Chapter XX: Sunset
Hello again, dear readers. Welcome back to another chapter of Darkness Falls. Peach managed to get the editing done quicker thanks to a more relaxed schedule. Thanks again, everyone for your reviews and we hope those of you who have gone on vacation are having a wonderful time and we hope to see you soon! As for those of you who are hanging around, glad to see you back! For those of you who are wondering, yes, Kisara and Seto will be done after this pregnancy. Furthermore, Vellian Crowler may have joined a frat house, but he couldn't chug-a-lug that well. Anyway, on with the story!
Last time, the group celebrated the holidays together, finding out that Kisara was pregnant… again. And they had fun celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Meanwhile, Professor Sartyr and Miss Fontaine had a romantic dinner for two which ended when Dr. Crowler got hammered on Italian raspberry liquor-filled chocolates. So once the holidays are over, what will happen? Read on!
Disclaimer: We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise and its related characters. We just own our OCs, our storylines and our version of the Yugi-verse.
Authors' note: There is a slight time jump here. By the time of Annie's nightmare, it's sometime in April, as the DA school year ends in May. Thanks for your attention.
The rest of the holidays were uneventful. The other students returned from their vacations, eager to get the spring semester out of the way. Jaden had a new spring in his step and his entire cadre was in a state of excitement. "Just a few more months... and then we're going to get married!" Annie said, gripping Sy's hand one afternoon as they walked out of the academy's main building.
Syrus felt his heart flutter in his chest. "I know. I'm nervous and excited at the same time..."
"So am I," she murmured, also feeling that flutter in her chest. "College... the Pros... starting a family... Oh, wow..."
"Even with all that's happened... It seems like these three years have gone by so fast..."
"Yeah. I remember the first time I saw you," she said. "I asked Alexis who you were..."
"The first time I saw you was in class, but I really noticed you when you came to Slifer that night..." He blushed a bit at the memory of her, looking nervous as she emerged from the shadows. She had been clad in a set of lavender capri pajamas, which had not obscured her soft curves.
"Yeah... We were both in our pajamas," Annie remembered, also blushing and remembering how handsome he'd looked in his school issue pajamas.
"Oh yeah...we were... I forgot about that."
"Yeah. We've... come a long way since then," she murmured.
"So much as happened..."
"And... we've become stronger. You wouldn't have done what we've been doing," she sighed with a smile. "Dating... moving in together..."
"A-Among...other things," he muttered, blushing thickly.
Annie's blush increased, remembering last night. "Y-yeah..." They had gotten a bit physical with each other last night, but had just avoided going too far.
"When we're married...we won't have to worry as much, will we?" Syrus asked, looking up at her.
"No... we won't... I mean, we won't have it easy, but people make it. We're exceptions to the rule about teenagers getting married..." Annie had read all the data. "I mean... a lot of people our age who get married aren't always ready... But I think we are ready... I mean... we've had so much counseling... We've been through so much together... We love each other and were willing to wait if it came to that."
"You're right... We definitely haven't had the life most people our age have..."
"Yeah..." Though Annie couldn't quite figure how to word it, she knew their whole group had matured beyond most of their classmates. They had grown in saving the world, and in helping each other. And the couples had grown in loving each other. They had not broken with each other even in the worst of times, and that said volumes.
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The weeks flew by and the group kept planning. "Okay, so we have everything figured... OH CRAP!" Jaden shouted one evening as the four couples sat making final preparations. In all of the group's careful planning, a minor detail had been missed.
Alexis blinked and looked over at her fiancé in shock. "What??"
"We don't have a ring bearer, Lex!"
Her eyes widened. "You're right! But who could we ask to be our ring bearer?!"
"Well... How about Pharaoh?"
"Pharaoh?"
"Yeah. I mean we have Shirley as a flower girl," he answered, looking out the window to see Jim playing with the large amphibian.
"Well, you do have a point there... I guess having a cat for a ring bearer couldn't hurt. But...wouldn't we technically have two?" She whispered the last part, referring to Professor Banner.
"Well... Hmm... that's a hard one," Jaden said, scratching his head.
"What's hard, Jaden?" Bastion asked, catching the Slifer's comment. And so, Jaden took a breath and explained the situation.
"So...what you're saying is...Banner's a ghost...living inside of Pharaoh??" Violet asked slowly, everyone staring at the Slifer in obvious shock.
"Jaden... that is... extraordinary," Bastion added, flabbergasted. "When did this start?"
"Like I said... after... he died," Jaden explained again. "At least... after his homonunclus did..."
As if on cue, a meow was heard, and up on the rafters above laid Pharaoh. "Uh...Professor...?" Syrus asked, everyone staring up at the feline.
