I have finally come to the end of Chained! I am so happy! I would like to give a general thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story since the very beginning. You guys are awesome.

Thank you to DarkZorua100, Guest, decode9, Sophhascoconuts, Guest, dragonrider90, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Misty Azalea Fairy, Reven228, iloveyugiohGX93, Lightclaw's Shadow, EndlessNight025, Sorcerer of the Stories and a1993 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.

And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader!

Well, here is the conclusion, the final chapter of Chained has arrived! And the first chapter of White Radiance will be posted within minutes of this chapter being posted so keep a look out for that. I hope that you enjoy this conclusion and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

18

Family Reunion

Alexis slowly cracked her eyes open.

She felt tired, weak, as if she had been asleep for a very long time. Her body was exhausted, her movements sluggish as she attempted to bring herself back into full wakefulness. Bright fluorescent lights stabbed at her eyes, blinding them momentarily and she blinked them a few times as they slowly adjusted.

She turned her head, noticing she was lying on a white bed in a hospital room; an IV was hooked up to her arm and there was a heart-rate monitor resting beside her bed, beeping at precise intervals. There was one occupied chair also in the room and Alexis recognized the person on it; her aunt Emily.

She struggled to sit up, her body protesting, as her aunt stirred.

Emily lifted her head, rubbing her neck and then turned to Alexis, her eyes widening. "Alexis!" she gasped, standing up and moving to Alexis's side. She took the blonde girl's hand, tears of relief in her eyes.

"You're awake," she whispered. "I was so scared, so worried. The…The doctors said that they didn't know what had caused this and I…and I feared the worst," she rambled.

"I…I'm okay," Alexis rasped, having not spoken for several days.

"Here, let me get you some water," Emily said and walked off to do that. She returned to Alexis and held out the cup and the girl took it before sipping at it.

"I'm going to go get the doctor now," she said.

"W…Where's…Uncle Matt?" Alexis asked, finishing the water.

"He and Keith are visiting Kyle," Emily said quietly. "We don't know what happened to you but the same thing happened to Kyle while...well... Raiden...isn't in the best condition. I'll explain everything later. I'll be right back, Alexis. Rest now."

Alexis nodded slowly and Emily walked out of the room.

She then rested her back against the bed and closed her eyes. So what happened to me happened to Kyle, too? And something else happened to Raiden? But if I'm awake then that means Kyle's probably awake, too, she thought. And that means that Kaage's been defeated, right?

Her thoughts went to Jaden and she opened her eyes as she wondered what her boyfriend was going through right now. To lose both her and his brother along with one of his friends, it must have hurt a lot.

If Kaage's been defeated then that means that this is all over, she thought, gazing at the ceiling. She was hoping that it really was over; she knew that it would take her time to get over what happened, but she wanted to just put all of this behind her.

She was worried about Jaden, though. He was the one most affected by what has happened, but she resolved to be by her boyfriend and help him in any way that she could. She didn't blame him for what Kaage did; she was sure no one did.

She rested her hand on the silver heart-shaped pendant that rested on her chest. I hope you are all right, Jaden, she thought.

. . .

Kyle stirred, blinking his eyes a few times as they adjusted to the light before he looked around.

"Kyle?" his brother said, concerned, as he stood up from his seat near the door.

"Where am I?" Kyle asked, disoriented for a moment.

"The hospital," Keith replied. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been asleep for days," Kyle murmured, slowly sitting up, though his movements were very sluggish.

"You kinda have," Keith said. "No one knows what happened, but at least you're awake now and so is Alexis, from what Dad said. Mom came in here a few minutes ago, telling us that Alexis was awake."

Kyle nodded slowly. "What about everyone else? Are they okay?" he asked.

"Raiden's doing better, though he was injured more severely, but everyone else is all right," Keith said.

"Oh. What happened?"

"He was stabbed."

Kyle's eyes went wide with shock.

"He's doing better, but he's still recovering."

Kyle nodded slowly.

"You okay?" Keith asked.

"I'm okay," Kyle said. He paused and added, "Though I am thirsty."

Keith nodded and straightened. "I'll go get you some water," he said and walked off. He returned a moment later and handed Kyle a cup of water that he took and started sipping.

. . .

"I think Mr. Yuki is going to be relieved," Dr. Senna said quietly as she stepped out of the room where Raiden Yuki was currently recovering from the surgery they had just finished. The surgery was a success and, though he would need time to recover, Raiden was going to make a full recovery and should actually be regaining consciousness soon.

