Thank you thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has left a review already, I love you all! You have made one sad lonely little authoress very happy. So have chapter three you lovely, lovely people.

Now for the bad news. I am moving into my new place on Sunday, so there won't be any more updates for a while, since I have to get registered at uni and do all sorts of running around in the first week (heh freshers week AKA freebie bonanza!!) and also can't afford to pay for the internet at my new digs till the loan goes through at the beginning of October. Then again, if I don't have the net, I might actually get some writing done instead of reading everyone else's fanfictions as I am apt to do.

Disclaimer: Do you really think that I would not have the internet, yet still own the rights to D. Gray-Man? No, I didn't think so.

Chapter Three- The Avira

"So," Allen began as he shuffled the cards he had inexplicably found stowed in an inside pocket of the tuxedo jacket, which he had long since discarded. "Who are you really? I've been stuck in this room for days now, and I'd like to know more about the disembodied voice I keep talking to."

There was nothing but silence as an answer, but Allen hadn't expected anything different. "Not the best conversationalist, are you Lanel?" He dealt himself a game of solitaire. I mean, I'm fed up and I've only been here a few days. You must be really bored."

"You have no idea."

Allen grinned, "I bet I do, I mean I- wait, what?"

"…"

"Don't pretend that didn't happen, I heard you!"

"This is most irregular."

"You CAN talk! I was worried you were just some automated response!"

"You were supposed to" Lanel sounded decidedly put out.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag now, so you ay as well carry on."

A huffy sigh. "Fine, but if I get into trouble for this I'm holding you accountable."

"Trouble with whom? Are there more disembodied voices floating around?"

"Please do not question me about that, I am not going to tell you."

"Alright, fine, keep your hair on." Allen paused thoughtfully. "Do you even HAVE hair?"

Lanel muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'humans' and sighed. "Well since I have already broken the cardinal rule, I suppose one more cannot hurt."

The area next to the piano twisted oddly, colours that had not been there before appearing from nowhere, and then, in what was previously an empty space stood a figure. If the voice had been genderless, it was nothing compared to the androgynous individual now standing before him.

Clear lilac eyes and shoulder length pale jade green hair lent them a distinctly other-worldly air. They were tall, even taller than Allen (who was a respectable height now, thank you very much) and possibly even slimmer- in fact, if it wasn't for the slight broadness of the shoulders and the merest hint of a square jaw, Allen would have immediately said 'female'. As it was all he could manage to say was "hello."

Lanel raised a perfect green eyebrow. "Greetings Allen Walker." The voice was a wonderful sound in person, like a whole choir singing in harmony. Allen found himself wishing the Lanel would speak again just so he could listen to that melodious voice some more. "As you may have guessed, I am Lanel."

Allen swallowed and nodded slowly. "You're not…what I expected" he said honestly, making Lanel smile, which was almost as breathtaking as the voice.

"What are you?" he asked, although he knew how rude the question must have sounded. Thankfully Lanel didn't seem offended.

"What am I? In what way do you mean? My race? My species? My gender?" Lanel laughed, the sound causing goosebumps to rise over Allen's skin. He rubbed at them, wondering how it was possible to get them while he didn't have a body.

"We of the Avira do not have gender in the way that you would understand, though I suppose in your terms I would be male."

Allen frowned. "The Avira? That doesn't help at all! Who are the Avira?"

Lanel smiled his brilliant smile. "Angels."

"I'm not sure if it's a good sign or not" whispered Lenalee. Lavi nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. It's rather creepy isn't it?"

"Shut up" snapped Kanda, though his tone was also hushed.

Jim shuddered. "Can't we do something about it? Close them or something?" He was glad that he was no longer confined to the same room.

"Jim!" Lenalee gasped, shocked that the youth had asked such a thing, but to her surprise Kanda was shaking his head. "I already tried that, they just opened again straight away."

"And Komui has no idea either?"

"No he's as stumped as we are."

"If there was only some sign that he was in there somewhere, but it's like-"

"The lights are on but no one's home."

"That's terrible Lavi! How could you say such a thing?"

Lavi folded his arms "Because it's true." He sighed regretfully, letting his arms drop back down to his sides. "I'm sorry, but we have to face it, Allen's gone."

