Moving Forward
Walking down the halls of Duel Academy, Jaden was silent. Thinking back on what they had experienced over such a short period of time.
It had been two days since they returned to the Island with Chazz, rushing him immediately to Ms. Fontaine as soon as they stepped foot on the island again. Of course, she was shocked when they brought him to her and told her everything that they knew had happened to him. But what was stuck in his mind was the image of what they saw as they redressed Chazz in his own clothes. Taking the hospital gown off of him after Ms. Fontaine cleaned and bandaged the minor wounds he'd sustained, not limited to the gash on his forehead, but also other small injuries spread over the remainder of his body.
They'd all seen what Atticus had seen that first day they learned about Chazz's true family issues.
Scars.
Scars decorating his entire chest, mostly congregated on his stomach and sides, though a few did find themselves on his upper chest. And as they thought, shifting him in curiosity, Bastion had found more on his back. Horrified, the friends found it emotionally difficult to lay their hands on the boy, taking multiple minutes to put Chazz's dark purple turtleneck back onto him before pulling the covers of the infirmary cot over his marred body. It was hard on them just knowing what their poor friend had been through, but they couldn't possibly imagine how Chazz felt about it.
After all, he had actually experienced it.
"Dammit..." Jaden thought, shaking his head to try and rid himself of those images as he approached Fontaine's door. Sliding the door open, Jaden stepped into the hospital.
His friends were all there, standing around in a cluster around Chazz's vicinity. He was positioned so that he was able to sit up in bed, still a little weak from all he'd been through. Ms. Fontaine herself sat on the side of Chazz's bed, the back of her hand placed on his forehead, feeling through the bandage wrapped around his head to cover the deep cut on his forehead to see if he was too warm. He hadn't been feeling well since he came to, but they all figured that made sense all things considered. They were just happy he could actually recognize them and seemed to not really have much difficulty remembering who they were. Though, he had had to ask a few of them for their names at least once, nodding along once they told him, realizing that he did in fact still retain that knowledge somewhere.
Registering who all was around, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, Chancellor Sheppard entered Jaden's view as well and appeared to be speaking with Dr. Crowler.
"Hey, Jaden." Syrus said, turning to his best friend as he entered the room, a small smile on his unbearably adorable little face.
"Hey, Sy." Jaden nodded, acknowledging his best friend, taking a place next to the small boy as he listened in on Crowler and Sheppard's conversation.
"The problem is that Chazz is still a minor. And with his brothers most likely going to jail for masterminding, kidnapping, and child endangerment, among countless other crimes... legally speaking, that greatly complicates the situation." Sheppard explained, sighing as he conversed with Crowler on the legal aftermath of all that had happened.
"Yes, I'm aware." Crowler nodded, shaking his head slowly as he too considered what could be done. "But we simply must offer our aid, Chancellor. After all, it's my duty as an educator to ensure the wellbeing of my students!" he asserted, backing down for a moment with a slight realization. "And as such, it was on my authority that his brothers were taken in by the authorities."
The man took the responsibility upon himself to care for Chazz after everything that had happened. It was nice to see Crowler acting like a responsible adult, but given the circumstances, it was also sad...
"Yes, I know. But it was on my authority that you all went to rescue him at all." Sheppard retaliated, pointing out the facts. "This is my responsibility. I will do everything in my power to ensure that Chazz is taken care of."
Sheppard placed a hand on Crowler's shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze as he gave the professor an extremely serious look.
"I can assure you of that, Crowler."
"Very well." Crowler nodded, content to hear that justice would be served.
"There are still a great many details to be worked out and discussed, however." Sheppard sighed, wishing they could do something now to deal with all of this.
Sighing quietly to himself again, Sheppard turned his eyes to Chazz, wishing for nothing more than for him to be left out of the inevitable aftermath. He'd been through enough without having to drudge it all up again so soon.
"I've spoken with the authorities concerning this whole mess." He continued. "They'd like to speak with you about what happened, Chazz. That is, if you're willing?"
"...That's fine."
Everyone in the room turned to Chazz then. His eyes were downcast and sad, but they knew he meant what he said. Chazz was strong, he wasn't about to let his brothers get the better of him while he had the upper hand. And to have a chance to get them punished for everything they had heartlessly done to him on top of that.
All the pain and torment he had endured, they would finally be punished for it.
"But Chazz..." Alexis almost whispered, her expression saddening as she thought about that outcome and how hard it could be for him to go through with, having to talk about everything his brothers had done to him over the years.
"But nothing, Alexis." Chazz protested, shaking his head as his right hand tightened around the bedsheets, his resolve showing true. "I mean it, it's fine. I've kept quiet about them long enough as it is..."
"Yeah, but you said they'd hurt you if they found out you talked." Atticus interrupted, taking a step closer as he relayed that small fact to the rest who weren't there to hear it that day.
