EDIT 6/6/2012- This is the edited version of Innocent Rain that had to be put up because of LJ restrictions. If you want the MA version go to out LJ or adult fanfiction site under the same username to view it.

Prologue—Awakenings

June 6, 2013—London

No one was sure why the Underground train stalled suddenly in the tunnel, rocking with the force of an unknown impact. The lights flickered, and then died; silence reigned. The passengers heard a strange, mechanical whine coming from outside the car. Suddenly, the train shook violently as a large explosion ripped a hole into its side. Stunned passengers stared, silent.

"Everybody get the fuck down!" A girl yelled, running from the tunnel outside and into the cabin. She was peculiarly dressed, sporting a long, black coat adorned with white crosses and the insignia of the rumored Dark Order. The car was silent with the bewildered passengers, none of whom could move from shock.

"I'm fucking serious!" The girl yelled. A moment later, the wall of the Underground, so carefully constructed by generations past, exploded, sending dust and fragments of rock through the windows and leaving dents in the strong, metal siding. The passengers watched, transfixed, as a shining green object spun unearthly fast toward the girl, who caught it deftly.

As the dust and debris cleared from the air, the passengers were able to see the ominous, round shape of the nightmarish creature known as an Akuma. Few hadn't heard of the legendary battle fought over one hundred years ago, headed by the Dark Order's fighters known as Exorcists, but the story had long ago become just that—a legend.

The telltale whine of the Akuma cannons charging prompted the girl to fling the green thing from her body, toward the menacing creature. "Innocence!" She shouted. "Boomerang!"

The Akuma stood no chance as the green object literally tore through its tough armor and back to the girl.

"Everybody down, NOW!" The girl shouted, dropping to her knees and covering her head as she did so. A moment later, a huge explosion rippled through the dank, underground air. Fire licked the side of the cabin, and some were unlucky enough to have their hair or clothes catch the flames.

Silence continued to hold the passengers, and after nearly a minute, the girl sighed in apparent relief. Then, getting up, she stalked off through the hole in the train and out of sight.

June 6, 2013—The Dark Order, Main Branch, two hours later

Amanda sighed as she stepped out of the elevator to the Main Branch of the Dark Order. She knew she would have to give a tiresome report of her elimination of the three level ones she'd just taken out, and what she really wanted was a nice, warm shower to wash off the grime from the Underground… but duty called, and she was needed. Exorcists were rare these days, with only eighteen of them around the world, and even though she detested them, the reports helped monitor Akuma activities.

"Director Smith, I've got the Innocence you wanted me to collect," she said as she reached his desk. He was a foreboding man, with a tall, intimidating figure that was all brawn and a thick, handlebar mustache whose color matched his graying black hair. He stared down at her with the air of someone about to give a dressing-down, and though Amanda wanted nothing more than to hide from that gaze, she stared right back, hoping she showed no weakness.

"Good. Did you run into any trouble?" The man asked, his deep voice seeming to resound through the large, circular office.

"None, really, just a few Akuma here and there…" She paused, not wanting to tell him that she'd destroyed most of the London Underground in the process. Even if the media did blame terrorists again.

"Oh, really?" The man asked, penetrating her with his best 'I-know-you're-hiding-something-so-'fess-up' glare.

"Well, there may have been… some, uh, trouble on the way back." The Director's eyebrows raised a good half-inch. "Um… involving a train car, explosions…exposing our secret…" Her voice trailed off, and she desperately hoped that the intimidating man hadn't heard her last comment. She turned her gaze to the director, suppressing a cringe. Instead, she felt shock flow through her system as the man began unfolding a newspaper.

"I'd noticed," the man said with a menacing undertone. "Do you recognize this picture?" He asked, and to her horror, Amanda saw a side view of her in her Exorcist jacket lobbing her discus Innocence at a shadow in the background.

"Ummmm… no?" She tried, hoping to escape punishment but knowing it was already too late.

"You know what the punishment is for exposing our secret, don't you?" He said, cocking an eyebrow with a maniacal glint in his eye.

"No!" Amanda shouted. "No, no, no! Anything but that!"

"Yes," Director Smith said. "That."

"No!" Amanda wailed, but the Director simply handed her the Innocence she had brought back, placing it softly in her hand.

"Go on, now," he said evilly. "She's waiting for you."

Amanda harrumphed, and giving him a mock salute, she left the Director's office.

The bowels of the Black Order were always dank and musty from lack of use, but Amanda hated none of them more than Hevlaska's Chamber. It wasn't that she particularly disliked her, but Amanda was just… creeped out by her, for lack of a better term. The way she seemed omniscient, carelessly making prophecies here and there, using big phrases like "Destroyer of Time" and "The Awakening is upon us" and other bologna like that—it just… bothered her.

