TWP: Thank you, all of you who have review and favorited this story! I LOVE YOU ALL! And so does Ava! And Daisya, although he's dead, and Lavi, Allen, Lenalee, Krory, Kanda hell, even Bookman like you guys now!

Disclaimer: I only own Ava Krory. Though I don't own the name Krory… Well, this is pretty annoying, going through each and every chapter like this!

She had almost reached the valley. It had gotten dark outside before she had been able to get to the village but she had a lot of unspent energy anyway so she walked through the night, taking a few breaks now and then. The sun had started to rise and then she felt the faint, barely noticeable prickling sensation in her back. She had only noticed it because she was on high alert.

'Akuma!' She thought and turned around sharply, trying to find the source of her Innocence's anxiety. Her eyes were momentarily blinded by the rising sun, but once she could see again she saw black dots appearing and flying past her.

'That's one big horde of Akuma.' She thought in worry as she stared at the town at the end of the valley. 'If they're there, then Allen will be on the move already. That eye of his can detect them from miles away.' She calmed herself and activated her Innocence. At first she tried to turn her wings into the fairy-like wings she had had under the battle with the Noah, but her wings remained unchanged and she sighed. Why couldn't she do it now?

She took off into the air at the same time as a serpent of fire swallowed several Akuma and destroyed them. She immediately knew who it was. She grinned and her arms began to glow as she joined in on the attack.

"This is a really large group of Akuma, which means a lot of innocent people lost their lives!" She could hear Lavi call from the ground.

"And since there were so many lives that never had a chance of being saved-" Lenalee began but paused as Ava flew past her and struck a few Akuma. "Ava!" She called out happily and the other girl grinned back.

"We choose to fight!" Krory called, finishing the young girl's sentence.

"Because we're Exorcists!" Ava yelled herself as she sunk her arms into one of the last Akuma as Allen destroyed the last one.

"Bring forth salvation to these tormented Akuma souls." He held a hand to his chest and prayed. Once they were finished Lenalee attacked Ava with hugs.

"Where have you been? I was so worried for you!" She whined and Ava hugged the younger girl back.

"I decided to walk here. I had a lot of thinking to do after all. Sorry I worried you." She apologized with a bow but once she was up again Krory hugged her himself.

"Avaaaa! I've missed you!"

"Arystar, you're… denying me… oxygen!" She gasped and sighed in relief when her cousin let go of her before she glomped him back. "Missed you too Arystar."

"Let's hurry!" Allen called. "The sooner we find Master Cross, the sooner this'll be over!" Ava and the others nodded with big smiles on their faces. The sooner she got home, the better. She couldn't have Daisya waiting for her forever now could she?

As they continued their journey Krory gave her his condolences. She waved it off and said it was fine and took the news of the cremation good enough. A little too good for her companions' liking.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lenalee asked and she nodded.

"Well, I guess I'm not really fully alright but… Daisya left me with his final words and a lot of memories, both good and bad. It would be insulting to him if I gave up now and wallowed in self-pity." She put a hand on her chest, over the locket hidden behind her jacket. The locket with the pictures of him and her family in it. Suddenly a few droplets fell down.

"Is it gonna rain?" She looked up and swore loudly causing the others to look at her slack-jawed. "What?" She asked and they shook their heads.

'Through everything that's happened I forgot how her personality really is.' They all thought to themselves. Nevertheless they all made a break for it running to the harbor, only to realize that the boat wouldn't be able to make it in the storm that was brewing so they had to find themselves an inn. Of course, this proved to be harder than they had thought. There had been many travelers who had missed the ferry and absolutely every inn had been packed full. There weren't even any places left to stand in them.

"Seems like we really have to sleep outside in this rain." Krory said depressed. Ava stiffened then.

"Did you hear that?" The others looked at her confused. Maybe she had imagined it but she could have sworn she had heard the sound of a bell. Then the sound came again and this time she hadn't imagined it. She pushed past them and ran, following the sweet sound. The sound grew stronger the faster she ran and the only image in her mind was the face of Daisya, smirking at her.

'Daisya… Daisya… DAISYA!' She ran out from an alley but the sound was gone and the only thing she could see was light coming from a house that had the sign of an inn in front of it.

