Hello my Mortem Venators! Welcome to Day Three of Updating Week! This is the third and final part of Risen From Death and Dark, so I hope you enjoy! R&R!

Asystole of a Courageous Heart

Mitch collapsed on his rooftop in relief. He was about to head down to check on Kyle when two loud and pained howls sounded from his left. It was from Tooth and Claw. Didn't they take Adam?

Kyle was probably much safer than Adam, Kyle had said so. Therefore, Mitch didn't waste anytime in sprinting towards Adam. What had brought down their leader? Adam wasn't easily defeated. So what had…?

Oh...that…

Adam had ten holes in the top part of his chest, five on each side. His chest was lifted up slightly. The sight made Mitch want to throw up. Adam wasn't losing blood anymore, which would normally be a good thing, except that it wasn't. The only reason Adam's blood still wasn't pouring out was because he had none left to lose.

Mitch dropped from the rooftop and onto the lower half of Adam's chest where Tooth and Claw were laying down in sadness, face hidden in their paws. There was nothing Mitch could do. He couldn't force Adam out of his demon bird form, and Mitch had no idea if he could even fix Adam's chest. The torso was half up, barely connected by strands of flesh and feathers. Those feathers were black anymore. They were stained red.

Mitch fell to his knees next to Tooth and Claw. He rested one hand on both of their heads. They had done great work tonight. It was Mitch who had failed. If he hadn't hesitated, he would've gotten through the portal before it was destroyed. Adam would still be alive.

But would he really?

Adam would still be alive, but Krokoro had wounded him a long time ago. Mitch had never performed surgery on a demon of Adam's size. Mitch didn't think he would be able to save Adam either way.

Finally, it all came rushing to Mitch. Adam was dead. No longer would the team ride his back between missions, hear the wind separate under the force of Adam's heavy wings. Never will they hear their leader tell them everything was okay, that they wouldn't die while he was around, that he would give his life up for them. Never will Adam come home tired but still give them company, still joke around, still laugh. Never will Mitch wake up and hear Adam cooking breakfast downstairs or hear Adam's voice telling him gently that they had to go save more lives. Never will the team ever have that again because Adam was gone.

Mitch once remembered a particular mission where he had been injured with a stab wound. Mitch could have died if Adam wasn't fast enough. As soon as the knife entered Mitch's abdomen, the man he had been facing was dead with a swift snap of the neck. Adam has caught Mitch just before the hunter fell and ordered for Ty to "get his ass over here." Before Mitch knew it, he was on Adam's feathery back with the rest of the team around him. Ashley and Jason couldn't do anything. They had nothing to work with. Sometimes, it was better to leave the knife in than to take it out.

But through all that, through all the pain and yelling, Mitch focused on one thing to keep himself calm: Adam's heartbeat. Adam's heart had always grown to fit his demon form every time he transformed. The deep bum-bum of Adam's steady heart kept Mitch anchored. For some reason, Mitch found it so comforting as he laid there in pain. He was the only one besides Jerome and Ty who could hear it since he was laying down, but he doubted the other two even bothered to listen.

Mitch laid down on Adam's chest and listened. The night was quiet, very quiet, so it shouldn't have been even remotely hard to hear Adam's thumping heart.

But he didn't.

Adam's heart was completely silent, no longer pumping blood because there was no more blood left in him to pump. The one true sign of life left in Adam was gone. Therefore, so was Adam.

Mitch sat up just in time for the team to arrive. Mitch didn't know what took them so long. They must've been in way too much shock. Mitch didn't blame them. It wasn't hard to see that Adam was dead. His body was already cooling.

"Mitch…?" Jerome didn't even bother to sound angry or ask how he even got there. "Is he…?"

Mitch swallowed thickly. He felt his eyes begin to water. "Yeah," he croaked out. "Adam's dead."

Mitch heard the shuddering gasps from Tiff and Ashley, heard the small denials from the men. He didn't need super hearing to hear their hearts shatter like his own. Tooth and Claw were whimpering next to him, weeping for their master, saddened by the life they were unable to save despite their amazing performance tonight.

