Chapter Thirty- The Last Battle
Last time:
Tiedoll looked back across the field, his kind face pulled into a thoughtful frown. "The as the supervisor suspected, the Earl's true target is Walker. We have to hurry."
"We need to get their attention. If they're left to wander about, they may attack an innocent village. Any ideas?"
"I have one" Choaji said from behind them as he lifted a rock three times as big as he was over his head.
"Let 'em have it, boy" Sokaro said, "but don't get in my way."
0o0o0o0o0
"Well shit, this doesn't look good" Cross muttered around the lightly smoking cigarette. Beside him, Cloud reached up and stroked a finger along her monkey-shaped innocence. "Indeed, it could be better." She shot him a sidelong look. "You're not afraid are you, Cross?"
He snorted inelegantly. "Of course not. I was merely commenting on the fact that the Earl isn't here."
"And that's not good?"
"Not when it means he's somewhere else, like the location of one of the other teams."
"We'll have to make this quick then, the other teams will need our help" Cloud replied, looking behind her at the other exorcists, gaining a brief nod from Miranda. She'd keep them safe as long as they got this over with quickly.
"Let's get to it"
It all seemed rather clichéd, facing off like this, but when had their lives not seemed like a convoluted storyline?
Allen clenched his right fist a couple of times, flexing the fingers encased in the white glove of his innocence, a movement that revealed his anxiousness to end the stalemate, to draw his sword of exorcism and just have done with it.
It wasn't even supposed to be like this, standing before the Earl with so few exorcists at his back. There was supposed to be a large supporting force, generals, exorcists and finders alike, all there to engage the massive force that the Millennium Earl had brought to the party. But they had been tricked, forced to separate by conflicting rumours.
Allen knew that unless they took down the shepherd, the flock of Akuma and Noah would never be beaten. And in the same way that he knew he would never step foot again anywhere but the empty battlefield before him, he knew that the task of cutting down the Earl would fall to him.
The battlefield was strangely silent. Even the wind had dropped, the previously rustling leaves now frozen and still.
"These are all the players you bring to the final act?" the Earl asked, his voice sickeningly sweet as it carried across no-man's land. "I'm rather disappointed, Allen Walker."
Allen tensed at the mocking tone, but did not reply. What could he say? The Earl was right- this meagre force was no match for the Earl's army. Their only hope was that the other teams realised they had been tricked and came to their rescue.
It did not seem likely.
Kanda had no such reservations however, and he stepped to Allen's side, Mugen clenched tightly in his fist, the blade already activated, shining brightly in the unseasonable gloom that cloaked the battlefield. "There are enough of us to take care of you" he growled, and Allen felt a surge of gratitude towards the older man. Somehow Kanda's defiant confidence bolstered him. Not enough to make him stupid, of course, he knew that not everyone on this battlefield today would escape unharmed and whole, but perhaps, perhaps, most of them would be okay.
The Earl was completely unphased by Kanda's challenge, merely chuckling indulgently as he swung Lero round in one hand. No one was fooled by this apparently relaxed gesture- in a matter of seconds the Earl's own sword could be summoned. The fat man rocked back on his heels, still grinning madly. At his back the Akuma shifted restlessly, as though eager to attack.
Allen's eye swept over them with a sinking feeling of horror settling into his gut. The high level machine's souls were almost unrecognisable- damaged beyond belief and calling out to him in pitiful voices, begging to be set free.
He felt Kanda shift beside him, and knew the other man could see the souls too, thanks to his proximity. The older general didn't reach out to him, though it was obvious he wanted to, though whether it was to offer reassurance or seek it wasn't clear. Such a thing would be a sign of weakness in Kanda's eyes anyway, but the subtle movement was made, showing support without the need to touch, though the urge was there, reminding Allen that he wasn't alone in this, and he felt grateful beyond words. He did not take his eyes off the rotund figure of their enemy, but cocked his head to the side, a sign of thanks, acknowledging the gesture with a faint smile and knew that Kanda would understand.
Still nobody moved as a chill wind swept across the empty space between the opposing sides, stirring up eddies of dirt and whipping a few dry stray leaves along in its wake.
