Disclaimer: I don't own D.Gray-man in any way shape or form.
A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed I have to say I enjoy hearing back on what you all think and were I might need to improve the storey line, once again thanks to my beta for his great work. Leave a review as I do enjoy hearing from you all my fans and fellow writers.
Chapter 4: A Battle Begins.
'Why do all doctors tools have to be freezing cold?' Lenalee thought to herself while laying back and letting the Head Nurse perform her fortnightly check up fighting back a shiver when the Nurse leaned in to listen for the baby's heart beat.
"Hmmm everything sounds O.K. You are coming along nicely dear, you do need to eat a little more in the way of vegetables but otherwise I don't see anything wrong with you… any complaints as of late?" The Nurse asks calmly, putting away all of her tools but throwing one of the less breakable ones over her shoulder all of a sudden. A cry of pain that Lenalee recognized as her brother sounded. "Stay out of here Komui or I'll castrate you."
Trying not to laugh at her brother's pain or wince at the thought of her brother sounding even more high pitched then he dose at times, Lenalee leaned back to think. After a few minutes she said, "Just a little sick in the morning but otherwise I'm fine."
"That's good and sorry to say I can't do anything about your morning sickness dear." The Nurse paused here for a moment looking over everything before looking at Lenalee with a small smile, "How's Mr. Walker handling all of this?"
This question did have Lenalee laughing out loud as she says slowly getting up and pulling her shirt down over her rounded middle. Being four months nearly five along she was very large now compared to what she was, and she still had another four months to go.
"I think he's more happy about this than I am, I keep on waking up to him rubbing my middle, and were ever possible he ambushes me to take out and treats to dinner or something else, it really is sweet. But at the moment all I want to do is just sit back with a good book and relax most nights."
"You better just learn to enjoy this treatment dear. Chances are he's going to be like all men and be somewhere else when it comes to changing dippers and such when the baby is born, in fact you well more then likely only see him when it times to play with the kid or in bed." The Nurse says with a laugh Lenalee just making a face at that image.
"I'm sure Allen won't be that bad," Lenalee says finishing doing up her normal shoes as the Nurse had decided to remove the variable of Innocence's from the babies development meaning she was no longer allowed on missions or even out of the Order building without an escort.
Walking away from the medical wing Lenalee came to a stop when Lavi walked up to her a cheeky smile on his face as he bent down to have a look at her, one hand coming up to rub his chin, "Hmm I wonder if Allen is noticing the glow about you that seems to be there most of the time."
"He says I glow every morning when he wakes up Lavi. Now is there something I can do for you?"
"Nothing at all. I was just passing comment on how happy you look," Lavi says moving to stand next to her and then kept pace, both of them just talking and catching up on things as they made there way down to the dinning hall.
Entering the dinning hall Lenalee and Lavi paused at the sight of Kanda holding Mugen at Allen's neck, the young man pressed ageist the wall with his Innocence's hand up and holding the blade while a painful look was on his face as the other hand was pressed into his chest as if he was in great pain. He seemed to be having trouble breathing going by how deep he was drawing in air. Lenalee's eyes widened at the ash gray colour of the hand on his chest.
"I may have partly transformed, Girly man, but I'm still Allen Walker I am not the Fourteen Noah!" Allen hisses out, the greying of his skin only just showing under the collar of his shirt, Kanda just narrowing his eyes and pushing the blade a little more. A thin line of blood starting to show running the length of the blade as Allen kept his grip on the sword. Everyone watched as a single drop of red blood pooled over Kanda's first finger and then dropped to the floor.
"KANDA! Lower that sword from my boyfriends' neck now!" Lenalee yelled out, moving as quickly as she could across the room. Finders and a few other Exorcists tried to stop her from getting close to the partly transformed Allen but Lavi either stopped them or she dodged around them showing that she had her combat stile down to a fine art. She even danced to dodge some of the people trying to get her.
Kanda didn't move in time as Lenalee hit him from the side, making sure to hit at an angel that would deflect the blade from Allen's neck. Lenalee's grip around his middle from the hit only lasting long enough to move out of the way she then hugged Allen in a such a way that he couldn't threaten him again without chancing a hit on her.
