Oh my holy freaking gosh, I am soooo sorry for the horribly long wait! I was trying so hard to work on the chapter but it just wasn't coming out, and then yesterday I kind of gave up, stopped trying to write it from Lenalee's POV, and switched to Allen, and lo and behold, update.
*Disclaimer
Natcat5 does not own D. Gray-man or its characters. Just this plot. She sort of owns the character at the end. Well, the new, revamped version, as the original, DBs are totally Hoshino-sama's.
Remember, I wrote this entire thing yesterday, and I finished it at 1:00 in the morning, so if it's a little rushed...
Chapter Two
Allen opened his eyes slowly.
All around him, he was surrounded by white, a thick blanket that was encircling him. He couldn't see any colour, and for the most fleeting of moments, he thought he was dead.
With a slow blink, his blurred vision cleared, and Allen began to make out blurry, non-white shapes around. A table, a bed, a person...
A person?
Even in his drowsy and weakened state, Allen's training as a warrior caused him to react automatically. He sat up straight in bed, and immediately put his right hand on his left wrist, seconds away from drawing the Sword of Exorcism.
"Woah! Calm down Allen! It's me!"
Allen blinked a few more times, and the blurry figure in front of him turned into Reever Wenham, the wild haired Australian from the Science Division. Allen released his wrist and sank back down, realizing for the first time that he was in a bed.
"Sorry...I just...woke up..." said Allen slowly, suddenly aware of the pounding in the back of his head.
"Yeah, I noticed. You've been out for almost two weeks," said Reever, "Had us scared to death," he muttered under his breath.
Allen sat bolt upright again, and then regretted it as he sank back down, wincing. He gingerly lifted his head to fix Reever with a piercing stare. "What do you mean two weeks!" he demanded through gritted teeth. "What's going on?" Reever sighed and sat down in a chair. After hastily looking out the door to see if a nurse was approaching, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and placed it in his mouth, lighting it deftly.
"What's the last thing you remember Allen?" asked Reever, sighing in relief as he took a drag on the cigarette.
Allen frowned, and looked up at the ceiling for inspiration.
"Um...a mission. In...Russia? Yes, a mission in Russia with Lavi, Lenalee and Kanda. We were outside of a Moscow, going to investigate a church which was said to contain Innocence, and then..." Allen winced as the next memory came to him. "We were attacked, by Akuma, a large number of them. A swarm of Level 2s, and a Level 4. We managed to defeat them...Lavi...Lavi...what happened to..." Allen frowned and his brow furrowed as he tried to remember. His eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped as the memory came to him. "Lavi's Innocence crystallized! That's the only reason we defeated that Level 4! It was really strong for some reason...and we were in trouble, and then, Lavi's Innocence crystallized..." Allen smiled slightly at the memory. Lavi had really pulled through, just like he always did.
"After that...we went into the church and contacted the finders in Moscow with Kanda's golem...to tell them we had found the church, and that we were injured. Lavi and I were exhausted, so Lenalee and Kanda went to search for the Innocence. And then...Lenalee came back to say that she found something...and then..." Allen winced again, his hand automatically flying up to his left eye, remembering the excruciating pain he'd felt when it had activated violently and unexpectedly. Allen gritted his teeth, clutching the blankets tightly.
"What happened next Allen?" asked Reever, looking at the youth with mild concern. Allen swallowed, and shut his eyes.
"Next...another Level 4 appeared. I didn't...my eye didn't see it until...and...and...it...beat us," said Allen with some difficulty, remembering Kanda crashing through the wall, Lavi limp on the ground, Lenalee's broken body.
"Lenalee!" exclaimed the white-haired youth. "Lenalee! And Lavi! And Kanda! Are they okay? What happened to them! What happened-,"
"Whoa! Calm down! They're all okay! Lenalee is still in the infirmary, Kanda was discharged this morning, and Lavi's four beds that way," said Reever, pointing to the left.
Allen's head whipped to the side and he grimaced in pain, before sighing in relief as he saw a tousled red head sticking out from underneath the white hospital sheets. Allen's head sank back down and he sighed. "Is he...alright? And Lenalee, she was...I couldn't protect her at all...that Level 4..." Allen bit his lip at the gruesome memory of Lenalee's body lying in a growing puddle of her own blood.
