Author's Notes:

I was a bit troubled with this chapter. As I lamented before, I have a hard time writing battle scenes and then this scene between Ellen and Tyki was even worse...

The title seems strangely familiar, I wonder if I've already used it before or seen it somewhere... *sweat* It's certainly a phrase I used before because it is so charmingly ambivalent.

In the end the chapter didn't turn out as lengthy as I thought it would. I didn't write out the fight because I didn't have the patience to and it wouldn't have contributed much to the story. I hope it does not seem too rushed because of the skips.

This chapter is on one hand not all too kind on Tyki but on the other hand it contains some hinted at Tyki - Ellen vibes. I must apologize to those who don't like that w (and to Kanda because he doesn't appear in this chapter).

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 35: Raise your arms – we dance

Ellen stepped through the door not knowing what kind of ordeal would await her and her companions. She did however not expect to be greeted by a loud voice and a small person throwing their arms around her neck.

"Ellen!!" The girl almost stumbled back but managed not to fall down. The weight attached to her was no other than the Noah Rhode Camelot.

"Rhode…!" Ellen said when she recognized the girl – who was in her white form and thus a bit more agreeable to Ellen. The girl giggled in amusement but then she planted a loud kiss on Ellen's cheek.

"What… What are you doing?!" Ellen asked in surprise but Rhode merely grinned at her, kissing her other cheek. Rabi and the others were also too shocked to see a Noah kiss their friend to say anything decent. Lelo on the other hand knew very well how opposed it was to such a display.

"You can't do that, Miss Rhode, lelo!" it shrieked flying at Rhode, so that the girl had to let go of Ellen, "you must not kiss exorcists!!"

"Ah, Lelo! There you are!" Rhode said with a smile not at all impressed by the umbrella's anger.

"Ellen? Ellen are you alright??" Rabi asked, shaking the confused exorcist.

"Of course I am! It was just a kiss," Ellen said but couldn't help blushing slightly.

"Rhode, what the hell are you doing?" a voice said and Rhode ran off. For the first time Ellen looked up to take in their surroundings. They seemed to be in a hall that had no walls, but columns carrying the ceiling. In the middle stood a very long table and a few chairs. Only one of them was currently occupied. Ellen's breath hitched in her throat; it was that Noah, Tyki Mikk! He seemed pretty shocked by Rhode's behaviour, incredulously staring at the girl.

"Do you like that boy that much? I never saw that you kissed anyone beside the Earl." Rhode laughed and walked up to Tyki, standing next to him.

"You won't get a kiss from me!" she teased and Tyki snorted.

"As if I wanted one!" he replied. Ellen tried to calm herself down. She could never feel at ease in Tyki's presence; she had not forgotten the shock of nearly dying by this man's hand. Tyki Mikk… Ellen studied him and he studied her with a grin on his face.

"Well, boy?" Rabi noticed how Ellen's face lost its colour.

"Ellen? Hey, what's the matter?" Rabi wondered, "you don't need to be afraid, we'll show them and then we can go home!". Ellen snapped out of her thoughts and tried to smile at Rabi.

"Y… Yes. Of course. Excuse me…" she replied.

"Look at you,too afraid to sit down? I'm hungry, boy!" Tyki said maliciously and started eating without waiting for a reply.

"You idiot," Rhode snorted and started laughing, which had Tyki stop eating for a moment to frown at the other Noah. "You really are dumb, Tyki! Haven't you realized yet that your Allen Walker is in fact a girl?!" Tyki widened his eyes to stare at Rhode, then he put his fork down to stare at Ellen. He suddenly rose, hands on the table, eyes still fixed on Ellen.

"You are a girl?!"

"Man, this guy is really stupid," Rabi whispered to Ellen and she huffed.

"I regret that this realization on your part comes so late Lord Mikk, but it is a fact: Yes, I am a woman and never did I claim otherwise," she told him. Tyki was still speechless, but he regained his composure after a while. For him not to have realized that he nearly killed a girl while he had his hand stuck in her chest, that really was a bit embarrassing.

