Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own DGM

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Bookman stormed into Komui's office, where also found Levrier, who turned towards him.

"Ah Bookman, I was about to go look for you. Have you got any information on that Akuma?" Bookman glared at him.

"In fact I do, but I will not reveal them." Levrier seemed surprised and angered.

"You are breaking the contract the Bookmen made with the Black Order!" Bookman looked at him.

"You cannot break something that has already been broken. The contract stated that we give the Order knowledge and support, and in return we receive all information the Order has. Now I found out that you've kept secrets from us, which is against that contract, giving me the right to refuse to share information. In fact, this violation is enough to allow me and Lavi to leave the Order." Levrier paled. In this situation, he could not afford to loose two exorcists.

"Very well, I will tell you all we know. Those to stones, we call them Noah Crystals, are the only ones we had. We don't know how they were made, but they somehow stopped certain Noah from appearing. They were ordered to be hidden with our Innocence, hoping the Innocence would cover any signals the Crystals might be sending. Anyone not a Innocence-user who got close to them felt symptoms similar to motion-sickness and severe headaches. They were found around four hundred years ago. That's all we know about them." Bookman nodded.

"Very well, we will remain in the Order for now. As for the informations, you will receive them once we have sorted it out. However, should we find out you were keeping other secrets from us..." Levrier rose his hands in defense.

"There are none." Bookman looked at him.

"We will see."

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When they returned to the arc, Allen looked at the Earl.

"What were those crystals and why did you tell Michael to destroy them?" The Earl looked at him before answering.

"If I'm right, those crystals were prisons." Allen raised his brows.

"Prisons? What do you mean?" The Earl explained, anger in his voice.

"Roughly four hundred years ago, there was a Noah of desire who tried to become what you are now, a Noah with Innocence. Unlike you, he failed and was killed by the Innocence. Soon after, another Noah, Noah's loneliness, vanished. Both have yet to resurrect." Allen tilted his head.

"Resurrect? Noah resurrect?" The Earl shook his head.

"Technically no, but the memories of Noah do. They search for a different host that has Noah's genes and awaken them. Now if I'm correct, the Innocence created those crystals and imprisoned the memories inside of them. Now that those crystals are destroyed, the memories should be released and more Noah will rejoin our battle." Allen still had questions.

"How long does it take for a memory to find a host?" The Earl had calmed down.

"That's different every time. The more Noah there are, the faster the other ones reawaken." Allen noticed something as the Earl vanished. he was talking of reawakening and resurrection, not the birth of a new Noah. It was almost like the Earl didn't care about the people, but only for the memories they carried.

"That's exactly right." The musician replied. "The Earl likes or dislikes certain Noah, but he doesn't see them as real people, only as weapons for his war. As long as the memories are intact, he doesn't care about the people that carry them."

Allen had gotten used to the voice in his head and formed a reply. 'Now that I think of it, I heard you rebelled against the Earl and he killed you for it. What did you do?'

"I have given something of great importance away, but the Earl doesn't know that. In his eyes, it wasn't what I did that demanded my death. I had stumbled across a piece of information the Earl wants to keep a secret at all costs. I won't tell you what it is yet, you're not ready for that knowledge." The musician stated, a final tone in his voice. Allen nodded, then he realized something: If the Earl would kill anyone who knew that secret, then he would immediately kill Allen if he found out the musician was inside his head. He would have to be careful.

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Levrier sighed. The conversation with Bookman had gone worse than he expected, and now there was a report of a large gathering of Akuma in India that were terrorizing a few villages. Who to send? He looked at the files. Kanda, Nocturn and Lavi. Three people he didn't need right now and with Lavi gone, the wave of terror shouldn't go overboard. Informing them was something Komui could do.

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Luciano had finally mastered his Innocence and named it. As soon as he had managed that, the Earl called for him.

"I heard you can now control your Innocence, is that true?" Luciano nodded.

"Yes, I can." The Earl smiled, well his permanent grin widened.

"Very well then, you'll leave for India right away, a few of my Akuma or going a bit overboard with their play time. You will get them back before the exorcists come and destroy some of them, they have a few rare powers I don't want to loose." Luciano nodded.

