Jaden, Alexis, Yubel, Zane, Jesse, Blair, Syrus and Mana remain trapped onboard Regula Station. Their only hope is that the crew of the Enterprise, currently attending to the ship's severe damage and the task of evacuating the Station staff from the Regula dimension stays one step ahead of Viper and his followers in the Reliant.
In the meantime…
Chapter 13- Entwined Hearts
The others did not know what to think. They listened to Jaden's entire conversation with Viper over the communicator. They cringed at the hatred his voice displayed, then felt horror as they heard every word of Viper's cruel vow of revenge. Zane and Blair thought of everyone on the Enterprise's crew. Crowler. Ms. Fontaine. Hassleberry. Bastion.
Jesse, Alexis and Mana's thoughts were on everyone they worked with on the Project.
Those thoughts were broken when Jaden yelled out Viper's name twice and they jumped. Syrus woke up.
"What's going on?" he mumbled.
Zane knelt down close to him. "Stay still, Syrus."
Everyone else continued to look at Jaden as the communication was cut off by Viper. He did something they did not expect.
He smiled. A small one, but it was still a smile. He put the communicator back on his belt where it belonged. The orange and green of his eyes changed back to chocolate brown. He blinked, then turned back to them.
"It's gonna be okay," he said. "Trust me."
Jesse gave him a hard glare. "Forgive me if I don't!"
"Jesse!"
"Shut up, Alexis! This is his fault."
Yubel appeared to them all in her transparent form. "Don't blame him," she growled mentally. "The fault is mine. I'm the one who lied and manipulated Viper and left him on Dark World."
"Yeah," Jesse shot back. "But it was Jaden's decision to put you on a rocket that caused you to do that!"
"Jess!" Blair shouted, coming around in front of him. "That's not helping. What will is what we do right now."
He softened a little towards her. "Blair, there's nothing we can do. Viper's got us trapped here. He's gonna kill everybody else."
"Crowler won't let that happen" Jaden calmly argued.
"Oh great! We're counting on Crowler? That makes everything better."
"Jesse. Don't take your grudge against me out on the others."
Jesse glared at him again, but he calmed down enough not to speak out rashly.
"So what do we do now?" he asked.
"First, we bury Chumley. We don't know how much time things will take and I don't want to leave him like this."
"We've got a sheet we can wrap around him," Alexis suggested.
"I can make a grave with my powers," Mana added.
Jaden nodded to the both of them. "Thanks." As Alexis dashed off for the treeline and Mana stepped to a distance from them, he turned to Zane, who was tending to Syrus.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
Zane replied, "That insect didn't leave much damage. Wherever the bleed was coming from, it's sealed up like a mosquito bite. All he really needs is rest."
Jaden noticed Syrus had fallen back to sleep. "He'll be okay to move when it's time to get out of here then?"
"You're hopeful."
"That's the thing we need the most right now."
Zane nodded. "Right. Well, if that time comes, yeah. He'll just have to take it slowly."
"Okay."
:*:
Over where she was standing, Mana focused on a large patch of ground in front of her. She closed her eyes. She imagined a circular line around that patch. Then that line delved down into the ground until all sides of it met at a single point. The section of earth rose up into the air, leaving a small crater in the ground and moved to the right, and fell to the ground in a large green-topped brown mound.
Her ears told her her vision was being answered. She heard the soft cracking as the line formed and went underneath the ground. Then the groan of the earth lifting and the low hiss of air filling into the gap it left behind. The occasional clumping of dirt falling back down as the mound moved through air. The loud thud as the mound itself landed on the spot where she indicated it should.
She opened her eyes again. Everything she had pictured was done.
:*:
Alexis brought the sheet over from the treeline. Together she, Jaden and Jesse tucked it underneath Chumley's back until it reached its middle. Alexis and Blair, from his right side, lifted her side of the sheet up over to Jaden and Jesse. They took it from her and wrapped it over Chumley's form. They then gave the girls their side. They pulled the sheet over its half and knotted it at his side.
Jaden sighed. "Okay, now to get him over there," he indicated to the open grave Mana had created.
"Blair and I will take his legs," Alexis suggested. "You and Jesse- well, you know-
He nodded. "That alright, Jess?"
"You told me not to take my feelings towards you out on others so I won't."
