Title: Inside the Fire
Genre: romance, mild angst
Rating: T for mild language
Pairing: JesseXJaden
Summary: In a fit of psychotic, possessed rage, Haou convinces Jaden that the only way to rescue Jesse is to join him and become the supreme king. And with Jaden's heart in turmoil from betraying his friends, it just might work. Can Jesse rescue Jaden from becoming the Supreme King?
Me: Here's a one-shot dedication!
Lucy: Dedicated to "PrincessAnime08" for giving us the idea to make it! Look, I didn't do the duel with all the rules, since that's take too damn long! And yes, I am aware that none of the cards I used are real, except for a few, and yes, the duel is very short and unsatisfying.
Me: But we appreciate it that you don't flame us for it!
Lucy: Yes, if you don't do that, then we don't have to hurt you. The plot of this story was fluff, not a duel.
Me: We thank you very much!
Lucy: So now, here's a one-shot dedication for her!
Me: We thank you for reading this.
Lucy: Jesse VS Haou after Jim was 'sent to the stars' hence the english anime.
Both: Either way, please enjoy it!
Chapter One: Inside the Fire
"Why...? Why...?"
Jaden was kneeling in a world of black, tons of mirrors floating around his head in a swirling fashion. The brunette shuddered in shock, his eyes glowing a dull golden color as he kept thinking so deeply about what had occured.
He had betrayed his friends. He had left them and sacrificed many of them, just out of his own rage. He had betrayed their trust, and now... Now they were all gone into the heavens above, sent to the stars.
Just like Jesse.
"Why? What did I do wrong? I... I always did what I thought was right. B-but now..." Jaden shuddered, his voice cracking, but not tears fell or even threatened to. Jaden grit his teeth and lowered his head in fear, his eyes closed tightly.
"Now I'm all alone..." he whispered in a soft voice, sobbing gently. Suddenly, Jaden heard a small laugh come from behind him, and a pair of arms laced around his shoulders, a body pressing against his back, a head resting on his shoulder.
"Of course you're alone, Jaden. You're always alone," the figure hugging him said in a gentle voice. Jaden looked over and saw a mirror image of himself with golden eyes and an evil, possessed smirk on his face. Jaden stared in shock.
"Everyone is always alone. We're always gonna be alone, Jaden. But that doesn't even matter. Because you can change that easily," the figure smirked. Jaden shuddered again and looked into the image's yellow eyes.
"My name is Haou. And there is a way to rescue Jesse..." he said with a smile. Jaden quieted instantly and listened as Haou slowly leaned his head back and closed his eyes, rocking back and forth with a small smile on his face.
His throat cleared and he sung loudly.
Jesse,
Won't go to heaven
He's just another lost soul,
About to be mine again
Leave him,
We will recieve him
It is beyond your control
Will you ever meet again?
Haou stepped up from hugging Jaden and walked a few feet from him, his eyes glancing around into the dark abyss, smiling slightly. Jaden stood up a little, wanting to know more about Haou's proposal to rescue the bluenette that he cared for.
Haou looked back at Jaden and tapped his chin, not looking into Jaden's eyes at all. He smiled evilly and then walked past the brunette, his shoulder brushing against Jaden's, knocking him back a few inches before he smiled at him again and continued singing.
Jesse
No longer living
Who had been rendered unwhole
As a little child,
He was taken
And then forsaken
You will remember it all
Let it fill your mind again
Haou then aimed his finger at one of the many mirrors that lingered over his and Jaden's heads, pointing at an image of the world outside of the brunette's darkness-filled heart. Shadows of horror rained down, and fire spurt from all around.
Jaden gasped in horror. This couldn't be the world. Haou then smiled and walked up to Jaden, raising his finger and then making a cross over his heart, as if swearing on his grave that he spoke the truth in his words.
Jesse lies beyond this portal
Take the word of one immortal
Give your soul to me
For eternity
Release your life
To begin another time with him
End your grief with me
There's another way
Release your life
Take your place inside the fire with him
Jaden ran up to Haou, his eyes wide with shock when he heard that he could rescue Jesse. Haou continued to stalk around the mirrors, his fingers snaking around them and smiled touching his lips as he looked into the mirror.
"Such a pathetic universe it is, no?" he asked before chuckling and folding his arms behind his back.
