Author's Notes:

Another weekend, another chapter!

For those following the English version of the Manga (and haven't read on or seen the Anime); I'm at volume 15 now, so there will be SPOILERS. Just wanted to say that to be on the safe side. :3

I decided to separate the battle into two chapters and this one is rather short, despite covering nearly all of volume 15 *lol*. Allen wasn't in that many scenes though...

See note at the end of the chapter!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

-

Kapitel 50: Fear

That familiar feeling took hold of her again just when she thought that she would be strong enough to overcome it. Fear. But this was different, a different kind of dread, a different kind of horror. It was not the fear she had of marriage, of motherhood, of facing her disapproving relatives or of being forced to see fault in those she loved. No, this was what she had come to know as the fear of the battlefield. But this was the Black Order! This was home! This shouldn't be happening!

Ellen could trace the Akuma to the laboratory containing the egg, which was in itself very bad news because of the many people currently working there. However, even worse was the sight that presented itself to Ellen when she finally arrived at her destination. The usually open entry to the laboratory was completely closed off by something black, like a wall that had been raised.

"The entry is sealed!" Rabi shouted in shock and Ellen finally realized that he, Bookman and Link had followed her after she had blindly rushed off.

"What is this black wall?" Link asked but Rabi didn't attempt to give an answer. He grabbed the no entry sign and slammed it against the wall, but he didn't even manage to scratch the wall.

"Damn! It's no use!" Rabi hissed in agitation.

"Rabi! Out of the way!" Ellen told him and then she, along with Bookman, invocated to try it with an Innocence based attack, but while they managed to destroy part of the floor, the wall took no harm at all. Ellen stared at the black wall, that one barrier that separated them from those who were trapped inside. A nauseating feeling of powerlessness overcame her and she had to bite her lips to not start screaming in frustration. Meanwhile Link pressed his ear to the wall to try to make out what was happening behind it.

"It's to no avail. Absolutely no sound is to be heard. Are they after the Akuma egg?"

"Mr. Wenham and the people of the science division are inside the laboratory!" Ellen shouted. She cared nothing about the Akuma egg, all she wanted was to ensure the safety of those inside. "I have to find a way to destroy that wall!"

"Ellen, wait!" Link shouted before Ellen could waste her power on the futile attempt to destroy the wall. "Follow me!" Ellen looked at him in wonder, but when he started running away, she promptly followed him.

"Ah! Ellen! Wait a moment!" Rabi shouted after her, "damn! Gramps! Let's go!" Bookman nodded and they followed the other two. "Two-spots! You're planning to let her use the Ark, aren't you?!" Link snorted when he heard the insulting nick-name, but he nodded and they arrived at the hall where the Ark was stationed.

"Of course!" Ellen called in surprise but also relief, "that will work!". But before Ellen could climb into the Ark, Rabi seized her arm.

"Ellen! Ellen just wait a moment! You can't go in there all alone!"

"I am not alone, Bookman will come with me!" she argued and Bookman nodded, but Rabi just strengthened the grip on her arm. "Let go of me, Rabi! I must go! You have no Innocence, you stand no chance at the moment!"

"I know! Damn it, I know! But how could you two possibly stand a chance against all of them?! Let's keep a clear head! Let us first inform Komui and ask for reinforcements!"

"No! They need assistance now!" Ellen shouted and wanted to get free, but Rabi was relentless.

"Ellen!" Rabi countered, but Link intervened and tore Rabi's hand away from her arm with surprising strength.

"Bookman Junior. This woman is an exorcist and she is able to fight. It is her mission to go to fight now. You however will be charged with informing the order of the attack. This is not the right moment to fight over this."

"But-", Rabi argued, clenching his fists. Link looked at him sternly.

"Pregnancy does not give her a special status, it does not exclude her from her duties as an exorcist. It is not your decision to make," he told him and Rabi glared at the floor.

