Lavi groaned as he opened his eyes. From the sickly clean smell all around him, he could guess where he was. The light was unbearably bright, and he had to blink several times before his eyes could adjust to it. He turned his head. Kanda and Lenalee lay on the beds next to him, still knocked out.
"I see Patient Number One is awake!" A cheerful voice said. Lavi lifted his head slightly, only to see smiling nurse walk towards him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Uh…a bit…numb." Lavi replied, ogling at the pretty nurse.
"Can you try and move a bit?" the nurse asked, raising a brow.
Lavi tried to shift his arms and legs, but was deterred by a sharp pain in all of his limbs. He gasped, eyes watering as he said, "It hurts…a lot."
"Well, that's to be expected." The nurse replied calmly as she scribbled on her notepad.
"What the hell does that mean, that's to be expected? Normal people don't go around having excruciating pain in their limbs when they try to move!" Lavi exclaimed, slightly outraged by her composure.
"Normal people don't, but people who have broken bones in every single one of their limbs can hardly expect anything less." The nurse answered. She turned to leave, saying, "Make sure you call when your two companions wake up." And she was gone.
Lavi cursed. Just wonderful. What kind of goddamn hospital was this anyway?
'Allen' staggered and leaned against the wall. It hurt. He clutched his head, barely holding back his scream. He doubled over, slamming his fist against the wall again and again and again, but nothing he did seemed to lessen his pain.
Dropping to his knees, 'Allen' gave a choked sob. Then he threw his head back, screaming a soundless scream. With that, he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"You're awake!" Lavi exclaimed.
Kanda groaned as he slowly lifted his head, only to see the red-haired Rabbit staring down at him. Gingerly, he pushed himself upright.
Lenalee was sitting on the chair in one corner. Lacerations and bruises could be seen all over her body, but the most serious injury she had sustained seemed to be her broken arm.
Lavi, on the other hand, was using a wheelchair, and one of his hands was in a cast while the other was bandaged.
Kanda muttered, "Where the hell are we? How long have I been out?"
Lavi cheerfully replied, "We're in a hospital. Apparently we were left outside the hospital and they took us in. You've been unconscious for almost a week now. I was out for two days. Lenalee woke up three days ago. You suffered from a concussion, so you're supposed to get more rest. Komui has already sent Bookman, Miranda and Krory down, so they should be here soon. Just lie down and relax."
Kanda's body DID relax. He was in the process of lowering his body down to the bed when he suddenly froze, "Where's the Beansprout?"
Lavi's smile faded. Lenalee looked away. Kanda watched their reactions, the ominous feeling within him growing, and he demanded, "Well?"
"We don't know. He was probably the one who left us here, but he's gone and we have no idea where he is now." Lenalee answered softly, her fists clenched in frustration.
Kanda cursed. This was turning out to be the worst mission he had ever received.
The very next day, Krory, Miranda and Bookman arrived.
Miranda and Krory were shocked to see the extent of their comrades' injuries. Bookman, however, was less concerned. He immediately strode up to Lavi and whacked him on the head, shouting, "You idiot apprentice! How long did you intend to keep the truth from me?"
Lavi yelled in pain and protested, "I'm an injured person! How can you hit me! What are you talking about anyway?"
Bookman faced him with piercing eyes, and said just two words, "Allen Walker."
Lavi hesitated. He glanced at Kanda and Lenalee for support, but neither of them knew what to do. Miranda and Krory just stared, confused.
"So? What has happened to the Destroyer of Time now?" Bookman asked.
Not knowing what else to do, Lavi began to explain everything that had happened.
When he reached the part about the Level Five, Bookman suddenly interrupted, "Are you sure it's a Level Five?"
Lenalee broke in, "We have no idea. We thought it was a Level Two at first. It was the transformed Allen who told us what it was. And from what we saw, it was far too strong to be just a Level Two. Except…" her voice trailed off.
"Except the transformed shortstack beat it so easily." Kanda finished.
