Pairings: Lavi/Allen + Neah/Lavi [slow burn]
Rating + warnings: T / emetophobia
Author's note: Sorry for the hiatus, I moved house back in November and the holidays happened. I should be able to get the final few chapters out over the next few weeks... hopefully... Thank you for being patient, and enjoy the update!

A garden, emerald leaves.

Lavi, wake up.

A garden, emerald leaves, a person with many eyes and many faces.

Lavi, please.

A garden, emerald leaves, a person with many eyes and many faces. The garden was burning.

Lavi came to with a gasp, eye wide, horror flooding through him. The Cube fell from his outstretched hands to hit the ground with a dull thud. Reality swam before his eyes. Lavi clutched at his head, struggling to breathe.

Things came into focus in a disorienting lurch of colour and sound. Apocryphos was stood, hands buried in Lenalee's hair. Feathers had sprouted out of her eye sockets. She was screaming. The others were in a similar condition. Lavi looked up, saw the wrath in Apocryphos's eyes, and felt more afraid than he had ever felt before.

Junior's presence built, stronger and stronger, until Lavi lost himself to it. Apocryphos watched this shift without emotion, observing the hard look in Junior's eye with a quiet tut. Junior took hold of his hammer, let it change form until it formed gloves around his hands, and hit Apocryphos as hard as he could.

Apocryphos didn't even flinch. It tutted and shook its head. "Innocence cannot harm me. You should know better than that."

Apocryphos let go of Lenalee and buried its hands in Junior's hair, lifting him up a little. Junior gritted his teeth, face contorted into one of pain. Apocryphos hissed out its words.

"Why even bother resisting me? You will do what I ask."

"No."

Junior's voice shook, but the resolution behind it was unshakeable. Apocryphos laughed, mockingly.

"Oh? Do I have to remind you?"

Apocryphos grabbed hold of Junior's face. Memories passed before Junior's eyes, so vivid it was as if it was really happening. He saw wooden houses, a room filled with books, a man in soldier's uniform. He tried to back away, fear clutching at his heart. A woman turning away from him - no - a man with a raised fist - no, no, no - a darkened cave and the cloying feeling of blood on his face and a song in a language he couldn't understand.

Junior cried out. Apocryphos pushed harder, eyes wide, a delighted smile on its face.

"This is the only destiny you have ever had!" Junior struggled, panic-stricken. "A miserable life - a life where you were abandoned!" NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. "A future you were never meant to have! All you have ever had is this!"

Apocryphos ripped off Junior's eyepatch. Its smile widened all the more.

"Just give in to it already!"

A garden, emerald leaves.

"This is your purpose!"

A garden, emerald leaves, a person with many eyes and many faces.

"This is the only thing that makes your life mean anything!"

A garden, emerald leaves, a person with many eyes and many faces. The garden was burning.

"Do as I say!"

Lenalee grabbed hold of Apocryphos from behind with a cry. Apocryphos staggered, just enough to let go of Junior. Kanda pulled Apocryphos down, pinning it to the floor, teeth gritted. Apocryphos watched as Wisely raised himself up, teetering on his feet, eye sockets filled with feathers, a wide smile on his face.

Apocryphos laughed. "You really think you can stop me?"

Lenalee turned to Junior, desperation in her voice. "Go!"

Junior didn't respond, not at first. His breaths came too light, too quick. Memories danced around in his mind, taunting him, haunting him. Lenalee cried out, pain flooding through her. With gritted teeth, she raised her voice to scream.

"GO!"

Survival instincts kicked in. Where Junior had once been, Lavi remained. Without hesitation, without a single word, Lavi picked up the Cube and ran.

All noise dulled, replaced by the loud thud thud thud of his heartbeat. His body felt numb, as if made of lead. He could feel Junior's distress, could see the memories replay themselves, over and over again, behind his eyes. He stopped, chest heaving. He vomited, clasping at his stomach.

