Flyte18- I can quite honestly say that there will not be a sequel to my sequel, since I love the ending and don't want to spoil its happiness!
Saiki518kuu- here you are, since you asked so nicely!
Fallendemise21- Aw, Yay! Feel the love. For that, of course you can have the chapter!
Signrain- Ah the begging of the masses… Mwahahaha! *author goes on a power-crazed bender*
SharinganJ- It seems really weird for someone to make positive comments about my updating- at one point I must have been the worst author out there for that! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope the ending doesn't disappoint- I've been sitting on it for weeks waiting for this moment!
Knux33- Lol, Go Bob! Ask and you shall receive!
XxMissyRandomxX- Pffft, character deaths. This is my fanfiction, happy endings all round!
Babo123- I seem to like traumatising Lavi. I'm a bit like that. I love my gay mates, but I don't need to see everything! And yes, the Earl is gone...what will happen now?
Mingstiku- Yay! Love! Why would Allen be dead? I've been promising happy endings and stuff!
CrimsonKitsune333- Nearly couldn't make it to the internet connection next door thanks to barricade of cookies, but finally, I'm here! And so is the final chapter. Yay!
I hope you aren't too disappointed- it seems I've rather hyped up the ending and now I'm worried its not as good as I thought it was when I wrote it weeks ago. Please be nice and please leave a final review. It's my birthday next Tuesday (7th), so make me happy with your words! And thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with this.
Chapter Thirty One- Changing Lives
Last Time:
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.
"We did it" Jim whispered in an awed voice, clutching his bleeding shoulder tightly. The remaining three Akuma had frozen to the spot, staring at the body of the Earl, lying spread-eagled on the floor, Allen's sword of Exorcism and Kanda's Mugen speared through his ample body.
Any other enemy who had survived had fled when the Earl had fallen.
"Yuu? Beansprout?" Lavi holstered his hammer, moving towards his two friends cautiously.
Jim moved to help his brother tend to the injured, skirting small, pathetic piles of ash that were once his comrades as he gathered canteens of water to give to Danny to fill with the already innocence imbued water currently contained in a bathtub of Jim's creation. He accepted a cupful of the miracle water from his younger sibling to heal his broken shoulder before kneeling beside Lenalee, helping her to sit up against the wall.
"Yuu, wake up!" Lavi's worried voice made everyone look up, the desperation in the Bookman's voice transferring to them all.
The redhead sighed in relief when the Japanese exorcist groaned and rolled over onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling confusedly. "Are you ok Yuu?"
"Don't call me that" grumbled the samurai weakly, the words lacking the usual venom they carried as he got to his feet, freeing his blade from the Earl's body and cleaning the steel on the Earl's tattered coat before sheathing it. He cast a glance at Allen's broadsword still buried in their enemy. "Moyashi?"
Lavi pointed shakily to the body lying face down a few feet away. Kanda strode over to Allen, turning him over roughly and checking his pulse, an expression of relief crossing his features when he felt it- strong and steady- beneath his fingers. He watched as the exorcism sword disintegrated, reforming as Allen's left arm as the silver mask and white cowl vanished as the innocence deactivated. His relief was short-lived however when he saw the state that the now human innocence arm was in. The reddish skin was no longer healthy, in fact if he had to use one word to describe it, he'd have said it looked dead. The previously glowing cross embedded in the back of Allen's hand was dull and lifeless and the whole limb was scattered with slowly oozing cuts.
"Shit." Kanda laid Allen's body down and leapt to his feet, turning to Lavi. "Get everyone out of here"
Lavi looked at him in confusion. "What? Why?"
Kanda narrowed his eyes. Didn't the idiot understand? There was no time to explain! "Get everyone out of here now"he emphasised, then lowered his voice, very conscious of how the people around them would take the news. "His innocence…"
Lavi immediately understood. "Shit" he repeated Kanda's earlier assessment, single eye widening. "What are you going to do?"
"Keep my promise; stop the Noah from hurting anyone."
Lavi stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You mean, kill…" He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, looking Kanda up and down, taking in the injuries that no longer healed littering his body. "You only have one life left now."
"It's all I'll need."
"He could kill you."
"He probably will, but I'm dead already" Kanda replied, gesturing at himself. "And I promised him, now get out here, damn Usagi."
Lavi held out his hand, a serious expression on his face. "I won't say goodbye, just, well, good luck Kanda."
Kanda's expression softened ever so slightly, taking the offered hand. "Goodbye Lavi."
