Fallen Chapter 21: Beyond Critical, a d.gray-man fanfic

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

Oh goodness! And here I was, all worried that people had stopped reading this fic. I'm so glad you've all stuck with me. Readers and reviewers, I love you! Twenty chapters... O_O

Shout Out: To...Behan! Oh. My. God. I've never SEEN such a huge review in my life! I love reading everyone's reviews, and I enjoyed your fangirling stories, but not only that...it inspired me! I read your review as I was writing this chapter and because of it I think it turned out better than it would have. I added a few things I wouldn't have otherwise. Thank you!

This is true for all of my reviewers! Please, PLEASE, if you read this story, drop me a review. I read through them and most of the time some of the questions you may have or opinions you state help guide me in forming the next chapter. I get inspired, so review, review, review!

There is a SURPRISE in this chapter! See if you can spot it. Happy reading~

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 Twenty: Beyond Critical

Oh wow...

Kanda...

The older exorcist had sounded so incredibly possessive just now.

"He's no more yours than anyone else's and I'll fight until you release him."

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

At first, Allen identified the warm feeling in his body as appreciation and another emotion, of which he was hesitant still to admit because it most definitely went beyond a simple crush. However, that was not the case. Fire coursed through his body, its source being his right shoulder.

Allen could barely understand what was going on, but it was clear that something within him was totally bizarre. The Noah was cursing at a rapid yet broken pace between the cries of pain. He had never witnessed the being acting like this before and it was throwing him off. Not to mention how close his face was to the glaring Kanda-

"F*cking exorcist! I'll kill him!"

The Noah's voice interrupted his thoughts and the boy felt cold dread rush through his veins, only to be replaced immediately with hot panic. There was a flash of metal and a blood-chilling choked scream, then the familiar coppery smell that hung in the air doubled in intensity. His left claw had been thrust into Kanda's chest. Time stopped and he was unable to breathe due to the shock.

K-Kan...da...

Mugen sparked, sending little bolts of electricity out into the air. The smell of blood and something burning permeated the dust around the two boys connected by a sword. Cries of agony had died down and evolved into hisses and sapphire pierced straight into golden, each daring the other to move. The sword was at complete synchronization with the one who wielded it and the claw was at its limit of control with the one who possessed its own wielder. Mugen was hurting its host as well as its victim, and so was Crown Clown. They were evenly matched.

The Fourteenth was utterly annoyed. Not only had Kanda done the extreme and pinned Allen to himself via Mugen, but he was way too persistent for the Noah's liking. The plan of scaring the other exorcist away had been abandoned about halfway into the fight and the plan of killing him was looking grim as well.

And that damn healing ability!

Any other exorcist would have either died or passed out by the amount of blood he'd managed to spill out of Kanda. He even bore with the pain of using his host's Innocence in order to stab the swordsman through the chest and STILL Kanda was showing no sign of being overcome. Had he become numb to injuries throughout his life? Questions rattled the Noah's head and he growled under his host's breath.

This had originally been a good idea. Now, he wasn't so sure. Kanda was a threat to his plot, as he had proven multiple times. Other exorcists were also deterrents, but none were as strong as the raven-haired teenager. There was something about him; was it his curse? Was it his increased strength and speed? No, the Fourteenth was certain it wasn't so superficial. This was deeper under the surface, embedded into the samurai's very core. It was his stubborn nature.

Tch, and of course he just had to develop an attachment to the boy...

Thanks to this stubborn nature, especially when coupled with the swordsman's feelings for his host, the Noah had seen his attempts to possess Allen's body thwarted time and time again. Allen was attached to the Japanese, and the Japanese was attached to Allen. There was no way around that. Love, the Fourteenth concluded, was aggravating. Allen valued Kanda enough to gather the strength to pull through each time he wormed his way in control. It was horribly annoying, knowing that a mere exorcist could interfere so drastically and assist Allen in overpowering him. He'd never be able to take full control of Allen and confront the Earl of Millennium if Kanda was continually there to snap the boy out of it. The only way around the problem seemed to be separating the two boys, whether by physical distance or by the death of Kanda Yuu. That, he found, was harder than it looked.

Especially with the samurai's sword keeping them literally connected.

Oh, god, it hurt so bad. The damn Noah had Allen's claw buried into his chest and it was all Kanda could do not to show his pain outwardly. He settled on glaring into the Fourteenth's orbs of gold, trying to look past them and into the silver ones that he knew were hiding somewhere...somewhere back there. He hadn't seen pewter for the longest time, and how he wished for it, especially now.

Where are you, Moyashi?

Amidst the cloud of fog that swam around in his brain, Allen heard that call.

I'm here...I'm right here, Kanda!

