Dear Readers,

Welcome, at long last, to the new edition of the story: Immortal's Masquerade: First Verse. I know it has been many years since this story was first added to the site, and now, eight years later, I have re-written the story, and it is slowly coming to completion. The series, to the utmost unfortunance, is never going to return. However, hope that you will enjoy this story, and this story is going to tie into the Kingdom Hearts Series. I hope you enjoy the story, and I look forward to reading your reviews on the new story!

Enjoy, and beware of Comlins.

Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray Man, or anything accompanied by it. The characters, story, settings, abilities, and some events belong to Hoshino Katsura.

Claimer: Any OCs, non-canon events, and timelines belong to me.

Chapter 1: My Secret

{The Black Order: European H.Q: September 14th 1887, 3:15pm – Allen's P.O.V}

Being home after a mission was typically a relief; however, I had been feeling a bit less than pleasant today. Ever since this morning, I had been feeling ill and dizzy, but thankfully, there were no Akuma present at this mission, seeing as it was being an escort for a sage of some kind who worked with the Order and had requested our assistance. Thankfully, we had gotten home with no trouble, but despite that, the pain and discomfort I was feeling hadn't let up yet. It was as I had left the others to go and rest until dinner that I started to think back on why the days had occasionally been plagued with phantom pains that came from nowhere and made little sense: It was because of the Fourteenth Noah.

The fact that I had been previously dealing with the issue of a Noah and now having gained the power of said Noah, any illness or strange sensations had me on edge, not because the Noah could return, but because I had to still adjust to being able to use these abilities. As I was walking, I noticed the sound of a scuffle and only slowed down, while the people behind me caught my attention.

"Allen? You heading to bed already?" I heard a familiar voice call my name, and I turned to see Lavi walking up to me with a few of the others not far from us.

"Yea, I've been feeling a bit dizzy today," I said as he gave me a small smile.

"Probably because you haven't been eating enough. You know how parasite-type weapons are..." I shrugged, rolling my eyes as I looked towards them.

"Lavi...of course I know that my weapon requires a lot of energy. I don't need you to baby me, okay?" I stated with a bland expression, while Lavi smirked and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm not trying to baby you, short-stack, I just know that you don't need to get sick..." I felt a twitch develop in my eyebrow.

"My name is Allen...not short-stack!" I snapped as I promptly threw Lavi over my shoulder and onto the floor before feeling a twinge of pain snap through me as if I'd been impaled by something. I took in a sharp breath and stumbled backwards as Lavi moved to stand, and I closed my eyes and put my hand to my forehead.

"Allen? Are you okay?" I glanced towards Lenalee and took a moment to get my bearings again as she came and put her hands on my shoulders and arm.

"Y-Yea, just dizzy..." I assured her as I started to walk away.

"You sure, Allen?" I heard Miranda ask as I looked towards her with a small smile.

"Yes, I'm just going to rest, okay? See you guys tomorrow!"

I walked towards the dormitories and headed down the courtyard and to the left where the Exorcist's dorms were located and went back to my room, with Timcanpy coming to fly beside me as I opened the door and started up the staircase before stopping at my door. I grabbed the key off a small cord around my neck and opened it before I slipped into the room and took in a deep breath as I shrugged out of my coat – the long black, hooded trench coats they gave us with the Order's crest – and hung it up on a hook to the right of the door. Only a few seconds later, I was tugging off my boots and removing my gloves to place on the dresser before I placed the red and black cuff that made up my communicator in a small metal holder before I undid the black and red-lined Exorcist jacket as I threw it on the back of the chair at my desk and collapsed upon the bed with an exhausted sigh.

Winters in England were harsh, bitter, and the snowfall was always heavy. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes before I felt sleep consume me. Within my dreams, I relived my memories and the things I barely remembered now. The most prominent recollection I had was of a pretty young woman with knee-length, wavy, chocolate-colored hair and piercing mercury eyes. I heard her laugh but never her voice, and her touch was always gentle. She was someone important to me, but I didn't remember who – maybe a sister, or my mother. However, the good dream I had of a home with sweet smells and a warm hearth or a forest with a cool stream and towering trees turned to a nightmare filled with horrific screams, burning buildings, blood and corpses lining the streets like demented rocks and a river of red that reflected the firelight. The peace was gone, and crouched before me, blood-splattered and weak-eyed, was the girl I knew, who only reached out to me, touched my cheek gently and kissed my forehead before I closed my eyes, and then a bone-chilling screech of metal came to my ears, followed by the stomach-churning sound of blood splattering and bone breaking. My eyes opened, and lying torn apart upon the ground was the girl I had known, and I screamed.

