I took a bit of time on this one...the next one might come late next week. Thank you to Omnomnom (- like your name choice by the way XD) for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

Everything in this story is also a work of fiction, and so it does not have any correlation with with real people, places, or etc. though there may be references.

Also, on an added note, as the storyplot of D. Gray-man itself holds some content on religion, there may be mentions of philosophy/ religion within this chapter, but I mean no offense, so I hope people are not offended.

Enjoy! (I appreciate feedback)

Mana Walker looked up from his reverie. Something about the place had changed. It was a subtle little thing, almost insignificant. It was almost like an echo reverberating off the walls, a collective shriek of agony. It created an unsettling feeling within him. Clack. A footstep sounded behind him, and he whipped around. There, out of breath, was the Fourteenth.

"Four..teenth?" He asked, slightly bewildered. "What happened?"

"Hah hah Sorry... Mana," The Fourteenth said, smiling within gasps, "Darnit...the Earl's hard to kill, as expected..." After a few deep breaths, he straightened up. "We have to get out of here. My informant will let us out." Mana nodded as the Fourteenth called forth his sound creatures to conceal them. They went into the bubble the creatures made, away from the Earl.

"Master!" Lustful ran to the Earl, who was writhing on the ground, just as the other Noahs ran into the room through Road's door. The room was thick with the corpses of Akuma. In his back was an incision, and it was bleeding, creating a pool on the ground. "What happened?" The Earl was oblivious to her presence, as well as the others', only bemoaning the betrayal of the Fourteenth.

"...Fourteenth...why..." Within the Earl, turmoil was threatening to consume, dejection to overpower every other emotion. He, in his crazed mind, powered by the betrayal he had felt, had fought the Fourteenth, and even though they were almost equal in strength, the Fourteenth had disappeared a few seconds before the other Noahs arrived. Disappeared. The Earl had made sure that he knew where the Fourteenth was, made sure that he was safe from the likes of exorcist scum and Apocryphos. But the Fourteenth had disappeared, almost drowned, into a puddle of nothing in the air. He recalled the last words spoken to him by the Fourteenth, in his ever easygoing manner, almost as if he had just been telling the Earl about his day:

"Don't ever forget, dear brother, that I will never stop targeting you until you die."

"Get the Ark mobilized to find that traitor Fourteenth!" Lustful cried out, her face wild with anger. Road looked at Lustful, wary. But she knew the truth. The rest of the Noahs mobilized at once as she knelt down by the Earl, her eyes downcast, listening to the Earl.

"Fourteenth..."

No, it couldn't have been. The Fourteenth had said so himself. I'll be by your side no matter what happens. There could have been no way that the Fourteenth had done and plotted this all. The exorcist scum must have poisoned the Fourteenth against him. Yes, that was more plausible.Don't push yourself too hard. There was no way that the Fourteenth alone...that thought alone angered and made the Earl distraught.

All of the Noah were bound to him by their oaths, prepared to die for him and be used by him in their plans. The Earl was sure of it; he had no qualms about them at all. Their relationship, one between his cute 'children', the Noah, and he, was based upon that allegiance they had sworn to him in the first generation. That alone would never change; it was the very foundation of their existence. The Fourteenth, however, was different. He was not there, and so there was always an uncertainty. The Earl did not know whether he could trust the Fourteenth, but there was not a moment's worth of doubt within him that the Fourteenth was a Noah. The Fourteenth fascinated him. The Earl, when met with the Fourteenth, had been curious. The Earl had not been curious about very much for the past seven thousand years, much less curious about what he actually wanted to know. The Fourteenth, unlike the other Noah, who wanted to understand him, the Earl, seemed to already do so without trying.

"There must have been someone..." The Earl whispered with malice in an inaudible tone. One of the Exorcist scum... But they had to find him first. And when that someone is found...

"Find him..." The Earl said, finally getting up. The other Noah glanced at his infuriated face, unable to meet his eye. Road, who stood shorter than him by a couple feet, looked up at him in worry. His face was a mask of unmistakable, unshakable fury. "Find that traitor and his friends!"

The Noah needed no second telling.

"It's taking longer than when the Fourteenth had used the Ark to navigate." Fiddler commented in a whisper. It was a few minutes later, when the Earl was plunking away at the piano to get the Ark to move. Lustful glared at him, as though trying to make him shut up.