"Very well," he said through clenched teeth. He heard how Ellen sighed and then both she and Bookman jumped into the gate of the Ark. Link huffed, then he let go of Rabi's arm and swiftly walked away, leaving Rabi standing in the hall all on his own. He too knew the taste of powerlessness. But he had no other choice but to do the little things he could. Right now it was not in his power to protect Ellen, but at least he could do his part to warn the order of the surprise attack.

-

"There will be many Akuma, can you handle it?" Bookman asked while Ellen was trying to open a gate to the laboratory.

"I will to the best of my abilities. It is not my place to be afraid of the harm that could befall me when there are many people depending on my strength," Ellen told him and Bookman nodded in approval.
"I will guard your back until reinforcements arrive," Bookman told her and Ellen thanked him. Then she opened the gate to massacre. There was no time to hesitate now and Ellen had to push her fears away. With her arm turned into a sword she descended into the laboratory, right into the midst of the one-sided battle.

"E…Ellen," River called when she saved him from a being Ellen had seen her master disguised as before, but she did not know what it was and neither did she care.

"I am sorry for being late," Ellen said, then she looked around, seeing the bodies of scientists, injured people, enemies, countless level three Akuma. She hissed at the scene that lay before her, but then she raised her voice. "I will not allow you to continue!" Bookman landed next to her and as if her voice had caused an avalanche, all the Akuma came rushing towards her, ready to fight and kill. However, now that Ellen was inside the laboratory, a sort of calm and preparedness for battle had seized her. She was not afraid to fight.

-

A battle with that many foes was very hectic and even though Ellen was confident and continued slashing Akuma after Akuma, she also had the feeling that time was running out. Such a large scale attack, confined solely to the laboratory where the Egg was being examined, probably served to deter any exorcists long enough so that the enemy could work properly. But Ellen didn't even see exactly who her enemy was, she was sure though that a human was standing next to the egg – a human in a white coat similar to Komui's.

"Don't get distracted, brat!" Bookman advised Ellen as she was nearly hit by an Akuma thanks to focussing on the egg, "there are more important things to worry about at the moment!" Ellen looked at him with a puzzled expression but through the noise of the Akuma she could hear screaming as well. "These things called Skulls," Bookman said, fending off Akuma so that Ellen had enough time to listen to his assessment of the situation, "they are servants of the Earl and it seems that they came here to get new allies. They turn certain members of the science division into their kind. Unless we can stop the Akuma we will not be able to avoid further losses on our side!" Ellen stared at him. "So don't get distracted more than you already are!" The white haired girl shook her head in frustration, but she tried to listen to his words because she couldn't get through to the floor where the scientists and skulls were anyway. She first had to destroy the Akuma blocking her path. This in itself wasn't that difficult, but their numbers were huge and Ellen felt that she soon got short of breath. However, suddenly there was a hole in the Akumas' formation and she could plainly see a Skull processing to turn a human into a monster.

"Stop that!" Ellen shouted and rushed to them, even though Bookman called out to her, warning her. Before she could reach the skull, her blade out stretched, a group of Akuma appeared shielding the Skull from attack. They grabbed Ellen and slammed her into the wall. Ellen gasped, but she could soon break free of them. But as soon as they were gone another Akuma appeared, taking advantage of her moment of exhaustion and pain. It grabbed her head, but before it could attack her, Bookman's own counter-attack saved her.
"Was I fast enough?" Ellen heard Bookman call and she nodded.

"Yes! Thank you! Sorry for not-," she called out to him, but then she froze, seeing the state he was in; the old man was immobilized by an Akuma's attack, his body being slowly covered by a layer of stone. "Bookman!"