"Understood, I'll leave immediately." And with that, he left the Earl.

Allen was waiting for Luciano before the gate. "And what do you want, Allen?" Allen smiled.

"Just do me a favor. If you're forced to fight exorcists, especially if they outnumber you, fight to retreat, not to win. You're life is important to me, and I have no idea how I should explain it to your sister." Luciano grinned.

"She'd kill you if that happened, and it wouldn't be pleasant." Allen chuckled.

"Yes, so lets just avoid that, okay?" He raised his fist to eye level. "Going in alive..." Luciano also made a fist and leaned it on Allen's.

"...Coming out the same way. See ya." And with that, he stepped to the gate.

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When Luciano left the gate, he felt like he had just entered hell. Screams where filling the air, torn off limbs were covering the floor and a dust-like substance that was most likely humans killed by the Akuma's virus was covering the scene like snow. This was what the Earl called going a little overboard? Luciano felt sick and almost threw up, when a Level 3 appeared before him. Unlike normal Noah, he and his sister had no trouble shifting between his human form and his true form, and since he hadn't expected to enter such a bloodbath, he was in his human form.

"Come here everyone, I found another thing we can play with." He grabbed Luciano's arm.

"Let me go." The words were calm and quiet, but the Akuma let go of him like he had been touching lava. Luciano clapped his hands and soon had the attention of the entire horde of Akuma. "Playtime's over. The Earl orders you all to return, now." The Akuma nodded in fear. To them, Luciano was equivalent to a Level 4, and they felt scared of him for some reason. Then they froze.

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Lavi cursed. "Shit, there are at least seventy Akuma leveling from 1 to 3 here. How do we take them all out?" Kanda was equally annoyed.

"Shut up and start smashing them. What?" All of the Akuma seemed to swarm to a boy that was clapping his hands. They heard him speak about the Earl.

"He must be sent to get them beck, either a new Noah or simply an Akuma with the Earl's authority. How do we stop them in time?" Lavi muttered. Then Valkyrie spoke.

"I will destroy them." They stared at her, but she simply activated her Innocence. "Innocence activate, Divine. Level 3 activate:Dark Melody, Requiem of Thanatos"

Even though Lavi and Kanda didn't feel anything, the Akumas collapsed. For a second, Lavi thought he heard the sound of breaking chains, then it was gone and all Akuma were laying on the ground. The boy was staring in surprise.

"He is not an Akuma below Level 4, or he is a human or Noah." Val stated.

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Luciano stared at the people. They wore the same coat those others had worn, so Luciano was pretty sure they were exorcists. But what had just happened? Suddenly there had been music, Luciano had felt shivers up his spine and the Akuma dropped like flies. They didn't explode, they just collapsed. And now those three people were walking towards him. He turned into his true form. The three stopped.

A man with a sword hissed "A Noah!" Luciano smiled.

"Not quite." A red haired boy stepped in between them.

"I am one of the Bookmen. We record history. What do you mean, not quite?" Luciano looked at him.

"Eye-patch, red hair, a Bookman... Are you by any chance Lavi?" The boy looked surprised.

"Yes, I am. How do you know my name?" Luciano smiled.

"Allen Walker, my current lord as it would seem, has told me a lot about his friends. And who are your companions?" He looked at the others. Lavi grinned.

"Yu Kanda and Valkyrie Nocturn." Kanda was getting annoyed.

"Che, in case you've forgotten, we are supposed to kill him." Lavi looked at him, for a change dead serious.

"As a Bookman, it is also my duty to record information, and he looks like a Noah, but claims to be something different, so it is my duty to find out details." Luciano had looked at the scene in amusement.

"I know the name Kanda, but I don't think I've ever heard of you." He looked at the girl. He wouldn't mind hearing about her though, and a lot more than hear if given the chance, even if she seemed somewhat doll-like. Luciano shook his head. The Italian in him was coming through, if he didn't watch it, he would soon be speaking with accent.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you three, I am Luciano de Fuego." Both Lavi and Kanda gasped in surprise.

