Author's Notes:

Holiday time is fanfiction writing time!

Most of this chapter consists of battle scenes and if you've come this far in the story then you know that those are not my forte.

As before; sentences in italics mean something is spoken in French and /this/ means that it's transmitted (like telephone conversations).

I'm not exactly consistent when it comes to having Timothy speak English. I assume that a boy his age, in his situation and in his time would not really have a good command of the English language, but for fanfiction purposes let's just pretend it's good enough to work without me having to write in italics forever! *lol*

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 65: A silent Good morning

A velvet dark curtain has been drawn over Paris, the sky was overhung with patchy clouds and the last shimmering lights looked vague. On the third story balcony of her hotel, Ellen was sitting out in the open, eating a baguette with cheese. An early breakfast at one o'clock in the small hours of the morning.

Kanda came out of the room, rubbing his face. He was already dressed to go to bed. After the years it had become easy for him to process the mission and return to normality when it was done. He was calm and he was tired, but his wife was still full of the energy that came with fighting. Ellen was munching her bread, staring out over the city. Kanda walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you want to sleep?" he asked, "tomorrow we will have to chase done G." Ellen hummed, then she tilted her head to one side, eyes still on the lights ahead. Kanda sighed silently, then he sat down next to her. "Ellen…"

"Everything is all right," she said before he could ask. She turned her head towards him. "Apart from the little first-hand taste of Link's battle ability, this had been a very easy mission. I'm not hurt…" A slight frown appeared on Kanda's face.

"You have to take care," he insisted. "This might have been the last mission for a while, but you've got to be less playful when fighting." Ellen groaned, feeling the start of a lecture upon her, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I was enjoying myself after such a long time… What is so bad about it?" Kanda's eyes narrowed and Ellen heaved a sigh.

"Ellen. You've been doing this for almost a year now. You've seen battles, you've seen the consequences. Your rash actions have mostly paid out, but taking risks will not always work. Especially not now when you're not in the best physical shape." She seemed offended at that, but didn't say anything. He was right after all, but sometimes she hated him being right. "And," he continued and when Ellen looked into his face, his expression was serious. "No matter how strong you are, no matter how careful you are, no matter how many people there are to protect you – death can take you in one instance. Just like this," he snapped his fingers, a painfully loud sound in the otherwise intense silence that had surrounded his words. "There are so many things we cannot account for…," Kanda said, silently. Ellen reached out her hands and he took hers into his. His head was lowered, not looking at her right now.

"Oh, Yu… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I did not mean to make you upset with my snappish reply," she said and leant towards him to kiss his forehead. "I'm just… Restless. The child-" Kanda raised his head immediately and Ellen moved backwards to not have him hit her chin in the process.

"What? What is with him?" Ellen had to laugh. Kanda's jumpy behaviour was quite adorable even though it was also exhausting at times.

"Nothing. It's just restless too. Moving around constantly." She pull her hands out of his and balled them into fists. "I think it might become a boxer," she said and gently hit Kanda's upper arms, "it does this. This." Another gentle hit to Kanda's arm. "Using my insides as a punching bag." Kanda looked at her indecisively, but Ellen took his hand and put it on her stomach. He had a frown on his face, but then he widened his eyes slightly. "See?"

"Maybe he wants out?" Kanda asked with a look of fascination on his face, petting Ellen's stomach. The child really did move a lot. Ellen laughed at that.

"Have you kept track of the months? There's still about two months to go, silly."

"Two months," Kanda repeated to himself, then he withdrew his hand swiftly, almost as if he'd been hit by a jolt of electricity. "Just two months left?" Ellen looked at him and his expression made her burst out laughing yet again. "We're not even close to being ready for him!"

"You don't say…," Ellen answered, then she got up, folding her hands over her middle. "When we get back we'll deal with it. There's still time." Kanda frowned, but Ellen but her hand on his back, guiding him back into their room. "Now. Sleep! We need to get up early tomorrow!"

-o-

Kanda hissed at the bright light when they stepped out into the streets.

"What is the matter?" Mari wondered, seeing him rub his forehead.

"I couldn't sleep," he said, but did not elaborate on it. Ellen shook her head at him, laughing slightly which prompted Kanda to add an angry: "It's all your fault stupid beansprout."

"What?" Mari just glanced from one to the other, then at Link, who just shrugged.

