Die: Whew, it's been another while since I last updated!

Chazz: Yeah, what's up with that? Not that I'm complaining though, we all know how I feel about you fucking around with us.

Die: ... My computer got a really bad virus. It took me one entire night to get it working out of safe mode (where the virus wasn't active), it knocked out my internet, I got the internet back up, and then I've been battling it ever since. I just had so many registry errors from what it did, it was so slow, and I don't even know if I fully got rid of it, so I had to take it to the professionals.

Jaden: ... Whaaaa?

Syrus: Her computer got sick and she's taken it somewhere for damage control.

Jaden: Oh. Why didn't you just say so?

Die: My computer went down after the errors went over 9000!

Chazz: So then where is this being put up from?

Die: The crappy computer I had before this: the family desktop.

Chazz: Oh...

Bastion: Neither author owns Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

Chapter Seventeen: Holy Pain

Bastion stood frozen in shock, arms hanging limply at his sides, tears sliding down his cheeks. A soft whimper escaped him, tearing its way past his lips. He ran away. He's not coming back. "Chazz..."

Branwen bit her lip before moving closer to him, brushing away the moisture with the tips of her dark wings. "I'm sorry," she murmured softly to him. "It probably would've worked out if he hadn't found out."

At her words, he broke down into sobs, falling to the floor. He curled in on himself, feeling broken.

She didn't know how to comfort him exactly, but it was in her nature to try. She reached out, pushing back the yellow jacket, and soothingly ran her fingers through his white wings. Most demons liked having their wings pet, she and Chazz being noticeable exceptions who preferred hair and pale skin for the latter, so she hoped something of the sort worked for angels too.

He choked on his sobs and wrenched his wings away. "Stop." He whispered. "Please stop."

"Give him time," she murmured, a little hurt that he had refused her but hiding it the same way she'd hidden her feelings away for her entire life. "He might come around." Even if I have to knock the sense into him myself!

Aster stepped in, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Let's get him to his dorm." He knelt down to scoop up the other angel, adding as an after thought, "And we might want to tell Cienna so she can keep an eye on him."

Bastion put up a mild fight, murmuring "Stop."

"I'm just taking you back to your dorm." The gray-haired angel said gently. "We'll leave you alone after that."

The black-haired girl bit her lip, debating whether she wanted to ask Bastion if he had a message he wanted her to carry or not. Just because Bastion was an angel did not make their mating any less true, and if the other demon didn't realize that, he could end up killing them both.

Bastion sighed, giving up his fight. He hung limply in Aster's arms, sobbing quietly into his hands.

That tore it. She turned on her heel and ran off, her dress, hair, and wings flying out behind her. She had to talk sense into Chazz, and she had to do it now.

Chazz threw himself into his room, slamming the door behind him with a wrathful expression on his face. His fingers grabbed his wings, harshly yanking out handfuls of black feathers with his anger and stress as he fell down on the bed. He could feel the sadness creeping along the edges of his subconscious, no doubt a spillover from Bastion, and scowled at the prick of tears in his onyx eyes. He had made a horrible mistake, and now he would have to pay for it. He never should have trusted Bastion, trusted anyone.

"Shut up Syl!" Cienna howled. "No one needs to know about that!"

"Aw c'mon, Ci." The younger girl chuckled. "He's gonna have to put up with your PMS issues anyway. Why not tell him what's happened before?"

Cienna, whose cheeks were a brilliant shade of red, glowered at her sister. "The day you mate you're in for it."

Strong arms pulled her to a firm chest, their lengths wrapping around her waist and stomach. "Now now, tenshi," a soft voice chided into her ear, "behave."

"You don't get it!" She yelped. "She didn't have to say that stuff!" Her voice faded to a mumble. "And now you know that stuff..."

He nuzzled the expanse of skin between her neck and her ear. "It's okay, tenshi, I still love you, and I always will." Usually he had to strain for such words, but now, when he needed them most, they fell easily from his lips.

She smiled softly. "I know. It's just embarrassing..."

