Happy Thanksgiving guys. A bit late, but I thought it should be said anyway.
John: Yeah, I've been wanting to have that rule occur. And you'll see what happens in this chapter.
Demon Fan: Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Thanks, it was a nice anniversary, and I'm glad you liked the chapters. It's hard to tell sarcasm over the internet, so… yeah.
Chapter 11: Final Confrontation
Hope, Brandi, and their Soul Monsters watched silently as Larka tried to get her emotions under control. But she was finding it difficult to stop her tears from flowing.
Hope walked over to her, kneeling next to her. "Larka…"
"It's my fault," she sobbed. "If I hadn't lost, this wouldn't have happened…"
"Stop talking like that," Brandi said. "You did the best you could. If it's anyone's fault, it's Thanatos'."
"Fell will be fine," Hope stated. "After all, you were the one who told me he was strong, right? You need to be strong too, for his sake."
Hope's words reminded her instantly of what Will had said to her.
"Don't cry… Fell's tough, isn't he? He'll be ok… stay strong for him, Larka…"
Larka wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yeah… you're right. Thanks."
Hope nodded, rising. "What should we do now? I know we said we'd keep going after Thanatos, no matter what, but Fell… he'll die if he is left like this."
"True…" Brandi looked at the direction Thanatos had fled. "This is what we should do. You guys should get Fell to the hospital. Make sure Lilian is the only one to look after him, or else we'll have a lot of explaining to do about him and Larka. While you are doing that, I will go after Thanatos."
"Alone?" Hope said in astonishment.
"Wrong. I'm coming too," Mana stated.
"No, Mana. You need to go with them. This is something I must do by myself."
"But Brandi…!" Mana protested.
"I don't want any arguments!" she snapped. "I'm going after him alone, and you are all going to go back to save Fell. Got it?"
Mana normally would have not let the matter drop this easily, but she could tell Brandi was not in a good mood. When she got into this kind of personality, it was no use to try and argue with her. So Mana reluctantly nodded.
"Good. Go now. I'll be back as soon as Thanatos is dead." Then she ran off, following the blood that trailed out of the clearing.
Malon and Daine watched as Larka gently lifted her brother. Then she looked over at Hope, Gaston, and Mana. "Coming?"
To her surprise, Hope shook her head. "I'm following Brandi. She might need help. But I'm more worried about Max. I can't just let him die that easily." She turned to Gaston. "I need you to go with Larka as well."
"But why?" Gaston inquired anxiously.
"Because we will do this alone. It's something we have to do by ourselves. Please, try to understand."
Gaston looked into her determined eyes, and reluctantly nodded. "Alright. I don't like it, but I'll respect your wishes. At least you'll be ok with Brandi."
"Right," Hope nodded. "Good luck to you guys." Then she went after Brandi.
Mana sat down on a tree branch, and Gaston leaned against another one's trunk. Daine gazed at them. "You will wait for them to return, I expect."
"Of course. What kind of a guardian would I be if I didn't?" Gaston replied. "I feel as though I'm failing my duty right now, not following her. But she wants it this way, so I will wait."
"Same here," Mana added.
"Very well then. I hope you return safely," Daine stated.
"As do I," Larka said to the two Soul Monster before she ran off in the opposite direction, Malon and Daine following.
-----
Thanatos kept running, not looking back or slowing down. He went through the forest quickly, just trying to get away as his arms and chest bled fiercely. Although his arm wounds were not that bad, his chest ones were very deep and severe. He could not feel the pain, but he knew the blood loss was affecting him.
I've changed positions, Thanatos realized. From the predator, I've become the prey.
He then emerged from the trees, coming out into a familiar spot.
Max had only been here a few times, but Thanatos recognized it from his memories. It was a graveyard, with several tombstones in rows and columns.
Thanatos walked over to one nearby, and upon seeing the name of it, felt a sudden jolt as he lost control. Now it was Max that stared at the tombstone.
He lightly touched the tombstone as he read the name on it.
Randall Driger
Max smiled sadly at the sight of it. It looks like I'll be seeing you soon, dad…
Have you lost all hope? Thanatos said to him mentally, with a sneering tone. Have you finally given in, and now know that death is inevitable?
You're happy about that? Remember, if I die, you're dead too, Max replied in a mocking tone.
Thanatos did not respond. Feeling a bit satisfied at that, Max went back to looking at the tombstone.
At least you'll be waiting for me, I guess, Max thought as he left, blood still falling from his wounds.
-----
Brandi followed the thick, easily visible trail of blood that Thanatos had left. As she ran after it, she tried not to think about what she would have to do soon.
