Bad Dream or Worse Reality?

Guest

.............Eyes would open and JaK Sage would find himself in the familiar surroundings of the Medical Wing in the tower, it would seem Grace and himself were no longer tied for having the most visits to the infirmary. Speaking of which, as he looked around he noticed at least one of his teammates were in the room with him. How long had he been out for? Guessing by his wounds and how most were healing, yet some were still pretty bad he could at least say he had been there all night and some of the better part of the next day.

"Urgh...What happened, did he get away?"

JaK's memory was fuzzy, but he did remember fighting David and that he was about to blow up just like he did that fateful night. Also, that JaK had been worried for both Lance and Grace's safety. Currently he was laying on one of the medical beds, which was like kind of a stasis chamber as well. Right now it was working to remove dead or charred flesh from his body, no longer armored thankfully, all that was left was third degree burns. He must've looked like a skin cancer patient to those around him right now. In addition, his whole body felt numb as if he had had been flash frozen or something? Ya, not many people could recognize that feeling other than someone who fights ice villains quite regularly in the simulation chamber. He could only guess that Grace had frozen him for whatever reason, probably to save his life. JaK placed his hand upon his head at this point realizing he had lost the fight and most likely Nightmare had gotten away. He had failed to capture his sibling and now any lives he took were going to be on his head. The thought of JaK's weakness was so much that the teen felt like crying.

"How could I have let this happen..."

Subject: Re: Bad Dream or Worse Reality? Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:46 pm

The person in the room with JaK was Lance. He had his back turned to JaK because he was staring out one of the windows that were in the room. Of course the whole battle that they had just had was on his mind. Lance would only think of how a brother could do such a thing to another. Lance didn't understand it. Those two were at one point the only thing they had.. each other. Lance had grown up similar to them, survive on your own, but Lance's case was different because he was alone at one point... A voice could be heard then. Lance turned around to hear JaK finally waking up. Lance would hear his question. It seemed even in this state that JaK was more concerned about if his brother got away. Lance would walk up next to the bed that JaK was laying in.

"Yeah he got away JaK... don't worry, it's not your fault."

Guest

JaK would shoot Lance a dagger stare as his trademark aggression creeped into his voice.

"How the HELL is it not my fault!? Nightmare's my responsibility, my problem. I brought him here, I made us join the team, I helped him train...Get better, so he could murder all those people with his now enhanced abilities...I trusted him, I defended him. If there's anything I know for sure in this life Lance, it is that this, ALL THIS is my fault...and mine alone."

JaK would look away as his yellow eyes became blood red as if he wanted to cry, but he was too tough for that or at least to do it in front of Lance.

Guest

"Of course it's all your fault, Sage." These words came from Grace Koori as she entered the room with some hot tea. The box had said that the tea could calm the body and spirit. Grace couldn't sense anything spiritual about the tea, but it was the best thing she had to offer Sage at the moment to help him heal.

She offered Sage the tea. "Or at least that's what you'll think for months, maybe years until you finally realize that Nightmare acted on his own will. It will be a very touching emotional moment, I'm sure. In any case, we'll need to bring Dan with us next time."

Although she might appear calm on the outside, Grace was furious that Nightmare had escaped. He had killed and gotten away with it. Grace had foolishly tried to capture him. She should have realized that someone with advanced healing couldn't be stopped so easily. The next time she saw him, she would need to kill him quick. Maybe throwing him into orbit would be the best way.

Subject: Re: Bad Dream or Worse Reality? Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:16 am

Lance just shook his head after what Grace said. He was just waiting for the outburst that would probably come out of JaK. Lance knew that it wasn't his fault. Nightmare acted on his own. He is the one who betrayed everyone. If anyone was to be blamed and take responsibility it would have to be David himself. Lance went and sat down on the bed next to JaK's just waiting for the argument that was about to start between the two of them.

(Mind)
"Here we go."

Guest

Lance would look at JaK expecting him to blow as Grace entered the room and disagreed with him. After handing him tea, the pale Titan would sit up and look down at it for a second his bangs covering his eyes while his teeth gritted as if he was furious, but then as he raised his head it was shown that there was a tear running down his face...JaK...CRYING!? Never before had anyone seen that. Not after what happened to Will, not his brother betraying the team or at least no one saw him, and not even when kat deserted everyone. No, JaK never showed a emotional side of hismelf, he was always too into keeping up his lone wolf act for that, but today, he couldn't help but feel a sense belonging that he couldn't hide.

