Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man

Martyr

With one final thrust of his sword, the shape that his Innocence had chosen to take after Tyki Mikk had destroyed it, Allen Walker brought about the end of the Millennium Earl. For a few seconds he watched as his enemy fell as though in slow motion and then he began to fall forward. He had sustained some serious injuries during the lengthy battle with the Earl and now that the battle was over and the adrenaline was subsiding he was finding it impossible to stand up.

Glancing over at his friends the young Exorcist offered them all one final, shaky smile before falling to the ground a few feet away from his enemy.

Lenalee opened her mouth in a silent scream as she watched Allen and the Millennium Earl fall. She, Lavi and Kanda had been doing their part, fighting against the members of the Clan of Noah, but the Earl himself had been left up to Allen. The prophesied Destroyer of Time and the man accused of betrayal because he possessed the implanted memories of the 14th Noah. The white haired Exorcist had struck a decisive blow unfortunately he did not escape the battle unscathed and Lenalee watched in horror as he fell to the ground beside his fallen enemy.

With tears glistening in her violet eyes Lenalee ran across the battleground and dropped to her knees at Allen's side. His smoky gray eyes, the color of the sky just before a thunderstorm, were partially open although he looked as though he were in a daze.

"The Earl..." Allen began weakly, afraid that his efforts hadn't been enough. He made one effort to rise but all he could manage was to lift his head a couple of inches off the ground.

Lenalee gazed over to the spot where Lavi was checking on their enemy. Lavi offered her a small nod from his spot beside the Earl's corpse and the young woman stared down at Allen and offered him a shaky smile. She knew that he was concerned about the outcome of the battle and wanted to let him know that his efforts had not been in vain. He had done what no one else, not even the generals, had been able to do. He had defeated the darkness. "You did it Allen, he's dead."

"That's good," Allen managed as he allowed his head to fall back to the ground, so weak at this point that he couldn't even support the weight of his own body.

Seeming to understand Lenalee carefully positioned his upper body so that it was resting in her lap. She gently cradled his head in her arms and gently stroked the silky white strands. She had always wanted to run her fingers through his hair but this wasn't the scenario that she had envisioned. This was something that she had never wanted to think about. She could tell that his injuries were severe but surely it wasn't anything that he couldn't recover from. Attempting to ignore the vast amount of blood that had pooled on the ground around them she said, "You did such a good job Allen. Now just rest until we can get you some help."

"I... I'm sorry Lenalee," Allen whispered, unable to make his voice any louder. "It looks like my journey ends here."

"No," Lenalee said, shaking her head as though the motion would somehow take away the words that he had just spoken. She didn't want to hear these words coming from his mouth, not now that they had finally won the war against the Millennium Earl. Now was the time for them to all move on and be happy but how could they do that without Allen with them? He was an important part of her family and she didn't even want to imagine life without him. "You're going to be okay."

Allen made a motion to shake his head but was too weak to complete the motion. "I'm sorry..." he repeated, gagging slightly due to the metallic taste of the blood in his mouth. A small trail of blood ran down the corner of his mouth but he was too weak to do anything about it.

He was dying and he knew it.

For some reason it was easier to admit this fact to himself now that the Millennium Earl had been defeated. Before, during that dreadful time when Tyki had came so close to killing him, he had been ready to fight death with everything that he had. It wasn't like that this time. This time his friends were all safe and the Earl couldn't threaten them any more.

Now he was willing to give up.

"You can't die Allen," Lenalee said in a broken voice, tears beginning to fall from her violet eyes. Reaching for his right hand she grasped it within her own and held on as though she could single handedly keep Allen from leaving this world if only she held on tight enough. "You promised to keep moving forward."

"I... kept that... promise..." Allen managed to say, his vision beginning to blur as the blackness came to envelope him. Vaguely he felt the warm tears that were falling onto his face and he felt bad that he was causing Lenalee so much pain but at the same time he was so tired. He just wanted to rest. "I freed the Akuma and fought against the Millennium Earl. My journey's over Lenalee."

"Allen..." Lenalee choked out, feeling her heart break with each word that he spoke.

"You'll... be okay..." the young boy whispered, now completely unable to see. He felt the growing coldness that seemed to settle around him like a blanket and knew that he didn't have much time left. And yet he wasn't afraid. Not this time. "Promise me something Lenalee."

"What is it Allen?"

"Promise me... that you'll keep... moving forward," Allen said, gripping Lenalee's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. He didn't have much strength but he could at least offer her this small gesture of comfort. "Always... keep moving forward."

Lenalee could barely see him through the tears but she nodded her head. Not caring that Lavi and Kanda were nearby the young woman leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Allen's forehead. She wanted him to know, in these last moments, exactly how much he meant to her. "I promise Allen."

"Thank you," Allen murmured as he closed his eyes. His vision was gone and his hearing was fading. The young man was vaguely aware that the others, Lavi and Kanda, had came to stand beside him and he was glad. Now that all of his friends were by his side he could allow himself to embrace the darkness. He wasn't afraid, he just needed to tell them something before he succumbed. "You've... all been... great friends."

Lavi, having lost the internal struggle with the part of himself that was supposed to be an emotionless observer, had to wipe tears from his eyes and even Kanda looked upset. They had all known that the Millennium Earl was a dangerous enemy and yet none of them had expected for it to end this way. Allen wasn't supposed to die, not like this. It was yet more proof that life simply wasn't fair.

"Goodbye..."

The darkness began to diminish and Allen was suddenly surrounded by a vast white light. The young man gazed into the light and he watched as a silhouette began walking toward him. Allen kept his eyes focused on the shadow, seeing the image of the Fourteenth that had haunted him ever since the incident with Noah's Ark, but as the shape grew closer and he became able to discern the features Allen realized that it wasn't the Fallen Noah.

It was...

"Welcome back son."

Lenalee, Lavi and Kanda watched as a smile appeared on Allen's face as he took his final, gasping breath. They were all heartbroken by the loss of the friend that they had all come to care for deeply, even if Kanda refused to admit it, but at least he seemed to have found a measure of happiness in the end.

They would all walk forward, because it was what Allen would have wanted from them, but they would never forget the white haired boy who had changed their lives forever. Rest in peace Allen, you will be missed by all.

A/N - Man that was depressing. I can't believe that I actually killed Allen. Poor Allen. But at least he was reunited with Mana at the end. Just so that you know this isn't even close to how I want things to end in the actual series but I couldn't get the idea out of my head and I've never done tragedy before. Please review. I would like to know how I did.