Disclaimer: Don't own D. Gray-Man, never will.
Special Thanks To
The awesome beta-reader Miss Tiger, All who reviewed, All who faved, All who subscribed, All who voted and All who reads
I have formatting problems you see, I confuse myself too much, so here's a format overview:
Italic and underline is the 'Other Half' talking
Italic and Bold is Dem talking to the 'Other Half' in her head.
Italic only can be thoughts, words written somewhere that needs to be described or voices in people's heads or Dem's strange knowledge pool. I don't even know when to use italics anymore. OTL
Btw, you can follow me on Twitter, my name is Kavilene.
The Millennium Earl sat at the head of a long table. He smiled, as he always smiled. It has been a while since he had a family reunion with so many members present.
"I have called you all here for an important matter ~ 3" The Earl began. "My precious Egg has been stolen. ~3 Someone needs to go get it back for me."
Lulu Bell sat on the ground next to the Earl in her cat form. She quickly nudged at her Master with her head. "Meow~!" Lulu Bell meowed.
"Oh, thank you dear! Take as many Akuma as you want ~ 3. I'll be relying on you, my dear!"
The cat stood up and paced gracefully out the door, the bell at its neck rang with every step it took.
"Take some skulls too! We need new skulls! Bye bye~ 3!" The Earl waved happily.
After a while, Tyki broke the silence. "Hey, Earl."
The Earl turned to Tyki, sitting to his right. The man pulled out a card from his pocket. "I have erased most of the people listed here, as you have said." Tyki gave the card to the Earl, "Except for these two."
The Earl glanced at the clown-like golem jailed in the card. It stood up and pointed to two names. The Earl blinked.
Allen Walker…
Of course.
And there was another name. The other name…Mony…
"I was supposed to kill anyone related to the 14th and Mana, right? But now, we have found the key. Allen Walker must be the key in the 14th's will. And this 'Mony' girl…I can't find her anywhere. And with just a first name, it's not easy, Earl."
"I know, I know, dear Tyki. 3" The Earl nodded apologetically as he slipped the card into the pocket of his coat. He stood up and headed for the door.
"Millenie! Where are you going?" Road asked, swinging her legs playfully.
"Keep eating, my dears. It's been a while since we've had a family reunion like this. I'll just go sort out some businesses. 3"
"Come back quickly!"
The Earl nodded and stepped through the door.
He arrived at another dark, warped space. An old, wooden rocking chair sat at the centre with balls of wool surrounding it.
"You called for me, Master." A voice said from the darkness. Soon, a pair of glowing eyes appeared. The owner of the eyes stepped into the light, towards the Earl.
"Ah, hello." The Earl glanced at the young man. His head of short, black hair was neatly groomed; his handsome face of Eurasian decent was clean; the spotless white dress shirt and the black pants were without a single wrinkle, and his pair of black boots was free of dust. Perfect, as always.
The young man bowed.
The Earl and passed the card to the young man. "Find her."
The young man looked into the cell. On the wall, there were two names. Allen Walker... and ...
Mony.
She's still alive?
Well, that's good. It's time to visit her, after so long.
How long was it since he last saw her?
"No! I don't want to eat that!" Desdemona screamed.
Lavi and Allen ganged up on her. Allen was holding her down, Lavi was about to stick some disgustingly healthy-looking salad into her mouth. Link was sitting calmly, drinking tea with Bookman.
"Dem! You have to eat vegetables!" Allen insisted behind her.
"No! Let go of me you pervert!" The girl struggled, but he was too strong.
"This is for your own good!" Lavi said. In his hand, he held the salad. The girl watched in doom as the green thing neared her face.
To protect herself, she kicked Lavi in the crotch, hard. The redhead dropped the salad and rolled on the floor in pain. "Ow!"
She felt Allen flinch behind her but he's not loosening his grip on her. "Lavi! Are you alright?"
Lavi still knelt on the floor, he raised a hand weakly. "Dem...If I can't have kids in the future, it's your fault."
"Good! I just saved the world from the existence of yet another idiot, or possibly a few idiots." She said coldly.
"Dem!" Allen said accusingly.
The girl inhaled angrily. She attempted to elbow the boy in the ribs, but was ineffective as he held her elbow. She merely brushed her arm against his black vest. She's getting irritated, because other than immobilising her, the black and red striped ribbon at his neck fell into the collar of her white shirt, tickling her back.
None of them wore their uniform coat. Who bothers inside Headquarters?
She struggled even more, successfully whipping him in the face with her hair. He tightened his grip, displeased. She slapped him more with her hair. He only tightened his grip more.
"If..." Lavi said weakly, still pointing a finger at the girl, "If I had my Innocence..."
"Well, you don't." The girl cut in immediately. "For your information, it is currently with Komui, being repaired after you made it crumble to dust. So anything you say is just wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is not worth my time, so shut up."
"Dem, how can you be so rude?" Allen stood up for Lavi. "You should be more-"
Suddenly, Allen tensed. The girl felt it. His grip grew even tighter, hurting her.
She turned around slightly, glancing at his face. He was dazed, focused on something else entirely. He was frowning...
She jumped as his left eye suddenly activated right in front of her face. His pupil turned red and the white part turned black. A suspended gear-shaped lens appeared over his eye. She blinked. She's heard about his eye before, it evolved. The last time she saw it was in Martel. It changed, a lot.
Wait...his eye activated...
Akuma!
Allen finally let go of her. He moved quickly, jumping over the railing and started running down the corridor. Desdemona followed quickly. Lavi clambered to his feet.