"I'd best call him to give him the news," Senna said, more to herself than anyone, though her comrades still heard her.

. . .

"Chazz!" Arina gasped, watching as her boyfriend dove into the ocean after the anchor and Jaden's rapidly sinking body. She couldn't help but feel worried, though she was sure Chazz knew how to swim. The waters began to settle a little now that the anchor was beneath the water; it had also dragged Kaage's soulless body into the ocean, though Arina doubted there was much they could do about him.

Arina, where she was kneeling beside the still surprisingly alive Kasumi, kept her gaze fixed on the ocean while Atticus was talking to the police on top of the bluff, telling them about what had happened—though not everything as he was sure they wouldn't believe him anyway—and that Kasumi was badly injured and needed help.

Eventually, Chazz surfaced from the water, gasping for breath and struggling to keep an unconscious Jaden's head above the water.

"Chazz! Jaden!" Arina called and, after a glance at Kasumi and deciding there wasn't much she could do for her anyway, dove into the ocean, swimming toward him and taking Jaden's other arm.

Chazz was gasping breathlessly as they neared the platform and climbed onto it, dragging Jaden's unconscious form onto it.

"Is he all right?"

"I dunno. He was somewhat conscious when I got to him, but he passed out just now," Chazz said, taking a few more deep breaths. "He might've swallowed too much water."

"Do you know how to do CPR?"

Chazz nodded. You better not die on me, Slacker, he thought firmly.

While he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Jaden while pumping on his chest, Atticus rejoined them. "The police and an ambulance are on the way," he reported. "How's Jaden?"

Jaden coughed, water trickling out of his mouth and Chazz withdrew his hands from Jaden's chest were he had been pumping the boy to get try to get the water out. He coughed several times, turning a little as he coughed up more water, raspy irregular breaths escaping whenever he wasn't coughing.

"He passed out when they got to the surface," Arina said. "But it looks like he's all right now."

"Well, he's no longer unconscious anyway," Chazz said, glancing at his foster brother, who was still coughing and taking deep breaths.

Jaden blinked as he finally got his coughing and breathing under control and he gazed around. "W…What…happened?" he gasped.

"You beat Kaage but apparently you weren't quick enough to grab the key," Chazz said. "And Kaage cheated, causing the anchor to fall into the ocean much sooner than it was supposed to, not that I'm surprised."

Jaden nodded weakly.

"They're sending a helicopter to get us out of here," Atticus said. "I told them about Kasumi's condition. I think they might've been surprised that she's still alive."

Jaden turned his gaze to his sister. Kas, he thought and returned his gaze to his friends and foster brother. "What happened...to Kaage?"

Chazz sighed. "He's still down there. I could only save one, slacker. Frankly, I hope a shark gets him," he said.

'He'd give that poor shark indigestion. I wish I had killed him myself, though,' Haou muttered.

Jaden supposed that a part of him was satisfied that the bastard was probably dead but he did still feel a bit guilty over everything that had happened. A lot had happened in the past couple of days since Kaage Naka came back into his life and, even though everything was done and the bastard was dead, Jaden knew it would take time for him to get over all of this.

. . .

When they got to the hospital, Kasumi was taken right away to the emergency room with the doctors. Jaden was guided after them, though his condition wasn't anywhere near as serious as his sister's. They still wished to make sure he didn't have any ailments that could come from nearly drowning.

While they were waiting for any news on Jaden and Kasumi, they were also informed about what happened with their friends. "Alexis and Kyle Rhodes, along with all the others who ended up comatose, have awakened. All but the Rhodes siblings have already left," Dr. Senna informed them.

"What about my brothers? Slade and Jagger Princeton?" Chazz asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

"They were among the first to leave."

"Did they ask about me at all?" Chazz asked.

"No, they did not. I'm sorry."

Chazz ignored the pang of hurt at that, reminding himself that they had already tossed him aside months ago and that he had a new family, and so he didn't need his brothers. "Yeah, all right," he said.

Arina squeezed his hand and smiled at him when he looked at her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes are already here, seeing their son and their niece while Mr. Yuki has already stated that he and his wife were on their way to the hospital," Senna added.

"What about Raiden?" Atticus asked, remembering what they had learned about what happened to Raiden.

"He's going to make a full recovery," Senna told him.

