Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters.
Trigger warning. Mention of attempted rape, suicide, and hell. You've been warned.
Italics are there for a reason.
:}
Jade sat in her cell, just days before Christmas, thinking about what her lawyer had said. The District Attorney wasn't offering her a deal. That meant they felt the case was air tight, and she was probably going to spend the rest of her life in prison. It didn't mater that she was claiming self defense, that the boy was trying to rape her, or that he was a football player, or even that he'd drugged her in an attempt to take the fight out of her. There wasn't any evidence he'd tried to rape her, other then maybe trying to get her drunk, making it a he said she said case. Only he was rich, from an upstanding family, and she had a reputation as a violent on the edge goth who delighted in the suffering of others. So her lawyer wished her a merry Christmas, and told her that he'd do what he could. She didn't have much hope.
Jade groaned again as she shifted in her cell. She was in holding, in the county jail, and it looked like this was just her stop on the way to a long term cell in super-max, alone for twenty thee hours per day. 'It's not like anyone would miss me.' Jade thought. Her dad had been very adamant about disowning her when the press stopped by, while her friends hadn't bothered to visit. 'I guess it's the best Christmas present he could get me, cause at least it meant he remembered to give me something….' she thought bitterly. But she couldn't blame him. Even her mother had given up on her, after she was denied bail based on her history. Jade felt alone, abandoned, and hurt beyond anything she could say. 'Janked up way to spend the holidays. I just hope they have something decent for me for Christmas dinner? Maybe not forgetting I'm here for the weekend two days around it?.' She thought.
"You could always just end it." She heard a voice say. She looked around, not seeing anyone awake who might be talking to her. Even her cell mate was asleep. For several moments, she tried to ignore it, until it repeated the thought. "You know it's the right thing to do. I mean, it's Christmas, and no one wants to visit you. Alone for the holidays. How pathetic." That was when she was sure she'd heard something. But there was no one who could have said that too her. She was, except for those sleeping, alone. Thats when she realized realizing the voice was in her head, that it was just the return of a dark thought she'd been repressing for a long, long time. "Just end it. Give the city and county a present, and end your life. It'd be so easy. Take the blanket, wrap it around your neck, and let your body weight compress your throat, squeeze until you can't breath any more. You don't even have to hang from the ceiling, just have something, say you're bunk, be higher then your head, and let gravity help you leave this world behind. Everyone has already written you off, left you alone in this time of the year when most people are with friends and family. they've written you off, moved on, so why not do them all a favor and make this whole thing easier for everyone." the voice was honey sweet, tempting her with promises of a relatively pain free ending.
Jade could feel it, the weight of her desperation, depressed over having everyone assume the worst of her, that she would try to kill a boy for no reason whatsoever. Not having any place to go home to, even if by some miracle the courts believed her, let her go. Knowing that she was guilty in the minds of everyone, every casting director, every potential contact, everyone who might ever have to work with her, if she doesn't wind up spending the rest of her life locked away. Knowing that by declaring she didn't do it, she'd be facing the stiffest punishment available by law. Knowing that no one cared about her beyond knowing she was safely away from them all. It all added up, driving her to despair.
For several moments, she froze, trying to think of a good reason not to end her life. But every one was countered as soon as she thought of it. Her career, over. "No one would hire you after you tried to kill such a nice young man." Her friends, gone. "And not one of them even so much sent you a card. You're all alone, and going to prison, where you'll be in solitary for most of each day. They say that drives you crazy. But hay, it's already too late for that. Difference is, in prison, they're more careful. That means you'll suffer before you get the chance to end your miserable life. Best to face the facts. You can't win. You never could. So why not just give in and make it easier for yourself and everyone else?" The last of her defenses crumbled under the realization that, in just a few months, she'd probably welcome being assaulted, just for the human contact.
"God I'm pathetic.' Jade thought, but got no answer. She sat there, waiting for something, any sign of approval. Desperation ate at her, pushing her to action, until the damn broke, and she reacted. It was late, and there would be a while before the next bed check. Her cellmate slept pretty soundly, so no one was awake to care. They probably wouldn't even find her body until wake up call. "And no one in the world will care if a goth reject like you ends her life, so do it, and lets get over with this waste of a life."
