Dread ate away at whatever starvation had left of Lavi's stomach lining as he followed an akuma through the ancient castle he had apparently been held in. He tested the cuffs around his wrist and his eyes scanned the walls for any sign of escape. The doors they passed were all ajar- revealing rooms in various states of decay. Some had other akuma inside them, scrubbing away the age and repairing or removing moulding furniture. The windows were curtained.
Lavi sighed through his nose, bringing his hands up to his mouth and absently chewing on his thumb, turning his eye back to the Akuma leading him through the maze of halls. He'd been cuffed and told to follow once he'd finally been able to move again. Each step seemed to send a creak through Lavi's bones that would have normally worried him, but seemed more of a hinderance than anything.
The Akuma stopped in front of an ornately carved door and turned to Lavi, who stopped several steps back. The Akuma pulled him forward and took a moment to unlock the cuffs, still silent. Lavi considered saying something but glanced at the door, feeling his stomach turn a bit. When his wrists were free, he stepped back again and the Akuma turned back to the door, opening it and standing to the side.
Lavi eyed it warily, then looked at the gaunt-faced demon, "Um?"
"Go in." It said, sounding uninterested. Lavi looked at the slightly open door again, then at the Akuma. He swallowed and moved forward, pushing the door open and slipping in. The door was pulled shut behind him, and Lavi found himself in a bedroom.
It was repaired to what Lavi assumed to be its original glory- a fine rug spread on the floor, the wooden furniture gleaming with polish, the heavy curtains pulled open to let sunlight spill in and Lavi squinted, surprised by the natural light.
The sound of a cup being set on a saucer drew his attention and he looked at the table, seeing Allen sitting in one of the plush chairs. Neah. Allen's body.
He smiled.
"Have a seat." Neah gestured calmly to the chair across from him. Lavi looked at it numbly for a moment before dragging his body over and easing himself down.
"What do you want."
Neah clicked his tongue disapprovingly, picking up his tea again and searching for something in his pocket, "It's nice to see you again as well. You're welcome for saving your life."
"Yeah."
Neah looked at him for a long moment, sipping from the teacup and setting it down with deliberate slowness.
"He wants to see you."
Lavi sucked in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment then opening them slowly.
"It's all a real mess, if you ask me. One of his conditions was to be able to see you. He forgets that he agreed to this in the first place, but I suppose I am dealing with a very different Allen, now." Neah continued, a rueful look on his face and a note of mourning in his voice.
"A... different Allen? Conditions?" Neah shrugged, pouring Lavi a cup of tea and taking a sip of it before sliding it across the table. Lavi didn't touch it.
"It's complicated. In any case, there is something you need to agree to before we proceed."
Lavi knew he looked unimpressed, but he leaned his elbows on the table and his chin on his palm. Neah smiled at him and held up a small black hammer. Lavi froze.
"That-"
"Yes, this is your innocence." Neah said flippantly, twirling it around his fingers, "If you want to see Allen, you agree to use this in the way we tell you to."
Lavi nearly blurted out an agreement but he stopped, inhaling and taking a moment, "What… way will that be?"
"Hmm, what way indeed." Neah closed his hand around the hammer and clenched, cracking it. Lavi felt something inside him tremble and his hand darted forward, grabbing at Neah's wrist.
"No!"
"Calm down, Bookman." Neah said, almost playfully. He shook Lavi's hand off and opened his hand- the right hand, Lavi noted dimly- and blew lightly on the remains of the hammer. Dust flew off until there was nothing left but a black cube floating lazily above the Noah's hand. Lavi stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment, then his eye widened and he slowly raised it to Neah's face.
"You can't be serious?"
"Why would I joke?"
Lavi leaned both elbows on the table and threaded his fingers together, pressing his lips to them and staring at Neah for a long moment. Lavi's chest throbbed worryingly and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Why… would you want me to become a crystal type exorcist?"
"I'm fairly certain of something, but… by doing so I think I can confirm it."
Lavi couldn't look away from the cube, wondering when his innocence had decided that this was the path to take. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his grubby forehead. He knew what he was going to say, but fear churned through his blood anyway.
"Well, I suppose if you don't want to-"
"I'll do it." Lavi snapped, thrusting out a shaking hand. Neah smiled and flicked a stray lock of hair out of his eyes, letting the cube drop into Lavi's hand.
It felt almost electric when it touched his skin and Lavi thought his heart was going to break his ribs from how fast it was pounding. The little black cube melted and pooled in his hand, shimmering like oil. He must have been moving through water, he thought as he slowly raised his hand to his lips. Everything around him seemed muted and far away, so he closed his eyes and tipped his head back.
Lavi noted that innocence did not taste like much.
And then he screamed.
He was aware of nothing but someone moving him, of the sound of something ripping, something cracking, and incredible pain in his chest. For what must have only been a moment, nothing moved under his ribs. His heart had stopped mid-beat, and unnatural stillness settled over his chest. The torn remains of his shirt slid over his sides and he struggled to look down in horror as a cross was cut out of his chest from the inside. The Stigmata burned red against his skin and the nearly black blood rose out of the wound. Lavi felt his heart re-start and thrum in his chest like a trapped hummingbird.
His blood must have been boiling inside of him as he lifted his hand weakly, touching the shifting mass of innocence. It wrapped around his hand and Lavi felt the wind rush out of his lungs. Then with a flash of green his hammer laid in his palm, gleaming and translucent. Lavi blinked slowly, panting hard and pushing himself up to look at the weapon.
"Just as I thought," Lavi jerked in surprise and looked up at Neah, trying to blink the haze out of his mind, "Right over the heart." The Noah laid his hand over the new wound and Lavi winced a little, looking up at him.
"A...h?" An intelligent response, but it was just about all Lavi could force out of his throat.
"Well, with Lenalee having the stigmata on her legs and Kanda having it on his wrists… I thought it might be logical that you have it here." Neah pressed on Lavi's chest a little and he wheezed in pain.
"O-On my chest…"
"No," Neah breathed, leaning in with an excited gleam in his eye, "On your heart." Lavi stiffened in realization, staring at Neah. He trembled a little, fingers clutching the handle of his newly formed innocence.
"You're not saying…"
"Yes."
"No! I can't be-"
"You are." Neah purred, and Lavi shoved him back to scramble onto his feet, panting hard and trying to wrap his mind around it. His innocence seemed to pulse ever so slightly with the beat of his heart and Lavi thought he was going to be sick.
"Well, you've held up your end of the bargain, I suppose. If you leave this room before we allow it, he will die." Neah waved his hand flippantly, as if he considered Allen's death an afterthought.
Lavi nodded mutely, leaning heavily on his innocence. Neah closed his eyes and the grey tint to his skin seemed to bleed out of him and he wobbled on his feet. He shifted his weight to keep his balance, shoulders dropping a few degrees. His stance changed to something defensive and his eyes snapped open again. He blinked and raised his head slowly, looking around the room, then at the unstable redhead.
"Lavi…?" Realization flooded Allen's eyes and both men lurched towards each other at once. Allen threw his arms around Lavi's neck and Lavi pulled him close, dropping his head to Allen's shoulder. A tear slid down Lavi's cheek, unnoticed, and soaked into the white cotton of the other man's shirt.