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
Hehe, new chapter! It's intense, with all the things happening all at once. I don't know if it flows right though, I wrote it segments at a time so I don't know...
Well, please enjoy chapter 20!
"Hehe. I'm a Level Four!" The machine proclaimed proudly with a sadistic smirk.
Allen froze, his eyes widened. Above its head…
That thing above its head…
He started shaking uncontrollably. No, this can't be…
His knees gave in and he collapsed onto the ground. No, he can't bear to look. The soul inside…an automated soul…
Unconsciously, tears trailed down his cheeks. This can't be happening. The soul…the soul…
The Level 4 landed next to the exorcist and tilted its head. "…Are you crying?"
Allen used his sleeve to wipe away his falling tears. He frowned. His tears won't stop falling. He can't stand. He can't move. He can't-
A hand appeared over Allen's activated left hand. He glanced down to see Johnny, sprawled across the floor, in a pool of his own fresh, red blood.
"Sorry, I'm sorry…Help us. Help us…" Johnny pleaded as he cried.
Allen tightened his jaws and placed his other hand over Johnny's reassuringly. "Don't worry, Johnny." He said as he forced a smile.
Johnny watched with guilt and worry as Allen pulled out his sword swiftly and swung at the Level 4. It blocked the attack with its forearm easily.
The Exorcist glared. For everyone at the Order, for every killed by this Akuma, for the soul trapped inside it…He will destroy it. He MUST destroy it. He will do it, for certain. "I WILL DESTROY YOU! LEVEL 4!"
Allen pulled back and swung his sword at the Akuma again and again, but it dodged and blocked every attack. Though not harming the machine, Allen pushed it back to the centre of the lab.
Bookman, Marie and Desdemona – who surrounded Miranda – reacted first as Allen and the Level 4 whizzed past them.
"Akuma?" Marie questioned, pressing his headphones closer to his ears.
Desdemona blinked. What was that? She froze in shock. It looks like a disgustingly, abnormal kid. Akuma? She has never seen an Akuma like this before.
And Allen…he's fighting it. He blocked an arm of the Akuma's with his sword, but the Akuma lifted his other arm. Preparing for the strike, Allen braced himself.
The Akuma suddenly stopped in its tracks. Pointing a finger to its forehead, "Of course!" the machine nodded to itself. "I've completely forgotten! This is the Black Order Headquarters!"
He turned back to the exorcist, but he was nowhere to be seen. A sudden weight landed on its shoulders. It looked up, that's where he went.
With his sword back as his left arm, Allen struck down. "I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANYONE!"
Edge End!
A bright light emitted from the attack and the sheer force caused the ground beneath to crack and crumble.
Pieces of broken concrete flew everywhere. Marie used his own back to shield Miranda while Desdemona and Bookman shielded themselves with their arms.
Allen glanced up in alarm. He felt it. The Akuma was there for one second and it was gone the next. His arm didn't go through anything. This is not right, the Akuma isn't here! He didn't hit anything!
"I'll start with you." The Level 4 appeared behind Allen. With a flick of its finger, the exorcist was sent flying.
Desdemona watched in shock as Allen shot past the railing on the third floor and crashed into the wall, creating a crater in the bricks. She widened her eyes. The white cowl disappeared. He deactivated. He's…unconscious?
No way… She has to…
The Level 4 rose higher into the air, smiling sadistically. "Ah, time to slaughter!"
Desdemona ran towards the stairs. Allen's already exerted himself with the previous Akuma and the Egg. That attack wasn't just for show. He can't go on like this. He's unconscious too.
Stupid idiot! He doesn't know his own limits.
Stupid, stupid idiot.
Stupid.
She was already halfway across the lab when the Akuma released an extremely high-pitched scream. The vibrating sound waves were powerful enough to shake the concrete structure of the Lab.
She fell to the ground, clutching her ears. It hurts, her ears hurt. They feel like they are getting crushed from the inside. She tightened her jaws and tried to stand, but stumbled down just as soon. No good, everything is spinning. She felt like she was falling the whole time. Her ears...the scream is messing up the inside of her ears for real. Her balance is screwed.
The Level 4 glanced over at General Tiedoll and his defensive barrier. It spotted the lot of scientists and smiled. "There's more over there, huh?"
The General also knelt on the floor, the vines and flowers clearly losing their firmness. The dizziness is making him loose sync with the Innocence.
Pleased, the Level 4 touched a hand to the ground. It summoned a large glowing sphere of energy in its hand and forced it into the floor. The bright light expanded, lifting concrete slabs and disintegrating metal pipes, and soon engulfed the Generals and the Science Division. In another second, it engulfed Miranda, Marie and Bookman and eventually Desdemona.
She glanced up at Allen one last time. No good, she can't make it. She can't…
Allen…
More concrete walls crumbled and broken pipes flew everywhere. Allen blinked, he can't see a thing. It's all white. Everything's white. He shook his head, but it did nothing to clear his sight. As the white light disappeared, dust and debris blocked Allen's just recovering sight. He blinked. What?
His eyes widened as he saw a huge section of the ventilation pipe flying his way. He tried to move, but he can't. His body won't move.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of Allen. Link lifted his forearm, extending a hidden blade in his sleeve and placed himself between the pipe and an immobile Allen. He sliced through the pipe just in time, avoiding Allen completely. However, a section of the pipe grazed Link on the face. A small stream of blood trickled down from the wound.
"L-Link?" Allen asked, making sure he's seeing correctly.
