Jade's eyes were locked on the place where the portal had appeared only moments before. Rose was collapsed on the ground, crying and moaning "What have I done? What have I done?" John was crying into his hands and mumbling something quietly enough that the only word Jade could make out was "Dave."

"This is a dream, right?" she asked. Her whole body was numb and she felt disconnected from what was happening around her. "This has to be a dream. Please tell me it's a dream."

"It's not," Rose said. "It-"

"Hey!"

Jade jumped and they all turned to find…Dirk. He ran up to them and looked around in a panicky way.

"What happened?! Where's Dave?!" He looked around again until his eyes rested on what remained of the risen Dave had called Leo. He tensed, clenched his jaw and looked around at them all, stopping at Rose.

"What. The. Hell. Happened."

"I'll tell you what happened."

Jade gasped as the air went cold and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The angry voice came from a girl floating above them, cloaked in a dark red aura. Her eyes were piercing and cold and…they were completely white, like Dave's.

"Aradia?" Dirk said slowly, like he couldn't quite process what he was staring at. Aradia turned and glared down at Rose.

"You called him a monster! You all did!" She spun around in a circle to glare at the three of them.

"We didn't know!" Rose cried. "We didn't know we were calling him a monster! We didn't mean to! He didn't tell us-"

"Of course he didn't! He was afraid of how you would react!" Aradia's voice dropped to a threatening growl. "And it looks like he was right to be afraid."

"No he wasn't!" Rose was on her feet and shouting at Aradia. "I don't pretend to understand what the hell he's been through, but if he'd told me I wouldn't have called him a monster! He's my friend!"

"Where did he go?" Dirk asked.

"You-know-who came and took him away," Aradia said. Dirk shouted and kicked at the ground.

"Shit! God damn it!"

"We can get him back," Rose said. "We just need to make the portal. We can-"

Before she could finish Dirk ran up to her and punched her in the face. She fell down and grabbed her bleeding nose. "Sorry," Dirk growled, "But I really needed to fucking do that. You have no idea how fucking bad this is. You have no idea what Dave's going through."

"Then explain it to me."

"How'd this all happen?" John whined. "Why to Dave? What did he ever do?"

"Sit down," Aradia said. "We'll tell you."

"No," Dirk said. "Dave wouldn't want us to."

"After all this you think he still cares? He doesn't expect them to survive much longer."

"What?" Jade squeaked. Dirk looked at them and sighed.

"Sit down Jade."

So the three of them sat in a half circle and looked up uneasily at Dirk and Aradia. They were both quiet, waiting to see who would go first. Dirk cleared his throat.

"During the summer," he began, "Dave wanted to do some hunting. Somewhere other than here, just to see what it would be like. You guys would be busy so we just went by ourselves. There was a quiet town that was said to have a necromancer the people wanted to be rid of."

"I lived there," Aradia said. "I was also a necromancer, but not the one they were looking for. I made sure to make that clear when I met Dave." Aradia looked up at the sky with a sad smile. "It was nice for a while. We became good friends and we hung out a lot." Her gaze dropped to look down at the three teenagers. "But then the necromancer they'd come to deal with stirred up trouble."

"We were fighting some of her risen in a graveyard," Dirk said. "We got split up and by the time I dealt with them Dave was gone."

"They weren't her risen," Aradia corrected. "They were someone else's, she just took them and put them where you would find them." She ran her hands through her hair absent-mindedly. "She kidnapped Dave and brought him to her lair. She'd had a diagram readied before-hand. Rose knows what I'm talking about." Aradia nodded to the pale girl who had begun to shake slightly.

"She killed him," she whispered. "Didn't she?"

"Yes. And then she contacted the evil gods and made a pact with them. They brought Dave back to life with all his memories intact and she gained great power. Because of the spell, Dave will immediately obey any order she gives. She wanted to test out that particular part, so she ordered him to kill me."

"What?!" Jade and John exclaimed in unison.

"I managed to grab him and escape," Dirk said. "We ran back here and hoped you-know-who didn't know where we lived. He had a hard time after that, but he did his best to shut off all his grieving when school started so you guys wouldn't notice. He's spent all this year trying to hide all of this from you guys." Dirk's voice had taken an angry edge and what he said next made Jade flinch. "And then you go and call him a fucking monster so of course he's gonna fucking give up!"

No one said anything and an oppressive silence blanketed them.

"He told me about the prophecy," Aradia said.

"What prophecy?" John asked.

