Chapter Nineteen

"Escalation of Force"

September 5th

Slowly, painfully, consciousness returned to Cody and with it came a feeling of emptiness. There had been times in the future where he awoke after being knocked out with no idea how it had happened. Unfortunately this was not one of those times. He had exacted his revenge upon Chiam with extreme brutality. Then, before his blind rage could ebb away he focused all of his anger upon Casius and attacked him with wild abandon. For that he was ashamed of himself…

Casius had only been trying to help; had only been trying to reign in the horrible monster that existed just underneath Cody's normal kind hearted personality.

Once again he'd lost control and given in to a side of himself that he preferred to pretend didn't exist. There had been a time when the young man would never have been capable of the doing the things he had done today. No, not just today… Ever since he had awakened the light inside of him, he had gone through similar experiences on many grim occasions.

Where had that Cody gone? When had he died?

He opened his eyes slowly, glad for the fact that he wasn't instantly blinded by bright lights and reached upward with his right hand to push down upon the throbbing pain in his temple. No doubt Taschen had healed the damage Casius had done to him, but it still hurt like hell where the Realm Lord's staff had nailed him in the head.

"Ugh…I hate myself," Cody sighed.

"But, I love you," said the last person he ever thought he'd hear again. Cody's hand fell to his side in surprise, his headache momentarily forgotten.

"Lily?"

The blond haired goddess appeared above him, her warm eyes and loving smile instantly melting his heart. Strands of her shoulder length hair hung down, tickling his cheeks and Cody inhaled a whiff of the fruity shampoo she had used on it. Jarran had told Cody that she was here in this timeline, but he hadn't believed it until now.

"Am I dreaming?" Lily reached over and pinched his arm, "Ow! Hey!"

"Nope, not dreaming," she answered, giggling softly before gently kissing him on the lips. Cody wrapped his arms around her back and deepened the kiss. She sure felt real.

"I thought I'd lost you…" Cody gasped when they finally broke apart. Indeed, the last time he had seen her was just before he entered the Tipton Hotel in the future to search for the time machine. When he came back outside to get her, she was gone and Pandora had claimed that Lily was dead. Later on he'd looked for her and called out her name to no avail. Then it was time to leave the future before Ashani overpowered his son who was buying Cody the time he needed to get away.

"You can't get rid of me that easy." Lily helped him sit up and he finally got to see her completely. The frightened girl he had rescued in the subway during the initial invasion in the future had changed over the years into a young woman who had a sort of rugged beauty about her. There was no one else he could ever love like her…

"How did you…?"

"Not important," Lily whispered, pressing a finger against his lips briefly before stroking his cheek, "The others are waiting for you."

"Others?"

"Your friends," Lily explained, "They're making final preparations for the defense of Earth and I think you need to be there."

"Sounds important," Cody teased her, his spirits greatly lifted by her presence. She slapped him playfully on the shoulder and then shoved him out of bed.

"Get going you!"

"Ok ok! I'm going, I'm going!" He exclaimed hurriedly as she mimed hitting him with a pillow. Just before he left the room however, she called out to him.

"Cody?"

"Yeah Lil?"

"Do you remember when we spent the night in front of the fire on Christmas?"

"Yeah," He replied, leaning against the door frame. As if he needed reminding of one of the happiest moment of their lives together, "I wouldn't say no to another night like that."

Lily smiled even as she blushed slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, then shut it as she tried to keep herself from laughing and made shooing motions instead. Cody raced back over to the bed, planted a kiss on her forehead and then retreated quickly out of the bedroom before she could swipe at him. She didn't follow, choosing instead to watch the spot where she had last seen him for a moment before flopping down on the sheets with a tired sigh.

Lily was right. Everyone he knew, and many others that he didn't, were gathered in the mansion's spacious study. Some of them were talking softly while the others sat quietly and listened. The main focus in the room was on Casius who was talking to a handful of men Cody had never seen before. They were all gathered around a table studying several maps and papers, talking somberly.