The redhead grinned widely, though his eye was suspiciously bright. "Don't take too long, Komui will want us all to make a report." His eye lingered on Allen's still body sadly. If they were right…Allen was gone…just…gone. They'd not had the chance to say a proper goodbye. "See ya Moyashi…Allen." He sighed before glancing back at Kanda. "Bye Yuu-chan" he whispered before all but running from the room, ushering the others before him and fielding their questions with practised ease, fielding questions left, right and centre. It helped that nobody was quite sure what had happened, and a number of them were injured, so nobody was really in the right state of mind to question Lavi's actions, especially when Cross added his own orders and chivvied them along. No one saw his last glance back between the pillars, or the sad, but still very proud expression that crossed his face before he turned away for the final time.
Kanda circled Allen's body with long level strides, then nudged it with a booted foot, drawing his blade at the same time.
Allen's grey eyes slowly blinked open. "Yuu?"
"Moyashi? Are you still you?"
"Huh?" he raised a hand to his head, brushing back black streaked hair and groaning. Then he sat up, allowing his hand to fall into his lap. "Oh crap" he said as he noticed the state of his left arm-dull and dead and completely without a spark of innocence. He looked up at the other man, a worried expression on his face. "Well... we knew it would happen." He just wished it hadn't.
Kanda dropped to his knees beside him, wrapping an arm around the younger man's shoulders, though he didn't release his hold on his sword.
Inside his head, the suffocating presence of the Noah grew stronger, crowding Allen's thoughts and starting to drag his consciousness back into the dark recesses of his mind. He panicked, looking at Kanda with fear-pitted silver eyes. "He's getting stronger; you have to do it now." As if to emphasise his point another streak of black ran through his hair, followed by another as the crosses darkened across his forehead.
And for once in his life, Kanda hesitated. Dammit, it should not be like this! And he certainly shouldn't be hesitating! Allen had asked him to do this, knowing he was most certainly the only one who would be able to go through with it. He glanced across at Allen, whose face was strained and eyes were becoming flecked with gold, the sunlight hue drowning out the natural clouds with every passing second.
"Yuu, do it now!"
Kanda closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds, trying to ignore the fact that Allen's hair was longer, coarser, blacker. "Sorry Moyashi." And he raised the blade.
The arm came up too fast for Kanda's eyes to follow, knocking the innocence blade aside with a metallic ripping sound. Dark blood splattered on the ground, but the injury it had sprung from was already healing.
Allen, no, the Noah got to his feet, flexing the healing limb experimentally, bending his knees and testing out his body's range of movements. He cast a casual glance at the Earl's body, tutting negligently. "'bout time someone got rid of that idiot."
Kanda frowned, hating the fact that if he closed his eyes, just listened to that voice, it could be Allen standing before him.
The Noah shed the remains of the exorcist coat, removing the grey vest beneath it and tugging the red ribbon from his neck, the twin of the faded length of red fabric tied around Kanda's wrist, casting it aside in disgust. He then rolled up his shirt sleeves, idly observing the stretched and greying once-white hair tie that encircled the wrist for a moment before tossing it away.
Only then did he turn his attention back to the man standing before him. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this" he grinned, a darkened version of Allen's bright smile. He looked around, apparently unconcerned by Kanda's presence. Spotting the remaining Akuma he smirked maliciously snapping his fingers. The machines self-destructed in seconds.
It was this callous act that tore Kanda from his daze- something so un-Allen-like as to deny the trapped souls release seemed to hammer it home- this was not Allen, Allen was gone, and it was up to Kanda to prevent the Noah from hurting anyone else.
"Bastard" he snarled, levelling the silver blade at the Noah's face.
Amused golden eyes rolled as the Noah clicked his tongue, flicking the steel with a grey finger. "Don't be an idiot, I can heal anything you throw at me, and you can barely stand. What do you think the outcome of a fight would be?" He circled Kanda, leering at him. "The Earl is dead; I have no quarrel with the Black Order, so long as you exorcists leave me alone. Walk away now and you'll live." He cocked his head to one side, cataloguing Kanda's injuries with a sweeping glance. "A few more minutes anyway."
Kanda spat on the ground at the Noah's feet, saliva tinged with blood. "Sorry to disappoint, but I made a promise."
"Pffft. Promise! You think you can kill me?"
"Yes."
Allen screamed and shouted and yelled and cursed, but the Noah paid him no never mind- after all, he was just a small, easily silenced voice enclosed in the dark recesses of the Noah's mind.
He couldn't hear anything, not even his own voice, and his vision saw nothing but darkness, but he wanted, no, needed to know what was going on on the outside. The Noah seemed intent on denying him the ability to watch through his eyes. He sighed sadly- dammit, why hadn't Kanda been quicker? He had complete faith in the older man- but he'd been so injured already and was tired from the battle with the Earl…
Dammit.
