Author's Notes:

Ah… *sigh* Finally updated. I'm really sorry if this chapter's writing seems forced. My very severe case of writer's block continues to kill my motivation to write, even though it's not that bad anymore. *unhappy* Your reviews made me happy though even if I took such a long time to reply.

Anyway, this chapter will cover the end of volume 5, the entire volume 6 and the very first pages of volume 7. It's huge (as long as my one-shots usually are...!) I hope this makes up for the long wait even if it's mainly a retelling of the Manga… *wails*

Thank you for your patience, I really appreciate it *bows*

Dislcaimer: -Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 29: Day of torment, Night of destruction

When the sun rose and threw its reddish light over the sea, Ellen walked up to the ship that would soon carry her over to Japan, to where Cross was headed. She felt unrest nagging at her, but she could not really define its cause. She tried to be cheerful when greeting the sailors and decided to calm her thoughts. She climbed up the main mast, from the highest point of the ship she had a magnificent view of both the city and the vast ocean. She sighed and held on to the wooden mast. General Cross, dead? No, she could not believe it, but what gave her the certainty with which she had claimed him to be still alive? How could she possibly know? She had not spent that much time with him, she should not overestimate her intuition. Her master could as well be dead, he was only human after all… But… There still remained this annoying but that wouldn't leave her alone. She knew that this was in no way one of her beloved novels, but he couldn't possibly be dead yet, she still needed him. He was her mentor and he still had a lot of teaching to do! Of course, that idiot ("oh, I should not think badly of those who are thought to be dead!") had ditched his responsibility for her before, but… No. Just no. Anita was in love with him. Ellen herself still needed him. Her group needed to find him. Battles needed to be fought. There were too many reasons for him to still be alive. Of course, his own strength should also help him survive such an attack… Ellen sighed deeply. She was only getting herself more worked up instead of calming down.

"Sir Tim", Ellen said and looked over to the golem, "Is my master really beyond this sea?". Timcampy just continued batting his wings, facing straight ahead. Ellen smiled painfully and looked back out over the vast expanse of water. "Japan… How I wish to be able to avoid going there… Stupid master…", she said and lowered her head. "If he really is dead then I will not forgive him…". She slowly lowered herself and sat on the wooden pole, resting her head against the mast. Leaving her alone with all her worries. Forcing her to sail to the land which reminded herself of what she had done awfully wrong and of the hardships she might still have to face. She was a fool to think that she would be able to deal with it alone, but why had she secretly hoped that General Cross could and would actually help her? He was her mentor, but he was not her father, why should he take care of her? A lot of painful thoughts went through Ellen's head while she was waiting for the sailors to get ready. However, all of a sudden her cursed eye reacted and the monocle formed. She frantically looked around. "Akuma?! They seem to be far away but where are they coming from…?!". She looked ahead of her and then she could see a swarm of little black dots in the distance. She widened her eyes because, as the dots were approaching, Ellen realised how many they were! "Everyone!", she shouted and hoped that her friends would hear her. "Akuma!". She gasped as she saw thousands of Akuma flying in their direction. "The Akuma are coming!!". She heard people on deck shouting, apparently they had heard her. She decided not to pay them any attention at the moment but to just focus on destroying as many as possible. She activated her Innocence and waited for them to be in the range of her gun. The force of the swarm was incredible when they reached them. The whole ship was trembling and the wood creaked under the strain. Ellen kept her balance and shot at whatever she could reach, but after just a short moment she stopped in surprise. "They… they just fly past us?", she asked and looked up, where Akuma were flying by, ignoring the exorcists. Her friends on deck seemed to be as confused as she was, but before she could ask them any questions she could feel pain in her leg and then she was dragged up into the sky. She shrieked and could hear Rabi calling out to her. Ellen didn't really hear what the two Akuma that had stolen her from the ship were talking about. She got over her shock, clenched her teeth and fired at the one holding her. It did actually let her fall, but before Ellen could worry about the consequences she was caught by the second Akuma.

"He he he he he! Don't think that I will let you go! You belong to me now!", it screeched and squeezed the air out of Ellen's lungs. Ellen gasped but a loud explosion saved her from the Akuma's grasps. Once again she was falling and could only see a cloud of smoke. But after a while Linali sprang out of it, elegant like a dancing fairy, her black hair flying around her. She reached out to Ellen and the girl managed to get a hold of Linali's outstretched hand. As the two were soaring through the sky, continually falling, an explosion resounded through the Akuma filled sky. The two girls looked into the direction of the explosion and could also hear the excited uproar of the Akuma; it seemed as if they had found the aim of their sudden and numerous appearance. Through the clouds, the smoke and the many bodies of level two Akuma, Ellen could make out a gigantic white shape. She widened her eyes in horror as she discovered it to have the appearance of a male torso with cut off arms and head. Just below the gigantic shape's torso it had some sort of round extremity which looked as if the shape was floating on a balloon held firmly in place by numerous white tube like forms. It reminded Ellen of muscle fibres or veins holding on to a ripped out eye even though the whole "creature" was white as a corpse. Ellen lacked the words to say something regarding this abominable thing and Linali also seemed to be in a daze. As a swarm of Akuma passed them in order to get close to the shape, the Chinese' grasp on the younger girl's hand slipped and Ellen once again fell unrestrained, but before any damage could be done Linali had used the ability of her Dark Boots and dashed forwards, grabbing Ellen and landing on a seemingly safe spot on a hill.

