Late Merry Christmas! I was visiting dad and being lazy for a while, but I'm ready to write once more!

John: Yep, don't mess with Matt was one of the main lessons learned in that chapter. And I have to agree that Malady certainly was one to torture… maybe that's one reason I liked having her as a villain.

Demon Fan: Demon Rue actually used a Deck Destruction Virus of Death deck. Since the requirements for that card are to sacrifice a Dark Main-Type monster with 1000 or less attack, that is why his deck is full of Dark Main-Types. However, since that card is now restricted to one, he's going to need a new deck…

YugiFan: Hey, nice to see you again. Hope you enjoy this version too!

Captain Obvious: When Matt hits, he hits hard. So yeah, you're right.

Tragic1987: Sorry for the long wait!

Chapter 14: Recovering

"I see," Matt said when Hope finished the tale. "So Thanatos was actually working for someone? But who?"

"That's what we have to find out," Zack stated.

"This time, we'll stick together," Hope declared. "We can't afford to have this happen again."

Malon perked his ears, and then barked excitedly as Brandi and Mana came over to them.

"Brandi! Mana!" Hope gasped. "Your wounds…"

"I healed her. She healed me in return," Mana said simply.

Brandi nodded. "Um… Matt, Larka… thanks."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Larka replied. "I was really worried about you."

"No need to thank me," Matt told her. "After all, the least I can do is protect you, right?"

Brandi did not have time to reply before he kissed her.

Draken rolled his eyes. "How about getting a room?"

"You're just jealous," Hope teased. "I bet you want a girlfriend of your own."

Matt looked over at them as they finally broke the kiss. "Or maybe he already has one, but doesn't want to admit it," he said mischievously.

"What the… that's not true!" Draken shouted, blushing furiously.

"Yeah, you're really convincing me it isn't," Matt smirked.

"Alright, break it up," Gaston said. "This isn't the time to argue."

"Besides, it's doubtful Draken could get a girlfriend, even if he tried," Mana joked.

"I don't know…" Hope commented. "His silver hair would probably attract at least a few."

"Would you people just shut up?!" Draken snarled.

"You started it," Darche pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" Draken snapped.

Larka finally stopped laughing and took some pity on the embarrassed teen. "Come on guys. We need to get back to planning what we're going to do next."

"I vote that we teleport out for a while," Gaston stated. "What if there are more of them? They might be able to track us as well. If they can, they'll come after Brandi again. We need some time to recover and think of a new plan."

"He's right," Matt nodded. "Larka and I are at the hospital. Why don't you meet us there?"

"Maybe later," Hope replied. "I think it would be best to stay in the condo for the time being."

"Alright. I'll come back then," Larka decided.

"Wait a minute," Draken interrupted. "What about me? Should I come to South Carolina?"

"Yeah," Matt said. "I think that would be for the best. I can provide you with money if needed." He handed Draken an envelope.

"That would be helpful," Draken stated. "I'll be there shortly."

With that settled, they left.

-----

When Miles came around, he too felt severely injured. He hurt everywhere, and wanted nothing more than to fall unconscious again, to escape this pain.

But… How did this happen? It was… Thanatos… the others! What happened to them?!

Miles' eyes flew open, and as a result he was instantly blinded by the light. He shut his eyes again, groaning.

Gen had been in the chair in the room, thinking about what their friends might be doing. But he was brought out of his thoughts immediately when he heard his companion.

"Miles!" he exclaimed, going over to him.

"…Gen?" Miles muttered, carefully opening his eyes again. This time, the light did not affect him as severely. "How did I get here?"

"Hope and the others brought you here," Gen explained.

Miles' eyes widened. "They did?"

"That's right."

"But… how did you get here?" Miles asked hesitatingly.

"Hope, Brandi, and Larka found the Soul Card and summoned me. They said they were wondering where I was when you arrived." Gen's eyes betrayed no emotion as he spoke.

