Chapter XXX: Piercing Darkness Part IV
Hello again, GX fans and fans of this particular Yugi-verse. Welcome back, and thank you to everyone who's tuned into the RESPECT forum. If you want to come in there to hang out and have fun, do so. We're glad to have everybody from every fandom. Anyway, enough of the shameless plugging! Onto the newest chapter, and it's going to get crazy.
Last time on "Darkness Falls," Atticus Rhodes confronted his in-mind nemesis, Nightshroud, in order to triumph over his inner darkness. However, Nightshroud would not leave his host without a fight. Even as most of the group lent support and Annie performed an exorcism, it was Chazz that gave his brother strength to fight and win against the evil one. Both Rhodes brothers were injured in the confrontation, but the portion of Nightshroud concealed within him was destroyed. And then the group took a quick rest before Jaden would confront the Supreme King Haou. So what will occur when they confront Haou? Read on.
Disclaimer: Uh… trust us… We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise.
Authors' notes: We are continuing to refer to Jaden's dark side as Haou. It's perhaps become a fan tradition to use it as a name and we are doing so. Further, we are treating Jaden's dark side as something he truly fears. We have taken some liberty with the dark one's powers as well as expanded the power of Jim's Eye of Orichalcum. There is some magic and spiritual elements in this chapter. Thank you for your attention.
And so a half-hour passed. Jaden, who had dozed off on Alexis's shoulder, started to wake up at about 9:45 when he became aware of a soft murmuring next to him. 'Huh? Alexis?' he thought, groggily listening in.
"Jaden....told you.....ate too much," Alexis muttered, fist clenching slightly as if she had just punched her dream fiancé on the head.
"I ate too much?" he asked, awake now.
"Kids.....don't.....your dad's a black hole," she continued.
Jaden turned white and his eyes bugged. Had it been possible, he would've gone white from head to foot. "Kids?! Alexis, wake up!"
But Alexis was still wearing her earplugs, so she didn't even hear him. "Jaden... careful... not so high..."
He looked at her and noticed the earplugs. He gently removed them. "Babe... babe, wake up..."
She muttered something inaudible and groaned, opening her eyes halfway. "Jay..? What...what is it?" she asked through a yawn.
"We've gotta get up now... It's... almost time," he stated seriously. And then he looked curiously at his wife to be. "Were you dreaming about our kids?" There was a slight smile on his face as he asked.
She blinked, then blushed and sat up. "I...I think so," she admitted.
Jaden blushed slightly too. "I'll bet they were beautiful like their mom..."
"I can't remember exactly, but... They looked a lot like you..."
Jaden grinned sheepishly. "Well... we'll find out... won't we?"
And then... "Sis... Slacker... Do not make me sicker than I am..." Chazz sat up slightly from his bed, looking a little green. "I'm glad you're in love and planning your future, but don't get all lovey-dovey... It's like when Mom and Dad get that way!"
Alexis frowned, glaring lightly at her brother. "Chazz, you're lucky you're injured right now. Jaden and I are not like Mom and Dad!"
"Well, the minute he starts calling you something like Scouty Muffin, I am going to vomit!" her raven-haired brother countered, groaning.
Alexis groaned. "Chazz, Jaden will never call me such a weird pet name..."
Jaden looked a little sick himself. "The only thing Dad calls Mom is Sugar Jay... and that's it... No way would I call you something like... Scouty Muffin?!"
"I don't know why he calls her that, or how it started. All I know is, I will never call you something that silly either, Jaden," Alexis answered seriously.
"Well..." Jaden went very pale.
"Slacker?" Chazz asked, managing to push himself up, concerned for his future brother-in-law.
"Jaden?" Alexis asked as well, looking at him worriedly.
"I... don't know if I can do this," the brown-haired Slifer said, clenching his fists and unclenching them.
Alexis moved, taking his hand and meeting his eyes. "Jaden, I know it's going to be hard... Harder than anything else you've done... But you need to confront him, or he'll never leave... And you won't be safe..."
"I don't want him to hurt anybody..."
Chazz took a breath. "Slack... Jaden, look... you have to take the risk and fight him off. Atticus almost got killed taking on Nightshroud. You have to fight the Supreme King. At least you haven't had to be him... And we aren't gonna let you fall to him... Just go and fight him..."
