Author's Note: I have never even been to Europe, nevermind to Rome and Vatican City, so everything I'm describing here is based on research. I'm romanizing Lavi's 48th persona name as "Deak" (its romajii is "Dikku") because, frankly, I can't wrap my brain around him being called "Dick" which is what a lot of people speculate what Hoshino meant. And of course, I'm taking a lot of artistic license here with his past, yet again. Hey, Hoshino hasn't told us hardly anything!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of "D.Gray-man" or its characters. It all belongs to the brilliant Katsura Hoshino-sensei. I'm just playing in the sandbox of this beautiful and complex world.

Warning: Some coarse language. Spoilers if you only watch the anime. Shounen-ai romance. (Ah hell, if you're still reading after four full chapters, you probably know all this anyway. You know the drill. Carry on.) Also, some rather incessant rambling about Rome, because I'm such a Rome fangirl. (Okay, Roman history, but still!)

"Boku wa naze kaze no you ni, kumo no you ni? Ano sora e to ukabu hane ga nai naze?
Hoshi no you ni, tsuki no you ni, subete tsutsumu, ano yoru e to shizumu hane ga nai..."
(Translation: "Why am I not like the wind, like the clouds? Why are there no feathers that float up to the sky?
Like the moon, like the stars, enveloped by everything, sinking into the night, lacking wings...")
-- Buck-Tick, "DRESS"

"Angelus"
Part Five: The Lights of Heaven

"Wow, is that what I think it is?" Krory leaned over Lenalee, peering out the window. The young woman tried to shrink herself down to make room for the tall baron, though he was crowding her a bit in his excitement.

"Kro-chan, take it easy!" Lavi said with a laugh. "Honestly, the Colosseum is nothing special!"

"Maybe not to you," the baron retorted. "Need I remind you which of us was cloistered away in a big ugly castle for nearly thirty years?"

"Touch." The redhead grinned. "But really, you're going to end up flattening Lenalee."

"Oh! Sorry, Lenalee."

She laughed. "I'll switch with seats you, if you'd like, Krory. I've been to Rome a number of times on missions, so it's nothing new to me."

As the two switched places, Lavi leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes a bit. The train rattled and swayed across the tracks as it swung in a great arc toward the Eternal City.

Kanda dozed next to the box's door, his feet propped up on the seat across from him. Allen was curled up, asleep, in the seat next to Lavi, using Lavi's thigh as a pillow.

"So where is Vatican City?" Krory inquired, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"It's not visible from this angle. Just as well, if you ask me."

Lenalee grinned; "You really don't like it, huh? It's more than the barrier, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. I think the Pope is a joke, but that's just my opinion. If Rome didn't have the Vatican in it, I wouldn't hate it so much. It's an interesting, if slightly creepy, place."

"Creepy?" Krory turned his attention away from the distant ruins to look at the redhead. "What on earth is so creepy about this place? I find it fascinating."

"There's a reason they called it 'the Roman War Machine,' you know. The Romans knew only one way of doing things: conquest. Compound that with their subjective way of recording history, and their bloody insane leaders, and you get a reason why most bookmen don't much like Rome."

"There you go again, blaming the city for what its leaders did," Allen said sleepily.

"Can't help it. There's just so much wrong with Rome's history."

Lenalee's face folded into a rather cute expression of confusion. "I'm pretty sure that London and Paris have some pretty messy histories. And then there's Sparta."

"Bah! Whatever!" Lavi waved a hand. "You guys keep asking me why I don't like Rome, and then you shoot holes in my reasoning! Some friends you are!"

The train jolted and jerked as it shifted gears downward, slowing down as it approached the station. Lavi gave Allen's shoulder a gentle shake; "We're almost there, Allen."

"Mmm," the younger exorcist groaned and sat up, stretching his arms. "Good. The sooner we get there and get this artifact, the sooner we can go home and forget about this whole stupid mission."

"Yeah. I just hope this artifact is worth the trouble."

"Trouble? Stupid mission?" Krory eyed them both. "The fact that you both are blowing this out of proportion does not make this a fruitless or troublesome mission."

"Blowing it out of proportion?!" Lavi blinked at the baron in utter disbelief. "You guys think I'm making this crap up? Gimme a break, I'm not that crazy!"