Miles looked away. "Gen…" No, damn it. I have to face this. I have to show Gen that I mean what I say. He turned his gaze back to his Soul Monster. "I failed you, and all of them. You were right, completely right, and I knew it all along. I just ignored you, hoping it would all work out, but I only made things worse for myself, and more importantly, for them, and for you. I deserved what Thanatos gave me, and more. I thought nothing would be worse than what I did to my townspeople, my home… but you were right, this is at least ten times worse!" His eyes began to shine with unreleased tears. "I could have lived with what I did… I would have always felt terrible about it, but I could have put it aside and helped our friends… but I hid, like the weakling I was! Draken once called Fell weak, but at least Fell wouldn't have betrayed them like I did! They were right not to trust me when we first met… look where it got them! They'll never be able to trust me again because of this… the only friends I have are going to abandon me… it's the worst penalty I could go through, and even that won't make up for what I did." By now, his tears were falling, silently landing on the pillow. Ignoring his blurred vision, he went on. "I wouldn't blame you if you left me now… I was a traitor to you, too. You should abandon me. You have all the right to…" He trailed off, and could not continue.

Gen sat down next to him on the bed, already knowing how he would answer Miles. He pulled off the white glove on his right hand and set it aside, before gently wiping away the tears on Miles' face.

Miles was so shocked by the action that he stopped crying, staring at Gen's uncovered hand. "Gen… you've never…"

"These gloves are important to me," Gen said quietly. "I don't like taking them off, no matter what the reason. It's like a badge that states that I am a thief, which is what I want to be known as. Once a thief, always a thief, isn't that how the saying goes? My outfit shows that, and the gloves play a critical role in it. That's why I have never removed them… until now. I'm making an exception this time, because you need to know that I can touch you with my bare skin without hesitation. Would I do that for someone I hated? Just the opposite; I'd only do it for one I would always remain loyal to."

Miles fought back even more tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "Even after… all that I have done?"

"You regret what you did, and won't do it again. That's enough reason for me to forgive you."

"…I don't deserve a Soul Monster even as half as good as you, Gen… I can't tell you how grateful I am with words alone... argh! Damn tears…"

"That's part of who you are," Gen said, wiping the new ones away. "You always show your emotions, even when others are watching. It takes a lot of courage to admit you are wrong about something, which is what you did. Keep showing others what you feel; it's one of your finest points. And remember that even the strongest man will cry. It's not wrong to weep."

"I guess so… it's annoying though," Miles commented, this time forcing himself not to break down again.

"So… I will stay by your side," Gen assured, slipping on his glove again. "The others will as well."

"They will? But I betrayed them!" Miles exclaimed.

"You won't do that again, will you? They need all the help they can get, Miles. If you are willing to assist them, then they'll accept that. They know you regretted it. Hope herself said she thought no less of you."

"How would they know I regretted it?" Miles inquired.

"Your condition told the tale. You fought against Thanatos, didn't you?"

"…Yeah, I did," Miles replied. "He must have gotten me pretty badly…"

"Broken arms, broken legs, and broken ribs," Gen told him. "I was afraid you might be dead when I first saw you."

"…Geez. That explains why I hurt everywhere," Miles sighed. "I should have been killed though… wait! Thanatos said he wanted me to… have to live with the knowledge of what I did… knowing I was the one who killed them! Gen, did they all make it out?"

"From what they told me, none of them were injured," Gen replied. "They all suffered smoke inhalation, especially Hope, but that was about it."

"Thank God for that," Miles said with relief. "If one of them had died… no, I don't even want to think about that."

You should try to get some more rest," Gen stated. "You will have a chance to see them soon."

"Yeah…" Exhausted from the rush of emotions he had felt, he had no trouble falling back asleep.

Gen went back to the chair he had been occupying, gazing at the sleeping teen. It may have cost him a lot to learn what he needed to, but at last he is accepting what he has done. I suppose that means some good has come out of this. As long as Miles can recover physically, then he will be fine. I can only pray that his body will be able to heal…

-----

Larka picked up her Envoyant Machine. "I guess I'll go back now."

Malon barked in agreement.

Matt seemed troubled by something. "You will be coming back tomorrow, right? And the others will be as well?"

"I think so," Larka nodded. "Draken will probably want to see everyone, and we'll want to check on them too."

"Alright. I'll be here, so please make sure that Brandi comes to talk to me," Matt requested.

"Sure," Larka agreed. "Well, I'll see you soon."