As Alexis had proposed, she and Blair lifted up Chumley's legs while Jaden and Jesse struggled to bring him up by the shoulders. They moved, the women slowly walking backwards and the men keeping in pace with them as they stepped forwards.
They came to the side of the grave. Alexis and Blair went in first, carefully going down the angled slope Mana had made for them. Jaden and Jesse followed. The four of them stopped when they reached level ground. They all looked at one another mournfully. Jaden and Alexis held each other's gaze the longest. Then, gently and firmly, they lowered Chumley's body to the ground and let it rest. They spared each other another sad glance, but the reality of what they had to do next settled in. They had to let their friend go.
Jesse climbed back out of the grave first, then leaned back in to take Blair's hand. She took his and went out after him. Alexis then went to climb out as well, but she did no feel Jaden following her. She turned back around. He was still standing where he was, his head bowed and his eyes shut.
"Jaden?"
She came to his side and put her hand on his shoulder. "Jaden?"
"This wasn't how it was supposed to end up. We were supposed to get you guys out and-
She leaned in closer to him. "I know. I didn't want things to go this way either. But we have to keep fighting. Chum died so the rest of us could get through this."
He nodded and let her take his hand and lead him up and out of the grave. They turned on the spot, facing back down into it. They stood there with the others, standing silently until Mana coughed.
"Does anyone mind?" she asked, clearly intending to speak a few words.
None of them answered her so she went ahead. "Chumley, you've always had a strong spirit, even when you never realised it. You were also an even stronger friend. Especially to Syrus; you've always looked out for him when started this project. When you two visited all the dimensions you've been to."
Her eyes watered over with tears and she blinked twice to clear them. The tears flowed down her cheeks.
"I've realised only now that I've never thanked you for keeping him safe for me. So, thank you, Chumley."
Emboldened by her words, Alexis spoke her own farewell.
"You've been a good friend through thick and thin. You've always been by our side for every one of us, even- even in recent problems when you didn't appear to be. You fought hard. You fought so hard to protect and save us. You never gave up. Goodbye Chumley, and thank you for everything."
She started to sob. Jaden comforted her with a warm one-armed embrace, but his eyes remained on Chumley's form.
"Whe- when I met you years ago," he spoke out loud. "You scared me and Sy. Remember how I opened the curtains at our dorm and I didn't know you were in there sleeping? Heh, heh. You really had us screaming."
From where he was lying, still being watched over by his brother, Syrus smiled, also remembering that day.
Jaden continued. "But after that, you could always make us laugh hard. You with your jolly beaming smile and your appetite for grilled cheese sandwiches. Pe- people tried to get you down, but you never really let them. And you gave the rest of us courage and support."
"You were, are, a great friend to us, Chum. All of us. You're one of the best. And I'm- I'm sorry you had to do this-
His eyes started crying out tears. He stopped as they started slipping down his face and his chest shook with each aching sob. Alexis recognised what she had to do. She circled her arms around him and drew him into a tight hug. He turned to her and completed his embrace with his free arm. His eyes wept openly on her shoulder. Hers were shed all over his chest.
Beside them Blair and Jesse gripped each other's hands tightly. Zane felt Yubel come near him. Syrus shed quiet tears in his own sadness, which was sensed by Mana. Looking around at everyone else, Mana could tell there were no more words to be said.
Focusing on the mound of dirt, she raised her arms and summoned her powers. At her call, the mound slowly lifted back up into the air. Everyone stopped crying then and turned as it moved above the grave. Jesse and Blair still had their hands clasped together. Jaden and Alexis each had one arm around the other's form as they looked on. Mana completed the burial, letting the mound softly fall into place. She lowered her hands to her side and glanced at everyone again.
Once more she could tell there were no words that could be said.
:*:
Leaving Chumley's burial was a slow process for everyone. Jaden left first, parting from his embrace with Alexis and walked towards the trees. Alexis looked sorrowfully at everyone else. When her eyes passed over Zane and Yubel, the Duel Spirit turned towards her. She stared at her and nodded.
"Go," she heard her speak in her mind.
She nodded back and followed Jaden.
Blair and Jesse were next. They walked around the grave and on towards the other side of the Rec room. Mana watched them as they went in to a small alcove hidden from view before she herself turned, walking back to Yubel, Zane and Syrus.