"The 17th prophecy of the End Days," Rose said. "The dead will turn to the one who fears them. The wolf will grow in the one who despises them. The evil will speak with the one who defies them. And the storms will rage through the one who calls them. When the moon is full and her power is high the Lord of Necromancers will arrive to bring death. She will summon her General and all the dead shall flock to him. And should her power be unleashed the world will perish in fire and death."

"Dave knew what was coming," Aradia continued. "He knew and he was trying to figure out how to save you all. And then you went and betrayed him like that!"

"We didn't mean to!" Jade wailed. "I'd never—we'd never mean to! I…" She bowed her head and her voice dropped to a quiet moan. "I love him."

Aradia's eyes soften just slightly and she sighed. "I know, and he does love you too, but that's why he said you aren't his friends. If Kelethme thinks he still cares about you she will take great delight in making you all miserable."

"We can stop her," Rose said. "We can make a portal and we can fight her and-"

"You can't. She's too powerful."

"You don't understand." Rose's face was blank and she looked at Aradia with eyes that showed only determination and perhaps…acceptance? "That is what the evil gods want us to do, and I cannot refuse them."

"Yes, Dave mentioned you conducted the ritual on your cat." She clenched her jaw and cracked her knuckles a few times. "If the evil gods are commanding you then I won't stop you, but you shouldn't expect thanks for your efforts from Dave. He'll likely be very angry with you."

"I'm prepared for that."

"Then I wish you luck."

Without another word the red glow around her vanished and she faded away.

"Where did she go?" John asked.

"She didn't," Dirk said. "She's psychic, she just stopped letting us see her." He turned to Rose and took a deep breath. "Now how are you gonna help me get my brother back, bitch?"

Dave sat at a tall window overlooking the grounds of the castle. There was nothing living there, only dead ground and some burnt trees. A continuous storm raged in the sky, with lightning striking the ground and leaving scorch marks and thunder booming through the air. Before, he would have jumped at every flash and boom, but now he watched with an emotionless calm.

It's almost beautiful in all its destructive power. The storm was a lot like Kelethme—beautiful but dangerous. It won't be long now. Soon all the risen will have gathered and she'll order the attack. And then… He felt his chest tighten and he closed his eyes.

Then they'll die.

"You're sure this will work?" John asked.

"Yes." Rose dipped her hands into the bucket of black paint and finished the diagram. "The evil gods showed it to me."

"Yeah, great," Dirk grumbled. Jade winced at his sour mood. After a lengthy argument Rose had convinced him to stay behind while they went after Dave. Someone had to stay behind to maintain the portal, and since Dirk was an ordinary human he would have less of a chance of surviving whatever they would encounter.

"It's ready," Rose said, wiping her hands. "Get into your positions."

They each stood in their designated circle in the diagram. Rose held out her hands and began to whisper in a language that Jade just couldn't seem to…hear? It was odd, she would hear it but she wouldn't remember what she had heard afterwards.

The diagram glowed a deep purple and light and energy swirled together until it was a gaping hole in the air. The portal was ready, albeit rather crude compared to Kelethme's. All that mattered though was that it would take them to Dave.

"I'll go first," Rose said. "Follow in after me. And Dirk, whatever you do, don't leave your circle."

"You better bring him back," was all he said.

"We will."

Rose strode forward purposefully. Once she was close to the portal she was yanked off her feet and pulled into it. Jade jumped in surprise and John called out to her but she was gone. They each looked at each other and hesitated.

"If one of you doesn't go now I'm going!" Dirk snapped. John immediately ran to the portal and was sucked in. Jade bit her lip and turned to Dirk.

"Did…does he really love me?"

"Yes." Her heart began to beat faster and warmth flowed from her chest. "Now get going so that love of his isn't wasted."

"Thank you."

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and ran towards the portal.

John didn't know anything about portals, but he was pretty sure they usually made you appear on the ground. He was floating in the middle of a violent storm and Rose and Jade were nowhere to be seen. He hoped the portal had done a better job for them.

He stared at the storm with a suspicious gaze. Something about the storm felt…wrong. It was as though it didn't want to be there, but it couldn't leave. And as he stared at it he realized it was all focusing on one spot—part of the ominous black castle it thundered above.

He flew closer to the storm and felt it pull towards him eagerly, as though it was begging him "Free me!" He was more than happy to oblige.

Rose didn't stop walking when her feet touched the cold stone of the castle's entrance. She marched right through the doors, gripping her wands tightly in her hands. The air hummed with dark energy and it felt like she was a match in a warehouse full of dynamite.

She found her prey in an inner courtyard, with no ceiling to protect them from the storm above their heads. Kelethme was sitting on a throne carved out of a multitude of black metals. She leapt off her throne and stood before Rose.