"Chazz is right, Jaden. Just like with Nightshroud...we'll be careful and prepared. Okay? Besides...maybe he won't have the same power as Nightshroud. He hasn't been able to come near taking you over," Alexis reminded her love reassuringly.
Jaden nodded, shivering slightly. "Stay with me, Lex..." And the couple stood.
Chazz wasn't allowed out of bed yet. "I'll be here when you get back," he groaned, lying back down.
"Bro, keep an eye on Atticus for us, okay? If he wakes up," Alexis said as they headed towards the door.
"I'll be right here," Chazz answered, and then Jaden and Alexis were heading down the hall.
GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX
At the same time, Adrian stood at the front door of the dorm, looking for a familiar lithe yet formidable figure to come walking up the path from the docks. He didn't have to wait long. Soon, Echo's uniformed silhouette could be seen coming down the path. She had stuck to full uniform, hat and all, and held the look of someone you didn't want to mess with.
He headed out the door to greet her. "Hey, Echo!" he called out.
She smiled just a bit, waving slightly. "Hey, Adrian. You were waiting for me?" she asked when she was within earshot.
"Yeah... Thanks for coming," he said gratefully, closing the distance between them. "This is going to get very rough..."
She stood with perfect posture, hands clasped behind her back. "Well, I'm used to rough. So that shouldn't be a problem."
Adrian took note of her posture. "Echo... please drop the captain thing... I need more relaxed Echo..."
She frowned, allowing her arms to fall by her sides. But she still stood straight and tall. "I am relaxed Echo."
Adrian sighed, knowing she might not get it. "Okay... I need you to just be my friend here like you always have been..."
Echo nodded, smirking and clapping Adrian on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I will be..."
"Thanks, Echo... now we just have to be there for Jaden..." And so they headed back into Ra. "Hey, guys," he called.
"Hello," Echo added, giving a short wave. She had gone into what Adrian referred to secretly as "captain mode," where she was very cool and aloof.
Jesse blinked a few times. "Adrian...she's the friend you mentioned??" he asked in surprise.
Tyson and Axel stood up and saluted, noting the fact silently that she was in a civilian naval form. "Captain, right?" Axel asked politely, to be sure of rank. When she nodded, he continued, "Axel Brody..." And he shook her hand.
And then Tyson moved forward. "Captain Gecko, I'm Tyson Hassleberry, pleased to meet you. Adrian's told us a lot about you..."
Echo held out her hand, smiling warmly for her. "Well, he's told me a lot about all of you as well. Tyson, Axel, your families are more into the army part of military, right?"
"Yeah... My daddy's a general," Tyson grinned.
"My dad was a general too," Axel added, seriously. "And you're a civilian captain of a submarine..."
Echo nodded. "I captain a submarine owned by Gecko Industries."
"That's mighty impressive," Tyson stated. "I mean... you're eighteen, like us..."
Echo hesitated. "My...father put me through specialized training while I was still in high school. He's friends with one of the CEOs and managed to get me the job," she lied.
Adrian caught the lie, but at this point didn't call her on it. "Echo's incredibly smart. And she's got real aptitude for command. It's amazing to watch her keep guys three times her age in check!"
Echo smirked. "Don't think I have problems keeping any boy in line. And that includes Adrian. I've always made sure that he doesn't get into any trouble..."
He smirked right back at her. "Yeah, right... I don't recall you stopping me when I had that party when... Mom and Dad were out of town..." Annie caught the hesitation in Adrian's voice. Her eyebrow raised, but she made no other reaction.
Echo, too, caught it. But she knew it was best to ignore it and keep the conversation rolling. "Of course I didn't stop you. You didn't tell me until I came downstairs to find the entire first floor to practically be a rave."
Aster's jaw dropped. "A rave?! How big is your house?!"
"About 65000 square feet," Adrian explained without batting an eyelash.
Annie's jaw dropped. "That big?" In her neighborhood, 10000 square feet was as big as you got.
Echo chuckled, looking over at Adrian. "You mean you didn't tell them about where you lived?"
"Uh..." Adrian flushed slightly. "No... The square footage didn't come up."