Pharaoh jumped down from his perch and waddled over to Jaden. "Meow," the cat said, looking up at the young man with the expression that said either, "I can help," or "give me cat food."
"What is it, Pharaoh? Can Professor Banner talk to us?" Jaden asked.
Pharaoh scratched at an ear for a moment, then seemed to almost shrug as he opened his mouth. Out floated a small, golden ball of light, and it flew about the room. "I can always talk to you, Jaden," echoed Banner's voice.
"SAM HILL!" Tyson shouted, jumping into Rosa's arms.
"La phantasma!" Rosa gasped, jumping to her feet in shock. Not the best of ideas since her fiancé leapt into her arms half a second later. She grunted, eyes widening as her legs shook. Yes, Rosa was strong, but not THAT strong. "Ty-Ty...you are...too...heavy!" she yelped, before falling to the ground.
Tyson, of course, landed on top of his fiancée. "Sorry, Spanish Rose," he said, scrambling to get off of her. He helped her to her feet and they sat down on the couch.
Bastion, meanwhile, yelped, "OH BLOODY HELL! I mean... sorry, sir..."
Violet flailed in her seat, her excited grin nearly splitting her face. "OH, WOW!! A real ghost! This is so COOL!!"
The orb came to a halt in the center of the room, and the spiritual form of Banner appeared. "It's quite all right, Bastion. I'm not surprised by your reactions...it's only normal, after all."
"Yes, sir... It's been... nearly two years since... Those of us in the Spirit Key group and those in our inner circle were sworn to secrecy regarding what happened to you," the British Ra explained.
"Yes, I know. I've been here since that happened, and I've seen everything that's occurred," Banner replied.
"Jaden didn't tell us," Annie managed to say, her eyes wide as saucers, "that you'd turned into Obi-wan Kenobi, sir... We are glad to see you."
The professor chuckled. "I suppose that is one way to put it, Annie. It's nice to see all of you again as well, especially for such a joyous reason."
"So... can Pharaoh be our ring bearer?" Jaden asked eagerly.
"Of course. If it's all right with him, then I certainly don't mind. How about it, Pharaoh?" The cat looked up at his deceased master, as if considering the question. Then, he gave a short meow and seemed to nod his large, fuzzy head.
"All right! Too bad our monsters can't all be solid or something," the Slifer boy said wistfully.
"Sarge?" Tyson asked.
"Well, they're like family, too...They should be at the wedding!"
"Well, maybe they will be. They just won't be seen..." Alexis offered.
Professor Banner nodded, smiling. "Alexis is right, Jaden. More often than not, they are around. Simply unseen." Everyone else smiled at that and they continued with their work.
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It seemed like the premonitions of earlier in the year had just been bad dreams. The group dared to relax and continued to make their plans. But just a little over a month before the wedding was scheduled, Annie woke up screaming. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Her eyes were terrified, her skin was sweaty and pale and her heart was pounding.
Syrus shot up beside her, shocked out of sleep and his own eyes wide. "Annie?!" He turned to her, pulling her shaking body to him. "Annie, what's wrong??"
She hugged Syrus, wordlessly, trying to get her bearings. After a long moment, she took a deep breath. "I... had... a horrible dream... And it was too real..."
He frowned, reaching over to grab his glasses from the bedside table. Putting them on, he looked down to meet her eyes. "You mean a....a premonition?"
Still shaking badly, she nodded. "Y-Yeah... I hope I'm wrong..."
"Just calm down, Annie... You can explain later..." he soothed, rubbing her back.
It took a few minutes for the young woman to get her head back together. And then she recounted her nightmare. "I was wandering... no... running through the school and I could feel this dark presence... I've felt it in some ways for months... But it was stronger..."
In the nightmare, she ran through the school, seemingly deserted, Usagi at her side. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" the monster girl shouted, launching an attack using a bright pink scepter to shoot at the dark figure running after them.
The figure dodged, but even where the attack still managed to hit, it barely did any damage. What it had blown away reformed in seconds, and the creature raised one of its thin, bony hands. "Be consumed by the Darkness," it hissed out, sending a burst of shadows at the duelist and spirit.
Usagi shoved Annie out of the way and was hit by the darkness, disappearing with an anguished scream and a shower of sparkles. "USAGI!" the young woman shrieked. "Where are my friends? What do you want?" she yelped at the figure that looked like Death itself.
"Your friends have already succumbed to Darkness. Now you will join them in the World of Darkness and give in to it as well..." he explained in a craggy voice, raising the hand for another attack.
"NO!" Annie shouted, breaking into a run... "And that's when I woke up," she finished in reality.
Syrus shivered, feeling chills run through his body. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"Sy," Annie moaned, "It can't happen... not now..."
She shivered hard in his grip. "We... should be past the danger..."
