Waning Moon, First Half
A/N: I finally got back to writing this. I originally was going to write the full Ark sequence, but after 4000 words or so, I thought it might be best to split it instead. So, thanks for everyone for bearing with me and sticking to this story. Still following canon for the most part until we reach the post-Ark sequence, but I do have some plans for what's going to change… and change drastically from the canon-verse.
Thanks again to all viewers, followers, and voters for your support. Big thanks to Celestial stratos, Auguste the Clown, lizyeh2000, and himekuroyuki853 for your wonderful reviews.
Remember to read, follow, vote, review and repeat.
And I do not put any claim on D. Gray-Man beyond my AU elements and Raven. If I did, we would not have such a hanging suspense between releases.
"Dialogue"
Thoughts, emphasis, etc.
/ Flashbacks and visions /
/ What happened before /
*sounds, actions*
Formal attack names
"Akuma (in their true forms) speech"
Written or oral communications (i.e. golems, notes, etc.
- Full Moon –
Six exorcists and one human fell into a heap. Raven hissed as someone shoved their elbow into his face.
"Ugh…" "So scary!" "We're crushing Lenalee!" "Will someone please just get off?"
"Where the hell are we?" grumbled Kanda.
"We're in the Ark!" "This is Noah's Ark" the Walkers exclaimed.
Kanda got into both of their faces. "What the hell are we doing here, then?" he spat.
Allen deadpanned, "How am I supposed to know."
Raven backed away from the two. This again?
"Hey! Something's crushed beneath Lenalee!"
Lero, the Earl's golem kept denying the possibility of an exit even with Mugen shoved at his pumpkin head. Then the thing projected a message from the Earl:
"How unlucky for you exorcists. This ship has fulfilled its part in this war. Nice job leading them here, Lero. I'm afraid time is short, young exorcists. In just a bit, you and the ship will be heading toward hell!"
*CRASH! BOOM! CRACK!*
Buildings and streets fell apart around them. Raven neatly sliced several chunks of debris as it nearly came down on Chaozii.
"See? The download has begun, and the world around you will collapse. This ship will soon slip between the dimensions and disappear. To put it plainly… YOU HAVE ONLY THREE HOURS UNTIL YOU ARE ERASED FROM THIS WORLD. Young lady, my, my, I must say you and such dedicated friends. So many have come…and so many to share your fate. But don't worry too much about those you've left behind. Their pain and tears will also be erased shortly.
Raven-pon, though, you have nothing to worry about. Soon, you won't have anything to hold you back from your destiny."
Raven clenched his fists tight and ignored the accusing glares sent by Chaozii. They didn't have any time for interrogations. They uselessly smashed open door after door, not a single one opening up to the outside world.
"You should listen, lero. All the exits are gone now, lero. You are all going to die here, lero."
"Ah, but there is an exit."
Raven whirled around. A familiar figure knelt by Allen.
"If all you want is just an exit, shounen." A smirk played on Raven's currently least favorite relative.
A moment of silence. Then:
"SUPER-THICK GLASSES!" shouted Lavi, Allen, and Krory.
Raven dropped his head into a hand and mumbled, "Idiots, the lot of you."
"Huh? Didn't little raven tell you?" inquired Tyki Mikk with a trace of amusement.
"Wh- Why? What are you doing here?" questioned Allen.
"Hey," remarked Kanda, "You might want to be on guard, 'cause that guy is giving off an a lot of killing intent," observed Kanda with the same air of indifference.
Tyki Mikk chuckled, "Shounen, tell me, how did you survive…?"
Raven glared as the older man head-butted Allen with a curse.
"Thanks to you, I had to put up with what those brats and the Earl said. Even Nocturne there corrected me!"
Seeing the confusion in his brother's eyes, Raven explained, "Allen…everyone here has already met this guy, isn't that right, Uncle Tyki Mikk?"
To answer, the Noah resumed his other form, glasses falling through his head and disappearing.
