Author's note: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, solar deck is where it's at! This chapter took FOREVER to write because of crippling writer's block and loss of interest. I'm also fairly certain that the Noah battle in here is pretty much a failure; I just couldn't get any more out of it, though. The character was just too awkward. I guess I fail at creating bad guys. I would like to dedicate this chapter -- and the entire story, really -- to all of my loyal readers who have patiently waited more than half a year for an update; and to Hoshino-sensei herself, because without her, we wouldn't have all this in the first place, and because I'm just happy that we'll be getting DGM back, even if it's monthly instead of weekly.

Also of note: This storyline was started long before the more recent revelations in the manga, most specifically regarding the various Noah, not to mention the host of the 14th. Therefore, in light of recent manga revelations, this story is a bit AU, taking the canon from just before the anime's ending and diverging off into its own. Just in case anyone hasn't read these fanfictions previously and thinks I'm butchering canon. Trust me, I'm aware of it, but I had this storyline already going when that stuff was revealed. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of "D. Gray-man" or its characters. It all belongs to the brilliant Katsura Hoshino-sensei. I'm just playing in the sandbox of this beautiful and complex world.

Soundtrack: This chapter gets its title from a song by abingdon boys school that is the fourth ending credits song for the anime "Soul Eater" -- and I listened to the song over and over while writing this chapter. Other songs played while writing this chapter include "Viva La Vida" (Coldplay) and "JAP" (abingdon boys school)

"Cleanse the soul and wash away the pain, baptized by the song that you're singing."
-- Neil Diamond, "Canta Libre"

"Canta Libre"
Part Five: Strength

What a complete and utter mess.

Sarita, the water-sensitive Noah of Empathy, was completely and absolutely in control right now, and she was loving it. She had chosen her battleground with care, and had lured her prey into a death-trap. Now it was only a matter of time before at least one of them died and she could return to the Earl with her head held high.

She was lucky that this time five Exorcists were in front of her instead of eight or nine, even if one of those Exorcists had the ability to remove the Akuma poison. Even better, that accursed woman with the time-bending skills wasn't here, so Sarita could move freely.

For their part, Allen and Lavi were doing the best they could to keep Sarita away from the kids. This time they had Krory with them so that if Lavi or Peter got hit by Akuma beams, they were better prepared to deal with it. But this Noah was no slouch. Despite having shown weakness to them before with her reticence and her lack of planning, she was definitely not someone to take lightly. She appeared to have no doubts about what she was doing now, and she was fighting with purpose.

Her abilities were also troublesome. She was able to create physical clones of herself, as well as illusions of herself. The difference seemed to be that the illusions were made of mist, refractions of light off the fine mist in the air, whereas the clones were of something more solid -- when they struck, it hurt. And yet, when Allen slashed at them with his claw, the clones dissipated into a shower of water before he could actually rake his claw through them.

There was another foe there that had Allen concerned as well, though it was currently passive and apparently uninterested in fighting just yet. But it was a form of combination Akuma, except that this one wasn't even remotely human in shape; it was shaped like a giant serpentine dragon, easily five times the size of a sea-going ship in length. When Allen activated his eye, he could see countless souls whirling around a nucleus of seven souls that were somehow interlocked with each other. It was hanging in the sky like a giant metallic cloud, a silent menace.

Lavi slammed his hammer against the Water Seal, obliterating a handful of clones of the Noah.

"Why are you using the Water Seal, you idiot?" Krory grumbled peevishly. "She's using water; aren't you just adding to her ammunition?"

"Pfft," Lavi scoffed, calling up the circle of Seals again as more clones closed in, "you know how they say fight fire with fire? Well, fight water with water too. Trust me, the Fire Seal won't work here. Water trumps fire."

"You have more than the Water and Fire Seals, Lavi," Allen said, pausing a moment to gage his surroundings.

They were definitely surrounded, and it appeared that that giant combination Akuma was doing something even while it was hanging motionless in the air. It was hard to discern, but there seemed to be some sort of barrier forming around the perimeter of their small battlefield. Probably to cage them in and prevent them from escaping to regroup and heal... and to prevent any reinforcements from showing up. Allen had a feeling that if he tried to open the Ark, there would be a problem. It had happened before against this Noah, after all. So he wasn't going to try unless he had no other choice.

Lavi seemed oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of a fight for their very lives, because he was justifying his choice of the Water Seal; "Yeah, but the Earth Seal is defensive, the Wood Seal works on natural forces, and the Wind Seal is too unpredictable. And I don't trust the Ice Seal to do any more damage than the Water Seal."

