Lavi woke in another cold sweat. His wrists were bound by gauze, but despite their best efforts the shackles still chafed. He shivered as he curled up as best he could to fight off yet another, horrendous nightmare.
They had become much more frequent in the past two weeks. They had crept in on him with soft, padded feet. At first, they had been whispers. Now they were full blown shouts in his direction, blaring at him in the night and robbing him of sleep. He was sick and tired of being sick and tired, but there was nothing to do about that. His waking life was interrupted by memories that would assail him in the middle of fights, conversations, and everyday tasks. His nights were punctuated by his screaming, thrashing, and night sweats. In all this, he managed to keep a fairly cheerful composure, and only one person knew what was happening on the inside, that the parts of him that were Lavi were being broken up as his sanity was stretched to its snapping point.
Esperanza's cold hand was like a balm over his arm. She slept on the couch nowadays - she didn't dare sleep near him for fear of being kicked or hit. After amassing a rather gruesome black eye when Lavi's arm had actually pulled the shackles apart, hitting her in the process, they had decided it wasn't safe for her to be near him during his night terrors, and that it was best for her to wait until they had run their course before beginning her new, impromptu vocation as Lavi's caretaker in these matters of the psyche.
They had talked with the Vatican, or rather a representative in the South American HQ, and they had sanctioned their right to sharing a single space for the sake of cost, logistics, and Lavi's mental health, as it seemed it had been on the decline after Esperanza had left for a short period to help on a nearby mission. Bookman had yet to respond to summons, and Esperanza had yet to respond to Central about her convalescence in Europe. Things were at a standstill, and it was instigating Lavi's psychological problems to a drastic degree. Though the two had been assigned to missions within Sao Paolo in the past month or so, Lavi could not help feeling as if he were running in place. The feeling of going nowhere irritated him and rubbed him to the point of rawness. In secret, he and Esperanza had worked on finding the key to the object Darrin may have run off with, but in spite of this hard work, it didn't matter what it was if they couldn't find it.
In the meantime, they made friends with the locals. Esperanza was not a known face, and she had to work to make friends with those around her, especially those in the Order who were aware of her past actions and affiliations. Esperanza was not seen much around the Order to begin with, which had in turn made her seem mysterious and foreboding, especially given her appearance as a scarred, brutal looking woman with a penchant for a blank expression. Still, she had made headway, with Lavi's help, and he'd helped to show the better side of her. She was, after all, an Exorcist. Exorcists helped each other. She kept him sane, and he helped her make friends. It was a fair trade.
And it was time for her to cash in on her end of the bargain, it seemed.
"What was this one about?" she asked. She was kneeling next to the bed, her eyes level with his. Lavi's eye squeezed shut as he buried his face into his pillow. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to tell her what he dreamed about this time. She usually made him, though, and afterwards, he had to admit that he usually did feel better. Still, this one was... was different from the others.
This time, he hadn't been the subject of the dream. She had.
"Amigo, you know what happens if you do not tell me what happened in your dream. I make you stay home, and then you don't get to go outside to play," she said, almost playfully. Her voice held a touch of humor, but not much more. He knew she was partly serious. She would make him stay home. He was more unstable after a nightmare, and instability in the middle of a fire fight was a recipe for disaster. Still, this dream had disturbed him more than he would like to say. This one had fed off of a memory he'd had, one he was ashamed of. Only this persona, Lavi, could feel guilt for a memory. All the others... People were just drips of ink on paper. They were just as short-lived, and they were just as unreliable. You never knew how they'd fall, how they'd splatter, how they'd be written in and smudged. Part of him was holding back because of that belief. Part of him didn't want to trust Esperanza. She was just like the rest of the drips of ink, the selfsame ink she'd bought for him from the calligraphy store to go with his ebony pens and his metal-flower inkwell -
The only gift he'd ever keep, ever hide, ever save. Why? Perhaps because Esperanza wasn't like every other drop of ink. She was someone he could trust. She had never betrayed his trust. He finally opened his eye and stared.
