There's a loud, feral growl out of nowhere and everyone groans.
"Robin!" Lavi yells from the front of their formation. "Can you please control your stomach?"
"And who's fault is it that I haven't eaten all day?!" She growls back.
There's another growl, this time from her right and Allen groans. Krory's own stomach rumbles next to Lavi and the red head face palms.
"Who had the bright idea to send three parasite types to the middle of a desert?" Lavi asks to no one in particular.
They had left the Order immediately, taking a ferry and later a carriage that dropped them off in Cairo. Their destination is the Great Pyramids. Meaning they had to travel a distance through part of the desert. The supposedly quick little trek in the sand already cost them a day. They've been walking non-stop and still haven't seen any sign of the monuments.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Robin asks with a frown. "Good job, oh great and knowledgeable Bookman. I'm so glad we decided to let you lead the way."
"What is your problem?" Lavi says back.
"Robin gets really grumpy when he hasn't eaten." Allen answers.
"Well, excuse me!" She says. "It's not my fault I'm starving! I could have eaten breakfast if it wasn't for a certain rabbit dragging me off out of nowhere!" She death glares the red head, who sweat drops.
"You're almost as bad as Yuu." He mutters and Robin growls at him.
"Do we even have any food?" Krory asks.
"We didn't pack for an extended trip in the desert." Allen says. "We're starting to run out of water too." He holds up an empty canteen and they all let out a melancholy sigh.
"We're going to die out here, aren't we?" Krory says. "The sun is so unbearable. I don't think I can take it anymore." He suddenly falls back on the sand and groans.
"I'm going to die of starvation." Robin says, lying down next to the pale-faced exorcist. "I think my stomach ate my stomach." The two of them groan. The sand burns against her skin, but the longer she stays still, the more it starts to feel nice and she begins to let her eyelids droop.
"Hey!" Lavi says. "Don't fall asleep! Come on, you two!"
"Let us die." Krory moans and their stomachs let out a collective groan.
"Hey guys!" Allen yells, smiling huge. "We're saved! Look what I found!" With his clawed hand, he cheerfully holds up a bundle of spiky, green cacti.
"There's water in here!" He says. He cuts off the top to one to the plants and shows them the clear, sloshing liquid in its center.
"My savior!" Krory yelps, jumping up with joy.
"I officially love you, Allen!" Robin says, embracing the white haired exorcist.
"Wait!" Lavi yells. "Guys! Don't drink the cactus juice!"
Too late. Lavi watches them in horror as they guzzle the strange liquid. For a second everything is fine. Lavi starts to think nothing is wrong, when Robin suddenly jumps and points to him wide eyed.
"Oh my gosh!" She yells. "Lavi has rabbit ears!"
"A hallucinogen." Lavi says, smacking his hand to his face.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Allen yells and the red head jumps. Allen presses his hands to his head and falls to his knees. "WHAT ABOUT THE GUACAMOLE?!" He yells as tears stream down his face.
Lavi sweat drops. Guacamole?
"Baka usagi is turning into an actual baka usagi!" Robin yells. She suddenly erupts into fits of laughter. "That's so perfect!"
"Hey!" Lavi yells.
"I feel great guys!" Krory yells cheerfully. "It's like a winter wonderland!" Krory skips around in the sand and falls back, attempting to make a snow angel.
"NOOO!" Allen yells. "YOU CAN'T HAVE NACHOS WITHOUT THE GUACAMOLE! IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!" He curls himself into a ball and weeps into his hands. Lavi glances at Robin who's on the ground, rolling with laughter. Krory laughs and starts singing Christmas carols.
"Jingle bells, Lavi smells.
Allen laid an egg.
Lenalee broke a heel,
and Kanda learned ballet. Hey!"
Despite the situation, Lavi snorts at the thought of Kanda in a ballet tutu. Suddenly, Robin rolls over in the sand and smacks right into Allen.
"Hey!" Allen yells. The two of them look at each other and their faces flush.
"Huh?" Lavi asks, ignoring Krory and focusing on the pair.
"Robin?" Allen asks, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.
"Yeah?" She asks. Allen's blush reddens.
"I think you're cute."
He looks away and Robin smiles. "You're the one who's cute, silly!" She says. Allen pouts.
"I don't want you to think I'm cute though!" He says. Robin raises an eyebrow and he takes a deep breath. "I want you to love me, like I think I love you."
He falls quiet. "Allen?" She asks. He shrugs and Robin moves to face him.
"You know," She says. "I could have loved you."
"Really?" He asks. She nods. They lean closer and when their lips are just about to meet, Lavi jumps.
"Oh, crap!" Lavi yells. He runs over and attempts to break them apart. Robin struggles against him and Allen whimpers.
"Come on Robin!" Lavi yells. "What about Yuu?!"
Robin jolts to a stop and Lavi blinks. Suddenly she grabs the red head and pulls his lips to hers. Lavi gasps and pulls away. She falls back in the sand, laughing hysterically. Allen goes back into his ball and starts to cry again, murmuring "guacamole." Krory cheers and grabs fistfuls of sand, starting to throw it up in the air.
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful!
But the fire is so delightful!
The lights are turned way down low.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"
Lavi slumps down in the sand and sulks.
"Yuu is so going to kill me."
(Meanwhile back at the Order...)
