This fanfiction is based off the "dream" Allen had at the end of chapter 161, where he sees Krory. I had been re-reading D.Gray-man yet again, when I stumbled upon it, which I hadn't paid much attention to before. And I began to think to myself, "Is this a coincidence?" I think not! I don't know if Hoshino's going to explore the subject or what, but I simply cannot wait. Therefore, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. It's really short, so sorry.
By the way, there are spoilers up until chapter, uh, 168, I think.
I don't own D.Gray man!
Allen blinks slowly as his eyes adjust to the gloom. He can't figure out what is going on. Is this a dream? No, it can't be. It's too real to be a dream.
There is a figure standing in front of him. It is too dark to make out who it is, but even so, a shiver creeps down his spine and in fear, he instinctively tries to back up slowly. He accidentally trips on something behind him, and falls onto the ground with an undignified "Oof!".
He's sure that the person in front of him has heard him, and he scrambles to his feet, ready to run. But the figure hasn't turned, like it didn't hear him. It steps towards a large wooden door, in front of a window, and a small draft of moonlight allows Allen to see it a bit more clearly, thought it hasn't really helped that much.
It's definitely not an akuma, he is positive. But he is not entirely sure it is human either. It looks human enough, but it's emitting a strange vibe that makes him wary, one that he's never felt before, not even from the Noah, but maybe The Earl. But something tells him this isn't The Earl.
The figure swings open the large door with ease, and walks inside. Allen doesn't follow, because he is afraid of what will happen.
Everything happened in one instant - a loud bang comes from the other side of the door, pain, searing hot, explodes from his cursed scar, and he wakes up, hot and sweaty, screaming something even he can't make out, to see that everything was just a dream. Next to him, on the velvety couch he had fallen asleep on, were Lenalee and Johnny, who, surprisingly, hadn't woken up from his screaming. As he slumps down in the seat, he tells himself, it was just a dream.
But, as Allen's forehead throbs on the left side, an ominous feeling of dread creeps over him and he finds he cannot figure out why.
His stomach is churning like processing butter, and he can't stop himself before he vomits over the edge of the couch.
Confused and unhappy, Allen wanders the hallways of the massive cathedral that they now call Headquarters. Link is not with him, but he doesn't know why, though something in the back of his mind tells him that this is not a good sign.
He hears murmuring, and is automatically drawn towards it. None of the voices are familiar. The voices are harsh, with a hint of subtle panic. He doesn't really pay attention until he hears his Master's name and the word "killed" in the same sentence, and that's when his head quickly snaps up in shock. From the corner of his eye, he can see Link is here as well, and he instinctively knows that if the man left his job of shadowing him to come here, nothing good is happening.
"What," he starts, but his voice is croaky and cracked, like he hasn't used it in days. He clears his throat and restarts, "What did you say about my master?"
"Cross Marian is dead." It is Lvellie who speaks, and everyone, including Allen, is surprised by how blunt he is. But the man is not done speaking, and soon, his voice turns harsh and his eyes are suspicious. "Do you happen to know anything about this, Fourteenth?"
Allen is suddenly reminded of his strange dream and he knows that something is not right here. He swallows, trying to force down the lump rising in his throat, and stares back at Lvellie's dark eyes with his own silver-gray ones unflinchingly. "No," he says, trying to keep his voice level, but it shakes slightly, which he hopes isn't too noticeable. "I don't know what you're talking about." His eyes look at a door he hadn't notice before, and he realizes that it seems horrible, horribly familiar. And with a jolt, he remembers where he has seen it - in his dream.
"How..How did my Master die?" he asks, trembling as he stares at the door. He knows he shouldn't ask, but he can't contain the question. Not when he has this horrible suspicion in his gut that, somehow, his dream has something to do with the General's death.
"Would you like to see for youself?" Lvellie smiles, a dark and menacing smile, and as Allen's stare turns to him, he feels a chill run down his spine. He gags, and brings a hand up to a mouth, hoping with all his heart that he doesn't throw up again here, of all places. The feeling subsides, leaving his knees wobbly.