Sever
Now and forever
You're just another lost soul
About to be mine again
See him,
You'll never free him
You must surrender it all
And give life to me again
Haou raised a finger into the air and grasped the front of Jaden's shirt, yanking him forward and palcing him against one of the mirrors, showing the brunette a flaming universe in which no mortal human being could ever exist.
Jaden shook his head as the fire spat around, burning every human, every tree, everything that it touched. All of it errupted into pits of flames. Jaden looked away as Haou released him, walking back and then leaning against the many mirrors.
Fire
All you desire
As he begins to turn cold
And run out of time
You will shiver
Till you deliver
You will remember it all
Let it fill your mind again
Jesse lies beyond this portal
Take the word of one immortal
Haou leaped up and clung to a mirror before leaping to another one, flipping and then landing gracefully before the startled brunette, smiling as he grabbed the front of his shirt and took him to the edge of the black abyss before throwing him forward several feet.
Jaden skidded and glanced back in shock as Haou appeared before him with a smile. One that read betrayal and sorrow, but was filled with a deep, almost demon-like sadism that told the viewer that it could do anything.
Haou slowly touched Jaden's chest, right above his heart before tracing it and then smirking.
Give your soul to me
For eternity
Release your life
To begin another time with him
End your grief with me
There's another way
Release your life
Take your place inside the fire with him
Jaden took a step back and then shuddered, his eyes wide with slight shock. He didn't know what his fear was, or what he was so scared of. But there was something about Haou, something about this look-alike that made Jaden feel worried.
Who was this boy? And what on earth was he trying to do? What did he want?
And why did he want Jaden?
Give your soul to me
For eternity
Release your life
To begin another time with him
End your grief with me
There's another way
Release your life
Take your place inside the fire with him
"So, do we have a deal?" Haou asked, extending his hand out to the brunette and smiling evilly, his eyes giving a small flash.
Jaden thought of his options. He could run, avoid everything that had to do with this crazy brunette and what ever he wanted to do. But his other option was to join Haou and go along with whatever he wanted the brunette for.
And if he did that... he could see Jesse again.
Jaden closed his dull yellow eyes and thought deeply. What did he want? What was right? Was anything right anymore? Jaden remembered the shock and betrayal on his friend's faces as they were dying, and he whimpered. He never wanted to see that.
Never again!
"I-I can't! I have to save Jesse!" Jaden whispered, and Haou sneered, eys flashing a bright gold.
"No, Jaden. He doesn't want to be saved by you. Let me tell you, honestly, that you are always alone. I am the only one here who will ever understand you, and you must remember that, Jaden, or everything will hurt. You're always alone..." the brunette whispered.
Jaden's eyes widened as the phrase repeated.
"Always alone..."
'No...'
"Always...."
'No...!!'
"Always...."
"Okay! I agree with you! Don't let me be alone anymore!! Just make it stop, please!!" Jaden said while sobbing before grasping Haou's hand in his own. Haou smiled and then threw his head back in a cackle.
Jaden gasped as black wind surrounded him and he shuddered at the sudden cold and fogginess that covered his eyes.
Finally, his world went black...
SPIRITSHIPPING 4 EVER
Several Days Later in the Village...
"How could this have happened? What have we ever done to him?" an elderly woman whispered as she cradled the remains of her home in her wrinkled hands.
A man standing beside her was trying to keep his wife calm, but he couldn't keep the sorrow from his own eyes at the sight of what was laying before him. On what had once been a great and powerful city.
Now laying in ruins.
"Such a tragedy. Why? Why has the supreme king come and taken out his rage on us? Why?" another old woman said as she held up some dirt in her hands, letting it pour through her pale fingers.
As she spoke, a young man with blue hair came walking into the ruined city, his green eyes darting around in surprise. He stepped behind the woman and turned her around gently, as to not scare her.
"Excuse me, Ma'am. But what happened here?" the bluenette asked. The woman glanced over at him.
"I'm sorry, young man. But who are you?" she asked.
"Jesse Andersen," the young bluenette said with a smile, and the woman nodded to him. An elderly man spat out a thin stream of black before kicking a small pile of rubble up with his toe.
"This was a happy city before he came," the man said. Jesse tilted his head in confusion.
"Before who came?" he asked. The woman sighed.
"The Supreme King. That's who," she answered. Jesse tilted his head in confusion and looked over at the man with a questioning look in his eyes. The elderly man sighed and leaned his head back, looking up at the stars for hope.