The Noah caught the sword unflinchingly in his left hand, the innocence blade cutting deeply into red skin, throwing more blood across the floor in a macabre splash of crimson. Kanda tried to pull Mugen back, and it slid wetly through the hand a little before the Noah gripped it tighter, blood dripping through his clenched fingers.
"Now that's not very nice" admonished the Noah, wagging his right index finger annoyingly. "Look at what you've done to poor Allen!"
"You aren't him" growled Kanda, tugging the sword again, slicing the hand that gripped it even more.
The Noah laughed. "No? What do you think my name is? I am Allen, no matter what you may think." He leaned forward a little, lowering his voice slightly. "Your Allen, my white form, is still in here you know. But he's so weak. I'm in charge now, and it's going to stay that way." He used the blade to pull Kanda in closer. "You know, I've been here all the time, everything you've done with your Moyashi, you've done with me too." He trailed a finger down Kanda's cheek, across his bottom lip, only to draw it back as Kanda attempted to bite it. The Noah frowned.
Kanda used the Noah's distraction to try and run Mugen through him, but the blade did nothing but jerk a little in the Noah's grip.
"Now, now, none of that" the Noah said. "I think we'll have to do something about this annoying little toothpick of yours" and he wrenched the blade sideways, breaking the steel in two as if it were a toothpick, leaving Kanda holding half of his katana , ending in a vicious jagged point. The silver light flickered and died, leaving nothing more than a black-steeled broken sword, instead of a weapon of God.
"Oops" laughed the Noah cruelly. "That probably wasn't a nice thing to do, was it? That sword was as much a part of you as this arm is of me. Now they're both pretty useless now, huh? What a shame." The Noah's merciless grin grew. "Well, mine's not completely useless, see?" And using his superhuman strength, he thrust his arm forward, fingers extended in a vicious point. "You're so weak Kanda! You couldn't save your Allen, and you can't even save yourself."
Kanda looked down, all too aware that something was very wrong. A line of blood trickled from between his lips and dripped down his chin, a gory testament to the internal damage he had suffered at the hands of the Noah living in his lover's body, because it wasn't Allen, Allen was gone, leaving this thing in his place. His mind refused to accept what he was seeing, so he looked away, meeting the golden eyes of the Noah who was leering gloatingly at him.
"So ends the great Kanda Yuu" the amused voice commented, jerking it's arm free of Kanda's chest in a shower of crimson, echoed by a series of dull, wet splats across the ground.
Kanda grit his teeth, tightening his hold on what was left of Mugen even as all other muscles in his body slackened and his knees threatened to fold. If he could just lift his arm- the Noah was right there- he had promised!
The Noah seemed to know what he was thinking, golden eyes flicking to the sword then back to Kanda's face. "Naughty, naughty, none of that!" he said again, grinning. "I've only just got control over this body, I don't want holes in it just yet!"
Kanda scowled at the reminder. "Shut up!" he snarled, lifting his arm slightly, fully intending to drive the blade through that damn arrogant expression, but even as he raised his arm, his fingers unclenched and Mugen's remaining half clattered to the floor.
"Oops" the Noah chuckled, cocking his head to one side like a bird and patting Kanda on the cheek. "Looks like that wound's pretty painful." The grey-skinned hand resting on his face suddenly moved and tightened around his neck. "Perhaps I'll put you out of your misery."
Kanda choked and scrabbled at the hand clutching his throat in a superhuman grip. "Moyashi…" he grated out, his vision clouding through lack of oxygen.
The Noah scoffed. "You want to know where your precious Moyashi is right now? He's curled up asleep at the back of my mind and there's nothing you can do about it. Even if he did wake up, he's too weak to stop me now."
Even though thinking was becoming a near impossible task and his vision was tunnelling, Kanda managed to focus on that familiar-unfamiliar face grinning cruelly at him. "He's stronger than you give him credit for- after all- it was you buried in his mind not long ago." He managed a gruesome, bloody smirk, raising his voice as much as his abused throat would allow. "Dammit Moyashi, wake the fuck up!"
With a furious growl, the Noah wrapped his other hand around Kanda's neck and proceeded to squeeze the life out of him, choking off any further speech as he leaned in close, putting his mouth next to Kanda's ear and whispering angrily. "It's hopeless, forget it. Now shut up and die!"
