Now we see the forbidden ones. Now you all see what Blake and Lucia were so reluctant to reveal. Does that showcase Rawhead's threat?

Blake and Lucia heard the bellows of Rawhead from a distance, and arrived just in time to see the creature viciously attacking Allen and Lenalee. As soon as Blake saw the creature, there was no doubt in his mind as to what it was. And when he and Lucia saw Rawhead take Crown Explosion head on and survive, they knew that their normal forms wouldn't cut it.

"Lucia. We have to go all out from the very beginning on this one. There's no room for mistakes," Blake said.

"I know!" Lucia was about to run out and help Allen and Lenalee, but Blake grabbed her arm. "What?!"

"Lucia, when I say "go all out", I mean it. Release your Tenebris Level 2," Blake said.

Lucia froze before she violently shook her head. "No. If I do, then there's not a thing on this planet that could stop it."

Blake gave her a grim smile. "Be careful what you wish for, Lucia. You have to do it. If your creature really is unstoppable…then I'll need it to stop mine."

Lucia sharply inhaled as Blake activated his Innocence without another word and took flight. "Innocence, Level 2, activate! Ignis!" he screamed.

A flash of green was nothing compared to the mighty inferno that enveloped Blake. Lucia felt an enormous heat bearing down on her for an instant, and, as if defying the laws of physics, she felt a crushing pressure as well. She knew, however, that it was not true pressure, but imagined pressure. It was pressure caused by a power far beyond the imaginations of man. She had never felt this level before, not even with Blake's other transformations. But Lucia had an inkling of what would come out.

Sure enough, when the fire dissipated, an enormous winged lizard burst out of the cloud of smoke to soar even higher. And Lucia saw what it was when it came down to attack Rawhead just as Rawhead broke out of Allen's Clown Belt.

A dragon…

Lucia heard an emotion she had never heard before from the darkness. It was fear. If you do not obey me from now on, you will face that dragon. It was an empty threat, and she suspected that the creature knew that, but still…

I accept…

Lucia suddenly felt lightness in her mind. "Innocence, Level 2, activate. Tenebris."

The darkness flowed in and enveloped her, but there was one last loose end to tie up. If you do this, you will be handing your control over to me.

If you go against it, that dragon will stop you. Blake will stop me, and I will stop Blake. That's how it's going to work.

A giggle sounded in her mind. You are very brave, youngling. It was a different voice, still female, but more human.

Who are you?

The darkness won't bother you anymore. I've made sure of that. You'll know who I am in due time. But more likely, you'll figure it out yourself. You, Allen, Blake, and Lenalee will help each other with who we are soon.

"We?"

There's four of us. But don't worry about that. Now it's time to fight.

The fully formed demoness burst out of the shadows, finally ready to fight alongside her comrades.


The dragon's eyes blazed as it reared up on its hind legs to trade roars with Rawhead. Because the dragon was larger, Rawhead treated it as the more dangerous opponent. And even though the dragon was almost twice as tall as Rawhead when standing on its hind legs, Rawhead still charged the dragon, ready to tear it apart.

It was a huge mistake. The demon screeched angrily. Its tail whipped forward and grabbed Rawhead by the head, violently pulling Rawhead downwards and distracting the beast just enough for the dragon to blast Rawhead with a red beam of energy. Rawhead gave a questioning groan before it disappeared right in front of everybody.

In its place was a giant ladybird. "…What?" Lenalee asked.

"Believe it or not, that is actually one of the dragon's more useful spells," Allen said.

"Spells?"

The dragon hissed, snapped the ladybird up, and spread its wings. Even the demon had to avert its face as the dragon gave two flaps of its mighty wings and took off. It was gone in a matter of moments.

The demon turned its baleful gaze on Allen and Lenalee. They stared back at it, unblinking and wary. The demon gave a dismissive screech and spread its wings as well. It took off after the dragon.

Without a word, Allen and Lenalee used their Innocence to leap around the city, following the demon.

"Allen…that was Blake and Lucia," Lenalee murmured.

"They must have seen that the situation had gotten too serious," Allen said.

"But Lucia…she said that she would never that form. It was too dangerous. Her Tenebris form has a mind of its own. It's not like her Lux form. It's a demon incarnate," Lenalee said.