"I can't let you die just yet…" The man replied grudgingly. Glancing to the side, Link froze.
Spotting his odd behaviour, Allen followed Link's gaze down to the first floor. Allen's jaw dropped in an overwhelming sense of doom.
The first floor, it's non-existent.
In its place, there was a giant hole, a hole so deep that the bottom wasn't visible. The darkness in it seems to swallow up anything and everything. There was nothing left, nothing.
Except for the Level 4, floating in the middle of the lab.
"No…No way…" Allen breathed. Not truly believing the sight in front of him. "They fell…It can't be…" He frowned. It's can't be.
It absolutely can't be.
Everyone, everyone fell? And that attack, to survive that is…to survive is…
No, don't think like that. They're alright. They're all alright.
Dem…she's not there anymore. Dem, she must be alright. She has to be alright. She'll be fine. Out of the blue, she will appear and hit him on the head. Either that or she'll call him an idiot and insult him. He'll laugh it off, right?
Right?
He's scared. He's so scared. This amount of fear, he's never been so scared in his life before. It's not grief, it's not sadness and it's not anger.
It's pure fear.
And Allen really didn't understand this fear, he had no time to understand either.
Because now, he will use everything he has to believe in them. To believe that they are all right. Because they are strong, they are strong so they can survive this. And after everything ends, everything will go back to how it was before. Everything will go back to normal.
But the pretext is to defeat the Level 4. Yes, defeat it.
Allen glared at the Level 4, hysterically laughing its head off.
Yes, that's right. He will defeat it. Defeat it and everything will go back to normal. They will all come back, Dem will come back.
Defeat it.
Chase sighed, glancing back at the little girl trailing behind him, carrying a bucket of raw meat. He looked back to the front, spotting the large, brightly coloured tent at the centre.
She's talking a little more now, since that day. It's been about 3 months. Cosmo's been treating them worse and worse. First it started with smaller dinner portions and now, no food was almost normal. They were still expected to feed the animals and wash them, but Cosmo hasn't found a replacement Tamer. They had to run errands too, since one of the errand boys ran away with the clown and the other one died at the beginning of the year to tuberculosis during the outbreak. There're still a lot of tuberculosis cases around this area, even now.
Cosmo hasn't dared to touch Mony yet but, he's been beating Chase quite often. He never told Mony, but he could tell she knows.
These days, she would only talk to him and would never, even for one second, leave his side. Chase always had a feeling that Cosmo is scared of Mony for some reason. Chase had seen her like that, those times when her eyes turned gold. She's scary. It's cold, it's cruel, and he could feel raw sadism, but he never said a word about it.
He felt his throat start itching, so he pulled out an old handkerchief and covered his mouth before he coughed into it. He stopped walking, because suddenly, his lungs began hurting and he couldn't stop coughing.
Mony caught up to him and looked on with a worried frown. "Chase? Are you ok?"
When his coughing finally stopped, he panted and nodded. "Just give me a moment. I'm fine." He said through the handkerchief, still pressed against his mouth. "You go on first."
The girl shot him a worried glance, but he smiled with his eyes in reassurance. The girl took his bucket of raw meat and headed over to the large tent. Chase waited until the girl was out of sight before removing his handkerchief from his face. He glanced down with a frown.
On the yellowed cotton, there was fresh, red blood. Without hesitation, the 13-year-old bunched the handkerchief up and shoved it deep down into his pocket. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he ran after the girl.
No, I can't collapse, she's depending on me.
I can't collapse now. Please, not now.
"GYAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The Level 4 laughed maniacally as it massacred every living human in its way.
The remaining Science Department lined up, holding shields against the Level 4 while pushing Komui back. They have to protect him.
The Level 4 laughed more at the meek humans' pathetic attempts at stopping it. Shields? It'll just cut through them.
In an instant, the Level 4 walked past the line of shields. A row of Scientists were decapitated and their empty necks spurted out blood. It arrived in front of Komui, smiling sickly. Komui stumbled back a few steps.
"You're the commander of exorcists, right? Then your head must worth as much as an exorcists'!" It widened its smile excitedly.
Ting~!
Something came its way, fast. The Level 4 jumped back, feeling something sharp hit against its shoulder, barely missing its head. The Akuma glanced back; a man was standing in front of the Supervisor.
Komui glanced up. "Kanda?"
The Japanese scowled as the sword in his hands crumbled. "Tch." Throwing the hilt away, he pulled out another one from the holster on his back. "Komui, bastard. Work on the weapons in the storehouse more! These can't even slice soba!"
"S-sorry..." Komui apologized to the intimidating man.
"Talisman!"
The exorcist and the Supervisor looked up to the source of the bright light that illuminated the area. The Science Department has set up a Talisman, trapping the Level 4 inside. No, it's not just one Talisman. They layered 3 Talismans on it.
"Pfft." The Level 4 smirked. "Hehe…HEHEHEHE! !"
Positioning himself, Kanda held out his sword.
"Kanda?" Komui frowned. "Don't be stupid! You don't have your Innocence!"
"I won't go down that easily." The exorcist glared at the Level 4.
"Komui, can you hear me?" Komui froze. This voice, Hevlaska?
"Komui, come to where I am. I will attract the Level 4…Take the Innocence inside of me and get out! The Ark is still connecting to the Asia head Quarters. Move everyone there! If you stay here, the damage will get out of control!"
"…" The Supervisor tightened his jaws, not responding.
"We don't have exorcists available to fight! As long as the Innocence is there, we can rebuild Headquarters as many times as necessary! Komui!"