Reever sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's kinda something we wanted to talk to you about," he said.
Allen blinked and tilted his head quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you say that the Level 4 beat you, are you sure that's what happened?"
"Yeah," said Allen through gritted teeth. "It...beat Lenalee when it appeared...and then it sent Kanda through a wall...and then it blew up on me and Lavi. After that...I don't remember much but...I know it was trying to get to Lenalee and I was trying to stop it but...I couldn't." The exorcist curled up, grasping the sheets tighter.
"That's all I can remember," he whispered.
"Okay," said Reever with a nod. "So you'd say that you guys were badly injured?"
Allen winced and nodded. "Badly."
"Alright then, so you wanna tell me why when the Finders found you the four of you were completely unharmed?"
Allen blinked and then looked down at himself.
It was true, there wasn't a scratch on him, the deep and gruesome injuries that had covered his body were completely healed, leaving not even scar. He didn't even feel any pain, besides the dull ache in the back of his head. The white haired exorcist blinked, and then looked back up at Reever, eyes wide.
"Reever, what's going on? I'm really confused. Are we at the Order? How did we get here? How am I not injured? What happened to that Level 4? What...what's going on?" demanded Allen, a hint of desperation in his voice.
Reever held up his hands placating, sweatdropping at the intense and somewhat irrational look in Allen's eyes.
"Woah! Hold on there Allen! I'll explain...well, I'll explain what I can," said the Australian, scratching his head. Allen lay back down in the bed, glaring at Reever impatiently. The scientist sighed, and sat back in the chair, rolling the cigarette around in his mouth.
"When you guys were in the church, after defeating the first Level 4, Kanda contacted the Finders in Moscow using his golem. He told them about your injuries, location, and what not. So that's how the Finders knew where you were. However...when they got there the church- and pretty much everything else in a one mile radius-was gone. Just rubble. And the four of you..." Reever sighed and scratched his head again. "You and Lenalee were the easiest to find. According to the Finders, you were right in the middle of the disaster zone. Both of you were covered and blood and looked to be in pretty bad shape, but upon closer examination...both of you were fine. Not a scratch on you."
Allen started in surprise. "But that's...Lenalee was so...what about Kanda and Lavi?"
"Well, the two of them...they were both under mounds of rubble, but there was...a pocket around both of them. Like something had carved out a space underneath the rubble for them to be safe. They both looked horrible too...but neither of them was injured in any way shape or form," said Reever, "Of course, that doesn't explain why all four of you were out for two weeks. Kanda only woke up this morning, and Lenalee and Lavi are still out for the count. The four of you are physically fine...it's had us all stumped..."
"..." Allen sat in silence, looking down at his sheets.
"...We had hoped that Kanda could shed some light on what had happened, but he disappeared as soon as the head nurse admitted that there was nothing wrong with him physically and technically he could leave. So that just leaves you Allen," Reever sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Any idea what the heck's going on?"
Allen thought for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "No...I'm sorry, my memories are too fuzzy...I'm just as confused as you are," he said regretfully.
Reever sighed again and shrugged. "Well...it can't be helped. Maybe Lavi or Lenalee will be able to remember something when they wake up. Lavi, at least, should remember something..." said the scientist.
Allen turned too look at the sleeping figure of his friend, mostly hidden under the sheets.
Lavi...he thought, grinning slightly at the hazy memory of his friend defeating the Level 4 with his crystallised Innocence. Way to go Lavi, I knew you were an Exorcist.
GURGGRRLLLE
Allen blinked and looked down at his stomach, before laughing weakly. "Eh, Reever, since I'm not technically injured, is it okay if I leave? I really need something to eat..." Allen trailed off, "I'll...probably go see Lenalee first," he said with a blush.
"Go for it, Allen," laughed Reever, "Just be careful of the Head Nurse. She may have let Kanda go, but Kanda...um, well, you know he rarely stays in the infirmary long anyways. She might drag you back by your ear."
