Title: …Et Encore Une Fois…

Summary: There was a sickness that was drifting over Lakewood. One that our Troop members hadn't seen since they were freshmen in high school. Seeing as they were in command when this sickness initially began, our favorite members must re-enlist and take down this virus once and for all. After all, they were getting far too old for this, far too fast…Jake X Hayley

Rating: M

Genre: Romance, Drama

Series: The Troop

Pairing: Hayley X Jake

Last Time…

Felix nodded his understanding as he put the picture away. If it weren't for the fact that the woman knew absolutely nothing of what had happened to her, he would have snarked her without a second thought. But Susan appeared to be lost in her memory, not sure of what she had gone through and not sure if anyone else would believe her either.

Felix placed his hand on her pale arm, squeezing there before reassuring her that whatever had happened, she needed to put out of her mind.

He soon left the hospital room, more confused than he had been before regarding the case. There was no connection between Susan and Gus; she hadn't even lived in the area until Gus was institutionalized. What was the connection between them? Surely there wasn't one…And what was with that description of Gus? She had personified him as looking cherub like, something that he surely had grown out of.

He scratched his head at the puzzle before him.

Chapter 7

Hayley could feel her teeth grinding as she sat stoically in the passenger seat of Jake's car. She couldn't leave the preparatory reunion meeting fast enough. From the moment that she came face-to-face with Angie Crabtree's hypercritical, overly abrasive façade, she knew that she would be straining not to strangle someone.

Seriously, what was that woman's problem? Angie was 28 and still held some deep rooted vendetta against the rather unbiased woman that Hayley was.

After all, Hayley had never intentionally been mean to the girl, had never gone out of her way to disgruntle her or any other person for that matter. Yet, somehow the smaller woman found some way to hold Hayley responsible for all the misfortunes that happened to her all the way back in high school and refused to let go of them even to this day. Sure, she may have accidentally shoved that cupcake into her blouse, and she may have given off a very aloof air when she rushed passed her and pushed that pie into her face, and she could see how her conveniently finding her long lost dog could be perceived as suspicious, and she had to admit that it was partially her fault for the poor woman being blackballed from working as a news anchor (not that she would ever remember that it was her), but that still left no reason for her to be bitter after nearly 10 years.

Yet, the fact that she was still resentful was not the worst part of the annoyance that Angie Crabtree had become. No, it was the simple fact that she was a journalist at heart and knew not the definition of "tact" and "privacy." Everything that Hayley did held the potential for front page news coverage in Angie's eyes. And even if no one read it, it still bothered her immensely that the woman would be willing to plaster someone else's personal life all over the news. Hell, if she had wanted people to know the nitty gritty about her sex life or about her (not-so-amazing) engagement, then she would have simply explained it all herself rather than have the woman poke and prod just to pick and choose what to publish.

Hayley huffed and threw herself against the passenger seat, her face burning from the frustration that Angie had ignited within her. Jake gave her a quick glance, his eyebrow slightly cocked at Hayley's demeanor.

"You okay there, buddy?" Jake asked slowly, afraid that the woman beside him would snap violently.

"No!" Hayley yelled, "Did you hear Angie? 'Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Grand Master Puba, her Royal Highness, Oh-so-successful Hayley Steele.' Ugh! I'm so sick of her! I can't believe that there was a time in my life where I actually was upset that she didn't like me! I no longer care if she likes me or not, I just never want to have to deal with her again!"

Hayley threw herself against her seat once more, folding her arms and blowing a strand of hair out of her face in the process. She was visibly distraught and Jake was very much the type of man to get upset to see the woman he loved so disconcerted. He couldn't quite tell what had caused him to pull over, but it felt like the right thing to do even when Hayley began questioning his motives. Pulling the key from the ignition, Jake leaned over into Hayley's seat, invading the little space she had as he cupped her rosy cheeks and stared purposefully into her eyes.

"Hayley," he whispered softly, "The reason Angie is always so sarcastic and rude toward you is because you had—and still have—the potential for amazing things. You see the possibilities in things, not just the face value or what everyone else sees as being there. You are far more intimidating and sincere than Angie ever could be and it's disarming to her because she doesn't understand how anyone could be so amazing, yet humble. Don't let her get to you because she's not worth the headache."

Hayley felt disarmed by Jake's analysis of her situation, amazed that the same man who didn't know what potpourri was ("Is it a type of soup?") could sit there and speculate so confidently that it actually put her mind at ease.