"…"
"Komui!-"
"We still have Lenalee Lee's power, Hevlaska."
Komui widened his eyes. Rouvelier. What's he planning? What's he planning to do with Lenalee?
"She's still unusable." Hevlaska stated firmly. "Exorcists are not tools! A half-hearted synchronisation will kill her!"
"The Innocence were created to destroy Akuma, right?" Rouvelier questioned as he rushed in the direction of the Infirmary, where Lenalee was. "Then why aren't you using it?"
"No, not that, Rouvelier!"
"You plan on dying, don't you Hevlaska?"
"I've lived with the order for a hundred years. The Order is all I have, Rouvelier…"
Rouvelier stopped before the soundproof doors of the Infirmary and pushed them open. They swung open and crashed against the wall with a loud bang.
"I-Inspector?" The Head Nurse snapped her head to the man.
"Lenalee Lee, you're an exorcist, right?" the large man glared at the girl coldly. "Then come with me."
You're needed.
Sitting, holding her knees, she opened her eyes. Darkness. Darkness is all she can see.
She's not awake. This happened the last time she fainted. Her Innocence is probably trying to tell her something again.
You're needed.
What do you want?
The Level 4 has exited Lab 5, its killing everyone.
…
Lenalee Lee is going to synchronise.
Lenalee? She's not ready, is she?
Before her, a screen emerged. Graphics gradually appeared. Lenalee was held up by Hevlaska, who was proceeding to place the Innocence into Lenalee. The view, the point of view was of the Innocence.
As of now, she will die.
Then why are they…
That's what the Order decided.
…Still using us as tools.
Dark Boots must be protected.
Dark Boots?
All Innocence are linked. I know, for I am the closest.
Ok, ok. Just tell me what to do.
No, you are ready, now. Command the Innocence; you have been given the right to do so.
Wait, what? Command the Innocence?
You can only help when you are in this state. Just tell the Innocence what to do. I will relate your power and your command.
If she remembered correctly, all the Generals, Marie, Miranda and Bookman were attacked by the Level 4 with her. If she is unconscious…doesn't that mean they are too?
Where's Allen?
He's unconscious in Lab 5.
Allen…he's exerted himself too much from fighting before…but she doesn't have any other choice. Kanda and Lavi don't have their Innocence, Chaoji's a newbie, Crowley's lying useless in the Infirmary.
...I understand. Crown Clown is a full-body armour, right? Move Allen...but be careful, protect him.
Allocate more power?
Yes.
Your command is being related.
She frowned to herself and turned to the screen. Suddenly, everything shook. The Innocence was flung out of Hevlaska's grip and landed on a metal walkway. Through it, she saw Hevlaska collapsing from Level 4's attack and Lenalee hitting her head and sprawled on the floor. Lenalee tried to reach the Innocence but the Level 4 landed next to her, planting a foot on her head.
Command related. Crown Clown is on the move.
To Lenalee.
Opening Crown Clown Perspective
Another screen appeared. She can see through Allen's…no, Crown Clown's eyes.
He's falling down, he jumped down straight into the elevator shaft. At this rate he's going to crash. The Innocence obviously paid no heed as falling like this will not kill it. But Allen is human, he won't be able to stand that.
Think, think. What capabilities does Crown Clown have…have…
Clown Belt!
Accordingly, the Innocence extended the white strands and breaking his fall.
She sighed in relief. Need to keep in mind Allen's in there. Don't accidentally kill him…
Attack the Level 4?
Yeah, do that.
Allen attacked the Level 4. It dodged, leaving Lenalee. Allen chased after the Level 4, exchanging many blows with it. When the Level 4 landed a kick in his chest, Allen flew all the way into the wall on the other side, creating a crater.
She flinched, she could feel a slight pain in her chest too. Broken ribs, cuts. Allen…It's hurting him…
She shook her head. No, she must protect Lenalee. He's durable, he'll be fine…
He'll be fine…
He fell, Komui rushed over. The Supervisor shook Allen's shoulders.
He's still unconscious?
Yes. Continue?
…
Continue?
...
"I'm already tired of grieving."
She turned back to Dark Boots' perspective. Lenalee was trying to reach her Innocence. Painfully, she crawled over and pushed herself shakily up. Taking the Innocence, she held it to her chest.
"I'm no longer that weak little girl who cried in her bed…"
She listened. Lenalee's not speaking, but the Innocence can hear it.
"Because I have my brother and everyone else with me. Because of them, I am able to fight in this nightmarish world."
She's ready.
"Innocence…Please take these feelings and transform them into a strength to protect everybody. If you do that…I will follow you. I will follow you until the day it all ends. Wherever you take me, I'll follow. But please, at the end…at the end please let me return to my brother's side."
Permission to extract.
Granted? Whatever that is.
…
So what's going to happen?
Allen Walker regained consciousness. Lenalee Lee will synchronise. Your job is done. You can wake up now.
Hey, wait-!
"Wait!"
Desdemona sat up abruptly, head-butting whoever was looming over her. She rubbed her head. It hurts.
Stupid Innocence. What was that? When it needs her, it drags her in. When it doesn't need her, it kicks her out.
She glanced around. Blinking, she took in the information around her. General Tiedoll was sprawled across the floor, holding his bleeding nose. "Ah! Girl! Your head is so hard!"
She glanced around. Garden of Eden was in place. All the unconscious scientists were protected. There was rubble, rubble everywhere. They should be underneath Lab 5 somewhere…Marie, Miranda and the few scientists with Reever are not here...
