the Auguste Clown, or it can hint Allen 'chased after' Mana down a path he now walks without Mana. Though the Millennium Earl only meant it in the first sense.
Hope that helps. :D
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