"Heh, I guess Raven didn't have time to tell you this little detail, eh? Like I said before, I can give you an exit out of here. The Ark doesn't have an exit anymore, but with Road's ability, we can make some more."
A checkered heart door rose from the ground. Raven eyed it suspiciously. "What's the catch?"
Tyki Mikk smirked. "Perceptive as ever, little raven. Road is the only Noah who can freely move through space without using the Ark. If you want an exit, then why not continue where we left off on our game. The stakes will be the "exit" against your "lives." Except for my dear nephew, of course," chuckled the Noah darkly.
Raven flared his wings in warning the moment Tyki Mikk made a move toward him. The Noah laughed again and stepped back toward the door, his hands held out in acquiescence.
"Not going to make this easy, huh? That's fine. You can play, too, then. You guys can keep the little raven with you, but if you lose, I'll be taking him with me. He's more my family than you. But remember, you two Walkers will be playing fairly this round."
"But all is fair in love and war," countered Raven.
"We'll see," the Noah chuckled darkly. He took out an iron key and balanced it on his finger. "See this key? It will unlock Road's door out of here as well as the three doors leading up to it. Get through all the doors and their guardians and you win. If you can't… well, I think you understand what that means." Tyki gave them a feral grin before flicking the key in Raven's direction. The exorcist snatched it out of the air with a growl, not at all pleased with the possible outcome of the game. But he couldn't do anything about it, not when only one Noah had the power to fully control the Ark.
*Crack. CRASH! *
One of the many towering buildings collapsed, hundreds of tons of masonry smashing right where Tyki Mikk stood.
"Tyki!" gasped Allen.
"Did he die, then?" asked Lavi plainly.
Raven picked himself up from the rubble and shook his head.
"Don't worry, he's fine. Uncle Tyki's a Noah. They're pretty durable compared to Homo sapiens sapiens," explained the gold-eyed boy.
"Little raven isn't wrong you know," laughed the Noah from afar. "Okay, the door will be at the top of that tower over there. Since I like you guys, the first door won't be guarded. But you might want to hurry. Remember, to win you have to get through all the doors before the whole place collapses."
"Exactly how is anything fair?" pointed out Allen. "Aren't Noah practically immortal?"
"Ahahahahahaha! Sorry about the whole building thing. But really? You haven't talked to Nocturne yet, have you? Lad, we are humans, too. Members of Homo sapiens and all that like little raven implied. But if you think we seem a bit immortal to you, maybe it's because you guys are so weak!" laughed the Noah. His laughter rapidly diminished as he disappeared from their hearing.
"Great relatives you have there, Naichingeru," remarked the samurai as he sliced through more falling rubble.
All six exorcists and the supporter managed to escape to a more stable area.
*Huff, huff* "What now?" gasped the sailor as they stopped temporarily to regroup.
"Chaozii has a point," agreed the redheaded exorcist. "We have only three hours to escape this place and four doors to find along with their guardians." (Two hours actually, lero).
"Say, Raven, how well do you know that Noah? Can we trust him to keep his word?"
Raven went silent as he thought. "Keep in mind, I've only known the guy for a few days. I think he would keep his word, but Noah in general can be sadists and manipulators. But Road's ability is genuine. I can see parts of her within this key, so it definitely linked to her ability. How, I can't really say."
"Shit," cursed Kanda.
Lavi shook his head and sighed, "I guess we don't have any other option, do we?"
"But I think I can help with finding the door." When Raven focused, letting his eyes go ringed, he could see the ultra-thin wisp but distinctly dark purple of the Noah of Dreams' aura. The thread connected from the key off to hopefully one of her doors. The teen grinned and gestured for them to follow him.
"Wait, wait, how can we trust this guy? He's related to the Noah! He could be one of them for all we know!"
Raven resisted the urge to flinch, but by the considering glint in Lavi's eye, he may not have completely succeeded.
"Enough! We don't have much choice. I trust him, why can't you?" pleaded Lenalee. The Chinese supporter deeply frowned but finally gave a nod.
"Fine, but I'll be watching you!"