Tears of pain and loss threatened to fall as Jade took her sheet, made a make shift rope, and tied one end to the bed. Then she wrapped it around her neck so that it would compress, strangle, before tying the other end off next to the first. It was a makeshift noose, but would work, her knowledge of horror films told her that much. All she had to do now was lay back on the floor. With one last look at her cell mate, sleeping soundly, she lay back, and let the pressure start to take her breath away. As she did, she could feel herself starting to choke. Resisting the urge to fight it, to use her hands to tear at the rope, she relaxed, focused on her end goal, and slowly started to fade. The world slowly grew dark as she drifted off into oblivion.
Jade's eyes opened with a snap. She was in a strange room, laying on a bed of stone, and there was no doors, just large window that looked off into darkness. "Hello, Jade." The voice said. Only now it was coming from outside herself. And now, she could tell it wasn't her own voice, not even one she'd made up as a child to give life to her imaginary friends.
"Who's there?" She asked.
"Someone very disappointed." The voice, a very male voice, replied, as a large, deformed man stepped out from the shadows of the wall. "I was hoping to have a turn raping you. Turns out thats for later, when you need a break from this part of your damnation. When you'll welcome being a fiends plaything just to break out from the tortures we're going to be inflicting upon you. And oh yes, Jade, welcome to hell."
"I'm in hell?" Jade didn't feel too surprised. 'Only thing about today that makes sense.'
"You were a beast to your friends, your family, everyone. Okay, you were hardly the worst, but you were bad enough. Or at least bad enough that no one from the other side cared enough to bother coming for you when you ended your life. Yes, taking your life was just the last straw, what allowed us to take you and drag you down." The man said. "Now then, why don't I show you what your gonna be doing for the next few years, you see, this is gonna be kinda like the super max security you were thinking about. You'll have me, sometimes, overseeing your torture, then you'll have hours to wait, anticipating your next session. Also, you'll grow hungry, and the only relief will be when we come to hurt you, one hour per day. So, lets see what you're first day has for you." He gestured to the window, and she saw Robbie sitting in a room somewhere. "Go one, try to reach out, tough him. You can't. But I wanted you to know this is whats become of your friends, a year after your dead."
"A-a year? But it only felt like.." She started, looking at her one time friend. He did look older, more worn down then she could remember him ever being. The bags under his eyes said volumes about his lack of sleep.
"Just a few days over a year since you died, so you could spend Christmas with your friends. We waited until this experience would bear fruit, and you could see what your actions had done to them. Not that you could have helped, if we'd shown you earlier, but this seemed like a nice day to start. You know, they say it's a special day. So, like I told you, go one and try it, touch your friend. You'll find you can't." The man looked almost gleefully at her. "A year of laying there, at our mercy, and we waited so you could have the full effects of this. Now, your ready, and I get the joy of being your guide."
"Who are you?" Jade asked, even as she discreetly touched the image. Her hand passed through, not allowing her any human touch. In a way, it hut more then if she'd been burned, cause it meant she was truly alone, save for this man.
"Oh I don't have a name. Not yet. Haven't earned one. But I will. Oh, I will. You see, I'm the demon who tempted you to end your life, led you down here, set up this moment, and all the ones to follow, now and for eternity. And you should know, I'm so proud of my work." The figure explained. "Call me master."
"No." Jade hissed, even as she saw her one time friend's face. He looked sad.
"Defiant., I like that." The demon said. "But you will. Now, look at your friend."
Robbie was looking at something, under the limited view the window seemed to give. "Damn, nothing on television again except 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Well fuck that." He moaned. Reaching down, he pulled out a half empty bottle of vodka, and took a drink straight form it. "Merry fucking Christmas, Rob old boy. Fucking great, we have Vodka tonight. Maybe I should have sprung for the rum?" His smile lasted only a second, and then he was back to being hurt, trying to drown his pain in the cheap booze.
Jade had wanted to say something, deny that the puppeteer had ever been his friend. But the words stuck in her throat.
"Don't tell me Robbie's not your friend, because we both know thats not true." The demon said. "I know seeing him like this hurts you. Wanna know why he's so upset?"
"No." Jade said, just a bit too quickly. Actually, inside, she was already hurting for him. 'Alone for the holidays? Where the hell are the others?'
"After you died, the group shattered. You'll find out more later, like how this is all your fault. But for now, its enough to know that Rob here didn't have you guys around any more to help him out." The demon explained. "When he want to collage, to get away from the pain of being alone, someone took Rex. Stole it from him. He went a little mad, almost hurt some people, and wound up moving to Alaska to work for the oil companies. Cause they need men, and don't give a damn if you have an assault charge on your record. So now it's long days in front of the television between his days on the job. And he drinks. A lot. He's miserable, alone, and haunted by Rex. And it's all your fault."
