A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter! I should probably update my other fanfiction, but... Ahaha. This one seems to be working a lot nicer with me—so far, anyways.

Harsh breaths came from the boy, blood leaking from the cuts that laid over his clouded eyes. Every sound, no matter how distant, made him jump. His bound hands twitched with fearful anticipation and already harsh breaths came harder with every passing second.

The pressure in his chest was enough to tell him that he had an anxiety attack coming on. The hard time he was having drawing in breath only emphasized it. Allen couldn't show them the effect it had on him. They'd seen him weak once and he didn't intend on letting it be seen again.

The sounds of footsteps in the dead silent hall drew closer and closer until the door opened. Steeling himself for whatever was to come, he opened his eyes and was greeted with the same, inky blackness he'd been seeing since they'd blinded him several hours before.

Fear gripped him, but he refused to look weak. What could they possibly do to him now?

"So you're the 'little dove'."

The voice that spoke was new. Never had he heard it in his life, but he'd be happy if he never heard it again. Of course, Allen would never be that lucky, if the past few weeks—months?—were any indication. As many times as he'd been called "little", "dove" was new. But the new voice couldn't leave it at that.

"That's Lavi's bandana."

"So?" he bit out, voice raspy as a side effect of his vocal chords still in the process of healing. If not for his bound hands, he would've tugged the bandana over his eyes and nose—because apparently his initial silence wasn't enough for this stranger to realize he wasn't interested in idle chatter.

He wondered if the soft material smelled like the redhead, if it would keep him company in the quiet darkness his world had been swathed in the moment Lavi had left. Without a doubt, it reeked of his own blood, but that thought didn't alleviate his curiosity.

... He wanted to return to the comfort of being wrapped up in Lavi's arms and he wasn't sure if that scared or excited him.

"I... I want to ask you a favor," the voice said and Allen honestly laughed. That single word and his laugh was the most he'd spoken since he'd arrived here, save for when speaking to Lavi.

The stranger understood what he meant just by his laugh. These godforsaken people had tortured him; they'd cut his vocal chords and blinded him. He was still suffering from both, but with all of that, they dared to ask him for a favor? As if he owed them something?

"It involves Lavi."

The disbelief and twinge of anger faded in an instant when he heard that. His concern only deepened when the owner of the distinctly male voice continued, "Over half of our Cross team disappeared into some kind of portal. The report says that a white cube appeared overhead and I suspect that's where they're trapped."

Allen voiced what he was most worried about. "And Lavi?"

"He was one of the Exorcists pulled in."

Hearing those words, the blood in his veins went cold and his mouth went dry. It was hard to speak and the main contributor to that wasn't his slit vocal chords that were in the process of healing. It was worry that gripped him, twisting his stomach into knots. Had the Earl trapped them inside the Ark? Why?

"I'll admit that I came to you in part because one of the Exorcists is my little sister, the only family I have left," he said and Allen bit his lip at the mention of family to hold back the scathing words that threatened to spill from them. How could he sympathize with a man for any reason when he worked for an organization that condoned torture based on groundless facts? No one would ever think to pity him for the father he'd lost and never did they think twice about the boy who had no family left to speak of.

"If I free you," he started, taking Allen by surprise with his words. "Will you save them? Can you save them?"

Allen wanted to refuse. They'd tortured him; he owed them nothing, yet something swelled in his chest that demanded he give a different answer. It felt as though he might choke on the feeling and the aching of his heart didn't help. The thought of not seeing Lavi again caused a shock of violent pain to wash over him.

He had to come back.

He had to.

He'd promised to come back for the bandana, after all.

Who else was going to keep him company? Who else would clean up the cuts on his face? Who would be his guiding light in this black abyssal hell that the Black Order was so keen on subjecting him to?

"I'll be back before you know it, Niblet."

The words echoed in his head and sightless eyes widened when the owner realized the Order had done nothing to endanger Lavi. It had been him. He'd told him where to go; he'd sent him straight to his death in his attempts to help. He'd told him about Cross and Edo and Timcanpy. He might as well have taken his hand and led him there

"I'll let you go. I'll— I'll make up a story. Just please, help them if you can," he said and Allen was shocked when two hands reached up and a second later, the chains binding his wrists fell away. Something was pushed into his freed arms—fresh clothes, he knew from the fabric under his fingertips.