"Lenalee get away from him! He's a Noah and as such an enemy of the Order." Kanda says sharply after righting himself, looking to see who was supporting him on this, only to find that, besides a few Finders who had lost someone to a Noah, everyone was backing away from him, the looks on their faces clearly said they were on Allen's side in this.
"He may be a Noah, but he's still Allen, the father of my baby and the man I love. Now back down." Lenalee said sharply over her shoulder head only turning long enough to look at Kanda with a pleading look entering her eyes for him to back down.
"Lenalee move out of the way." Allen whispers softly looking down at her with a small smile, the first signs of the black cross starting to form on his forehead. His breathing was evening out again but she could still hear the slightest wheeze of pain in his breath, "I don't want you or our child getting hurt on my account."
Lenalee just shook her head, burring it deeper into his chest as she gave a deep sob. If she moved then Kanda would pounce and more then likely slices Allen up enough that he wouldn't be able to do anything while the Vatican did all kinds of tests on him, much as they had done on her when she first came to the Order.
Lavi was the one, surprisingly enough, to step forward and place his hand on Mugen, pushing down saying in his normal cheerful voice, "Yuu, do you really see our Allen going to work for the Earl? I can't, no matter how he looks. Now put Mugen away and we'll all go enjoy lunch."
"Don't call me that." Kanda says sharply slashing around and missing Lavi by a few inches as the red head ducked just in time, a cheeky smile on his face as he danced away taunting Kanda all the way. The swordsman just watched the idea of a Bookman move away and gave a snort looking back at Allen with narrowed eyes.
"If you so much as harm a hair on anyone's head within the Order, I'll kill you myself Bean Sprout." He says ever so softly, turning away from Allen and Lenalee, moving out of the room with many others following along not wanting to be there any longer than they had to with Allen in this state.
Allen just watched Kanda as he left the room a sigh escaping his lips as another spike of pain ripped through his body, a gasp escaping his lips as he started to fold with Lenalee going down with him. They both sat against the wall now.
"I wonder if all the others Noah went through this much pain when they first come into their power." He whispers with a laugh, Lenalee just smiling and kissing his forehead making a note to herself that even with the black marks, his skin was still as smooth as it ever was when she kissed him there.
Lavi, who had come back after making sure that Kanda wasn't in the room anymore and also letting his Master know what was happening calmly crouched down in front of the couple and says bringing a hand up to push Allen's hair back to get a good look at the stigmata markings on his forehead now. "You're more then likely going through more then they where as you are fighting to hang onto what you think is your humanity whereas they just let it go… or that's the theory at any rate."
"Nice to know." Allen gasps out, feeling more pain rip through his body, his grip tightening on Lenalee's arm. The young woman was not saying anything about the pain that grip was causing her as it seemed to relax Allen a little knowing she was there.
"Oh it's started has it?" Came a voice of someone Lenalee really didn't want to deal with at the moment.
Komui walked forward without a care in the world looking down at Allen who just looked at him the greying of his skin finally finishing but he was still in pain fighting back the more monstrous side of his Noah genes at the moment, that and for some reason he was hearing Mana's voice in his head again telling him to fight back against the Akuma within.
"Perfect time to test my latest invention I think." He says with a evil smile as all of a sudden Allen found a strange helmet strapped to his head a dozen wires and rods sticking out of it all of the cables contacting to a second matching helmet. "The Dream Viewer Mark Three." He finished with an evil smile as he turned to face Lavi with the other helmet.
Lenalee seeing were this was heading snatched the other helmet from her brothers hands and says looking up at him and not paying his hurt puppy look any mind as he had used it so many times on her she wasn't effected by it any more, "What happen to the Mark one and two? And what does it do as I'm not letting you hock anything up to my Allen without my say so."
Komui seemed to finds something very interesting about the wall above Lenalee at her words and at first didn't say anything at all only to be grabbed by his collar and pulled down to her level the look in her eyes promising pain beyond imagining if he didn't answer her question.
"Mark one and two swopped personalities with my test subjects but it swopped them back the moment they reversed the helmets but Mark three works without a problem I swear Lenalee my dear little sister."