The three of them were relieved by that.

Another half hour went by and the door to the hospital's waiting room opened again, admitting Kaede Yuki and a beautiful woman with long, flowing brown hair that fell over her shoulder and worry-filled brown eyes. She was short, only a few inches taller than Jaden, and slender, dressed in a pale-pink shirt and dark-blue jeans.

Kaede walked over to join Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "Where's Jaden and Kasumi?" he asked as the woman followed him, that worry growing stronger.

"Back there," Chazz said, gesturing to the ER.

"What happened?"

Chazz told them about what happened to Kasumi, leaving out about the fight and Kasumi's powers, and then about what happened to Jaden at the end. The woman that Chazz figured was Jaden's mother looked horrified.

"Who did this?" she whispered.

"It was Kaage Naka," Chazz said, deciding that Jaden's mother deserved to know the truth.

"Him!?" the woman exclaimed.

"Calm down, Izumi," Kaede said gently.

Izumi glared at her husband, who seemed to cringe away from that glare. "I told you! I told you he was back and that he was likely going to go after you. I told you! Why the fucking hell didn't you do anything about it? Tell the police, at the very least, that a fucking psychopath was running around!"

"I...I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't think! And, thanks to the fact that you didn't, at the very least, tell the damn police about him, all three of our children are in the damn hospital, and two of them were badly injured!" Izumi had tears falling from her eyes, though her voice didn't raise at all. In fact, it seemed to get quieter the angrier she got.

Dr. Senna walked into the waiting room and over to join them. "Are you Kaede Yuki?" she asked before Kaede could respond to his wife's words.

"Yes, I am," Kaede said, turning to the doctor. "You said you had news on my son Raiden."

"Yes. He's going to make a full recovery," Senna said.

"And what about my other son and my daughter, Jaden and Kasumi? I heard that they were injured as well."

"Your daughter is in critical condition, but we're working with her right now. We will let you know if there are any changes in her condition. Your son is doing fine, though we are running a few tests to make sure there are no ailments since we cannot be sure how long he was underwater. We are also going to keep him overnight for observation."

Kaede nodded and the doctor walked away. Kaede turned to his wife, who gave him a furious glare. "Izumi..."

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when the door to the waiting room opened again and Detective Storm and Detective Coral walked into it. They immediately joined Kaede, Izumi, Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "Mr. Yuki," Detective Storm greeted him.

"Detective, what brings you here?" Kaede asked.

"We are actually here to speak with them," Storm said with a nod at Chazz, Arina, and Atticus. "They called 911 requesting a helicopter for your son and daughter and we'd just like to ask them a few questions."

"We didn't do anything wrong," Atticus said.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't," Storm agreed. "However, you were found near an illegal duel arena and there is evidence suggesting that something else happened there and we would like to know what. We are already searching the cove for any evidence to tell us what happened, but if you could tell us, it would make our investigation much easier. So will you answer our questions?"

"Don't we need a lawyer?" Chazz asked.

"You aren't being charged with anything, so no you don't," Detective Coral said.

Chazz folded his arms across his chest. "Fine," he said.

"All right, our first question is what do you know about that illegal duel arena?" Storm asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Nothing," Chazz said.

"When we saw it, we were all surprised that it was there," Atticus added.

Storm nodded, writing that down. "Why where you in that area to begin with? It has been dangerous to be out and about with that attacker still roaming the area," he said.

"Well, we were there 'cause of that," Atticus said and glanced at Arina and Chazz before adding, "Kaage Naka knocked us out and took us all to that duel arena, after he tried to kill Kasumi."

Izumi's glare seemed to intensify as she gazed at her husband, who looked away and down, guilt could be read all over his posture.

"He forced Jaden into dueling him," Chazz explained. "And we're pretty sure we were brought there because Kaage wanted witnesses."

"Witnesses to what?"

Chazz, Arina, and Atticus exchanged glances again, hesitating before Chazz decided to just come out and say it. "To him killing Jaden," he said.

"The bastard," Izumi growled.

"What motivation would Naka have for wanting to kill Jaden?" Storm asked.

"Other than his personal vendetta against me, I don't know. He could have wanted to kill Jaden just to get back at me," Kaede suggested.

"And, of course, you didn't think to warn anyone about him before he got here, because that would be such a bad idea," Izumi scoffed, glaring at her husband and he looked away again.

"What happened next?" Storm asked.