"Oh, nothing to concern yourselves about. I guess he just got a fright when he realized that he'd be a father in two months' time," Ellen enlightened the other two. Link coughed embarrassedly at that, while Kanda just pulled a disgruntled face at her.

"But you know that, Kanda," Mari reminded him and Kanda stayed silent, glaring at anything but at his wife or companions.

"While I understand that this is of some importance to you," Link started after a while, an impatient edge to his voice "it is of no concern right now. Can we please pull ourselves together and complete the mission?"

"I have no objections to that," Kanda growled. Mari took another moment to silently chuckle about his friend's behaviour, but then he touched his hand to his headphones.

"Okay then. Please follow me."

-o-

Ellen looked up at the building in front of them. Kanda was leaning against the railing separating the street from the premises, eyes directed towards the floor.

"It's an orphanage…," Ellen mused, studying the building. "Hearst Orphanage," she read the sign attached to the white brickwork. "Is this really the place, Mari?"

"It is. This is where I last could hear G cry," he replied and Ellen looked back at the building indecisively. Kanda watched her walk up the steps and open the door with a cheerful smile. There were loud sounds coming from within, nothing that Kanda hadn't expected from an orphanage. However, there came a young boy flying out of the house, obviously hit by a kick from a woman. He raised his eyebrow, but didn't react yet. The boy's forehead collided with Ellen's and the force of the other girl's kick was enough to throw both the boy and Ellen down the few steps leading up to the orphanage. Kanda widened his eyes disbelievingly.

"Oh no! I've let myself go again and used the self-defence moves of my old man…!" Kanda could hear the girl shout, but what did he care about that. Ellen was not moving on the floor, so he rushed towards her. She sat up with a groan before he could reach her and he let out a sigh of relief. Mari walked over to the boy and picked him up.

"Auauaua!" Ellen hissed, holding her forehead. Kanda, even though he was slightly worried about Ellen, was surprised by the sight before him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, bending down slightly to see better.

"Is something the matter, Kanda?" Mari wondered and Kanda frowned down at the boy.

"This boy has a jewel growing out of his forehead!" Before any of the two could say anything else, there was a loud wail piercing the quiet morning:

"PIIIIIIIEEE!" Kanda widened his eyes and stared at Ellen. She had blood running down her face from a cut on her forehead. Other than that she was crying like a little child: "Bloooood! Bloooood! I'm going to die!"

"Mari…," Kanda hissed darkly and the other exorcist nodded.

"That's the same sound that G made while I traced him yesterday!" Link grabbed Ellen by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. Apparently the minion had not understood the situation, despite being oh so clever – and having been possessed himself.

"Pull yourself together!" Kanda had seen enough, he grabbed the little boy and pulled him out of Mari's hands. How could that little bastard dare…!

"Where's my body?" he heard G shriek, looking around frantically. "Uah! I want out of this body!" Kanda held the little boy in front of Ellen.

"Are you looking for this one?" G breathed out a sigh of relief, but soon it dawned on him and he widened his eyes. Ellen's eyes! Kanda was furious.

"Well, one always meets twice, right, G?" Kanda asked darkly and put the blade to the young boy's throat, showing G an ominous grin. "Give up and get out of her body at once if you want to have your body back in one piece!"

"Hey, Kanda! Don't be so violent!" Mari called, but Kanda just stared at G.

"Let's tie him up," Link suggested, producing a rope out of the pocket of his coat. He wrapped the little boy up, Kanda not leaving G out of his eyes.

"Now. Get. Out!" he hissed and G nodded frantically. In the next instance Ellen's body went limp and Kanda caught her in his arms before she hit the floor.

"So scary, so scary, so scary!" the young boy whimpered, wiggling around in his ropes, but Link held him down.

Kanda looked at his wife, wiping the blood out of her face, then he gently patted her cheek. "Hey, beansprout… Are you okay…?" Ellen squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, then she opened one of them.

"Hm, what happened?" she asked confusedly.

"Let's get inside, I think we need to have a word with the direction about G," Link suggested, pulling the boy to his feet. There were already a lot of children outside, looking at them and the young woman – Kanda vaguely recognized her as the one that had run into him the day before - was fidgeting around. Kanda lifted Ellen up and carried her inside.

A nun was coming towards them when they were inside of the corridor.