I awoke with a start, taking in a gasping breath as I moved to where I could put my bare feet upon the ground and put my head in my hands as I rested my elbows upon my knees and took in a few shaking breaths as I tried to gather my thoughts. Deciding I needed to clear my head, I stood and walked towards the door before grabbing my jacket and looked towards the mirror in my room. The eyes that looked back to me weren't ones I remembered from the year before. Once, I had sharp mercury-colored eyes, but now my eyes had gold around the pupil that spread out in an almost hazel-like appearance. Sighing, I walked forward and went to pull on the Exorcist jacket I had in my hands, but was suddenly stopped when a sharp pain tore through my body and my legs gave out.

I was an Exorcist, therefore I was used to pain – it was part of our lives. However, this wasn't something I had ever felt before. It felt as if my body was being turned inside out and my bones were being splintered into tiny shards one little area at a time. The pure agony caused my arms to give way and I fell sideways onto the hardwood floor. My vision swam, warmth spreading through my body from the tips of my hair down to my toes as I tried to make sense of what was happening as my vision began to swim and my consciousness waned. Not even a moment later, I felt everything go dark before fire lit my veins and my vision returned with a terrifying vividness. I looked around, frantic, as I tried to reason out why the pain had suddenly appeared, and as I did, the sound of my own heartbeat trembled in my ears as the searing pain ebbed and then vanished.

"W-What was that?"

I wanted to try and reason why the sudden rush of agony and the collapse from it had come and gone so swiftly. Taking in a deep breath, I shakily stood from the floor and looked nervously towards the window, where the sun had grown dim in the sky, but my vision blurred still as I shakily stood up and walked forward to grab my boots and pull them on before taking in shaking breaths as I heard a fluttering noise and glanced towards Timcanpy, who chittered to me before I sighed and gave him a tired look as I reached out before patting him as he fluttered his wings a bit while grinding his teeth. The little golden golem had been my companion for many years, even when I had just started my training, the golem took to me.

"Tim...I think...something's happening to me..." I said to him as he chattered to me again and then pointed his stubby little arms towards the clock on my wall and I looked up.

"Oh, I'm late for dinner..." I paused and then looked to Timcanpy, who gave me a pointed look, and realization settled upon me.

"I'M LATE?!"

Needless to say, I grabbed my coat and pulled on my gloves before I ran out the door and started towards the main building.

{Black Order HQ, Main Building: 7:01pm}

The cold air bit into my skin and left a sharp tingle on my cheeks as I looked at the main building of the Order and sighed as I saw the others present and waiting for me at the entrance to the dining hall. I smiled as I started forward and looked to Lavi, who came running up to me before throwing his arms around me in a crushing hug. Admittedly, I was mildly used to this attitude, and Lavi's hyperactivity was normal even during missions. I looked to him as I tried to push him off, and the red-head laughed brightly.

"Good to see you up!" he said.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!" the others gave me an odd look.

"Allen, Lavi and Krory came by your room to get you and there was no answer..." the statement from Miranda concerned me slightly as I looked to them.

"Oh...yea...I was sleeping. Sorry! I guess I didn't hear you," I said with a smile upon my features. Without question, I knew bringing up the strange pain I had earlier would only cause trouble for myself later.

"That's fine, but listen, we better get going – Jerry is asking where ya were..."

I smiled, striking up a conversation as we entered the dining hall and got our meals before settling at a table near the doorway. Our conversation of the day's mission and the evident lack of Akuma had us all on edge; however, we didn't have much to worry about for the time being. But I knew the Earl's silence wasn't a good sign. Typically, if things grew quiet, most of us relaxed, and yet, I remembered the last time we were this relaxed – I ended up on a mission to China that nearly cost me my life – and personally, I wasn't too keen on being face-to-face with another problem such as the one we'd only recently gotten out of.

Sighing, I looked at the soup they'd given us for dinner tonight and smiled faintly, questioning whether or not I was as fine as I thought I was. After the strange event with the unbearable pain from earlier, I was considering heading to the nurse's station in the medical ward and have them check on my Innocence and make sure it was fine; however, I realized that it would raise too many questions and chose to wait and see if it returned before I made any brash choices.

"Hey? Allen? You okay?" asked Lenalee. I glanced to her and sighed again as I looked back to the bowl of soup.

"Yea, I guess I'm still tired. Besides...I kind of woke up with a roaring headache..." the others paused and Lavi leaned over towards me before brushing my bangs away from my forehead. I narrowed my eyes, knowing what he was looking for and not liking it one bit.

"Well?" asked Choji as I gave them a bland and irritated expression.

"I don't have a stigmata, okay! Would you stop?!" I snarled this at them with a fierce glare in my eyes before looking down as I considered how it must have looked to them.

"We know, but Allen...ever since the whole thing with the Fourteenth Noah..." I shook my head and looked down at the table and my reflection in the broth.