The hallway was empty, devoid of life. Lavi raised a shaking hand and wiped at his mouth, expression pained. He took a moment to breathe, looking back at where he'd come from, guilt flooding through him.

In the silence that surrounded him, a single footstep could be heard.

One step, then two - Lavi raised his head, vision blurred from exhaustion, and saw someone stood but metres away, reeling where they stood. Something about how they moved was… unnatural, wrong. Lavi shook his head, trying to clear away the fog that had settled there, and felt his heart drop into his stomach.

Allen and Neah were stood, almost within arms reach, and they were crying.

Their skin was dark, eyes golden, stigmata imprinted on their forehead, stained rust red by dried blood. They said something, mouth moving, but Lavi heard no words come out. He took a step towards them, relief mingled with a feeling of dread that he couldn't shake off, and froze dead when Allen and Neah retreated away from him. He had never seen them look so terrified. It was horrifying to behold.

"What… what's wrong?"

They shook their head, trying to speak but saying nothing, trembling so violently they could barely stand. Lavi shook his head.

"Just tell me what's wrong, I don't -"

"Run."

It was said with such sudden clarity that it made Lavi's blood run cold. Eyes wide, breath halted in his chest, Lavi saw the terror in Allen and Neah's eyes and could do nothing but stare, frozen in place by dread and fear and the unknown.

"Run. Please."

The urgency in their voice was unbearable. Lavi shook his head, unable to move, unable to do anything but stare and be consumed by the clawing, suffocating thing that had taken a hold of him. The people before him fell to their knees, gripping their head with shaking hands, and took in a deep breath before screaming.

"RUN!"

A shadow appeared beneath them. Gloved hands rose up from the ground, a manic grin, a mockery of a person. Allen and Neah looked down, eyes wide, tears streaming down their face. Lavi took a step towards them in desperation, reaching out for them. They stretched out a shaking hand, begging without words for help, for anything. Lavi brushed his fingertips against theirs, but with a suddenness that left him reeling, they were pulled backwards into darkness.

"No!"

Time came to a shuddering halt. For a moment, Lavi could do nothing but sit and stare, eyes fixed on the dusty ground. Mind reeling, not wanting to look, Lavi felt his gaze trail upwards. Filled with an all-consuming dread, Lavi saw a manic grin and gloved hands and golden eyes hidden by glass. The Millennium Earl stood, oblivious to Lavi's presence, and breathed out a sigh.

"Ah, finally. Those two were becoming rather irritating."

The Earl finally seemed to notice the person lying at his feet, looked down, and laughed.

"Ah, you're that one rascal from Edo, are you not? Good evening." He looked at Lavi's exposed right eye, saw the Cube still grasped in Lavi's hands. Recognition stirred in his eyes, and his grin widened. "Ah... this is where you've been hiding? It's been many long years, hasn't it?"

Lavi scrambled backwards, eyes wide, chest heaving. The Earl raised a hand - no, no, no - and with a flourish summoned his sword. A throaty chuckle left him - they can't be gone, they can't - and with benign amusement, as if this was simply some petty disagreement at the dinner table, he shrugged.

"It has taken many years to find you, and I had hoped for more fun in chasing you down. To think you were right there under my nose in Edo! But it seems I am forever denied the enjoyment I am owed."

Lavi felt his blood run cold. He looked around, body shaking, noticing the Cube still held in his hands, momentarily forgotten in his panic. Before he could do anything, he was thrown backwards. He crashed into a nearby pile of rubble, unable to breathe. With blurred vision, he watched the Earl bend over and pick up the collection of Innocence at his feet. That awful grin widened all the more.

"Years of effort on the Order's part, is this not? A pesky organisation. I should have gotten rid of them centuries ago. I suppose it was necessary to keep them here… until now."

Lavi couldn't even cry out when the Earl destroyed the Innocence in his grasp, the surrounding darkness lit up with a sickening purple hue. He watched, unable to do a single thing, as it all faded into dust. Every shard, every piece cried out in a voice no-one could hear; a remnant of some higher being, aged beyond the long years of the Earth, destroyed and reduced to nothingness.