"I personally wouldn't put it past you, you slacker," Kanda grumbled. "I've been in the Vatican a number of times, and I never noticed any barrier. I've even been in the Apostolic Palace, in the presence of the Pope himself, back when I was still apprenticed to my gensui."

"Yeah, Shishou took me to meet the Pope once," Allen said, pondering. "I didn't notice anything."

"Fine," Lavi snapped. "Don't believe me. Maybe it's not Innocence that it cancels out at all, but rather spells. Either way, I'm probably screwed."

Kanda snorted and shook his head sharply, bracing himself as the train shuddered again as it geared down another notch. "This had better be worth the trouble of putting up with you two."

They had been stalled in Paris for nearly a week when the track that led into Rome got damaged by a massive train wreck caused by a sudden landslide after an earthquake. Traveling by rail was the safest way into Rome these days, apparently, with the reports of Akuma and Noah patrolling the borders of the Eternal City. They were there to retrieve the artifact, not fight Akuma. They would have hired a coach and gone there that way, but Komui had expressed a desire for them to avoid fighting as much as possible.

The rest of the ride was passed in silence as the train clunked into the Termini station and came to a halt, expelling steam as though it were exhausted. The Exorcists filed out of the train's doors, onto the platform.

"The Capital of the World, huh?" Krory looked around.

"Hmm, Sokaro should be around here," Lavi muttered, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun.

"Hey, is that you, Deak?" A voice called. "Deak!"

Allen reacted first, turning to the voice to see a perky, buxom blonde woman hurrying toward them. Lavi was slower to notice, mostly reacting because Allen did. But when he saw who hurried toward them, he froze.

"Deak! It is you! I knew I recognized that messy red hair! Long time, no see!"

"Deak?" Lavi blinked at her. "Oh, yeah. Uh, that's not my name anymore."

"It's not? Huh, pity. I always liked it. Look at you! All decked out like a Black Order Exorcist! Did you manage to infiltrate them?"

Lavi just stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't recognize me, do you." It wasn't a question, though it was worded like one.

"Your face is familiar, but I can't remember which name you go by."

The woman laughed. "I'm Kyrie, you idiot. Kyrie Eleison. You once knew me as Gloria, but you've seen me since I changed to Kyrie."

"Is she part of the Bookman clan, Lavi?" Allen blinked.

"Whoa," Kyrie said, looking at Allen. "Who on earth are you? I took you for an old man, but damn, you're young!"

Lavi cleared his throat; "Allen, Kyrie is a supporter of the Bookman clan. I guess you could say she's like a Finder, in a way. Kyrie, this is Allen Walker; Arystar Krory; Lenalee Lee; Kanda Yuu; and I'm called Lavi now."

"Where's Bookman-jiisama? It's rare to see you without him nearby."

"We're kind of in a hurry, Kyrie. It's good to see you and all, but we're seriously behind schedule."

She was clearly not listening to him. "What brings you to Rome, then, Junior? And why are you dressed like an Exorcist."

"He is an Exorcist," Allen said flatly, using his proximity to force Kyrie to step back. "And he said his name is Lavi. It's only fair for you to acknowledge that."

Kyrie looked at him with incredulous eyes; "Again, who are you?"

"I'm Allen Walker."

"You know Junior here, eh? You do know that 'Junior' is a valid name for him, no matter what persona, don't you?"

"Yes, I do know that," Allen retorted. "But as Lavi said, we're in a hurry. We need to retrieve something and head back to the headquarters."

Kyrie's face lit up; "Oh, that's why that Exorcist was hanging around the Colosseum! Must be Innocence around here!"

Good grief, she's not overly bright, is she? Allen thought.

Fed up with the delay, Kanda barged through, shoving Lavi and Kyrie both aside. "We've wasted enough time, Lavi. We need to find one of the gensui."

Allen fought down a grin of relief; trust Kanda to cut the crap! He nudged Lavi's shoulder and started to follow Kanda. Lenalee and Krory also started after the Japanese swordsman.

"Uh, Yuu? The main entrance is that way," Lavi said hesitantly, pointing in the other direction. "We probably should exit out that way, that's probably where Sokaro is going to look for us."