"Heh… That's it for me. I got into an Akuma's attack… I cannot move anymore," he told her and Ellen lost no time to go to save him. However, the exorcist didn't get very far, as a head of a gigantic Akuma, formed out of many level 3, appeared right next to her and slammed into the ground she was running on. Ellen stumbled and before she could get a hold of herself again, a group of Akuma seized her, exposing her to the face of the giant. It opened its mouth and fired an attack and because Ellen was confined, she could not evade it. The shock of the attack and the sudden pain nearly made her lose consciousness, but she felt a strange sensation inside of her that urged her to stay awake and upon raising her eyes just a little bit she could make out the person that had been standing by the egg. It was a woman, dark skinned, staring down at her with golden eyes. A Noah…! Ellen glared at her and wanted to muster the strength she had left to slash her with her sword, but the Noah was faster, hitting her. "There is no need to kill her. She received the power of the 14th. Let us bring her home to the Earl," she heard the Noah say. And everything went black.

-

Even though nothing from the massacre going on within the confined space of laboratory five was to be felt in the rest of the order, the information had been properly delivered by Rabi. Now the entire order was in a state of chaos, trying to prepare a counter-attack and protective barriers. Kanda however, was trying his best not to take notice of anything around him as he ran through the many corridors, past finders, past guards, past scientists. He knew exactly that Ellen had rushed into the fight, like she always does. Who else but her would have been able to notice the Akuma's attack without actually being in the laboratory? Kanda had no idea who was there to assist his wife, but the thought of her facing a gigantic army of Akuma nearly all on her own set fire to his insides. He should have stayed with her! The fear of losing her was very present at the moment even though he knew that she was not weak. But what would two exorcists be able to do against that many Akuma? Exorcists were only human after all, they would get exhausted and wounded. Kanda tried to push these thoughts away, because with his dread of losing Ellen a second time, he almost couldn't think straight any longer.

"That idiot! That idiot! I told her not to rush into battles!" Kanda shouted to himself, but then he stopped his running when he saw inspector Link walking down a flight of stairs. "Oi! Where's Ellen?!" Link looked up and studied Kanda sternly.

"She is fighting in laboratory five," he calmly informed him and Kanda lashed out to grab Link's collar.

"You-"

"It was her own decision to go there," Link said, interrupting a flood of curses addressed at his person. Kanda glared at Link, but he let go of him again.

"You could have stopped her! Aren't you charged with keeping an eye on her?! I doubt Leverrier has an interest in seeing the corpse of a family member!" he shouted but Link just glared at him. On one hand it annoyed Kanda to see Link show him such an uncaring face, but on the other hand it also made him cool down a bit.

"He does not want her to die that is true. But the fact that she is an exorcist cannot be revered now. What she has to do is hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive and to reduce the damage done to the scientists." Link stepped away from Kanda, turning around. "The price to keep your wife save would have been the blood of many scientists. I doubt you would be willing to take that charge upon you for such selfish reasons," he said and Kanda clenched his hands into fists. Link looked over his shoulder, studying Kanda. "Pardon my way of putting it, Yu Kanda, but without Innocence you are quite useless as an exorcist. For the moment you have no more power than a civilian and civilians do not belong on a battlefield." For this remark Kanda wanted to beat Link up, but he contained himself because he was right to some extend. He had no Innocence at the moment, that was true and if he rushed to Ellen's side as he was right now he would only be a burden to her. That thought left a bitter taste, but Kanda knew that he was in fact not useless. There were things he could do as well. He was not a mere human.

"Oi, inspector," Kanda called and Link turned around again to look at him, "where are you heading?"

"To laboratory five. I have my duties."

"I have mine as well," Kanda said and glared at Link, "and I hate to ask it of you, but protect Ellen from harm to the best of your abilities." Link nodded sharply, then he turned around and rushed away, probably to where the entrance of the Ark was. Kanda hissed in irritation, but then he looked at his hand. Without Mugen in his palm he was indeed weaker, but it wasn't true that it rendered him absolutely powerless. He had abilities other humans didn't have, so he just had to rely on them and protect what for him and Ellen had become home. No matter the cost.