They ran. Block after block of city roads crumbled and broke around them. Finally, they reached a door glowing with the same light as the key. Without hesitation, Raven shoved the key into the lock. The door shined and morphed into something more to Road's girlish style and fantasy.
"Wow," exclaimed the Bookman.
Allen turned to their companions. "I swear, we'll all make it out of here somehow," the whitetette vowed. He put his hand out in front of him. One by one (with the exception of Kanda) the group agreed to the sentiment. Raven prayed to whatever deities existed. Please, please let us make it out alive. I don't care if they hate me at the end of this…I would be content if we all make it out with our lives and minds intact.
- Gibbous Moon -
They stepped through…and entered a garden under a truly fantastical sky.
"What kind of surrealist painting did we enter?" mused Raven aloud.
"Fairly certain this isn't 'outside' per se," agreed Lavi with a hum as the Bookman peered up at the purple-black sky. Nothing really moved, giving away the artifice.
Kanda suddenly stopped. Raven arched a golden eye and peered further into the darkness.
"Kanda…?"
"Be quiet."
"Allen, I'm going to have to agree with our resident emotional samurai." Because a familiar aura of dark purple veiled the ominous figure standing ahead of them.
"You guys go on ahead," ordered the exorcist, drawing his blade slowly.
Everyone else gaped. "What?!" "Excuse me?" "Pardon, Master Exorcist?"
"I said, SHUT UP. This guy is the same one who was after my general. We met him a few times before coming here."
"But Kanda! W-we can't just leave you behind like this! He's a Noah!"
"I don't want you people to get the wrong impression. I'm not doing this for any of you. Like I said before, this guy is after my general, so I'll finish my mission by taking him down," chillingly pronounced Kanda, steel biting in his voice.
The others began to argue, but Raven just nodded his head. He peered out to the large, blocky Noah. Gray skin, gold, rippled eyes, and a smirk. Typical of these arrogant, "superior" humans thought Raven offhandedly. No matter what the Earl or his uncle said, Raven believed no one was "better" than another person, only different, and the Noahs saying otherwise always annoyed the hell out of the winged exorcist.
"Skinn Boric. That's this guy's name. Be careful. His aura…fluctuates wildly around him." That was an understatement. The Noah's aura was primarily a heavy drape of purple and black, but Raven's eyes had evolved further. He could see the finer bits of purple energy flickering in and out of existent. It was as if the Noah stood in the center of storm cloud.
"Stick with distant attacks if you can manage. It could be…bad if you attacked this guy with Mugen's blade directly. I can almost see ropes of energy crawling just above his skin. I really don't like how his aura seems almost sent-"
"I did not ask for your opinion, Naichingeru," snapped the swordsman. As if to punctuate his point, the earth began to shake.
"E-earthquake…?" mumbled Allen.
"Yeah, I guess this is proof we are still in the Ark," noted the Bookman with a sweat drop.
"Correct, exorcists, lero. This room simply has not been fully downloaded yet, lero. The tremors you feel are just the prelude, lero. Once Road is finished scanning the data, the whole room will vanish like the city outskirts, lero!"
Raven casually leaned back enough to flail a wing right in the pumpkin's face. Lero huffed around a face full of feathers.
The next scene didn't really surprise Raven. His dear older brother tried to do the noble thing and stay, Kanda got mad and attacked, and the whole group fled the raging insect swarm.
Lenalee stopped several feet away from the brooding exorcist. She called out, "Kanda! You know you have to follow after us…right?" Silence met her inquiry. The Chinese exorcist pouted and screamed, "ANSWER ME, KANDA-BAKA!"
"Okay, okay, I got it. Just hurry up and go. Naichingeru."
Raven paused, hand on Lenalee's arm and half turned away from Kanda.
"Yes?" he asked warily.
"Make sure Lenalee, Moyashi, and the Bakana Usagi actually make it to the door."
Raven smirked. "Hey, they're all older and wiser than me, shouldn't it be the other way around, Bakanda?"