"Can I look after him for a while?" she asked Zane when she reached them.
Zane looked at her, then down to Syrus, up to Yubel, and then back to her. He nodded. "Make sure he stays still," he instructed.
He got up and walked away with Yubel. Mana gazed wonderingly at the back of them. Her senses caught the love emanating between the two of them. She felt the bond that they shared and the potential evolution it was clearly going to have. She moved her eyes away back to Syrus. Gain her mind fell back on the possibilities of a relationship with him. Here in the Dimensional Void and on any of the duelling dimensions, there was really no barrier, but on Earth, she could only exist on her own for a certain period of time before she would eventually fade back to the world that it was deigned she belonged in.
How could we-
"Mana, everything okay?"
She looked back at Syrus again. His head was slightly turned in her direction. A look of concern was on his face. She smiled and knelt down on her knees.
"I should be asking you that, Syrus. Ever since you woke up, you've been feeling nothing but guilt and sadness."
"Can you blame me? Viper's got the Project information now. He can use it anyway he wants. And it's my fault."
"No it's not."
"It is. I should have resisted harder. Maybe then it wouldn't have happened. Maybe all the people who've been killed would still be here. Chumley would- Chumley would-
She took his hand, ignoring the tears coming out from her eyes. "Listen to me. It is not your fault. You tried your best. We all did. But the only person at fault is Viper. He's the one doing all of this. Hurting you. Hurting everyone."
"But-
She put a finger of her other hand to his lips. "Shh. That's enough. You need your rest. Go back to sleep."
His eyes pleaded with hers. "Can you stay with me?"
She smiled again, withdrawing her finger. She gently laid herself on her side to the ground and snuggled close to him.
"Always," she said, pressing a loving kiss to his cheek.
He relaxed with her by his side and fell back to sleep. She gazed at him, her heart throbbing with adoration as she watched him slumber. Her mind however wandered back to what she was thinking on.
The complications of trying to stay with him.
She closed her eyes and meditated.
"Mana?"
She awoke, finding herself in a very different place. Familiarity reminded her that it was her castle home, but unease and a sense of foreboding had her wonder why she was there.
"Don't worry. You're not actually here, you're still on Regula Station."
"Dark Magician?"
She turned to the voice. There was noone there.
"I'm not really here either. This is your home, not mine."
"Is something wrong?"
"Aside from your troubles with Viper, no, not really. I just brought us to here to tell you something. A life with your Syrus is not as impossible as you think."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there's a way. But it requires commitment from you."
"Commitment? What commitment is there that I haven't already shown him?"
"Listen. Pledge your life to him, and you can live permanently on Earth. Revoke that pledge and that will stop. Reaffirm the pledge before others and you can stay with him forever."
"Wait, you mean, get engaged and marry him?"
"If you want to put it in such basic terms, then yes."
"But," she faltered as a horrible thought crossed her mind. "But one day he'll die and I'll continue to live on without him. I don't think I can do that."
"You misinterpreted what I said. You shall be allowed to permanently stay and be with him on Earth as you do these things, but there is a price to pay. Duel Spirits cannot solely exist on Earth."
His emphasis on the words Duel Spirits brought Mana to realise the truth behind what he was saying.
"I'll…become…human?"
"Yes. But you will still have your powers after you first make the pledge. Only when you reaffirm it, will the transformation be complete. Be warned though, once you do reaffirm the pledge, there is no going back. The transformation will last forever."
"I- I understand."
"I hope you make the right choice, little sister."
She smiled. "Will you ever stop that?" She pictured the shrug he would always make whenever she replied to one of his comments with that line.
"As I have seen through millennia, it is what big brothers do," he retorted.
"Yeah, I know. Joey and Serenity really rubbed off on us, didn't they?"
"Yes they have. Good luck, sister."
"Thanks, but I don't think I need it."
She sensed him smile. "I know."
She felt his presence leave her. Then she felt her own shifting back to her corporeal form. She opened her eyes, finding herself at Syrus' side again. She remembered the conversation she and Dark Magician had just had.
There's a way we can be together now, she thought happily.
