Lavi helped his friends step off the hammer, but immediately realized one was missing. "Where's Devina?"
Allen stepped away from them and activated his Innocence. "We're bringing back Tyki Mikk and Relo," Allen informed.
"Hey, are you serious?" Lavi asked, stepping up to grab Allen's arm.
"With his powers stripped away, Tyki Mikk's only a normal human being." Allen answered. "He had human friends, as well. You've seen them on that train with Krory. If he never makes it back to them, they'll be sad."
"But Devina is-" Lavi began.
"I know. She's badly injured and she's way past her limit. I'll keep her safe for you," Allen winked at the redhead.
"Wha-what the hell are you talking about, gee?" Lavi asked, his cheeks turning a few shades darker. "Anyway, I don't care what you decide to do with him, but… if the Order learns about you two helping out the Noah, you'll both-"
"Help… the Noah?" Chaoji repeated. "Didn't you kill him?" he asked, his face contorting into a combination of distaste and disgust.
"He is still alive," Allen answered, his face harder than it was seconds ago.
"Why…?" Chaoji's eyes widened. "They're the ones controlling the Akuma, they're the reason Anita-sama and Mahoja-sama had to die… so, why are you- help? You wish to help them? Have you forgotten who you are? If you and that girl wish to help, then aren't you enemies, too?"
"Chaoj-" Lenalee tried to stop him, but he proceeded to shout.
"You're traitors! You're demons, just like them!" Chaoji's voice kept rising, but he stopped when Allen yelled his name, rushing to stand in front of him to push him out of the way before the ground collapsed beneath him.
Allen had completely vanished behind a swarm of black tentacles, only his right arm was visible, as he struggled to break free. "Don't… come any closer!" The tentacles had also managed to close around Road's door, breaking it in two halves, before they tightened around Allen and dragged him bellow.
"Shit," Lavi cursed, rushing towards the crack that had now separated him and Lenalee. He peered over it. "Allen! Allen!" but then he remembered that Devina was still down there, and he tried to remind himself to remain calm. "What the hell is going on?" he asked his other two comrades but they were as shaken as he was. Chaoji was clearly blaming himself for everything he'd said to Allen and still being saved by him.
Allen hit the ground as the tentacles released him. He felt his chest constrict as he saw the shattered gate. "No…" He sat himself up on all fours and tried to catch his breath, before he felt a dark presence coming from one corner. His head snapped in that direction and his eyes widened in shock.
Tyki Mikk was approaching him, tentacles raking his back, dancing in waves, and held in more than one was Devina. Her face was pale and he could tell her airways were restricted by the tentacle wrapped around her throat.
"DEVINA!"
"A-allen," she croaked, "run."
Allen blinked at her, before he asked, "is that… really Tyki Mikk?"
"I… don't know. I mean… yes… but he's… he's not… listening to me," Devina struggled to speak.
Allen hissed at the cold sensation that was filling his entire being, closing in around his heart. He had a bad feeling about this thing that resembled Tyki, but lacked his humanity. His right hand locked around his left and he drew out the Sword of Exorcism.
"Allen!" Devina hissed, "no, you need… to go!" she fought against her restraints and only seemed to be wasting energy.
"There's nothing left to do, Devina. The gate's been destroyed. I need to free you and I have to defeat him, then we can try and look for another exit and get-"
"Allen! You have to leave me-" she gasped out as the tentacles loosened around her neck, "…behind. Tyki's… Tyki isn't here anymore. He's so much more powerful. Just take the others and look for a way out."
Allen ignored her and readied himself to attack. He stopped midway when Tyki screamed, his tentacles going berserk, flying everywhere and throwing Devina off.
Allen's cape wrapped around her and brought her into his chest. He held onto her with his sword hand, before he helped her to her feet, steadying her until she could stand on her own.
The two could hear Tyki's screams. His hands held his head, which seemed to be hurting him severely, while all the tentacles closed around his body.
"Tyki…" Devina whispered, about to step toward him, but Allen held her back. She turned her face away from Tyki, refusing to stare at him, agonizing and in pain. She hadn't seen him so unlike himself before, and it shook her.
Tyki's screams only intensified, and Devina slammed her hands against her ears, trying to block out the noise. Her chest ached, and she could feel her heart beating at an unbelievable pace. She felt dread surging through her being and she shivered involuntarily as a sense of déjà vu filled her.
"A-allen, this is going to be really hard,"
Allen glanced at her as the screaming stopped. He saw her arms trail to her waist as she hugged herself, as if only that would keep her together. He was so surprised at her empathetic state, especially towards Tyki Mikk, yet he said nothing. Instead, he rammed his sword into the ground to free his hand and he brought her closer, holding her.
"Devina, it's over now. He's not screaming anymore,"
Her head lifted and he saw her teary eyes, before she tilted her head to the side to stare at the Noah. And then she gasped.
Tyki's human form had been completely replaced by a monster-looking creature. His hands moved away from his face, revealing that it was indeed him underneath all this; yet, hiding the upper half of his head was a helmet-like mask. His hair seemed longer and messier, while his back sprouted two incomplete black wings. He was a lot taller, and parts of his stomach showed through his strange ripped attire.
"Devina, don't move." Allen commanded before he rushed to meet Tyki.
"But, Allen!" she wanted to go after him but she knew she was useless without her Innocence. She closed her eyes and concentrated, smiling a bit when she felt heat wash over her. She hasn't invoked her evolved form when completely conscious before, so the sensation was new and kind of ticklish to her now. She felt her power surging within her, and her eyes opened.
She was suddenly flying backwards, as an immense weight crashed into her. "A-allen!" she groaned, trying to steady them both, but her joints and her muscles and her bones and everything screamed in protest. "Ughh…" She finally managed to project a screen of bones behind her and Allen and managed to stop them from toppling over the ledge.