Lavi felt something deep within him snap. With a gasp, he collapsed onto his knees and vomited, eyes wide and brimming with horrified tears.

The silence that followed was unbearable, heavy and suffocating. While Lavi sat in the dust and wheezed, throat burning, he heard words, so quiet he almost thought he had imagined them.

"Does this cause you pain?"

It was such a strange question that Lavi could do nothing more than turn his head, tears falling silently to the dusty ground below. There was no expression on the Earl's face, no emotion in his voice, and yet he seemed ill at ease somehow. Lavi couldn't speak even if he wanted to. The Earl sighed and raised his sword, taking one step then two, walking forward until the point of his sword was pressed against Lavi's throat.

"I wish it had not come to this, but you gave me no choice. All that pesky Innocence would have led to an army of disgusting creatures. You know that better than I."

He gripped Lavi by his hair, pulling him up until their eyes met. Genuine pity was visible in the Earl's face.

"Such a shame, that you should be used as some mere pawn when you never wished for this, but I could not allow it."

Lavi understood nothing. He screwed his eyes shut, head pounding, chest heaving, and hoped so violently that it hurt for Allen and Neah to come back. Time slowed to a sickening stop. Lavi heard nothing beyond his heartbeat thudding in his eardrums. He felt every inch of him brace for what was to come, unable to think of any thought but one: I need to save them.

"Lavi!"

A rush of footsteps, a flash of something that showed behind Lavi's closed eyelids. With a lurching jolt, he was thrown to one side and flung into a nearby wall. He crashed to the ground, everything fading into a dull haze, vision and hearing lost. It was only when Lavi felt a hand on his shoulder that he felt himself come back to some sense of consciousness. Blinking blood out of his eyes, Lavi noticed Krory knelt beside him.

"Are you hurt?"

The way Krory's voice shook betrayed his concern. Lavi hesitated before giving a hoarse laugh.

"I think the blood speaks for itself, Kroryki-"

Before he could finish speaking, golden rings of light appeared, circling around his head, his torso, all over his body until he felt the stinging ache of his injuries disappear; he was under the effect of Miranda's Innocence once more.

Lavi turned his head to see where she and the others were - and more importantly where the Earl was, Apocryphos also - but Lavi found it was hard to make anything out. For a moment he thought he was still injured, but there was no pain in his body any longer.

He rubbed at his eyes, then turned to Krory and saw the strange haze was so thick he could hardly see Krory's features through it. Krory tilted his head, noticing Lavi's confusion.

"Is something wrong?"

Lavi scowled. "What's wrong with your face?"

Krory blinked. "P-pardon?"

Lavi shook his head as if to dispel some dizziness he physically could not feel. It wasn't until he raised his hands to grasp at his forehead that he remembered that his eyepatch was gone.

He froze dead. He felt nothing at first, just a dim sense of numbing fear, until the fear of his younger years digged its claws in deep, leaving him unable to breathe. He felt Junior's presence alongside his own, gripped by panic, and it took far too long for either of them to remember where they were, when they were, that all those long years of hiding what they bore were at an end.

A loud shout from nearby and a flash of light drew them away from panic and fear. They saw Lenalee, armour-clad and struggling to hold off the Earl's attacks, Kanda stood close to her side, clutching at his left arm, blood spilling between his fingers before the wound quickly healed under Miranda's influence.

Shaking his head, still gripped by sickening unease, Lavi felt Junior's presence settle beside his own; to comfort, to protect if it was needed.

Lavi lowered his hands, watching the particles of dust - no, Innocence - cluster around his scarred hands, around Krory's figure nearby, around the rubble and stone and mortar that surrounded them. He faltered, raising his head and noting that the golden particles were everywhere. Everything was cast into a golden haze, like looking through sunbeams, and the dread that had settled itself in Lavi's heart diminished a little.

It wasn't destroyed.