Allen sweatdropped and rubbed his ear ruefully, remembering the time after the attack of the Level 4 on the original Headquarters, and how the nurse had dragged him away from his spar with Kanda afterwards.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll avoid her at all costs..." he muttered, pulling off the sheets and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. As soon as he stood up, a wave of dizziness hit the Exorcist and the throbbing in the back of his head increased to a painful crescendo. Allen swayed on his feet, clutching his head and feeling a strange, detached sensation from his Innocence arm.
"Ah! Allen! Are you alright?"
Allen felt Reever latch onto his arm and steady him, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the painful, dizzy haze ascended from his head. "I-I'm fine, thank you Reever-san. I just have a bit of a headache..." Allen leaned away from Reever, looking down at his left arm with minor concern. What was that weird feeling just now?
"You sure? Maybe you're not all fine after all. I could have Komui run some tests-,"
"NO THANK YOU!" screeched Allen, jerking away and running to the other side of the room. No way was he letting some curly-haired, beret-wearing, mad scientist anywhere near him.
Just then, a tousled red head slowly emerged from underneath a sheet, single green eye blinking slowly.
"Nyeh? Who's yelling? Panda? Is that you?" slurred Lavi sleepily.
"Lavi!" exclaimed Allen happily, running to the side of Lavi's bed. "You're awake!"
Lavi quickly turned his head towards Allen, and then rubbed his head ruefully. "Allen! Ow, ow, ow...who decided to use my head as a battering ram?" moaned the rabbit.
Allen laughed and Reever sighed and smiled in relief. "Good...Lavi's awake. Hey Allen, could you leave us alone for a sec? Lavi will probably join you soon, and weren't you going to visit Lenalee?" said Reever with a wink. Allen blushed and turned around rapidly. "See you soon Lavi, hope you feel better!" shouted Allen as disappeared through the door.
Lavi blinked dazedly, still really out of it. "Ooookay, Allen..." he drawled with a silly grin.
Reever smiled at the dust cloud that Allen had left behind, before taking a deep breath and turning to the redheaded teen lying in the bed.
"Lavi, long story short, can you remember anything that happened in Russia?" he asked.
Lavi blinked several times as he tried to clear away the sleepy haze, and his brow furrowed.
"Russia...Russia, Russia, Russia. Largest country in the world...capital is Moscow...communist government...my Innocence!" he exclaimed. "Level 4...and then everyone was hurt...and my Innocence...and then another Level 4...and then my arms were killing me...and then...and then...oh shit. My hammer. Panda is going to murder me!" moaned the rabbit, his head falling in his hands.
Reever winced and he hastily pulled out another cigarette, sticking it into his mouth alongside the other and lighting it quickly.
"Lavi..." started Reever hesitantly. The redhead immediately looked up, eye narrowed at Reever's tone of voice. "What?" asked Lavi bluntly, hating the sinking feeling in his stomach.
"I need to talk to you...about Bookman."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Allen walked quickly through the halls of the new order, desperately trying to remember where the woman's wing of the infirmary was. He knew it was very close to the men's, but some how, he had gotten very lost in the five minutes he had been looking for it.
Oh...where is it...it's only a couple of doors down from the men's infirmary isn't it? But that was one of the Finders rooms...and then there was a hallway, and another hallway, and...how the heck did I end up at the baths?
Allen stopped for a second, holding the back of his head as another stab of pain went through it.
Ow...what's with this pain? I thought I was supposed to be completely healed...why is that anyways? What exactly happened in Russia? I'm so confused...
A-rsh-sld-cllerrrr
Allen gasped and clutched his head with both hands, falling to his knees at the sudden pain.
S-uh-ryyy-allshrd-m-de—cleerrr-s—n-
Allen panted and sweat beaded on his forehead. His left hand fell away from his head, throbbing at his side.
S-uh-ryyyy-alllbe—cler-sn-A-ren...j-st-w-ai-t
And then the pain was gone.
Allen opened his eyes, panting slightly. He stood up shakily and held up his Innocence. His left arm wasn't throbbing anymore, but it felt...weird. Slightly detached. Mostly weird.
What's going on?
"Oh, Allen! You're up! I-I thought you were still in the infirmary!"
Allen blinked and turned to the side in time to see Miranda running towards him.
