WARNING! This story contains SPOILERS and YAOI! Also a few minor OCs, so don't kill me.

No excuse.

I have NO EXCUSE for the horrendously long amount of time I've taken to write ONE CHAPTER! I'm so sorry everyone! I promise, this story is not dead! It is very much alive and I've just been busy with moving halfway across the country, finally seeing my lovely Moyashi, attending conventions, transferring colleges and the like. Oh the joys of being an adult! Not really...

In any case, here is my super-mega-ultra-extremely delayed update. Enjoy with fries and a shake. Also, Moyashi and I are going to be motivating each other to write, as anyone who follows Ulqy-chan's Sacrifice will see, since it was just updated. We're both sorry for not keeping on top of things and will be updating once more on a regular basis. In Fallen's case, it should be every other week or less. Hold me to it, guys.

Rated: T [for violence and language] Bold: Used only in dreams or flashbacks to indicate the main character's lines. Italics: Used to indicate dreams, flashbacks, and thoughts.

Chapter Nineteen: Fourteenth

"Good evening...exorcist."

Kanda stared in shock. No...it couldn't be! Had Allen really lost it that fast? His eyes were wide and he slowly reached for the sword at his hip that he had, thankfully, thought to grab before leaving the room. Allen's hand was faster. It shot out and wrapped its fingers around his wrist, curling tight so that he couldn't move it. A creepily innocent grin spread on the boy's face.

"Oh no...I don't think you'll be needing that. I want to talk with you, boy."

The samurai didn't know what to do. This was clearly the Fourteenth he was looking at, even if it bore Allen's face. The Noah wanted to talk? He felt a cold sensation of dread grow inside him, but forced his hand to relax nonetheless.

"The hell do you want, Noah?"

A chuckle.

"Silly boy, isn't it obvious? I want you."

Wh-What?

Kanda's face flushed with outrage and he took a step away from Allen, but the boy-gone-Noah wouldn't allow him to move, keeping a firm hold on his wrist. The smile grew into a grin as the Fourteenth played Allen's body like a puppet, making the boy step forward and take hold of Kanda's shirt collar, tugging the older exorcist close to his face.

"That's right. I...want...Yuu..."

Allen's lips were a fraction of an inch away from his. Hot breath breezed over his skin and Kanda was further confused. What the hell was going on? He knew it was the Fourteenth talking, but the inevitable blush that rose to his face was caused by the fact that it was Allen's face he was seeing. Kanda tensed and kept his eyes fixed on the golden ones that were dancing with amusement and...what was that glint?

Wait...oh shit!

"...to DIE!"

Before he could so much as flinch, Kanda had a glowing purple orb thrust against his chest. His eyes flashed with recognition as Allen released his grip on him and his vision was whited out. The incredible amount of fiery pain that slammed into his rib cage was followed by the noise of the explosion. His body was hurled backwards and crashed into the splintering wall of the hallway, needles of broken wood stabbing into his back and sides. He fell to his knees like a rag doll and then forward to land face first on the ground. His chest hurt so much. It felt like it was inside out and falling apart at his feet. Kanda didn't know if he'd cried out. The pain was too intense and there was a heavily bleeding burn where the orb had connected with his chest. His arms protested as he forced his body off the floor and lifted his head, trying to focus on the white-haired boy who was laughing in the middle of the collapsing hallway. He suddenly remembered something.

They were below deck.

As he looked up, fate would have it that just at that moment, the roof would come crashing down. Kanda couldn't will his wounded body to move in time, only borrowing a measly second to duck his head down below the level of his shoulders to protect his head and prevent him from being knocked out. The wood came down hard on his back, sending precious breaths of air from his lungs as he was flattened beneath the rubble. Sounds of alarmed sailors on deck could be heard, along with feet pounding across the roof that had not collapsed. The sounds faded, then became distinct, then faded again. There was a voice asking if everyone was alright, but it got cut off with a scream. There was that unmistakable chuckle again.

Kanda groaned and willed himself to flex his shoulders, moving enough to start removing himself from the debris. His chest flared up with pain from the orb and he felt something dripping down his back. Probably blood. Where was Mugen? A battered hand fumbled for his hip and he discovered the sword hilt. Pieces of the ceiling skittered away from him as he shakily wrapped his fingers around the weapon and drew it while still under the pile. Allen was no longer Allen. He had to be prepared. Feet shifted until he was able to move enough of the rubble to get out. Slowly, and with his eyes locked on a spot ahead of him that would soon be occupied by the spr- no...the Noah, Kanda stood.

"Oh ho~ I figured you'd be a tough enemy, what with that annoying healing ability of yours and all."

