Bookman circled the tree-shaped bone structure, surrounding the young female Exorcist.
"Have you seen anything like it?" Lavi asked him.
The old man mused, "none, I've never heard of such a phenomena occurring; an Innocence protecting its' host is unparalleled." He paused, "but we need to head back to port, Lavi. Do you think it's breakable?"
"I don't think so. The last we've seen in Tim's memories of her was that she passed out because the Noah gave her a critical hit to the nape. I am assuming this happened because her Innocence protected her afterwards," Lavi's breath hitched remembering how the Noah touched her hair and face. "He seemed interested in her, and said that he didn't want her dead, that the Earl had plans for her," Lavi was speaking really fast, his photographic memory kick-starting. "Her Innocence seems capable of destroying other Innocence."
Bookman seemed lost in thought for a moment, storing the information Lavi was delivering to him. "Lavi, we need to wake her up."
"But she's passed out and she's probably broken a couple of bones."
"If your theory is correct, she can be The Heart; we won't be able to remove her out of her bones because they'll keep protecting her, most probably." Bookman surmised.
"But it could be temporary; we need to try," Lavi argued, but understood how serious this phenomena was. Devina being The Heart and the Earl's interest in her were bad news. If Devina was The Heart, the root of all Innocence, the destruction of her Innocence would lead to the vanquishing of all Innocence.
Lenalee was immersed in her grief and she barely noticed Bookman's arrival, but their argument seemed to remind her that she didn't lose all her friends and that one of them was trapped in her own bones right now, severely injured and traumatized. Lenalee got to her feet, and made her way toward Devina.
"Devina," Lenalee began repeating her name, gaining the attention of the two Bookmen. "Devina!" her voice continued to rise. "Devina, for heaven's sake wake up, wake up!" Lenalee shouted.
But the girl's eyes did not flutter open, and her breaths did not quicken.
"Devina!" Lenalee restarted the process again, "Devina!"
"Lenalee, stop…" Lavi said gently, feeling sorry for her. He knew where she was coming from. She lost Allen, and she didn't want to lose Devina, too. He knew. But this was also hard for him to watch.
"No, call her out with me, Lavi. You two are always bickering and fighting, hearing your voice will probably bring her back to life!"
And the bile was back at the tip of his throat, threatening to spill out, making him choke. "D-devina, wake up, you idiot. We had a challenge, which I'm sure I won," he paused, "Devina, Devina, Devi!"
Her eyes flickered and she gasped, her head turning left and right and her eyes met Lavi's and she leaned forward, "L-lavi," and it was barely a whisper but he heard it and his heart leapt a distance. He started trying to break at the cracks and it was working. She toppled forward as the Innocence released her when enough piles were broken and removed; Lavi caught her in his arms.
He could see what was left of her uniform, a short cropped top and small boy shorts, all ripped and ragged. He felt himself swallow, and fight hard against the heat that was threatening to overtake his face at such bad timing.
Devina drew back blinking at him, and he thought he was caught red-handed, but her hands remained across his chest. "What happened?" she said, finally seeing Lenalee and Bookman.
"You don't remember?" Lenalee asked, concerned.
"I came after Allen," her voice was so raw, it seemed like every word she spoke was ripping at her vocal chords. "He was with Suman… but it was too late, it was too late, then those butterflies, they- they- ate Suman and, and there was a Noah…" she trailed, seeming to recall everything in a flash, "oh… oh, god." She pulled herself away from Lavi and then started looking around. "Allen… where's- where's Allen?" her voice broke. "Oh, god," she shook her head, "no, no, no, no, no, no." She looked from Lavi to Bookman and then Lenalee. "What happened?"
Lenalee's lips quivered, "w-we d-d-don't know,"
Devina held her face in her hands and screamed. She screamed until her voice gave out before she angrily turned to Bookman, "what was a Noah doing here? Can we track them? I need to find that bastard. I need to find him." And she was repeating the last sentence placidly, that Lenalee had to place her hand on Devina's shoulder to break her out of her trance. "You don't understand, I did this! I did this to him. I destroyed his arm, oh, god."
"Devina," Lavi called, his tone both gentle and firm and she squirmed in her place. "What about your injuries?"
"Who cares about my injuries? Allen is probably d-d-d… and you're asking about my injuries?"
"But Lavi said you had some broken bones," Bookman interjected.
"I don't know, and I don't give a damn." Devina snapped while the two Bookmen exchanged a knowing glance; her Innocence had healed her.
"Devina," Lenalee spoke, earning the girl's attention, "we need to head back to port, the Order sent a messenger who's been waiting for us for a while now," she explained. "Do you think you can walk back?"
"Or better yet, make one of those planks you flew on to get here," Lavi cut in.