She descended, unwilling as she was, to Hevlaska's Chamber, fully intending to give the ancient Exorcist the Innocence before holing herself up in a corner of the vast room until Director Smith decided to take mercy upon her aggrievèd soul. Spending the next month as Hevlaska's personal conversationalist was not her favorite job, but mostly the sentence was cut short the next time the punished was given a new mission.

Sighing for what was probably the hundredth time that day; she disembarked from the elevator and walked over to Hevlaska.

"Innocence for ya, Hev," she said, resigning herself to her fate.

To her surprise, there was no response.

"Um, Hev, didja hear me?" Amanda asked, worried despite herself. She leaned over the side of the railing. She gasped. Quickly, she ran over to the small service elevator that reached the bottom of Hevlaska's Chamber and threw herself onto it, depressing the down button the second she could reach it. It descended painfully slowly, and Amanda's heart raced as she ran to the ancient Exorcist. Hevlaska seemed to be in acute pain, curled in upon herself like someone about to lose the contents of her stomach. Amanda could hear a slow chant coming from Hevlaska, though the words were in no language she could understand. Perhaps Latin, she thought dimly, her mind clouded with panic. And then, to her horror, Hevlaska gave a huge… shudder was the only word for it… and regurgitated four Innocence-green crystals. A moment later, Hevlaska shuddered more violently and spat out what looked horrifyingly like a mummy. Amanda dropped the Innocence she had taken so much trouble to obtain. She stood, mesmerized by the happenings she wasn't quite sure she wanted to see.

The ground was a lot harder and colder than it had been the last time he'd been thrown down. And, more distressingly, it had gotten much quieter. Instead of the loud explosions of Akuma all around him and grunts and pants of fighting Exorcists, there was a deep, encompassing silence. It wasn't the silence of a field just after battle—even then, Lavi knew from experience, there were screams from the wounded and agonized cries from the friends of the dead. The stillness reminded Lavi of a library, but the quality of it, as well as the slight wind that seemed to be stirring off to his left, made him think of something much different, a place he had only been to a handful of times. Lavi opened his eye a fraction and found his hypothesis to be correct; he was, indeed, in Hevlaska's Chamber.

Interesting, he thought, groping automatically for Oodzuchi Kodzuchi and feeling nothing but air. He grasped quickly at his last memories before the darkness. There was Allen, fighting in the air with the Earl, displaying his determined expression as he skillfully blocked and parried every attempt his enemy made on him. To his right was Bookman, puncturing all nearby Akuma with his Heaven's Compass needles. On the far end, Lenalee and Chaoji battled side by side, and to his left, he saw a shaded Exorcist leaping from Akuma to Akuma. Kanda, exactly ten meters behind him and five and a half centimeters to the right, was fighting with Road Kamelot, who, despite his best efforts on the Ark three years prior, had not died. Kanda was steadily wearing her down, though, and Lavi figured it was only a matter of time until his reluctant friend killed her completely. It smelled strongly of gun-powder and smoke. He could hear all the proper sounds of Exorcists fighting: activating their Innocence's more powerful levels, swings of blades, shots of guns, and pounding of boots (Lenalee's, of course). Then, suddenly, the sky turned dark for a moment, disorienting them all. A large shock shot them back a second before an earsplitting boom echoed out, destroying everyone's eardrums. Lavi felt his own bleed, and he picked up a hand to verify it, when… he was on the hard, unforgiving ground of Hevlaska's Chamber.

He ran the memories through his mind again, but he could only dredge up the memory of… nothingness, much like Lavi felt after a deep meditation on the meaning of being a Bookman.

He heard moans and turned his head to the right to see Allen and Lenalee on the ground. Gazing to his left, he saw Miranda almost a meter and a half away. His heart clenched for a second before he realized that just three quarters of a meter from him was Kanda. He breathed a sigh of relief before realizing what he was doing. Quickly, he repressed the feelings of panic and relief. You're a Bookman, he told himself. You can't feel these things.

A murmured whisper of "Gege" alerted Lavi that Lenalee was awake and already calling for her older brother. Next to her, Allen stirred.

"Lena…lee…" he mumbled, probably unaware of having done so. It was obvious the two were in love, but for the past three years, they'd been doing nothing but tip-toeing around each other, despite Lavi's best attempts at matchmaking.

There was a grunt exactly three quarters of a meter to his left, and he heard fabric stir as Kanda stood.

