Thirteen chapters what? I'm actually already at chapter thirteen…I didn't think I'd get here so quickly. I wanted to do something special for this chapter, since it's lucky number thirteen and all, but you'll just have to settle for an incredibly plot breaking chapter. That's right, Road awakens inside the Black Order! Other than that, this chapter isn't really that special.
Sorry about the low-brow humor I inserted into this chapter. I couldn't help it, I just had to write that before the epic part. Sure, I'm abusing Lavi, but I actually think he's cool. Which is why I abuse him. So…enjoy?
Disclaimer: The angst filled characters of D. Gray-Man belong to Hoshino Katsura sensei. Which reminds me, anyone know where I can read Zone and Reverse?
The 10th Memory: Awakening
Allen Walker…exactly who was he? Lenalee stared outside of the window inside next to where she was sitting. Kanda was meditating right across from her, oblivious to Lenalee's presence. He seemed too nice to be my enemy. And he's not an Akuma either. She glanced at Kanda. If he was an Akuma…then he would've killed both me and Kanda instead of helping me bring Kanda to the hospital. So is Allen human? She stared at the snowy landscape beyond the train. She whispered his name to herself. "Allen Walker…"
"Che, why do you care about that moyashi anyway?" Kanda asked from his trance-like state.
"Oh," Lenalee put a hand to her lips. "Did I say that out loud?"
Kanda nodded. "If you didn't say that out loud, then I would still be meditating." He raised his hand to summon a stewardess. The stewardess handed him a container of soba. "So what does it matter about that moyashi anyway?"
"Well…" She stared at Kanda as he started eating his soba. "It's just that he was so nice to me. I can't really imagine him being an agent of the Earl. I mean, an enemy of the Order wouldn't help an exorcist, right?"
Kanda put his chopsticks down. "That moyashi has an unstable mind. While I fought him, he kept muttering this crap about 'protecting the doll,' and us being 'friends.'"
"But if he wanted to protect Lala and Guzoru, he can't be all bad, right?"
"Che, right after he spouted that nonsense about us being friends, he made me…" He turned away from Lenalee. "I'm going to finish my soba now."
Lenalee cocked her head. "What did Allen do, Kanda?"
"None of your business." Kanda finished up the rest of his soba in silence.
Lenalee stared back out at the snow covered landscape. Allen…how come you made me feel that way? She put her hands to her heart. I felt so much pain and joy for some reason…and then you went away after I told you about that girl… She closed her eyes. Speaking of which…I wonder how she's doing…
--
"Get back here you goddamn bastard!!" Road leapt up from the infirmary bed hysterically. "You can't just say those things then leave me behind like that!" She suddenly became aware of her surroundings. "Wait…where am I?"
"Eh, what's wrong with you!? Nearly giving me a heart attack…" Lavi stared up at Road, who was standing straight up on her bed. "I mean really, I was taking a nice nap when you…" Lavi started blushing suddenly.
Road cocked her head at Lavi. "What are you talking about? And why are you…" She noticed her attire, a plain hospital gown. The type that was basically a long sheet with sleeves tied around your body. Then she noticed her lack of a certain garment. And finally, she noticed that Lavi was staring up. "Eek! You freaking pervert!" She threw her pillows at Lavi. "Get away from me!"
Lavi tried to block Road's assault, but he was overwhelmed by the amount of pillows Road had. Which was a surprising amount, considering Road really only should've had one. "Ack, would you stop it! It's not like I liked looking at that, and it's your fault for suddenly standing up like that!"
Road picked up an incredibly heavy looking object (use your imagination as to what it actually was). "Die pervert."
Lavi held up his hands in defense. "Wait, don't throw that at-" The door slammed open, and Komui, Reever, and Johnny were standing at the doorway. "Ah, thank goodness you guys showed up when you did. This girl is-"
"GET HIM!!" Reever and Johnny leapt on top of Lavi, pinning him down to the floor. Komui walked up in front of his with a strange creepy background fire behind him.
"W-what are you guys doing!?" Lavi shouted.