"Heeeey, look. Ava found a lodge. Let's hope this one's not full too!" Lavi called and everyone hurried in. Once inside Lenalee hit the bell and a young woman with long blonde hair appeared.

"Welcome." Her voice was soft and gentle.

"Think he'll do it?" Allen asked.

"There's no doubt in my mind." Krory agreed and just seconds after Lavi burst.

"S-Strike!" His eye turned into a heart and he swooned.

"We knew it…" Krory and Allen sighed behind him. "She's totally my type!" Lenalee covered her face in embarrassment but the lady seemed to not take notice of his odd behavior. Also, it seemed like she was blind. Her eyes were closed and hidden behind dark shades. She gave them two keys and said that she could only give them scarce accommodations since her parents, the real owners, were away. Lavi cheered happily.

"By the way, could I get your name please?" He asked and she seemed honestly confused before she answered.

"It's Lulu Bell."

"Aah, thank you, Lulu Bell! You're a lifesaver!" Lavi grabbed her hands and shook them in gratitude.

'Bell, huh…' Lenalee noticed Avas distant expression and put a hand on her arm, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Ava, are you tired? Do you want to lie down?" She blinked before she noticed that everyone was staring at her in worry.

"A-ah, maybe I should. I didn't sleep any at all last night after all." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and apologized for making them worry. She went up to the counter and grabbed one of the keys. "I'm sorry about this womanizer over here, Ms. Lulu Bell." She said and the girl nodded with a faint smile herself as Lavi protested. Ava then went right past the others and up the stairs to the room she and Lenalee would be sharing.

"It's our duty as Exorcists to look for the fragments of the cube and find more accommodators to every piece of Innocence we find, but now…" Lenalee trailed off, now really glad that Ava wasn't with them, since this topic brought up the memories of everyone who died in the line of duty. "The Millennium Earl is on the attack, and our comrades are being killed one after the other. Some of them have even had their Innocence fragments destroyed."

"All the more reason to pick up our pace, then." Lavi said lightheartedly and Lenalee nodded in agreement. The only thing they could do to stop the causalities was to find Cross.

"It really is hard to be stuck here, especially when we're so close to Asia and the General's trail." Lavi crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair before the sound of a growling stomach could be heard. Everyone stared at Allen who held his stomach with a grimace. Once they all went to bed Lavi was kept awake by the rumbling sound of both Allen and Krorys stomachs.

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep with all this noise." Lavi complained. "I'm so jealous of Lenalee and Ava, they don't have to live with this." Unknown to him, the two Exorcists' stomachs could be heard on the other side of the wall. Lenalee was covering her ears, trying to block out the noise but she was unsuccessful.

"Ava, do you know what that noise is?" She turned to her friend's bed but saw that it was empty. "Ava?" She got up and looked around but there weren't many places to hide in their small room. Then she saw shadows outside her window. She jumped back just in time to evade the level 1 Akuma that was forced in through the wall and managed to get out before it exploded. High up in the air she could see Ava speed through a group of Akuma leaving destruction in her wake. The others had also woken up to the destruction and had jumped into action.

Allen tried to attack but he was so hungry he had no strength left and that made him an easy target but before the Akuma that had snuck up on him could attack him, Lenalee kicked a big chunk off of it and Ava had grabbed Allen and dragged him with her up.

"Thanks Ava." He called but she didn't reply. Instead she threw him at Lenalee who grabbed him just in time.

"Ava, what are you doing?" She yelled but the girl was already speeding away.

"Hey, have anyone seen Lulu?" Lavi called and the others glanced at each other in worry, thinking that maybe the girl could be in trouble. They raced down to investigate but they could find her nowhere. The only thing they found was a cat with a bell that left the scene.

Ava flew in circles around the town. Again she could swear that she had heard the bell. She circled around, trying to spot anything suspicious when she heard it. She zoomed off in the direction she had heard it and saw a girl lift up a cat with a bell attached around its neck. After the girl was gone, she landed on the ground, deactivating her Innocence that had grown silent.

"It was only a cat…" She laughed bitterly to herself. Of course it had been just a cat. What else could it have been? The Charity Bell was nothing more than mere broken fragments and its user was… dead. She rested her back against the cold and wet stone wall behind her before she slid to the ground.

