Ok, quick note before the chapter. I'm sorry for the amount of time it took for me to get this up. This chapter forced me to do a lot of research, and due to some unfortunate circumstances, I needed to recreate the chapter more than once.
Warning: I am very rusty when it comes to anything cute or overly serious, so please forgive me if I do not deliver properly in these areas.
I hope you enjoy it!
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The girls huddled together as they trekked down the thin path.
"Remember, this is the home of Akuma, so we need to be on our guard!" Seraphina reminded the group.
"No duh." Eas rolled her eyes. Seraphina glowered at her.
They rounded a bend, innocence ready in case of emergency.
"Hey Vasilisa, could you do your freaky bat sonar?" Alexandreina asked. "It will be easier if we can see further into this thick forest."
Vasilisa scowled at her. "It's not freaky, and it only mimics a bats sonar capabilities." Alexandreina shrugged. It was obvious she'd call it whatever she wanted to. Vasilisa sighed, understanding this. Opening her mouth, she let out her sonar, the echoing of the forest and creatures within it reverberating back to her. She scanned the area, recognizing the tree's and rocks and small wild life. "No Akuma yet." She said disconnected, as she broadened her reach.
She stopped her search after she had reached a 3 kilometer radius. "So far, it seems clear, but we're still only at the edge of Japan, it's not likely we won't bump into one later on."
The girls nodded and continued down the path. After every half kilometer Vasilisa would activate her sonar again.
After they had walked two kilometers, Eas started complaining. "My feet hurt!" She cried, stopping where she was.
"All of our feet hurt." Seraphina growled, her mood slumped by the suspense of being in enemy territory.
"But you're bigger than me! You can walk farther!" Eas pointed out in a huff.
"It has nothing to do with that! You're just out of shape!"
"What? I used to travel all the time! I worked at lots of mining places, carrying heavy wheel barrows! I am not out of shape!"
Mizuki sighed. "Ok, guys, that's enough. We're all tired, but chewing each other out isn't going to help our situation. Eas, you can jump on my back until your feet feel better, ok?"
Eas nodded and happily crawled onto Mizuki's back. She sighed, and continued their decent into the heart of Japan.
"Now's were things get tough." Vasilisa whispered when they were five kilometers in. The path ahead of them crossed a clear field and carried on like that for a kilometer. Perfect, if you wanted to get spotted. Vasilisa activated her innocence and stretched it out as far as she could. "I don't see anything, but that doesn't mean they won't still come." She was still whispering and the tension was high throughout the crew. Mizuki let Eas down, but held her hand, restraining her from wandering. The girls inched their way into the openness, their eyes restless.
Quarter of the way.
Half way.
Three quarters.
They were on the last stretch, almost back into the forest when they begun to sprint. They dropped their guards and ran head long towards the safety of the forest.
Mizuki was almost into the shade of the forest when the scream wrenched its way through the crowd. Alexandreina was crumpled three meters from them, a long chain protruding from her back and spiraling into the sky.
"Dreina!" Vasilisa cried the same time Seraphina screamed "Akuma!"
Directly above them, five stories up, two unfamiliar Akuma floated, sharp mettle wings grasping at the air.
"What level are they? I've never seen one like that!" Mizuki questioned, shielding her eyes from the sun as she tried to make out the distant figures.
Vasilisa was working on freeing Alexandreina from the claw that was attached to a long mettle chain and lodged into the Alexandreina's shoulder. "It's a level three." She mumbled, breathless from the run. "We've seen one before on our travels. It was fighting general Clouds Nine. We didn't see much of the fight because we were on our own mission, but it looked nasty. If we were to fight them together, we could probably win, but not without great casualty's."
The girls all possessed looks of shock as Vasilisa finished. "That bad, huh?" Mizuki mumbled, pushing her hand through her hair. "Then I guess it would be the most wise to get out of here."
Vasilisa was able to loosen the claw and yank it out of Alexandreina's back before the Akuma pulled it back. Her shoulder was bleeding wildly and Vasilisa was afraid it had hit something. She ripped the side of her cloak and wrapped it around her back while the others defended them.
"They're coming!" Seraphina shouted as the same Akuma speared the chain towards them. Seraphina matched it with her whip and they started a stand off, their weapons entangled in an angry mess. "Hurry!" She screamed as the Akuma pulled hard on its end.
Vasilisa got the bleeding mostly stopped and slid her carefully onto Mizuki's back. They started sprinting back into the forest while Sarra held the other Akuma at bay with her sling shot.
Once the girls reached the forest, they called for the others. Sarra pulled out some smoke balls while Seraphina ignited her whip until it melted through the chain. They ran back to the others and they continued through the forest, looking for a safer haven.
"They're right over us!" Vasilisa cried, using her sonar to track them.
"Over here!" Eas shouted, pointing to a slightly hidden cave entrance. "Vasilisa, where does this go?"
Quickly, Vasilisa surveyed the dense cave. After a few moments she replied in a hopeful voice, "It looks pretty complex, but I see a number of exits. It should help." The girls nodded and rushed into the cave. Hastily, Sarra threw a bomb ball at the boulders over head so the Akuma couldn't fallow them.
Tired and worn with no source of light or direction other than Vasilisa's sonar, the girls collapsed into the dark mouth.
"Wah! It's so dark! Why did we close the entrance?" Eas screamed, feeling the walls.
"Think about it, idiot." Seraphina's voice came a little farther into the cave.
"I'm giving you evil bug eyes right now." Eas glowered.
"Anyone got a match and some wood?" Mizuki asked from the entrance.
