Haunts of the Heart

Written by xmystorytime.

Disclaimer: I don't own this show. Is that not obvious?

Nothing.

Forever he must have stood there, tense and anticipating an attack that would never come.

We are all Nothing.

It was only when Allen's hand tugged at his arm, trying to escape his grip, that he dared to open his eyes. The first instant he did so he was blinded, the white like a shining beacon to a darkened sky. His eyes watered and he blinked rapidly, opening and shutting his eyes in an endless pattern until they had adjusted.

I

Lavi could see nothing beyond the white, no sign of the world they had so recently been in. He could hear nothing, everything was muted... save for his heartbeat, and Allen's laboured breath. He merely stood there, wondering if his senses had failed him whilst the once calm air grew oppressive, the silence steadily thickening until it was hard to breathe.

am Nothing.

"Lavi..." Allen's hushed voice came, as if he didn't want to break the silence. With a start Lavi realized he could breathe again and his cracked hands flew to his neck, gently feeling to see any damage done to it. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lavi replied, voice equally as soft. Gradually he turned, his battle-weary limbs slow to respond, and to his surprise he saw Allen, gazing up with a sorrowful look on his face and as clear as day to a white background. Maybe my vision isn't the one that's wrong, maybe it's the scenery... but how is it possible?

But we

"A voice..." Allen's voice got quieter and Lavi had to step closer to hear it. "It sounds so desolate... so sad..." his voice faded out and his eyes turned to the floor, fringe falling in front of his eyes as if to hide the tears that started to fall. Lavi frowned, stepping even closer and reaching out a hand.

He hesitated briefly, wondering if he really should, before deciding there was nothing for it and resting his hand on the other's shoulder. He said nothing, offering a silent comfort to the cursed boy.

are not the same.

As Allen's shoulders shook and crystalline tears fell to leave no marks on the white floor, Lavi looked around again. There was still no indication of where they were, or what they were doing here, or why. The last thing he knew of there had been that massive light from the level four. He'd thought for sure they were dead.

"Hey, Allen..." he murmured, glancing back at the younger boy. "Do you think we're dead?" It wasn't that he wasn't sympathetic to the other boy – he didn't doubt that the exorcist could hear a voice – but he couldn't help it if he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

And so

"I-I-" Allen sniffed, wiping his eyes with his arm and then lifting his head. Lavi waited patiently. "It's possible but... I don't feel dead..." Allen said, voice steadily growing stronger as he started to think about something else. "Weren't we about to die?"

"Yeah, I thought that too..." Lavi replied. "That level four's attack, I've never seen the likes of it."

despite my sorrow and regret

For the first time Allen turned to him. His reddened eyes widened, alarming the red-head. He stepped back from Allen, staring at him warily. "What? What?!" he demanded to Allen's shocked state. Allen's eyes flickered left, then right, before looking back at him and smiling weakly.

"Ah... you're kind of..." he gestured weakly at Lavi's body. Lavi blinked and looked down, only to stare.

"Where the hell's my body?!" he demanded, patting himself down. It was an odd feeling, feeling up and down his body to check he was still there but not actually seeing it.

I will depart.

His hands fumbled around his stomach and his actions stilled as he found something round. Frowning to himself, wondering what it was, he reached inside the pocket and gripped it. It was slippery and he nearly dropped it several times, but he eventually succeeded in bringing it out and holding it in front of him. It was the ball the demon had given him, so long ago.

The instant it was out of his pocket, his body came back into sight again. He didn't notice, too busy looking at the ball.

"What's that?" Allen asked, eyes wide. Lavi stared at its swirling depths, seeing the ruins of a battered and broken ship to a dark dawn, where it had previously been a pure white ball, and suddenly knew what it was.

"The reason we're alive." he whispered, clutching it close to his chest.

Your world moves on.

The instant Allen reached out and touched it, tears once more trickling down his face to the voice only he could hear, there was a soft snick. Under his touch the ball shattered and the world of light tumbled into darkness.

--

The first thing he was aware of was the crackling of wood on a fire and the smell, the horrid blackened smell of something burning.

His eyes fluttered open, vision dim and blurred. In the distance he could make out the source, a gaping black smoke cloud swirling up into the sky, probably visible for miles around. Beneath it flames flickered, crawling from one broken segment to the next.