"Oh! Hello Miranda!" said Allen politely, bowing slightly before the flustered German woman. "Yes, I was just discharged...sort of. Anyways, I'm looking for the woman's infirmary, to visit Lenalee, do you think you could, ah, point me in the right direction?" he chuckled nervously. Miranda looked a little startled, and then a look of panic flashed across her face.
"The infirmary! You want me to-OH NO! WHAT IF I GET IT WRONG! WHAT IF YOU GET LOST FOR DAYS AND DIE OF STARVATION! WHAT IF-,"
"Ah! Miranda! Calm down! Don't worry, just tell me which direction to go in and I'll be fine. If I get lost I'll take full responsibility for it," placated Allen.
Miranda still looked frantic, and Allen thought about calming her down, but his stomach was really rumbling now, and he had to visit Lenalee and see if she was okay, and then they could both go to the cafeteria and get some god damn food.
"Miranda, could you please just point me towards the woman's infirmary?" pleaded Allen with strained patience, the pounding in his head not helping the situation at all. Miranda seemed to notice Allen's strained mentality, and reacted accordingly.
"I'M SOSOSOSO SORRY ALLEN! PLEASE FORGIVE ME IN DELAYING YOU IN YOUR QUEESST! THE WOMAN'S INFIRMARY IS DOWN THAT HALLWAY AND THE FIFTEENTH DOOR ON YOUR LEFT!"
Allen winced and rubbed his ears ruefully before smiling. "Thank you Miranda! See you later!" he said politely before turning down the hallway and walking quickly towards the woman's infirmary.
Allen looked to the left and counted the doors carefully, not wanting to miscount and risk getting lost again. He stopped in front of the fifteenth door, noticing, with mild exasperation, that the closed door across from it was the door to the men's infirmary.
I don't know why I'm even surprised...
Sighing, he pushed the door open.
And stopped.
Standing in the middle of the room was Malcolm C. Leverrier, looking as cross and snake-eyed as ever. He was facing Lenalee, who was sitting up in her bed, looking like she was terrified but trying to hide it. Komui stood nearby, cold anger on his face as he faced the Inspector.
They all turned as the door closed behind Allen, and Lenalee gasped, a smile flashing across her face.
"Allen!" she exclaimed happily, flinging off her sheets and running to the white haired teen. Allen, tore his gaze away from Leverrier to look at Lenalee with a smile. "Lenalee, you're awake! I'm so glad..." Allen trailed off, the image of Lenalee lying broken and bleeding, just beyond his reach bubbling to the surface of his memory. A choking feeling expanded in his throat, and he felt a burning sensation in his eyes. "I'm so glad..." A tear fell down his cheek. Lenalee smiled through her own watery eyes and grabbed Allen into a passionate hug, which he responded to immediately. "Lenalee...I'm so glad you're safe..." he whispered into her hair, clutching her tighter. (A.N. Th-the Fluff...IT BURNS!)
"Ahem."
The two Exorcists broke apart to see Leverrier and Komui staring at them, the Inspector with vague disapproval and Komui with an angry tick on his forehead, hand twitching towards a menacing looking drill at his side. Allen sweatdropped and took a few steps back to distance himself from the Chinese scientist.
"Um, h-hello Komui," stammered Allen, watching nervously as Komui revved up the drill. Allen then turned to the Inspector, a colder look falling upon his face. "...Leverrier." The Inspector's eye twitched at the lack of respect. "Allen Walker, glad to see you have awoken from your slumber," he said somewhat sarcastically. "As Miss Lee here doesn't seem able to, perhaps you could shed some light on the occurrences in Russia?"
Allen felt Lenalee shiver beside him, and the white haired youth wondered just how Leverrier had asked Lenalee what had happened. Not thinking of the consequences, Allen took Lenalee's hand and held it tight. "Sorry sir, my memories of the events in Russia aren't very clear either," said Allen with exaggerated politeness. Leverrier's eyes narrowed more than they already were. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry Walker, it must be very hard to remember things, what with the Fourteenth's memories taking over everything," he said smugly.
Allen's eyes narrowed and his hand clenched into a fist. Lenalee's grip on his other hand tightened, and he felt the green haired girl step closer to him.
