Author's Note - It came a little later than planned, but here's chapter three of Shadows of the Past. Thank you everyone who's reviewed. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer - I know you all know that I know I don't own D. Gray-Man. FanFiction... not being the respectful owner... isn't it interesting how it all goes hand-in-hand?

Lavi had left shortly after their encounter, hopeful of using his title as Bookman for uncovering information. His plan was to locate Link and recover the information from him, using the excuse that he needed it as it would be a huge historical event. He'd told her to go back to her room. Told her to go to sleep. They'd begin tomorrow, he said.

But she couldn't sleep.

Her legs were aching again. She closed her eyes as she laid in bed, having long given up begging for the pain to cease. She thought of what Lavi had said. What was he implying? That her and Allen had an abnormal connection?

Sighing, she planted her feet on the floor, ignoring the cool touch. She was far too restless to just sit around and wait for Lavi to come back with answers. She needed to find out now, even though it would be on her own. Opening her door and walking out barefoot, all that rang through the halls were the clangs of her anklets as they slid back and forth, occasionally colliding with one another.

She didn't know what to do.

It was an occurrence that wasn't rare, she admitted, but usually Allen was there. What was she supposed to do now when he wasn't here and it was him she didn't know what to do about? As she watched him being forced through the gate of the Ark forcefully over and over again, it became clear to her how hopeless she really was.

Would he even forgive her?

"Stupid pills," she muttered. She was better off without them bringing unwanted questions.

She watched her shadow bounce off the walls as she aimlessly walked around, feeling restless. It'd been a while now, and she had yet to hear from Lavi.

"Out late, are you?"

The voice made her spin around. It was the cloaked man from the other day, not the one she had seen just hours ago. Her eyes hardened as she gazed at him suspiciously.

"Who are you?" It was a demand, not a question.

"It's been a while," the man said, purposely avoiding her question. "I heard you're the one taking care of Tim."

She blinked in surprise. It was true, though. Ever since Allen had left, she had taken full responsibility of Tim. Come to think of the golem, however, she realized that she hadn't seen it for a while now.

"What did you do to Tim?"

"You don't even know who I am," the figure slyly replied, "so what makes you think I'm the one to blame?"

She took a large step forward, never taking her eyes off of him. "I know who you are."

"Oh, really?"

"You're Allen."

The figure chuckled as he reached for the hood of his cloak. "It's been a long time, Lenalee." Slowly, he pulled it off, and Lenalee's eyes widened when she saw the familiar red hair.

"But I'm not Allen."

"The hooded guy with Leverrier the other day was General Cross?"

Lenalee nodded, watching as Lavi paced her room from the spot on her bed. "Yes. I'm sure of it. He even took off his cloak. I saw him. And those pills don't make me hallucinate, either."

"Well, there's more you're not going to believe." Lavi had stopped pacing and was now leaning against the wall. "That cloaked man you were talking about... the one who was talking with Leverrier before you almost got caught."

Lenalee nodded. "What about him?"

"It's Link."

Her eyes widened. "Link?" No one had heard from him since Allen was taken away.

"Lenalee..."

Upon hearing the male Exorcist, she looked up. He was resting his head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

"...Have we hit a wall?"

"Maybe," she admitted, although she didn't want to. She whispered, "I need to know."

"If he's dead," Lavi swore, "I'll bring him back and kill him myself. I will."

She closed her eyes tightly, willing for the image of Allen dead to disappear. She felt herself shake slightly before she felt Lavi's eyes on her.

"But he isn't," Lavi added. "I'm sure of it. Like I said before, if you're alive, then he has to be."

"We should tell someone," she said suddenly, meeting his surprised gaze.

"Huh? Why?"

"Think about it," she replied. "Leverrier's only going to want us dead when he finds out we're onto him because he doesn't want anyone else to know. If we tell more people, then they'll tell more people... he can't kill a whole organization. Especially when some of them are Exorcists."

Lavi seemed to want to shoot her point down, but after rethinking over it, he nodded. "That's true. Who should we tell, then?"

"My brother. He'll know what to do. I'm sure of it."

She moved to open the door, but he grabbed her wrist. "I should go back to Gramps." He explained, "he's probably already looking for me, and if he finds out that I've been..." He trailed off as he looked at her.

"I understand," she replied. "I'll still tell Brother, though. You go back to Bookman before he suspects something."

"Are you sure?" She could tell he was weary about letting her go alone.

"Positive."

"Are you just coming along for the ride, Tim?"

The golem that, oddly enough, had randomly returned was currently perching in her hair. As an effort to make herself seem less suspicious, she was taking coffee to her brother. If anyone asked of her whereabouts, she would say she was with Kanda, who had just left for a mission and wasn't expected back for another week or two.

Nervously turning a corner, she let out a gasp as she collided with someone and was sent backwards. Komui's cup slid off the tray, producing a shattering sound as it broke into pieces, spilling the hot liquid everywhere. Fearful, she looked up, afraid to see who she'd encountered.

It was the same one she'd seen with Leverrier earlier; Link. Surprised, she took a moment to stand back up as she tried to collect herself. Although she tried to ignore the feeling, the Dark Boots were immitting a tingling sensation through her legs. She vaguely wondered if the Innocence was trying to warn her of combat.

"Link?" Her voice was barely audible, just a quiet whisper. She had no idea of what else to say.

"I apologize, Miss Lenalee," the unidentified man replied, "but I am not Link. He is currently with the Inspector."

Her eyes glazed over with confusion. Hadn't Lavi said it was Link? So why was this man denying it when she was certain it was the same one? She was certain there were only two unidentified figures... unless another one was staging as a member of CROW. Could it be that Leverrier had been trying to trick them all along?

Angrily, she took a step forward, looking directly at the man's face. "Who are you?"