Author's Notes:

I realized pretty fast that I stopped the story at a bad place! It was really hard to write the beginning of this chapter! Overall, it was a quite difficult chapter, especially as most of it is fighting and I wasn't able to include many "new" scenes… I can't say that I'm all too happy with it (and my editing probably wasn't that good, so I apologize in advance)... Anyway, I'm really glad that the massacre is over with this chapter! My prediction that I'd take two chapters wasn't that bad!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 51: Darkness and Destruction

Darkness seeped into the white of Ellen's field of vision. While everything had narrowed down to a foggy mass of faded colours around her, the appearance of the monstrosity in front of Ellen brought reality back with merciless harshness. The ground was shaking slightly under Ellen's feet, a constant vibrating and humming that made her unaware of her own trembling. Next to the white and black were brutally crisp colours of vibrant red puddles of blood and of the Akuma's oily black fluid splattered over silver metal. This reality, clear in front of Ellen's eyes, created a chaos in the girl's mind. Such a thing could not exist. Such slaughter could not happen. Not in her home. Not in reality. But there it was, that white creature floating in the air not far away from where she was standing. Ellen stared at it; it was childlike and with its wings it mockingly resembled an angel. Slowly Ellen's eyes travelled upwards even though she tried her best to not direct her gaze to that darkness floating over the level four. She had seen many gruesome things in these few months after Mana's death; the agonies of souls that only she seemed to be able to see. She had become used to it, she had even been able to stay calm in the face of the messed up state a soul chained to a level three was in. But this…! Only a short gaze froze Ellen to her very core, sending pain and nausea though her body. She dropped to her knees and threw up, her body shaking violently. Ellen couldn't take the sight and she couldn't take the images that came to her head when she looked at the child-like form of the Akuma. Tears shot to her eyes and she wasn't able to keep herself from crying bitterly. She tried to stop sobbing, but she just could not manage. She felt the Akuma coming closer, the looming darkness connected to it made her shiver.

"Are you crying?" it asked innocently, standing a mere arm's length away from the girl. It didn't attack her, but merely gazed at Ellen with a calm, slightly curious expression. Ellen couldn't give it an answer and she didn't dare to look at it again. Could she fight against something like that? The pitiful state the soul was in; what was there still left to protect? If she managed to defeat that Akuma, then what would happen to a soul this ripped apart? She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to fight this thing!

A hand was gently put on top of her trembling claw and Ellen looked to the side. When she blinked a few tears away she could see Johnny lying on the floor, blood covered and crying. Apparently he had crawled up to her with the last bit of his strength.

"Ellen… I am sorry…! I'm so sorry! Help them! Help the others!" His trembling fingers pressed against Ellen's claw, begging for help. "Help them! I am so sorry! Please! Help! Help…" Ellen looked at him, her tears still running down her face. But Johnny's plea reminded her of what had happened to the scientists. And even if maybe she stood no chance and even if maybe she could no longer save the Akuma's souls, she needed to protect her home and the people living inside of it. She lifted her other hand and placed it over Johnny's. She spoke no words, but she was grateful to him.

"The others? Who are they?" the Akuma asked. Ellen gritted her teeth, but then she stood up, transforming her arm into a sword to face the Akuma.

"I will destroy you, level four!" she shouted and slammed the sword against it. The Akuma blocked with its arm, looking at Ellen with wide eyes. Ellen tried to force it away from the other people by constantly slashing at it, passing Miranda, Bookman and Mari. The Akuma blocked the attacks, but then it stopped, pointing with its finger at its forehead.

"Ah yes! I almost forgot. We are at the Black Order's headquarters!" it said. Ellen glared at it, but then she turned around to where Bookman and the others were.

"Bookman! There are injured people! Please help them!" she called, then she turned back to the Akuma who now had the Akuma's dark pentacle on its forhead.

"I am a tool for slaughter! Then I best get to work!" Ellen looked at it in wonder. It first had to recall what it was? But she had no time to think about things like that, she needed to try to defeat the Akuma as fast as possible. If the fight dragged on any longer she would not be able to stand a chance. With her arm back into a claw she slammed the Akuma down into the floor. But when she looked down into the hole, the Akuma wasn't there.