He blinked, trying to focus his gaze. It took several attempts before he could see clearly, but with clarity of sight came clarity of mind. The ship's burning... the ship's burning... the ship's burning! He struggled to get his arms beneath him, for none of his limbs wanted to obey, but with sheer determination he managed to get up until he was resting on his elbows.

Behind him his legs twitched, feeling coming back to them. He wiggled his toes, ankles, knees and thighs to make sure everything worked, not looking away from the burning sight. There was a small explosion at the bottom, sending wood flying and going to settle with the rest on the ground around the river. Wearily he thought that the Black Order would have a job trying to clear this up.

Something shifted in the corner of his eye and he turned his gaze away from the ship to look at the culprit. His eyes widened when he saw it was Allen.

"A-Allen!" he murmured, voice cracking of its own accord. He coughed, clearing his throat. "Oy, Allen!" the exorcist's arm twitched, but that was all. What filled Lavi with dismay was that Allen was no longer wearing Crown Clown, just his normal exorcist uniform – or what remained of it, anyway. Damn it...

With a heavy groan he gripped hold of the grass and slowly pulled his way to his friend. It wasn't too far and soon he was there shaking Allen's shoulder. There was no response. Lavi got into a sitting position, inhaling and exhaling deeply, and looked back to the source of so much hassle between them all.

He blinked. "Oh you're kidding..." he breathed. His eyes widened as he took in the spectacular sight, the devastation caused by the demon's attack sinking in for the first time. The ship was broken in half, if it could be called that, for almost all of the deck and first two levels had been cleanly vaporised.

Lavi remembered the white ball, the reason he and Allen were alive, and tried to find it. He never did and could only assume it had shattered into nothing, pushed to its limit to save them from annihilation.

A cloud moved out of the way of the sun and it shone, for the first time highlighting the ship instead of hiding it. Perhaps now... because the demon was gone? In the sun's gleam Lavi's sharp eyes noticed the green hue that now surrounded the ship – a familiar coloured green hue. Could it be... Innocence? He furrowed his brow, craning his neck to try and see the tell-tale ball-like item, but it was hidden behind the explosions.

A large explosion occurred, somewhere in the middle, and a shower of wood sprayed the air. Lavi ducked, automatically shielding Allen's head with his body whilst covering his own arms, and winced as the wood bounced off of him. He straightened up once it was over and watched as the remaining area of that ship slowly toppled over.

It tipped side-ways, crashing into land and river, and to the exorcist's immense surprise it started to glow. There was a faint hum in the air and then it shattered, wood spikes filling the air. Lavi wasn't quick enough to block and his hands slapped to his face as splinter after splinter showered him, cutting his cheeks, neck and hands. He winced, using a scrap of his uniform to wipe at the small trails of blood.

I hope to hell I have no splinters... he thought crossing his fingers, knowing that if he did he would most likely get an infection. That ship had been on the bottom of the ocean-river-thing, after all.

"K-Kanda..." a quiet voice rasped. Lavi jerked and then glanced down at Allen, a grin breaking out on his face.

"Allen! You're awake!" he said, pleased he wouldn't have to watch this alone. His elation was short-lived, unfortunately. Allen's eyes shut again, body barely moving.

"Kanda..." Allen repeated and this time Lavi actually heard the word. He felt the blood drain out of his face as he realized what his friend was saying. Shit, Yu was on that – shit, Yu! It was suddenly hard to breathe.

He glanced around the ground, hoping, praying, wishing that he'd see the long dark hair of their companion strewn across the grass, but he saw nothing. As far as he could tell, Yu was on the ship that was currently exploding. He winced as another broken piece of ship glowed and then shattered.

This one had been right in the middle of the ship. Once the chaos had settled down and Lavi was looking back, he spotted the gem of it all – the thing that made exorcists and demons alike bend over backwards.

The glowing ball of Innocence hovered, its border slowly retracting from the ship. As it did so another smaller piece broke away and Lavi suddenly realized the ship had taken so much damage that the Innocence had given up on it. Every inch it crept back, the ship was supposedly returning to its original state.