"Because I killed myself?" Jade asked, now lost in the sheer misery on the boys face. 'It's only been a year...'
"There are other factors." He informed her. "But yes, you helped. At Hollywood Arts, you kept the bullies away om him, kept him safe, long enough for his to gain some level of acceptance. But the big bad wold isn't Hollywood Arts. It's not nearly as accepting of a man like him. So once school was done, and he went away to collage, he found himself dealing with the same kinds of bullies he'd been dealing with when he first created Rex. So yea, he tried fighting, failed, and then he ran. His mother was done with him anyways. His whole family didn't care. So now, he's here, and he's miserable."
"He's drinking." Jade noted.
"It's how he's killing the pain." The demon said. "He needs it, cause he lost everything. No Cat, no Rex, no friends, no collage. He has a life, a roof over his head, and enough to eat. But he's slowly fading. I wonder if he'll take his own life, or maybe become obsessed over some stripper, become a stalker. We always have room for more down here. Merry fucking Christmas, bitch, meet my puppet."
"I can't believe Tori..." Jade started. She needed to know why her friends let this happen.
"Tori, yes, thats a good place to go next." The image in the window shifted, and Jade saw Tori, at home, sitting next to her sister. The Latina looked the same, except her hair was dyed blond. The house was it's normal festive self, covered in Christmas decorations. Where the piano usually was sat a ginormous tree. "Not nearly as bad off as her friends, but lets find out about how things are going for her anyways."
"So they said I just wasn't right, and that was that." Tori finished telling her sister. A sadness descended on the Latina.
"Wow, thats like the tenth audition in a row where they just cut you, right off." Trina said. "Have you thought that maybe it's cause your not being honest with yourself?"
"It's because they don't respect the blond." Tori huffed, pointing to her hair.
"Tori, you can't go on like this." Trina said. "You're getting hurt. Each time your rejected, it's like they take a piece of you. I mean, blond?"
"Well, I wasn't getting work." Tori shot back. "But I'm starting to think the casting agents just don't like me." Her face contorted in pain, looking away with a longing for the past that screamed helpless. "What am I gonna do?"
"You need to do something." Trina pushed. "Work, school, something, because their not giving you a chance now. Maybe you need a girlfriend?" Trina perked up. "I know a girl..."
"I'm not Gay." Tori shut her down. "I.. I've just had bad luck.." The tanned face once again distorted into a look of pain. "Oh who am I kidding. I couldn't make it work with Beck. Beck! He was perfect, and we tried, and I just wasn't good enough for him. How, I mean, I never..."
"He cheated on you." Trina clarified. "But it's okay, cause as much as you wanted him, it wouldn't have lasted. Tori, you're gay, and keep attracting losers and users because you know you'll only be happy with a girl."
The two sisters were breaking down into a fight, as the image froze. Trina was saying they had mistletoe, just needed the right girl under it, while Tori was complaining she couldn't even score a job as an elf.
"This can't be right?" Jade questioned. "Tori always makes it. Maybe not the first try, but she get there. It's like her destiny or something to be famous. So why would she be struggling to find work. I mean, Mason practically signed her as soon as she graduate..."
"Jade, there's no such thing as predestination." The demon scoffed at her. "Tori was doing okay, until she ran into trouble, something we'll cover a bit later. Like before, the others weren't there to help her out. You may not realize this, but all that self confidence Trina has, it's bravado, and Tori's just as bad. Give Tori a person to prove herself to, maybe someone to look after her, and Tori shines. That ways you, bitch. You see, Jade, you both pushed her to constantly grow, and were her goal to overcome. The others, they wanted to protect her, like Beck tried to do. But the scandal that broke when Tori accused Alyssa Vaughn of cheating with Beck, that cost her the contract with Neutronium, and from there, it was all down hill. Now, Tori doesn't even have the courage to tell her dad she likes girls. It's been her deepest secret for years. She never admitted it, not even to herself, until a one night stand after the whole Beck thing blew up in her face. And without that confidence she'd worked so hard to build up at Hollywood Arts, and with her friends scattered, she can't even build up the courage to talk to them, to see if they need her help. Yes, her helping others helped her grow stronger too, cause it was an obstacle to overcome that wasn't directly affecting her issues. And yet, she denies herself even that, cause she believes they all sided with Beck."
