AN: When I first wrote this chapter, I cut the battle with the Shadow short to save time. Now, I'm finally going to expand it a little.
Chapter 20: Desperate Rescue
|Unknown Place|
"Ugh..." Kyle murmured.
He rubbed his eyes, and gazed at his surroundings. He was in a brick-walled room, with only one light strip above him. The only furniture he could see was the cold hard bed he was lying on. Where was his wheelchair? Kyle gulped.
C'mon, Kyle. What happened last night?
He remembered being at Lorean Tower. Ornatu Legion soldiers guarding the building were knocked unconcious by Zio magic. During his attempt to get back to the base, someone had grabbed him from behind and used chloroform to knock him out. Such an underhanded trick...
"Oh, he's awake. Fucking sleepyhead." a male voice said.
Kyle looked up, and gulped. He looked to the left, and saw a tall, well built man. His brown hair had a small number of grey streaks thought it, and his brown eyes gave Kyle a fierce glare. His face was adorned with many scars, all of which looked like painful wounds. It was none other than the Commander - Blaine Spencer.
"Argh!" Kyle screamed. Another person came over - a girl with blonde hair in a bob cut, and green eyes. Serena. Yet it wasn't the one he knew. This must have been the other Serena, thought to have been killed. However, she was here, with the one responsible for her 'death' right next to her.
"Kyle, relax. You're going to be fine. Just calm down." Other Serena said, holding his hand. Kyle wanted to get outside, but there wasn't any way he could. Where's my wheelchair? Dan, save me! The Other Blaine just sighed, and Kyle desperately fumbled in his coat pockets, but his phone was missing. Shit! Seraphina, help!
"Settle down, for fuck's sake!" Other Blaine roared, slamming his fist on the bed. Kyle stopped wriggling but his heart was pounding in his ears. "Listen good, you little shithead. You're going to call the others at your base, and say to them exactly what I tell you to. Get it wrong, and it won't just be your legs that are fucked."
Kyle gulped. He muttered a reply, but it was too quiet for anyone to hear. Other Blaine slammed the bed again, shaking it rather violently. He then thrust the phone into Kyle's sweaty palm, and glared at him again. He wasn't kidding. This Blaine wouldn't let Kyle try anything clever.
"A-Alright."
|Secret Base|14:00 pm|
The four heroes had agreed to come earlier than usual today, simply so they could have the night to themselves. Amara was hoping just to spend some time training, yet whenever they did, something bad happened. What would the Holy Cross be up to this time? All four had been beaten. Yet the Commander was by far the bigger threat.
"Oh. It's you guys." Dan said curtly, immediately sneering at Blaine. Blaine looked away, unsure what to do.
"Dan! Oh, forget it. Good to see you guys!" Priscilla said, bowing. "What's new with you?"
"Well, Amara's got a date with some fisherman guy tomorrow!" Serena said, giggling.
"Oh, really? Good luck, then!" Aimee said, smiling. However, she suddenly turned serious. "I have bad news. Kyle went out last night, and he hasn't come back!"
Serena gasped. "What? Where did he go?"
"The fated tower of power distribution, Lorean." Seraphina said. She was focusing on Amara, for some odd reason. "All I know is that he was there one minute, and very quickly disappeared from the area. I'm facing a formidable challenge in trying to locate him, as well."
"Hold on." Aimee said, as her phone rang. "Oh, thank god, it's him! Hello Kyle, where are you?"
"Um...the Harbour. I really lost track of time and I think my wheelchair's broken. Yeah. So can someone come and get me?" Kyle said. Serena looked anxious, and Amara had a bad feeling herself. "Hurry up, it's really cold!"
"Alright, we'll be there!" Aimee said, as Kyle hung up. "That's strange, Kyle's never lost track of time that badly before."
"Hmm." Dan frowned. "It's not like him at all. Little brat, getting me worried. We'll have to punish him for this."