"And that's really just the house," Echo added, grinning.
Adrian groaned softly. "They know we have money... I just didn't need to tell them how big the house was," he explained calmly. "I didn't tell them about your sweet 16 either, you know," he teased.
A vein popped out on Echo's forehead, and she placed a hand with a very strong grip on his shoulder. "Yes, and they don't need to know about that, Adrian," she growled warningly.
Suddenly, Adrian felt himself surrounded by the female population of the group. "If she says no, we say no," Blair said, clenching a small fist. "Got it?" The other girls looked just as menacing in their own ways.
"Got it," he answered, holding up his hands in surrender.
Meanwhile, the guys kept their distance, looking just a little intimidated. Syrus grinned sheepishly. "How can they get so scary so quickly?" he whispered to the other boys.
"Soldier... that's a mystery of the ages," Tyson answered, for a fleeting moment glad that Rosa wasn't there to clobber him.
After more pleasantries were exchanged, Jaden sat down on the couch. "Yubel? How is this going to work?" he asked his duel spirit.
Yubel appeared, arms crossed over her chest. "Jaden, this will be similar to what Atticus did. But instead of putting on a mask to contact your dark side, you'll have to do it on your own through concentration. And then you'll fight him..."
"But...what'll happen to me?" he asked, looking around at the people he cared about most in this world. 'I can't hurt them...'
Yubel sighed, sensing her longtime friend's growing terror. "Like with Atticus, you will probably be taken over. It'll be hard, but you need to fight him off and take control again. If you can do that, he'll disappear for good. Just like Nightshroud...without the holy water, of course."
"Yeah... this is different than Nightshroud... I think," Annie muttered nervously. She gripped Sy's hand, knowing how bad this might be not only for Jaden, but for her beloved as well.
Syrus swallowed down a mixture of nerves and worry, squeezing Annie's hand. He would try to help Jaden as much as he could during all of this. "Nightshroud was an evil being from the World of Darkness. Haou is Jaden's dark side. There is a slight difference, only in the fact that Nightshroud had shadow magic," Yubel explained.
"Am I going to be... submerged?" Jaden wondered.
"Submerged?"
"It means he wonders, Yubel, if his own personality will be buried while this new personality takes his place," Adrian explained.
Yubel frowned. "We won't know until it happens, I'm afraid. But judging by what happened to Atticus...the chances are high..."
The group took up their positions in the room and Jaden took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and started to draw on that dark place in his mind he seldom went. It was the part of his mind that said Yubel shouldn't be treated as a friend, but as a killing machine. And then, his mind opened. "No... I don't want to see this," he moaned, eyes still closed.
"He's seeing what Haou sees now," Yubel explained to the group, able to sense it because of her close connection to both Jaden and Haou.
"Jaden... what are you seeing?" Blair asked softly, hating to see him in such agony.
"I'm... seeing an army... and they're hurting people," he moaned.
"That's the future that was possible... What would have happened had my original plans come to fruition," Yubel continued helpfully.
Jaden shook. "No.... no... I don't want to do this..." And then... "You have to accept my power, Jaden," a voice that was and was not his said. His hand still clasped Alexis's, but the persona that was in control of his body was not entirely Jaden.
Alexis noticed; they all did. It was just like what happened to Atticus, but a lot more subtle. "Jaden...?"
And then his eyes opened. "Not exactly... the name is Haou," he stated. "And now I am in control..." The room temperature dropped two degrees. It was a chilling change. Jaden's visage had gone from kind and fearful to cruel and calculating in the space of a few seconds.
Almost every person in the room shivered, but Alexis kept a tight hold on Jaden's hand. Her eyes were set and she stayed confidently beside the love of her life. "Not for long. Jaden will get that control back."
"I don't think so... I like it here," Haou countered softly.
"You won't be here for long," Annie stated calmly.
"Yeah. Come on, Jaden. You can fight him," Syrus added, free hand clenched into a nervous fist.
"C'mon, Sarge," Tyson cheered him on. "You can beat this varmint!"
Haou ignored it. "I can control this world, as I would have had supreme control of the Dark World... nothing would have been out of my control..."