"How fast you are!", Ellen commented her rescuer and Linali smiled gently.

"I am sorry for not paying enough attention. Are you alright?", she wondered and Ellen nodded slowly, then she turned towards the landscape they were overlooking, particularly paying attention to the happenings in the sky over the Chinese mountains. They had come a long way from the city, Ellen had no idea where they were, but right now the ghastly creature demanded her full attention.

"Look at this", the girl whispered, ideas of gothic horror tales and monsters sprung to her head at once and she tried to abandon them in light of their current situation. Linali didn't say anything for a while and the two girls saw with surprise that the Akuma attacked the shape.

"The Akuma attack it?! It seems to me as if they had come here to pursue this white creature…", Ellen mused , cold sweat making her hair stick to her forehead. She was afraid to see such a thing, afraid to see more tales of horror spring to life before her eyes. And what could it be? It seemed like a monster, a creature of the Earl, but why were Akuma attacking it? If it was neither human, nor Akuma, then what was it?!

The creature crashed into the mountain because of the numerous attacks. It was very far off but it seemed as if a deformed human body emerged from the hole situated at the place where a human's heart would be beating.

"This is…", Ellen heard Linali whisper breathlessly and then she could distinguish a name "Suman", before Linali fell to her knees, screaming and clutching her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Linali!", Ellen shouted, but her voice was barely audible over Linali's desperate screaming. "Linali! Linali what is wrong with you?!". Ellen kneeled down and attempted to put her arms around Linali, but the Chinese girl's screams died down and all that was left was a hoarse, devastated whisper:

"A Fallen One…". Ellen widened her eyes at this, "He has failed on his way to become an apostle…". Linali had calmed down enough to offer an explanation. "Fallen Ones are humans whose synchronization rate to Innocence is below zero… Incompatibles who desperately try to synchronize with Innocence. Their sin is that they try to synchronize with God without being a chosen apostle…". Ellen listened to her quietly, but a cold feeling had accumulated in the pit of her stomach, spreading slowly but steadily. Linali sobbed, but continued, clutching the fabric of Ellen's uniform for support: "Today they are forbidden, but I've seen those experiments at the Black Order. Experiments that tried to create exorcists. That's why I know these creatures… But... why?!". She lowered her head, staring at the floor helplessly. "Suman was a compatible! How could he become a Fallen One?". Ellen looked up into the sky, thinking the same thing as Linali asked: "What has happened to him?".

They didn't have the liberty to ponder about this for long because the Fallen One had started to charge up an incredible attack, shooting off blasts of blinding white light. Destroying Akuma, mountains, ground, forest. Ellen tried her best to shelter Linali, holding on to her as the force of the attack nearly sent them flying from their place even though they were at quite a distance from the creature.

"What incredible destructive power!", Ellen hissed, "It wiped out a great part of this massive Akuma army in a single instance!". The destruction continued while Ellen still tried to get Linali up on her feet.

"Suman is a compatible of the parasite type, just like you", Linali whispered and Ellen looked at her, "I have heard that his unit has been attacked and that he was declared missing. That so many Akuma have arrived probably means that they know that he's a Fallen One". Ellen barely had time to really listen to her friend as she was busy evading falling rocks, blasts and Akuma debris.

"He has started destroying everything in his surroundings. If he continues like this…", Ellen thought frantically, breathing hard because she always had to pull Linali with her into temporary safety.

"We have to help…", Linali whispered and Ellen turned her head to her in surprise. The look the Chinese girl wore was made up of helplessness and fear, tears trickling down her face. Ellen continued looking at her without saying anything. Now that all around them was in a state of chaos and the sky was flaming red, Ellen had first thought of trying to think about their own safety, but Linali seemed to have little regard for that at the moment. Her sole concern seemed to be the Fallen One.

"I have always asked Hebraska about this experiments. I never got an answer. What has happened to those people that became Fallen Ones?", she sobbed breathlessly, "I don't know". Ellen lowered her eyes. She understood her pain, she knew very well how Linali felt. "I know nothing at all…".

To save someone who has fallen from grace. Who had betrayed God, who had become a monster, only vaguely resembling a human, who had started destroying everything, no matter what it was. Should she really be thinking about saving him? Was it worth it? Ellen clenched her eyes shut. There needs to be a reason why. Why has he become this thing? It was the same for Ellen as for Linali; she knew nothing. Should she just abandon something because she did not know it well enough to judge fairly? She opened her eyes and pulled Linali up on her feet.

"We have to hurry up", she said and Linali looked up at her in surprise, "you want to save Suman, do you not?", Ellen called and Linali nodded. "Then come on now! We should not be wasting time hesitating!". A grateful smile stole its way onto Linali's face and she nodded, activating her boots to fly them over to the gigantic white creature.