"My deepest apologies," he said with a malicious glint in his eyes, "then can I ask you to join me in this dinner?"

"Thank you Lord Mikk, but I have to refuse," she said, not jokingly as he did, but very seriously, "we will eat when time allows it." Tyki sat back down and took up fork and knife. Rhode had placed herself in the middle of the long table observing Ellen with great interest – here and there she still snorted and giggled, commenting on how dumb Tyki was, which he just ignored, but not without blushing in embarrassment and annoyance.

"What time are you speaking of? You have nearly no time left!" Tyki replied after a while.

"Why don't you take a look at the splendid view from this tower?" Rhode suggested with a smile. Ellen widened her eyes but then she dashed off to the edge of the tower. She gasped in shock, overlooking what was left in terror.

"Ellen! The town! It's disappeared!" Rabi shouted when he and the other two had joined Ellen.

"Maybe we have an hour left." Rhode said, "Only this tower remains. Everything else has crumbled and vanished." Ellen still stared at the nothingness around the tower.

"That cannot…" she whispered, "no!" If everything had been downloaded then what had happened with Crowley, what had happened with Kanda? Ellen was unable to move, neither could she formulate words. If it was gone, if he was gone…! She snapped out of her stupor when the loud noise of shutting doors was to be heard. Rhode stood in front of the door they had previously entered and chains locked it.

"Sit!" she ordered with a grin. With the door closed there was no way back; they could only advance.

"Take a seat!" Tyki demanded, "or are you scared?" After the shock came the rage. Ellen stared at Tyki with all the contempt she could muster, then she left her friends and walked over to the table. She smashed her Innocence hand flat on the table's surface, then she sat down at the head of the table, her grey eyes still fixed on Tyki's face.

"Excuse my manners," she hissed, then she put both of her hands on her lap and waited while the others also took seats next to her.

"Well, b – I mean girlie," Tyki started, correcting himself with a cough. Apparently this revelation was a bit uncomfortable for Tyki for God knew what reason. Ellen did not pity him.

"You can keep calling me whatever you wish, but may I remind you of my name? It is E-"

"I know, I know. Ellen Walker!" Tyki said with an amused snort, "really, you're quite a strange girl! No wonder that I didn't notice earlier!"

"It IS a wonder, most people get it right after a few days," Rabi muttered which had Rhode roaring with laughter.

"Our Tyki is really stupid! He can't even tell boys and girl apart, it comes as no great surprise that you have no girlfriend!"

"Shut up, Rhode!" Tyki hissed in slight embarrassment that he tried to conceal by sipping wine. While the Noahs were really calm the exorcists were tense and didn't utter one word even though Tyki's ignorance was funny to some extend.

"Why the long faces? There are no traps and I play no games with you!" Tyki exclaimed and sighed dramatically. Rhode jumped from the table and walked over to Ellen, hugging her which Ellen commented with an uneasy frown.

"Everything's alright, Ellen! The exit is on the roof of this tower!" she said and Ellen looked at her, managing to smile.

"Then I do hope that it really leads outside," she replied and Rhode smiled sweetly. Ellen turned back to Tyki, "what was it that you wanted to discuss with me Lord Tyki Mikk?" Here she put on an uncharacteristic sneer, "however, it seems that you do this title no honour. You are a homeless, uneducated, vagabonding thief and not nobility." Tyki laughed at her haughty tone.

"Why so snappish, girl? What would you know about nobility?" he wondered.

"I AM nobility," Ellen hissed and now that Tyki raised his eyebrow in surprise, she grinned shortly, triumphant that her status gave her some sort of satisfaction - even though it would not help in the battle to come.

"HA!" Tyki exclaimed in amusement, "quite a fine girl you are! You, a noble and female exorcist, stripping me, a Noah, to my undergarments! This has never happened before!" he laughed while Ellen remained silent, "I am sure that it was fate that brought us together!"

"I do not believe in fate when it comes to us, Lord Mikk. And you are not the only one that was stripped down to his underwear when faced with my card game ability," she said in a flat tone which took Tyki by surprise.