"The Supreme King. He's young, not much older than yourself, and he has brown hair. Two colored brown hair. A creature always following him around with small white wings and cold golden eyes, brown fur," the man explained.
Jesse's eyes went wide.
'That sounds like Jaden and Kuriboh! But there's no way!' he thought, hoping that it was just coincidence that the Supreme King that everyone feared happened to look like Jaden. As he stared, something came from the distance.
A blur of black and red came, and then Jesse felt the person cling onto him, panting heavily.
"Huh? Axel?" Jesse asked, and Axel's eyes went wide before he looked down at the person he was clinging to.
"Jesse? Is that really you?!" he hollered, and the bluenette nodded quickly, flashing his taller friend a smile. Axel shook his head slowly and then backed up several inches, his breaths coming out roughly.
"Jesse.... J-Jaden is... Jim is..." the foreigner panted out heavily, unable to form his words. Jesse's eyes widened at the mention of Jaden's name. He gently placed a hand on Axel's shoulder to gain his attention.
"What happened? Are they both okay?!" the bluenette yelled in concern, and Axel slowly shook his head.
"No. Jim is gone... because of the Supreme King," the taller duelist stated, and Jesse's eyes went wide with horror.
"No! T-that can't be! Jim can't be gone! W-wait... Jaden! What's happened to Jay?! Please, Axel! Please tell me the Supreme King didn't get him as well!" the southerner begged, and Axel gave him a sad smile.
"Oh, he got him, all right," Axel said, and Jesse felt his heart skip several beats. Axel then placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder, peering into his green eyes with his own golden brown ones, as if staring into the boy's soul.
"Jesse, Jaden is... the Supreme King," he whispered.
Jesse's eyes went wide, and he collapsed back, only to be held upright by Axel. The bluenette shuddered in horror, green eyes wide, the pupils small little dots that were almost barely visible as he registered what was going on.
'Jay's the Supreme King? No! No, I won't believe it! Jay couldn't do such things!!' he thought, but something in his heart told him that Jaden was too far gone, and he had to find out for himself. Jesse grabbed Axel's shoulder again.
"Please. Please take me to him! I have to see it for myself!" Jesse begged, and Axel gave a small nod, eyes closing.
"Fine, I'll take you, but I'm not going to face him. After what I saw happen to Jim, I don't want to have to see Jaden kill anyone else ever again. That look in his eyes..." the other duelist shuddered in horror at the memory.
That torturous gold. The blood lust.
"It's okay. Just take me to the castle and I'll handle the rest," the bluenette stated, and Axel nodded before taking Jesse's arm and leading him through the large crowd of hopeless people, bringing him towards the castle.
To where Jaden was located.
SPIRITSHIPPING 4 EVER
Later On...
"That's the castle!?" Jesse hollered as he peered up at the large stone building before him.
Axel gave a small nod as his eyes traced the outline of the jagged cliffs that formed into the horrid castle where his best friend had been killed and sent to the stars with all the others. It looked ominous, like the face of a devil.
"Yeah," he answered before gently scooting Jesse forward. Jesse looked back and Axel shook his head.
"I can go no further. My memories... will haunt me forever. Jesse, you're on your own from this point on until I gather the others, okay?" he asked, and Jesse nodded before turning to the castle and racing along the gravel walkway to get to Jaden.
'Jaden, hang in there!' he thought, somehow ducking the guards to the best of his ability.
---In the Throne Room---
"Haou-sama, there's an intruder. Shall we destroy him?" one of the servants asked.
Haou sat on his throne, golden eyes staring out the window at the land that he had conquered without so much as lifting up a finger. The brunette king's lips pulled back into a sneer, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Let him come. I'll take him on. After all, he's got some nerve coming and challenging me," the supreme king said as he rose to his feet. He then turned to his vast majority of servants.
"Everyone get out. I wish to speak with this man alone," he stated, and almost instantly, the servants and guards were gone, leaving Haou to sit back in his throne with his blade-like duel disk and wait out the intruder's arrival.
A smirk on his lips.
---Back with Jesse---
The bluenette southerner raced up a long and nearly endless flight of stone stairs, leading to the top of the castle, where a dark energy was swirling around. Hopefully Jaden was up there, safe from harm.
'Of course he's safe. He's their king now...' Jesse thought with a heavy heart. He shook his head slowly reached the top of the stairs.
Gulping, the bluenette pushed open the door to the castle and stood inside, looking around.