The image on the wall shifted again, showing Beck in a small dressing room, in New york, getting changed. "Ahh, Beck." The demon chuckled. "He hates himself, you know. The thing with Tori, he dated her almost immediately after you died, but it was a combination of solace and need. He needed, always wanted, to be the knight in shining armor. And you, you seemed like the perfect girlfriend, always needing something from him. But you almost broke him, with your needs, your accusations, everything. He was and still is a stand up guy. But he wanted to fix things for Tori, instead of helping her stand on her own. Eventually, they fought. She saw the other girls, the girls he was trying to help, as competition. Then Alyssa needed help with a problem, Beck of course raced to help her, and Tori accused them of cheating. Publicly, as he was comforting Alyssa over the death of her brother." The demon smiled. "Skiing accident, not that it matters."
"Beck looks to be okay." Jade commented. Beck was getting dressed for his performance, and adjusting the small amount of Christmas decorations he'd be wearing for the play.
"He's not." The demon countered. "In the years to come, you will watch as he slowly morphs from this stand up guy trying to help into an emotionally scarred user and abuser. Finally, with luck, or a little prodding on my part, he'll probably rape some girl, there in New York, where he'd get twenty years for it. Realizing he's become a monster, he'll end his own life, and we'll have another recruit."
"And the group broke up over Tori and Beck's breakup?" Jade wondered. It hurt how every one of them was being targeted because of her.
"Yes, they took sides. But both Beck and Tori, for their own reasons, believed that the group took the others side. Cat retreated from the gang, and we'll look at her in a moment." The demon chortled. It almost vibrated from joy. "But yes, that was part of what drove the group apart. Beck went to New York, alone, and tried to start over. Tori is still plugging away, loosing ground as confidence, so built up from her time at Hollywood Arts, is eaten away at. Robbie is in self exile from the world, and Andre, lets look at him."
Andre was in a large room, playing music while people around him ate. "Is this Maestro's?" Jade asked, looking around them. It was hard to see, given they only had one window into the persons life.
"No, someplace like it." The demon replied. "After the group split up, Andre tried to make a life for himself. He really is trying. As usual, his grandmother is hard to deal with, and she doesn't accept new people easily. Worse, from his perspective, is that she'd been making so much progress, and now she's backsliding. His friends were part of her world. Losing all of you, after she'd come to accept you as safe people to be around, that was a blow to her, causing her to retreat even further from reality. She gave up her fight, her will to be sane, and is fading away. Of course, Andre blames you guys, but inside, he wonders if it's his punishment for being a womanizer."
"So he's suffering, but not that badly?" Jade noted.
"This is a long term project." The demon said. "They're all long term projects. But Andre, He's eventually going to seek Tori out, try to make something out of that. You know, romance. But, as you already know, thats doomed to fail. Then he'll grow more distant from women. Maybe he'll turn violent, maybe he'll just die alone. Either way, he's already hurting. What you've forgotten is, Tori took over writing the lyrics for a lot of his music, a lot of his songs. Now, he associates writing music with the sounds of his crazy grandmother, and Tori. He's practicality forgotten how to write music on his own. With everything on his mind, he may never write a song alone again."
"Poor Andre." Jade said with a deep sympathy. Everything up until that moment hurt, but she knew the musician, knew what he wanted, needed in his life. She was hurting now, worse then before, because she was hurting for her friends. Both for those who were suffering their losses, and for the one who would might never again have the things he loved the most.
"Oh, this is good." The demon almost moaned. "But now it's time for the feast de resistance." The image on the wall shifted again, and Jade knew she was already hating what she was seeing.
It took Jade only a moment to realize what she was looking at, from the decor and the half naked women. It was a strip club. Not even top of the line, but the kind of seedy place many girls might find themselves tricked into working at instead of the clean, well run places. This one had a dirty feel to it, even as the music blared and the girls danced. Jade felt her heart sink as she recognized the girl dancing on one of the side stages. "Cat..." The once bubbly girl was naked except for the g-string she was wearing, and the reindeer horns on her head.
The song ended, and security escorted Cat off the stage and towards the back. "Miss Kitty, A word..." A fat, disgusting looking man approached her. Security didn't bother with this man, even as he followed Cat past the curtains into the backstage area. "I was wondering if you'd consider a special dance request? I mean, it is Christmas."
"No." Cat said, her high voice laced with hatred.
