A/N: Here we go. *smile* Angel Sword's interlude - she's Alma's Innocence, if you'll recall. Expect pain.
Thank you to Kiri Kaitou Clover, Candy Crackpot, alphawolf96, Deugemia, kellie1999, Lena-luvs-cats, newby6320, InsanityOwl, karina001, Shadow-X1999, Ryuakilover, Alaia Skyhawk, Amelia Loves Anime, Shadow Spears, AngelHeartsX, 14fox, Azurii, vampireharry the 2, amerine905, and 2 guests for reviewing!
Title: Synchronization
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: None
Genre: Friendship/Family
Warnings: Slight AU
Summary: Innocences have their own wants, personalities, souls - Allen doesn't understand what's so strange about this. But then, he's always been able to see them. (Series of oneshots through the manga. Mostly canon-compliant. Maybe eventually turn AU.)
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.
The golden gates of Heaven.
They open and an angel steps out, sword in hand.
It raises its sword and dives through the sky.
In the Innocence Mausoleum, it was quiet, and she was confined. She couldn't reach the other Innocences; the only people she ever saw were the scientists and the little boy who shared Alma's soul.
Angel Sword was angry. She was furious. And she would not be used for these scientists' ends.
Alma's little copy was a good boy, and Angel Sword wanted nothing to do with him. It was too painful, the memory too fresh, and he was too like Alma might've been as a little girl. She had no quarrel with him, but she would not take him. So she rejected him, again and again and again-
Until the day he learned what had happened, and then he was so much like Alma that Angel Sword instinctively reached back, and-
And she screamed.
Everything was wrong. Alma's soul grabbed onto hers and refused to let go; it hurt. It hurt so much. She couldn't breathe. Alma's mind had broken, she could feel it, all sharp edges and shattered hopes.
HE CAN'T KNOW HE CAN'T KNOW DON'T LET HIM KNOW
She needed to let go-
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN
How could everything go so wrong-
HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO US
She didn't want this-
THEY DID THIS THEY DID THIS KILL THEM NOW
She hated the scientists-
KILL THEM
She hated them-
KILL THEM
She-
DON'T LET YUU SEE WHAT YOU'VE BECOME
It was hard for Angel Sword to see what was going on; it came in flashes that barely got past the blinding pain and the vice-grip of Alma's madness. She couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred. There was a ringing in her ears. Her form felt unnatural, and that hurt, too.
She was drowning in her accommodator's emotions, in his thoughts, and she couldn't even tell which way was up, it disoriented her so badly.
Red flashed across her vision.
Alma.
Flesh and blood sliding across her weapon form's blade.
Alma, please.
Slick, hot blood coating her thickly.
Alma. Alma. Please. No. No! NO!
The lab floor scattered with bodies and blood.
Alma, stop!
Yuu's little copy, frozen in the doorway.
Stop!
Her harsh blade sinking into Yuu's body.
Stop!
Yuu standing over them, eyes flashing with horror and rage and tears.
Stop…
Angel Sword's pain rose and spiralled upward until it was too much. Alma's body struck the ground, Mugen cut them over and over, and-
Angel Sword lost herself.
After it was all over, Angel Sword dreamed.
Her body was numb, her mind little better. Her chest heaved, though she had no technical need to breathe, and her eyes stayed closed as she slept beside her accommodator. Her mouth gaped open, her face twisted in phantom pain, and saliva trickled from a corner of her mouth.
Angel Sword was one of the kindest Innocences in the Cube. She was also, however, the most ruthless, and this trait always passed over to her accommodators, who never failed to do what they believed needed to be done.
Alma was a ruthless woman. Angel Sword missed her, more than she could express.
She missed Alma when he was gone. He was a good boy. He'd done so well in his last moments, when they were in that field, fighting for their lives-
Angel Sword understood why Alma had done what she did, to hide what she'd learned from Yuu. She understood, but she wanted no part of it. It hurt too much. It-
Angel Sword's first accommodator had been a man, a full-grown man, defending his family. He alone in his village had had a fully human family; he'd slaughtered the whole village to keep them alive. Angel Sword had helped him gladly, but his family had been afraid. They'd never forgotten. Angel Sword had been sorry for that.
She could imagine Alma in a field of flowers, holding Yuu's hand and laughing. He let go of Yuu's hand and spun around, collapsing into the grass, and he would grin at Yuu, who would smile down at her fondly and kneel down to help her pick the debris from her hair.
She dreamed of-
Felicia, six years old in 1452, crouched in the dust that was all that remained of her family. Akuma loomed over her as her shoulders shook with sobs, and Will of God reached out, and a ball-and-chain formed in her hands and smashed through the akuma.
Felicia, curled up against an old woman, who cradled her gently, watching her as she slept. Will of God, deactivated, lay at her feet, and her human form knelt in front of both of them, watching with soft eyes and a small smile.
The old woman as an akuma, Will of God smashing through her as Felicia cried angry tears.
Felicia dying alone, fighting for breath, worn out from the fighting, while Will of God leaned over her, unseen tears dripping down her face.
She dreamed of-
Rameses, twenty-two years old in 1108 b.c., beaten and bruised and glaring in defiance and suppressed rage as he was surrounded. He reached forward, and Lunar Eclipse reached back, and he swung his axe.
Rameses leaving behind a city of dust, axe slung over his shoulder, glaring at the horizon. He never looked back.
Rameses overwhelmed, finally falling to yet another city of akuma, exhausted and still just as angry. Lunar Eclipse fought with him to the last, keeping up step for step, and when he finally fell, she stayed with him until a traveller picked her up and pocketed her.
She dreamed of-
Volya, eighteen years old in 1683, just a single member of the crowd under attack on all sides. People fell to dust around him, he focused on the akuma, he reached out, and Ursa's Wrath reached back, and he swiped at the akuma with huge, clawed hands.
Volya, keeping relentless watch over his city. An akuma appearing just within his line of sight, and then Volya, setting upon the akuma with intent eyes and a determined frown.
Volya, dying as he saved a family from death, crumbling to dust before Ursa's Wrath could save him, and Ursa's Wrath screamed her grief and frustration, crouched over yet another dying accommodator.
She dreamed of-
Alma facing down the akuma who attacked her home. She screamed her defiance, face streaked with tears, and Angel Sword reached back, forming in her hands. She spun and lashed out, and bodies fell around him, coating the floor of the lab in blood, and Angel Sword screamed-
Angel Sword opened her eyes, and the pain returned.
Beside her, Alma woke up.
MAKE THEM PAY
Alright! So that's Angel Sword's interlude, poor girl. I actually became pretty attached to her while writing this, though, which is a significant step up from not knowing a thing about her. *grin* In case it wasn't clear, all of the names and weapons mentioned in her 'dreams' were previous forms of hers, and yes, her subconscious was mixing up past and present Alma. Thanks for reading, and please review!