"I will start with you!" Ellen heard the voice behind her and tried to turn around, but it was too late. She could neither block the attack nor evade. Caught head on by the Akuma's attack, she was hurled against the other side of the laboratory. She hit the wall at an upper level of the laboratory and dropped to the floor, unable to move. Her whole body hurt and she was on the brink of losing consciousness. Mere moments later a bloodcurdling cry resounded through the entire laboratory and just after that she heard a huge explosion and the force of it was also to be felt where she was. She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face to the floor to shelter herself against the enormous force of the explosion. She could hear someone landing next to her, and opened her eyes. She saw boots and moments later something crashed against the wall beside her. Link dropped to his knees next to her, also affected by the Akuma's cry.

"Mister Link…?" Ellen asked weakly. Apparently he had saved her from being crushed by debris flying in her direction.

"I have been charged with protecting you. You must not die here, Ellen!" She wanted to thank him, but when she lifted her head from the floor she could see what had become of the laboratory. The floor had been torn away and everything was in flames. There was no sight of any of the exorcists or the scientists.

"No… This cannot be true…!" Ellen gasped and Link frowned.

"Have they all fallen? Even the generals?!" The girl couldn't say anything but then she spotted the level four. It was killing the Skulls and those scientists that had been turned into them, even though they were on the same side. Ellen watched in horror and then the gate of the Ark, blocking the entrance connecting the laboratory to the rest of the Black Order, disappeared. The only thing keeping the level four from expanding this massacre was gone!

"No! No it must not go there! There is nobody to protect the others!" Ellen shouted and Link had to put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from standing up too suddenly. The level four didn't hear her protests and advanced into the Black Order, excited to have more prey to slaughter. Ellen squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead to the rough floor, crying. Link silently watched her and when he had entirely recovered from the Akuma's cry, he grabbed her arm.

"We will evacuate," he said and Ellen looked at him.

"There is no place to run to," she told him, "the Akuma will proceed to kill all of them!"

"I have my order's Ellen. You will not be one of those that fall victim to the level four," he sternly said and pulled Ellen up. She could not stand on her own feet; it was likely that some of her bones were cracked and she no longer had the strength to keep on standing. But she still had the will to oppose him.

"Yes, I will not! But I cannot back down here! I am still an exorcist, my uncle knows that!"

"It was your husband that asked me to protect you," Link calmly replied and Ellen widened her eyes, her resistance temporarily gone. Link used that moment to grab her and started carrying her away. He was not entirely sure yet where he should go with her, maybe it was best to head to where Leverrier was; he would surely know what to do.

"Wait! Wait a moment! Kanda is not fighting, is he?"

"He's useless at the moment," Link replied, "but I do not know if he foolishly proceeded to fight anyway. If the Akuma really now goes to attack the rest of the Order he probably has no other choice but to fight." Ellen grabbed the fabric of Link's uniform, pressing her face against Link's shoulder.

"I want to continue fighting," Ellen said calmly and Link frowned.

"You can't," he replied sternly, "you cannot even move. How do you plan to fight in this state?"

"I do not know. But I have to try to stop this massacre!" Ellen hissed. Link sighed, not replying. She was unable to move anyway, she could not get away from him. He walked out of the laboratory, Ellen trembling, both with pain and frustration. However, suddenly Ellen moved and pushed herself away from Link, jumping to the floor. He widened his eyes but then he saw that all of her body was wrapped in white ropes. Her mask covered her face and she turned her hand into a sword.

"E… Ellen?! What is going on here?" he demanded to know. Ellen's movements were a bit forced and she breathed heavily.

"My Innocence enables me to keep going… I just have to allow it to use me," she replied. Link widened his eyes.

"But think of your body! You cannot fight in this state! You will die if this keeps on!" Link argued but Ellen just took a deep breath.

"And everyone will die if I am not willing to take this risk," she said and with this she ran away and out of Link's sight.