"I could tell. That dark power…I've never felt anything like it, even from a Level 3 Akuma. In that form, Lucia can control everything that has to do with darkness, even the Dark Matter of an Akuma," Allen guessed.

"I'm surprised you could tell Lucia's power apart from Blake's," Lenalee remarked.

"I've felt it before, and it was something I'd hoped to never feel again. That was his Ignis form, Lenalee. And if Lucia's demon form is darkness incarnate, then Blake's dragon form contains everything that a dragon has. Lenalee, Blake as a dragon is intelligent and powerful beyond any human standards, but his rage and the pressure he exerts is not human. You know the transformations are true ones, and there's not one of them that can even match the power that Blake's dragon form has," Allen replied.

"Except for Lucia's demon," Lenalee said.

"Yeah. And that's probably why they chose to use those forms. I guessed they figured if one of them got out of control, the other would stop them," Allen said.

"And if they both got out of control?"

"They would both still stop the other. Dragons are noble by nature. All those stories about kidnapping maidens and hoarding jewels? Not true. What would a dragon, the lord of every beast known and imagined to man, want with human treasures? No. A true dragon is a sage, a magician, and a more ferocious fighter than any creature," Allen said.

"Is that what Blake said?" Lenalee asked.

"He of all people would know, but even he hasn't been able to fully explain to me why his dragon form has two legs instead of four. I thought it was a wyvern at first, but no wyvern could be as intelligent or as powerful as Blake is in that form," Allen replied.

"I was wondering about that. And what about demons?" Lenalee asked.

"Lucia will be fine. Demons can do good, even if they cannot love," Allen said. "And besides, no matter what, those two are still human deep down. Their very core is human."

"And if Lucia becomes a true demon?"

Allen became downcast. "I never want that to happen. You know perfectly well what we'd be forced to do."

"Then let's not talk about it. I'll have to help you from now on," Lenalee said.

"What?" Allen looked ahead. Lucia was following Blake, but they had both flown to the very edge of town. "Oh. No more buildings."

"Yes. It rather makes Clown Belt a little inconvenient, doesn't it?" Lenalee joked. She wrapped her arms around Allen's waist as Allen retracted Clown Belt for the last time. They landed on the ground, and continued following Lucia and Blake, with Lenalee jumping around with Allen in her arms and Allen feeling more than a little awkward.

A few seconds later, Blake spat out the ladybird, and it formed back into Rawhead, who screamed as he fell towards the ground. Lucia increased her speed and dropped both her feet onto Rawhead, accelerating the creature's descent. The sound he made upon impact with the ground was quite loud.

Still, Rawhead was tough. He staggered to his feet, groaning, but looking very little the worse for wear. Blake roared and released a blast of fire from his mouth. Rawhead screamed as the flames licked around him, and screamed even louder as Lucia impaled it with thrown spears made out of pure shadow.

"We are literally just spectators in this fight, aren't we?" Lenalee asked.

"Yeah. At this point, we would just get in the way," Allen replied.

Rawhead bellowed, but it was much weaker than before. Blake and Lucia had reduced one of the most powerful monsters the Exorcists had ever faced into a quivering wreck. And they had done it with just a few moves. Blake was rapidly shooting fire ball after fire ball, slowly building an inferno, while Lucia summoned spear after spear of darkness and continued throwing them at Rawhead. The holes she made allowed the fire to lick into Rawhead, burning him on the inside as well the outside. It was a fatal combination, but Rawhead was still alive.

Finally, Blake changed the tactic and roared at Lucia. Lucia screeched back once before dissipating the spears that were still in Rawhead. Blake roared again, and the inferno enveloping Rawhead crowned and sparked before it literally flowed into the holes in Rawhead's body. Rawhead was beyond roaring now. He could only let out a groan of pain and sink to his knees.

Blake's eyes flashed, and Rawhead exploded in a sea of flames. Apparently, though, that was not enough, as Lucia impaled the last bits of Rawhead's body with stakes, while Blake released one last ball of fire. This ball was smaller than the rest, but when it touched one of the chunks of flesh, an enormous explosion of flame lit up the night sky. When it cleared, there was nothing but charred ash where Rawhead once stood.