Allen's left arm twitched, a blatant reminder that time was running out, and he gripped his wrist in his right hand to both still the limb and prepare to draw his sword. The tension cranked up a notch as the exorcists behind him activated their innocence. A larger blast of wind told him that Lenalee had invocated her boots even before she'd landed gracefully at her side. He hated the fact that she was even here, but nothing that he and Lavi said had made any difference. Allen had even considered telling Komui about the pregnancy to get her to stay behind, but in the end he felt he couldn't. Making her stay behind while those she loved fought would destroy her. Beyond her in his peripheral vision he saw Jim join the line, eyes glazed with the power of his innocence and reflecting the glow of the small crystallised dot that rested between them. Lavi stepped up on Kanda's left, forming the front line- the first attack wave- and Allen knew there was no other team he'd rather have at his side.
Behind the five exorcists, Lanel and the three finders were preparing a light talisman, something that the Aviran had improved greatly since his arrival at the Order nearly a year ago. Beyond them, Danny was using his innocence on all the water he could get his hands on. It was an unspoken necessity- there was no doubt they'd all need a miracle before the day was out.
Just when it seemed that they would remain in a stalemate until the end of time, a sudden commotion broke out among the Earl's ranks as an Akuma was destroyed. All hell broke loose.
The Akuma obviously thought that the exorcists had made the first move, and so began to attack in revenge for their fallen comrade.
The exorcists on the other hand were completely nonplussed, not understanding what had happened at all, but that really didn't matter when a swarm of enemy Akuma were bearing down on you after all, and there was a swell of green light as the various innocence weapons powered up.
The Earl turned to Road with a faint look of exasperated amusement. "My dear, was that completely necessary?"
"I was getting bored just standing here looking" she grinned in return, her golden eyes sparkling mischievously. "I thought it was about time someone made a move, and it's not like you don't have enough Akuma to kill these exorcists twice over."
"True, true" agreed the Earl, smiling indulgently at the first Noah, still idly swinging the umbrella and rocking back and forth. "Don't you want to get in on the action?"
Road considered the scene for a moment, her eyes flicking to and fro as she swept her gaze over the black clad figures.
"If you don't go now, it might be too late" cautioned the rotund figure with a jovial chuckle. "They seem to be struggling a little against my Akuma."
"That's because you went really overboard!" Road complained. "There's only seven exorcists and a couple of useless finders, you really didn't need to bring so many Akuma!"
A gloved hand landed on her head and patted a couple of times, as if she were the child she was pretending to be. "The others might catch on soon, there's nothing wrong with being prepared."
Road huffed out a breath and pouted, though her expression brightened considerably as she regarded the battle. "You know, I think I will go and have some fun after all."
0o0o0o0o0
Allen wasn't sure how long they'd been fighting for, but it felt like days to his weary body. Every attack he made was slightly slower and weaker than the last and he knew that unless he did something soon, he'd be too tired to fight the Earl if he ever managed to find him. He slashed through another Akuma before pausing, hand on his knee and panting heavily, to look across the battle field. The exorcists were tired and he spotted bright splashes of blood from several injuries, but they were all still standing and still fighting, and it did not seem like they'd give up anytime soon. He smiled to himself a little, proud of their determination, but unless the other teams arrived soon, it wouldn't matter how determined they were. Everyone had their limits, and the longer they fought alone, the sooner they would reach them.
As though heralded by thought, a familiar swirl of black cape caught his eye, and he swiftly moved to intercept the figure in order to find out any news on the other generals and their teams.
"Allen!" Krory greeted as the youngest general landed in front of him, looking slightly winded. "Are you alright?"
"Fine" he gasped in reply. "Who else is here?"
"Everyone else who was with Cloud and Cross, we would have been here earlier but we ran into a bit of trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle though. Looks like your lot got the raw end of the deal."
Allen nodded, casting a quick glance around at the newest arrivals. Cloud and Cross' team didn't look to be in bad shape despite everything. "Anyone hurt?" he asked, his eyes seeking out and landing on each of the exorcists that had been sent out with his old master. Save for a few scrapes they all seemed okay.
Krory affirmed his suspicions. "Miranda's a little but tired, she used her innocence a lot back there, but otherwise we all got lucky."
