Aw geez. Your wing's fucked, Jack's going crazy, your bro's probably dead. Shit's just out of control all over the place. But there's one shining jewel at the bottom of the well filled with insanity. Jade made it. That was basically the point of you coming here, wasn't it? Well, John too, but you know.
Your head is starting to feel cloudy and you can feel your altitude decreasing slowly but steadily. You have to get out of here and somewhere safe as soon as possible if you don't want to join some taxidermist's macabre collection. You have to go see Jade. Can she help you? You don't know, but you want to at least see her once before you potentially die. With all time shenanigans in your original timeline, it's probably been years since you've heard from her.
You fly for a while and find yourself right under a portal. It'll probably take every ounce of your strength to fly through it, but this planet is not going to help you, so you have to take your chances.
Warm liquid runs down your arms as you push yourself higher. Black spots appear in the world around your vision and you grit your teeth, but you manage to make it through, and suddenly you wonder if it was a good idea after all.
It is, quite literally, freezing. Snow surrounds you in piles, clinging to every visible surface like a moss that's feeling especially unhelpful.
You don't remember this planet from your session, though. In the time you spent preparing for this one, you visited both Rose's and John's planets numerous times. Neither of them was a frozen fucking wasteland, so unless this session is a lot more different than you anticipated, it's probably not theirs.
Jade's. It's Jade's and that knowledge is like a 5-hour energy because suddenly you feel incredibly hopeful if not a little desperate. You're so close and if you die now you'll be so pissed.
The snow behind you is dotted with yellow. A morbid half chuckle escapes from your mouth as you ponder which form of yellow snow would be the most unpleasant. And if you had any hopes of being sneaky, you could kiss that dream good bye. Your tracks are a fucking beacon for anything more dangerous than a ladybug to come and finish you off.
Attention everyone: Dave and Gretel over yonder. Ripe for killing if you so fancy.
You see your gingerbread house in the distance, looming above everything else. Behind that is a… volcano? Shit, you should just jump in there and warm up. Heat's more your style. You seem to have left your watch at home, but maybe Jade's got a clock somewhere. You could just hang on to that for a bit. Home sweet home.
A small humanoid speck runs back and forth by the foot of the giant tower. Your heart skips a beat and you face feels warm. You didn't even think it possible, what with the lack of blood and the frozen expanse around you.
A single whisper, her name, floats out in a wisp of water vapor that almost immediately disappears. You're here. You did it. It's Jade and you need to see her. Just push a little bit more and you'll be there.
The speck gets closer and closer until you can kind of make out her body and hair but her face is still obscured and that's not good enough and Jesus it's really cold out here and everything is really blurry now it's probably just the cold.
She turns to you and looks like she jumps back a little, her face still a complete blur even though you should be able to see it.
You think you hear your name but before you can respond and before you can feel your face bury itself in the snow, you fall unconscious.
–
It's warm now. Your eyes flutter open and you see a room full of squiddles and posters and all forms of rather disconcerting furry shit. You figure that this is Jade's room. Sitting up causes a sharp stabbing pain in your lower abdomen and you recoil. Bandages cover your body and your wounds seem to have stopped vomiting your life essence all over the carpet.
In the corner, Jade taps away at her hologram computer, frantically reading what look like various first aid pages. Hair falls over her back and it would appear that her face continues to elude you.
She quickly glances over her shoulder at you, an action you feel she has probably done every 15 or so seconds. You finally see her face. It's flushed, scared, worried, things you never want her to have to be. And yet they are all there, and they're all your fault. You dun fucked up.
She abandons her computer immediately and runs over to you, making sure to hug you in a way that puts no pressure on anything that wouldn't appreciate it.
"Oh, Dave! You're okay! I was so worried!" she says, her composure waning only slightly.
You allow your arms to surround her and rest on her back. "Hey, Jade." I'm so glad to see you. I missed you. I thought I was never going to get to talk to you again. You decide on, "What's up?"
"I don't know! You came out of the forest covered in blood and collapsed in front of me!" She pulls away from you and gives you a confused smile. "You're a bird."
You look over your shoulder at your remaining wing and stretch it out a little bit. "Oh, yeah, huh. I guess I am. How'd that happen? Did you turn me into a furry, Ms. Harley? Because I don't know if I approve."
She chokes out a disbelieving laugh. "I know how it happened. John and… the other Dave told me while you were unconscious. Still, though!"
"Well, whatcha gonna do?" You look yourself over and suppose it is a big of a shock even to you. With all that happened, you never really had time to adjust to this. "You patched me up nicely."
She blushes and smiles. "I had to look up how."
"I can see that. You didn't take off my shades did you?"
"No! I almost did 'cause I was so curious! But I know how much you are into cool and taking advantage of unconscious Dave's isn't very cool at all, so I didn't!"
"Cool. And you did good. With the patching, that is."
"Thank you! I'm just glad you're okay."
"Thanks. You too, Jade."
She gives you another confused look. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"
You don't respond immediately. "No reason," you say after the slight pause.
"Do you want me to get you anything? I think the fridge made it in one piece!"
"Sure, anything really, don't worry too much about it, though."
"Okay!" She turns to leave the room.
You don't feel complete. The conversation was too short, too impersonal. The hug, also, wasn't enough for you. You want more, isn't that why you're here in the first place?
"Wait," you say.
She turns around and stares at you, expectantly.
"I missed you so much, Jade," you blurt out suddenly.
She looks dumbfounded, but not disturbed.
"It's been like a fucking year or something since the last time I heard from you and I thought I was never going to get to see you."
No response. You start to get a little nervous
"I'm just so glad to be able to see you I guess, is all. I can fly outta here, you already did way more than you needed to for me, we can skip the meal and all that. Just give me like a fan or something, I'll flap my arm to make up for the wing I misplaced, not that I actually need them to fly I guess? I just kinda float but whatever. I'll be fine."
She walks closer, slowly until she is right next to the bed and sits down next to you. Her cheeks seem a little rosier than before, whereas yours are probably a few shades more orange or some shit.
"Sorry I got a little carried away, why don't I just—"
As you make a motion to get up, she grabs your hand and stops you.
You both sit in silence, but you feel perhaps your feelings aren't completely unrequited. You want to find out for sure, though, and lean in closer towards her. You stretch your wing around her, encasing the two of you in a protective little shell. Your mouths are getting closer, and it's not just you that's moving the troops forward. She seems to be doing her part as well. Months of running around LOHAC feel like an instant in comparison to this. You want to just do it, get there, plant your lips on hers, but it's just so damn slow. Closer and closer, your breaths mingling in the miniscule between your lips, until contact finally happens.
Your feathers tingle and stand up on edge however much they can do that. It finally hits you that you did it. You saved her and you can finally be with her.