Lavi's eye flashed open and his brows furrowed in concentration. He was no longer on the top of the tower with everyone else but caught in a strange dimension, a topsy-turvy kind of world where the ground his feet trudged upon consisted of black and white tiles, while the ceiling was made to resemble a dark blue sky and it was adorned with several floating moon-shaped lanterns. He recalled that Road's ability had to do with teleportation and couldn't help thinking she'd transported him elsewhere.
"If you can get out of here alive, it's your win, Bookman. Such a simple game, wouldn't you say?" Lavi was startled to hear Road's voice. She suddenly materialized out of the floor, but only her upper half seemed to appear, and she swayed like a puppet on a string. "I've been thinking… Could it be that you think you've been sent to another dimension, Bookman?" she asked. "It may or may not be true~"
"For how long do you intend on popping out of the floor like a chess piece? Come on, aren't we gonna fight?" Lavi asked, hitting her gently with his hammer.
"Oh, I'm not the one you'll be fighting," the doll-like Road smiled, exposing sharp shark-like teeth. "The one you're going to fight," Road continued, and Lavi felt someone materialize behind him. He whirled around swiftly, his hammer landing a few feet away from the shadow, before it dawned on Lavi.
"Me?" Lavi stood before another version of himself. His other self was dressed in a poncho and had his hair down, and Lavi could see his own face reflected in his opponent's visible green eye. "Nah, this can't be real! Maruhi, Gouka Kaijin-"
His other self stretched out his right hand and Lavi's blazing fire seized. "There's no need for such an attack, Lavi. Right now, only your mind exists in this place, the Innocence does not exist here."
Lavi's breaths were coming out as sharp, uneven gasps. His hammer, held so tight between his fingers, began to slowly disintegrate. "
"It would be such a bore if teleporting were my only power," Road said, highly amused. "The reason I am the only Noah who can move about freely without the Ark is because I can mix up the real world with the one I live in. I am the sheep that holds Noah's dreams, and this place is only a mere creation of the Noah Road Kamelot." She suddenly emerged right in front of his face and tapped his forehead. "Have fun, Bookman."
Lavi's eye closed at the contact, and then opened once again. His surroundings had changed. He was surrounded by complete darkness, but he could still make out the shape of the boat he was suddenly riding, while Bookman sat across him.
Lavi turned away from him to scan his surroundings. He felt a presence behind him but he found nothing.
"What's wrong, Lavi? Lavi… Lavi… Lavi… Deak!"
Lavi's head snapped towards the older man, eye blinking dumbly, only to receive a smack to the side of his head. "What do you think you're doing, Gramps?" he bellowed, massaging the side of his head with a frown.
"Shut it, you moron. What do you think you're doing, spacing out in a place like this?" Bookman shouted back.
"Don't tell me… Did I just react to my past log name?" Lavi questioned, guiltily.
"Concentrate, you idiot. This log won't be as easy as any of the past ones." Bookman reprimanded.
"Which one is that?" Lavi asked.
"The Black Order, the Anti-Akuma military base. There, we'll become Exorcists and we'll record everything that transpires there or else we can never get access to that kind of information."
Lavi blinked, staring at Bookman for a moment, before it hit him. This wasn't real. This was Road's dream world. He was brought her to play her game and then rescue his comrades from Noah's Ark.
"What is it, Lavi? Just sit down and be quiet until we get there." Bookman rose as Lavi did, and the two stared at each other.
Lavi broke into a grin. "You've gone through my memories, haven't you?" Lavi asked Road, who was nowhere to be seen. "This is quite a good job, but I won't be fooled. I'm gonna go back-"
"Go back?" Lavi's spitting image was back, sitting behind Bookman. "Go back to the characters whose lives you're recording, you mean?" Lavi ignored him, but his look-alike continued to speak. "You're not going anywhere because you don't belong anywhere. You don't have a heart, remember? You're a person who has always watched from the sidelines, never getting involved, thus, your punishment is your solitude."
Lavi's grin was intact. "I realize that-"
"Do you?" his other self asked.
"You've been compromised, caught between Akuma and Innocence. The light in your eyes has never been so dim…"
Lavi was no longer listening because he could hear gasps and coughs coming out from the darkness. "Who's there?" he shouted.
"Lavi… Lavi," he heard a voice and his heart hammered. "Help!"