Jim stood abruptly and muttered something about being hungry, pushing past the others hurriedly, his head bowed and face shielded by his hair.

"You are such an insensitive jerk Lavi!" cried Lenalee before dashing after Jim, calling his name as she chased him down the corridor.

"I'm going to train" growled Kanda, which translated into 'I must go and hurt things until I feel better.' Lavi was just glad Kanda had decided to take it out on inanimate objects instead of him. Now alone in the room he took one last glance at the occupant of the bed. "I'm sorry Allen, but we have to move on. I know that's what you'd be telling us if you could."

Allen said nothing; he just continued to stare at the ceiling with wide, unblinking empty eyes.

"Angels? You are an angel?" Allen's tone was flat and incredulous.

"Yes."

"Shouldn't you be all in white?" he asked, eying Lanel's current attire, which consisted of a light purple button-down shirt that matched his eye colour exactly and a pair of black dress trousers. "And have wings and a halo?"

"Wings? Halo? Whatever for?" Lanel sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, uh, to fly I guess and-"

"I am not one of those beings from your fairy stories Allen Walker! The Avira are an ancient guardian race."

Allen apologised quickly, sensing he had insulted the angel. "I'm sorry, this is all just a little odd, you know."

"Now you see why the Avira do not promote meetings between our two races."

Allen couldn't think of anything else to say to that, so turned back to the screen, watching his friends gathered around his bed. He caught some of their conversation through whatever enabled him to see and hear what was going on. "They're right, that IS creepy" he said as he watched himself stare blankly at the ceiling, oblivious to the people around his bed. "Why is my body doing that?"

Lanel clasped his hands together and hummed quietly.

"Oh, come on, surely you can tell me that!"

The angel paused, and then sighed. "Your body is still functioning…"

"So…"

"You are alive."

"As reassuring as that is, you're still not telling me what's going on."

With a shake of his head Lanel explained "you are still part of your body. While your mind is conscious and awake, so is your body."

"I thought you said I was one with the Ark, not my body."

"You misunderstood me. You are not purely one or the other. You remain human, with a human body; else the remote connection would serve no function."

"What is a remote connection?"

"You are not ready to know yet."

"That's awfully unhelpful. Could you at least give me a hint?"

"Certainly not! That would be against all the rules set by the Avira."

"Like appearing before me?"

Lanel scowled, which looked out of place on his beautiful face. "It is not by choice that I say this. For the connection to be properly established, you must discover it for yourself. I cannot help you Allen Walker."

Allen was trying his utmost to ignore Lanel, still annoyed at his point blank refusal to tell him anything earlier, but it was proving a near impossible task- the angel didn't take his pale eyes off of him and every now and then offered comments on what was happening on the screen.

"They're very worried about you."

Allen glanced at the screen- his friends were once again gathered around his bedside. It looked like Lenalee had managed to persuade Jim to enter the same room as Lavi after his comment the last time they were all together in that room. For some reason Kanda had splinters of wood that looked suspiciously like some of the equipment in the training room tangled in his hair, though he hadn't seemed to notice, or perhaps he just wasn't bothered about his appearance. Neither option sat well with Allen. "Hmph. I'm just glad I'm not on a life support machine, or they'd have probably turned it off by now."

Lanel seemed surprised at his words. "I do not believe that to be the case. They seem very loyal friends indeed, especially the Japanese man; he is very attached to you."

His vision swam as tears clouded his eyes, but Allen managed to hold them in check. "If they really cared they'd be doing more than just staring at my empty body!"

The angel said nothing but looked at Allen with sympathetic eyes, which only served to annoy him more, he did not want nor need anyone's pity. He sighed- he was no closer to understanding anything about his current situation and his patience was wearing thin.

"So, what does an ancient guardian being like yourself actually do? Other than project your voice around old mystical objects I mean."

"As you say, the Avira are a guardian race- we observe the interactions of others and guide them along their path."

"So, you're what, guardian angels?" Allen found this funny. Of all the times in his life when he could have done with a guardian angel to interfere with the situation, it had to do it now, when he was finally doing fine by himself. "And what path is it you are guiding me along?"