"Has something happened down here?" she asked, with an air of worry, then she saw the boy wrapped up in ropes. "Oh Lord!"

"Director! Do something!" the young woman protested, but the nun stayed calm, looking from the boy to the strangers. Her eyes came to rest on Ellen.

"Oh dear. She seems to be hurt! Let's get her a plaster," she suggested, then she turned to the others, "why don't you all take a seat in the reception room?" Link nodded and followed another nun that led the way. Kanda went with the nun into a bath room, where he sat the still slightly disoriented Ellen down on a chair next to a sink. Ellen blinked a few times, seeing the smiling nun dab a cool cloth against her forehead.

"Ellen… Ellen are you alright?" Kanda asked. He was kneeling next to her, squeezing her hands.

"What… is going on? I don't remember anything that happened after I opened the door."

"I'll tell you afterwards. How's your head?"

"It's just a scratch," the nun said, this time in English, putting a plaster on Ellen's forehead, "there you go!" She smiled gently and helped Ellen back on her feet.

"Thank you," Ellen mumbled, rubbing her forehead, still feeling a bit strange. They left the room to join the others. The young boy was sitting on the floor, while Link and Mari stood next to him. The young girl rose instantly from her seat on the sofa when the others entered.

"Director!"

"Take a seat Emilia, everything will surely become clear when we talk about it," the nun said cheerfully and took a seat next to Emilia. The girl let herself drop back down with an exasperated groan. "Please," the nun said, looking at the couple, "sit down." She indicated towards the other sofa opposite hers. Kanda and Ellen sat down and Ellen looked at the young boy, becoming aware of the jewel on his forehead. "Now, please explain why Timothy is chained up." Mari walked up to them and took a seat on the free armchair.

"We are exorcists from the Black Order. It is our task to find certain a certain substance, called Innocence, that causes mysterious occurrences. We came to Paris to find Phantom Thief G, because a connection to Innocence seemed likely. Our search led us here, to this boy. It appears that Timothy's consciousness has the ability to slip into other people's bodies," he explained and both the nun and Emilia looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have misheard something," the nun said in a cheerful tone, while Emilia uttered a nervous "are you being serious?" Mari laughed.

"I understand that this sounds rather unbelievable."

"He confessed it himself," Kanda said with a cold snort.

"Who would not confess anything if there's a sword being pointed to their throat?" Emilia shouted, "I don't know what is up with you Exorcists or this Black Order, but this is just criminal!" Kanda was completely unfazed by her shouting.

"He could also just have confessed!" he retorted. Ellen heard the door open and looked up. The other nun in the room was staring at them with a rather dark expression, then she left without another word.

"You apparently think you can do anything because you're handsome?" Emilia shrieked and Ellen looked at her immediately.

"Well, Emilia!" the nun said, raising her hands to appease her, "it was because of you that the Mademoiselle got hurt in the first place. You are not really any better, dear." Emilia blushed at that and lowered her head.

"I… I'm sorry…," she muttered. Mari coughed gently to get the director's attention again.

"Do you know anything about this jewel on Timothy's forehead?" The nun nodded gravely.

"Timothy's father was a criminal. After one of his raids he made his little son swallow his goods so that he could not be proven guilty. When he was charged though and finally brought behind prison bars, Inspector Galmar brought the boy to us. And he already had this jewel stuck in his forehead."

"Hn, that's rather suspicious," Mari whispered and Kanda nodded. "Well," the tall exorcist spoke up again. "Maybe Timothy should come with us to the Black Order." Ellen looked over at Mari when she heard that, then she turned towards the young boy. Apparently he had partly understood what they were talking about even though he had not reacted to it yet.

"Timothy? To the Black Order?" the director asked and Mari nodded.

"As I said before, we are looking for Innocence. Timothy's power could come from his forehead. If we take him with us we can say for sure if it is indeed Innocence," he explained. Emilia frowned, but then she looked up.

"Wait a moment…! What will you do if it really is Innocence?" she wanted to know. Kanda looked over to the boy, his arms calmly crossed over his chest.

"Then he cannot stay here. He will become an exorcist and join the Black Order!" Ellen sighed silently. Even though it was the truth, he could at least have formulated it a bit more gently. But this was a mission, and Kanda was rarely emotional when it came to his work.