"Just do it."
A smile was his only answer to that.
"Are you done whining and crying?" grumbled the Noah. The purple-black aura now had wide arcs of blacked edge amethyst arcing in jagged streaks. The air became heavy with the scent of ozone. "Now, will you guys fucking shut up?!"
The Noah's form distorted, becoming larger, twisted, and serrated. He didn't look anyway human anymore.
"Steady, Mugen," assured the exorcist.
"Thunder. Thunder. Thunder! THUNDER!"
"Eight Flower Mantis!"
"Over there! I see a building, sir exorcists!"
"Kanda, you better keep that promise," swore Raven softly under his breath. His brother had the same sentiment.
"Bakanda! If you don't meet up with us, I'll kick your ass!"
The answer is oftentimes the most obvious. And how much more obvious can they get than a door marked "Noah"?
The door closed behind them with a soft thump.
- Half Moon –
His head throbbed. The pain hadn't relented since Tiki Mikk first stole him away. But now it did. Or rather, it took a backseat to the waves of sorrow.
"Raven?"
The exorcist nearly jerked away when he felt a cool hand wipe at his face. Lenalee. Her hand glistened where it touched his cheek. He brought his own hand up. Tears tracked down his face in a relentless but steady rate.
"Are you that worried about Kanda, Nightingale?" inquire Lavi jokingly, the humor falling a bit flat with the edge the Bookman couldn't quite erase.
"…I don't think he's coming back anytime soon," mumbled Raven quietly, more to himself than to the others. He quickly grabbed the bottom of his shawl, averting his eyes from the others as he dried his face.
"Don't worry. Kanda is a very competent exorcist," reassured Lenalee. Your aura says differently Raven couldn't help but think to himself. The group continued quietly on. At least, quietly until a distinct crack echoed behind them.
Raven and Allen turned their head back.
"Allen…? Raven?"
"Guys, start get out of here. Now!"
Raven extended his wings, snatching Allen up as the floor underneath them gave way.
"What the hell?!" screamed the others.
"Less gawking, more running!" shouted the exorcist.
That finally reached them. Lavi, Lenalee, Krory, and Chaozii scrambled to find purchase as they ran across the rapidly deteriorating floor. Allen dropped down to the floor to help the others get away. The Chinese sailor Chaozii tripped and nearly fell to the ground except Raven dived down and plucked him from the crumbling ground.
"Let go!" yelped the man. An irritation mark popped up on Raven's forehead, but the exorcist relented. Allen extended the Crown Belt to help keep the sailor steady as the group raced to the exit. Luckily, Krory had a dose of akuma blood to bolster his speed.
The vampire gave the winged exorcist a bloody smile. Understood. Together, the two grabbed the others, Krory had Lenalee and Lavi, Raven took Allen back into the air with Chaozii dangling from Crown Clown. Without a word of warning, the two darted forward with dazzling speed.
"KROOOORRRY!" "RAAAVEN!"
The two skidded to a halt within what appeared to be a library.
"A little word of warning would be nice, guys," complained Lavi as he helped the two other males up from where they were ungracefully dumped. "And, where are we? Not that I mind this room."
"Quite a collection of books," noted Krory.
"Looks like a library, doesn't it? Not too shabby and nice and quiet."
"I doubt we're alone here," cautioned Allen. The two Walkers shared a wary glance. Where was the guardian?
"Hehehehe."
The exorcists and human supporter jerked around toward the impressive display podium. Two Noahs idly sat on top of it.
"Hello there, exorcists," greeted the dark-haired twin.
"Hehehe, hello exorcists," hissed the blond. Both boys had their pistol facing the other.
"Name's Devit…" began one.
"And Jasdero!" completed the other.
With one voice, the Noah cried, "Together we are Jasdevi! The Noah of Bonds!"
"Master Jasdevi…? Why are you not completing your mission, lero?"
"Shut it, you pumpkin head," snapped Devit. "Maybe we didn't feel like it with sub-humans crawling all over the Ark. We're not in a good place right now, so don't push it Lero. Allen Walker! Raven Walker!"