'Why am I doing this to myself when I know the truth?' She cried out in anguish mentally. She let her legs slide out halfway and her hands fall to the ground. She didn't care anymore. The rain should just wash her away for good. At least then she could meet up with Daisya again. Memories of him surged through her mind, his smile, his face, his eyes, his temper, his warm arms and body, his soft and gentle touches…

"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" She screamed and grabbed her head, forcing the images out of her head as she slammed her skull into the wall behind her. It hurt! It hurt to remember.

"Ava!" She didn't register whose voice it was. All she felt was warm arms draped around her. She froze and looked up, seeing Daisya smile down at her. "Ava." He said again and she reached for his face.

"Daisya?" She felt happiness surge through her and a smile broke out on her face but the moment she touched him he turned into Lavi who wasn't smiling but rather staring at her both confused and worried. Her smile fell off her face and the happiness she had felt left her and was replaced by cold emptiness. Her hands fell to her sides again and the spark of life in her eyes died out.

"Lavi." She said silently.

"You're not 'fine' at all." He muttered as he took her in. She could feel the faint throb in the back of her head but she paid it no heed. She would rather her skull had split open so that she could have left to find Daisya. "Come on, get up." He pulled on both her arms but her legs couldn't keep up her weight so he was forced to help her up on his back, piggy-back style. He was warm, despite being drenched by the rain and she found herself remembering once she had sprained her ankle while training with Daisya. He had carried her back to HQ just as Lavi was carrying her now.

"This isn't healthy for you." He said after a while.

"My body is more robust than others since I'm a Parasite type." She mumbled and he shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant." She stayed silent and he sighed again when he realized she wouldn't answer.

"Ava…" He said and paused, trying to find the right words. "It's not… good for you. Since I'm the successor to Bookman I'm supposed to concentrate more on recording history and all that but I'm an Exorcist too. I knew Daisya, he was a good friend and an excellent Exorcist, but what you're doing to yourself right now isn't fair to neither yourself nor Daisya. I know you're not alright when you mistake me for him." She stiffened once he mentioned her dead lover's name. He steeled himself for a verbal beating but it never came. He glanced over his shoulder to find her staring at his back, her amber eyes so lifeless it almost scared the life out of him. He stopped.

"It's hard, I know, but I'm sure that if Daisya saw how you are right now, he would be sad, and… you said yourself that he left you with a lot of memories. You said that if you gave up and wallowed in self-pity, it would be an insult to his memory."

"I know… but it's hard." She whispered. "It's hard to live knowing I could have saved him. Had I only gone to him first instead of Marie… then maybe he would have been alive now, and maybe his Innocence wouldn't have been destroyed either."

"There's no use thinking about 'what if's'. What's done is done, there's nothing you can change about it." Lavi scolded harshly and she flinched. "The only thing you can do is look forward!" Suddenly explosions could be heard and the light from them lit up the sky.

"Not again! You stay here." Lavi told her when he noticed that she still didn't have any light in her eyes, only guilt. "When the battle's over I'll come get you. Don't you dare do anything stupid until then!" He took off his jacket and put it over her and took off. She stared after him before slumping against the wall and only listened to the sounds of battle coming from the direction Lavi had taken off to. All of what Lavi had told her occupied her mind, she couldn't shake it off.

"I know you're worried… that's why I do my best to make it look like I'm alright."

"That's what's worrying them." Her eyes widened as she heard that voice. She looked up and saw Daisya with his arms crossed a disapproving look on his face. The only thing stopping her from jumping up and running over to him was the fact that he was pale and she could see through his body.

"No, no, no, you're not real!" She cried out and covered her face, willing him to go away.

"That's right. I'm only a fragment of your memory, and you cling to me when you said you wouldn't. Ava, look at me." The girl refused. She only continued to chant that he wasn't real.

"Ava, please look at me." His voice was closer now and she peeked through her fingers and saw that he was sitting in front of her with a tiny smile on his face.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked in defeat and he grinned.

"It's because you're being a crybaby again, like in the good ol' times."

"I'm not!" She exclaimed angrily and he laughed. "Yes, you are! You're clinging to the past, crying and worrying others and it makes me unable to rest. You promised you would go on living. Didn't General Tiedoll say the same? He was going to fulfill his mission in the memory of those who fell!"

"You were dead before then. You don't know about that."