He gulped before he leaned against the edge of the boat, looking everywhere. "Devina!" he shouted. "Devina, where are you?" He sidestepped over to the water and his feet splashed with every step he took.
"Lavi… I'm right here," she moaned. "Where the hell are we? What happened to everyone?"
He finally saw her and she was struggling to keep herself afloat. The water wasn't that deep, not enough to drown her, but Lavi noticed how her arms were bent behind her back and he dashed forward, holding her in place, undoing her ropes. Devina broke free and massaged her arms, before she lifted her gaze and met his. He could almost feel her apprehensiveness brush against him. Her eyes were wide and crazed and she was breathing heavily.
"Hey," Lavi gripped her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll get us out of here. Just… how in the world did you get here?"
"I- I- I don't know," Devina trembled, her hair sticking to her face as he steadied her. "What the hell is this place?" she asked, finally managing to look around her. "Lavi, we need to go back… Tyki and Allen… they're going to kill each other," she gasped gripping onto his shoulders too.
"Okay, okay," he nodded, not taking his eye off her brown ones. "Just please, calm down."
"He- he almost died once, because of me-"
"I understand," Lavi said firmly, tightening his hold on her shoulders.
She nodded her head, before she pulled back and started studying the place. "What is this place? Can we get out?"
"It's Road's world of dreams," he explained.
Devina jumped, "Lavi, it's Bookman!" she pointed, "and… you…" she whispered, pointing at his replica, and Lavi saw her forehead crease in confusion. "What's Bookman doing here? Why are there two of you?"
"That's Road's ability," Lavi answered.
"But if there's two of you, then which one's-"
"LENALEE!" Lavi shouted, as he spotted a bloodied Lenalee inside a casket, and splashed Devina as he moved towards an open casket, dragging her along by the arm.
"Ah, you're the real one," Devina answered her own question.
Lavi frowned, "what's that supposed to mean?"
He heard her sigh as he picked Lenalee out of the casket, "you'll always run to Lenalee's aid, no matter what," and he said nothing as he cradled Lenalee. He knew she was right, but he'd also grown accustomed to rushing to Devina's aid, as well…
"Lenalee, Lenalee!"
"What is it, Lavi?" the replica spoke, "isn't this just another part of history for you to record?"
"Ack!" he heard Devina squeal as the water beneath them disappeared and they were instead standing on numerous caskets. Lavi saw one with the lid half open, and he could see Kanda's bracelet on the person's wrist. He gritted his teeth. "Oh… God…" she breathed, holding a hand to cover her mouth. "But- but… This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real." She whispered repetitively, as if reciting an incantation.
Lavi nearly dropped Lenalee and he turned to her. He studied her battered appearance and chapped lips and saw the color drain from her cheeks. Is she… real? His head was pounding.
"K-kanda!" he could almost barely hear her voice.
"Have you forgotten, Lavi?" Bookman asked, and he shut his eyes to try and clear his mind. "Haven't I taught you to be an observer at all times, and nothing but? To belong to nothing and no one, to record history with an unbiased outlook? Look at you… Your heart is tattered."
He was about to tell the old man how annoying he was being when he heard a shout from behind him and watched as one of Devina's heels landed onto Bookman's head. "Shut up, you old geezer!"
He almost snorted, his head craned in her direction. He was surprised to see her distraught face, contorted in anger. He couldn't tell whether she was upset at Bookman for the things he'd said, or for him, angry because he's always listening to such lectures. His chest ached at the possibility, but not for long.
Casket after casket began to reveal members of the Order, along with every Finder and friend Lavi had ever made. Chomesuke, Anita, Komui, Yuu, Reever, Kuro-chan… "No. This is an illusion," Lavi muttered, shaking his head.
"Lavi," he heard Devina call for him, and he jerked. "You go look for Road. She must be here somewhere. I'll… I'll try and hold them off,"
Lavi almost felt certain she was real. No one he knew was as reckless with their lives as she was, but… "You idiot, the Innocence doesn't work in this world, you can't-"
"I'll manage, just concentrate! Besides," she turned to give him a smile, "I'm not real, right? This is Road's creation of what's inside your mind, isn't it?"
Lavi's could feel a weight pull on his heart. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. He was about to tell her to stop when Lenalee stirred in his arms. "L-lavi… Am I… still part of this world?" He pulled away, moments away from being slashed by Lenalee's dagger.