There was conviction in Junior's words, spoken to Lavi in their mind, and he felt that same sense of understanding. What the Earl had seemingly destroyed still existed, in some form or another. It was not lost, it had not been destroyed; it had been freed.

Lavi had no time to process this knowledge - Lenalee crashed into a wall close-by, Miranda hurrying to her side, and Kanda stood, sword embedded in the Earl's torso. Gripped by panic, Lavi raised himself up so suddenly he felt dizzy, vision swimming before him. Krory held him up, and with a hand clutching at his forehead, Lavi coughed and hoped he could catch Kanda's attention before it was too late.

"Yuu."

A hoarse whisper, swiftly swallowed up by dust and darkness. Krory barely heard it himself. He leant closer. Lavi licked his lips, coughing until his throat burned, and took in a deep breath.

"Yuu!"

No response. Miranda turned her head, concern showing in her expression, Lenalee pushing herself up with a wince beside her. Krory finally understood, and opened his mouth to speak before a desperate shout drowned him out.

"Kanda!"

Kanda turned, eyes wide, but was knocked aside before he could speak. Recovering swiftly, he tried to head towards Lavi but the Earl blocked his path, sword raised, golden eyes glinting with malice. Gritting his teeth, Kanda raised his sword arm and hoped it would be enough to block whatever attack was coming. He froze when he saw the Earl was no longer moving, surrounded by a haze of light.

"H-hurry, I can't hold him for long."

Miranda's voice was strained, arms shaking from the effort of holding back such a powerful being. Kanda nodded and moved with urgency, meeting Lenalee's gaze and noting she was already healing from the injury she'd been given, and collapsed against the wall by Lavi's side, eyes fluttering shut.

Lavi noted with concern the blood staining Kanda's uniform - he won't be in good shape when Miranda deactivates her Innocence, Junior noted, much to Lavi's worry - and knew that all of them were nearing their limit.

After a few seconds of silence, Kanda opened his eyes, voice hoarse from the dust-filled air and from exhaustion.

"What… do you want, stupid rabbit?"

Lavi managed a weak smile. "Still as friendly as always." He let out a sigh, resting his head against the wall, head pounding, before meeting Kanda's gaze and holding it, fear in his eyes. "Where's Apocryphos?"

Kanda looked back down the hallway, eyes narrowed. "The Noah are holding it off."

Lavi nodded, relief flooding through him. He looked back up at the Earl and sighed. "Another thing - we can't kill the Earl."

Kanda frowned. "Wait, why?"

"Allen and Neah are in there."

Silence - confused and horrified silence - descended upon all of them. Lenalee turned to Lavi, alarmed.

"What do you mean, they're 'in there'?!"

Lavi pushed himself up a little, looking over at the Earl's frozen form with a grimace. "That thing, the glasses and the smile - all of it, it's not real. It's like… it's like a suit. Allen and Neah are trapped inside."

Kanda turned his head, watching the Earl's form twitch, his hands moving inch by slow inch towards the barrier that contained him. He turned back to Lavi, visibly conflicted.

"We can't just -"

"It doesn't matter. We have to save them."

Lavi's voice held a sudden clarity to it, firm resolution showing in his expression, his eyes, in the way he held himself. Kanda faltered. Lavi pushed himself up onto his feet, using the wall to prop himself up, and looked down at Kanda with a grim smile.

"Those idiots are trapped in there, and we've gotta get them out or die tryin'."

Kanda tried to speak, but a sudden cry drowned him out. All turned and saw Miranda crash into the wall behind her before slumping to one side. The Earl stood, free of his prison, filled with sheer and utter rage.

"How dare you pitiful humans hold me in check like this?! It simply won't do."

With those last few words, the Earl drew himself up and turned to look directly into Lavi's eyes, a fury so powerful in his gaze that Lavi cowered at the sight of it.

"It is time we end this. Your eye and all that is bound to it is mine."