"Shut up and fight," Krory snapped, swinging his long black cloak to cover Peter from a barrage of Akuma cannon-fire. The baron looked completely exhausted; the veins on his neck were standing out with the strain of an extended invocation. He had a very high synchronization with his Innocence, but they had been fighting for at least an hour now with no respite whatsoever, and he was running out of energy.

In response, Lavi detonated a massive Combination Seal that he had been powering up, combining the Wind and Fire seals to do so; the resulting spiral of wind-shaped flames coiled around the Exorcists, scorching out a large number of Akuma as it raced skyward to break against the belly of the giant dragon-like Akuma.

Unexpectedly, the flames were blown back down before they could reach the giant Akuma. Allen activated his white Innocence cloak and swaddled himself, Mandy and Peter before the flames could hit them, and Lavi and Krory both managed to dodge the ricocheted attack. The wind-driven Innocence fire ignited on the grass and groundcover at their feet, and in seconds the three of them were in the eye of a fiery hurricane.

"Nice going, idiot!" Krory yelled angrily over the roar of the inferno.

"How the hell did that happen?" Lavi was dumbfounded. "That should have at the very least damaged him! There's no dark matter shield strong enough to fully deflect the heat of that! How the hell?!"

A clone of Sarita appeared beside the redhead and she took a swipe at him, cutting into his forearm with one of the daggers in her hands. Lavi yelped and stumbled backwards awkwardly as blood fountained out from the wound. He was so startled by her sudden appearance, and shocked by the injury, that he was at a disadvantage. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she raised her hands to slash across his exposed throat.

"Lavi!" Allen lunged forward, straining against the restraints of reality and space-time. He had to get there in time. He just couldn't allow Lavi to be killed. He just had to get there to stop the blade from reaching Lavi's jugular...

There was a flash of movement, and Sarita staggered back at the sudden intervention.

"Not my Papa, you don't!" Peter snarled, his Innocence gauntlet having blocked the knife blades from striking Lavi's throat. The boy was trembling, and he looked quite scared, but he was holding his own.

Allen then wondered how it was that Peter had outrun him in getting to Lavi. It dawned on him that his body was slowing down, wasn't responding like he wanted it to. He couldn't move anywhere near as fast as he should, and his body felt significantly heavier than it should.

There was a sudden lurch in his stride and he nearly fell to his knees. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he could almost hear the blood straining through his veins as his heart labored. His body was failing him.

Dear God, no! Not now! Don't fail me now, Crown Clown! I'm not done yet! I have to protect my family! Please!

His strength was wicking away rapidly. His chest felt heavy... it called to mind an incident forever ago... half his life ago... a moon bearing down on him, squeezing the breath from his lungs, squeezing the life out of him... No, not yet! I'm not done yet! The Earl... I still have to defeat...

Lavi, for his part, was freaking out. He let out a wordless, incoherent roar of both outrage and anguish when he saw Allen collapse, saw the great white cloak that draped the General dissolve into thin air and the claws on his left hand seemed to fade out of existence. No, no, no, no, no! This couldn't be happening! Not now! Of all the times for his body to give in to the strain of the Innocence!

Krory was attempting to engage the giant dragon Akuma -- to either get it to fight and possibly be destroyed, or at least to get it to move out of the way so that someone could open up an escape route. But when he heard Lavi's agonized scream, he turned his attention downward -- and learned firsthand how the giant dragon had deflected Lavi's Fire-and-Wind Seal without any dark matter: the giant beast was equipped with thrusters for propulsion, and it used them to create an air-screen, diverting the flow of air around it like a natural shield. Meeting this force head-on as Krory was, it made it very painful for the baron, as he was thrown forcefully into the ground, creating a sizeable scar in the earth. It also stunned him, so that he couldn't move at all. He could barely breathe, he was hurting so badly from the force of his impact with the unyielding earth.

Mandy was crouched by Allen, urgently shaking his shoulders, begging him to wake up. Lavi and Peter joined her, but did so maintaining a defensive stance, as the shimmering, translucent human forms of the water-clones began to surround them.

"You may eat now, Leviathan," several identical voices intoned collectively as the clones all spoke at once.

"Oh hell no," Peter murmured. "I'm not going to be some dragon's breakfast!"

"Being swallowed by it might be the best way to destroy it, though, Peter," Mandy said. "Surely its internal organs are not protected as well as its skin."

"Mandy, that's an Akuma. Going inside it would make us vulnerable to its virus," Lavi said with gritted teeth. "And I don't trust your abilities to take that thing down alone. So, no, we're not going to get swallowed."

The giant dragon's head snaked around and the mouth unhinged and swung open. Lavi raised the hammer and activated the Seals, prepared to combine three or more if necessary. He was even willing to risk combining all the Seals if he had to, if it would destroy that beast.

