A/N: Hey everyone! Im so sorry that its been a while, especially after the cliffhanger I ended with. I was pretty busy after going back to school, and I also had some writer's block. I knew what I wanted, but the words wouldn't come. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Eve ran through the hallways underneath the Parthenon, following the shouts she had heard earlier. Only now everything had quieted. She wasn't sure whether that comforted or worried her. All she knew was that it made it more difficult to find Stone.
She left not long after him. After some thought, she had realized he was right. She would be doing the same for Flynn, and she needed to do it for Cassandra as well. She was her guardian. It was her job to protect her until the last second, no matter what the costs.
At last, she heard another voice. She must be getting closer. She scowled upon recognizing it: Dulac. Eve ran, following the sound again.
Finally she arrived to a final room and saw Stone inside, bringing Gorgon's Blood to his lips. Looking over, she saw Dulac smiling. He knew which blood Jake was about to drink. She tried to scream, but she was too late. As she opened her mouth, Stone collapsed to the floor.
"OH HELL NO!" Eve sprinted into the room, charging with her gun. Dulac met her head on.
"Ah Colonel Baird" he said, all too causally. "I thought you might come. You see there's nothing you can do. This was our deal. It's no one's fault that Mr. Stone chose the wrong vial." Eve tried to charge at him, but he held her back.
"I guess, as you would say 'he just lost'. No, truly it was no one's fault. Now, who's fault was it when those people killed your dear little sister?" Eve exploded.
She charged at Dulac, unstoppable now. He had crossed a line. She flipped him over and knocked him to the floor, pinning him down.
"You don't mess with my family" she hissed. "Understand? "
"How was I responsible for the death of your sister?" Dulac laughed.
"I'm not talking about her" Eve growled. She snatched the vial of blood from his hand. She was sure she had broken his leg, but she knocked him unconscious with the end of her gun for good measure.
Quickly, she rushed to Stone. Not wanting to waste too much time, she pried open his mouth and poured in some of the liquid. He snapped awake, shooting up.
"Colonel Baird" he exclaimed. "You came"
"You were right" she replied. "It's my job to protect you all, no matter what. Now hurry. We don't have a lot of time" She helped him up off of the floor and the two began to run.
Suddenly, Eve fell to the ground, screaming at a searing pain in her ankle. Jake looked behind her to see a bloodied knife on the ground, and the back of her ankle slashed. They had forgotten to account for one thing: Vikram. He stood a few feet away, smiling. Eve turned around and shot him in the leg. Jake reached out a hand to help her up
"Go" she grunted. "I can't run"
"Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you!"
"You'll get to Cassandra faster. She needs you more" Eve could barely speak through the pain. "Flynn is a few doors down. Just tell him to come get me"
"No I can't leave you here with this guy. He's got the upper hand, and Dulac could wake up at any minute!" Not letting Eve say another word, Jake picked her up and draped her arm around his shoulder. He ran, dragging Eve along. She limped as fast as she possibly could.
Finally, Jake spotted Flynn, looking around, sword in hand. When he spotted Jake and Eve, barely standing, he rushed over.
"What happened?!" he exclaimed.
"There was….guard" Jake panted. "He had a knife, and he threw it. It…it slashed Eve's ankle" Flynn grabbed Eve, who was still wincing, trying not to pass out from the pain.
"Here" Jake said, now that they had stopped. "Drink some of the Gorgon's blood"
"No" Eve grunted, speaking through her teeth. "Save it for Cassandra. We already had to use some on you." Jake caught his breath
"We need to get out of here, and fast. You need to be able to run."
"But we don't know how much blood Cassandra is going to need. I came here for a reason Stone" They all thought for a moment, lost on what to do. An idea seemed to come to Flynn.
"Hop on my back" he said.
"What?" Eve questioned
"Like a piggy back ride. Obviously the only option here is to carry you, and I should still be able to run pretty quickly if it's that way." Eve looked at Flynn like he was crazy. He smiled.
"Flynn, don't be ridiculous" she chided.
"Can you walk?" Eve sighed, realizing they didn't have many other options. Flynn leaned down, and she climbed onto his back, grabbing onto his neck.
"This might be fun" Flynn chuckled.
"That's easy to say for the person who isn't bleeding" Eve yelled. Just then, the group heard a stumble from behind them. Vikram was running down the hallway.
"GO!" Jake shouted. The Librarians ran, Jake slightly faster than Flynn. Having picked up Eve's gun, Jake turned around and fired shots, all of them missing the assassin.
Jake continued to shoot. Once more, he pulled the trigger, but heard no shot. The gun was empty. He and Flynn stared at each other widely. Eve was barely conscious. Flynn nodded, and they sprinted faster, trying their best to remember the way they had come.
They raced through the headquarters' twists and turns, Vikram right on their heels. Finally, the staircase to lead them back to the backdoor was in sight. Vikram was still too close. Even if they made it to the Library, he would follow them in. It seemed hopeless.
Eve held on to Flynn tightly, wanting to throw up from the pain she felt. She had heard Vikram nearing. Forcing herself into a moment of strength, she gathered all her willpower, waited until Vikram was close enough, and kicked back with everything she had. The assassin fell back. Eve laid her head on Flynn's shoulder and promptly passed out.
Her attack gave Flynn and Jake the advantage they needed. Running as fast as they could, they raced up the staircase and through the door, finally arriving back in the Library.
"Shut it off, shut it off!" Flynn shouted. Jake swung the backdoors closed, and turned off the mechanism. The two Librarians stood still for a moment, panting.
Jenkins entered the room frantically.
"Ah , " he said. "You've returned"
"Cassandra." Jake panted. "Is she?"