A light flicker ignited even further down the cave but proceeded closer to them. "You guys aren't very aware, are you?" Seraphina asked, her annoyance easily identified by her expression, suddenly lit up by the large flame held just above her head. "My whip can ignite, remember?"
"Hahaha, oh yeah!" Mizuki laughed, walking into the light source, Alexandreina still slung over her shoulder.
"Won't that use up your energy though?" Sarra asked worriedly.
"No more than Vasilisa." Seraphina answered disconcertedly. "Besides, we have five conscious people here, I'm sure we can handle what ever comes up."
"Take a left here." Vasilisa interjected as they entered a fork in the path.
"Sooo, where are we going again?" Sarra asked.
"We're headed towards Edo. That is where the others were headed." Mizuki grunted, shifting Mizuki to her other side.
"This cave will lead out to a forested stretch, but it will be a long while before we are anywhere near Edo." Vasilisa gave a vacant look that suggested she was using her sonar.
"So I'll take it we're going in the right direction." Eas concluded.
"Obviously." Seraphina rolled her eyes. Eas gave a menacing glare and Sarra moved up beside her just incase.
"About six meters and we'll take a right, then a sharp turn to a large opening where we will be faced with a choice of four intersecting channels. Pick the one on the far left." Vasilisa continued, walking ahead slightly.
The girls did as she said and reached the opening. They took the passageway Vasilisa instructed them and headed down a slender walkway.
"Almost There." Vasilisa whispered, picking up her pace.
They broke through the passage into the bright sunlight. A thick brush lay in front of them, stretching far off into the south.
"Finally!" Eas breathed, dancing into the light. "It felt like I was going to die in there!"
"Stop being an idiot and get in the shade of the trees. What if the Akuma find us again? That was a lucky break last time. I doubt it will happen again." Eas glared at Seraphina, but moved into the shade of the nearby trees.
Once they got deeper into the trees, they decided to rest. Mizuki was short on breath and Vasilisa wanted to check on Alexandreina. Seraphina unpacked some leftovers from the ship and passed them around. Eas quickly gulped down an entire bottle of water, wiping her mouth dry. Seraphina stared at her in revulsion.
"If you don't slow down, you'll have to go pee." Sarra noted as Eas grabbed another bottle.
She stared at the water and gulped. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"Because I didn't know you were going to chug it." Sarra replied, distressed by Eas's urgency.
"Aww man! Now I really have to go!" She stood up, her legs pinning together and her hips swaying.
"Geez, you're such a child!" Seraphina snarled, taking a bite out of a sandwich.
"I seriously gotta go!" She wailed, looking around.
"Just find a tree!" Sarra ushered her.
"Ok, but I gotta go further in the forest."
"If your self conscious enough to be worried about us peeping on you, you can hold it." Seraphina mumbled.
"I won't go that far!" Eas shouted back, ignoring Seraphina's remark. She hurried into the denser part of the forest while the others broke out some apples.
The woods were eerie without her friends. Eas wandered around, her mind on the dense over hangs than on her pressing bladder. As she walked deeper, she noticed the trees were becoming thinner. Patches of sunlight spotted the dull earth beneath her. The further she walked, the more light flooded the ground. Carefully, she proceeded until she could here the rushing of water. This brought her previous needs to mind and she quickly ran too a thick tree. Instead of heading straight back, Eas decided to see what was creating the rippling noises. She inched her way forward, careful not to step in any of the larger open areas and followed the growing sound.
As she broke through the forest, the sight made her ecstatic. In front of her, a rumbling stream slithered into the east. Coy jumped freely into the air, splashing the sparking water into the sky. Eas smiled with delight and quickly yanked her boots off and shoved her feet into the shallow stream. The current swirled around her toes and made her giggle. She knew she should go back to the others, but she couldn't help sit for a few minutes and enjoy the sensation.
A surprised chuckle ran shivers down her spine. The sky overhead gaped dangerously around her, revealing her completely. She hadn't even thought of the danger the stream could bring her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she slowly lifted her eyes to meet the Akuma.
Her expression made him laugh again. She had expected to be facing a nasty Akuma, but instead her eyes met with the liquid gold of a human's eyes. The man had dark skin and thick black hair that was slicked back under a long top hat. He was wearing a respectable suit and carried a cigarette in his mouth which he quickly ground under his foot.
"Your!" She exclaimed, the surprise preventing the rest of her sentence. I didn't know there were still humans here. She wondered, scrutinizing the man incase he was just an Akuma hiding in human skin.
"Isn't it a little dangerous for a little girl to be hanging around a stream by herself?" He asked in a polite tone. He was crouched down across the river; his eyes still displayed an odd curiosity and surprise.
"I could ask you the same thing." Eas relaxed slightly when he struck up a conversation. An Akuma would surely not do something like that.
The man chuckled. "It is no danger to me."
"But there are demons here!"
The man smiled a strange wide smile that frightened her, but he quickly replaced it with a carefree expression. "So what are you doing here in Japan? Visiting, or do you have a residence around here?"
Eas shook her head. "I'm here on business."
The man smiled quizzically and cocked his head. "What business would you have in Japan?"
Eas thought to herself. Then, standing up, she gave a small wink. "That's classified!" She then disappeared back into the woods, leaving the man questioning and amused.
"What happened to you?" Mizuki asked, noting the length of time she had been absent.
"Don't ask her that! She'll probably give us a detailed description of her time in the "Bush"". Seraphina scowled, crinkling up her nose.
"Well actually," Eas retorted, scowling back at her as she took her seat next to Mizuki. "
I was going to tell you about what I found, but now I don't think I will!"