"Inspector," said Komui, speaking for the first time. "I don't think-,"
"Head Officer, do you think I could I speak to these two, alone, for a moment?" asked Leverrier, smiling. The other three occupants of the room all shuddered at the sight, and Komui pressed his lips into a firm line before nodding and walking towards the door. He stopped by Lenalee and Allen. "Don't let him get to you," whispered the scientist. "You're both Exorcists, and you're not blame for the loss of your memories." Both teens nodded grimly at the words. "And Allen..." Allen looked up as Komui addressed him directly. "...if you try anything with Lenalee I'll have Komlin castrate you with a rusty spoon."
And with that, Komui Lee left the room.
...
Allen sweatdropped and swallowed nervously, watching the closed the door with a bewildered, slightly, terrified expression. Lenalee just looked exasperated and just a little amused.
"Ahem."
Both teens turned their heads back towards Leverrier quickly, and simultaneously winced as pain shot through them. Lenalee shifted on her feet, her anklets feeling unusually heavy and awkward, and Allen's left arm suddenly felt like dead weight at his side.
"You two," began Leverrier, friendly smile still plastered on his face. "Disgust me as Exorcists."
Both Allen and Lenalee reeled back as if they had been slapped, Lenalee giving a little gasp and Allen clenching his hands into fists.
"You go an Innocence retrieval mission, apparently lose to a bunch of akuma and have the audacity to say you have no idea what happened? Other than you lost?"
Allen gritted his teeth, but said nothing, tightening his grip on Lenalee's hand.
"Do you even know what happened to the Innocence?"
Both Lenalee and Allen froze. It was then that Allen realized, in his interrogation of Reever, he hadn't asked once about what had happened to the Innocence he had been sent to retrieve.
"All you two seem to care about, is yourselves. Is it not true that your own personal conditions took precedence for you over the wellbeing of the Innocence? It is, isn't it? It's up to the Exorcists to ensure the safety of the Innocence and the destruction of the Akuma above all else, and according to what limited memory you seem to have, you appear to have failed at both."
Allen flinched deeply at that. He had failed to destroy the Akuma, failed to save the countless number of tortured souls within...was that not his purpose in life? What was the use of him walking forward, if he couldn't do the one thing he had set out to do? His head began hurting worse than ever, and his left arm throbbed at his side.
Lenalee wasn't as affected by the words. She was still hurt, but more angry than anything. Yes, they had to find the Innocence. Yes, they had to destroy the Akuma. But they also had to care for themselves. If they died, if all the Exorcists died because they didn't give a damn about what happened to themselves, than who would stop the Earl? Those self-smug jerks at the Vatican? Leverrier had no right to chastise them because they'd gotten hurt and lost to a Level 4, or because they'd lost track of an Innocence. Maybe they had been a bit negligent about forgetting to ask about the Innocence, (as Lenalee had forgotten about it too) but she and Allen had been concerned for their comrades. They were important to them, and as much as it might be considered blasphemy to say, more important than the Innocence.
"Leverrier," said Lenalee sternly, cutting off the man's tirade, "I disagree." Both Allen and the Inspector turned to look at the girl with surprise, startled by her sudden boldness in the presence of the man that usually had her quivering in fear.
"The Innocence is important, and we must defeat the Earl and his Akuma, but we have to take care of ourselves in order to do that. If we just forget about our comrades-,"
"The Innocence takes precedence over everything!" thundered Leverrier, causing Lenalee to flinch and stumble back, wondering dimly why her anklets felt so...weird.
"That is why you fail. That is why we will lose the war! Because of children like you! Children who hold one life over the lives of millions! Don't you understand? As long as we have Innocence, every last one of you is replaceable," snarled the Inspector.
"If we're so replaceable, than why did you try so hard to stop me from leaving!" snapped Lenalee, surprised at her own anger, but unable to stop herself. Quickly, before either of the Exorcists could react, Leverrier bounded forward and slapped Lenalee, sending her to the ground.
"Hey!" snarled Allen, leaping forward angrily.
"Are you really going to attack a superior member of the Order," drawled Leverrier calmly, "Host of the fourteenth Noah?"
Allen froze, and then he clenched his hand into a fist. "It doesn't matter," he growled, "You had no right to hit Lenalee."