"Well, well, well," she crooned. "The little witch has come to challenge me!"

Rage poured out of Rose, tainting her skin and condensing into a dark aura around her. Everything in her vision turned black except Kelethme—she practically glowed, like a fallen star. A raging scream tore through her throat and she charged. Kelethme's skin darkened and a black aura appeared around her and they met in a series of magic attacks. Their fight had begun, and nothing other than them would end it.

"How dare you do that to him!" Rose screamed. "How dare you treat him like that?! Like his life doesn't matter?!"

"Oh, but it does matter! He is my General and he will lead my armies to bring about a new age!"

"I won't let that happen!"

"There is nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Yes there is." Power coursed through Rose and she grinned. "I can kill you."

She opened her hands and shot out all the power she could muster at Kelethme. Wind roared in her ears and she swore she could hear her scream. Her mouth lifted into a smirk, but fell suddenly when she was slammed back and sent flying across the courtyard. Her head swam and she fought to stand up quickly, before she was killed. Kelethme was laughing and Rose could feel her power radiating off her in strong waves.

"Kill me?! You're just a little girl who wants to save a doomed friend!" She smiled and a low growl emerged from the back of her throat. "My power will never wane as long as I am here. You cannot kill me!"

Rose stood up straight and held up her wands. "Prove it."

Jade had the wonderful luck to trip while she was going through the portal. Her stomach lurched and she found herself lying face-first on a cold stone floor. She jumped up and looked around her, her heart beating rapidly.

"Rose?" she called out. "John? D…Dave?"

"Your portal was rather crude."

Jade jumped and whirled around and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, hi Aradia. You scared me."

"That was intentional. You've each appeared in different spot here. Lucky for you it was John who appeared in the sky."

"Are they okay? And…where exactly are we?"

"They're fine for now. This is Kelethme's castle, it's in an alternate dimension she made." Aradia's eyes narrowed and she drifted higher above the ground. "I suppose you want to find Dave."

"Yes!"

"Follow me."

She led her down dark corridors with tall foreboding windows. Lightning flashed through them and thunder groaned from the sky. The whole location seemed to come straight out of a novel or movie, but Jade didn't have any room in her head to think about that. All she could think about was getting Dave home.

"He's in there." Aradia stopped in front of a door and crossed her arms. "Good luck." Then she vanished and Jade was alone.

"Thank you," she whispered. She took a deep breath and walked over to the door. She considered knocking but decided that that would just give Dave time to run off somewhere else. So she stood up straight, opened the door and walked right in.

Dave was sitting on a window ledge and jumped down onto the floor when she walked in. His white eyes were wide and he was crouched in a way that suggested he would be ready to run. No you don't!

"Dave!" She ran up to him but he pushed her away when she got close.

"What are you doing?!" he hissed. "How did you get here?!"

"Rose made a portal and-"

"Is she here too?!"

"Yeah, and John-"

"God damn it!" Dave punched the wall, leaving a surprisingly large dent in it. "What the hell! I told you not to follow me!"

"Well, we weren't going to listen to that! You're our friend!"

"I-"

"Don't you dare say otherwise!" Jade's eyes were starting to fill with tears and she quickly blinked. "You are our friend. Dirk and Aradia told us what happened to you and you are still our friend. I get that you're trying to protect us because you…you care about us. But you can't just cast us aside Dave. We want to help you! We-"

"And how are you going to do that? Kill Kelethme?! That's impossible!"

"You don't know that!"

"Jade, I think I would know that better than anyone!"

"But you won't be alone! If we all face her together then-"

"Then she would make me kill you!" His voice cracked and this time tears did flow out of Jade's eyes. His eyes dropped to the ground and his voice fell to a small whisper. "I don't want to kill you."

"Then I won't let you."

"Stop it."

"No. Dave I-"

"Why are you trying to help a monster?!"

"You're not a monster!" She grabbed his shoulders and glared at him through her vision blurred by tears. "You're not like the other risen, you remember who you are. And…and maybe they're not really monsters either, I don't know! We don't know all the things about them you do, we don't understand. But if you explain it to us then I'm sure we'd get it. I…I want to understand, I want you to explain it to me. I want to help you through this. If…if she tries to make you kill us I'll stop you, I promise."

"How are you going to stop me?"

"I'll…hold you down or…or tie you up. Just…I'll do something!"

"Would you kill me?"

"No! I would never-"

"You might have to!" He grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him. "I'm stronger than you, even though you're a werewolf. If you can't hold me down or tie me up you have to kill me."