"Aww, I think it's cute when he gets focused on his work!" Priscilla said, but she didn't sound convinced. "So, who's going to the harbour?"
"Let me think." Aimee said. "Perhaps you four, if you're up to it. The harbour can get really crowded with Shadows some days, but we did a massive clean up of that area a few weeks back, so it should be quieter today!"
"Well, okay." Amara said. "As long as the Holy Cross don't trick us again. Wait. what if it IS another trap?"
"Leave that to me, Lady Amara." Seraphina said. "I shall be able to foresee any attempted rouses that bar your path!"
"Great, then let's go!" Blaine said. "Let's find this kid. He should know better than to make the grown-ups worry. Just like Matthew." Dan immediately looked up, and looked like he was going to murder Blaine with his bare hands. Before he could say anything, Blaine quickly went through the NDD with the others.
|Harbour - Right Side|14:04 pm|
The four of them left the storage facility at the harbour. This was the right side - the harbour was divided in two by the Silvana River, which ran through most of Legarte. Back in Amara's world, this would have been a bustling harbour with an endless view of the ocean. Now, it was barren of life. This was the closest she had come to the insurmountable barrier that encircled the entire city, and...it sent a shiver down her spine. This was like being thrown into the largest cage in the world. The water was eerily still, without even a hint of tide. Not a single fish was seen swimming beneath it's surface.
"Strange. I don't see anyone." Nathan said.
"What the fuck? We got tricked again?" Blaine said, grimacing at the sheets of metal covering the city. "I can't see a damn thing!"
"Let's check the left side. There's nothing here." Amara said, ignoring what looked suspiciously like pieces of bone by rotting barrels. There was an old dog collar near them, and she felt like she was going to be sick. At this point, she wondered. What was Zao doing in this world? Without anything to do at the harbour, was he just hiding away from the Shadows? Or had he become one of their victims?
She though back to the afternoon, where she got a call from an excitable Zao. He immediately asked her out for dinner, and without giving her a chance to answer, went on to speak avidly about the Mussel Inn. Clearly, it was his favourite restaurant in the city, and even though Amara didn't need persuading, he begged and begged to the point where Lucy gave her a suspicious look. His squeal of joy as she said yes still echoed in her ears, and she was looking forward to it a lot.
"Amara, are you coming?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, of course I am. I was just thinking about Zao, that's all." Amara said.
"Now now, we can't have our leader distracted by love at first sight, can we?" Blaine teased.
"Stop it! We're not in love yet! Well, maybe...oh come on! Let's hurry up and find Kyle!" Amara said.
|Legarte Harbour - Left Side|14:12 pm|
As the team arrived at the left side harbour, Amara felt a strange sensation through her body.
"Wait, do you feel something?" Amara asked the others.
"Yeah...I think it's Shadows. But where are they?" Serena looked around, but didn't see Kyle anywhere. "Oh god, tell me they didn't get him -"
Before she could finish, a dark circular emblem appeared on the ground, and a number of weak Shadows - known as Mayas - started appearing out of nowhere and entered the circle. One giant green mask appeared, and the dark bodies fused to create a terrifying bloody clock with the mask in the centre, with Shadow-like arms in place of clock hands. Instead of numbers were strange abbreviations. For example, MAG instead of 1, and PRI instead of 2.
"What a freak of nature..." Nathan said.
"I can't think of a good time pun. Anyone else got one?" Blaine asked.
"Save the puns for later. We have to find Kyle!" Serena yelled, whip at the ready. Amara and Nathan drew their weapons, and braced themselves for the Clock's Maragi attack. It's hands moved, one pointing towards Fortune and one towards Empress. It cast a Magaru spell, and the blades of air struck Amara with much velocity.
"Zio!" Blaine summoned electricity to blast the clock Shadow, and it seemed to hurt it a bit. However, it quickly healed itself with a Dia spell. "These guys are getting smarter...about time. I've been waiting for a real challenge."