Alexis frowned; Jaden hadn't shown any sign of fighting back yet. She reached over to place her free hand on his shoulder, staring straight into the golden eyes that didn't belong to him. "Jaden... This isn't you. Come on...show him that he's wrong."
"Oh... I'm just his dark side... It's very much him... I'm just the part of him that's more dangerous... And you can rule at my side, one way or another," Haou smirked, looking Alexis up and down in a very lustful, wicked way.
Alexis grimaced in disgust; she'd seen that look far too many times to count. And Jaden had never, would never, look at her in such a way. "First of all, I'll say it again, you're not Jaden. Second, you're not going to be ruling anything. And even if you would, there is no way I'd stay by your side."
"You will, one way or another," he countered, and before she or anyone else could stop him, Haou pulled her to him and forced his lips to hers. He could feel her fight him, but kept the kiss going. Alexis's eyes snapped wide in shock; that's the last thing she expected him to do. The lips felt like Jaden's, but they were too forceful and lustful. There wasn't any love. Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed, trying to pull out of his grasp and giving a muffled cry of protest. Haou took the advantage of her crying out and forced his tongue into her mouth. 'This is going to be mine,' he thought.
Alexis was about to fight back, meeting Haou's golden eyes in a fierce glare. But the second her hazel orbs looked into his, she felt her resolve crumble. It was as if something was hypnotizing her, clouding her senses and mind so that everything became fuzzy. Alexis's eyelids drooped and her hands slid down his chest, out of their tense grip. It was like she'd been rendered helpless.
Haou could feel her resistance drop. And then... "ALEXIS!" Blair called out. "THAT'S NOT JADEN! FIGHT HIM!"
"Yeah, Alexis! Wake up! Let go of her, you jerk!" Annie added.
Alexis barely heard her friends, but it was enough. She blinked once, twice. Everything becoming crystal clear in a matter of seconds, her eyes widened once more. Brows furrowing, Alexis pulled back one of her arms, swinging it around to catch Haou squarely in the jaw and broke free of the kiss.
Haou felt the blow. "You dare hit me, you impudent..!"
He raised his hand as if to strike her, but Tyson ran forward. "No way are you layin' a hand on her, you... you... varmint!" he shouted. "SARGE, WAKE UP!!"
And then with a strength Jaden didn't possess or didn't use, Haou threw the Texas Ra over his shoulder. "You little bug!"
Jim ran over to Tyson, helping the muscular teen up. "Tyson, mate, are you all right?" he asked. Shirley, meanwhile, growled at Haou and snapped threateningly at him. She wouldn't attack unless she had to, though.
"Y-yeah... he's strong," Tyson groaned, softly. "But... he just knocked the wind outta me," he concluded as Jim helped him up. "Thanks, partner..."
"Oh, how sweet," Haou smirked, his eyes glowing with unholy delight at the others. "The nerd club is together... Too bad I'll have to destroy you..."
Syrus stood, glaring defiantly at Haou. "Jaden won't let you destroy any of us! He's going to stop you." And sensing the threat, Shirley gave a loud growl and snapped her jaws down on Haou's pant leg. With that amount of pressure, he wasn't going anywhere.
"Why you..!" the Supreme King snarled, trying to get free of the crocodile's grip.
"Haou... you aren't welcome here!" Annie called out, moving into position, not sure what she was going to do. "You won't be allowed to hurt anyone else... You are a king without compassion, and a king without compassion does not deserve a kingdom. If you are willing to kill us to control us, you are not a truly good ruler. You have been corrupted by evil..."
"SHUT UP!" Haou shouted, summoning a dark energy orb and throwing it. It hit the girl squarely in the chest, throwing her into the wall. "Did compassion save you, XXXXX!" he mocked. Annie crashed to the ground, crying out only once.
"ANNIE!!" Syrus cried, running to her side.
And with that, something in Jim's head clicked. He didn't think; he just jumped into action, knowing this was it. He threw off his hat and gripped his bandages, tearing them off in a single tug. Jim was in front of Haou in seconds, stance strong as he placed a heavy grip on the shorter boy's shoulders. "If there's anytime for this to work, let it be now," he muttered. Jim gazed into Haou's eyes, and instantly the Orichalcum orb burst into brilliant glowing color. He found himself promptly tossed headfirst into Jaden's soul, both his and Haou's bodies frozen in place in the real world.