"Yea, I get it. No one trusts the half-breed..." I mumbled out in nothing short of frustration. I wanted so badly for people to trust me again, but I wasn't sure how they'd go about it.

"That's not the point, Allen...you've changed a lot," said Krory. I sighed faintly, exhaustion wanting to catch up with me.

"I get it, guys; I'm a half-blooded Noah...a freak of nature because I'm not a normal human being...no one trusts me because I inherited the gifts of the Fourteenth Noah..." I glanced to them, showing the slight change of my eye color.

"The Ark is incredibly useful to the Order, my brother said so himself! Without it, moving to the new Headquarters would have taken months! You've done so much for us, as an aid and an Exorcist," Lenalee told me with one of her beautiful smiles. I returned it faintly and felt a small warmth come to my cheeks.

"And the great Allen Walker blushes!" I narrowed my eyes at Lavi.

"I hate you sometimes!" I stated with a blunt tone.

"Awh! Come on, Allen, lighten up! You gotta remember, we're here for ya no matter what!" I looked down and could only smile as I looked to them.

"Thanks, guys...but...I really am the outcast. I'm the only person in the Order who has Noah blood, and atop it all...I'm one of the few Exorcists since General Yeager's death to reach a complete synchronization..." I said calmly while the others frowned.

"You're as much of a washed-out weakling as you were the day you arrived, moyashi." A tick developed in my eyebrow.

"Really? Care to test that out, Bakanda?!" I snapped at him and gave him a smirk while looking him over.

"You asking for your ass to get beaten, moyashi?" a bland expression met my features.

"It's Allen..."

"I'll call you whatever I want, you baka-moyashi!"

My mercury eyes narrowed, the now-permanent gold tone around the iris flaring to life and causing the new power inside me to emerge. My skin tinged with a pallor instead of the sharp gray of the normal Noah while my eyes sparked with a rich harvest gold color. The others at the table panicked as I gouged grooves into the wood, trying with all my might to rein in the power the Fourteenth had left me. I was scared, only because I had never let anyone see my Noah half, and if this was the first time, I could honestly admit it wasn't in the best ways.

"A-Allen?" asked Lavi as they started inching away from me.

"Sorry...I...need to calm down..." I took in a deep breath, folding my arms upon the table before resting my head on them while I closed my eyes. My focus turned to closing out the power of the Noah that ran wild in my veins, and I heard someone take in a deep breath, followed by a thick-sounding swallow. My left eye opened slightly to look at Choji, who was giving me a frightened look, but I ignored it, while Kanda kept a sharp glare on me.

"I don't think anyone needs to see your Noah side, moyashi," he stated. I narrowed my eyes at him and considered the fact that I only could grit my teeth and hope for it to ebb away. I honestly didn't know if Liverrie was present or not, and I wasn't keen on testing it out. However, the moment the thought crossed my mind, a slight shadow appeared over my shoulder.

"Let's see...has an affinity for pies...long, braided hair, and almost always wears a scowl...that could only be one person..." I turned and looked up into cool blue eyes.

"Good evening, Walker..." I huffed.

"Yep...pegged that one!"

"Hello, Link! How are you?" I asked. He frowned, inspecting my golden-silver eyes and narrowing his own blue ones.

"Having some trouble with that Noah today?" I looked to the side.

"Not really; I've been really tired and Kanda kind of pushed the wrong buttons...I don't have full control over it yet, but I will soon!" I assured as he sat down across from me.

"I see...then I suppose meeting me tomorrow morning for a training session to rehabilitate you would be well-suited for you?" a displeased sensation settled into my system.

"You're going to put me through hell, aren't you?" I inquired.

"Oh, most definitely..." I banged my head on the table in defeat.

"Why did they ship Liverrie off to Antarctica and you were left to torture me in his stead?" I questioned as I looked to him, and Link smiled.

"Because someone must keep your rebellious, smart-mouthed, short-tempered, loose-cannon of an attitude under control."

"You may want to tighten the leash," Kanda mentioned, and I frowned.

"Oi! Yu!" he glared.

"Do you wish to die? Moyashi?" he inquired. I glowered and looked to him with a sarcastic and snarky expression.

"Baka! Blah!" I stuck my tongue out at him, showing off my sharp canines – they'd been that way most of my life after I'd lost my baby teeth – and kept the sharp, fiery look in my eyes and upon my face.

"W-Wah...you...MOYASHI!" I kept my expression calm and Crowned Clown roared to life around me as I pointed my claw-like fingers at him and lifted my middle finger to him.

"Sit down, girly-man...you're annoying the fuck out of me," I said with an unimpressed expression. Where the confidence to do such things and speak those kinds of words came from, I wasn't sure; however, something told me it was just part of who I was.