"What's wrong?" The redhead asked.
"Akuma!"
Link and Bookman jumped up too, running after Allen and Desdemona with the lagging Lavi.
"Where?" Desdemona asked.
"I'm picking up a large number of signals from the lab Reever's in!"
"How?" Lavi questioned. "That amount of Akuma should have triggered the alarms!"
"The Ark." The girl answered. "It happened in Asia Branch too. The Earl's Ark was capable of even trespassing Asia Branch's guardian deity."
Bookman and Lavi glanced at each other. Link looked down in thought.
Soon, they arrived before the arched entrance to the lab. A solid, black material blocked the passage. At the edges, the black material extended like vines over the wall.
Lavi grabbed a chair nearby and smashed it against the material. It was useless.
"Lavi! Get out of the way!" Allen warned.
The redhead jumped to the side. The three other exorcists activated their Innocence. Allen's arm transformed into a claw; the white shawl hung at his shoulders. Bookman's needles were floating. Desdemona was holding a spiky Thora.
The three struck in unison. A cloud of dust rose as the concrete ground beneath them crumbled under the impact.
They frowned as the cloud of dust cleared. Not a single scratch...
Allen panicked. "What do we do? They're after the Egg!" He paced aimlessly around. "Reever...and the others are inside! I have to find a way in!"
"Allen, calm down." Desdemona said, returning her whip to her belt.
"I CAN'T!" The boy stopped in front of the girl and screamed in her face.
She glared at him.
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM! THEY ARE IN DANGER! I HAVE TO GET IN! YOU MIGHT NOT CARE BUT I DO!"
She was about to punch him in the face. She really, really wanted to. He needs to clear his head, or better, fall unconscious so he can shut up.
But before she could, Link grabbed Allen's shoulders and pulled him out of her attack range. "I have a way, follow me." He turned and headed left. The others followed, but Desdemona hesitated. She touched her whip.
She tried to activate to Level 3 just then, why won't it work?
It wasn't responding.
It won't activate Level 3.
What's wrong?
Find me.
The girl blinked. That voice. It's been a while since she heard it.
Find me.
"Dem!" Lavi called.
She snapped out of her thoughts and followed after them.
Find me.
Link led them to Lab 2, where the Gate of the Ark stood.
"Walker! Use the Ark!" Link commanded.
Allen ran past the scientists around the Gate and disappeared through the white panel. Desdemona frowned. Go die.
Lavi was about to follow, but Link stopped him. Turning to Bookman and the girl, he nodded. "You two go on with Walker. Since I am not an exorcist and Lavi does not have his Innocence, we will be useless in there. We'll report the Akuma to the Chief. Go in first, help will come."
Bookman followed after Allen into the Ark. Desdemona walked in reluctantly. She should go get her necklace, shouldn't she?
But...the idiot... She glanced behind. Screw the necklace. She can't have the idiot dying; she still needs to punch him in the face for screaming at her.
She went through the door. The familiar white town greeted her. She spotted the white-haired boy and followed after him.
Allen barged into the piano room. He started playing immediately.
Desdemona froze at the door.
What?
How?
Why?
This song...isn't this song...
Bidelia's song.
The song Bidelia taught her. How come Allen knows how to play this song? She's sure it's not a common song. How? Why? Why is Bidelia's song the song to operate the Ark? Why?
So the little infant fell into a deep sleep.
Among the grey ashes in the flames shining...First one, then two...
Surfaces numerous of your faces...
Desdemona shook her head. Someone's singing in her head. Just like back in Edo, when the Ark disappeared and then reappeared. Who is singing? Who?
Gate 4 opened.
... I will still continue to pray.
The song ended. Desdemona pulled open the door and ran out.
Gate 4...
Allen followed behind her. "Dem! Wait! You don't even know which gate-!"
"Four!" She replied swiftly.
Allen blinked. "H-how did you know?"
Her eyes widened. That's right, she's not supposed to know. How come she does? "Shut up! I-I guessed!"
"That's a very good guess!" Allen said in awe. "And how come you know Gate 4 is this way?"
"I don't know! I just ran out of that room. Up until now, it's only one straight path!"
"Oh...right." The boy repeated quietly.
"You youngsters stop chatting!" Bookman commanded. "Walker, where to go at the next crossroad?"
Go left, the third door to the right. Desdemona slowed herself down, allowing Allen to run in front of her.
"Go left! The third door to the right is Gate 4!"
The girl frowned at herself. Why? Why does she know? Is it the other half? It's telling her...right?
But wait, no. The other half 'talks' to her in Bidelia's voice. These information was not 'told' to her. She just knew. There's no voice...is it really the other half?
The white-haired exorcist arrived before the said door. He activated his Innocence, pulling his arm out. The large sword appeared and the boy barged through the door. Bookman entered next, his Heavenly Compass ready.
Desdemona followed closely behind. Thora activated to Level 2, Speed type – Blade whip.
Once she exited the Ark, the sight that greeted her was appalling. There was a huge swarm of Akuma, so many that the entire Lab was filled. She glanced to the side. There she saw limp forms of many scientists lined up strangely but neatly in rows on the floor. There was blood everywhere and some of them were crushed in the head. Three skulls were standing there, going through the scientists one by one, as if examining them.
Allen stood on his sword, stuck into the corpse of a skull that was sliced in half.
Reever sat, frozen on the ground next to the corpse.
She landed on the ground, next to Bookman.