"Hey, I'm fairly certain Syrus would give you some pretty embarrassing stories about me if you asked him to and I wasn't in the room to throttle him within an inch of his life."

She giggled, pressing her lips to his cheek. "I'll be sure to ask."

Atticus came up then with a worried expression. "Hey, have you two seen Branwen anywhere around here?" he asked.

"I haven't seen her since early this morning." Cienna replied.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Dammit, I need to tell her something really important."

"Sorry." She murmured. "I'll tell her if I see her."

"I'm really worried about her," he continued, talking more to himself than anything. "She's been through a lot, and I don't like seeing her when she's so afraid of her own shadow."

"Chazz and Aster are keeping a good eye on her, I'm sure." Cienna said softly, giving him a gentle look.

"Yeah, but angels don't usually care for demons… and Chazz hasn't been able to stop that bastard before."

"Aster's not like most angels." There was new-found confidence in her voice. "He doesn't care if you're angel, demon, or half-breed."

"Either way," he muttered finally, "I don't want her falling in love with someone who will hurt her. She doesn't deserve that, and I don't care if he doesn't intend to hurt her or not, the fact of the matter is with the taboo the way it is, he will end up hurting her."

"So are you worried about her right now or her potential with Aster?" She sighed. "Because you're not making yourself clear."

"Both!" he shouted, then paused as if thinking about it. "Neither! Oh, I don't know!" he wailed, his fingers pulling out a handful of ebony feathers from his wings.

She leapt from Zane's lap, grabbing Atticus's hand. "Hey," she said gently, "She'll be okay. I'll come help you look for her if you want."

"It's okay," he muttered, yanking himself free. "It's probably better than I find her myself anyway. I don't think she'd want this sort of thing getting out…"

Though still concerned, she nodded. "All right. Just do me a favor and stop ripping out your feathers. It's not good for you."

He snorted. "I don't care about myself anymore. I fucked up and now I'm losing her to an angel."

It took everything she had not to punch him out then and there. She tensely pulled her arms in to her side, shoving it in her pocket. I ought to kick his high-and-mighty ass. At those thoughts, her demon-tail slid from under her skirt. "And what the hell is wrong with angels?"

Sylvia noticed out of the corner of her eye, eyeing her sister before tapping Zane to bring his attention to it. 'You might want to stop her' she mouthed. 'Otherwise your friend will end up with a black eye or two.'

"Calm down, tenshi," the Truesdale soothed. "Atticus doesn't have anything against angels, other than a slight disrespect for them since the Council of Elders does nothing to protect Branwen from her father. He only said that because of the punishment inflicted upon those who break taboo."

A terse shrug followed, harsh words flung at the brunet. "It'll be an ass-load more effective if you move your ass now instead of complaining about 'losing her' to Ash."

He narrowed his eyes at her but left anyway, his wings ruffling with his agitation. Zane pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Easy, tenshi," he murmured softly, rather disliking the harsh way she had sent off the other demon.

She sighed, turning and burying her face in his chest. Soft arms wrapped themselves around his waist, pressing her even closer to him. "I didn't mean to bitch..." she murmured apologetically, soft sniffs displaying her sorrow.

"I know you didn't," he soothed, cuddling her close, using his wings to shield her from the world. "Now, don't you have a family to keep from destroying the place?"

She laughed, wiping at her tears. "I probably should, shouldn't I?"

Sylvia piped in then. "Well from the looks of it, Daddy's about to kill Jaden, Dad and Malik are attacking the cookies, Father's talking to Mrs. Terra, and Yugi and Ryou are... being calm. So I'd say yeah. You should probably intervene."

Cienna laughed again. "Such a normal day..."

Zane chortled his agreement. He was delightfully, pleasantly, wonderfully out of his normal routine, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

He'd never ever admit it, but Jaden did love his mom. She couldn't cook worth shit, or bake—which was a disappointment—but she was still his mom. And she'd taken care of him when everyone else would've given up—except maybe Cienna. So the fact that she was around was comforting.