Those eyes. God, those blue eyes. It hurt to look at them, because he knew the minute he opened his mouth, that wide-eyed expression meant to coax and assuage would turn to one of disgust, fear, or pain. She was his friend, one of his best friends. How could he dream such a thing of such a good friend? His mouth fell open as he tried to talk, but the words stuck in his throat like barbed pine cones. A clay ball had taken the place of his Adam's apple, and he could feel tears pricking his eyes, but he wouldn't cry. He couldn't. He refused.
"You sure I don't get to play outside? All work and no play makes me a dull boy," he muttered humorously, despite the crack in his voice as he neared the end of his sentence. Esperanza's stare brooked no argument. She rubbed his forearm, and she broke the contact between them by undoing the shackles. The shackles were long enough that Lavi could reach the key around his neck, but Esperanza also had a key, and she released him. He rubbed his wrists were the metal had eaten at his skin.
"Amigo, it is no good to keep this to yourself. Your memories - "
"Esperanza, I know about my memories. If I didn't, we'd have more problems than me accidentally walking in the middle of the street at rush hour." Esperanza winced as she remembered the incident. It was one of those things where you had to be there. She could swear he'd dodged death at least a dozen times in an hour. If it hadn't been so nerve-racking, it would've been hilarious.
"Please -"
"It's not important, Esperanza -"
"You say that, but -"
"You worry too -"
"Much? You don't worry -"
"Enough. Look, can I tell you in the morning?" Lavi asked, now that he had his composure back. He sat up, looking down at her. She was sitting amidst a large array of books. In the predawn light, she looked like she was sitting in the middle of a flower made of pages. Her nightgown, which was usually white, glowed blue underneath the moon, and Lavi's skin took on a bluish, corpse-like tint. Esperanza seemed to contemplate, and before she could answer, Lavi lay back down. Esperanza was quiet, and Lavi pretended to go back to sleep. He heard her pad around the bed, and she waited a few minutes before sitting down and re-shackling him to the bed post. Her hands were gentle - she didn't want to wake him up again. Her softness pained him. He felt like he'd betrayed her somehow, yet he wasn't sure how he had.
When he was sure she was asleep again, he unshackled himself quietly and put on his uniform. He needed a walk to clear his head.
His golem rang nearly two miles down the main street their hotel occupied. He answered it in an alleyway, letting it flutter in the air as it received garbled transmission.
"If there are any Exorcists in the area, please, we need help! There are Akuma on the outskirts of time, on Ponderosa and Sao Iago! Please hurry, the talismans are breaking!" Lavi's eyes hardened. This was just what he needed. Perhaps fighting would take his mind off of all this hubbub. Fighting was his best type of meditation. It required all his focus, and it was rare that pesky memories would bother him - unless they were the potent kind. His enthusiasm dimmed as he realized he may be more hindrance than help, but he decided it was no use worrying about that. He was an Exorcist as well as a Bookman Apprentice. He would be fine. Fighting Akuma and saving people were his duty, even if these were people he wasn't allowed to connect with.
He sped towards the outskirts of the city, bypassing streets by taking rooftops as he was wont to do. The night air was slightly breezy from the sea, and he could taste the brine in the air. His nose twitched, and he sneezed. They were nearing a Southern Hemisphere summer, meaning the days of November, December, and January would be full of sunshine and storms. Lavi's body was not accustomed to the sudden change, and he had come down with a minor head cold. The sneezing just compounded the fact he was sick and tired of being sick and tired. It wasn't so much worrying as it was annoying.
At least, tonight he could see the stars. Clouds had threatened to blanket the Brasilian city in more drizzle, but they now searched for other venues. Perhaps the breeze blowing over the ocean had blown them out. Lavi was thankful - the night was nearly balmy because of the sudden loss of mist. He silently approached lights in the distance, no doubt Finders attempting to fight off Akuma near the outskirts of town. He dropped down on a fire escape, skidding against the metal to slow his descent down a few of the ladders. Without missing a beat, he was off into the street, wind picking at his rumpled, red hair.