All there was to be done was for them to get engaged and marry sometime later. She pictured it in her head. An engagement ring being slipped onto her finger. The leadup to the wedding; Alexis, Blair, Mindy, Jasmine and even Yubel helping her choose a dress and all the other preparations. She wondered suddenly which one of them she would ask to be her maid, or matron, of honour.
Then there was the wedding itself. Her imagination drew the scenario of her walking up the aisle to Syrus. He was there, waiting for her to come to him, with his best man near his side. She ignored the fact that it was Jaden as her eyes stayed with Syrus' as she took her final steps up to the altar and positioned herself across from him. They would struggle and stutter as they would emotionally deliver their vows to one another. And the priest would pronounce them as husband and wife.
And she and Syrus could finally stay together.
She came out of her daydream happy, but then she remembered everything that was going wrong right then, especially with what had happened with Syrus. She faced him again. It wasn't the time to act on her feelings and ask him. He need to recuperate, and they all needed to get out of the Station before Viper could strike. It was better to ask later. Right now though, the vision was enough.
:*:
"Zane, what are you thinking about?"
After walking away from Syrus and Mana, Zane had gone right the Rec Room door and sat down on the ground in front of it. All through that time, Yubel kept a silent vigil. He looked up at her.
"I'm not being really good at my job lately, am I?"
"Don't say that. You're a good doctor. You did your best."
"I wasn't talking about being a doctor. I know I can't save everyone. I meant at being a brother. I really believed Syrus betrayed us, but when we knew it was just mind control and he was trapped in that duel with the possibility of him getting killed if he lost, I felt so powerless. And when the time came to help him, I didn't do a thing. I just stood there. And Jaden saved him. Again."
"Um, Jaden wouldn't have if it wasn't for me."
"Huh?" he looked at her curiously.
"He was so out of it after being knocked out, I had to take over his body to get him up on his feet. He only really came to when-
"When Chumley was shot," he answered for her. He nodded. "I think we all did."
He stared back down to his knees, replaying the memory of Chumley's death in his mind. "He helped save all of us in the end."
"Yeah," Yubel agreed.
He turned to her again. "But, thanks for what you did. Helping Jaden save Syrus."
"Isn't that something I should always do for my prospective brother-in-law?"
"I would've used a different word than prospective," Zane chuckled.
"You're right. Future sounds more adequate."
"Ha," Zane said, shaking his head. "If you were solid right now, I'd kiss you."
"You can try if you like."
She leaned down, putting her ghostlike lips to a position that would look to others as though she was actually kissing him. For a brief flicker, their emotions crossed the barrier between them. Zane felt her go solid for just that moment. She too recognised the change in her body. But then, in the next moment, it was gone. She returned to being transparent.
The two parted, staring wistfully at each other as she stood up straight.
"That was-
"Yeah."
"I'm looking forward to more of that."
"Me too."
They smiled again. Yubel's widened suddenly into a strange grin. He gave her another curious look.
"What is it?"
"Three. Two. One."
He blushed when he felt what she could sense. His stomach growled.
"That wasn't funny," he gritted his teeth.
"Oh, I think someone's hungry," she teased playfully.
"What do you expect? None of us have had anything to eat since we left Industrial Illusions."
She shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me. Jaden's never hungry unless someone shouts 'meal time' and when he is, he eats so much that he would stagger Exodia with his appetite."
"Tell me about it, but eating for yourself is something you're going to have to get used to soon."
She realised what he meant by that. When she would turn solid for good again and split away from Jaden, she would have to readapt to a singular body's needs.
"Good point," she admitted. Then she thought of something else. "Hold on. Didn't Alexis say there was plenty of food at the kiosk."
Zane nodded. "Yes she did." He got up on his feet. "Come on, let's set out some food for everyone."
"Just as long as you remember, you're doing it all for yourself," she teasingly joked.
He turned back to her, his own smart grin on his face. "I'm going to remember this and put you through your own version of it one day."
She smirked. "I dare you to try."
:*:
Jesse and Blair sat across from each other at a bench in the alcove they had gone into. He knew she was angry with him for what he had said to Jaden just now, but it was what he felt.
This all wouldn't have happened if he hadn't sent Yubel off to space when he was a kid, he thought. A lot of things wouldn't have happened, he added.
"Jess?"
He looked at Blair again, meeting the silent fury in her eyes. He wanted to gulp as he remembered every other time she had been angry with him for some reason, but this time he kept his Adam's apple steady.