"Fufufufufu…" Komui held up a drill. "This is payback for stealing a hug from Lenalee earlier…"
"I thought this was because he was being rude to our guest here." Reever pointed out.
Komui put a hand to his chin, to make it look like he was deep in thought. Though he probably wasn't. "That too." He held up his drill. "I cannot risk this type of harassment to my Lenalee!"
"Um, you mean to our guest, right supervisor?" Johnny asked.
"That too!"
"N-No!" Lavi tried to break free from Reever and Johnny's grip. "I swear, it wasn't really my fault! Please, don't!"
"Fufufufu…don't worry." Komui turned on the drill. "It'll only hurt for a week."
"WAIT!!" Road leapt off from the bed. "Before you impale him, could someone please tell me what's going on here? And get me my clothes back too."
"Ah, yes." Reever pulled out a plastic bag from his person. "We had to wash them since they had so much blood on them." He tossed it to Road, who caught it.
Road glanced at him. "Thanks, I guess…" She went back to her bed and closed the curtain that came around the bed. She started to strip the gown off, and put her old clothes back on. As she pulled the gown off from her left arm, she glanced at the cross in her hand. "By the way," she said to distract herself from the cross. "Exactly who undressed me?"
"That would be my lovable adorable little sister Lenalee!" Komui cried out happily. "A saint among saints. A flower prettier than any other. A radiant beauty that-"
Reever clapped Komui's head with a clipboard. "That's enough, I think she gets it."
"Lenalee, huh?" She buttoned up her blouse and straightened out her skirt. "Then I guess I'm where I think I am." She pulled back the curtain. "Is there someone named Allen Walker in this place?"
Komui looked at Road. "Allen Walker? No, I don't believe there is. Why?"
"I see." She walked past them. "Then I guess I'll be going now."
"Wait." Komui said. "I'm afraid I can't let you go." He put his hand on her shoulder. "You are one of those chosen by God, an Innocence host."
"Innocence, huh?" Road slapped Komui's hand away from her and held up her left hand. "You mean this crap on the back on my left hand? Do you really think this is Innocence? Yeah right." She dropped her hand. "I'm a child chosen to destroy your so called God, I'm one of the Noah."
"Noah, huh?" Lavi stood up from the ground. "You mean you're one of the Millennium Earl's children, right?"
Road grinned. "Of course I am, and when I get back to Duke Millennium, I'm gonna kill all of you."
"Ah yes." Komui frowned. "That was one of the things I wanted to discuss with you." He motioned at Reever, who handed him a communication golem. "Miss Kamelot, do you remember what happened about a week and a half ago?"
"How did you…" She shook her head. "Never mind. A week ago I was still sleeping wasn't I? I've been unconscious for a couple of months already, right?"
Komui smiled sadly at Road. "Time passes differently between the realms of consciousness and unconsciousness." He released the golem, which started fluttering around Road. "And since you believed you were out for a couple of months, your memories are probably a bit fuzzy so…" A beam of light shone from the golem. "I didn't want to show you this, but I think it's necessary."
"What're you…" She saw the images the golem was playing. "Oh my god…"
The golem was replaying the events of Road and the Earl's meeting in the graveyard. Road stared in shock as the memories of the graveyard came flooding back to her. She watched herself get attacked by the Akuma, and Lenalee defending her. She saw herself fly up to the Earl to plead with him, and saw how easily the Earl rejected her.
"Allen Walker," The voice of the Earl said through the video. "That is the name of my favorite."
Tears formed in Road's eyes as the memories of that day flooded over her. "No…" Road whispered to herself. "It's not real, I know it's not real…" She stared through the tears at the Innocence in her hand. "It's definitely not real."
Then she remembered what Allen had said.
"The world you've been in the whole time is as real as you or me. There are no fakes at all. After all, the pain and despair you're feeling is real, isn't it? Everything you've been experiencing is real. The Millennium Earl really doesn't remember you. My Innocence really does exist within you, although I don't know why. And best of all…I really am the Earl's favorite."