Just as expected, the golden-eyed and grinning reincarnation of the Fourteenth was standing in Kanda's line of sight, head tilted to the side and normally straight silver hair falling curly. Not wanting to speak to the Noah, as that had proved painful just a minute ago, the exorcist merely gave a quick "che" of disdain and activated his blade. Allen snickered.

"So it's come down to this after all. You'll hurt a comrade. Too bad I won't feel anything...all the pain will be the poor boy's to bear. Can you live with that, exorcist?"

The samurai narrowed his eyes and spun Mugen around with a lethal hiss of metal through air. That was his answer. The Noah smiled and raised his right hand, tugging the white glove on it tighter.

"This will be fun."

::

This.

This couldn't be happening.

Why?

Did he really deserve this?

Because Kanda sure didn't.

Was calling up Mana so horrible that he had to be tortured like this?

Why?

Why Kanda?

Haven't I been punished enough?

"Calm down, boy."

YOU!

And the Noah chuckled.

"Me? This is all you."

No it's not, you're the one controlling me, so STOP IT!

"I'm afraid that isn't possible."

Allen watched in horror as another orb flew by Kanda's side and tore the uniform as well as the skin under it. The samurai gritted his teeth, but showed no sign of giving in as he lunged at him once more, twin swords blazing with blue energy.

This was torture.

Stop!

"Too bad, boy. The moody swordsman is getting too close to you. I can't have that."

Why is Kanda such a threat to you? He's not doing ANYTHING!

"I beg to differ."

Another grazing of an orb, this time by Kanda's left calf muscle. It bled and if Allen had been in control of his own body, the image would have blurred with tears. The cursed boy was mentally crying by now. He couldn't bear to watch himself hurt a person he cared about.

Just stop...please...

"Ah ah ah. We must drive him away. He isn't good for us, you know. Much too stubborn and hot-headed."

Please!

This time, the orb hit home. Kanda doubled over as the energy ball smashed into his stomach and threw him into more of the crumbling lower deck. There was a lot of blood, and Allen had already witnessed the exorcist activate his forbidden third illusion: Sangenshiki. It seemed hopeless and Allen felt completely useless. He was hurting Kanda, whether it be by his control or not. He couldn't do a thing about it, because the Fourteenth's hold over him was too strong. It was vengeful. Full of hate.

Please...

The Noah didn't answer, but still Allen begged.

...stop...

...please.

Silence.

And then.

"F*CK!"

::

Finally.

He landed a hit.

Mugen's blade sunk into Allen's right shoulder and the Noah possessing him gave out a cry of shock and pain. Kanda's sapphire eyes glinted with savage triumph.

"So, I can't hurt you?"

His tone was full of pride for having damaged the Noah, though he was also hiding concern for Allen. If there was one thing Kanda wanted right now, it was to have the Fourteenth disappear from Allen's body. If there was a second thing, it would be to do it without hurting Allen himself. Sadly, that wasn't possible.

The Fourteenth recovered enough to glare at Kanda and the samurai clenched his sword tighter. Using the second one, he slashed horizontally and cut across the seven stigmata marks on Allen's forehead, creating a light wound that only bled minimally. The Noah hissed and Kanda's smirk twisted further.

"I wish it was that easy. Just cut off the markings and-"

"You're going to regret tangling with me, boy."

"Oh, I already have and gotten over it."

"F*ck you."

"Noah's have dirty mouths. Who knew?"

The sword embedded in Allen's shoulder twisted cruelly and the Noah was obviously barely holding back another cry.

"I wonder if they're just as dirty inside."

"Ex...or...CIST!"

Ah...he's mad now.

It was more than that, as Kanda soon found out. Allen lurched against the blade of Innocence that was hurting the Noah inside him and cast another dark orb towards the samurai. Kanda managed to dodge it at the cost of removing Mugen from the boy's shoulder, but the orb expanded rapidly and blew him into a wall again with a hard thud. He winced as his battle wounds were aggravated and cursed the fact that the healing was going slowly. If his healing had been at the strength it was a year ago, he'd be in better shape right now.

Kanda barely had time to move before the Noah delivered a punch that would have landed right on his jaw. He twisted around and aimed a slash at Allen's back but the Noah was too fast and loomed behind him, sending his foot into the small of Kanda's back. The exorcist leaned quickly to the side and avoided it, whirling to drive the second Mugen into Allen's shoulder again, but the Noah was prepared this time and grabbed his wrist, twisting it painfully until he heard an audible snap. Then, fiery laces of pain seared up his arm and Kanda bit his lip to keep from crying out. The wrist was broken. The Fourteenth released him and Kanda put distance between them, panting and staring down the Noah who glared menacingly at him.

This is going nowhere fast...