The dragon roared. The demon screeched. Their cries of triumph resounded in the night. And with that, their forms dissolved into green Innocence energy that flowed back into Blake and Lucia's arms. Lucia deactivated hers, but Blake used his Aqua to put out the residual fires. Neither of them said a word when Allen and Lenalee walked up to them.

"Good job, guys," Allen said.

"That was definitely way too much. Perhaps it was a bad idea," Blake said, his voice subdued.

"No. We wouldn't have won if we hadn't gone all out like that, Blake. My phoenix wouldn't have cut it, not at this hour," Lucia said.

"Then we should send you out on more day missions," Blake said.

"Maybe so. But thank you, Blake. Your dragon kept my demon in check. I should be able to control it now."

"Are you sure, Lucia?" Lenalee asked.

"I'll need to train with it. I can't communicate with my demon like I can with my phoenix. Maybe I can control it, but I haven't mastered it yet," Lucia said.

"What a coincidence. I haven't mastered the dragon yet, either. Even though dragons are the most intelligent creatures around, I can't communicate telepathically like I can with the others," Blake said.

"Maybe it's because you're not a true dragon, but a wyvern?" Allen suggested.

"Wyverns can't breathe fire, and they can't use magic to control fire like I can. I still don't know why I don't have four legs and wings. Although I have to admit, I think I like this way better. Do you have any idea how annoying it was to learn how to control the griffin's flying style like having an extra pair of limbs behind your shoulders?" Blake asked.

"I didn't have a problem with it," Lucia pointed out.

"Yeah, it was really easy, but this is even easier. I can still strike very well with my wings and claws, believe it or not, but flying is just like flapping my arms in that form," Blake said.

"True. I feel the same way with the phoenix," Lucia agreed.

"Let's get back to Rawhead. We dealt with the killer, right?" Lenalee asked.

"We'll talk about it after we get back to Headquarters. It's safe to call off the search now, but it would be easier to make our report after everyone is gathered," Allen said.

"Alright. I'll find the others and tell them what happened. You guys can head back on your own, right?" Lenalee asked.

"Of course," Allen replied.


The case was solved. Rawhead was the killer after all. After he was taken care of, there was not a single murder. However, to avoid unnecessary disbelief and very difficult explanations to the papers and the public, the Black Order simply released an official report saying that the killings were done by a particularly vicious gang of serial killers. Although the existence of the Akuma had been publicized, those who believed in them were still largely limited to those who had actually seen the creatures. The majority of the public was still skeptical about the Akuma's existence, like Emilia's father once was. Ranting about an old nightmarish boogeyman already considered as an old wives' tale would damage the Black Order's credibility. They had Kanda to thank for the alternative explanation. Even though the samurai had learned the lesson that legends and myths could still pose a threat, his realism gave great ideas for any alternative explanations that the public could digest.

It was not long before things went back to normal, even with the rather frequent Akuma attacks. But time passed very quickly because of the attacks and the training. The Exorcists were kept very busy. That was why, to them, Christmas was very quick in coming.

It was fortunate that Christmas presents were not a requirement, nor was there a formal Secret Santa exchange. The Black Order's staff count was so high, there was no possible way for anyone to buy everyone presents, like Lenalee might have wanted. There was, however, a very large Christmas party thrown every year on Christmas Eve, in which everyone in the Black Order was required to buy one item given a maximum and minimum price and put it in a large pile of presents to be distributed at random. Anyone who was found not doing it would get a two-month pay reduction.

Allen's contribution was a black felt fedora with three ribbons of different colors and attributes for customization options, while Blake had given in a masquerade mask. Other contributions included a cane sword, bottles of shampoo, checker and chess boards, flower vases…such things were both common enough to be used by anyone, but not so much that the buyer would be considered stingy or opulent. It was for Christmas, after all.

Very soon, it was the night before Christmas Eve, and Lenalee was doing some late-night training. The Black Order used a series of robotic training dummies that could be set at certain difficulty levels from one to ten for combat purposes, but there were also isolated rooms in which one could practice lengthening their invocation time or meditate. Lenalee was in one of them, meditating.

She wasn't alone for long, though. "Knock, knock," someone called.