-

There was a faint whispering in her head. A constant gentle hiss surrounding her like fog, pushing at her consciousness. Ellen. Ellen. The constant calling of her name, but she could not respond. Her arms seemed to be trapped, her whole body hurt and she was caught in a dream-like state. But the whispers continued, even though there were occasional louder screams. Screams that urged her to wake up and to move. But somehow that constant whispering was far more tempting. Come on, wake up, wake up Ellen. Ellen wanted to open her eyes, but-

"Ellen! Ellen get up!" Her eyes snapped open and she took a shocked breath. But before she could think properly, she felt the strong arms of the level three Akuma holding her and the strange sensation of sinking into something. The egg! The laboratory! The hem of her coat, sharp like a sword, extended and slashed the Akuma that were holding her. Ellen took a few deep breaths and looked to her side, where she spotted some of the scientists, who apparently had tried their best to avoid her being pulled into that gate the Noah had disappeared in even further by erecting a barrier.

"Thank you," she whispered, but then she felt something move beneath her feet and suddenly the egg was being pulled back out of the black hole. Ellen could see Mari, with Miranda sitting on his shoulder, joining her.

"Miranda! Mari!" she called in surprise and saw Miranda smile at her. Apparently Miranda had reversed the time of the egg, snatching it back from the enemy.

"Quite convenient to ride the Ark, isn't it?" Ellen widened her eyes when she head that voice and suddenly the four generals where there as well. "You did well enough, brat. Now let the adults do the work!" With this the generals rushed off, each of them starting to fight with such a power that Ellen could only stare.

"Ellen, take care of the scientists," Mari said, letting Miranda down, and Ellen looked at him in surprise, but then she rushed off to protect River, Bookman and a part of his team, while Mari and Miranda kept close to the egg. Once the Akuma were taken care of, she helped Bookman to get free.

"You are still fine?"

"Yes… But look at that, those Generals take good care of the remaining Akuma," he said and Ellen looked towards the centre of the hall. The situation had changed really quickly, when she had arrived it was a very one-sided battle with the exorcists being overpowered by the Akuma. But now… The only word that Ellen could come up with was massacre. Quickly and effortlessly, three of the generals took care of the Akuma while Tiedoll protected all the injured scientists. Watching the generals slaughter the Akuma filled Ellen with a very uneasy, almost nauseating feeling.

"You're quite pale, Ellen. Maybe this was too much," River asked and Bookman reached out his hand to feel Ellen's forehead.

"Hm. She seems fine though. Just a bit short of breath…" Ellen smiled and shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong," she reassured them and looked back to the scene of massacre. The state of her body wasn't troubling her that much, but the uneasiness just didn't leave her alone. An anxiety was in her body and she had the feeling that the massacre wasn't over yet, even though it seemed as if the generals had taken care of all the Akuma. She rubbed her left eye when it suddenly hurt shortly.

"Hm? What's that? A faint signal?" Ellen wondered to herself, but in all the bodies of the Akuma it was too hard to say whether something still moved. Next to that some sort of gas exited the debris left from the various giant Akuma. The people around her started coughing and rubbing their eyes.

"Watch out, the gas is poisonous," Bookman said, then he turned to Ellen, "you should be fine because you're parasitic. But maybe we should still move to a higher spot," he advised and Ellen nodded.

"No. I'll stay behind," River said and Ellen looked at him in surprise, "some members of my team have been turned to Skulls. They have taken them to a different gate of their Ark. Maybe I can still save them," he said. Ellen frowned, but she nodded.

"If that is the case, then I will come with you, should you need protection," Ellen said and helped River get to his feet.

"Thank you, Ellen," he replied with a smile. Before they got very far though, Ellen heard sudden screaming.

"What's happening there?!" Ellen shouted and all looked towards where the Akuma egg was. Some strange creature, resembling a giant woman, sat on top of the egg.

