Lenalee laid in the dusty house, the wood creaking beneath her aching body. She felt like a chunk of her world has just died and left a hole in her heart. Her glassy eyes stared fixated on her tightly wrapped fingers, the blade that Sarah had held in her hand a moment ago before she died glittered in the sun. It was strange how the sun can keep on shining when Lenalee's world was falling apart again. If she could, she would've laughed at the irony.
Her ears heard nothing but silence as the shattered house continued to stand after the long fought battle. Why was she even alive after being attacked by a Noah a second time? She's sick and tired of feeling like this after every battle. All this fighting and all these losses, it wasn't fair. Her Dark Boots receded back to their crystal form around her ankles as her tattered black uniform laid broken over her body. She couldn't feel anything as the sunshine splashed on her like a blanket instead it felt oddly cold. Her golem zoomed over her when voices came to her silent ears.
"Lenalee, report in, Lenalee!" a male voice projected itself into the room. She recognized it as Allen's. Something about his worried tone and the gentle urgency made her choke up. Lenalee felt dollop of tears fall from her eyes, "Lenalee, if you're there, please answer me," he called out. Lenalee reached out and touched the golem, connecting the two.
Lenalee held her golem against her burning chest, "Allen," she croaked, "They're gone," she wept silently.
There was a moment of silence before he answered, " We're coming to find you, Lenalee, I promise. You're coming home," Lenalee shut her eyes to the world that has been so cruel to her. Her mind drifting back to those memories that she so longed for.
'For example, when I wake up after a night's sleep, sometimes I would think that everything that's happened had all been a dream. Those things like the Millennium Earl, akuma and exorcists didn't exist in this world. Everything had simply been a nightmare. I would say with relief, "Ah, thank goodness it was just a dream," I would hear my brother calling me. There'd be a horrible smell that's probably breakfast coming from the kitchen. If everything was all a dream... It's like the joke at the end of those dreary novels you might have read. The readers would definitely be disgruntled. How many thousands times have I imagined this ridiculous scenario?'
"Can you hear me, Lenalee?" a gentle voice cajoled her numbed consciousness. The image of her brother came and went and she found herself sighing. Mumbled voices conversed over her, it was hard to make out whom they belonged to, but some sounded more familiar than others giving her a little bit of comfort. Someone's hand rested on her shoulder then sounds of chairs screeching across the room all the way to her bed.
"She's going to be all right, right? She's been out for a few days now," Allen's concerned voice came and called to her. Lenalee's eyes fluttered open for a brief second before the blinding sunlight forced them closed. She groaned and pulled the sheets over her head trying to shut the light out, "Lenalee!" Allen was standing next to her older brother whom sat at her bedside with a soft smile. It was that warmth that she always looked forward to when coming home, but this time not even Allen's smile could drown out the terror and disappointment in her heart.
"She needs continued bed rest, but the doctors said she'll be fine," Komui answered stroking Lenalee's trembling hands.
"I need to know what happened," a voice from another bed aroused the attention of the people around Lenalee, and she herself felt her heart squeeze terribly tight together when she knew whom was asking the question. Both Komui and Allen turned their head towards the direction of Lavi's bed. He was bandaged up pretty heavily from his injuries, but his eyes were almost glazed over, hesitant and terrified of the answer to come. His wrapped hands clenched the bed sheets over him and Lenalee could tell that he was trying his best to keep his composure in front of everyone.
Komui lowered his head and Allen had to look away, only Lenalee kept her gaze at Lavi whose eyes were brimming with unshed anguish at the disappearance of one of their comrades. This one was hitting particularly close to home because Lavi had become remarkably fond of the new exorcist.
The silence was driving Lavi insane. None of them were giving him an answer! Lavi gnashed his teeth together in anger, "Where the hell were you? I thought we were all teammates!" he spat out and Lenalee quivered at his words as tears sprung to her eyes. Komui almost at once stood to defend his sister and Allen had to place a hand to stop him before fighting ensued. Lavi, shocked at his own actions, glanced to the side of the bed, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell, I just don't understand! How could Mei disappear like that?"
Lenalee sniffled and clutched her head, reliving the awful memories, "Road appeared," Lavi's insides turned still recalling what the Dream Noah had done to him once before, "She was unrelenting when she found out about Mei," Lenalee's voice wavered shaking with fear as she cradled herself in her arms.
Lavi turned his head towards Lenalee, "What are you talking about?" the room had gotten awfully quiet as nurses clutched to their clipboards listening to them in fright. Komui motioned the Head Nurse to take them out. This type of conversation was not for civilian ears.
Once the room emptied out the silence was deafening, Lenalee wished it would just all go away. She was so tired, devastated and disappointed in herself. She just couldn't deal with this right now when suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder. Lenalee glanced up and was met with Allen's warm pool of silver glistening with shades of gold, his smile wrapping softly around her wounded soul and ego.