And in Jaden's mind... "YOU JERK! HOW COULD YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!" Jaden shouted, grabbing hold of Haou's leather-clad arm.
His brown eyes flashed with fury, which quickly turned to pain as his dark counterpart twisted his arm. "You don't know what pain is," Haou whispered harshly. "You haven't lived through it... and I've had centuries to think about human suffering..." Haou continued, "Your friends will only let you down. You can't have true power with them... You can't duel at full strength... "
"No... That's not true!" Jaden shouted, pulling free of his grip. "My friends are my strength... And they're helping me fight you!"
Jim listened to this conversation as he worked to orient himself, only there in spirit. But both Jaden and Haou were spirits here too, meaning he could interact with them. "Jaden's right, you cowardly blighter," he stated as he walked over to them. "I may be the only one able to do this, but everyone out there is fighting you to get Jaden back!"
Jaden met Haou's golden eyes. "That's right... You had friends once... When I was you... I know that... Yubel was my friend... She gave up her humanity to protect us!"
"A pathetic sacrifice... and it only made her weak in the end... Going on about her precious Jaden while all the while he had moved onto a new bunch of friends!"
"NO!" Jaden shouted. "I sent her up to help her! And she did come back! And she ended up okay because she found out she had friends! You're the one who won't let people be your friends! And I'm not going to let you be part of me anymore!" Jim could tell Jaden was gaining ground and winning against his dark half. So he stood to the side, waiting to help if it was needed. He already knew one thing he would have to do here.
Haou's dark power shifted around him and he sent a gust at his counterpart. But Jaden summoned his own spiritual energy, something that seemed a blend between light and shadow, shielding him and Jim from the blow. And then he sent the dark attack back at Haou. "ARGGH!!" the dark one shouted in pain as he hit the ground on his bottom.
"You're done," Jaden growled, shivering with the power that had come from him. Haou dissolved into a column of dark light and disappeared.
Jim stepped up to stand beside Jaden now, nodding. "He is, Jaden. You defeated him... I'm here to help you back to your senses, mate."
Jaden nodded. "Thanks, Jim... help me... I can't do it alone..."
"Just hang on, not sure how this is gonna feel," Jim replied as he placed his hand on Jaden's shoulder. The Orichalcum eye glowed once more, surrounding them both with a bright red light. And then, they felt themselves lifted up and out of the depths of Jaden's soul.
Jaden felt himself coming back to his body, and he was aware of a pair of warm, feminine arms around him as consciousness winked out again. "Lex," he murmured weakly.
Alexis held him, pulling him close as she moved to sit both of them down on the couch. "It's okay, Jaden... You're back," she muttered, happy to see the warm brown eyes once more.
Jim stumbled, the feeling of being thrust back into his own body thoroughly disorienting him. "You okay, Jim?" Axel asked, getting an arm around him for support. Shirley had moved close as well, growling softly for her friend.
"Ooh...I think so, mate... Is Annie all right?" Jim asked, leaning on the dark-skinned teen for support. He felt strange for some reason, and felt something small and round gripped in his free hand.
Annie was far from all right. Miss Fontaine was working frantically over her. "This can't be happening... Her heart rate is very irregular. I'm losing her!" The dark energy that the Supreme King had summoned called forth what had nearly taken Annie about a year before. Even in a hospital with the nurse and a team of trained doctors, the dark-haired girl would be dead in a few minutes. She was growing pale, her skin was sweaty and she was clearly fighting for every last breath.
Syrus was near tears, holding Annie's hand tightly, willing her to stay in this world. "Annie...no... This can't be happening...not again..."
Jim stared, and then glanced down at what he was holding. It was the Orichalcum gem. Startled, Jim looked back to Annie, and then got an idea. Pushing shakily off of Axel, he made his way over to the fallen Obelisk girl as quickly as he could in his slight disorientation. "Miss Fontaine...let me try something. I think...I know what to do," he said seriously, gripping the gem tightly.
Fonda moved back, praying in her head that this would work. "Hurry, Jim... I can't stabilize her!"