Allen throttled down a surge of jealousy when he realized that Kyrie had her arms around one of Lavi's arms, as if she believed herself to be his girlfriend or something. The only thing at the moment that was keeping Allen's anger -- which was on the verge of breaking through because of his emotional exhaustion due to the constant worry and dread of what might happen if they had to enter the Vatican -- in check was the look of thorough displeasure on Lavi's face. He was trying to extract himself from her grip.

As they exited the station into the bright daylight of high summer in the Mediterranean, Allen positioned himself right next to Lavi, eyeing Kyrie warily.

"Now that is an interesting building!" Krory said, his eyes fixed on a large, ancient-looking building soaring into the air a couple hundred meters away.

"Never been to Rome?" Kyrie asked the baron.

"No, I have not."

"Ah. Well, that building is the front of the Baths of Dionysus. The largest public baths in the history of the Eternal City. Of course, they've long since stopped working as baths, but they're pretty famous."

Lavi sputtered; "Diocletian!"

"Huh?"

"Those are the Baths of Diocletian! Don't go filling Krory's head with misinformation, you idiot! And you call yourself a supporter of the Bookmen?" Lavi wrenched his arm free finally.

Kyrie blinked; "Didn't I just say that?"

"You said Baths of Dionysus."

"I did?"

"Yes!"

Allen blinked in confusion. Lavi seemed to be blowing this way out of proportion. Was he really that on-edge? Allen himself hadn't even noticed the mistake until Lavi ranted about it.

"Well, I said the wrong thing. It happens. The names do sound similar, you know."

"Diocletian and Dionysus are two completely separate ideas," Lavi growled. "Diocletian was an Emperor of Rome. Dionysus was the drunken god of the Greeks."

"I know that, Junior. So I said the wrong thing! What's the big deal? Good grief, is this your new persona? How do you get along with anyone?"

Lavi grimaced and turned away, toward Allen, as if pleading for Allen to do something to take things out of his hands. Allen didn't even have time to say anything, though. Before he had even inhaled to speak, his left eye suddenly reacted, forming the red-lens monocle.

"Akuma!"

The Exorcists all reacted in concert as a series of Level Ones and a couple of Level Twos came swarming in. It didn't take long, and there were no casualties, but it did kind of make a mess.

"Anything else, Allen?" Krory inquired as the last of the Akuma was destroyed.

"I don't see any. But they did kind of come out of nowhere. I think we'd better be on the lookout for Road Kamelot. She has a tendency to sneak up on me."

"And here I thought you kids had chickened out," a droll voice said from nearby. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since anyone who survives Marian's company has to be tougher than your average idiot." Winters Sokaro stepped out from the shadows of the Termini's facade. His large black helmet was tucked under his arm. "You kids sure took your time, though."

"We got delayed," Allen said as he deactivated his Innocence. "There were troubles on the train tracks, so we were stuck in Paris for a while. Didn't Komui-san tell you all this?"

"Heh!" Sokaro grinned. "I dun keep in touch with the Supervisor. Not that he ain't a nice guy and all, but I don't report to him. Marian's the one what told me to be here. C'mon, we need to get moving. Marian's tracking down the whereabouts of the Finder with the artifact. The kid disappeared somewhere along the line, which we think means he's been apprehended by the Vatican."

Lavi scowled; "Dammit."

"Yeah, no kidding. I hate dealing with the Holy See. Buncha unreasonable fuckers, them."

"Ooh, are you guys here for that weird stone thingy that was found the other day?" Kyrie's expression brightened. Lavi looked at her with an incredulous, disgusted expression.

"Weren't you scared off by the Akuma?"

"No, not really. I can get you guys into the Vatican through Saint Peter's Square, if you'd like. I work in the Basilica."

"I'd rather avoid the Vatican if we can," Lavi retorted. His patience was obviously very nearly at its end.

"Hm? But you're here for the Innocence stone, right? I mean, why else would there be so many Exorcists in Rome at one time?"

"Do you know where it is?" Krory inquired.

"Of course. It's in the Pope's possession now. It's on display in Saint Peter's Basilica, but the Pope keeps it with him otherwise."

"She's right," another voice confirmed. Allen repressed a shudder as his master, Cross Marian, sauntered across the street to them. "The artifact we're after is indeed in the Pope's clutches. And he's not about to let it go. He thinks it's a holy relic. We'll be lucky if he lets us near it. I hope your photographic memory is as good as it's touted to be," he added, looking directly at Lavi.