"No!" The boy jumped up, despite the ropes. "You can't make me!" Ellen shot him a worried look. "You treat me like an object! Like my father! I… I'll stay here! Even if you kill me!" Kanda glared at him, grabbing him by a robe before he could jump to the director.

"We don't care! You will come with us! Even if we-" Ellen put a hand over his mouth, prying his fingers off of Timothy.

"Please excuse him. He can be a bit rough," Mari said apologetically. Timothy, apparently already afraid of Kanda, just started wailing again.

"Kanda, please. He is just a child," Ellen told Kanda, "be gentle."

"We cannot allow any violence," the nun told them and Emilia nodded eagerly.

"Yes! Don't you have a heart?" she accused them. Ellen took her hand away from Kanda's mouth, still looking at him.

"Maybe we should first discuss the situation with Komui before making any uncalled for decisions," she suggested. Kanda frowned, apparently his outrage at Timothy for possessing Ellen had still not abated, but he kept his mouth shut.

However, before anybody else could say something into the silence that had followed, the light outside suddenly dimmed. Kanda shot up from the sofa and went to the window,

"What? Is it already twilight?" Emilia wondered, getting up from the couch as well.

"But it's still early!" the director protested.

"Damn it!" Kanda shouted and the exorcists as well as Link all looked at him with an unnerved expression.

"The entire city –" he slammed his hand against the window, "no! We are trapped in a spell!" Ellen looked around confusedly.

"Is this the work of Akuma?" Mari shouted, holding his headphones.

"But… But my eye didn't react at all!" Ellen protested and Kanda hastily went back to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Kanda!"

"Calm down, stay close to the director and the others," he hissed, then he went to check the door. Ellen bit her lip and went over to the others, Emilia looking at her with a worried expression.

"What is going on?" Ellen couldn't answer, because suddenly there was a loud sound and the entire building started to shake. A split second later there was an explosion, followed by the crumbling of part of the wall. Ellen had just had enough time to invocate and shelter the others with her coat. When the grumbling had died down, Ellen lifted the coat again.

"Are you hurt?" Ellen asked gently, she herself was dirty and slightly scratched, but otherwise fine.

"N… No," Emilia replied. Timothy wiggled around when he felt his ties slipping loose.

"Hey, I'm no longer tied up," he said, then he saw Timcampy gnawing at his ropes.

"This is Timcampy," Ellen introduced him and Timothy grabbed the golem, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is this an angel?" the nun asked breathlessly and Ellen turned to the side, firmly grabbing her sword. Beyond the destroyed orphanage was pitch black darkness, and floating in the air was a Level four Akuma, grinning at them.

"No Angel," it chuckled darkly, then it slowly turned its head when little cries became audible from behind the semi destroyed wall. Ellen stood up abruptly.

"The children!" she shouted and rushed towards where they were, just like the Akuma was. But before it could do them any harm both she and Kanda managed to land a kick that blew it away.

"There you are, Level four!" Kanda shouted and before the Akuma could come to a stop it was caught in Mari's attack, its body distorting before it was slammed against the wall.

"Beansprout!" Kanda shouted, taking the moment to grab her hand. "Leave this to Mari and me! Get yourself and the others to a safe place!"

"But-" Ellen argued, but Kanda let go of her hand, pushing her away.

"Go!" She hesitated, but he glared at her. "Damn it, Ellen, GO!" She bit her lip, but nodded, turning around to see Link usher the others downstairs to gain more time. Ellen ran towards him.

"Link! I will open up a door of the Ark! Step aside!" she shouted. Link turned towards her, grabbing her arm.

"This is forbidden!" he told her sharply "You are only allowed to use your power as Musician under direct order of the Black Order! You would clearly go against the rules if you opened it now on your own!" Ellen stared at him, then she narrowed her eyes.

"What nonsense! There is no time to argue about this! Haven't you realized what just happened? There is a Level four in the building and we need to get these people away from here! And Timothy, who they might be after as well, is also just a child!"

"Nonsense or not, rules are rules! Don't you know what kind of trouble you are in already? You'll only be making it worse!" Link argued loudly. Ellen, still disbelieving glared at the inspector, but then she wrinkled her nose and turned away from him.

"Oh I don't care!" she hissed and put her finger to her forehead, intent on opening the gates anyway. Link looked at her indignantly, but before he could continue arguing with her, Timothy grabbed his arm.

"Just a moment! Why are they after me? And what's that strange puppet out there?" Link was surprised for a moment, but then his face turned serious again.