"What do you want me to say, Blair?" he asked.
"Hmm. How about why you went off your head at Jaden like that? No, change that, why you went off your head period?"
"Well-
"We're going to be stuck here for at least two days if Viper doesn't destroy the Enterprise first. And if he does, we're stuck here for good. Blaming someone among the few people trapped here with you isn't the best way to start that!"
"Blair, honey, I get that, okay?" he interrupted. "I guess I- I guess I'm still actually blaming him for not saying goodbye?"
"Well, you need to either get over that or talk to him about it."
He nodded. "I'll talk to him about it, but not now. I know I've hurt him."
"Yes you have."
The look on his face changed to concern as he stared at her again. "Blair…why did you come here? On the mission?"
"Because I was worried about you, you idiot," she said affectionately. "And I was right to."
"How do you think I felt when Viper jammed the communications? I honestly thought something bad happened to you."
"The same with me about you. Don't you get it, Jess?"
She got up from her side of the bench and started to slowly come around to his. "I love you. And if I ever think you're in danger, I am going to come and find you, no matter the risk."
His eyes followed her until she arrived beside him and he had them look into hers. Inside he could see that she meant every word and there was nothing he could say or do to changer her line of thought. His lips formed a wry smile. He slipped his hand into and held hers.
"I know you will, and I'd do the same thing if it was you in danger, Blair. You think I don't love you?"
She smiled mischievously, sitting down across his lap and putting her arms around his neck. "Never even entered my mind."
They both smiled and then kissed. She held onto him more tightly, leaning in closer to his body. He welcomed the change in temperature and brought his arms up, his right encircling around her waist and his left hand caressing her hair at the back of her head.
She applied more strength, forcing him to lay back on top of the bench seat. Her hands went from his neck to gripping him around the shoulders.
His left hand let go of her hair and went down to hold his right in place at her back. He tried to counter her new push in strength, attempting to get up. She held him off, turning his movements into a side-to-side wrestle.
Which sent them both tumbling down off the seat.
Blair ended up being the one to land first. Her back met the ground, stopping her from fighting. Jesse sensed his chance to escape and rolled off of her.
She eyed at him, catching her breath. He did the same. She held out her hand for him. He took it in his. Again they felt the resurgence of the passion and closeness they had just experienced, but this time they ignored it. Instead they listened to the beating of their combined pulses and milked in the glowing love in the other's eyes.
Then Blair moved her left hand and turned on her side. He mimicked her, using his right. They edged closer together, meeting in a gentle kiss.
"You want me to apologise to Jaden now?" he asked her when their lips parted.
"Not right now," she whispered. "Let's just stay here for a while."
"Hmm. I can wait."
She giggled. "How do you do that?"
"I think you know the answer to that."
"I do," she nodded. "I love you. And I really want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Jesse felt tempted to say they should hope it was a long one rather than the short painful one they had been threatened to expect, but he put that away.
"Same her, darlin'. Same here."
Blair smiled. "Great. So let's make sure the both of us get out of here in one piece."
"Okay," he said, smiling as well. "And no self-sacrifices to make sure only one of us does."
She nodded. "No self-sacrifices. Besides, I'd be a horrible person for forcing you to live without me."
"Exactly," he answered her. But his eyes told her a different story, letting her know he would feel the same way if he did that to her.
:*:
Alexis followed Jaden silently into the Rec Room's small forest. Watched as he traversed over every root without even looking. She never liked it when he acted like this. It just never seemed like the Jaden she had spent the first two years of their time at Duel Academy knowing. A Jaden she had to help bring back after their first adventures in Dark World. She had succeeded in that, but she knew that the side of him that had developed at that time was still hidden inside.. And now it was back.
Jaden stopped at one of the tree roots and sat down on it, looking only at the shadowed ground at his feet. He knotted his fingers together as he continued to stare. Jesse's words reverberated through his head.
"It's all his fault!"
And it was, he thought to himself. All his had started when he was little, when he began to be so afraid of Yubel when she lashed out whenever someone got too near him. He put her on a rocket that took her out into space where she was attacked and nearly destroyed by the Light. Years of being affected by that and his abandonment of her caused her to go insane and initiate a conquest of vengeance that resulted in so many terrible things.