Devina turned to give Lavi a stare that could only be regarded as a minor glare, but the redhead didn't seem to notice. She focused her energy on her toes and her bones were liquid once again, before she jumped up and they solidified bellow her feet, larger than before. "Hop on," she muttered.
"Brilliant!" Lavi jumped on and he helped Lenalee and Bookman get on before Devina flew them towards the port. She was trying very hard to listen to Bookman's directions, and trying even harder not to fall apart. She knew Lenalee was stealing glances at her every now and then. She also knew that Lavi was acting so cheerful after losing one of his friends just to lighten up her mood, but she couldn't take it and more than anything, she didn't want anyone worrying about her.
She didn't want to admit it, but Lavi's suggestion, that she flies them to port was really helping her focus on keeping the plank balanced rather than cry or think about Allen, and she couldn't help but wonder if he'd done it on purpose.
They reached the port shortly, Devina's control barely slipping at all this time. She landed them right next to Anita, Mahoja and Krory. There seemed to be a hooded man standing farther ahead, next to the wooden gangplank connecting the port to the ship.
The group approached him and he spoke, "it's good to see you again, Lenalee-san,"
"Are you… you're from the Asian Branch," Lenalee seemed to recognize him when he drew back his hood to reveal an old bearded man.
"My name is Won. Our Chief Officer sent me with some news."
"What sort of news?" Lavi asked. Devina stood next to him, looking at the newcomer from the Asian Branch with acute fascination. She'd heard of the other branches but she hadn't expected to be meeting someone who belongs to one so soon.
"We have found Allen Walker's body and we are keeping him at our headquarters."
Devina gasped, "what?" while Lenalee's eyes widened, "really?"
"Yes," the man nodded, and Lenalee tackled him, holding onto his arms.
"Is he alright? Is Allen-kun okay?" she clutched at the old man. "You've got to take me to him. I want to see him."
Won seemed to ignore her pleas completely. "You are to leave this port at once and leave Allen here, once and for all."
"Does that- does that mean he's dead?" Lenalee asked and Devina shoved a fist inside her own mouth to keep from screaming.
"Would you stop playing at riddles and start explaining things, old man?" Devina lashed out.
"I know this is not easy for you to hear, but please try to understand." Won said grimly.
Lenalee's arms were limp at her side, no longer hanging onto Won. "Lenalee," Devina began but she didn't know what to say next.
"Lenalee, you've seen Tim's memory; his arm was destroyed… he's no longer an Exorcist. We have to move forward," Lavi was saying, and Devina was so ready to punch him but when she saw the look on his face, she digressed. His visible eye mirrored the sadness she felt and she kept her fist hanging by her side.
"But…" Anita spoke for the first time since they had arrived, "the ship- it's broken and damaged. It will take some time to fix. I'm afraid it's just not possible for us to sail right away,"
"Don't worry about that, my lady," Won said, smiling slightly. "The European Branch had sent some backup; the perfect Exorcist to assess the situation, Miranda Lotto."
Said Exorcist made her appearance at the top of the gangplank. She was taller than Devina, with dark wavy brown hair that dipped bellow her shoulders. She had brown eyes that were heavily lined with black circles. Devina guessed the new Exorcist never got any sleep and she wondered why. She wore a pair of black pants, a white undershirt and a black jacket with the Order's crest over her heart.
Miranda took two graceful steps and Devina felt so envious of this problem-solving individual, before she tripped on one of the steps and fell down the wooden plank, landing headfirst. Devina was immediately washed over by guilt, that she leaned over and helped the older woman stand. She noticed Miranda had dropped a black suitcase and ran to get it for her.
Miranda seemed absolutely horrified at receiving Devina's help and the suitcase and she drew away from Devina as soon as she found her footing, thanking her relentlessly. "Everyone, please stand back." She sat down her suitcase, before she clicked a little disk hanging from her right arm and it slid down to stop at her wrist at the place she'd normally put on a wristwatch. "Activate Time Record – Time Recovery."
The ship seemed to be fixing itself, Devina noticed. The torn sails were returning to their original perfect white floating form, the holes and cracks were disappearing, as if the ship hadn't sustained any damage. But Devina realized it was more than that. Miranda's Innocence had more to do with the time's restoration than the objects' themselves. By the time Miranda had finished, the ship looked as it did when they first sailed.
The Exorcists were all meeting in the room on deck, a request made by Miranda. The room was spacious and its walls were lined up with middle-sized glass pane windows. Inside, Miranda sat on a chair and had her suitcase open, having delivered a new uniform to the male Exorcists to replace the ones that were destroyed or ruined in the battle.
Lavi, Krory and Bookman came out of the bathroom dressed in their new uniforms. Lavi seemed to really like his, because in a second, he started bouncing up like a child, trying out the flexibility of the material.
"It's very light and easy to move in," he commented, grinning. It definitely seemed like a better uniform; compared to his old coat-like outfit, his new white pants and black jacket seemed more convenient.