"AARGHH!" Desdemona flinched as the scream of another scientist echoed in the Akuma-filled lab. His head was crushed and blood spurted everywhere. The skulls then moved on to the next one.
Allen pulled his sword out of the ground and landed behind her. "I'm putting a stop to this!" He exclaimed.
She inhaled, and exhaled. Remember, she must kill Akuma. She cannot kill an exorcist. Akuma are the ones to kill, not exorcist.
She looked back at the Akuma but froze.
She…she can see something. She saw something grotesque coming out from above all the Akuma. Something that looked like a person...more like a skeleton...or is it a heavily mutilated person? It's in pain...chained to the body of the Akuma…it's floating above the Akuma.
"What's that?" She asked quietly, but knowing Allen would hear her.
Allen glanced at the girl. He quickly inhaled and covered his left eye. Ever since his eye evolved, other people can see Akuma souls if they stood close to him...But he didn't want her to see it. Such a horrible sight, he didn't want her to see it. He was careless. "That's...the soul of an Akuma." He looked down.
She narrowed her eyes. That's the soul? Allen can see it so he could tell Akuma apart. Now can he let other people see it too? She glanced at the souls again. They are disgusting. Imagine seeing these things all the time.
"A-are you ok?"
"Huh?" She glanced back, puzzled by his words.
"Sorry."
"You're not making sense. Talk later."
The three exorcists moved at once. Allen, Bookman and Desdemona jumped in different directions. The white-haired exorcist dashed, the Akuma he passed all froze as white, shining crosses appeared on their body. They soon disintegrated to dust. Bookman jumped into the air, raining black needles on the Akuma below. They too disintegrated to dust.
Desdemona kicked off her heels. She swung her arm around. The Akuma stepped back to dodge the short-ranged sword. However, with a flick of the wrist, the sword broke into sections, extending its range. Many Akuma disappeared.
Allen sliced two more Akuma in half, but unknown to him and visible to Bookman and Desdemona, a Level 3 floated above the boy. Its hands were shining, preparing an attack from the sky.
Bookman manoeuvred his needles into a moving platform, headed for Allen. "Boy! Jump on!"
Allen jumped onto the platform, it successfully moved the boy out of the Akuma's attack.
"Bookman! Here!" The girl called out.
The platform moved quickly towards the girl, Allen held out a hand, grabbing the girl and pulling her on.
The needles flew upwards, towards the ceiling. Allen didn't know how, but she climbed onto his shoulders. When it was high enough, the girl pushed off Allen's shoulders, taking herself even higher. Ouch, his shoulders. He's human too, must she use that much strength?
The platform inverted. Allen saw that he was now above the Akuma that tried to attack him. Allen pushed himself off the platform and swiftly sliced the Akuma in half.
"Move!" Allen looked up. Desdemona knelt upside-down on the ceiling using the momentum of her rise. The white-haired boy obeyed and jumped out of the way.
Power Type
The blade in her hand transformed into a thick, spiked whip. She twisted her upper body and pushed hard off the ceiling. Spinning the other way, the whip whirled around her, becoming her shield as well as creating a great air current that resembled a cyclone.
The cyclone hit the ground with a great force. The spinning motion lifted up the concrete on the floor. The debris spun with the air current, adding a greater abrasive power to her attack.
The cyclone moved across the lab, dragging Akuma both on the ground and in the air into the cyclone, wiping out a heap of Akuma.
Allen blinked. She's so strong. He has never seen that before…
Desdemona frowned. She tried again, activating Level 3 Thunder Rage...it didn't work.
Find me. Come find me.
Shut up! Wait! I can't leave him!
At the centre of the Lab, Lulu Bell turned to the chaos caused by the intruding exorcists. She then glanced at the Egg. "We'll withdraw once the Egg has been safely placed in the Ark. Akuma, keep the exorcists occupied."
Desdemona landed beside Bookman and Allen, both of them continued to take out Akuma. There was far, far too many of them.
All of a sudden, the remaining Akuma all charged at them at once. At the same time, the ground shook. The exorcists balanced themselves and glanced at the Egg. They widened their eyes. Beneath the Egg, something that looked like the Ark's gate opened...only this one was black.
Desdemona couldn't worry about anyone else. She's not good at being surrounded by a clump of Akuma like Allen, close range is not her strength, especially without Level 3. She looked up and smiled.
Allen heard an Akuma charging at him from behind. Wait, wasn't Dem behind him? He pivoted on his feet and tried to grab the girl to pull her out of the way. When he turned, he blinked. She's not here. He held out his sword, blocking the charging Akuma and slicing it in half. He looked around, she's not anywhere. His mind was full of other things, but for some reason, it still had enough free space to worry about her. He never knew his mind had that much free space, because his worry gradually turned into fear.
Where is she?
She's scaring him…where?
Another Akuma came at Bookman and Allen from above. The two of them dodged in different directions, separating from each other.
"AARRRRRRRRGHH!"
Allen turned to the screaming. The skulls, they are continuously killing more and more scientists, some of them have turned into skulls themselves. Allen couldn't take it anymore. He slashed through the clump of Akuma, charging at the skulls. As his field of vision extended, he saw that the Egg was already halfway into the Gate.
This isn't good. He mustn't let the Egg be taken.
He mustn't let more people get killed.
He must destroy all the Akuma here.
He must stop that Noah.
He swung his sword at the skulls. Several faster Akuma suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his sword. They pushed him back into the Akuma cloud and crashed into a pipeline against the wall on a higher ledge. He gasped as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs. Akuma started charging at him again.
Clown Belt!
