Author's Note: Hello there, everyone! I am alive and late and I've neglected this baby, and anyone still vaguely interested in this story for far too long. I started a career as a journalist — Let me tell you it is wild and crazy. However, I've missed writing for fun. I've missed this, so much. And I hope someone out there does, too. Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks!
The thing that peaked at them with curious blood-red eyes and double-haloed head was intricately human in form and size.
"I'm Level Four," it said.
Devina's heart thumped loudly in her ear, she feared turning to steal a glance at Allen; in fact, she felt unyieldingly transfixed. The thought of running away immediately overtook her, to bolt out the door and never look back. She had to viciously bite the inside of her cheek to remind herself that this was her home, and this thing before them, the Level Four was the worst possible threat they've ever come across.
Allen released a breath, reminding her of his presence. When she finally willed her eyes to look at him, she saw tears running down his face.
"Allen…" she called slowly, as if approaching a child in a tantrum. In response, he knelt on one knee and began coughing, covering his mouth with his hand to keep from emptying his guts. "Allen, what is it?" she knelt beside him, a tight grip on his shoulder.
"I've never seen… anything like it…" Allen said between coughs. "The soul trapped inside… this is just too horrible," he gasped.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she was astounded by this boy's ability of suffering in silence. She'd never had the emotional nor mental capacity to process the fact that he could see the souls of the Akuma, and to see him so crippled by the sight before him, she was at a loss for words.
The feelings of helplessness began weave a web around her, threatening to trap her in another blob of self-deprecation, the way it did the night he almost died at the hands of Tyki Mikk. She wasn't going to let it happen again.
Her hands closed around one of his arms and she began to pull. "Allen, get up! You have to get it together!"
Allen's tears wouldn't stop falling, and so she wiped at them. "This is a Level Four… it's really dreadful, I can't… I can't bare to look at it," he trembled against her hand.
"Allen!" she called out.
A hand touched her ankle, and she turned to see Johnny, tears falling and nose dripping. "D-devina, Allen… I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated.
"Johnny, please-"
"Please… save everyone… please, help them…" Johnny wept, closing his other hand around Allen's claws. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Allen's hand rested against Johnny's, as he finally came to.
"Are you crying?" the voice was so small, yet felt like a void, and the instinct to flee returned to Devina once again.
"Yes," Allen answered. "For my comrades, and for you and your soul." He stepped away from Devina, her hands falling, and then pulled at his left arm and drew out his Sword of Exorcism. "Devina, get Johnny away from here," he ordered before charging at the Level Four.
Devina didn't waste any time to argue; she scooped Johnny up in her arms as if he weighed nothing, and took off in the opposite direction.
"Devina, put me down. Go back and help Allen!" Johnny mumbled through sobs, feebly attempting to struggle against her strength.
"I will. I'll just tuck you away somewhere safe before we kill that bastard, okay?" She lulled as she climbed a few steps. Johnny nodded, before Devina lay him down gently on a high platform. "Please call me here if anything happens," she didn't wait for him to respond and began her descent back to Allen's side.
She ran into Bookman, and without any unnecessary exchanges of words, she told him where he'd find the other injured members and he disappeared to tend to them.
Devina finally spotted Allen and the Level Four standing beside several gigantic tanks, picking up speed until she was standing right beside him. She looked him over and silently thanked the heavens, for his safety.
Allen charged but Devina remained in her spot. She wasn't the best candidate for close-range combat, and keeping her distance to observe the enemy was one of Kanda's first lessons. She watched as Allen began to exchange hits with the Akuma, his sword being deflected almost every time he swayed it at the creature.
Devina took a few steps back, visualizing several sharp blades and wishing them into existence as she concentrated. The charging blades aimed at the Akuma, but it easily evaded each sharp object as well as the attacks from Allen.
Perspiration marred her forehead, but she paid it no heed. She formed two foot-sized planks beneath the monster's feet, holding the Akuma in its spot long enough for Allen to land a punch to its face.
After being caught off guard by the two, the Akuma easily gained momentum, withdrawing by flying off the ground and then landing forcefully back down to break the shackles Devina had placed upon it, making her swear under her breath. She decided to go at it again, but the Akuma was moving at a faster rate as to not allow her to slip in another trap.
Allen managed to land onto the Akuma's shoulder, slashing at it with his clawed hand before it dashed behind him. Devina hadn't had the chance to process when he'd switched, before she yelled, "Allen! Behind you!"
She conjured a bone-barrier to come between Allen and the Akuma's attack, but when the it flicked its finger, the barrier exploded, sending Allen hurtling against a wall, screaming in agony.