Serena hit the clock with her whip, and Nathan used Setanta to hurl his spear at the Shadow. Amara prepared a Flare Hail spell, but strange distortions in the air struck her and the others.
"Oh god! What was that?" Nathan said.
"Wait, it's changing it's hands again!" Serena said. The hands had moved to Strength and Chariot. "Be careful! It's planning something weird!"
Amara raised her sword, unsure what the enemy was preparing next. The Shadow flashed for a second, and then a sharp blade made up of nothing but energy struck Blaine.
|Unknown Place|14:16 pm|
Other Serena had left the room after Kyle had finished the conversation. With just the Commander for company, Kyle was trapped. He could garner sympathy from Serena, sure, but this man wouldn't hesitate to use force.
"Now that they're off track, we shouldn't disturbed." Other Blaine said. Kyle simply stared in fearful silence. "Let's start by me asking you some questions about you and your friends."
"Questions like what?" Kyle said, meekly.
"Let's start with Dan. Tell me how you met him." Other Blaine asked, indignantly.
"Okay..." Kyle said. "I was at The Mole to get parts for a Shadow generator, when a drunk man started bothering me. He was completely out of it, and thought I was someone called 'Matthew'. You know, his brother that you - um - "
"Don't you fucking dare say it, kid." Other Blaine said. Kyle noticed Other Serena was missing, but even if she was here, would she be any help? "...Fine. It is my fault. I never wanted to blow up Kanaloa. But I did, and look what happened. My best friend, his brother, my home, everything gone."
"I know. He spent eight years in that bar, getting wasted, so he could forget." Kyle said. "It was that night he found his Persona, and I think he said something like 'Now I can hurt him'. Now I know what he was talking about." Dan, you're coming to help me. Right? I need you! This guy's gonna kill me!
"Dan...he tried to kill me when Kanaloa got destroyed. Even then, I had Tlaloc, and I thought it was awesome. I had the power to save my friends and the town from Shadows, and I could be a hero. Make my old man proud." Other Blaine said. Kyle kept quiet. Where was he going with this? "Dan tried to beat the living shit out of me. Before, he could have done that without breaking a sweat, but he couldn't even make me flinch this time. Eventually he ran away, calling me a freak. I thought he died that night...but he got lucky."
"I don't know what else to say..." Kyle said, scared. "You're not going to get away with this, you know that? Aimee and the others are going to find me!"
"You think I was gonna keep you here forever? You're useless under pressure!" Other Blaine said.
"Excuse me for not being comfortable with being kidnapped! Look, you jackass, you can't ask me to make Dan forgive you!" Kyle shouted.
"I know that, dumbass." Other Blaine said. In that moment, all the anger in his face vanished. Kyle saw him turn around, and wipe his eyes. Is he crying? "You guys must think I actually enjoy this shit. Fighting Shadows, controlling the people of this city, leading the Ornatu Legion..."
"What are you saying?" Kyle said, a little less afraid.
"I'll let you in on a little secret. I...hate it! I'm not the same dipshit I was back then. Ten years ago, I thought I was somekind of special hero, and I could help Aeternus end the Shadows for good. But they don't want to end them at all. They're using them for something even worse. Kanaloa's destruction was just a statistic to those fuckers. They built their headquarters where it used to be." Other Blaine said. "Nothing I could do about it, though. The Holy Cross guys think they're heroes, but they're not. I couldn't ask them to help."
"Help with what?" Kyle asked.
"To save the city." Other Blaine said, angry again. "Those guys are pathetic. But Nihane and the others, I can't kill them on my own! I tried to get Amara and Nathan on my side, but you know what the Ater Vox did? They framed me!"
"Are you serious?" Kyle couldn't believe this. Was this just a scheme to get Kyle to join the Ornatu Legion? "But why would they do that?"
"They know I wanted to kill them, so they thought if they stopped me from having even one friend in the world, I'd quit my plans." Other Blaine said.