White belts formed from his cowl and pierced the Akuma around him. They turned to dust. Allen knelt on the floor, getting his breath back. There's no time. He must hurry. A shadow appeared over him and from his right, another Akuma appeared. Its large claw grabbed Allen's head in a vice-like grip.
He prepared to swing his sword at the Akuma…but it might not be in time.
Unexpectedly, Allen felt the Akuma's claw letting go of his head. He jumped away at the chance. Looking back, the Akuma was penetrated by Bookman's black needles.
"Did I make it, Kid?" Bookman said from below.
"Thanks Bookman." Allen stood up from his crouching position. He glanced over at the older man, he froze.
Bookman was backed against the wall, surrounded by Akuma on all sides. There was something grey growing over his body...or rather, he looked like he was gradually turning into stone. An Akuma's ability!
Allen charged over towards Bookman at once. "Bookman!" Too focused on his comrade, he didn't see a large Akuma coming at him from the side. The large head of the Akuma crashed into Allen from the side. Allen tried to block it with his sword.
The Akuma opened its mouth and a dark symbol appeared. Some kind of force field pushed Allen backwards. At the same time, many other Level 3 Akuma, at least six, surrounded him and immobilised him. An Akuma punched the exorcist hard in the stomach. Allen felt his strength draining, his consciousness is slipping...
Desdemona jumped around happily. None of the slow and stupid machines could even see her, let alone know what killed them. Sinking Thora into another Level 1, she quickly jumped from its round body and it exploded. She picked on her next target, a fresh Level 2 with wings floating around. She landed on its shoulders, the blade whip wrapped around its neck. It reacted slightly but Desdemona was too quick for it. She jumped off its shoulders, tightening the blade whip and decapitating the Akuma.
When they were surrounded before, Desdemona took the chance to jump through an opening straight above them. Using the lightness of her now weightless feet, she quickly elevated, stepping on some airborne Akuma to take her higher. Soon, she was above the Akuma, none of them noticed. She smiled, this is wonderful. The Level 2s and Level 3s are mostly at the bottom, attacking ferociously. At the top is where the useless Level 1s dwell and a few occasional Level 2s that just evolved and have not grasped their own powers yet.
For the past few minutes, she was obliterating a heap of Level 1s and now there's barely any left.
She landed on another Level 1 and stabbed her blade into it. That was when she glanced down. The Egg, the Egg was almost completely swallowed by the Ark, only the tip of the frame around the Egg can be seen now. But more importantly, she saw the Noah. In front of her, there were a clump of Level 3s, surrounding something. She looked closer and froze. White hair, a mask, white cowl and a white sword.
Allen.
She pulled Thora out of the Akuma and pushed off its round body towards the Noah.
Idiot. She already told him before, long before. Don't act on impulse, don't try to save anyone, stay alive.
Why the hell does she even bother saving him?
She poised herself and held Thora ready as she neared the Noah. As she planned, she did it as quietly as possible and as fast as possible. However, just a few metres before the girl reached the Noah, the Noah noticed her.
She tightened her jaws. If she's noticed, it's not good. She can't stop herself either. Whatever, just attack.
She brought the sword in her hand down on the Noah. With the added momentum of her descend from above, aided by gravity, she felt herself that her strike was pretty powerful. She also knew that from the ground beneath the Noah's feet cracking and rising up as a dust cloud.
But the sensation was weird, the sound was weird too. Rather than feeling like she was cutting flesh, she felt Thora hit something hard, like metal.
Allen fought with his consciousness. What's happening? Lulu Bell was suddenly engulfed in a dust cloud. Allen didn't even see anything.
Without even waiting for the dust cloud to clear, Desdemona pushed even harder down on the hard thing that she hit. As expected, it repelled her. Using that repelling force, the girl pushed herself out of the cloud and landed a few metres away.
She caught the boy's eyes for a second. Her mind was not so quick to process that look on his face...shock and fear? Alarm?
No. It's warning. He's warning her.
She spun around quickly, guarding herself with Thora. A hundredth of a second later, something came in contact with her weapon. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out again. She felt the impact through her arm. She glanced down, a metallic blade, an extension of the arm of a Level 3 Akuma. Looking up, she saw the Level 3 grinning down at her. "Ah, girl, got quite a good reflex, huh? Heheheh!"
She broke a cold sweat. If she didn't block it in time, by now she would have been in two.
Damn, Allen saved her. Now she owes him. She hates owing people. She hates debts.
Using the other hand, the Akuma took a swipe at the girl from below. Desdemona saw it and jumped up, flipping herself over and above the Akuma.
But she was too careless, in midair, something grabbed her ankle and brought her higher into the air. She looked up, another Level 3.
The Level 3 beneath her charged upwards, the girl quickly changed Thora back to the extendable black whip. She swiftly struck out and Thora wrapped around the neck of the Akuma above. Retracting the black whip, she pulled herself up. Using the momentum, she planted a free foot in the face of the Akuma. The Akuma fell backwards and floated horizontally in midair, which was what the girl wanted – for it to become her shield. But it still didn't let go of her.
The Akuma from below cannot stop itself from attacking. It crashed straight into the back of the top Akuma. It was then that the girl was released, but the force of the impact travelled through the Akuma and threw her back into the Akuma swarm at the centre of the lab.
"I was wondering where the third exorcist went." Lulu Bell said quietly, dusting her coat.
Another Akuma appeared behind the Noah. "Hehe. Master Noah. The Egg's transfer is almost complete."