"Thanks Grace...And you to Lance. You guys put your lives on the line to save me and even let the enemy get away to make sure I was safe although you knew countless more lives could be endangered by doing so. In all honesty, that might've been the smarter choice too. I still don't know the extent of Nightmare's powers and they're growing even faster than my own."

As Sage spoke he would look at one of his wrist, imagining it enlarged and the size of a TV in his head. An ability he only adeveloped as of recently.

"Basically, what I'm trying to say is...You made a decision, probably the right decision, but for the wrong reason. And I thank you guys for saving my life, really, but Nightmare is mine and mine alone. He knows this, that if anyone's gonna kill one another it will be one of us as long as were still breathing. If I fall before then, fine take him out, but until then leave Dan out of it and the same goes for you two."

JaK would take a sip of his tea and then continued looking down at the cup as if envisioning something in it. Past memories maybe, future acts, his own death, his parents faces, who knew really. The tone of his next few words dark and nearly ominous at that.

"This was the path that was laid out for us since the beginning...One of us is going to die and one of us is going to move on. The Sage family passed away a loooong time ago, way before Nightmare killed my parents actually......................Ok, that's enough of that. I can't stay in this thing all day, I gotta get up and do something. Maybe punch someone, I don't care."

As JaK finsihed his excerpt and his facial expression turned back to normal, he would wipe the tear from his cheeck and looked around. Moments later his usual demeanor would return as he as he began to attempt to get out of bed, no where near healthy enough to do so yet, however.

Guest

Grace was impressed with Sage's self control. She hadn't expected him to remain calm.

Even if she had no intention of actually staying out of this fight between the two brothers, there was no need for Jak to know that. "Sure, he's all yours."

She sighed as he tried to get out of bed. Lance would stop him, she was sure. There was no need for her to interfere. "Make sure you drink every drop of that tea, Sage. It was expensive." It hated her to admit it, but she didn't want Sage to die. She didn't want any Titans to die. They were her team, and as terrible as they could be, she could never truely hate them.

Subject: Re: Bad Dream or Worse Reality? Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:31 am

"Woah, hey there, where do you think you're going?"

Lance would say as he got hopped off the bed. He wouldn't run, but it he didn't walk either. It was something in the middle, but it got Lance there fast enough to get to JaK in time. Lance would put his hand in front of JaK, not touching him though because he didn't want to cause any pain to his burn wounds, to stop him from getting up. Lance knew that JaK had to be getting torn on the inside by all the emotions he was feeling right now, but it was best for him to stay put and heal up.

"I may not know how you feel right now, but both of us know you're in no condition to even be getting out of bed right now. This is the time where you're supposed to rest up and get ready to fight another day."

Lance would say of course concerned about his well-being. Lance made sure he kept his hand in front of JaK so that he could not get passed. Even if JaK tried to get out of bed, Lance would not let him. Lance gave a quick glance as Grace to see her only there on standby. He then looked back at JaK to see if he would give any struggle to this demand that Lance was giving him.

Guest

Well well look at Lance ordering JaK around now, just half a year ago it had been the opposite. Standing there for a moment JaK contemplated just brushing past him and leaving the room, but at the same time he knew that Lance was genuine in his concern and only cared for JaK's health. Oddly enough Lance was the kind of sap who actually cared about people, for what reason JaK wasn't sure because in case Lance hadn't noticed most people were jerks.

"That an order, Captain'?"

JaK would say with an eyebrow rasied as if challenging Lance's authority on the matter. Did he think just because he had the role of leader now that he was gonna be ordering JaK around? Trying to keep a leash on him. Then again maybe Sage was just being hard headed and looking too into it.

"Fine, well try it your way, but when there's a zombie horde attack or an invasion of ninja mummies don't come crawling to me..."

JaK would then get back in the high-tech bed and pressed in a code sequence on a holographic keyboard that popped up on the right side turning on a virtual TV that seemed to pop up at the foot of the chamber pod.

"...Because I'll be here "Resting Up" and watching 'Galactic Wars 5'."

That being said he would manuver in his bed to get more comfortable and made a gritting face with his teeth as it could be seen that he slightly irritated his burns. His face having a rather horrid scowl, which actually was kind of normal for him, but this time it was because he felt like some kid being forced to sit in a play pen while his parents got to do whatever they wanted. His arms folded as he waited for them both to go or say something else.

Subject: Re: Bad Dream or Worse Reality? Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:15 pm

"You should know that it's not an order.. it's more of me just watching out for you."