"Look, I know, I kinda sprang the last one on you. Never again." The fat men, apparently the manager, said. "But if you service the guys, you'll build a following. Plus, as I said, it's the holidays, and these guys are lonely. Show them some loving?"
"I don't wanna, and the nice police officer said I don't hafta." Cat shot back. But then her confidence wavered, even if her decision didn't. "You gonna fire me?"
"No, despite your bad attitude and small breasts, you're a good worker, even if you wont help me out." The man said, shaking his head as he was walking away.
"You know, they pay you for the sex." One of the other dancers said. Jade immediately hated her. "And you draw the borderline pedophiles. They'll pay extra."
The small girl pulled a thin robe on, ignoring the dancer who'd made that suggestion. "I just wish Geoffrey would come back." Cat groaned. "He told me to work here, make us some money, then just left me. I need someone to take care of me."
"It's Christmas." The other girl said. "One of those guys would pay to take care of you, depending on what you mean by that." Cat just glared at the girl. "Come on, Miss kitty, just give a few holiday hummers, and you'll find out that this place does pay okay."
Jade realized she was missing something. But she didn't have to wait long, because the demon was all too happy to fill her in. "After Beck and Tori broke up, Carly Shay moved back to Seattle, and Sam took off. Poor little Catarina, she had no one looking out for her. So she hooked up with a guy, not this Geoffrey, but a different one, and got hurt by the rejection, and took off. But after that guy got what he wanted, you know, using her for her body, he left her, and Cat really needed a friend to watch out for her. You were dead, and the others, gone." The demons misshapen hand made and opening motion, upwards, implying things blowing away. "Geoff, he talked her into working here, then left her to find another girl. You see, he gets paid to recruit girls for the chain that owns this dump. He loves that job, cause he often screws the girl, gets them to work for one of these places, signing a long term contract, then disappears to find his next conquest. But don't worry, Cat's strong, has good morals. Unfortunately for her, she's not too bright. Eventually, she'll either become a prostitute, or someones kept girl. Either way, she's in for a long, hard road. I don't see a happy ending for her, not any time soon. And if there is, maybe I'll make my way out and break that up, just for you."
"You wouldn't..." Jade growled, standing up to challenge the brute. He was easily seven feet tall, and massive. Jade didn't have a chance. She didn't even think of backing down.
"You know, you could have avoided all of this." The demon mocked. "You could have simply let that boy rape you, not put up a fight. Your friends, they'd still break up, but Beck and Tori wouldn't try anything for a few more years, not until after you took your life, from the trauma of being raped and abused. At least Cat and Robbie would have had a better chance. Then, when you got here, you'd have had a completely different set of images to see."
"So I wind up in hell, no mater what?" Jade chllanged. His words were like a sudden weight on her chest, pressing her down with hopelessness.
"Of course." the demon replied. "You've been ear marked for this for your entire life. You'll slowly go numb, and then, we'll let out your pain, inflicting it upon others, like the kinds of things you used to love to watch. But you're gonna have regrets, cause we'll make sure you see the consequences of your actions. You'll have whole new regrets, on top of knowing how your death hurt your friends, cause you were selfish. Enough to keep you entertaining for centuries yet to come. There is no hope, and there never was. This is hell, and it's has always been your destiny to be here. Welcome to your new reality.."
"NO, YOUR LYING!" Jade shouted, even as she could feel her body losing strength. It felt like something was squeezing the life out of her. 'Nooo.' She screamed in her mind. Her body collapse, hitting the floor with a hard thump. The momentary pain of impact helped lesson her anguish at being truly abandoned to suffer. She knew she deserved much worse, because she believed her death wouldn't have any consequences.
"In time, you'll find solace in the pain you inflict upon yourself. Those wounds will be our mark of honor. You see, whatever we do you, physical pains, they'll have to be in moderation, least you start to feel like maybe you deserve it." The demon mocked as he faded away, leaving her alone with her memories, and the images of how far her friends had fallen, as well as the anticipation of how far they might yet fall. "But for the record, you do."