Just as he turned a corner, he smashed into somebody, and he fell to the ground in a slight daze. People were milling around here in droves, probably evacuated because of the fighting. Lavi got up quickly, and he noted the stranger's face. He frowned as the half-lit face went in and out of definition. He realized that this was a face he recognized, and his eye widened.
Dominguez. He was still alive.
The drug lord stared at him in vexation before realizing whom he'd run into. The man doffed his hat congenially before slipping into the crowd, and Lavi began to go after him before hearing screams.
His eyes flickered back and forth in between the fighting and the disappearing drug lord. If he was alive... if he was here... What did that mean? What could they want here? Did he want revenge? Perhaps it was coincidence?
No... There was no such thing as coincidence. He should know better than that.
If Dominguez was here, there was more than a small chance that so was Lulu. He still had funds - the river was still flowing, though he'd phoned the Order to send people to try and remove the blood from the river and make it safe to drink. His poppy fields would continue growing, along with his other enterprises. His boys were still alive. There were still Akuma around...
But why were they here? What could they want that was within the city of Sao Paolo? The only thing they had ever really, truly shown interest in were the things that could possibly benefit them or kill them. It was one of the two that happened to be within the confines of the city, but Lavi didn't know what. Unless...
More screaming. He'd better make a decision soon. He turned tail. He could always chase Dominguez later. These Finders might not hold out for very much longer.
He raced across the rooftops, eying the Akuma trapped within talisman lights. He could tell that they'd already begun to fracture. He'd just managed to get there in time. He smiled to himself. Lavi to the rescue, it seemed. Finders cheered loudly as Lavi practically flew over the rooftops, his black and white Exorcist uniform flashing like a star in the moonlight. His hammer grew to the size of an elephant, nearly dwarfing the moon as it flew over head in an arc. He smashed it straight through an Akuma with easy precision. They were early stage Akuma, merely floating eggs with machine gun attachments. A few others were Level Twos, no problem. They took him less than an hour to take down, and the tired Finders sighed collectively right as the last Akuma succumbed to Lavi's massive hammer.
Lavi surveyed his handiwork with a hint of pride, already feeling better for going out and doing something worthwhile. Work always made him feel better. There really was nothing like a good workout to flush out bad feelings and a stale mind. One Finder ran up to him as he was walking the street, and Lavi gave him a slight smile, despite the late hour.
"Hey! What's the problem?" Lavi asked cheerfully. The Finder looked troubled, his stubble merely compounding that fact. His dark, heavy brow was made even heavier by the street lights and the moon. He didn't look happy. The Finder rubbed his shoulder, and he said, "Senor, we have a problem. Several got away into the streets. Most were Level Twos. They came from nowhere, senor." Lavi frowned. He'd expected they'd run, but he had no idea why that was relevant.
"Is there anything else? We can let them go, you know," Lavi said, patting the Finder gently on the shoulder he wasn't rubbing. The Finder blinked before flickering his eyes away and then back to Lavi's face.
"I... There was... warning. Someone told us that there would be an Akuma attack. We're not sure who. They called the Order, left a message with a clerk who reported to a senior officer. It went through the right channels, and... we were here. The Akuma were not prepared for us, but we were for them. We couldn't get a message to you soon enough, and other Exorcists were supposed to be en route. We do not know what happened to them," he said. Lavi's brow furrowed. That was certainly troubling. Civilians didn't know about Akuma. It was the job of the Vatican and the Order to keep panic at bay, and therefore most people were on a need-to-know basis. Only a Finder or one of the people from Central would know about an Akuma attack, but an Akuma attack beforehand was unheard of. They struck at random, showing up out of nowhere to ravage the towns and sections of city before disappearing again in their human skins.