"Luciano de Fuego is dead!" Kanda hissed. Luciano looked at himself.

"Oh my god, I'm a ghost!" Kanda drew his blade.

"Don't mock me, brat, I'm itching to kill you!" Luciano sighed and raised his hands in defense.

"Fine, I'll explain. As you already know, I received a fatal injury and was left to die. Well, while I was knocking at death's doors, Allen Walker showed up and offered me a second chance of life if I was ready to bear mankind's hatred. Cheesy, I know, but that's what happened. Anyway, I accepted and was revived as what you see now, a Deminoah." Lavi stared in amazement.

"Allen transformed you? How?" Luciano grinned.

"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out." Lavi sighed.

"It seems we reached the end of our conversation. Innocence activate!" Kanda grinned.

"Finally! Innocence activate! Mugen"

"Level 3 activate: battle-song of Thor" Val said, no emotions in her voice. She held her flute like a hammer, the thickest part away from her body and lightning struck it. Luciano smiled.

"Very impressive, but you don't have a monopoly on that." He raised his left arm with the bracelet. "Innocence activate! Morrigan"

The exorcists stared in shock as the boy was suddenly holding a long red scythe.

"Impossible!" Lavi called. "Even if you were the user, Innocence rejects Noah." Luciano looked at him with pity.

"Have I overestimated your memory? I could have sworn I said I was a Deminoah." Lavi stared at him.

"Even so, you've betrayed god! Your Innocence should have transformed you into a Togaochi!" Luciano tilted his head.

"How can I betray someone I was never loyal to? I realized quickly that god abandoned me and my sister. And what is a Togaochi?" Lavi looked at him.

"When Innocence is used by someone unworthy, or if the user betrays god, it transforms him into a Fallen One, a Togaochi, a monster that uses its own life to power attacks." Luciano snorted.

"The monster of Dark Matter, Akuma. The monster of Innocence, Togaochi. One uses the dead, the other the living. Talk about hypocrisy. And how is this going to turn me into a monster? I'm holding it in my hand. If push comes to shove, I can just drop it." Lavi was surprised. He did have a point. "Though 'Fallen One' has a nice ring to it. Yeah, why not? Let me introduce myself again, Luciano de Fuego of the Fallen. Ironic, considering de Fuego means of the fire. I guess this is fate. WOW!"

Kanda had used the Hells Insects against him. Luciano used his scythe to flick up the empty shell of the Level 3 that had grabbed him and used it as a shield. It worked remarkably well as neither he nor the shell took any real damage. He saw all three exorcists running towards him.

"Well, since there is nothing I can do here and I am clearly outnumbered, I believe it's best I take my leave."

With that, he spun the scythe above his head, slammed the blade into the ground behind him and pulled it forward. A gray, blade-shaped shock wave came flying towards the exorcists. At first they wanted to block it, but then they noticed something and jumped out of the way. When they looked up, the Deminoah was nowhere in sight. And apparently, he had taken the Akuma he'd used as a shield with him. But as they now looked at the path the slash had carved, Lavi shuddered.

The grass around the cut was dead, gray and dried-up. He could see a dried-up lizard that hadn't been there before. Even the ground looked grayish and devoud of life. They had to report this.

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Luciano sighed in relief. That had been close. Then he looked up...right into the Earl's eyes. 'Oh shit!' were his only thoughts.

"What happened?" The Earl asked, a tinge of death in his voice. Luciano told him what happened and showed him the Akuma as proof. Thank god he had been smart enough to take it with him.

"It looks like the soul was severed from it, so it has no power source. You said a girl with some sort of flute did this?" Luciano nodded. "Very well, you may leave, nobody could have predicted this."

Luciano hurried to his room, glad to be alive.

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When the exorcists finally smashed all of the Akuma-shells and returned to the Order, Bookman was waiting for Lavi. Lavi recognized the glare in Bookman's eyes and turned to Kanda.

"Sorry, but this may take a while, could you report to Komui?" Kanda looked at him.

"Che, fine." He muttered and left. Val had pulled her usual disappearing act, so Lavi and Bookman were alone.