"Remembering details is my specialty," Lavi replied, casting his arm about Allen's shoulders in a companionable-looking gesture. Allen allowed himself to relax slightly at his lover's proximity. However, as close as they were to Vatican, it made him all the more nervous to think of what might happen once they entered.

"Shishou, have you been inside the Vatican recently?"

Cross-gensui took a long pull at his cigarette before favoring his student with a withering glare. "Where the hell do you think I've been this past week while you lot were taking your sweet time getting here, baka-deshi? I haven't been in the Circus Maximus, that's for damned sure!"

"The barrier that keeps the Earl out... is it strong enough to interfere with Innocence?"

"I don't think so. I didn't notice anything. There's definitely something there, but it doesn't seem to affect anyone but Akuma."

"So then Lavi's all freaked out for no reason?" Lenalee prodded.

The gensui looked at her, then at Lavi. "Well, given that I don't know what he's all freaked out about, I'll hazard a guess and say that yes, he is."

Lavi sputtered a bit, but Kanda silenced him with a withering glare. "So, was this all made up, Lavi?"

There was a long silence in which Lavi seemed to waver between outrage and resignation. In the end, resignation won.

"No, it's not," Lavi said finally. He seemed dejected. All the energy seemed to just wick right out of him. Allen hip-bumped him to get his attention. "I still believe that it'll mess with me, but maybe it won't be as bad as the last time. Maybe because last time I was planning to let the persona go anyway, the barrier took care of it for me. It wasn't pleasant, but maybe this time around it'll leave me alone. I can only hope."

"Come on, you runts, let's get this farce over with." Sokaro stamped a foot to get attention.

Cross then raised an arm and waved it over his head. After a moment, a carriage appeared up the street, its horses prancing spiritedly. "I have secured us some transportation, though I think you're going to have to ride on the roof, baka-deshi."

"Why me?"

"Because you're just that much of an idiot, idiot." Cross grinned maliciously. "And because I say so. Don't worry, Sokaro will keep you company."

"Naah, I'll just run alongside. I can use the exercise," the armored gensui said as he plunked his helmet down on his head. "Need a boost, kiddo?" He looked at Allen.

"Uh, no. I can get up there on my own. This is insane!"

"Just like Marian!" Sokaro's voice dripped with the grin that his helmet now hid.

"Pot, Kettle, Black," Cross retorted. "Who is the one with Innocence named 'Madness'?"

"I never say I weren't nuts, said I?" Sokaro replied, making Lavi and Allen both wince at his bad grammar. "And you gots yourself a hell of an ego, naming your Innocence 'Judgment,' you know, Marian!"

As the coach slowed to a halt beside the Exorcists, Cross gave Lenalee a hand up into the carriage, then climbed in on his own. Kanda and Krory also climbed in. Cross beckoned to Kyrie; "Come along, young lady. You said you could help us get in?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah. At least, I think I can. Can't hurt. I assist His Holiness with daily Mass, so it's not like I'm completely unknown around there." She squeezed in.

"Lavi?" Allen looked at his lover. "Aren't you getting in?"

"Naah. I'll ride on the roof with you. Here, want a lift?" He unholstered Oudzuchi and slammed the head to the ground. He then wrapped his other arm around Allen's waist and activated the hammer's Innocence. "Shin!" The handle extended, lifting both of them upward, until they were level with the roof. Then they dropped onto the roof and Lavi deactivated the hammer. They both stretched out on their stomachs, grasping onto the bars at the front of the carriage so as not to get thrown from the roof on a turn. This also gave them a chance to snuggle up together a little bit without attracting any attention for the action itself. Allen wondered briefly if Cross had done this deliberately, figuring Lavi would choose to accompany Allen... and then he decided he was giving his Shishou too much credit. Still, it was nice to be able to lean against Lavi, shoulder-to-shoulder, almost cheek-to-cheek, and not have people staring at them or frowning at them.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Lavi?" He inquired hesitantly as the carriage started off, heading for the Via Nazionale. "Going right into the Vatican, I mean."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've got you with me, maybe that'll be enough. Jiiji isn't always honest with me on these kinds of things, out of necessity. I still know too much, but there are things he's been vague or outright dishonest about, because I'm not supposed to know until he officially hands over the title to me. Either way, it's too late anyway. Whatever will be, will be. So, it's time I just face up to it and hope for the best."

