"Chapter Four;
A Fighting Chance"

I woke up in the same room as the first, the late afternoon sun in my face. I was brought to my sadness once again. Why couldn't it have been a dream? Why couldn't I stop being tormented for once? Why is me having a life of my own so far fetched? It wasn't fair!

I turned on my side, facing the window away from the door, and burying my face into the pillows. The same thing kept ringing through my head, the same thing that made it so hard to keep myself in place. My body shook uncontrollably, my throat had dried, and my own breath had rasped with it. I could feel tears start to form, and I was close to losing it.

"It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY!" My own thoughts screamed at me as I continued to break apart. I just wanted it to end!

I felt a hand on my shoulder. By the feel, it wasn't Julie or Alice. It wasn't even a girl, so I knew it was either Marucho, Shun, or Dan. "Masquerade..." The voice trailed off in a whisper. It wasn't any of them. I turned back at the hand, and went up its arm to find Joe's face.

The hair style was the same, and the clothes weren't really all that different. He was still wearing the same old necklace, and he stayed with the orange top, and white jacket. Only thing that had changed were his pants, which were navy blue, and his black skater shoes.

"It's alright!" He told me.

Pitying people led to consoling them, and I wasn't in the mood. "What would you know?" I spat at him, returning to the position I was in before.

He was silenced, and I only bet I hurt him. What else was I supposed to do? I didn't want anyone near me if I was fake, I didn't want to see anybody from the past, and, at the moment, I definitely didn't want to see him!

I heard Joe walk around the bed, and sit down in front of me, but I was still facing my pillow, away from him. He sighed, and hugged me, just as Alice had done before. "I know it hurts to know it's possible, and that it's more than likely true. Shun told me what had happened so far when I saw you like that, and to be honest, I'm worried, and so is everyone else."

- (we're just gonna step out of Masquerade's POV for a bit, so we can see just what Joe meant. Enjoy the flashback!)

Joe had walked into the living room with Kaedo just as Masquerade closed his eyes, and prayed. Joe was shocked at seeing him, but the true shock came from the too visible pain that he saw in the gleam of his eyes. "What...just happened?" He asked Dan as Shun began walking over to where the unmasked, used-to-be-masked-villain was.

Dan was scratching the back of his head in the awkward, and very distressing moment. "Well, uh,..." Dan stopped just noticing Shun putting Masquerade over his shoulder; the pained expression now unconscious, and so tormented, he couldn't handle what he had thought.

Shun grunted, as he adjusted his hold on him, before turning around to see Joe. "Follow me, and I'll explain!" Shun told him, walking forward, and to a hallway. Joe followed, closely. "When we told you Masquerade was back, we had also given you the story on how we found him. After the girls got him through wardrobe change-" the two shuttered at the thought, "-we came to the living room to talk about what had happened. Apparently, we accidentally blurted out a comment that really got to him." He began, once again, adjusting his grip on the blond.

Joe turned to him, puzzled. "What kind of comment?" He asked.

When Shun got into a comfortable, and effective position, he began to walk again, and continued explaining. "We, meaning me and Runo, both commented on how Masquerade could have been some compounded body with his memories, completely forgetting he was in the room. When we looked back at him, he was in a depressed state, and began telling us how he was jealous about how we had our own lives while his used to rely on Alice's, and that it could still rely on something else. In the end, Alice had hugged him, and judging by how much he had taken in, the anxiety made it hard for him to bare it, so he let himself knock out just to escape." He finished.

They stopped in front of a dark wooden door. "I got it!" Joe told Shun as he walked forward. Once he opened the door, Shun had walked in, and stopped at where the bed was. Joe came over, and helped Shun place the poor soul on the bed. They brought the white sheets over him, and stopped at his shoulders. Joe reached his arm out to check if anything else went wrong, and thankfully, there wasn't. "So, do you really think that this is all fake?" He asked Shun, his head raised, and the back of his hand still on Masquerade's forehead.

Shun looked down at his old enemy, eyes of sympathy and rue staring down at him. "Can't say for sure! On the outside, it would seem so, but he is the same person who used to be Alice. I'm positive that the soul, and mind are both real, and that this is Masquerade, but I can't say if his body is. I'd like to think that were true, but that's not how it always works." He explained.

Joe nodded, understanding the concept, then turning head back to see Masquerade's saddened expression that was on his face when Joe had shown up. "What about Alice's grandfather? Can't Dr. Michael help out?" He asked, looking back at Shun.

Shun let out a sigh, thinking it over. "He could, but we'd have to check! I mean, Michael doesn't have everything on every situation." He pointed out. Joe looked down at the floor. "But if he can't, I'm pretty sure Keith can! After all, we still have contact with him, and Vestal is a bit more advanced than Earth." He said.

Joe smiled, looking back at him. "Yeah, that 'll work!"

At the next second, Shun's bakupod flashed. He brought it up, and saw Kaedo. "Sorry to interrupt, young masters, but dinner is ready!" He informed them.

Shun nodded. "Alright! Thanks Kaedo!" With that, the transmission ended. Shun looked back at Joe. "Dinner's ready!" He re-informed him.

Joe was in a daze, only worrying about the person in the bed. "I'm not hungry." He told Shun. He was given a slightly startled look. Joe turned back to Shun. "Tell Dan I'm gonna watch Masquerade, until he wakes up, okay?" He told the ventess player. Shun just sighed, then nodded, leaving the room. Joe grabbed a chair not too far from the bed, and scooted it forward, before sitting down in it. "I sure hope this isn't fake anymore than he does." Joe thought with one last glance at the darkus player.

- (back to Masquerade's POV)

I still wasn't paying him any mind. "The thing is, I want it to be true, too! It's not fair that you're stuck with that type of torment. We're actually working on a way to find out if it's true, and if it isn't, we have friends that 'll be working on a way to make it real; people in higher, more advanced places. We want to help to the best of our ability, and we believe there's a way! So, don't worry! We're ready!"

I was caught off guard with this new information. I finally looked back at him, silently praying that it was all possible. "You mean it?" I asked, no higher than a whisper. My voice sounded hoarse, and even with a whisper, it was hard to miss.

Joe, noticing this, looked back at me with a smile, and taking a couple moments before nodding. "I promise you that!" He told me. There wasn't a time I felt more relieved. "Come on! After your little trip here, you've gotta be hungry!"

I never really thought about food until then, and with the thought, my stomach growled at high volume. Joe just laughed. I, still feeling relieved, just let out a few chuckles. "Okay! Show me where exactly I can get some food before Dan can hear my stomach!"

After a couple more chuckles, we left towards the dining room, ready for some much needed dinner.