Lavi stopped dead. Kanda and Krory both stood, hiding Lavi from view, ready to defend him. Lenalee desperately tried to wake Miranda up. When she saw Kanda and Krory bear down on the Earl she cried out, voice breaking.

"Stop! Miranda's Innocence is -"

She didn't need to finish speaking for the others to realise. Kanda immediately fell to one side, grasping at his left arm and side with an ashen face, blood spilling between his fingertips. Krory staggered on his feet, grasping at his middle. Lavi toppled to one side, vision swimming, unable to do anything more than lie on the dusty ground, blood pooling beneath him.

Lenalee dragged herself towards him, placing a shaking hand on his shoulder. Lavi turned his head to see a vague outline of her form. Both turned to see the Earl casting Krory and Kanda aside as if they weighed nothing.

Lenalee desperately raised herself up, legs shaking, hoping the armour-form of her Innocence would protect her. Deep down she knew it wouldn't.

Lavi tried to push himself up and failed, all strength leaving him. He looked up with despair at the Earl's encroaching presence, knowing for absolute certain that none of them would be strong enough to defeat him.

"Activate it."

Lavi froze. He turned and looked over at Apocryphos, who had appeared before him. Lavi shook his head. Apocryphos continued, insistent.

"Activate it."

"No, I won't -"

"You can save them if you activate it." Lavi stopped dead. He met Apocryphos's gaze, who did nothing more than look down at him, expression impossible to read. "You want to save them, do you not? Then do it."

Lavi looked around him, at Lenalee shaking where she stood, the motionless forms of Kanda, Krory and Miranda. Lenalee looked at Apocryphos, looked at the Earl, and knew she couldn't fight both. She raised herself up, armour glinting in the dust-filled light, and braced herself.

In the heavy silence that followed, the Earl raised his sword against her, Lenalee gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward, and Lavi took in a deep, shuddering breath and closed his eyes.

A rush of power, a tattoo arcing itself across his skin with a burning heat, a sensation of falling, weightless, consumed by what dwelt deep within. Lavi heard the sound of the wind filtering its way through leaves, felt it brush against his skin. He knew what he would see if he opened his eyes. He kept them shut. He had no awareness of the outside world any longer, trapped in this hellish place with a being that had haunted his dreams for endless months.

The silence was unbearable, unbroken and foreboding, weighing heavily on his shoulders. He felt more than heard footsteps in front of him. Dread sank its claws in deep, heart jack-hammering against his rib-cage, chest heaving. Lavi could feel himself slipping, already hearing the crackle of flames, the awful feeling of losing himself to something - someone - and knowing he could do nothing to stop it.

"Please."

Lavi froze. He almost thought he had imagined it, those words; almost. Unable to stop himself, he opened his eyes. His heart twisted in his chest, fear all-consuming. Stood before him was the creature from his dreams, his nightmares, but stood beside it was someone he knew. A child stood there, wearing a scarf and tattered poncho, red hair moving with the wind, looking up at Lavi with desperation.

"Please. You have to help her."

Lavi couldn't speak, uneasy and afraid because he had not expected this. He reached out, hands shaking.

"M-Milo, get away from that -"

"It's okay. She won't hurt me."

The child smiled, patting a nearby feathered wing. Lavi swallowed audibly, heart jack-hammering against his rib-cage. He looked at anything but the many-eyed, many winged creature stood with an awful sense of stillness before him. He focused on the young boy - he had to protect him, he had to keep him safe, what was he doing here - and tried to manage a smile.

"C-come on, you need to -"

"You need to help her. You can do that, can't you?"

Lavi faltered. "I… what?"

Milo took a step forward, voice desperate. "You have to help her! Please!"

Lavi took a step backwards, horrified. "Wait, I don't - what're you sayi-"

"Help… me…"

That voice was wrong, so awfully wrong. Lavi tasted bile at the back of his throat. He shook his head, desperate and afraid, unable to turn his gaze away from the creature stood in front of him. The creature moved, twitched, limbs moving unnaturally. Many mouths opened, many eyes wide and pleading.