All she could remember was the Akuma attacking, then Garden of Eden grabbed her and she passed out.
She heard footsteps. She turned. There, General Klaud was walking towards her.
"Master…" She started. "Where…"
Before she could finish her question, the General grabbed her by the back of her collar and dragged her up. She half-choked on her clothes but was soon set back down on her feet.
"Cross found a way out. We have to get out and help them."
"Way out…?" She tilted her head.
Klaud shook her shoulders roughly. "Come on, wake up! Did you hit your head somewhere?"
Desdemona blinked. She followed Klaud to the edge of whatever they were standing on. There, on the already semi-destroyed wall, was a small hole obviously carved out by the three Generals' combined attacks. General Cross and General Sokaro stood beside it, along with a very large Lau. From obvious visual comparison, that tunnel is way too small for any of the Generals to crawl through.
"Ah, here we have the young lady." Cross removed his lit cigarette from his lips. The girl wondered if he ever stops smoking. Allen would know the answer.
Allen...
"Ok, getting to the point." Klaud said in a serious tone. "As you can see, none of us can fit through. If we attack it from here alone anymore, we risk having this wall collapse entirely. We need a simultaneous attack from the other side and here." Klaud explained. "Lau can fit through with no problem but it's useless if it goes alone. We want you to go to the other side with Lau and wait for the signal, then we'll attack together to make this hole larger."
"Ok, I understand." She nodded, heading for the hole already.
" You'll have a distance to go before you reach the end." Cross added.
"Lau, let's go." She signalled for the beast. It obediently shrunk down to its smaller form and hopped into the cavity. Following Lau, Desdemona pulled herself into the hole and started crawling on all fours, with still some space overhead.
"Careful!" Klaud shouted from behind.
"Hm." She mumbled.
With Lau in the lead, the girl only followed the sound of the monkey. There is practically no light in here and she can barely see anything. Except for the exit on the other side, but that too was very far away.
As she went further, the tunnel became narrower and narrower. She had to flatten herself out and wriggle forwards.
As they finally neared the exit, Lau rushed out and escaped the claustrophobic hole. Desdemona, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She ran the risk of getting stuck in the stupid hole. Not to mention the rugged edges of the walls. Now that the rocks are pressed against her, she had no choice but to pull herself through. She bit her teeth as she felt the rocks lightly grazing her at places and cutting into her flesh in others. She swore she'll never do this again.
Painfully, she dragged herself out of the extremely small hole and landed in open space. She lay on the ground tiredly. Her shoulders hurt from all that wriggling. Her back hurts too. She sat up slowly, examining herself.
This is not very good. Her clothes were torn and some of her deeper cuts were bleeding quite heavily. She sighed and stood up. She's more injured, climbing through a hole in the wall, than fighting a lab full of Akuma.
No good, no good. Her coat is too torn. It's basically shredded. She took it off and discarded it in the corner of the dark room.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called back into the tunnel. "I'm out!"
"Where are you now?" She heard General Klaud call back.
She glanced around, Lau climbed onto her shoulder. "I think it's a storeroom!" She replied.
She waited a few moments before getting a reply. "Ok, I understand! Tell Lau to Activate!"
"Lau, Activate." She relayed.
The animal jumped off her shoulder and transformed with a roar.
"Ok, get ready. We'll attack at the count of three." Klaud said.
Desdemona pulled out Thora. Activating it to Level 2, the Spiked Whip, she positioned herself.
Level 3, Thunder Rage.
Blue electricity crackled along the whip. This way, the damage is bigger.
"Lau, attack here at the count of three." She pointed to the wall. Lau roared in response.
"1!" She heard from the other side.
"2!" The two Generals positioned themselves, ready for the blast.
"3!" The exorcists attacked the concrete simultaneously. The force punctured through the wall, debris of various sizes flew everywhere. The smaller particles rose into the air, creating a thick cloud of dust.
Desdemona drew back, coughing out the occasional concrete particles that ended up in her throat and shielding her eyes from the flying debris. She felt Lau return to normal and climbed onto her shoulder with a little grunt.
As the dust cloud cleared, she glanced back at the hole and pouted in displeasure. This is not fair, now it's so big that you can walk through it upright with no problem. She felt ripped off, with all that blood she'd lost crawling through that stupid hole.
Soon enough, the three Generals strode through the tunnel with no difficulties at all. Lau instantly returned to Klaud's shoulder.
"What happened to you?" Klaud rose an eyebrow at the bloody mess that was supposed to be her student.
Crossing her arms across her chest arrogantly, she frowned. "I wonder what happened to me."
Klaud simply walked forwards, Desdemona pouted more.
Cross and Sokaro headed in front, locating themselves and figuring out where to go next.
"This is one of the Science Department's Storerooms." Klaud said.
"All the more reason not to touch any of these bottles up here." Cross commented as he glanced up a shelf containing glass bottles. Upon closer inspection, the symbol of a skull was present on all of the bottles.
Desdemona shivered. Not touching that, at all.
"Let's just get out of here." General Sokaro's husky voice said. He walked over to the door and tried the knob. It wouldn't budge.
"Seems like you need a key to get out too." Klaud pointed out.
"Well, screw that." Sokaro pulled out his Innocence. "We'll just blow our way out of here."
Kanda leant, semi-conscious, against a great crater in the concrete. Lavi, also semi-conscious, laid beneath a bloody wall.
The Level 4 walked towards the exorcist clothed in white. It extended an arm and pulled the limp exorcist up from the rubbles.