His recklessness in trying to find Jesse across the duelling dimensions, leading to Alexis and the others being sacrificed by Brron to achieve the creation of a Super Polymerisation card. Him discovering his alternate persona of the Supreme King. All the horrible things he had done in that form, hurting more of his friends and killing duel spirits in pursuit of his own revenge.
But when he and Yubel made amends, and it turned out every single one of his friends was alive, he thought it had ended there. But it hadn't. The decision he had made years ago had resulted also in this, in what was going on right now.
Viper was an ally of Yubel's at that time, but when he outlived his usefulness, she abandoned him in the barren wastes of Dark World, where he lived in exile for five years. Lived with nothing but hate for him and Yubel. And that had led to this, a far more devastating adventure than the one on Dark World. There was villain he had to oppose that was very much in control of his own actions and that could not be reasoned with. There was less room for his mistakes and recklessness. Lives were actually being lost this time.
People were dying, he amended to himself.
He remembered all the casualties in the medical bay. He remembered Marcel. He remembered Chumley.
They were all gone because of him.
"Jaden?"
Roused from reminiscing all that happened, he looked up at Alexis standing near him. She had concern for him in her eyes. The memory of how those eyes had looked at him when Brron sacrificed her tried to cross back into his conscious thinking, but he held it back.
"I know what you're thinking, Jaden. We've been here before, remember?"
He nodded. "Yeah, but this time it's different."
"How?"
"I was able to take everything back then. I can't this time. On the Enterprise, I've either got people dead or in pain from being injured. And here, I've gotten Chumley killed."
She shook her head. "It's not your fault, Jaden. You can't keep blaming yourself because of one mistake you made when you were a kid."
"If I hadn't-
"If you hadn't, something just as bad would have happened. Yubel probably would have attacked someone in a way she couldn't be forgiven for."
"I just-
He trailed off back into silence. Alexis sensed the withdrawal occurring as he stopped talking. She ignored the tears emerging in her eyes as she tried again.
"Jaden, please tell me what you're feeling."
He glanced at her once, holding her tearful face in his gaze. He sighed, thinking on his words.
"There's- out there, there's a man none of us have seen in five years 'til now. He's trying to kill me and Yubel. In whatever way satisfies him. Here in this place, I've got a friend who'll probably like to help him. Who happens to be the only one of you guys laying blame on me."
"And me. Where to start? All these adventures. The Sacred Beast cards. Society of Light. Dark World. Nightshroud's return. Five years of helping all the duellists I've helped find their Spirits and somewhere along the way lost the connection to mine. I've done all those things but have never gotten anywhere in life."
"How do I feel, Lex? Tired…exhausted. Worn out."
He sighed, letting the depressive thoughts overcome him, and closed his eyes.
Which was why he didn't see her rush at him.
Her frustrated grunt alerted his ears of her reaction, which was followed by her feet rapping against the ground as she went at him. He felt the echoes in the ground tremor through him. The tremors stopped when she grasped him by the collar and pulled him up.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed.
He reopened his eyes and met her furious and determined glare.
"Lex-
"You listen to me, Jaden. First off, Viper's trying to kill us all and would still be even if he didn't have a grudge against you and Yubel. Next, Jesse's only angry with you for how you left five years ago."
Her expression softened a bit when she remembered how she had felt that night as well. But she went on.
"And…don't forget it wasn't only you who had to endure those adventures we had. We all did. And as for those past five years, you aren't the only one who's done a lot of things but never got anywhere in life."
"What do you mean? Jesse and Blair are engaged. Chazz and Jasmine are married and expecting kids. Syrus and Mana are closer than ever-
"Bastion doesn't have anyone, last I checked. Neither has Hassleberry, Mindy, Axel or Jim. And neither do I."
Jaden felt the guilt of being ignorant come in. "I didn't think about that," he admitted. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I guess that's what happens when you lose contact for five years."
"Yeah."
She slowly let him go and stood back a little. "Just stop feeling sorry for yourself, okay? It hurts me when you feel bad."
Their eyes locked onto each other, chocolate to acorn brown. Between themselves they shared memories and feelings. The times they supported each other through their fight against the Shadow Riders. His campaign to rescue her from the Society of Light. Hers to bring him back to his normal self after the events in Dark World.
