White Demon, Red Scribe, Black Nightmare
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations Crossover
Lavi had to wait until morning to really get to proper work on what he wanted to do, but just having the Apple in his position gave him a bit of time to plan and ponder properly before going ahead and doing so.
He went off to the blacksmith's bright and early, before Allen or Kanda even appeared to have woken up, needing to get a box and create a clay mold, which meant he then had to pick bits of clay out of crevices of the Apple afterwards. Even so, it was worth it, once he had the thin half-circles crafted from poured metal, which took more than one attempt to get right.
That turned out to be the easy part. The harder part was obtaining gold leaf. None of the merchants at the bazaar had any, nor the private shops. He scoured the docks and incoming trade ships hourly before finally finding one that sold what he needed, as well as a couple other supplies.
When he had all that he needed, he holed himself up in the library at the den, only stopping what he was doing inside long enough to tend to the most bare necessities like food and drink, before going right back to work. It took him the better part of the day and night to get it all done, but he was satisfied with his work once he had finished, smiling smugly at his craftsmanship.
Oh yes, this was definitely one of his more brilliant ideas thus far.
It was the next afternoon when he finally felt ready to reveal what he had in mind to his companions, knowing from the earlier looks that Allen and Kanda were probably both edgy about what he had in mind, but he didn't think they'd be disappointed.
He found them at lunch time where they were eating, he himself looking tired but accomplished as he flopped down on one of the pillows.
"Mornin' all~" he greeted.
Kanda immediately sent an ugly frown his way, whereas Allen managed to put a smile on his face, greeting back.
"You seem rather happy today," the whitehead commented, sipping from his cup.
"Do I? Hadn't noticed," Lavi hummed. This, of course, being a blatant lie. But it hardly mattered. "So, you want this back now?" Lavi questioned, producing and setting the Apple on the table in front of him. He gave it a few seconds, looking far too proud, before he produced a second one and set it down, side-by-side with the first. "...or perhaps its this one you want?"
Kanda's frown deepened as he set down his cup and straightened his back.
"Lavi," Allen started nervously, "what... this is what you needed the Apple for? To make a replica?" It sure was a good idea - the orbs looked exactly the same - but something dark and ugly started whispering in the back of Allen's head, and the words weren't pretty. He forced a smile on his face anyway. "That is really impressive!"
"It isn't only a replica," Lavi said, ignoring the look Kanda gave him as his own smile broadened. "What Apollo wants out of you is the Apple more than anything, so I say, why not give it to him?" he began, his single eye sparkling with cunning.
No one - absolutely no one - knew how to troll better than he did. Most of the time it was in mostly harmless fun, like when he played pranks on Allen, but now it was going to come in handy for real.
"This one is the original," he said, rolling it to Allen across the table, before he held up the other between both hands. "This fake isn't simply for show, though. It's got a nasty kick to it." His eye deliberately wandered to the table of supplies for bomb-crafting. "It's a bit more... disarming than its original, but Apollo won't be able to tell the difference until its in-hand. And by then, well..."
Lavi grinned proudly. He was sure the other two would easily catch where he was going with this without further elaboration.
Allen weighted the Apple and then took the other one, doing the same. And for real, the second one was slightly lighter and just had a different quality to it. It wasn´t as cold as the real one.
"This is... genius!" he gasped, his eyes flickering from one to the other, "but how are we going to lure him out now?"
"That's the part we have to figure out next," Lavi hummed, glowing beneath the praise. "But what you said the other day got me thinking. Maybe being straightforward really is what you need to get the better of Apollo, but straightforward can also be underhanded. Apollo's gotta have eyes somewhere in the city, besides just himself. That means we can be the ones to set the meeting place. I think that if we can make it convincing enough that we intend to give up the Apple, he'll show up, and there's no way for him to know about the replica, so he won't hesitate to take it."
"And how are we going to convince him of that?" Kanda finally spoke up, his voice laced with distrust. Allen sent a look his way which he ignored and sighed.
"He should still be tempted to go after me..." Allen trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. Kanda redirected his frown at his lover instead this time.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
"Normally I'd be one to agree with Yuu, but actually, if we go about it carefully, that could work," Lavi speculated. "While I've been out, I've been tracing how the informant network works around here, and its pretty extensive, as should be expected from a big port city. All we have to do is pass along a piece of information to the right person, and it'll trickle down the chain until it reaches Apollo. While we wait for the information of the meeting place to reach him, we can prepare accordingly and set the stage."