"What kind of girl are you!?" Ellen didn't deem it necessary to reply to this question and raised her left invocated arm.

"This is actually about my Innocence, my left arm, am I correct?" Ellen asked and Tyki grinned darkly before he let himself fall back into his chair.

"To tell you the truth this was quite a shock for me. I was absolutely sure that I had destroyed it," he said.

"However, you did not succeed. It is still here," Ellen said and smiled thinly, looking straight into Tyki's eyes.

"Well? Has this Innocence sparked your interest now, Tyki?" Rhode asked and Tyki put his elbow on the table and his chin into his hand, studying Ellen with interest.

"Indeed, yes. Well, girl! The tease have eaten a hole into your heart and still you are alive. Is that also because of your left arm?" But before Ellen could reply something to that she heard the shrieks of Rabi and Linali.

"Your heart?!" Rabi shouted wide-eyed.

"We didn't even know! It was that bad?!" Linali added while Ellen just tried to smile at them. Of course she hadn't said anything about that, it was rather clear how worried those two would react. Rhode did her the favour and explained:

"A piece of her Innocence had fused with her heart, no doubt about it!" she said. Ellen was distracted from the two by hearing the sound of a match being lit. Tyki had put a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it.

"Rhode. Could you now let go of the girl?" he asked calmly but Rhode just held on to Ellen like a young child might hold on to her mother or a toy.

"Whaaat?! But I love Ellen!" she exclaimed what earned her an outraged shriek by Lelo.

"Please," Ellen started uneasily, "your love is wasted on me, I am an exorcist and you are a Noah."

"Why should that matter?" Rhode wondered with a cheeky grin. Ellen did not reply, but only took Rhode's hands off, then she took hold of her and put her down on the floor.

"It does matter, Rhode. I could like you, but you are cruel…" she said gently and Rhode seemed a bit puzzled to hear her say such a thing. It was clear that Ellen had not yet forgiven her for what she did back in Germany, and probably never would. But Ellen turned away from her and looked at Tyki, who had stood up. He acknowledged her with a steady look.

"The scenario of the Earl… You must know that until now I only took part in it for fun… But one has to be really evil, otherwise it won't work. Thanks to you I have recognized that." He blew out the smoke, then he looked at Ellen with a serious expression. "Destruction? I think both of us are dead serious about it, right?" Ellen, seeing a movement near Linali in the corner of her eye, reached out and pierced both the seat and a tease butterfly with her claw.

"Tyki Mikk," she hissed, glaring at him darkly, "allow me to say something as well." Linali widened her eyes as she realized how Ellen had saved her from harm. "If you continue to threaten my friends, then I might really have to kill you!" She took away her hand and with both grace and determination she put her feet on the table, standing between the plates, crystal glasses filled with wine and the food. "Linali," she said and the girl stared at Ellen with wide eyes, not knowing the fierce and hot-tempered side of her aristocratic friend. "Have faith! I will take care of him."

"Well, you should know that I have nothing against you, quite on the contrary! Now that I see you standing erect like a goddess among the banquet I prepared just for you, I am almost bewitched!" Tyki exclaimed. Ellen huffed in indignation, but then she rushed forward, meeting Tyki with her Innocence ready. He blocked her attack and looked right into her face with a grin. "So might I ask this dance?" Ellen, despite being enraged, smiled.

"With pleasure, Lord Tyki Mikk!"

-

Ellen had not attended a formal dance yet as her mother hadn't dared to introduce her into society just yet. But Ellen had witnessed public dances with her late uncle and she knew how thrilling it could me. Ellen also knew how to fight, she knew the horrors, the rush of emotions, the beating of the heart. Right now it was a mixture of both: she was afraid of Tyki Mikk, but she was also fast losing this fear in favour of going all out in battle. And next to this, their attacks did seem rather like a dance as Tyki kept evading gracefully, taking hold of Ellen's hand to swirl her around. Ellen let it happen. She was both high on adrenaline from the constant danger and also strangely excited by his beautiful face and graceful movements.