Seraphina averted her attention to the healing Alexandreina, giving Eas no more than a, "Good. Let's keep it that way."
Alexandreina was doing better now that she was properly bandaged and resting. According to Vasilisa's analysis, the spear had only breached the muscle tissue in her lower right shoulder. She thought it may have broken a rib, but she wasn't sure. Most of it was guessing. Alexandreina was still passed out, but she didn't look as in pain as before. She was tough, and they all knew she could deal with it.
The girls decided to rest for another half hour before they packed up. Mizuki and Vasilisa took turns carrying Alexandreina while the others used small knives to bushwhack when needed. It was mostly trees, but there were a few weeded areas. The girls took their times getting to their destination. They still weren't sure where the others were, and the Golem they had brought along didn't sense them.
It was early evening by the time the Golem finally got a faint trace of their presence. The girls jumped for joy and sped up their pace. Vasilisa was the first to stop. She had taken her turn with Alexandreina, so the girls suspected she was tired. Her expression changed their assumptions though. She looked like she was concentrating. Her breathes were full but even, and her face was concealed with focus, exhaustion, and what alerted the girls- fear. She whipped her head around, scanning the area. The girls followed suit. They didn't know what they were looking for, but if Vasilisa looked like that, there had to be something. The girls held their stances in dangling suspense, the air thick with concentration and stress. They stood there for five minutes, scanning the area, quietly invoking their innocence. Finally, a rustling occurred to the left of Sarra. The girls whipped around, their Innocence ready to attack, when a small black cat slipped out. The girls were thrown off balance by the difference from their fears. The cat looked up at them, seemingly curious. Sarra went to pet it but Vasilisa stopped her.
"It looks friendly, though." Sarra said with a slight pout. She liked cats.
"It could be dangerous." Vasilisa replied, her suspicion fierce.
The cat ran its back against Sarra's leg and she looked down at it with a delighted squeak. Ignoring Vasilisa's warnings, she bent down and stroked the cat. It purred soothingly and Sarra giggled. Eas ran to join her and they each played with the cat until the others convinced them to keep moving. Sarra carried the cat along with them, earning concerned and angry glances from Vasilisa and Seraphina. Eas stood by, stroking the cat every now and again.
"Hey, look! There's a bell under its neck!" Eas exclaimed, examining the small gold bell.
"Yeah, and it's got a scar in the middle of its forehead. Maybe it's been abused?" Sarra suggested.
"Not likely in a place like this, it probably just got in a muddle with some other cats, or maybe even an Akuma." Eas corrected her, shaking her head while she traced her finger over the cross shaped scar.
Vasilisa had switched Alexandreina onto Mizuki's back and was now using her sonar steadily. They were worn and she didn't want to be surprised again. Plus, the arrival of the cat made her uneasy.
It was when the Golem started getting exited, acknowledging that the others where close, that Vasilisa caught wind of something.
"Everyone get ready!" A strong gust of wind threatened the girls as they invoked their innocence. Two level three Akuma, different from the ones before, landed directly in front of them, blocking their escape.
The girls got into their fighting stances, Mizuki hiding Alexandreina out of harms way.
The Akuma stood very still. Their posture was in one of attack, but they held their positions in suspended animation.
"What are they waiting for?" Mizuki asked under her breath.
The Akuma looked at each other, and then back at the group. "What are your orders, master Noah?" One of them asked, looking directly at Sarra. Sarra stared back, her mouth gaping.
After a few seconds of confused silence, both Akuma nodded. "As you wish." It responded finally in its deep tenor voice. The two Akuma quickly took to the skies and out of sight before the girls could even take a breath.
"What was that?" Mizuki asked, flabbergasted.
"Was it just talking to you?" Eas asked Sarra. She just stared at the place the Akuma had been in shock.
"Damnit!" Vasilisa growled. Her voice was strained and enraged at the same time. "Sarra! Drop the cat!"
At the same time Vasilisa said this, Sarra let out a painful howl and dropped to the ground. Eas looked over at her, confused and scared.
"What just happened?" She shrieked, kneeling down to Sarra's crumpled and shaking body.
"Get out of the way!"
Eas looked up to see the back of Mizuki's head three inches away from her. She had her bow in both of her hands, holding it in a protective stance. Opposing her, a tall blonde haired woman sat precariously on the edge of her bow. The woman smirked menacingly.
"Wh, who are you?" Mizuki stammered, caught off guard by the strange attacker.
The woman reached her hand up to her eyes, where a pair of small framed tinted glasses sat. Without hesitation she slid them off, opening her eyes. The minute this happened, a dark tone slipped across her face, staining her hair and revealing crosses lining her forehead. The woman's eyes shone a malicious gold, leaving the girls in complete awe.
"Lulu bell." She whispered.
"Wha- What the heck?" The girls regained concentration with Mizuki's scream. From Lulu bell's hand, a long white band extended to Mizuki, slithering around her arm. At the end of the thick white band, a sharp arrow head emerged.
Mizuki struggled with the progressing band while the others took stock of the recent occurrences. Eas hurried to help Sarra, whose chest was drenched with blood.
Seraphina regained mobility in her locked legs, feeling the need to protect greater than the aching fear of the realization of what their attacker really was.
"Mizuki!" She screamed, running to her struggling friend.
Lulu bell launched her self off the bow, landing 10 feet away. She brought her arm up and smashed it down, creating a whip lash effect that sent Mizuki flying into Seraphina.
"Ow! Damnit that hurt! Why's your head so hard?!" Seraphina cried from under Mizuki.