"I'll talk about it with my partner," Lavi said reassuringly. The Finder visibly deflated, but he could still see apprehension. He'd flinched at Lavi's mention of his partner, and he realized he might've accidentally touched a sore subject. Lavi gave a small, sad smile. The Finder awkwardly began to leave, and Lavi felt like something was off. There was something about the information he'd been given that was sending up small, red flags in his mind's eye. As he walked, his hands in his pockets and his hair blown by the wind, he could feel it beginning to solidify in his mind. Why would Exorcists delay getting to the Finders? They must've called Lavi last of all, thinking he was with Esperanza. Had Esperanza gotten a call as well? He made a note to ask.
However, as he neared the hotel he felt foreboding wash over him. There was this unconscious feeling of unease within him. His mind was putting all the pieces together in the back of his head, but he had no idea what the picture looked like. It was like doing a jigsaw blindfolded - he could feel the pieces locking together, but he didn't know what the picture itself happened to be. Looking up at the room he'd left, he felt as if bony fingers were tapping along his spine. The lights were on, but he'd left them off when he'd gone for his walk. Esperanza could've turned them on when she'd realized that he'd left, but he had the creeping suspicion that the lights were on for a different reason.
He climbed the stairs with trepidation in each step, feeling like the soles of his boots were weighted down with millstones. He felt dread ball in the pit of his stomach, twisting and churning until he felt like he'd throw up. He looked down the hallway, and he noticed that the door was ajar. Immediately, warning bells went off in his head. Even if Esperanza had turned on the lights, she wouldn't leave the door open. She was a lone woman, though armed, in a hotel that was in the middle of a busy street filled with people she didn't know. Something was horribly wrong here.
He nudged the door open with the tip of his hammer, allowing it to swing open. His breath caught in his throat. The room was in absolute disarray. The sheets were torn and strewn about. The lights were actually lying on the ground. Chairs had been thrown, drawers had been rifled through, books had been torn apart and no doubt a few had been stolen. Their belongings were spread across the ground. The mattress had been cut open, the feathers still drifting in the air. His eye scanned the scene as he stepped in quietly, keeping an ear out for any intruders that may still be lingering.
He didn't hear anything upon entering the room. Most usually, an intruder's breathing was loud, distinctive, especially if they'd just been caught or they hadn't had a chance to leave. The windows weren't open - they couldn't have left that way. That meant that the only way out was through the door he'd just come through. The door had been ajar, meaning they left in haste. Whoever they were (and Lavi had an idea who they might be, considering all the information he'd partaken in the past two hours or so) had searched for something, some clue or person. They'd probably stolen whatever they'd thought was valuable or possibly helpful. The job looked thorough, but Lavi couldn't tell until he knew what they were looking for.
He heard the door behind him creak, and his instincts immediately sprung into action. He'd walked into more than one scene where the perpetrator had not vacated the premises, and Lavi had become attuned to where they might hide. Things seemed to slow down considerably as Lavi allowed his body to move for him, letting his brain take a backseat as he spun around neatly on the heel of his foot, slam the palm of his hand into the cheek of the person attempting to attack him, and using his other hand to grab that person by the neck and slam them against a wall.
However, in letting his body do all the work, his brain had no time to process that the person he was attacking was his own partner.
Lavi stared, dumbfounded, for nearly all of thirty seconds as Esperanza choked in his grasp against the wall. She clawed at his hands desperately, choking out, "Lavi...La...Lavi..." Realizing who he was slowly choking to death, Lavi let her drop to the ground, and she collapsed in a heap, holding her throat and greedily sucking in air. Lavi stared down at her, crumpled as she was on the ground in a torn, slightly bloody nightgown. A memory assailed him just then, but this was not like his other memories. This was a memory that wasn't real - a fabrication of his unconscious mind, one that had taken hold of him no more than two hours before.