They contented themselves with just hanging on as the carriage picked up speed. Allen closed his eyes and focused on enjoying Lavi's propinquity. He couldn't shake this ugly foreboding feeling he had in his heart. He knew this feeling, and hated it, because it always preceded something horrible. So he attempted to distract himself.

Underneath them, they could hear Kyrie giving Krory a brief verbal tour of Rome, describing things as they passed them. Allen chuckled at her mistakes, rampant as they were. She really was quite dumb, to be honest. Pretty, very pretty -- she looked like the kind of woman Lavi would've gotten all swoony over and yelled "Strike!" upon seeing, had this been their first encounter -- but she was quite brainless.

"Trajan. Markets of Trajan!" Lavi yelled at one point. "Not Trojan, idiot! God, and you call yourself a historian?"

"Sorry! Wrong word again!"

"Geez," Lavi grumbled. "She hasn't gotten any smarter, I see. One would think living in Rome or the Vatican for a couple of years would cure her of these stupid mistakes in referencing the local landmarks. The Pope must really like her, for her to still be there. Can't think of any other reason the Clan would keep her in such a high-ranking place when she's such a moron."

The carriage swung south from the Markets of Trajan down past the great Roman Forum, circling around the Colosseum, curving down a main street around Palatine Hill and then swinging back up north past the sprawling Circus Maximus. Sokaro kept up easily, seeming to enjoy the run despite the weight of his armor. He also kept up a lively banter with Cross, trading insults back and forth. Shortly after they passed the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at the top of the Circus Maximus, Lavi started nibbling at Allen's ear, as if trying to distract him (or perhaps distract himself?) from the daunting task ahead. If it was a distraction technique, it worked, because Allen couldn't concentrate on his surroundings. He tipped his head toward Lavi, awkwardly resting his head on Lavi's shoulder and inhaling his lover's scent. He heard Kyrie's voice droning on, but didn't pay it any attention.

"Aventine Hill, dipshit!" Lavi yelled down. "Aventurine is a stone!"

"Lighten up, Junior!"

"Grr," Lavi grumbled. "I wish she'd stop calling me that. I don't feel right being addressed by that name anymore. I'm not really Bookman Junior anymore. I mean, I am until I'm replaced, but I don't think I want to be addressed like that again."

"Pay her no attention, Lavi," Allen said softly, pressing himself against Lavi a little more. "Pay attention to me. Keep me in your thoughts, in your mind. I have a bad feeling, the closer we get to Vatican City."

"Don't say that, Allen. Whoa, hang on, looks like we're going to be picking up speed here." Lavi braced himself against the rails and gripped Allen tightly. There was a thump on the carriage as Sokaro hopped on to hang onto the back end, hitching a ride because the carriage was now going too fast for him to keep up with.

As they trundled north, Lavi overheard Kyrie speaking and pounded on the roof; "Dammit! It's not Pantheon, it's Parthenon!"

"What the hell, Junior?! It is the Pantheon! It's got the Oculus! The Parthenon is in Greece and honors Athena, you idiot! Pantheon means 'All Gods'!" Kyrie stuck her head out the window and hollered up at them. "I got it right this time, you jerk! You're just trying to make me look bad. Just 'cuz you're Bookman Junior doesn't mean you can bully me!"

Lavi had realized his mistake the moment he'd said it, and Allen laughed at the redhead's blush of embarrassment. "Leave her alone, Lavi. We'll set Krory straight if you want when we get home. By now he's got to know that she's fouling stuff up, and he's pretty smart; he'll figure out that what we're telling him is true if it conflicts with what she says."

"I know." Lavi shook his head as if to clear his mind. "I just can't believe she's that freakin' dumb still. The historian in me just wants to slap her silly!"

The carriage slowed down as it neared a bridge that spanned the River Tiber. Again Lavi employed the distraction technique of nibbling on Allen's ear, and again it worked.

"If you're not careful, Lavi, I'm going to end up having a reaction here," he groaned, doing his best to calm his heated blood.

