Smile Like Broken Glass
Lt. Commander Richie
Disclaimer: I profusely apologize for the terrible quality of the chapter, especially the end. But I could not stand to continue it on any longer and therefore torture myself. The third chapter will come around eventually.
The woodland road through the Black Forest was a heavily overgrown one, but the deep ruts of wagon wheels long-gone-by were still present along with the compacted earth they crisscrossed. Lavi focused all his attention on the road ahead, trying with great vigor to ignore the broken feeling the heart he shouldn't have was screaming about and the cold body in his arms. But it was hard for someone who was heavily-trained in the art of noticing everything at once to focus his attention on one thing and one thing only, and occasionally his one green eye would roam down to the girl in his arms. She looked peaceful save for the holes eaten through her uniform and skin, her eyes closed and her complexion too pale to be healthy.
Lavi stumbled once over a root, his hammer banging against his knee as he continued onwards. This was the road their group had been taking before the Akuma had appeared, slaughtering the Finders and locking both of the Exorcists in battle. A wolf howled somewhere off in the distance, and frogs croaked in the water by the road. Everything smelled clean and fresh, and rainwater still fell from the leaves above. About an hour before the rain had tapered off, but the clouds were still foreboding black and roiling masses that promised more to come. Once again Lavi found himself looking down at the girl in his arms, and he bit his lip before turning his attention elsewhere. His eye alighted on the whitened skull of what appeared to be a bull, horns protruding in a dangerous crown.
The leading Finder had said that the Innocence was only five miles into the dense forest, but the redhead felt as though he had been walking for much longer. Again Lavi stumbled, his hammer hitting his knees again. With a sad look he sat Lenalee down with her back against a tree at the side of the road, and pulled his hammer off his wrist and grew the handle. With his foot the Bookman Junior planted the halberd spike at the top into the ground and then shot into the air. The bird's-eye view of the forest offered no help to the redhead, only revealed miles upon miles of green in every direction. The teen's green eye squinted carefully, scrutinizing the surrounding area in an attempt to find something… Anything, that looked as though it could house a crystal coffin.
"I can't stand Germany." Lavi muttered, just as a gap in the clouds began to form. Bleak sunlight rippled across the canopy in a definitive line as the clouds began to recede, and finally the Exorcist saw what he figured he was looking for. There was a small cliff in the distance, and right below it was the ruins of an old castle. Without a word Tessei's handle shrank back to the ground, depositing the Exorcist back on the road next to Lenalee. A small brown squirrel was investigating her hand with wide eyes, unsure as to whether or not he should move it to get at the acorn it covered. Its eyes locked onto the redhead and his hammer, and it squeaked once before diving into the bushes and then scrambling back up the tree.
Solemnly the Exorcist picked the girl's body back up and took to the sky again. It didn't feel right to be doing this when he should be trying to reach Headquarters, but he had to. In the end, it would be a waste of life. Almost idly Lavi wondered if he could bring himself to do the same to Lenalee as Cross had done to Maria, but quickly shook the thought from his head in anger. It was bad enough that he was still holding onto a hope, stilly carrying her body with him so as to give her a proper burial by the Black Order, but he didn't think he could bear to see her there but not really there.
The Exorcist was silent as he landed on the crumbling walkway up to the decrepit castle, his hammer shrinking quickly down to the manageable size that he hung from his wrist. He picked Lenalee up in both arms once again and kicked the ruin's door open. It creaked slowly open, but it was dry inside and still had the tatters of tapestries and finery on the floor and walls. Lavi walked quickly across the floor of the entryway and kicked the second door open, making his way into a drafty hall. The floor was terribly wet in the hall, due in part to most of the roof being missing. The redhead crossed that hall as well and laid Lenalee down on the one dry table at the head of the room, then continued on to the back wall and ripped down the largest tapestry to drag it over and cover her with it. The colors were faded, but depicted a battle between a giant stag and a wolf.
Giving Lenalee's still form one last long look, Lavi turned on his heel and made his way deeper into the old castle, kicking down doors as he looked for the Innocence. All he came across was musty room after musty room, the carpets faded and threadbare and the wall hangings moth-bitten. Down the next hallway and the next, all the rooms were nothing but empty and nearly bare. After five halls of no more than spiders and mice, the redhead yelled and hit the wall next to him with a fist.