"What goes through your mind, girl?" Tyki wondered, holding on to her. She looked up into his face and put her Innocence hand on his shoulder, ready to pierce his skin. He pushed her away, while still holding on to her hand, continuing to mock a dance. "Are you happy that we are about to kill each other? I can't tell from your poker face, so please enlighten me!" he said with an amused grin. He pulled her back, also trying to attack her, but she blocked easily.

"Happy? Do not make me laugh, Lord Mikk!" she replied and pulled away, breaking the contact. When she looked up at him her face was not happy or void of emotion. "I am sad. When we first met, you were such a pleasant human being. I liked you from the start." She told him and he smiled at her. "It would be wonderful if you always were like this…". Ellen raised her claw, ready to attack again, "and that our dance would not have to end deadly…". Tyki grinned, then he spread his arms making uncountable carnivorous butterflies appear. He did not reply and Ellen knew that now they had fooled around for long enough. Now she would have to focus all of her concentration on her attacks. Ellen acted on instinct and fought without thinking too much, but then a shrill cry shattered her concentration:

"RABI!!" Ellen whirled around and tried to see what was going on, but then she had to block an attack from Tyki.

"You should better focus all of your attention on me!" he told her and she glared at him and tried to attack him, but he jumped away, coming to a halt in mid-air.

"Ah right, you were able to penetrate any matter," Ellen remarked and he grinned down at her.

"Correct! I can even walk on air if only I want to!" The white-haired exorcist was not too impressed by it. She just lifted her hand, attaching her clown belt to the ceiling. This way she pulled herself up at an equal height as Tyki, but then she readied herself for a big attack. When she met Tyki a big explosion made the white tower tremble. Tyki, even though he was still grinning, was more serious in his attacks now, some of them hitting Ellen's body. Even though she could deal with the pain, she was getting short of breath quite fast, but she continued fighting just as fiercely as he did. Even a surprise attack of many tease could not hurt her as she simply protected herself with the coat of her Innocence. When all of the butterflies were destroyed she could see Tyki standing some meters away from her.

"A full body armor I see. White Akuma would fit better than Clown, girl!" Ellen didn't reply, "One could get scared seeing that! I told you that I don't hate you – but I will destroy that Innocence once again!" A shiver went through Ellen as she saw him get ready for another attack. She knew that he was preparing to destroy her Innocence and the recollection of that terrible night made her nauseous. She had to prevent this from happening again – but she would not run away because she was afraid, she would stop him! Tyki didn't give her much time to think because he started to rush at her.

"Don't you want to run away?" Tyki asked with his hand outstretched, but Ellen just countered with her claw, trying to withstand the impact of his power. She felt the dark energy that surrounded Tyki like a shield reaching out for her, taking hold of her left arm. "You cannot stop this power! You exorcists cling too tightly to your God! I will free you of it!" Tyki shouted and Ellen saw how her arm started to crack and she nearly faltered with the pain it brought her. "It's useless for a girl to be an exorcist! I will help you once again and turn your Innocence to dust, Ellen Walker!" Ellen nearly didn't hear him over the roaring of the attack but then she could not counter it any longer and was thrown back, hitting a cube where Linali and Chao Zhi were held captive by Rhode. Ellen nearly lost consciousness but she heard Linali shouting something. She forced herself to move and lifted her hand, grinning up at Tyki.

"You do not need to do me any favours," Ellen said, "I have decided to overcome the pain you gave me once, and I will not yield to you now…" She did not look at Tyki but put her right hand on her trembling left arm.

"What are you saying? Don't tell me you enjoy what I am doing with you! You know, I have a policy not to torture girls. But if you are this resistant then I feel tempted to play with you a bit more cruelly!" Ellen had to cough up some blood which made Tyki grin gleefully.

"Ellen! Ellen, don't overdo it!", Linali shouted in great worry, "your whole body will take the damage if your parasitic Innocence is attacked!" Ellen just wiped away the blood and showed Linali a calm, gentle smile which made Linali wonder how she was able to smile in such a situation.