Lenalee turned to see a smiling Allen at the door. "Meditating?"

"Yeah."

"May I join you?"

Lenalee hesitated, then nodded. Allen smiled and moved to a corner of the room, away from Lenalee. "I find corners more comfortable for this kind of thing," he explained, sitting down cross-legged and closing his eyes.

Lenalee did the same, and both of them relaxed themselves. Surprisingly, the proximity between them did not disturb their meditation at all. Everything seemed distant to them both, even as people went in and out of the training room. Lenalee had learned meditation from Kanda, while Allen had learned it from his and Blake's parents. It was not exactly nap time, but it was close enough, and it was possibly just as relaxing. There was a comfortable silence between the two that lasted for about thirty minutes.

Finally, Lenalee opened her eyes. Allen was in the same position that he was in earlier. "Allen?" she called.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, good, you're not asleep. I know people who actually do that," she said.

Allen chuckled. "That hurts, Lenalee. Who do you take me for? Are you done yet?"

"Yeah. I've been here for about three hours, so I'm going to bed now," Lenalee said.

"You've been meditating for that long? I can barely manage two," Allen sighed.

"You should see Kanda do it. He can go for six or seven on average," Lenalee laughed.

"Surprisingly, it doesn't help his temper."

"Yes, that's a pity. He's the one who taught me meditation, too. But he's nice enough once you get to know him."

Allen opened his eyes and smiled at her. "We'll work with each other. That's it. And we won't try to kill each other. Okay?"

Lenalee sighed and shook her head. "All right, Allen."

"Go to bed, Lenalee. I'll stay here and meditate for a little while longer. Good night," Allen said.

"Good night, Allen." Lenalee replied, leaving the room.

Allen closed his eyes again, but he opened them when Lenalee returned a minute later, her eyes slightly widened. "Did you forget something?"

"Come here," Lenalee whispered, beckoning.

"What's wrong?" Allen asked, just as quietly and standing up. He staggered a little as the blood rushed back to his legs, but he quickly regained himself.

Lenalee led Allen to another room across from the one they were in. She put a finger to her lips and pointed. Allen peaked in to see Blake and Lucia, in their dragon and demon forms, facing each other. Surprisingly, they did not seem to notice Allen and Lenalee, focusing entirely on each other.

Blake slowly padded towards Lucia on all four legs. Even though he was larger than her, she looked up and met his gaze proudly. He was growling under his breath, and her eyes were blazing with warning and pride. He was likely more powerful than she was, but she met his crushing pressure with her dark aura. The air in the room felt quite thick as a result.

Finally, Lucia turned away, and the pressure in the room disappeared. She looked at a mirror behind her and gave a mournful groan as she walked up to it. She laid a clawed hand on her face, and slowly stroked her nose. Why was I not aware of what I looked like? Why did you not tell me?

Blake stalked up behind her. Is there an issue? You are a demon. Be grateful you don't have fangs or that your horns are not more grotesque.

I am still an ugly creature, Blake. How is it that a weapon of God would allow a transformation into a true monster? Into a monster whose sole purpose is to oppose God?

You forget, Lucia. Every monster is an affront to God, especially dragons. Dragons have their own god.

They do?

Yes. The dragon god Ouroboros. In this form, I find myself deferring to Ouroboros than God. And considering that I'm not particularly religious at all, this transformation may be quite the curse.

At least you don't worship Satan.

Lucifer.

She turned around. Beg pardon?

Lucifer. He is the true lord of demons, not Satan.

What's the difference?

I use Binsfeld's connotation of seven deadly princes rather than the normal one. To me, Lucifer and Satan are two different beings. Lucifer is the original traitor, the demon prince of pride and true lord of demons. Satan is just the demon prince of wrath, just as powerful, but still second to Lucifer.

Again, what does it matter?

Because it fits you, Lucia. Lucifer. Of light. Just like you. That was why he was called the Morningstar above all else before his betrayal. Lucia, even if you are a demon now, your name alone makes you pure, whether it be darkness or light.

But a demon...