"I'm a memory fragment. I know everything you do."

"I…" Guilt flooded through her. "I don't wanna forget about you." She replied brokenly.

"You don't have to forget about me. I just want you to let it go. I'm gone physically, but I'm still here." He pointed at her heart. "But… you said to find someone else so I wouldn't be alone. That would be betraying you!"

"Stuuuuupid!" She looked up wide-eyes again. "I'm dead, nothing more anyone can do 'bout that. Even so, I told you not to keep everything to yourself. I told you to find someone to keep you happy. If you're happy, I'm happy!"

"B-but-"

"No buts! You're gonna keep your promise! I won't leave until you do. Now, get up and help 'em! Look around you!" She did and saw a group of Akuma fly over her and towards the explosions.

"That's a lot-"

"Of innocent lives that was never saved." She stared at him before taking off Lavi's jacket. She stared at it for a while before coming to a decision.

"I'm an Exorcist." She said lowly and got to her feet. "I destroy Akuma for a living, to protect." The louder she said it, the paler 'Daisya' became.

"I won't forget you! I refuse to forget you!" He frowned at this. "Because I loved you." 'Daisya' grinned then, happily.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I guess I wasn't." She said with a tiny smile.

"But it's not enough. I'm not gonna leave until you keep your promise and let me go." He put his hands behind his head with an impish grin.

"It's not easy to let go." She said as she activated her Innocence. "But time heals all wounds. Sorry, it might take a while." He didn't reply to that and she took off, easily catching up with the group of Akuma that had passed her by. She flew high above them before her wings transformed into hands and she fell down landing on one Akuma, ripped it apart before jumping on to the next. By the time she was finished so was the others and they had returned to where Lavi had left her.

"I swear I left her here!" Lavi looked around worried, finding no trace of her.

"You shouldn't have left her alone!" Lenalee exclaimed, ready to activate her Innocence again and try to locate her from the air.

"Ava! Where are you?" Krory called just as she walked out from a side-alley. "What are you guys doing?" She asked incredulously and they all turned to her. Not only was she drenched from the rain she was also soaked in blood.

"Ava! Where the hell have you been?" Lavi shouted angrily and Allen shushed him.

"Calm down Lavi-"

"I won't calm down! You didn't see how she was when I found her, she-"

"Look at the worry-wart. One would think he cared more than he lets on." 'Daisya' grinned mischievously. "Shut up." She snapped halfheartedly at him, only causing him to chuckle, and walked up to Lavi and handed him his jacket.

"I was fighting a group of Akuma, Lavi. Here, thanks for letting me borrow this." She said and smiled sweetly before she suddenly hugged him. "You gave me a real wake-up call. I'm really sorry." She added as she released him and he stared at her dumbfounded. She turned to the others.

"I'm really sorry. I haven't been myself. I won't hide it anymore, losing Yeegar and Daisya was hard on me, but it was hard on those back at HQ too. I wallowed in self-pity when Lavi found me earlier and he gave me a piece of his mind." She chuckled as Lavi rubbed his head in embarrassment. "It was a real wake-up call. I won't pretend anymore. Please, take good care of me."

"Of course!" Lenalee hugged her. "You only have to ask. You don't have to carry the burden alone." She said and a few tears escaped the older girl's eyes.

"Oh shit. Not again." She whined as they began to fall. "She's crying again!" Lavi laughed and she bonked him on his head.

"I'm not crying! It's the rain!" He laughed and chanted "Crybaby, crybaby."

"You're so dead!"

"Eeek!" Lavi gave a girlish scream before-

Plonk

"What the-"

"Are you kidding me?"

"AVA!" Krory gathered her up as she snored loudly. In the middle of her chase after Lavi she had fallen asleep.

"Hey, Krory-kins, is she narcoleptic or something?"

TWP: That's the end for now guys. Thank you for reading. I hope I haven't made thing complicated by making her see some sort of ghost of Daisya. It's just supposed to get her on the right track. I know of many people who imagined someone they cared a lot for (that has died) being there for them. And I'll answer Lavi's question. No, she's no narcoleptic, it's just that she falls asleep easily when she hasn't had anything to eat for a while plus… well, she's lazy. Her Innocence is very strong for her body so she sleeps a lot and eats a lot, like Parasite types usually do.