They burst through the masses of Akuma unrestrained and found themselves floating just before the Fallen One and then the force of Linali's boots actually helped them reach the body. They landed on the pointed fang like constructions that were circling the spot over the heart where Suman's upper body was sticking out. Ellen shuddered when touching the creature's body, even though this "fangs" and the surface were hard as stone, it actually felt awkwardly organic and alive in a dreadful kind of way.

"Suman!", Linali shouted and reached out to the man, but Ellen stopped her:

"Linali! You better not step into this hole!". The hole seemed to be a semi fluid mass made out of white scales and black substance between them. And in the middle was sticking out something that looked like a corpse. Ellen felt sick studying this Suman, or what was left of him, but she forced herself to be stronger. His skin was white and seemed like it was very tightly pulled over his skeleton, there were veins on his bald head. Ellen saw that Suman had only holes for ears, as if they had been ripped or burned off. His eyes were milky white and unfocused, blood was running down both from his eyes and his mouth. Ellen wondered how such a man could still be saved, but she determined to at least try.

"Suman…?!", Linali called when she didn't receive a reaction from the semi-living corpse. Ellen wondered how she was not shocked by his appearance. Was Suman always looking like this and only she was surprised because she had never seen him before…? She stopped hesitating and reached out her hand to him.

"Let us pull him out!", she said but a loud hissing and rustling noise to her side revealed the head of a young girl bursting out of the scaly mass. She looked over to Ellen, tears streaming out of her black turned eyes. She had scales sticking to her face and her hair, blood stains were visible under her nose and at the corner of her mouth. "Help…", she breathed desperately, "Mama… Where are you…?". Ellen and Linali widened their eyes in horror. "Help…" and the girl was being pulled in again, but this time Ellen just stuck her hand into the hole, grabbing the girl and using all her force to break her free. She had not cared about the consequences in this moment and had not judged the situation before acting. A rash action… In compensation for the loss of the girl, the mass now came alive and grabbed Ellen around the neck, pulling her in. Linali shouted her name and reached out for her. But instead of taking her hand, Ellen just held out the little girl. Linali widened her eyes as if she was shocked that Ellen would make such a decision.

"Take the child!", the white haired girl said while being pulled in and Linali grabbed it just in time before Ellen's hand disappeared. She could still hear Linali screaming, but it sounded as if she was in water. There first was darkness around Ellen, but then she felt like she was being sucked into the deepness of water, bubbles above her and the light of the surface shimmering. Ellen had enough time to register that she was still able to breathe but then a sensation pushed down on her like the weight of water. She grabbed her head and shrieked as thousands of images, sounds, feelings, emotions and sensations came rushing into her head in mere seconds. More and more and she could do nothing but scream at both what she saw and in fear of her head bursting from the overload. She knew that she was seeing glimpses of Suman's past and the weight of his emotions nearly suffocated her.

"Stop it!!! My head is bursting!!! Stooooooooop!!!", Ellen managed to scream but the torrent of pain continued to torment her. Then, among the passing pictures of Suman's anguish and sin she saw a glimpse of something different. She saw a glimpse of the reason why. A little girl, crying, and pronouncing only one word: "Papa". Ellen widened her eyes and the torrent of pictures ripped off, its work done, leaving Ellen exhausted and drifting motionlessly.

But she understood. She knew now what has happened. She knew now why it had to happen. Ellen was talking to herself, her voice faint and hoarse, tears running down her cheeks. She was crying for herself, for Suman and the people he had betrayed:

"Mister Suman… You… You stopped fighting as you saw your friends die and begged the enemy for your life… You have betrayed God and Innocence". Ellen closed her eyes, putting her hands over her them. "But more than that you have betrayed your fellow exorcists and friends. You sold them to your enemy", she sobbed, "is this not worse? It this not far worse?", she asked the liquid darkness around her. She reopened her eyes and looked up. Even though it felt to her as she drifted further down, the shimmering surface was still within view. "However… You have become this creature because the Innocence felt that you have betrayed it, because you ceased to fight. Is that the reason? Is this why you fell?". Ellen didn't receive an answer, neither did she expect one. She was alone in this semi-darkness and it was perfectly still.

Ellen didn't know how long she was left to her own thoughts in this darkness, but it was disrupted by a sudden jolt. Ellen's eyes snapped open and she sat up. It was actually impossible to tell from her place what was happening outside, but somehow she knew.

"This strange feeling…He must have sent off another gigantic eruption. He probably has destroyed countless Akuma with it!". Suddenly the void in which he sat was filled with tormented howling and she shrieked in surprise. It didn't sound human, but mixed into the howling she could also hear Suman's own screams of pain. Ellen looked around herself and could see distorted white faces rushing towards the surface from deep within the creature. She looked up.

"This screaming… Is this lamentation? Is Mister Suman in pain? What is tormenting him?". Ellen stopped and remained in silence until she felt a new power around her. Actually it had been present before, silently looming in the darkness of the void, but now she felt it clearly.

"This destructive power that Mister Suman possesses… This is not normal", she thought uneasily. She recalled the own feeling of her Innocence and this new sensation… It reminded her of something, this uncanny, menacing feeling. Ellen paled as she remembered when she had felt this before; on the night that she killed Mana, the night her Innocence had forcefully used her body and then robbed her hair of its beautiful auburn colour.