Chazz outlined what happened after they arrived at the cove, leaving out the part about the Shadow Games, but including the incident with the anchor. "Kaage was so confident that he would win in that duel that he risked his own life," he said. "But he lost the duel and got knocked out. The anchor fell and took Jaden with it before he could free himself from his chain, so I jumped in to get to him."

"And Naka?"

"I dunno. I barely got Jaden out of the water before running out of air. I doubted I would have had enough time to get both of them out," Chazz said. He didn't feel particularly bad about what happened to Kaage; yes, he pitied what happened to the psychopath but Kaage chose his own fate and Chazz was not about to shed a tear at the psychopath's death. As he said before, he hoped a shark got him.

"We'll need to send a squad and see if we can find Naka, if he's still alive," Storm said.

Coral nodded, pulling out her phone and walking away.

"I will need to speak to Jaden Yuki, though, to figure out his side of the story," Storm said.

"Jaden wouldn't kill anyone," Izumi said venomously.

Chazz, Arina, and Atticus knew that wasn't true, but they remained quiet.

"I don't think that he was responsible for what happened to Kaage Naka, but I would still like a statement from him," Storm explained, which seemed to calm Izumi down.

The door opened and Dr. Senna walked into the waiting room; she was followed by Matt, Emily, and Keith, the first two of who were going over what appeared like paperwork. Behind them, looking tired but otherwise all right, were Alexis and Kyle.

"Lexi!" Atticus gasped and immediately dashed forward, grabbing his little sister into a hug. "Oh thank goodness you're all right!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Atticus, could ya please let go? I'd kinda like to not go back into the hospital for broken ribs," Alexis gasped.

With a sheepish smile, Atticus released his sister and then turned to Kyle. "Glad you're all right, too, cuz," he said.

"Glad to be all right," Kyle said with a tired smile. "I'm still tired as hell, though."

"Where's Jaden, Raiden, and Kasumi?" Alexis asked.

"I'll tell you later," Chazz said.

Alexis nodded slowly.

. . .

Jaden woke up, finding himself lying on a hospital bed. He gazed around for a moment, his body ached but it wasn't that bad and his throat felt scratchy, no doubt due to how much salt water he had swallowed. It was the following morning and rays of sunlight were streaming in through the windows, bathing the white room in a bright light.

Jaden felt only a little rested, though he wasn't sure if that was because his body was still aching from the direct attacks he sustained during his duel or if it was something else entirely. Sighing, he rested his head on the headboard and closed his eyes.

'Are you okay, Judai?' Yubel asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just glad that this is all over," Jaden said.

Yubel placed a ghostly hand on Jaden's shoulder. 'Yes, now you can enjoy the rest of your break like you were supposed to from the beginning,' she said.

Jaden smiled a little and turned as the door opened and Dr. Senna walked in.

"Good morning, Jaden," she greeted him.

"Good morning, doctor," Jaden replied.

"How do you feel today?" Senna said, handing Jaden a cup of water and he started sipping it.

"I'm okay."

"Would you feel up to speaking to a few people?"

"Who?"

"Detective Storm and Detective Coral. They would like to hear your side of the story for what happened in the cove. They already have talked to your friends'," Senna said.

Jaden frowned but nodded. Might as well get it over with, he thought. He hoped that he wouldn't get arrested, though.

'You aren't to blame for what happened to Kaage,' Yubel said.

The door opened and Storm and Coral walked in before Jaden could respond to Yubel's words.

"Good morning, Jaden. May I call you Jaden?" Storm asked.

Jaden nodded.

"Now, we won't stay long, but we would like to clarify some things. Would you please tell us what happened?"

'Don't tell him about the duel being a Shadow Game,' Yubel advised.

I doubt they'd believe me anyway, Jaden thought as he outlined what happened, from when Kaage kidnapped him—he just told them that he didn't remember how because he had been knocked unconscious, which was essentially true—to when Chazz rescued him after the anchor had dragged him into the ocean.

Storm nodded, writing down what Jaden said on the notepad.

"Am I in trouble?" Jaden asked.

"I don't see why you would ask. You haven't done anything wrong," Storm said. "All of this was Naka's fault."

"What about Kaage? What happened to him?" Jaden asked.

"You don't have to worry about him. He won't be bothering you anymore," Coral said.