"It won't fit you well, but I tried to find one close to what I assume your size is. It's an Exorcist uniform, but it'll help protect you. And..."

Silence drifted between the two of them as the nameless, faceless stranger trailed off. Why was he hesitating?

Allen understood when he continued, "The Exorcists won't realize you're a Noah."

"I'll need something done about this," Allen said, gesturing as his left arm with his right. It was dead weight, the the seals making it feel like lead. The Innocence that his arm was made of was manipulated by the paper and it crippled his abilities as a Noah—his enhanced healing, in particular. His vocal chords should have taken mere hours to heal, but judging by Lavi's arrival in Edo, it had been days since he'd seen the redhead and there'd been a short space of time between that and when he actually received the wound.

"I know the password, but Lvellie will be alerted immediately. He'll be here within minutes."

"That's plenty of time," Allen said tonelessly as he struggled to stand with his weighted arm. "But... If I save them, you'll let me go?" There was no way he'd keep his word. He just wants to get his sister back, something whispered to him, reminding him that people would do whatever necessary to get what they wanted.

This was "necessary". Betraying him was the lesser of the two evils, as far as anyone else was concerned. Whether or not some kid ended up dead or worse was irrelevant, so long as the girl was found and saved. Lavi and whoever else was with her didn't even matter. If they came back, great! If they didn't, then oh well.

Allen grit his teeth. Humans disgusted him. All of them. Every last one of them thought only of themselves, even Lavi. The difference was that when Allen's thoughts moved to Lavi, it wasn't disgust that he felt. Instead, it was like someone had lodged a blade in his chest.

He's one of those disgusting humans, a grossly familiar voice whispered in his ear. He'll betray you. All of them will. They're just using you until you've got no use left.

As promised, he was relieved of the seals. Free of the extra weight, Allen was quick to change into the Exorcist uniform offered to him and with a flick of his wrist, his torn and tattered clothing burst into black flame. They practically evaporated, leaving nothing in their wake thanks to the very essence of Allen's being—the destruction that made up his Noah power.

"I'll bring them back," Allen said before he reared his fist back and punched him square in the jaw. The man hit the floor with a resounding thud, rendered unconscious by even Allen's weakest blow. He could hear feet storming down the halls as he wordlessly pulled the bandana that hung around his neck up onto his forehead. It pushed the bangs out of his eyes as a cloak flickered into existence on his shoulders and a mask floated over his eyes.

"Or maybe... I'll be just as disgusting as the rest of you for once."

Lavi stared forward, looking into the inhuman grin of the man they now knew as a Noah. He pushed his hair back, revealing the row of stigmata as he stuck his tongue out at them. Up and down he tossed the key, talking about how they would need it to get home.

A foreign concoction of emotion washed over Lavi, perfectly melding anxiety with anticipation and disbelief with relief. Like the sun itself had just followed them into hell, the Noah stopped bouncing the key up and down and stared at something that stood overhead. A sickening grin spread across his face.

"So you've been with the Exorcists, Boy! Your daddy's been worried."

As if on cue, a figure veiled in white leapt down from the open air above to stand between them and the Noah. On slender shoulders fluttered a long cloak, its collar and hood lined with fur bright enough to be confused for snow. It took Lavi several seconds to realize that it wasn't all fur, that some of it was short, white locks. What was noticeable was the green bandana that pushed the white hair back out of the owner's face.

His trained eye didn't miss the spots of blood that soiled the blue-green fabric and once his eye laid on it, he rushed forward. Pushing past Kanda and ignoring the grumpy samurai's growl, Lavi went to his little dove's side. There was a splash of blood on the bandana wrapped around his skull. Once again, he was hurt. Had his last horrific wound even had the opportunity to heal?