Mizuki didn't have time to answer because Lulu bell was already on the attack. She swung her arm around, bringing Mizuki with it, until she let it go slack, slamming her into a thick birch tree.
"Mizuki!" Seraphina screamed, pushing herself violently off the ground. She invocated her innocence, grabbing hold of her extendable whip. She lashed it out the same way Lulu bell had. The whip extended and grabbed hold of Lulu bells arm.
"Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine!" Seraphina shouted, snapping her whip to make a large vibration. The wave sent Lulu bell flying into the dense spruce. Before she hit a dead maple, however, she flipped and landed gracefully; horizontal to the ground, her knee resting on the middle of the tree.
Mizuki was not so lucky, however. The succession of the wave forced the band around Mizuki's arm to fallow suit with Seraphina's whip, sending Mizuki flying into yet another tree, snapping the thin tree in half from the force.
Noticing the damage her attacks were doing to Mizuki, Seraphina hesitated, weighing her options. Lulu bell took this time to right her self. She jumped from her awkward perch and landed swiftly without sound. She then extended her left hand, producing an identical white band, bearing the same arrow head. She used this to cut her ties to Seraphina.
Seraphina scowled and allowed her whip to recede back to its original length. She grimaced, knowing her whip wasn't much use in this situation.
Lulu bell smirked, sensing her unease, and crouched for another attack. Her characteristics strongly resembled that of a cat. Not surprising, since that was what she had used to ambush them.
The free band lashed out, flying through the air like a possessed serpent, towards Seraphina's head. Before she could react, the sharp arrowhead pierced her forehead, sending her flying back with it. The Arrow then began to twist, boring itself deeper into Seraphina's head.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!" She felt like throwing up. The gut wrenching feeling of a drill tearing up her skin and smashing into her skull was almost enough to make her pass out. The tears streamed from her eyes while her limbs twitched uselessly.
The keening sound and whistle of the breeze passing by brought unlimited relief. The grotesque sounds of ripping flesh and the unimaginable pain receded until only the dull sting and hot blood forming on her forehead was left.
Mizuki exhaled with deep relief and sudden exhaustion when her arrow hit its mark. The limp band and bloodied arrow hung from a nearby tree, pinned by one of Mizuki's golden arrows. She had just gained consciousness when Seraphina's scream had pierced her hearing. Luckily her fast reflexes had aloud her to asses the situation, and react in time to save her.
"Seraphina!" Eas and Vasilisa cried. Vasilisa ran over to asses the damage to her skull, though it seemed to be ok because Seraphina was attempting to sit up.
"Stay down!" Vasilisa cried as a small spurt of blood spat from her forehead like a small fountain.
"I'm fine." Seraphina grunted. "It didn't get far." She added with a grunt, "Thanks, Mizuki."
Mizuki nodded, and sat back in a more relaxed position, ignoring the prickles in her arm from the lack of circulation administered from the tight band.
Lulu bell scowled only slightly, her facial features forming a tight grimace as she yanked her pinned hand from the tree. The Arrow had stung, but it wasn't enough to stop her, not nearly.
She swung her hand again, aiming at the small congregation of girls huddled around Seraphina.
Vasilisa reacted this time, invoking her innocence without sound. The torrent of wind that erupted from in front of her forced Lulu bells attack to change course, and instead she latched onto a thick oak tree.
Vasilisa, now slightly enraged by the number of her comrades, forced the strong winds upon Lulu bell until she was forced to concentrate solely on not being blown away. The arm latched around Mizuki was becoming a nuisance, flapping in the strong winds, and pulling her back. She quickly unleashed Mizuki and instead used it as an attacker, swatting at the wind in hopes of catching its creator.
Vasilisa dodged these attacks easily, forcing the band to recede further if it got to close to her friends.
Mizuki quickly joined them once she was free of Lulu bells grasp. "What do we do?" She asked, frantic and out of breathe.
"We have to fight them!" Eas announced, handing Seraphina some bandages and wipes. The wound wasn't too deep, only bruising the skull, though the skin around the surrounding area was in a rugged mess. Sarra crouched beside Eas, her front completely bandaged, a dark red seeping slowly through, though her face showed no sign of pain.
"No." Seraphina grunted, wrapping her head in the bandages. "That's a Noah there. The crosses and human appearance proves it. She's extremely dangerous, and she can call in reinforcements at any time."
"I thought there was something odd about her." Mizuki mumbled, getting a clearer perspective of their situation.
"What's a Noah?" Seraphina's boot smashed into Eas's face as soon as the words left her mouth. "What the heck was that?" Eas screamed, holding her bleeding nose.
"Didn't you do ANY research?" Seraphina screamed back, clenching her fist.
"Well it wasn't like I've had the chance! I haven't even gotten a proper welcoming!"
"Aww, you poor baby, want me to grab a party hat and stuffed piñata for you?"
"Shut up!"
"Don't ask stupid questions!"
"Guys," Mizuki prompted.
"Knuckle sucker!"
"Old Hag!"
"What'd you just say?"
"What, you didn't hear me, ya deaf old hag!"
"Guys!" Mizuki screamed, disrupting the small feud. Eas released her hand from Seraphina's nose, and dropped her foot from her stomach. Seraphina unleashed Eas's res ear and let go of the fist full of hair in her other hand. "Ok, I think we have more pressing matters than Eas's lack of knowledge." Mizuki pointed back at the whirl wind in front of Vasilisa, holding their enemy.
"Ok, I say we go get help, the others are close, and the golem can easily track them, now that it can sense them." Seraphina stated.