"Right… by the way…"

Larka turned back to him. "Yes?"

"…Thanks for contacting me. I've been really worried about Brandi, and haven't been able to do much lately. I was happy to be able to help this time."

"No problem," Larka smiled. "Thanks for coming. I don't even want to think about what would have occurred if… you know…"

"Yeah. Bye until tomorrow."

-----

Hope sat up, removing her Envoyant Machine. The others had already made it back.

"What should we do now?" Gaston inquired.

"Let's just relax," Hope suggested. "We can start making plans when Draken arrives tomorrow. Besides, I'm tired, and I'm sure the rest of you are as well. So let's get some sleep."

"You won't hear any arguments from me," Mana stated. "I'm exhausted…"

Hime entered the room, Perseus following. "You're back? I'm relieved… I thought something had gone wrong. A while ago, Larka ran by me, and I was afraid you were in trouble."

"Is anything wrong?" Perseus inquired.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself over," Gaston assured.

"I overheard you say you wanted to rest, and that is fine, but how about eating first?" Hime offered.

"That'd be great, thanks," Brandi replied. "But Larka should eat as well…"

"I'd be delighted to," Larka said, walking into the room. Malon went over to Daine, yipping at him.

"Hi," Hope greeted. "We didn't even hear you enter."

"The door was unlocked," Larka shrugged. "So, what did I hear about eating?"

They soon discovered that the food Hime had prepared was none other than ziti, the same dish Brandi had made a night not too long ago, although it seemed ages away. Hope had never even heard of it, and although she was hesitant to try new foods, she wasn't about to offend her host by refusing to test it. She was quite happy she did, for she discovered that she loved it.

"Geez," Brandi commented as she watched Hope devour a third helping. "I never knew you could eat so much."

"I can't get enough of pasta," Hope explained after swallowing. "I'm addicted to it."

Larka and Fell were allowed to have left over chicken that Hime had uncovered in the fridge, and Zack had chosen to stay in the living room. Chasity also ate ziti, but finished quickly and played with Malon while the others took their time eating.

"Thanks Hime," Hope said, putting her dishes on the counter when she was finally done.

"Same here," Larka threw in.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Go ahead and get some sleep now. Chasity, it's time for you to go to bed as well."

"I'm not tired!" Chasity protested, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Don't try it," Hime warned.

"Fine… good night guys," she said, petting Malon before leaving.

Brandi left for her room shortly afterwards. Zack went over to his usual corner to recharge. But before Hope could go to the sofa bed, Larka pulled her aside.

"Tonight is a full moon," Larka told her. "So I'm going to sleep outside."

"Will you be ok?" Hope asked.

"Yes, as long as I'm with Malon. I'd just prefer to be outside in case something goes wrong."

"Alright. See you in the morning then."

-----

Hope stood before the painting in the church. It was exactly as she had remembered it. There was Obelisk, Osiris, and Ra. They were around Satan, as though they were guarding him as he slept.

Wait… no, it wasn't the same. For Obelisk's eyes were now glowing red, as though it had finally awoken from a long slumber.

But there were two things Hope had not noticed in the painting that were now there. Two shadowy figures stood beside Satan.

The one to the right she recognized, but could not tell how…

The other was very hard to make out, even more difficult than the first. But she caught sight of the flash of a red jewel, between something producing from the figure's head…

And then she heard his voice…

"Come back to me, my loyal servants. Join me once more…"

Hope sat up in bed, heart pounding. It took her a few seconds to be able to breathe normally. Then she checked her orb. As she had suspected, it was glowing black.

Then she realized what it was that had woken her up. Malon was barking at the front door while frantically jumping at it. Larka was already there, struggling to hold him back while she opened the door.

"Nice welcoming committee," Draken joked as he stepped inside, Darche following. Malon managed to get free from Larka's grasp and instantly began leaping at Draken. "Hey, down boy!"

"You got here pretty quickly," Brandi said.

Hope, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, went over to the front.

"You're finally awake; it's about time," Gaston stated.

"Am I always the last one up?" Hope complained.

"Yes, you are," Draken confirmed. "So what are we going to do?"

"Before we decide anything, we're eating," Brandi told them. "Then we'll talk."