"What about Serena?" Kyle asked. "They said she was dead!"
"They were wrong." Other Serena said, finally coming back, and she gave Blaine a strange gesture with her hands. "Looks like they killed the Corrupt Chronicle. They'll soon know they were tricked."
"Wait!" Kyle said. "Serena, why are you with this guy?"
"Kyle, don't you remember me? At all?" she asked, and she had a sorrowful look in her eyes.
"I know in that other world, you and I are best friends. But here, I don't know you! Why are you helping the Commander?" Kyle screamed. "Is he seriously trying to save the city from Aeternus?"
"...Yes." Other Serena said. "Aeternus found out about my Persona ability, thanks to my sister. Nina."
"You mean Nina Agnethe? I knew she was in the Ater Vox, but I didn't think you and her were sisters." Kyle said. "I didn't even know what she looked like!"
"It's true! Since I tried to kill her, they sent Blaine to kill me. But he didn't! He told me everything, about his past, the Holy Cross, and what he was trying to do! Kyle, I've had my Persona for six years. I got mine around the same time you got yours. We met around the same time you got Hephaestus! Don't you remember?" Other Serena said.
"Remember what?" Kyle yelled.
"The day...your mother was killed." Other Serena said.
Kyle's face went blank. All of a sudden, in his head, he was ten years old again. A young boy who had just learned of his Persona, with everyone at school begging him to join the Ornatu Legion. As Other Serena talked, he couldn't think clearly at all as many horrible memories slowly came back.
"Mommy, no! Get away from him!"
|Legarte Harbour - Left Side|
After a long and arduous battle, the Shadow shattered to pieces and disintegrated.
"Dammit, that was hard. Thank god we won!" Amara said, wiping sweat from her brow. "Back to looking for Kyle."
"Yeah..." Serena said, looking very worried. Looking all over the harbour, they couldn't see a thing."Kyle! Where are you?" she screamed, running around. "Oh god. The Shadows didn't get him, did they?"
"I'm sure he's not - Quiet! Someone's coming!" Nathan said, and Amara soon heard footsteps. Quickly, the four of them hid behind barrels.
"...can't see a thing. I said we should have left earlier! There's nobody here!" someone said. That sounds like Kazuya! But what's he doing here?
"But Kazuya, the Commander said to get there whenever we could. It's not my fault Alastair takes too long to wash his hair!" Bianca said, and Alastair groaned.
"It is nice hair though. He's worth it!" Richard said, laughing. "C'mon, Kazuya, just relax. It's kinda nice here. Although that huge wall in front of us is pretty ugly, and the water's dirty -"
"Everyone, shut up and listen!" Alastair exclaimed. "The Commander's exact words were 'Get your asses to the harbour whenever you can, something's come up'. Nothing's here, so we were either too late or he got it wrong."
"Well, I doubt he would say that if it wasn't something important. Maybe we just need to go to the right side of the harbour. Let's go." Bianca said, and the Holy Cross ran off.
"So is it a trap or not?" Blaine asked, angry. "This is fucking confusing..."
"I don't know. The Holy Cross didn't know what was going on. They wouldn't lie if they didn't know we were here." Amara said, worried. "At any rate, Kyle's completely vanished. Please tell me Seraphina knows where he is."
"What's going on?" Aimee said, as she and the others ran up to them. "Haven't you found Kyle yet?"
"...No." Serena said, very distressed. "Seraphina! You can sense him, right?"
"I am trying my hardest, but there is a...veil of darkness covering my gift." Seraphina said. "Locating Kyle is not within my reach."
"Damn!" Dan said, stomping on the ground. "What the hell are we still doing' here? Kyle's gotten himself kidnapped and they're sending us on a wild goose chase!" he yelled. "We'll have to search the whole damn city if we have to!"
Amara didn't know what to do anymore. If Kyle was in danger, it was up to her and the others to save him. But if the Commander had seized him, what could she do? She wasn't ready to face him, not yet.