Allen coughed, choking on his own blood. He knew the Level 4 was right there, but he has no strength left.
At this rate…he's going to die.
Everyone…Dem…
He promised that he'd save everyone, but…
Sorry.
Allen closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. However, instead of a deadly attack, he felt himself falling again. He forced open his eyelids.
Lenalee?
Lenalee landed on the Akuma's outstretched arm, forcing it to let go of Allen. Her Innocence…her Dark Boots looked different. Did she…did she synchronise?
"How dare you do this to our home?" Lenalee glared straight into the Akuma's eyes. The Akuma's eyes lit up in anticipation, almost excited that there's a new exorcist to kill.
The Level 4 pulled its other hand back, preparing for an attack.
Lenalee quickly turned and jumped the other way. Grabbing a hold of Allen on the way, she jumped up and out of the way of the attack.
The Akuma released its blow in the direction of the two exorcists and a large trail was left behind on the concrete ground. It scowled. "I missed." Flying up, the Akuma searched with its eyes. It smirked as it spotted a dark dot above it. "There."
Lenalee breathed a sigh of relief. Shocking herself with the speed and height too, she examined her boots. What are these? Behind her heels were butterfly-like pieces. They moved and fluttered, just like butterflies. Her boots feel different, they look different too.
"Argh." Allen covered his mouth with his hand. He feels nauseas. "Lenalee…Too fast."
"S-sorry, Allen." Lenalee apologised.
Soon after, the Level 4 caught up and attacked. It charged at the airborne exorcists but Lenalee dodged it.
"Lenalee, you can let me go, I'll be fine. I'll extend my Clown belt, I won't fall." Lenalee looked up at the male exorcist, his pained expression surprised her. "And I'm sorry…I failed to protect everyone…I'm sorry."
I failed to protect everyone.
Lenalee frowned. "I'm sorry too, for showing up so late." She released Allen and pushed him away. Turning around in midair, she kicked the Akuma that charged at her. "Now it's time to stop you!"
Allen extended Clown Belt and held himself. He closed his eyes momentarily. Just then…it felt like her…I was unconscious and Crown Clown moved me but…Dem…
It felt like her. She must be alright…she BETTER be alright or else…or else I won't ever forgive her! Won't forgive her…He opened his eyes and frowned. Why am I so weak? I can't protect anyone…
Releasing Clown Belt, he allowed himself to fall towards the Akuma and Lenalee. Tightening his grip on the sword, he swung at the Akuma. However, the machine manoeuvred itself out of the way of the sword, only to be kicked in the chest by Lenalee. Allen took the chance to slice it, but it blocked the sword with a force field. Lenalee landed on the force field and pushed the Akuma down further.
However, the Akuma was fast to recover. It flew back up and attacked the two exorcists, who blocked it with a counter-attack. With gravity by their side, the two exorcists gradually forced the Akuma down the elevator shaft. With a powerful kick from Lenalee, the Akuma went crashing into the metal boards beneath. Not allowing the Akuma a second to respond, Allen slammed his sword into the Akuma's torso, pinning it into the iron beneath that bent like it was made of cotton.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The Akuma screamed and smirked at the exorcist. "I'm afraid…NOT!" The Akuma laughed as it kept the sword from entering its body by holding it with its hands.
Allen smirked back confidently. "Oh, really?"
The Akuma watched in despair as Lenalee came crashing down, landing all the combined force of gravity and Innocence onto the hilt of Allen's sword. The Akuma's hands gave out at the immense strength and the sword cut through half the depth of the Akuma's body.
Pushing off the sword as hard as she could, Lenalee rose high into the air again.
Higher. Faster. She rose higher than ever before and at the peak of her rise, she flipped herself upside down. The Akuma struggled with all its might and Allen used all his strength in keeping the Akuma in place. As the Level 4 watched Lenalee accelerate her fall with the aid of gravity, it felt its impending doom.
"GET OFF ME!" The Akuma screeched.
"NOT A CHANCE!" Allen pressed the Akuma down, gritting his teeth. The Akuma's strong, but he cannot, not matter what, allow the Akuma's escape.
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" The Akuma's screeched even louder and it grew even stronger in desparation. Allen exerted more force on his sword. No good, at this rate he won't-!
Suddenly, Allen felt the Akuma's strength completely disappear. Almost as if the Akuma's body is controlled. There's only one person who could do that…
Lenalee landed on the hilt once more and the sword punctured through the Akuma's torso, even sinking into the iron beneath, crumbling it.
Allen barely took a proper breath before the wall above him exploded.
"I already said, we are on standby!" Klaud repeated for the umpteenth time.
"But-" The Eurasian girl started, but was cut off by Klaud's palm.
"The Evacuation is cancelled." Desdemona heard through her transmitter. It was General Cross's voice. "Komui."
The girl glanced down at the General, sitting cooly in the hole he just blew up in the wall.
Klaud sighed. "Ignore him. Now, how's that going."
"That?" She frowned. "Oh, that!"
"Usable?"
Desdemona shook her head. "It takes too long to get started, not that useful in battle."
Klaud nodded. "Success rate?"
"It works every time now, it just takes long."
"Dem, what about you start it now." Klaud turned to the girl.
"Now?" She repeated with a frown.
"Yes, now. Hurry before it's too late."
"But-"
"Just do it."
The girl glanced over at the white head. They were now standing on the shutters inside the elevator shaft. It was installed just above Hevlaska's chamber and is a safety precaution to guard the Innocence pieces. They arrived just before Lenalee landed her final blow.