"Is the Innocence eating away at his life in order to emit such overwhelming power?", Ellen wondered. Her heart was beating loudly and she could hear the throbbing in her ears. She knew what Linali had told her once: "Innocence shouldn't harm its wielder". Even if this was the case, even if Innocence was good, Ellen knew what was happening and she almost didn't dare speaking it aloud:

"Does the Innocence… Does it want to kill him?!". This knowledge came crashing down on Ellen with immense force and she was unable to move. Punish the sinner. Just like God. Ellen gritted her teeth. Yes, Suman had made a mistake but Ellen had also seen that Innocence lend its strength to murderers. Filip had killed innocent creatures with Innocence. Was this… the will of God?! Ellen couldn't believe it. No! She couldn't accept it!

"Such a thing can't possibly… Stop it…", she whispered, but then she got out of her daze and lifted her left arm. "Stop it, Innocence!!", she shouted into the darkness and invocated. She found it very hard to actually make her Innocence activate in her current prison, but she smashed her partially invocated hand down on the floor. "You must not kill friends!!". The darkness beneath her shattered like glass, the shards flying in all directions and the sudden appearance of light almost blinded her. She dared to open her eyes and in front of her she saw a strange shape. It looked like an arm, no, Ellen was positive that it was an arm. It had some strange armour on it and Ellen knew that this was the Innocence of Suman.

She could only look at it for a short time before the light engulfed her and she was spat out of the creature's inside. Ellen gasped and then she realized where she was. She could see Suman's upper body as she was flying through the air.

"I am out again! It has forced me out…", Ellen thought and looked around her. If she didn't act now then she would die from the fall. She decided to invocate and grab the pointed fangs around the hole. Ellen was pulling herself back towards the hole, landing on one of the fangs, still holding on tightly. "Mister Suman!", she shouted, putting her free hand on his shoulder. He didn't show any signs of having noticed her. "Please pull through! I will get you out of this!!". She tried to pull put Suman started screaming and electricity shot through both of them, nearly making Ellen lose her grip. Just as the pain stopped and Ellen breathed out a sigh of relief, Suman started to cough, spitting out a lot of blood in the process. Ellen shut her eyes when the slick fluid hit her in the face.

"Who…", she heard a hoarse voice and opened her eyes, not daring to wipe the blood out of her eyes. "Who is there? Who is…". Ellen smiled in relief to get a reaction from him.

"Mister Suman!", she said, but he didn't seem to have heard her.

"Be damned", he hissed and Ellen widened her eyes in shock, "damned, damned, damned!", he shouted again and again, repeating the word like some sort of incantation. "God! The apostles! And everyone else! All shall be damned!", he howled, "Damn you all!!".

Ellen was so shocked to hear him say such a thing that she wasn't able to react and just continued staring at him. She stirred when she saw that the Fallen One was rushing forward and that a village came into view.

"A village! Oh no!", she thought and turned back to Suman, who had by now stopped cursing everybody. "Suman! Please stop!!", she begged him, but of course he didn't pay her any attention. She grabbed his upper arm, reaching into the hole again and tried to pull. This only resulted in the same reaction as before; the pain of the electricity that went through Ellen and Suman forced her to withdraw her hand, while Suman shouted and spat more blood.

"Let go of me you goddamn exorcist! Die!", he shouted and Ellen bit her lip. Nobody, especially not one of her allies, had ever told her such a thing and she was deeply shaken and hurt. But she knew that he was not being reasonable and she couldn't stop now.

"I am sorry, but if I do that then you will destroy the village", Ellen said, "I cannot let that happen! Have we not fought to protect humans?!", she shouted but Suman answered by sinking his teeth into Ellen's free hand with a force that made her wince.

"Shut up!", he hissed and bit down harder. Ellen squeezed her eyes shut in pain, but now was not the time to give in.

"Goodness, this power!", she thought but tried to address Suman again, "Please come to your senses! Mister Suman! I will save you from the Innocence!", Ellen declared, "I promise! But please stop! There must not be more victims! You have to fight!", she shouted. He only continued crushing her hand.

"Die!". Ellen gasped from the pain, but she raised her head to look into Suman's face,

"The more you destroy, the more of your life will be eaten away…"

"Die!", Suman repeated, not listening to anything Ellen was saying.

"Mister Suman, I beg you! You must fight against it! I will save you!", she almost begged, tears in her eyes, "You must not die!!". A trembling went through the creature and Suman let go of Ellen's hand to howl:

"SILENCE!!!" and then the creature shot rays of power from the stumps of its arms, destroying what it hit and then crashing into a mountain. The impact made Ellen lose her grip and her bloody right hand lost the hold on Suman. She was shaken off in the process. Ellen shrieked, but still reached out her bloody hand.

"SUMAN!". She was kind of lucky to fall into a river, one that would probably lead to the harbour if she just let the current carry her there, but this was not the time to give up! Ellen climbed back on the river bank and reached out her Innocence hand. She could hear that Suman has reached the village, she had to hurry. But how? How could she reach him now?