The only one to make no noise was Miranda, but she seemed to be stirring more silently, and when Lavi paid attention, he realized her breathing had picked up like someone just coming out of a deep sleep. She would be getting up in a moment, so Lavi could safely keep his gaze from her and spend more effort trying to figure out just how they'd gotten—

A gasp, loud and echoing, resounded through the Chamber, and Lavi, feeling dumb, looked to his right. At the small service elevator stood a young, female Exorcist Lavi had never seen before. She had to be an Exorcist, as she was dressed in a jacket bearing the Order's crest, and there was a piece of Innocence, likely to be given to Hevlaska, at her feet. She was maybe around 167.6 centimeters in height with light brown hair held up in a strong pony tail that reached just past the base of her neck. Her eyes, just slightly larger than average, showed surprise in their dark brown depths, and her petite nose and full lips completed the face of a definite strike!

She pulled a strange, small device from her pocket, and after flipping part of it up and pressing a few buttons, held it to her ear. After a short pause, she began to speak into it.

"Director," she said, her voice revealing copious amounts of urgency. "Um, I think… well, there's… well, actually I have no idea—" she paused, and if Lavi listened intently, he could hear a small noise coming from the device. "Yes, I have a reason for—yes—yes—WHAT!" She pulled the device away from her ear, and flipping it into itself again, placed it back into her pocket.

She looked over at them with the obvious air of someone in a very, very uncomfortable situation.

"So," she said as Lavi heard sounds of hands brushing off fabric from Miranda's position. "Um. I'm Amanda." She paused, smiling awkwardly at the obviously battle-weary group in front of her. No one responded with any greetings, so she shifted uncomfortably before adding. "Um, who're you guys?"

"I'm Lavi," he said and immediately regretted it. His voice came out as a croak, as if he hadn't had any water in a long time. Pausing to clear his throat, he added, "and they're Allen and Lenalee, and behind me are Yuu—er, Kanda—and Miranda." His voice, damn it all, was still scratchy, but he managed to articulate enough for the other Exorcist to hear as he named each companion.

Shock spread across the girl's face like an out of control wildfire. Her mouth went so far as to open just the slightest bit, as if she had been told that Jesus had returned for the Second Coming and was standing before her for all to see.

"W-wait," she said slowly, as if she was wracking her brain for an elusive thought. "Hold on a second. You're telling me that that kid over there is Allen fucking Walker?" She asked, pointing almost accusingly at the white-haired Exorcist.

"Er, yeah," Lavi responded, deadpan.

"Allen fucking Walker?" She whispered to herself, seemingly amazed. Then, directing her attention back to Lavi, she added, "You mean to tell me that that kid is Allen Walker, the Destroyer of Time, the fifteen-year-old General, the kid who disappeared after the last battle with the Earl?" Her tone was incredulous, as if Jesus had told her that the Earth was, indeed, flat.

Lavi didn't quite know how to respond, so he kept it simple. "Yes."

The girl—Amanda, Lavi reminded himself—simply gaped for a moment before reaching back into her pocket and removing the device again. She flipped it open again and poked a button on the side as she brought it up to her ear. "Director," she said her speech oddly monotone. She didn't speak for a while until—"Director, get your fucking ass down here! It's Allen fucking Walker!" This time, there was no response. Snapping the object closed again, she replaced it in her long, floor-length Exorcist jacket.

Looking at Allen, her expression showed mild curiosity. "Hey, Bean Sprout…" she began. Allen tensed.

"Don't call me 'Bean Sprout,'" he said, his voice cracking just as Lavi's had at first.

"Why? All the books say that was your nickname," Amanda said innocently.

"Kaaaandaaaa…" Allen growled menacingly, turning his head to glare at the man three quarters of a meter behind Lavi.

"Shut up, Moyashi," Kanda replied, though his tone inferred that it was a more automatic response than one he'd thought to use.

"My name is Allen," Allen responded icily, completing the verbal ritual between the two.

"You don't like being called Bean Sprout?" Amanda said, butting into the short conversation that excluded all but the two Exorcists.

"Would you?" Allen questioned.

"Well, anyway, what's that on your head?" Amanda continued quickly, waving her hand dismissively.

"Eh?" Looking up, Allen smiled broadly. "Oh, that's just Timcanpy, my golem."

"Looks a bit like the Golden Snitch," Amanda remarked, private amusement showing on her face.

"What's a 'Golden Snitch?'?" Lavi asked, genuinely curious. It was obvious from the way the girl spoke that they'd been asleep for a while, which would explain why he didn't get what she was referring to. Also, the girl spoke with the strangest accent he'd ever heard. It sounded vaguely American, but all the inflections were wrong, and she spoke with a mouth even Kanda could be proud of. She looked at Lavi with astonishment.