The sheer cliché-ness of the Noah's parting shot made Kanda snort with morbid humour, and he knew then and there that he'd officially lost his mind. He'd heard of laughing in the face of death, but even he could acknowledge that he was taking it a little too far.
He dimly registered the Noah letting go of his neck and he hit the floor on his knees with a painful crunch. He'd always hated his curse, but found himself wishing the power of the lotus hadn't gone as he heard one of his kneecaps break. He hissed at the sensation, keeping the noise that threatened to be a scream if he let it out, behind clenched teeth, vaguely surprised that he was able to feel anything at all. He hung in a kneeling position, head bowed, watching the blood, now slowed to a thick, treacly ooze, escape from his chest wound.
A gasp of shock roused him and he raised his head, squinting against the darkness that threatened to flood his vision.
"Yuu…I'm so sorry…"
It was dark. Not the blackness that came at night- the black that was actually a mixture of blues and purples, dark hues that mixed together to give the illusion of blackness, this was a pure darkness- a void empty of light and colour. It was oddly quiet, total sensory deprivation. And it was starting to get on his nerves. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out of it, but it seemed that the Noah had a strong hold on his body. No matter what he did, he couldn't wrestle his body from the Noah's grip.
Suddenly a voice, sounding suspiciously like his own, but edged with a soft, inhuman growl, rang through the void. "I know you're listening Allen Walker" it said. "And whatever thoughts you're having about taking control? Forget it."
Allen snarled furiously, and would have thrown a punch or kick if he'd had the body to be able to do it. "What the hell are you doing with my body?" he yelled heatedly, while wondering if all Noah suffered this dualness of personality while in their 'black' form.
The Noah of Will chuckled. "Since you're so weak you can't do anything to stop me, I guess it won't hurt to show you."
The blackness changed, slowly lightening to a grey-toned view through what were once Allen's eyes.
Allen gasped in horror and disbelief. "Yuu? What the hell have you done to him?" he railed at the Noah. He felt the urge to throw up, though he lacked the body to do it. The Noah had his hand, his hand! shoved into Kanda's chest up to the wrist.
"So ends the great Kanda Yuu" the Noah said, sounding very amused as he pulled his arm free of Kanda's body. Allen flinched at the hole that remained in Kanda's chest as the limb pulled free, showering the floor in a layer of blood. Allen was glad he wasn't seeing in colour. He could see the determination on Kanda's face, and knew he was trying to work up the energy to attack, his arm trembling with the effort of raising what remained of his precious innocence blade. It made Allen smile, even this close to certain death, Kanda hadn't forgotten his promise.
The Noah scoffed in his head. "Promise? Don't make me laugh! He's in no fit state to do anything, especially that!" Out loud he said "Naughty, naughty, none of that! I've only just got control over this body, I don't want holes in it just yet!"
Allen growled loudly. "Shut the hell up! And get the fuck out of my body! Just you wait; I'll make sure you regret doing this!"
"You bore me" the Noah said with a yawn. "I think it's time you went to sleep now."
"Sleep? Like hell I will!" Allen was beyond furious now, although being nothing more than a voice he couldn't do much to show it.
The Noah laughed internally. "I think you'll find that I have far more control over you in this state than you had over me. Now sleep."
And Allen found that he couldn't disobey.
He remembered being unable to resist the order that the Noah had given him- he was pretty sure the Noah had told him to sleep, so why was he awake? What could have possibly brought him back?
"-ere your precious Moyashi is right now?"
It's Allen, dammit Allen thought irately as the Noah's words reached him.
"He's curled up asleep at the back of my mind and there's nothing you can do about it. Even if he did wake up, he's too weak to stop me now."
Ha, like hell I am Allen snapped, but it didn't seem that the Noah could hear him.
"He's stronger than you give him credit for- after all- it was you buried in his mind not long ago."
Allen's heart swelled with emotion at Kanda's words. Though the dynamics of their relationship were very different than they had been when they first met, it was nice to hear the respect and acknowledgement in Kanda's voice, something that was rarely articulated.
"Dammit Moyashi! Wake the fuck up!"
Ah, that sounded more like the Kanda he knew and loved. He grinned wryly and sensed the frustration building in the body that the Noah controlled.
"It's hopeless, forget it. Now shut up and die!"
Well damn, that was cliché wasn't it? Allen found himself laughing, and realised that the Noah had noticed he was awake.
"Why the hell won't you stay asleep?"
"I don't know!" Allen told him, still chuckling a little. "But it looks like your control isn't as good as you thought it was!"