"Jaden, baby?" Her voice rang out, "Could you grab me an apple?"

He smiled, chirping happily, "Yep." He tossed it at her, missing her forehead by millimeters as it dropped into her lap.

She grinned. "Good throw Hun."

"JADEN!" Syrus screamed, scrambling away from a smirking Malik and into the chest of a grinning Mariku.

The demon looked up in surprise, a glare feeding his expression. "Get away from him." He yanked the angel to his chest, wrapping midnight wings around him.

"Aw, Jaden, we were just having a little fun!" Malik complained.

"Yeah, we weren't hurting him!" Mariku added.

"Hurting me? They were groping me!" Syrus peeked over the edge of the ebony wings around him, eyes wide.

"He's mine." Jaden growled, pulling the boy closer possessively.

"Only until one of you falls in love with someone else, brat," Bakura corrected. "Mating's out of the question, the Council of Elders would only kill you both for breaking taboo."

Jaden let out a growl, teeth bared ominously. "Fuck them."

"Jaden!" Syrus cried in alarm.

"What?" He asked indignantly.

The blue-haired angel buried his face into Jaden's favorite red jacket. "I love you too," he whispered, "but I don't want to lose you."

"You won't." Jaden said determinedly, pressing him closer.

He pressed a kiss to the demon's jaw. "I'm so afraid," he murmured softly. "I don't want them to kill you because you're a full-blooded demon."

That caught his attention. I'm not... but I can't say that... EFF! "They won't." He whispered. "I promise."

Syrus sighed. "I wouldn't change anything about you, Jay," he breathed, mostly to himself, "but I wish you were only a half-blood, if only so that I could be certain of our future…"

I am! His brain hissed. The brunet sighed in a rare moment of seriousness. "We need to talk tonight..."

"Okay," he replied, snuggling more firmly into Jaden's arms.

"Chazzy," a purring voice cooed, making the distraught demon freeze.

"Wh- What the hell do you want, assholes?" He cursed inwardly for stuttering, but he couldn't help it. He was so scared right now, and he yearned to run to somewhere safe, except that he couldn't quite get up the courage to get rid of his pride.

"Why Chazzy," a second voice chuckled darkly, hands forcing the blue jacket from his shoulders, "surely you knew a mating bond wouldn't stop us from taking what was rightfully ours, no?"

"It should have," a cold voice answered, and all three males turned to see a pretty young girl with ruby eyes standing in the doorway, shadows covering her dark wings.

Slade recovered first. "Miss Ravenwood," he murmured, smiling sickeningly at her, "this doesn't concern you, now does it?"

She laughed darkly, intoxicated on the idea of finally being able to do something for her friend and on the power of her ability to do so. "True," she admitted, "but I'm making it my business."

Chazz instantly knew what Branwen was trying to do. He squirmed away, darting to her side. "Branwen," he whispered softly, but she gave him a gentle push to his shoulder.

"Go," she urged. "I can finish up here on my own." I'd rather not have you around if my powers fail.

I understand. He nodded, turning on his heel and striding out the door. Branwen was going to unleash the power she had locked away, and she didn't want him to be around, especially since it was normal in her family for them to lose control of themselves with such strength. Wielding shadows was a dangerous art among demons, rare in its appearance because it warped the mind beyond repair. Branwen had done it for years, and yet every time he watched her do it, it terrified him far more than whatever it was she was using them against.

She closed her eyes, drawing the slithering darkness in the room towards her, but she wasn't fast enough to stop Jagger's wing from clipping her across the face. She cried out, falling to the ground as the shadows slipped away from her once more. "Stupid bitch," the middle Princeton growled, then leveled a glance at his elder brother. "What do you say about… clipping her wings, Slade?"

"I say the sooner, the better."

Bastion lay on his bed, curling in on himself. Shadows danced through the room, tossed around through the closed curtains. Tears still leaked from his eyes, falling to his sodden pillow. "Chazz..." he whimpered, shivering in the hot air. "Why did you leave?"