Jim dropped down beside Annie, taking only a moment to regain his bearings. 'I hope this works,' he thought, pulling in a breath. Jim placed his hand over Annie, pressing the Orichalcum stone into her chest. Slowly, it gave off a gentle glow, seeping into her body like water.
Annie's injured body shivered as the soft red glow permeated her. She went very still, and then her breathing became normal as the glow faded. The nurse moved to check. "Her vital signs are returning to normal... She should be okay..." And then she looked at the Australian teen, eyes narrowing, then widening in shock. "Jim... your eyes..."
Jim blinked. "What? What about my eyes?" he asked worriedly. The Orichalcum stone was gone...was there just an empty socket now?
"You... have two of them," the nurse answered, very stunned. "Two healthy blue eyes..."
"What!?" That was impossible. She had to be hallucinating. There was only... But as Jim reached up to brush his fingers against the usual metal, he was shocked to feel skin instead. Eyes wide, he jumped to his feet and ran over to a nearby mirror. Two bright, blue eyes stared back at him instead of one. No wonder he'd been so disoriented. "I...I have two eyes," he muttered, nearly speechless.
Axel was smiling. "You were rewarded. You found your purpose... And you just saved two friends..."
Jim could only stare, so used to seeing a single eye and bandages for most of his young life. And then, such a strong surge of happiness welled up within him, more than he'd ever felt before. It brought the Australian youth to tears of pure joy, feeling the wetness run down both cheeks for the first time in a decade. He dropped down to his knees, hands sliding down the wall as Shirley went to his side. She'd never seen her master and best friend, as well as protector, so happy.
"Wow," Blair said, eyes wide. "Miracles do happen... Jim... you deserved to get your eyes back."
"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it possible," Fonda murmured as she headed to check Jaden, now that Annie was safe. "He's got a fever, but I think he'll be okay..."
Jim stood, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "That's good to hear... He defeated Haou, I saw it with my own eye," he explained, picking up his hat and putting it back on.
"Jim...I doubt I can ever thank you enough... You helped him and brought him back," Alexis said, holding back tears herself.
"And you saved Annie's life... There's no way I can ever repay you for something like this," Syrus added, holding Annie's unconscious body in his arms.
"Okay... we need to take a break... Kids, I know you want to finish this, but I have four patients and I need to make sure they're all going to be fine. Echo, I could use a hand and I know you're trained in triage," Miss Fontaine asserted, her eyes showing command.
Echo nodded. "Of course. Just tell me how I can help."
"All right. I'll need you in with my burn victims... the younger one can be very stubborn..."
"I'm used to dealing with stubborn people. Shouldn't be a problem."
"Good," Fonda smiled. She sent Echo to the proper room and then directed the other teens in moving Annie and Jaden. "Alexis, I'm putting Jaden in Tyson's old room and Annie is going in your old room, Syrus... I have to be in with Jaden for a bit. Can you handle Annie?"
"Yeah, I can, Miss Fontaine," the short Obelisk answered.
"Okay, then," the nurse said. And the two new patients were moved into their rooms. "Sy... get her into a sleep shirt. There should be one in that drawer," Miss Fontaine gave the order from around the door. "Just be very gentle with her..."
Syrus nodded. "All right..." He shut the door after the nurse left, going over to the drawer and looking through it. Pulling out a long, sky blue nightshirt which was in every student's drawer for emergencies, he walked over to Annie and carefully got to work. Syrus blushed a bit for most of the time, even if he'd seen Annie without her clothes before. He made sure to be as gentle as possible, and in a few minutes she was changed into the shirt.
And it was then Annie woke up. "Mmmm... Sy?" she asked weakly, her eyes opening. "Honey... where am I?"
Syrus smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand. "You're in my old room at Ra, Annie."
"How did I get here?" she wondered, sounding dazed. "The last thing I remember... Jaden!" she yelped, trying to sit up but failing.
He placed a hand on her stomach, pushing her gently back down. "Shh... Annie, it's okay. Jaden defeated Haou and came back. Miss Fontaine said he has a fever...but he's all right."
"I don't remember after he got mad," she groaned. "Did his dark side.... get me?"
He frowned and nodded. "Yeah... He hit you with some kind of shadow magic... You were having a heart attack from it, and Miss Fontaine couldn't stabilize you… I thought I was going to lose you..."