Narrowing her eyes for a moment Lenalee gave a nod and then before anyone could stop her put the other helmet on her own head sitting back down next to Allen as she says looking her brother in the eyes. "Turn it on then."
Lavi raised an eyebrow at the battle going on behind Komui's eyes as it was clear this helmet hadn't been tested fully yet otherwise he would have done as Lenalee said without hesitating, "Question. What or who did you test this helmet on?"
Komui seemed to find that spot on the wall again and seemed to be studying it even harder then before Lenalee hiding her small smirk of victory behind a hand as she know her brother wouldn't chance turning it on with her being the first human test subject.
Allen who had been quiet through out all of this just gave a sigh and slowly pulled himself to his feet teeth gritted in pain as he says softly looking down at Lenalee, "I think we need to go see Hevlaska… she might be able to tell us if I'm going to win this fight or we let Kanda kill me out right as I refuse to fight or be responsible for the death of any of you."
Lavi was about to nod in agreement with Allen about the part on Hevlaska but was stopped when Komui reached out and flicked a switch on the side of both helmets making both Allen and Lenalee look at him in shock.
"Two of the Finders were the test subjects and it worked without a problem on them and the dozen others I tested it on." He says as Allen dropped to his knees feeling sleep over power him Lenalee also slumping forward her hand coming down to her middle to shield there baby from the cold stone floor.
The last thing both of them heard before the sleep over took them was Lavi calling their names and Komui saying that it would be a bad idea to remove the helmets from either of them now and that they just had to wait the needed time.
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Lenalee didn't know how long she defied on the void of nothingness but she soon found herself standing on an old country road by the looks of it nothing like her normal dreams of silence and death she normally had.
Along the edge of the road she could see large rocks and dead trees a white moon high up in the sky at the moment stars shinning brightly, the whole night sky how ever suddenly lit up for a moment with images of the last few weeks but she saw herself in them along.
"Must be in Allen's mind." Lenalee says softly looking all around bringing her hands up to rub her arms at the coldness that seemed to be all around her at the moment the images in the sky vanishing as quickly as they came.
"Indeed you are young lady… how you got in here I don't know but I have to say its nice to talk to someone else besides my son." A deepest sounding voice says from behind her Lenalee spinning around to find herself face to face with a suit of cloths that any English Gentleman would ware the face being clocked in shadow for some unknown reason as the top hat he had on didn't shadow that much.
"Who are you?" Lenalee asked only to bring a hand up to her month in shock as she took a step backwards, "Stupid question… your Mana Walker Allen's adopted father, but I thought Allen set you free as his first Akuma kill after turning you into one."
"He did, I'm just an echo left over within his mind and scar, I am put simply the curse that Mana Walker inflected on Allen for his mistake, and you can call me Mana my dear lady, might I know the name of my guest?" Mana asks calmly a pair of chairs appearing a moment later as he calmly sat down Lenalee following suit a moment later.
"Well then that explains a few things about Allen's scar and how it was able to evolve the way it did." Lenalee says softly to herself before offering a hand to Mana a small smile on her face coming into place, "Lenalee Lee Allen's girlfriend and currently carrying his child."
"Indeed you have the glow about you that all new mothers tend to have even within his mind you have it, but I have a feeling you didn't just end up here by chance so what is it you are doing here my dear." Mana asks calmly leaning back in his seat once again face shrouded in shadows preventing Lenalee from seeing any details.
"Well I'm here thanks to one of my brothers inventions and the reason we are using it is because Allen's body has totally transformed into a Noah's body same skin colour and markings on his forehead, but he seemed to be still Allen so to speck but he kept on talking about some sort of battle within over the last week or so that he was having trouble fighting, so I guess that is why I'm here to see which side wins."
"Is that what was all that noise is over there." Mana says calmly looking over to the side of the road in the distances Lenalee could just make out a large flash of light and then nothing the ground giving a slight shake a moment later. "So Mana Walker did choose Allen to be his successor after all and now the boy fights to hang onto his modem humanity over the Noah's view on what humanity should be, the same fight Mana Walker went through to brake away from the others and become a wanderer."