The Noah dropped Kanda in favour of clutching his head, Allen's laughter burning through his brain like fire, scorching where it touched and making him cringe back in pain. Just what was happening? The familiar blackness was closing in, and he couldn't move. As the void enclosed him, he felt Allen settle back into his body with a smug sigh. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way until I've finished here."
The Noah growled fiercely, but couldn't do anything more.
Allen turned his attention back to Kanda, who was kneeling, head hanging, breathing ragged and blood running down his front in a sluggish trickle.
He couldn't stop the gasp of horror that escaped his throat as he saw the state of his lover- the state at his body had put him in. "Yuu…I'm so sorry…"
Allen reached out a hand, running it over Kanda's cheek, wiping away the blood and grime with soft pale fingers, then bringing the other arm, the useless lifeless innocence arm, and running stiff red hand through Kanda's unbound, tangled midnight hair.
"Sorry" Kanda whispered, leaning into the gentle caress of the right hand and staring into pain-clouded and tear-filled silver eyes. Oh God, silver eyes! He'd thought he'd never see those eyes again.
"What for?" Allen asked, sounding genuinely confused, as if he couldn't think of anything for Kanda to apologise for.
"I don't think I'll be able to keep my promise."
"I'm scared Yuu, I don't know what to do."
Kanda glanced at him, taking in his worried expression- clouded grey eyes, teeth biting his lower lip, smooth forehead creased in a frown, twisting the faint cross marks.
He sighed heavily. "What to do about what?"
In answer Allen grasped his left arm against his chest. "It hurts almost constantly" he admitted. "I'm not going to be able to" he paused and took a breath. "I'm not going to be me much longer."
While Kanda digested this and groped for something to say in reply, Allen sighed and turned to face the other man, grasping his hands in his own mismatched ones. "If we win, if we defeat the Earl, I won't be needed anymore," he began.
"What are you talking abo-" Kanda was cut off by a finger placing itself over his lips.
"It's true, and they aren't going to keep me around if I'm not needed, are they? I'm too much of a threat." Allen sighed again. "But that's not what I'm worried about."
Kanda just raised an eyebrow in question and waited for Allen to continue.
Allen looked down at his left arm sadly. "Do you really think that my innocence is going to survive a battle with the Earl?"
Now Kanda understood. For Allen the battle being planned right now, far away in Komui's office would end in defeat whatever happened. Either they lost, and died, won and Allen somehow managed to stop the Noah from taking over his body, only to spend the rest of his life waiting for it to happen, or, almost certainly, the Noah took advantage of his weakened state and took over, and Allen was as good as dead anyway. And Kanda couldn't think of a single thing to say. Allen noticed his expression and smiled wryly. "Yeah, sucks to be me, doesn't it?" He rested his forehead on Kanda's shoulder, taking a deep breath. "If…if that…the worst should happen, I don't want to… him…the Noah to hurt anyone. Will you stop him for me?"
Kanda scowled. Not because he didn't understand Allen's question, but because he did. "I will" I'll kill the Noah if it comes to that, because if that ever happens, I'll have already lost you. "I promise."
"Don't be an idiot, of course you will" Allen said, brushing some dark hair off Kanda's face tenderly. "You swore you would, but you'll need to hurry, I don't think I can hold my other side back for much longer."
Kanda shook his head drunkenly. "I can't even hold Mugen, never mind move my arm."
Allen smiled sadly, his left hand over the gaping wound on Kanda's chest, as though he could hold Kanda's rapidly escaping life in with his flesh. "I'll help you, but you have to promise me something else."
He older man looked faintly annoyed that his dying was being interrupted. "What?" he snapped, sounding a little like his normal self and making Allen's strained smile widen slightly.
"Come with me." He reached down with his left hand, wrapping Kanda's right around the handle of what was left of his beloved sword. The black blade glinted dully beneath the sticky blood that coated it. He wrapped his own right hand behind Kanda's neck, supporting him in an upright position and tangling his hands in those long tresses one last time, pressing their foreheads together so all they could see were each other's eyes. Allen kissed him, ignoring the copper tang of blood that coated Kanda's lips. "Love you" he murmured, lifting Kanda's hand which still clung to the sword.
"You too, Allen," Kanda said quietly, his eyes unfocussed and a fresh wave of blood spilling from his mouth as he coughed brokenly. His eyes slid closed and his breath rattled in his ruined chest.
Positioning the jagged, shattered tip of the blade against his chest over his heart, Allen smile faintly, shifting his left hand's grip to Kanda's elbow, pressing lightly to hold the tip of the sword in place. "It's Moyashi, remember?" And he pushed the blade forward.
OMG O,_O
Lol, well, not-so-happy ending! Heh, I lied.