Chapter 5
Paradise
Derek awoke uneasily, feeling that there was something wrong. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that the fire had gone out.
"What the—hey, Corey? What's going on?" He asked, but found no reply to his question. Frowning, he looked around, trying to find where his friend had gone to, but there was no sign of him.
Shit! What the hell happened? Derek scrambled to his feet and began looking for clues as to Corey's disappearance. He found none. With his demonic eyes, he didn't need a torch like Corey did and started forward on the trail.
Why would he just take off like that? He wouldn't leave unless something had happened…
With that thought, he quickened his pace to a run, trying desperately to locate his missing friend. It wasn't like Corey to just disappear like that. He was worried. This forest had an evil feel to it, and his friend's disappearance was evidence enough.
The forest just seemed to keep getting deeper and deeper, with no signs of an exit or Corey at all. Panic was beginning to overwhelm Derek, when suddenly he saw a light ahead of him. With a small grin on his lips, he quickened his pace even more towards what he believed to be the exit.
Maybe Corey saw this, too, and is already there! Derek thought to himself. The light became closer and closer, until finally Derek entered it. It was so bright it was blinding. He stopped and closed his eyes, and when he slowly reopened them, his jaw dropped.
It was his home. Not the Rebel Base, but the small house that he had built when he and Jade first got married all those years ago. There was a small stream that flowed past it, and the green grass was cut. The red demonic sky was overhead, with a few cloud passing by harmlessly. The sun felt warm against his skin, and he slowly took off his cloak and tossed it over his shoulder.
"What is this?" Derek asked aloud, walking towards his cabin, checking for detail. It was exactly how he remembered it, down to the last piece of lumber. He walked around back and saw the vegetable garden that he and Jade had started, and it was fully-grown now. He smiled at insight of himself.
"Hehe…I never thought that it would actually grow. I never really did have a green thumb." Derek mused, walking over to the garden and pulling a tomato off one of the vines and taking a bite of it. It was ripe and juicy and tasted delicious.
"Did we really live outside of those woods?" He turned around, but found that the forest had disappeared. "Huh?"
He quickly walked back to the front of the house and looked around. All he could see was the vast demonic plains, just how they used to be before Darkine had appeared. Darkine?
"Darkine?" Derek asked aloud, wondering why that name had popped into his head. "I wonder who that is…"
Slowly he turned back around and opened the door to his home and peered inside. Everything was as it had been when he left. There was a small living room with a fireplace and a couch and chair facing it, with a bookshelf and a rug underneath a coffee table. Away from it was another room that was the kitchen. On the other side of the living room was a closed door where his and Jade's bedroom was. He smiled lightly.
"It's good to be home." Derek said, nodding in satisfaction.
"Derek?" came a voice from the kitchen. Blinking, Derek walked through the living room and into the room where the voice called him from, and felt his eyes widened.
Jade was smiling cheerfully at him, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a brown t-shirt, with an apron over it all. Her long brown hair was done in a braid, and her brilliant jade colored eyes gave away her happiness to see him.
"Jade?" Derek asked, bewildered.
Jade raised a brow, and then chuckled. "And who else would it be?" She walked over to him, wrapped her slender arms around him and kissed him passionately on the lips. For a moment, Derek hesitated. Was this all right? Something seemed off about it all, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
Everything seemed right, at any rate. Jade was there, waiting for him as usual. What had he been doing out, again? He had been fishing, that's right. There weren't any stores in this part of the demon world, so one had to hunt or grow vegetation to eat, and that's what they had done.
"Is everything okay, hun?" Jade asked, pulling her lips away from him and tilting her head to the side. "You seem…strange."
Derek shook his head, holding her in his arms. It seemed like forever since he had done this. "N-no…everything's great! Why wouldn't it be?" He grinned at her, and she sighed in relief.
"Good! You had me worried there for a minute, you ass." She playfully punched his arm and went back to fixing dinner. It was only then that Derek caught the aroma of the stew cooking in the pot on the stove. It was a simple life, but Derek knew he was happy here. Very happy. He was with Jade, after all.
"That's a rather large pot for just us, don't you think?" Derek commented, leaning against the wall, smiling as he looked at his wife.
"Corey, John and Liz are coming over, remember?" Jade said, looking back at him. "And don't forget that your son eats almost as much as the man he was named after!"
"Huh? Cory?" Derek asked sounding confused.
"Well, of course!" Jade sighed and smiled at her husband. "I swear, Derek, sometimes you are so forgetful. Getting senile in your old age?"
Derek gave her a mock glare. "I'm offended!" He said sarcastically, and laughed. "Wow, Cory is going to be three soon."
Jade smiled. "I know, it seems like only yesterday I had him, with you and Corey panicking. I swear if John and Liz hadn't been here to help, I'd have never gone out of labor!"
"Here?" Derek asked.
"Yes, here. In our bedroom is where we had Cory, don't you remember?" She asked.
Derek nodded slowly, but felt so confused. "Yea…right."
Hadn't Cory been born somewhere else? Derek thought so, but why would he think that? Something didn't feel right. Who was that Darkine person that Derek had thought of earlier? It was such an odd name to randomly pop into his head.
"Yo! Anyone home?" A voice called from the entrance of their home.
"Oh! They're here!" Jade said with a smile, taking off her apron and setting it on the counter. She and Derek walked into the living room to see three familiar faces waiting for them.