"It has to be here!" He hit the wall again, before turning to the next hallway and beginning anew. The doors that he kicked open were more solid this way, and the rooms had richer furnishings. But every room he opened was empty save for chairs and tables, the occasional bed and dresser gracing every hallway. The last door in the hallway was a heavy oaken door with no signs of rot, though, and the metal bands around it made it seem immovable. There was no handle, either, and rust dusted the edges around the doorjamb. Lavi kicked it once experimentally, and immediately regretted it as his toes smarted. He pulled Tessei off his wrist and it grew to a size just barely manageable in the hallway, and swung it at the door. Dust fell from the cracks in the wood and the iron bands creaked, but it wouldn't move. Again he hit it, leaving a vaguely square impression in the wood, and again it refused to budge. He tried once more, and the door jumped in its place, but didn't do much more.
"There's something important behind here." The redhead mused, Tessei shrinking down to a small size as he sat down and laid it in his lap. He tapped his fingers a few times as he brainstormed what he would need to do, but the tapping led to tapping on Tessei's head, then to picking the hammer up and beginning to inspect it. The entirety of it was a dark, cool red with no sharp edges except for the three spikes on the head. The handle was crosshatched with a pommel and cord on the end, but it wasn't that special. The head had the familiar halberd on top, but the spikes protruding from the sides were a dangerous and useful addition. The head was square, but not to the point of severity, with four bands looping around it. With a thought, it grew to a larger size and then shrunk down to a tiny one.
"I wonder…" Lavi muttered, flexing his free hand. The armor on his glove didn't even click as it slid over itself effortlessly, only the dark sheen from a hole in the roof differentiating every plate from the next. If he could summon the elements with only thoughts now and use them by hand… And if he could drag and drop symbols with his hands… Would it not go to stand that he could move them anywhere?
Suddenly, the elemental symbols swam into being. The mist glowed with an ethereal light as it floated in keyboard formation, looking almost solid in its being. With certainty in his movements, the Exorcist reached forward and put two fingers on the Gōka Kaijin symbol. The other symbols all wisped out of existence, the glowing mist under his fingers growing brighter and turning red. Silently the teen stood, and took the few steps between him and the door.
When the seal hit the wood, it suddenly grew. The red symbol encompassed the entire door, the kanji for fire sitting directly in the center. From the edges of the red symbol a blackening began to spread, the wood burning and occasionally popping as centuries old sap and lacquer began to liquefy. The burning still continued, though, even after the entire door was reduced t a brick of charcoal bound by iron. From the edges of the glowing red symbol white ash began to spread, quickly making the door begin to crumble under its own weight. The seal faded out of existence, evanescing away into nothing with its job done. With a sudden and mighty clatter that made the redhead jump, the great iron bands that had encompassed the strong door hit the stonework ground.
The hall beyond was probably in better repair than the rest of the castle. The roof was intact except for a few holes in the vaulted stone ceiling, and dust coated everything in a layer that hadn't been disturbed for quite a while. Manuscripts bound in leather and gold leaf littered the floor and were occasionally piled in stacks of two or three, and what wasn't on the floor was crammed into the massive bookcases at the end of the room and all around on the other walls. Dry leaves and a few acorns had fallen through the holes in the ceiling from the Black Oak above, and they littered the floor and made the place seem serene. In the center of the room was a table with a black cloth draped over it, several teetering piles of books on top of the cloth to keep it from blowing away.
"Why hide all this?" The junior Bookman mused, walking into the expansive library. The sound of his footsteps echoed several times, and dust fell from the bookcases as he passed them. He paused and looked behind himself at the floor, surprised to see white marble veined with black in the footprints. He continued to look, taking in every detail as he turned around and around in the expansive room. "Why lock the door?" His green eye blinked several times, taking in the shining gold leaf title of every book he could see. His gaze fell on the books stacked on top of the cloth-covered table, and his one green eye narrowed at the odd titles. 'The Battle of Sir Abelerd and the Demons' sat in a stack, all three books bearing the same title but different Roman numerals on the bottom of the spine. A seven-book set titled 'On the Weapons of God Upon Earth' was balanced carefully next to a single thick book entitled 'Mercy Upon the Outcasts of Heaven', all three groups dwarfed by a teetering pile of worn leather binders with no titles whatsoever.