-

Kanda had taken notice of the uproar around him with growing anxiety. Once the entire building had shook under the force of some mighty attack that must have taken place in laboratory five. He knew that Ellen was there, and he had no way of knowing what exactly was going on.

"Kanda, where are you going?" Chao Zhi asked, hurrying after Kanda, after they had met in a hall.

"To laboratory five," he answered shortly and Chao Zhi gasped.

"But you can't! I thought you had no Innocence, right? I'd be far too dangerous! Let the other exorcists do their work!" Kanda frowned and stopped to glare at Chao Zhi. The young man took notice of it with unease. "They've got the generals there and Ellen Walker. She'll take care of it… Probably…," he muttered, trailing of. Chao Zhi didn't feel good about the situation; it was after all a surprise attack, nobody was ready for it and who was to know what Ellen would do - her loyalty was already questionable in Chao Zhi's opinion. But at least she was strong enough, there was no reason at all for Kanda to get into danger.

"Ellen Walker," Kanda started, glaring at Chao Zhi, "I know that you do not trust her. But you better do not voice your suspicions in my presence," he warned him and Chao Zhi widened his eyes in wonder.

"I… I'm sorry. I know she's your girl-friend… But maybe you should…," he mumbled and Kanda grabbed him by the arm.

"She is currently fighting for us – but are you aware what state she is in?" Kanda asked forcefully and Chao Zhi, a little bit frightened by the glare he was receiving, shook his head, "she is pregnant! And now tell me again that I should not hurry to my wife's and unborn child's side!" Chao Zhi stared at Kanda, unable to say something after this peculiar revelation, but he nodded.

"O… Okay! I'll come with you, Kanda!" Kanda let go of Chao Zhi again. They ran off, but before they even got to laboratory five they stumbled upon Komui and the enemy. Kanda saw an Akuma, a level four, heading towards the supervisor, ready to kill him. With the swords he had taken from the armoury he rushed forwards to counter the Akuma's attack. The Akuma seemed surprised and drew back, studying the new enemies.

"Tch. We really need a better armoury, these swords are trash," Kanda said as the blade crumbled after making contact with the level four. Chao Zhi rushed to Komui's side, helping him up on his feet.

"K… Kanda?!" Komui called and the young exorcist snorted.

"I was headed towards laboratory five but it appears as if you need my help first," he replied and glared at the level four. The level four stared at him as well, not attacking, and it gave the finders enough time to create their strongest barrier.

"This should be able to hold it in for a few moments!" the finders shouted, but the Akuma was not troubled by the cage, it even started giggling. Kanda tossed away the broken sword and took the other one he had brought into his hands.

"You stay back, Komui," he said in a calm voice but Komui gasped.

"But Kanda! Without your Innocence-"

"I won't be killed that easily," Kanda interrupted. Komui wanted to argue, but a voice came through the receiver he wore. Kanda couldn't hear what the voice was saying, but after a few moments Komui made an announcement as well:

"To all divisions! Listen well, I will only say this once! Everybody is to leave through the gate to the Asia Branch! We do not know the state of the exorcists in laboratory five!" At that Kanda tensed. "Our most important task is to protect the Innocence from being destroyed! We will abandon Headquarters!" Komui turned to Kanda.

"About Ellen… We do not know what has become of her… We receive no answer from laboratory five… I am… I am sorry," he told him and Kanda didn't say anything. He just stared at Komui until the supervisor had to look away again because the look Kanda wore pained him. But his attention was soon again demanded by Hebraska who brought him bad news:

"Hurry up Komui! Leverrier plans to bring Linali to where I am…!" Kanda watched how the barrier started to crack, but Komui had to make a decision; for him it was more important to go to Hebraska than to flee with the others.

"What should we do…?" Chao Zhi asked and watched Komui rush away to a vehicle that would get him to the lower levels. "Should we follow him or check out the situation in laboratory five?" Kanda though about this only shortly.

"It is our duty to protect home. I will go with Komui," he said and followed him, Chao Zhi hurrying after him. Komui turned around when he heard Kanda jump on board of the floating platform.

