Hello everyone! Time a new update! :D Things are getting good now, huh? :3 Hope you all enjoy this new chapter! I'm gettin straight into the action!

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Chapter 35: Encounter

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Cross' POV

"Keep quiet, alright?" I suddenly said after walking in silence inside the halls of the Earl's home. Nova jolted in surprise, peering up at me through the shadow of her hood.

"What do you mean?" She whispered as her silver eye met my gaze.

"No one can know you're alive yet. If we encounter anyone, don't lose that hood." I replied as I saw the understanding in Nova's eyes. She nodded silently, the quiet soon returning as we continued along the hall with our soft footsteps. I could already make out the question that she was going to ask.

"You're not gonna die. That's the last time I'm saying it." I bluntly said, seeing her shoulders stiffen at my sudden words. After a moment she relaxed, nodding in silence.

"I just wonder where everyone is," Nova quietly said as we both rounded a corner. Nothing yet. It was as if this was a game. You would only fight as long as you reached a certain room.

"I'm sure we'll see them soon,"

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Avon's POV

Listening to the eerie silence that was around me, I stared at the ground, simply listening. No one yet. I grinned at the thought of meeting one of those exorcists. I wanted to see how far they would go to take their friend back. Putting a hand up to my forehead, I could feel Victoria trying to break loose. Clenching my fist, I smirked as I shook my head at her efforts. It's useless.

The Master left me here to kill off any exorcists or Noahs that came my way as he ventured to look for the Millennium Earl. All of our followers spread out to do the same task. Though I knew that they would be dead within seconds if they were confronted with one of those Noah. I raised my head to gaze up at the dark ceiling, closing my eyes. The one who will lead us all is the Master. There is no way he'll die. The Millennium Earl will be the one to come face to face with Death. I was sure of it.

"Now," I whispered as I let a wide grin appear on my lips. "Come and meet your end."

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Kanda's POV

We're so close...so close to seeing each other again. I clenched my jaw at the thought, her face appearing in my mind once more. The team that walked beside me consisted of the usual group. It was decided that one of the Generals would be able to come because the rest of them had to focus on protecting the Order, in case something happened. That general was General Klaud.

"How you holding up, Kanda?" Lenalee inquired out of the blue as she walked beside me, a small smile on her face. I shrugged in response, glancing at her momentarily.

"Alright. I just..." I trailed off as the pained feeling rose up within me again.

"You want to see her again right?" The Chinese girl finished with a knowing smile on her face. I remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Once we entered the door that had opened for us, we were brought into a random hall in what seemed like an endless roomed mansion. Now we were simply on the search for the Earl, in hopes of seeing Nova and possibly General Cross again. Of course there would be enemies along the way. Like the other Noah. Before we stepped through, we all decided that if we were to fight a Noah or anyone else, we were to split into groups so that the rest would be able to go on and find the Earl. Hopefully we didn't have to.

We all came across a wooden door at the end of what seemed like the world's longest hallway. Exchanging anxious glances, Allen stepped forward and grabbed hold of the knob, turning it. Creaking as he pulled it open, we all stepped inside just in time to see a group of young looking people enter from the other side of the hall. They didn't seem familiar. Once the young teens glanced at us, they all cried out, summoning weapons out of thin air.

"Uh...who're they?" Lavi muttered under his breath as he activated his Innocence. The rest of us did the same, poised and ready to attack.

"Well they're not akuma. Or Noah." Allen suggested as he activated his cursed eye to make sure of it.

"Maybe Shigai?" Lenalee offered as her boots glowed the color of Innocence, shining brightly.

"It must be." General Klaud reassured as she adjusted her golden gauntlets.

"Anyway, let's go." I said as we all charged forward towards the approaching enemy, weapons held at the ready.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Road's POV

Man, why is it just me and Lulubell sitting here!? Why can't Tyki be here too?! Then I could at least play with him!

I huffed in frustration as I used Lero to surf through the air, a bored look on my face. I glanced down at Lulubell who was lounging next to the Earl, sitting on the steps. We were all simply waiting for one of them to arrive. And it was unbelievably boring to be honest. I summoned my candles and randomly shot them into places, careful not to harm the organ that was behind the Earl.