However, the Akuma didn't seem too interested in eating them, as it remained motionless in the sky. Instead, the Akuma that surrounded the Exorcists all reversed direction and flew directly into the giant dragon's mouth, disappearing down its gullet. When the last one had disappeared, the jaws snapped shut with a sickening crunch of metal, bones and flesh, the combinations of Akuma bodies.

"Jesus Christ," Lavi's own jaw unhinged, "it just ate them all?!"

"Akuma are cannibalistic," Krory said with some effort as he tried to drag himself from the shallow crater he was prostrate in. "We saw it in Edo."

"Yeah, I know that, but that... that thing ate that many of them!"

The baron clawed at the earth, still struggling, and Peter hurried over to help him, suspiciously eyeing the shimmering, human-shaped bodies made of water. Sarita's army of clones were stationary; the only movement was that of water flowing through a vertical container.

"Is Allen all right?" Krory asked bluntly as Peter shouldered the injured Romanian and helped him over to where the others were.

Mandy shook her head, tears streaming from her eyes. Lavi's jaw snapped shut and drew taut.

"No pulse?"

"I cannot feel one, Papa."

"What the hell happened?" Krory demanded. "This isn't possible! Allen can't just die like that!"

"I think he finally overdid it with his Innocence," Lavi said tersely, still in denial that Allen was gone. "He told me the other day that he didn't have much time left, but I had no idea it would happen this fast!"

Krory looked skeptical; "For a parasitic-type to die because of his Innocence, and do so like this? I don't quite buy it."

Lavi shrugged; "I hope you're right, Krory." He didn't even bother with the nickname this time. He was far too distressed -- especially since he could see that the dragon's size was increasing substantially.

The clones around them solidified into human bodies. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Lavi might've been horrified on behalf of the children, because the clones were all completely nude. Apparently Sarita couldn't be arsed into copying herself with clothing!

"Can you find me in time, Eyepatch?" Sarita sneered from somewhere. "I have heard about your amazing abilities. So let us just see if you are as good as you once were! Find me and stop me, or you all die here!"

Lavi ground his teeth; "Okay, kids. Listen up. You're to take care of each other. Watch each other's backs. Don't let each other get hurt. Krory, you and I are going for that bitch. When I point her out to you, you take her out."

"You know which one is her?"

"I can find her," the redhead said tersely. "I'll find her in no time. She can make a million copies of herself, but I'll find the real one. She can't hide from me."

With an agreeing nod, the baron reactivated his Innocence and the two of them launched themselves into the fray as one. Peter and Mandy assumed defensive positions over Allen where he'd fallen. Mandy utilized the physical training she'd gotten from Lavi to keep herself one step ahead of the water clones that attacked her, using her voice to weaken them, while Peter used his gauntlet to smash the clones apart. Lavi and Krory, meanwhile, were carving their way through another swath, with Lavi periodically stopping to look around at each of the clones, to identify the real one.

What they didn't count on, however, was that after fifteen minutes, and hundreds of clones destroyed, there seemed to be no end in sight. The clones would dissolve into water the moment they were touched, falling to the earth and then if Lavi watched closely, they would form again in a new place.

They needed more Exorcists to handle this one. She was eluding him somehow, and the two of them couldn't destroy the clones fast enough to narrow the search. And now more Akuma had begun to swarm in. As if the Noah and her clones weren't bad enough, there were Akuma to deal with too, again. Where exactly they'd come from wasn't clear. Lavi suspected that the giant dragon was more of a transport than an oversized Akuma, given the way it had consumed the other Akuma.

However, any help that might have come would likely be too far away now. With Allen dead, the Ark was probably disconnected entirely.

It looked like he had only one choice... a terrible choice at that. But it seemed that it was either this, or the four of them would be killed here, for a total of five Exorcists killed at once. And that couldn't be allowed to happen.

It looked like he had to call upon the All-Seals combination.

"Okay, Krory," Lavi said after a moment of rest to catch his breath. "New plan. You grab the kids and get ready to run as fast as you can. Forget about Allen and me. Just get the kids out of here. And get them back to HQ. I'll hold this damned circus off somehow, if it's the last thing I do. And if I don't make it back... please take care of the kids."

"Lavi, don't be stupid. They already lost one father, don't be in a hurry to die and leave them alone!"

"Do you have a better idea, Krory?!" Lavi hollered at the baron. "We'll all die here at this rate!"

"I have a better idea, you stupid rabbit -- you get down!" A voice yelled from behind as a blinding black streak erupted from the background.

Where am I?

You are within.

Within? Within what?

Within yourself.

Everything was blank, blindingly white and formless. His entire left arm ached from his hand all the way to his shoulder. Allen forced himself to sit up, though his surroundings didn't change. Now in control of his mouth (such as it was), he was able to speak, for whatever good that did him.