For a moment, her eyes registered the closeness of their lips, measuring the approximate distance she would have to brave before capturing that unmanned territory of skin. And she was positive by the look in Jake's eyes that he was thinking something along the same lines. Yet, they sat there, frozen in the moment, waiting for the other to blink or lean in and take control. But Hayley refused to lose that self-control just yet, especially after their small love tryst in the airplane lavatory. So, she pulled away, her eyes sinking to the floor as Jake started the car, his mood one of bemusement.

Hayley had a sinking feeling that the week was suddenly going to be much more trying than she had initially estimated.


"So, what you're saying is that the latest attack was on someone completely unrelated to Gus in any way by a person who looks like a childlike imitation of him?"

Hayley raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Are you kidding?"

Felix shifted in his seat uncomfortably before addressing Hayley.

"No I'm not," He conceded.

Patricia, Blake, and Gena looked on in interest as the Troop they replaced plopped down exasperatedly in their respective seats.

"So," Hayley began, smoothing out her sundress before directing her gaze back at Felix, "What you're saying is that there is even less evidence now than before of this being linked to Gus?"

"No!" Felix quickly chimed, "That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that the attack was almost identical to all of the other attacks, only we actually have someone who can recall the attack and the data isn't matching up as neatly with our theories as previously hoped."

"Spoken like a true scientist…"

"Well, what is a definite, Felix?" Jake muttered between interlocked fingers.

Felix straightened his blazer collar as he pulled up a file on his computer of the latest victim, Susan McArthur.

"We know that by the information given by this latest victim that the monster is a Djinni, so now we know what to focus our efforts on. We also know that, aside from Susan, all of the people attacked were somehow connected to the hazing or humiliation of Augustus. And we also know that these attacks are being plotted out by someone; the Djinn are rarely this vicious on its own."

"Felix," Jake began, "What exactly is a Djinni? I don't think we ever came across one throughout the time we were active…"

Before Jake even had the chance to finish his statement, Gena was typing away at the computer, pulling up a picture of a smoky figure on the main display. Gena crossed her arms as she pointed at the picture on the screen, her eyes transfixed on Jake.

"THAT is a Djinni." She bluntly stated.

Jake stood, walking up to the screen to further examine the picture provided by the database.

"That's a Djinni? It looks more like a shadow made up of cigar smoke."

"Exactly." Gena continued, "The Djinn have no definite form. They parade around in the form of whatever entity they feed off of. Whether it is a person or an animal, their taste is non-discriminate. But even that shape is only temporary before it fades back into, as you put it, a shadow made up of cigar smoke."

"Wait." Hayley cut in, walking up behind Jake before highlighting a piece of information on the screen.

"The Djinn are…Genies?"

"You mean we get wishes?" Jake blurted.

Everyone in the room eyed Jake before Felix broke the silence.

"Um, no." Felix said, "That's a myth."

Jake's disappointment was palpable.

"The Djinn—or Djinni in its singular form—are a type of essence eating monster that takes the form of whatever entity it feeds off of for a temporary time frame, like Gena said. There are believed to be five different forms of the Djinn, each varying in power and temperament. Two of those five breeds are believed to be an immediate danger to humans just because they're extremely malicious and powerful. Luckily, the probability of them appearing in our world is slim, about one in one hundred million."

Felix scrolled through a few depictions of Djinni captured in lamps and the many different artistic renderings of them.

"Supposedly, the Djinn is born and brought into this world from fire and is very hostile towards intruders. As the legend goes, magicians or wise men and women saw the potential of the Djinn and began to make secret agreements with them in order to fulfill specific wishes. However, the Djinn are notoriously cunning and unpredictable and people didn't find it beneficial to use them when they could change at the drop of a hat. So, magicians began to trap them in brass lamps and offer the Djinni of the lamp their freedom in exchange for favors, usually two or three; hence the whole 'granting three wishes' story.

"However, rumor has it that the wise King Solomon saw no use for such blatantly mischievous creatures. So, he began capturing the Djinn himself, sealing them in lead-stopper bottles, and throwing those bottles into the open sea, never to be seen or released by man's selfishness."

HQ remained silent, all the present people digested what was just explained. Jake was the first to speak.

"Felix, is it…possible that one of those bottles that King Solomon threw into the Mediterranean ended up…in Lakewood?"