He still kept the sword planted firmly into the Akuma. No matter how much she didn't want to admit, he's quite something, to be able to keep this fight up with all his injuries. He's been fighting non-stop since the beginning…That stupid idiot, stupid sense of responsibility, stupidly stubborn and stupid stupid stupid.
There, one word that describes him: stupid.
She deep breathed. If she can pull this off, it can do plenty of damage.
Level 3, Wrath of Thor, Begin Activation…
She closed her eyes, closing a hand around Thora at her belt. She has practiced this to death. It was only recently that her success rate became 100%. This familiar feeling, yes, Thora is responding.
Wrath of Thor. Its principle is something she will never understand. Komui did mention something about forcing particles in the air to rub and create static electricity. By accumulating potential electrical difference or something, the electricity will discharge at the point where enough force is built for it to "short circuit" into the ground. But she didn't understand that. More simply put, Komui said, it is just like how lightning is created inside thunder clouds.
It's miracle that she managed to remember that much. All she really knows is that, it is the same kind of feeling as Thunder Rage. Thora has power and she has the ability to wield that power. Thora is gathering energy. Concentrate, now. She has to concentrate. Concentrate on holding the energy together, let more accumulate, more and more accumulate. When it reaches breaking point, she will release it at the Akuma.
1%...
Klaud continued to stare at Cross's dramatic reappearance speech in silence.
"Komui, I said the evacuation is called off." Cross repeated coolly, exhaling a puff of smoke from his cigarette.
"G-general Cross?" Komui gaped at the man at the hole in the wall. "Is it really…General Cross?"
"Do I look like someone else?" The General replied arrogantly.
"Tzz…Tzz… Sor…Supervisor…"
"Reever? Is that you, Reever?" Komui widened his eyes.
10%...
Concentrate, Desdemona told herself. She shouldn't hear, she shouldn't feel anything other than the electricity building up. Frustrated by the noises from her transmitter, she took it off roughly.
Klaud got a hold of the girl's transmitter and listened in.
"I'm sorry. We're somewhere under the fifth lab…surrounded by rubble and flames…I can't give an exact position but we're inside Miranda's 'Time Out'. Maker of Eden is somewhere out there, everyone is safe. Please do something about the fire."
Komui moved instantly, walking towards the set of stairs leading up to the ground floor hall. "Understood, we'll put it out immediately, just hold on a little longer! Make sure to stick close together so Miranda can decrease the size of her 'Time Out' and lessen her strain."
20%...
"General Cross." Komui said into the transmitter.
"What?"
"I'm heading up. If I leave you, Allen and Lenalee here…Can you finish it off?"
"You don't even have to ask." Cross exhaled another puff of smoke as he stood up. "You go ahead, Supervisor."
"Hehe. Taking all the glory by himself. Did he forget we are up here?" Sokaro commented in a joking tone. Klaud motioned him to be quiet.
30%...
"There were survivors in the lab? Is that true, Komui?" Hevlaska asked hopefully as she saw Komui hurry towards the stairs. They thought they all died…but General Cross is here, so the others must be alright!
Komui turned around with a extremely relieved smile. "Yes! That's right!"
Lenalee, who had been listening intently, leant back against the railing. She sighed in relief and an overwhelming sense of happiness filled her. They are not dead. They survived.
Allen widened his eyes. Involuntarily, tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked down, gritting his teeth. They are alright. They are alright. Thank God. They are alright. He squeezed his eyes shut. Somehow, the guilt didn't leave him. He felt like he can't face them. He was too powerless, he was too powerless to do anything.
40%...
"GYYYYAAAAAAAA!" The Akuma suddenly screamed. It began writhing under Allen's sword. "I HATE IT! I HATE THIS STUPID INNOCENCE!"
The Akuma grabbed a hold of the sword and tried to pull it out of its body. Allen's attention returned to the Akuma. He used all his strength to hold the Akuma in place but it's no good. The Akuma's strong. He's running out of power. It's even stronger than before!
Summoning a sphere of light in its left hand, it struck Allen in the chest and the exorcist flew into the wall beneath Cross.
The Akuma pulled out Allen's sword and threw it towards the exorcist. Allen flinched. In the blink of an eye, his sword flew past his head and buried itself into the wall next to him.
50%...
Pzzt Pzzzzt.
General Klaud turned to her student at the sound of electricity cracking…She's faster than before. Her training did pay off. By the looks of it, she's already half-way there. There were small sparks of visible blue electricity crackling around her.
Now comes the hard part. If she's distracted now, all the power she's gathered up will backfire. At half-way, there is enough power to injure her quite badly. So from here on, every bit of power gained is endangering herself. At 99%, there's enough electricity to kill her if she's not careful.
60%...
The Akuma stood up, a gaping wound across its oversized belly. "YOU FOOLS! YOU REALLY THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO DESTROY ME?"
"Nah, I didn't think so." Cross said leisurely, landing on Allen's sword. Allen glanced up at his Master, still wide-eyed from the shock of having his own sword flying at him. "But now, it's time for you to be destroyed."
Cross pushed off Allen's sword and appeared instantly before the Akuma.
70%...
"You want me to tell you why?" Cross held up Judgement and aimed at its head. The machine jumped back.
Cross fired. The Akuma raised both hands and created a force field to stop the bullet. The bullet stopped before the palms of the Akuma and after a few suspenseful seconds, the bullet cracked.
