Chapter 1
A month had passed since Joey and the others had disappeared. Jo and Crovell were still missing their true essence, something both of them were slowly coming to terms with. The restrictions between them had been lifted but only because no one really saw any point in enforcing it. Not when they had the more important matter of rescuing Catilin, Duke, Kasey and Joey from the Teen. In fact, everything felt unimportant in comparison.
Sighing heavily Crovell brushed the hair back from Jo's face, as she slept peacefully beside him. The others allowing them to be together like this felt like a strange kind of acceptance. Acceptance he needed now and she didn't.
'I am Order,' he kept his voice low, 'and you are Chaos. I need you more now than I used to, because you are everything I want to be.'
For a moment she stirred, but almost instantly settled back into sleep again. He still couldn't help but love her. Love everything about her. Need her. But it was different feeling to before.
'I don't want to be Order, I want to be Chaos. I liked being Chaos and I don't like being this.'
'You could trade,' Arados's voice sounded from the doorway, startling him.
Glancing up, he saw his brother stood in a shaft of moonlight, watching them in an almost bored way.
'How long have you been there?'
'Don't you know,' he turned his gaze away, 'or is your nose so full of her sent you can't smell anyone else anymore.'
'Must you still be like this,' Crovell felt more than a twinge of hurt at his words, 'can't you see we're in pain.'
'I know,' Arados gave a heavy sigh, 'that's why I didn't stop them from letting you be together. I have…' he hesitated. 'False has made a lot of things clear to me over the last few weeks. He's helped me out a lot, so I in turn did a little digging for him. Turns out his mother was pretty special too. I guess that's why…'
'You agoraphobia went away?'
'The agoraphobia you created in me you mean,' he glared.
'Sorry,' Crovell lowered his gaze.
'Whatever,' he sighed again, 'it hasn't gone away completely, but it is manageable now.'
'Is that why you're here in the middle of the night?'
'No,' he shook his head, 'I couldn't sleep. I've been feeling a little weird since the last day of the Blue Ice cycle; I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping.'
'And you decided to get over your insomnia by watching me and your sister sleep?'
'No,' Arados shook his head, 'I thought maybe… I thought my insomnia might be… well that it might be to do with guilt.'
'Because you let this happen to Jo?'
'Because I couldn't… because I still can't accept the two of you being together.'
'So you thought coming here would what? Allow you to alleviate your guilt by apologising.'
'Maybe, I don't know,' he gave a heavy sounding sigh. 'Look I know saying I'm sorry won't change anything; just like I know telling you I've finally… that I can finally accept you two together won't make things right. Because it would be a lie for a start and for a second we both know it's too little too late. But I thought… I mean, False and I have been working on something which might help you. Really help you.'
'What do you mean?'
'Like I said before, about you trading in order to get back what is rightly yours.'
'Trading how?'
'That's what we're still working on,' Arados pulled a face. 'We think we might have found a way now, but…'
'Is it just you and False working on this?'
'Tay's looking for ways to protect his cousins and Lus has… other interests.'
'Our temporary Helper,' Crovell nodded understandingly, remembering what he had been told about that. 'Are they together now?'
'No,' he shook his head, 'and I don't think Kisara really knows Lus likes her like that. But he's been helping her to settle into her new role by helping her go through SK's files.'
'Has SK been found yet?'
'He's still missing.'
'I can't believe he just took off without a word like that, what was he thinking?'
'Who knows?'
'You don't think he ascended do you?'
'That's the one thing everyone's pretty sure he didn't do,' Arados shook his head. 'Why would he ascend now when his role as Helper hasn't officially ended?'
'Maybe he didn't have a choice. He was part of an old order, plus the part of Jay he took into himself, maybe something happened when the multiverse reset and it damaged him in a way that…'
'I don't think so, not when Kaiba and Tristan are so certain he's evolving somehow.'
'Evolving into what; Nethher Herin, generally speaking, don't evolve.'
'There was always something special about SK though, don't you remember the stories?'
'I guess…'
For a few moments the brothers fell into silence. Then, giving another sigh, Crovell pulled himself away from Jo and got out of the bed.
'How's your agoraphobia doing at the moment?'
It's under control,' Arados frowned. 'Why?'
'I want to take you somewhere.'
'Where?'
'You'll see soon enough.'
'Why can't you just tell me now?'
'Because…'
'Because what?'
'You'll see when you get there Ara.'
'But I want to know now.'
'Look,' Crovell drew in a strangely covert breath in, 'it's the place I was hiding out all those years. I think you need to see it for yourself.'
'Why?'
'Because I feel like you're going to need it.'
'Again, why?'
'The Teen might still be after your Light,' Crovell lowered his gaze. 'If he comes after you, I want… I want you to be safe.'
'Why?'
'Because it's the right thing to do.'
'But you don't normally care about doing the right thing, just the most chaotic.'
'Well I'm not Chaos anymore, am I,' he clenched and unclenched his fists in a tense manner, 'and even when I was I still cared about doing the right thing, just in the most interesting way.'
'Is that what you're calling it now?'
'Look, do you want to see this place or not?'
'I guess.'
'Then stop fussing and come with me, alright.'