"If there was anything I could have done,' Mitch started, his voice shaking. "I would have done it."

"Master Demonii knew he would die, Master Hertz. The blame falls not on any of you but Krokoro."

Never had Mitch been so glad to hear that voice. The voice of a father to them all, their mentor when Adam couldn't be, their voice of wisdom and reason when Adam wasn't around. Even when Adam was there, that voice would soothe their leader from his stress and frustration.

The Count was here.

"There was no saving Master Demonii. As sad as the truth is, we were all helpless. The only demon that could have saved him…" The Count trailed off.

"Who?" Ty asked, his voice low. "Who could have saved him, and why didn't they?"

"The demon, no, that is not the correct term...The angel, Alakiro, a Valkyrie, did not wish to come."

"That son of a bitch isn't an angel," Mitch growled. "You were right the first time. He's a demon. He doesn't deserve to be called an angel. Especially after blatantly ignoring his job, Alakiro deserves to rot in Hell."

"Master Hertz," The Count reprimanded. "You know not to speak of him like that."

"If Alakiro has a problem with it, he can come talk to me, but for now, that asshole ignored his job and cost Adam his life. He's no angel, he's a murderer." Mitch paused. "There's gotta be another way…He can't just be dead!"

Tooth nudged her nose into the palm of Mitch's hand, but he didn't think much of it until she started to become rougher. She took her paw and tapped his shoulder twice, and when he still didn't listen, she tossed her head hard into Mitch's side.

Mitch nearly toppled over. "What the hell?" Turning to look at Tooth, he looked ready to scold her, but one look at her scared yet determined face told him everything. "No," he said firmly. "No."

Tooth barked her deep disapproval and stamped her front paws angrily before barking again.

"No, Tooth. It's not happening. And besides, it wouldn't work," Mitch replied sternly.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Miss Tooth is willing to attempt a demon life exchange," The Count answered. "It is exactly how it sounds. However, even if Master Hertz did agree to perform it, he is correct. It would not work. Miss Tooth has not yet learned how to speak human languages. If her soul was transferred into the body of Master Demonii, he would not be able to speak and would develop the characteristics of Miss Tooth. Therefore, he would not be the leader you know. Rather, he would be a demon bird version of Miss Tooth."

The team went silent.

"Is there really nothing else you can think of?" Tyler asked, his voice quiet.

"Actually," Mitch started. "I can think of a thousand different things, starting with revival stones then with demonic rituals to just plain witchcraft and dark magic, but there are so many things that could go wrong. I could destroy Adam's body completely, utterly disintegrate it, blow us all up, kill myself, destroy this city...I don't have the materials, and most of these things have to be done within the hour he was killed. We don't have time for any of it. We don't have even remotely enough time."

"Mitch, is something wrong with your hellhound?" Tiff questioned, gesturing to Claw.

Throughout Mitch's tirade, Claw had settled into what seemed like an uncomfortable position. He had been coughing, choking even, and seemed ready to throw up. However, Tooth hadn't been freaking out about it, so Mitch had hardly paid attention, but now he was starting to get a little concerned.

"Claw? What's wrong?" Mitch rested a hand on Claw's back, but the hellhound continued to gag. His right paw had lifted up for emphasis, and his tail was thumping hard against Adam's corpse. Mitch shivered.

'Corpse.'

"Master Hertz…" The Count began, hopping down from his rooftop to Adam's body. He walked next to Claw, looking over the hellhound.

Everyone watched in helplessness and with bated breath until Claw finally coughed up what he had been choking on. A purple gem fell out of Claw's mouth and onto Adam.

The purple gem had black electricity bolts swarming it, and it was a miracle Claw had been alive with it inside of him. But Mitch and The Count knew it would never kill anyone.

It was made for the exact opposite reason.

"Claw…" Mitch whispered, shock settling in.

"I have searched for this relic for ages," The Count breathed, awestricken. "It resided in the stomach of Mister Claw this entire time?"

"What?" Ashley urged. "What is it?"

Mitch picked up the purple gem. "It's a Revival Gem. The only one of its kind, and it never expires. It can revive anyone within twenty-four hours of death," he explained breathlessly. Mitch turned to the sitting hellhound. "Claw, when did you get this? And how?"