"Hey! Get lost you two!" he shouted but Kanda shook his head.

"I will stay with Kanda!" Chao Zhi shouted and climbed on the railing.

"Stay behind," Kanda ordered, "Make sure everybody gets to the Ark in one piece." Chao Zhi looked at Kanda with a conflicted expression, but after a moment he nodded and climbed back down again. Kanda turned towards Komui.

"The barrier is not strong enough. If it breaks I'll become your shield," he said and Komui glared at Kanda.

"You can't do that! Don't throw your life away like that!"

"Tch. You apparently don't understand," Kanda said, "I need to protect home." Komui widened his eyes, but after a while he shook his head.
"We're abandoning this tower! You should better try to find out if Ellen's still alive!" Kanda snorted and Komui looked at him in wonder.
"Home is more than just this construct made of stone. It can be relocated or rebuild, but who will be there to make it our new home if nobody survives? I'm needed here at the moment. Ellen is not on her own. She will survive." Komui gritted his teeth and shook his head. But he had no choice but to rely on Kanda for he too had something precious he wanted to protect. He pressed the button and they descended to where Hebraska was. But just a few seconds after they started heading down the Akuma came rushing towards them.

"There it is," Kanda said and readied himself for the attack. The force of the Akuma's attack sent the vehicle flying towards the ground uncontrollably. It crashed into the wall and started burning. Kanda had managed to protect Komui at the cost of part of his flesh that had been burned or even torn away, but his regenerating abilities took care of it.

"K… Kanda! You saved me?!" Komui shouted but Kanda hissed at him to keep quiet. Even though he was able to heal, the pain was still very real and unbearable while it lasted.

"Komui! And Yu?" Kanda turned to the side and saw Rabi rushing towards him. "You're alive! Is Ellen not with you?!"

"I've sent that guy to go with her. If he's of any use then he'll protect her," Kanda replied and Rabi sighed deeply.

"Well, we'll better take care of this quickly," he said and looked up to where the Akuma was floating in mid-air. Kanda merely nodded and readied himself.

-

Every step Ellen took and ever movement hurt her, but still her Innocence and her determination to protect her home kept her going. She had heard the call ordering them all to evacuate, but her Innocence was guiding her to a different direction than to where the gate of the Ark was stationed. She knew where the Akuma was, she could feel it even though it seemed to be far below.

"Is it down with Hebraska?" Ellen wondered as she arrived at the railing and could look down many, many meters into the darkness below. Should she jump…? Her Innocence reacted immediately after she had thought that and the belts of her Innocence extended and attached themselves to the stone railing and without another moment to lose she was forced to jump down. She was actually quite terrified of what the Innocence made her do and she barely was able to see anything because her vision went in and out of focus and there was blood running down her face. But her Innocence mercilessly forced her to go on. The ropes stopped her fall and she landed right next to Linali, who was lying on the floor. With her sword raised she forced the Akuma away. Ellen heard it say something but he barely took notice of what her body did. She felt that she was soon engaged into another fight, exchanging blows with the Akuma, but the only thing she really felt was the pain. She didn't even know what exactly was happening down here; she had vaguely recognized Linali though. Was she trying to get her Innocence back? She didn't have time to think about it because the level four attacked her and slammed her into the wall. She groaned and breathed heavily, but her hand still reached out for her sword.

"Ellen!" Suddenly she felt hands on her upper arms and the mask above her eyes was shoved down. "Beansprout!" She widened her eyes and saw Kanda looking at her with a mix of worry and relief in his eyes.

"Kanda…!" she gasped and he nodded, helping her up on her feet, "oh, you shouldn't be here! It's too dangerous!"

"I won't die," he told her and Ellen wiped the blood out of her eyes. Now that he was here she was able to think clearer than before. She still had to rely on the Innocence to move for her, but she was now conscious enough to fight on her own.

"Do not be reckless, Kanda!"