" is alive, but it doesn't seem like for much longer. I pray you got what you were looking for"
"Yes" Jake smiled widely. "She's going to be fine"
"Well then…you know the way" Jake and Jenkins left for Cassandra's room while Flynn placed Eve gently down, and went to get the healing potion from the shelves.
On his way to Cassandra's room, Jake could hardly breathe. He wasn't going to lose Cassandra, and this time it was certain. Perhaps they would get their chance at a happy ending after all.
Jake sprinted into Cassandra's room. Ezekiel was sitting by her bedside, looking down. He turned when he heard Jake enter. Jake pushed him out of the way and looked down at Cassandra.
She seemed nearly lifeless. Barely breathing, she was pale, and even in her sleep, the poor thing still looked pained. Jake uncapped the vial and, saying a quick prayer that it would work, opened her mouth and poured the liquid in.
Jake stood, not breathing, watching as Cassie just lied there. Nothing happened. He grabbed her hand and started to sob. Just then, he heard a small gasp. Looking up, he saw Cassandra's eyes opening through the blur of his tears.
"J-Jake?" she muttered, her voice trembling slightly.
Not able to help himself, Jake lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her. She was okay. That was all that mattered. And whether or not there was anything more in store for these two Librarians, at least Cassandra would be around. She had a whole life to live, and now it was hers to experience once again.
Cassandra seemed to be in shell shock. Realizing that he had acted a bit too suddenly, Jake backed off of her. Slowly she sat up.
"Wh…what happened?" she asked. "Why doesn't my head hurt anymore? And…and what's that nasty taste in my mouth?" Jake simply smiled. He still hadn't let go of her hand.
"Gorgon's blood" Jenkins interrupted, walking towards the bed. "Your friend realized that it could cure you, and went to the Serpent Brotherhood's headquarters in Greece to find it"
Cassandra looked up at Jake. Looking in his eyes, she saw more than she ever had. Sure, she had had romantic feelings for him for a long time, but this was something new. She had never felt it before. He had saved her life, risking his own in the process. She didn't know what to call it. All she knew was that she would feel it when she looked at him forever.
"You mean…" she began.
"Ya Cassie" Jake said. "You're gonna be fine. No more brain grape"
"Oh my god!" Cassie cried. She threw her arms around Jake this time, thinking of no other response. He hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, because he didn't ever want to let go.
It took an hour or so before Cassandra was fully out of bed, the Gorgon's blood slowly working its way through her system. Immediately she had rushed to the shower, and then to change into one of her signature outfits.
The others waited in the Library's main room, decorations and food covering every square inch of the space. Cassandra was finally okay. This occasion deserved the biggest party that they could throw.
Cassandra, cleaned up and back to her old self, walked down the stairs.
"Surprise!" Everyone yelled. Cassandra squealed.
"You guys!" she exclaimed. "This is so sweet of you!"
Eve and Flynn, approached Cassandra, huge smiles on their faces. She greeted each one of them with a hug.
"I heard that you two helped get the cure too" she said. "Thank you. You really didn't have to."
"Of course we did Cassandra" Eve said. "I'm your guardian. And besides, we know you would've done the same."
"We're just glad you're okay" Flynn said. "The Library is lucky to have you" Cassandra laughed, beside herself with joy.
Her eyes fell to the man across the room: Jake. He was munching on some potato chips, a beer in hand. There was that feeling again, filling her insides and every inch of her body. She had to say something to him. This, she knew, was the time.
"Hey" she said, tapping him on the shoulder. Jake turned around and smiled, hugging her again. It seemed like he did that every time he saw her now. Not that she had a problem with that.
"Could we talk?" she asked. "It's kind of important"
"Sure" Jake side, nervous, trying to hide it. She grabbed his hand, and together they walked up to the Library's roof.
Cassandra and Jacob stood on the roof, looking over the edge. They had been silent for a while now.
"The stars are beautiful tonight" Jake said, remembering his dream from nights ago. He couldn't help but take tips from that story. Little did he know that Cassandra had dreamed the same. Stars seemed to connect them.
"Ya" Cassandra whispered. "Listen, you saved my life today Jake. And Eve told me what happened. Jake you could've died. You did. I don't know how to even begin to thank you."
"I told you Cassie. You don't have to. There was no way I was letting you die."
"But why Jake? Why risk it all for a girl who you don't even…" Cassandra stopped herself.
"What?" Jake asked.
"Never mind. I just…we're just friends Jake is what I mean. How could you risk it all…for me?"
"Because Cassandra, you couldn't die" Jake said, not caring anymore what he revealed. When you almost lose someone, you tend to stop holding back your secrets. "You're too special. You still deserved to look at things with those beautiful wide eyes, to jump up and down when you get excited. You still deserve that glimmer in your eye when we find a new artifact. The world deserves your optimism and your Turkey and Cucumber sandwiches." Cassandra giggled, not sure if she was laughing or crying.
"To put it simply Cassandra…you're too bright of a star to go out"
Now Cassandra was definitely crying, looking at this man who she cared for so much, not allowing herself to believe the same way. The couple stared at each other for a moment, seemingly asking each other the same thing.
Cassandra leaned in slowly, and soon her lips had met Jake's. It was simple and sweet, but she could tell immediately that it was everything that she had ever wanted. They separated for a moment.
"This is risky" Cassandra whispered.
"I don't care" Jake replied.
"Me neither" Cassandra cried, kissing Jake again. This time they fell together, slowly entwining, his hands finding their way too her waist, her fingers running through his hair.
When they parted again they looked at each other and laughed, smiling, tears still in their eyes. The star crossed lovers, after facing their final hour, had finally found their place in the sky.
A/N: Woohoo! Hope you guys enjoyed the get-together. There's still at least one more chapter after this. Its the weekend, so things should speed up again for a bit. Bye! Have a great weekend everyone!