Claw, who looked so proud of himself, barked twice.

Whatever Claw said made Mitch's and The Count's expressions drop.

"It was that easy?" Mitch muttered.

"How could I be such a fool?" The Count questioned rhetorically in a quiet voice.

"A snack...in the forest...He found it as a snack in the forest...and he didn't know what it was until it burned his stomach?"

"It must have sensed the corpse of Master Demonii. What a lucky hellhound Mister Claw is…"

"So you can revive Adam?" Jerome asked, becoming a bit impatient like the rest of the team.

"Yeah," Mitch replied, walking to the top of Adam's ripped open torso. "I can."

Mitch knelt by the opening of Adam's chest wound. He seriously wondered if the Revival Stone could handle such a death. No more blood resided in Adam, and his torso was barely hanging on. Krokoro really did a number on their leader.

With a deep breath and a quick prayer to whatever god was out there, Mitch dropped the Revival Stone into Adam's chest cavity. The Count, Mitch, and the hellhounds jumped off of Adam's body, not wishing to be crushed should Adam actually wake up.

If Adam could breathe again...If his heart could beat once more…

Bum-bum. Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

The deep thumping of a courageous demon bird heart sounded once more, and the team had never heard such a beautiful sound. Even the sound of flesh and bone connecting once more rang nice in their ears, despite the disgusting idea of it. Soon, rumbling was heard, dust kicking up as the once chilled corpse began to move. The large form of a demon bird stood once the dust died down, those glowing orange eyes looking warmly down on them. The bird began to shrink down, and, in a flash of black light, their leader stood, tall and, most importantly, alive. That smile had never soothed their souls more than it did now.

Adam didn't even bother to berate Mitch on disrespecting orders, that could be for later. As Kyle stumbled tiredly and bleary-eyed next to The Count, all Adam could do was just take Mitch into a hug, silently thanking him for bringing him back to life again. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that death had affected Adam mentally, after all, he had died and couldn't save his team, left them alone, his biggest fear. But they would be there for him. They were a team.

::::TWO MONTHS LATER::::

Adam clutched his chest tightly as he transformed back, stumbling and gripping a nearby boulder for support.

"Master Demonii, perhaps we should rest for a short while. This is too much exertion for you to handle so soon."

"No…" Adam grunted out. "It's been two months, Count. I should be ready by now."

"Might I remind you," The Count started. "Your chest was half-ripped out of your body. You lost every drop of blood you once held. No one should be ready within two months, not even I. These phantom pains are not uncommon."

"But the Revival Stone-"

"-revived you," The Count finished. "It did not heal every ailment you have." The Count sat back on his haunches and straightened his spine. "Tell me, Master Demonii, how have you managed to hide this pain from your highly trained team members, especially Masters Axhel and Crock?"

"I try not to move too much around them. I also pull back a bit from hugs."

"You avoid chest contact?"

"Not completely but enough."

The Count shook his head. "Master Demonii…You are sincerely hopeless."

"Well, that's just rude." Adam took a deep breath. "Count, again."

The Count sighed. "If you wish."

::::THREE DAYS LATER::::

"What do you mean you're training with Grey?"

Ashley's outraged question rang through the base, ensuring everyone inside heard it.

Adam winced. "Ash, it's four in the morning. Everyone is sleeping, and you just woke them up."

"Good! Maybe they'll agree with me when I say you're an idiot, Adam!" Ashley shook her head. "It's been two months, two hard months, to say the least, and you're already back to the training that has you exhausted even when you hadn't died?"

Adam flinched. "Could we not bring up my death experience? Thanks."

"Adam," Ashley growled. "You're not going anywhere. Go back to bed."

"Ash-"

"Now."

"Last time I checked, I gave the orders around here."

"Last I checked, I could still call The Count on your ass."

"He wouldn't care. I've been training with him myself."

"YOU'VE BEEN WHAT?!"

"Ash, it's not like that!"

A scream of pain.

"Oh my God, Jason!"

"Ash! What's going on?!"