Jaden knew what that meant but he said nothing for a moment. Though he did feel a little guilty, Jaden wasn't about to shed any tears for that psycho, not after everything Kaage has done to him.

"At least he won't hurt anyone else now," Jaden said out loud, his expression emotionless for the moment before hope and concern filled his eyes. "What about those who were attacked? Are they okay? And my brother and sister?"

"From what Dr. Senna said, all those who were comatose have woken up. As for your siblings, I believe it would be best if you spoke to Dr. Senna."

Jaden nodded, fervently hoping his siblings were all right.

Storm stretched. "Thank you for your cooperation, Jaden," he said and he and Coral left the hospital room.

. . .

Later that day, almost as soon as Jaden stepped foot in the waiting room to meet his family, he was pulled into a tight hug by his mother.

"Mom…can't…breathe," he gasped.

Izumi loosened her grip and gazed down at him. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm okay, Mom," Jaden said, hugging his mother back and then releasing her and glancing uncertainly at the others. He briefly noticed his siblings weren't there but he had learned from Dr. Senna that Raiden was going to make a full recovery and Kasumi was stable at the moment, and that she was also going to cover.

Dr. Senna had said that it was a miracle considering how badly injured she was.

Jaden walked toward where Kyle was talking with his brother. Kyle spotted him and, saying something to Keith, walked over to join him. "Hey, Jaden," he greeted him quietly.

"Hey, Kyle, listen, I'm sorry," Jaden began quietly.

"It's not your fault," Kyle said with a shake of his head.

Jaden chewed on his lower lip and Kyle placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for what that psychopath did," he said.

"Yo, Kyle, Celina wants to talk to you," Atticus called.

"Wait, why?" Kyle asked, confused.

"I just called her to tell her that you were out of the hospital."

"Where did you get her number?"

"Oh, I borrowed it when you were first admitted to tell her about what happened 'cause she's your girlfriend and all," Atticus said brightly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kyle exclaimed, blushing.

Atticus snickered and held out the phone.

Kyle walked to him and took it. "Hey, Celina," he said into it. "Yeah, I'm okay." He walked off and Jaden didn't hear what else he said.

He suddenly felt arms encircle his waist and he turned to find Alexis standing behind him, gazing at him with a small smile on her face. "Hey, Jay," she said softly.

Jaden gave her a small, sad smile. "Hey, Lex," he said softly. "I'm…"

Alexis didn't even let him finish. She just leant forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle but passionate kiss. Jaden blinked but kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss, feeling her arms wrap around his neck.

They pulled free a few moments later for some air and Jaden pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry about all of this, Lex," he said quietly. "I never wanted anyone to get hurt."

"I know, and it isn't your fault," Alexis said. "It's Kaage's. But let's not think about it now. It's over and done with. Kaage's gone and we're all safe." She kissed him again before he could say anything, not that he minded at all.

. . .

Three days went by and, after those three days, Raiden and Kasumi were released from the hospital with orders to take it easy and to see a doctor when they got back to Japan just to be on the safe side.

They were both shocked to find that their mother was there, though, and Izumi had hugged them and probably wouldn't have let them go if Kaede hadn't gently reminded her that they were still hurt. Though that prompted Izumi to glare at Kaede and growl, "And whose fault is that?!" and then stalk off, leaving a sad Kaede watching her go.

Jaden had been the next one to hug them, crying softly. He couldn't help it, not when he had seen what happened to Kasumi in front of his very eyes and learned the same thing had happened to Raiden. Even if the doctors hadn't said anything about how slim their chances were of surviving, Jaden knew that they were small.

"Shh, it's okay, Jay, we're okay," Kasumi assured her brother, hugging him.

"Yeah, Judai, everything's fine now," Raiden said softly, also wrapping his arms around his brother.

"I thought I lost you two," Jaden whispered, burying his face into Raiden's chest and clinging to him.

"We're okay, Judai, we're okay," Raiden assured him again, rubbing his back gently.

They were okay, for which Jaden was relieved, but he knew that it was unlikely he would be okay with what happened for a while.

But, at least his siblings, his girlfriend, and his friend were all right.

That was all that mattered right now.

. . .

"Well, all's well that ends well," Raiden commented as the gang all gathered in the lobby of the hotel. Two days had gone by since Raiden and Kasumi were released from the hospital and things were gradually getting back to normal, as normal as it could be with everything that had just happened.