The boy had snapped out of his shock and was desperate to stop the pain the Noah was inflicting on the exorcist, despite the fact that Kanda was hurting him, too. Kanda wasn't trying to hurt him, even if that happened to be a by-product of this clash.

Just then, Allen felt a familiar surge of Innocence powering up in his left claw. His eyes would have widened in realization if he could move them. The Fourteenth was planning on using Cross Grave, directly into Kanda's chest. The force of that kind of blast coming from the inside...would blow the other to pieces.

No...

Allen was about to lose Kanda. It couldn't happen. It just couldn't!

No...!

There were too many things he had left to say to Kanda. There were too many things they had left to do together. There was a promise on the line. This couldn't happen. This wouldn't happen.

NO.

It wasn't going to happen, because Allen wasn't going to let it.

Crown Clown! Obey me!

Just before the blast could be released from his claw, it was choked and burnt horribly as it remained where it was in his hand. The cursed exorcist's determination flared up and his entire body shook as he struggled to fight against the hold the Fourteenth had over him. His Innocence was conflicted, trying to listen to its master but being controlled by the Noah. Allen's mind screamed to his weapon with a voice of authority, and slowly but surely, bladed fingers drew out of Kanda's body.

It was agonizingly slow and put a huge amount of stress on Allen's body, but he wasn't about to give up. Finally, once they were completely free of Kanda, the claw fingers twitched and tightened into a fist, successfully stifling the Cross Grave blast and forcing the energy to fizzle out with a buzzing spark.

Now...de-deactivate!

Allen concentrated with all he had and pried his precious Innocence from the Fourteenth's grasp. With a whirl, the white glow at his back and the deadly left claw disappeared, causing his white hair to wilt from its spiked state and lie flat against his head again. The panting that came from his heaving chest did not belong to the Noah within him.

"Where are you, Moyashi?"

I'm here.

Allen's claw had been withdrawn and his Innocence deactivated in such a Moyashi-like way that Kanda knew. He knew.

There you go, Moyashi. Come on. Pull through.

The sprout was trying as hard as he could to break free from the Fourteenth's grip, and Kanda knew his method was working. Some demanding words and a few violent exchanges had provoked Allen into coming out, just like their arguments. Who knew that would have been successful? The way Allen appeared right now, Kanda was certain he would shove the Fourteenth back into place in a matter of moments. Or so he thought.

The film that floated back over those golden eyes in front of him proved him wrong; apparently, the Fourteenth wasn't going to let go so soon. Just as the swordsman was about to remove his blade from his own and Allen's shoulder, the other thrust his right hand forward, glowing purple with an energy he knew far too well, to plunge back into his chest wound where the left hand had been a second ago. Fire tore through his body as dark Noah matter was pumped straight into him, right over his heart. The possessed boy made an odd noise, somewhat like a battle cry, as electricity exploded out of the cursed energy.

Kanda's mind glazed over and he didn't even hear himself scream. He'd just been thrown into the sun. That had to be it. Why else would his entire body feel so beyond scorched that he couldn't think of a word for it? Spinning, his brain flew through memories and brief flashes of conversation and he wondered for a moment if he was dying. He couldn't be dying, could he? There were still five petals left. But if he wasn't dying, then why...?

Oh...god...

One particular memory stood out: Tiedoll calling him and Marie to tell them their comrade, Daisya Barry, had died in combat with the Noah known as Tyki Mikk. He remembered having been surprised; the out-going soccer fan wasn't one to die like that. According to the details, the exorcist had had his heart ripped out of his body, though the procedure hadn't left any external evidence at all.

I wonder if this is how Daisya felt as his heart was torn out.

It certainly felt like it. However, Kanda had no more time to think about such things, because now he was totally numb and that just wouldn't do. Forcing himself to keep staring straight at the laughing golden eyes, he pierced all his hatred for the Earl and his Noahs into them.

"Give Allen back."

The swordsman managed to demand through gritted teeth, body quivering, as he attempted to bear with the pain enough to reason coherently. If he didn't, he'd die. He still might, regardless.

"Allen is gone."

The Noah answered with a sneer, grinning at him. Of course, it was just like a Noah to laugh at an exorcist's pain even while they themselves are in pain. The Fourteenth also knew Kanda had the worse end right now. Despite all of it, Kanda set his eyes into a dangerous glare, reserved only for fights when he was uncertain of his survival, though he insisted 'I will not die' continuously. He was not naive.

"Don't lie to me, Fourteenth. I hate liars."

Che.

Kanda's mind only had one gear at the moment. Making the Fourteenth give Allen his body back. It was blocking out pain, anger, logic and all other emotions and senses of reason. The sword in his hand was spitting out electric protests at the sustained one hundred percent synchronization that it wasn't ready for. It shook as Kanda's physical body was being drained of energy in the same way it had back in the Ark when Skinn had electrocuted him to the point of death. Noah energy was a powerful thing, and yet, it wasn't the most powerful.