"Innocence. I have to rely on you. Please, I need your power, please help me. Just this once! Help me to save him!", she shouted and took a deep shaky breath. The Innocence reacted by glowing and Ellen knew at once what to do. She was frightened because she did not know what would happen but she had to try. "Maximum activation… Open!". The cross of the Innocence reacted and an incredible amount of power went through Ellen's left arm. She lifted it into the sky and the power rushed upwards like a column of light. The strain was painful for Ellen and she screamed, but she continued unleashing whatever her Innocence was ready to give her. The activation was so tremendous that she was able to grab the whole body of the Fallen One with her claw made out of raw power. The Fallen One of course resisted and tried to get away, pulling Ellen forward. But she knew that she could not let go of him now. She could not let him die! It was not her own obligation to Suman which made her so determined. No, she didn't even know Suman, but Linali had begged her to help him. Ellen had seen what has happened, she had experienced his anguish as if she had been the one to live through it. Suman was a human and the Innocence had decided to kill him. She could not let this happen. Hadn't she vowed to protect humans? Hadn't she told Kanda that she didn't want to be a destroyer but a saviour? How could she become someone who could protect and save if she couldn't even save one human being?! Ellen closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, but when she opened her eyes again she was determined enough to pull through.

"I HAVE to save him!". She rushed forward and slammed the body of the Fallen One into the mountain, away from the village. "I will save you". Ellen's breathing went heavy and she was in pain, but she stood her ground.

"Please, Mister Suman! Stop! Please! You mustn't let the Innocence overwhelm you!", she shouted to the unmoving body, "you desperately wished to stay alive, didn't you?!". She didn't know if Suman would hear her this time, but it was her only chance. "I have seen a young girl in your memories. The face of your daughter. It was the last memory you have of her before you went to the Black Order. You did not want to go there, but your daughter was very ill and you needed money for the treatment. So you chose to become an exorcist. You did not want to die", Ellen said and she couldn't help the tears streaming down her face. Oh, she had not wanted to become an exorcist either. She had never wanted to be born with Innocence, she had never wanted to become an apostle of God. Why should she? Since she was little she had been hurt because God gave her this arm. Not only herself, also her mother suffered, her father died, Mana died. No, she would rather be rid of her arm than become a murderer ever again. If she could turn back, if only she could turn her back on this. If only she was weaker, then she wouldn't worry about anything, she would just chose to leave everybody. But she couldn't. She had a responsibility. And she had made promises. Obligation was a heavy burden. To be an exorcist was a heavy burden.

"Oh Suman…", Ellen sobbed, not really sure if she was only crying for his fate or for hers as well. "You did decide to go a way which would forever separate you from your family, but you were full of longing. And you even betrayed your friends to stay alive!". She had seen it, how Suman begged for his life. She heard his words in her ears: I don't want to die. I want to go home. Ellen raised her head and looked up to Suman. "You wanted to stay alive, Suman!!". Ellen didn't see, but Suman did react to it, maybe even without being conscious: tears dripped down his face.

"I have no other choice but to cut off his arm. He will lose his arm but that way I can save his life. I am convinced that he carries the wish to live in his heart. I have no other choice", Ellen thought wiping the tears from her face with her right hand, leaving behinds smears of her blood. Already now she was a mess, but she was determined. "I start now, Innocence!!", she shouted and wanted to unleash even more power, but a sickening sound, just as if something has been torn apart, was to be heard and the column of light disappeared. Ellen widened her eyes and looked at her outstretched arm. I had turned black and it looked as if it has been burned, little pieces of it were breaking off and falling down. She lowered it and looked at her hand in utter disbelief. But then it started to tremble and finally an unbelievable pain shot through her, worse than anything she had ever felt before. She started screaming, holding her hand away from her. New tears welled up in her eyes and blood trickled out of her nose.

"Help!", she shouted because she had no idea what to do, the pain had robbed her of all other senses. What was happening to her? What was her Innocence doing to her?! It felt as if destruction was spreading through her, starting at the back of her hand and working itself painfully through her body, to the tiniest fibre of her existence. Ellen's legs gave way underneath her and she dropped lifelessly to the floor. There was nothing she could do now, she was just exhausted. She could hear that the Fallen One had resumed destroying the village and killing the humans. "S…top… it…!", she begged breathlessly, but she didn't have the strength to get back on her feet.

Only a loud sound got her out of her unconsciousness and she managed to look up. The ground beneath her was shaking and a strong wind had started blowing like a tornado. A light burst from the sky and destroyed the ground, whirling stones up into the sky. Ellen was lying on one of them and when she was high enough to see the creature she gasped.

"Is it… degenerating…? Why… What about Mister Suman…", Ellen hissed and tried to get up. But new pain shot through her and she fell back down onto the rough surface of the stone. She moaned and gasped for breath as her arm continued bringing her unspeakable pain. She turned her face towards it and lifted the palm of her hand up from the ground, looking at it. It was trembling and she could barely move it.

"My arm… is no longer fit to be used… It is so painful… I suffer agonies. I can no longer fight. I can do nothing at all", she thought bitterly and the tears were flowing down her cheeks unrestrained. "How I wish… How I wish that he was here now…", she thought and then she decided to just give in. Give in and give up. She lay there for a few moments, the wind was cold and the stone block on which she was lying trembled, but she did not have the power to do anything at all. If he would just come and save her now… how great that would be… Ellen felt something small hit her and she looked to the side. There, crawling from underneath her hood with his tiny hand on her cheek was Timcampy.