"Within myself? Where are my kids? And Lavi? Where is everyone?"

Gone. You cannot reach them from here.

Allen shuddered. "What do you mean 'Gone'? Are they dead? Am I dead?"

You are on the threshold. Your feelings of attachment have kept you from moving onward.

"What do you mean?"

As long as you cling to this pathetic shell of a life, you will never move forward.

"Pathetic shell of a life? What do you mean?"

You live for the wrong reasons now.

"Wrong reasons? Who are you to judge my reasons for living?"

For what reason do you exist, Allen Walker? For what reason do you move through life?

"To defeat the Millennium Earl and put to rest permanently the Akuma."

Then you are done. You have done enough. You cannot defeat the Earl yourself alone, and the longer you deceive yourself into thinking you can, the more you doom yourself. I can no longer abide by this.

"Who are you?"

I am your Innocence. The one you call Crown Clown. In the air before him, the whiteness coalesced to form the glimmering gold-trimmed silver mask from his Innocence cloak. He could make out the outline of the tumescent cloak, and the faint form of the large-bladed sword.

"If you are my Innocence, why do you object to my desire to defeat the Earl and save the Akuma from being further tormented?"

You believe that you alone can do this. You misunderstand the prophecy to think that only you can defeat what has existed for so long. You stress me beyond my limits in the quest for this. Therefore, I must end your quest, before I am eradicated entirely.

Allen was silent, unable to counter that.

You must make a choice, Allen Walker. You must choose between the path you chose to walk, and the future you could have.

"What do you mean? How can I choose?"

As you are now, you cannot live. You have used me beyond my limits, and if you insist on going forward like this, you will destroy us both.

"Do you mean to kill me?"

I must, if you will not change.

"What can I do?"

You must make a decision now. What is more important to you? Your goal to defeat the Earl, or the protection of those you love?

"Both."

You may only choose one. Will you continue to aim for the Earl, or will you focus on your family and that which surrounds you?

Allen tried to make heads or tails of that. "But I want to do both -- I want to protect my family, and defeat the Earl."

So long as you pursue the Earl yourself, you will destroy us both. You have lost all faith in the union of Innocence. You take the burden on yourself entirely. The Earl cannot be defeated by one Exorcist alone, not even a Destroyer of Eras. Only the union of all Innocence can defeat the Earl's strength. You doom everyone if you destroy me.

"What would you have me do? Is there anything I can do to survive, or are you tormenting me?"

I can only allow you to live if you can begin to trust the others, let the others fight for you. You have used me too much. I cannot guarantee you much time even if you do accept this, but I can guarantee you no time at all if you do not.

"Will I still be able to protect those I love?"

Yes. But you cannot continue to aim for the Earl alone. You must believe in your fellow Exorcists. Without the other Exorcists alongside you, you have no hopes of winning.

Allen considered this. "So, let me get this straight. You aim to take my life unless I stop fighting?"

Incorrect. It is not that you must stop fighting; it is that you must start believing. The more you take upon yourself, the more you take of me. Rely on others more. No one piece of Innocence is truly greater than another, not even the Heart. You have fought long enough. Now it is time for you to guide. Believe in your fellow Exorcists. If you can focus yourself to guide those two children, rather than fighting in their places, you may extend your life. Will you accept this?

"I don't seem to have a choice."

This war cannot be won by one person alone; if you try to destroy me by using me beyond my limits, I must destroy you.

"I don't understand."

I will still protect you. But you must trust me as much as you must trust your comrades. I am not your weapon; I am part of you. From here on out, every time you invoke me as a weapon may be your last.

"Lavi!"

The redhead turned around, barely able to believe the voice he heard calling his name.

"Lenalee?"

He could barely process the arrival of reinforcements. Kanda and his student Sven had erupted from a hole in the ground (no doubt using Sven's ability to tunnel as a means of bypassing the barrier around the clearing) and now more people were emerging from the hole: Lenalee and Miranda.

"Why are you here?" He asked dumbly.

"The Supervisor sent us," Miranda said as she met up with her husband, who looked very relieved to see her, despite this being a dangerous battlefield. "He told us that General Walker fell in battle and that you were fighting a Noah. I'm guessing that Timcanpy sent the information."

"Is Allen really..." Lenalee asked hesitantly, looking over at where the young General was laying motionless.

"I don't know," Lavi said tiredly. "It's not looking good even if he is alive."

"I'll protect General Walker," Miranda said gently. "Arystar, you stay with me and make sure no one ambushes me. Lenalee is supposed to help with the Akuma while you help General Kanda and Sven with the Noah."