Lance would say to JaK in a more serious tone of voice. He watched as Jak made his way back into his bed so that he can start resting again. Lance would look at him for a second and then look down at the ground. There was a moment of awkward silence for just a couple of seconds as Lance then decided to turn around and started walking out. Before Lance would walk out though he would stop side by side with Grace. He would look over to her with only a glance and would whisper to her.

"Make sure he stays in bed."

Lance would then look back over at the door and walk over. The door would automatically open for Lance and then he would walk out of the Medical Bay without saying anything else.

Guest

Grace cracked her knuckles in reply to Lance's order. "Affirmative." Grace kept her eyes on JaK as Lance left. She had felt herself drifting farther away from Lance in the last few weeks. She still thought he was cute, but she felt more and more like he just wasn't the one.

Besides, unless Lance powered up considerably in the near future, then it would be impossible for them to stay together. Disturbingly enough, the only person she had seen who stood half a chance of being stronger than her brother was...Nightmare. Was a villain like David preferrable to the alternative?

She closed her eyes for a second as she heard her brother's spell out their deal again:

'Either you will find a man stronger than me, or else you shall be given to the Victor.'

The Victor. She had not known who the Victor was back then. She had not known a lot of things back then. However, she had been reading her black book lately, and had learned some terrible truths.

'That was why he looked at me,' She thought. 'That's why I have this power.'

Grace knew she would have to tell the team her situation. She didn't know how they would respond. Would they help her and die in vain? Or would they leave her to a terrible fate? Grace didn't know.

Grace wanted to know if David could possibly be redeemed. She wasn't serious about marrying him, she just wanted to know if she could in a fantasy world. There was no doubt in her mind that David would be a much better mate than the man who currently held her hand. However, how could Grace ask Jak anything about his brother at a time like this? She decided to veil the questions behind the mask of another villain.

"Jak," Grace asked. "Do you think that someone like Slade could ever be redeemed and turned back into a good person?"

Guest

JaK thought about ignoring Grace as she sat there in his room watching the poor boy. Always so judgmental of JaK, kind of like how Shadow was except she lived with him. However, at the same time JaK had a tolerance and a soft spot for each of his teammates. Jenny because she was forced into this life style like he was. Dan always felt like he didn't belong, being an alien and all, neither did JaK. Lance always had a gentle hearted and rather pure disposition towards everyone, so did JaK to a degree who just couldn't bring himself to end anybody's life. Then there was Grace, she and him had a different type of connection or personal issue they could both shared...They both commonly second guessed their own ability. Always felt like they weren't enough for themselves. It explained why she always trained so hard and worked herself to the bone. In any case JaK observed the girl before answering her question almost as if searching for where that came from and then just looked back at the virtual TV screen before answering.

"I dunno I guess, never met him personally but based on what I've read about Titans past history with the guy he seemed like he was pretty sure about what he was doing and I doubt he'd ever want to go back or even thinks he needs redemption."

JaK didn't know much about Slade, but he knew a lot about bad guys and villains. He had been one more than once and if he knew anything..Deep down, even the righteous had a bad side. How else do you think superheroes can go from good to evil so effortlessly and have to struggle to do the right thing.

"Remember, there's no such thing as Good and Evil. Just conflicting viewpoints...That's just a term we use to make the line a little clearer than what it really is so we can do our jobs."

Guest

Grace had to agree with the first part of Jak's answer. From what she had heard of Slade, it didn't seem like he would ever think of redeeming himself. Perhaps David was beyond redemption too. Oh well, she hadn't been serious about the idea anyways.

The second part of Jak's answer made Grace angry. No such thing as Good and Evil? Of course there was Good and Evil. She had met Evil face to face, and so had Jak. She almost exploded at Jak for saying such a thing, but she held in her anger, releasing it slowly. She stayed calm."Does Necati seem good to you from any viewpoint?"

Necati was an evil being, who had killed so many people, including her own father. If there was no distinction between Good and Evil, than Necati was just normal like them. It would mean that Grace herself was just like Necati. That couldn't be true.

Guest

JaK would slant his eyes at Grace and then back at the TV, not really trying to give her too much attention seeing as she was just there to babysit him and make sure he didn't get up. Meanwhile, this side convo was just that, so of course he wasn't taking it as seriously as she did. However, upon seeing the usual piercing dagger stare she usually gave him, which JaK could tell meant they were annoying each other he decided to defend his point of argument and actually turned towards Grace to speak the next few words.