"I…"

"If you want me to believe you can help me then promise you'll kill me."

"I…I can't!"

"You have to!"

"But I love you!"

He closed his eyes and slowly lowered his head until his forehead rested on her shoulder. "I know, and I would never want to put you through that. But I don't want to hurt the one I love."

"But…"

"Jade, please." His lifted his head and their eyes locked. "Please promise you'll kill me so I don't have to kill you."

Jade shut her eyes and turned her face away, unable to bear looking at him. "You're…so selfish. Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"I'm terrified of it, but I've already died once. What's one more time?"

"That's not funny."

"Sorry."

She opened her eyes and slowly looked back at his face. He hadn't moved and his expression hadn't changed. "I'll promise…if you promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise you'll try to resist her command with all your might."

Dave's mouth thinned into a sad smile. "I would have done that even if you hadn't asked. I promise."

Jade's mouth was dry as she echoed him. "I promise."

"Thank you." He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against her cheek. She returned the gesture and closed her eyes. They didn't move and she drank up all the nice coolness that came off of him and combatted her warmth. Neither of them spoke for the longest time, until finally his voice broke the silence. "What now?"

"Now…" She pulled back and they looked at each other. "Now we have to find Rose and John. Then we'll get out of here. Dirk's waiting for you."

"Then let's go."

John pulled and pulled at the storm with all his might. Something was holding it, sucking out its power and keeping it trapped there. It was in so much pain! He held out his hands and pulled again, screaming in frustration. I will free you! I will save you!

Rose knew she was at a disadvantage. Kelethme's powers were continually renewed, just as she'd said. But Rose wasn't done, she wasn't tiring and she wasn't stopping. Her rage filled her up and kept her strong. The duel continued with no signs of either side relenting, each of them completely oblivious to their surroundings.

A strong blast of magic from Rose knocked Kelethme off balance and she fell on her back. Grinning, Rose took a step forward, but then her prey raised her arm and called out.

"Dave! Come help me deal with her!"

He heard her voice, and without any restraint his body began to move.

"Where are you going?!" Jade exclaimed. "That's deeper into the castle! What if we run into-"

"She's calling me." He clenched his jaw and tried to pull away, but his legs kept walking forward. "I…I can't stop."

Jade wrapped her hands around his wrist and tried to pull him back, but he just dragged her along. She struggled and fought, but it was no use. Eventually he broke into a run and slipped out of her grasp. She called after him and he wanted to turn back, but nothing changed. He just kept running forward.

"Stop…being so…fast!" Jade gasped, catching up to him.

"I can't help being stronger and faster than a human." They were running down more corridors and he could sense his master's presence getting closer. "Jade…don't forget your promise."

"As long as…you don't forget yours."

"I won't."

They came to a stop in the inner courtyard, where Rose and Kelethme were fighting. They launched spell after spell in rapid succession and the air around them radiated hatred and power. Jade whimpered and shrank back, and though he wanted to do the same Dave was rooted to the spot. Kelethme's eyes locked on him and a gleeful grin spread across her face.

"Dave," she said. She pointed her claw-like nails at Rose. "Come kill her."

He took a step forward and felt Jade's arms wrap around him. "Stop it!" she shouted. "Fight! You promised you'd fight her!"

"He can't fight me!" Kelethme laughed and dodged a spell Rose cast. "I am his master, and I command him to kill this girl!"

Dave tried to fight, he tried to pull away from the call that echoed in all of his being, but it wasn't working. He was walking closer and closer to Rose, unimpeded by Jade.

"Don't do it!" she shouted. "You're not like that! You don't kill people! I know what happened with Aradia, but that's not who you are! Please don't do this!"

"It won't work!" Kelethme roared. "As long as I have unending power, he cannot resist me!" She raised her hand to the sky and Dave could feel the power that fell into her. Her laugh pierced him and made him want to run and hide and never leave again, but he kept walking forward.

Suddenly the sky erupted in bright light. Jade screamed in surprise and Kelethme wailed. Dave covered his eyes with his hands and waited for the light to die down. When it did he brought his hands down and his eyes widened. John stood floating above them, with lightning practically pouring out of him, like he'd absorbed so much it was spilling out.

"No!" Kelethme wailed. "My power! Give it back!"

Many things happened at once. The power inside John became too much and it erupted out of him and into the sky. Kelethme tried to grab it but it seemed it did not want to help her anymore. Once she touched it she was struck and sent reeling back. Then Rose made her move. Wands in hand, she drove them into Kelethme's chest and a spell erupted out of her body, which then crumbled like it was made of ash.

