A/N: So it's been almost a week since my last update, so I thought I'd whip this up for you guys!(: I truly appreciate all those who have taken an interest in my story and a big thank you to D. P. Master01 and 1Anime2Freak for taking the time to review!^-^

Now, just to warn you, this takes place about six years after the previous chapter, so big time skip here! Other than that, there's not much to say, and I hope you'll enjoy.(;

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own D. Gray-Man. For now… *shifty eyes*

Chapter 3

Time Frame — Morning of January 12th, 1896

—3rd Person POV—

~Allen~

Allen rubbed his head with a small groan. He'd been just fine the night before, when he went to sleep, and waking up with a splitting headache had not been part of his plan. With a small, pained sigh, the now fourteen-year-old forced himself to slip out of bed and get ready for the day. Road had been hinting at something possibly important happening today, and if he didn't get ready now, Road would probably come in herself shove him out of bed, with the twins not far behind. They always did get out a kick of watching him suffer under Road's reign.

"Allen! Allen!" he heard Road call as he stepped out of his room, just as he'd predicted.

"Yes, Road?" Allen indulged her as he turned to face her with a small, amused smile.

"Millenie has finally decided! Come on, he'll tell us all about it over breakfast!" Road squealed as she began to drag him down the halls of the Ark.

"Decided what?"

Rather than answering though, Road quickened their pace, making it into the dining room before long, where the rest of the Noah family was already gathering. Allen found it odd that despite the fact that he'd grown up with them for the past seven years, and that they had treated him like family, he could only recall with clarity the day that he had been kidnapped.

"Why, if it isn't our munchkin of a brother," Devitto snickered once Allen and Road had taken their usual seats.

And so, it had begun… Again.

Eye twitching slightly, Allen groused with a disgruntled scowl, "You know Devitto, sometimes I really just want pummel you, but then I remember that that would be animal abuse."

"Boo-hoo! It's not our fault you're so vertically challenged, pipsqueak!" Devitto guffawed.

"Yeah, you midget!" Jasdero sniggered.

"Remember when I asked for your worthless excuse? Yeah, neither do I!" Allen griped, already standing from his seat, preparing to get himself into yet another scuffle with the twins.

"Can't go a day without fighting, can you?" Tyki made the mistake of commenting.

"Shut it, hobo!" the three teenage males yelled simultaneously, glaring at the startled Noah.

Allen was abruptly yanked back down to his seat by an exasperated Road. "Quit it! Millenie just arrived!"

Fortunately, the twins had settled down as well by the time the Earl stepped through, humming a cheerful, "Good morning~!"

"Good morning," the Noah family chorused with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Now, my family, tell me, how have your missions progressed~?" the Maker inquired in his jovial tone, though the slight narrowing of his eyes suggested that any unpleasant reports were non-optional.

"We killed 'em!" Jasdero cackled gleefully.

The Maker's impossible grin turned wider. "Is that so~?"

"Yep!" Devitto smirked roguishly. "Just eliminated our third target last night! Two more left on our list now."

"It was the least you could do," Tyki grumbled to himself. Allen nodded to himself in agreement. Because of some ridiculously elaborate prank the twins had tried to pull on Road and him a year ago, they had unintentionally revealed themselves as Noah to a pair of Exorcists who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In response, the Millenium Earl decided to commence the arrangement of his 'play'. Though it seemed as if Tyki was still resentful of them for cutting his time short of going out and playing human. Allen just knew it would mean that they'd be dispatching him off sooner than planned.

As soon as everyone had made their individual reports, the Maker turned to Allen, who shifted uncomfortably in response. He had never gotten quite used to his disturbingly, broad grin. "Allen, my boy, I believe it is now your turn to contribute this family affair~. What do you say~?"

Do I even have a choice? But Allen didn't verbalize his thoughts. Rather, he gave him a polite smile and replied, "Of course, Millenie."

"Now, Allen, I am sure you are already aware of what your mission entails~." Nodding his consent, the Earl took his cue to continue, "Then you are to leave as soon as this meal is complete~. Road will open up a doorway for you, leading you into a town in which I have infested with my precious Akuma~! I am sure those unpleasant Exorcists will show up soon enough, where you will allow them to 'discover' you~. Remember to make an impression, my boy~! You must earn their utmost trust before you may crush it before their very eyes~." The Maker's fierce, golden orbs turned gleeful with anticipation. Allen surely hoped this wouldn't take longer than necessary; Lulubell had warned him against inadvertently reciprocating any affections bestowed by those from the Black Order, and he wholly agreed with her sentiment. His situation was more than sufficiently complicated. Adding more baggage to the load would only be strenuous for the young fourteen-year-old.