You are beautiful in this form, Lucia. You are as lovely as the angel that your demon was formed from. Even if you become a demon, and just as I become a dragon, we will always be people who wish to help their friends. No matter what kind of monsters we have to become in the process. Blake laid his head on Lucia's shoulder. She stiffened, then relaxed. So never worry about what you might become. Just think about what you are at the deepest core.

Is that how you tolerated yourself?

Exactly so.

Thanks for trying, Blake. But a demon is a demon.

And a dragon is a dragon. So if for nothing else, I'll stay here with you for as long as you wish. He lifted his head off her shoulder as she turned to look at him. Our goal here is to more fully master these forms, and we have learned to talk with them already.

Maybe because these two forms are the most intelligent out of all of them?

Your forms' average intelligence is likely greater than mine. Despite all its power, a golem is nothing more than a mindless construct after all, and while the griffin is the king of all mortal beasts, it is still a beast.

And your water form?

Also a beast, but its identity I'll leave up to you to guess. You, however, have two immortal beasts of the highest caliber, in both intelligence and power.

You flatter me.

I flatter the Innocence, not you.

Very funny, Blake.

It was then that Allen and Lenalee decided to leave their friends alone. As they walked away, Lenalee smiled. "At least they get along better than they once did."

"They knew we were there, Lenalee. A telepathic conversation can't be heard by anyone other than the subjects and anyone else they want to hear it.

"Then I guess we were lucky, weren't we? We were listening in, and they let us. Either that, or they haven't achieved that level of mastery over their forms yet," Lenalee said.

"Probably. Anyway, the party's tomorrow. And Blake and I have a special surprise for the Black Order." Allen smiled at Lenalee's expression of dismay.

"Is it dangerous?" Lenalee asked.

"That will be up to you to decide." Allen dropped her off at her room and laid a kiss on her knuckles. "Until tomorrow, Lenalee. Good night."

"Good night, Allen," she replied, boldly kissing his cheek as a response and going into her room before she saw his reaction.

Allen walked away with a spring in his step.


The party on Christmas Eve was in full swing. The gifts had been exchanged, the food was being enjoyed, and the music was at a level equal to that of the theater. Of course, there were many prayers, since it was a religious organization, but most of the time the members of the Black Order enjoyed the music by a group of church sopranos, and dinner made by Jeryy, Blake, and Allen, the latter two finally getting around to filling out their owed promises to Jeryy.

The highlight of the party, though, was when Lenalee, Lucia, and surprisingly, Miranda went up on stage and sang a triple rendition of O Christmas Tree. Lenalee's voice was low yet melodious, while Lucia's was more highly pitched and jubilant. But it was Miranda's voice that caught the ear. As she sang O Tannenbaum in German and hit the verse, her voice increased in pitch as it was just as high as the sopranos of opera. It seemed that even she was not aware of this ability, as her eyes were wide as she sang.

The three ladies' song ended with all three of them singing the last stanza, and that led off to resounding applause from the audience. Even Kanda was clapping along. They all curtsied and rejoined their friends at the foot of the stage.

"That was amazing, ladies!" Lavi exclaimed.

Krory nodded in agreement. "Yes, I was surprised."

Lenalee smiled and looked at Miranda. "I think Miranda was too, right?"

Miranda hesitatingly nodded. "I didn't know that I could sing like that…"

"Yeah, it never showed up during practice, so all of us were surprised. It was a great surprise, though," Lucia said.

"You guys practiced for this?" Lavi asked.

"Of course we did. Otherwise it wouldn't have gone through so smoothly. We've been practicing since we came back from Paris," Lucia said.

"Speaking of surprises, have you guys seen Allen and Blake? Allen told me about some sort of surprise they were planning for tonight," Lenalee asked.

"They were here earlier, and they got their presents," Krory pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but they're not here now," Lenalee replied, scanning the room.

"Knowing them, they're preparing the surprise. Let's just hope no one dies as a result of it," Lavi said.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Komui walked up to them. "Merry Christmas, everyone! Especially you, Lenalee-chaaan!" He tried to hug his little sister, but she deftly stepped aside and held up a hand as he went at her again.

"Merry Christmas, big brother! But no hugs, please!"

"Okay!" Komui chirped.

Lucia sighed in annoyance. "Komui, what do you mean?"