"Who are those guys?" Cody asked, gingerly rubbing the side of his head. Casius briefly caught his eye and gave him an apologetic shrug. Taschen detached himself from the planning and came over to welcome him back.

"You look like shit."

"I feel like it," Cody agreed, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand before continuing, "So who are all those guys?"

"Lord Altair, Commander of the Paladins." Taschen nodded his head at the most imposing looking man talking to Casius, "The others are the leaders and representatives of Earth's armies."

"They don't look like they're military…" Cody commented as he eyed the casual, albeit expensive looking, clothing they wore.

"Not national armies Cody, the Armies of Light. They were caught unprepared in your future, but this time they'll be ready. First and Second Army have begun building up their forces in every major city in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Third and Fourth Armies are securing the America's as we speak. They will handle the Demons if they should break through around the world while we deal with the Champions of Chaos."

"We have armies?"

"Yes, formed in secret and trained to kill any and all Demons. They are led into battle by the Paladins who answer only to us."

Cody nodded as if this were a normal thing to hear; too overwhelmed by the realization that Earth had a secret standing army in place that was specially trained to fight the lesser forces of any invading dark realms. He was grateful to have their help, but he just hoped that it wasn't all for nothing. They still had the threat of Ashani and his Champions hanging over their heads.

Across the room Code was sitting quietly on the couch, his accusing eyes seeming to burn holes in Cody's body, while Carey sat beside him with her arm around his shoulders. She appeared to be in shock. Cody hated seeing them like that.

Code should have been alive and full of energy, attacking the problem at hand with logic and coming up with an endless stream of ideas. Carey on the other hand should be fussing over her sons, trying to keep them out of trouble and from being a nuisance to the gathered leaders of Earth's defenders. Unfortunately, Zack's death had left a gaping hole in their lives and had shattered the normal cadence of their reality making them act and feel as they were now.

When Cody thought of his fallen brother now, he wondered why he still felt anger burning inside of him. Chiam was dead, so what was he angry at? Why did he have no more tears for his twin?

"Why'd you have to die Zack?" Cody complained under his breath, deciding to look around the rest of the study to focus his mind on something else.

Max was seated on Code's other side, holding his hand between hers in a comforting gesture. Her eyes occasionally darted to one side to stare off into the corner directly opposite Casius and his group before flicking back as if afraid to be caught staring. Despite the fact that the study was well lit, the spot that Max was looking at seemed to be cast in shadow. With a start Cody realized that Jarran was in the room with them as well, his eyes locked on Cody with the same intensity at Code's though he would occasionally shift his gaze over to Max making her look away.

What was going on there? Was there some sort of mistrust between them causing them to keep a close eye on the other? Before Cody could figure it out, Jarran stepped forward out of the unnatural shadows to talk to him.

"I want to help," the son of the Demon Lord said simply. Cody nodded, accepting Jarran's pledge. It was all happening just like before…

"What made you come around?"

"Things have been…" Jarran trailed off for a couple of seconds as he looked for the right word, "…off."

"What do you mean?"

"At the hotel, the twins recognized me by my name. Then I met Lily and she told me everything that happened in the future. She told me about you and I soon realized that we did indeed have an extra Champion of Earth running around. And lastly, when I saw the pendant around your neck…"

"The pendant, I didn't understand what you meant when you gave it to me," Cody admitted, touching it through his shirt to make sure it was still there.

"What did I say?"

"You told me to take it in case I ever lost all hope for the future." Jarran smiled knowingly as if he'd just heard a joke.

"What?"

"The other me, he must have known we'd meet each other again."

"I don't think that's what he meant," Cody said, frowning.

"If you'll allow me to demonstrate?" Jarran asked in a louder tone and Casius, who had been watching the exchange between the two young men, nodded his permission. A flicker of darkness rippled through Cody's consciousness as he felt Jarran draw upon a sliver of his power. He summoned his obsidian long sword and held it across his body so that Cody could easily see the flat of the blade. Previously hidden runes began to glow red, "Do you see it?"