Allen vehemently agreed, perking up like a pup. "Lavi is right, you have to admit that, plus I have never felt better!" he grinned at the redhead, just glowing with happiness. "You'll both be there, so there's nothing to worry about and this whole thing could be finally over!"
Kanda looked skeptical as he picked up his cup again and took a deep swing. "Alright," he said, "time to check all the gear then," was all he added before he stood up and headed towards the underground tunnels.
Allen looked after him for a while, his happiness deflating slightly.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," he said. "I am not lying about how I'm feeling - I really feel like I have been reborn! Thank's to you of course!" Allen smiled again, handing Lavi back the fake Apple and pocketing the original.
"He's probably just weary with everything having to do with Apollo," Lavi shrugged. He added with a little laugh, "we can't all be as young and spry as you, 'sprout. Anyway, while he's working on that, I'll see if I can't work another miracle with the city informants."
Allen nodded, finishing his plate and cup.
"Can I tag along?" he asked after realizing that there was basically nothing for him to do at that point.
Lavi considered refusing, but after some thought, he decided that would probably be for the better anyway, considering that they hadn't yet settled on where would be the most beneficial place to set up their ambush.
"Sure thing. We can take a look around the city and decide where would be a good spot to set the meeting place at. I sort of need that bit of information before I can proceed very far on my task anyway."
Allen's face lit up with a way-too-bright smile as he stood up and adjusted his belts, giving one last look towards the tunnels. The situation made him forget all the bad things that happened between him and Lavi and suddenly, the day seemed just slightly better.
"Say," the whitehead started as they walked down the street, "where do you want to go next? I mean, after everything is over?"
Lavi blinked, not having expected the question.
"Well... that's all kind of up in the air until I'm done here. Really it depends on what's going on elsewhere in the world, but anyway, if I get my pick of anywhere in the world, I'd really like to see that new continent across the sea. The one they found tryin' to find a faster way to India. Chances o' that happening might be slim though, at least for a few years."
Allen hummed dreamily. "That sounds good. Wait, they found a new continent?" he perked up, "I thought Nihon was all there was that way."
The whitehead grimaced briefly at the mention of his mentor, and was not quick enough to hide it. He shook it off, however, and continued. "Can you tell me more about it?" he asked hopefully, mentally imagining what new types of food could be found there.
"Not much is known about it," Lavi admitted with a little laugh. "But that's why I want to go. There are people inhabiting it though, whole nations of people with reddish skin. They live more like people in the tribes of Africa than like Europeans even though the climate is more forest and mountains than hot desert and grassland, or so I've heard, and they found new types of birds and animals there too. From what I understand, there are already small colonies being built over there. Beyond that, I don't really know anything."
Allen listened to him with wonder written all over his face, greedily absorbing every information the man provided. "I need to talk Kanda into going there!" he exclaimed. "It sounds so unbelievable!" It was very improbable that Kanda would agree to go there, especially since he intended to return to his own country after everything is over, but it would still be nice if they could travel a little bit before settling down.
Lavi merely smiled. It was good to see Allen so lively again and more carefree than he'd been in such a long time. He almost hated to ruin it, but they had something to handle first before they started daydreaming about adventuring to new places.
"Well, anyway, let's focus again on trying to figure out where to set up the place of meeting, shall we?"
Allen nodded, still seeming distracted by his dreamy thoughts. "So, I was thinking," he began, bouncing a little bit as he walked, "someplace without people would be understandable. I know few, like the old cemetery in the Imperial district. Only few people go there. Also, I heard they are re-constructing the Bayezid Mosque so that should be void of people as well."
Lavi paused to consider that. "The graveyard would probably be a good bet," he agreed. "It's isolated, not much to use as cover or a way to escape. It would be good for a straight-forward fight, if that's what you're going for, and with the city wall to one side, he would only have so many directions to flee to if it came to that. Plus, the buildings are a fair distance away, and that way, reaching them and climbing out of range would be difficult, if not impossible."
Allen hummed in agreement. "There is the question of desecrating the burial grounds but I would rather walk over bones than bodies of innocent bystanders."