The room was wide and empty, made of stone and darkness, jagged and with a large window that revealed all of the dark land before it. The clouds rolled over the sky, and lighting crashed, revealing the figure in the room.
Seated in the throne was a tall figure, not as tall as Jesse, but about an inch shorter. The figure's head was covered by a dark blue-gray, with a hint of green, and the rest of his armor was the same color with some gold to it, and then his red cape flowed behind him.
"Who's there!?" the figure shouted as he rose up, eyes blazing with anger, their golden color piercing the darkness. Jesse gasped and hid behind a tall pillar, his heart pounding at a million miles and hour.
The figure rose to his feet and scanned his eyes around.
"Show yourself! I know you're here!" Haou shouted angrilly, and then Jesse stepped from the pillar very slowly and nearly silently, his eyes gently lowered before looking up into the brunette's eyes.
"Jaden..." he breathed in shock.
Haou's eyes widened as his heart constricted, as if he were about to have a heart attack. His teeth grit and then he snarled angrily before closing his eyes.
"W-what is this feeling?" he whispered before placing a hand over his heart, silencing the welling happiness that was forming inside of him. He then glared up at Jesse, lips drawing back into a wicked smirk.
"I take it you're Jesse Andersen, the one that Jaden fell in love with," Haou whispered, and Jesse gave a sharp nod.
"That's right! So let him go and get the heck out of here!" the bluenette yelled, and Haou threw his head back in wicked laughter. Once his fit ceased, his golden eyes locked with Jesse's, and then he held his hand up.
"I fear you have no idea who you're messing with," he stated before touching his heart, fingertips glowing bright crimson. "His heart is too far into the darkness for you to reach now. He's all alone now," Haou stated.
Jesse's eyes softened. "What are you talking about?" he asked. Haou smiled softly.
"His friends abandoned him. You left him all alone when you came to the Dark World, and then he betrayed his best friends, because you were gone from his world!" he stated, and Jesse blushed.
'Judai was that upset by me leaving like that?' he thought, and Haou continued with what he was explaining.
"That's how I came in the picture," the brunette snarled before aiming a finger at Jesse.
"How dare you show up now! It's a little late to save him, since his heart has been transformed into a black hole! There's nothing left to save!" Haou shouted, and Jesse shook his head as quickly as he could manage.
"No! No, that isn't true!" he shouted, and Haou gave a viscious nod.
"Yes it is! You abandoned him! You gave him your promise that you wouldn't leave him, and then when he came to, you were off in the Dark World!" the brunette shouted before narrowing his eyes at Jesse.
Jesse shuddered.
"Oh, Jaden. I hurt you so deeply. I scarred your heart. But don't worry, I'll fix it, I promise," the bluenette said before taking out Jim's eyes of Orichalcum and placing it above himself. Haou allowed his eyes to widen again.
"No! Not this again!' he shouted and Jesse nodded quickly.
"Yes, this! I'm looking into Jaden's heart!" he shouted and the red light came again before engulfing him and Haou before Jesse ended up finding himself inside a dark place.
"W-where am I?" he whispered, and then Jesse heard someone sobbing and coughing. He gasped and glanced over his shoulder, trying to spot where the sound was coming from, and he found that it was behind him.
Upon turning, Jesse gasped in horror.
Kneeling before him was Jaden, his back to the bluenette, hunched over as his body rocked with sobs.
"W-why? What did I do wrong?" Jaden whispered, his voice sounding broken and weak for the first time ever, and it hurt Jesse to see his lover in such a broken and wretched state. The brunette coughed as he sobbed.
"I'm sorry," he whispered softly. "I've ruined everything and now... I can't fix it. I've tried but I just can't..." Jaden whispered softly before closing his eyes and clutching his heart as the tears collapsed around his knees.
"Jesse doesn't need someone like me. He's better off... Everyone's better off without me!" Jaden cried out.
"No, Jaden, that isn't true!" Jesse shouted, but the brunette didn't seem to hear him. He kept shuddering, pale golden eyes wide and filled with sorrow.
"I'm all alone. I've always been alone, and I'll always be alone. I'm... all alone," Jaden whispered softly before his eyes closed gently, and then he sobbed ever harder, but before Jesse could go and comfort him, he was forced out of the brunette's heart.
And back to where Haou was.