"Maybe the jewel on your forehead is Innocence. And Innocence is the only substance that can defeat a weapon called Akuma. That's why they try to prevent Innocence getting into the hands of exorcists," he explained.

Ellen had barely heard them talk, panic started to spread in her chest.

"This can't…" Link turned to her. "I cannot open the gate!" An explosion occurred and Kanda and Mari appeared in front of Ellen. That they were this closed meant that the Akuma was pushing them back.

"It's really strong!" Mari called.

"What's up with you? Why aren't you gone yet?" Kanda asked, taking his eyes off the Akuma for a second to glare at Ellen.

"I can't! I can't open the Ark!" she told him and he widened his eyes. "We can't run…!" Kanda screw up his face, but then he hissed and turned back towards the Akuma.

"I'm really sorry, Kanda, but we can't possibly win without her!" Mari said what all of them knew. He lowered his head, glaring at the Akuma with all the hate he could muster.

"I'm taking them down," Link said, grabbing both Emilia and Timothy.

"Good! Timcampy, go with them!" Ellen said to the golem, that made a loop in the air, then he followed Link down the stairs. Ellen could see the Akuma coming towards them through the dust.

"You have the power of the Musician. The cursed left eye," it said, eyes focused on Ellen.

"It's so close any my eye doesn't even react!" Ellen thought, raising her sword.

"Did you really think we would let that go on forever? Ellen Walker?" The Akuma got ready to charge and Mari raised his arms.

"Go! I will cover your back!" he shouted and Kanda and Ellen ran off.

Under normal circumstances Ellen would not think so much during a battle – couldn't think much during a battle. But this was different. Kanda was on her side, but ever since he'd fallen in love with her he could no longer be as rational and goal oriented as he used to be when they fought battles side by side. And now; this was a level four battle, in itself already difficult and dangerous. And on top of that-

But she couldn't think right now, she couldn't doubt – she had to fight. Kanda, Mari, they were doing their best to fight, to end this battle quickly, but it was even difficult managing to attack without being attacked in return.

Somehow they had moved out of the building into the darkness of the barrier; the floor was dark stone and there was a black dome over them, enclosing them completely. The Akuma kicked her, but she managed to block without being hurt too much. When she landed on the floor, she could see smoke coming from the building and some more walls crumbling. Something, Ellen knew instantly, was still in there! She could hear Timothy shouting on top of his lungs but she didn't know what he was saying, she didn't know what was happening down there. She pulled herself up on her feet without thinking, running back towards the building.

"Are you worried about the others? Now?" the Akuma hissed directly behind her. Ellen widened her eyes, but it was too late to get away; a volley of bullets hit her and she gasped, her blood raining down on the floor before she too fell. She hadn't even managed to cry in pain. Her heart was beating so quickly that her blood sounded like drums in her ears.

"God," she thought barely able to hang on to consciousness, "oh god." So many shots continued ringing out and among the blood pulsating and the Akuma's gleeful shouting she could her Kanda calling her. She was in trouble, or did he call her because he was in trouble? Ellen couldn't move, her body hurt from the bullets, she was already out of breath, she felt sick. But then, clear as if all other sounds had gone, she could hear crying. A child was crying. She realized that it came through her transmitter earring, Link's transmitter probably projected the sounds of what was happening down there.

"Timothy…? Timothy!" Ellen said, her voice shaky. "Please don't cry, Timothy! Can you hear me?" Ellen balled her fists and drew them forwards, pushing against the floor. No. No she couldn't possibly stand up.

/I… Is that you, Miss?/ Ellen was glad to hear his voice, glad that he could hear her as well.

"Don't be afraid. We will save you. We'll be with you soon!" she promised, but could only hear crying in return.

/Save me…? But you want to take me away too! That's not how I want to be saved! Everything is destroyed! You have… destroyed everything! I just… I just wanted to stay here!/ The line went silent again and Ellen tried sitting up again. But suddenly Timothy started shouting: /Get away you stupid cow! They will kill you, Emilia!/

Ellen didn't know what was happening, but she forced her body to move, getting on her knees.

"Ellen! Ellen, are you okay?" she heard Kanda call and got back up on her feet. When she turned to the other two, she realized that she wasn't even far away from them. "Come here! We should stay together!" But before she could move, there was a loud sound coming from the orphanage and then two Akuma soared past them, one crashing into the barrier. Ellen couldn't even voice her surprise because something dropped on her head.