"Umm…me?"
"…what?!"
"We have nothing personally against the two of you – aside from being sub-human exorcists – but your master had pissed us off for the last time! He's not here, so we'll have to take our anger out on you, his pupils!"
"Seriously? This again?" protested Raven.
"…Divine Punishment!"
Maybe I should watch what I say reflected the exorcist as the attack tore through the air.
Blue Bomb exploded in ice, and the Red Bomb burned red hot. But four out of six of them were fully capable exorcists. They just managed to escape the blast radius by the skin of their teeth.
"Ugh! What is with these attacks? Are their guns changing?"
"Silly exorcist!" sneered Devit. "Not the guns but the bullets have changed."
"They have some sort of ability like Tyki Mikk," concluded Allen.
"Remember guys, they're the Noah of Bonds! They have one power, or rather a power shared between the two of them," warned Raven as he fluttered out of the way of another explosion.
Lavi grunted as the next explosion flung him back to the shelves and replied, "Okay. Their minds are connected somehow to their shared power. But what is it?"
"Brother, wait a moment. I have a question. If we take either or both of you hostage, would Cross come after you?"
"No way," the Walker brothers deadpanned.
"Hahahaha, such an honest answer! I guess you guys really don't put your master in very high regard."
"Only for subjects outside of women, wine, and akuma killing," replied Allen.
Devit pursed his lips and sighed, "Okay. I guess we'll continue the game then. If Cross truly doesn't care, then Jasdero and I can kill all you exorcist at our leisure."
"Yeah, yeah! Leisure!"
How did I end up here? Bemoaned Raven. Somehow or other, the Noah twins of Bonds had completely covered the exorcist in a thick, gummy substance once it became clear the Purple Bomb had little effect on his ability. So, to keep up the game, the Noahs gagged, blindfolded, and encased the exorcist.
/ "Tyki would kill us if we actually maimed you, so why don't you stay still little songbird?"
"Yeah, yeah! Still, still, still." /
This effectively left the others at the Noahs' mercy. They had to hope Lavi could find the key in time. As for the others, Jasdevi didn't sound like they were pulling their punches all too much. Nor was Krory.
*Thump!*
"Krory, dammit!"
What in the world? Raven couldn't see with his eyelids sealed closed, but his hearing worked perfectly well enough to hear Krory apparently using Allen as a makeshift projectile weapon. Crude, but effective if his instinct managed to land an actual hit on the two.
Unfortunately, it sounded like their victory was short-lived. The winged exorcist shuddered as he heard the squelch of something really large and probably gooey.
"AAAAAAAaaaahhhh!"
"What the hell?!"
"Aargh, it's no use! It doesn't even so much as flinch when I bite it!"
"Go, Jasdevi's Grudge! Devour those exorcists whole!"
"Allen! Krory!"
"Lenalee, stay back!"
*Thump*
"Mmph!"
"Oh, what's this? A helpless little exorcist?"
Lenalee! Raven redoubled his efforts to scrape the goop off him. He could feel a slight stirring of the air off. One of his wings finally broke through.
"Dark Skies: Eclipse!"
By the sounds of things, the twins had set some sort of fake earl on Allen and away from them. The only one near them then was Lenalee. Since they had seemed to somehow trapped his fellow exorcist, she should be safe enough from the black feathers flung towards her.
"Kya! What the hell is this?"
"Aah! Jasdero can't see no more!"
You guys better act fast!
*Smack! Thump*
"You bitch!"
"Thanks Raven for the hand," called out Lenalee. In response, Raven fluttered his one free wing.
*Clatter of keys falling to the ground*
"Hey, guess what? You can't see us, but WE CAN SEE YOU!"
"Whoa, Krory and Allen have a mean right and left hook."
Raven's left wing flailed in surprise, beating against the redhead.
"Owowowow! Chill, just trying to pry the gunk off."
Unfortunately, during the time it took the Bookman to help free Raven, Jasdevi had finally decided to show their true colors.