"What do you expect? That traitor made this thing, after all." She hissed back with great distaste.

"Even so, it's taking too long." Wisely said, glaring darkly. "The Ark hasn't moved at all." He spoke a little louder than the rest, but it was a dawning revelation upon all of the Noah, including the Earl.

The Fourteenth smirked as he heard a faint, piercing scream. So they've figured it out. Ah well, it was only a matter of time. He looked out towards the ocean that they had just left.

"So where should we stay tonight?" His brother asked. They were already off the island of Japan, currently traipsing by a river somewhere in China. The Fourteenth looked at him oddly, then smiled.

"This is almost a reverse of what happened fifteen years ago, isn't it?" Mana closed his eyes.

"The situation's changed drastically, you know." Mana replied, brushing some of the hair out of his eyes. But the Fourteenth was not really listening as he was recollecting the past.

"Back when I was what, this tall?" He reached out his hand to mark the height when he stopped. "Oh wait, I'm still that height. Ha." Mana smiled ruefully, another wrinkle in his face, and reached out to mess up his little brother's hair.

"I can probably say the same for your maturity as well." Mana said teasingly. The Fourteenth responded by punching him lightly on the shoulder. A few moments passed as the scant happiness subsided and the air was tense again.

"We should get going."

"Has the Earl gone to bed?"

"Yeah, and I've sent the Akuma out to comb the areas." There was a pause. "It might take a bit, but we'll find him."

"...Hey, Joyd?" In the shadow, Road looked up at Joyd. His face was set in a tired grin.

"Yeah, Road?" She closed her eyes. She thought of the Fourteenth.

"...Sorry, nothing."

The Earl was dreaming. Dreaming, when it all changed. It was a repeat of what happened. A nightmare.

The Fourteenth launched on, unafraid. He was even grinning as he raised his hand and created a sword-like edge with his shadows.

Clang. The two, sword and arm, caused sparks to appear as they made contact, the Earl and the Fourteenth. The contact lasted only for a moment as they went separate ways. The Fourteenth deftly turned around as his foot hit the floor. The Earl created electric orbs with his hands and launched them towards the Fourteenth, dashing with his sword afterwards. The Fourteenth dodged by jumping, pointing his arm downward to attack the Earl. Clang. The Earl read this; he parried with the sword. The Fourteenth raised his other arm to stab the Earl as the Earl used his other arm to launch an electric orb at the Fourteenth.

BOOM. Smoke filled the air as the orb made contact with the floor. The Earl launched on ahead, taking advantage of the smoke to attack. He swung his sword upon the figure standing in the smoke, only to see it disappear, jumping to the wall and launch itself at him. The Earl dodged, calling upon the multitudes of Level 4 Akuma at his disposal. The room became filled with them, all desiring to follow the commands of their creator. Kill. Kill the Fourteenth. In the middle of the Akuma was the Fourteenth, surrounded. The Fourteenth raised a hand as the Akuma came closer.

"Do you mean to kill me?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"N-noah-sama..." The Akuma faltered for a second, and that was enough. Within that second the Fourteenth had blasted them all away, his shadows wrapping themselves around the Akuma and breaking them, bit by bit, to pieces. The Earl struck, stabbing into the Fourteenth. The Fourteenth dodged swiftly, escaping with a graze. The Fourteenth retaliated, thrusting his arm forward to stab the Earl. Clang. The two made contact, two forces rejecting each other with all their might as they both pushed, seeking to gain ground. The Akuma closed in behind the Fourteenth, buffeting him with explosions. The Fourteenth moved quickly, using his other arm to swipe at the Earl and distract as he flew into the air. From there, as he fell, he reached his hand out. BOOM. Another explosion occurred as the Akuma in the vicinity were wiped out, leaving the Fourteenth standing in the middle of a crushed down circle.

The Akuma threatened to swallow him. He stood there. The Fourteenth stood, unfazed, as his shadows surrounded him to create a shield.

He was still smiling.

Feedback would make me very happy.

Canon: a theme that is repeated and imitated and built upon by other instruments with a time delay, creating a layered effect. (It is not a weapon, in this case)

(The above unbolded information was derived from Wikipedia)