"Right," Lenalee said. "I'll take care of the kids too, Lavi, so don't worry about them. I'll make sure they stay out of danger. You know how fast I am."

"Thanks," Lavi said wearily. "I owe you guys." He spun his hammer in his hands as Krory and Miranda moved over to where Allen lay, while Lenalee joined up with the kids and hoisted them up. Miranda activated her Time Out shield to protect the area Allen lay. Krory deactivated his Innocence in order to rest himself a bit, but kept all his senses primed and on watch.

"I'm here to help you kids out," Lenalee told them as she picked them up, swinging Mandy onto her back like a rucksack and holding Peter in front of her so that he could move his arms freely. "I'll keep you kids out of the range of the Akuma and their cannons. You're to destroy them; I'm just here to keep you safe."

Lavi took another breather before hurling himself into the fray. Already, though, Sven and Kanda had carved a huge swath through the clones. The two of them worked in concert to each other in such a way that Lavi privately envied them for their partnership. For all that he and Allen were partners in life, on the battlefield there was still an imbalance of power. (Granted, Sven generally relied on Kanda for orders, but the two of them could count on each other absolutely. Kanda could count on Sven doing exactly as told, as efficiently as necessary, and Sven could rely on his General to leave him alone in most cases, only directing him when the situation demanded it.) Lavi sometimes wished that he and Allen could've developed this kind of working partnership.

His chest tightened up momentarily thinking about Allen, but he forced those feelings to recede and summoned up the circle of seals, using the Heaven Seal to hopefully break the unity of the water-clones. However, his exhaustion was starting to really tell on him. He managed to rid a few clones, while Sven and Kanda were taking out clones by the dozen every couple of swipes. It was humbling in many ways. If Lavi hadn't known Kanda as well as he did, he would have sworn the two were competing as to who could destroy more enemies. But Kanda wasn't the kind of person who could be compelled to compete at all.

Lavi tried his best, but the compound of everything that had happened was weighing on him too much and he couldn't move as quickly as before. Not to mention how outclassed he clearly was in raw combat by Kanda and Sven. He was starting to wonder if he should just leave the rest of this to Kanda and Sven and go take shelter inside Miranda's shield.

Kanda was cutting down clones two and three at a time, carving them up before they could respawn. They were respawning much slower now. It seemed that the water had to realign itself or something. And with the clones being destroyed so rapidly, it appeared that the Noah was having trouble keeping it up. Sven and Kanda seemed able to see right through the mirages, because they ignored some of what looked like clones, charging right through them, not even bothering to brandish their weapons at those. It was mind-boggling.

"Lavi, what are you waiting for?!" Sven yelled.

"Come on, you damned one-eyed rabbit!" Kanda hollered angrily. "Find the fucking Noah! You're the one with the instant memory!"

Lavi blinked stupidly, temporarily stunned. Then he mentally flogged himself for getting so caught up in his grief and exhaustion that he'd forgotten his intentions on finding the Noah herself and eliminating her. Hefting up his hammer, he activated the Wind and Wood seals at the same time, a tricky combination that could reveal illusions and mirages, to narrow the search a little. This combination seal would change the refraction of light by controlling the flow of air. Then, with the Heaven seal, he shattered those illusions completely with bolts of energy from nature. This narrowed the field considerably, removing the mirages and leaving only the genuine bodies; with fewer targets to choose from, the master-and-student combination ramped up the attack power and began mowing through the clones at an alarming rate.

I see you, you nasty bitch! Lavi thought as he spied one clone that was just very, very slightly different. "Sven! Yuu! That one!"

And then, abruptly, it was all over. All the clones were eradicated, and Kanda stood with what they could only presume was the real Noah herself impaled on Mugen. Her eyes were wide with horror and blood, not water, poured out of her wounds.

"L-L-Lord... Millennium..." She wheezed, looking to the sky. "Leviathan, flee... I am..." She slumped, and her body seemed to rapidly decompose as water evaporated from her skin and blood. The great shadow of the dragon hovering overhead rose up as it lifted itself higher, and then, with a sonic boom, it was gone.

In disgust, Kanda wrenched Mugen out of the Noah's body, grabbing onto a swatch of her clothing to wipe the blood off on. Then he reached up, plucked his golem out of the air above his head, pressed the button on it, and said tersely; "Noah dispatched. Field of battle secured. The Akuma have been destroyed or have retreated. General Walker's condition is unconfirmed. We will be returning as quickly as we can."

"Very well, General Kanda," the dispatcher replied. "Your report is being transferred to the Head Supervisor now. Have a safe trip back."

Kanda grunted and pushed the button again, disconnecting. Then he looked over at Sven and was about to speak when Lavi interrupted him; "How did you guys get here so fast, Yuu?"

