Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man.

Prologue

Hangzhou, China

August 19th, 1894

"I want to go home."

The woman guiding her by the hand was unmoved by her plea. "Sometimes we have to put the wants of others before our own. You'll understand that soon enough, I'm sure."

Lenalee wasn't sure she would, given the circumstances. They had kept her in this strange facility with its dark hallways and cold rooms for two days now, never once explaining what she was doing there and why she couldn't see her brother. All they said was that she might be special and that they were merely going to see if that was true.

This would be the first time they'd let her leave her room. Initially, she had been relieved when the door had opened and a woman had appeared. But that relief had soon turned to unease when two figures shrouded in red cloaks followed, moving to stand on either side of her. When one of them had reached out to touch her, Lenalee had panicked and rushed to the woman's side, clinging to her leg and hiding her face against her thigh.

Trembling in fear, she hadn't noticed the woman speak until she'd placed a hand on the top of her hand and smoothed back a few wayward strands. The woman's once cold demeanor seemed to melt a bit, her face a little softer now that there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"It's going to be alright," she assured. "We're just here to escort you to a special room to perform a very important test. Do you think you can do that?"

Lenalee had nodded and taken the woman's hand when it was offered to her. Obediently she had followed, occasionally sending furtive glances over her shoulder to ensure that the cloaked figures were keeping a safe enough distance as they trailed after them like red phantoms.

"If I do well with the test, will you let me go home?" Lenalee asked, praying that that be the case. Her big brother must be really worried about her with how long she'd been away. The strange man hadn't even asked her brother if she could go with him when he had taken her and a bunch of the other village children with him.

The woman was silent for a moment, her expression unreadable in the poor lighting. "We'll see . . ."

No more words were shared between them and now only the sounds of their footsteps filled the silence. With each passing minute Lenalee grew anxious, wishing her brother was here. The corridor they walked down didn't have any windows to gaze out of, only numerous doors with small plaques labelled with words in a language she couldn't read. She wondered what they all said.

After what felt like an eternity of walking down a seemingly never ending hallway, they stopped before a door with a large glass panel to the left of it where a number of men and women in white coats similar to the one her guide wore stood loitering about with clipboards in hand. They all turned at their arrival, voices rising as they began conversing in a language that Lenalee didn't understand. Some of them were smiling as they spoke while others seemed wary and their tones harsh. There seemed to be some kind of argument going on from the look of things, but of what and why remained a mystery to her.

She was distracted from the group speaking their strange words when the woman pulled her hand free from Lenalee's, taking a step back. Her face had lost any trace of warmth there may have once been, becoming a cold mask of indifference once more.

"Just relax and try not to fight it. It'll all be over quickly if you don't resist."

"What—"

Cold hands clamped down on her arms, their vice-like grips painful as they tightened their hold. Lenalee peered up to see the two cloaked figures hovering over her, each with a pale hand wrapped around one of her biceps.

Terror took ahold of her heart as they led her through the now open door, forced to drag her forward when she refused to cooperate. The light inside was blinding with its brightness, the sudden switch from the dim hallway to the lit room almost too painful to bear.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she almost wished they hadn't.

All along the floor laid the smoking remains of what could only be human bodies, each naked form riddled with sprouting wings and all missing both legs below the knee. At the center of the room sat a pair of strange objects that vaguely resembled a set of shoes with large wings at the heels and covered almost entirely with strangely marked paper.

The smell of burnt flesh caused her stomach to churn violently and she soon vomited all over herself. When there was nothing left for her to retch up, her gags turned to sobs.

Desperately she tried pleading with them, begging to be sent home to her brother. He needed her. She was all he had left. Please. Please don't do this.

They dragged her over to where a pair of chains hung from the ceiling, lifting her up with ease and latching each cuff around her wrists. When they let her go, the sudden shift of weight to her shoulders sent a wave of pain through her arms and she accidently bit her tongue in her distress. She tried so desperately to get her feet to touch the ground, to get her toes to support her and alieve the pain that burned beneath her skin and pulled at her muscles but she was just too short.

Brother always liked teasing me for being so short. . .

She tried squirming in her chains, but that only brought more pain so she soon stopped and tried staying as still as possible. The chamber of death rang with her sobs, her words too garbled to be made out as she hiccupped and gasped.

"Commence the trial with subject No. 14," a voice crackled from a nearby speaker.

One of the red phantoms stepped back while the other moved forward, the two positioning themselves on opposite sides of the room before pulling out a deck of paper talismans. With a simple gesture, the entire perimeter was lined with them and the air buzzed with a strange energy that only added to Lenalee's fear.

"Help me, big brother!" she cried. "Save me, please!"

The collection of papers clinging to the pair of strange shoes fell away in one simple motion. They hadn't even hit the floor yet when a beam of light shot towards her at blinding speed. It hit her legs with surprising force, crashing into her ankles and crawling up her calves. When it reached her knees, the light came to a halt and coalesced into the winged shoes.

A pressure started building up along her legs, like something was squeezing them too tight. It would not let up, continuing on until it was unbearable. That was when the pain came, starting at her toes and racing up her spine in a fiery trail as a new weight pulled, pulled, pulled.

Lenalee screamed and screamed but her brother never came to save her.

A/N: Writing this was tough. I changed what I was writing twice before reaching what you see now. You might get to read what I originally wrote in future chapters if I feel they're good enough to be included. We'll see. I'll try to have the next chapter out in about a week or two. Please be patient.

This is for keneki055, who requested I do an AllenxLenalee fic. I hope this gets you interested.