"It is real." Something inside of her shattered. "I really am a damned exorcist…"
"I'm sorry I had to show you that, Road," Komui said gently. "We of the science department have reviewed the recording many times to gather information, like your name for example. I haven't shown this to Lenalee yet, so she wouldn't be worried, but I showed it to you because…" He shrugged. "Well, you needed to know." He put his hand on Road's shoulder, as if to comfort her. "We need to know your true relationship with the Earl, because the story of you being a Noah is obviously false. After all, it's impossible for a Noah to contain Innocence."
"In…no…cence?" Road looked up at Komui, tears flowing out of her eyes. "So that's it, huh…" She pushed Komui away roughly and ran towards one of the cabinets. She pulled out an small, sharp surgical knife from one of the drawers. "So if I get rid of this damned Innocence, then I can be the Earl's child again, right!?" She stabbed the knife under the cross, and started to pry it out. Blood ran freely from the spot she stabbed, dripping to the ground.
"Miss Kamelot, stop!" Komui moved toward her.
"Stay away from me!" She dug the knife even deeper into her hand, pain echoing throughout her body. "I swear…if you take one step closer I'll kill all of you!" She pushed the knife all the way in under the cross. "Ah…ah…AAAUUUGHHH!" The cross separated from Road's hand, spinning to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere from the twirling cross, staining the room. An enormous amount of blood flowed outside the gaping hole in Road's hand as she fell to the ground. "There…now the Innocence is gone…now I can go home…" A green light engulfed her injured hand. "No…tell me that's not happening!" A bloody cross reformed on the back of her hand. "No…"
"Listen, Road, that won't work." Komui approached her slowly, like he was approaching an injured tiger. "You're a parasitic-type, which means that the Innocence exists inside your entire body. You can't just tear off the point where it's the most focused and expect it to go away." He slowly picked up the bloodstained cross lying on the ground. "Now just calm down and let me fix those wounds of yours…" He continued walking towards her.
"I told you to STAY AWAY!!" Road backed away from him, and put the knife to her throat. "If the Innocence is inside this body…then if I kill it, then it'd go away, right?" She glanced madly around the room. "Right!?"
"Miss Kamelot, please stop." Komui said. "Killing yourself wouldn't help anyone, you know that, right?"
"Shut up!" She pressed the knife harder to her throat, the blood on the knife running down her neck. "This isn't even my real body…so I won't really die…" She tightened her grip. "I won't die just because this body does!"
"Extend." Lavi pulled out his hammer and extended the base towards Road, causing it to hit the hand holding the knife. The force caused Road to let go of the weapon, and it spun down on the floor. "Listen, kid." Lavi said quietly. "Whether you like it or not, as long as you're inside of these walls we have an obligation to keep you from getting hurt. Even if you wish to die, we can't stand by and let you kill yourself." He looked Road straight in the eye. "After all, you're now an exorcist."
"No…" Road mumbled, "I'm not…"
"Yes," Lavi told her, "You are."
"I can't be…" She glared at Lavi. "I can't be an exorcist!!" She ran past him and ran outside of the door.
Lavi moved to go after her when Komui stopped him. "No, Lavi." Komui said solemnly. "She has to accept her Innocence on her own. Besides…" He picked up the knife. "There's nowhere she can run."
Road was running as fast as she could away from the infirmary, her wounds spilling a trail of blood behind her. With each labored step, a jolt of pain was sent through her body, reminding her of her wounds. I won't stop… She thought. I have to get out of here… She ran down four flights of stairs, taking steps three at a time. The various Finders and scientists she passed gave her fleeting looks as she attempted to escape. Duke Millennium…I need you, please… Road spotted the main gates a couple hundred yards away from her. She ran as fast as she could towards it. I want to go home… She crashed into the front gate. I WANT TO GO HOME!! Road pounded harshly on the door. "Open up!" She cried desperately. ""Open up this door! Open, dammit!" She slid to the floor, her fatigue catching up to her. "Open…please, just open…" Reality started to fade away from her, the bloodstains on the door surrounding her spinning vision. "Open…" She lost consciousness.
I hate you, Allen.