"Tyki Mikk," Ellen addressed the Noah, "You are mistaken. Not only about me, but about us exorcists." Tyki raised an eyebrow at that, deciding to listen for a bit. "You believe that you simply have to destroy our Anti-Akuma weapon to turn us into mere humans. Mere humans without special powers. But it is them that you should fear!" Her Innocence, even though partly destroyed, started to glow. "We receive our powers from the Innocence, but we control them with our human hearts. That is why I was able to return to the battlefield even after you destroyed my Innocence. Because as long as my heart remains connected to the Innocence. As long as my body that encloses the Innocence has not crumbled. As long as I am an exorcist, one thing is important to me. As long as I am on this world…!" Her hand repaired itself and Tyki took one step back, visibly surprised by something. "I might be a woman, but I have a strong mind. And as long as I stay true to my resolution, this Crown Clown cannot be shattered that easily!" Ellen exclaimed. Tyki continued staring at her for a while, but then he lifted his hand to his head and started grinning, followed by mad, roaring laughter.

"Right!! I understand! You mean to say that I underestimated you! As a woman and as an exorcist! You continue believing that you humans have a chance! You mean to tell me that I need to kill you in order to get rid of that odious Innocence!" A glowing sign appeared behind him and he lifted his right hand into the air. And without warning, or time for Ellen to prepare, he unleashed a tremendous attack at Ellen that engulfed her like a wave crashing down on her. She felt confined, she could not move, she could not breathe. She felt how her body was squeezed and how her power left her body faster than she had hoped.

"Dear little lady…" Ellen heard and she could also feel Tyki's presence in this suffocating dark space. She tried to breathe, but there seemed to be no air for her, she grabbed her throat, curling up from the pain. But she could still lift her head to look at Tyki. "Is it really painful? I guess it is! I have excluded all the air from this space, but I can still move and breathe normally. Poor girl, this is your reward for being so brave. You should have known from our previous encounter in China. I reward bravery with cruelty. Had you yielded like I hoped you would, then I would have gone easy on you. You are a woman after all! And it pains me to see a woman disgracing herself while struggling against something she can never wish to overcome." Ellen couldn't even reply anything as she did not have enough strength left to keep her invocation up. "But you are lucky, because your unhealthy determination has managed to fascinate me," Tyki continued while Ellen looked at her left hand rather powerlessly. "If I manage to destroy your Innocence for good, then I will let you live!" The young girl heard his voice only faintly as she was beginning to lose consciousness, but as her consciousness was fading she did she felt something in her unleash, like a restraint being broken. Her body started glowing and the Akuma sensing monocle appeared while the left side of her face felt oddly hot.

"I… must not die!" she thought, "I want to live so I can defeat Tyki Mikk and the Noahs… No… No that is not the reason for my will to live. I have recognized what is important to me… Yes. I want to protect humans and Akuma!" She lifted her head and felt her mind clear up and the monocle disappear. She wanted to save them. Only that? She felt a light short throbbing in the pit of her stomach. It was a warm, comfortable feeling and it reminded her that she also had wishes and hopes and duties as a human, and not only as an exorcist. "I want to see Kanda again. I want him to be safe. I want to talk to him. And this is important too. I have many reasons to not die here!" She gritted her teeth and mustered all the strength she had left. "Innocence! To escape from this place I need a power that can stop Tyki Mikk! There are so many things I have to do! If I cannot activate you as I normally do, then I have to become even stronger! My synchronization has to be stronger! With more power! I require a stronger weapon! A stronger weapon with which you and I can protect the world!" She spoke to herself and her Innocence, trying to activate, but Tyki put a sudden stop to it, by slamming his hand into her left chest.

"I do not know what you are up to, but I will not allow you to!" He said, but Ellen forced herself to get over her shock and the pain of him squeezing her heart.

