TWP: Wow, it's a good number of chapters now. I didn't think I would go this far.

Disclaimer: I do not own -Man.

Ava woke up late the next day. She sat up and stretched with a big yawn and took in her surroundings as she rubbed her eyes. She was on a ship that seemed to be in good condition. With that thought she laid down again and was about to fall asleep when she remembered one thing.

They were on their way to Edo, Japan.

Their ship was attacked and left in a terrible state.

She had yelled at Lavi and then fallen asleep.

"Holy shit! What the hell is going on?!" She jumped out of bed and ran up on deck only to see the crew working as usual as if nothing had happened and the ship seemed to be okay too. She hurried to the captain's quarters and saw the others in there. Relief flooded through her when she saw Lenalee and surprise when she saw Miranda and that the others wore different uniforms from before but the mood in the room wasn't a good one. She looked around but couldn't see Allen.

"What's going on? Where's Allen?" She asked with a nervous smile, just waiting for him to come in and reassure her that everything was alright now but when she mentioned his name Lenalee's eyes filled with tears. "Lavi? Lenalee? What happened?"

"Allen… is gone…" The world came crashing down on Ava and she staggered back, leaning against the wall.

"Are you sure?" She asked and Timcanpy flew over to her, showing the recording he made. Her eyes widened in surprise only to be replaced by pure fury when she saw Tyki Mikk, the Noah who had killed Yeegar, Daisya, Suman, and then destroying Allen's innocence.

"We didn't find a body but we know he's dead. All we found was blood." Lavi said silently.

"You're making a hasty conclusion Lavi." She said calmly as Timcanpy flew in a circle over them.

"What do you mean?"

"If you didn't find a body then we can't be sure that he's gone!" She said and Lavi let his hands glide through his red locks. "Look, I understand that you don't want to believe it but-"

"No, you don't understand! Don't go around claiming that people are dead if you can't find their bodies!" Ava argued with him. "That man, that fucking Noah, likes to make things flashy! If you didn't find Allen that means he could have escaped!"

"How can you know that? He was badly hurt, his Innocence is destroyed!" Lavi raised his voice. He wanted to believe that Allen was alive too, but Ava only came with baseless conclusions now. Allen couldn't be anything other than dead, and if she continued to speak like this they would gain false hope that would only be crushed in the end and the way Lenalee was now, and it wasn't something she needed now.

"Because that man is the Noah that killed General Yeegar and Daisya!" She screamed back and their eyes widened. "Believe what you want, but I refuse to accept that the fucker killed Allen too!" She said and stormed out of the room, leaving a seething Lavi, a speechless Krory and a silent Lenalee. Ava was seething with fury herself as she stalked down under deck, pacing around in a circle.

"He's not dead, I can feel it! Allen is too good for that. There's no way that Noah could have killed him!" She growled.

"Ava?"

"What?" She whirled around with a snarl and Miranda jumped back in fright.

"I-I'm sorry, forgive me!" She bowed and the fury disappeared as fast as it had come and Ava softened her voice and eyes.

"No, it's my fault. You don't have to apologize." She said and Miranda looked up, holding a bundle and giving it to the younger girl.

"T-this is the latest uniform. They're stronger, lighter and easier to move in. The Science Dept. said that this was the only thing they could do to protect us. They've worked really hard to make this." Ava took it with a nod.

"There's plenty more they can do to help us, they just have to realize it." She said with a smile and thanked the older woman, telling her she could go back to the others now. She would follow as soon as she had dressed. Her new uniform hadn't changed much from its original design, she noted.

Instead of pants she wore tight shorts reaching her mid-thighs, where the inside of her thighs were white and the outside black, ankle height black combat boots, a white and black strapless top that left her back and parts of her chest bare as usual and the same coat that she had before although it was sleeveless and the Science Dept. had added black finger less combat gloves instead of sleeves.

"Hm, sometimes I wonder about them, being so good with designs and all." She chuckled to herself and went up again to join the rest of the group again but before she reached the door the sound of glass being broken could be heard. She rushed in and watched Lavi seethe in anger.

"We were fighting for our lives last night! There was no way we could've saved him. It's a war! It can't be helped so give up and stand!" He yelled the last part and tears gathered in Lenalee's lifeless eyes again before they fell down her cheeks. A dark aura came from Bookman, Krory and Miranda.