He was suddenly in an alley way, the light from a street lamp throwing the three men and a woman into shadow as she tried to fight the other three off. Though she landed a hit on the first man, the second and third grabbed her. Lavi stood in the street, a war zone of running soldiers and firelight, watching the events from behind a half torn-down wall. He couldn't move - he seemed entranced by the things going on in the alleyway. Something at the back of his mind told him that in reality something different had happened, that he was hiding for a reason, but he didn't know that reason right now, and the thought left him as he watched the first man punching the woman in the stomach. She doubled over, her black, wavy hair covering her face from view. Her teak colored skin was streaked with dirty water and blood that was probably a mix of her own and someone else's. He lifted her chin to better see her face, and blue eyes flashed anger as she continued to struggle.
The man began to slip off the dress she wore, an old tattered thing that had seen better days, and Lavi was still as a statue. Finally, he hid his face as he heard desperate cries for help -
A massive pain between his legs brought him back to the present, and Lavi fell over on the ground, stunned beyond all belief. He moaned as he curled up around his abused parts, and he groaned in complaint, "Why the hell did you do that?" Esperanza stood over him with a look of disgruntled irritation, and she merely answered, "Payback." For such a levelheaded woman, she could be vindictive. Not that she didn't have a right to be angry or anything, but someone didn't just shove a knee so far up between his legs that he felt his gonads make friends with his stomach! It took Lavi nearly ten minutes to recover, and by then Esperanza was already changing into pants and a shirt. Lavi was sure to avert his eyes. She knew that he wouldn't dare stare at her, but in the event that he did, he'd have more things to worry about than becoming sore. He might just end up completely infertile all together.
"I take it that that's not your blood?" Lavi finally ground out, walking slightly bowlegged towards her as she put on a holster. She had taken to carrying a revolver around with her now that her Innocence was out of commission. Lavi thought of how his memory-version of Esperanza had been so fragile. His view of her was obviously skewed, because Esperanza was probably anything but fragile. She shrugged.
"I sent them squealing to their mothers," Esperanza answered nonchalantly, and she looked at Lavi with raised eyebrows.
"And where were you?" It was a simply asked question, nothing more than curiosity. Lavi winced.
"Took a walk. That dream was more than a little disturbing. Glad I didn't pee myself this time," he joked. Esperanza chuckled. Suddenly, she became serious, and she said, "You want to know what they were after?" Lavi blinked. That was a quick change in topic. He nodded to her.
"You know me. I love my mysteries. I love the answers even more." Esperanza suddenly walked towards a closet in the bathroom. He frowned as she opened it up. It was completely empty of all towels and bathroom supplies. It looked like a perfectly normal closet to him. Lavi frowned as he glanced around it before remembering something.
The closet had an extra shelf built into it, one that couldn't really be seen well from the bottom. Just as he was thinking of this fact, Esperanza suddenly removed a towel from the gap between the shelf and the wall of the door. Lavi's eye widened as he stared up into the gap.
"B-b-b-but... w-what in... and... he... you..." Esperanza nodded with a shadow of a smile.
She helped Darrin out of the small gap in the ceiling. The old man was lucky he was tiny. He grumbled some rather blush-inducing words before gruffly asking, "Damn it, man, is this how you treat yer elders? I'm starved! Ain't ye got any grub?"
Lavi took up the three empty bowls, five empty plates, and two different platters as he recalled Darrin's story. The old man had eaten enough for an army, and as he'd eaten he'd told them his story, starting from when he'd seen them last.
Darrin had immediately left following the fight that had ensued between Lavi and Esperanza. He'd told them it had been a scene out of hell. Lavi and Esperanza had winced simultaneously at Darrin's almost seemingly exaggerated account of their battle. He'd headed towards the lake, seeing as fire had practically engulfed a lot of the area. Strangely enough, during the fighting the water in the lake had evaporated after Lavi had sent his Fire Seal awry in pursuit of Esperanza, drying up a good portion of it. Darrin, who'd been hiding, spied something shiny at the bottom of the lake, and good old greed got the better of him. Despite being half out of his mind with both worry and fear, for himself and his companions, he'd scrambled down towards the object, taking it.