Lulu Bell glanced at the Egg, satisfied with its progress. "We'll now withdraw. Tell the skulls to start packing up." She looked over to the white-haired boy.
Allen gritted his teeth. Hope Dem's ok. But he's not in a position to worry about her now. He tightened his weak grip on the sword in his hand. Lulu Bell noticed and struck out a hand. Allen felt something hit across his face really hard. He felt blood rush to his mouth. His sight slowly faded as he lost his battle with his consciousness.
"Take him with us, the key of the 14th." Lulu Bell instructed. "And kill the rest."
Desdemona heard the Noah. She glanced over and saw Allen's limp form from in between a gap in the bodies of Akuma. She charged, hoping her short-lived speed will take her out. However, the previous two found her again. One launched a fist in her face and another aimed a kick at her legs. She jumped, but miscalculation the position of the Akuma's fist, the fist that was aimed at her face landed in her stomach. She was sent flying again, this time she crashed into the wall. Liquid rushed up from her chest into her throat and she coughed, blood trickled out from the corner of her mouth.
She won't make it in time.
Stupid Allen, wake up!
She glared at the two Akuma advancing slowly at her with their hideous grins. She doesn't have time! She doesn't have time to deal with them!
To her surprise, the Akuma suddenly sprung back as if pushed by some sort of an invisible force. Desdemona blinked and looked around closer. Though quite invisible, the way of which it refracted light into rainbow colours marked the presence of a barrier. Desdemona looked to the side, Bak and a few still mobile scientists were holding a talisman. On the other side, Reever and Johnny held another.
Bookman had a barrier around him too. Allen too, which stopped the Akuma from dragging him into the Gate.
"You think we would just let you take him away? Don't look down on the Science Department!" Reever announced.
A Level 3 charged at the Section Chief, but it was kept out by the barrier.
"Allen! You are being abducted! Wake up!" Bak called from the side.
"The makeshift talismans won't last much longer! ALLEN! GET UP!" Johnny screamed.
Desdemona frowned to herself. She's useless if she can only use Thora at Level 2. She can't leave because of the situation here; she can't go get the necklace.
Wait, I'm coming.
What?
Shing~!
The girl glanced over to the white-haired boy. The white cowl reappeared over his shoulders, it sliced through the two Akuma holding Allen and the Akuma exploded. Allen straightened up slightly and smiled at Desdemona. She rolled her eyes and turned away. Allen then turned to Johnny and gave a smile. "Thanks, Johnny."
The scientist had water flowing from his eyes and nose. "Allen…"
The exorcist fell slightly, landing directly on the tip of the Egg that's gradually sinking. The barrier's gone.
I'm here!
Desdemona looked up towards the white gate of the Ark floating near the ceiling. Black forms jumped out.
The girl smiled. The backup Link and Lavi went to get is here.
"Time Record, Activate!" Miranda and Marie arrived. The female sat on the male's shoulder as he used this Innocence to swing into the battlefield. White, circular orbits with spherical globes appeared around Miranda and her Time Record. Correspondingly, the same patterns appeared around Allen and the gate beneath him.
"Target encircled! Reverse!"
Allen glanced down as he felt he was being lifted up. The small surface of the tip of the Egg that he was standing on elevated quickly. Soon, more than half of the Egg was above the surface.
"Ah! The Ark was a smooth ride!" General Tiedoll appeared behind Allen, standing on the frame of the Egg. Allen glanced beneath. The three Generals have all arrived. He was relieved.
"Now, let's hear how you intend to escape, Akuma!" General Sokaro smirked as he jumped straight into battle. Aiming for one of the largest Akuma, he activated his Innocence and sliced it to pieces. "COME!"
Allen kicked away the Akuma in front of Reever, who protected an immobile Bookman with the barrier. He brought his sword down on the Akuma.
Here!
Desdemona felt it. She can feel it through Thora. It's…it's behind her. Behind her…
She glanced back.
It's there! Cross…it's in Cross's breast pocket!
"GEGEGEGEGE! The General's are here! Gather! DEFEAT THEM!" The Akuma screeched.
All Akuma started gathering around a glowing symbol and they merged into one giant Akuma. The giant Akuma roared and launched an attack on the remaining scientists lined up on the floor.
"Maker of Eden! Embracing Garden!"
General Tiedoll hammered his Innocence into the ground. Immediately, thousands of white vines with thorns crawled out from beneath the piece of concrete he was standing on. The vines covered over the scientists lying on the ground. Once the vines were secured, a field of white roses bloomed over the vines.
The Akuma's attack shook the lab, but when the smoke cleared, General Tiedol's defence was not broken.
General Klaud landed on the vines. "Sorry, but you'll have to take care of the scientists, Froi."
General Tiedoll sat down on the concrete he was on. "No problem! The two of you would be plenty!"
Klaud smirked. "That is if someone hasn't gotten rusty."
Cross pulled out Judgement. "Who, me?"
Cross blinked as Desdemona suddenly appeared in front of Cross. Where did she come from?
She held out a hand.
Cross glanced down.
"May I please have my necklace back, General Cross?"
The General narrowed his eyes for a split second before smiling sweetly. "Oh, I'm sorry. It appears I have left it in my room. I wouldn't bring the young lady's treasured possession to such a dangerous battlefield, after all." He smiled.
"General Cross. It is in your breast pocket, isn't it? Have you forgotten?" Desdemona persisted.
The man widened his eyes. What? How did? He recovered quickly with another smooth smile. "Oh my! It seems so too!" The General reached into his coat, drew out the girl's necklace and placed it into her outstretched hand.