"Tch. Who are you to tell me not to be reckless!" Kanda argued in irritation, but he had to let go of her because the Akuma was heading towards them once again. "I cannot defeat it. The only thing I can do is to protect you. We need to engage it long enough to give Linali time to recover her Innocence." Ellen nodded, then she jumped up into the air to fight the level four. In the state she was in she felt that its power exceeded hers by far. She knew that she had it in herself to defeat it, but not on her own, not as she was right now. Accordingly the Akuma didn't have that many problems to overpower Ellen and to make her crash into the ground. She forced herself up again, but then she widened her eyes when she saw her uncle standing next to her, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Ellen?! What are you-"

"Get out of the way! It's dangerous!" she shouted and raised her sword to block the attack the Akuma fired at them. It was difficult to withstand the force of the blast, especially as her body was already over its limit. But both Kanda and Rabi appeared to steady her.

"Hang in there, beansprout!" Kanda said and Ellen tightened her grip around the sword hilt. The two helped her to counter the attack, but because they had to focus on the blast, they were unable to defend against another attack of the level four. As soon as they were able to fend off the previous attack, the Akuma appeared again. In a matter of seconds it had thrown both Kanda and Rabi against the far-off wall and taken hold of Ellen again. At the moment she was quite defenceless, but the battle was not over yet.

"How dare you destroy my home?!" Ellen heard Linali's firm voice and before she could react to anything she was grabbed by Linali and soared high into the air. She gasped and pressed her palms against her mouth. For her already uneasy stomach such a swift ascent wasn't that favourable and Linali looked at her in worry.

"Ah! Ellen! I'm sorry! Do you have to throw up?!"

"I… I am fine, Linali," Ellen muttered, but before Linali could retort something, the Akuma sent some blasts flying their way again and Linali had to attack it. "Let go of me, Linali. I can extend my Clown Belt, I will not fall…," Ellen told her when they had put some distance between them and the enemy. "And… I am sorry… I could not protect our home…," she said. Linali let go of Ellen with a pained expression.

"I am sorry as well… I hesitated for too long… But now, let us take care of the Akuma!" Ellen nodded. Together, it was easier to fight – Linali was faster than Ellen and could distract the Akuma from Ellen's more powerful attacks. Together they were able to slam it into the floor and Ellen proceeded to drive her blade into the Akuma's middle, but it resisted, holding the blade.

"Ha! It didn't work!" it said but Ellen just smiled.

"Are you sure?" she asked and Linali landed on the hilt of the sword, driving the sword and the Akuma deeper into the ground. It did still resist, so Linali jumped up again for a more powerful attack.

"Let go of me!" the Akuma shouted when it saw the danger coming from Linali.

"I won't!" Ellen replied and tried hard to keep the blade in place. But suddenly the Akuma gasped and took away its hands just in time for Linali to land again and drive the blade into the belly of the Akuma.

"The Akuma…!" Ellen thought and some meters above them the wall was blown away to reveal no other person than her General, Marian Cross.

"We'll stop evacuation! You hear me, Komui?" Cross called, quite healthy even though his clothes were in a pitiful state. Ellen didn't really know what was going on, but if the general had survived, maybe the others were fine as well!

"Are there survivors in the laboratory?!" Linali called over to Komui and he nodded.

"Thank God…!" Ellen whispered, tears of relief running down her face. But she was not able to be glad for long, because the Akuma was not dead yet. It started screaming and grabbed the blade of her sword. It reached up to throw a blast at Ellen, but she and Linali jumped away in time. Her Innocence also came flying her way and buried itself into the wall right next to Ellen's head.

"You underestimated me!" the Akuma shrieked.

"Shut up! You're done for," Cross said, landing on top of Ellen's blade. "We'll take care of the rest," he said, addressed at Ellen. She nodded in surprise and watched Cross fire bullets at the Akuma. The rest of the fight didn't take much time in the end and with the help of the Generals, everything was just a matter of moments. The long and painful massacre was over…

-

Somehow in the heat of the moment Ellen was left alone on a floor a bit higher up than before. Linali had taken her up, but being exhausted herself, she had to put her friend down for a moment. Now with the constant alertness of the battle over, all that was left was the pain. She was weak and exhausted and the pain made her feel sick. She would think about the battle later. Now she just wanted consciousness to leave her. After a few moments she heard the clacking of heels echoing through the corridor.