"Any news from the other team?" Allen asked, there was no sign of Tiedoll and Sokaro's team anywhere.
"They'll be here soon, stop being an idiot and standing around like a sitting duck!" Cross snapped as he ran by.
"He's right, standing around isn't helping anyone" Allen agreed, albeit reluctantly, with the red-haired general. Krory laid a hand on his shoulder before departing swiftly, teeth bared and ready to attack.
0o0o0o0o0
He wasn't sure exactly when the other team had arrived, but as Cross had said, it wasn't long after his team had shown up. Allen felt heartened now that their ranks had swollen. Of course but they were still terribly outnumbered, but an extra four generals and fourteen exorcists had slightly evened the odds. But still the Akuma kept coming, and he knew without a doubt that unless the one commanding the endless waves of machines was taken out, they would continue to keep coming until every last human was dead.
His eyes sought out a familiar long-haired figure that was moving elegantly through the oncoming Akuma, pony-tail trailing in his wake as his twin blades made short work of the Earl's creations. A small smile tugged his lips, and though he couldn't allow himself to linger in one place for too long lest he became a target for the attacks flying left, right and centre, he couldn't bear to look away just yet. This might be the last time he saw any of his friends again, but it was the other young general who held his attention as he went through his memories, wondering if he'd said everything he should have.
As though he felt those eyes on him, Kanda turned with a frown already on his face which was splashed with blood, though it wasn't clear where it had come from. His dark eyes met Allen's across the battlefield and at once understanding flashed across the Japanese exorcist's face and the frown was swept away by an uncharacteristic expression of, if not quite despair, then a deep sorrowful resignation, as though he knew that whatever happened next was unavoidable.
Allen offered him a small smile, one that said so much, even as the battle swept around him, a solitary stone in the force of a great river, refusing to be carried away. He knew his voice wouldn't carry across the battle-filled space between them, but he spoke aloud anyway, knowing that Kanda would be able to read his lips. He didn't apologise, or send the other man his love, neither would offer comfort. In fact, he was certain that he'd said everything he ever wanted to, except one thing.
"Goodbye."
Kanda watched as Allen spoke to him, reading the word that crossed the lips he'd kissed countless times as easily as if he'd heard it. And he watched as Allen turned away, disappearing among the flying dirt and attacks that tore the ground, vanishing into the crowd in the direction of the Earl. He stood for a moment, wanting to follow after his lover, but knowing his duty was to keep the Akuma occupied until the Earl was taken down for good.
Still, he couldn't stop the word that left his own lips, torn free without his consent as he watched that familiar figure vanish, not knowing if he'd see it alive again.
"Moyashi!"
Kanda began moving after Allen's disappearing back, fighting through the Akuma with deadly efficiency. They might have both had different duties to fulfil, but he was damned if he wasn't even going to try to get closer to Allen to make sure he didn't kill himself.
He had barely got three strides from his original position when a small smirking figure appeared in front of him.
Road Camelot's expression of merriment became downright depraved. "Well, if it isn't my second favourite general" she grinned, leaning forwards and clasping her hands behind her back.
"Noah" Kanda growled, raising Mugen towards her child-like face.
She glanced at the sword disinterestedly with golden eyes. "Oh please." She stepped aside, away from the sword and began to circle the exorcist. "Well, you're not the general I wanted to play with, but you still look like you'll be fun to break."
He snarled at her, returning the tip of the blade to her face, but didn't say anything.
She looked slightly put out, her eyes trailing up the black katana to his face, her lips settled into a childish pout. "Don't be boring" she sneered. "Even Allen was more fun than this last time. Did you know he was a Noah? Seems a bit strange that the Black Order's golden boy turned out to be the Black Order's golden-eyed boy, don't you think?"
0o0o0o0o0
"Allen Walker, are you not concerned about leaving your friends to their fate?" the Earl asked as the white-haired exorcist appeared before him.
"Forget about them, it's me that you have to worry about now" Allen said, his cloak of innocence still billowing with the speed of his movement. The Earl looked mildly amused, still looking beyond Allen's figure to where the exorcists fought, their numbers bolstered by the newly arrived teams. Shame that they caught onto his ploy so soon, but it wasn't as though it would actually make a difference to the outcome. He turned his bespectacled eyes back to the exorcists before him, but made no move to attack.