With only the sounds of his footsteps accompanying him, Lavi made his way across the room. His gloved fingers brushed across the leather-bound tops of the taller stacks of books, leaving twin trails of dust across every one. His feet crunched through a few dried leaves and cracked an acorn under the heel of his boot, but still he made no sound. Even as he carefully, so very carefully because they were just so old, picked up one of the books from the pile of seven that teetered on the edge of the table, he didn't say a single thing. Silence was golden, after all, gold like the leaf on all of the books he was surrounded by. Opening volume five of 'On the Weapons of God Upon Earth' with a steady hand, a slight puff of age-old dust came from the tome. The script inside was beautifully crafted by hand, more than likely having taken many years to completely finish. However, it wasn't the gold leaf or the artistry of the piece that made the redhead's eye widen and his grip nearly go lax enough to drop the priceless piece of history. No, it was that on the third page that he had flipped to, the illustration was hauntingly familiar. It depicted a Jester all in white, a broadsword in his hand and a furry cuff around his neck.
"Impossible." With steady hands, the book was set on the cloth-draped table and the page was flipped. Seven pages later was the depiction of a longbow surrounded by Judgment's white target with the winged woman and cross. Nearly halfway through the book was a crystal ball, held by an old woman. Behind her were two panels, one of a war and one of the battlefield strewn with bodies and coated in blood. There were no more recognizable depictions in the tome as Lavi flipped to the end, and he carefully closed the book and set it aside before pulling the next one towards himself. His results were very much the same, going through picture upon picture, depictions of art flowing outwards from a brush to become tangible things and a child with a series of bells hanging from his belt. Working his way into a frenzy, the Exorcist pulled the remaining volumes of the set towards himself and then set them all on the floor next to the table. Then he pulled 'Mercy Upon the Outcasts of Heaven' towards himself and carefully opened it to a page well within the book.
From the pages he faced leered an almost human creature, stylized far beyond what it was originally but still a dangerous dark red with a mouth full of sharp teeth… A Level Three. More turned pages revealed Level Twos shaped like dragons and several as darkly colored knights. It dawned on the junior Bookman, as he carefully closed the thick book, that if the topic of the books followed the same vein then 'The Battle of Sir Abelerd and the Demons' would be a chronicled account of an early Exorcist. With careful motions the teen picked up the three books and set them with the others before standing and taking one book off of the top of the tallest stack.
It was a plain thing, tied shut with a leather strap and bound with the same material. There was no embossing on the cover, no gold leaf anywhere, just a floppy brown leather binding. With the careful hands of someone who knew how to handle a book so aged, Lavi opened the tied leather strap holding it shut. The cover nearly groaned as it was opened, the pages revealed yellowed with age and the ink inside scrawling across the page in uniform black lines that were simple to read. This time, as his eye widened and his grip went lax, Lavi really did drop the book. It hit the table, making a hollow sound as it impacted and fell open towards the middle.
Third day of the fifth month of 1238 in the Calendar of Saints. Demon attacks have escalated from once or twice within a month period to thrice the number within one week. As of noontide of this day, the demons do make their presence noted as actively seeking the artifact within these walls. Heavy casualties were sustained this day to the men guarding, though the exact number is not yet known. The master of this castle, Sir Gregory, did send summons exactly three days ago towards Rome with hopes of acquisitioning a man of Priestly nature that would expel these demons in the manner of an Exorcism.
"A… A log. All of these." Lavi shut the worn leather book, carefully tying it shut once more before beginning the careful moving of every one of the books into a manageable pile. He had moved several when a stack of three slipped from his grasp and hit the table with a hollow thunk that echoed through the room. The redhead paused, then knocked on the table. It made a hollow noise that echoed loudly, and he furrowed his brow as he contemplated what it could be that was doing that. Finally giving up, Lavi quickly moved the remaining books from the top of the table and grabbed the musty black fabric with both hands. With a sudden wrenching motion the air was filled with dust and the cloth was thrown to the side, revealing a smooth crystalline surface.