"Help me."

It - she - was begging him. In that one moment, Lavi thought he began to understand all that he had felt, all the dreams, the emerald garden burning, all those poor pieces, trapped and bound when they should be free, they should be part of him.

Lavi.

The garden became set alight. Lavi felt something build within himself, cloying, suffocating.

Lavi.

All he could hear was that awful voice in his ears, those eyes, that face, that horrible face.

Lavi!

He was losing himself to it. Something ancient and undying crept its way up from the darkness and wrapped its hands around his throat.

"LAVI!"

Lavi came back to his senses, to dust-filled darkness and bloodied vision - help me - to Lenalee slumped to one side, a sword buried in Kanda's shoulder - help me, please - Krory and Miranda lying in pools of blood, and Apocryphos beaming down at him with a wide smile.

Lavi raised himself up. Vision blurred at the edges, he reached out. His hands met fabric and he buried his fingers in deep, chest heaving. He drew one hand back, blood curling its way around his fingertips before hardening to crystal.

"Give them back."

The Earl turned his head, permanent grin plastered onto his features, eyes filled with malice. He saw a bright blue eye, a tattoo shining against skin. The Earl raised his sword and brought it down. Metal met flesh, blood arcing onto dust-covered stone. He stopped dead when he saw feathered wings, many eyes in many faces, and a crystalline fist buried deep into his torso.

Lavi took a deep heaving breath and shouted so loudly his voice nearly broke. "I said give them back!"

Lavi pulled, and the Earl's outer form ripped, a gaping hole left in its stead. Out came white hair, darkened skin, a piercing light emanating from a blackened hand. Like shadows receding from daylight's call, the Millennium Earl's suit disappeared into nothingness.

Silence, heavy and suffocating, descended upon Lavi as he held Allen and Neah in his arms. He reached for their left hand and held it gently with both of his own, breaths rattling in his chest.

"Hey, it's… time to wake up now."

No response. Lavi buried his face in their shoulder, eyes fluttering shut. He held their hand tighter, calling to the power he held deep within himself.

"Can't you… hear my voice?"

Light spilled between Lavi's fingertips, soft and gentle. He smiled, a blood-spattered laugh escaping him. He moved his hands away to hold the body in his arms tightly.

"We need you. I need you. Please."

Limbs twitched, eyelids stirred. With a quiet groan, golden eyes opened to dust and darkness.

Allen and Neah blinked for a few moments, confused and disorientated, hardly processing the motionless bodies surrounding them. They felt arms around them and turned their head, for a moment seeing something superimposed over Lavi's face - eyes, faces, feathers, oh God - before seeing the warm smile on Lavi's face, the tears and blood and dust.

"La… Lavi?"

Lavi fell backwards, eyes falling shut. Awareness came like a punch to the gut. Allen and Neah saw blood, bodies, saw Lavi lying before them, blood pooling beneath him, warm and cloying as it spread to their knees. They shook their head.

"No."

They reached out, desperate, fear rising as they felt how cold Lavi's skin was, the rattling way his breaths came out, and the blood - so much blood - and it was too much, too much too fast and they couldn't remember how they'd gotten there - grabbing suffocating hands, that smile, that awful smile - and in a rush of understanding they knew they had done this.

"No!"

Allen came to the forefront, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"No, no, no!"

He stumbled to his feet, tried to wake Miranda, Krory, Lenalee, Kanda - all still, all unmoving, so much blood - and he turned back to Lavi, chest heaving, eyes wide and filled with horror.

"No, God, please."

Allen nearly lost himself to it, the feeling of horror flooding through him. For many unbearable minutes, all he could do was sob into his hands, eyes wide and unseeing. It took him far too long to notice a movement in front of him. He raised his head, chest heaving, and saw Apocryphos stood before Miranda, arm raised high.

Before Allen could do anything, Apocryphos took a hold of Miranda's hands, Innocence still clasped between them, and smiled.