"Yeah, baby bro! You better show those Exorcists up!" Devitto cheered with a nasty grin.

"Kill 'em! Hihihihih~!" Jasdero cackled madly.

The cruel madness of a Noah flashed across Devitto's molten gold eyes, as he suggested, "Heh. Maybe we could mess with them for a while, before Allen comes in."

"Yeah!" Road was the one to immediately agree. "The sounds like a lot of fun! Though we would have to let Allen trounce us in order to let them escape with their lives…"

"Aw, can't we at least kill one of them?" the dark-haired twin whined.

"No way! They have to have a good impression of Allen!" Road argued vehemently.

With an irritated scowl, Devitto replied in a resigned tone, "Fine! But I'm only letting Allen defeat us. No way am I going to let some stupid Exorcist think that they're my better!"

"Can we, Millenie? Can we?" Road practically bounced on her seat with uncontainable enthusiasm. Receiving an amused nod from the large, terrifying Noah, Road practically squealed. "Thank you, Millenie! Ah, messing with the Exorcists is going so entertaining! We'll make them all think that Allen is their savior! Oh, Allen, you must tell us when you reveal your betrayal; I'm so looking forward to seeing the shocked looks on their innocent, little faces. It's all just so much fun!"

With a bewildered nod, Allen replied, "Ah, sure, Road." Though Allen was genuinely pleased that they'd be at least be accompanying him to the first component of his assignment; it reassured him that they'd have his back in case anything went wrong.

"Though, you know, Allen," Devitto slowly began with a mischievous smile. "You shouldn't get too upset if I give you a bit of a beating before I let you 'win'."

With roguish smirk, Allen retorted, "Don't count on it."

Time Frame — Afternoon of January 12th, 1896

Allen heedlessly strolled about the large, raucous town, towing a dark, purplish umbrella along; and of course, Road had made sure it matched the ribbon to his outfit. How Allen had yet to prevent her from allowing her to play dress-up with him after all these years, he had no clue. Though this time around, the umbrella had not been Road's idea, but the Millenium Earl's, who had created it just for him. It was a golem similar to Lero—one that was connected to Lero, in fact—though this one was much more tame and discreet when in the presence of others. It was designed to respond to only Allen's command, and was made for the purpose of easy communication between Road and himself; once Allen directed the newly made golem to link up with Lero, they would be able to speak to each other through them, though Allen would be hearing his golem's voice rather than Road's, as if it were transmitting the message.

The red-headed teen wasn't sure whether he felt annoyed or amused by his golem. She—Allen was pretty sure it was supposed to be female—seemed to be dejected and despondent most of the time. At the very least, she was much calmer than Lero, who tended to whine and snivel constantly—though Allen was hard-pressed to blame him when the poor pumpkin-head was continuously forced to be in the presence of Road. Fortunately, the head of his golem wasn't a blinding orange, but a subtle white; Allen had to wonder why the Earl had such a fascination with pumpkins. Ultimately, Allen decided not to think too hard on it, and had simply named the disheartening golem Eira, much to Road's insistence.

"Master Allen, Eira~," Eira spoke up in her miserable tone, reiterating her given name in conclusion to her sentences in the same manner as Lero. "I can make out the Exorcists, Eira~!" Eira whimpered faintly.

"Shh, Eira, I'll take care of it," Allen quieted her with a reassuring tone, as he clenched his charcoal colored hand composed of Innocence—it had astonished him how far his Innocence had evolved, considering his league with the Noah; but it seemed sentient enough to understand that he wasn't entirely loyal to them and so had allowed him to further practice with its usage. Fortunately, Eira clamped up and settled down. Carefully observing his surroundings, Allen finally took note of a prominent group dressed in distinguished black and silver uniforms further down the crowded lane. Casually unfurling his enchanted umbrella as a light drizzle descended upon the town, Allen deftly evaded the teeming townspeople, subtly ducking in the direction of the Exorcists. The crowds soon began to thin as the fourteen-year-old neared them.