Syrus kept a tight grip on her, sighing. "I know...it should be over... Maybe we shouldn't have relaxed like we did..." The premonitions from earlier in the year suddenly came back to him.
She shook her head. "No... We could've been wrong... We still could be..." She then kissed him slowly. He returned it, knowing this would help her calm down and get her mind off of the nightmare. He was glad to help her any way he could. Annie strengthened the kiss, wanting to lose herself in the blissful oblivion of her love's embrace. Syrus didn't deny her of that want, deepening the kiss and making it more passionate. Annie let him and soon their tongues were swirling. 'I don't want this to stop,' she thought, running her hands up and down his pajama top.
Luckily, Syrus was paying attention to what was going on. He kept up the kiss, but couldn't get lost in the passion like he usually would. Annie's nightmare was weighing too heavily on his mind.
She felt the hesitation and withdrew. "You...okay?" she asked when they broke for air.
He sighed between breaths. "Y-Yeah... I'm sorry, Annie... I'm just...worried..."
"It's... all right," she panted back. She brushed his hair with her hand a little bit. "We have to figure this out... I think... maybe it was a warning. A worst-case scenario..."
"Worst-case... Maybe we can stop it from happening," he muttered, hope filling his voice.
"Yeah," Annie smiled. "And... Jaden's a lot better. And we're going to fight together..."
"You're right... We just need to tell the others in the morning. Then we can prepare for...whatever it is that's coming..."
"Yeah... let's try to get back to sleep, honey... It's two in the morning," she murmured.
He sweat-dropped. "Good idea..." Syrus set his glasses back onto the bedside table, and the two slipped down under the covers together.
Annie curled around Sy's form in spoon-fashion, her head resting on his shoulder. "G'night, honey..."
"Good night, Annie..."
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At 6 AM, Annie rolled over and slapped off the alarm when it went off. And she and Syrus promptly fell back to sleep.
An hour later, the couple was still fast asleep. But now it was the time when Violet and Bastion would wake up, and the purple-headed teen did something usual. She slid out of bed and hit the carpeted floor with a solid thud.
In the other room, Annie somehow heard the thud in her sleep. "Ummm..."
Syrus mumbled something, pulling Annie closer to him and drifting back into sub consciousness. In the other room, Violet groaned. "Bastion-baby? Time to get up...ow..."
Bastion sat up. "Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?" he asked.
Violet raised a thumbs-up over the edge of the bed. "Yep. And then I woke up." She answered, jumping to her feet and stretching out.
"Well... hmm... we should be hearing Annie's music from her exercise routine..."
"Oh yeah... I knew something felt weird. I'll go check it out!" Violet stated eagerly, dashing from the bedroom. She got to the other room in no time flat, and blinked in surprise when she saw the couple fast asleep. "Ooooh...this is new. Hey, guys! Wakey wakey, eggs and bacy!" Violet cheered, flipping on the lights.
Annie groaned softly. "Violet, it's..." And then she looked at the clock. "AAAAAAAH!!!!"
If Syrus hadn't been awake from Violet's exclamation, he was definitely awake now. "Annie!! What's wrong?!" he yelped, sitting up. Violet stifled her snickers, unable to help herself.
"It's 7:05! We're late!" Annie yelped.
"Uh, technically, you just woke up late..." Violet pointed out, blinking.
Syrus quickly put on his glasses. "Oh, man...but we can't get ready as fast as you, Violet!"
"We can try!" Annie exclaimed, jumping out of bed.
"Violet... love, I think we need to get our breakfast," Bastion suggested, stepping away from Annie and Sy's room.
"Good idea! Be ready in five minutes!" Violet replied, dashing back to their bedroom. Syrus, meanwhile, joined Annie in a double time of their morning routine.
"Let's jump in the shower together; I can exercise later!" Annie said, pulling her pajamas off. Syrus nodded, also tearing off his pajamas. And so they jumped in the shower, scrubbed off and quickly ran out. "Where are my boots?" Annie yelped, looking for them as she pulled on her bra and panties.
"Did you check under the bed?" Syrus replied, pulling on a pair of boxers and then pants.
She looked. Sure enough... "Honey, you know me way too well." She grabbed socks and then pulled on her boots too. Then she got on her undershorts, skirt and top and was ready. He had pulled on a shirt, his blazer, and socks, but was having trouble getting on his shoes. He hopped back and forth, struggling to get them on. "Sy..." Annie had noticed the problem. She gently moved over to him and switched his shoes around.
Syrus blushed, sweat-dropping. "O-Oh...uh...thanks, Annie. I guess I was in too much of a rush..."
"It's all right. Let's get something to eat..." They headed out to the kitchenette to grab a quick breakfast.