She suddenly heard a noise behind her. She turned, and saw Hope emerge from behind a tree, following the blood as well.
Hope halted, seeing Brandi. "There you are."
"Why are you here?" Brandi growled. "I told you to go back."
Hope shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't."
"Why not? Do you think I'm not capable of doing this myself?"
"No, that's not true at all! I'm just worried about Max."
Brandi glared at her. "And you think I'm not? I'm his sister, damn it!"
"And I'm his friend," Hope replied, forcing herself to take a calm tone. "Is it wrong that I worry about him?"
"Go back! Leave me alone!" Brandi snarled.
Hope looked into her eyes steadily. "No. I can't do that."
Overtaken by fury, Brandi slapped Hope across the face. She stepped back, holding her hand up to her burning skin, but managed to look back at Brandi.
"I just want to do this alone! Why won't you accept that?!" Brandi shouted.
Hope took away her hand from her face, which was slightly red where it had been struck. "I can accept that you want that, but I can't let it happen. I'm sorry, but I must see him. Nothing you say or do will stop me from coming, so why don't you accept that instead?"
Brandi resisted the urge to hit her again, looking down at the thick blood on the grass. She was running out of time.
"Fine," Brandi snapped. "I'm tired of wasting time."
Brandi resumed her trek, Hope following her. Brandi was still annoyed by the way Hope was acting, but she was also somewhat surprised. It wasn't like Hope to deny a request from a friend so strongly.
-----
Larka ran on through the forest, finally emerging outside of it. The trip had not taken her much time, as the need for haste had made her go as fast as she possibly could.
Daine was still outside of his Soul Card, and easily kept up. Malon had been forced to return to his though, since he was a bit slower, and was still weakened by what Thanatos had done to him. So even though he disliked it, he had gone along with it.
She knew the way to the hospital by now, and it would be quicker if she ran then to call an ambulance and wait for it to arrive. She also needed to make sure that nobody but Lilian saw her brother. So she continued running, and after a few minutes, had arrived.
They went inside instantly. There were several people in the waiting room, and they all became silent at the sight of the two blood soaked people, one unconscious and the other looking frantic.
Ignoring the looks she was getting, she went to the woman at the desk. "I need to speak with Lilian, immediately!"
The woman, seeing Fell's condition, did not argue. She grabbed a phone on the desk, dialed something and spoke into it quickly before putting it back down. "She will be here in just a minute."
A few moments later, Lilian came running over.
"Follow me," she said. "We can go over details later."
Larka went after her, until they reached an empty room. Larka laid her brother on the bed there, and then stood up. "Should I leave?"
"It would be better if you did," Lilian replied. "You might want to go to the condo to wash the blood away. By the time you get back, I can tell you how he'll do."
Larka looked at her stained hands. "Oh… right. I must have not noticed. I'll be back shortly."
Daine sat down across the room. "I would like to remain here. Is that ok with you?"
"Sure," Lilian responded. "See you soon Larka."
Larka left the hospital, once more not paying attention to the stares she received when others saw her bloody clothes. When she got outside, she ran for the condo.
I've done all I can… Fell, please be alright…
-----
The trail of blood eventually led out of the trees, into a cemetery. Brandi halted at one tombstone that had blood on it.
Hope stopped as well, reading the name on the tombstone.
"Randall Driger. That was… your father, right?" Hope said, a bit nervously.
Brandi nodded, not taking her eyes off the tombstone. Then she reached out to it, wanting to clean off the blood that Max had left on it.
But as she touched it, she froze. After a few minutes, Hope became concerned.
"Brandi? What's wrong?"
Brandi suddenly broke away from it, turning her pale face to Hope. "I think it was… a vision. I can only remember two things about it though. One was that it would happen if Max died." She drew in a shuddering breath. "And the second was that it was terrible."
"Then we had better move on," Hope declared. "Before Max does die."
"…Right…" Brandi murmured, wiping away the rest of the blood before standing up.
-----
Abby lay in her bed, worrying about Max, Brandi, and Ender. She could not stop thinking about what was happening to her children, and being very concerned about it.
Then she saw something. She had no way of knowing that she saw the vision at the same moment Brandi touched the tombstone, but she did see a vision. But it was not the same as Brandi saw. Now she saw what would happen if she died, and the pain it would bring.
When it was over, she could not remember what had happened in it. But she knew that it was horrifying.
-----
Brandi continued to follow the blood, and Hope went after her. It was becoming even more thick now, which made the two of them even more worried.