Quickly, the girl unclasped the gold chain and put it around her neck.
Level 3, Thunder Rage.
According to her wish, the green glow of Thora turned blue and it crackled with electricity. The feeling of power urging from her weapon was familiar. Yes, she has activated Level 3.
Smiling to herself, she turned and jumped into a clump of Akuma around the immobilised Bookman and Reever. Successfully locating the white-haired boy, she landed on his shoulders.
Allen struggled; an Akuma seemed to have landed on his shoulders. He spun around, trying to shake off the Akuma.
Using Allen's spinning motion, Desdemona flicked her wrist and the blade whip extended, slicing through the many Akuma. The blue electricity passed from Thora to the Akuma, which then was passed into the Akuma in contact with the initial Akuma. Her attack spread like a virus and soon, they all turned to dust.
Allen blinked. The Akuma just…evaporated?
Then what's on his shoulder?
Desdemona jumped down.
"Dem!"
She turned around to face the white haired boy.
"How did you do that?" His eyes were wide with awe.
She smirked. Yes, bow down at her power, be awed by her strength.
Reever ran over and tried to pry the solidified Bookman down from the wall. The Akuma's power has ceased to affect the man and the bits of him that has turned to rock will soon return to normal, but as of now, he's still immobile.
"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The two turned to see General Sokaro showering in Akuma blood. Along with General Klaud and General Cross, the three of them destroyed the giant Akuma in an instant. It was separated into huge bits, its remains laid on the floor, deteriorating. Even the Level 3s that did not merge with the rest are falling and becoming dust. In such a short amount of time, the Akuma they were having such trouble defeating were obliterated by the three generals.
Desdemona sighed. Completely different level.
"They are on a completely different level to us, aren't they?" Allen commented.
She glanced over at him briefly.
"What?" He blinked.
"Nothing." She turned away from him. Returning Thora to the form of the black whip, she flicked her wrist and it wrapped around Bookman on the wall. Reever, who was chiselling with some sort of a screwdriver, stood back.
Desdemona pulled hard, willing for Thora to retract at the same time. Swiftly, Bookman was pulled off the wall…only quite a large piece of the wall came off with him. She sighed and started dragging Bookman and the wall towards the injured scientists gathering at the centre around Bak.
"Miss Beast, please be careful of my hair! My hair!" Bookman said through his half-immobilised lips.
Allen followed and sweatdropped. Is that what Bookman thinks about at a time like this?
Around them, gas leaked from the remains of the Akuma. The white fumes made it hard to see.
Marie and Miranda also arrived. At the sight of Allen, Desdemona and Bookman, Marie stretched out a hand with 3 gold transmitters. "The Supervisor told me to bring them for you guys."
Desdemona took one and pushed the sharp hook into her recently pierced earlobe. It hung from her ear as it did before. Allen did the same.
Marie tapped on his, appearing beneath his headphones. "Command Centre, do you copy? This is Marie in Lab 5. All the Akuma have been stopped."
"Can it get through?" Miranda asked, still with Time Record activated on the Egg.
"It's should." Allen answered.
"This is Lab 5, Command Centre, do you copy?" Marie tried again.
"This is the Command Centre. We can hear you. Report on the current status inside."
The familiar voice of Komui replied. His voice brought relief more than anything else.
Reever supported a heavily limping scientist and headed for the gathered group. Allen went to help. The scientists around them started choking on the gas and coughed.
"There are 10 scientists heavily injured. The Akuma remains are emitting a large amount of gas, both our sight and hearing are badly affected." Marie recounted.
"We'll turn up the ventilation right away."
Allen bent down to lower the scientist to the ground. Just then, his left eye reactivated. He could pick up the faint presence of a living Akuma, but the presence is too weak to tell.
Desdemona released Thora from Bookman and some other scientists started chiselling at him with more screw drivers, spanners and hammers.
She was about to take a deep breath, but the fumes were choking her. She coughed and placed a hand over her mouth. That's right, these fumes are poisonous.
"These fumes are poisonous." A white cowl appeared in front of her eyes as Allen placed an arm around her, trying to shield her from the gas.
She glared at him and pushed his arm away, but he insisted and pulled her in even tighter.
She frowned, why is his eye still activated? Maybe it's just like that. "Aren't you too carefree?"
He shrugged. "My body's resistant to Akuma poison, so I'm fine."
"I hope you choke to death." She said sincerely.
"I humbly ask for your presence at my funeral." Allen replied with equal sincerity.
She pouted and looked away.
"Chief Reever, all of you should retreat to higher grounds." Allen suggested, still holding onto her.
"I'm fine, the rest of you head upstairs." Reever replied. "Some of the scientists they altered are being taken inside the gate, I must stop them."
"I can-" Allen started, but was cut off by Reever.
"They are my comrades. I will save them. You guys go help the Generals. They are planning to destroy the Egg."
Klaud, Cross, Sokaro, Marie and Miranda stood around the Egg.
"We'll have to destroy it in one go between the time frame of Miranda releasing her Innocence and the Egg entering completely into the Ark." Klaud explained.
"The only ones that can destroy in one strike are myself, Klaud and Sokaro…But even so, I can't guarantee it will work." Cross added.
"HA! AS IF I'LL LET THE EARL HAVE HIS PRECIOUS EGG!" Sokaro smirked.
"Whenever you're ready, Miranda." Cross nodded to the female exorcist.
"Y-yes sir." Miranda exhaled.