"No! We can't split up! I say we team up and defeat this so called "Noah"!" Eas retorted, sending a glare in Seraphina's direction. Seraphina caught her glare and returned one of her own. Mizuki could swear she saw sparks fly up between them.
"Ok, ok. Unfortunately, now that we know what we're up against, I think getting help is our best chance." Mizuki sighed, hating this idea.
"What?" Eas complained, while Seraphina rejoiced at her win.
"Vasilisa and I can hold off Lulu bell, you two and Sarra go get Kanda and the others." Mizuki continued, stringing her bow. "We'll create a diversion while you guys escape. Sarra, are you going to be ok to run?"
Sarra nodded. "I don't think it's that deep. She just nicked the skin, mostly."
Mizuki nodded. "Don't push it."
"I'll do what I have to." Exorcists were tough, and Sarra didn't like the special attention. Almost everyone else was injured, so she couldn't afford to be wussy. Though if she was with Allen, maybe…
"Great, let's go." Seraphina held her hand out to Sarra as she stood up. Eas stood too, with a grunt of resignation.
"Did you get all that?" Mizuki asked Vasilisa. She nodded and focused harder.
The girls snuck around the edge of the path, weaving around the trees. Mizuki pulled out three arrows and strung them, aiming past Vasilisa's head.
Vasilisa concentrated. Sonic slice! The wind picked up and combined with the strong sonic waves which were moving the air particles to create the wind. This created slices of wind that were as dense as stone. The slices flew threw the air, thrashing at the trees, and bombarding Lulu bell, who was now defending herself with her long arm.
Once free of the mess, the three girls sped their pace to a sprint. They hurried through the path, checking the golem for information.
"What if we don't make it in time?" Eas asked breathlessly.
"We will!" Seraphina growled, dismissing the negative comment. "Kanda will help, and he's got commander Tiedoll with him! We'll get to them and get back, and they'll be fine!" She had to believe it, or else she'd turn back and fight with the others. She felt like a coward running away. The only thing that kept her going was the thought that Kanda was their destination.
"So who's this Kanda guy? Is he some sort of hero? You seem to talk pretty highly of him." Eas probed, curious.
Seraphina lit up. "Th-th-that's none of your business! He's an amazing exorcist, and that's it!"
"Ohh, so you're in love with him!" Eas snickered.
"Am not!" Seraphina bellowed, but her face only grew darker.
"Suuuuurre." Eas said in a sarcastic tone, picking her ear wax as she ran.
"It's true! He's just a really great guy!"
"Wait, are you talking about Kanda? The king of solitude and negativity, and dead bunnies?" Sarra asked, disbelieving that they were talking about the same person.
"He's not the kind of negativity and solitude, and what the heck? Dead bunnies?" Seraphina glowered at the two girls.
"Whoa! He kills bunnies?" Eas asked, surprised and disgusted, she had the picture of an icy king with an award around his neck and dead bunny's strapped around his muscular physic, because if he was that amazing, her had to be supper muscular. For kicks she added a mustache and cape. "Creepy."
"I-"Seraphina was cut off by the buzzing of the golem flapping beside them.
"Who is this?" A crackly voice spoke through the receiver.
"Kanda?" Seraphina nearly ripped the Golem out of the sky. They were still running and it was interesting to see her jump for it. "Kanda! It's me, Seraphina. I'm here with the other girls, we need help!"
A disapproving grunt came from the other side. "What happened? Where are you?"
Seraphina changed completely when she was talking to Kanda. It seemed like she had switched with Alexandreina. She was bubbly and didn't seem to have a care in the world.
"What was that grunt for!? Komui sent us after you for back up, but we were attacked by a Noah! We shouldn't be far from you now, since we can communicate."
Another grunt. "We don't need back up, you just turned into a burden. Che, ok, you guys can't handle a Noah on your own? We've got business to deal with. Che, wait, ok, keep running, and we'll meet up with you. Maybe Marie can help you."
Seraphina's mood dropped slightly. "Damn, if we're that much of a burden, we'll handle it on our own!"
"No!" The Golems receiver exploded with negative energy. You could hear silent cusses as Kanda looked for some way to correct the situation. "Just, come here. We'll sort it out then."
He disconnected the line before Seraphina could answer. Her mood scared both Sarra and Eas. It was a mix between anger and overwhelming joy.
"He defiantly sounded like a bunny killer." Eas whispered to Sarra, who in turn gave her a slight nod, afraid to attract attention to her self.
"C'mon." Seraphina nearly tore up the path in her effort to reach the meeting place. Farther behind, the others cried to her.
"Seraphina, we can't go that fast!"
Seraphina jogged back to them. "What are you two waiting for? We have to hurry!"
"Or else the ice king will stew us with his bunnies?" Eas asked innocently.
"You'll take that back." Seraphina growled, cracking her knuckles.
"S-sure." Eas smiled, hoping she hadn't wet herself.
"Ok, where are we going?" Seraphina looked at the golem, but it gave no report. "Huh, that's weird." She shook the thing, but it only gave a fuzzy gurgle.
"Maybe it's bad reception?" Sarra asked.
"I guess, you think if we moved it would help get its feed back? I didn't know it could get bad reception. Maybe their in a ditch..."
The girls moved from the path and into the dense forest, climbing trees, and waving it around. After a while with no luck, the girls gave up.
"I guess it's more than just interference, maybe this Golem is toast." Seraphina finally suggested.
"Or maybe it's theirs that's toast." Eas thought.
"Or maybe you could close your mouth." Seraphina said, worry lines forming on what was visible of her forehead.
"Sorry, it was just a thought." Eas mumbled, noticing her stressed figure.