Lenalee sat up and turned her head, not wanting to see Lavi's reaction, "Road wanted to hurt you. She wanted to make sure that she could still hurt you even though you survived her wrath the first time,"
Lavi felt his gut twist in guilt when he realized it was his fault. It was because he had formed a relationship with Mei that Road went after her. His grandfather was right, no good would come to them being close to Mei. There was a strange feeling in his heart, almost like it was hurting at the mere thought of losing her. He clutched his chest and heaved a breath it was getting hard to breathe. Road, that bitch! He's had it with her toying with him. He was going to hunt her down and personally kill her himself. The steaming anger boiling in his veins got him too upset to sit around. He tossed the sheets over and started stalking towards the door.
Lenalee shifted the sheet around her shoulders as she watched Lavi's back, "Where are you going? You can't possibly go looking for her!" Her voice echoed in the empty room.
Lavi stopped, "I have to, and when I do. I'm going to bring Mei back, that's a promise," Allen sighed and peered over at Komui, the head branch stayed quiet pushing his glasses up his nose, but Allen knew the look in the man's eyes.
The white haired boy ruffled his hair, "Don't worry, Lenalee, I'll be there to watch his back," Lavi turned to face Allen slightly surprised, "We're all family, right?"
Lavi's frown broke into a smile. "Yeah, family…" Lavi chuckled.
"Let's go piece back our nakama," Allen grinned. Lenalee watched as the two boys headed out the door giving each other a high side fist bump.
Lenalee bit her lip in worry, she should've stopped them. Her brother should've stopped them, "Why did you let them go, brother?" Lenalee questioned still staring at the door.
Komui couldn't only smile wryly before adjusting his perpetual sliding glasses, "You'd be amazed at what the strength of family can do, even if I ordered them not to go… They would've done it anyways," Komui shifted his glasses again. She gave his sister a wink, "But not a word to the Vatican, okay? It'll be our secret," He patted her hands and got up, he would need to be gathering some paperwork and support to make this work and he would have to see to it that he gave the boys one last proper lecture before they left.
The three met in Koumi's office as much as Komui disapproved of Lavi's participation. He looked like a half mummified corpse, he really doubt he would be of any help besides navigating the landscapes. Two pairs of eyes stared back at the tall figure standing by the window with a cup of coffee in his hand. Not many words were exchanged, as the two knew what they were up against. They were breaking all sorts of rules and if the Vatican found out, there would be no sparing their lives. Komui's too. This was insubordination and treason.
Komui turned around sipping the black liquid, his glasses was falling down the bridge of his nose. For once Komui felt all the pressure that came with the job sagging heavily on his shoulders. He sat down on his armchair and looked up at the two boys.
"You know how dangerous this is, right?" Komui fiddled with the cup handle unsure if they really understood the gravity of the consequences if they were found out.
"Yes," Lavi and Allen replied in unison. Lavi paced the floors and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "What else are we supposed to do? Leave her out there to die?" He asked aggravated with Komui's lack of understanding why they have go retrieve their comrade.
Komui took his glasses off and rubbed his nose, eyes closed against the growing stress. "You have to understand, this organization doesn't approve of vigilante missions," Komui sighed in exhaustion, "We don't even know her current situation, she…"
Lavi put his hand up to stop him from finish, "Don't even. It's not a vigilante mission. It's a rescue mission. I don't care if you don't approve of this, I don't care if the Vatican doesn't approve of what I do. I am going to get her back,"
"Lavi," a stern voice rang through the office that shook both Allen and Lavi. Lavi could feel the dread crawling underneath his skin. This was the worst time to get caught by his grandfather.
Lavi turned around, "Grandfather," the two locked eyes momentarily and Lavi could already see the disapproval in his eyes. The shame. He had broken the sacred rule of the Bookman clan and Lavi knew he was in deep trouble.
"You deliberately disobeyed me," he muttered walking past his grandson with a deep frown. Allen placed a hand on Lavi's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Bookman," Komui smiled, "What brings you to my office?" The elder did not speak, only sat quietly in one of the chairs with his arms tightly wound inside his long black sleeves as usual. He didn't need to speak as actions spoke louder than words and his presence here alone meant he was here to stop his grandson from doing something foolish and tarnishing the Bookman lineage.
"Whatever you're going to say, it's not going to stop me from going after her," Lavi finally said defiantly. Allen could hear the determination in his voice and knew that he was going to against everything he had always believed in to fight for this girl. The younger lad was taken aback by how much this new girl had begun to influence Lavi, the person that had always locked his heart away was changing.
The older Bookman's eyes and nose flared angrily at the Lavi, "What did I tell you," Bookman didn't turn to face his grandson. He had spoken in a tongue that was guarded among the Bookman clan and only members understood. Lavi froze where he stood, he had had enough, nothing was going to change with him just standing around.
"Nothing is going to change if we keep being selfish, grandfather. Bookman clan rules or not this is the world that we're trying to protect right here, right now. War will only keep prevailing if we let it. You can tell yourself as much as you want that you're unbiased about the history of the world," Lavi's voice trailed off before turning around with a small smile, "But the funny thing is, Innocence chose us for a reason and the moment we allowed ourselves in we took an oath to protect the human race,"
Bookman finally stood and Allen could see the angry disapproval, "You're a fool, Lavi, a fool!" Lavi only laughed at his grandfather's answer.