Hope hung behind the rest of them, asking Larka, "Were you ok last night?"

"Yep. Malon did his part perfectly."

"That's good to hear."

Much to everyone's relief, bagels were not on the menu today. Hime had made eggs instead. Soon they were done, and were ready to discuss their plans.

"Before going back to Teknisk Wereld, could you tell me what has been going on?" Draken requested. "I would like to know what I've missed."

"Sure, I can explain," Hope offered.

After several minutes of speaking, she finally finished.

"I can't believe this," Draken growled. "I wish I had been here to help… sorry guys…"

"It's alright," Larka responded. "You would have if you could have."

"Yeah, definitely," Draken nodded. "Um… I have a request. Could we go to the hospital and rehab center? I'd like to see how they're doing with my own eyes…"

"Of course," Hope replied. "We wanted to check on them anyway, and I'm sure Zack will want to see them as well."

"Correct," Zack confirmed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Draken said, leaping up.

-----

"This is the rehab center," Brandi told Draken as the humans walked into it. Their Soul Monsters had retreated into their Soul Cards for the time being.

"I see…"

Hope went over to the desk. "Excuse me, may we please see Rue and Claire Klause? They should be here."

The woman typed some commands into her computer, and then nodded. "Sure. Go through the hall and turn right. It will be the third door to your left."

"Thanks," Hope replied as they left.

When they reached the door, Larka knocked on it. In a few seconds, they heard Claire call, "Come in!"

They entered the room and found the siblings sitting in two chairs out of the three in the room. Ruecian was nearby, watching them as they came in.

"About time you came!" Rue exclaimed. "I've been dying of boredom here."

"I would be too, if I was stuck in this place," Draken commented, coming forward.

Rue stared at him.

"Hello? You alright?" Draken asked.

This finally brought Rue's power of speech back. "…WHERE THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Elsewhere. Don't expect much more from me than that," Draken grinned.

"Argh! More riddles to add onto the ones we already have? This is too much!" Rue complained.

Draken laughed. "Sorry pal. Maybe I'll explain some other time. So, how are you doing with walking?"

"Not well," Rue growled.

"He'll catch on eventually," Claire said. "But when that will be, we don't know."

"Hey, you didn't come back last night, did you?" Hope realized.

"I was allowed to stay beyond the visiting hours," Claire explained. "It took some begging, but it worked."

"Some begging?" Rue muttered. "Allow me to quote Will; don't make understatements."

"So, you want to know what's been happening?" Larka asked.

"Definitely!" Rue said. "How have you guys been doing with Thanatos?"

Once again, Brandi told the tale, even though she was tired of having to repeat it over and over again.

"Geez," was all Rue had to say when she was done.

"So you will go back to search some more today?" Claire inferred.

"That's right," Draken responded. "This virus is spreading quickly. We need to find it before it is too late."

"Yeah," Claire nodded. "I understand. I wish I could help though."

"So do I. But no… I can only wait here to recover! I really hate being helpless," Rue sighed.

"Then get better soon, or else I will personally beat the tar out of you," Draken grinned.

"Way to restore my confidence," Rue said dryly.

"See you all later," Hope said as they left.

Rue looked up at the ceiling. "So that's it, huh? All we can do is wait?"

"We can also believe in them," Claire stated. "I think that will be a lot better than just sitting here."

"True," Rue agreed.

-----

"So, who do you think we should see first?" Draken asked as they entered the hospital.

"We'll go in order from the nearest room to the farthest," Hope replied. "So Will, then Miles, then Fell, and then Max..."

"Alright then. Shall we go?" Draken suggested.

Hope lead the way to Will's room, gently knocking on the door. When there was no response, she opened it.

After they entered, Larka closed the door softly, looking over at Neo. The swordsman had finally given in to exhaustion, and was asleep in the chair. Will was still, the black marks still vivid.

"Should we wake him up?" Draken whispered, indicating to Neo.

"Let him sleep," Hope answered. "He hardly gets any rest, due to his worry for Will."

"Poor guy," Draken murmured, before going over to Will. "Hm… you're right. This does look a lot like the Black Snake Sickness." He lightly touched his forehead, and yanked his hand away almost instantly. "Yikes… his skin is burning…"

"That's why we have to work quickly," Brandi stated. "Or else it will be too late to save him."