For a long time, she lay there, in her cell, watching Cat do the waitressing part of her job. The petite girl was being pinched and groped by the patrons at the club she was working at. The men there seemed to think she was there just for them to fondle, and the bouncers didn't bother trying to discourage them. The small girl bore the shame with as much dignity as she could, even as Jade could clearly see the hungry way the men there were looking at her. Tears, the ones Cat couldn't show, were now blurring Jade's vision, making it harder and harder for her to see the pain her friend was in. The pale girl was allowed to shift the image, see Robbie struggling alone, in his home, trying to drink away the pain, even as Christmas music played in the background, reminding him how alone he really was. Or maybe Beck, talking to some girl, trying to be her knight in shining armor, and instead pushing her away. But the worst, the single worst of her friends to look upon was Andre. Even looking at Tori, realizing she could have saved the Latina from her own shame by offering to be her friend, maybe even dating her, was less painful then seeing the musician struggle with his music. The thought that his grandmother was fading, wasn't willing to go out any more, not even for Christmas in the park, or to see her grandson play a his work, hurt both the musician and Jade.
Jade was torn up inside, unable to rest as she heard the customers talking about Cat's ass, while Andre tried to come up with a song that didn't sound like everything else, or at least didn't sound like crap. In the distance, Jade could hear the screams of some of the other damned souls, and wondered, almost hoped, if maybe it was time for them to hurt her physically. "I'd almost welcome them raping me. Lord knows I deserve it."
"Why?" A voice asked. It was soft, forgiving. "Why would you deserve it?"
"Because I'm a monster." Jade said, answering the strange new voice. "I deserved to be hurt, humiliated, destroyed. I deserve to be raped, made less then human for these things….." Her body shook with tears as she struggled not to lose it. For some unknown reason, it was far harder then it had been just a few minutes ago.
"No one deserves that." The voice said, still calm and supportive. "But now, now that you feel that way, it's time to let you in on a secret. Things aren't as set in stone as some demons might think. You see, we felt that maybe, your demons needed to know they didn't have as much control over you as they thought. It's like this...we allowed them, the demons, to think they had you, see what could be, instead of what may be. Remember, the even demon said it, there is little predestination. You were never ordained to suffer in hell. No, you could be someones heaven. Even your friends, they can be saved from that hellish existence. All it takes is a little sacrifice from you. All you have to do is agree to live, for your time, until the powers decide it's time for you to move on. Can you do that?"
"L-live?" Jade asked. "How can I? I'm dead, for over a year. My friends are celebrating Christmas, mostly alone, and I'm here, dead and buried, worthless to everyone."
"I'd like to say you were never in hell, that we let them chase shadows, but I don't like to lie." The voice said. "Our secret, such that it is, is that we can, and will, alter the past, if you'll just agree to live for us. Take whatever fate has for you, no mater how bad it may seem, and live. If you live, you can change what you saw, make a difference in their lives. Even if it's just a phone call, or a letter, you can still reach your friends, help them to remember that their better then what you saw. So, you gonna live? For them?"
"O-okay." Jade stammered, happy about the chance to help save her friends. 'I gotta tell Robbie not to run from his problems, maybe help him stay around to help Cat. A-and also, tell someone to watch out for Cat, cause she's some users dream...'
Jade felt her body seize up, like the very idea of her escaping this hell was too much, and the demons would rather see her dead then let her go. The pain increased, to the point where she felt like she was burning up, and then in a white hot flash, Jade couldn't take any more, and blacked out.
"Nurse, she's waking up." A voice said. Jade heard it clearly, off in the distance, like a faraway call, and tried to remember where she was. The memory didn't make her any happier.
"Oh good, she's out of the coma." A female voice said. "Um, miss, can you hear me? If you can, then when you wake up, don't talk. Not at first. Just give yourself some time, then try to speak. Okay?"
"Can I speak to her?" An oddly familiar male voice asked.
"Not yet." The female voice said. "Miss..."
"West." the Male voice filled in. "Jade West."
"Miss West, please as you wake up, please know your safe." The woman emphasized.
Jade knew something was different. 'The stone floor was hard, cold, unforgiving. It hurt to lay there. This, it's warm, soft, comfortable. Makes me want to sleep. Never wake up. But is this a trick? Are they setting me up?' Risking heartbreak, knowing this kind of trick fit well with the ways of hell, Jade opened her eyes. She saw a blurry form looking back at her. Slowly, painfully slowly, the form started to focus, and Jade realized she had no idea who this woman was. 'Nurse's uniform. Is she a nurse, or am I being set up?'
"So far, the tests have shown no signs of brain damage, despite being dead for several minutes." The nurse explained to someone. "But that doesn't mean much until we speak to her."
"And..." Jade tried to say, but it came out as a squeaky sound.