His limbs felt a bit wobbly as he struggled to his feet. Now that he'd seen the Innocence he knew he had to get it – he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't go and get it when he could have done. He glanced around, searching for the re-appearance of any demons. From his position, and the way there was no rapid dash for the Innocence, he figured that the demons were finally finished.

That explosion must have been the result of the level four exploding.

He felt a relieved smile tug his lips, knowing the chaos was nearly over. He bent down and patted Allen's back in a soldier-esque way.

"Back in a few," he said cheerfully, as much for his benefit as Allen's, and then attempted to walk. The key word being 'attempted'. He let out a cry as his legs refused to hold his weight, sending him falling to his knees once more. He caught himself from falling forwards completely with his arms. "Damn..." he hissed and then glanced around for his Innocence. There was nothing for it – he'd have to use it to get him there.

He eventually spotted the small hammer several feet away. He exhaled loudly and crawled towards it, mentally grumbling about how annoying it was having an equipment weapon and thus being able to lose it. Once he had recovered said Innocence he had a much easier time of getting to the ship, although it had taken him several minutes to get on and actually stay on.

I probably shouldn't get so beaten up next time... heh. Next time, huh? I guess there really is a next time now...

He slowly guided his way to the ship, knowing his Innocence had been under as much strain as him. They gained altitude each second, eventually rising over the opaque part of the ship and being able to see the other side of the bank. It took the exorcist a few seconds to spot it, but then to his surprise there was a mirror-image of himself on the other side.

Such an astonishing sight made him pause in his mission, gaping. Unfortunately it turned out to be a trick of light, for when he blinked he saw on the other side of the ship it wasn't himself... it was the demon he had thought exploded.

And it was covering ground quicker than Lavi ever could.

"Shit!" he yelled, gripping tighter to his hammer and re-starting. He mentally urged it to hurry up, to go as fast as it could so that they'd reach the Innocence before their nemesis. This entire mission had originally been a recovery of Innocence, hadn't it? Surely it should have been a get-in and get-out job, but yet...

After so much... he remembered the very beginning, when the only worry had been finding a map, the note, and his fall into unconsciousness.

So much tragedy... he remembered Sophia, dead for no reason, and Krory, dead for trying to help out Lavi. Yu, currently MIA...

So much suffering... his own injuries ached, but across his mind flickered the memories of other people through his mind. For the first time he didn't try to push them away. One memory stuck out, of a brown-haired boy screaming for his father, and it made his heart ache.

Innocence was the reason for it, and Innocence is the justification as to why... so, I can't let it all be a waste!

Resolve restored he narrowed his eyes and seemingly sped up, until he and the demon were equal. It was a match of who was the quickest to go in the history records, but destiny had decided its winner long before either of the pair had any influence in it.

They collided with the Innocence at the same time and it was a scrabble of fingers and elbows and yells for who would get it. For a spectator it was impossible to tell who had won as they sped past the other, until the harsh, gleeful cackling echoed throughout the bright sky. Lavi spun around, heart sinking as the demon crowed to anyone within ear shot.

"Tough luck, kid." it leered to him, holding the green ball high, like its hand was a pedestal.

And then destiny's winner came swooping in, faster than lightning in between exorcist and demon, sending the wind whipping and almost knocking Lavi off of his hammer. Lavi's neck snapped back, craning up to see what the thing had been, when his attention was drawn to the mournful moan of the villain.

"T-the Innocence..." it murmured, staring at its empty hand. Lavi narrowed his eyes. Whatever that had been, it just took the Innocence. That had better be one of our guys, otherwise...

The keeper of the Innocence suddenly re-appeared, halting just behind the demon and shocking Lavi. His jaw dropped and he could only stare, his mind going blank. The level four didn't even get the chance to turn around before the sharp teeth pierced its neck, providing the way for a greedy mouth to suck.

The demon went rigid, head tilting back and eyes staring up at the sky. They started to lose their light and, gradually, the demon's body got fainter and fainter. Now, the only sound in the scene was the gulping of blood, the soft whoosh of wind and the faint explosions of the ship beneath them.

Somewhere in the midst of it, Lavi might have spat back 'Tough luck, kid' but he couldn't quite remember if he had or not.