"Ugh, how much longer do we have to wait?!" I exclaimed as I tilted my head up to the ceiling, annoyed.

"Just be patient, Road." the Earl replied without missing a beat, seeming awfully giddy at the moment. I groaned in annoyance, a period of silence coming in between us when Lulubell suddenly got up to her feet, her bell tinkling.

"I sense a very strong, hateful presence approaching." She said aloud, stating the obvious that the Earl and I could clearly sense. I grinned at the sudden turn of events, lowering myself next to the Earl, opening Lero to float down.

"Finally! Some action!" As soon as I even finished my sentence, a bolt of blue lightning descended from the ceiling and hit the floor. Covering my eyes from the flash, I peered through my fingers to see someone stand up from the smoke. As it began to clear, I giggled at who the first challenger was.

"Earl." the Master growled out in a low voice, his electric blue eyes glowing through the smoke. I heard something hit the ground and soon enough, the smoke blew away to reveal a white staff in his hand.

"Ah, Master. Nice to see you again." the Millennium Earl greeted as he stood up from his seat. He put his hand to the side, as if grabbing something in the air and pulled out his sword; huge and black with a cross in the centre. Moving into a defensive position, he floated up into the air and met the Master's gaze amusedly.

"You're going to die today! I'll make sure of it!" Master spat out as he let out a huge amount of energy, an electric blue hue surrounding his form. Instantly, something jutted out of his back and ripped through his shirt: a pair of black wings. His staff changed into a thin blue sword, ice and sparks running up and down its blade. Swiping it through the air, he scowled at the Earl's calm gaze and roared.

"Prepare yourself!" He hissed as he exploded off of the ground and flew up towards the Earl at lightning speed. Immediately clashing with each other, the two seperated in the air as they glared at each other with ferocity. This would be a fight to the finish.

And Lulubell and I simply watched from below, a wide grin on both of our faces as we watched the entertainment.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Tyki's POV

Letting out a deep sigh, cigarette smoke wafted out in front of me as I leaned against the wall next to the door. Why was I the only one sent out here to actually fight? Couldn't he have just sent out Road or something? I'm not really in the mood to-

The door on the opposite end of the room I was in suddenly burst open, having been kicked open by a bunch of rowdy looking kids. Raising an eyebrow, I realized that they weren't exorcists. If they weren't exorcists, then what were they? The kids all piled into the room, a bunch of strange looking weapons in their hands. Smirking, I summoned Tease and formed my weapon, attaching it to my arm. Well hey, if I got at least a bit of entertainment till the exorcists arrived, then I'll take it.

Letting go of my cigarette, I ran straight for them, hearing their screams pierce the air sharply. Blocking attacks and slashing at them, I grinned as drops of their blood splattered across my cheek. Moving between slashes and kicks, I executed both at the same time and spun around just in time to grab one of the kids by the collar to give them a headbutt. Continuing my attacks, I was soon surrounded by their unconscious bodies, blood splattered everywhere. Lowering my arm, I sighed as I lit another cigarette, breathing in deeply.

I'm simply waiting for my exorcists to arrive.

Enjoying the nicotine that I breathed in, I let Tease revert back to its normal form. Listening to the silence that surrounded me, I sighed as the smell of cigarette smoke calmed my nerves. It was only when I sensed a familiar presence when I opened my eyes. I let out a small chuckle at his soon to be arrival and sent out Tease to guard the walls.

"Well then, why don't you come on in?" I quietly said as I eyed the other end of the door with a wide eyed gaze.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Kanda's POV

We all stood in front of the door, all sensing something dark and evil on the other side. The Shigai that we attacked were taken care of, but not after a while. They just kept getting back up. Readying our weapons once more, I glanced at the others to see them nodding. We could all tell that there would be a battle in this next room. I can't get this sinking feeling out of my stomach though...

Tightening my grip around Mugen, I met my teammates gazes once more before bracing myself. Lifting my foot, I slammed it straight into the door, kicking it off its hinges. Letting it fly into the room, my entire team all filed in, instantly recognizing the change in the atmosphere. It was dark and had a malicious intent to it. I hated it. It reminded me of a certain someone that tried to kill Nova quite a few times.