But at last, they came out into a clearing. Max was there, sitting on the ground while leaning against a tree.
Brandi stepped out of the trees, while Hope hung back. Max did not notice her, but looked up at Brandi.
"It's too late," he said softly. "I've had too much damage done to my body. I'm going to die, sis. And I can accept that. So please, kill me."
"But Max…" she started, but trailed off when looking into his eyes.
"Please… end it now…"
Brandi looked down, not saying anything. What do I do?
Hope watched the exchange, and then stepped out of the trees as well.
"Brandi! How can you even consider it?" she shouted. "If there's any chance that Max can be saved… any… we have to take it! Can't you see that?!"
Max looked at her in surprise. "Hope? What are you doing here?"
"You can't give up that easily Max!" she pleaded. "You can live, and you can overcome Thanatos! I know you can!"
He closed his eyes, that sad smile still on his face. "You're still too damn optimistic… why can't you just accept the inevitable?"
Then he froze, and opened his eyes.
Even before Brandi saw the blood shot eyes, she knew Thanatos was coming back. Before he could even move, she stepped in front of him. "Thanatos! Quit being a spineless bastard. I'm going to take you down, right now! You'll either die to my hand, or by running away like the coward you are! Which do you choose?"
"Brandi! What are you doing?!" Hope exclaimed.
"Max is right," Brandi said, trembling slightly. "You can keep telling yourself whatever you want, but I'm going to be realistic. My brother is suffering, and if he can't be saved, I might as well end it swiftly, to put an end to this torture! Stay out of my way… this is between me and him!"
Hope stared at her, eyes shining with tears that she did not shed, and she turned away from her, unable to put her emotions into words.
Thanatos smirked. "One last chance to kill you, Brandi. I'll take it. If I can drag you down with me, I will. There is one condition though. We will duel without any safety measure. Take the shields off that protect you from the holograms. I will do the same. Then the loser will die from it."
Brandi instantly switched on her Duel Disk and turned off the shield. I must hurry… I have to beat him quickly… I can't allow myself the time to think about what I'm doing… "I accept your conditions. Stand up and face me, Thanatos!"
Thanatos activated his Duel Disk while he was still sitting. "I cannot. This body is too damaged to let me. I shall have to duel you from this position, as much as it disgusts me."
"Fine. Let's just get this over with!" Brandi snarled.
Brandi: 8000
Thanatos: 8000
"Since you have challenged me, I will go first," Thanatos stated. "I play Terra Forming, getting Lair of Ten Thousand Demon Lords from my deck. Then I play it."
Brandi gazed at the red skies around her and the blood red platform for what would be, most likely, the last time.
"Then I summon Shadow Knight Demon. (2000/1600) I lay another card face down, and end my turn."
Brandi looked at her hand, focusing on the duel entirely. She couldn't afford to think of anything else. "Alright… I will start by playing Dark Zone! This field magic card will destroy yours when I play it."
"I will not give it the chance to, since I can activate Curse of Magic-Sealing. By discarding Rebirth of the Dead, your magic card is negated and destroyed. You also cannot play any others with the same name for the rest of the duel."
"Damn it… I place one monster in defense mode, and one card face down. That's all."
Thanatos smirked when he saw his next card. "Excellent. I lay one card face down, and summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) Shadow Knight attacks your defense monster."
"My Mimic of Darkness Lv 1 is destroyed. (100/1000) His reverse effect lets me draw one card from my deck."
"It will not do you much good at the moment. My Demon Soldier attacks directly!"
Brandi braced herself for the pain she knew would come. Even though she was ready for it though, she could not suppress a cry of pain as the sword slashed her, leaving a bloody mark on her chest.
Brandi: 6100
Thanatos: 8000
"Still want to continue?" Thanatos sneered.
Brandi ignored the wound she had. "Of course."
"Then take your turn."
"Are you alright?!" Hope exclaimed. Although she did not want Brandi to kill Max, she was still worried about her.
"I'll live," Brandi growled, drawing. "This is the best I can do though… I summon Drillago! (1600/1200) Then I equip him with Necklace of Gifts and Plunder."
The heavily armed machine looked very odd indeed with the necklace that appeared around its neck.
"And what does that do?" Thanatos asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. Now I'll use Drillago's effect. As long as all of the monsters on your field have an attack that is greater than 1600, Drillago can attack directly!"
The Drillago burrowed under the ground. A few seconds later, it came out in front of Thanatos, drilling into him.