At first the runes meant nothing to Cody, but then his vision blurred, refocused and he realized that the runes were letters. They spelled a word and he could read it as if it were written in plain English.

"Defiance?" Cody wondered.

"Defiance of thy father," Jarran mused as he put his left hand on the hilt along with his right and pulled the sword apart which left him wielding two short swords. Both of them had blazing runes on them, one spelled 'Defiance' while the other… "And 'Hope' for a better tomorrow."

"You can't seriously base your decision on that?" Cody asked, playing devil's advocate.

"I'm not, but somehow this just feels right." He dismissed his blades and powered down.

"So what's your plan?"

"I'm going to talk to my father one last time to see if I can change his mind." Jarran didn't sound totally convinced that he could do such a thing.

"Are you sure?"

"I have to try…"

"It's good to have you back," Cody said, clapping him on the shoulder, "You sure as hell gave Ashani a run for his money last time."

"What?" Jarran asked, confused by the slang.

"You almost beat him."

"Did I? Interesting… He has made it a point to pummel me every time he tests my strength," Jarran reflected, tapping his lips thoughtfully with an index finger.

"Maybe you saw it coming and made yourself stronger in those last two years?" Max interjected, not quite coming close enough to join them. She seemed a little edgy around the Child of Darkness all of a sudden.

"Perhaps," Jarran agreed, "Deimos and Pandora could have helped me a lot in two years time. But, make no mistake Cody," He paused meaningfully, "I am not THAT Jarran. My father can easily defeat me as I am now."

Cody nodded in understanding, but secretly he thought his rediscovered ally was underestimating himself. Jarran didn't seem to have anything more to say and so he slunk back into the shadows to resume watching them all. Max looked from him, to Cody and then back again before making up her mind to go and talk to the Demon Lord's son privately.

"Casius told us what you did," Code said in an even tone, "Thank you."

Startled, Cody looked down slightly to see his younger self standing before him. His brain came to a screeching halt as he attempted to switch gears from his productive discussion with Jarran to doing whatever he could to console Code.

"I'm so sorry…"

"No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. Zack chose to fight to protect you, himself, me and everyone around us. He wouldn't want us to be mad or feel sorry for ourselves…" Code paused and for a long moment he stared at the floor. Then he looked back up, the fire burning in his eyes once again.

"I want to fight to make sure Zack won't have died in vain."

Zack juked left then right in the blink of an eye avoiding Kasen's blade. Elissa then interposed herself between them, caught Kasen's weapon between her shield and sword and trapped him momentarily. They exchanged wicked smiles before Kasen twisted his body and delivered a powerful scissor kick that knocked her down and freed up his sword arm. Zack was there to meet him.

"Too slow Zack," Kasen panted as they engaged in a fierce bout of swordplay, "You should have hit my flank when Elissa gave you the opportunity!"

"I didn't know she was going to do that!" Zack defended himself, pulling back to parry a few of his mentor's attacks trying to make him overreach and lose his balance. Kasen was too experienced to fall for that however and used the opportunity to fire a lance of white light into Zack's chest. A split second before it impacted the energy clashed with a thin film of golden light and was deflected away.

"He's not in synch with me Kasen," Elissa said as she returned to Zack's side, no worse for wear. The older White Knight sighed and lowered his blade.

"You're hopeless Zachary…"

"Hey I'm trying!"

"If you can't link with your fighting partner, you're as liable to hit them as you are your enemy in close quarters and you definitely won't overcome a more powerful opponent."

"You don't know that," Zack shot back, angry at his failure to synch with Elissa. Kasen's expression turned ugly. Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Kasen don't!" Elissa cautioned as his power rose higher.

"He needs to be taught a lesson."

"Bring it," Zack taunted, thoroughly annoyed.

Kasen brought it alright. Seconds later he was relentlessly attacking Elissa who fended him off with ease. Zack tried to counter-attack his mentor, but was either met with a hailstorm of retaliatory attacks or was simply too slow to hit Kasen. Then the older White Knight was on him, raining blow after blow down upon Fortitude, showering Zack with sparks as his blade vibrated wildly under each impact.