The Level 4 smiled. "Looks like you underestimated me…" Pushing the force field out, it shattered the bullet and sent the remnants flying in all directions. "NOT A CHANCE!"
Unfazed, General Cross smiled. He lifted Judgement slowly and 6 empty shells fell out. "Did you only see the one shot?"
The Akuma froze. Black liquid trailed down its face. Its body started cracking. It examined itself and halted in disbelief. There, visibly, was a hole in its forehead, 2 in its chest and two on each of its legs.
80%...
"No…No way…" It managed as blood filled its mouth.
Suddenly, on all of its wounds, a symbol of a cross with wings appeared. The flesh around the symbol swelled as the Dark Matter rejected the Innocence buried in itself. The Akuma's body became even more mutated as its limbs bent in painfully unnatural angles, pushed by the growing volume of its flesh. Soon enough, it was almost 10 times its original size. Compared to before, its appearance became even more grotesque.
"Where was I?" Cross took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Yes, the reason. Let's overlook everything you did to the Order, I'm a nice man after all. But then…" Cross smiled sickly. "You ruined my clothes…"
Allen and Lenalee stared disbelievingly at the General with slack jaws. General Cross…
90%...
"AARRRRRRGGGHHHHH!" The Akuma jumped off the ground, its movements much more slowly than before. It flew up, the elevator shaft, aiming at the opening at the top of the tower.
"Hevlaska! Close the shutters!" Rouvelier commanded.
"No use! It won't close in time!" Hevlaska replied. Klaud felt the shutters began to move beneath her feet. Dem already has a large sphere of blue electricity crackling, she can't touch her. She's much faster than before. By the looks of this, it'll be perfect timing.
General Sokaro pulled out and activated his Innocence. Lau activated to Klaud's command.
Clown Belt!
Allen extended Clown Belt and wrapped them around the Akuma's body, tying it down. "I won't let you get away! I'll destroy you!" Glaring up at the fat body of the Akuma, he froze. In the corner of his eyes, he saw something that he never expected to see but had always been longing to see. There, standing on the shutters, was the unmistakable form of…
100%!
Desdemona opened her eyes. Pulling Thora out, a bright light was emitted as it turned into the double-edged blade. Just as normal metals turn red when heated, the metallic bits of the blade gradually turned glowing blue.
"Fly, fly all you want, Akuma!" General Sokaro laughed sadistically. That woke Allen up from his trance. Using Clown Belt, he pulled himself up towards the Akuma. Lenalee was above him, also heading for the Akuma.
"Lau!"
Desdemona saw the giant Level 4 right beneath her. She couldn't hear anything but she knew to aim for the Akuma. She jumped. Lifting her blade overhead, something to gather above her, only she could feel it. She brought Thora down, breaking the segments apart in the process. The blade barely scratched the surface of the Akuma's skin. However, at the same time, a bright blue bolt of lightning appeared from thin air. It went straight through the Akuma, surrounding its large body in bright blue, and down to the ground underneath. The roaring sound of thunder was united with the blinding lightning at such proximity.
Lenalee and Allen were surrounded by the blinding blue light and their ears rang from the thunder, but they felt no pain. A millisecond later, they struck the Akuma's backside. Simultaneously, the two Generals launched their own super attack at the Akuma's front.
Allen and Lenalee went through the Akuma's body and landed on top of the shutters while Desdemona, General Klaud and General Sokaro fell down beneath.
The Akuma fell back down too, but it smiled a mutated smile. A large, gaping hole was at the centre of its body. The rest of its flesh was burnt to a crumbling black. "How horrifying…But Master Earl, I killed a lot today!"
Allen glanced back to see the Akuma smiling at him through the slit between the shutters and a second later, they were completely closed.
Rouvelier watched from the side as the large body of the Akuma fell from the shutters. Its flesh gradually disintegrated into dust, leaving only its head which fell and hit the ground with a thud. The Inspector smiled, he lifted both his hands and began to clap.
"This is Komui." The intercom crackled. "The Evacuation has been cancelled. The Level 4 is defeated. All units follow my orders."
Desdemona blinked. She was knocked out again. Happens every time she uses that. She told Master it's unusable. It renders her defenceless before and after the attack for too long.
She sat up. People, people, people bustling everywhere. She was on a stretcher…
She glanced around and smiled in relief. There's no more Akuma. They defeated it.
She stood up amongst the stressed crowd. The entire Science Department is here with the medics. It seems everyone buries under that rubble is safe. She sighed. What a day…
She looked herself over. Other than the enormous amount of cuts she received from a hole in the wall, that made her look severely injured as a mess of flesh and blood, she's totally fine. She decided she should not clog up space here and headed out of this huge hall.
"IS THERE A DOCTOR AROUND HERE? ALLEN'S STOPPED MOVING!"
Desdemona stopped in her tracks at the voice of Lenalee. What did she just…
"HE'S ON THE FLOOR BENEATH! HURRY!"
The Eurasian girl turned around to locate Lenalee, only to see her, too, collapsed on the ground and surrounded by medics. She pivoted on her feet and headed for the stairs. Her footsteps became frantic and those frantic footsteps gradually turned into a run.
Allen…
You stupid, stupid, STUPID idiot.
Arriving on the lower floor, Desdemona glanced around. No, no sight of him. Where? Where is he?
She ran, turning to various corridors and searching with her eyes. Hell, where is he?
Turning another corner, she froze.
He was leaning against the wall underneath a window. No good. This is no good. His shirt is stained red with blood and there was a pool collecting on the ground.