The Crystal Coffin looked so unassuming in the drab light of the library, just a glass box long and wide enough to hold a single person. Yet it made Lavi sigh and throw the black cloth over his shoulder, and he sat down next to the coffin with a tired feeling. This was it. His job was done; he had found the Innocence and destroyed any Akuma that had put themselves in his way. But he couldn't help but feel… Angry, almost, at the innocent-looking box. People had died looking for that box; Lenalee had died looking for it. But the mission was finished now, and all he needed was to find either his golem or Lenalee's and report back to the Order.
With a nearly sardonic attitude, the redhead leaned back against the Crystal Coffin and closed his one eye in thought. Was there a real reason why he hadn't thought to contact the Order before this? Some mad hope, some lingering doubt? Because he was afraid of what would happen when Komui learned that he wasn't enough to protect his darling Lenalee? In his slowly calming mind, the Exorcist searched for answers. Subconsciously, he flexed his fingers inside his new gloves. He wasn't afraid. No, that wasn't it. There was nothing to fear but fear itself, he told himself, but the mantra seemed to have an adverse effect.
He had to check in eventually, if only to confirm that he was alive. But he didn't know where his Golem was and the phone box that one of the Finders had had was lying somewhere in a pile of scrap and wires rendered totally useless in a bolt of purple and a scream. With a curled lip Lavi threw one hand to the side and knocked a few of the ancient books over. One of them flopped open, the script perfect in every way despite being handwritten. The redhead paused, noting the illumination on the page. It depicted a blond woman in what appeared to be the Crystal Coffin. In an instant the book was in his hand, drifting dust from the age-old pages.
Thusly, the Lady Adalgisa did succumb to weakness and the demon's disease, and her golden mantle ne'er did shine quite as lustr'sly. Those around her did weep bitterly as her beauteous skin be smattered with deadly black pentacles. Yet the brave Sir Abelerd, his demon-slaying sword so forgotten in his haste, took up her body in his arms and did bring her to the coffin. The lid did open and her darkened body be placed inside. Then he did stay to one side and close the lid, and chains did spring from the floor and wrap the coffin in their holy light. However, whence the light had faded the chains rusted into their places upon the coffin and stayed most tight. Within her newly-acquired crystal prison the Lady Adalgisa did weep and scream in a most horrendous fashion, spurred to madness much li-
Lavi paused his reading, shooting a glance at the Crystal Coffin behind him. The page he had turned to so as to continue his reading was spattered with copious amounts of darkened red, the ink beneath running towards the spine of the book in a long-since-dried sludge that made the pages seem to stick. Carefully, he closed the book and set it aside before grabbing one of the books chronicling the Innocence from beside himself. Carefully the book was opened to reveal an insert carefully added, the paper quite unlike the rest of the book. It seemed as though it had been torn from a scroll at some point, the rice paper's edges ripped but somewhat-carefully repaired. In the corner was a carefully depicted samurai doing battle with twin swords, one made of light.
The redhead couldn't help but crack a grin at the stolen and added page before carefully turning the page to continue onward. He saw claymores and crossbows, people with claws and carefully depicted shape shifting… But the book didn't have the Crystal Coffin inside. He continued to the next book in the series, carefully watching each picture for a depiction of the Coffin. But the only Innocence he recognized inside that volume was of a man in regal dress depicted as though singing, a dome encompassing him as no one else in the depiction looked in his direction. Lavi continued on to the next volume and then the next, seeing a man in Turkish dress with wickedly-pointed teeth and another of a man surrounded by bells and wires.
It wasn't until the final volume that the redhead found the Crystal Coffin's information. The page was flecked with black blood, several tiny pentacles surrounding the splotches. The script was a faded gray, as though it had been left in the sun for far too long, but it was still quite legible to the Bookman Junior. Carefully, he began to read the precise script. It began much as the other accounts did, stating the date of discovery and the place it had been discovered, but quickly evolved into a list of people cured of ailments or brought back from the brink of death… Even of limbs being regenerated. But there was nothing about a person being brought back from the dead. He suspected that the account in 'The Battle of Sir Abelerd and the Demons' was only one of the Akuma poisons being reversed, not of the reversal of death itself. After all, once a person was killed by Akuma poison the body turned to a fine dust.