"Exactly my point." Chazz said, looking up at his arguably closest friend, his eyes still sad, but overflowing with resolve. "They can't do that now. I don't have to worry about what Slade and Jagger would do to me."
Chazz turned his gaze, looking through the group surrounding him, his sparkling black eyes focusing on Sheppard across the way.
"So, whatever. If the police wanna talk to me about it, that's fine."
Sheppard nodded silently to Chazz. He knew determination when he saw it, and Chazz was determined to stand against his brothers again. And resolved to see them punished for the pain they had inflicted upon him. And such a resolve, Sheppard knew he had no place to stand in the way of it.
"Well, now that that's settled. I want to talk to you myself, Chancellor." Ms. Fontaine spoke up, standing from her place at Chazz's bedside having taken his temperature and redressed his wounded wrists while they were all talking. "About his condition, you know."
"Oh yes, of course, Fontaine." Sheppard nodded, making his way to the infirmary door followed by the lovely nurse, who turned back to Chazz for a moment wagging her finger at the boy with a smile on her face.
"I'll be right back to finish cleaning those wounds up, okay?"
"Sure. I'll be here." Chazz said, crossing his arms with a slight scoff under his breath as the nurse turned away with a smile, following the Chancellor out into the hall for a more private conversation.
"So, how are you feeling, Chazz?" Jaden asked, turning back to his friend, a concerned and quizzical expression on his face as he inquired about his friend's health. "Any better? Do you... remember more?"
"I guess." Chazz mumbled under his breath. He hated having Jaden worry about him, it was humiliating being fussed over by someone who's defeated him at every turn. But the concern was nice no matter who it came from. With no one really caring about him all his life before, it was nice to know people cared now. "A lot of stuff's still fuzzy. But I remember the important things, at least, I guess."
"Still, that is an improvement." Bastion observed, raising an eyebrow as he looked over their friend, looking to determine if he was really telling the truth about his health. But he couldn't see anything wrong with him on the outside that he could see, so he was satisfied for the time being.
"That's right. You weren't doin' so good yesterday. You gave us quite a scare, son." Hassleberry said, recounting the day before.
Chazz had finally woken up completely from his drug induced sleep, but he was feeling very sick, and he didn't seem to recognize them at first, making them all worry that something had been really wrong. And upon realizing he was in an infirmary, Chazz entered an almost violent panic attack just like he had that day they learned of his past. It took almost all of his friends and even Crowler to calm him down again, with his mind still under great strain. Chazz was more than exhausted by his condition, not helping him at all in any way.
To say it had been unsettling for the group to see him that way would've been the understatement of the decade.
"Yeah. Don't do that again, okay?" Syrus asked, tilting his head slightly to the left, his adorable gray eyes locking with Chazz's own. Syrus's overwhelming cuteness and loving concern for his friend were just too much for everyone.
"S-Sorry." Chazz stuttered out, sighing quietly before lowering his head again. Gripping the sheets in his hands, his voice lowered as he spoke again. "I'm, well, sorry... for everything..."
"What are you talking about, buddy?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the raven haired teen before him. "Sorry for what?"
"What do you think, Jaden?" Chazz replied, keeping his gaze away from the others while he stared at the bandages around his wrists, all the memories he hadn't been able to find thus far beginning to come back to him. "Hiding everything. Getting my dumb ass kidnapped, causing you all so much trouble, everything."
"Chazz, you don't have to apologize. None of this was your fault." Alexis soothed, coming over and taking a seat next to him at the foot of the bed, resting her hand on his leg, aware that he would be comforted by her. It was no secret he had feelings for her, and even though she didn't feel the same, she didn't mind indulging him for the time being if it made him feel better. "You couldn't have known this would happen."
"Lexi's right." Atticus agreed, nodding along with his sister's statement. "It's their fault. You've done nothing wrong." offering his friend a gentle smile, Atticus thought back to that day. "And don't forget, you let yourself confide in me. So it's not like you didn't ask for help when you really needed it."
"That's right, Chazz." Crowler interjected, taking his place between Bastion and Jaden as he looked down at his wounded student. "You did something extremely brave and difficult for someone in your position. And for that, you have my highest respect."
"If you say so, Crowler..." Chazz mumbled, his subdued and quite down mood showing through, despite his attempt at keeping up his charade of having a callous attitude.
"Well, now it's over." Bastion said, moving over closer to Chazz, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You won't have to worry about them any more."
In that place, surrounded by people who cared for him and traveled so far to bring him back, Chazz's heart began to break.
He'd never had someone truly care about him, not that he really remembered. Much less an entire group of people caring enough to do what they'd done for him. It tore him up inside, the feelings he had ever very rarely been exposed to overwhelmed his inexperienced heart.