"You know, I don't believe I would have ever thought you were a member of my family" he said conversationally, looking pointedly at Allen's hair.
Allen didn't need a mirror to tell him that the black was slowly seeping back into his hair- he could feel the dark's smug presence pressing forward against his consciousness, eager to get involved in the bloodshed. Well, screw that, he wasn't going to give in so easily.
"I'm not" he said instead, glowering distaste at the Earl as he shifted a little, booted feet seeking a firmer stance.
"Oh?" the Earl replied, his cheery expression not failing even as those eyes pinning him flashed golden in anger and dust began to rise from the ground, caught in the growing tempest of Allen's barely contained innocence power.
"I'm nothing like you" he said. "And even my other side agrees with me. Everything you've ever done to me, you've done to both of us. You think he'd just blindly follow you after that?"
The Earl seemed a little surprised as he contemplated that, but his grin never wavered. "I'd not considered that, but I'm sure I could put his talentsto better use than you have." The fat man seemed to talking to the other side, the dark presence that was lurking just behind Allen's eyes.
The black side scoffed. Idiot, I'm not as simple-minded as I'd join you just because you promise me bloodshed.
"He said go fuck yourself" Allen forwarded the message.
The Earl said nothing, perhaps incensed by Allen's words, but with a smooth movement he drew his sword, the mirror opposite of the one Allen had gripped tightly in his right hand. "Perhaps he will change his mind once I've removed you from the scene and allow him to take centre stage."
I don't need Fatso's help growled the voice, sounding insulted by the suggestion. Where's the fun in just letting him do it?
Allen shook his head. "Good luck with that" he told the man before him, for once glad that the dark wanted to be the one to deal him his doom instead of leaving it to someone else. Internally he said if you want that privilege then you're better giving me a hand.
Fine, but only because that idiot is so intent on spoiling my fun. You remember what the fairy boy said?
Open mind, yes, I remember. Allen wondered whether he should feel bad about willingly allowing the dark further into his mind, but realised it didn't matter in the long run- it either happened now, with his consent, or later, when he was too tired to prevent it. The lesser of two evils.
So glad you finally agree
Shut up
The sword in Allen's hand flared brighter, a tinge of grey creeping along the blade, starting at the hilt and fading to white half way down. At the top of the blade, the grey darkened to almost black, the colours reversing so that the first couple of inches matched the Earl's weapon.
"This ends now" Allen said, regarding the change to his weapon critically. "Only one of us will leave this battlefield, and it's not going to be you."
"Allen Walker" the Earl said with a grin and a bow, "I welcome your best efforts."
0o0o0o0o0
Kanda panted, wanting nothing more than to sit down and get five fucking minutes rest, but the annoying little bitch of a Noah was hardly giving him chance to breathe, never mind rest. "Just fucking die you fucking bitch!" he growled as he was forced to do a rather stupid looking pirouette to avoid getting speared by a candle. He counted himself lucky that she hadn't managed to get into his mind yet, but it was hard work keeping her distracted from that task and he knew he couldn't do it forever.
He grunted in pain when a candle caught him unprepared and dug into the soft flesh in his side. He yanked it out, freeing a large quantity of blood as the wound began to close at an agonisingly slow rate. He grit his teeth and forced himself to stand upright. One more hit like that and he wouldn't heal it at all, and once the healing power was gone, one hit and he'd had it. He'd be as easy to kill as any other weak human out there.
Well, it wouldn't get to that. Allen was out there somewhere, battling the Earl, and he needed Kanda to help him.
He dodged another flying candle and saw an opening, rushing forward with a burst of speed, and without using any of his attacks, slid the blade into the soft exposed throat of the first Noah.
"Don't be an idiot, I can heal this!" she scoffed even as blood welled from her mouth and the cut to her neck.
"Innocence is your weakness" Kanda reminded her, pushing the blade deeper. "Can you heal while my sword is still in your neck?" He chuckled darkly, blood staining his teeth as he coughed raggedly and knew that his strength was at its end. Another attack would kill him.