"A… pen?" she wondered, but then someone crashed on top of her. She slumped to her knees and the other person tumbled over her and into her lap. It was Timothy. Ellen grabbed him by the shoulders; he was unconscious but didn't seem to be hurt. Timcampy flew in front of Ellen's face, frantically flying around. Ellen looked at him in confusion, but somehow she seemed to understand what he wanted to tell her.

"What is going on, beansprout?" Kanda asked and Ellen pointed at the smaller Akuma incredulously. "That Akuma –Timothy took possession of it!" The exorcists watched the small Akuma defeat the other one, but then a Level three appeared. Ellen widened her eyes.

"Timothy! Timothy get away from there! You can't defeat that one!" she shouted, but before she could move Timothy's body started moving on its own account, running towards the Akuma shouting something. Ellen wanted to run after him, but saw an attack coming from behind which required her to jump out of the way.

"Well, the Innocence can be fascinating. But that kid is still too weak. Level three will take care of him." Ellen wanted to desperately go to Timothy's side, but the Level four started attacking them again.

She could see that Link had joined Timothy against the Akuma, but she doubted that his strength would be enough to defeat him.

"Kanda, Mari! I need to get to them!" she shouted to her team members, "I just need one opening – it won't take me long!" The other two nodded and Ellen charged.

"Get out of my way!" Before she could get to the Akuma however, it started shrieking a bone shattering cry that made Ellen gasp. She remembered this, she remembered it from the last attack on their old Head Quarters. She stumbled, pain soaring through her body, but then she just went on, despite the pain and rushed past the Akuma. The Level four seemed surprised, but it could not go after her, because Mari and Kanda were in the way. Ellen rushed to Link's side and before the Akuma could cause any more harm, she slammed her blade into its face. It growled, but Ellen just pushed her sword in deeper, cutting it apart with one swift violent movement. It exploded and Ellen landed on her feet in front of Link and Timothy. She was gasping loudly, trying to get air into her lungs.

"Ellen…," Link started, but then he fell unconscious as well. Ellen thought it was for the best, neither Timothy nor Link should be further involved in this battle. Breathing in and out to regain her composure, Ellen straightened up and turned back towards the Level four.

"Now that this worry here is out of the way, it's your turn," she promised, rejoining Kanda's side. The Akuma laughed, shaking its head.

"You're quite persistent are you? But I'm not some weak Level three," it said.

"Shut up!" Kanda shouted, wiping the blood from his mouth. He looked over his shoulder towards Ellen.

"Mari's been hurt, we're on our own." Ellen looked towards the tall man, crouching on the floor, "Do you think you can make it?" he asked and Ellen creased her brow.

"We've got no other choice. We will make it!"

"Heh," Kanda snorted, a sinister grin on his face, "well, then let's show him how destructive we can be!" The level Four wore a sneer on its face. Without another word Ellen ran towards it, blade outstretched. The Akuma was ready, pointing the guns into her face, but Ellen slammed her sword down on it, using it to haul herself over the Akuma's body. Somehow, she was surprised just how much her body could still take in the state she was in. The Akuma looked up, its attention solely on Ellen, but Kanda had already run towards him, his blade, charged up with the additional power of his third phantom form, soaring towards the Akuma. It sliced its back, but the Akuma already had his guns pointed towards Kanda, firing bullets at him. Kanda didn't even attempt to dodge them, standing the pain so the Akuma would be too focused on him to see Ellen's next attack. The girl slashed at the Akuma, cutting off one of its legs and arms. However, the Akuma was only mildly impressed and caught hold of Ellen's sword with its teeth. The girl widened her eyes in surprise and with a heavy kick the Akuma made her lose her grip on the blade. Ellen was thrown away by the blast and just had time enough to land on her feet before the next bullets rained down on her. Some of them hit her, the pain spreading from her left leg and hip. She heard someone shout her name, but the noise of the bullets almost drowned everything else. Next to the blood rushing in her ears she could hear almost nothing.

She could not go on for longer, she felt it; her body has almost reached its limits, she had lost lots of blood, she was out of breath. If the battle went on for much longer none of them would still be powerful enough to defeat the Akuma. If she was down then she'd be a huge hindrance to Kanda, she knew that he wouldn't be able to fight well when having to worry about and protect her. They had to win; now. Ellen had to make a decision, one that she knew Kanda wouldn't like because it was so rash.