"For as long as I can remember... my brother's just forced me to do anything they wanted me to do, no matter what. I never really mattered to them" He thought, sitting there with his friends surrounding him, Bastion's strong hand on his shoulder and Alexis gently rubbing his leg, her kind smile casting down on him. It was a wonderful feeling he'd really never known. "I was never good enough for my them. No matter how hard I tried to meet their expectations. I wasn't ever good enough for anyone at all, at least not by their standards. I think it was getting roped into this bunch of yahoos that started to kinda make things a little better. Slade and Jagger left me alone after all that stuff last year. Until now, that is, I guess. But when... when I was trapped in my mind... watching everything disappear... I..."
"Chazz..?" Atticus asked, looking down with concern at the younger boy.
He was trembling.
All of them realized that by then, but no one dared to say a word. Atticus, however, spoke again.
"Are you alright...?"
"Somethin' wrong?" Hassleberry added, trading glances with Syrus as they looked from one another to Chazz a few times, also sharing worry for their friend.
"Nothing, it's just that..." Chazz answered. Turning his head slightly, though his gaze was still downcast towards his hands, making small gestures with his left hand as he tried to voice his thoughts. "When I was... you know... having my memories erased? I was well, trapped in my own head. If that makes any sense? It was like a hallucination, or some kind of fucked up illusion. But it was so real..."
"What do you mean?" Syrus inquired, not sure what Chazz was implying about what he was relaying to them.
"I could see it all... feel it all..." Chazz explained. "The only thing I could do was just watch... as all my memories were shattered and erased before my eyes…"
The group listened in silence, all their hearts hurting as they heard their beloved friend's turmoil and pain. It must have been hell, being forced to watch every memory you hold dear, everything that gives you your life, your identity, erased before your very eyes with nothing you could do to stop it. Chazz had been helpless to stop his pain all this time, but they couldn't imagine just how helpless and hopeless he could have felt being trapped in such a situation. Not even safe in his own mind anymore.
Atticus's heart broke when he heard. All the guilt he'd felt over the boy's kidnapping in the first place falling back onto him all at once. He'd vowed to himself that he'd protect his precious friend, and he had already felt awful about allowing him to fall into such evil hands. But hearing just how hellish the experience was for him... his heart just broke.
"But it wasn't just that." Chazz continued, taking his left hand and raising it to his right arm, wrapping his hand around it and giving the limb a squeeze as he became visibly more uncomfortable. "I was disappearing too... with every memory that got erased, part of me was erased too..."
"Oh my..." Crowler gasped quietly, raising his hands to his mouth hovering them in front of his face as he thought about how horrible that must have been to experience. Chazz trembled as he spoke, recounting the terrible and horribly traumatic memory.
"I was trapped. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. And everything around me was disappearing... I just felt weak." Chazz explained. "I was ready to give up. Ready to give in. Almost all of my memories were gone, and just didn't have the strength to fight anymore. But then..."
A moment of silence passed, and Chazz looked up. Turning his gaze finally upwards, he locked his black eyes on the girl sitting at his bedside.
"Then I heard Alexis's voice somehow. She was telling me to hold on, and not to give up fighting. It well... it gave me hope, I guess." Averting his gaze from her, Chazz gripped the blankets one more time. "I heard everything you said, Alexis."
"Chazz..." Alexis practically whispered, surprised to hear that her words hadn't gone unheard. Surprised, but terribly relieved that the situation hadn't been so hopeless that he could hear her voice like she had hoped.
"I don't know what would've happened to me... if you weren't there..." Chazz mumbled, only loud enough for her and anyone close enough to hear. His gaze still averted from her, not really sure if he could look her in the eye confidently after she'd done something so monumental for him. Honestly, he wasn't sure he could look any of them in the eye anymore.
Not for a while, at least. Not when he remembered what she had said to him back then.
"Its not your fault either, Alexis..."
Alexis offered a gentle smile to the trembling teen, a happiness coming over her knowing that she had actually been able to help him back then. It was nice knowing that she had contributed to her friend's current safety. Also knowing that her voice had been heard even in such a dark and terrible place. It meant the world to her with the thought that if she hadn't called out to him like she did, Chazz may not be there right now talking about how she in turn had a strong hand in saving his life.
Chazz sighed quietly, his expression softening as he glanced back up at the rest of the group around him, his face now as much sad as it was happy.
"I guess I just want to say... thanks..." looking away from them once more, Chazz's voice lowered in volume. "Thanks for saving me..."
"Of course we did, buddy. And if we had to, we'd do it again." Jaden soothed, smiling down at his friend and rival, his gentle tone ever present in his words in complete sincerity. "That's what friends are for, right?"
