A/N: Happy, happy story.

Thank you to Cutiepie120048, WordsLeftBehind, Resident of Wonderland, InsanityOwl, Yami-The Lord of Darkness, NaruShika-Forever, RMXStudio, Kenzie Perth, Darke13, and Red Raven08 for reviewing!

Title: Sweet Dreams

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Angst/Tragedy

Warnings: Character death, insanity

Summary: Allen was the least stable to begin with, so it was no surprise that he went first. And really, it was a very high-stress job, and a lot of the exorcists were just too young. It was no surprise that they went mad.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.

"Just the Earl left, huh?"

Lavi sounded tired. Allen shuffled the cards in his hand, knees pulled to his chest. It was cold. They were in a forest; past the firelight, Allen could see flickering shadows, hear chattering wildlife. It sounded active. Like life. It had been a while.

"Just the Earl. I'm not sure whether it's a relief or a nightmare."

"Let's go with both."

There weren't a lot of people here. Link's hand was on his forehead again; he was staring into the fire. Lavi was staring at the sky. Allen wondered if Lavi knew all the constellations. It seemed like the sort of thing he'd know. Maybe he should ask.

"Lavi, what constellations can you see?" Allen asked.

Lavi laughed. It was a little hoarse, and it sounded strange, but he looked at Allen and gave him a weary grin, and Allen smiled hesitantly back. Lavi pointed up, and Allen obediently followed his finger.

"Well, there's Orion - see those three stars there? He was a hunter once…"

Allen listened, and Lavi sounded a little better as he talked about the stories in the sky.

Beside Allen, Kanda was asleep, hunched over uncomfortably. Kanda was silly. Timothy was asleep, too, but Link put him in the tent earlier. Reever was beside Link, still talking to him, but Allen had stopped paying attention. He liked Lavi's stories.

"And that's Cassiopeia. She was a queen, one of the most vain women in mythology, and trust me, Allen, that's saying a lot."

"We need to make our move soon. I'm serious, Link. I'm not sure how much longer they'll last."

"I know, Reever."

"...I'm not exactly sure they can, even now. I mean…"

"Then there's Andromeda, Cassiopeia's daughter. Now she was unlucky. Almost as unlucky as you, Allen."

"Yes, I know what you mean. But… This is what they were born for, Reever. They're exorcists, after all. Their Innocence chose them because they'll fight until their last breath… no matter what may befall them."

"If you're sure…"

"That's Cancer. He's a crab who pinched Hercules on the foot, and Hera rewarded him because she hated Hercules."

"I am. Or at least, well, as sure as I can be. Besides, they've managed so far."

"For a given definition of 'managing'."

"Don't be difficult."

"That one is Draco, the dragon who protected the golden apples of the Hesperides, which supposedly made one immortal. Selfish old thing."

"You're right. Sorry."

"I'm going to talk to Allen. I think that he has the best chance of… of understanding."

"There's Pegasus, the original, well, pegasus - a horse with wings. Sounds pretty cool, right, Allen? I'd have liked to ride that."

"You're probably right. Want me to help?"

"No, I'd rather do it myself."

Allen heard footsteps, and he started slightly as Link appeared in front of him. Link looked at him for a long time, and Lavi stopped speaking. Allen tilted his head and frowned. Link looked very serious and pensive and tired. Allen was concerned.

"Link? What's wrong?" he asked.

Link exhaled. It sounded a little like a laugh. It also sounded like it hurt. Allen's brow furrowed.

Link knelt in front of him, like Mana used to do with Allen. Allen's frown softened slightly and he bit his lip. Link looked solemn. He had something to say, Allen realized.

"Allen. Are you aware that most of the Noah are dead?"

This sounded like it was important to Link. Allen's frown deepened again, and he thought hard. The Noah… oh. That's right. He nodded.

"Do you know how many are left?"

