Disclaimer: Nope, do not own D Gray-Man. Not even a little.
AN: Hello! I swear, I have the oddest 'being sick' symptoms, I mean, I have the normal getting snotty, coughing sporadically, but then I get what my friends have kindly dubbed 'man voice', which is exactly what it is. I sound like a man, it just adds to my 'manly' image. I also get nosebleeds on a daily basis, which would be funny if I walked in on people changing and *gush*, but they're very untimely...
Hm, I don't fit very well into the fangirl stereotype...I have too many manly mannerisms. So I think there are at least three different fangirl groups, manly fangirl, girly fangirl and shy fangirl. I'm almost sure there are more, but I think most fall into one of those three. Maybe. Pffft, this is a long and stupid authors note, please proceed and read some hectic destruction. I hope you enjoy :D
"L...Lenalee?" I blinked rapidly, clearing the blurry image in front of my eyes. "Wait, why are you in hell as well?" I asked. There were loud noises everywhere, and I quickly scrambled up.
Hell sure is a hectic place. Well, I kind of expected that.
"We're not in hell, Ai! But..." Lenalee covered her mouth, and I glanced over at the commotion. I could barely see Allen and Lavi struggling with a dark shiny figure, with a black helm that looked as if it were an iron rose.
I'm still alive? I'm still alive...
"He's too strong...!" Lenalee gasped.
I grabbed Lenalee's arm and Chaozii's collar, narrowly avoiding a crumbling piece of tower. With everyone's state as it was, we weren't going to survive for long.
In a blur of speed, the dark figure was in front of me and I didn't even have time to think before long strands of blackness were wrapped around me, slowly squeezing. I could just see in the corner of my eye Lenalee suffering the same fate.
Trying to move my arms, I squeezed the handle of one of my knives, trying to summon the strength to wield it. Activating it was one thing, actually putting it to efficient use in this situation was going to be difficult. I could barely move my arms and I was starting to black out again from the strangulation.
I angrily yanked out my arm in the direction to my left, where I could see the ribbons choking Lenalee. The knife looked like it almost sliced through it, but another black tendril snaked out and the way it snapped my arm was almost beautifully sadistic.
From the origin of the instant fiery pain I guessed it had probably got my elbow. I lost control of my arm, the knife clattering to the floor. If I still had the breath to scream in pain I would have, but as it was, I had to make do with a pained gasp. I couldn't feel my arm, and I had a feeling it probably wasn't bending the right way. I almost threw up at the disgusting idea.
In a loud crack, the ground splintered beneath us and I was falling through the air. I thumped against the ground, the air knocked out of me. Seeing black stars, I took a moment to breathe, wondering why I wasn't crushed to bits yet. I was still entangled in the strands, now only able to move one of my arms. Each individual fiber in my arm was screaming in agony and I had to struggle just not to wail or cry.
"Are you okay, Ai?"A voice coughed to my left. I tried to clear my head and pushed through the haze of pain. I screamed inside my head, squeezing my eyes shut.
Pretend the pain isn't here. Yin never complained about pain. Get over it!
"L-Lenalee! I'm fine, just don't look at my arm. How are we still...?"
Lenalee looked at Chaozii, who was miraculously holding up the debris pilling up above us. His strength wasn't normal , but he was clearly under an enormous amount of stress.
"W-what's happening to me?"He struggled.
"You're synchronizing with innocence somewhere around here, but if you go on much longer, your body won't be able to take it! Your weapon is transforming but the power is uncontrolled. The raw innocence is too powerful for its user! If you keep it activated like this, it will destroy your own body!" Lenalee cried.
"But...but what should I do? There's nowhere left to run!"
The figure, who I had guessed was Tyki, now leaped down from his platform, aiming to destroy us. I felt a gust of wind fly past me and collide with Tyki, sending huge billows of dust into the air.
Allen and Lavi emerged from the cloud, panting but still intact. Both of them were forcing their limits just to stay conscious, let alone fight a losing battle. They were sent flying back by Tyki and he breezed past them to Lenalee. I only had one knife left from the pair, the other lying around somewhere. It didn't feel right, but now wasn't the time to be lamenting.
With my good arm, I grasped it and finally managed to slice out of my bonds, sliding in between Tyki and Lenalee. My useless arm dangled at my side, now just in the way.
I used the curved edge to stop one of his attacks, arm bending at a strained ninety degree angle in front of me.
"Tyki, you asshole, where did your manners go?" I laughed through gritted teeth. Why I was mocking him in this situation, god only knew, but I needed something to distract me from my slowly giving strength. He raised his other hand and I just hoped my arm would be strong enough to take two attacks when a white length shot out, entangling his hands and holding them still. My arm dropped to the floor, the knife lodging in the ground.
"Make no mistake, your opponent is me. I'm sure I already told you that already. Didn't you want to kill me...?" Allen struggled up, panting but still holding a faint smile.
Tyki grinned and the pressure was instantly let off as he shot off towards Allen.
"What's wrong, Ai?" Lenalee asked worriedly as I rested on my knife.