Allen and his Noah siblings had decided that approaching them first, or even having Allen jump into the middle of the fight, would make him seem more suspicious, so they'd gone with the idea of Allen having to play the victim to start with. Before they could spot him, Allen swiftly furled his umbrella back up, before nimbly tucking it into his rucksack which held the meager clothing he'd brought with him. Taking a calming breath, Allen abruptly began to make a mad dash down the road, purposely shoving a few townspeople aside in order to attract attention with the indignant shouts he received. He even had the nerve jostle one of the three Exorcists as he scurried by.

"What the hell—"

Right on cue, Road suddenly appeared on top of Lero, soaring just above Allen in order to keep up with him. "Don't you want to come and play with us, you filthy Exorcist?!" she yelled madly with one of her crazed grins and a creepy giggle for added effect. The shocked Exorcists stilled for a moment as she completely bypassed them and went after a total stranger… and then immediately sprinted behind them with new fervor.

Hook, line, and sinker, Allen thought with an amused smirk. It was wiped off soon enough, once the twins began to pop up between alleyways and street corners, hoping to catch him off guard with one of their obnoxious bombs. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on dodging them when the Exorcist group began to grow too close for comfort and Road couldn't contain herself from shouting ridiculous insults. Fortunately, most of the damage was received by the Exorcists.

For a moment, Allen actually enjoyed the preposterous chase throughout the city. Who knew jumping fences, climbing up fire escapes, and leaping off buildings could be so much fun? It eventually had to come to an end though. Nearing the outskirts of town, Allen knew they had arrived to where the actual fight would take place.

Taking a firm stance as he landed back on solid ground, Allen faced his siblings, preparing himself for battle as he rapidly activated his Innocence, causing an angelic, pure white cloak to float about his shoulders and sleek claws to replace his fingers. By the time the group of Exorcists appeared, they arrived in time to view the odd, russet-haired stranger fluidly moving from one nimble step to the other, as he effectively dodged the onslaught of spiked candles from impaling his pale skin.

Before they could intervene though, a horde of Akuma, as well as a pair of new Noah came into sight much to their frustration. Glancing at each other for less than a second, they came to a mutual understanding and activated their Innocence weapons in tandem. The tall red-headed Exorcist went straight for the mass of Akuma, slamming them with his massive hammer left and right before eventually wiping most of them out with an enormous, blazing snake. The long-haired, female Exorcists faced the pair of Noah twins, madly flying about and dodging their attacks, propelling her own turbulent assaults in return. And the callous, Asian Exorcist went straight for Road and Allen, meaning to interfere.

And then, quite unexpectedly, Allen released to a great, piercing scream.

Well, it was only unexpected for Allen and the Noah, in any case.

Everyone froze simultaneously, as they all stared at the unscathed Allen conveying his pain through earsplitting shrieks as he clutched at his head, stumbling slight, before abruptly collapsing on the cold, hard ground. The silence was deafening.

Knowing that trying to engage in battle might only pose a danger to Allen now, the Noah unwillingly retreated. By the time the Exorcists thought to glance around, they had vanished.

Allen slowly blinked his eyes open, perplexed and dazed. He almost stumbled onto the concrete, as he wearily ogled his surroundings. The landscape surrounding him was bizarre and astonishing; the night, obsidian sky expanded endlessly, a large, breathtaking crescent moon glowing in its midst and breaking its monotone. The brick path he walked on was incessantly surrounded by pale, skeletal trees that curved and bended with the wind, towering over him. Allen dismally noted the specks of bright snow swirling about.

"Where am I?" Allen murmured to himself in bewilderment. Glancing back at the impossibly sized moon, he continued to whisper, as if trying to reassure himself that he was truly here, "A huge, white moon."

"A world that doesn't seem real."

Allen briefly attempted to recall what had occurred before this, but it was all so blurry. Had he been in the middle of a battle? It seemed like it. It all appeared so indistinct and hazy, but he was sure of it. Maybe he'd been killed? "Have I died and gone to the afterlife?" he speculated.

Finally glancing down from the astonishing sight, he acknowledged the great lake lying before him. A strange one. "Huh? The moon in the sky is white, but the moon reflected in this lake is black." But further observing the rest of the water had Allen's eyes widening in profound horror at the reflection his eyes met. The obsidian moon resided in a disturbingly blood-red sky, and beneath, a dark path, similar to the one Allen stood on, extended down the center, surrounded by chaos and destruction. Unidentifiable corpses were littered over collapsed buildings, and the pools of blood and entrails were infinite.