Kanda's eyes suddenly snap open. He's sitting in the center of the training room with mats and training equipment around him. Next to him, Lenalee opens her eyes and raises an eyebrow at him. He let the pigtailed girl mediate with him so long as she kept quiet.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
Kanda frowns.
"I suddenly have an urge to kill the usagi."
Lenalee sweat drops. "When don't you?" She mutters.
"I heard that." He says.
"I'm sure it's nothing." She says, offering him a weak smile. "Those guys will be back in no time."
Kanda grunts in reply and closes his eyes again, forcing himself to ignore his sudden twinge of doubt.
"So dead." Lavi murmurs as Krory skips around the moping red head, tossing around sand.
"Dead usagi!" Robin squeals. She laughs and Lavi lets out a sigh.
"We're all dead if they forget the guacamole!" Allen sobs.
"Guacamole!" Robin repeats, laughing even harder.
Lavi lets out another tired sigh and waits. There's no telling how long the juice's effect will last. For now, all he can do is sit and wait for their delusions to wear off. While they're incoherent, at least they don't seem to be about to hurt themselves.
"Rudolph the red nosed reindeer,
Had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glowed.
All of the other reindeer,
Used to laugh and call him names..."
"Krory," Lavi says with a frown. "Can you at least sing something else?"
"They never let poor Rudolph,
Join in any reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve..."
Lavi sighs. No use arguing with the delusional. Suddenly the ground beneath them starts to shake. Lavi jumps to his feet, his hammer ready. Allen and Krory scream in terror and Robin rolls on the ground laughing.
"It's a blizzard!" Krory screams.
Lavi looks up at the sky and cringes as heavy, white snow whips up around them. It crashes into the four exorcists and in seconds the area is coated in white.
"Grow!" Lavi yells. His hammer doubles in size and he sets it on the ground, temporary blocking the wind's vicious onslaught. He can barely see a foot in front of him.
"Count off!" Lavi yells.
"It's so pretty!" Krory yells to his right.
"Usagi is gonna die!" Robin yells, laughing under him.
"Allen?" Lavi asks, searching for the white headed boy. There's a sniffle and Allen crawls over to them, grabbing hold of the red head's jacket.
"Could it get any worse?" Lavi asks.
Suddenly Allen gasps and his left eye comes to life.
"Of course." Lavi groans. Two dozen dark shapes rip through the ground beneath them and move to surround them. Lavi spots several level twos and two level threes. The akuma laugh at him and Lavi grimaces. There's no way he can fight them all and protect the others by himself. Plus, the sudden blizzard isn't helping.
"Die exorcists!" A level three yells, lunging at him. Lavi shuts his eye, expecting the worst, when there's a loud explosion. The red head opens his eye and smiles huge at the white cloak in front of him, whipping around in the snowstorm.
"Oh thank you Allen!" Lavi yells, squeezing the other exorcist to death.
"What on earth happened?!" Allen yells.
"I'll tell you later!" Lavi yells. He motions to the horde of akuma and Allen nods.
"Right." Allen says. He lunges at the akuma, slicing them apart with his clawed hand. Lavi grips the handle to his hammer.
"Allen!" Lavi yells. "Can you keep Krory and Robin from getting whisked away?"
"Crown Belt!" Allen yells. The white ribbons of energy wrap around the other exorcist's forms and Allen shields them with his cloak from an incoming akuma attack.
"It's Frosty the Snowman!" Krory cheers, excited.
"Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul,
With a corn cob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made of coal.
Frosty the Snowman, is a fairytale, they say.
He was made of snow, but the children know how he came to life one day."
Allen sweat drops. What the-?! There's a groan. He looks down at Robin and Allen spots a twinge of familiarity from her eyes.
"Robin?" He asks.
"Hey," She says. "You're..."
"Did you finally come to your senses?" He asks.
"I know you!" She says.
"Yeah," Allen says with a smile. "I'm your friend, All-"
"It's the snowflake princess!" Robin yells.
His jaw drops. She bursts into laughter and he twitches. His face whole face flushes red and he attempts to glare at her, but it only makes her laugh harder. Next to them, Lavi grabs his hammer and a circle of elemental seals spin around his head. The circle stops and he smacks his hammer to a seal.
"Wood Stamp!" Lavi yells. "Spinning Dist of Heaven and Earth!" A huge circle of energy shoots up into the sky and the snowstorm ceases, the sky becoming clear and blue.
"Alright!" Lavi yells. "Time to kick some akuma butt!" He swings his hammer up and the swarm of akuma suddenly retreat. Allen yells and tries to chase after them, but they're gone.
"Poor exorcists." A voice says from behind them. Allen and Lavi freeze. There's a giggle and arms wrap themselves around Allen. He twists to look behind him and a girl with purple-blue hair spiked up in a punk style and dark eyes smiles at him.
"You shouldn't be so friendly with him, Road." Another figure says from behind Lavi. A tall man with wavy, dark hair and a mole under his eye readjusts his top hat and sighs.
"No fair, Tyki!" Road says. She pouts, but lets go of Allen.
"Noah!" Lavi growls.
"Why are you here?!" Allen yells.
Road gives the white haired boy a sweet smile and points to the exorcist next to him.
"I'll make it simple." She says. "Give me Robin or die."
Cliffhanger, yay! I was feeling strangely Christmas-y. By the way, can anyone guess the reference? (Think cactus juice and hallucinations)
I hope you like the story and please leave a review! Thank you for the support! I hope you'll continue reading! :D