...It was hard to think. Allen couldn't remember. He tried, he did, but he couldn't remember. His mind was foggy. Fights were especially foggy, and it hurt to remember. It hurt his head and his chest ached and he didn't want to remember. It made him breathe too fast and his head felt too light and he was dizzy.

"That's okay, Allen, don't try. There's just one, understand? Just one."

"...Just one?" Allen asked softly. His voice sounded strange and rough. He swallowed. It was cold outside, but he wouldn't go any closer to the fire than this. It made Link and Reever and Lavi nervous.

"Just one. The Millennium Earl. Do you understand, Allen?"

The Millennium Earl. The Noah leader, Allen thought. And… something else. He was the only one left? The only one. So the rest were dead. He wondered how they died. He nodded.

"We need to kill him soon. Do you know why?"

Allen knew why. They needed to save the world. "We need to save the world."

"That's right. Can you do that?"

Allen didn't know. Maybe. He didn't want to. That didn't matter, though. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. They had to save the world. The world had to move on. Everything hurt. It had to stop. They had to stop it. "Yes." Make it stop.

Link smiled. It looked relieved. It looked like it hurt. Allen leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Link and set his head on his shoulder, and Link steadied him. Allen was shivering.

It didn't matter anymore.

"It'll be alright, Allen. You'll be alright. You'll be alright."

Link was a very good liar. Allen was better, though.

There was a ringing in Allen's ears. It wasn't loud enough, though.

Mana was frowning. There was a sword in his hand. In his hand and in Mana's hand. They clashed, and it was loud, and Allen only heard a little of what Mana said. He didn't want to listen. His head hurt. His throat hurt.

"What did they do to you, Allen? What's wrong? Aren't you happy with them? Without Neah?"

No. Allen didn't want to hear it. Mana was dead. Mana was dead. He'd taken Neah and left Allen behind and Allen had been crying on his grave and he was dead.

"Shut up."

Link sounded so angry. He got between them and glared at Mana, and Mana glared back. It wasn't Mana, though. Mana never glared.

Mana had put Timothy to sleep almost as soon as the battle started. He said he couldn't talk to Allen if Timothy was screaming. Allen didn't want to talk to him. He didn't want to. His chest hurt. It was hard to think. There was a ringing in his ears, and he couldn't scream anymore. His throat hurt too much. It was hard to breathe.

It was always hard to breathe now.

Lavi was bloody. Lavi had tried to get between Allen and Mana. Lavi was a good friend, but now he couldn't seem to move. He wasn't asleep yet, though. His eyes were open. So was his mouth; there was blood coming from it, on his face. Maybe he was trying to speak.

Kanda was still standing, but he was headed off every time he attacked. Link was trying to work with him, but Kanda was attacking wildly. Kanda was so mad at Mana. So mad. He hated him so much.

Allen couldn't remember why, though. It was too hard to think. Too hard to breathe.

Mana. Mana, please. Please, Mana, I don't want to. I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry, Allen."

Mana looked sorry, too. Allen's breath hitched. Now wasn't the time to be cold. He was trying to… what was he trying to do?

That's right. He was… he was saving the world.

Right. Okay. He had to keep breathing. So he could save the world.

"So, so sorry."

Mana dropped his sword. Kanda's Mugen was in his arm. He was on his knees. Link pinned him down. Allen was crying. Allen felt so confused. What was he trying to do? He was staring at Mana. His face was wet. It was cold, he was shivering, he couldn't breathe. What was he trying to do? What did they want from him?

"Allen. Please."

Oh.

"I love you, Mana," Allen whispered, and tears glazed his eyes, and he didn't want to, didn't want to, didn't want to-

Allen's sword moved on its own. Mana closed his eyes. He didn't open them again.

Red blood flew through the air, and green exploded.

What was he trying to do? He had to keep breathing. There was a ringing in his ears.

What was he trying to do?

Happy, happy story. Nothing is wrong here. Everything is going swell. *cough* Just the epilogue left now. Thanks for reading, and please review!