Even with the late start, the gang all made it to class on time. "Sy... you guys okay?" Jaden asked softly in homeroom. "You both look tired."
"We...had a rough night, Jay..." Syrus whispered, frowning.
Jaden took a breath, meeting Sy's eyes. "What happened, bro? Nightmare?" he asked, really hoping it wasn't what he feared it was. But his hopes were dashed with his best friend's next words.
Syrus's gaze turned to the floor, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Yeah... And we think it might be one of Annie's real ones...the ones that are like premonitions..."
Jaden thought it through. 'Running out of class isn't an option right now, unless one of us gets hurt or something... What if this is a bad sign?' And then, without thinking about it, the brown-haired Slifer shouted upward to the Powers that Be, "CAN'T I HAVE ONE NORMAL SEMESTER?! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!!!"
Syrus yelped in shock, falling out of his chair. All of the students turned their attention to the Slifer, especially the rest of the gang. It didn't help that the room had dropped to a dead silence, since Dr. Crowler had just entered.
"Jaden, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" the Obelisk boys' head asked, fixing his adversary/ secretly favorite student with a steely gaze.
The Slifer sweat-dropped and grinned sheepishly. "Uh... no sir... not right now..." A few of the students snickered, unable to help it, but everyone in Jaden's cadre looked worried.
"Do I have to ask what happened?" Bastion muttered softly, being in close proximity to Annie.
She couldn't hide that she clearly was feeling tired and whispered back, "We'll talk as soon as we can..." Violet and Alexis, who sat on either side of the brunette girl, exchanged worried glances. Violet wondered if whatever had happened was the reason that the couple had still been sleeping by the time she woke up. Nevertheless, the gang was forced to sit through class and hold their questions about what was going on.
After class, the large group of teens met up and of course wanted details. "So... what happened, Private?" Tyson asked, eyes concerned as he glanced at Sy.
"Well, Annie had a nightmare last night. And it was one of her premonitions, we think," Syrus began, frowning deeply and fidgeting a little.
"So what happened in the dream?" Bastion asked. Syrus told the guys what Annie had told him, making sure to include everything he could remember. If the nightmare was a premonition, he knew that everyone needed to know.
Chazz groaned softly. "Now, I understand why you yelled, Slacker... If this is what we're facing, then... not good," he finished, lamely.
Mindy groaned as well. "So much for looking forward to the wedding..."
"It's still going to happen, Mindy," Jasmine answered, a fierce look in her eyes.
"Yeah, if we can avoid or defeat whatever this thing is beforehand," Atticus said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Annie was extremely quiet. Usually what instructors refer to as a "helium hand," her hand had not gone up once in the lesson. She was also very pale now. "Annie? C'mon and talk," Axel tried, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah... whatever this is, we can stop it," Adrian added gently, thinking if this was Echo, he'd want her to feel better.
Syrus had been holding Annie's hand since they'd left the classroom, and he gave it a light squeeze of reassurance. "Annie... We're going to get through this. We always have before," Violet tried, worried for her friend.
"It was just... so dark," she groaned softly, remembering the terror of the dream. "I couldn't see light..."
"Well...maybe it was night during your dream," Alexis offered.
"It... it was darker than that..."
"Annie... we can stop this," Jaden asserted, his eyes as serious as they had ever been. "And we're all going to march down that aisle, somehow! And I want to get to the Pro Leagues!"
"Jay's right. You're not gonna let some ol' skeleton stop ya'll from reachin' your goals, are ya?" Jesse piped up in his Southern drawl. Annie was silent and shivering but managed to shake her head with a little smile.
"Uh... no?" Jaden asked, sweat-dropping. "What'd he say?"
"Translated, that means are you going to let some bad thing stop you?" Bastion explained.
"Oh! Then, no way!"
Jesse blinked and pointed at himself. "Am I really that hard to understand?"
"Nah, Slacker's just an idiot," Chazz stated, which wasn't the brightest of ideas...
Alexis promptly smacked her brother upside the head, sending him a warning look. "Chazz..."
"Well, he isn't that smart, sis! And that's why we lo-- Like him!" Chazz might've come a long way in the past year, but he was still Chazz. And he wasn't about to say that he loved Jaden.
Atticus snickered. "What was that, bro? It sounded like you were going to say something else for a second there," he teased, nudging the younger boy.
"Shut up, big bro," the pale Rhodes grumbled, unable to hide a light, embarrassed blush.
"It's okay, Chazz. I know how you feel," Jaden grinned, slapping the other Slifer on the back.
"Oh, shut up..."
So the gang is now on alert. The nightmares are back in a different form, and they all know something may be about to happen. Next time, a figure from Atticus's past makes an appearance and it's not what anyone expects. So join us for Penumbra. Thank you, and until then, please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!