"Hmph. If you wish to get him back, then duel for him," the brunette king stated before holding his duel disk out so that it snapped into a ready position, and Jesse got his own ready, praying to his crystal beasts that they'd help him win.
And free his lover from the darkness.
SPIRITSHIPPING 4 EVER
"Since I'm the King here, I'll go first!" Haou shouted before drawing a card from his deck and smirking at it. "I'll play this! Evil Hero Neos!" the supreme king shouted, and then the hologram of the evil hero appeared.
Jesse reeled back before narrowing his eyes, and then Haou smirked.
"Your move," he sneered, and Jesse drew a card from his deck. He stared down at it and sighed before placing it onto his duel disk.
"I summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle in denfense mode!" he called, and the little purple cat appeared on the field, staring at the evil hero in shock. Haou's eyes widened slightly and then he smirked before reaching into his hand.
"Since you've summoned her, I'll do this," he whispered before calling out another card. "Come out! Dark Winged Kuriboh, or should I say... King!" Haou shouted before slamming the card onto the duel disk.
With a loud stream of light, the hologram of the furry creature appeared, yet it seemed different. Kuriboh's wings were spiked and gray, and his golden eyes were filled with malice. His mouth bore fangs, and his fur was spikier than usual.
Ruby reeled back upon seeing the creature, and Haou gave a small sneer.
"What's wrong? Can't stand the one you love in this form?" he asked, and Jesse felt his heart constrict in sorrow for his little duel spirit. Ruby whimpered softly as Kuriboh glared up and down her body, his lips drawn back in a sneer.
"Jaden... You wouldn't..." Jesse breathed, and Haou smirked.
"I would! Attack her, Kuriboh!" he shouted, and the creature, whose attack points were now up to 1000, attacked Ruby without mercy, tearing the hologram in half as Ruby gave a strangled yell.
"Ruby!!" Jesse shouted as the duel spirit vanished and came back as a crystal in his trap zone area, and then Kuriboh landed gracefully back on Haou's side, his eyes flashing as his attack points shot up to 1600.
Haou smirked evilly.
"I forgot to mention. Whenever King kills a monster, he absorbs their attack points," the brunette said before glancing over at his Evil Hero Neos, who was staring ahead at Jesse with an evil look in his eyes.
"Now, on my next turn, I'll do this!" Haou hollered before aiming a finger at Neos.
"Neos, I command you! Give up your strength to King!" he yelled. Jesse's eyes went wide.
"Jaden! Have you gone insane? Sacrificing Neos like that?" he asked, and Haou's eyes flashed before he pointed at himself.
"I am not Jaden! And I care not for these cards! The whole lot of them can just die for all I care! All I need to know is that King gets more powerful if they all die!" he yelled, not noticing the red pain that went into Neos's eyes.
Jesse quivered slightly. "Jaden, have you really gone that far into the Darkness?" he asked, and Haou shook his head violently.
"I am NOT Jaden!! Neos, give King your strength!!" he shouted loudly, and then Neos vanished, his life-force transferring to Kuriboh, who puffed up and became more evil looking, his attack points now resting at 4100.
Jesse gasped as Haou declared that it was the bluenette's turn, and then he stared shakingly down at his hand.
'I-I don't have anything in my deck that can defeat Kuriboh at this stage. What am I supposed to do?' Jesse thought with desperation in his eyes and heart. He glanced up and stared into Haou's eyes, who was now smirking.
"What's wrong? Gonna attack me?" he taunted, and Jesse gasped lightly before shaking his head.
'I have to attack him. I have to destroy Haou if I want to win...' he thought before summoning Amethyst Cat to his side of the field. Jesse then glanced up at Haou.
"By cutting her attack in half, I can attack your life points directly," he stated before aiming at Haou. "Amethyst! Attack him and wake up Jaden!" he shouted, and the purple cat instantly responded, running at the brunette.
Sweeping her claws at him, Amethyst cut Haou's lifepoints down to 3400. The brunette gasped and narrowed his eyes before glaring up at Jesse.
"You'll pay for that," he snarled before aiming his finger at the purple cat. "Get her, King," he stated in a firm, commanding tone. Instantly obeying, Kuriboh raced at Amethyst and hacked her to pieces, dropping Jesse's life points down to 1100.
Jesse dropped to his knees as the lifepoints dropped down a great amount, and then he glanced up at Haou, who was smierking at him evilly.