"Damn." The teen breathed, shutting the age-old book and carefully standing up. He closed his one green eye and sighed deeply, craning his neck back to face up at the vaulted ceiling and its very few holes. He couldn't find the answer he wanted… He had to report in. Quick searches of his pockets made the Exorcist realize that his Golem, Gubo, was no longer with him, probably lost in the battle or along the road. So it was with a heavy heart that the teen began his trek back to the castle's main hall and Lenalee, and somewhere in one of her pockets would be her own Golem.
As he walked, he wondered what he would say. He couldn't say everything was fine, no, because everything was certainly not fine. Fine would be everyone alive, which they certainly were not. One turn, two, each door much like the rest in being broken down with boot prints on the rotting wood. Before Lavi knew it he was back in the first hall, sunlight coming through the hole in the roof and lighting up the puddle in the center of the floor that the rain had made. Lenalee was where he had left her, the tapestry still draped across her form as though it was a blanket and she was only sleeping.
"Hey, Rindy. You still in her pocket?" At the Exorcist's question the breast pocket of Lenalee's uniform began twitching back and forth before it opened itself and a small black Golem with a single eye crawled out and unfurled its wings. But it didn't flit to Lavi like it should have; instead it flitted to Lenalee's head and nuzzled her forehead while making whining noises. "Yeah, I don't like it any more than you do. C'mere Rindy, I have to call Headquarters." But Rindy hissed at the redhead and curled up in Lenalee's hair, closing its eye and wrapping its wings around itself. Lavi gave a small sad smile, and carefully reached down with one gloved hand and picked the golem up. It struggled angrily, hissing and growling at its Exorcist captor, but didn't get free.
"Open channel four-two-alpha-delta-delta." The Golem stopped struggling and began to emit a steady dial tone, its one eye open to unblinking. "Connect to Headquarters, authorization code L-three-three-seven-pound-omega." The connection fuzzed for a moment before ringing once, twice, three times in succession. Just as the answering machine was about to start up, which would mean that Komui was either asleep or dead, the line picked up.
"This is Komui…" The Supervisor's voice sounded like he had just woken up, which was probably the case.
"This is Lavi, I'm reporting in from the Black Forest." If he hadn't expected it from himself, the redhead would have been surprised at the lack of emotion in his voice. "I've found the Crystal Coffin, as well as several manuscripts pertaining to the Innocence."
"Good job, Lavi-" the Supervisor's voice was punctuated by a yawn. "There a reason why you missed your check-in time?"
"Our group was attacked by a large group of Akuma, all Level Two and above… And they were led by Tyki Mikk." A crash sounded on the other end of the line, and judging by the swearing the Supervisor had probably managed to break his coffee cup and spill coffee onto his lap.
"Lenalee!" Komui's voice was urgent, "is Lenalee alright?" For a moment, Lavi felt like lying. Like saying that everything was alright, that no, he wasn't standing next to her body. That the two of them would be coming back safe and sound and the only people that died were the Finders, not that their deaths weren't regrettable as well. "Lavi! Let me talk to her!"
"There… There were casualties." Those simple words were enough to make the Junior Bookman want to find a dark corner and sink into it, to hug his knees and forget the world, to forget everything he had seen.
"Casualties… No!" His green gaze cast downward, Lavi closed his hand over the speaker on the Golem. His dark red armored glove muffled the sound, but not completely. "Lavi?! Lavi!"
"Close transmission." The Exorcist ordered, and Komui's voice cut off into static. Immediately Rindy began to struggle to get free, the Golem's wings flapping as hard as they could. Lavi let the Golem go and it hissed at him once more, before flitting back to Lenalee with all the speed it could muster. Silently, the redhead sunk to the ground and sat.
"What am I gonna do, Rindy?" He asked, resting one elbow on one knee and putting his head in his hand. "I don't think the Coffin can bring her back." That's what he had brought her all this way for, wasn't it? Some mad hope? He was an Exorcist, damn it, he knew better than to trust the words of a Noah. But… No. What if… No. "I've been able to accept death before." Lavi tried his best to assure… Who? Himself? But that wasn't right. He knew this already, that death was final. But the Earl could bring people back, bring anyone back… "No!" The redhead grasped his head in both hands, angry. "I won't subject her to that!"