As the door slid across the floor, a foot stepped on it, stopping it from moving. We all looked up at the person to see who it was and as soon as I saw his smirking face, I clenched my jaw as a wave of anger washed over me. All tensed up and poised to fight, the Noah that stood in front of us smirked as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"Welcome, exorcists." Tyki Mikk greeted as he gestured to all of us with a wave of his hand. I sent him a glare as we all moved in one unit, approaching him slowly.

"Tyki Mikk," I grounded out as I stood at the front of the group, ready to attack. The others knew that this would be my battle and mine alone.

"Kanda, we need to stick in our groups." Allen warned from behind, his tone cautious. I shook my head at the order, knowing fully well that they already understood. This fight with the Noah was mine.

"Go on. I'll make sure to catch up with you all." I said as they all turned to meet my gaze.

"But-" Lavi started as he took a step forward. I stopped him by sighing and turning around, only to raise Mugen up against them.

"Go." I growled as I saw the hesistant look in all of their eyes. Before any of them could answer, I faced the Noah again, scowling.

"I doubt you'll let them go easily though," I muttered to myself as the smirk on Tyki's face grew wide. As if on cue, he snapped his fingers, the Tease that stuck to the walls spreading out. Black portals appeared where they were before, like a black hole to hell. The others tensed up as they heard something screaming come closer.

"It's like its coming from those portals..." Lenalee trailed off as she eyed the black swirling abyss carefully.

"It is from them," General Klaud replied as a figure outside one of the portals. It was in the shape of what seemed like a human. However it seems like they were wrong when it unclenched its hands, sharp claws in place of fingers.

"Level 3's..." Lavi whispered as one came out of each of the portals that opened. They were all different colors, chuckling as they poised themselves for battle.

All of us stood back to back as the Level 3's started to approach, eyeing us like we were all a meal. I met Tyki's gaze, a blazing fire within me as I realized that he was on the other side of the huge room. These Level 3's were in the way. Great.

"Let's see...I'll take those one the right, and you get those on the left?" Lavi suggested as he met Allen's serious gaze. The silver haired boy shrugged as he activated his Innocence. Hearing the angry cries of the Level 3's, we all prepared ourselves as they came running. I glared at the Noah of Pleasure, hell bent on getting over there to destroy him.

"Let's go!" General Klaud yelled as we all seperated and launched ourselves into battle. I sped straight towards the Noah but two Level 3's suddenly appeared in front of me, leaning on one another.

"You'll have to-" Before one of them could finish his sentence, I put my hands on their armored shoulders and shoved them aside.

"Oi!" Ignoring the other Level 3, I stalked straight towards Tyki, murderous intent burning within me.

Moving into my Level 2 form, I gripped both weapons tightly as Tyki pushed himself off of the wall. He put the cigarette into his mouth as he lifted an arm into the air. Instantly, a wall of Tease came towards him in a wave and crashed into his arm, soon dispersing to become his combat blade coming into shape. Bringing his arm to the side, a sinister smile appeared on his lips as he approached, a purple shadow of darkness rising up behind him.

"Let's decide this then, shall we?" He suggested as smoke from his cigarette rose up to the ceiling. I narrowed my eyes at him, all of my memories of him trying to kill Nova resurfacing, fueling to my anger.

"Yeah," I smirked in agreement, feeling the power of my tattoo surge through my veins. "I'm getting sick of having to see your face all the time."

"Hm, I must say I feel the same." Tyki replied as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it on to the ground. As soon as I saw it fall out of his fingers, I instantly went for him, him doing the same. Clashing, we met eye to eye. One of us felt the desire to see who would win, and the other wanted to see his loved one.

"Well, then let's find out!" I said as I met Tyki's yellow fearsome gaze steadily, a wide smirk on my lips.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Nova's POV

Just how long have we been walking?! I bet everyone else in this place is fighting right now. Except us.

Scowling at the thought, I glanced over at my mentor and saw that he had his eye narrowed. I wondered if he could sense anything from this distance. We had entered through so many doors and halls that I was convinced this was a never ending place of halls and rooms. It was very disorienting I must say.