"Heh," the redhead chuckled as he nuzzled against Allen. "Sometimes, Allen, you're just cute."

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute."

"Nice. Not the image I really wanted to project, but for you, I suppose I'll make allowances."

Lavi was about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed. "Crap. We're almost there. I can feel that barrier. It's definitely there." He pointed ahead. "See that giant dome? That's Saint Peter's Basilica. Pretty much the heart of the Vatican."

"That's the center?"

"Not the center, the heart. Naah, there's way more to the Vatican than just the Basilica. There's the Sistine Chapel, for one."

As the carriage continued down the corridor, between buildings, Allen looked around himself at these ancient-looking buildings and all their intricate carvings. This was really amazing, to be honest. It was easy to get lost in the awe-inspiring architecture of it all.

Then, just like that, the carriage stopped before giant circular plaza. A large, ornate and extraordinarily beautiful cathedral rose out of the opposite end of the plaza.

"Here we are! Saint Peter's Square," Kyrie hopped out of the carriage. "Interesting misnomer, no? Since it's not square at all."

Lavi groaned at the bad joke as he and Allen climbed down using Oudzuchi Kodzuchi.

Kyrie rummaged through her pockets and produced what looked like a form of ID. "This'll get us into the Basilica without bothering with the tourist procedures, since it's not open to tourists right now." She looked over at the Exorcists as they assembled. The carriage turned in a big arc and ambled off.

"So, why are we wearing this?" Lavi tapped the silver brooch of a star-edged cross that all the Exorcists word adorning their uniforms (Sokaro and Cross had gold ones instead of silver, as befitting their elevated status). "Isn't it supposed to get us in?"

"It won't get you past the Swiss Guards without trouble, trust me," Kyrie said. Her entire demeanor seemed to have changed. "Especially not since that Noah was prowling around here."

"Noah?!" Lavi's jaw dropped just as Cross's head swiveled to face the young woman.

"There was a Noah here?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you sure about that?"

"She said her name was... something about Camelot. She killed a couple of the priests. Since then, the guards have been tripled."

"Well, that make sense," Allen said bitterly. "Road Kamelot is the one Noah that no one can seem to even damage, it seems, nevermind kill. I suppose it's not out of line for her to be able to enter even the holiest place on earth."

"I'll remind you that I put a pretty good burn on her," Lavi retorted. "Of course, she put me through hell and back before I could do it, but still. It's more than you did to her!"

"Okay, you have a point, but still. Well, I guess we should get in there and get the artifact, if we can, and get the heck out of here. If Road Kamelot is around, I think it's best if we don't waste any time."

"Good thought," Lenalee said.

"The idiot has a brain! Astounding!" Cross heckled.

Allen glared at Cross as they started across the plaza. Allen matched strides with Lavi, noticing that his lover's face was becoming increasingly tense as they walked. As they passed the giant obelisk in the center of the plaza, Allen noticed that Krory was beginning to flag a bit.

"Krory? Are you okay?"

"I am just suddenly very tired. It is almost hard to breathe," the baron replied, looking strained.

Allen frowned; "Let us know if it gets worse."

They continued across the plaza, but before they could enter the giant cathedral, Krory staggered and came to a halt. "I am sorry, everyone, but I cannot go any further. It is just too hard to breathe."

"Sokaro, you stay with him," Cross said.

"Hey, wait a minute, he ain't mine! He's yours, if he's anyone's!"

"Oh? Did you want to deal with His Holiness instead?"

"Uh... oh fine. You owe me for this, Marian. And you'll be the one to pay, not your damned student." Sokaro hoisted Krory up like a sack of grain, carefully positioning him so as not to impale him on the spikes of his armor, and he turned around and headed out of the Vatican.

Allen looked over at Lavi; "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Let's keep moving."

The Swiss Guard stopped them, and it took some convincing on Kyrie's part to get the five Exorcists in the door. Still, she managed. How exactly, Allen wasn't sure. He was too busy watching Lavi. The redhead was unusually quiet and sour-faced.

At one point, as they passed through an ornate hallway, Cross tapped Kanda on the shoulder; "Is it just me, or is Lavi acting strange?"

"He is. I think there's something wrong with him."

