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Chapter Twenty - Battle's End

"Lavi!" Lenalee cried out as a level two Akuma struck out at her friend, almost causing him to lose his grip on the hammer that he was using to fight with. The red haired Exorcist managed to recover but he didn't know how much longer he and Lenalee could hold their own against the enemies. There were more of them than even Lavi's bookman brain could count and they were stronger than the Akuma that they were accustomed to fighting.

This battle was shaping up to be much more difficult than either Lavi or Lenalee had invisioned it and both young Exorcists found themselves struggling to destroy the Akuma and keep themselves from being torn to shreds by the horde.

And they were distracting each other because neither wanted any harm to come to the other.

"Your guard is down you fool!"

Lavi's head whipped around so fast that he was amazed he didn't give himself a serious case of whiplash. He would know that voice, as well as the insult, anywhere and therefore he wasn't surprised when Bookman launched a series of needles from his finger tips. The level two Akuma exploded and Lavi allowed himself to heave a sigh of relief.

"Gramps!" he exclaimed, happier than he would ever admit to see the old man who frequently made his life more difficult than it should ever have to be.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," another familiar voice said as a blur of black launched into the air. Krory leapt from one Akuma to another, sucking their blood as he went. A series of explosions followed along in the Exorcist vampire's wake.

"Krory!" Lenalee exclaimed, her eyes practically lighting up as her gaze shifted back and forth between the reinforcements that had arrived just in the nick of time. She was so happy to see all of them. "And Bookman... and Miranda too!"

Both Lavi and Lenalee were happy to see the reinforcements and they returned to the battle with renewed vigor. With the addition of the three new arrivals they now had five Exorcists and the odds weren't nearly as one sided now.

The battle was fierce and seemed to last forever but finally the last of the Akuma fell at the hands of the Exorcists. Unfortunately the battle had taken a toll on the ship that they had been intending to use to travel to Edo in search of General Cross. The once pristine ship was now a smoldering heap that looked as though it were only minutes away from sinking.

"I'm sorry," Anita apologized as she and Mahoja joined the group of Exorcists. "If only we'd..."

"It's alright," a slightly nervous voice said, interrupting Anita's apology. A black haired woman, one of the new arrivals, held out her arm. "Time Record, Activate!"

The ship was surrounded by a glowing light and in the blink of an eye returned to it's original form. Everyone on board gaped in shock, not having forsaw this turn of events and Miranda blushed as all gaze focused on her. She was still new to her Innocence but it made her heart swell to be able to help her comrades.

"Where are Allen and Toushirou?" Bookman asked, his searching gaze scanning the inhabitants of the ship for any sign of the two white haired Exorcists.

Lenalee's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. Having been caught up in the battle with the Akuma she had briefly forgotten the fact that two of the members of her family had left to fight two members of the Clan of Noah.

"They left with two of the Noah," Lavi replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Our orders were to find General Cross as soon as possible," Bookman said, his gaze shifting back and forth between the assembled Exorcists. "And since Miranda can only maintain her Innocence for a limited time I'm afraid that we have no choice except to go on to Edo without them."

"B... Bookman," Lenalee gasped, her eyes wide and horrified.

"It's what they would want," Lavi said, a piercing look in his one visible green eye.

"We have no choice," Bookman said calmly. "We need the ship and for that we require Miranda's Innocence."

Realizing that there was really nothing that she could do about the situation Lenalee whirled around and dashed off toward the cabin that had been designated as her's. Tears spilled from her eyes as she thought about Allen and Hitsugaya, both of whom had left with the Noah in order to keep the rest of them safe.

"I'm sorry," she whispered through her tears.

The rational part of her mind, the part that had been trained by the Black Order, knew that they were only doing what they had to do in order to complete their mission. No one wanted to leave Allen and Hitsugaya behind but Miranda could only maintain the activation of her Innocence for so long and they had to reach Edo in that time period.

All of this she knew and yet she couldn't keep the tears from falling as she thought about the two white haired youths who had followed the Noah into the unknown. Lenalee knew that they had only gone to protect her and the others from the Noah and she hated that fact.

It made her feel guilty.

She didn't like the thoughts of two of her family members sacrificing themselves so that she could remain safe and she intended to thoroughly chew both Allen and Hitsugaya out as soon as they were reunited. If... But Lenalee refused to allow that thought to even form.

She would see both of them again. She knew it.

Allen's gray eyed gaze surveyed the room that he and Hitsugaya had been led to by the two members of the Clan of Noah. This strange realm filled with brightly wrapped boxes and floating candles was horrifyingly familiar to him. He, Lenalee and Miranda had encountered the Noah named Road once before and Allen was painfully aware of how that encounter had ended.