Then it seemed to come to him, bit by bit, like an old memory locked away by childhood. The Earl wouldn't send so many Akuma, a Noah, just to destroy a coffin that healed. The coffin posed a threat to the Earl's power… To the Earl's market of souls. He was blind! The answer really was in front of him the whole time! Was he really so stupid as to not see it? He was Bookman Junior, he should have drawn that conclusion immediately!
"Rindy, how much time do you think I have before Komui gets the Ark open?" Lavi asked, pulling himself to his feet. A growl and then a sharp pain on his arm was his answer as a dozen or so little pointed teeth gnawed at his muddy sleeve. "I figured." With extreme care, the Exorcist reached out and picked up Lenalee's still form. The tapestry he had pulled down fell limply to the floor, making a cloud of dust rise into the air. By the time it settled the redhead was gone down the hall.
His footsteps echoed down the empty hallways as he passed them, his hammer banging against his knee until it shrunk to a tiny size that could do no more damage. His one eye was focused solely on the task ahead, solely focused on bringing Lenalee to the Crystal Coffin. Her blue lips and ashen complexion didn't faze him any longer, not to the point of disbelief and mistakes.
Stepping over the pile of ash that had once been the heavy locked door of the library, Lavi reaffirmed his grip on his comrade's body. Leaves and old acorns crunched under the soles of his boots as he made his way across the library that housed the Crystal Coffin, before finally coming to a stop next to the unassuming crystal construct.
"I'm sorry, Lenalee." The Exorcist said, looking down at the girl in his arms. "I'm sorry, but I care too much. Everyone cares too much. If we lost you, it would be like losing a part of our hearts." With one foot, the redhead nudged the crystal Coffin open. The lid fell backwards on clear hinges with a clunk, and Lenalee's body was placed inside. "I hope you can forgive me, if this hurts you."
Lavi picked up the lid in one hand and went to close it, but paused. He reached his free hand into his pants pocket and withdrew the tiny green light that was Lenalee's Innocence, and looked at it for a moment. The warm glow was oddly comforting, but it looked as though it yearned for something, anything to attach to. Quickly, the redhead placed the little light inside the coffin with his comrade. Then the lid was shut, and Lavi stood up.
At first nothing seemed to happen. The coffin simply sat there, its crystal walls making prisms appear on Lenalee's pale skin. Suddenly it erupted into light so bright that the redheaded Exorcist had to look away and grasp at the side of a nearby bookshelf to stay on his feet. Chains burst from the floor and wrapped themselves around the coffin in a cacophony of clinking and rattling. They bound the lid tightly and then quickly began to rust, growing dangerous-looking spikes and sharp edges. A scream rent the air, shrill and heartbreaking like the shattering of glass.
"Lenalee!" The glow suddenly faded, as though someone had simply hit a switch. Lavi spun around, his hand going to the small hammer hanging from his wrist in a habitual movement. But there was no monster unleashed, no war machine bearing down upon him with a sorrowful gaze. There was, however, blood. It was pooling in the bottom of the coffin around Lenalee's feet and soaking through her stockings. Before the redhead could move, though, it suddenly flashed with a red light and drew up into the form of the girl's boots. The screaming began again, and Lavi was next to coffin in a heartbeat with his hands around one of the chains. But they refused to budge, and only rust flakes came off in his hands. Pounding began on the inside of the Coffin, only to stop.
In a jarring crash, the Crystal Coffin blew apart. Lavi was thrown backwards to impact the stone wall with bone-rattling force. But shards of Crystal didn't pepper the ground; they hovered for a moment before falling and lumping together. The chains, however, broke free of the stone floor as the figure inside pulled at them.
"Lenalee!" Lavi stood, his hammer once again a manageable size in his hand. His guard was down, however, and books went flying as the chain-wrapped girl jumped forward and barreled into him. The two of them punched through the old stone wall and the redhead was thrown down the hall. Again he stood, wiping a trickle of blood off his chin with the back of his hand.
"This is your fault!" Lavi froze, his green eye widening. Again Lenalee barreled forward, whipping around to kick him down another hall. He hit a wall and bounced off, falling to his hands and knees. One of the chains fell from his comrade's shoulders, hitting the ground in a cloud of reddish orange dust. "All your fault!"
"I-" Lavi coughed, he felt a terrible pain in his chest. One or more of his ribs were probably broken. "I tried to save you!"