Devina couldn't believe her eyes — a force so great, that neither of them could scratch, existed. She was itching to check on Allen, but at the same time, she knew she needed to stop this thing before it destroyed everything she cared about.
She glided straight towards the Akuma, her bone-made plank keeping her afloat. "You little bastard!" she screamed, a sword materializing in her small fist. It had all happened so quickly, the Akuma's eyes widened as it processed its impending fate.
But then it opened its mouth to scream, and the sound that emerged disrupted the flow of the universe. Her planks vanished from beneath her, and so did her sword when her concentration broke, and the only command her brain could process then was: make it stop.
She crouched on the floor, her hands pressed against her ears to tune out the sounds, but the pain was unbearable. The last thing she recalled was the Akuma's dwindling back as it moved farther from her in the direction of Maker of Eden.
Allen watched as everything below him was swallowed in fire. Another tube was flying in his direction, promising his end, but a lithe form jumped in time to slash at the tube, stopping its advance.
"L-link?" Allen yelled.
Link clutched his head to hide from the heat. "I can't have you dying just yet, Walker," Link finally noticed the sight of the volcanic fire a few floors beneath them, "What happened?"
Allen gasped, "Can it be that… everyone from the Science Division is dead? Bookman, Marie, Miranda, Devina… Everyone…" but at the mention of her name, a shape resurfaced from the fire. He knew it was her. She was clad in bones, after all. Allen got closer to the ledge and held on to the ruin. "Devina!" he shouted, "Devina!" but the girl did not respond.
The bones surrounding her cracked, falling down and sizzling as they were kissed by the fire. Devina remained standing with her head bent, but she seemed unconscious.
"Devina!" Allen called again, and again, he was met with deadly silence. He hadn't noticed the Akuma move and kill the Skulls that were locked in a Talisman, but he did see the Level 4 head for the gate that led into Headquarters. "No, no!" Allen tried to get up, but the pain revealed itself to him all at once, knocking him completely out.
Link did see what happened next, though. He was shouting Allen's name, trying to wake him up, when he saw Devina flying. She was flying and there was nothing helping her fly; no planks or bones. "D-devina!" he shouted after her, but that only fell upon deaf ears. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her stance. He could only guess from her uncoordinated movement that she'd broken several bones.
She continued to fly after the Level Four, gripping its leg tightly before pulling and spinning it in the air and then she finally released it, letting it hit the ground.
Komui stood at the edge of the room with Finders holding up black shields all around him. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Devina!" He called out, trying to ask her what was happening.
The Akuma stood up and turned to glare at her. "You… you really are a nuisance! I thought I killed you all!"
Komui gasped, as he watched the Akuma launch at her. She stood still, up in the air, unmoving. That was when it dawned on him. Devina was unconscious. If she were awake, she would have probably evaded such a move, so as not to harm anyone in her path. But the girl fighting the Akuma wasn't Devina anymore; her Innocence has taken over.
The Akuma managed to land a kick to Devina's back, and she screamed before she hit the ground. The Akuma then turned to Komui, before it broke into a large grin. "You're the Chief Officer, aren't you?" and in the blink of an eye, the Finders surrounding him fell to the floor. "Your head is worth that of an Exorcist's, hmm?"
Komui was frozen in place, as the Akuma touched a finger to his collarbone. The sound of approaching footsteps alarmed the Akuma, and a sword ran through it, before it shattered completely.
Komui looked to his right. "Kanda?" he breathed out, but winced, as he saw the approaching swordsman. The Akuma had canceled its attack against Komui but it still managed to cut him. It was nothing compared to everyone else's injuries though.
"Komui, you bastard! Improve the weapons in the armory next time," Kanda snapped as he drew out another sword from behind his back. Chaoji charged forward to the check on the Chief Officer and help him to his feet.
Meanwhile, the Finders had managed to surround the Akuma and trapped it inside a dozen Talismans. Komui resumed his position as chief and began instructing them to concentrate all power on the Akuma, leaving it with no openings to escape.
Kanda spotted Devina stretched out to his left, and he cursed, before he made his way toward her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder, "Che."
The Akuma began to chuckle noisily behind the confines of the Talisman, and everyone in the room shared the palpable uneasiness spreading through the air.
"He… he's laughing at us," Chaoji pointed out.
Kanda moved to stand before the two, one arm holding onto Devina's legs, while the other one clutched his sword tightly. "He's coming. Komui, stand back,"
"That's insane! Without the Innocence, you stand no chance!" Komui shouted.