"How... how did I survive?" she asked. "I remember this warm light... but not what it was..."
He smiled again. "It was Jim, Annie. He used his eye... First he…went into Jaden's mind, I think. He helped him come back to us. And then...Jim used it to help heal you. I'm not sure how it worked, but you're okay now. And Jim has two eyes again!"
She smiled tiredly, lying back against the pillows. "He was God's instrument... And God rewarded him for doing such good things..."
"I guess he did... I'm just glad that you're all right. And that Jaden's okay, too. Haou's gone for good..."
"Yeah... Me, too... Honey... lay down with me," she asked tiredly.
"All right, Annie..." He quickly slid off his shoes and climbed into bed beside her, putting his arm around her. With Syrus at her side, Annie fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. Syrus sighed, closing his eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd fall asleep or not, but it felt nice just to relax.
In Tyson's old bedroom, Miss Fontaine had just helped Alexis with Jaden's nightshirt, also in a light blue. "The fever must be a side effect," she muttered, taking the boy's temperature again.
"But there's nothing else wrong with him, right?" Alexis asked, holding her fiancé's hand.
The nurse shook her head. "No... I don't see anything else. He should be fine... He's very strong..."
Alexis sighed in relief. "That's good... I'm glad it's only a fever..."
"It'll help him recover..."
And then... "No... no, don't hurt her," Jaden moaned weakly, sweat beading his forehead.
Alexis's eyes widened. "Jaden?!"
"Haou... you don't have the right to kiss her that way..." He was reliving the fight.
"It must be the last minutes of the fight when Haou forced you into that kiss," Miss Fontaine theorized.
Alexis frowned, squeezing Jaden's hand. "Jaden...it's okay. I'm safe. It's over now..."
Jaden's eyes opened, the fever brightness in them, as well as some confusion. "A...lex...is?"
Her frown turned into a small smile. "I'm here, Jaden... It was just a nightmare..."
"Lex," he said softly, holding up his arms. "Are you okay?"
She leaned down to hug him, nodding against his shoulder. "I'm fine, Jaden... You should be worrying about yourself..."
"He hurt you," he murmured, shivering with the fever.
"It was just a kiss," she muttered back.
"But he forced you..."
"And I showed him what happens if you do that... Sorry about the punch...it doesn't hurt too badly, does it?"
It was then he became aware of his slightly sore jaw. "No... but even if it did...Lex... I'm sorry I couldn't stop him..."
"It's all right, Jay... You still did great...you fought him off. Jim told us about it..."
"That was a crazy...f-fight..." He started to really shake and Fonda moved close.
"Jaden... lie back down and rest," the nurse insisted firmly.
"Do you want me to lie down with you, Jaden?" Alexis asked, frowning worriedly. The nurse nodded approval at this, if the young man wanted his fiancée near.
"Yeah," he answered, shaking from the cold flash.
So she lay down beside him, keeping her arms around him. "Just rest, Jaden... You did it...and now you're safe..."
His body was radiating heat. "Th-thanks... babe," he murmured as the warmth suddenly returned to his senses, making him sleepy.
"Mmhmm," she murmured, closing her own eyes.
Miss Fontaine smiled and covered the couple with a light blanket. And then she tiptoed down the hall to Bastion's bedroom. "I said I can get up!" Chazz tried, threateningly.
"Miss Fontaine clearly said that you're still on bed rest, young man. And that means you stay in this bed and rest, no ifs, ands, or buts! Do I make myself clear?" Echo countered in a stern tone, sounding much older than she was.
"Yeah, Chazz, you have to listen to her. She's a girl version of Tyson and Axel," Mindy said, "and she already has her own command. So you don't want to mess with her!"
Chazz sighed, knowing that he was decidedly outmatched. "All right..."
Echo smirked. "Thank you, Mindy. I'm glad you can see things my way, Chazz..." And then, a soft groan could barely be heard coming from the other bed.
Jasmine, sitting at her boyfriend's bedside, gripped his hand. "Atty? Atticus, can you hear me?" she asked.
"Big bro?" Chazz added loudly, hoping his brother would hear him.