"You're right," Draken said. "Just seeing this makes me want to run out and start looking now…"

"We will, soon enough," Larka assured. "But let's check on the others before we do that."

"Yeah, of course…" Draken gave Will one last look before they left.

They went over to the next door, which Hope once more knocked on. This time, Gen answered by opening it.

"Hi. Come on in," he invited.

"Thanks," Larka replied for all of them as they entered.

Hope, Brandi, and Larka instantly saw the difference from their other visits though. This time, they were shocked to see that Miles was awake.

Miles finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "Hey… nice to see you guys, although I'm not sure if you can say the same for me."

Draken ignored his last statement. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got beaten up so badly that I'll never be able to move again. I can't say that I don't deserve it, either," Miles said. "I doubt it means much to you guys, but I really do regret what I did. I betrayed you all, and that's something I just can't ask to be forgiven for. It's too severe… if any of you had died due to my actions…"

"You had a reason to do this, didn't you?" Brandi asked.

"Yeah… I'd rather tell everyone at once though," Miles replied.

"Thanatos was the one that injured you, right? But why did he do that?" Hope asked him.

"I hated what I had done the moment after I executed it. When Thanatos wanted to kill me too, I wanted to take him down with me… it didn't work very well though."

"…You would not betray us again, would you?" Larka asked.

"Dying would be better than the guilt I feel now. That means that no, I'll never do that, never again…" Miles trailed off.

Hope considered his words before answering. "I'm one for second chances. I'm sure you had a reason for doing what you did, and if you say you won't do it again, I'll take your word for it."

"I agree," Larka stated. "I'm sure everyone else will as well."

"That makes me feel even more guilty," Miles pointed out. "Nevertheless, I'm relieved. If I lost you guys... well… I'd have nothing."

"Don't kill yourself over it," Brandi shrugged. "We're fine, so no harm done as long as we can trust you now."

"Right," Miles said. "Now that that's out of the way, maybe you could tell me what's been happening. Like, how did Draken get here? And when did Zack come around?"

"I got here by airplane," Draken stated.

"That isn't really what I meant…"

"Sorry, but I have no more details to give. Zack regained consciousness yesterday, to answer your other question."

"We can tell you more later," Hope said. "Right now, we're kind of in a hurry. Will is infected with that virus still, and we need to find a cure for it quickly."

"Then go for it," Miles replied. "I can wait to hear the tale."

"Alright. We'll see you later. You too, Gen," Hope directed to the Soul Monster.

"Yeah. Good luck," Gen responded.

"Hopefully you will recover swiftly," Zack stated before leaving with the rest of the group.

Gen closed the door after them. "See? I was sure they would forgive you."

"I wasn't, but I'm really grateful they did," Miles said. "I wish I could assist, but that's kind of out of the question… so I guess all we can do is have faith in them."

"Indeed."

Meanwhile, the group had reached their next destination. Hope knocked yet again.

"Come in!" they heard Lilian call from inside, and entered.

Daine was sitting nearby the wall opposite of the bed, watching the group enter the room. Lilian was removing the bandages from Fell's left arm, while he sat on the edge of the bed, looking bored with the procedure.

"Fell! You're awake!" Larka exclaimed.

He glanced over at them, but stayed silent, like usual.

"I am simply amazed at how quickly he has recovered," Lilian told them, taking off the last bandage. "Yesterday, he had several injuries, but now, there isn't even a sign of any!"

"That is because of the full moon," Daine explained, for the others' benefit. "I channeled the energy he got from it so that it could be used to make him heal faster. The visible signs of wounds are gone, although he will still be a bit of pain for a while."

"Not bad," Brandi commented. "So can he leave?"

"Yes. There's no reason for him to stay, after all." She got up. "I have some other good news. Max has woken up."

"He has? Is he ok?" Brandi asked anxiously.

"He needs more time to recover, among other things. Why don't you see him for yourself? I would prefer that he doesn't feel crowded though. So Brandi and Hope, why don't you two go in? If the rest of you wouldn't mind waiting until a later time to see him…"

"That's fine," Draken assured. "Go ahead you two."