"Sir… Tim…", Ellen said, but before she could continue the golem bit down on her earlobe and she started shrieking. "What…What are you doing?!", she shouted, blood running down her ear, while Timcampy flew just in front of her face. He opened his mouth and hissed, Ellen could see many sharp little teeth and she paled. "What…? You can't possibly be angry at me?", she asked, but Timcampy just opened his mouth wider and continued his hissing threateningly. "Ah! I am sorry! Please excuse me! I have understood!", she shrieked, "I will fight!!". But just after she said that she stopped in surprise and looked at Timcampy, who had now visibly calmed. She smiled painfully. "Ah… Yes, I will fight…", she repeated and wiped her tears. Getting up was very painful and only Timcampy's presence could convince her to go on. Surely, he was not Kanda, but he was still a great help.

-

"Suman!!", Ellen shouted and climbed up the decaying creature. Each time she put pressure on her hands it stung incredibly, but she continued climbing up until she could see Suman.

"Exor…cist…", he said and Ellen arrived at the hole. She managed to smile, happy that Suman finally had regained his senses.

"My name is Ellen", she said. Suman seemed surprised but he smiled at her.

"My life seems to have reached its end. I'm dying", he said and Ellen widened her eyes, "Certainly, this monster will dissolve when I do. Please forgive me. I only wanted to see my family", he said and tears started streaming down his face. "I am so sorry". Ellen lowered her eyes and then she lifted her Innocence arm. A sound as if something had been torn apart, but still. She thought that it didn't matter. There was not much left of her hand, but Ellen knew that she had enough strength left to save him.

"Mister Suman! I will use my Innocence to cut off your arm. I will be able to pull you out of this hole. My right arm is hurt, I cannot use it. Just bite my hand", she said and held her hand out to him. Suman looked up at her in surprise. What he saw in front of him was a beautiful girl, with determination shining in her eyes. Her face might be bloody, her clothes torn and her hair stained a dark red, but she seemed even more beautiful this way. "By no means do you have to let go of me!", she told him.

"Ellen… Walker…", Suman said and Ellen smiled at him, then she pushed her Innocence hand into the hole, reaching out for the Innocence. She felt its power and when she touched the barrier around it with her fingertips new pain shot through her. She screamed and Suman looked at her in concern.

"Ah… Please stop! If you don't you will die as well!", he shouted, but Ellen didn't let go, "Please! Please! I have killed! Our friends, many people… It is enough!!". Ellen didn't listen to him and held out her trembling hand.

"I… am still alive. You do not deserve to die. I… I want you to be happy…", she said and her own honest tears surprised and pained Suman. But how could he refuse her outstretched hand? She offered him life and salvation. How could he deny it to himself? Of course, he was a coward and he would have to deal with his sins. But right now… Suman bit down on her hand.

"I want to live… I want to live!!", he said and it was all Ellen needed to hear. She smashed the barrier around Suman's Innocence and when a blinding white light engulfed them she was putting all her strength in pulling Suman out of certain death. A huge explosion followed and the last thing Ellen saw was how the remains of the creature vanished in white light, killing the remaining Akuma and turning the red-tinted sky back to a clear night sky.

-

Everything was peaceful around her. Ellen was woken up by Timcampy's fluttering wings and the rustling of leaves. She lifted her hand from the bamboo leaves covered ground, some of them still stinking to her wet face. It seemed at if she had landed in some bamboo grove, the trees and the leaf covered floor probably had stopped her fall enough to prevent any serious injuries. Night had fallen, Ellen had spent a whole day trying to save Suman. After this realisation, Ellen gave a start and looked around. Where was Suman?! The moon was bright enough to illuminate her surroundings and in the shadows in some distance she could see Suman sitting. His arm was missing but he seemed unhurt.

"Mister Suman…?", Ellen asked into the silence, but he did not give a reply. Not sensing that anything could be wrong, Ellen smiled in relief and sat up, her bruised right hand trembling as she put weight on it. She held her left upper arm as she slowly advanced on her knees. "Suman! You are alive! You are safe!", she said when she was close enough to him to put her hand on his shoulder. "this is wonderful! You no longer need to…". Ellen stopped when she didn't receive a reaction. When she had put his hand on his shoulder his body had swayed slightly. "Suman? What is the matter? Please, say something", Ellen said, worry spreading in her. "Suman". But he did not hear her, he did not see her, he did not reply to her. His eyes were unfocused and saliva was dribbling out of his mouth. Ellen widened her eyes in shock and despair. No soul.

"He is alive… But his soul has died…", Ellen whispered and then she felt something in the palm of her Innocence hand. She opened it with dread and saw Suman's Innocence in her trembling palm. She stared at it and narrowed her eyes. She did not know what the feeling right now was. Rage? Hate? Pain? Despair?

"Why…", Ellen whispered, "WHY?!!", she then screamed and banged her fists on the floor, not minding the pain. She stayed this way, hunched over, not even crying. This situation was so painful, she felt so helpless. What should she be doing now?