"I have to help him." Lenalee says seeing another flash of light now that she know what to look for getting to her feet only to have a cold gloved hand grab her wrest Mana giving her a look that clearly said sit back down.
"What can you do to help him within his own mind dear? You have no powers here and if you call out to him and distract him in any way the Noah half could win, so what can you do?" Mana demanded to know rather harshly Lenalee getting the feeling that his eyes were boring holes into her head.
"I can still be there to help him back up should he fall, I wont let the father of my child become a monster like the other Noah have become." On that note Lenalee turned and started for the edge of the road planning on cutting across the wasteland and get to where Allen was fighting for his humanity.
Mana didn't say a word as he watched her try and step off the road only to be thrown backwards a small laugh escaping him as she huffed and tried again. "Only those who are marked in same way as he is can cross that waste and as you are nether cursed nor without any family at all you can't cross."
"So I have to be cursed or lose my brother to be able to cross Allen's mindscape, just as he would need to have a family member to cross mine I take it."
"Indeed."
"Then I am asking you to curse me the same as Allen is cursed." Lenalee says without even looking at Mana eyes locked on the flashes of light happening on in the distances one hand starting to flex and relax.
"You're willing to see the pain and suffering of countless souls until the end of the war just for love?" Mana asks calmly eyes flicking down to her legs that all of a sudden had her Dark Boots forming her rounding middle vanishing and hair growing out to the way it had been before it had been burned off.
'She's tapping into what she sees as herself at her best… might be hope for the boy yet.'
"Yes."
"Then I can do that for only those who are willing to share a curse can have it placed on them as well." Mana says calmly moving to stand behind Lenalee placing both his hands on her cheeks keeping her head facing the flashing lights ahead.
"Know that you carry the same burden as Allen now, to see suffering and pain every time you look on your enemy, but put your mind at ease. Your unborn child will not be touched by my hands." Mana whispers into her ear Lenalee managing to finally get a look at his face her eyes widening at what she saw.
A Skull was all she could see a strange black spiral marking the right eye and the left looked to be an empty void a calligraphy styled D over that void of a left eye, "Carry this burden well, child, and know that Mana Walker would have approved of you and Allen being together."
Before she could say anything to this Lenalee felt a sharp pain over her right eye as Mana faded away, giving a scream of pain she went down to her knees one hand coming up to cover her right eye as she felt a burning pain run down through the eye.
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Komui and Lavi along with Miranda who was using her Innocence's to make sure nothing happened to the baby and Cloud who had shown up at some point while the three just looked at the sleeping couple to one side of the dinning hall.
They all looked on in surprise as Lenalee's hair changed into a snow white colour for the bans starting to frame her face a cut appearing a moment later over her right eye as they all realised what was happening. Komui was being held down by Cloud as he started to dive for the helmets connecting the two.
"It's to late. She now carries his curse." Cloud says sharply watching as the hair that framed Allen's face changed back to a rust red colour, and the cut above Lenalee's right eye quickly healed as the line started to grow down through the eye and stop about mid way down her cheek leaving an identical mark on her face to Allen's.
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Gasping for air that wouldn't come Lenalee slowly seat up the pain in her right eye gone now but she now felt she had ran a marathon after that.
Bringing a hand up to look at her hair she gave a sign of relief to know that only the bangs framing her face had turned white the rest was still its dark green colour, looking to the side she saw a mirror had appeared out of no were allowing her to see how she looked now.
Looking at herself she couldn't help but be a little impressed with how the white bangs of hair framing her face made her look, the scar running down the right side of her face was a light pink colour and not the angry red that Allen's was so it didn't stand out to much against her lightly tanned skin.
Feeling another rumble in the earth under her feet she turned to look at the battle going on in the distance and gave a small smile, "I'm coming, love, and haven help that Noah half of you as I'm feeling a little frisky and could do with a good fight." She finished with a larger evil looking smile kicking off from the ground her boots shaping into their maximum level.
"Over the lips through the gums look out Noah here I come!" She shouted as with a sonic bang she was off heading at top speed toward the battle of wills that was being raged within Allen's own mind and there was nothing that was going to stop her from helping the Human Allen from winning.