"Alright, eat, and don't forget to clean up – after that, to bed with you all! Walker, I expect you to come to see me tomorrow morning for training with this power the Fourteenth Noah left you with, and as for the rest of you...I suggest resting and training would be wise." Link's words sunk home, and I took a deep breath, resigning to my fate.

"Fine, see you bright and early..." I said in defeat.

"Good..."

{Black Order HQ: Training Grounds: 5:40am}

Let it never be said that the Order is boring during the mornings. Rarely was it quiet, and even when it was, none of us were quite comfortable. All things considered, we should have suspected that Komui would come up with yet another psychotic invention that would try to destroy the Order; however, to our surprise, the experiment didn't happen, the Order was silent – well, silent as the Black Order could be – and I was standing, annoyed as I could possibly be, with Timcanpy settled upon my head in the middle of the training hall, with Link looking me over. I huffed, blowing some of my bangs out of my eyes, and looked towards the inspector.

"Walker? Walker? Allen Walker?!" I jolted.

"Hmm? Oh...sorry! Did you say something?" I inquired as he sighed.

"Try and pay attention. I know your span of focus is the size of a sugar spoon; however..." I yawned.

"It is not the size of a sugar spoon! I just don't see the point in me doing this!" I exclaimed. He looked me over and folded his arms across his chest.

"You know, Walker, when I first met you, there wasn't a single snarky or sarcastic thing about your personality..." I raised an eyebrow.

"Clearly you've never seen me in battle..." he cleared his throat.

"Regardless, since you've adapted to the Noah that was inside of you, your personality has slowly begun to change, along with...physical attributes," Link stated as I frowned slightly.

"Such as?" I asked him this with curiosity.

"You're mouthy, sarcastic, wittier than normal, you've grown to have quite the foul bit of language as well, and you're crass about many things," he explained to me.

"Oh...you don't say?" he frowned again.

"What has gotten into you?" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sixteen, I believe the attitude problem is quite apt, don't you?" he groaned.

"This is why I normally refuse to work with teenagers!" I stretched slightly.

"Well then, I suppose you'll have to learn to play on my level," I stated.

"Hmm...I may, if you can activate the Noah blood...I will fight you." A smirk, wild and mildly insane, crossed my lips in an inviting manner.

"Oh? Then I suppose I could...indulge you a bit..." I said with a calm, slightly sarcastic tone as my skin turned a near marble white and a singular stigmata appeared, while my eyes turned golden. Link looked me over and frowned.

"Your skin isn't gray," he told me.

"No, I'm a half-blood...but...enough chit-chat...let's get this show started!" I activated Crowned Clown and Link drew his sword, prepared to combat me to the best of his ability.

"I will not go easy on you, Walker," he told me, and I smirked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

With that, I charged headlong into the fray and entered into a sparring session that would circumference most of the morning until the early noon hours. After that, things were relatively normal at the Order, and remained that way well into the evening time. It was as the night began to come and we all started to return to our rooms for sleep that I had the sensation of trouble brewing that I couldn't quite place. Little did I know what changes would be coming to not only my own life, but the others as well.

{…...}

I still remember the world, from the eyes of a child...

{…...}

Author's Note: Hello, welcome to the story: Immortal's Masquerade: First Verse. I hope everyone has enjoyed the first chapter and is looking forward to continuing on. Now, allow me to explain why the entire story was uploaded as it was on 12/21/2016.

Originally, and many of you readers are aware of this, Immortal's Masquerade was a series of stories ranging from Part 1 to Part 11; however, over the course of seven years, I was unable to complete it, therefore I took down the entire series – sparing the Exorcist Story – and chose to play a bit of a trick on the lot of you when it came to the story. First, all of you believed it would be taken down and that it would never come back again, then you received four author note chapters that talked about what the original story was intended to be, and why it never came to fruition, as well as some fun facts about the characters, and who, if the story had continued, would have stayed from the original work and who would have left.

As you can see, those were clues leading to this moment, where the story became a singular one and showed you the recreation of the entire event. You saw which themes would have been left and pieces were ultimately removed.

After those four lovely informational chapters, I was able to put out one last chapter of supposed author commentary, and that, for your reading pleasure, turned out to be a preview segment for the story that you are now reading. Who here recalls what they felt when they finally saw that preview that was only titled Final? Many times I believed someone would be furious, but you were good sports, and I am happy that you took your time to read that information. Now, I will let you decide if you like this new version or not.

As for the reason why this story was uploaded on this particular day, 12/21/2016, it is because this day is the seven-year anniversary of the very first chapter of the first story in the Immortal's Masquerade series going up on Fan-Fiction. Therefore, I decided to give you something you never thought you would receive, and that is the genuine rewritten version of the story, even though Immortal's Masquerade is no longer a series.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

ShadowDragon94.