"Lavi… why are you leaving us behind? Aren't we friends?" Lenalee asked, her head tilted. Lavi could feel his limbs go limp. He couldn't move or breathe.
"Lavi, you idiot," Devina yelled from across the room, holding back Kanda. "She's not real!"
Lenalee sprinted at him, her arm raised with the dagger gripped in her hand. "Aren't we friends, Lavi? Don't you abandon us!"
Lavi sidestepped and Lenalee missed stabbing him for the second time. From the corner of his eye, he saw Devina push Kanda's corpse and then she whipped around and, drew her arms back and attacked Lenalee. The two were sprawled on the floor, with Lenalee on top of Devina. The former was struggling to jab her dagger into the latter, while Devina held Lenalee's wrist to make sure she didn't get killed in the process.
Lavi was about to go help her, when Krory almost bit into his neck, and he elbowed him to evade his attack.
"They're not real, Lavi." Bookman repeated. "I think I taught you a technique that would get you through this."
Something clicked inside of Lavi, and he closed his eye. He had to concentrate. His vision wasn't what mattered in this situation; he needed to focus on staying calm.
It appeared inside his right palm; a small dagger with a golden hilt, ornamented with several rubies.
"Kill them all, Lavi," Bookman shouted. Lavi didn't need to be told twice, and he couldn't have held back even if he wanted to. His friends were attacking him, closing in around him and Devina. Lavi moved around, slashing his blade against every person that came across his path. He managed to catch Devina's wrist in his hand and he tugged her along.
"Lavi, to the right," she said, and he saw one of the crewmen running straight at them. Lavi cut him down without hesitation. Illusions… They're only illusions.
Out of nowhere, Reever, Chomesuke and Kanda cornered him. He turned around and tried to get away, but was met by a wall. He turned back around and he saw Devina stand before him, sustaining three separate stab wounds. She managed to stab Reever and Chomesuke before she fell to the ground. Lavi fell down beside her, aware of Kanda's towering form. "Devina! Devina, what have you done?" he asked, shaking her. He could feel the tears coming and he tried to hold them back but his throat was so dry and his eye stung.
"I'm not real. I'm not real. I'm not real." She gasped, shaking her head slightly, her hand reached for his cheek, held it firmly before it fell back down by her side and her eyes closed. In a second, her body had completely decayed.
"Just what is that expression?" Lavi's replica asked disgusted. "The more time you'd spent at the Order, the more you started considering these people your comrades, Lavi," he taunted.
"Shut up!" She wasn't real, she wasn't real, she wasn't real.
"That smiling face of yours, haven't you been wondering whether it's real or not?"
"Stop it! Stop getting inside my head!" Lavi screamed, clutching his head. He held his breath as he noticed the ace card he'd picked from where he found Allen in the forest slipping and falling into the water.
"You've kept this," Allen seemed to appear out of nowhere, "all this time," he picked it up and gazed at it with a sad smile. "…without telling Bookman." Allen continued.
"Allen," Lavi called out but was cut short when he heard his replica scream, "Hi Ban," and the fire swallowed a screaming Allen, who shook violently after the fire disappeared.
"Allen!" Lavi shouted simultaneously and reached for his friend.
"Again with that expression," Lavi halted as he heard his replica. "You're making a face… it looks like you're suffering." Lavi's chest tightened, as if rejecting every ounce of oxygen he tried to inhale. "A Bookman doesn't need things like friends. You can't get too involved with people. Isn't that the rule? If having friends hurts, you should just erase them. If you feel like your heart's wavering, you walk away," the replica's eye was glued to the spot were Devina disappeared. "Isn't that right, Lavi?"
He was about to retaliate when he heard the splashing of water. He turned around to see Krory, Kanda and Lenalee approaching. He heard Allen call to him, and he was caught between the two. Krory, Kanda and Lenalee were closing in on him fast, and he knew he must act quickly.
He flipped the blade inwards, and stabbed himself. Before he lost consciousness, he could hear his replica speaking from a distance, telling him he'll take his place as a Bookman now, before his eye finally closed.
Author's Note: Sorry, I know I've been apologizing a lot for being late, lately, but it was my birthday last weekend and my best friend is getting married, and work, and laziness. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me some reviews, mwah!