Chapter 3: Aiden Revenge Part 1

"Babe? Are you okay?" Rad asked as he burst through the balcony doors. Nebula fell to the ground and he gasped when she started to shake violently. "Babe? What happened? You're shaking like a leaf!" he asked concerned as he wrapped his arms around her. "I-" Nebula could feel a pair of dark eyes watching her and she gulped. "I'm fine. It's just cold out here. Why don't we go inside" she suggested quickly. Rad then scooped her in his arms and carried her to the bed. "You sure you're alright?" he asked as he placed her on the bed and levitated the balcony doors shut. She nodded and turned onto her side. "Night" she said and Rad looked at her concerned. "Yeah. Night" he said and the couple fell asleep.

Rad was woken up hours later when he felt the room get colder. He looked over to see Nebula violently tossing and turning in her sleep. "No! Please! I beg you" he heard her beg and he put a hand on her shoulder. "Babe! Babe wake up!" he yelled and he could feel the sweat forming on her body as she breathed rapidly. Nebula then shot up from the bed and she began to try and calm her breathing. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as she hurriedly got up from the bed and put a long, royal blue, silk robe on. He quickly followed her to their daughter's room. He saw her breath out a sigh of relief as she saw their daughter sleeping soundly in her bed. Rad then put a hand on her shoulder and she immediately backed away from him. Rad's gaze softened as he gently put a hand on her back and led her back to their shared room.

He had her sit on the bed as he leaned his upper body down and put his hands on her shoulders. "Something is clearly bothering you. Come on, you can tell me" he said soothingly. She remained silent and she looked away from him. "Baby please, talk to me" he practically begged and as expected, she remained silent. "Nebs, I'm listening. Come on please talk to me" he begged with tears forming in his eyes. He heard her sniffle and she wrapped her arms around his torso. He straightened his back and pulled her to his chest as she cried into his night shirt. He then put one hand on the back of her head and the other went to her back as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Come on Nebula, you can tell me" he said softly and he felt her shake her head. "No, I can't" she cried out. He put his hands on her shoulders and he gently pulled her away. "I'm sorry" Nebula cried and he gently held her face in his hands as he wiped away her tears. "Well, whenever you're ready, I'm always listening. Now what do you say we get some sleep? We have a full day tomorrow" he said softly. She nodded and he kissed her forehead. Once they were under the covers, Rad pulled her close to his body and she let out a content sigh as she fell asleep.

That morning, Rad woke up to the sound of Nebula crying. He turned on his side to face her and he saw her hunched over with her hands in her hair. He quickly crawled behind her and put a hand on her shoulder while the other supported his weight on the bed. "Babe? Come on, please tell me what's wrong" he said softly as he pulled her into his arms. "I can't!" she sobbed and they heard soft footsteps running into their room. "Mama? Why are you cwying?" the young girl asked. She then tried to crawl up onto the bed. Rad smiled softly as he levitated her onto the bed with them. "Ula, Mama is sad. Do you think you could help me cheer her up?" he asked and Ula nodded happily. Rad kissed Nebula's head and he scooped Ula in his arms. Ula hugged his neck as he carried her into the kitchen.

"Remember, if you dare tell anyone about the other night, I won't hesitate to destroy them" Aiden's voice echoed in her head. "Mama!" She heard Ula yell happily as she and Rad ran into the room with a large coffee mug. "Bweakfast in bed!" Ula said happily and Nebula felt a small smile form on her lips. "Ah! Daddy look! Mama smiled!" she said happily and Nebula let out a small laugh as Rad handed her the mug. "This smells good. Did you guys make this?" she asked and Ula nodded. "You relax then get ready. I'll get Ula dressed and ready then we are going out to breakfast. Miss Carol said that she will feed her when we drop her off" Rad said. Before she could say a word, Rad walked out of the room with Ula in his arms. Nebula smiled and let out a sigh as she sipped on the hot beverage and she leaned back against the pillows.

Once her beverage was done, she got ready and dressed for work. When she brought her empty mug to the kitchen, she saw Rad putting Ula's shoes on. "Hi Mommy!" Ula greeted and Rad turned his head to her. "Hey honey. Feeling better?" he asked and Nebula nodded as she put the mug in the sink. Rad took a set of keys and scooped up Ula in his arms. "Ready ladies?" Rad asked as they walked up to a large deep purple van that was parked in their driveway. Ula began to bounce in Rad's arms as he placed her in her special car seat. "Calm down pumpkin" Nebula said with a small laugh. During the drive, Nebula began to space out while Rad and Ula talked about their plans for the day.