"Timcampy", Ellen finally said, "call Linali and the others. He is not dead. He is alive", she sat up on her knees and looked at Suman's unmoving body. "We have to return him to his family". Just when she said that, swellings spread all over Suman's body and before Ellen could wonder about it Suman's upper body exploded. Ellen just stared in disbelief at the gory mass before her. Blood sprinkled her face and body parts fell to the floor with sickening wet, heavy sounds. And among the nothingness that Ellen was experiencing in her head she heard a voice:

"Bye bye, Suman!"

-

Ellen couldn't quite grasp what just had happened. She only saw a bloody mass in front of her.
"Su… man…", she said, speaking to the bloody remains of someone who had just lived and breathed mere seconds ago. The shock had slowed everything down, but she knew that something was terribly wrong here. She reacted to the deep, rich voice that had been carried to her with the wind only now. She felt the strangers looming presence behind her. She knew that she had to be alert now, that she was in danger, but these thoughts were far off. She slowly turned her head to the side. The moon illuminated the figure of a tall and handsome man in a black frock. His face was partially shadowed by his top hat, but Ellen saw his golden eyes gleaming and his calm smile seemed to conceal his murderous intent even the novice exorcist could feel. Ellen still looked at him, not knowing what to do of his appearance, but then she took in his features. She had seen him before, he was strangely familiar to her, but… how? Before her memory could disclose the whole truth she was reminded of the things she had seen inside the Fallen One's body. Suman's memory. The murderer. And her heart finally started beating in alarm. She widened her eyes and turned her body slightly in his direction, never turning her back to Suman's corpse. There was only one thing she was able to say:

"No…ah!". The Noah smiled, not replying. He had his hands lifted, palms turned upwards as if he was a circus manager getting ready to display some attraction.

"Come to me, Tease!", he spoke and Ellen was confused. Who was he talking to? Not possibly to her. Had she been up to it, she would have felt scandalized to be called a "tease", but at the moment she could do nothing but stare at him. A rustling noise to her side made her turn her head to Suman where she saw a single black and purple butterfly floating in front of her, but then more and more appeared, seemingly coming out of Suman's blood and body. Ellen widened her eyes. "These things come out of his body!", she thought when a mass of them had accumulated, covering Suman entirely, "what is this?!"

"Come here", the enigmatic man said and the butterflies suddenly flew past Ellen to the stranger, where they disappeared in the palms of his hands. When they were gone nothing was left of Suman but dark blood staining the floor. The man grinned and looked at his hand.

"Look at this. How big they've become", he said and Ellen saw how huge butterflies with strange faces came out of his hands. He put a kiss on one of the skull butterflies and grinned. "Bye, bye Suman", he repeated and finally, Ellen recovered.

"Who are you…?!", she hissed, trembling, "what have you done?!". The man looked at her, but then his grin slipped and he stared.

"Ah!", he exclaimed, the butterflies disappearing. He took a step in Ellen's direction and bend down, lifting his top hat so he could see her better. "Aren't you… The cheating boy A?!". Ellen stared at him.

"Huh?", was all that she could reply to this. The man got over his surprise and laughed, crouching down next to her.

"Ah right, I see. In this getup you don't know me", he said, "but tell me. Could it be that you are Allen Walker?". Ellen paled and rage took hold of her. She slammed her Innocence hand against the side of his face, hitting him with the back of her hand. It probably took him by surprise, because he didn't react fast enough and lost his top hat in the process. His dark coloured cheek quickly turned red.

"Stop this nonsense!", Ellen yelled, "What have you done to Mister Suman?! Have you killed him?!". Her Innocence hand, broken and painful, trembled, but she didn't care at the moment. "Answer me!!", she demanded. The stranger laughed, holding his hurting cheek. Then he just sat down in a casual way, smiling innocently.

"He was my enemy. And one kills enemies, right?", he asked. Ellen didn't say anything to this. "Fine!", he exclaim in good spirits, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. "You've seen what I'm able to do. You won't run away, so there's no harm in explaining. Well, boy. Listen carefully". He blew out the smoke while Ellen trembled.

"Damn!", she thought, "At the moment I cannot use my body to fight. If only I were a bit stronger… A bit stronger", she thought, gritting her teeth. The man continued speaking, but Ellen was not listening to him. She only heard that these Tease were golems feeding on humans and that they were merely tools.

"My ability… is this here!", he exclaimed and then pierced Ellen's chest with his hand. She looked down, seeing how his arm disappeared in her. "Don't worry! This doesn't hurt!", he said, grinning. "My body passes everything except what I want to touch", he said and Ellen could feel the strange, but invading sensation of him pulling his hand out. It was grotesque to feel it, but she did not dare to move. "If, while pulling out my hand, I wished to touch your heart, boy…", he said calmly, "then I could, without a single cut… Pull your warm heart out of your body". Ellen widened her eyes in shock, her heart starting to beat loudly and fast. She was aware of his presence, of his hand inside of her chest, his dangerous glare, the fingers closing around her delicate heart. "To rip out the heart while you're still alive. What do you think, how does this feel?", he asked and Ellen trembled. "Your friends died liked this as well. Will you die too? Boy?", he asked, pulling lightly at her heart. Ellen breathed evenly and the man looked up just to see her look at him with steady, clear eyes. Of course, she was afraid, but she couldn't panic now! She was a noble woman, she would not give her enemy the satisfaction of seeing her reduced to tears. She had her honour as well, but why she thought of that right now was not clear to her. She just did, and it made her face him with dignity and determination. He gaped at her for some time, but then he sighed.