"Oh, was that it? Heh, this is so dumb. You're a waste of energy," he whispered before placing his hand up and aiming it at Jesse, smirking. "King, get him again," he whispered before Jesse shook his head.
"You can't do that! You've already attacked!" he shouted, and Haou sneered, eyes blazing.
"I can do whatever I want! Get him, King!!" he hollered, and the Dark Kuriboh came flying back at Jesse again, eyes blazing. Jesse glanced down at his hand and gasped as he saw the spell card that just might save him.
"I activate the Mirror!" he shouted and a large mirror came up before him. Haou tilted his head in confusion.
"The Mirror?" he asked, and Jesse nodded.
"That's correct. It costs me half my life points, but it deflects any attack an opponent makes back onto them! It also reveals the true nature of anything that looks into it!" the bluenette yelled before aiming his finger at Haou.
"Kuriboh! Attack Haou and break Jaden from the darkness!!" he shouted, and Kuriboh immediatly turned around, claws aimed at Haou. Haou gasped as the creature he had cared for tore into his lifepoints, sending them to 0.
Jesse cheered for himself as the king dropped to his knees, and then Haou glared up at Jesse.
"I'm not... going to leave so easily..." he whispered, and Jesse gasped, because he knew that Haou was supposed to be going to the stars, like the other losers had. But if Haou wasn't the one going, then that meant...
"Jaden!!" Jesse gasped in horror before grabbing the eye of Orichalcum that Axel and Jim had given him, and then he used its energy to enter Jaden's dark, possessed heart and find a way to save him.
Before he bore the same fate as the others.
SPIRITSHIPPING 4 EVER
Inside of Jaden's Heart...
Jesse once again found himself in the darkness of Jaden's heart, his vision as if it were almost gone due to how black it was.
"I'm back here again. I have to find Jaden before he's sent..." Jesse shook his head so that he didn't have to finish his sentance. Instead of thinking, he raced off in a random direction, hoping that he found Jaden.
"Jay! Jay, can you hear me?!" he shouted, begging for an answer, but there was nothing but silence that followed him. After a little while, Jesse spotted something laying on the ground near him.
The figure was a young man with brown hair, a red jacket, white jeans, and red shoes that signaled the uniform to Duel Academy. The boy looked as if he were unconscious, and he was laying with his back to Jesse.
"Jay!" the bluenette yelled as he went running over to his friend and held him up into a seated position, clutching Jaden's shoulders tightly.
The brunette's head was rolled back, and he slowly opened up his eyes, which were a dull golden brown and filled with sorrow and a slight possessment. His head tilted to the side slowly, and Jaden looked away from Jesse, eyes distant.
"I am... all alone..." the brunette whispered in a possessed voice.
"Jay! Jaden, snap out of it!" Jesse shouted, trying to wake up his friend from the trance he was in. Jaden stared at Jesse, making the bluenette's heart pulsate. The look in Jaden's eyes was so distant, so blank, that it seemed as if he was looking right through the bluenette.
Right through his heart.
"I'm all alone..." he whispered, and Jesse shook his head violently.
"No! No, Jaden! You aren't alone!" he shouted, and then brunette looked up into his eyes again, a dull expression on his pale face. Jaden's lips parted slightly before closing again, and then he stared up at Jesse again.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
Jesse's eyes went wide at the sound of his lover asking who he was. It wasn't a good feeling, almost like having a knife dig into his chest. It hurt. It stung. It was worse than he could have ever imagined it would feel.
"Jay..." Jesse whispered as he placed his hands on either side of Jaden's face and drew him closer, holding the brunette's head in his hands so that he made certain Jaden was locking his eyes with his own.
"Jay! Please try and remember me! It's Jesse! Jesse Andersen! Don't you recognize me?!" the bluenette begged, but Jaden merely stared ahead again.
"Who are you?" he whispered, as if he didn't hear Jesse's last sentance. Jesse closed his eyes to try and keep the tears in, not wanting Jaden to see him crying, especially not when he had forgotten all about him and the love they had shared.
Jesse's eyes snapped open at the thought. 'That's it!' "Jay, you've gotta snap out of it! You aren't alone! You were never alone in Duel Academy, don't you remember?"
"Duel Academy?"
"That's right! That's where you met your friends! Now answer me, please! Who are they?!"