Brandi: 6100
Thanatos: 6400
Thanatos spat some blood out weakly, not moving from his sitting position. "So how does it feel, Brandi? How do you like seeing yourself kill your own brother?"
"I would hate myself for killing Max," Brandi whispered. "But you aren't Max. You are Thanatos, and I will be happy to be the one to slay you! Make your move."
"Very well," Thanatos said. "I will play Demon's Declaration. I trust you remember what this does?"
"You pay 500 Life Points, and call a card's name. Then you draw. If you call correctly, it goes to your hand. If you call wrong, it goes to the Cemetery."
"Correct. I then activate Result of Kozakii's Research. That allows me to look at my top three cards and put them in any order I want to."
"That's the same combo he used on me!" Hope realized.
"Now I will pay 500 Life Points to call Warrior of Zera."
Brandi: 6100
Thanatos: 5900
"And I will summon him. (1600/1600) I will lay one card down, and then have Shadow Knight attack your Drillago. However, due to his effect, you only lose half of the Life Points you normally would."
Brandi: 5900
Thanatos: 5900
Brandi felt a bit of pain course through her when Drillago was destroyed, but it was tolerable. She reached up, and the necklace that had been around Drillago's neck flew into her hand. "When you destroyed Drillago, my Necklace of Gifts and Plunder activated. It allows me to draw one card from my deck or to force you to discard a card in your hand. Since you have no cards in your hand, I'll choose to draw."
"Simply drawing cards are not going to get you anywhere. Demon Soldier and Warrior of Zera attack directly!"
Two more slashes resulted in another scream of pain, and two more bleeding cuts. Brandi fell to her knees, but got up almost instantly.
Brandi: 2400
Thanatos: 5900
"It's your turn now."
Brandi looked at the card her Necklace had given her. This won't be enough. I need more time… I need something I can stall with… She drew, and sighed in relief. Perfect!
"I lay two cards face down, and lay one monster in defense mode. That's it."
"I activate Demon's Declaration, paying 500 Life Points to call Devil Mazera."
Brandi: 2400
Thanatos: 5400
"I sacrifice Warrior of Zera to special summon him. (2800/2300) His effect forces you to discard three cards from your hand."
"I only have two," Brandi stated. "My Vampire Lady and Android Psycho Shocker are gone." Even though she had no cards in her hand, she did not seem worried.
"Then my Shadow Knight attacks!"
"I activate Destruction Ring on him!" Brandi countered. "Your Shadow Knight is destroyed, and we both lose 2000 Life Points!"
"Not just yet," Thanatos responded. "You must remember that my Shadow Knight's effect comes into play. I roll a die. If it lands on three, your card is negated and destroyed. But before I do that, I will activate Reverse Dice. If my dice roll fails, I will be allowed to reroll it."
The die came down, landing on a six. But another one came down. This time, it landed on a three.
"Damn… oh well. I can deal with that," Brandi said.
"Now, let us continue. Shadow Knight attacks."
"And in response, I activate my other two trap cards, Astral Barrier and Spirit Barrier!" Brandi declared.
"Astral Barrier lets you direct my monster's attacks to your own Life Points, I know that… but what does Spirit Barrier do?"
"Whenever I have a monster on the field, I take no damage from battle," Brandi explained. "So basically, as long as I have a monster on the field, you can't hurt me! I will just keep directing the attacks to myself, and Spirit Barrier will cause them to do zero damage."
"Wow… what a combo!" Hope said in awe.
"Hm… in that case, I end," Thanatos growled.
Brandi looked at her next card. I can nearly pull this off… I just need to hope that I get the right card next turn. "I lay one card face down and end my turn."
"I lay one card face down, and end my turn."
I have to end this quickly, before my barriers or monster are destroyed…
"I play Jar of Greed, to draw two more cards."
Please, let them be the right ones… yes!
"Now I flip summon my Igzarion Universe! (1800/1900) Then I activate a magic card, Shrink, on him! This cuts his attack power in half. (900/1900)"
"Damn it…" Thanatos snarled.
Brandi laughed. "It looks like you recognize what I'm doing. But then again, if you have Max's memories, of course you would know."
Hope suddenly realized what she was doing. "Oh! That means that your face down card must be…"
"Yes… the Deck Destruction Virus of Death! I sacrifice Igzarion Universe to activate it! All of the monsters on your field with 1500 attack or higher are now destroyed. It would be the same for your hand, but since you don't have anything in it, it isn't of concern. And for the next three turns, you have to discard any monster you get with over 1500 attack."
The Igzarion Universe exploded into several purple spores, which covered the Shadow Knight, Demon Soldier, and Devil Mazera. They faded away as the spores consumed them.
