I do not own D. Gray-Man or any of its products, subsidiaries, affiliates, or their respective property. I do however claim intellectual copyright and legal ownership of my own invented characters and storylines. This is a fan fiction work and I do not obtain any fiscal gain from it (So please don't sue me -_-;;) It is illegal to reproduce and/or distribute this fan fiction work without due credit to the D. Gray-Man creators and myself. Please enjoy your reading experience! ^_^ ^_^
P.S. My Komlin II will be watching you… [\:/]
P.S.S. In case you're wondering, the mobile's song and the chapter poems are the opening theme Lilium from Elfen Lied.
This is an AU/AT that I just wanted to throw in there. It focuses on just one mission. A dark presence has awakened in Eastern Europe. A strange "shadow person" has appeared and is terrorizing the inhabitants of a small Russian village. Could it be caused by Innocence? As Allen and his friends investigate this strange occurrence, two dark beings, both intent on their destruction, watch the group from the shadows. One is already well known to them, the weaver of dreams Road Camelot. When the unknown presence attacks, will it drive the Exorcists and the child Noah to join forces? Or will Road's own manic instincts be the destruction of the group?
The Shadow King
Chapter One: Trains, Canes, and Odd Mobiles
Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam. Et lingua eius loquetur indicium.
The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom. His tongue shall speak judgment.
"No!" Allen screamed as the Akuma self-destructed. "Damn you Road!" Allen sat up violently in his bed. The nightmare of Road making hundreds of Akuma kill themselves, and their souls with them, had been haunting Allen for weeks now. He didn't know what had brought it on, nor could he talk to anyone about it because everyone in the Order hated the Akuma regardless of souls. He half wondered if it was the Noah of dreams messing with his mind. She had taken an, in his opinion, unhealthy liking to him and his pain. The thought of the kiss she had given him made him shudder and blush. Luckily he was going on a mission tomorrow with Lavi and Lenalee. Those two always had a way of cheering him up.
Allen looked out the window and saw that the sky was starting to brighten. With nothing else to do he wandered down to the kitchen where he found Komui and Reever both asleep on either side of an empty coffee pot. Jerry wasn't awake yet so he made himself a sandwich and fresh coffee. As he sat down he thought to amuse himself. Leaning over he whispered four words into Komui's ear. "Lenalee is getting married."
Komui rocketed out of his chair suddenly alert. When his mind caught up with his body he looked around in bewilderment. "Oh, hello Allen. Did we need something?" He motioned to the piles of paper surrounding them.
"No. I just thought you might like to see Lenalee off before we left on our mission." Allen motioned to the door where Lenalee had just walked in with a piece of toast in her mouth.
"Ah, how could I have forgotten? Of course! That's what we were doing here." Komui reached over and pulled some files off the top of a pile and handed them to the two Exorcists. "This is all of the information we have on this phenomenon. It looks like it'll be very dangerous; most of the Finders sent to investigate have been killed. So please be careful." He shot Allen a look that said he'd better take care of Lenalee or he'd have hell to pay.
As they sat down to eat their small breakfast Lenalee noticed the bags under Allen's eyes. "Hey, is everything alright? You look exhausted." The concern in her voice made Allen feel warm inside.
"Nothing. It's just—just a nightmare. I doubt anyone would understand it." Allen played with his food a little. "Lenalee? Is it strange to care for the souls of the Akuma? To want to save them?"
Lenalee sighed and stared at her toast. Allen's statement had made her lose her appetite. "Allen, you know everyone in the Order hates Akuma. No one can see what you do, with your curse that is. If there is a reason for having the slightest feeling toward the Akuma, you're probably the only one who could manage it. But you're right, nobody else would understand it." She sounded reassuring but when she finished speaking she picked up her toast and left the cafeteria, a look of dark hate and confusion on her face.