Allen's heart flipped. No! Lavi couldn't be... the transformation hadn't happened, right? He bumped his hand against Lavi. "Are you sure you're okay, Lavi?"

"I'm fine, dammit. Stop bugging me!"

"You're acting weird!"

"I'm stressed, okay?"

"Kyrie, what have you brought me?" A voice said harshly from nearby, as a regally-garbed man emerged from the shadows. He didn't have any of his regalia on, but it was pretty obvious still what his office was.

"Your Holiness, these people are Exorcists, from the Black Order. They say you possess an artifact that they seek." Kyrie bowed deeply before the man, Pope Leo XVI. The Pope squinted at the Exorcists.

"Ah, yes, that's right, I heard you were coming. Well, I will not allow anyone to remove it from these premises, but if you would like to view it, I am willing to make an exception and allow you to touch it. It is a holy relic, but you are Apostles of God, yes?" The Pope said imperiously. "However, first I believe that common courtesy demands that you introduce yourselves."

"Cross Marian, gensui of the Black Order," Cross said without delay. "Two of our party, Arystar Krory III and Winters Sokaro, had to leave the premises, but they are part of our party."

"Allen Walker," Allen said.

Lavi remained silent, his eyes closed. Unperturbed, Kanda spoke. "Kanda Yuu."

"Lenalee Lee." Lenalee bowed courteously.

Allen nudged Lavi. When he got no response, he looked at the Pope in some mild alarm. The man was staring at Lavi pointedly.

"You, with the eyepatch. I don't believe I caught your name."

"That would be because I didn't release it," Lavi said coldly. Allen's blood chilled at the ice in that voice.

"Are you going to be stubborn then?"

"Just show me the damned artifact. Ninety seconds with it is all I need."

"I asked you for your name; I expected greater courtesy than this out of a representative of the Black Order and the bookmen."

Lavi's eye flashed malevolently as he unlidded it. "I don't give a damn what you expect. You have something that should belong to the Black Order, and you refuse to give it up; at least give us the courtesy of viewing it."

The Pope's gaze became icy and hard. Kyrie stamped on Lavi's foot in desperation; "Is that any way to address His Holiness, Junior?"

"Your name, son, or you don't get to view it." The Pope said, ignoring Kyrie.

"My name?" Lavi snorted a bitter laugh. "I don't have one. I'm a member of the bookmen. I don't carry a name. I carry masks, but not a name."

"Lavi, that's not funny!" Allen said frantically. "Stop it, that's not even close to a joke!"

"Who said I was joking?" A sharp green eye, full of malice and hatred, turned to Allen; Allen physically stepped back in alarm.

No way... there's just no way! His blood went cold and his heart hammered in his chest. Even his sweat turned cold. There's just no way... I've been watching him, and I didn't see or sense any transformation!

The Pope gestured at Lavi to continue. When the redhead didn't, the holy man inquired. "So then tell me the name of the mask you carry now."

"I don't have a name. If you want to call me anything, you can just call me Bookman Junior. Because that's what I am: the successor of Bookman."

Allen's heart stopped for a split second. NO WAY. This is NOT happening!

"Lavi! That's not funny!"

"Not meant to be. 'Lavi' is merely the name of the mask I wore. I am fundamentally Bookman Junior, and will never be anything other than a bookman, whatever you'd like to believe, kid."

Stay tuned for "Angelus : Part Six : A Soaring Prayer"

After-word and notes:
You have no idea how much fun I had researching Rome for this chapter. I had more fun doing the research and making plot adjustments, than I did in writing, and that's saying something!

For what it's worth, Sokaro's bad grammar is done deliberately. We haven't really seen him beyond a cameo in the anime, so I don't know if he's really that bad, but that's how I interpret him based on what little he says in the manga. The grammar snark inside me was throwing a temper tantrum whenever I had to screw with his grammar, but it is done intentionally.

Also, "kyrie eleison" is Greek that essentially means "Lord have mercy" and is part of a prayer in Christian liturgy. I chose that name for the character deliberately. (Yeah, and because I love the song "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister.) I figure it's no weirder than having someone named Cloud Nine.

This chapter ended up a lot shorter than I'd meant it to be, because a large portion of it turned into a red-herring history lesson sort of thing. I was letting my Roman History fangirl pontificate a bit too much, and it really wasn't helping the story.