Rae was able to get a few minutes of rest for Jaden. Nowhere near what he needed, but some is better than none. She was too tired to fight him again so she followed him as he went after Jesse.
A sigh left her lips as she watched Jaden rush up a ladder. She wasn't going to follow him this time, trusting he'll be okay. He always was; however, Rae's heart wasn't.
Watching Jaden jump from the ceiling and Indiana Jones his way across the room caused her heart to pound against her chest, breath catching. He is going to single handedly cause her hair to turn grey at 17, but now that Jesse is here, she's going to end up looking 85 by the end of the year.
It was no surprise that Jesse won the duel and it wasn't really that much of a surprise that Trapper had a change of heart because of it. Jesse, and Jaden, had that effect on people. Rae's exhaustion got placed on the backburner when she saw Jesse had a good chunk of his energy taken. Her legs took her to his side in a minute.
"It's cool. I'll be okay." He was able to catch his breath, "What do you say we go hunt down Viper and put an end to this." She felt no need to scold the both of them for refusing to take even a moment for themselves; they wouldn't listen to her anyway.
Her silent prayers were answered, in a way, when Jesse collapsed. Jaden almost went down with him, and he would have, if Rae hadn't been there to support the other half of Jesse.
"Y'all are going to be the death of me," she muttered as she helped rest him against the wall. It didn't go unnoticed the way his hand lingered on her waist, but that got pushed aside; there were more important things to worry about right now.
It wasn't long until the others found them. Syrus looked so relieved, holding a large leaf in his hands, the only thing he could find to hold the water he found. When Jaden declined his offer, his eyes welled up with tears.
"Jay," the tone Rae had made Jaden tense. He begrudgingly accepted the water Syrus was so kind to carry around for him.
The others helped Jesse and Jaden stand and Jim offered to help Rae, but she waved him off, using the wall to support her weight. She didn't need it as much as the boys did; she was still able to walk on her own.
"...Anyone remaining will be terminated. Have a nice day." They were barely able to stay ahead of the doors crashing behind them. "You have 30 seconds to evacuate." The last door was across the room, much farther than they could run in less than 30 seconds. Rae watched the door close across the room.
"This wasn't the ideal way to die, but I'll take it," she muttered more to herself than anyone else, but the others had heard it. However, the shattering of the glass prevented anyone from asking her about it. Axel got them to safety, but it might have been at the cost of his own.
Viper watched them as the elevator that was stationed in the center of the room travelled up. Jaden wasted no time running after him, the rest of the group following behind. Viper had led them to what looked like a helicopter pad, even though they were still underground.
"Too many people have gotten hurt already!" Jesse's words seemed to bring joy to Viper's face. The pain he inflicted on the student body was not something that weighed on his conscience and that forced Jaden to chase him.
The platform they stood on started to move, bringing them to the surface first and then into the air. If they tried to leave, the fall would surely kill them. They were trapped. Jaden had no choice.
"I'll duel him! I've taken down bigger!" Hassleberry either genuinely believes he is a match for Viper, or he knows Jaden won't let him duel so he can talk as big as he wants. Did Rae want Jaden to duel in his state? No. Was there anything she could do to stop him? Also no.
Even if Jaden had let Hassleberry step up, Viper wanted no part of that. Jaden was the one he wanted—the one he needed—and Jaden offered himself up on a silver plate.
Viper's cards were no surprise. A venomous deck, to match a venomous duelist.
"Soon your energy will be all mine, and the awakening will commence!" Even though she expected it, hearing that Viper was behind everything still sent a chill down her spine. Knowing the person who has been causing all the trouble, pain, and suffering the last few months was standing just a few yards away is sickening. And infuriating. And…
Rae couldn't put her finger on the emotions she was feeling; they all blended together, a static that tickled her skin. She wasn't able to identify any of her emotions before they beame overshadowed by another. The way her emotions blended together was dizzying. Her head was spinning, her stomach turning, and her skin crawled, making her knees weak, but her muscles were tensed, keeping her upright.
This is what it felt like to break.
She regretted coming along. It would have been better for her to stay in her room. To deal with the anxiety of not knowing. To be in the dark, metaphorically and literally. On top of everything she was feeling before, the guilt and regret of knowing she has become a liability pushed its way forward; her eyes burned with tears.
She tried to take a step back, to put herself at the back of the group in case she did start to cry, but the moment she took that step, someone grabbed her hand. Her eyes fell on the hand that held hers, tears slipping to the ground. She wasn't sure if the heat in her cheeks was caused by her tries to keep the tears at bay or something else when her eyes met Jesse's. How did he always know when she needed him?
He continued to hold her hand, even after she turned back to face forward. Watching the way her eyes became clearer when she looked up at him told him that she needed it. He had been watching her slowly come undone over the last several weeks, pieces of her resolve chipping away.
Rae's heart leapt as her arm was tugged to pull her away from the encroaching snakes, her shoulder bumping into Jesse's. Her free hand reached up to brace herself, her fingers wrapping around his arm. Could he feel her heart's pace pulsing through her hands?
Viper seemed to have the upperhand and his confidence continued to soar, but Jaden wasn't able to feel his trepidation when Jesse spoke up.
"Jaden's always got a trick up his sleeve, no matter how tough Viper's cards are." He visibly stood taller, a smirk playing on his lips. Jesse was right: Jaden's cards have never failed him.
His relief was short-lived; despite pulling a great card, Viper knew exactly how to respond to Jaden's attack. Jaden fell to his knees; the poison inflicted on his monsters was also coursing through him.
Jaden kept pushing forward, trying to ignore the burning that was building in his chest. His time was running out. The duel was coming to end and he needed to make sure he didn't end with it.