"You made her cry." The sound of skin being slashed was heard before the sound of droplets falling to the ground could be heard also. Everyone turned to the door and watched with wide eyes as Ava held up her arm and inspected the wound on her arm, holding a small knife in her other.

"Lenalee… I'm bleeding." She said silently and the girl's head shot up, her eyes having a bit of life in them now though they were filled with only worry. "I could die from blood loss from this wound. What are you going to do?" The girl ripped a part of her dress and tried to wrap it around the older girl's wound but Ava kept her arm out of reach, making her bleed more.

"Ava, what are you doing? Let me help!" Lenalee demanded but Ava pushed her away. "No."

"Why not?!"

"I can't trust a person who's acting like I did back then." Lenalee's eyes widened in shock as the girl in front of her stared at her coldly. "I can't trust someone who gives up and wallow in self-pity. Iwon'ttrust someone who would defile the memory of those who gave their lives for our cause. You understand what I'm saying?" The words were harsh and said without a hint of mercy but they were also true.

"Ava, you're going too far-" Krory began and grabbed her arm together with Miranda but she shot her cousin and the woman a glare that gave them the chills and he shut up. "You don't give me any other choice but to die, Lenalee." The green-haired girl shook her head.

"Let me tie up your wound! You're being cruel, Ava!" Ava grabbed the girl's collar and hoisted her up to her eye-level. "I'm being cruel?"

"Ava!" Krory reacted this time but Ava's Innocence activated and held him back.

"You're the one being cruel, Lenalee!" Violet eyes met amber ones and Lenalee noticed the new tattoo under Ava's right eye, causing her own to widen. "You're the one who stubbornly won't wake up! You're the one who stubbornly thinks it's your right to defile the memory of those we lost! You're becoming a splitting image of how I was but you refused to let me grieve alone! You all forced me rely on you and now you're the one who decided to stay all alone! You're not the only one who misses Allen, I do too! The one thing that's different between us is that I don't believe that Allen is dead! I believe in Allen! I believe that he will return to us!" From the corner of her eyes, she could see Bookman whispering to Lavi, whose eyes widened more and more before turning somber, like he had remembered or realized something.

"Continue like this and we'll all die, because we can't win without you." Ava let go of Lenalee who fell on the ground and began to cry. Miranda immediately knelt beside the girl and hugged her as Ava left the room. Once outside, Anita and Mahoja asked what was wrong.

"We could hear yelling." Anita said.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just that we don't agree on some matters. And by the way Mahoja, thanks for the tattoo. It's perfect." She held her thumbs up and the giant woman smiled with a nod. Inside the room where the Exorcists still stood, Bookman also said that he, like Ava, didn't believe that Allen, who was prophesied to be the "Destroyer of Time", could have died just yet. He thought that 'Time' in "Destroyer of Time" meant the Millennium Earl, ergo, Allen, in Bookman's eyes, was the only one who could destroy the Earl. This gave the others in the room a bit of hope too and they started to believe, just like Ava, that Allen may still be alive.

"You don't think you were a bit too harsh on her?" Ava turned her eyes from the stars to the redhead that walked up to her. "You think so?" He shrugged.

"Lenalee is a tough girl, but she's lost a lot of comrades lately."

"So have I." He looked down at the water, realizing that she had lost just as much as them, if not more. There was an awkward silence before they both spoke up.

"I'm sorry-"

"Are you-" They looked at each other before chuckling.

"You first." She said and he pointed at her arm. "How is it?" She held it up and he saw that it was healed. "Miranda's Recovery works perfectly." She said with a grin.

"I remember when she first came to the Order. She was so shy and had no confidence in herself. Look at her now, look at the power she wields." She gestured to the whole ship. "Thanks to her we were able to leave at once." He nodded.

"Yeah, she really is something. And to think she's capable to keep up the invocation for days without rest."

"I did that once too." Ava smiled as memories came back. "And had it not been for Yeegar and Daisya I wouldn't be standing here today. It's dangerous to force the Innocence to stay activated for long. Let's hope she won't feel too much of a strain." He nodded now too, glancing at her and there was a silence before she broke it with a sigh, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Lavi, about yesterday, I'm sorry. Without realizing it I went and kept everything to myself again and I let it all out on you. You didn't deserve that." She said and rubbed the back of her head, not looking at him at all as a blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks.