Liz looked her usual self. She was wearing a pair black skirt with a white top, and a black jacket over it. Her hair was also done in a braid, like Jade's.
John was wearing a dark green sports jacket with a pair of black pants on and a white t-shirt underneath that coat. His red hair was cut short, as it always way, and his red beard was trimmed neatly.
It was the sight of Corey that caught Derek off guard. He was much older for some reason. His dark brown hair was shorter and not spiked as he remembered, and with a hint of gray. He had a goatee, with the same hint of red that it always had, but with a few shades of gray mixed in it, as well. He wore a black sports jacket, and a white shirt underneath, with a pair of blue jeans.
"Corey?" Derek asked.
"Hmm? What's up, Derek?" Corey asked. Even his voice had aged. He now looked and sounded like a man in his thirties.
"You look…different." Derek remarked, putting his hands in his pockets.
Corey blinked. "I do? Oh! You mean the hair? Yea, I got it cut after I came back."
"Came back?"
"Yea. Remember? I went on a bit of a journey a few months ago. I had pretty long hair back then!" Corey laughed a little.
"I mean…you look older." Derek said quietly.
"You're getting up in the years yourself, bro." Corey commented, smirking.
"Yea…I guess so." Derek said, looking away from his group of friends.
"You sure you're okay, dear?" Jade asked, taking the arm of her husband. "You're acting awfully weird."
Was he? Everything just seemed so different. Why was he surprised that Jade was waiting for him at home? And Corey's age? He was only a year younger then him. Everything seemed normal…but not.
"Well, let's eat, shall we?" Jade said with a smile.
"Yea." Derek said, nodding to her. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush lightly, and the five of them went into the kitchen and began to eat the stew.
During dinner they all laughed and shared stories. Corey had apparently gone on a journey with Yusuke to train. It had taken a lot of time to plan, since Yusuke was king of the demons. Derek had known that, hadn't he? He was there at the tournament this year. He hadn't participated, but Corey had. The match was even closer this time then it had been when he last watched them fight, fifteen years ago. Was it that long ago? Why couldn't he remember?
"Corey?" Derek asked finally, "Do you know a person named Darkine?"
Corey blinked. "Darkine?" He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Can't say that I do. Why? Friend of yours?"
Derek shook his head. "No…just wondering…"
"You look awfully worried about something, Derek." Liz commented.
"Yes, Derek. Are you sure you are okay?" John asked.
"I'm fine. Don't worry…but I do need to get some air. If you'll excuse me for a minute." Derek slowly rose from the table and exited out of the house and outside. The Demon World moon was out tonight, and the air was at a comfortable temperature. Everything was perfect. He had a loving wife…a great son… wonderful friends…so why was he feeling so strange?
"Derek?" came the voice of Jade from behind him.
"Hmm?" Derek asked, looking over at his wife.
"You've been acting weird all day. Did something happen?" She asked in a concerned voice.
"I don't know, Jade. Everything seems…weird. Like, something about all this doesn't fit." Derek said honestly.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked, wrapping her arms around Derek from behind.
"Like…it all seems too…perfect."
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"So perfect…as if it's not real."
"But it is real…if you let it be," Jade said, her voice sounding seductive.
"What?" Derek asked, trying to turn, but Jade kept her arms around him. "What do you mean, Jade?"
"Derek…do you want me to stay with you…forever?"
"Of course I do!" Derek stammered, holding onto her hands with his own.
"Then don't think. Don't think about Darkine or anything. Just stay here…with me…forever in this wonderful bliss." She slowly began to kiss his neck, but he shook his head.
"Jade, what are you talking about? Do you know who Darkine is?" Derek demanded.
"Of course I do. He killed me."
"What?!" Derek pulled away and looked at her. Her expression had turned sad.
"Derek…this place…this world…it isn't the reality that you know, but it could be! All you have to do is want it to be."
"Wait…not real? Hold on…" And then, like a cold, harsh wind, it came back to him. All the real memories that he held: the day that Darkine took over, Corey coming back from the past, Jade and John dying…his cruel past was coming back to him.
"What is all this?" Derek asked softly.
"It is paradise. Your paradise, Derek." Jade said, her lips turning into a smile once again. "You could stay here for all eternity, in this world with all your friends. They share the same memories that you do, and all the experiences that you would have had if Darkine hadn't taken over the worlds. Don't you want that, Derek? To live here in perfection?"
The offer was overwhelming. Here, he could be truly happy. He could be with Jade again, and together they'd watch their son grow and be with their friends…but then the cruel realization hit him. What about his real son…and his real friends? Without him, all would be lost once again, and the real world would be doomed.
"I…I can't. I'm sorry. I want too, but I…I have to fight Darkine. I have to help Corey find his new sword and save the worlds. I can't stay here. I have to put aside my own happiness…at least for now." Derek looked down at the ground, but Jade's hand lifted his chin to look at him.
"I understand, Derek. I'm glad you are doing this. It's what needs to be done. Goodbye, Derek Maison. I'm sure the real Jade would be proud of you."
Suddenly, the world around him, including Jade, began to dissolve. Derek reached his hand out towards her, but realized he couldn't touch her. The world began to turn white.
And Derek watched with tears forming in his eyes as his paradise disappeared before him into the cruel darkness that was his reality.