"No more games. It's time we took things seriously and eliminate these exorcists."
Lavi, hurry up and get this gag off!
The tearing of the blindfold took a bit of skin cells with it. Raven blinked as the light from the opened door lit up the ground below him. Lavi knelt by him, hand already going to the last bit of goop.
*Rip!*
Raven bit back a hiss of pain. The air had turned dank and oppressive. He looked down. Jasdevi had their pistol out to one another and recited an odd bit of poetry.
*Bang!*
Their dark aura dripped to the ground behind them. The strange phantom the winged exorcist had glimpsed when he first met them was also merging with the dark whirling energy. Jasdero and Devit turned to hazy purple smoke (to his eyes). One quickly reforming behind the trio.
Raven croaked out, "Allen, Lenalee, Krory, watch out! The true Jasdevi is coming out!"
"The true what?"
"Guys, don't just stand there! Move!" shouted Lavi.
*Splat!*
Jasdevi was the fleshed-out version of the ghostly image Raven had seen hovering behind the two whenever they stood together. The new and improved Jasdevi had single handedly wiped out their strongest fighter with one blow. It was horrifying. The more logical side of his mind picked out how this explained the fragmentary aura of the individual twins.
Jasdevi blocked Allen's assault with ease.
"Hmph! The vampire deserved what we did to him, to think he had the nerve to mock us! And why are so upset? I'm sure he's more than thrilled to be soaked in blood?"
"Aargh!" Jasdevi pushed off Allen before placing a hand on him.
"Hmm, what's the best way to punish the wayward student? How about…ah, yes, why don't we make you into a 'bomb'?"
Before Raven knew it, he had launched himself at the two. Arystar Krory broke the strange star pinning Allen in place for Jasdevi while Raven himself crashed into the Noah with Earth Fall.
"Wretched songbird, vampire," hissed the Noah. He ignored the pummeling of wings and threw off the exorcist. Raven's back slammed into a nearby bookshelf.
"Do not call me a vampire…! I am Arystar Krory, former baron, exorcist, and their friend."
"Ditto," muttered Raven. "Raven. Just two syllables. Not a songbird. Raven I am and always will be."
All the brave declarations in the world didn't mean a thing in the wake of a Noah's temper. Jasdevi's strength far outstripped a handful of injured exorcists plus one human (who had hidden during the battle). The pounding ache in his head made it hard to dodge as well as he usually did, and the Noah kept up his relentless assault on them. What can we do against this monster? One imbued with a body as strong as he desires?
Then…then Krory pulled out the noble sacrifice card. An overconfident Jasdevi didn't predict the hair tug maneuver. Or, Krory's grab to give the group time to flee.
"Raven, Allen, Lavi, get them all out of here! Hurry through the door while I hold him off!"
Spikes pierced the exorcist's body. At the same time, the world around them began to toss and turn.
"Krory…"
"Raven! Lavi! Allen! Listen, this room is falling apart! None of us can remain here much longer. You have to leave me behind!"
The thirteen-year-old exorcist forgot about his training. His years of hardship, of maturing beyond his years. Back to the kid he was, barely a teen. Kanda was one thing. The samurai had a steely core undeniable and at the same time absolute. It compelled the belief the baka would survive no matter the odds. But Krory knew the odds and didn't deny it. He wanted them to survive for his sake, as a final wish.
He couldn't speak. It was only when Allen tried to stay behind, too, that he regained his senses. He put a hand to Allen's shoulders and shook his head in time to Krory shouts for them to go on.
"Allen, Krory's right. We can't stay. And Krory can't continue on. Lavi can't protect Lenalee and Chaozii on his own, and I won't abandon you here. Have faith in Krory's courage and will."
"Hurry up and listen to your elders! I believe in all of you, so go! Head to the door!"
Shining light poured from the cracked tiled floor. When it dissipated, the four exorcists and one human had disappeared, leaving the apostle of Innocence to face off against the apostle of Noah alone.