The demon in question burst into the room, unaware that his shirt barely remained on his body, clinging onto his shoulder with a stubbornness to match its owner. "Bastion!" he cried, throwing himself into the angel's arms, the entire weight of what had almost happened him having occurred to him on the run between the dorms. His body was trembling finely, but he wrapped his arms, legs, and wings around the Ra.

Tears still sluicing down his face, Bastion held the trembling demon in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the demon's forehead, trembling as well. "You came back." He whispered reverently.

The Obelisk would have answered, except that he felt so much better now that he was in the angel's arms. He choked out another sob, peppering kisses on every part of skin he could reach as if in worship of his mate.

"Hey," Bastion said quietly, wiping the tears from his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I almost lost you," the demon whispered in anguish. "They almost took me from you because I was being short-sighted."

"Who?" Bastion whispered, fury building deep inside him.

"Slade and Jagger," Chazz answered, beginning to calm himself in the presence of his mate. He relaxed a little more, nuzzling the expanse of tanned skin before him.

Fury making him immune to the attention, the angel growled. "I'll kill them."

Such an easy answer to all of his problems. If Bastion killed his older brothers, not only would he be rid of the two most horrible things in his life, the angel would fall and become a demon, making their relationship completely logical and right. And yet, he found his lips forming the words "Bastion, don't" as he ran his fingers soothingly through ivory wings.

"They hurt you." He whispered, nuzzling the demon's neck. "I can't let them get away with it."

"Yes, but I'm safe now," the Obelisk replied. "And besides, if they hadn't, I wouldn't have met you."

"They tried it again though." The angel persisted, anger and concern dragging the words from him. "I have to know you're safe."

Chazz's fingers tightened in their grip, though he was certain to extract them from the other's wings. "I'm not leaving you again," he declared firmly, obsidian eyes gleaming with determination for his resolution.

Tears started in the corners of Bastion's eyes again, his arms tightening around his mate again. "I was so scared..."

Acting on instinct, the demon stretched up to kiss away the diamonds by his lover's eyes. "It hurt more than anything to walk away from you," he confessed in a murmur, his pale lips still pressed to that tanned skin. "I just… was so afraid of losing you that I had wanted to do it myself." He chuckled dryly, a self-mocking sound. "I was wrong. I was wrong, and Branwen was right. Giving up on love is the worst mistake you could ever make, and I almost didn't realize it until it was too late."

"But you did." Bastion murmured. "And you're back."

Chazz's arms tightened again, the little voice that he assumed was his conscience—why it talked like Branwen, he had no idea, though he suspected it was because she was usually the one to spout lasting advice to him—urging him to confess everything to his mate, to get it off his chest and be done with it.

"Are you all right?" Bastion asked softly, leaning his forehead against his lover's.

His conscience won. "Bastion? Can I tell you something really important?"

"Of course." The angel stopped his affectionate stroking so he could look his mate in the eyes.

"Just... promise me you won't get mad or try to do anything 'bad' about it first, okay?" Obsidian eyes begged for this concession, even though he instinctively knew it would be given.

"Of course." The angel repeated.

"I… when I was ten, my brothers… well, they…" He wet his lips, not entirely sure how to say this, so he simply stated it bluntly. "They were pissed at having a little brother who was a natural submissive, so they raped me and made me fall into my current demonic state." The memories welled up at the confession, but rather than continue on in a shaky voice, Chazz managed to locate the bond connecting them and instead poured the images, sounds, smells, everything into it, letting Bastion see everything firsthand.

Bastion shuddered, pulling his lover close and pressing a tender kiss to his lips. "I've got you now." He whispered. "And I promise it'll never happen again."

Chazz smiled and nuzzled closer, intentionally resting his head underneath the angel's. Trust and contentment radiated through him, and he was content to remain like this instead of dealing with whatever scheme his brothers had cooked up.

Branwen screamed at the first touch of the holy water to her body, squirming inside the firm hold that was around her, but all she gained for her troubles was a deeper dip into the pool, completely submerging her beautiful wings, something she was always proud to keep glossy and perfect even if they were rather difficult to use for flight.