"Well graves are pretty deep," Lavi mused. "The phrase six feet under is quite literal, after all. They have to be, otherwise animals will dig up the graves to scavenge the corpses. If anything, the tombstones themselves might get damaged, but those can be replaced if need be with new stones. Either way, there shouldn't be too much clean-up in the aftermath."
"Right, so, if you have no other suggestions, we have a place. Now how are we going to get the hunter out of his hole?"
"You leave that part to me," Lavi offered up with a reassuring smile. "I just have to find a couple o' people that like to talk and weave a few lies to reach Apollo's ears with. You should probably go an' see how Yuu is doing with his preparations and if he needs you to do anything," he suggested.
"Well, actually," he started, "I came to... deal with certain people. It has come to my attention that the heralds have been spreading some words they were not supposed to, so naturally, I have to fix that."
Lavi nodded, not making a big deal out of it and motioning ahead.
"After you then, good sir. Let's go deal with your heralds and see if we can't find the contacts I had in mind in the meantime."
Allen wasn't too happy about losing three hundred silver coins to three different heralds, but according to his grumbling it was better than cross-dressing again.
"Greedy bastards!" he cursed, weighing his money pouch with an over-dramatic look on his face, "my poor money!"
Lavi chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get it back somehow, I'm sure, once bigger problems are out of the way," he sympathized. "Assassination contracts ain't cheap, after all, and soon enough you'll be more free to go about regular business."
"I can't wait," he commented dryly, sending his pouch a last withering look.
It made him think of how many debts he had to pay for his master, which lead him to think about the man himself, which resulted in bad memories resurfacing. Allen sighed, squatting his shoulders and rising his chin. Cross could take care of himself, without doubt, but even he had his limits. Maybe he will show up after everything is over... but then there is the very possible threat of debts hanging over his head like a sword of Damocles.
Anyway, it would make Allen feel much better to know whether the womanizing master of his is still alive or not...
Lavi didn't say anything else, instead glancing around.
"Doesn't look like any of the people I had in mind are very out and active today," he mused. He certainly couldn't very well meet with Apollo with Allen tagging along, much less in broad daylight, so he would have to settle for later. "Anyway, why don't we head back? At the very least, we'll be able to tell Kanda about where we decided on having as the meeting place."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Allen looked slightly confused but he opted to stay silent. "I thought... - never mind."
They found the swordsman in his usual place in the corner of the den, smoking. Allen took a seat next to him, rudely taking the pipe out of his mouth while he was in the middle of a drag, totally ignoring the frown the man gave him.
"We found a good place," Allen informed, slumping into the pillows, "and silenced a few rude mouths."
"The graveyard on the far side of town," Lavi supplied when Allen took a pause for a smoke of his own. "Well away from any buildings or escapes, and less likelihood for accidental casualties or anything of the like."
"Good," Kanda growled, retrieving the pipe again and elbowing Allen in his ribs when he protested, "and your contacts?"
"Scarce, but I'll find them before long," Lavi smirked, propping his chin on palm. "The best informants are rarely easy to find, for good reason."
"How is the gear?" Allen asked, reaching for the pipe again, but getting his hand slapped away.
"Good," Kanda replied, leaning away from the whitehead's reach, "your armor though..." He trailed off, making Allen pause and tilt his head in confusion.
"What's wrong with my armor?"
"Smells kind of funny."
Allen retracted his hands and shifted in his seat, gnawing on his lower lip. "It's nothing," he said, staring at his hands. "It's really... nothing."
Lavi glanced between them curiously, noting Allen's sudden edginess, but he pushed the thought aside and stood.
"Well, tomorrow I'll try again to find someone to pass our bait along. Going to head back to my own place 'til then." He paused to stifle a yawn. "I never really slept last night, what with making the replica an' all."
"Good night, Lavi. Rest well!" Allen wished, waving at the man as he went his way.
"So, the armor..." Kanda cocked his eyebrow in question.
"Just, leave it be. You don't want to know."
Kanda's irritated sigh was a sign that he is not going to poke him about it anymore but he was visibly not satisfied with the answer.
"Would a pleasant night spent with me take your mind off it?" the whitehead teased.
"Tempting..."
Allen was glad to see a smile tugging at the other man's lips. He knew he has just safely avoided a bad argument.