But what appalled Allen the most was the figure on the path that was making his way closer and closer to the gruesome devastation; and, Allen was positive, to his doom. "Mana… Why is he going to a place like that? Mana!" Allen shouted, hoping to prevent him from reaching what he believed would be his demise. "I've got to get to him!" Allen desperately reached out.

Suddenly, the dark hand that reflected Allen's own came to life, and sprung out abruptly from the waters and grasped his wrist, clutching it firmly. Allen gasped, shocked and confused. "No," an eerie voice echoed. Before Allen had a chance to question it, ice began to crawl across the lake at rapid speeds, concealing Mana from his view.

"The water's freezing?!" Allen tried to desperately pull away. "Damn it, let go! MANA!"

But it was too late. The ice had already overtaken most of the lake, with the exception of a jagged opening from which the shadowed hand still gripped his. Allen inhaled sharply at the reflection his wide, silver eyes were met with. The murky figure was indistinct, fading in and out, but Allen was hard-pressed to forget that shadowy, mad grin and glowing, bright white eyes.

"No!" its ghostly voice resonated once more, before everything fell into a pitch black.

Time Frame — Morning of January 13th, 1896

Allen rapidly shot up, face ashen and sweat clinging to his forehead. Inhaling short, gasps of breath, Allen attempted to calm down.

"Whoa there bud, are you okay?" an unfamiliar voice to Allen's right asked.

"Uh, yeah. Just a nightmare," Allen mumbled dazedly, glancing up, only to be met with the sight of the Rose Cross. Allen abruptly scrambled out the bed, stumbling slightly, before attempting to escape whatever it was that was going on.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" A mean figure blocked his path, slanted, gray eyes narrowing dangerously. Taking a small moment to actually think, Allen finally recalled what had occurred before all this madness. Right. The false battle with his Noah siblings and the Exorcists. Though it had technically failed after his freak accident, it seemed that he still somehow ended up in the care of these Exorcists. Allen decided Road and the twins must've left him with them rather than fighting, as doing that would have been pointless by then.

"S-Sorry," Allen murmured and stumbled back, still slightly baffled from his odd episode.

To his surprise, the Exorcist from earlier stepped in for him. "Oh, come on, Yuu, no need to be such an ass all the time. Can't you see he's confused?" The bright redhead seemed amiable enough, with his infectious grin and bright, mischievous emerald eyes—scratch that, eye. He wore an eye-patch over his presumably missing right one. To add to his interesting assemble, a bright, green bandana that contrasted greatly with his hair, held it up into a mess of spikes, revealing golden hoops along his ears. There was also his coat proclaiming him as an Exorcist, and a weirdly, small hammer strapped to his thigh. Hmm.

"I told you not to call me that, you idiot rabbit!" the other teen Exorcist snarled. Glancing back towards him, Allen decided this guy was even stranger looking. His dark, waist-length locks—and yes, Allen was pretty sure he was male—were pulled up into a high, ponytail, bangs and loose strands framing his sharp, pale features. The redhead decided that the scowl must be a permanent fixture on his face, though the katana that went with it seemed even less promising. "What are you fucking staring at, beansprout?" he suddenly sneered.

Before Allen could angrily retort back, yet another Exorcists stepped in. "Kanda, would you quit it?! He's hurt enough as it is!"

"Hurt?" both Allen and Kanda couldn't help but question. Kanda continued, "The brat started screaming before he was even impaled!"

"You should know better than that! We know Road likes to play mind games. We have no idea what she did to him!" Allen closely observed the female Exorcist that seemed vehement on defending him. For some odd reason, she'd struck him as familiar. The teenage girl was outfitted in a girlier version of an Exorcist uniform, which involved an extremely short skirt much to his embarrassment. Her lengthy tresses were pulled up into pigtails, and short bangs were framed around almond-shaped, violet eyes that slightly reminded him Road's.

"Lenalee?" Allen asked, wondering if this healthier looking girl could really be the feeble, pale-faced, little girl that had been burned into his mind once, long ago.

Her amethyst orbs immediately brightened. "Allen! I knew I recognized you!" Without any regard to personal space, she unexpectedly jumped into his arms, hugging him firmly and closely. Feeling slightly awkward, he hugged her back. At last, she pulled back and rewarded him with a dazzling smile and asked, "How have you been, Allen?"