The fight, at that point, sounded like it was over. Lavi and Esperanza were nowhere to be seen, and Darrin had no choice but to assume they'd killed each other. The camp was little more than a char mark, and those that were alive had fled down the mountain. Darrin had done the same, but he took the path through the ruins, going deep underground before exiting at the small town at the mouth of the caves on the other end. He'd stayed there for a few days, packed up supplies, and he left with his new treasure. He had had no idea what the object was, but he was willing to keep it on the offhand chance that it was worth a pretty penny.
The really weird things happened only a few minutes after. Darrin had dropped the object, which was little more than a long, air-tight cylinder of either gold or bronze (he'd said it was hard to tell considering it was dark, the thing was grimy, and he hadn't had a chance to really look at it). It had rolled down the side of the mountain, and Darrin had been little remiss to see it go, seeing as it was taking up space.
And then it came back to him as quick as a boomerang. That was the moment he'd known he was screwed.
"Damn near thought I'd fall over of a heart attack. Never seen anything like that in my life. Weirdest thing I ever saw was you and yer strange hammer, and that woman with her gun."
Afterwards he'd wandered into Buenos Aires to try and catch a winter job. However, he'd noticed he was being followed every step of the way. Strange creatures had tailed him at night, and during the day he had been in constant paranoia. Eventually he was attacked by creatures with guns attached to them, strange things that turned people to dust -
"Akuma," Lavi had breathed when Darrin had described them. Darrin gave him a perplexed look, and Lavi had motioned for him to continue.
After being chased for nearly three days, Darrin decided to try and escape by steamer. He had learned that the Akuma were after the object he constantly had with him, but as hard as he tried he could not rid himself of it. It would merely come back to him or reappear. He did a little sleuthing and eventually found the Order as well as their headquarters in Sao Paolo. He had figured that they would know what to do with his certain problem.
"All I wanna do is go back home. This tumbleweed's about to stop rollin'. I'm gettin' too old fer this," he had muttered.
Lavi reviewed all of this with a keen eye and ear. He stared out the window, chewing on a piece of jerky like he would an idea, slowly and carefully with much deliberation and thought. Esperanza came to stand next to him, her profile strong beside his as they stared out at the city. They'd requested a room that was higher up, and they'd been given the top floor. It helped that the hotel happened to be on good terms with the Order, which tipped well.
"So you left the room to go and get something, bumped into Darrin, saw men outside, hid him, left down the hall, and then came back to attack the men who came in," Lavi said, firing off his theorem. Esperanza shrugged. She took a piece of Lavi's jerky, and he playfully pulled it away from her.
"Ah ah ah, am I right or not?" he asked, and Esperanza shifted an eyebrow. He finally relented and handed her a piece of jerky out of the many in his hand. They stood in companionable silence before Esperanza said, "So Dominguez is back?" Lavi nodded.
"And that means that Lulu may be here as well?" Lavi nodded again. Esperanza was quiet for a while longer.
"What do we do?" Esperanza asked. Lavi leaned against the wall adjoining the window, and he pursed his lips in thought. A twinkle shone in his eye, and Esperanza braced for some more teasing. Instead, Lavi asked, "What would you do?" Esperanza gave a questioning look, and Lavi smiled.
"Humor me."
Esperanza tapped the piece of jerky against her lips. She finally answered, "Take Darrin into Order custody, make sure no one knows where he is. Keep him under constant survelliance, give him a guard. We would obviously be with him. Have some of the scientists examine the artifact with Darrin in attendance seeing as it will not leave him." She raised her eyebrows again, her expression one of nonchalance. She shrugged. Lavi nodded.
"Good job. That's all we can do, really, until we figure out what that is," Lavi said, pointing to the safe in the wall behind the painting above the bed. Darrin snoozed softly in the bed, the only place he could be without the object busting out of the safe and ruining the wall. They'd already gotten antsy when Darrin had attempted to sleep on the couch and resounding gongs had rung through the building.