Mugen suddenly hummed and cast out stronger sparks than ever. The metal blade whined under the strength of the energy flowing into it as Kanda drew as much as possible in order to shove more power into his weapon. Innocence balked, but the Japanese had other plans.

Fine. One hundred percent still isn't enough? Then...let's see how much you can take, Mugen!

Screw math. Kanda was going to synchronize beyond critical. Normally sapphire eyes began to glow white as the limit was tested and the evidence of falling made itself visible. The tattoo on his chest crept its way further along his shoulder, arm and neck. Currents raced up and down the sword of Innocence as more and more power was taken away from his life and placed into this one blow. The single blow would decide Allen's fate, because Kanda would not be able to make another like it. This was going to take up the rest of his energy. Setting his mind on a sole idea, the samurai let loose an animalistic growl and gripped his sword with both hands.

"ALLEN...IS...NOT YOURS! HE'S-"

There was a blur of movement, a sickening crunch, a thud and it was over. Under any other conditions, Kanda would have executed this and been able to see it in slow motion, but it simply happened too fast for even his eyes to catch, and he was the one performing it. Perfectly. It had been a move with only one motive behind it, and it left both boys standing there, separated and panting. The glow dimmed from Kanda's eyes and the fog surrounding Allen's cleared.

Then, it happened. Allen let loose a blood-curdling scream and fell to his knees, left hand flying to grip his right shoulder. Fingernails dug into bloody skin desperately and his face contorted into the most horrible look of pure agony Kanda had ever seen, but even then, he didn't regret his decision. The trembling hands that held Mugen released it, and as the sword fell to the ground, it shattered before it hit the pile of rubble at his feet. The force used had been too great for the katana to handle. Kanda Yuu had synchronized one hundred and one percent.

The samurai sank to his knees, eyes still locked on Allen, even as his balance wavered. Allen's cries had died down and the boy's body was shaking uncontrollably on the floor, eyes rolled back. Kanda's vision swam and he lost control, falling over to his side and taking in a painful breath through his wounded chest. He struggled to keep sight of the sprout's eyes, and as the image cleared one last time, he was met with golden orbs. Golden orbs that shone silver in his eyes. Allen Walker was back. The two of them passed out completely at the same time, gazes still locked in each other's as their eyes slid closed.

Another petal fell.

Howard Link was paralyzed with shock. Even if Walker hadn't torn up his notebook and thrown it overboard, he wouldn't have been able to write anything. The entire exchange was mind-blowing and he hadn't even noticed Mono Fei reappear from within the debris as the fight was progressing. He still didn't notice, as the other inspector examined the fallen exorcists and then clambered up the pile to the upper deck that hadn't collapsed. Link was too busy staring, because, well...

Allen's right arm was sliced clean off.

"Link, connect to Headquarters and hand me the phone."

Fei's irritated voice snapped him out of it and he swallowed the lump in his throat, doing blindly as told. He passed the phone, connected to a golem, to the man's waiting hand. Through the blur of the scene before him, Link heard Fei's voice speak.

"Yes, Sir Leverrier? This is Inspector Mono Fei."

The man described what had happened and Link remained slightly dull to it all until he heard a frighteningly happy tone in the inspector's voice. His head snapped to stare at Fei, noticing for the first time the bandage over his bloody nose, as well as the clear-as-day black eye and multiple scratches and minor wounds. However, the why of Fei's appearance was passed over as unimportant as he listened to the man's ending words as he hung up the phone, single gold eye glinting in a way that reminded Link eerily of a Noah.

"I understand. If Number Eight so much as puts a scratch on the Fourteenth again, I will see to it that he is placed under arrest."

Did you find the surprise? YES! It's the addition of the Fourteenth's POV! Behan voiced the confusion about the tricky Noah's intentions and why he would want to kill Kanda, so I decided to give you all a little taste of what he sees. Did it clear up some questions? Let me know!

Not to copy Moyashi's tactic of using song lyrics at the end of her chapters, but I was listening to this amazing song by the one and only Muse as I was writing and felt the need to share the lyrics.

Time is Running Out - Muse

I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated

I wanna break this spell that you've created

You're something beautiful, a contradiction

I wanna play the game, I want the friction

You will be the death of me, you will be the death of me

Bury it

I won't let you bury it

I won't let you smother it

I won't let you murder it

Our time is running out

You can't push it underground

You can't stop it screaming out

I wanted freedom, bound and restricted

I tried to give you up but I'm addicted

Now that you know I'm trapped sense of elation

You'd never dream of, breaking this fixation

You will squeeze the life out of me