"And I'm sorry about how I acted towards Lenalee too. I… I just felt so angry when I saw how she acted. I saw myself and was enraged at myself for allowing me to be put out of the game and cause trouble for you guys. I didn't want her to do the same mistake as I did." She turned around and put her back and elbows on the railing and stared at 'Daisya' who was neither smiling nor frowning. His face was emotionless. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

"It's her we should be apologizing to. We both let out some anger at her for the way she acted. She didn't deserve that. Lenalee is a tough girl but when it comes to losing people she thinks she could have saved it's hard for her to keep up the facade."

"I know what you mean." Ava said. They stayed silent for a while and she stared at 'Daisya' until she reached a decision. "Lavi, can I confide in you?" The redhead turned towards her in surprise.

"You're actually gonna tell me something?" She didn't laugh at the joke.

"Back when I found Daisya at the mercy of that Noah… I hesitated." Lavi's eyes widened and he straightened up as he took in the seriousness in her voice. "When I found them, I was about to attack but… that man, he asked if I was going to lose control of my Innocence if I fought him and that caught me off guard and questions whirled through my head. If I lost control, even if I managed to defeat him, would I then kill Daisya myself? Would I lose my heart completely and then go around killing innocent humans?" She furrowed her brows and bit her lip.

"I wasn't sure if I could return to normal if that happened… I was afraid I would become a mindless killing machine, no better than the Akuma. It caused me to hesitate and I didn't dare fight with all my power. Lavi, do you think that if I fought with all my heart, I would have been able to save Daisya?" she turned to him and he thought about it for a moment.

"I don't think you could have. Daisya was already pretty torn up right? If you had fought with your full power, I think the only thing you would have accomplished would have been dragging it out until one of you collapsed."

"But Marie and Kanda were just moments too late! If I could have kept it up, we could have regrouped and fought him together!"

"Yeah, but while that may be true, that Noah had the power to pass through objectsandhumans. It could have resulted in you all dying." Lavi pointed out and Ava sighed.

"You're right. I should be thankful for being alive. That Noah… he respected Daisya's last request."

"What was that?" Lavi asked and she smiled sadly. "That he would let me live, and so he did." Lavi's eyes widened and she gave a soft, bitter snort.

"He could have begged for his own life. His Innocence was broken, he was no threat any longer, but he thought only of me." She looked up and gasped as she saw 'Dasiya' turn more transparent than before.

"You're doing well." She heard him, his voice soft but now at least, he was smiling.

"Something wrong?" Lavi asked but she shook her head. "No… I think things are finally looking good." She said with an honest grin and he couldn't help but grin back.

"So, about that tattoo. For Daisya?" He asked and she nodded, tracing it.

"Yeah. I liked those marks on his face, really. Does it suit me?"

"Doesn't look bad." Lavi shrugged and she raised an eyebrow. "Which means?"

"Alright, alright, it looks good, okay?" He laughed and she slapped his arm before turning around again. "You know, it's truly a beautiful night, tonight, ne?" Lavi nodded and they stood in another comfortable silence until Ava's curiosity could take no more.

"Lavi?"

"Yeah?"

"When I lectured Lenalee, what did Bookman say to you?" She asked and Lavi stiffened visibly before he eased up again. "Nothing important." He said and she stared at him before sighing.

"He told you not to get attached, right?" He turned so sharply she was afraid he would snap his own neck and stared at her with one wide eye but she was already facing the ocean again. "It's pretty obvious, really."

"H-how did you?"

"You're the successor to Bookman. A Bookman needs no heart, right?" He turned away again before resting his head on the railing along with his arms. "Yeah." Even though he had answered, he wondered how she knew. Ava noticed how his mood fell and she mentally kicked herself and slowly put her arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, even if that's the rule, there's no way anyone can follow through on it. I bet Bookman's got a heart but he hides it. I can tell he obviously cares a great deal for you."

"I'm his heir."

"And also like a grandson to him, right?" Lavi nodded. "I don't think he means for you to throw away your heart fully. I think he wants you to put it aside just enough not to distract you from your duties as his successor. You're human Lavi; it would be abnormal if you didn't feel. This is what makes us different from Akuma. We feel." Lavi glanced at her before nodding slowly. She grinned and turned around again, to take a look at Daisya but instead she saw something else. Something she didnotlike.

"Look out!" Lavi didn't have time to register what was going on before she pushed him down. All he knew was that he felt a warm liquid fall down on him. He realized what it was and stared in horror at Ava, who gritted her teeth, as blood dripped from her head.