"I have found out a few things about the Akuma that was here recently, and if you truly are one of the successors of the Bookmen, you will have some information as well." Bookman stated. Lavi was suddenly glad he had asked the others about Michael. Allen had given a few hints in his messages.

"I do, but what do you know?" Bookman was sure the boy was bluffing, but that could be discussed later. If he was right, Lavi would have to learn a library's worth of knowledge by tomorrow for failure and dishonesty towards another Bookman.

"The Akuma was a Level 5, currently the only one in existence. He called himself a weapon of controlled annihilation, which leads to the thesis that its power completely obliterates what it comes in contact with, but can be used for pinpoint operations. Finally, it seems to be able to sense Noah."

Lavi, who had gasped at the Level, nodded. "As for me, the first information is that his name is Michael. He can move faster than the unprepared eye can see and has enough strength to lift tons without problems. In his human form, his strength is reduced to 35% and he has the ability to record messages and send the records directly into peoples mind. The most important information is that he sees Allen Walker as his highest command even above the Millennium Earl. Also, Allen has forbidden the usage of Michael's powers due to their destructive potential." Bookman nodded, satisfied with the informations, but Lavi wasn't done yet. "Also, Allen seems to have the ability to..."

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Levrier didn't believe it. "Please say that again. I thought I heard you say that Allen Walker can transform humans into some Noah-like monstrosities." Kanda was in an awful mood and glared at Levrier.

"Che, I'm tired of this. Look at the golem." While Kanda left, Levrier viewed the recording in shock. Allen Walker was truly able to rob people of their humanity. The boy had mentioned a pact. Was it a necessary requirement for his ability to work or just something Walker did out of personal reasons? Whatever the case, Allen Walker had become one of the biggest threats to humanity there ever was. He was like the devil himself, making pacts that turned humans into abominations. The question was, what was Allen Walker's power. From what they knew, the power of a Noah could be described with a single word. Tyki Mikk was choice, those twins were materialization and the Noah that attacked Headquarters had described her ability as form. But what was Walker's description? If they had that, they might be able to find a way to counter him. But that underling of his was equally dangerous. Just like Walker, he had the speed of a Noah and an Innocence. He had called it Morrigan. As far as Levrier knew, Morrigan was the Irish, or rather the Celtic goddess of death. Was that a hint to the boy's power? And why didn't he turn into a Fallen One? Was it possible that only parasite-types became Togaochi? If so, why wasn't Allen Walker one yet? That boy was a mystery Levrier was hellbent of uncovering.

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Allen had found Luciano in one of the training rooms, practicing with Morrigan. His new reflexes and agility allowed him to use it to a degree impossible to humans, but he lacked experience with the weapon. And that could kill him if he faced an experienced foe with no hesitation to kill. He looked at Allen.

"Thanks for your advice, I probably would've been slaughtered if I had tried to fight three exorcists head-on with my level of combat experience." Allen nodded.

"Although your Innocence is powerful and very potent, if you don't know how to use it properly, you're toast. Happened to me too, I ended up with a hole in my heart." Luciano nodded, then he raised a brow.

"Wait, a hole in your heart? That has a familiar ring to it. That hole wouldn't happened to be caused by one of Tyki's stupid butterflies, would it?" Allen grinned.

"Ah, so you love them just as much as I do. That's right, a Tease took a chump out of my heart." Luciano looked confused.

"I know why I am still alive, I was saved by you, but how did you heal the hole in your pump?" Allen looked at him.

"I didn't. In fact, it's still there. A piece of my supposedly destroyed Innocence filled the hole in my heart and remained there ever since. But that was a unique case, nothing like this ever happened before or after. Although Lenalee's Innocence has acted just as weird as mine. I heard it formed a crystal around her to protect her twice, in fact, I've seen it the second time and stopped the Earl from cracking it." Luciano was confused.

"But if Tyki nearly killed you, how come you two act like you're the best of friends?" Allen looked at him in surprise.