"No. You're lying," he says with all the conviction he can muster, but his mind is once again drawn back to his dream, and he is once again uncertain, and his voice is not as strong as he hoped it would be. He freezes when the man's smile widens, and this time he is sure that he has noticed his uncertainty. "Master can't be dead. You're all a bunch of liars."
Tears are now leaking out of his eyes, because, even though he wishes with all his heart that he isn't, he knows he's wrong. And somehow, it's probably his fault.
He tells himself that he is going to tell Lenalee about it during breakfast, but when she comes in to the dining hall with Johnny, bright and cheery, unknowing of his troubles, he finds that he doesn't have the heart to tell her.
Lenalee gets her food and sits down next to Allen, who is wolfing down as much food as he can. He can almost feel her curiosity about the previous night, after he had been forcefully taken away after their arrival, but instead of questioning him, she starts eating her own food, and he knows that she's patiently waiting for him to finish his food.
He purposely takes longer to finish his food today, but Lenalee doesn't seem too concerned, but he can tell she's incredibly relieved when he finished. Right as she opens her mouth, eager to dump question after question upon him, his mind works quickly to come up with a subtle excuse to avoid the inevitable. In the end, he interrupts her midsentence with an "I'm still hungry." He isn't really, but even so, without waiting for her reply, he goes off to order more food.
Lenalee and Johnny are talking together when he comes back, and he immediately starts eating his food.
Finally, he can feel it in the air, like lightning about to strike; Lenalee's patience is about to snap. He can hear her take a deep breath, and finally ask the question that has been floating in the air since she came in: "So, what happened last night, Allen?"
Allen opens his mouth, about to speak, but he feels a hand on his shoulder and a masculine voice: "Now, Miss Lee, Inspector Lvellie is going to announce everything later. I'm sure you can wait until then."
"Ah," Allen says hesitantly, "You've finished what you were doing, Link?"
"Not quite," Link replies, settling down in the seat next to him with a bored expression. "But the Inspector didn't want me to neglect my more important duty, which is to watch over you."
Of course, Allen thinks bitterly. He thinks I killed Master.
He looks down at the table, so glossy that he can see his own reflection. The shadow that he now knows is the Fourteenth is not hovering over his shoulder.
His nights are restless, as he is plagued continuously with dreams that would later come true while he is awake. The content varies; sometimes they're as trivial as Komui accidentally spilling coffee all over his disorganized desk, but other times, his dreams predict in in extreme detail how a mission will go - not just his missions, but others', as well. It is making him paranoid, because, no matter how hard he tries to stop his dreams from coming true, it happens somehow or another. And, even more concerning, the shadow of the Fourteenth has disappeared from the mirrors altogether.
Everybody has noticed his recent change of behavior; Link probably doesn't really have to report anything anymore, because even Inspector Lvellie has come up to Allen voicing his curiosity; his answer was a pissed expression and an obscene hand gesture which he actually regrets doing, but at least the man's stunned expression made it worth it.
Allen is desperate for an answer, and he knows that his sudden prophetic dreams and the disappearance of the Noah is connected somehow. And since he can't go to his Master anymore, the Fourteenth would probably be the next best source for answers. All the mirrors in the Headquarters may be devoid of the Noah's presence, but he does know a place with a mirror that was once the Fourteenth's haven; the Ark.
His only problem is that he has no way of entering the Ark alone.
It's like Inspector Lvellie knows his plans; whenever he's trying to get Link away from him, the Inspector shows up, with his ominous, all-knowing smile of his, the one that makes his toothbrush mustache shift just so and makes his eyes slightly narrow, which he finds also makes those intimidating eyebrows all the more intimidating. He is growing more and more desperate with each passing day to speak to the Fourteenth.
He is lurking near the room where the Ark's gate is contained when suddenly the alarm sounds. Link is distracted, and Allen takes this as his chance to leave. He looks over his shoulder right as he enters the Ark, and he freezes for a split second when he sees Inspector Lvellie watching him, his arms crossed over his chest and a toothy grin on his face.
He hears someone calling his name, but he ignores it as his body fully enters the Ark.