"N-nothing...it just...feels really heavy..." I panted, yanking it out. It was slow but noticeable, over the past few months, the knives I had wielded with such ease and confidence before I became an exorcist had slowly become heavier and clumsy. They felt more and more distant from me. Each time, it got a little harder to activate. Before they were a part of my body, now they were just sharp weights I lugged around. It was like my very heart was getting heavier, the knives dragging me down.
"Is it your innocence?" Lenalee asked frantically, I knew she didn't want a repeat of what happened to Suman. I was scared of that as well, but while our lives were still in danger, there was no point in adding more panic.
"No, I...I just found the other one." It was lucky I had found the other one amidst all the rocks, but when I picked it up, it no longer felt familiar. It was like it was...rejecting me.
Shit.
"Come on, even if I don't make it out of here alive, I will keep fighting until I have no life left in me. Just like I promised to Mana!" Allen stayed his ground, despite the looming Tyki. A bright light suddenly appeared beneath Allen, and I had to squint to see. Opening them, my jaw dropped open. Someone in a big black coat and a skull for a head stood on a large black box bound with chains. It wasn't something I had seen often, but it was all too familiar.
"What is this filthy little brat? I thought he looked alright for a moment there, but no, he's just filthy. He hasn't changed a bit since I found him, my idiot pupil." It said, holding onto Allen's leg like a doll.
Grave Of Maria...
I put my face in my hand, steeling myself.
"It's been a while, master..." Allen sighed, having already recognised him.
"What's with that stupid and happy looking face of yours? You want me to drop you?" Cross grinned as the skull fractured away, revealing the vibrant red hair and mask.
Timcanpy sat on Cross' head happily.
"Looks like you finally got your innocence in a decent form." Cross looked down at Allen's sword.
"Huh? Ah, yes, I'm-"Cross gripped Allen's uniform, throwing him all the way to Lenalee and me.
"You filthy idiot pupil. Hey, you're filthy too, get the hell away from me. I'll let beautiful people near me, but filthy people-except woman-can stay the hell back," He said to Lavi.
As kind as ever.
"Speaking of beautiful people, where's my cute pupil?" He glanced around. I shivered, looking away.
"It's wonderful to see you again, Cross. Especially after our...abrupt parting." I sighed bitterly.
"It's rude to address your master like that, you know?" He gave a half grin.
"Don't nitpick now, please?" I groaned. This was a recurring argument that we had, I preferred not to call him 'master', but Cross had a weird obsession with hearing me call him that. I knew I probably should've, even if just for politeness, but something in my brain told me that Yin wouldn't have wanted me to give in to him.
"Well, since my cute pupil asked so nicely." Cross redirected his attention to the matters at hand. "The clan of Noah. I was wandering what you were doing still messing around on the ark when it's about to collapse. Looks like you've lost your mind, haven't you?" Cross lugged his box casually, talking to the dark Tyki. "Consumed by the Noah, huh? You're staining the clan's name, you know?" He activated his, from what I knew, forbidden innocence, the chains flying out. The woman dressed in a black dress emerged from the box, the butterfly like ribbon covering her face. She began to sing, and a small clear covering appeared around us.
"What is this...?"
Tyki glanced around wildly, suddenly looking confused.
"Tyki can't see us anymore?"
"It's a defensive technique that uses the power of master's anti akuma weapon to affect the enemy's mind and obscure his visions with illusions." Allen explained.
"Is that doll an anti akuma weapon?" Lenalee asked.
"...That isn't a doll, it's a human corpse," Allen said after a pause.
"Hey! Isn't that a forbidden-"
"Master uses magic to make that corpse, a woman with parasitic type innocence, his own. Maria takes orders from master alone. Then, there's the equipment type anti akuma weapon that belongs to master himself." Cross pulled out his silver gun, loud explosions echoing. Tyki really appeared to be struggling against Cross, and for a moment, I was genuinely proud of the fact I was recruited by such him.
"It's completely one sided..." Lenalee murmured.
"That Tyki...who was unmoved no matter how we attacked is being hunted down by that bullet..."
Allen looked like he wanted to help.
"Wait, don't get involved. If you think about the difference in power, whether it's the Noah, or General Cross, we still have a long way to go. We're so weak compared to them..." Lavi said.
The ground beneath us rumbled and broke, big pieces collapsing.
"It's about time, huh?" Lavi grimaced.
"The time of destruction..."
"Master!" Allen cried.
Cross stood calmly with Maria among the debris. He aimed his gun but was interrupted by a bright flash behind him. The Earl emerged, grinning wildly like he always was. Man, I wanted to punch his face in.
The ground beneath Lavi and Chaozii collapsed and they fell.
"Lavi!" Allen and I cried. I lurched forward, crouching at the edge of the hole and reaching my arm out as far as possible.
Allen did the same, trying to lunge for him. Through the dust, Lavi's hammer flew out and Allen and I gripped it. There was a millisecond of relief before I felt the hammer crumble beneath my hands, breaking apart from the mere pressure of our grip. I only just met Lavi's eyes and in that moment I saw brown hair and brown eyes, not Lavi's red hair and green eyes. I was seeing Thomas. I lunged uselessly at the pieces, there was no way I was going to let him die again.