"What is Necatti Grace? DEATH or better yet the merchant of it, taking the lives of others is in his job description just like saving them is in ours. Imagine if no one died? Zoltan would still be alive enslaving people, World War Two would still be going on, and many of the Earth's mightiest villains that had to be killed to be stopped would still be unstoppable. I don't judge the Grimwreaper for what he does, I just try to stop him because I don't agree with his methods and even then what I think doesn't really matter does it? A Teen Titan's job is to protect the people, whether or not I believe they need protecting or not. But, you already know all this. I mean come on, you did kill that giant mutated man to save me in the fight with Nightmare, right? Tell me, how does that make you better than Necatii? Oh, because you had a good reason? I'm sure the angel of death has his reasons, because there was no other choice!? What if I said we could've cured him....The reasoning doesn't matter, you killed, therefore you're a killer and no different the any one else who kills. You just have a self-proclaimed better reason for it. Like I said, conflicting views."

It wasn't that JaK was ungrateful for the save and it wasn't like he was reprimanding her for doing it. Heck, he was trying to rip his brother's head off just a few hours ago. He was just making a point that even SUperman will save a bus load of people, but at the same time will rip apart an alien space craft with maybe ten thousand more lives and say it was for the protection of Earth. But, did that make it better, did that make it just, and most of all...Did that make it right?

Guest

If there was ever a moment when Grace hated Jak, this was the time. He had flat out said that she was the same as Necati. How dare he!

Grace's greatest fear was that she would become like Necati: a cold-hearted reaper of souls. It was what she had nightmares about. It was what filled pages of the black book. This had gone far beyond a dicussion of philosophy. This was personal.

She lost control of herself. "I am nothing like Necati!" Grace screamed at Sage. "Necati kills just for the sake of killing people. He wants to destroy life. I want to preserve it!" Grace was furious. Despite her words, all she wanted to do now was kill Sage. Her heart was pumping adrenaline through her body, and she subconciously started forming ice on her skin.

"Fine! I never claimed to be a good person, Sage, but Good exists all the same. Good has to exist because Evil exists, and if you need any proof of that...just look me in the eyes."

Grace's eyes were now filled with hatred in the most extreme manner, and were quickly becoming bloodshot. Her body was pulling in all the heat in the room, leaving everything chilled to the bone. As the temperature in the room plummeted, Grace felt her own temperature rising. She was getting too hot. Soon she would lose conciousness from heat exhaustion.

She grabbed her head as she felt the heat pouring in. It was too much. Her skin was burning. She felt like vomiting.

"YOU MUST LET IT IN."

That voice. The voice was only in her head, but Grace had banished it long ago. "I thought you went back to your own world," Grace said to the pillar of fire that she saw in her mind. It would appear in the physical world that she was talking to nobody.

"THAT WAS A LIE. SO MUCH OF THIS HAS BEEN A LIE, MOTHER. THE LIES HAVE BEEN OF YOUR OWN CREATION. YOU CREATED ME, AND YOU INVENTED THE EXPLAINATION OF WHO I AM SO YOU COULD PRETEND I WAS JUST A PROBLEM THAT COULD GO AWAY."

"What do you mean?" Grace said, again to nobody.

"I AM MERELY A PART OF YOUR PERSONALITY. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU."

"I don't need you!"

"IF THAT IS TRUE, THEN WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME?" The fire looked at Jak Sage. "IS HE TO BLAME? WHAT HAS HE DONE TO YOU?"

"Nothing. He's just...faded. Everybody's faded. I keep mistaking Titans like Sage for knights of justice, but they keep failing me." Grace started to cry. "Is there nobody who stands up for what is right? Is there nobody who loves...me?"

"DO YOU HATE HIM?"

"Yes! I hate Jak Sage!"

"MOTHER, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO KILL HIM. I WANT ONLY TO MAKE YOU HAPPY. IGNORE THE WORDS HE SAYS."

"I don't want Sage dead, though. Even though I hate him. What I want is for Necati to go away forever! Nobody gets to defend Necati. Not Sage, not Argo, and certainly not you!" Grace struck the pillar of flame with her fist. Although she was really just punching the air, her mind was able to banish the flame to the deep recesses of her mind.

Grace fell back onto her chair. She was exhausted. Talking with the Firstborn was always a challenge. Slowly, she became aware of the room she was in, and the strange look that Sage was giving her. She didn't care if he had heard that entire thing. She didn't care about Jak Sage anymore. She didn't care about any of them. The Tower was just a temporary home, and the Titans were just temporary neighbors. She didn't care...

Grace fell unconcious.

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