It is not long before Allen reaches the room with the piano, where he first met the Fourteenth. Just as he expected, the shadow is reflected in the mirror, standing there, and smiling as it always had before.
"I thought you would come, Allen," it says. It hesitates for a moment, and says softly, "Did you know that my name was Allen while I was alive?" Allen is frozen there, suddenly unable to think of what to do or say, and the Fourteenth continues, his tone expressing forlorn: "I don't know if my brother remembered be or not, but I was touched nonetheless. I felt that it was destiny that there was another Allen Walker to carry on where the last one left off." His voice was no more than a whisper as he said, "This is your fate, Destroyer of Time."
"Why?" Allen asks, his voice shaking, because the truth is right here, in front of him. "Why is this happening to me?"
"Why?" the image in the mirror echoes. "Do you mean your dreams?" Allen nods, swallowing his nervousness. The Fourteenth shifts a bit to the side, and mutters, "You know, it's quite unfortable talking to you through this mirror. I'd much rather talk to you through your dreams."
"Wh-what?" Allen stammers, throroughly confused. The Fourteenth lets out an exasperated sigh, but quickly regains his composure, and in a soft tone, says, "You seem weary. I think you should rest. I'll explain soon." He withdraws to a shadowed corner, negating any possibility of further argument. This is when Allen realizes that he is, in fact, incredibly tired from his disturbed nights.
The Fourteenth plays his lullaby as Allen drifts to sleep, and by the end of the song, he is no longer conscious.
When he opens his eyes, the sight isn't what he expected it would be.
Instead of the room he had fallen asleep in, all he sees is what seems like a once massive building in ruins. The sun is setting, and the colors of the sky bleed red in a cloudless sky.
"Where am I?" he demands, but his voice remains unheard. Am I dreaming? But he doesn't want to be dreaming. He can't be dreaming.
Suddenly, something catches his attention: a rotten hill composing of countless human corpses. Revolted by the disgusting sight, he fights the urge the vomit all over the place and walks slowly up to the gory pile.
Even though he cannot identify everybody he sees, many of the faces are achingly familiar, though he can't quite remember where he's seen them. At last, his attention rests on on that makes his heart twist painfully; Komui. He chokes out in shock, and immediately, he knows where he's seen all these faces; they're all members of the Black Order.
His mind puts the pieces together in a split second, and he realizes that these ruins are what's left of the Black Order. "Oh no," he breathes in horror, and races as fast as he can away from the grosteque hill of dead people. Suddenly, he stumbles on something. As he rights himself, he looks to see what exactly he almost tripped over and almost shrieks in horror, for it's Lenalee's mangled body. Lavi is near her, his eyepatch ripped off and lying near him, and both his eyes are gouged out.
He knows now that this has to be a dream. Somehow, he has to stop it before it happens for real.
There is a noise behind him, like crumbling rocks. Allen looks over and sees the familiar shadow of the Fourteenth, oddly one-dimensional against this horribly realistic three-dimentional dream, picking his way among the ruins, eyes pained.
"What does this mean?" Allen snarls, enraged by the sight of his comrades dead in front of him.
The Fourteenth tilts his head, and for the first time, his grin is no longer there. Softly, he says, "There is no way to stop it. I found out the hard way." He sits down, and gestures for Allen to do the same. Hesitantly, he oblidges, and the Fourteenth begins his story.
"When I was alive, I would always have these visions of the future. They haunted me, at first, but I eventually began to accept the sad reality that, no matter what humans say, the future is set in stone. No matter what you do, you cannot interfere with God's design." His head lowers in shame. "I remember when I saw the Black Order being destroyed, and I saw it being destroyed by none other than The Earl. I was enraged by how savagely he had killed the exorcists, one by one. I forgot that I could not change what I see and sought to kill the Earl." His voice trailed off, but it didn't matter, because Allen already knew the story after that.
"So, this here.." he starts, but he can't finish.
The Fourteenth shakes his head. "I couldn't change anything, but if I think anybody can, it would be you, Destroyer of Time."
In Allen's mind, everything clicks into place, and he realizes his destiny.
The rest is open for speculation, I suppose.
You're free to review and tell me how retarded this fic is now, by the way. :D