"You okay?" He nodded slowly and she smiled in relief before crying out as she was lifted up from him. "Ava!" He froze as he saw the Akuma hold her up by her hair.

"L-let go!" She held onto her thin braid for dear life so it wouldn't hurt as much but he shook her and she lost her grip. "You heard the lady!" Lavi activated his hammer but the Akuma threw her at him and both landed on the deck with a thud before the Akuma attacked them, and they were defenseless. Explosions happened all over the ship and the main mast broke. The two lost consciousness for a moment as the mast fell and the sails covered them. But only for a moment.

"Title: The Corpses of Two Exorcists." The seal of fire appeared before the Akuma. "Hammer of Flames, Detonate!" Lavi shouted and the fire engulfed the Akuma, or so they thought.

"Dammit, what a pointless injury!" Lavi cursed as Miranda's Recovery healed him. "You alright Ava?" Said girl sat up, rubbing her head looking furious as Recovery healed her too, although she hadn't taken much of a beating compared to him, since she had activated her Innocence to cover them.

"Yeah, but that fucker is going down!" She growled, ripped off her torn cloak but once the smoke had cleared they could see that the Akuma was indeed hit by Lavi's hammer but it seemed to be ineffective.

"Title: Why Did You Recover?"

"The hell? Wasn't it a direct hit?" Ava whispered and by the look on Lavi's face she knew he was thinking the same thing. The redhead began pushing the hammer more, trying to force it to defeat the Akuma but it didn't work.

"Dammit, why didn't it work?!" The Akuma just snorted and pushed the hammer away from itself slowly and then Lavi realized it. This was a level 3! The hammer was finally pushed away by a strong force and Lavi was sent flying into the sails that had recovered and the level 3 charged after him.

"Title: Escape Sealed!" Before he could kill Lavi, Bookman appeared and used his Innocence, Heaven Compass, to seal the movements of the monster. Ava had also come to the rescue and the grotesque hands created a solid wall between Lavi and the Akuma although it was clear that her Innocence would have taken a beating if he had hit. The needles from Heaven Compass prickled them but it didn't hurt at all, they were both Innocence after all.

"Elder, kill him!" Ava yelled but the warning came too late. The level 3 broke out from the needles and grabbed Bookman, taking him high up into the air.

"Gramps!" Lavi yelled but Ava was already one step ahead of him, having already foreseen this happen. She took off, trying to catch up with the Akuma but they disappeared behind the clouds. Then there was a bright light and the moment she entered the clouds Bookman fell into her arms.

"Bookman! Are you alright?"

"He's… not alone." The old man managed to get out and there was another bright light. Ava turned them around, fully aware that Bookman wouldn't be able to survive another attack and took the full force. Everything turned silent. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak and she definitively couldn't control her Innocence. The only thing she could do was watch with lidded eyes as she and Bookman fell towards the ocean. Luckily for the both of them, Lavi had been too worried about Bookman to stay on the ship and met them halfway, though it was hard for him to catch them both. Ava rested over his right knee while the old man was caught in his left arm.

"Gramps! Gramps! Ava!" He yelled but none of them reacted. Ava lost her consciousness but Bookman managed to cling to his. Suddenly purple lights shot down around them, almost hitting Lavi and the two wounded Exorcists but Lavi managed to avoid them by swaying left and right.

On the ship the others were getting restless and Lenalee activated her Innocence and took off too, leaving the rest to worry about their comrades that were already in the sky. The ship had taken another heavy beating by the rain of bullets that had come from the sky and they were worried that they had been caught up in it. Lenalee ran up the handle of the hammer and passed by Lavi, ordering him to get back to the ship. He was hurt too, and he was steadily getting out of the reach of Miranda's Innocence.

"Stop, Lenalee!" Lavi called after her. "Don't! He's different from other Akuma! He's a level 3!" But Lenalee ignored his warnings and before he could do anything his wounds returned to him, causing his grip on his hammer to weaken, thus risking not only his own welfare but also the ones he held. He couldn't stay up anymore. He's wounds wouldn't allow him to. Blood ran down from his scalp and down to his chin, dripping on Ava.

'The cuts have returned to my body. Is it because I'm too far from the ship? Shit!"Ava suddenly fell from her perch on his leg and he gasped, having no arm free to reach for her but it wasn't needed. She transformed into her angel form and raced off after Lenalee, who was already facing the Akuma.