The demon faded into nothing, revealing a very familiar and welcome face. It was caked in blood, with holes tattered his uniform and looking like he should be dead, but at that point Lavi had never felt so good at seeing anyone. They stared at each other, one barely holding himself up whilst the other's cloak billowed in the wind.

As he stared at his friend he noticed a spidery web-like tattoo on the other's neck, slowly creeping up above collar, chin and crawling onto cheek. A giggle made its way up his throat. He tried to suppress it, knowing wasn't the best time to laugh... but it broke free. With it came more. And more.

And more.

Finally he gave up trying to stop it and let go, overcome with the hysterical laughter. He laughed and laughed and laughed, until his sides hurt, until he couldn't breathe, until tears trickled down his face, until Arystar Krory came and with his enhanced abilities carefully cradled the red-haired exorcist as he brought him to the ground beside Allen.

Lavi was gently placed on his back, still giggling as he stared up at the sky. He felt drunk, drunk on happiness or sheer, mindbogglingly terror, or something else, but the source of his elation didn't really matter in the circumstances. He turned his head to the left and saw the still body of Yu, hair strewn over the grass. He was like a damsel in distress knocked unconscious.

Lavi giggled some more and turned to his right, seeing Allen's still body. Both his friends were safe, that was good. He turned his gaze to the front, where an almost completely tattooed Krory was now blocking his vision, and he grinned widely.

"I thought you were dead." he said plainly and then joined Allen and Yu in the state of unconsciousness.

--

The drink was warm in his hands.

He gazed down at it and then pulled a face at his reflection. There was nothing worse in his mind than a warm beer, that was for sure.

"Excuse me," he said, reaching out and catching a passing waiter. "Another beer, ja?" the waiter left with a nod of the head and he settled back in the seat, exhaling loudly. He stared out over the pub, watching people hustling and bustling around the place.

It was as full as an other night, most of them people he'd seen before. The pub had many regulars, with no reason not to – after all, it was damn fine food. He watched a man scoff down his meal, lip curling in amusement as such a pig-like action left a large stain around his mouth.

However... he didn't want to stay in the pub any more. What had once been warm and welcoming now seemed stifled and over-crowded. The atmosphere was heavy, cigarette smoke filled every corner and too many people were laughing, their red faces standing out in the crowds.

He stood up, brushing at his cloak and then spotting the waiter he'd caught coming back with his glass of beer. He took it with his usual lazy smile of thanks and then dodged and wove his way around the people until he was beside the bar. When the bartender wasn't looking he bent over and swiped a bottle, to the amusement of watchers. At their laughter the barman turned but by that time the villain was already gone and outside.

He shivered as a cold wind blew, wishing he had a third hand to rub at his arms. The morning sun shone high above him, revealing a bright and cheerful day, but like always his emotions didn't represent the weather.

Rather, he felt a little gloomy.

"Why the hell am I so down?!" he demanded of himself, frowning. He turned a large gulp from the glass, nearly finishing it, and felt a little better. He eyed the glass with contempt. "Hmph, they never do last long enough..." he finished it off and then threw the glass to the side.

It shattered, the sound just another noise to add to the busy street. Nobody paid attention and he shrugged, now left with only the bottle. His fingers fiddled with the icy mist on the edge of the bottle and he was tempted to draw a face on it. He resisted the temptation.

Instead he turned his gaze to the sky, a sense of melancholy coming over him. "I wonder how they're getting on..." he murmured, pausing in his walk.

It had been many days since the black haired boy, Kanda, had gone on his way. There had been no hide or hair of him or the red-haired boy since then – he wondered if there ever would be.

He hoped so, for to him it was better to know whether they were alive or dead than always live in hope.

Why the hell am I thinking about it? I'd already decided that boy was a dead man, him and his friends and Walker... damn, that was a nice kid. He gave a half-smile as he remembered the devious grin on the boy's face as he cleanly beat Armin at poker again and again. Armin hadn't been able to believe such a scrawny kid was such a good cheater, but he was forced to admit it when he was left in naught but underwear.

Sophia had watched and laughed lightly at his plight. His smile faded as he thought of his dead friend and how he'd never share another drink with her. I bet she'll be just another nameless person in history, but... he started to walk again, taking another sip of his drink. Sometimes they're the ones that hurt the most...