"Then I summon Surprising Matasa! (1300/800) His effect allows him to attack you twice, and he will do so!"
The warrior swiftly sliced Thanatos twice, once on each side of his body.
Brandi: 2400
Thanatos: 2800
"I end my turn at that."
Thanatos glared at the card he had drawn. "I lay one card face down and end my turn…"
"I summon Black Warrior Werewolf! (1600/1200) Your traps won't help you while I have him. Whenever it is my battle phase and he is on my field, your traps can't be activated."
"Then I will just activate them before you enter it," Thanatos stated. "I activate Demon's Cry. By paying 500 Life Points, my Shadow Knight is brought back from my Cemetery in face up attack mode."
Brandi: 2400
Thanatos: 2300
"I will just end my turn then," Brandi said.
"When you do that, my Shadow Knight is destroyed, due to the effects of Demon's Cry." Thanatos looked at his next card, and sighed. "That's it. I am forced to discard Genocide King Demon due to Deck Destruction Virus of Death. So I can do nothing but end my turn."
"Then you've lost," Brandi declared. "Matasa attacks twice!"
Two more slashes were added to the numerous wounds Thanatos had.
Brandi: 2400
Thanatos: 0
-----
Gaston and Mana did not speak to each other as they waited. But even though much time had passed, their companions were still not back.
At last, Gaston stood. "I can't take this anymore. They've been gone for a long time. What if they are in trouble? I'll never forgive myself if Hope is hurt because I wasn't there to protect her…"
Mana leapt off her branch. "You're right. Let's hurry, or else we might be too late!"
They ran amongst the trees once more, following the tell-tale trail of blood.
-----
Larka arrived at the condo, but could not bring herself to enter. She was still worried about Brandi and Hope.
She made her decision, and ran into the forest once more.
-----
Brandi wearily shut off her Duel Disk, wincing as another jolt of pain went through her.
Hope was watching in amazement. She was happy Brandi had managed to win, but what would happen to Thanatos now? Or Max, for that matter?
"You've lost," Brandi stated, looking at Thanatos.
Thanatos, despite his wounds, smirked once more. "I may have lost the duel, but in the end, I have won. Your friends are wounded and dying, while you will die from your injuries eventually as well. You know this, do you not?"
Brandi tried to respond, but suddenly collapsed.
"Brandi!" Hope exclaimed.
"You can't even remain conscious," Thanatos sneered. "Your injuries are too much for you. I still cannot feel pain, although I know this body is nearly finished. But I have enough strength to finish off you…" He turned to Hope, blood shot eyes connecting with hers. Even with the orb's protection, Hope felt as through her heart had stopped.
"You will be the next to die," Thanatos hissed, and with incredible speed, grabbed her by the neck.
-----
Neo watched Will lie motionlessly on the bed. The snake marking had gotten even darker, and his skin had grown hotter. But he was not at the point of death. Not yet.
It was completely silent besides the sound of their breathing, which was why Neo was able to hear the words Will suddenly said.
"Hope! You can't die!"
-----
Nobody is here to help me this time… Hope despaired as she felt the air leave her lunges. This time, I really will die… if only… please, someone, help… no, it's no good, I'm alone… no! I'm not alone!
"Max…" she managed to say.
-----
Neo stared at Will in worry. He had never shouted anything out in his sleep, usually talking in soft tones. But now he spoke clearly.
"You must tell him!"
-----
He's not out of my reach… he can't be! He hears what Thanatos hears… I have to tell him, before I die…
She managed to summon the strength she needed to whisper the words she had to say. "You once told me… that you protected me… because you thought you loved me. Max… I don't feel the same. Because I don't think that I love you… I know that I love you… with all of my heart…"
Thanatos froze, eyes widening at her words. Then he suddenly released his grip around her neck, causing her to fall to the ground. Hope looked up to see his eyes slowly change from being blood shot to brown once more. Then Max collapsed next to her, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Hope stared at him, as though in a daze. All she could bring herself to do was take his left hand with her own. And then her mind went blank.
But Thanatos had been wrong, for Brandi was still awake. She had heard what Hope had said, and now understood.
So that's why you wanted to come… I had no idea that you felt that way. Or did I know, but denied it? And then she closed her eyes, letting darkness take her.
-----
Will had fallen silent for a few minutes, and then he said, "It has come to pass…" After that, he did not say anything else.
Neo shook his head. "I wish I could understand what this all meant…"
-----
Gaston glanced at the tombstone they passed. "Randall Driger? Isn't that Max's and Brandi's father?"