Lanel looked shifty. "I will be frank; being your guide while stuck in this bizarre dimension is not the most desirable of responsibilities, so I will share with you what I know. Personally, I believe that neither of us can achieve anything loitering inside this construct. Will you listen without interruption, and trust what I am about to tell you is the truth?"

Allen nodded rapidly. "Of course."

"Then I will begin…"

"The Avira have long watched over the universe. For millennia we have guided sentient species down the path that would most benefit them, and through them, ourselves."

Allen frowned, looking confused. "How would something that benefits other races also help you?"

"Like gardeners, the Avira help to cultivate less advanced people, by trimming back detrimental growth and pruning where advance is unwanted in order to benefit from the harmony created through our care."

Allen struggled through the extensive gardening metaphor, looking more confused and horrified as he worked out what Lanel was saying. "But that means…that means you change peoples lives to suit your own purpose? To suit your 'garden'?"

Lanel looked appalled. "Nay child! Never that! Never, never that! We can guide, yes, and watch over our charges, show them options they may not have considered, certainly, but we never try to influence." He looked like he found the whole idea abhorrent. "Their lives are theirs to lead as they see fit. The Avira merely seek to open all the doors."

Looking slightly reassured, though not completely sure if he agreed with the way the Avira got involved in the lives of other people, he was nonetheless curious about something. "What does that mean for the Order? For me? What path is it you wish to show me?"

Lanel's face showed the conflict raging within. He wanted nothing more than to help Allen in anyway that he could, but he was also grappling with the duty he held to his own people and his position. Eventually he sighed, his heart had won out over his head. He was starting to think he was spending too much time with humans. "The Earl of the Millennium." Allen made a small sound of surprise, but Lanel continued before he could ask the questions he was dying to. "His growth in strength and method of spreading despair is choking the Earth like a weed."

Inwardly Allen groaned and just about managed to suppress the eye roll- more gardening metaphors. "And how is separating me from my body helping to defeat the Earl? I can't help anybody in here, can I?"

"Please understand Allen Walker, what has happened to you is necessary."

Allen leapt to his feet, suddenly angry. "How is this not interfering?" he raged at the angel furiously. "What happened to everyone leading their own lives? Why am I so different?" His face was flushed an ugly shade of red, his shoulders hunched stiffly and his hands closed into trembling fists at his sides.

Lanel stayed calm in the face of Allen's anger, but his slight fear showed in his eyes. "I will tell you this; if you went back now, you cannot hope to defeat the Earl, and you will have thrown away the greatest advantage that the Black Order could ever hope to have. If you stay a while longer, learn the secrets of the Ark, you will have more power than the Earl could ever have."

"But why? Why me? Why am I the only one who can do this? What makes me so special?"

Lanel looked at him seriously. "I think you already know why. When you finally embrace your destiny, you will be ready to know all the Ark's secrets. You cannot leave before then, I'm sorry. What happens now is up to you."

Allen scowled deeply, thinking hard. He knew exactly what Lanel was hinting at, and still refused to accept that little nagging truth that could explain everything that had happened to him over the last couple of years- the strange prophetic dreams, the new power, strange and inexplicable abilities, and the odd occasion he had caught a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror, only to have a black haired, grey skinned likeness looking back at him. No, no, no and NO. He was an exorcist, General Allen Walker, the Destroyer of Time, and that was final. He shook his head, angry at himself for dwelling on those thoughts for too long. "I want to be alone right now. Please, can you leave me for a little while?"

"As you wish Allen Walker, but remember my words. Only you are capable of using the Ark to its full potential, and, although you may not like it, I know you understand why it must be you, and what would happen if you should turn your back on your destiny." And he was gone before Allen had chance to even think of a reply.

A/N So, Lanel has a body (a weird one) Allen is ignoring the fact he might be turning into a Noah and Lavi's given up hope of Allen becoming de-veggie-fied, therefore upsetting everyone around him.

On a more personal note, the bloody phantom X key of doom has stepped up its game and is now putting x's into words even when I'm not touching the keyboard. It makes proof reading a bitch and yes, I have checked and there's nothing under the key that's pressing down on it. It's just an odd, annoying habit of my pooters. Dang it.