When they arrived at the bodega, Carol was happily waiting with a small group of young children. "Hey Carol! Hopefully Ula will be good for you" Rad said as he handed the child to the woman. "Of course she will! She's always good. Now then, who's hungry kiddos? The girls and I have something special that we whipped up" she said and the children cheered and followed her to the dojo

During the day, Rad noticed that Nebula's mood had gotten worse. She was constantly distracted, whenever someone would try to talk to her, she would remain unresponsive, and she was extremely skittish and restless.

Through the following weeks, she refused to eat and instead she would clean or exercise. One night while Ula was asleep, Nebula was sitting on the floor with her back against the couch as she watched a movie that was on. "Wouldn't you rather sit on the couch?" Rad asked as he sat next to her on the floor. "You're a couch" she responded went silent and they burst out laughing at what she had said. Nebula stopped laughing and she went silent as she stared into space. Rad's face lit up as he got an idea on how to cheer her up. He then put an arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss. When he pulled away, she opened her mouth to say something but Rad quickly shushed her. He then moved her to lay on the ground with his body hovering over hers. "You've been so distracted lately, why don't you let me take your mind off of whatever it is that is troubling you?" He said huskily into her ear. He smirked when he heard her shudder in anticipation. She then wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed a trail of kisses on her neck.

The next day while Ula was at daycare, Rad saw Nebula sitting on the bed in their shared bedroom with her phone to her ear. He heard Nebula's friends inviting her out for a girl's night. He then heard her refuse her friend's invitation. Rad stormed into the room as she hung up the phone. "Okay babe. This is where I draw the line!" he yelled. "You've been acting really strange lately and we're all really worried about you. What happened the other night? I need you to tell me" he begged as he sat next to her. "I told you that I can't tell you!" she cried out. "That's it!" Rad growled and before she could say anything, he threw her over his shoulder and placed her in the passenger seat of his van. As he drove, Nebula shrunk in her seat as she saw how angry he was. She felt the van stop and when Rad got out, and once again threw her over his shoulder. "Rad! Put me down!" she demanded as he banged on a door.

The door opened to reveal a slim woman with light purple skin and dark purple hair. "Oh! Rad and Nebula! What brings you two here?" the woman asked. "Azra… We need your help" Rad said. The woman-now identified as Azra- nodded and ushered them into the living room. Rad placed Nebula on the couch and sat next to her as he held her in place. "What seems to be the problem?" Azra asked.

"Ever since the other night, she's been acting really weird! She not only keeps rejecting her friend's invitations to hang out, but she's been refusing to eat and instead she wants to clean or exercise. She refuses to relax, she's always exhausted from her constant night terrors, she's always anxious, she is constantly worrying about the most irrational things, and lately, she's been having constant panic attacks. Whenever I ask her to tell me, she always tells me that she can't" Rad explained. "And what happened to her wrist?" Azra asked as she motioned to a burn on Nebula's wrist. "She was cooking and I guess she spaced out and she burnt her wrist" Rad explained.

"Oh dear… I might have an idea" Azra said. She then left the room and came back moments later with a small book in her hands. "May I?" she asked and Rad nodded as he made some room on the couch for her. She closed her eyes and her hands began to glow a light purple. "Just relax" she said softly and Nebula took a deep breath.

Azra then saw everything that had happened since the other night. She gasped as she opened her eyes. "Oh Nebula, I am so sorry! I'll get you a magical artifact that will protect you and whoever else you choose from any dark spells" Azra explained. She quickly got up and handed Nebula a circular object. "Hold this close to your heart and think of everyone who is dear to you" she instructed and Nebula did as she was told.

She then walked the couple back to Rad's van and when she got back inside, on the portrait that was hanging above the couch that was of her, a man with large, white angel wings, a yellow halo, brown fur, and matching ears sticking out from his long, wavy, black hair, and two young girls that looked like the man but with dark purple hair styled into a braid, she saw a note.

"Yah mej doe maj" she read. The man from the portrait then walked into the room and he looked at her in confusion.

It means "I'll get my revenge"