"Lenalee!.. Lenalee!"

Lenalee's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name being called, her mind was blurry, it took a few minuets for her memory of the recent event to return. She looked across the river and saw Allen on the other side crying out to her.

"Are you okay?" She smiled at him and nodded, blood was still dripping from his wrist but he'd managed to stop most of the blood from flowing out. The feeling in her legs had finally returned but she still felt a little wobbly when she tried to stand, only to drop to back to the ground.

"Lenalee is Lavi with you?" Her heart seemed to have stopped when Allen asked her. Lavi was missing. She didn't waste any time, she sprang to her feet and ran into the woods, praying that the akuma from earlier hadn't got him while they were knocked out. Allen leapt across the river to the other and followed Lenalee as close as he could, even without the use of her Dark Boots; she was very quick on her feet but she still had trouble keeping her balance. She tripped over a root sticking up from the ground, but she couldn't find the energy to get up this time.

"It's all my fault, I should've got him away earlier..."

"Lenalee.." Lenalee looked over her shoulder and saw Allen kneeling down beside her. "We'll find him, I promise." Lenalee wrapped her arms around him, holding back the tears became more difficult, what if that akuma from earlier had got him? What if he drowned? All those thoughts were rushing through her head and made her feel sick with worry.

"Allen... what if he's?..." Allen didn't let her finish, "He's alive Lenalee." Allen stared hard into her eyes. "Don't you ever think he's..." Even Allen couldn't begin to comprehend if Lavi was dead, he couldn't even finish his sentence. He stood up and helped Lenalee to her feet.

"We will find him." Lenalee nodded and looked back at the river.

"If he got carried further down stream... he can't have wandered far from the bank... not in the condition he's in."

"You go see if he's further down, I'll make sure that Akuma isn't around." With that, they both went their separate ways.

"You'll be okay Lavi, we will find you."

..:~~:..

"Awh jeez, where am I?" Lavi slowly lifted his head from the ground; everything was dancing, lots of pretty green and blue colours. Lavi tried to focus on where he was, assuming he was still in forest from what he could see.

"Allen?... Lenalee?" No answer, he was by himself. Cursing, he forced himself to lean upright against a tree, it helped him to breathe easier but it was still difficult and painful. All he could do now was to wait for Allen and Lenalee to come find him but he was having trouble staying awake.

"Stay awake, damnit." He kept telling himself but he was soon dipping in and out of consciousness. This wasn't good, the virus was spreading quicker throughout his system, he needed help and he knew it, but, what if they didn't find him in time?

"Shuttup!" Lavi shouted at himself but raising his voice made him cough violently, forcing blood to drip out his mouth. His head was spinning again, "C'mon, concentrate, stay awake... think of something else..." Lavi's world spun, it made him feel sick, no wait, he was going to be sick, he quickly cupped his hand over his mouth trying to keep it down, he hated throwing up, not being able to breathe made him panic.

Okay, moment's past, it's gone back down. Lavi let his hand drop to his side and let his head fall back against the tree he was leaning on. He was starting to wonder if he would survive this, even if they did find him in time. He wasn't even sure if he landed a direct hit on the akuma from earlier, that'll probably finish him off if the illness doesn't kill him first. Lavi smiled at himself,

"Bookman's gonna kill me..." He finally gave in on keeping his only eye open and slipped into unconsciousness. He began to dream.

"Eh, ji ji is this really necessary?" A 14-year-old Lavi whined as he and his mentor trekked through the Brazilian forest. During this time 'Lavi' was formally known as Alex, his 18th alias. He and Bookman were currently on an assignment in Brazil; by now, Alex was used to the heat and the cold but he hadn't been somewhere as hot as this. They had been staying in a village the past few days Alex had been put through many challenges set by Bookman, passing them with flying colours, though he never received any real praise for it. But this assignment in particular, was something he wasn't looking forward to. As of late, he'd developed at a phobia of snakes, venomous ones at that and Brazil was known for the deadly serpents. In order to get rid of this fear, Bookman decided it'd be best that his apprentice faced his fear of being bitten, this exercise would also help him concentrate under pressure. If was he was in any danger of dying, he'd give him the antidote straight away, however, this was a one shot, being exposed to too much venom could damage his immune system.

Since the villagers wouldn't allow a snake into their village, Bookman took Alex a mile away from the village, he'd also been carrying a wicker basket aswell but didn't tell his apprentice what was inside or why they were even in the middle of now where, but as always, Alex remembered every little detail that he had seen on the way if he were to get lost.

"This exercise will get you to concentrate under a great amount of pressure." He paused. "It will also cure that phobia of yours."

Alex felt his heart skip a beat. Now he understood why they were out here in the first place and he dreaded what was in the basket. But what confused him more is that he hadn't told Bookman that he was afraid of snakes, but he should've known better, Bookman can easily pick up on body language. Especially when it comes to fear. They suddenly stopped and Bookman ordered his apprentice to sit down as he put the basket on the ground. Alex sat crossed legged on the ground, fighting to control his breathing as Bookman gently pulled a snake out if the basket, Alex felt himself begin to shake uncontrollably, his mind went blank, he couldn't even think of what snake it even was.

"Calm down Alex, it is important that you do this, if this were to happen in an uncontrolled situation you could die without knowing what to do." Alex could hear his heart thumping in his ears. He wasn't paying any attention to Bookman; the only words he heard clearly were 'you could die.' His single eye stayed put on the snake as it slithered around Bookman's hands.

"Hold your arm out." He instructed but Alex was frozen to the spot, every fibre in his body, his legs, were screaming for him to run but the fear of being this close to a snake had paralysed him. Instead, he lowered his head, causing his headband to slide down over his eye, if he didn't see then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He suddenly felt something nudge his upper arm, just below his shoulder, he knew what it was but he was desperately trying to think of something else, anything. He suddenly felt two fangs stab into his arm quicker than a heartbeat, his natural reaction was to yell but he couldn't, the one thing he feared had happened and he didn't how to react.