"I need to concentrate! I need to synchronize!" And indeed she did. Light was emitted from her body and she lifted her left hand. A sudden burst of power and light ripped away the fabric of her uniform, laying her left arm and part of her chest bare, but making Tyki take shelter for the moment. He felt that something crucial was about to happen and that it was best for him not to be too close. The girl put her right hand around her left wrist and pulled; her Innocence arm transformed itself into a huge, elegant sword. Ellen knew that now she had broken a critical point in her synchronization with the Innocence by activating Crown Clown like this. She also was aware that this sword was powerful enough to fulfill her wishes. She charged and slashed through the vacuum, freeing herself from the confinement. When she was out again she first took some deep breaths, feeding her hurting lungs with much needed air, but she didn't allow herself to rest. She invocated the coat of her Innocence back so that she was better covered now that her uniform was partially torn and then she charged. Tyki did try to counter.

"Why do you try so hard?" he asked, but his grin was rather uneasy now.

"Even you should understand that!" Ellen replied and broke through Tyki's defenses, easily slashing his upper body. But he was not dead yet, because the sword had not harmed his physical body.

"We are similar, Lord Tyki Mikk," Ellen said as white crosses appeared on Tyki's chest and he started screaming, "I will not kill you. I will do you a favor and free you of your Noah. This sword will only kill your inner demon without harming the human. That is the power I wished for, Crown Clown's and my power."

"You… You destroyed the Noah in me, girl?" Tyki managed to say, "without killing me!" He laughed darkly, "how… nice and lovable you are! Too nice! And naïve!"

"No matter what happens, I am prepared to carry the burden of my decisions," Ellen told him and held the tip of her sword in front of Tyki. Meanwhile Rhode had become aware of what was happening and tried to rush to Tyki's aid, but he stopped her by lifting his hand.

"It's okay!" He told her and Ellen studied him, before making up her mind. She would never kill this man. If only he were a normal human! There was only one option, she had to be brave and do it!

"Lord Tyki Mikk! Please retreat from the battle-field!" She shouted, then she slammed her sword into his chest. He gasped loudly, but then his mouth formed a grin.

"B… bad luck, girl!" he said and reached up to cover Ellen's face with his hand, touching her curse mark and cheeks. "Sorry Rhode…!" Ellen pulled back the sword, holding on to Tyki before lowering him to the ground. His skin colour became paler and the marks on his forehead disappeared. Ellen had succeeded. But-

"Chao Zhi!!" Ellen could hear Linali shout, followed by Rhode's voice:

"Do not move, Ellen!" The white haired girl widened her eyes but she could see how pointed candles were aimed at the strange cube confining Linali and Chao Zhi and also at her. "If you do I will kill them all! You will not be harmed, but I will have no mercy with them." Rhode walked over to Tyki and took him up in her arms. "I like you very much, Ellen, but my family is important as well. We are similar in this aspect, right?"

"Rhode…!" Ellen breathed and took a step forwards.

"Do not advance! I am slightly irritated! Do you want to see how I pierce your friends? Some of them are already lost on the Ark, but that's not nearly enough!" Ellen widened her eyes in shock.

"That is not true!" Rhode looked up at her, raising her eyebrows, but then she grinned.

"Ah, I see. You care about them. Especially about them then?" But Ellen wouldn't give her a reply, "well then. They do not matter, you cannot get them back. But I am not satisfied yet. I will punish another of your friends. The boy with the red hair, Rabi, right? He cares about you and always tries to protect you. Yes, that will be a compensation… His soul is still fighting. I will tear it apart!" Ellen stared at her and looked around. She saw Rabi's body also confined in a separate cage. He was not moving, Rhode must be telling the truth.

"No! Let him go!" Ellen shouted and Rhode had to laugh.

"Oh! If you wish me to, I will!" she replied loudly and Ellen heard how somebody landed behind her. She turned around and saw Rabi looking at her with a motionless face and a strange symbol over his cheek. The threatening candles around her disappeared, there was nothing separating herself from Rabi, but he didn't move an inch and continued glaring at her.

"Rabi…?" Ellen asked in a timid tone.

"Ellen! I have to tell you something sad. Rabi's soul seems to have died!" Ellen froze, "and if you want to help Linali and that human, you must kill this thing in front of you!"

To be continued

Notes:

And as this will be another battle scene, I postpone it to the next chapter X3