Esperanza nodded. There was quiet again, the only sound being Darrin's snoozing. Esperanza's mouth suddenlyh opened, but words caught in her throat. Lavi looked at her, noting every muscle twitch in her face. He could predict her so easily, yet at the same time she was a mystery. People had that effect on Lavi - so predictable, yet there was that element of surprise they still held.
"What did you dream about? I could see it in your eyes when you practically wrung my head off," Esperanza finally asked, her eyes dry with wit. Lavi felt his mouth parch in a moment as if someone had flash-bombed it.
"I, uh... I dreamed about you, uh, you being... stuffed in a dress?" Lavi said, hoping she'd buy the diversion. It was a flat out lie, but it was worth a shot.
Esperanza stared blankly.
Maybe not worth a shot. Lavi sighed, and he went to sit on the couch. He looked up at Esperanza, who was still standing near the tall window. City-light bathed her in a strange mix of orange and black. His one eye seemed to reflect sadness as she stared at him, the worry she tried so hard to hide seeping out through the cracks of her mask.
"You were... attacked. A lot of my memories are war atrocities, and you were...someone was taking advantage of you. I'd watched a woman forcefully taken when I was about thirteen. I was taught not to interfere with anything, so I had no idea what to do," Lavi finally said, his voice low. It was a shameful admission. Now that he knew so many young women, Lenalee most of all, that memory pricked like a thistle. He'd tried hard to bury it, but it seemed everything he kept trying to hide was floating the forefront of his mind.
Esperanza was speechless for a moment... and then she shrugged. Lavi was surprised by the amount of nonchalance she displayed towards the subject. Suddenly, he began to assume the worst before she said, "Amigo, that does not bother me in the least. You had a nightmare, and that is all. Were you worried that I would be upset?" Lavi was speechless before he said, "I didn't know what to think. I guess." Esperanza gave him a rare half-smile, her eyes strangely warm despite their near-icy color. She walked over to him, and she ruffled his hair. He blinked in surprise at the action.
It had felt... warm. Familiar, even. He was getting a feeling of dejavu as he looked up at Esperanza. She walked towards the bathroom, probably to get ready for another night on the couch. Lavi himself was going to be asleep in his own separate room. He chewed over this new predicament, staring at Darrin as he thought and thought and thought.
When Esperanza came out of the bathroom, she found the redhead asleep in his chair, and she rolled her eyes. Having mercy, she shifted him to the couch and left him there, asleep. Hopefully he couldn't do much damage where he lay. She sat down in a chair, deciding that it was best to just wait out the morning.
The sun began to rise, ringing in the new day.
A/N: Yet another chapter! I know, you all want to tar and feather me (I don't know why, but I always imagine that as the torture of choice for angry fans). This is more of a filler chapter with a bit of plot thrown in, and hopefully we'll get on track in the next chapter afterwards. I apologize for the number of fillers I've been throwing in. I hope you'll stay interested.
Now, for the recognition! Thank you, my dearest reviewers PrevalentMasters (I am flattered by your review) and especially Ella Unlimited. Welcome back, to the latter. You have been missed.
For my newest subscribers, I'd like to thank Raven of the Willows, PrevalentMasters, and Death-Sama01. This is a good bump up from the number of subscribers we had from the last chapter. Woopie! Big thanks for adding this to a probably rather extensive list of stories. I trust you're all avid readers.
And then, my favoriteers. If only I had a trumpet so as to trumpet my fanfare for you (oh, the puns). Big thanks to PrevalentMasters, Death-Sama01, Raven of the Willows, and darknessqueen101.
Man, these stories should have 'like' buttons. That'd be helpful, too.
Anywho, now for the discussion questions! What do you think the mysterious object is? Is Lavi's dream really that disturbing? How far is he sliding down the slope of insanity? Do you believe this story is reaching its end? Is Lulu Bell ever going to reveal her plans? Is Lulu Bell even in Sao Paolo? How do you like this setting, and does it need changing? Is the story going stale with the same thing over and over?
Remember, review, subscribe, and favorite! I can't make bricks without clay.
God bless, and good reading to you all!