Miranda woke with a jolt. With feathers upon her hands, her Innocence activated. Allen watched, confusion sitting alongside tentative hope in his heart. Haloes of light surrounded those around her, healing injuries that had driven them to unconsciousness. Later, those injuries would return, but for now there was more fighting to be done.

As soon as Lavi pushed himself up, Allen rushed forward and held Lavi so tightly it hurt. Lavi, woozy and disoriented, didn't notice Allen was crying, not at first. When he realised, he felt his heart twist in his chest. He held Allen in his arms, relief showing in his voice.

"It's okay."

Allen drew back, face tear-stained and contorted with horror. Lavi held Allen's face gently, pressing his forehead against Allen's own. Allen placed his hands over Lavi's and spoke through his sobs, voice thick with emotion.

"I thought - I thought you'd -"

"It's okay."

Allen shook his head. "No, no it's not. I - we - we nearly killed you."

Lavi remembered golden eyes, the glint of light against glass, and shuddered. "That wasn't… that wasn't you or Neah. That was… that was somethin' else."

Allen pulled back enough to meet Lavi's gaze. There was no hatred there, no fear - other than fear for Allen himself, for their situation - and when he turned to look over at the others, who had all raised themselves up, blood-covered and exhausted, he realised none of them blamed him for it.

Despite the stigmata upon his forehead, despite what had nearly consumed him, they still saw him for who he was.

Allen wiped at his face with shaking hands. He helped Lavi up, meeting the gaze of those around him, before managing a hesitant smile. They all took a moment to breathe, to pick themselves back up, to prepare themselves for whatever came next.

Allen couldn't feel Neah's presence beside him anymore. He remembered what Neah had told him about his death, remembered the Earl's hands, the suffocating darkness within, and shuddered. For now, he had to pull himself together, just enough to fight for a little while longer.

Allen turned to Apocryphos, who stood motionless behind them all, face impassive. Allen narrowed his eyes.

"Why did you help us?"

Apocryphos smiled. "You all have to live, so you can reach your full potential as accommodators." It turned to Lavi, smile falling. "You were so close. You were nearly there. Why did you stop?"

Lavi said nothing, disgust and fear showing in his face. Allen looked at the others then looked out at the hallway beyond. Lenalee noticed the worry in Allen's face.

"What's wrong?"

Allen hesitated before speaking. "The suit is going to come back."

Lenalee didn't respond, looking at the stigmata upon Allen's forehead with a frown. She pushed away her fears, her doubts, and walked forward, taking his hands in her own.

"I'll help you fight it. You don't have to do this alone."

Allen remembered blood, Lenalee's unmoving body, and shook his head. "No, I have to do this alone."

Lenalee began to speak but stopped when she noticed Apocryphos had stepped forward, a menacing glint in its eyes. Lavi took a step forward, taking an offensive stance beside Kanda, who looked over his shoulder with a grim expression.

"We'll handle this."

Lenalee nodded. She gave Allen a firm look. "No matter what you say, I'm coming with you."

Krory placed a hand on Lenalee's shoulder, drawing her attention. "Miranda and I will go check in with the other survivors. If that Level Four evolved, they will need help."

Miranda shook her head. "No, I need to…" she hesitated, pain showing in her expression. "I need to extend my Time Recovery so I can cover you all, there's no way you can fight otherwise." She gave Krory a thin smile. "I'll go find somewhere quiet so I can concentrate."

Krory nodded. "Then I shall protect you."

Apocryphos, observing the conversation passively before this point, gave a disgusted noise. "Do you really think I will let any of you go anywhere?"

Allen looked from Apocryphos to Lavi and Kanda, to Krory and Miranda, and then to Lenalee. He clenched his hands into fists, hesitated for a moment, and then took off at a run. Lenalee, Krory and Miranda followed behind, leaving Kanda and Lavi alone with Apocrpyhos.

It gritted its teeth, saw the defiance in Lavi's eyes, and narrowed its eyes.

"I'll deal with you first."