"We care about you, Chazz. Seriously." Syrus added, offering a smile of his own as Jaden wrapped his arm around the adorable boy, pulling him closer in a slight side bro hug.
"That's right." Atticus agreed, smiling his own gorgeous smile for his young friend.
Thinking back on all he and the others had done in order to rescue and care for the boy over the short time everything had passed through, he remembered just how in flux his emotions on the matter really had been. He was back and forth between just being sad and extremely angry. The whole ordeal had taken its toll on Atticus as well, but he knew what he felt about it was nothing compared to how Chazz was feeling.
And the guilt hurt Atticus so badly.
The guilt he felt having failed to protect Chazz like he vowed to himself to do, it was eating him up.
"But now it's my turn to apologize."
"Don't." Chazz said, shaking his head at the brunette, he already had an idea what the elder was going to say. He knew Atticus, and he knew he would feel like he had to take responsibility for him after Chazz had confided in him and trusted him with such important information. "I don't blame you, Atticus. Not for any of it, okay? I don't blame any of you. I mean really, how could I?"
"But still..." Atticus sighed, his eyes growing sadder. "I made a vow that day, Chazz. I made a promise. Both as an older brother and your friend. I vowed that I would protect you. But then this happened..."
Taking another step closer, Atticus took a place beside Alexis. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he sighed quietly under his breath one more time.
"So for that, I really am sorry." As he spoke, a tiny smile began to break through his guilt and sadness. "But you're safe now, that's what's important. You're home."
"Home..." Chazz whispered quietly. He'd always known the word, but it was never a place he felt he had before... not in a very long time...
"You got it." Hassleberry declared, smiling his own chipper smile as he looked upon their precious friend. "And believe me, son, we aim to keep you here."
"That's correct." Bastion confirmed, smiling softly as well for their friend. It was a genuine, loving smile meant only for the most precious and dear of friends. And Chazz was just that to everyone.
Despite his typical demeanor and having been quite the problem at first, Chazz had earned his place in all of their hearts as a dear and completely irreplaceable friend.
A friend they would protect at all costs, no matter what they had to do.
"You're home, Chazz."
"And you know, we're your family now too, Chazz. Whether you like it or not." Alexis added, giving his leg a little squeeze as she offered him the kindest, most gentle smile she could. After all, he deserved nothing less. "You're stuck with us."
"I..." Chazz started, trailing off before he could continue to speak. This level of warmth and love was something he hadn't experienced in so many years. So much of his life before was full of cold darkness and pain from which he thought he would never escape. But laying there in the Duel Academy infirmary, surrounded by only kindness and love... it was overwhelming.
Feeling a tightness arise in his chest, Chazz's lip quivered slightly as a mist began forming in his eyes. It was all too much for him to take.
"I know you've suffered much in your short years, my boy..." Crowler soothed, taking a seat next to Chazz on the side of the bed as Alexis had before, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulder, Crowler pulled him closer in a comforting side embrace, placing his other hand gently on Chazz's other arm. "But that time has passed. And as Alexis said, you have a family all your own here."
As Crowler spoke, his tone was as gentle and loving as any adult would speak to a hurting child.
Chazz trembled in his professor's tender hold, tears beginning to fall down his pale face. Turning his eyes to the professor, Crowler smiled kindly at his precious student, shifting the boy over slightly before pulling him into a full, gentle hug.
"One that truly cares for you."
Chazz sat limp in Crowler's embrace, tears falling from his eyes, overflowing with emotions. He couldn't bring himself to speak, but that was alright. Words couldn't even begin to express what Chazz felt inside. The relief, the sadness, and hurt conflicting with love and gratefulness to his friends.
His family.
Unable to control the flux of emotions flowing through him, Chazz gave in to his heart, letting out his tears, he cried. Wrapping his arms around his favorite teacher, Chazz clung to him while he cried.
Crowler in turn gently rubbed circles into the boy's back, smiling softly as he comforted his student while the others offered their own support by just being there for Chazz. Ms. Fontaine and Sheppard lingered in the doorway, looking on at the scene. They didn't dare interrupt the tender moment.
"It's alright now, my boy..." Crowler soothed, holding his crying student with all the gentleness and comfort he could muster up from his entire being. "It's alright..."
Chazz sobbed in Crowler's hold, but it wasn't sadness. The tears were filled with happiness and relief. Relief that he had been saved, and would never be subjected to beatings and tortures by his older brothers ever again. And happiness that after all this time, he had found what he needed.
He had a family again.
A real family that loved him and would do whatever it took to keep him safe and help him through his dark times.
The tears streamed almost endlessly, he couldn't bear all the conflicting feelings, but he didn't care. It had been so long since Chazz had had a true, proper family. But here now, in the aftermath of tragedy, he realized that that's exactly what he found himself in the middle of.
Not just friends, but family.
"Thank you…"
The end