"Chasity's as well," Mana replied as they followed the blood trail. "That is probably why Max went by here. Brandi as well. They loved him a lot, you know. I have only met him once, which was when he was brought back to life. But Brandi talks about him all the time."
Gaston sighed. "Hope talks about her father as well. She loves him too. He is gone often though. Her parents are divorced, but even before that happened, he traveled all the time. Still, she loves him, perhaps even more so than her mother. She hardly ever talks about her mother, you know."
"That doesn't mean she likes her father more," Mana responded.
"I know it doesn't. It's just the way I see it. I do feel sorry for her though, since she doesn't see him or Amy often. How did Brandi describe Randall?"
"A lot of different words," Mana shrugged. "Ask her, I couldn't answer that as well as she can. What about Hope's dad?"
"I asked her once. She said that two words came to mind when she thought of him. One was love. The other was protection. She feels safe whenever she's with him, as though he can guard her against anything." He laughed softly. "That's one reason she said she grew onto me quickly. She said she got the same feeling around me, except it was stronger since she was used to me being around."
"Protection is what Max and Brandi felt too, or so I assume," Mana stated. "It's like… if Randall could somehow come back to them, then all of their problems would be solved. If only it could happen…"
She fell silent, and Gaston decided not to continue the conversation. So they walked in silence, noticing that the blood was getting thicker.
Then they stepped into the clearing, and stared at the scene before them.
Brandi lay unconscious, bleeding from the wounds she had received. Max was even worse off, as blood was everywhere around him. The ground was dyed red from all of it. Hope knelt beside him, her eyes glazed over as she held onto his left hand as though it was a life line.
Mana instantly went over to Brandi, healing her. The wounds vanished, but the pain of them still remained.
Gaston had gone to the other two. "Hope! Are you alright?"
She did not even look over at him, still staring at Max.
He knelt down beside her. "Are you hurt in any way? Please, speak to me!"
Still Hope did not respond.
Gaston gently tried to get her to release her grip on Max's hand, but it was nearly impossible. "Hope, it's ok. We'll make sure Max gets help. You have to let go of him."
She gave no signs of hearing.
"Come on Hope… please, listen to me, talk to me!" He finally pried her hand off of Max's, but she still did nothing.
"Gaston, we can worry about Hope later," Mana said. "But Max could die any second. We have to get all three of them out of here."
"But how?" Gaston replied. "There's only two of us…"
"You mean three."
They looked over to see Larka enter, pale at the sight of the bloody area but with determination to assist.
"Perfect timing," Gaston stated.
"Yeah." She lifted Max carefully. "I can run ahead and get him to the hospital, if you want me too. Hope and Brandi do not have any life threatening wounds, do they?"
"Hope doesn't seem to have any wounds at all," Gaston replied. "And Mana took care of Brandi's injuries. So go ahead. Please hurry."
"Of course," she nodded, and ran off through the trees at top speed. Gaston and Mana followed, each bearing their companion in their arms.
-----
Lilian finally stood, looking over Fell one last time. When she was sure she had not missed any injuries that needed to be taken care of, she turned to Daine. "I've done all I can for him at the moment. It will take him a while to recover, but at least he will live."
"Thank you for all that you have done," Daine said.
"No problem. I'm going to check on Abby. If Larka stops by, she's welcome to come in."
Just as she finished saying that, the door opened, and Larka stepped inside.
Lilian was about to comment on the abrupt entrance, but then she saw Max. "Again, I'll wait to ask questions. Come with me."
There was another room close by, and they were soon inside it. Larka put Max down as Lilian once more gathered her equipment to help Max. "What about Hope and Brandi?"
"Gaston and Mana will be bringing them in soon," Larka replied. "Hope doesn't seem to be hurt, and Mana healed Brandi, so they'll be fine."
"Good to hear that," Lilian responded. "There are two empty rooms next to this one. They can each have one if they want to rest."
"I'll tell them," Larka assured. "Thanks."
She nodded. "I will tell you how Max is doing in a while." She looked over him grimly. "To be honest… his chances of living… well, I can see right now that they aren't very high. He's got several wounds, but the main problem is the blood loss. We'll see how it goes."
"Yeah…" Larka murmured before leaving. She waited in the hallway, until Gaston and Mana walked into it.
"Lilian is looking over Max now," Larka told them. "She said she'd tell us how he is later. If Hope and Brandi need to relax, they can have the two rooms over there." She indicated to the two nearby doors.