Bookman's outfit now comprised of white pants and a blouse that was similar to a Changshan's. Krory's cape remained, but underneath it, he wore a tight black jacket, similar to Lavi's along with black pants.
"I'm told it's the latest design. I was specifically asked to deliver them to you since your uniforms have sustained a lot of damage." Miranda explained. She stood up to hand Lenalee and Devina their outfits but she stopped short in her tracks when she saw Lenalee sitting on the short stairs that led to the exit of the room and Devina who had helped her earlier, a little ways off from Lenalee, her back against the wall, her arms crossed against her chest and her head bent. "Lenalee-chan," she called but Lenalee didn't seem to hear her. She looked to the newest Exorcist, opened her mouth but closed it since she didn't yet learn her name.
"They're a little shaken. Lenalee regrets leaving Allen alone, while Devina blames herself for not chasing them to begin with, and well… destroying his Innocence."
Lavi gritted his teeth, enraged, before his fist broke through the window pane. "Enough already! There was nothing else any of you could've done. We were all fighting for our lives last night; there was no way for him to be saved. This is war! It couldn't be helped!" Lavi shouted. Lenalee remained unfazed while Devina's hands clawed at her face wiping her tears. "Stop this and get up!" Lenalee's eyes widened, before her tears slowly fell down her cheek, and Lavi gulped, warily.
Bookman turned to Lavi and strangled him in a headlock, "I'm sorry, ladies. He's going to pay for this," Bookman leaned into his successor's ear, "Calm down, you idiot."
"Why should I, Panda? I'm not saying anything wrong-" Lavi complained loudly.
Devina was about to strangle him because she's had enough of his loud mouth and his attitude. Barefoot and silent, she was making her way fast toward the two Bookmen, but she paused when she heard the older of the two speak.
"Do you think you're a disciple of God's now, is it? You are nothing but the successor of Bookman. How many times do I have to remind you to be an observer at all times? War is the essence of all history and it is because of war that history happens. The Bookmen are those who remain unattached, tied down by nothing as they impartially record down everything that occurs, without bias. Don't get caught up in the war. We're only on the Church's side to record what happens. Don't lose sight of your goal, Lavi."
Lavi's eye stared back at Bookman's, full of doubt and uncertainty and conflict. "I understand. I'm sorry,"
Devina turned toward Miranda to grab her outfit instead of punching him because his apology was like a punch to her gut and Bookman's rebuke made her feel really bad for Lavi, and more than upset with Bookman.
"Can I have my outfit, please?" she said to Miranda.
Miranda fiddled nervously before handing her the white package, "y-y-yes,"
"I still can't believe the child who was prophesized of being The Destroyer of Time is dead; it was my interest in him that made me join Cross's squad to begin with. I thought 'Time' in The Destroyer of Time stood for something; Time and Millennium, I thought maybe Allen Walker was the one who would destroy the Millennium Earl; and if that were true, he wouldn't have died here."
Devina couldn't believe her ears. She couldn't believe Bookman was just reprimanding Lavi but now he was speaking inconsiderately and she had to remind herself that he was a lot older than she was, and that punching him would be very inexcusable.
"This makes me doubt that he's dead," the older man added, smiling slightly in Lenalee's direction, and Devina felt horrible for misjudging him.
A knock sounded on the door behind Lenalee. "Honored Exorcists, is everything alright? It's very loud on your end," Anita opened the door, stepping in along with Mahoja.
Mahoja made her way toward the broken glass in a few strides and she was very displeased. Bookman and Krory pointed at Lavi, "He broke it."
Mahoja walked over to Lavi and leaned over him, looking him in the eye.
"I'm sorry?" he began but her face grew nearer and he broke into a thousand apologies, slanting against Miranda who then pointed out that her Time Record would keep fixing everything as long as it is activated. And it did immediately reshape the broken glass. However, she added that the moment she deactivated it, the ship would go back to its original form. For as long as the crew and Exorcists remain on the ship, their wounds and injuries will heal with her ability, but if she deactivates, those would also return.
Devina needed to get out of that room, away from Lavi and Bookman; so with her uniform secured between her arms, she trudged past Anita and out the door.
Lenalee was headed to the showers; having received her latest uniform, she wanted to cleanse herself from the aftermath of the battle.
She entered the shared bathroom and was shocked to find Devina slumped bellow one of the showers in what remained of her uniform. Lenalee had realized she'd been gone for a while, but could it be that she's been here ever since?
Devina sat bellow the pouring water, her legs and head bent.
Author's Note: So, as promised, here's another chapter! I can't believe this has lasted for ten chapters. Thank you so much for the reviews! They made my day.
I would just like to remind you there won't be a chapter next Wednesday, and this was to make up for it. Have a pleasant week!