"Hey, look over there!" Nathan said.
A hooded woman, covered completely in black, walked in a rather eerie way towards the group.
"Are you searching for the boy known as Kyle McHale?" she said. Serena gasped at her voice, but everyone else just looked confused.
"What have you done to him?" Dan yelled. "If you've hurt him, then I'll fucking tear you to pieces!"
"I have not touched him. Tonight, however, he will remember the past. The past he has sealed within his heart to protect himself. Yet, the longer he guards that past, the worse that boy shall be." the woman said. "Serena. You must be there for him, and remind him that he is not alone, no matter how much he thinks so."
"Who are you?" Priscilla asked. "You're not in Aeternus, are you?"
"I...am a sinner, who must rectify the atrocities I have bestowed upon this land." she said. "Until we meet again." With this, she faded away.
"What the hell was that?" Blaine said, scratching his head.
"I dunno. Seraphina, can you find him now?" Amara asked.
"Yes! In an instant, it becomes clear! He is in Takanawa. Let us depart!" Seraphina said, and the gang ran back to the NDD, but Serena hesitated.
"Serena, what's wrong?" Amara asked.
"Nothing. I'm coming." Serena said, running up.
|Takanawa - Unknown Place|
Kyle simply laid there, shaking. With every word Other Serena told him, he seemed to get more and more distant.
"Kyle...it's all true. I'm sorry."
"I suppose now would be a bad time to ask him about the secret base." Other Blaine said.
"...Mom..." Kyle said, without looking at the other two.
"Blaine, I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd repressed the memories of that day." Other Serena said.
"He'll be fine. When he snaps out of it, he can tell the others what I told him. They might even trust me a little." Other Blaine said, just as his phone bleeped with a text message. He read it, and sighed immediately at the sender - Richard. "Damn, I have to deal with the damn Holy Cross now - shit!"
There was a loud crashing noise downstairs, and plenty of footsteps. No doubt, the rebels had found the abandoned Yamanoka Supplies building in Takanawa's financial sector, where Kyle was being held.
"How did they know we were here?" Blaine groaned.
"They've got a psychic member. Seraphina, or something!" Other Serena said. "What do we do?"
"We can't fight in here. The kid's already traumatised. Let's deal with them downstairs. C'mon." Other Blaine said, and the two of them left the room.
"...Mom..."
|Yamanoka Supplies - Downstairs|
The group had barged down the door, with Dan providing most of the brute force. Nathan was still rubbing his shoulder. This place was Yamanoka Supplies, a fairly small company that sold stationery throughout the city. Despite being abandoned for a long time, the place hadn't experienced much decay.
"Kyle!" Aimee cried out. "Where are you?"
No response. Just as Amara was about to open a door to the right, she heard footsteps. On the upstairs landing was Blaine, the Commander. Next to him was a girl. One with a face she knew.
"There you are, you son of a bitch!" Dan screamed, aiming his rifle at the Commander. "Where's Kyle? I'm not leaving until we get him back! You got that? I'll blast ya to bits if I have too! Don't think I won't..."
"...I don't want a fight." Other Blaine said. "Dan, I'm not trying to torture Kyle or anything. And I know what you've been through. Eight years of drowning your sorrows...this isn't a picnic for me, either."
Dan lowered his rifle, and glared at his former friend. Everyone else looked at him. Eight years of drowning his sorrows before he joined the rebels...
"Yeah, that's right. Kyle found Dan in The Mole two years back. What else did you make him tell you?" Aimee asked, anxious. "Wait a minute. Who's she?"
Serena gasped, at the sight of the girl next to the Other Blaine.
"That's me..."
They had different hair styles, but it was definitely the other Serena. In a green military jacket, she wielded a similar whip. "What have you done to Kyle?"
"He'll be okay. I want to save him. I can't let my sister get his claws on him!" Other Serena said. Serena glared at her, and Amara just looked around, in confusion.