His hand wrapped around the white-haired Noah's upper arm and the boy jerked out of his grasp, as if he'd been burned. An unfamiliar pang of hurt struck him in the chest. "Al?" he asked tentatively, moving slower this time to touch the boy who calmed at the sound of his voice. His rigid posture loosened and Lavi was relieved when Allen allowed his fingertips to brush against the white cloak/

"Lavi…" he breathed, an English lilt in his voice. Tilting his head to the side to get a better view, he peered into the masks' eye holes. He sought the familiar sight of Allen's beautiful two-toned eyes: Silver splotched with a startling amber.

What he saw in the darkness was dull. Clouded.

"What're you—"

Allen didn't get to finish. Lavi pushed the mask away from his eyes to confirm his suspicions and when he saw those beautiful eyes dashed with gashes, he never hated being right more than he did now. Given the way the cuts overlapped, Lavi didn't need to ask how his vision was doing.

It wasn't doing. At all. Allen was blind.

He stood shocked and horrified, staring at the sight of the boy who seemed to know no happiness. Anger pulsed through him, blurring logical reasoning and emotional discharge. Hadn't those bastards done enough to him without adding this to it?

"Allen, you—"

"It's fine," Allen said in a hurry, pulling the mask back up over his eyes to hide the sight. Lavi's hands laid on Allen's shoulders. "It all comes back."

He repeated the words he'd spelled out to him about a week earlier. This time, his voice was clear and he could see that the scar across his neck had almost finished healing. It wasn't like the last time he'd seen him, when he'd been incapable of uttering even a single sound. Then, he'd clung to him out of fear. Now, he shrunk away from him for that very same reason.

"Ah, I see," Thick Lens said, interrupting their reunion before they could have one. "It's not that you've been with the Exorcists; you've been their prisoner. The Duke won't be happy to hear that."

A sadistic and carnal grin spread across his face and Lavi's stomach churned upon seeing it. Something wasn't right with these Noah. ... No, that wasn't quite right. He spared a glance back at his presently blind friend.

Friend.

The word appeared in his thoughts before he could will it away. That's what they were, right? Like with Lenalee and even Kanda, Allen was his friend. It was a friendship fostered in a solitary, dark room with a beaten and bruised boy who was supposedly a danger to all of them.

That didn't change what it was at the end of the day.

The dark-haired Noah was nothing like Allen. They were two sides of the same coin, light and shadow, yin and yang... How could he doubt his disassociation with them when their differences stood before him, clear as day?

"He's not going to hear about it," Allen bit out, sharp, scathing tongue threatening to burn the ears of all those who heard the words.

"Oh? Why not? He'd destroy the Order today if he found out they hurt his only son."

Lavi's green eye turned to stare at Allen, his mouth falling open. His son? Allen was the Earl's son? Allen offered no explanation. He neither saw his stare—for obvious reasons—nor felt all the eyes on him. At the very least, he made no indication that he He looked to him for an explanation, but Allen neither saw it—for obvious reasons—nor felt all the eyes that were on him.

"My father died," Allen said without missing a beat, his face impassive and unchanging as the Noah made comments on his personal life in front of perfect strangers. He was the son of not only a Noah, but the head of the family himself. Every time the other Noah opened his big mouth, Lavi became more and more aware that Allen was nothing like them. "Either way, the only way I'm coming with you is in a body bag."

The sadism in the Noah's face seeped out of it, replaced by genuine sorrow. He was sad? Because of Allen?

"I'm sorry to hear that, Boy. I've always wanted to try out your poker skills," he said, as if that was his biggest concern, but his tone dictated otherwise. It fell flat. No, rather than poker, what he was worried about was...

Nothing more was said and in the silence, Lavi reached forward and took the Allen's hand. The action surprised himself as much as it did Allen. With parted lips, Allen turned to him and Lavi clenched his hand tighter, intent on making him feel what he couldn't see. A second later, Allen returned the gesture with a small smile and a squeeze of his own.

I'm here now, he wanted to say as a smile crept onto his face, but the words refused to form around his tongue. The deepest part of him that remained a bookman held him back, reminding him that his duties weren't tied to the Order or their budding relationship. What had his loyalty—or what should have, rather—was history. He should've been devoted to the pages that lay yet unwritten; he should've been focused on filling those empty pages with words, but he couldn't tear his thoughts away from his newest friend.