"....Syrus... Cumley... Alexis... Chazz.... Bastion... Hassleberry... Blair... Zane... Aster... Sartorius... Atticus... Jim... Axel..." the brunette whispered as he named off some of the friends he had made while he was in duel academy.
Jesse nodded, a little sad about being left out of the group, but he knew exactly when Jaden was going to remember him.
"That's right. And who did you meet that day during the third semester? Don't you remember?" the bluenette asked, and Jaden went silent for a few moments as his memories ran wild, his mind wrapping around his past.
Finally, something in his heart clicked.
"....Jesse..." he whispered, and the bluenette's eyes widened with happiness.
"That's right, Jay! That's me! I'm right here!!" he yelled, giving Jaden a firm, gentle shake to try and get his point across. Jaden glanced up at him with a questioning look in his brown eyes and they widened a bit more.
"Jesse?" he asked, and the bluenette nodded.
"That's right. You're not alone, Jaden..." he whispered before giving Jaden a kiss on the lips, showing him just how much he actually cared for the brunette. When he drew back, he saw that Jaden's eyes were slowly getting their color back, back to the way they were in the Duel Academy.
"Jesse..." Jaden whispered as his eyes returned to normal, showing that he had come back to his right mind. He gasped when he saw Jesse and then hugged him tightly.
"Jesse! Jesse, you're back! Oh my God, I was so worried that I'd never see you again!" the brunette whispered as he drew the bluenette closer to his body, and Jesse snaked his arms around the brunette's waist, smiling.
"Yes, I am back," he said before hugging the brunette tighter.
As they hugged, the darkness seemed to rock around, and then a figure appeared before Jaden, making the happy couple gasp. The figure standing before them was a ragged and broken version of the Supreme King.
The weaker and more afraid version of Haou.
"Jaden, how can you go with him after all he did!? How can you just abandon me like this?!" Haou screamed as tears made their ways from his pure white eyes, and then Jaden nodded at Jesse, who let him go for a moment.
Jaden walked up and stopped near the sobbing clear spirit before him, smiling sadly.
"I'm sorry, Haou. But my place is with Jesse. I can't stay with you. I can't go with you," he stated, and Haou looked at him before his white eyes turned gold, and he flashed a small, understanding smile before shaking his head.
"No, I guess you can't..." he whispered, and Jaden smiled at him before looking over at Jesse.
"I'll be all right by myself now," Jaden answered, and Haou gave a small nod before he took Jaden's place and went to the stars instead of his lighter half, since it was the least he could do for him after all that had happened.
Jaden smiled over at Jesse and closed his eyes before there was a blinding light, and then Jesse found himself back in the dark castle, standing at the duel field across from the brunette he was dueling, whose head was now slumped over.
"Jay? Is that you?" he asked, and the person remained silent before collapsing forward. Jesse gasped and raced forward, managing to catch the brunette before he hit the ground.
"Jay!" he called, and then he opened up the helmet that Haou was wearing, since it had fallen when Jaden fell forward. The figure wearing the outfit was sleeping, and at the sound of his name, his eyes opened slowly.
To Jesse's great relief, they were pale brown.
"Unn... Jesse?" Jaden whispered in shock, and then he smiled happily. "I'm so glad. That it wasn't just... a dream I had..." he whispered before wrapping his arms around the bluenette's neck and hugging him as tight as he could.
"I'm here, Jaden. It's gonna be okay now," Jesse whispered before giving Jaden a kiss on the lips again, allowing the brunette to snuggle up against him and fall asleep.
Somehow, Jesse had a feeling that the rest of his friends had been returned upon Haou's death, and he knew that they were all gonna be all right eventually. He and Jaden had to find them and somehow get home, but nothing mattered now. They could take care of it later.
After all, everything was okay.
Jaden was safe.
"I love you, Jesse..." Jaden whispered before drifting to sleep. Jesse flashed him a smile and kissed him on the forehead.
"Love you too..."
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Me: There we have it! Oh geez, that was long.
Lucy: Yeah, but in any case, we hope you enjoyed it.
Me: Especially PrincessAnime08, since she's the one who asked for it.
Lucy: We thank you for your kindness in liking our stories!
Me: No flamers, honestly! I really hate it when people flame, saying 'That's not how it happened in the show!' FAN-fiction people!
Lucy: Because when people flame, it hurts not only the writers, but it can hurt the readers because flames make the writers not want to write anymore.
Both: So please, be kind and give us positive feedback on what you thought. We love hearing from you guys!