"Ah, just peachy. What about you, Lenalee? How has the Order been treating you?"

Her eyes widened. "How do you know about us?"

"Err, you told me all about it when we last saw each other," Allen pointed out. He didn't mention the part where he was technically allied with the arch-nemesis of the Vatican and Black Order alike. That would probably be a bad idea. Yeah…

"I did?" Lenalee blushed, embarrassed. "I really wasn't supposed to do that."

"What does it matter now, Lenalee? He'll be joining us soon enough, anyway," Lavi piped up.

Lenalee glanced at Lavi, before turning back with wide, pleading eyes. "Please tell us you won't, Allen. Please tell us what the Noah said isn't true." Allen was truly touched by her concern, and so offered her a small, sad smile as he shook his head and slipped off one of his gloves, demonstrating his dark, mechanical hand. Her expression turned downcast.

"How long have you been running, Allen?" she whispered, gently his hand in between her own.

"Too long." I never did try, but I should have.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course." Will I ever be?

"So, Lenalee," Lavi suddenly spoke up with a wide grin, throwing an arm around an unsuspecting Allen. "How did you come to know our little Ally-kins here?"

"It's Allen," the redhead immediately retorted. "And I'm not little."

"Aw, c'mon, mini-me, don't be such a grouse," Lavi teased him good naturedly.

"Err, pardon me?" Allen raised a brow, slight puzzled by the new nickname.

Lavi gazed back at him with a grin. "What?! Don't you get it? You're my mini-me! Get it? Because we both have wonderfully vivacious, red hair!" Lavi's single, visible eyebrow wiggled comically. Before Allen could even have a chance to respond to that, Lavi asked, "So? Aren't you two going to tell us the story of how you've met?"

Lenalee gazed pleadingly back at Allen, but the silver-eyed teen simply shrugged. It'd certainly be odd to tell his side of the story, though he could hardly remember the exact details even then. Knowing she was on her own, Lenalee took a deep breath and began, "Well, we met at a ball—"

"How romantic!" Lavi abruptly interrupted with a chortle.

"Wait a minute!" Kanda also spoke up in an incredulous tone. "You mean to tell me that this idiotic beansprout is your so-called "prince" that you kept going on about for weeks?!" Lavi's laughs turned boisterous as Lenalee turned a bright, crimson red.

"Kanda!" she scolded, too embarrassed to say any more.

"Uh, prince? What prince?" Allen furrowed his brows in confusion.

Through his raucous laughter, Lavi managed to splutter out, "You!"

"I'm sorry, Allen!" Lenalee abruptly apologized, before he could say anything. "At the time, Komui had told me that you were the Minister's son, and so I thought…"

Despite awkwardly trailing off, Allen understood her meaning well enough. Releasing a small, amused chuckle, Allen pointed out, "Lenalee, that may be true, but that hardly makes me a prince."

"I guess," Lenalee uneasily replied, still blushing from mortification.

"Ah, so we've got ourselves a little, pampered boy here, haven't we?" Lavi teased, though the mocking glint in his eye caused Allen to bristle at the accusation. His life had hardly been that! Admittedly, things were easier to come by once he'd joined the Noah, but they weren't exactly better. Lavi continued, "I say he survives at least a month. What do guys think?"

Kanda smirked viciously. "Two weeks, tops."

"You've got yourself a bet!" Lavi grinned.

"Would you two quit it?" Lenalee frowned in disapproval. "Try being a little more welcoming." Turning back to Allen, she offered him a kind smile, embarrassment forgotten. "Anyway, Allen, we're wondering—"

"You do realize he technically doesn't have a choice, right?" Lavi interjected, finally giving Allen his much needed, personal space by letting him go and backing up somewhat, casually crossing his arms behind his head.

"Yeah? Well it's a nice gesture, all the same," she retorted, crossing her arms defensively. "One which I doubt any of us have had the chance to have." Satisfied that neither male tried to further argue with her, she turned back to Allen with her sweet smile.

"Allen, would you do us the honor of joining us at the Black order?"

A/N: So I'm thinking of showing different points of views in the next chapter; mostly Lavi and a little bit of Lenalee, and maybe even Kanda later on. What do you all think? Well, that's it for this chapter, so please review!n_n