"You must make your way back to the village if you want the antidote."

Alex's head snapped up but his master was gone, as if he was just hearing his voice in his head. He quickly stood up but stumbled and leant against a tree, his head spinning. He stayed still for a moment to recall his situation, bitten by a snake, possibly going to die unless he gets back and fail to become a Bookman. That thought sparked something; he wasn't going to die out here.

"I won't give you the satisfaction, Panda." He thought to himself.

Lavi awoke with a start, this was just like before, but he didn't have a safety net this time. He was completely alone this time and there was still no sign of Allen or Lenalee. He thought about signalling them using his fire snake but if that akuma was still around then it would alert it as well. He spent a few minutes contemplating on what to do, and the signal idea was the only thing that would work. It was a fifty-fifty chance but he had to take it, if he had what he thinks he has then he doesn't have to time to wait.

"Hiban."

The snake shot up into the sky, remaining there for about a minute before it faded. Lavi listened carefully for any sign of Lenalee soaring through the sky or Allen running through the forest, instead, he heard something big and heavy heading his way.

"Oh shit."

He forced himself to his feat and made his way further into the forest, trying to find some form of cover. Using his hammer, he extended the handle and hid on a thick branch in a tree, hoping the leaves would help camouflage him. The akuma was more or less below him, thankfully, though it wasn't a direct hit to destroy it, it was injured, most of its legs had been blown clean off and half its face was missing.

"Where are yoouu?~" It cooed. "I know you're here exorcist, you can't hide forever." Lavi watched it carefully, trying not to make any sound. He could hear his heart thudding against his chest, he could destroy it right now but if he missed then it would see him and probably kill him instead. The akuma raised itself up to see if he was hiding in the tree's, Lavi tried to push himself back against the tree to hide himself more but his foot slipped and he couldn't grab onto anything to regain his balance so he tumbled out of the tree and onto the ground, yelping in pain at the hard contact.

"There you are!" It shot out at him but he managed to bat it away with his hammer, he then took that chance to run. "You little runt!" It began to chase him down with the few legs that it had. But not for long, that stabbing pain ripped through Lavi's chest again, forcing him to drop to his hands and knees.

"Get up you idiot!" He thought as he tried to force himself up, but it was no use, the akuma caught up to him and pinned him to the ground.

"You'll pay for what you did, shame your little friends aren't here to help you this time." It pushed down on his chest and Lavi cried out in pain, blood flying out of his mouth, his hammer was literally a few inches out of his reach. The akuma laughed and raised one of its sharp legs above his head,

"I'd love to play with you some more but I don't want to risk any interruptions." Lavi's eye widened at the sight of the blade above him, so many thoughts were rushing through his head he didn't know what to do.

"Die exorcist!" The blade shot down towards him. Lavi shut his eye but he quickly opened it again when he felt the weight being flung off his chest, looking over he saw the akuma had been knocked clean off him, it was about to attack him again but a strong force crashed down onto it from above, destroying it. He couldn't move and his vision began to blur, but he managed to make out who'd saved him.

"Lenalee…"

She ran over to him and hugged him against her. "Lavi I'm sorry, I should've got here faster…" He smiled, she felt warm. "S'okay Lenalee…" She held him closer, she couldn't begin to describe how relieved she was that he was alive, but he was barely moving.

"Lenalee!" She looked up and saw Allen running over to them, "The Finders are here, we can get Lavi to a hospital." She nodded and lightly shook Lavi, "Lavi, wake up." No response. "Lavi?... wake up, this isn't funny okay?" Still no response. Allen quickly got him onto his back and ran back with Lenalee to the where the Finders were.

Once the trio came into sight, the Finders rushed over to help them. They got them into the carriage and they rode off as fast as they could to nearest train station that could take them back to the Order. Lavi was lying across the long seats of the carriage, his head resting on Lenalee's lap. Allen meanwhile was sat next to Bookman as he bandaged up his broken wrist.

"Bookman… what's wrong with Lavi?..." Lenalee asked him, her voice frail.

He looked at Lavi lying in her lap, then at her. "I'm afraid Lavi has something called Tuberculosis, he must have caught it back in Germany and it can be fatal if not treated." Allen looked at Bookman, worry and disbelief in his eyes. "Fatal?..."

Bookman took something out of his pocket, "Both of you put these on; the last thing we want is for you two to catch it as well." He handed the two face masks. "Tuberculosis can be caught through the air so these will help prevent that."

As they put the masks on, Lenalee looked down at Lavi in her lap. "Is there a cure for it?..." She dreaded the answer that awaited, "There might be." A glitter of hope shone through her, "But it's highly experimental. There's a chance it might not work at all."

"How do we get rid of the virus?" Allen asked, "The treatment is a course of antibiotics, but as I said, it might not even work and if it does there's no telling of how long it will take to completely remove the virus from his system."

Lenalee didn't answer at first. "We still have to try." He knew she'd say that, he could see it in her eyes. "Just prepare yourself, both of you."

Lavi suddenly began to fidget, gripping his chest as he coughed a few times, "Stop it… stop it!" He yelled slightly, Lenalee recognised what was going on and hugged him close to her, "Its okay Lavi." She said in a soothing tone. He calmed down, just by hearing her voice.

Bookmen watched them for a while; he knew Lavi would have nightmares occasionally about the things they'd seen but never had he seen him calm down so quickly. However, he noticed his grip on his chest hadn't loosened, one of the symptoms of TB; chest pain.

"Let's hope we're not too late."