"How do you think we got here, idiot?"

"The Ark," Sven replied, as if Kanda hadn't spoken.

"But how? If Allen's..." He couldn't even say it.

"The Ark still works," the Dane said blandly. "Perhaps for established gates, General Walker doesn't need to be alive. Besides, I am of the impression that General Walker only recently fell; we have been over here for nearly an hour, trying to get past this barrier."

Lavi flinched; "I see. I guess I should know better than to get my hopes up. I guess that means we're down a General, which also means I'm probably going to have to accept the promotion. Dammit, Allen, why did you have to go and die on me?"

And once again, the irony of his statement was borne out moments later.

"Lavi!" Miranda's voice called over from where she and Krory were; her Time Out shield was dismantled and the ethereal rings were returning to the disc on her sleeve. "Come over here, quickly! General Walker is still alive!"

What?

His feet moved of their own accord, carrying him swiftly over to where the others were clustered. Lenalee was arriving right about then with the kids in tow. Allen was laying on his back this time, having been moved, and his head rested in Miranda's lap. Krory crouched over the fallen General, inspecting him closely.

"Allen?" Lavi said breathlessly as he skidded to a stop by the others.

Allen's eyes fluttered open slowly. His eyes were a little glazed, but he was clearly lucid. Mandy let out a strangled squeak and Peter gulped.

"Oh god, Allen!" Lavi's eyes filled up with tears, and he dashed them with his sleeve as he reached out to touch his long-time lover. "I thought you were dead!"

"I think I was..." Allen murmured softly. "I... can't really explain it yet. But I think I'm going to be okay... I'm just exhausted now..."

"I'll take you home now, Allen. We'll have Catherine look at you and fix you up good as new."

"But the Noah..."

"Kanda took care of her," Krory said. "And the Akuma have either been destroyed or have fled."

"Papa..." Mandy tugged on Lavi's sleeve. "Daddy's arm looks strange."

Lavi blinked at her, then looked down at Allen. The skin left arm was no longer smooth, covered with raised veins and scale-like patterns, and the color was more purple-red than the near-black red that had been there for so long. The arm looked emaciated.

"Allen?" He touched the afflicted appendage. "Your arm...?"

"I'll explain later," Allen said softly, "when I have more strength."

Lavi nodded and then scooped the General up into his arms, holding him close and standing up. "Can you open an Ark gate here and get us out of here?"

"Yeah... hang on." He closed his eyes and fell a little still (Lavi nearly panicked, thinking Allen wouldn't open them again).

Then, an Ark gate opened up beside them. Lavi looked over at the others; "Let's go, everyone. I want to get him home as soon as possible."

"Good plan," Krory said. "I for one am exhausted and would rather get home quickly anyway."

Without waiting to see if the others were following, Lavi proceeded through the gate into the white-walled city of the Ark, under a bright blue sky. "Which way to the Order door, Allen?"

"That way." The hand was unsteady, but the direction was clear. Following the direction, Lavi strode meaningfully toward a door he only vaguely recognized.

"This door doesn't look familiar. Did the coordinates change?"

"Yes. When I lost consciousness, the Ark reset itself; all gates connected to Headquarters or any Branch disconnect if I lose consciousness. It's a defense mechanism."

It appeared that Komui got word of their return in plenty of time, as he was waiting at the gate to greet the returning Exorcists. His expression was bland, almost severe, as the Exorcists filed into the room. There was almost a shadow of grief in his eyes, and Lavi realized belatedly that the Head Supervisor likely didn't know that Allen was in fact still alive. And Allen wasn't exactly overly lively, exhausted as he was. Peter and Mandy stuck very close to their parents, both looking frightened.

As the last of the Exorcists passed through the gate, the portal itself dimmed into its normal inactive state. The room was almost unbearably silent as Komui took his place at his desk. Then he spoke, gravely; "I won't even ask how the mission went, as it's pretty clear that I sent you guys straight into a trap... a trap that has cost us dearly. I'm only glad that General Kanda was able to get there with backup, to minimize the casualties."

"It could have been worse," Allen said faintly. "We've all returned alive, if a little worse for wear."

Komui's eyes widened in shock and he stood up again, leaning on his desk; "Wait, Allen, I thought you were--"

"I was, I think. But I've been given one last chance."

The Supervisor just blinked owlishly at him, while Lavi wearily sank onto the sofa, settling Allen into the cushions as well. "How is that possible?"

Allen heaved a sigh as he opened his eyes heavily; "It's... complicated. It'll take a while to explain."

"Please try," Komui said.

"So, Little Sarita didn't make it, hmm?"