"Spoilsport", he said and stood up, pulling his hand out of her chest without doing any harm. "I won't take it out. It would only soil my gloves. That's why I normally let my Tease eat my victims. Suman helped me a bit. That's why I haven't killed him immediately, but made him into a host for my Tease". He flicked his cigarette away and touched his forehead with a sigh. "It is really a pity, boy", he said and pulled out a card that floated in front of him. "I would have liked to play cards with you again when I'm in my other form", he said and Ellen looked at him in incomprehension. "But right now I'm busy with killing the people that are connected with a certain person. Well, boy", he said and smiled, "are you Allen Walker?".

"What is he talking about? Why is he looking for me? And why for Allen Walker and not Ellen Bermont?!", Ellen thought and kept quiet. The man then put his hand around Ellen's throat, pulling her up slightly.

"Answer me, boy! Are you Allen Walker?!"

"Riiiiiiight answeeeeer", a faint voice croaked from the card, "He iiiiis Alleeeen Walkeeer! Eraaaaaaase!". Ellen was pushed backwards by the hand on her throat and then the man touched her upper arm, where her Innocence connected to her skin. With seemingly no effort he smashed the already bruised skin and Ellen had to see how her arm was cut off and dropped to the floor.

"Well, shall we start with the Innocence?". He let Ellen go and she dropped to the floor, lying on her back. With wide eyes she looked at what was left of her arm. "Did you know, boy? Innocence can be destroyed. We from the Noah Clan and the Earl of Millennium know how to do it", he said and walked over to her arm. The severed arm emitted fog, as if it was burning.

"Stop it…", Ellen said breathlessly.

"The Innocence that we have collected from the dead has already been destroyed. If we destroy the Heart, then all the other pieces will be destroyed as well! That's how we know that we've found the right one. Let's have a look at your Innocence", he said and looked over his shoulder. "There! That's Suman's Innocence, right?", he asked and pointed to the Innocence lying next to Ellen. "If Suman's Innocence disappears when I destroy yours then that means that your Innocence was the Heart". He grinned evilly and bent down to her arm. Ellen gave a startled cry.

"No! Stop!". She saw how her own hand dissolved under the stranger's touch and could do nothing but scream: "STOOOOP!!". But the Noah did not stop and after some seconds he had the green cross in the palm of his hand. He closed his fist around it and sparkling light surrounded his hand. Ellen stared at him and when he opened his hand, silver dust trickled out of his hand. It was immediately caught by the wind and was lost just like ash. Ellen let out a shuddering breath. Her Innocence. It was gone.

"Nothing, again! Oh well, it's not my mission to find the Heart", Ellen could hear the Noah say and he walked over to her.

"Ereaaaaaase!", the card wailed.

"Yes, yes. I'm at it!".

"Tim… Flee", Ellen said as the man walked over to her. "Take Suman's Innocence and go!". The golden golem shook from side to side, which probably meant "no", but Ellen was stubborn. "You have to! Without you, the others cannot find my Master. Go!". Timcampy looked at her for some time, but then he opened his mouth and swallowed the Innocence, then he rushed off.

"A good decision", the Noah said, then he walked over to Ellen, "it won't save you though, you know". Ellen didn't say anything and just looked up into the sky. "How noble you are. I should reward you", the Noah continued mockingly and kneeled down next to Ellen. He had one of his huge butterflies under his palm and slowly lowered it to Ellen's chest. "Just make a hole in his heart!", he exclaimed, but Ellen heard it only faintly. A hole? Was she going to die now? Was this… "It's better if we give such a brave young guy some time before he really dies. This way he can feel how the blood gushed out of his heart and fear takes hold of his entire body". What was he… Ellen didn't get the time to panic, because right then the man pushed his hand through her chest and she gasped. She coughed blood and then she let her head fall back. She could faintly feel how he pulled a silver button from her chest and then he pulled something out of her coat.

"Sweet dreams… Boy!", he said, leaving Ellen to her death while the playing cards that she had received from the charming vagabond were fluttering around her. Ellen didn't hear how he left, she didn't feel any pain, she didn't cry or scream. She was taking deep, laboured breaths as she felt her body going numb. She lifted her trembling hand to the sky. It was dark blue, with only a few clouds and then there was the moon. So big and near that Ellen could almost reach it with her outstretched hand.

"Why…", she thought, "why is the moon looking so big?". With half-closed, pained eyes she studied at it. It was coming closer, it was the only thing she saw, everything else was becoming blurry. It was the moon, why was it so terrifying, why was she so afraid of it coming closer? It was only the moon, or was it something else? "No… Stay away… I cannot… not yet… Not yet…". Everything around her lost colour and she fell into cold darkness.

To be continued

Notes:

That was hard to write...