Komui left after her trying to ask what had just happened between them. The only ones in the cafeteria were Allen and the still sleeping Reever. Allen sighed in dismay. This was not the way to start out a mission. A familiar feeling of loneliness overcame him as he ate his sandwich in the silence. He was just about finished when Jerry walked in to start the morning meals.
"Hey Allen. Don't tell me you were going to go off with just that to eat! Why not have some of my mitarashi dangos? They always pick up your energy." Without waiting for an answer Jerry started making Allen's usual twenty mitarashi dangos.
Allen smiled and sighed. He was glad that he had a place to call home and friends that always seemed to know exactly what he needed to feel better. He was just about to go get some water when yet another friendly face appeared in the doorway.
"Yo Allen! Ready for the mission? I think this one's in the bag." Lavi held up a folder that contained the briefing. "Anytime they make it sound this bad it always turns out to be a snap." He chuckled then looked around the cafeteria. "Where's Lenalee? She should get some breakfast too."
"She got mad at me and left when I asked her if it was weird to want to save the souls powering the Akuma." Allen looked down in shame. "I didn't think it would make her angry."
Lavi draped a sympathetic arm over Allen's shoulders. "Allen, you've got to remember that no one else has that fancy peeper of yours. We don't see the souls powering the Akuma like you do. I saw it the one time, when your eye got its upgrade, and that glimpse made me dislike the Akuma even more. I suppose it could be because I didn't grow up with it like you did, but it's probably safer to keep thoughts like 'saving the Akuma' to yourself."
Lavi's gentle chide made Allen feel even worse. He had to apologize to Lenalee somehow before they left. He didn't have much time to think about it however because Jerry had finished his mitarashi dangos.
"Lenalee, what happened? Why are you mad at Allen now?" Komui was worried that Lenalee seemed to get angry with Allen every other week. Right before a mission was an especially bad time for this to happen because it took away from their focus and put them in greater danger.
Lenalee looked at her brother and huffed. "I don't know. I guess I'm upset that after all of the things we've been through together he doesn't trust me enough as friend to talk about what's bothering him. It's obvious that he's been losing sleep for a while but he always avoids the questions I ask him. Then he pulls out a statement like 'is it weird to want to save the Akuma's souls' right before a mission? If he doesn't even trust me to be his friend, how can we fight together on the battlefield?" Lenalee tried to keep her face from showing the hurt that Allen's lack of trust caused her.
Komui looked thoughtful then took Lenalee's hand. "You know, out of all of the Exorcists, I think Allen probably has it the hardest. I'm not saying that anyone has it easy, not by a long shot, but his cursed eye is just that. A curse. Allen once described to me what the souls powering an Akuma looked like. They cry, he said. They cry for the weak souls of those who turned them into Akuma. They cry for relief from their captivity. Worse of all, though, is what happens to the souls as the Akuma evolve. The soul deteriorates as the strength of the Akuma increases. They become pitiful, tortured entities that hardly resemble a soul anymore. When that Level 4 attacked, the sight of the poor soul attached to it made him physically ill. Seeing that kind of anguish caused by the Akuma, even more so than what we see; is it any wonder he wants to save the souls? Allen is a kind, good person. The toll that his curse must take on him is enormous. Not one single person in the Order can imagine the mental strain he must endure in a battle. That loss of sleep you mentioned? I'm just surprised it hasn't set on sooner." Komui looked thoughtful again. "I wonder if I could make something to get him to perk up. Maybe an anti-sleep formula of some sort…"
Lenalee quickly cut him off from that line of thinking. "I've never thought of that before. I guess it's no wonder he's so hard to understand sometimes. But I still wish he'd at least try to talk to me or one of the others once in awhile."
"That my dear is something you'll have to take up with him." Komui smiled down at sister. "Come on. You'd better eat more than a piece of toast before you go leave in half an hour."
Lenalee returned his smile with a hug. "Thanks brother."
It was an awkward silence in the train car as Allen and Lenalee each stared out the window to avoid the other's gaze. They had made up enough so that they could set out without an air of mistrust in the group, but they could not think of anything to draw their attention away from their quarrel. Lavi was in a different compartment with Bookman.