"You mean Nina Agnethe is Serena's sister?" Priscilla said, and everyone else except Blaine looked up in shock. "I've never seen her in person before..."
"It's true, then. My sister really is one of the Ater Vox. I knew she was in Aeternus, and she was at the convention ten years ago." Serena said, dismayed. "You're working for Aeternus, aren't you? Why did they say you were killed?"
"They thought I was, but he saved me." Other Serena said. "Now that this other world has come up, we can't have you getting involved! Go home, already! Go to the Kyle you know, and leave this Kyle to me!"
"I can't let you do that! Kyle is my friend, no matter what world he's in!" Serena shouted. "If I have to fight myself to save him, so be it!" Without any hesitation, she conjured Artemis.
"Come on, then! Artemis, show yourself!" As expected, she summoned her own version of Artemis - which other than a black tight dress, looked similar to Serena's.
My darker self...we want to protect the one dear to us. We should not fight to determine which of us shall save him! Artemis said.
My lighter self...it is my destiny to save this boy! You shall not stop me, so if you insist on taking him, you shall have to vanquish me! Other Artemis said. Both of their Personas were charged with tremendous power, just like with Amara and Blaine.
Aimee, frightened, looked at everyone. "Okay, me, Priscilla, Seraphina and Dan will take care of the Commander, the rest of you fight her! Don't let her get away!"
"Agilao!" Amara blasted Other Serena with powerful flames, and Nathan followed up with a Garula.
"N-No!" Other Serena cried, as Blaine summoned Tlaloc. Just as the lightning struck the ground, she rolled to the side. "I'm not letting you get me with that!" Her Artemis fired a powerful arrow at Amara, hitting her in the arm.
"She's fast. Just like me." Serena yelled. "Come on, Aques!" Artemis' water spell did some considerable damage. It seemed two identical Personas fighting each other had some strange effects.
"So your Artemis has the same spell? Then let me show you who's better!" Other Serena yelled, and another Aques emerged, hitting Serena.
"She completely voided my resistance!" Serena said, stunned. "How did that happen?"
"I don't know, but we have to keep fighting!" Nathan said, as he tried to attack Other Serena with his staff. However, she kept leaping out of the way of his and Amara's attacked, and swung her whip at them - yet, she fell right into a Zionga, which caused her to fall to the ground in agony.
"Ha, got her!" Blaine said, and he shot her multiple times. "How about this one?" Tlaloc smashed Other Serena with her hammer, much to her annoyance.
"Ngh...no! I won't let you get away with that! Malaques!" And sure enough, the entire team was blasted with water. Blaine's high pitched squeal spoke for itself, as he fell down in pain.
"Blaine, are you okay? Diarama!" Serena said, healing Blaine. "Wait, if I can do this-"
"Oh, a healer like me? I can do that as well. Diarama!" The Other Artemis healed her, and Other Serena grinned at Amara's sigh of frustration.
"This is going to take forever..." Amara said. "Just keep hitting her until she can't heal herself enough!"
And so, the battle dragged on and on, as Other Serena did nothing but heal herself, whilst the others tried to blast her with as many magic spells as possible. Finally, Blaine got her with another Zionga.
"Oww! Not...again!" Other Serena said. Amara took a quick look to see the other battle, and Other Blaine was trying his hardest to fight back. Priscilla was casting Bufula, Dan was firing rather wildly, Seraphina attempted to set up another magic shield but got shot by Other Blaine, and Aimee was waiting to heal them.
"Shall we try and finish this?" Blaine said, looking at Serena. She nodded, and Tlaloc and Artemis flew into the air. "See if you can dodge this! Divine Pillar!" A torrent of water hit the Other Serena, and just as it reached it's highest level, Tlaloc sent forth a godly bolt of lightning that caused the torrent to surge, and Other Serena collapsed, bleeding and struggling to move.