"That would be helpful," Gaston replied, looking down at Hope. She still seemed to be in a daze. Then he glanced around at the other doors. "What about Fell?"
"I'm going to check on him now," Larka stated, going over to the door and opening it. "I'll tell the rest of you later. Take care of Hope and Brandi first."
"Right," Gaston nodded, and they went to their rooms.
Larka closed the door softly, and looked over to Daine. "How is he?"
"He will recover, but it will take time," Daine stated.
"At least he will get better," Larka said. She went over to where he lay, and saw what Lilian had done. His left arm was wrapped in bandages while his right had a cast. His chest had several bandages as well, and so were his legs. His right had several more than his left though.
"Broken ribs, a broken right arm, and a sprained right leg," Daine told her. "Along with several cuts. It will probably take another full moon to heal the worst of it. But he will live."
"That's what's important," Larka agreed. Then she went to the door. "I'm going back to the condo to wash off this blood. Then I'll come back, ok?"
"Sure," Daine replied. "By the way, how is Malon?"
"Oh! I need to check on him." Larka wiped off some of the blood on her fingers onto her shirt, and then took out her Soul Card. Malon emerged, and with a joyous howl, leapt at Larka.
"Calm down Malon!" she laughed.
Malon sat down, wagging his tail furiously, before seeing Daine. Then he leapt over to the larger dog, and started running circles around him. Daine calmly held out a huge paw, trapping Malon underneath it. The dog whined protests as he tried to free himself.
"At least he's well again," Larka commented.
"Indeed," Daine said dryly, releasing him.
Larka bent down in front of Malon. "I'm going to the condo, but I'll be back soon. Do you want to come?"
Malon leapt up instantly and yipped.
"I guess that's a yes," Larka stated. "See you soon Daine."
They left the room, and went outside of the hospital and to the condo.
In a few minutes, they had arrived. Before Larka went up to it, she went down to the beach and went into the water, clothes still on. When she came back out of it, the worst of the blood that had covered her skin was gone, so she did not have to worry about getting the condo bloody like she had stained the hospital.
Malon had jumped in as well, and came out too. He shook himself, spraying Larka with water. She glared at the panting puppy, who seemed to be grinning at her.
"You're too cute," she grumbled.
Malon went over to the water and licked some of it, only to yelp and run back to her.
She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "That's salt water. It doesn't taste very good."
Malon whined, and started trotting back up towards the condo.
Larka knocked, and Hime came almost instantly. She raised an eyebrow at the soaked girl and Soul Monster. "Wait here." She left, and came back almost instantly with two towels.
"Thanks," Larka replied, rubbing Malon with the towel. Soon he was almost completely dry. Then she got most of the water off of herself. "I'll tell you how it went, but I need to get rid of the rest of this blood first."
"Of course," Hime agreed, letting them into the house now that they were mostly dry. "You can use the white towel that is in there when you are done."
"Thanks again." Larka looked over at Malon. "He needs to be washed as well, since he jumped into the ocean."
Malon whined at that, and his ears dropped as he gave her puppy eyes.
"Aw, how cute… too bad I'm immune to your charm," Larka stated.
Malon gave another whimper as he lowered his head.
"You can use the brown towel on him," Hime stated.
"You sure have a lot of towels," Larka commented.
"Chasity goes swimming nearly every day, and Brandi often goes with her. So we always keep a good supply of towels ready," Hime explained.
"That's reasonable," Larka nodded. "I'll see you soon. Come on Malon… no, you are not getting away this time…" She grabbed him by the collar as he tried to run, and then wrapped her arms around him, trying to hold the squirming puppy to the best of her ability and carrying him off to the shower.
Hime and Chasity were sitting in the living room when they heard a loud echoing howl. They looked towards the restroom, and another howl came out.
"Can you take me swimming?" Chasity asked Hime.
"I think now would be the perfect time for that," Hime agreed. And with that, they left the condo to go to the nearby pool.
Larka finally finished, much to her relief. Her ears were still pounding as she dried off Malon.
"Did you have to do that?" she growled.
Malon whimpered.
"You're lucky you're so adorable," Larka muttered as she put on her clothes. She had brought spares in Hope's suitcase, and they looked identical to what she had worn before, down to the color. She didn't care much about fashion, and she liked the color white, so when Hope had asked what kinds of clothes she had wanted, she had asked for clothes that were the same as the ones she usually wore.
She went back outside, Malon following her. As she went into the living room, she saw that Hime and Chasity were gone, most likely due to Malon. But before she could scold her Soul Monster again, she noticed something else.