"Well, I suppose it was doomed to fail from the beginning," Cyril Kamelot said generously. "After all, no one has been able to bring Allen Walker down yet. Not even you, Lord Millennium, though I don't doubt that if you were to get serious with him, you could."

"Ever the fucking brownnoser, Cyril," Tyki Mikk muttered. "And that Walker kid is a damned cockroach."

The Earl seemed to ponder this a bit; "Well, I suppose we'll just have to think of something else."

"Or wait," Cyril suggested. "It seems to me like Walker's Innocence is starting to fail on him."

"Says you, who has never fought the brat," Tyki snapped. "Don't let him fool you into thinking his Innocence is failing -- he's done that before, and come back stronger than ever."

"Well, based on what I saw, it's pretty obvious that he's weakened now."

"Why don't you try and take him out then, if you're so smart?"

The taller Noah just grinned; "Because I have a country to run and wars to ignite? My battlefield is very different from yours, Tyki-pet."

"Enough arguing," the Earl said. "We just need to think of something else. But with the way you Noah have been falling to their Generals, I wonder if I need to find stronger people to give the memories to."

"Ouch," Cyril smirked. "That's below the belt, Lord Millennium. None of us here has fallen to a General, per se."

The conversation ended abruptly when Road came bounding in, demanding that the Earl play with her. Cyril's attention returned to whatever he was working on -- something political -- and Tyki shifted his gaze to a tapestry on the wall.

He heaved a sigh of disgust. I'll never live down the number of times that damned brat has showed me up. Though I suppose it would have been more humiliating if that failure of a Noah had managed to kill the brat when I've never been able to.

Lavi was probably more confused now than he'd ever been in his life. What Allen had just relayed to them literally made no sense at all, and sounded like a bad opium dream. His Innocence was demanding that he stop fighting now?

Komui was likewise confused; "That doesn't make a lot of sense, Allen, but I think I'll take it for now, and let Catherine work her magic on you. When you're feeling a little better, you should relay all this to Hevlaska, and see what she thinks. The behavior of your Innocence sounds extremely odd to me, but perhaps she can explain it better."

"That'd be nice. I don't quite understand it myself," Allen replied. By now, Catherine was there, silently examining him and administering her Innocence-laden water. The General was a little more alert now, but still very, very tired. At least he didn't look like death warmed over anymore. "But Crown Clown was pretty insistent that I need to stop relying on it alone. It kept referring to the 'union of Innocence'."

"Well, it's certainly right about one thing," Catherine said. "You've done more than enough. You need to step back. You're barely thirty years old and your body is falling apart."

"If I have to," Lavi said, "I'll take the gold uniform so that you can retire, Allen. I'd much rather do that than lose you now. If it means an extension of life for you, I'll accept the promotion without a second thought."

"It's not that easy, Lavi," Allen said with a melancholic smile. "I'm still living on borrowed time. That hasn't changed. The only thing that has changed is that now, if I force my Innocence to invoke, I may push it beyond its limit and then it's all over. But even if I never use my Innocence again, that doesn't mean I can live a normal life."

Lavi wanted to argue the matter, but decided against it. If me getting a promotion means you're not likely to self-destruct, it's worth it, Allen. Every extra moment is worth it.

"We'll talk about this some other time," Komui said. "Catherine, what do you recommend now?"

"I think he should go back to his quarters and rest for at least twenty-four hours. That's a minimum, I might add. I see no need for him to be in the medical ward, he's in fairly good shape, but he definitely needs rest. And I think he's not the only one who needs some rest." She turned her expert eye to Lavi and both kids. "You lot all need some rest and time to come down off this. That includes you, Arystar Krory. You look pretty used up yourself."

"Very well then," Komui said. "In that case, you Exorcists are under orders to rest for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Including you, Krory."

"Yes sir," the baron said tiredly.

Lavi stood up, helping Allen to his feet as well. He pulled Allen's right arm across his shoulders to give his lover something to lean on, so that he could get back to their quarters under his own power, but with support. "C'mon, Allen. Let's go home. You heard the orders." He glanced down at the kids. "Let's all go home and try and put this behind us."

"Lavi," Komui said, before they could leave, "as General Walker is in no condition to do so himself, I expect a full report debriefing the mission from you. I'll accept a written one, and you can take your time. I'll give you a forty-eight hour deadline."

"Roger that."

As the family left, and the other Exorcists scattered, Komui sighed. "The Grand Generals will be on my ass about this. I should be dragging Allen down there to them right now."

"You saw what kind of condition he's in," Catherine said gravely. "He's not going to last much longer. I just hope that now he'll take it easy and make the most of what little time he's got left. He's young, but he should retire, before this job destroys him completely."

"The fact that Lavi's willing to accept a promotion in Allen's place will help. I'll propose it to the Grand Generals, but I don't know what'll happen."