"Return to the ship Lavi and tell them to go on without us! Your wounds are worse than mine!" Though the teen wasn't completely convinced of her statement he had to get Bookman down on the ship again to heal his wounds. He could only trust that they would both be safe.

"Title: You're Next." Before the Akuma or Lenalee could charge though, Ava appeared and managed to scratch the level 3 on his stomach, but that was all she managed before the Akuma dodged.

"Title: You Are Fast." The Akuma praised, but both girls knew that would not be enough for this one. Lenalee may have both power and speed through her Black Boots but through Angel, Ava only had speed. She used her speed to gain enough power to cut through the Akuma with her razor sharp arms. She wasn't useless without the speed advantage but it was hard just cutting through a level 2 without speed, so a level 3 would be even harder and to add to the number of disadvantages she was already wounded, while the Akuma was completely fine. She heard screams and glanced down, seeing the ship being attacked. Her eyes narrowed in confusion until she remembered what Bookman had told her. The Akuma wasn't alone. She turned around and tried to locate the others but she saw none. The only thing she saw was the bullets raining down.

"Lenalee! This one, he ain't alone! There are more around here!" Ava called and narrowly ducked the Akuma's attack and Lenalee called back.

"I can deal with this, you stop the others! We can't let them destroy the ship!" Ava nodded herself and turned, ready to blast off when she heard a snap.

"AAAARGH!" Pain coursed through her and she screamed as she clawed at her left shoulder. The Akuma was now holding her broken wing; he had snapped it like a twig and the gravity forcing her towards the earth caused the pain to intensify.

"Title: Fall Into Darkness." The Akuma said and chains appeared around her body, restricting her movements. "W-what's this?" She felt heavier, causing more pain from her wing and the Akuma grinned.

"Sayonara." And he let go. Her eyes widened as she fell down and Lenalee screamed, charging after her but the Akuma got in the way and punched her, sending her upwards again.

"Lenalee!" Ava reached out but the girl couldn't reach her because the Akuma kept her away from her. "LENALEE!" Soon, she was unable to see them and she turned around, hoping to catch sight of the ship and call out to her fellow Exorcists but she remembered when she couldn't see it, that she had told Lavi to get them out of there. She watched in horror as the dark sea came closer and closer to her, no, she was the one falling closer to it. She tried to use her right wing to slow the fall. Even if her left was broken she could at least try to keep herself up for some time more so Lenalee could help her if she managed to get away from the Akuma. To her horror she realized that the chains were restricting her wings. She couldn't spread her them, much less keep herself in the air. She tried grabbing the chains to remove them forcefully but the only thing that resulted in was her getting shocked by electricity. These chains were obviously made of Dark Matter and not meant to be removed unless the caster allowed it. She took a deep breath and was engulfed in the dark sea water as she fought to remove the chains again.

Down on the ship Bookman and the others had heard Ava's scream of pain though they couldn't recognize whose voice it was. They just hoped that it had been an Akuma who had died or been wounded. Since neither Lenalee nor Ava came falling down they pushed the thought of them being hurt away and continued to try to save the ship that was rapidly sinking.

'Can't… breathe!'Ava thought as despair began to flood her body and mind. Her limbs grew weaker from the lack of air. Her vision blurred and her head began to throb.

'Is this how it's going to end? Fucking bastard… killing me off like this… it's pathetic.'Her thoughts began to swirl and she couldn't keep track of them. Her lungs were empty, they burned, her throat constricted and she automatically opened her mouth to breathe in air but the only thing she did was swallowing sea water. Her throat hurt as the salty water forced itself down and her vision darkened.

'I don't… I don't want this!'She thought and desperately tried to swim back up but she couldn't move at all.

'Help me! Anyone… Arystar… I don't wanna die…'Her vision turned black and she ceased her struggling. Ava Krory had been consumed by the dark depths of the ocean.

TWP: That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. The rest you know from the manga and anime (mostly the manga though).

….

OF COURSE I WAS JOKING! I'm not finished yet. We have to take a look at how the others react to these news first of course! And I have to make Allen jump into the series again too.

By the way, please leave a review, I'm practically begging you guys. Even though I've written up to chapter 30 it's still a bit depressing that there's so few reviews. It gives me no motivation to publish the other chapters, rather it makes me want to delete it.