"I will not die so easily," Kanda replied, "neither will she." Kanda didn't get a response and watched as Komui listened into his headphones. "What now, Komui?" he asked impatiently.
Komui hissed, before he spoke into his headphones. "To all Section Leaders, I'll say this only once so listen carefully. Every Section Leader is responsible in leading all those in his Section to Gate Three of the Ark towards the Asian Branch! We are evacuating to the Asian Branch! With the safety of the Exorcists in Lab Five unclear, we need to protect the Innocence and avoid being exterminated." Komui turned to the Finders in the room. "We need to get the Akuma out of the Exit's way, so let's move."
And so, they all began to slowly lead the Talisman-caught Akuma out of the way and into the hallway.
"You cannot escape me, Chief!" the Akuma laughed, before it stretched its arms and easily cracked the Talisman with a Dark Matter electric charge.
"Please head to Hevlaska, Chief! Get the Innocence!" one of the Finders yelled, and Komui nodded solemnly.
He and two other Finders ran to the elevator before he pressed the buttons to have it go to Hevlaska's floor. Kanda swung his legs over the metallic rail.
"Kanda! You go and evacuate! Take Devina with you!" Komui yelled.
"I can't do such a thing," the stoic Exorcist retorted, and Chaoji tried to imitate his senior.
"You'll be punished if you do," Komui yelled, and it made Kanda pause in his tracks.
"My Innocence is at Hevlaska's, too, and that Talisman isn't going to last too long. If worst comes to worst, I'll be the shield," Kanda said calmly.
"Don't say such silly things. You can't throw your life away like that," Komui stopped when Kanda's frown turned into a smirk. He was about to say something back when Hevlaska spoke again, begging him to make haste as Leverrier was bringing Lenalee to her. Komui's hand slammed against the pod in the elevator and it began to move.
"I'll play with you, Chief. You have ten seconds," the Akuma teased.
The elevator continued its ascent, but the Akuma kept its word. The Talisman broke ten seconds later, and the monster was set free. Kanda threw Devina at Komui, who barely managed to catch her in time, "Take her!" before he gripped the sword in both of his hands.
The Akuma generated its energy in its hands before it shot out another dark matter attack into the elevator, causing it to fall and crash.
Komui was certain he was dead. Something squishy and cold tickled at his face and hands, but when his eyes opened, he realized he was floating. He wasn't the only one; Kanda and the Finders were in similar situations, floating inside the thick transparent liquid, before it finally gave out and they lightly hit the floor.
"Komui! You're alive!" Lavi was running toward them, when he spotted Devina's bent form. Her back and head were bent while her arms were angled strangely. "D-devina!" he gasped in horror, before he ran to her. "What happened?"
But no one answered him. He glanced up at Komui, expecting an answer, but he saw him watching Lenalee across from them. She was talking with Hevlaska. Lavi felt torn. His visible eye darting between the broken girl standing next to him and the one on the other side of the room.
The Akuma flew nearer to the Chief Officer. "The game of tag has run its course, Chief,"
Lavi found a metallic long pipe to the side; he picked it up and ran to stand before Komui, only to end up with his back against Kanda's, crashing against the wall as they both had moved instinctively to protect the Chief.
"You can stand back, you know," Kanda said to Lavi.
"Not yet," Lavi smiled at his friend.
The Akuma began to fly toward them, and they braced themselves for the impact, but it never came. Devina jumped up by gripping onto their shoulders before she lifted herself up using the momentum; her right foot was on Lavi's shoulder while her the other one dipped Kanda's. She jumped off, and met the approaching Akuma with a clanging attack as she jammed her fist into its stomach.
The Akuma's face twisted in annoyance. "YOU AGAIN?"
Lavi's neck snapped, following her movement, until he felt something sticking to his shirt. When he turned to check his shoulder, his green shirt was stained with blood. "Devina…" he muttered.
"She's…" Kanda began, "not conscious?" he asked.
"She's been fighting that way ever since the Akuma escaped Lab Five," Komui muttered, his eyes still on his sister.
"You mean she hasn't been conscious since?" Lavi asked.
"I can't tell whether it's her Innocence taking over to fulfill her wish, or to protect her," Komui relayed his thoughts distractedly. Hevlaska was about to insert the Innocence into Lenalee, and he couldn't do anything about it.
The Akuma had managed to throw Devina against the wall, where she tumbled and fell, before it turned to Kanda and Lavi. It tossed both of them down before it tackled Hevlaska with an explosion, disrupting the Innocence's insertion.