It was time to take another approach. He wasn't getting anything done other than pissing off the Noah that inhabited Allen's body and hurting the body itself. Kanda opened his left hand and allowed the copy Mugen to disappear, gathering all of the energy into his real sword in the right hand. Sapphire irises narrowed and he made sure his voice was loud and clear as he wiped a trail of blood on his chin with the back of his left hand, ignoring the stabs of pain that came from moving it, as it was the recently-broken one.

"Allen f*cking Walker, you snap out of it right now."

That seemed to amuse the Fourteenth, because he laughed. Kanda glared and continued.

"Who was it who promised to protect everyone?"

Again, a laugh, though the humor behind it was drier now.

"Who was it who promised to keep everyone safe when I fall?"

The Noah chuckled, tone revealing anything but amusement.

"Who was it who promised to stick with me until the end?"

Silence. Then, everything happened in a rush. There was a huge flash of white, a cry, a loud hiss of air, and Kanda found himself staring into Allen's gleaming golden eyes an inch away from his face. There was a mass of white surrounding the boy, which alerted Kanda to the fact that the Noah had actually chosen to activate Crown Clown. The left hand was in claw form. A small detail he hadn't noticed before was the look of Allen's eyes, which were glittering with Noah rage, but also clouded over at the same time, showing that Allen was not in control of his body.

Oh, and there was another thing: he couldn't breathe.

Allen's right hand was wrapped firmly around his neck and Clown Belt was binding his arms to his sides, rendering Kanda helpless to defend himself. Mugen flared and sparked, wanting to be used against the threat and also starting to max out on power, but the swordsman couldn't move it, even with Sangenshiki active and providing him with an increase of strength. Allen's hot breath was on his face in an instant and the mouth curved into a Noah-like grin.

"The boy is mine."

Kanda glared with a look that would make plants wither and he managed to talk despite the constriction around his throat.

"He's no more...yours...than anyone el...se's..."

A strangled gasp of air.

"And I'll fight until...you...release him."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because after the last word was choked out, Allen tightened his grip and Kanda no longer was able to speak. Air was draining out of his lungs, and he knew he had to breathe soon or he'd pass out. The Fourteenth sneered into his face.

"I said, the boy is mine."

::

Allen was more than shocked. He was in pain from the stab to the shoulder and if he had been in control of his eyes, they would be quickly filling with tears. Kanda was being suffocated. And also, Kanda's words hurt. Each challenge to snap him out of it made the boy severely want to do just as the older one said and break free of the Noah's control. He desperately tried, but the Fourteenth's hold on him was too strong.

This...stop this! Please! What's so horrible about Kanda? Can't you just leave him alone?

"Shut up, boy. This is for your own good."

LIKE HELL IT IS!

The Noah wouldn't say any more and Allen had a sneaking suspicion it was due to the wound Kanda gave him as well as the prolonged activation of Crown Clown. Suddenly, an idea dawned on him. Innocence. Crown Clown was compatible to him, not to the Fourteenth.

Cl-Clown Belt...release!

::

Kanda's arms were freed without warning as the white strip of cloth fell down and retracted back towards the possessed Allen's body. Instantly taking advantage of the opportunity, the exorcist aimed a slash at the right arm holding his throat in an attempt to free himself and take in air. The white glowing cape loomed in front of Allen's body to protect it from harm and blocked his attack.

Hell, no.

Forcing as much energy into Mugen as he possibly could, Kanda drew off the power of the tattoo and pressed hard against the cape, causing sparks to fly. He would overpower it. The Noah grit his teeth and the grip around Kanda's neck loosened as more effort went into countering the sword of Innocence, until finally the right hand released him. The cape was wavering. Several times, Kanda felt Mugen make it give just slightly. It seemed the Fourteenth realized this as well, because a white door opened behind Allen. Panic shot through Kanda's body. The Noah was going to retreat, taking Allen's body with him.

Hell...NO!

There was no way he'd let the Noah get away. With a sharp cry, Kanda gave the sword all he had and removed it from the cape, twisting it into facing the opposite direction. He stepped forward and pressed his face right up into Allen's, grabbed the wrist that belonged to the hand previously clutching his throat, positioned Mugen's blade just right behind Allen and drove it straight through Allen's shoulder blade and into his own, effectively pinning the two of them together. There was a scream that didn't come from the samurai's mouth. Kanda's eyes shone with determination as he didn't even make a sound at the new influx of pain that he caused to himself, so great was his focus. Even his voice came out hardened and unwavering as his steel-hold on Allen's right wrist tightened.

"You're not going anywhere. Not without me."

I hope the confrontation with the Fourteenth isn't disappointing anyone so far! Sorry for my habit of leaving off at cliffys-I'll try to work on that-but this fight really did need to be broken up into two chapters. Hang on, it's not over yet! R&R and I will be so happy~

Next chapter...Beyond Critical.