"Thomas!"
No, it's Lavi! You're going to lose someone else important to you!
I would have jumped off the platform just to see him again, had Lenalee's hand not grabbed my sleeve.
"Don't go!" Lenalee was trying her best not to cry, and I held in an angry shout. I found it hard to breathe, I never wanted to kill Thomas, but I still did. Was this my punishment? Losing Lavi? Just killing me would be a far too swift punishment, it seems. I was going to suffer for my wrongs.
"That's really cruel...I really hate you, Lavi." I laughed dryly, closing my eyes and grabbing Lenalee's hand tightly, so tight I could feel the bones in her hand grinding together. My eyes flew open as the ground beneath me gave, sending me and Lenalee toppling into a chasm of destruction. Forcing my arm to move, I grabbed onto the edge of the edge with my bad arm, holding onto Lenalee with my good one. I held in a scream, the bones in my arm feeling like they were fracturing apart.
"I-I can't hold on anymore...!" I said through gritted teeth.
My grip loosened and the pain forced me to let go. I didn't let go of Lenalee though, gravity pulling us both downwards. A white ribbon swirled down and wrapped itself around my dead arm, yanking us to an abrupt stop. I panted, looking up to see Allen hanging on, even as his warm blood dripped onto my face, rolling down my cheek like I was crying morbid tears of blood. He pulled us up and I yelped as I finally hit ground again, wanting to cradle my arm but not wanting to let go of Lenalee's hand.
"I see...so, it was you!" The Earl's voice echoed around, and I saw him looking at Allen.
"That man passed his role as the fourteenth, the musician..." He looked at Allen gleefully. "And a legacy..." His eyes flicked to me briefly.
"Earl!" Allen cried out angrily.
"Why did you come here? If you wanted to steal this ark, then you're a little late. I'm afraid the heart of this ark has already been transferred to the new model. Without the heart, the boat becomes inoperable, and even the musician is powerless to control it! How foolish you are, Cross! In the end, this ark will be nothing more than a grace, sucking up the blood of those exorcists..." The Earl's words snapped the final thin cord holding Allen's rage back, and Allen activated his innocence. Blood dripped to the floor, more blood than he could afford to lose.
"N-no! You can't fight with those wounds, Allen!" Lenalee protested, but Allen barely seemed to hear her, leaping towards the Earl. They fought wildly, the ark still collapsing around them.
"Wait, he's falling!"
Allen fell into a crevice, but I saw Cross and Maria standing at the edge. There was no way Cross would let Allen die. He stumbled back onto the ledge and we ran up to him.
The umbrella dashed into the Earl, who greeted him heartily, looking completely unaffected by anything. They disappeared through a door with a cheery farewell.
"Get up. I saved you from the Noah because I need your help," Cross said harshly.
"Help...?" Allen murmured.
"What exactly are you going to do?"I asked suspiciously.
"A mission."
"A...mission?"
"I'm sure you already know why I came here," Cross said.
"To destroy the akuma 'plant'!"
"Is the plant inside the ark?" Lenalee asked.
"That room is still in here. Take us to the plant, Tim." A bright circle engulfed us all, taking us to another place. Bodies littered the floor, and I shied away from them.
"Th-this place, aren't these bodies?"
"This room...these are guards of the plant." Cross motioned.
"The plant? It's here?" Allen said in surprise.
"Allen, behind you!" Lenalee pointed. We turned around, surprised to see the blue, translucent oval ball mounted on a gold pedestal.
"That huge orb is an 'egg' for the bodies used in the Earl's akuma creating rituals. I'd like to destroy it, but it's surrounded by a barrier, and we don't have time to remove it. Look up." He gestured.
The plant was becoming pixilated near the top, slowly floating upwards and disappearing. "This is the last room in the ark to be downloaded. Once that egg is completely transferred, the ark will be gone, and us along with it." Just as he finished, the room gave a great grumble, large pieces collapsing.
"Ahhh!"
"Wh-what do we do, master?" Allen asked hurriedly.
"We've got to stop it, of course. All we need to do is steal the egg. If we start up this ark and stop the download, the egg will never make it to the new ark, "Cross said calmly.
"How do we stop the ark? We know nothing about it!" Allen protested.
"Cross, do you know how to control the ark?" I asked.
"I'm not going to, you are, Allen." Cross looked at Allen, who jerked in surprise. Cross quickly performed one of his spells against the plant.
"I'm using my abilities to interfere with the download. It's not much, but it will delay the transfer a little. Now make this ark move, Allen! Hurry up, it's about to break down!" Cross instructed.
"What? Wait a minute, I have no idea what you're talking about, master!" Allen cried.
"I'll open up the final room, just go with Tim. You'll get it soon enough." Cross said vaguely.
"Wait, why do I-"Allen was sucked into a white vortex, disappearing from sight.
"Because you're the only that can, stupid pupil."
AN: If you're wondering who the shit Thomas is, he was mentioned briefly before in some earlier chapter, and the rest shall be mystery~ He's important to Ai, and quite essential to that developing relationship *hint hint* Thanks for reading :D