With no destination in mind he let his feet take him where they pleased. He rambled through the streets, taking sips from his bottle, and then slowly found himself reaching the out-skirts of Trier. He paused, blinking at the edge of the road which lead into town.

Why was he here?

Shrugging, figuring it was as peaceful a spot as any place, he made his way over to a crumbling wall and settled himself on it. Maybe he'd scare off some traveller to the town by pretending he was a drunk – that would be entertaining.

As it turned out, he never got the chance. His attention was first drawn by the figure in the distance, on the horizon, against the dead grass. At first he couldn't even tell it was a person, for there an odd shape to it that distorted the image, but eventually the smart male realized it was three, maybe four people.

He took a sip from his nearly empty bottle, watching the figures with interest. It seemed to be that only one person was carrying three, which was impossible because no one had that kind of strength.

He was alarmed when the figure fell and didn't get up again. Eyes widening he pushed his heavy body off of the wall and started to jog towards them. He discarded the bottle of beer just like he had with the glass, knowing that it was never a good thing when someone who was walking fell over and a bottle was worth nothing compared to a life.

"Oy!" he yelled once he was a bit closer. "Are you okay?" he picked up the pace when he got no reply. As he got closer he started to pale, seeing the state that all of the fallen people were in. Their skin was a mixture of red and black, with pale white skin peeking through every now and then.

It was only when he was right beside them that he realized the red was blood. He swallowed, spotting the wounds each of the four males shared and wondered if they should even be alive right now. On further inspection he realized he knew three out of four of them.

"Shit!" he swore, kneeling down beside nearest one, the red-head. His eyes were shut and his face lax, it was almost like he was sleeping. Armin looked to his chest, checking to see if he was still alive – he was. He then went to the next nearest, which was Kanda – he too was alive. He did the same for the unknown and then turned to the last.

He paused, recognizing the last for who it was.

"Walker!" he breathed, kneeling down beside him. He reached out and shook the other's shoulder, tightening his grip until it would have been painful. Come on, wake up... he urged, wanting to speak to his friend again after so long. The teenager didn't wake and Armin's gaze looked to the body, which was littered in injuries.

They all were, as if they'd been in some battle. It had to have been fierce, otherwise... he swallowed, hands shaking slightly. He had to get them help, fast. He didn't know how long humans could go with such a loss of blood, but it couldn't be long enough.

He stood up, now near the middle of the bodies. He shut one eye, trying to figure out which of them had been the one carrying the others, but he didn't have to – the oldest one shifted and opened his eyes. Attracted by the noise, Armin turned and spotted him.

"You're awake, ja?" he said, stumbling over the ground and falling in front of his face.

"... help them..." the male wheezed. Armin grimaced, glancing over his shoulder to Allen.

"Believe me, I'd like to." he said, quieter, more to himself. He took a deep breath. "Hold on, don't you worry – I've got everything under control now." he smiled confidently, even if he didn't feel it. Would he be able to carry all of them back? He was strong, sure, but...

"Thanks..." the male sank into unconsciousness and Armin's shoulders slumped.

"Fat lot of good that does things." he commented, getting to his feet. "Well, nothing for it – gotta get the old muscles working again somehow, ja?" Perhaps he'd get lucky and along the way one of the others would wake up and be able to reduce some of the weight on him.

He tried to figure out who was the heaviest and eventually figured the oldest one was. With a great heave he lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder, nearly tipping over before he managed to counter-balance it. He staggered over to the next heaviest, Kanda, and bent down.

It took awhile for him to get the male on his other shoulder and actually have both stay there. Much heavier than before he made his slow way to the red-head and bent down to pick him up – and both Kanda and the oldest male fell off of him. They tumbled to the ground, rolling separate ways and Armin cursed loudly. "For all the...!"

There was nothing for it then, he was gonna have to make some sacrifices. He'd grab the two most injured and take them to town, instructing someone there to go back for the other two.

How the hell am I to tell who's the most injured?!

He panicked for a few seconds, wondering if time was ticking away and if so whose time it was. His hands shook with nerves as he stared between the four bodies, unable to tell who looked worst – they all looked pretty bad, to be honest.