Zack was awake, leaning against the wall. He looked over at Larka as he saw her enter.
"Zack! You're awake!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him. "How do you feel?"
"Better than last time," he replied. "I think I am almost completely recovered."
"That's excellent to hear," Larka said, sitting down next to him. Malon leapt into her lap, barking a greeting to Zack while his tail wagged excitedly.
"Yeah… by tomorrow, I should be able to move around," Zack stated. "How long have I been unconscious?"
"For the rest of the day you were attacked, two whole days, and part of today. So about three days?"
"Not bad. The repairs went quicker than I thought they would. So what has happened? Have you defeated Thanatos?"
"Yes," Larka assured him. "But… well… do you know who Thanatos is?"
"Max," he responded. "I saw his face as he went to stab me."
"That's right. Let me tell you everything that has happened…"
Larka gave a lengthy explanation of all of their battles with Thanatos. Zack did not interrupt at any time, simply waiting for her to finish.
"And now we are waiting to see how Max is doing," Larka finished. "Besides him, Will, Miles, Rue, and Fell aren't going to be able to do anything for a while, but Brandi and Hope should be coming back sometime soon."
"What about Draken?" Zack inquired.
"He still hasn't contacted us, besides that email he sent to us before we met Thanatos," Larka sighed. "Hopefully, he's alright."
"I see. So, you will be going back to the hospital now?"
"Yes. What about you?"
"I need some more time to recover," Zack stated. "So I will rest for a while. I should awaken much more quickly this time."
"Alright. I'll see you soon then."
"Right." Then he closed his eyes, unconscious instantly.
Larka got up, Malon leaping out of her lap. "Shall we go?"
Malon yipped before running to the door, Larka going as well.
-----
"So that's how it is…" the first one said.
"What do you suggest, sir?" the second inquired.
"We must start with the conditions we promised we'd carry out if Thanatos failed us," the third hissed.
"That is correct," the first replied. "We will do that immediately."
-----
Brandi opened her eyes slowly, gazing at the ceiling above her without much interest.
Then she suddenly remembered all that had happened and sat
up immediately, wincing as she felt pain run through her body.
Mana was sitting nearby, and went over to her as she saw her wake up. "Brandi!
Are you ok?"
"A bit sore, but nothing too serious," Brandi replied. "Did you heal me?"
"That's right. We came after you when you hadn't returned for a while. It was a good thing we did, too…"
Brandi remembered the sight of her brother. "Max! Where is he?! Is he alright?!" She tried to get up, but Mana pushed her back down firmly.
"Lilian is looking over him now. We don't know what his condition is yet. You are not going anywhere yet. You need rest, even if you feel mostly recovered. Got it?"
"Fine," Brandi sighed, lying back down.
Then the door opened, and Matt stepped inside. "Good, you're awake. I was worried about you."
"Matt! What are you doing here?" Brandi said in surprise.
"Mana contacted me again, to tell me that Thanatos was gone. I came over as soon as I could." He looked over his shoulder. "Come on in already."
Gaston came into the room, pulling Hope inside. She was walking now, but her eyes were still glazed over, and she still did not respond to anything.
"I thought Hope needed to do something besides sit around in that room absent mindedly," Matt explained. "Brandi, I want to know what happened. Will you tell me everything that has occurred?"
Mana saw that the two of them wanted to be alone, and grabbed Gaston by the arm, pulling him out of the room.
"Hey! What are you doing?" he protested.
"Can't you see they need to be by themselves, you insensitive moron?"
The door shut behind them, and Brandi was free to begin talking. Matt and Hope sat on the edge of her bed, and she began to tell of what had occurred.
When she finally finished, Matt was staring at the floor, pale. "Brandi… I feel like such a damn jerk. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you, or Max. I should have been… I know it… work wasn't as damn important as this…"
"It's alright," Brandi told him.
"No, it isn't. I feel like a complete idiot. Next time, I'll be there for you guys. I promise you that."
"Thanks," she said softly.
"I'll never be able to forgive myself if one of you dies when I could have prevented it. Your pain alone makes me feel guilty… so I will be there." He rose from the bed. "I'm going to check on Abby. I'll see you later, ok?"
"Yeah," Brandi nodded.
"Later then." He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Brandi was silent for a few minutes, and Hope just stared at the wall dully. Brandi finally could not take the uncomfortable silence any longer.
"Hope… back in the forest, when Thanatos was strangling you. Well… I was still awake. I heard what you said to him."
Hope turned to her. And Brandi saw that her eyes were no longer glazed over.
To be continued…