"Linali…?" Ellen asked, too tired to open her eyes, "is that you? I am fine… You can leave me here… You should be with the scientists…," she whispered.

"If you are looking for the girl, she is already up with the others," a firm voice said and Ellen was silent for a while.

"Who is it?" she asked and felt arms pulling at her.

"Howard Link," he replied and picked her up to carry her on his back. Piggyback might not be the adequate way to carry a lady, but for the sake of being able to move better, she would have to put up with it. But Ellen was not complaining about it.

"Mr. Link…? You are carrying me again…?"

"The medics are all busy and I didn't see your husband. That's why I am here."

"Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't mention it. It's my duty," he insisted and Ellen put her chin on Link's shoulder, trying not to hiss in pain at every step Link made.

"What happened to Mister Wenham and the others?" Ellen asked.

"They are mostly fine. But we are unable to do anything for those that were turned into Skulls…," Link informed her. "But you did well." Ellen started crying silently and put her arms around Link's neck, holding on to him. "You did well, Ellen…"

-

When Ellen woke up, everything still hurt and her body felt very heavy.

"Good morning, beansprout." Ellen felt a warm palm on her forehead and directed her eyes upwards to see Kanda looking at her.

"Are you alright?" Ellen asked in a whispered voice and he nodded, stroking her forehead and brushing her sweaty bangs out of her face.

"And you?"

"I have felt better to tell the truth," Ellen replied and Kanda snorted, bending down to kiss her forehead.

"You've overdone it again…," he told her and she started crying, "stop crying, it's useless…"

"I'm sorry… I could not-"

"Thanks to you a lot of people survived," Kanda interrupted and lifted his head to look at Ellen, "don't blame yourself for the attack…" Ellen nodded weakly and Kanda sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"And still you pull that face…," she remarked and Kanda shrugged.

"You're alive. I'm alive. The kid's alive. It's fine…" he said and Ellen kept looking at him, for the "but" he wouldn't voice.

"However," Link spoke up instead and Ellen finally noticed that he was standing on the other side of her bed, dutifully keeping an eye on her. "the enemy knows the location of this place and a lot has been destroyed. Therefore the decision to abandon this tower has been made."

"What…? We will abandon headquarters?" Ellen asked in surprise and looked to her side to receive an affirmation from Kanda, "is that true?"

"Yes… The top of the order is currently deciding how to proceed. Leverrier and Cross left earlier this morning. They are probably already looking for new places to stay. Meanwhile we are to recover and prepare for the move…," Kanda explained. Ellen nodded meekly, sighing. "It's not your fault, stop blaming yourself!"

"I know… But if I had been stronger…!" Ellen started but Kanda just flipped his finger against her forehead.

"Stronger? Hah! That display of strength I saw yesterday was already quite a feat! You're a pregnant woman, who had not even entirely recovered from an exhausting battle! And you've managed to do that much!" Ellen blushed at the praise and laughed lightly.

"You better watch out that I do not surpass you!" she warned him and Kanda snorted in amusement.

"Other than you I do not spend most of my day eating," he retorted, "I train." Ellen giggled.

"Actually, I am quite hungry," she confessed and Link lifted his hand where Ellen spotted a tray with cake.

"Coincidentally, I have just tried out a new recipe," Link said and Kanda picked a bag full of her beloved dango from the floor. Ellen had to laugh and gladly took the offered food. To have sweets for breakfast was quite nice and Ellen pushed the fading pain and the bitterness away to enjoy this new morning, even though it might be one of the last in this building.

"You two are the best! Thank you!"

They just would have to build a new home, a better home. Even though things would be different, Ellen was sure that they will be able to go on.

-

To be continued…

-

Notes:

Phew.

I am sorry if the fight seemed rushed. I still tried to write from mostly Ellen's perspective and in the Manga the POV jumps around a lot (and Allen is often in a questionable state of consciousness… *lol*). Things will now calm down a bit before the next storm comes. ;3

See you next chapter! :D