"Ok, let's go back to the path; if we fallow that, we should be able to find them." Seraphina concluded.
"Uhh, guys," Sarra tapped them on the shoulder. "Do either of you know which way the path is?"
All three of the girls looked around frantically for something familiar.
"Great! I can't believe we got lost!" Seraphina cried, running frantically through the trees.
"We'll just have to wing it." Sarra said. "I think we were heading east, weren't we? So let's continue in that direction."
The massive conjunction of Akuma smashed Krowley and bookman into one of the many storage houses in Edo. This one seemed to hold a multitude of paintings.
"C,can you move, Alyster?" Bookman asked from beneath a pile of rubble.
"Yeah…Damn that big hunk of junk!" Krowley cursed back.
Soon a sudden disappearance of the wall, and an extra pile of rubble announced Lavi's arrival. His feet hung in the air as he fought the dizziness of the blow.
"Lavi?" The two cried out in surprise.
"Yo." He coughed, giving an upside down wave.
The group had arrived in Japan with casualty's, but made their way to Edo in determination, where they were confronted by the Earl, a handful of the Noah family, and every Akuma in Japan. Seeking revenge for what he did to Allen, whose status was unknown, Lavi challenged Tyki. Krowley and Bookman were left to face off with the conjunction of Akuma which had molded into an enormous, seemingly unbeatable Akuma. Miranda protected the others with her time control ability's.
"Excorcist-sama!" One of the recruits from the boat screamed from their base on one of the houses.
Tyki, one of the Noah, had taken a hold of Lenalee, who was left struggling to get free. Miranda collapsed from exhaustion and Tyki commanded his tease to devour the recruits.
Just in the nick of time, Kanda appeared, forcing Tyki into battle. Retrieving Lenalee, and with the assistance of Lavi, they were able to fend him off. Marie took care of the giant Akuma with his innocence, saving the others.
Unfortunately, The Earl used an attack that totally whipped out Edo's landscape, leaving only the exorcists, and the recruits which Miranda saved by activating a time out. Lenalee was once again encased in a blue-green crystal that was perceived as her innocence. The Earl became aware of this strange phenomenon, and his interest spiked. Kanda and Lavi were forced into a battle with Tyki and Skin Boric while The Earl interrogated and attacked Lenalee.
Just as he was about to destroy her innocence, Allen appeared from the Noah passage provided by an assassin Akuma to save her. The Earl and Allen, with his new found clown crown innocence dueled it out, until The Earl used an attack to escape in order to prepare for the Ark's departure, dragging Tyki and Skin Boric with him.
The group was left to wonder were their attackers had gone.
"Finally!" Seraphina emerged from the now darkened forest, into a clear cliff face.
"There's the end of the path, so we must be here." Sarra nodded, looking to the right of the creepy woods they had emerged from.
"What the hell?" Eas pointed a shaking hand to the distance.
The entire landscape was wiped clean of any vegetation or buildings, or anything, except one lone tower and a few blots.
"Hey, is that…?" Seraphina and Sarra flew over the cliff face and started running head long towards the tower.
"What the- Where are you guys going?" Eas slid down the cliff slowly, jumping off before she hit the bottom and followed the girls.
"Allen!!!" Sarra nearly knocked Allen to the ground as she jumped onto him, slinging her arms around his neck. This was very uncharacteristic of her, but the time between their separation and his almost death had made her bolder.
"S-S-Sarra?" He stuttered, surprised by her sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"
"We were assigned to back you guys up! Though we didn't do a very good job of it." She slid back down to the ground and looked around. "What's that big crystal thing?"
Allen looked to Lavi for an explanation.
"It's Lenalee, well, actually, it's her innocence, it's using that form to protect her." Lavi shrugged, still slightly confused by the makings of the object.
"Oh. Ok?" Sarra said, not completely satisfied.
"She's ok, though, right?" Allen asked. Lavi nodded.
"You were supposed to meet us at the cliff!" Seraphina cut their conversation with her accusations.
"I was close enough! I told you we had business to deal with!" Kanda barked back, his temper as short as ever.
"And your communications Golem, it shorted out too!"
"And that's my fault?"
"Yes."
"Che."
"Don't "Che" me!"
"I'll do what I want!"
"They sound like an old married couple." Allen chuckled, earning death threats from both.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Sarra asked abruptly, looking for any wounds.
Allen shook his head. "I got here at the end, to save the day." He added with a smirk. "But now that I think about it, what about you?" He scanned her face and then lowered his eyes to her bandaged chest. His eyes immediately returned to her face, his normally pale skin flushing a light pink. "Can I get you a coat?" He asked, gentlemanly as ever.
Sarra looked down and noticed why he had averted his eyes. The slash had ripped off the greater part of the front of her jacket, so she didn't bother doing anything to cover her bandages and uncovered stomach. Her own face lit up bright red and she nodded. Lavi handed him one of the cloaks their group had worn and Allen wrapped her in it. "Th-thanks." She whispered, her confidence totally destroyed by the event.
"Your head is bleeding." Kanda grunted, pointing to the blood seeping from the bandage.
"Wow, congrats, captain obvious." Seraphina rolled her eyes, though her cheeks warmed.
"Che, here." He took out a roll of bandages from his coat and unraveled the one on her head. When he got a glimpse of what was underneath, he stopped. "Wha-"
Seraphina ripped away in furious embarrassment. "I know! It's grotesque! I can wrap it by myself!" Her hands flew up to her head. In the same action, Kanda's hands wrapped themselves around hers.