It was Lenalee who spoke first. She decided that, at the risk of overshadowing their mission, she would try and get Allen to vent a little. She hoped she could understand at least some of what he said. "Allen? You said you were losing sleep because of a nightmare. It might help if you talked about it. What is it about?"
Allen turned from the window looking surprised. "You really want to know?"
Lenalee put a smile on her face and leaned forward slightly. "Well, I am your friend aren't I?"
Allen smiled then looked back out the window. "It's about the Noah, Road, and that self-destruction she can force the Akuma to do." He saw Lenalee's face tighten as she realized where this was going but he was relieved to see her steel herself for it. "I couldn't care less about the weapon itself," he explained, "but the soul inside them… well they're human. I can't let a human soul be used like that." His hands tightened into fists as he thought about it.
"In my dream, I'm on an enormous battlefield. Akuma are everywhere but they don't attack. Instead they taunt me, always staying just beyond the range of my attacks while their souls cry out to me for salvation. There are hundreds and hundreds of souls calling for me to save them. I try to, I really do, but I can't reach them. Then in the middle of it all, Road appears. When she does, I can't move at all any more, like I've become frozen in place. She walks up to me and runs her hands along my shoulders and over my body, but as hard as I try I can't get my arm to move and strike her down. After that she steps back and frowns. 'What's wrong Allen?' she asks. 'Don't you like the feeling of a girl's affection?' You know how she likes me. Then she turns to the Akuma and smiles. 'Perhaps if I get rid of these distractions you'll play with me?' Then she starts to blow up the Akuma, a few at a time, until they're all gone." He turned and met Lenalee's frozen stare. She was taken aback to see the raw panic and tears in his eyes. "It might not sound bad, but just think about it Lenalee. When an Akuma self-destructs its soul isn't saved from destruction like it is with Innocence. When an Akuma self-destructs… the soul, the human soul, is destroyed forever with the weapon. I can see it when it happens. It's… it's a horrible thing to see a soul lost forever from salvation. They didn't ask to become Akuma, and yet they are kept from the rest and safety they deserve." Allen tried to talk further but a lump was forming in his throat and he was fighting to hold back tears of pain.
Lenalee got up and moved beside him. She pulled him against her into a protective embrace. She had never seen Allen look so helpless before. He was always the one you could count on, the one that inspired strength and courage in others. Now she began to realize the extent of his strength. That he could stay on this path, unwavering, when he was subject to all of that… She couldn't blame him about the Noah, though. Having one of them in your dreams, especially one that was trying to hit on you, would be enough for anyone to lose sleep. She continued to hold him until his sobs slowly died down and he fell asleep. She lay him down so that his head was on her lap and she started to speak softly to him and stroke his hair, hoping that she could somehow comfort him past any nightmares.
Allen walked slowly through winding passages before him. It was pitch black and he had to run a hand along the wall to find his way. He could feel a girl's hand holding his right hand; he assumed it was Lenalee's because he did not feel threatened by the girl's presence. Somehow he felt that he had to find a way out of the darkness if he wanted to live. He continued on down the hallways until he began to lose hope of ever finding his way back into the light. Allen finally gave up when he came to his sixth dead end.
"Well Lenalee, I guess we're going to have to wait for Lavi or Bookman to find us. I can't make heads or tails of this maze. Not in the dark."
The voice that answered him sent chills up his spine and made him withdraw his hand from the girl. "Lenalee? Silly Allen, it's just you and me in here. Did you forget?"
Allen felt a hand grope its way up his body to behind his head. He could feel it pull him forward. "Innocence Invocation!" he yelled. When nothing happened he heard Road laugh softly.
"Silly boy. You already tried that, remember?" He felt her hand continue to pull his head forward until his lips brushed against the warmth of her cheek. He felt her head turning to meet his straight on and could feel the corner of the Noah's mouth meet his.