Eventually, he resorted to covering his eyes with his hand and using an old rhyme he'd learned when he was younger, and the only thing he'd needed it for was when deciding who was going to be 'it'. A time much happier, when there was no worry about losing people he cared about...

"Eenie meanie minie moe," he started, his index finger moving from body to body in tune with the song. "Catch a tiger by the toe, if it hollers let it go, eenie meanie minie moe," he peeked through a crack in his fingers, seeing his hand had stopped on the red-head. He chewed on his lip, wishing he could remember his name.

He looks different without his headband... Armin noticed, before reaching out and dragging the boy out from the line. The first one had been chosen, but who next? He shut his eyes and repeated the same process, wishing he could do something more.

He peeked through the crack again and didn't know how to feel when he saw it had stopped on the only person he didn't know. His gaze glanced to Allen, knowing he was more inclined to help the person he knew instead of the person he didn't.

He couldn't bring himself to be unfair, however, and so he bent down and slung the person over his shoulder. "I should learn your name..." he murmured and then glanced at the still face. "You should tell me your name, ja?" he bent down and slipped the teenager under his arm. "You too, actually..." he exhaled and, with a more manageable load, he started to jog back to the town.

He had just reached his wall when he realized his shoulder was soaking. He couldn't not look down, wondering what it was, and he almost tripped. His once-green shirt was now stained a deep colour... it was stained in blood. His lips thinned out and he increased his pace.

It might just be a childish rhyme but it had helped him pick out the most injured and that was all that mattered right now.

--

There was a dark atmosphere over headquarters.

It radiated most from their leader, Chief Supervisor Komui Lee, but there were many others in a black mood around the area. These were from those who had had contact with the supervisor and shared his dark mood, but these people were few and far between. It was mostly those people, the ones in that circle of friends. It mostly consisted of the higher ups, the leaders, but there was the insignificant scientist too.

Johnny, for example, who wasn't even all that smart but had somehow managed to get in. Those remaining of that group huddled together, discussing something serious.

She watched from her table, near on the other side of the room. She was jealous, yes – she would gladly admit it to anyone who asked. She just knew better than to let her jealousy consume her, although in times like now she couldn't help but envy those who were 'in the know'.

The blonde sat back on her chair and rocked backwards. She slipped her heels onto her desk and delicately balanced herself. Her lab coat swished, falling off of her legs with the movement to reveal dark red trousers. She turned her gaze to the ceiling, trying to pin-point when it had all began.

It was probably when their boss, Wenham, had announced to them that they had to get in touch with all field agents to be on the look out for a wayward exorcist – Lenalee Lee.

She exhaled softly, picturing the teenager. She was a sweet girl, always caring about everyone in the Order and willing to deliver them cups of coffee. She'd never had one herself, but she'd seen the way both Lenalee's brother and Wenham had picked themselves up after drinking.

"Hey, Rosaline." Rosaline tilted her head back to the whispered voice, coming face to face with her friend, Edward. She gave him a soft smile. "What do you think happened?"

"Who knows?" she shrugged and then squeaked as she lost her balance. It was only thanks to Edward's quick actions that she didn't smack her head on the floor. She flushed and gave him a sheepish look. "Thanks."

"I've told you not to do that," he sighed, settling down on her desk. She frowned as he sat on some important work but didn't say anything. "It must be bad, huh?"

"Yeah... I don't think I've ever seen the supervisor look so off colour before..." she murmured. "The brief instant he was here he looked like a ghost. Do you think Lee's been found?"

"Most likely, what else could get him that way?" Edward shrugged. "It's not like we'll find out, after all we're the insignificant ones." there was a bitter tone to his voice. Rosaline echoed his sentiments, but still reached out to pat his hand comfortingly.

"It's always the insignificant ones that make the most difference, you know that." she said softly, trying to convince herself as much as her friend. They had only recently joined the headquarters, only two of the many scientists drawn in after the attack had reduced their number, and so it was to be expected that they didn't get a nice welcome. But still...

There was a ringing to the pair's left. They both turned, looking to the phone that rung and rung and rung. There was no one at the desk, the occupant had long since disappeared. Rosaline sighed. "I better get that, I suppose... probably a finder." she stood up and walked over.

Technically she wasn't supposed to do this, but she couldn't resist the temptation.