"Get the hell away from her!" A sharp voice howled. There were sounds of a violent struggle, growing closer, ever closer, until she was falling backwards. A pair of warm, hard arms caught her by the waist, dragging her close to a hard chest, gentle words breaching the silence. "I've got you, Bren."

"Atticus," she sobbed, the pool behind them filled with ebony feathers, more of which were falling from her sopping wings with every one of the harsh shudders she made. "Atty, I'm so sorry, so very sorry."

Figuring she was disoriented, Aster pulled her closer. "Sorry about what sweetie?" He tilted her head up to meet his eyes.

She blinked, seeing the sapphire beyond her tears. "Aster," she murmured in an undertone, a little surprised but delighted that he had saved her. She knew she would become extremely fond of someone in a short period of time if they were kind and gentle to her, but she felt as if even this was accelerated with him. It was almost like… she'd known him her entire life.

He smiled softly. "Let's get you out of here."

"Okay," she replied, frowning when she turned to inspect the damage she's suffered. "Oh…" The handful of sad feathers left hung far down the shaft, obviously needing to be pulled out. A few tears appeared in her eyes as she mourned the loss, but she knew it could have been far worse. If she had been kept under the water long enough, the blessed water would have eaten away at her like acid. She knew the bone had to look horrid, pulling them close to her self-consciously, even if she figured there was no way the handsome angel in front of her could ever reciprocate her feelings, especially if he knew part of her heart still belonged to another.

"Do you want to see the nurse about your wings?" He murmured, sliding his arm around her shoulder and guiding her out of the building.

She shook her head forlornly. "Ms. Fountain can't have do anything about getting the feathers back, and everything else is fine." In spite of the glaring wish she had for her wings to be fixed again, if only so that he could appriciate the appendages with their seductive attraction, she felt subdued around him, relaxed. She knew he would not hit her, no more than Atticus would have, so she could afford to trust herself in his hands.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." He said, comfortable with leading her to his dorm—damn the consequences.

"It's fine," she whispered. "The fact that you came at all means the world to me." She bit her lip, an unconscious sign of her inner turmoil as she fought over the decision to kiss him or not.

"Of course I came." He replied softly. "I promised I'd never leave you alone. I may have failed in that, but I'll do what it takes to make up for it."

She blushed, her inner mischievous spirit—exactly why it sounded like Chazz, she had absolutely no idea—urged her to say Love me. Instead, she shook her head to clear it. "You don't have to hold to that anymore," she murmured softly. "I only asked because you kept my darkness away, but it's gone now. You don't need to keep so close to me."

"I made a promise." He countered gently. "And I keep my promises."

She pouted, looking up at him with pleading ruby eyes. "I don't want to make you do something simply because you promised to. So, could you just do whatever it is your heart tells you to? Please? For me?" It was a strain for her to keep the order out of her request, a large part of her regretting the blood bond because she could never knew if he was doing something for her because she was his Sire or if he truly wanted to do it.

His arm around her shoulders tightened. "I'll do anything you ask. But that doesn't change anything." He smiled crookedly. "You're stuck with me, Bren."

She was nervous, but then again, today was a day of firsts for her. She tugged him to a stop, waiting until he turned to her questioningly before she pushed herself up on her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips. She blushed, shyly dropping her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed."

Surprise clouded his face, a gentle smile sliding onto it as well. His fingers lifted to his lips reverently, "Mm... it's all right." She kissed me...

"No, it's not!" she insisted, unable to look up at him, her fists clenching at her sides as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "I completely took advantage of you without even taking your feelings into account!" Almost subconsciously, her head moved to the side slightly, as if to make it easier for her to be backhanded across the face.

He gently tilted her chin up to look at him, pressing his lips to hers—soft and slow. When he pulled away, he murmured, "Really Bren, it's okay."

Her eyes were startled, child-like, and she threw herself into his arms, nuzzling at his chest. "I'll be better, I promise," she murmured to herself in a silent undertone. "I won't lose you like I did Atty."