"Yaagh!" Allen sat up instantly awake. He heard Lenalee gasp in surprise but it didn't register. His eyes were bugged out with the return of light. He reached up and felt his lips as though the dream might have somehow poisoned him.
"Allen? Are you okay?" Lenalee put her hand on his shoulder. He was shaking.
"Y-yeah. I think so." Allen took a few deep, shuddering breaths to calm himself. "The good news," he said turning to face his friend, "It wasn't the same nightmare. But the bad news is that this one was just as bad."
He recounted the dream to Lenalee and was not surprised to see a sickened look come over her face. "Allen, you have the sickest dreams I've ever heard of. It's almost like some part of your mind enjoys… that." Lenalee shook her head in disbelief. "Maybe you need to see a shrink."
Allen couldn't tell whether or not she was teasing him. "Well, maybe I should see if Tyki would go out with you. Then you'd see why I don't get much sleep with these dreams."
Lenalee shuddered. "There's no need for that." She was glad that Allen was joking around about it now. Maybe she had helped him.
She looked at him and felt that comfortable warmth that she got only around him and her brother. She started to lean forward.
"Um, Lenalee? Are you tired too? It looks like your starting to fall asleep."
Lenalee caught herself and started to blush. "Oh, yeah. I must be tired too. I hadn't realized it." She kept forgetting that however mature he seemed, Allen was still just a boy.
"Well, then let's sleep together."
"What?" Lenalee could not believe she had just heard those words from him.
"What's wrong? You're going bright red Lenalee. If you're tired you really should get some sleep. I just figured if we slept sitting leaning against each other… Well I might not have more nightmares and if Lavi comes back neither of us will have to wake up to move. Plus it's chilly in here so we'd probably be warmer."
Lenalee shook herself mentally. This was Allen. Her thoughts were way off track with him. "Oh, okay. Yeah that sounds good." She came right up next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. She hadn't realized just how cold she was until his warm right arm wrapped around her.
"Good night." Allen laid his head against hers and was soon fast asleep. Lenalee followed suit.
"Hey, you guys, wake up!" Lavi was shaking Lenalee's and Allen's shoulders. "Come on guys. It looks like the train has had a breakdown, we're going to have to find a different way to our destination."
"Come on, up!" Bookman pulled the two to their feet. "We need to find a place to stay tonight before we continue on."
The two Exorcists nodded groggily and grabbed their bags. Hiding Timcanpy under his hood, Allen brought up the rear as they exited the train.
"What happened?"
"The train hit a cow, supposedly. I think they just had engine trouble though and didn't want to admit it." Lavi smiled. "Looks like we're going to have quite a time getting to our destination now, though."
The group walked toward what appeared to be a small village off on the horizon. The world around them was a desolate sight. The ground was muddy and slick, scattered with medium and small rocks that made it difficult to keep their footing. The sky was overcast and the smell of rain hung in the air. In front of the train they could see a herd of big, brown and white cattle that milled endlessly around the tracks and first few cars.
It did not take long for them to reach the village. It was a rundown collection of old curio shops, homes, and stores. It made Lavi laugh to see that the next train stop was actually just at the edge of the town. As they walked along Allen made sure to keep a sharp eye out for Akuma.
"Exorcists! Exorcists!" The sudden cry made them whirl around.
Before them was an old man, looking to be in his in his mid-sixties, with a bald patch on the crown of his head. His thin white hair was combed and well kept as were his clothes. He carried a cane that appeared to be made from a frozen green snake. He looked completely out of place in this village.
"Who are you?" Lavi was the first to recover from his surprise.
The old man smiled and nodded. "Always so brusque… so brusque. I am Earl Mechanim. I'm a supporter of the Order." He held out his hand.
Bookman shook it first. "Greetings, friend. Tell me, what is a supporter of the Order doing way out here?"
"Well, I suppose it's because I don't like to move around much. That and I lend my house to Exorcists traveling east when the train invariably hits one of old Darby's cows. It's not much but I do what I can." He shook the rest of their hands.