"The Noah is back! Ellen, don't care about us! We'll manage on our own! Assist them!" River urged and Ellen nodded. It was hard to say what was really happening at the far end of the hall, but Ellen tried her best to get there as fast as possible. Apparently the Noah had seized Miranda, stopping her invocation so that the Egg slowly slipped back into the enemy's possession. What was most unsettling though was that it appeared as if the generals were ready to sacrifice Miranda in order to destroy the Akuma egg. Ellen clenched her teeth and arrived in time to shelter Miranda from the force of the attack. She felt how they sunk into the darkness as they were pulled into the gate of the enemy's Ark and she also felt the surface of the egg underneath her pulsating, quivering and breaking. She looked at the pale face of Miranda and balled her fists, the hem of her coat digging into the surface of the egg. If the generals wanted to destroy this already damaged tool, then she would just do this now. Ellen heard the female Noah say something and lifted the coat that was covering her and Miranda so that she could look at her.

"You?! Stop! Do not harm the egg any further, or it will be destroyed," she shouted but Ellen just turned her gaze towards the surface of the egg. One hand held on to Miranda and the fingers of the other hand dug into the surface of the egg. "No! Stop that! Ellen Walker!!!" The girl had no intention to listen and with a last bang of her hand the Egg burst underneath her. The loud wail of anguish coming from the female Noah was the last thing that Ellen heard before she jumped back out of the gate. She took a deep breath, coughing a little and then she fixed a furious glare at her master.

"How despicable to shoot despite the danger that could befall Miranda," she hissed but Cross just laughed.

"Oh I knew you'd make it in time, you brat," he said and Ellen snorted. But more important than being angry at Cross was to take Miranda to where Bookman and Mari were.

"She's only unconscious," Bookman said and Mari sighed in relief.

"I have to go back to Mr. Wenham," Ellen said and already wanted to run off again, but suddenly her cursed eye activated and she stopped. Somewhere in this room, something was still alive. Ellen could hear it laughing. Feelings of dread washed over her once again and before anybody could stop her she ran to where River and the other's were. She saw Johnny lying on the floor already from a distance and when she stopped in front of him, words failed her. With wide eyes she beheld once again a massacre. The distorted remains of a slaughtered gigantic Akuma lay some meters ahead of her. Ugly, twisted and covered in blood it presented itself to her and between her and it the floor was painted in splatters of dark, oily blood. And like dead soldiers on a battle-field River, Bak and a few members of the science division lay in their own little puddles of scarlet blood. Ellen couldn't dare to move, to speak, take her eyes of the scene or even breathe, as if doing any of those things would make the nightmare continue. There was more, Ellen knew, even more pain than that waiting for her.

"E… Ellen… Ellen…," came a breathless voice and she stared at the monstrosity before her, where one of the scientists of River's team, was caught in the bloody mass, hanging upside down. With the last of his strength he raised his hand and pointed upwards. "E… evolved… It evolved. S… sorry… We could not… stop it." Ellen just stared at him, watched in horror how his skin turned black from the spread of the Akuma's curse and then, after mere moments, he crumbled to dust. The young exorcist was chilled to the bones, but she could still not form any coherent thoughts or even just one sound. Slowly, as if she was merely in a dream – a nightmare, but not reality – she lifted her eyes to see what he had pointed at. And out of the remains of the giant Akuma, out of twisted legs and arms of the level three Akuma it was made of, the body of a naked woman had appeared. Her legs stuck in the thing she had been born of, but her upper body had dropped backwards, her arms and hair hanging down lifelessly. And her stomach, previously round, had been smashed open like the shell of an egg. Ellen stared at it and as the laughing she had heard before appeared again, ringing in her head, she turned her eyes to the side where from behind the remains of the Akuma and that woman appeared a small hand. And then a face and then the entire body. And it spoke:

"I am on level four!"

The massacre will continue.

-

Notes:

It's a bit different than what happened in the volume, but apart from not following it exactly, there are a few short scenes added. I hope the reading flow was fine, despite having a lot of scene breaks. And like I said; the massacre will be continued in the next chapter!

And now the promised note: I'll have my BA exam (plus the usual exams for a few lecture courses) in less than two months, so my time to write is restricted. I'll still try to update, but I'm sorry if it takes it's time (or more time than usually). Just thought I'd warn you, but I'm not the kind of person who studies all of the time ;3