On the floor, Lenalee was stunned. Not because of the blow that Leverrier had dealt her, but because of the immense heaviness on her legs, and the pounding in her head that had been persistent from the moment she had woken up and had been getting persistently worse. She closed her eyes tightly and clutched her head, dimly seeing a green glow through her closed eyelids...
"See, this is what I mean," said Leverrier. "You're willing to betray the order for this silly girl-,"
"It's not betrayal! Lenalee is my friend and I care about her! We have to protect each other! Not hurt each other! You're the only one betraying the order!" accused Allen.
Leverrier's eyes narrowed. "The goal of the order is to retrieve Innocence and destroy the Earl! If you're not doing that-What are you doing girl!" he snarled, shoving Allen aside to pick Lenalee up by her shirt, staring with anger at the glowing rings around her ankles.
"Let go of her!" shouted Allen, trying to get to his feet but was stopped by the pounding pain in his head and the increasing heaviness of his left hand. Leverrier looked at Allen with a look of supreme disgust, before turning back to Lenalee, shaking her roughly. "What do you think you're doing? Activating your Innocence! Did you plan to attack me!" he snarled. Lenalee could barely keep her eyes open, her anklets were weighing down her legs, her head felt like something was trying to smash it way out...
Something. Was. About. To. Break.
"Answer me!" shouted Leverrier.
And then...
There was a flash of green light from Lenalee's legs and Leverrier released her, momentarily blinded. Then, something flung the man backwards, and he opened his eyes to see a heavy boot placed squarely on his chest.
"Miss Lee," he snarled, "I'll have you tried for-," he stopped.
It wasn't Lenalee.
Lenalee sat on the floor, her headache gone, and the weight on her legs lifted. She stared in awe and confusion at the figure that now stood over Leverrier. Allen forced himself into a sitting position, clutching his head with his right hand and staring at the scene before him with confusion. Was that Lenalee? Since when were there two of her? And why did the second one look so...
The door burst open and Komui ran in.
"Lenalee? What's going-," he froze.
A woman stood with a booted foot firmly on Leverrier's chest, pinning him down. The boots were clearly the crystallized form of the Dark Boots, but the woman wearing them...
She was Lenalee, but she wasn't.
She had green hair, like Lenalee, but hers was long and spilled over her shoulders in voluminous curls, unlike Lenalee's short, straight locks. She was wearing a thigh length black skirt, and a red, corset like top that tapered off into a cape like form to fall to her ankles (1). Her eyes were violet, like Lenalee's, but hers were more purple, and less human. She was also much curvier than Lenalee, with a more voluptuous body shape. She sort of looked like what Lenalee might look like in ten years.
"L-Lenalee?" stammered Komui in disbelief.
"N-no Brother," whispered Lenalee from her position on the floor.
The woman turned to look at Lenalee, an unexpected amount of warmth in her eyes.
"Lenalee," she said happily, "Did this pitiful excuse for a human hurt you?" she asked with concern, pressing down harder onto Leverrier's chest.
"Who are you?" spluttered the Inspector, trying to escape from her surprisingly strong hold, "And what in God's name do you think you're doing!"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "Don't," she snarled, looking down at the man with disgust, "Throw around God's name with such reckless abandon. As for who I am..." She turned back to face Lenalee, a warm smile on her face. "My Lenalee knows."
Everyone turned to the green hair exorcist, who stared up at the woman in confusion. Then, slowly, recognition dawned in the girl's eyes.
"Oh my..." she gasped, "Th-The Dark Boots!"
Ah, so glad I got that out.
Oh, those nonsensical sentences that Allen was hearing actually mean something. It was just very fractured, lost in translation sort of. Kudoes to anyone who can decode what was being said!
(1) The way the top falls and how long it is, is similar to Maka's coat in Soul Eater.
Yeah, some parts were rushed, and I know exactly where and why, plus I think I might have gone a bit overboard with Leverrier (It was 1:00 in the morning people...)Hopefully next chapter will be better, and the wait won't be as long. (Considering the cliffhanger)
Please Review! Press the no longer green button below! Remind me who I'm writing for! Tell me what you thought of that ending!