"Oooh," the older boy groaned again, opening his eyes slightly. "What," Atticus began, but gave a low hiss of pain and ground his teeth together. His hand squeezed Jasmine's in reaction to the pain he felt reverberating off of his entire body.
"It's all right... take it easy," she murmured, pain in her gray eyes from both his grip and seeing him this way. "You were hurt... you have a lot of burns..." She reached her free hand up to brush his singed bangs. "But you stopped Nightshroud..."
"Agh... I... I did?" he managed to ask. His eyes were closed tightly at the pain he felt, but her actions helped to soothe it a little.
"You did... and Chazz is going to be okay..."
"Chazz?!" Atticus got halfway up, and then cried out in pain and dropped back down. Cringing, he groaned and felt the pain travel up and down his torso. That was not the best thing to do.
And the youngest Rhodes, ignoring Echo's orders, got off his rollaway bed and headed straight to his brother's bed, even though it hurt. "Bro... Don't... stay down..."
"Chazz... Bro...you… you're hurt... Because of me," Atticus stammered, voice shaking from the physical and emotional pain he felt. He managed to crack open an eye, looking up at his little brother.
The younger boy moved so he could hold his brother's free hand. "No... I made the choice. I love you, bro and if it meant I had to fight Nightshroud and get hurt... it was worth it..."
"Bro... I love you too... Are you sure...you're okay?"
"Yeah... it was you we were worried about... You got burned really bad..."
"Gee...so that's why...I'm in so much pain," Atticus muttered wryly, managing a small grin. "I didn't hurt...anyone else...did I?"
"No, Atty... you were amazing," Jasmine said, squeezing his hand with pride in him.
Atticus sighed in relief. "Good... How long have I...been out?"
"You've been out for about 5 hours," she answered, tears coming to her eyes.
"Five hours... But...where is everyone?" he asked, eyes closed again as a fresh wave of pain hit.
"Jaden... fought his dark side and won... Everyone's resting now... Annie got hurt..."
"Wait… what?! Jay fought his...dark side... And I wasn't there to help..."
"No... Atticus... he knows you were with him... that we all were there with him," Jasmine soothed.
Atticus sighed, frowning. "Is Annie okay..?"
"Yeah... she had a close call, though. Bro, Haou tried to kill her," Chazz explained.
"How did she survive??" Atty asked, opening his eyes slightly to look back at his brother.
"Mindy and Jazz saw it happen... He used that eye of his... First on Jay, and then on Annie when...she had a heart attack... We don't know what that eye did, but it stabilized Annie and she's resting now with Sy..."
"Wait...eye? You mean it was Jim?"
"Yeah... Atticus... He got his right eye back!" Mindy said excitedly.
Atticus grinned again. "He did? That's great... Can't wait to see that..."
"You'll be amazed," Jasmine agreed. "Now just rest or Echo will make you..."
Atty blinked. "Echo??"
"Yeah... Echo, c'mon over," Chazz called.
The submarine captain walked over to the bed, smiling. "Hello, Atticus. I'm Echo, Adrian's friend," she greeted.
Atticus blinked a few more times. "Okay...am I hallucinating, or...are you in an army uniform?"
"It's a navy uniform! She has her own submarine!" Mindy grinned.
"You're kidding," Atticus managed to say with a smile.
"No, it's true. Though, I don't own it, I just captain it..." Echo explained, sweat-dropping.
"Wow," Atticus muttered in awe.
"So... why are you here?" Chazz asked. "It'd be pretty hard to... wait a sec... Have you been patrolling here or something?"
Echo frowned and glanced away. "Mr. Gecko asked me to keep an eye on his son. Not surprising with all of the disappearances happening here."
Chazz seemed to accept that as he lay down next to his brother. "Is it okay if I stay by you, big bro, now that you're all bandaged up?" he asked.
Atticus smiled. "Sure, bro... Just...uh, don't touch me... No offense, but...that doesn't seem to help..."
"Okay," the smaller teen answered, taking care not to hurt his brother. Mindy and Jasmine had, meanwhile, exchanged glances. Something about how Echo had answered Chazz's question had set off their women's intuition. She was hiding something.
So Echo is drawing suspicion from the girls now. What is she hiding, and what is Adrian's darkness? Next time, join us for "Piercing Darkness Part V." Until then, please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!