Their friendship. Understanding. Sympathy. Encouragement. The times when one of them was just there for the other. The fun that they had.
The love they had unknowingly shared, until she came to realising it in the closing months of their final year at Duel Academy. And, for him, only in recent months.
The years of both of them being apart hurting them.
Come on Jaden, he said to himself, get a grip. You've only got to tell her you love her. Three or four words. He groaned inwardly. Then why is it so difficult to say them?
Alexis, he's right in front of you. Tell him how you feel. Say the words. Say them now.
Say it, Jaden. Say it now.
"Alexis-
"Jaden, I-
They paused, realising they had spoken at the same time. Jaden looked confused. Alexis looked apologetic.
"Sorry, you go first," she offered.
He gulped and let out a breath. "Okay," he whispered softly to himself. He raised his head, re-establishing the eye contact. Again he felt their connection, which drove him further to speak.
"Alexis, there's-," he paused again, making sure he had his words right. He hadn't. So he changed direction.
In the five years since I left Duel Academy, I missed you all. You, Syrus, Chumley, Hassleberry, Chazz, Bastion and the others. But I was having fun, at first anyway. When that stopped, I missed you guys more and thought of you and the times we had together. But as time went, I found I was missing you and thinking of you more than the others. At first, I didn't know why, but there was this feeling I had that wanted to be known. I didn't know what it was until Yubel told me."
"That feeling, Lex, it's always been there. Since our first duel at Obelisk Lake. And it's been growing stronger since then. I- I love you, Alexis."
Her heart stopped at that moment, unsure of what speed it should be running at. But her ears heard it. Loud and clear.
He loves me, the thought hit home. Jaden loves me.
The message went through her ears to her mind, which transferred it to the heart with an additional notice to start beating at an incredibly fast pace.
Her heart accepted both, running at a thundering storm.
Other messages ran throughout her body. Her eyes were told to water. Her lungs were ordered to keep her breathing. Her skin warmed with joy as the heating blood pulsed inside.
Then one last one directly to her.
Tell him, Alexis. Tell him now.
She closed the space between her and Jaden with a single step. She slipped her hand into his, which instinctively held them.
"Jaden," she said. "I should've said this a very long time ago. Back when I watched you duel Crowler the first time, you captured my interest. At our duel on Obelisk Lake, I saw you as something I never knew before. I didn't know what it was then either. But you became my friend. On all those adventures, there were times when I thought I would lose you one way or another, Dark World being the worst of them."
Jaden's eyes tightened again, remembering the words she had said back then when Brron was sacrificing her.
"But you always pulled through, with or without help. When we came back, I realised something that I kept hiding from before. Something which grew, something I held back from you because I believed you weren't ready to understand. Something that has never changed in all these years."
"Jaden…I love you too."
She leaned forward, gently applying her lips to his. Their heartbeats quickened as energy and passion coursed through them. Their handholding broke. Jaden's arms enveloped around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
The kiss deepened. Alexis pushed forward. Jaden ignored the pain of his back being slammed up against the tree, instead welcoming each renewed kiss that they shared.
Pools of sweat formed all over their skin as the heat between them rose. Jaden's left hand went up to hold her at the back of her chest. Her arms moved from his shoulders to the sides of his neck. The sweat began to drench their clothes. They were both beginning to run out of air.
They separated. Alexis almost fell backwards. Jaden nearly lost his footing. But their grip on each other kept them upright. They recovered, catching their breath.
Jaden exhaled. "Whoa!"
"Yeah," Alexis reacted similarly, brushing back a lock of her hair. "I guess that's what happens when you spend a number of years waiting."
Jaden nodded. "I…I really liked that."
"Me too."
They looked at each other again. They smiled.
"So?" Jaden asked. "Where do we go from here?"
Alexis laughed. "As far we can take it, one step at a time."
"I'm okay with that. This is a first for me."
She raised her eyebrows mischievously. "Really? Me too."
Jaden chuckled. She laughed with him. But it quickly settled as his face turned serious.
"I really do love you, Lex."
"I know," she answered.
"I mean it. I just want you to know wherever we take it, I'm in it for the long run."
She smiled. "One step at a time, Jaden. One step at a time."
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The next chapter will come soon.