A puddle of water at her feet shot up and engulfed Miranda. Marie tried to grab Miranda, but he was too slow. The water moved upwards, carrying Miranda within it. Miranda held her throat, there's no air.
Marie activated his Innocence, extending the strings on his fingers to grab onto the moving water, but since it was liquid, Marie's attempts were useless.
The water landed on top of the Ark.
"The Noah of 'Form'!" Cross smirked. "She can transform herself into anything.'
Almost as if proving Cross right, the water took on the shape of something that looked like a cross between a woman and a lizard. "You have a most bothersome ability, lady…" It said. "Deactivate your Innocence!"
Allen and Desdemona heard sound coming from the Egg. They saw the water creature above the Egg and Miranda trapped inside of it.
"Miranda!" Allen let go of the girl, who launched herself instantly in the direction of the Egg.
"Go, Allen. Don't worry about us." Reever nodded.
"Yeah! Allen! Don't look down on the Science Department!" Johnny added.
The white-haired boy smiled.
The exorcists around the Egg jumped away as the concrete ground they were standing on before started sinking into the gate. The Egg, too, started to quickly enter into the Ark.
"Miranda deactivated her Innocence!" Marie exclaimed.
"Don't even think you'd succeed!" Sokaro swung his arm and released his Innocence. The blade spun towards the Noah but the attack was ineffective against water.
"Lau Shimin! Destroy the Egg!" Klaud rode on Lau's shoulder. The large beast charged at the Noah with a roar.
"I won't let you!" Lulu Bell positioned herself. Extending many tentacles around her, she blocked most of the beast's attacks.
"Judgement!" Cross held his Innocence that was glowing strongly. "Arrow of Original Sin!" The General pulled his other arm back and a large bow shaped like a lion's head appeared. He pulled the trigger and a bright light approached the Egg. Upon contact, cracks appeared all over the Egg's surface.
Desdemona jumped above the Noah. Flipping herself around, she saw Miranda. She extended her whip, trying to grab Miranda but failed as the skin of the Noah turned metallic. She landed on the ground out of the reach of the gate. Allen arrived beside her.
She glanced back at the Egg. The Generals kept the Noah well occupied. The Egg was smoking, with holes and cracks all over. But it was already half-way into the gate. At this rate, the Egg won't be destroyed.
Marie extended his strings to grab onto the tip of the Egg, but his strings snapped. The force was too strong.
"Dem!" Allen pointed. She followed his finger and saw a large hole on the side of the Egg. It was large enough that a person could fit through and arrive at the inside of the Egg. "Help me get there!"
"What are you-"
"Trust me." Desdemona widened her eyes. He smiled at her.
She looked away. Fine, go die.
Wrapping Thora around Allen, she readied herself. "Ready?"
Allen nodded.
At that moment, she caught General Klaud's eyes. She seemed to understand what they were doing. Lau charged straight at the Noah from the front, seemingly trying to rescue Miranda. The Noah turned her back on Allen and Desdemona and blocked Lau's attack.
Taking the chance, Desdemona swung her arm forwards. "Don't die!" Allen was thrown towards the Egg. Releasing her whip at the right time, she watched as Allen dove into the hole.
Allen looked around the inside of the Egg. It's too dark, he can't see anything. Now the only thing to do is to wait.
Cross and Sokaro both saw Allen's movements.
Desdemona jumped onto the raised platform next to Marie. "Master! We will never be able to destroy the Egg if we try to protect Miranda at the same time!"
Klaud nodded. They must not let the Noah know Allen's in there. "You're right! If we don't attack at full force now, we'll lose!"
Sokaro prepared his blade. "Well, that's girl's an exorcist, she should be prepared to die, right?"
Marie tensed. "General! What are you-?"
Cross nodded. "Destroying the Egg takes the priority."
"Wait a moment, General!" Marie tried to stop them, but it was no use. A hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned to look at the younger girl. She nodded to him reassuringly. He frowned, there's some hidden meaning behind that nod…but he didn't understand.
General Sokaro started spinning his blade, powering up his attack. Lau transformed into Long Range mode, the attack power doubled. Cross activated Judgement to its maximum power. The Generals prepared themselves.
Lulu Bell frowned. She needs to buy time! She extended one of his metallic arms and reached into her water body. "Are you sure that's wise, exorcists?" Pulling out Miranda, she pinned the exorcist down in front of the Egg, using her as a shield. "It is worth sacrificing one of the few exorcists you have? This woman's troublesome ability, I'm sure it's something you don't want to lose! If the Egg is destroyed, she will be destroyed with it!"
Without any hesitation, Cross fired his first shot, and then many followed. General Sokaro and General Klaud attacked simultaneously. The three attacks glowed brightly, lightning up the entire laboratory.
Desdemona leaned forwards onto the railing. Wait, what are they doing? Allen's in there. Why did they attack with full power?
Allen's in there…
The force of the attacks shook the entire Headquarters. Desdemona and Marie knelt down to keep themselves balanced. The lights blinked up overhead and went out, with only the emergency lights remaining to allow visibility. A huge cloud of dust was blown outwards from the Egg by the attack.
Desdemona covered her nose and mouth. What's this? She's scared?
"You're a terrible Master." The dust gradually cleared, Sokaro smirked. "Attacking at full power like that, even though you knew he was there."
"I would never be able to do something like that." Klaud shook her head.
"But I didn't hit him, did I?" Cross ran a hand across Judgement, cleaning off the dust that had settled on his gun.