"Nova," I stopped behind General Cross, gazing up at him. He turned halfway to meet my gaze, a serious look in his eye. "There's someone up ahead. Remember, your hood."

I nodded as I tugged on the hood of my cloak, following Cross as he put a hand around the knob of the door we were at. Pushing it open, we both walked in to see the person I've been expecting to come across. Avon, in the body of Victoria, picked herself off of the ground, grinning as she met our gazes. I noticed that she was clad in red armor.

"Ugh, finally! Someone to fight with! I've been sitting here bored waiting for someone to come!" She complained as she gestured towards us with a relieved look in her eyes. I remained silent as Cross stepped in front of me, putting his hand inside his coat. Probably reaching for his Innocence.

"So I take it you're here to get rid of us?" Cross inquired with a raised eyebrow. I caught the relaxed look in Avon's eye, seeing her smile softly.

"Yup~!" She cheerfully said as she pulled out her red sword from thin air. Moving into an offensive stance, the happy demeanor disappeared from her gaze, now a cold and deadly stare. Her gaze slid over to my own, making me widen my eye in surprise.

"Who's this? I've never seen you before." Avon suddenly asked, straightening up as she stared at me in curiosity. Cross moved in front of me to obscure me from her vision, clearing his throat.

"I'm your opponent here. Not her." He gruffly replied as Avon's gaze moved away from my own to meet the General's.

"Oh?" Avon raised an eyebrow at his actions, only to disappear. Immediately knowing what she was doing, I whirled around and jumped back just as Avon's blade hit the spot I was just in.

"Hey, you're pretty good!" She exclaimed as she met my gaze brightly. I glared at her, trying not to say a word. I met Cross' gaze and saw that he seemed cautious of something. Was she going to do something?

Suddenly, she did the same trick again, moving me away from General Cross. In a second, I realized what she was doing-as did Cross- and leaped back over to him when a wall of fire lit up in front of me. She was purposely doing this after all. I saw Cross trying to look for a way past but saw that there was none. I met his gaze through the flames, a conflicted look in his expression. I glanced at the wall of fire to see that it completely blocked off any kind of escape. It even blocked the way out to the door from which we entered. Meeting his gaze again, I saw him hesitate for a moment before nodding.

Hearing Avon giggle behind me, I clenched my fists under my cloak. My lips set in a firm line, I nodded to my mentor and turned around to face the Shigai. Glaring at her through my one eye, she saw my expression and stopped laughing, meeting my gaze seriously.

"So you planned to do that from the start?" I inquired, trying to keep my anger down to a simmer.

"Of course! Once I saw you, I knew that I wanted to fight with you. You look like you're hiding something and I want to know what, before I kill you." Avon replied as she pointed the tip of her sword towards me. I narrowed my one eye at her and glanced at her weapon momentarily.

"Fine. You'll find out, if you can get this cloak off me." I challenged with a smirk as I activated my Innocence, gripping my machine gun in one hand and a katana in the other.

"Oi, kid." Cross' warned from behind me, knowing exactly what I was trying to do. If Avon wanted to see who I was so much, she'd have to find out herself. In this, I'll defeat her and and the Master to finally reunite Victoria and Sam once more.

"It's alright. She won't be able to do it." I replied with a smirk, seeing Avon visibly get red with anger.

"Tch, who are you? Who do you think you are?" She demanded as she clenched her armored fist.

"I'm just someone who wants you gone." I retorted with a tilt of my head, tightening the grip of the katana in my hand. Avon clenched her jaw as she swiped her sword in the air.

"Fine then! If you can finish me, your friend there will be free. But until then, those two walls of flames will slowly close in on him." Avon said as her gaze slid over to the orange and red flames behind me.

"So you're limited on time."

"If that's so, then why don't we get this party started?" I said with a sly smirk, meeting her gaze. Avon grinned at my words, her grip on her sword tightening.

"Then, let's party!" She exclaimed as she leaped towards me, black wings bursting from her back.

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Hmm. How was that? Tell me who you're excited to see fight most!

Kanda vs. Tyki

or

Nova vs. Avon

The intense action will definitely come in the next couple of chapters! Unless you think the small snippets in this chapter were enough action for you to handle. :3 See you all in the next update!