"Miss West, please don't speak." The nurse said. "Tke a moment, and then, try, when you feel strong enough."
"Here, have some water." The familiar male voice said. She dimly recognized him, deep in her memories, as Officer Vega, Tori's father.
'That would explain the familiarity of his voice.' The goth thought, taking the drink.
"Now, try talking." He said, sitting down like he expected this to take a few moments.
"My neck hurts, and it hurts to talk." Jade managed to whisper out, coughing a bit after.
"Your larynx is a bit crushed." David said. "Okay, this was a suicide, right?" Jade nodded. "They'll have some quotations for you. I just needed to confirm you tried to kill yourself."
'Gotta love police thoroughness.' Jade thought. "Why?" Her voice cracked, and she knew it was gonna hurt, a lot, to talk.
"My prison snitch told me there was a hit out for you." The police officer explained. "We wanted to get you out, and found you'd hung yourself. But your cell mate had tried to save you, and we had paramedics working on you from the moment we arrived. You were dead for six minutes."
"Nice to know you worked so hard to save my life." Jade whispered. "I'll live to spend my life in prison."
"Not necessarily." David countered. "We have a sting operation going to find out who wanted you dead. But we suspect we know why. Funny thing about that, someone taking a hit on you, wanting you gone before your day in court, is that made us listen to your defense. Made us wonder if maybe, just maybe, someone didn't want you accusing that boy of attempted rape in court. Almost no other reason we could find for someone to want you dead. So we looked into possible rapes that boy might have committed, and found another person who'd accused him of that in the past year. You see, you killing yourself, and to be clear, the hit said to make it look like a suicide, but that says you're guilty, so no one looks at the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you really were defending yourself."
"So I might not spend the rest of my life in jail?" Jade asked, her voice a little clearer.
"You might not." David assured her. "That is, assuming your telling the truth. If we find out this was a hoax, then yes, you will be."
Jade didn't know if she should be grateful or not, but at least someone was willing to believe her. But she had other things to do, to win her way out of hell. "Mister Vega, one other thing." Jade grabbed him with her left hand, since her right was handcuffed to the bed. She needed him to move a bit closer, know she was serious. "I need to apologize to Tori. I treated her horribly, and I realized, in my fevered dreams, that I only did so because I was, am, attracted to her. I didn't realize I was Bi, not even at open minded Hollywood Arts."
David Vega smiled at her. "Maybe, if you get out of here, you could ask her out."
"You wouldn't mind her dating me?" Jade asked, then realizing she wasn't supposed to know Tori might be gay. "I mean, if she even would."
"For all the growth I've seen out of my youngest, I just wish she'd find the courage to accept that yes, she likes girls. Maybe she likes boys, maybe she was just covering, but she likes girls, and I've known for a while now. Almost a year." The police officer said. "Now you work with the nice nurses, figure out if anything permanent was one to you, and we'll see if I'm willing to have you dating my daughter."
Jade rested, as the small voice of her guardian spirit whispered in her ear. "Good choice, helping Tori. Now you can save the group, and maybe that will keep them from the dark fate they were heading towards. I predict you'll be out of here before Christmas, and you will find a ready made and willing host in the Vegas. You'll live with them, healing both yourself and Tori, even as you date. That will help protect Tori from her own insecurities, thus letting her have that contract with Neutronium. Cat may date a jerk, but you'll be there to make sure he doesn't use her, thus giving her and Robbie a chance. And Andre, he'll be able to overcome his songwriting dependance on Tori while in collage, while having his grandmother continue to get better. And Beck, he'll be there for Alyssa, be her knight in shining armor, and that will lead to a happy relationship. Not sure how long it'll last, but your friends are safe, for now."
Jade knew she'd never forget her visions of hell. But for now, she could sleep, exhausted from her ordeal. 'My friends need me, so I'll have to live...'
And the demon, the one who tormented Jade? He'd have to wait a long, long time to earn his name. His punishment would be his own, self destruction over he loss, and envy at how easily the guardian outmaneuvered him, meting him think he'd won only to shift things, show the plan, and how little power that hell really had. After all, hell is personal, and Jade was free from hers, just in time for Christmas.
:}
Not as Christmas-y as I'd hoped, but I was going for a happy ending with an anti "It's a Wonderful life" feeling. Used demons instead of angels, for the most part, and pushed to the future.
So, thoughts? I was kinda pushing for a holiday story, and this is as close as I think I'm gonna get.