Road seemed like she was trying to speak, but choked on the blood filling her mouth, all abilities forgotten as she scrabbled wildly to get free so she could heal, but Mugen had split her windpipe and she could not draw breath, nor do anything to expel the liquid in her mouth.
"You claim to be human" Kanda said, knowing he could not debate this know what he knew about Allen. "And all humans need air. They also have a finite amount of blood, and I'm guessing you're about out."
The scrabbling grew weaker and eventually stopped as a few bubbles of blood gathered at the lips and dribbled free, her eyes glazing slightly as they became unseeing.
He jerked his sword free in disgust, looking down on the fallen Noah before stepping over her and looking around. The familiar flash of white material through the smoke told him where Allen was, he just had to get there without dying.
He pulled a face. One more hit and it was all over. He had to do this quickly. Komui reckoned that there would be enough residual energy in the wilted and dying lotus to keep him alive for a couple of hours after the final petal fell, but an attack would whittle that time away to minutes, if not seconds. Time to get moving. He had a promise to keep.
0o0o0o0o0
With the flat of his sword, the Earl swung at Allen, catching on the head with a blow that would have taken his head off had he been struck by the edge of the blade instead of the broad side. Allen was sent flying, landing in a tangle of limbs and steel. His sword was too far away to reach in time as the large figure of the Millennium Earl advanced upon him, even as his fingers scrabbled uselessly behind him, searching for the hilt.
"Pity it must end this way, Allen Walker. I have always watched you with interest, after all, it has always been said that you would be the one to destroy me." The Earl laughed darkly. "This isn't how it was supposed to play out, is it?"
Allen stopped trying to reach for his weapon and cuffed the trickle of blood from his mouth with his right wrist, dropping his gaze to the floor, the image of defeat. If he could just hold the Earl's attention for a moment longer…
"What's this? The prophesised Destroyer of Time is giving up?"
"Just finish it" Allen said quietly, his gaze still on the floor.
"As you wish" the Earl granted magnanimously with a slight bow, raising the sword to strike the final blow.
It never came.
Instead an innocence-powered black blade materialized in the fat man's chest, thrust clean through from the back. Kanda's face appeared over the Earl's shoulder as he pressed Mugen further into the round figure, grunting slightly with the effort.
The Earl turned his head, a look of shock on his features as he gazed down at the blade impaling him and then to the dark-haired exorcist standing behind him. For the first time he appeared angry. "Foolish boy, this won't stop me" he snarled, fighting to get free.
"Perhaps not" Kanda agreed, not removing his grip from his sword, even twisting it a little "but I know something that will."
"Oh?" wheezed the Earl, managing to ease forward on Mugen a little, the blade sliding back through his body a few inches. He might have been impaled on an innocence sword, but he didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects. "What might that be?"
"Me" Allen said, suddenly standing right in front of the Earl, his sword once more in his hand. The broad blade was shining brightly, not the usual green glow of innocence but a vivid, luminescent white that seemed to envelop the exorcist wielding it and swirled like a gale around them.
Kanda let go of Mugen in favour of living as Allen shoved his sword with all his might into the ample body of the Millennium Earl, the light burning brighter as Allen fed everything he had into the steel. Like an ethereal blaze the light grew and swirled, convoluted and twisted, brighter and more solid with each passing second. The sheer force of it knocked Kanda to the ground and back several feet before he came to a rest, face down and immobile.
The watching crowd all stood, mouths agape as the figures of the Millennium Earl and Allen Walker vanished behind a curtain of pure white, shining light, so dazzling it was almost solid, and completely opaque.
Then there a shallow boom that lifted a layer of dust from the ground, where it hovered, frozen a few feet from the floor, as though waiting for its cue to move. The light seemed to solidify, becoming more intense and beautiful, terrifying and terrible all in a single moment before it rushed outwards, chasing the dust away and bathing them all in a soft wave of warm air which flowed over them like a caress, and momentarily blinding them all with its brilliance.
Then the light faded, a complete contrast to the way it had built. In the middle of the field, as clear as day, the unmistakable shape of the Millennium Earl, flat on its back, two blades buried in its body and not a sign of life to be seen.
You want the last chapter? TELL ME YOU LOVE ME! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!