"No, I-" His face flashed hurt for a second. This passed quickly as he regained composure, reminding himself of his company. Instead he grabbed her head and unraveled the fresh bandages in one sweep and then began wrapping her head, as gently as he could manage with the gaping audience. He cursed under his breath but continued unraveling the roll around her head. When she began to squirm, her held her firmer. "If you move, it's going to come undone, and then I'll have to start all over again." He growled. Seraphina fell silent and waited until her was finished.
"K-K-Kanda!" Allen and Lavi shared the same face. Jaws slack, eyes popping. "Y-you can actually be n-n-nice?!"
"Mugen!"
"Hey, Guys! Why didn't you wait?" Eas approached the exorcists, her breathing uneven.
"Oh yeah!" Sarra announced, remembering what they had come there for. "Guys, we need help! Mizuki and Vasilisa are fighting a Noah all on their own, and Alexandreina is wounded and passed out!"
The group silenced completely.
"Alexandreina? You mean that strange little girl who umm, hugged me, that one time?" Krowley coughed, remembering the day the girls had chosen to relieve their boredom with a game of truth or dare.
Sarra stifled a giggle. This situation was not funny.
"Wait, what? Why did you leave them?" Lavi interrupted his face intense.
"We can't Defeat a Noah! We were coming here to get help!" Seraphina shouted in defense.
"Exactly! They'll get killed! Where are they?" Lavi stepped on his hammer, ready to extend.
"No way! Sorry dude, but you wouldn't be much help; we need someone a bit stronger, that isn't torn up." Seraphina said, rejecting his help.
"It's been to long! I don't think they could hold it off this long!" Eas cried, nearly in tears.
"Marie, can you hear their heart beats?" Tiedoll asked in his gruff voice.
Marie concentrated, broadening his range. "There are four heart beats in that direction, though two of them are very faint." Marie reported.
"Damnit!" Lavi cursed.
"Marie, why don't you come with us?" Seraphina suggested. "You'd be great at tracking their heart beats, and you don't seem too injured." Marie nodded.
"I can get you guys there faster!" Lavi complained.
"You just want to see your Mizuki!" Seraphina accused. "Besides, in your condition, you'll barely be able to carry yourself, let alone three others. We'll be better off without you."
"Then why don't I go, too?" Allen suggested. Sarra was about to agree, but Seraphina cut her off.
"You and Tiedoll are about the only completely uninjured ones here, what if the others come back again? It's too risky. You guys stay here and protect the group, we'll take care of the others, besides, we can handle one Noah." Seraphina said, shaking her head and grabbing Marie's arm.
"Very well, come back when you've retrieved the others." Tiedoll concluded.
"What? But that won't be enough! I should go too!"
"Give it up, Lavi." Book man grunted.
The girls rushed through the path, checking Marie for updates every few minutes.
"It's not far now!" Sarra shouted as they began to recognize the surroundings better.
On their last stretch Marie stopped abruptly. "Akuma!" He shouted, holding onto his headphones. The girls looked around, trying to identify the attacker. "Above!"
A large metal dragon smashed down from the sky, forcing the ground to shake.
"That's a freaking big Akuma!" Eas Cried.
Marie almost smirked. "Leave it to me!" He strung threads of innocence to his fingers and shot them at the dragon. Sensing this, the dragon created a large whirl wind that scrambled the threads. It flapped its wings and two tornadoes formed, their fierce winds threatening the gravity on the group.
"You three go! I'll finish this one and then catch up with you after! Hurry to your friends!" Marie turned to the dragon, and restrung his fingers, dodging the ominous tornadoes and whirlwinds.
The girls nodded and sneaked past the Akuma. They ran head long until they could no longer see the large creature.
"There!" Sarra shouted, spotting the torn up trees and rugged terrain. Just beyond that spot Mizuki and Vasilisa lay strewn on the ground. The girls ran to them, dropping beside them.
"Mizuki!" Sarra cried.
"Vasilisa!" Seraphina shouted.
"Where's the Noah?" Eas shrieked, turning around frantically. "Where's the-"She stopped when she caught a glimpse of something shiny behind the first set of trees. She etched closer, fearful of what she might find. When she reached the spot the light was hitting, the moon cleared from the clouds, revealing the golden arrow.
"W-what?" Eas stammered, uncomprehendingly.
Hanging from the tree Mizuki's pale body hung limply. Her own arrow had been stabbed through her shoulder and into the giant oak behind her. A fresh trickle of blood streamed from her mouth. "M,Mizuki, What's the meaning of this?"
"Damnit!" Seraphina's cry alarmed Eas. Hesitant on what she should do, she rushed to her friend. Sarra was leaning over Mizuki's body, to still to be normal. Seraphina was in the process of invoking her innocence. She pointed her whip at Sarra, her eyes blazing.
"What the hell are you doing?" Eas demanded, grabbing Seraphina's arm.
"Get off of me!" Seraphina shrieked, yanking Eas off.
Eas lunged at her again, but she ducked and pulled Sarra back. From her stomach, bright crimson blood poured, seeping to the ground.
"How'd that happen?" Eas turned to stare at Mizuki, but her body was no longer there.
"Damnit, I knew it! She has the power to shape shift! She stole Mizuki's image to trick us!" Seraphina growled, looking around.
"Then the real Mizuki," Eas caught her breath. "We have to get her down! The real Mizuki is pinned to a tree!"
"Wait!" Seraphina screamed grabbing hold of the back of Eas's coat. "We have to find the Noah first! What if she pretends to be one of us?"
"Then let's make a secret word or something! I have to get Mizuki down! We can't just leave her up there!"