Something broke apart inside Dave, something he had never noticed was wrapped around his soul, suffocating him. He felt like he could really breathe again. He watched as John stood up shakily and grinned at him.

"You okay Dave?" he asked.

"Yeah…yeah I'm amazing."

Rose turned to him and they locked eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her legs wobbled and she collapsed to the ground.

Rose knew what was happening, and she wasn't afraid. It was like when she brought her cat back to life, she was filled with a sense that fate was taking her life into its own hands, and she wasn't afraid of that. She knew this was coming. Dave was holding her with her head on his lap and calling to her, but it all seemed so far away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You're not a…monster Dave. I'm…sorry I called you…that."

"It's all right," Dave said. "It's all right now."

She could feel herself getting weaker and she struggled to say more. "I'm…sorry I killed…your friend."

"It…don't talk Rose."

"You'll be okay," John said. "We'll carry you out and Dirk can do something, or…"

"No. I'm…not going home."

"Don't say that!" Dave shouted. "You don't know that!"

"I promised…the evil…gods."

"What did you promise them Rose?"

She was slipping away from her friends and family, but she smiled. She had saved them, she had no regrets. "…A vessel."

Dave had never felt more powerless than he did as he watched Rose's body fill with black magic. Ink ran out of her eyes like tears and hundreds of voiced could be heard whispering excitedly. When it stopped and she opened her eyes she wasn't Rose anymore. Her eyes were black and cold, and when she opened her mouth hundreds of voices came out.

"We can walk this world at long last."

"Where's Rose?" Dave asked. "Damn it, what have you done with her?!"

"She is forever gone."

"Where?! You said she's gone, so where did she go?!"

"Our home, to serve us forever."

"Dave?" Jade squeaked. "What's she saying? What happened to Rose?"

They can't understand them. It made sense, they had not been touched by them, like he had. "That's not Rose. The evil gods…they took her body to use as a vessel."

"She gave it to us willingly."

"SHUT UP!" Tears were starting to form in his eyes and his hands were clenched so tightly into fists he thought he might cut the skin of his hand. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE REASON ALL THIS HAPPENED! YOU'RE THE ONES WHO GAVE KELETHME AND ROSE POWERS! YOU'RE THE ONES WHO SET THEM UP AGAINST EACH OTHER! YOU-"

"AND WE ARE THE REASON YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"

Dave's gaze immediately dropped to the ground, as if a hand had roughly pushed it down. "…You bastards."

"Return home now. This world will not hold for long without Kelethme's power to hold it together."

"…Rose is gone?" John asked. "But…but she can't be…"

"She is," Dave choked. "She…"

The ground cracked and shuddered and around them the castle began to fall. The evil gods held out their hands and shouted a chant. The castle warped and shifted until it was replaced with the graveyard and Dirk.

"Dave!" he shouted. He wrapped his arms around his brother and pressed him against him. "You're okay. You're okay." Dave hugged him back and felt himself start to cry. "Shh. You're okay."

"So fucking what?! Rose is…"

"Rose?" Dirk pulled away from him and looked at the evil gods. "What…what the hell happened?"

"The evil gods took her body as a vessel."

"What?!"

The evil gods ignored his comment and locked eyes with Dave. "We have saved your life for the last time, Dave Strider. We will leave you for now, but know that you and your friends and family are forever connected to us."

"Get out of here!"

Darkness wrapped around the evil gods and they seemed to melt away into the shadows, disappearing. Dave bowed his head and covered his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Jade whispered. Tears were running down her face and her hands were shaking. "It's not…"

John collapsed on the ground and began sobbing. Jade joined in and soon all of them were huddled on the ground, crying. Dirk sat with them, not crying but shaking. Dave had his arms wrapped around his friends and his own head was bent low while tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt a cold hand on his shoulder and didn't have to look up to know it was Aradia. They stayed there, filling the night air with the sounds of their sadness. Eventually John asked the question that was waiting to be asked.

"What do we do now? What will…what will we tell Rose's mom?"

"Everything," Dave answered. "From the beginning. We'll tell your dad too, and we'll tell your grandpa what's happened Jade. Then…"

"Then we mourn," Jade whispered.

They're lives had been turned upside-down literally overnight. They had lost one of their best friends and now their lives would never be the same. They could only hold onto each other, and hope that they could make it through the rest.

And that's that. Before anyone asks, there is not a sequel. I did consider writing one, but I couldn't flesh it out and I have given up on that. Sorry. Thanks for reading.