"Get down here now! Help me get Adam to med bay!"

::::FOUR HOURS LATER::::

"What happened here?" The Count demanded, stepping into the base's Lounge.

"Ash and Adam got into an argument a few hours ago about him going for training with General Grey," Ty answered. "We don't know what caused it, but Ash said when Adam got louder, he gripped his chest and screamed. We all heard it."

"Where are Masters Crock and Hertz?"

"Med bay. They said Adam should be waking up soon. They're just keeping an eye on him. You can go on up though."

The Count nodded at the offer then nodded to the team in a greeting that he hadn't immediately given. He trotted up the flights of stairs to the med bay on the third floor. He thumped his tail on the door of the med bay as a knock and impatiently waited for the door to open. He was angry with Master Demonii.

'Honestly, what had he been thinking?'

The door opened, and Master Crock greeted him with a smile. Master Crock gestured him inside.

The Count padded in and could immediately see the pain etched on his face. No words were exchanged, none needed to be said. The Count would let Master Demonii explain rather than himself.

Adam groaned in pain. His chest was killing him. What did he do to himself? All he remembered was him raising his voice a little bit during a little spout with Ashley before pain then blacking out. Was it because he raised his voice?

Adam's eyes flickered open, and he winced at the bright light. It dimmed down to a dull glow almost immediately. There was a hand on his shoulder, ready to help him sit up. Placing a hand on his chest, Adam let Mitch help him sit up straight. Directly in front of him was The Count.

"Oh shit."

"Wise words, Master Demonii. You are fortunate I learned to control my patience centuries ago." The Count clearly wasn't pleased.

"It's not like that."

"If training with myself was difficult, why would you believe it smart to continue extra training with General Grey?"

"It wasn't going to be physical work, more mental than anything. Even Grey wanted me to take it easy, but I still have a job to do. He offered just mental work until I recovered."

"Mental training, Master Demonii?" The Count sounded concerned. "You informed me that you were 'fine," and I did not believe you, but I cannot force you to do something you do not wish to do. Tell me, why did you feel the need to lie?"

Mitch and Jason had left the room. For that, Adam was grateful.

Adam rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't really."

"You refused mental training with me, but you took General Grey's offer. You told me you were fine, but you told General Grey you were not. Is that not a lie?"

"No...No, it is…" Adam sighed. "I just didn't want to put that on you, too. You were dealing with me trying to fight. You didn't need to deal with my emotional problems as well."

"Master Demonii." The Count's voice was soft. "I would not have offered if I did not wish to help you. Make no mistake, you are not a burden. You have gone through a great deal of pain and trauma. Do not think for a moment you are alone in this. We are here for you. Now, let us see your team. They are very worried about you."

And that was final. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Yet Adam was okay with that. He would listen to The Count. The Count would never lie to him like that. He trusted the elder werewolf with all his heart.

"Okay," Adam agreed.

It was slow progress, but The Count was patient. He waited for Adam to stand and was beside the overwhelmed leader for support. Adam had a tight grip on his fur as they walked, but he was used to it. Each team member tended to do this during major injuries or pain.

Upon reaching the Lounge, the team's attention immediately broke off from small talk to Adam, who looked, for a split second, completely stressed out before looking calm and collected. The team waited for Adam to explain why he was gripping his chest and The Count's fur so tightly.

"Ever since Easter night," Adam started. "I have these chest pains from where Krokoro…" He cleared his throat. "Um, ripped my chest out." The team flinched out of remembrance of the broken flesh strands. "Grey and I agreed that I get psychological help if I wanted to get better. That's why I was going to Grey this morning."

"Adam, if you needed help, you could have just told us," Tiff sighed, shaking her head. "We can help you. It's what we're here for."

Adam looked down. "I know. Thank you."

Nightmares were going to come, and, right now, the team knew Adam wasn't okay, but he would be. They would get through it. They always did.

Hope you guys all enjoyed that chapter! If you did, please leave a review! It would be greatly, greatly appreciated! Until then, stay safe, take care, God bless, love you, and...DARKSOMEONE41 SIGNING OUT! SEE YA!