In a matter of seconds Zack was disarmed, but Elissa saved him by pushing back their opponent. She used her shield to great effect knocking Kasen backwards through the air, but he just kept on coming back to nip at her flanks and wear her down. Zack tried once again to help out and was brutally struck down with the flat of Kasen's blade. He gritted his teeth as pain radiated from a point just below his shoulder blades where the protective armor he wore failed to absorb the hit.

Elissa crashed down next to him as Kasen dropped low and swept her legs out from underneath her. The point of his sword shot out and held fast just above her neck, effectively defeating her. Then Kasen placed his foot on Zack's breastplate and shoved him flat against the ground.

"You're both dead," Kasen said calmly, then he glared at Zack, "Had this been a real fight, Cody would have died just like Ryen."

Minutes later after they had all cooled off, Zack found himself being examined by Elissa for any serious injuries. When she found none, she laid out flat on her back in the grass at the center of the training arena they had used today and stretched out. Kasen was standing off to the side, apparently lost in thought.

"So who's Ryen?"

"Kasen's twin brother," Elissa answered quietly.

"I remember you told me about him…"

"Yes, but what I didn't mention was that they were having a major disagreement just before we were attacked. They were both so annoyed with each other that even in the heat of battle, they refused to synch together and Ryen paid the price for their stubbornness with his life. Kasen's never forgiven himself for that."

"I hope that never happens to me and Cody…" Zack trailed off, watching the sky change from blue to gold as the sun began to set on Haven.

"That's exactly why Kasen tries so hard with you. He sees himself in you sometimes and he doesn't want you to experience the pain that he went through. Heck, he's even jealous of you."

"Jealous of me?" Zack wondered in astonishment.

"The White Knight and Truth Seeker have a very powerful relationship. One cannot bear living without the other."

"Then how does he keep going?"

"The Truth Seeker was reborn after Ryen died and we found him again after several years. Ever since then Kasen's been like a big brother to him, always watching out for the little guy and teaching him all about his powers."

Zack suddenly became aware of someone running towards them at a dead sprint and he and Elissa sat up to watch as a teenager around his own age skidded to a halt. The young man had a mop of dirty blond hair and wore golden clothing similar to what Elissa wore when she wasn't training with Zack.

"Speak of the devil. Zack, this is Niou the Truth Seeker," Elissa introduced him, then in a more authoritative tone asked, "Shouldn't you be attending to your studies young man?"

"Kasen, Elissa…The Realm of Time is attacking. Athena has already left, she sent me to get both of you," Niou said breathlessly.

"Time has such a bad sense of timing," Elissa joked as she got to her feet and joined Kasen, "We'd better get going partner."

"Zack, continue training. Casius will come get you when he's ready," Kasen instructed, "Niou."

"Yes?"

"Work on synching with Zachary while we're gone."

"No problem. Good luck out there!"

Then they were both gone in a flash of light and Zack was left alone with Niou who peered at him curiously.

"Sup?" Zack asked.

"Not much. You?"

"Getting my ass kicked by Kasen."

"Ah. I know the feeling."

A/N: Well here is Chapter 19 at last, one of my many problem children in the story, helped along by our very own WaldoJeffers who beta read it for me which resulted in the addition of over a thousand words expanding on most all of the scenes.

Cody awakens to find his true love by his side at last and the two share a playful reunion together which is cut short by the threat of the impending invasion. The planning is underway and it seems as though Jarran is finally on their side at last, though he still wishes to make one last attempt to stop his father without resulting to further violence. Meanwhile Zack is hard at work fighting against Kasen, though he is having trouble figuring out how to synch with his partner.

Will Haven's Truth Seeker be able to help Zack learn the important skill before he is needed on Earth? What will happen when Jarran confronts his father at last with the knowledge he has gained from Cody and Lily? Is the Earth truly ready for what it is about to endure? Stay tuned as we come to the final chapters!