Atticus watched her push up onto her toes, the same way she always would when she wanted a kiss from him, and brush her lips against the silver-haired angel. He felt betrayed at first, an ache in his chest that wasn't quite as fierce as it should've been considering that he still had feelings for the girl he verbally announced as his best friend but mentally considered his soulmate. He felt sorrow for her when she looked down, his familiarity with her telling him that she was apologizing for her brashness, but then his eyes widened as the angel leaned down and locked lips with her once again. He, who was so afraid of losing her that he never dared to ask for more than her friendship after she had broken up with him, had managed the same feat with his inaction. Well, he would not stand for it. "Phoenix!" he called, revealing himself from his hidden position of an observer. He couldn't contain a slight sensation of satisfaction as Branwen turned from her position in Aster's embrace so that she could focus her ruby eyes on him, even if she didn't leave that circle of arms she had settled in.

Aster turned in surprise, looking at the demon with a curious expression. "Yes Atticus?"

He firmed his expression, his usual happy-go-lucky attitude nowhere to be found. In that moment, he regretted pushing the two together when they were dancing, but he had simply been encouraging her, not intending for her to find a replacement for him. "I challenge you for the right to Branwen's heart!"

"That's a bit old-fashioned don't you think?" The angel asked, eyebrow raised. "But nonetheless, I accept your challenge."

"We'll have three rounds," the brunet demon explained. "The first two will be one of each of our choice, but the last one will be of darling Wren's choosing."

"Fine. You can choose first."

He weighed his options for a moment. He would have loved to have chosen surfing, his passion and something he knew he could easily win, but he also knew that if the angel happened to drown during the challenge, Branwen would only get upset. He had, of course, one other option… "Singing contest tomorrow. The school will pick the victor." He would have had her choose, except that she likely would have panicked, like he had a feeling she would the instant Aster directed his attention at her—Atticus himself wasn't foolish enough to make the mistake.

"Fine." The angel replied, resting his chin on Branwen's head. I'm not the best singer in the world... but I have to try. For Bren. "Tomorrow then." She tensed under his touch, her entire body taut as a bowstring. He loosened his grip around her, pulling his arms back to his sides and removing his chin from atop her head. "I see..." he murmured.

At the removal of his grip, she ran off in a flurry of red silk. Atticus chuckled dryly. "You see, that's why you don't ever put her in a position where she can affect people's lives with her decisions," he stated wryly. "She panics and runs off like that. I mean, why else would I refrain from touching the girl I love?"

Aster's gaze was stony as he watched her leave. "If that's all, I do believe I'll return to my room."

"Go right ahead," Atticus responded. "But just know this: Branwen is my soulmate and I'm not letting her go without a fight."

"Chazz," a soft voice whispered, waking the demon who slept in Bastion's arms. He groggily opened his obsidian eyes to see the softly-crying form of his best friend.

"Branwen?" he asked, "what are you doing here, and how the hell did you find me here?"

She shook her head, not wanting to explain fully. "Can I sleep with you?" He sighed, using his dark wing to lever Bastion's light ones up and make room for her to slide in beside him. He'd done the same thing to her more than a few times when she was with Atticus, he couldn't resent her for this. She instantly crawled in beside him, settling in. "Thank you," she whispered softly, and the two demons fell asleep once more.

Die: Remember everyone, reviews motivate me to put this up faster, kick Cali's butt into writing, and maybe even fix my computer better!

Zane: Just get better virus protection, solve the problem.

Die: *glares at him* For your information, I'm gonna do that as soon as I get it back! Sheesh!

Atticus: Yay!

Aster: ... *sighs* Also, if you review, we'll give you some of Branwen's feathers...

Atticus: *interrupts* Or he'll kiss you!

Aster: ... or I'll kiss you, wait what?

Atticus: Ha, you already volunteered, so you have to do it!

Aster: Fine.

Zane: Until the next update, readers, hopefully from Die's laptop.

Die: *is poking the computer screen sadly, obviously missing her computer*