"But you brought me back!" Another kick and he flew through another wall and out into the open air. Lenalee was close behind, a broken chain flying away from her and impacting a tree as she rocketed outward and then aimed a sudden kick towards the redhead on the ground. He rolled out of the way, only to be thrown several feet by the force created when she impacted the ground. This time, however, the Exorcist was ready and rolled to his feet and brandished his hammer.
"I couldn't protect you." He admitted, watching carefully as Lenalee turned to look at him. Her eyes looked panicked, but held a terrible sorrow. "So I tried to undo what I had done. If we all lost you, then I would never forgive myself."
"Did you have to do this to me?" With a scream, more chains were shed and a powerful axe-kick was delivered to the guarding handle of Tessei. The dark red material didn't give even the slightest as Lenalee's Dark Boots continued to push. "You should have known better!"
"I'm not going to fight you!" Lavi yelled, trying to drown out her cries. The only chains left were the ones wrapped around her arms and legs and one around her neck, making fresh cuts and bruised on her pale skin.
"What did he tell you? How did he convince you!?" She demanded, tears falling from her dark eyes as she spun around and landed a kick to her comrade's side. He broke through the tree cover and rolled across the open walkway to the front door of the castle. This time it took much longer for him to struggle to his feet, but by then Lenalee had already alighted in front of him in a spray of broken stone and dirt. She went to deliver another kick to his side, but in a simple movement Tessei was blocking the blow. Lavi reached forward and grabbed her chained wrists, bringing them up in front of her face.
"I didn't ask the Earl to bring you back." The redhead said, running his thumbs over her wrists. It felt good to have her there; it was an almost indescribable feeling of elation to feel a pulse going through her veins. "I was mourning, but I was thinking straight enough that if he ever made me an offer I would refuse. I couldn't do that to you."
"I- I died, though." Lenalee blinked, large tears leaking out of her eyes and trailing down to soak the collar of her red and black uniform. "I remember… I saw the other side." Further down the path, a large digital number lit up in the air. Around it, a series of shapes began to form.
"You're not an Akuma." With a sob, Lenalee collapsed forward onto her comrade. He pulled the chains from her wrists and neck and dropped them to the ground with a mighty noise, then wrapped his arms around her. "I would never do that to you."
"I'm so sorry!" She said, fisting her hands in his ruined uniform. "I'm sorry I hurt you… I don't know what came over me." Again she sobbed, and Lavi held her tightly and wouldn't have let go for the world.
"Lenalee!" The Ark opened with a flash, and Komui ran out. He was followed by medics, then by at least a dozen Finders, then Generals Cloud Nine and Froi Tiedoll. Lenalee choked back a sob and turned to look at her brother, her knuckles white in Lavi's uniform and all her weight leaning against him. In a flash of red her Dark Boots were reduced to anklets again, exposing her stocking feet to the dirty cobblestones.
"Komui!" She smiled widely, fresh tears streaming down her face and soaking her comrade's already-dirty uniform. Carefully, unsure if he should, Lavi let her go. Lenalee pushed herself to stand on her own feet, and held her arms out for the hug her brother gave her. Lavi smiled at the scene at first, but his smile quickly turned to a grimace as he clutched at his side. Oh yeah, he had broken ribs.
"Medic!" He yelled out, grabbing Tessei's handle in one hand and holding his side with the other. A few of the medics and several Finders rushed to him, carefully helping him towards a stretcher that had been brought through the Ark. A nurse with a stern expression sat him down and broke out the bandages, crossing her arms and glaring at him as he continued to stare in Lenalee's direction.
Komui held her and refused to let go. The ground was cold against her stocking feet, and if she hadn't been crying so hard and sniffling into her brother's shoulder she would have wondered where her shoes had gone.
"I thought I had lost you." Her brother said, biting his lip and trying not to cry. Lenalee's tearstained smile widened as she held her brother closer.
"But you didn't." She said, giggling slightly as she watched over Komui's shoulder as Lavi got smacked on the head by the Matron for not letting her dress his wounds. "And that's okay."
Oh good lord. I didn't make you cringe too badly at the terrible and rather forced quality of this chapter, did I? No matter, next chapter will come along eventually.