"Well, I just like Tyki as a person. The first time I met him, he and a few friends of him stripped a friend of mine down to his underwear. I won it all back and left them in underpants. Well, I guess that I get my revenge whenever we play cards. Then again, in this enemy land, I need as many friends as I can get. But I mostly just like him, and I think he likes me as well, isn't that right, Tyki?" Luciano spun around as he heard laughter. Tyki was phasing through the door, a smile on his face. Luciano glared at him.

"What are you looking at, boy? Can't you just forget what happened like Allen?" Allen looked up.

"Don't misunderstand, Tyki. I will forgive but I won't forget." Tyki sighed.

"Same difference. Anyway, you can glare at me all you want, but neither you nor your Innocence can harm me." Instead of answering, Luciano dashed at Tyki, rushed passed him and caught him in the scythe's blade.

"I can't cut you and the power won't work, but I can ruin your wardrobe, I can use my Innocence as a club to beat you to a pulp, and I can do THIS!" with that, he spun the scythe foreword, rendering Tyki airborne. Tyki stopped himself in mid-air, a long cut in his sleeves where he had blocked the blade in reflex.

"You did ruin my suit, but you forget I can choose what I touch, so the air can be a pillow cushioning my fall. But you're right, you can use your scythe as a club since I can't phase through it. But don't forget I'm a bit faster than you, a bit stronger, my weapons are more effective and most important of all, I'm more ruthless than you are."

Luciano deactivated his Innocence. While he detested Tyki, he was not dumb enough to start a fight he had no chances of winning. Tyki nodded and turned to Allen.

"Since you mentioned my mining buddies, how about we visit them? I haven't dropped by in a while and they'll be delighted to see you. Although right now, we are a bit overdressed."

Allen looked at them. Indeed, in their expensive suits, they weren't exactly looking like common miners. He chuckled.

"Why not? I've been trying to come up with an excuse to leave all day, so I can't wait. Just you and me, Tyki?" Tyki nodded and Allen grinned. "Great, this should be fun." He had no idea.

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Five hours earlier

"Sir, we have managed to locate the bait for Operation: End of Pleasure." Levrier looked up. Finally, some good news.

"Where are they?" The answer was immediate.

"In a small mining town in Austria." That sounded right, but Levrier couldn't afford any more mistakes.

"And you are certain they are the human comrades of the Noah Tyki Mikk?" The CROW nodded.

"Without a doubt, sir." Levrier smiled. Finally, things were going according to plan again. Now the only question was who to send. They couldn't send a group larger than three people, it would catch attention in such a small town and they didn't want to warn Tyki or his companions, but who would fulfill the necessary requirements? Friedrich Himmelhund was of course one of the three. First of all, he was the vital factor in this operation, and secondly, the man would do whatever was necessary to accomplish the mission. Valkyrie Nocturn would be number two, she had a useful ability that would further their plan. The last one had to be a bit flashy. The Generals were out of the question and Kanda's abilities were in fact too precise for this operation. Lavi? He had flashy moves, but he didn't use them too often and the Noah already knew what to expect. Timothy? No, the boy would be useless in that situation. Jesaia? His flames were hard to ignore, they seemed threatening enough when suddenly faced with them and they were very straightforward. Perfect. Now it was time for Operation: End of Pleasure to begin.

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Chapter 14 is done. Finally. This took longer than I expected, although I didn't have that much time to write th last few days. Anyway, here the questions:

1. How do you like Luciano's Innocence? Any idea what it does?

2. What do you think will happen next?

3. In a rating from 1 to 10, how good is my fic so far?

4. Is there anything you would like to see in this fic?

5. Do you like my ideas? What can I do better?

6. Write whatever you want to tell me here.

Oh, and about the Level 5s. They will all look similar, since they take the basic shape of the souls they contain, but their abilities will be different. I'm not sure how many Level 5 will exist, seeing as I can't imagine the Earl giving away his most powerful minions besides the Noah to another's control. And the Noah crystals were not the reason the Earl spared the Order, he didn't even know they exist.

To Cross, or rather Gabriel: Congratulations, you're right. Tyki's friends are the bait. And to your devil: Cross, who said that was Michael's full power? I'm sure I wrote it was simply an experiment. ;)

Well, that's all I have to say for now, well besides this:

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