"That's all you can do," the nurse said, handing him a mug of herbal tea with special herbs dissolved in it, to help alleviate his arthritis; then, giving him a respectful salute, she turned to leave. "If you need me, Chief, you know where to find me."

"Hard as it'll be," Peter said in a low voice to his sister, "I think we need to leave Dad and Papa alone for a little bit. I think they need some time alone, with each other."

Mandy nodded mutely. Her throat was tight with a combination of fear and pent-up grief.

"Hey, don't look so down," the boy said after a moment, "look... no matter what happens, we'll always have each other. That won't change. And we've still got Papa, and Dad isn't giving up yet."

"I know," she said quietly. "I am just... scared. And confused."

"Yeah. I know." He put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm scared too, Sis. But we do have each other, and we still have Dad and Papa right now. Instead of being too scared, we should focus on spending as much time with Dad as we can. When he's gone, I think we're going to have to be strong for Papa's sake too."

By this point, they were at their living quarters, with Lavi shouldering the door open for them to get in. Because of the time differences between India and the location of their Headquarters, it was still morning in the Order's building, but the entire family was completely worn out and in need of sleep.

"Wait, kids, before you go into your room," Allen said softly just as the two were about to make a bee-line to their bedroom. "Come here a minute."

As they approached him, he put his arms around them both, drawing them into a tight hug. "I just want to tell you kids again that I love you both so very much. I'm so very proud of you both. And I want you to know that I'll always be with you, in some way. No matter what happens, I'm with you both, always. I'm also not planning on going down without a fight. So don't waste your time worrying about me. I've still got a little bit of mileage left in me."

"Tell you what," Lavi said. "You kids get yourselves to bed and get some rest. Your Dad's under orders to rest for the next twenty four hours, minimum. So, you kids get some rest, and when we've all had some rest, we'll all spend the next two days together. We'll get sick of each other's company in the process! Deal? C'mon, kids, let's get you to bed."

"We can do it ourselves, Papa," Peter stated. "You're just as tired as we are." Then he grinned and grabbed Mandy's hand, dragging her toward their bedroom. "Papa, you just take good care of Dad."

"Well how do ya like that? Little brat," Lavi grumbled as the door to the kids' room shut tight. "Oh well."

"He's just worried about us, Lavi. Let it go this time. I'm exhausted, so let's just go to bed."

"That boy is more perceptive than anyone I know." The statement came out of nowhere, and Lavi sounded almost incredulous.

"Huh? How do you mean?"

"I... don't really know. I just get this feeling that Peter did that -- grabbed Mandy and buggered off to their room -- because he somehow knows that more than anything, I just want you to myself for a little while. Ugh, nevermind, I'm starting to get rummy. It's really been a hell of a day."

The two of them fell into a companionable silence as they stripped out of their uniforms, pulled on some pajamas and then crawled into their bed. Lavi gathered his lover into his arms and held him close, stroking the long white hair.

"By the way," Allen said softly, pillowing his head on Lavi's chest, "I meant it when I told the kids I've still got some mileage left on me. I don't intend to die any time soon. I'll just have to find another way around this limitation that's been put on me. I have no intentions of giving in one tiny millimeter. So, please, try not to worry too much about me. I'm actually pretty good at taking care of myself."

"Liar," Lavi said mildly. "You're shit at taking care of yourself because you put yourself on the front lines when you shouldn't. Well, whatever happens, I fully intend to make sure you keep that promise you made to your Innocence, about not overdoing it. If I have to club you with my hammer until you're unconscious, so help me God, I'll do it."

"Fine." Allen yawned. "Don't ever change, Lavi. You're perfect just the way you are." Then the General slipped off into sleep.

Lavi stroked the soft white hair a little more, waiting for sleep to catch up to him, which was hardly long in happening. As he started to drift off, he dropped a kiss into Allen's hair and murmured; "I couldn't change, even if I wanted to, Allen. You made me who I am. I love you, you silly beansprout, and I always will. Even when you're no longer here for me to say it to."

The apartment fell silent as its occupants fell asleep. The only occasional flicker of movement was from a golden golem periodically making the rounds from room to room, before perching itself and going to sleep.

VIVA EL FIN!

After-word and notes:
Due to waning interest in fanfiction, this will likely be the last of this series, and may be the last of my fanfics until further notice. There's the remote possibility of another story popping up if a plotbunny gets rabid enough, but at this time, I don't foresee that happening. Thanks yet again to all my loyal readers and friends, as well as my irreplaceable betas. It's been a blast, writing all these, and I've managed to refine my writing talents thanks to it. I'm going to try and focus on some original fiction now. We'll see how that pans out.