Hayley and Felix gave Jake a hard look as the younger Troop members contemplated the idea.

"I suppose it's possible…" Felix confessed unsurely, "After all, anything is really possible. It's the probability of those things happening that pose a problem. In this case, I highly doubt that the bottles would wash up in Lakewood when you calculate in the distance, current flow, waterway traffic, time…there are so many variables to consider. For all of them to line up perfectly to get the end result of a relatively fragile bottle less than a foot in size to wash up halfway across the world only to end up in a landlocked town…The chances of that are…imperceptibly fractional…practically non-existent..."

"What of the chances of a bottle ending up in Lakewood as a result of trade?" Hayley quipped.

"Surely, the probability of one of those bottles washing up on the shores of a rural village in the Middle East and slowly being traded to somewhere near Lakewood is higher."

"Of course it is!" Felix scuffed, "But you also have to remember that the whole story of King Solomon sealing away random Djinni and throwing them into the Mediterranean Sea is based on rumor. There's a good chance that those bottles don't even exist. At least a fifty percent chance."

"But if they did, it would be possible, right?" Jake pushed on.

"I guess! Yes! What do you want me to say?" Felix cried, abruptly standing from his chair to flip viciously through the file.

"How does whether or not King Solomon actually capturing Djinn in bottles and whether or not those bottles ended up near Lakewood have to do with the Djinni attacking the people here NOW?"

Felix froze at his statement realizing he'd answered his own sarcastic question. Hayley and Jake stared blankly at Felix's momentary stubbornness. Blake, Patricia, and even Gena decided to immerse themselves in their Troop work to hide their silent laughter.

"But…if that theory is correct, then that means that Gus can't be doing this…"

"Exactly," Hayley stated, "And if it isn't Gus, then it must be someone doing these things FOR Gus."

Jake sighed as he ran a hand through his short mane, "It looks like this just got the potential to become very complicated."


Tai's Territorial Tirade:

Okay, so real quick, I want to explain a little bit about this story.

I originally came up with the concept of this plot and officially started typing it up around this time last year. I knew where I was going with it and what I wanted to happen and had written up to the Angela Crabtree scene before I stopped.

2 proposal parties, 1 baby shower, 1 hospitalization and 1 near hospitalization, 13+ birthdays, 3 psychological evaluations, 3 medicated family members, 2 and a half months out of state, and a lot of technical and financial mishaps later, I finally realized that I started writing a fanfiction that I actually wanted to finish for once. So, I decided to pick this up where I had left off. (Mind you, as of late, I haven't been feeling quite as peppy about the story as I once had, but that's besides the point.) However, I couldn't remember how exactly I wanted the story to turn out and all I had to go on were a bunch of scattered around scenes that I had written beforehand to place throughout the story. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm kind of grasping at straws here and to just bear with me. Hopefully, I'll get it together soon and will be able to pull a half way decent story out my ass. .

With that aside, I wanted to make a comment on the whole Djinn/Djinni thing. Yes, the Djinni is the Arabic form of the English "Genie" (the "D" is silent). Yes, I understand that it is Arabic in origination and pertains more to spirits than to monsters. And yes, I also know that the whole King Solomon thing can be a bit touchy.

My response? Step off it.

The whole idea of Djinn is very abstract and I've always loved the whole paranormal/superstitious stuff. I just used my Artistic Licensing for the sake of the story, so don't get upset if you study that type of stuff and my story doesn't contain any information in the form of what you've spent your life studying (although it's highly unlikely that I'll have someone reading this who is a Professor of Arabic Mythology).

Also, I spend hours a day writing, reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading in chronological order all my chapters and after about an hour of reading the same few chapters over and over again, everything kind of looks the same. So, please forgive me for any grammatical or punctual or spelling errors. I find errors everyday in my stuff just skimming, so I'm sure there are some things in here that just don't make sense in terms of the syntax of it. This is just my premature apology for that.

And, my updates may take a little longer than normal since I got a new job and have training all this month as well as the fact that I'm trying to start school soon and I started writing up some chapters on a new Hayley X Jake ficlet. The new one will take place during their time in High School and it'll have Kirby and Cadence in it…probably…I'm still debating on if I should have it take place before or after season 2.

And sorry about the shortness of this chapter; it was more informational than anything. I'll try to update soon to make up for the length of this chapter.

So…yeah…That's it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you tune in for chapter 8!

As always, R&R!