And this time there were two Noah.

This did not bode well for him and Hitsugaya.

For his part Hitsugaya was aware that he and Allen were facing almost impossible odds, having fought against the Noah before, but he was unwilling to back down. It simply wasn't in his nature to run away from a fight and he was determined to stand his ground against the enemy, no matter what the consequences of that action turned out to be.

And as the young Shinigami Exorcist walked along toward his destiny he was once again assaulted with visions that he was unable to explain. Something about the Noah always triggered this reaction and now it was more irritating than confusing to the young captain. Hitsugaya desperately wanted to know what his connection to these people was but that was not a top priority at this moment in time.

Remaining alive was the top priority at this moment.

"You will not escape..."

Hitsugaya's teal eyes opened wide as he heard this voice echo in his mind and he gasped as he realized that it was the voice of the Millennium Earl. He had only encountered the Earl once but the voice had been so familiar and had burned its self into his mind forever.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Road exclaimed as she twirled around in a circle, a broad smile spreading across her face. "I call dibs on Allen Walker."

"Whatever," Tyki said casually, not really caring which of the Exorcists he did away with. His orders were to make sure that both of them ended up dead and as long as that happened the Noah of Pleasure could care less who did the actual killing. A somewhat sadistic grin spread across his face as he turned to face the shorter of the two white haired boys. "I guess that means you're mine boy."

"Tch," Hitsugaya scoffed, reaching up and grasping the hilt of Hyourinmaru. With one fluid motion the boy drew the sword that he wore secured across his back and held the blade out in front of him. The visions and the voices were still echoing in his mind however Hitsugaya forced them back as he faced off against the Noah of Pleasure. He knew that the battle would not be an easy one but he was determined not to lose.

"That look," Tyki said, the grin on his face becoming even wider. "Pure hatred."

"Careful Tyki," Road called out, holding up her hands and summoning a group of candles toward her. "I think he really wants to kill you."

"You should be more concerned about yourself," Allen said as he summoned the sword and pointed it at the Noah of Dreams. There was a cold look in his eye as he once again faced off against Road Kamelot. The young Exorcist was determined not to allow the hesitation that he had felt the last time to interfere with this battle. Human or not this time he would finish the battle with her.

Road merely laughed.

Not waiting for her to initiate the battle Allen leapt forward, swinging his sword toward the Noah. Road easily dodged the attack and she smiled at the young man, enjoying the battle. With a flick of her wrist Road sent a barage of candles toward Allen and it was his turn to dodge.

And thanks to the rigorous training that Hitsugaya had put him through Allen found himself able to easily dodge the attack.

This was different than the last time that the two of them had fought and it angered Road to a small extent. The last time that she had fought against him Allen had been much slower and she decided that she would have to increase the intensity of her attacks.

"So much fun!"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as he listened to Road's exclaimation and an apologetic look actually appeared in the eyes of Tyki Mikk. "I'm sorry about that. She can get a bit over excited in battle. But never mind that; you and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Unfinished business...

It was a harmless enough statement and yet Hitsugaya found his mind once again calling forth flashes of things that the boy felt certain he should remember. And yet, even though he realized that he should remember, Hitsugaya felt that a small part of him didn't want to know.

"Tease!"

Hitsugaya focused his attention on the black and purple butterflies that rose to surround Tyki and he was struck by the fact that they resembled the Hell butterflies. Weird. "So what exactly do you intend to do with those?"

"The Tease are cannibal golems created by Lord Millennium," Tyki explained as he gazed around at his pets. "They're a tool that we use in battle."

Hitsugaya smirked, thinking that they weren't really going to be much use against a soul, but he wasn't about to share that little piece of information with the enemy. Having fought the Noah already he was well aware of the fact that he needed every advantage that he could get.

"I can't let him know that his little pets aren't going to be effective," Hitsugaya thought to himself, pointing the tip of Hyourinmaru toward the blackened ceiling. "Reign over the frosted, frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!"

A huge dragon comprised of water and ice erupted from the tip of the young captain's zanpaktou and soared directly toward the large group of butterflies. The grin on Tyki's face faltered as he watched the strange dragon freeze the group of Tease, which fell to the ground and shattered.

"You're going to pay for that boy," he said, his narrow eyed gaze focused on Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya instinctively knew that he should be worried about Tyki's threat but he felt a strange calmness surround him. There was no place for fear in this battle and he refused to show even the slightest trace to his enemy.

A/N - and there's the end of another chapter. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. The fight will continue in the next chapter so stay tuned.