"What else is new? Now if you'll all excuse me, I've got a princess to save," he turned his heels and ran out the office. Allen looked back at Bookman who was still fuming then to Komui who had just sat back sipping his coffee with a small grin on his lips.
Allen sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry, Bookman," Allen grimaced and followed after Lavi.
"That's some grandson you got there, Bookman," Komui said quietly. Bookman again didn't answer, he gathered himself and exhaled a breath through his nose. He glanced at Komui before giving a curt nod and walked out. Bookman will have to strictly watch over his apprentice from here on out as it seems the new exorcist was poisoning Lavi's mind.
x x x x
"Oy, Road, did you bring another toy back again? The Earl's going to get upset at you one of these days for bringing exorcists of all people back home," a dark voice reverberated heavily against the endless void that was their home. A pair of golden eyes peered out from the darkness and watched the newly dressed victim sitting obediently on a chair. She was almost cute as the last one, her hair has been curled around her small delicate face and she was wearing a dark blood red dress that went up to her knees. Road had a thing for dressing up her prisoners.
Road materialized sitting on top of a ledge in the room when she spotted a man leaning against the wall, "Stop creeping, Tyki, people might think you're being perverted or something," Road teased, "And the Earl would never be mad at me. I take care of things, unlike someone I know," the last part of the statement hit Tyki's ego rather harshly.
The man finally stepped out of the shadows revealing his presence. His hair was neatly slicked back, his skin also an ashen gray color that was decorated with stigmata on his forehead, just like Road. He also shared the same brilliant golden eyes as Road, noting that Tyki was also a Noah. He walked up to the unconscious girl with her eyes drooping and glazed over when he lifted her chin to get a better look. A sudden punch of nostalgia almost knocked him over, but Tyki stood his ground as the feeling dissipated. What the hell was that? Tyki coughed to calm his nerve as he took a step back.
"You okay?" Road drawled looking suspiciously at the Noah of Pleasure. The man merely nodded turning around to face his sister and smiled.
"Might've caught a dreaded sickness that's going around," he tipped his top hat so that it covered a part of his face.
Road rolled her eyes with a laugh, "You've spent too much time with the humans," she replied with as much sarcasm as she could muster. Road slipped over the crevice she was sitting on and pranced her way to the girl in the center, "What should we do with you," she whispered.
Tyki watched as Road played with the girl's hair, his heart tightened slightly in annoyance which was new to him. He tipped his head cascading his face in shadow and walked into the swirling darkness. Tyki made his way through the trees and into the open air. A cold sweat broke through his newly cleaned suit as he undid his collar. There was something about that girl that was unsettling and Tyki didn't like it. His scar was burning ferociously as if Allen had once sliced him again with his Innocence. Tyki leaned against the rough tree bark and clutched his side. What the hell was going on with him?
Road watched as Tyki disappeared into the darkness and narrowed her eyes. For a second Road felt a disturbance in the air but didn't give it another thought as it passed. She reached out and touched the lobes of the girl and grinned. She knew the Order was coming to retrieve this little one, or at least the red head was going to. She was too important to him. When Road had reached into the mind of the girl, she had unwittingly seen the blossoming secret buried deep inside the girl and the Noah was going to use it to her advantage.
"Now come child, let the hate flow through you," the Noah of Dreams murmured.
A little girl watched as men and women walked sullenly from the hill each one appearing from the horizon like ants. She didn't really understand what was going on except that her parents weren't here.
She glanced up at a woman that was holding her hand in one and the other she was clutching an umbrella, "Renee, where's mummy and daddy going?" the little girl asked. Suited men had started carrying two coffins away from a car and the little girl's heart clenched. Where were they taking them? They can't leave her!
The older blonde woman didn't respond, but the little girl could feel Renne's hand shake and saw droplets of water fall from her blue eyes. The little girl stepped closer to Renee before the older woman kneeled down, their faces leveled, "I'm really alone this time aren't I?" the little girl's eyes widened as a horrible realization dawned on her. She had no one else. Her lower lip began to quiver and big droplets of tears of her own came rushing down her small cheeks. She felt the soft hands of her new guardian wiping them away, but still no words could fill in the sudden void the little girl was feeling.
"I hate Him!" the little girl yelled, threw her fists and stomped her foot, the tears were unrelenting now, "I hate, hate, hate Him!" she fell to her knees as she cried on Renee's lap, the rain had started falling even harder now and the words forever echoed around them. Hate. Why has God pitted this child against such pain? Do you hate me so?
The world turned dark and Mei was curled into the fetal position, tears stained her cheeks as she cradled herself.
"You're all. Alone. Again." Road's voice taunted and Mei clutched her head trying to block out the sound, "Who is going to love a broken mess like you? Not even God is willing to spare your tortured soul. You are a black sheep forsakened by God," her sinister laugh rumbled through the darkness and settled inside Mei's stomach like a pit of gravel, "You're scared because deep inside, you know you've been praying to a god that you hate so much that you want disown the very power that lies within you,"
Something inside broke as Mei relented into the darkness, she was too tired to fight. Yes. The voice was right. God had forsaken her already, there was no one else already. She was all alone.