"Fine!" Seraphina growled. "What will it be?"
Eas brought her face up to Seraphina's ear and whispered quickly.
"Got that?"
"Yeah, though I have to say, that's pretty immature." Seraphina smirked.
"Yeah, whatever. It may save out butts. You stay on look out; I'm going to round up our friends."
Seraphina nodded as Eas ran back to Mizuki.
The limp girl hung still as ever and Eas feared she was too late. Climbing half way up the tree, Eas carefully slid the arrow out. Since the wound was in the shoulder, and Mizuki was already passed out, she figured it would be ok.
Mizuki fell to the ground with a hard thud, the blood pooling beneath her. Eas squeaked and jumped down to her.
"Ack! I'm sorry Mizuki! I'll get you help! Don't worry, you'll be fine!"
Eas dragged Mizuki's body to the path, setting her near the others. She took a step towards Seraphina, but she growled.
"What's the password?"
Eas nodded and stepped closer, cupping her hand to Seraphina's ear and whispered the password.
"Very good." Seraphina smirked. A sharp piercing sting brought Eas to unconsciousness.
"Alexandreina!" Seraphina cried, shaking her friend. She wanted to keep guard, but she couldn't leave her friend in the trees undefended. "Alexandreina, you need to wake up!"
"Seraphina?" Seraphina whipped around, but exhaled slightly when Eas appeared from the path.
"Did you get Mizuki? How is she?" Seraphina asked in concern.
Eas looked back into the path. "I think she'll be alright. None of her vital points were hit."
"Good." Seraphina sighed in contentment. "Oh!" She remembered. "What's the password?"
Eas nodded. "It's cookies."
Seraphina hesitated, and then smiled. "Good. Ok, let's get Alexandreina back to the rest."
Eas nodded and grabbed one of Alexandreina's arms.
"Actually, you're so small; you won't be of any help to me." Seraphina sneered.
"Ok." Eas nodded, dropping Alexandreina's arm.
"Oh, and Eas?"
"Yes?"
Eas's hand moved to her neck as Seraphina's whip slid around it.
"I've never really liked you." She stuck out her tongue as Eas's body changed form.
"How did you know?" Lulu bell asked calmly, scratching at the twisting wires.
"It was obvious from the very beginning; I just wanted to make sure. You see, Eas is stupid, but not stupid enough to yell out a password. Among other mistakes. But that was the first." Seraphina slung Alexandreina over her shoulder and walked towards the path, grasping her whip tightly.
"Why are you not finishing me off?" Lulu bell asked, not fighting against Seraphina's tugs.
"I have some questions I want answered." Seraphina answered simply. "But first, I want to make sure my friends are safe and alive."
The Whip made its way down Lulu bells figure, twisting around her hands and all the way to her feet until she was completely bound by it.
"Try anything at all, and I'll toast you." Seraphina growled as she examined the worst of the casualty's, Sarra. She noticed the wound on Sarra's stomach wasn't as deep as she thought it was. She turned to Lulu bell. "Why didn't you kill her?"
Lulu bell's mouth twitched. "She was smarter than I had anticipated. She placed an exploding ball right in front of my attack. It shattered half my arrow head and so it didn't penetrate very deep."
Seraphina nodded, glad for this. We really need a healer in our group. She thought.
"Vas?" Alexandreina's words rung in Seraphina's ears. "Hey, Vasilisa, you ok? You're all scraped up."
"Alexandreina?" Seraphina turned her head to see Alexandreina kneeling over her sister.
"Seraphina?" What happened? ...Who's she?"
"There's no time to explain. Can you help me bandage everyone?"
Alexandreina nodded. "Wow. They got messed up good. It must have been a wicked fight! I wish I'd been awake for it!"
"We could have used you!" Seraphina chuckled, glad not to have to be the only one awake.
The girls patched up the others, assessing their injuries in rank, Sarra's chest and stomach wounds to be number two, second to Mizuki, whose shoulder was completely drilled through, leaving her left arm probably immobile. Next was Vasilisa, who had shallow cuts all over her body. They weren't exactly sure why she was unconscious. Finally, Eas's head wound, which was more blunt force than a slice. She'd only be out for a few minutes. The girls finished the assessment and deliberated on what to do next. They decided to wait until some of the others woke up before they made their way back with the hostage.
Three minutes later Eas sat up, rubbing the back of her head, tears flowing from the stinging.
Ten minutes later Vasilisa was attacked by her sister after she mumbled her name.
Sarra and Mizuki stayed past out for the interrogation.
"What are you guys planning?" Seraphina demanded, earning no response.
"Why are you all congregated in Japan?" Alexandreina asked with enthusiasm. Still no response.
"Are you really evil?" Eas earned another boot in the head, making her burst into tears again.
"Answer the freaking questions!" Seraphina growled, freezing the whip until Lulu bell was able to see her own breath.
"We're leaving now." Was the only message she conveyed after 15 minutes of probing.
"What's that supposed to me-"Seraphina was cut off when a large round pentacle shone from the ground. Lulu bell disappeared quickly into the strange circle, pulling Seraphina with her. Eas grabbed onto her. When Eas was almost completely pulled through, Vasilisa grabbed on, then Alexandreina following that. She also hooked Mizuki and Sarra so no one would be left behind.
The circle closed up and the forest returned to a peaceful silence, as if the rowdy bunch had never intruded.
(Authors note: This fan fiction is mostly intended for those who are following the series and are up to date. The reason I condensed the fight with Allen's group was because it was only intended to be a marker. Please do not be angry if you have not read/watched this far in the anime."