Ellen balled her hand into a fist and set her teeth. Behind the Akuma her blade lay abandoned, but it was not out of reach. It set itself upright when she focused on it, completely unnoticed by the Akuma.

"Crown Clow!" Ellen shouted and the blade came soaring towards her. It impaled the Akuma and still came flying towards her where it hit the wall. It had passed straight through her, the Akuma pressed against her body with no way out. Ellen breathed heavily, staring the Akuma in the face.

"Uah, you… bastard! I will take you with me…!" it hissed. Ellen managed to pull the corners of her lips up just slightly.

"I am sorry to inform you of this, but this sword exorcises demons. It only works on Noah and Akuma!" She felt the heaviness and the clear edges of the blade sticking in the right part of her chest and slightly downwards, it was a strange, immaterial heaviness. But suddenly it became very hot and pain spread from its blade. It felt like a lightning stroke went through her body.

"Crown… Clown?" she asked with a small voice, blood started dripping from her mouth.

"You really think so…? Only Akuma and Noah, right?" the level Four managed to ask with a distorted grin. "Then why are you in such a pain?" Ellen's eyes were wide open, her body under intense pain. It felt as if she were dissolving, as if her body went up in flames and ashes, then the pain became sizzling hot, her head almost splitting in two. She shouted out, her throat burning with the loud cry. What was happening? What was happening to her body? And suddenly the pain exploded and she felt nothing at all for one calm moment. Something was inside her head, moving her body. Was it herself? Was it even her body? The Akuma was saying something, but she didn't hear. She didn't care what it had to tell. Her hand moved, touching the side of the Akuma's face. She felt her mouth pull up. Who was she anyway? Just –

She smiled, watching the Akuma with narrowed, playful eyes.

"Good Morning…" she whispered and it rewarded her with a shocked expression. An oily tear trickled down its cheek. And it whispered:

"Noah!"

A blade pierced the back of the Akuma's neck, exiting from its mouth and slamming into the wall just next to her face. The Kanda boy… She looked at him past the Akuma with a calm, judging expression on her face. He glared at her, teeth firmly set.

"Are you totally nuts, you stupid beansprout?" he shouted on top of his lungs.

Oh, what was she doing? Her hand- Was it her hand? She grabbed the handle of Crown Clown moving it upwards just as Kanda was moving Mugen down. Both shouting, the exorcists tore the Akuma apart, spreading its blood in a dark shower.

When it fell away, Ellen slipped down the wall, breathing heavily, the Innocence reverting back to her arm. The pain was still there, a painful line throbbing from her shoulder to the upper part of her stomach.

"Hey," Ellen mumbled. Kanda stopped Mugen's invocation, acknowledging her with a low humming sound, but he didn't look at her. "Stop calling me that, stupid Kanda." Kanda put Mugen back to his hip, then he walked forwards and dropped to his knees in front of Ellen. He grabbed her collar and she widened her eyes. Kanda's expression was furious and he lifting his other hand to the height of his head. Then he brought it down swiftly, slapping Ellen's face.

"Are you mad? God, you're a bloody idiot! What have you done?" he shouted, clenching the fabric of her uniform. The uppermost buttons had come undone and he could see that her skin had become discoloured and scarred where her blade had pierced her. "Don't you even think? Don't you ever think?" Ellen's cheek already turned an angry red and her eyes were wide. Kanda's expression was so pained now, she could see his fear right through the anger. Ellen leant forwards, embracing him. "You idiot!" Kanda buried his face in the fabric on her shoulder, returning the hug, his fingers digging into her back. "You idiot!"

To be continued

Notes:

…!

I have decided earlier on in the story, not to include the Thirds and consequently the Seconds, including the Kanda-Alma story arc. I'm not sure if I regret it yet, but I need to go by what I've decided X3 (maybe that's material for another fanfiction). Anyway, that's why Link and Timothy were not saved by Madarao but by Ellen – for her beating a single Level three must be a piece of cake by now.

Also, the German translation of vol. 19 is a bit puzzling because Noah!Allen says "Time to go" to the Level four while I know I've read "Good Morning" in the scans. I went with good morning because it made more sense to me X3

Any thoughts on the chapter? :3