Komui chuckled. "Allen and Blake are both bold and reckless, but they are far from stupid. They came to me with their idea for a surprise for my approval, mostly because they knew I would never allow anything that would endanger the Black Order's faculty."

"That's because you cause too much danger all by yourself already…" Lavi muttered.

Komui ignored this. "Anyway, I approved it, so you can be certain that no one will die or get horribly wounded by what Allen and Blake are planning!"

"Okay. But can you tell us what the surprise is?" Lucia asked.

"That would ruin the point of it being a surprise!" Komui protested.

Lenalee gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeeease?" she pouted.

Komui nervously tugged at his collar and drops of sweat broke out on his forehead. "E…even if my v-very adorable little sister asks, I can't tell you yet!" he managed to grit out with great difficulty.

Lenalee batted her eyes and pouted even more. "No, Lenalee! I'll tell you only this much! It's their extra Christmas gift to the Black Order! That's all you'll know for now! I promise I'll tell everyone in ten minutes!"

Lenalee sighed. "Okay…" She sounded quite disappointed, which tugged at Komui's heartstrings, but he steeled himself and went to the stage.

Lavi burst out laughing. "That was priceless, Lenalee!"

Lenalee smiled. "It wasn't that much of an act, I really did want to know. But don't ever expect me to do that again."

"Komui scares me sometimes with that obsession…" Miranda murmured.

"Don't worry about it. The worst thing that ever happens is that he releases a giant Sir Komurin bot to protect her," Lavi said.

"And then I end up destroying it," Lenalee chirped.

"…This really is quite a strange job," Krory said.

"Um, guys?" They turned to see Emilia looking at them.

"Emilia, Merry Christmas!" Lavi greeted.

"Merry Christmas to you all, too. Have any of you seen Timothy? I lost track of him a while ago," Emilia said.

The others froze. "Oh, no…" Lavi murmured.

"What?" Emilia asked.

"If Allen, Blake, and Timothy are missing…" Lucia started.

The others felt an inexplicable chill run down their backs as they imagined it. The thought of the three former criminals working together was actually kind of frightening. Allen and Blake by themselves had managed to elude the Black Order for years. With Timothy helping them…

Their thoughts were interrupted when Komui took the stage. "Testing, testing…excellent! May I have all your attention, please!"

The Black Order stopped partying for a little bit to see their boss. "First, Merry Christmas, everyone!" This announcement was met with cheers. "This year has been very eventful for us, hasn't it? We have been able to capture three criminals who have eluded us for years, but then we turned them over to our side, and look how well that's turned out." Some laughed at this.

"But then we discovered our true threat, and he should know by now that he will be stopped. It was difficult at first, but we have also gained several new allies in the upcoming war with the Millennium Earl. Give it up for Allen Walker, Blake Phantasia, Miranda Lotto, Arystar Krory III, Timothy Hearst, and Emilia Galmar!"

Another round of applause went up. "Now, some of you have already noticed that three of those people are not here at the moment. Well, that's because…urk!"

Komui was interrupted by a white arm snaking around from behind him and squeezing the pressure point on his neck. Lenalee gasped as Komui stiffened and fell. The people at the front rushed to help him, but they were all blocked by a series of white tendrils released from the cloak of a grinning masked man with silver hair.

"And now the annoying one has been silenced for just a little bit. Don't worry your little heads over it, everyone, he'll be fine in a few moments," the man drawled.

Even if no one recognized who he was, they all knew the indolent and arrogant tone he took. Lenalee looked on as the man on stage was joined by another man with slicked black hair, antenna–like bangs, and a black plague doctor's mask with golden engravings, as well as a young child with a white outfit and a jewel-shaped mask covering his entire face. All three of them were grinning, and all three of those grins were those of criminals who had easily triumphed over the authorities.

"Good evening, Black Order," Crown Clown sighed, his talons extending to their full length as he waved his arm at the shocked audience.

"Merry Christmas," Fantasy's Requiem added, his grin becoming more and more pronounced as he arrogantly tilted his head.

Phantom Thief G tilted his head back and laughed.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas 2015 and I wish you all a Happy New Year! I'm going to spend the last of it watching The Abominable Bride!

Please leave a comment below if you so wish.