She picked it up and held the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she said, nibbling on her pinky finger.

"... this right? Is it working? Hello? Is this the Order?" she narrowed her eyes. None of the finders or exorcist's would say this, which could mean a lot of things. The thing that ran through her mind, however, was that someone had murmured a finder and stolen the phone and golem and now wanted to leave a message.

"Ed, go get one of the senior people," she hissed. He hurried to do her bidding and she put the phone back to her mouth. "Who's asking?"

"Ah, a... well... it's not like I wanted to do this, ja? I just... got told to..." Rosaline raised an eyebrow at the wall. "But, I think I have some of your people here..."

"Some of my people?" she asked, praying with all her might this wasn't a threatening message. "Who is my people?"

"Exorcists." her heart pounded in her ears and it was with a wide-eyed look that she turned to look at Edward, Wenham, Johnny and the rest.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the person to deal with this." she said and then held out the phone to Wenham. He looked a little confused and anxious as he picked up the phone.

"Section Chief Leader Reever Wenham," he said. "Who is this?" Rosaline fidgeted, her thumbs twiddling together as she waited on egg-shells like the rest. Her heart rate increased when his eyes widened, but it calmed down slightly when a wide grin broke out on his face. "Are you sure?" he asked hopefully.

The next response made the grin slip and he nodded, serious once more. "We'll dispatch someone right away, so please do all that you can for them until then." he hung up and there was a deafening silence throughout the room as all waited with baited breath.

"You!" Wenham pointed to her. "Go and tell the supervisor that Exorcists Walker, Kanda, Lavi and Krory have been found, but Bookman's assistance is needed." There was a stunned silence in the room. Rosaline swallowed and nodded, walking as calmly as she could through the scientists. As she left the room cheers started to break out, good news overflowing, and she started into a run, wanting to get to the supervisor as fast as possible.

Already, the dark atmosphere in headquarters seemed to be a little bit less oppressive.

She smiled to herself. Perhaps it would be a good day after all.

--

He was getting sick of waking up to an ache in his body.

"Ah, I think he moved... Yu? Yuuuu? Are you awake?!"

He was getting sick of waking up to that annoying tone, too. He didn't open his eyes, keeping his body relaxed and hoped that the red-head idiot would get the idea. No such luck. "I think he's faking..." and something started to poke him in the side.

He resisted the temptation to chop off the thing that could only be a finger, knowing that it would give away that he was awake and he'd lose the chance to escape the annoying pest.

"Herr Lavi, this is the fifth time you've called us to say Herr Kanda's awake when he actually isn't," came an exasperated female voice. Kanda wondered why it was so familiar. "It is getting mildly annoying."

"But he's awake, I swear it! Yu! Back me up here!" Lavi whined, and it agitated Kanda's headache. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, hoping that he'd be able to go back to sleep really really soon (otherwise someone's head was going on a platter and it wasn't going to be his).

"Herr Lavi..." the woman sighed. "His injuries were severe, similar to those of your two friends. There is not a chance that he will wake until this friend of yours gets here, and even then I don't think he'll be able to move much. His back-"

"Oh don't worry about that, Gramps can make everyone better." Lavi replied confidently. "But he'll only have to worry about Allen and Krory, 'cause Yu's wounds will heal before he gets here." there was a smack and a yelp, followed by faint footsteps as the woman obviously left.

Kanda could hear Lavi grumbling as a chair screeched back and soft feet padded over to a bed. "I could have sworn that he was awake, I really could've..." he murmured.

Not bothered by the confused and hurt tone, Kanda attempted to roll over and go back to sleep, hoping that when he next woke his headache would be gone and his body wouldn't be tingling. A sharp pain from his shoulders down left him breathless and it was to a sudden "Yu?!" that he slipped back into unconsciousness.

A/N: The story's coming to an end. I'm almost sad, because this is truly one of my best works, but I'm also relieved too, because this took me longer than I wanted and I want to get on to writing new things. Oh! I also want to mention the person 'MD', because the review they left was amazing and deserves to be mentioned for its sheer length. I was in awe. xD I was listening to instrumental songs from Pokémon and Kingdom Hearts when I wrote most of this chapter, which most likely influenced me and what I was writing. Still... I think it turned out okay. Do you?