Timcampy sat on his knee, watching in dismay.
She ran, she ran over to his side and knelt down. She reached out to grab him but froze…
Suddenly, she realised she doesn't know what to do. What to do? What to do? She doesn't know what to do. She can't touch him…what if his injuries become worse? But she has to stop the bleeding, he's not going to last with this amount of bleeding. She shut her eyes in panic. No, calm down. Calm down. Broken ribs…she can't move him! What if bone fragments puncture his lungs or worse, his heart!
Oh God! She stood up and paced around. She clutched her head and pulled on her free hair (she didn't know where her ribbon went). Why is she so stupid? Oh God. The medics have their hands full. Why did she come by herself? She can't do anything, damn it!
No, calm down. Calm down. She stopped pacing and deep breathed.
She has to get him to the medics. In his current situation, the safest way to move him is using a stretcher. But that's not possible by herself. She doesn't even have a stretcher. She can piggyback him. With Thora, she can decrease his weight but considering the injuries in his chest cavity, it's not safe. She could drag him, but she's worried about his spinal injuries and they need to head up a flight of stairs. What to do?
She shut her eyes.
What do I do?
"Lenalee?..." Allen muttered under his breath. She returned to his side immediately, if he regains conscious, it's a good sign. "Don't worry about me…hurry upstairs…"
"Allen, don't worry." She told him calmly. "She already went up. Can you hear me? Allen?" She knelt over him, Timcampy flew around the exorcists.
"Dem?" He turned his head to her voice slowly.
"Don't move!" She half screamed. Stupid idiot, his spine was hurt!
But he didn't listen. He shifted himself until he was facing her and he forced his eyes open. When he saw her, all the pain in his body went away, replaced by a sense of relief and happiness he hasn't felt for a long time. Her presence alone makes him feel such bliss.
"...Move!...you...spine...heart...upstairs..."
She was telling him about something, but he didn't listen. He couldn't comprehend her words. But she kept on talking and talking. When did she ever talk so much?
He raised his arm and placed it around her shoulders. She stopped talking, whatever she was talking about, and blinked. Before she had the chance to start talking again, Allen pulled her roughly into his chest and wrapped his other arm around her. Holding her in a tight hug, he felt her panic.
"IDIOT! DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID? YOUR RIBS MIGHT PUNCTURE YOUR VITAL ORGANS, YOU IDIOT!" She raised her head and glared up at him. His eyes were half-closed and she couldn't read his expression.
"Shhhh." He whispered lightly in her ears. She was infuriated. Why wouldn't he listen? Does he want to die? She was about to scream at him but was stopped. This time, by a cold droplet of liquid landing on her cheek.
She blinked.
It was a few seconds before she comprehended what she saw...
He was crying...
Her mind went blank. She honestly and truly admits defeat. She can't do anything about him. She can't do anything with him like this. Why does he do that to her? Why does he mess her up so much?
Holding her even tighter to his chest, more tears escaped his eyes. "I was so scared." He whispered, but it was laboured, like he was using all of his strength just to get the words out. "I was so scared that I might never see you again. So scared that I might lose you...I was scared."
"You don't understand how scary it was..."
He said the same thing before, in the Ark. The girl relaxed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him gently, taking care not to put too much pressure on his wounds. "Sorry..." she apologized, not too sure why herself.
"I...don't want to lose you..." he forced out. "Don't...don't leave me."
Her heart raced. She didn't know what was happening to her. She could feel her cheeks heat up and blood rush to her head, clouding her panicking mind even more. Flustered, she glanced up at him.
However, his eyes were already closed. His arms around her went limp and fell from her shoulders. "Allen?" She tried, but there was no response.
Panic struck again, she checked his breathing and was slightly relieved, he's breathing. But before she had the time to worry about anything else, she heard footsteps.
"Where are they? Find them!"
The medics? The medics are at the stairs! She stood up and glanced down at Timcampy. "Tim, watch over Allen." Timcampy fluttered its wings and the girl ran back to the stairwell.
When she arrived, the men in white coats surrounded her. "Hurry! Allen's there!"
"Where?" the leading doctor asked urgently.
"Second corridor to the right after you turn left from here!"
"You guys, come with me!" At the command, half of the medics present rushed over with the doctor. But when the girl tried to follow, the other half surrounded her.
"Stop right there!" An important-looking medic glared at her seriously. "Head Nurse told us you are a handful and you really are. Everyone, tie her up!"
The girl struggled as a lot of hands holding ropes surrounded her. "Wait, wait! What is this about?"
"You are injured severely and yet you ran away the second we weren't looking." the medic explained with an accusing tone.
"Injured? But I'm fine!" She argued. Her hands were already tied behind her backs and she can't move.
"Fine? No! You hit your head when you fell from the shutters! Hard! It's a miracle you're still walking around!"
"What! Hit my head! No wa-!" She stopped, a sudden wave of immense pain came from the back of her head, followed by her sight blacking out. Damn, it's true... She felt her legs and conscious give in...
Allen...
It's not only Allen who's stupid, she's stupid too.
School started again. TAT Working like crazy since my major exams are coming up. Next chapter is relaxing and laid back and not intense battle. I'm better at relaxing chapters so it should be out faster this time.
Did anyone read chapter 214 and 215 of DGM? I was crying like hell...TAT TAT OTL Allen why you look so shojo?
That aside, I've done my share of 8k words writing...maybe you can do a little for me? like, 10 words? (BTW, i invented a new arrow, just to emphasise)
By just typing here:
Below:
Review:
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