As the smoke finally cleared to allow better sight, Desdemona stood up quickly and jumped over the railing. Marie followed instantly. They landed on the ground beside the black gate. Desdemona's jaw fell slightly. The Egg…it's inside the gate.
Does that mean it's still intact?
Cross didn't hit it directly so it's fine, right?
The idiot is still alive, right?
Right?
She looked worriedly over the black material. He should be destroying the Egg right about now, right? He's going to destroy the Egg and bring Miranda back up with him, right? He's going to resurface, right?
Then why is he not coming up? She can't see anything through the Ark. What's going on? Why is there no movement? Why is he taking so long?
Why is she so scared?
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced to the side. Cross stood between her and Marie and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Don't worry. Trust him. He'll make it."
Desdemona blinked. The General smiled at her.
Suddenly, an explosion came from within the Ark. Desdemona turned back quickly. Debris flew everywhere. She held an arm in front of her face but watched on intently.
When she saw him, she drew in a breath…and smiled.
Allen appeared from within the explosion, holding Miranda in his arms. He spotted the General and Desdemona. The first thing he noticed was the General's hand on the girl's shoulder, whose face he couldn't see because her arm was in the way. His hatred towards the General tripled in that instant. Cross just tried to kill him, and now he's touching Dem. "Despicable." He glared at the General.
Cross continued to smile.
Allen landed on solid ground and Marie ran over, taking Miranda from Allen and laying her down onto the ground. "Miranda, are you ok?"
Bookman was finally unfrozen and rushed over to examine the female exorcist. "Don't worry. She's just unconscious from the lack of air. She'll be alright."
Desdemona watched them from where she was. She felt…relieved. The idiot's alive.
…
Wait a minute. Why on earth is she relieved that he's alive? Was she worried about him?
Such thoughts made goose bumps appear down on arms and back. No way, there's no way that she was worried. She simply just really wanted to kill him herself. Yes, that's it. She won't let anyone else kill him. She'll kill him herself. Because he doesn't deserve to live. He irritates her to no end, doesn't let her sleep, forces her to eat, makes her have heart attacks, idiotically idealistic, and screamed at her. That's right, because of all these things; she will die if he lives. Therefore, she must kill him herself…
That's why she didn't want him to die.
And that's why she can't let him die.
She nodded to herself and walked over to the clump that has grown around Miranda. However, before she even arrived, she saw Allen hurrying away to the other side of the laboratory. She only caught a glimpse of him, so she could be wrong but…was his left eye still activated?
Still?
But she wouldn't know…she actually doesn't really know much about him.
Allen ran, he ran with all his remaining strength. This can't be, he can feel an Akuma, a very, very strong Akuma. Its presence is not weak like before, now it's strong.
Johnny, he saw Johnny sprawled across the floor, staring at something in horror. Instinctively, Allen skidded to a stop in front of the vulnerable scientist to protect him. When he glanced up, Allen froze.
There was blood. There was so much blood, flowing down from what seemed like a pile of Akuma corpse. But the blood wasn't Akuma blood, it was human blood. Reever, Bak and many other scientists lay unconscious on the ground.
There were human body parts protruding out from the deformed flesh of Akuma corpses. Allen really didn't understand. Wasn't all the Akuma dead?
What is this?
"A-allen…" A scientist that was half-absorbed into the Akuma flesh muttered painfully. "It…evo-" He slowly raised a hand to point to something. However, before long, black pentacles appeared on his skin. "It evolved…"
Allen followed the scientist's finger, his gaze shifting slowly because he knew he didn't want to see what he was about to see.
"We're sorry…we couldn't hold…"
Crack
Allen flinched as the Akuma virus made the scientist's hand brittle. His dead flesh crumbled and his pointing hand fell off from his arm. Soon, his entire body crumbled and turned to dust.
Allen glanced up.
Above the pile of Akuma corpse, there was something - something that looked strikingly like a woman. It was bent back at an unnatural, lifeless angle. The rugged edges of its broken torso was smoking.
It's Dark Matter.
Allen inhaled. What is this? It looked like something was inside, and it broke through. But right now, there's nothing there.
Hehehe…
Hehehehe…
From the base of the 'woman's' legs, a hand appeared. Allen's left eye widened. What-!
Gradually, a head slowly peeked out too. There were two halo-like things floating above its head.
Soon, it revealed itself fully from behind the woman. It was bald and child-like. There were wings coming from its back. Its face and eyes were sharp and sinister. Its body resembled a ball-joint doll, with its elbows, knees and hips all joined in a mechanical manner. Its anatomy, though suggestively similar to that of a human child, was in fact, far from it. The exaggerated curves in its arms and legs emphasised what was supposed to be calves and biceps. Its chest was greatly exaggerated. There were visible ribs and a bloated stomach with a marking of a black pentacle. There were also black markings across its forearms, thighs and lower legs.
It smiled sadistically at Allen.
"Hehe. I'm a Level Four!"
A/N Bad news guys, exams coming up.
And you know what that means?
One week of writing-less-ness.
|||OTL
I'm depressed. I'm being killed by trigonometry. I'm being suffocated by quadratics. I'm getting killed by Othello. (Lol, the irony, Desdemona was killed by Othello…actually, this story is getting killed by Othello) I'm dying because I don't care about stupid creator of penicillin whom I don't even remember the name of.
Crap, I need to study.
So wait for me, my dear readers! I will defeat the monster named Examination with my Excalibur (lol jks) and return a hero!
Enough ranting, maybe a few Reviews can get my mood up when I'm in such a failing slump.
REVIEW AND SAVE MY SOUL!
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