"Thanks," Hope replied before they left the room, following Lilian.

Lilian halted outside of the door. "I'll wait here for you two to be done."

"Alright," Hope agreed as they stepped inside.

Max looked over at them as they entered. He turned his eyes away quickly though.

"Max…" Hope began, but paused. Then she started again. "Um… about what happened before…"

"We don't need to discuss it," Brandi interrupted, giving Hope a look that told her she would not take any arguments. "There is no reason to blame you on anything; it was all Thanatos' doing. And now that he is gone, we don't have to worry about it anymore."

"…Yeah," Max replied, but still could not meet their eyes.

"How do you feel?" Brandi asked.

"Pained, physically and mentally. I'm going to miss having Olympion around for the latter…"

Now it was Hope's turn to look towards the ground. She knew that their relationship might have been different, but losing a Soul Monster… she couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it would feel to lose Gaston.

"I need time to think about this," Max stated. "That's all."

"Then you will have that time," Brandi said. "We're going to try to find a way to save Will. Everyone else is going to be ok… but he is close to death. So we must go."

"All I can say is that I hope you succeed," Max replied, finally turning to them.

"Thanks," Hope said softly. "And I hope you recover quickly."

Max did not respond to that, but looked over at Brandi. "I almost forgot… you might need to know the location of Obelisk."

As he said the name, Hope felt something… what was it… a desire?

"Oh, yes… where is it?" Brandi inquired.

"I asked Mana to hide it in a location where only you would look, so ask her. She should have told you already…"

"She probably forgot to tell me," Brandi said in disgust. "Oh well. No harm done, I guess. I can already think of where it probably is. Thanks."

"See you later," he stated, closing his eyes.

Lilian was waiting for them when they came back. Before going in, she said, "Brandi, I almost forgot to tell you. Matt wants to talk to you. He should be in Abby's room."

"Oh, alright. I'll do that now," Brandi decided.

"Bye for now then," Lilian said, going inside to check on Max's condition.

As they went down the hall, Hope finally asked her question. "So you do know where Obelisk is?"

"There's only one place it can be."

Hope hesitated before continuing. "Um… would you mind telling me where?"

Brandi raised an eyebrow at the request. "Why do you want to know? Wouldn't it be better if less people knew?"

"Yes, you're right… forget I asked," Hope hurriedly said, looking away.

Why did I ask that? I should have no reason to want Obelisk, right? It's too powerful… we have to keep it safe. But for some reason, I feel as though I have to see it for myself… why?

Brandi halted at Abby's door. "Would you mind waiting with the others? I won't take too long."

"Ok," Hope nodded before leaving.

Brandi waited until she was gone before knocking. Almost instantly, Matt opened the door, stepping outside to meet her.

"Abby's asleep," he said to answer her unasked question. "I just wanted to say that I've been worried lately. These people that Thanatos worked with… they're dangerous. I can't help you much, but maybe this will provide some assistance." He handed her a card.

She looked at the card. "You're sure?"

"Yes. He'll obey you, so use him as you see fit."

"Thanks," Brandi said. "I'm sure there will be a good occasion for him."

"Most likely. That's all I really had to tell you. Please, try to stay as safe as you can."

"Of course," Brandi smiled. "I'll see you later."

She went over to the waiting room, where the others were. Seeing her, they got up instantly.

"Shall we go back?" Hope suggested.

"Right away," Brandi replied.

-----

"So how did it go?" Hime asked as they entered.

"Fell has recovered, Miles is awake, and Max is awake," Draken said as they came in. "Will needs help though, as soon as possible."

"So we will leave instantly," Zack stated as the others got their Envoyant Machines.

"Go with speed," Perseus said. "And good luck. Will is depending on you."

"As are several other people," Hime added.

"Thank you," Hope replied before falling unconscious. The others soon joined her.

-----

Neo was still asleep, so he did not hear the next thing Will said.

"They're coming… please be careful…"

-----

"So, they will soon arrive?" the second inquired.

"Yes," the first replied.

"Shall we greet them?" the second smirked.

"I think now would be as good of a time as any," the first smirked. "We'll see how they fare. Oh, and you, try to keep yourself under control."

"Of course," the third said calmly.

To be continued…