"You haven't read—" she paused. "Oh, right. You've all been asleep forever. You wouldn't know… Jesus Christ…" She faded off, and Lavi let her.

He was about to ask her again what this "Golden Snitch" object was when the door to Hevlaska's chamber opened with a bang. The service lift rose to the top and was soon back down, regurgitating a tall, burly man with salt-and-pepper hair. Behind the intimidating man stood two men in white coats who could only be the man's lackeys. Lavi took in every detail he could, memorizing postures and features of the three men. It was obvious from the burly man's posture and expression that he was in charge, probably of the entire Main Branch. What had happened to Komui?

Before he could ask, though, Lenalee stood up, shocked. "Where's Gege?"

The Director paused, looking at Lavi's comrade, before answering with an eloquent, "what?"

"Komui. Where is Komui?" Lenalee asked, her voice becoming more worried with each syllable.

"Komui…" the Director repeated, and suddenly his eyes went wide with understanding. "Komui Lee is dead, along with everyone else you knew."

Lenalee looked stricken. Allen stood up and grabbed her before she could fall to her knees. Tears started to leak from her dark brown eyes as what the Director said struck home.

"Dead?" She repeated her voice disbelieving. Allen pulled her close, hugging her, and Lenalee relaxed in to the embrace, though her eyes never left those of the burly man.

"Yes, a long time ago," the man confirmed. "I'm sorry."

Lenalee shook and hid her face in Allen's shoulder. Allen put his chin on her head and rubbed his hands comfortingly on her back. Quietly, he said, "It's okay, Lenalee, we'll make new friends and rebuild your world."

Lavi gave a low whistle. "Smooth, Allen," he said. He wanted to improve the sudden somber mood of the room, and perhaps that comment would bring Lenalee back from her private grief. Allen glared darkly at Lavi, his gaze saying that he would kill the other man if he so much as uttered another sound. He got a whap on the back of his head and realized that Kanda had moved directly behind him. He tried to stop his heart from pounding at the thought. Fixing Kanda's new position in his head, he turned back to the Director. He was definitely British, but just like the American girl, he was using inflections that seemed to be from another age. Just how long had they been asleep?

A/N: Hey, everybody! We got a request to post this here, although there will be chapters later that won't be appropriate (they'll be posted on LJ and/or affnet-we will also have summaries). This story is going to get very, VERY dark and angsty, so if you don't like that, you probably shouldn't read this. Even we didn't know how dark this would get-it surprised the hell out of us. Also, we've included a list of new characters and their Innocence so you won't get completely confused. Anyway, enjoy reading!

THE EXORCISTS

-From the Past (5)

Lenalee Lee

Allen Walker

Kanda Yu(u)

Lavi

Miranda Lotto

-Current-day (18)

Generals: (3…5)

(Allen Walker, TBA—to be added) parasite, left arm

(Lenalee Lee, TBA) crystal, dark boots

Tamas Varga (male, Hungarian, 37) diamond, machete

Tuan Chu (male, Vietnamese, 25) diamond, machine gun

Cyrah Kabbah (female, African, 43) diamond, whip

Main Branch: (5) head: Patrick Smith

Amanda Colten (female, American, 16) diamond, discus

Darcy "Mr. Darcy," "Darce" O'Connell (male, Irish, 21) diamond, cutlass

Elliott Manson (male, British, 13) diamond, bazooka

Artemis Papathanos (female, Greek, 19) diamond, bow and arrows

Lolek Sadowski (male, Polish, 35) parasite, gauntlets (9/23)

American Branch: (3)
Michel Benoit (male, Canadian, 46) parasite, hand becomes chainsaw

Hok'ee – Navajo, "abandoned" (male, American Indian, 38) diamond, spear

Krista Harris (female, American, 12) parasite, wings and claws/talons

Asian Branch: (4)

*Vikram Maitra (male, Indian, 24) diamond, prayer beads

Sasaki Emiko (first name) –From Hokkaido (female, Japanese, 21) diamond, nun chucks & shuriken

Choon-yei Lang (female, Korean, 57) diamond, Dangpa (three-pronged spear)

Bak Chan III (male, Chinese, 22) diamond, Tai Chi sword

Australian Branch: (1)

Justin Treverton (male, Australian, 15) parasite, Koala (named Siegfried)

South American Branch: (2)

Maya Reyes (female, Mexican, 29) diamond, flaming sword (earns her the nickname Gabriel)

Rodrigo Pereira (male, Brazilian, 42) diamond, guitar (whaps sound waves at the Akuma)