"Enough!" Other Blaine called, narrowly dodging Dan's bullet. "This is a big waste of time! The original plan was to get that kid to return to his senses so we could ask him more questions, but this is just pointless! Go ahead and take the damn kid!"
"Return to his senses?" Amara asked.
"Let's take him up on his offer." Priscilla said. "Kyle's probably worried about us."
"Tch...fine. I'll get another chance to kill him anyway." Dan said, dismissing Tezcatlipoca. "I'm letting you go for now, but you two better get out of here before I change my mind!"
"Isn't it supposed to be me saying that?" Other Blaine said, with a very small smile. Dan shrugged, and Other Blaine sighed. "You've changed."
"What are you freaks trying to do to the world?" Amara asked, exhausted. "Taking over the city isn't just the start, is it?"
"You think I'm on their side? Just ask Kyle. He knows the truth." Other Blaine said, turning towards Dan. "Dan, the kid's been through a lot. You look after him. If he's your friend now, don't let him down. Ever." Before anyone could say anything, he ran through the nearest NDD.
"No matter what, I'll protect Kyle!" Other Serena said, as she followed.
"What's he talking about?" Dan said, no longer angry, but confused.
"Is he our enemy or not?" Nathan said, dusting off his shirt.
"I do not know, but I do not think his heart is one of malice." Seraphina said. "Enough dawdling! Our companion needs us!"
Serena nodded, and darted upstairs. "Kyle, I'm coming! Please be alright!"
|Yamanoka Supplies - Office|
"Kyle!" Serena said, running in. Kyle was lying there, in a daze, sweating all over.
"...Mom...don't...die..." he said.
"This is the past that lady was talking about, right?" Blaine said, watching Kyle mutter in horror.
"I knew his mother died, but he didn't remember how it happened." Aimee said, sadly. "If he's been keeping it bottled up inside for so long, no wonder this happened."
"Kyle, can you hear me?" Serena asked, shaking Kyle. "I'm here!"
"Serena?" Kyle finally said. "Where's my mom? Mom, I -" he began saying, but his voice degenerated into muffled noises, as he began wailing, tears falling from his eyes. Serena hugged him tight, trying to soothe him.
"It's alright. I'm here." she said. Kyle couldn't stop, and everyone just watched as Serena held her close friend as tightly as possible. "We'll get you home." After finally locating his wheelchair, the gang returned home, as Kyle eventually passed out.
|Secret Base|
"I think Kyle needs some rest. Please come back tomorrow, everyone." Aimee said, as Dan took Kyle to his bedroom. "Also, about your sister, Serena -"
"Sorry, I should have said something before now. All I knew was that she was working for Aeternus ten years ago, and she came to the convention...but I didn't think she'd be one of the Aeternus leaders in this place!" Serena said, shaken. "I'm sorry, I don't know anymore...she never talked to me about any of her work."
"Hey, we'll find out more later. Don't worry!" Amara said, forcing a smile.
"Don't torment yourself. I think we can trust you. But we may end up having to fight her at some point. You'll have to deal with that eventually." Nathan said, seriously.
"Yeah, I guess. I'll be fine. Let's talk about it later, okay? C'mon, let's go home. Everyone, please look after Kyle!" Serena said, and she went through the NDD with Amara and Nathan. Blaine was about to go through, but Dan grabbed his shoulder before he did.
"What?" Blaine said, nervous.
"Sorry. I knew you weren't the same Blaine I knew, but I can't just forget about what happened. So…" Dan said, holding out his hand. "I guess I should stop being a dick to you."
"Thanks, man." Blaine said, with a weak smile. "This doesn't mean you like me, does it?"
"Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to say that." Dan said, and he tried to stop himself from smiling too. "...Heh. I'll keep an eye on Kyle, so go on home. Have a good night."
"Will do!" Blaine said, running through the NDD. A lot had happened today, but Aimee knew they must go on. Yet, it didn't seem like the day they saved New Motus City was so far off anymore.