"It happens that often, does it?" Bookman did not look surprised.
It happened almost faster than the eye could follow. The man's cane suddenly whipped outward and swept Allen's legs out from under him. The old man, having lost his support, fell on his face.
"Damn it! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that, Leroy!" The old man was cussing at his again inanimate cane.
"What was that?" Lenalee was tensed for an attack now.
"Huh? Oh don't worry about it. That was Leroy's idea of a joke. Damn canes, they just don't make 'em the same anymore."
"But, how did it do that?"
"How about I explain things better over a hot cup of tea , eh? Follow me, Exorcists, it feels like it's going to rain again soon." The old man turned and trotted off down the street.
"Well, it does seem we've found a place to stay tonight. Let's go." Bookman followed quickly after their new host. He didn't need to tell the others to remain on their guard. If anything, this old man was most likely a trap. But as long as Allen didn't see anything they were safe.
The old man took them to a large building on the outskirts of town. In the front was a shop with mobiles and dolls on display. The sign said "Earl's Emporium of the Wonderfully Divine". They followed him through the back door into a spacious sitting room.
"Come, come. Have a seat friends and relax. Your job is hard and rest even harder to find. Just wait here and I'll go get us some tea." On his way into the kitchen he placed his cane against the wall. They were astonished to see it wind its way upward like a snake and hang there like a decoration.
Their host soon came back with hot tea and snacks. When they were all settled he began to talk. "You were wondering about Leroy, miss? Well, there's an interesting story about him. It all started out many, many years ago in a town now lost to time. My brother and I used to own a shop there, building wonderful accessories and fancies for gentry the world around. It so happened that one day a man came into our shop ecstatic about the quality of our works. He commissioned me to build him a rather curious object. The man wanted a moving, talking umbrella. I was well known for my dancing dolls and singing mobiles, but I had never before tried to do something like this. It took me almost a year before I was able to finish the project. Normally it wouldn't have taken so long, but the specifics of the umbrella were so interesting I decided to make myself a cane with the same features. When the man came to pick up Lero, he was very pleased with the end product. Unfortunately though, that man was the Millennium Earl." The Exorcists sat up at this. "He repaid my efforts by having an Akuma come and attack the shop. My brother was killed in the attack and the shop was destroyed. If it weren't for Leroy I'd have died too. I keep him as a reminder of the evil of the Earl and his Akuma. That is also why I support the Order."
The group sat in stunned silence- that is until Lavi spoke up. "So, why do you still go by the name Earl if it's so much like his name?" All eyes turned to him in disbelief.
"Really, Lavi? That's what sticks in your mind after a story like that?" Lenalee would have kicked him were he any closer.
"Think of it this way boy. Why would I give up who I am over an unfortunate coincidence? Besides, I like the irony." Earl got up and stretched. As he did so thunder rattled the windows and rain started to fall. "It's about time for bed if y'all plan on catching the train again in the morning." Bookman nodded his agreement.
"Lavi, you come with me first. We need to discuss something." Bookman led him outside.
"Well then, would you two like a room together or separately?"
"Together." Lenalee wanted to be there in case Allen had another nightmare.
"All right then, right this way." He led them up the stairs to a medium sized room with two twin beds inside. From the ceiling hung an ornate mobile of cherubs that rotated slowly. "There you go. Don't mind the mobile. It's just a bit of advertising for the ones down in my shop." Earl bid them goodnight and left.
Allen entered first and checked carefully for any hidden peepholes or eavesdropping equipment. When he was satisfied that the room was clear they lay down in the beds and tried to sleep. As they lay there the mobile overhead began to sing in the darkness.
Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
Et lingua loquetur indicium
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem
Quoniam cum probatus fuerit accipient coronam vitae
Kyrie, ignis divine, eleison
O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigma, quam amoena
O castitatis lilium
When the song finished the only sound that could be heard in the room was the gentle breathing of two sleeping humans and the chatter of rain on the roof.
