D.Gray-Man: Bygone

Prolouge: Nightmares

Have you ever had a dream, or nightmare that was so bizarre that you, even if it sounded crazy, knew it meant something? That strong feeling you've seen it before, or heard someone talk about something similar? Well, that's how this story starts.
In Riverdale, New York, there was a freshman at Fieldston Private School by the name of Melanie Reed. She was very careful with what she did, and how she thought. Having something as common as a nightmare was, well, uncommon for her. Staying up late finishing work; when she woke up, she would barely be in REM State. However, there was one night that changed all of that.
"Ugh, I can't finish this tonight." She yawned dropping her pencil. "I'll finish it tomorrow. I need some sleep." With that, she turned off her lamp, slipped into some pjs, and tucked herself into her cloud of a mattress. With little time, she was fast asleep.
Flashes of dark colors and terrifyingly vivid images appeared. Strange sounds soared and awful emotions conquered her head in an instant.
"What?" The brunette wondered. "What is this? What is that?!" She grabbed her head. "This hurts, stop!" But to no avail, the horror continued. She watched in fear as they passed. Catching each detail that could, barely, be seen. "A machine? No, a...person? Black coats and anti-akuma-what?!" Questions started popping up one by one. What were these people looking machines? These black coats meant, what? Why was everything so dark and gruesome? Is this a war? Between who?
"Who's that man with the umbrella? What's that building? Why.....what's that symbol on that person's coat?" BAM!! Melanie shot up from her bed sweating, breathing heavily.
"Wha-a nightmare?" She stuttered looking around the room. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "But, it felt so real! The anger, the agony, I felt every bit of it." She pondered the dream curiously. Who were those people? They wore similar, yet different, outfits; maybe they were uniforms? No, that can't be. No one wears that during a job. What about that one man? The fat one. Obviously a costume. No one has a face so deformed. She gripped her head once more.
"Ugh, I don't know!" She mentally shouted. "Nothing's coming to mind!" Then, she snapped her fingers. A smile plastered on her face. "I know, I'll ask Mr. Mabry about it after class tomorrow!" Now, she knew this wasn't the greatest plan of all time, but this was the only option she had. At least it was a step to get her started.
The next day at school, not only could Melanie not focus, but she couldn't stay awake either. She would doze off every once in a while, and every time she did, the nightmare would recur. They were smaller, and only showed for a short while, but they lingered in her head just the same. After her last period, which just so happened to be history, she stayed after to ask her teacher the very question.
"Excuse me, Mr. Mabry?" She asked softly. Getting his attention, the dark skinned man turned away from his desk to face her.
"Yes, Melanie?" Swallowing her nerves, she spoke. Knowing that if she didn't do it now, she would never get another chance again.
"Well, you see, I was just wondering if, um....." What should she ask first?! There were to many things to question!
"You're going to miss your bus, Melanie." He reminded with slight annoyance in his voice. "Hurry it up." She settled on one on particular.
"Was there ever a weapon that was also.....human?" She inquired. The man stared at her with wide eyes, but only for a second before they went narrow again.
"Humans are born weapons, dear." He explained. "Their desire to kill has always been formed from a pointless argument that didn't go their way."
"No, well yes, but that's not what I meant." She tried again. "I mean, was there ever a person that, somehow, was able to become a weapon of some sort?"
"Unless it was in a comic book, no." He answered. "Not to my awareness. If you don't mind me asking, why do you ask?" She felt a chill run down her spine. Should she tell him? He was giving her a look of both confusion and curiosity. Avoiding his golden gaze, she answered to the best of her ability.
"It's nothing important. I just.....just....had a nightmare that, uh, showed something like that." She assured her teacher. Mr. Mabry nodded to her relief.
"Well, for all you know, that dream of yours could've just been your mind acting up." He attempted to ease her questionable mind. "Though, if you must find out more, you could always check the library." She thanked her teacher for the advice, and went to walk out of the room. "Oh, Melanie!" She stopped at the call of her name. "Don't go too far with this little investigation of yours." He warned. "It's like I always say, 'If you're not careful, you won't be able to go back.'" She paused.
"What does that have to do with this?"
"You'll find out." With that in her head, she jogged out of the room.
She was in fact going to go to the library, but she didn't know what to look up. She didn't know the names of anything that appeared in her dream. That's when she relied on the internet; she googled exactly what she thought the images were, but she didn't get the results she wanted.
"Wait, human weapon was a television series?" She asked in disbelief. "Since when?! And what's with this bird nazi symbol? I didn't see that!" She was frustrated with how her mind was thinking. She was thinking that she needed to find out what the things in her dreams were. She wasn't happy with that choice at all. Still skimming the internet for some sort of answer to her many, MANY questions, she paused when she saw a name on her screen appear. "Hector Follick." She whispered. "Former owner of Warwick Public Library." What was so great about this library? It's supposed to be one of the greatest in the eastern USA. Some even say that their archives are greater than anyone's ever seen. This got her brain thinking. Would it have information about the things she saw in the nightmare? She was willing to try. There was only one problem.
"Providence, Rhode Island?!" She shouted. What the hell?! That, ooh, that was too much. She couldn't drive!!! She was barely fifteen!! Nope; she was done. There was no way she was going to get from Riverdale to Providence quick enough. Walking distance would, at least, take three days. She needed another way. Maybe she could-no! What was she thinking?! Her parents wouldn't take her to Providence for something as silly as a nightmare! Actually.....
"Mom, hey, mom!" She shouted down the stairs.
"What is it, hun?" Her mother called back.
"There's a school trip to a.....museum in Providence! But we need a parent to take us. Can you take me?" She practically begged her mother. She hoped her lie was convincing.
"Sure; when is it?" Crap. Would she take her at this time? Or should she wait until tomorrow for it to be convincing?
"Um......it's tomorrow. Normal school time, we just have to leave around that time to Providence!" Please work, please work, please work.
"Alright, it's no trouble to me." Eureka!!
"Thanks, mom!" She yelled before running back upstairs. Once she got into her room, she danced with joy. Keep in mind, she's pretty sophisticated. She would never do this unless she was truly happy about something. She stared at the computer screen; the profile picture of 'Hector Follick' staring back at her. She had a strong feeling about this. This was going to be the guy that knew what she was talking about. He was going to tell her what her dream meant. With the trip to Rhode Island in mind, she went to bed, and slept soundly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Adam, I believe someone is starting to find out." A smooth, deep voice said.
"Find out?" A much raspier voice asked. "About what?"
"You know what." The man hissed. There was a long silence.
"Who?"
"A student of mine." He answered. "Her name is Melanie Reed."