They both stood straight and Allen winced. "How did he get so powerful?"
Devina's brain racked. "I think… it looks like the Noah side of him has taken over completely..." she managed to guess.
Allen yelped. "Devina! You've invoked your Innocence! Didn't I tell you to sit still? Jeez, you!"
"Allen, focus," she nodded her head in Tyki's direction, and Allen's face hardened again.
She looked at the Noah, and saw him pick his feet off the ground, but before she could even blink, he was standing right in front of her and she opened her mouth to tell Allen to run but she and Allen were suddenly whisked off.
Her head turned up to see Lavi, a frown tugging at his lips. He landed with them a few feet away from the Noah, and turned to stare at the wild sight. "Is that really… Tyki Mikk? What kind of joke is that outfit?"
"Lavi," Allen groaned, barely able to stand. Devina leaned forward and placed his arm over her shoulder to support him.
"Allen, hang in there. I'm gonna take us back upstairs, so just hold on to me," Lavi said, and he gripped his hammer's handle tightly.
"The gate…" Allen was struggling to say the words, "it's gone."
That was when Lavi noticed the remains of Road's door scattered on the ground. "Th-that's impossible… no… we can't get out of the Ark,"
Devina saw panic rise through Lavi, while desperation crippled Allen. "Guys, guys, we have to-" Devina gasped as sharp pain coursed through here. It was a strange kind of ache that seemed to be coming from within her bones, rather than any specific limb. "…we need to keep it together. You can't panic, now, what about Chaoji and Lenalee?" she scolded, but deep down she was losing hope herself. She had no idea how she was still standing, because the pain was nearly blinding her. She began to sweat and heave out, but she tried to obscure it from the other two.
"Devina-" Lavi went silent at the sound of Tyki's monstrous laugh. Devina couldn't help but shiver. Allen noticed and tried to move off of her. She gripped his arm tightly, almost painfully, around the arm that slung across her shoulder, stopping him.
Tyki's laughter continued, and Devina saw him running, running straight at them. Lavi was frozen in a state of fear, and she tried to swallow her own and focus and creating something that should carry them. But then an arm wrapped around her waist and Lavi extended his hammer and they were off.
Tyki stared up at them, no longer laughing, and he broke into a grin that made Devina turn and look away from him.
The three landed on the floor where Lenalee and Chaoji were, and Devina tried to lay Allen down, with Lavi's help, because he was almost losing consciousness.
Lavi was trying to look for a way out, a silver lining, but he saw nothing. He, Allen and Devina had sustained insurmountable amounts of injuries and Lenalee and Chaoji couldn't fight. Is this the end?
"L-lavi," Devina said, looking down the crack that led down. "I'll… I'll try to distract him; you figure something out, okay?"
"Are you out of your mind? You can barely stand and your wounds haven't closed yet-"
"Lavi!" her tone was firm and commanding. "I can't think like you do, and I can't think of any way to get us out of here. Please!" she hissed, hoping against hope that Lenalee and Chaoji didn't hear what she said.
She was about to turn around and jump into the crack when something landed behind her, Tyki… She turned around but a shock wave hit her in the chest and she couldn't breathe. She fell back into Lavi, who gripped her shoulders and helped her stand, but it wasn't working. Her lungs weren't pumping oxygen and she was panicking at her inability to breathe. "L-lavi, Lavi," she gasped, gripping her throat. "I can't- I can't-"
"Devina!" he yelled, shaking her. He was thinking, trying to find a way to help her, when Tyki came to stand before him. Lavi responded to the Noah's attack with a Fire Seal, but the Noah broke through it and slashed at his abdomen, and Lavi fell the ground, wincing.
Devina was still struggling to catch her breath when she saw Lavi fall, and she somehow realized that she needed to calm down because what she was experiencing was most probably a panic attack. She inhaled and tried to slow down her heart rate, before she knelt beside the redhead. "Are you okay? Are you okay?"
Lavi was on all fours, but he turned to her and grinned. "I am, I just… need a minute."
Devina nodded and tried to stand up and give Lavi his minute while she took on Tyki, when she saw Allen jump at the Noah, sword raised high. "Allen! Don't!" her arms reached for him but it was too late, he too, was kicked by a shock wave that sent him across the room.
"Tyki!" Devina shouted, "that is enough!" The Noah roared at her in response and started running in her direction. "Shit, shit!" she squealed before she turned to run away from him, but his hands gripped her hair and he lifted her up, and she screamed in agony.
"Drop her, you moron!" Lavi shouted, and rushed in to attack Tyki, but his tentacles closed in around Lavi, covering him entirely.
"La-vi…" Devina moaned before Tyki's tentacles closed around her, too. She tried to call forth any sort of weapon, any thing to break herself and Lavi free, but the ache in her bones only increased. She needed her Innocence. She didn't want it to falter anymore. She didn't want to be helpless. But she also knew she overused it, and it was impossible for it to be activated forever.
The tentacles around her were suffocating her, and the darkness surrounded her. She wasn't going to lose consciousness; she refused to allow herself to lose consciousness. She couldn't let Allen and Lavi carry the burden of saving one more person, not in their current conditions. Not that she was any better, but still, she just did not want to surrender so easily.
Yet, she did. Her eyelids drooped, heavily and her breaths evened. The last thing she saw was a shock of red hair.
Author's Note: HAHA! Yes, I know it's another cliffhanger, I'm sorry, but I love those. I hope you like the chapter, and thanks for all the favorites and follows. Thank you to the anonymous guest, scorpia1029 and Sonata Fuling for the reviews!
Reviews make me feel guilty for not posting for more than two weeks, so please shower me in them 3