Something about this boy drew him in like a moth to the flame. The Order hurt him and he bloomed like a spring flower after a rain shower. He wept bitter tears, but never wilted. The pain only served to bolster the bright and healthy blossom that he was.

It was enchanting.

"What were you saying earlier about a door, Thick Lens?" Lavi asked, changing the subject without fail. Allen looked at him and even though his eyes couldn't be seen, Lavi could read the amusement present in the barely visible smile that he wore. It kept Lavi's own smile seated on his face, but the Noah was another story.

He didn't bat an eyelash nor did he grin. The imposing stare would've scared anyone else, but the strong hand clasped in his own kept that reaction at bay. He didn't need to be told that Allen was powerful to know it. Everything down to the way he moved to the simplest twitch of his lips carried a beat and a rhythm. Lavi didn't know when he'd gotten so adept at reading it.

So long as Allen stood by his side, whatever the Noah had planned for them would fall flat.

But the sloppy dresser merely hummed, taking a drag of his cigarette before saying, "What do you need my help for when you have our precious musician right there? Just a thought and he can open the door that you need to get out."

It made sense. Allen had appeared out of nowhere. He had to have come there somehow and it certainly wasn't through the same door that they had.

"We'll be waiting, Boy," the Noah said, disappearing far beyond them as a part of a nearby building broke off and nearly crushed him.

As he made his exit, several of the Exorcists gasped at what would have been his death, if he were human. His mad laughter gave away that he remained alive as their attention turned to their only remaining clue: The blinded boy that stood next to Lavi.

Allen wasn't ignorant to their stares this time. Allen could feel their searing gazes on him and Lavi felt a strange sort of disappointment when the white-haired boy pulled his hand away from his. But what was worse were his words.

"You should all go," he said, sweeping his hand to the side and splitting the very air apart. It opened like a door and Lavi couldn't even be sure if he was surprised at this point. "I'll handle things from here."

"Wait, you're not telling us to leave us behind, are you?"

"I am," Allen said, his voice lacking in any kind of emotion. Just those two words and he came to hate that tone of voice; it was like he was still trapped in the Order's dungeons, waiting for someone to walk in at any moment and drive a heated blade into his gut. The boy who should've been a free man remained a caged bird, even in the face of emancipation.

With the way out opened, Kanda didn't look like he minded bailing. Hell, none of them did. The mention of Allen being the Earl's son—supposedly—had them all thinking that going back where they came from was a splendid idea, but Lavi couldn't disagree more.

It was a terrible idea.

Even as some of them moved to leave, Lavi stayed stationary. He stood his ground in front of Allen, staring into the dark sockets of the mask that hid what they'd done to him. Allen had suffered and insisted on perpetuating that suffering.

He didn't deserve it.

Lavi tried to ignore his emotions, but it was impossible. The anger pulsed in his veins and the guilt ate away at his insides. His emotions ruled him, took a hold of him and it was they who forced him to speak, giving him no choice in the matter.

"No," he said, the forcefulness behind the single word giving Allen pause.

"No?" Allen repeated, sounding as confused as he did shocked.

Lavi couldn't leave Allen to fend for himself. Even though the boy was no doubt stronger than him, he'd left him once already and he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened as a result nor could he stop staring at the fading scar on his neck where the wound had been inflicted.

Lavi had failed horribly in his battle with the Noah and there was no doubt in his mind that Allen made all of them look like porcelain dolls in their strength, but that didn't keep him from volunteering to keep him company.

"Someone has to be your eyes, Niblet," he said with a smile that couldn't be seen by him, but shone through in his voice. Something urged Lavi forward. Curiosities that should never have been born kept him from backing down out of fear of the consequences. Why had Allen come here? Was it to save them? Was it to save him?

Why was that thought enough to make his smile widen?

These were questions that he wanted to know the answer to. That knowledge was a desire that ate away at him until it warped into a need that couldn't go unfulfilled.

He wanted answers.

He needed answers.

Were they friends, or was this just another part of the persona called "Lavi"? He couldn't gauge the authenticity of his own smiles aimed at the white-haired Noah and he couldn't help but wonder...

Is this real or not?

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! I love hearing from you, even if I don't always reply, so please drop me a word or two if you have the time to spare!