Kasumi leaned back on the couch. "I'm just glad that this is over," she admitted softly, knowing that Raiden was trying to get everyone's mind off what happened. She still couldn't help but think about what happened though and she knew it was likely she would have nightmares for a while now. Perhaps she should take her adopted dad's advice and see a therapist along with Jaden.

"I agree," said Arina, resting her head on Chazz's shoulder.

"And now we can just have fun for the rest of the summer," Atticus said brightly, jumping to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Raiden asked curiously.

Atticus grinned. "I'm gonna go find a pretty lady and set her up on a date with you," he said.

"Atticus! Don't you dare," Raiden growled, grabbing Atticus's arm and yanking him back into his seat.

Kasumi shook her head. "Your brother sure is something," she said.

"I'm still trying to figure out if we really are related," Alexis said with a sweatdrop.

Arina chuckled.

Jaden was seated in an armchair, gazing out the window, though he wasn't sure what he was looking at. He wasn't paying much attention to what his friends and family were saying, though; his thoughts were on Kaage and on everything that happened. He knew it was unlikely he would ever forget what happened.

'No one can forget something like this, Judai,' Yubel said gently.

"I know, Yubel," Jaden said quietly. He paused and then added, "Dad wants me to see a therapist when we get back to Japan. Me, Kasumi and Raiden. Raiden insists that he doesn't need it but I think Kasumi is leaning towards going."

'I think a therapist might be able to help you overcome this,' Yubel said.

"I don't need a therapist, Yubel. I didn't need one after what happened with those kidnappers or with Kaage the first time, and I don't need one now," Jaden said, narrowing his eyes. He didn't want to talk about his problems or anything like that. He could overcome this just as he overcame what happened to the kidnappers and Kaage last time.

'Judai, you haven't completely overcome what happened over nine years ago and you know it and, this time I believe, matters were worse,' Yubel said.

Jaden ignored her. He didn't need any help. He could deal with this on his own, just as he had after the last two times something like this had happened.

Yubel sighed but said nothing more.

"Hey, Jaden, are you okay?" Kasumi called.

Jaden glanced at her. "I'm okay," he assured her.

She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Kas," Jaden snapped irritably. "I'm going to the room." He walked off, wanting to be alone at the moment.

Kasumi watched him go and sighed. "I guess everything that's happened has affected all of us pretty badly," she said softly.

Alexis nodded in agreement. "Are you okay, Kasumi?" she asked.

Kasumi was silent for a long moment, thinking back to everything that happened and then glanced at Alexis with a forced smile on her face. "I will be," she said, hoping she sounded reassuring. "I'm going to see a therapist when we get back to Japan."

Arina sat up. "What about Jaden, and you Raiden?" she said, glancing toward Raiden.

Raiden waved his hand dismissively. "Jaden needs the help more than I do. I'm fine," he said.

Rogue, who was floating in spirit form next to Raiden, gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him but Raiden ignored the look.

"And I'm not sure about Jaden honestly," Raiden added.

"I think he could benefit from seeing a therapist," Alexis said.

"So can Raiden," Atticus said with a pointed glance at Raiden.

"I'm fine," Raiden insisted.

Atticus also gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him either.

None of them noticed it when Chazz slipped out of the lobby, except Arina, but she said nothing.

. . .

Jaden rested against the railing on the balcony of the hotel room, gazing at the ocean, feeling guilty for snapping at Kasumi like that. She was only concerned, he knew that. Why did I snap at her? he thought.

'Your emotions are unstable,' Yubel said. 'This is another reason why I think you should agree to your father's suggestion and see a therapist, Judai.'

"I don't need to see a therapist, Yubel," Jaden snapped and then winced when he saw the hurt look in Yubel's eyes. "I'm sorry, Yubel."

"You know, Slacker, I think Yubel's right."

Jaden turned to find Chazz leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed across his chest. "It couldn't hurt," Chazz added.

'And it could help you put all of this behind you,' Yubel said.

"I did with the other two times this happened," Jaden pointed out.

'Yes, but I believe this time was worse. And, like Chazz said, it couldn't hurt. Just think about it, Judai, please?' Yubel said.

Jaden sighed. "I'll think about it," he said. "So, why are you here, Chazz?"

Chazz shrugged.

'He came to check up on you and make sure you're all right,' Ojama Yellow said brightly, appearing in front of Chazz.

Chazz scowled at the Ojama spirit but didn't contradict his words.

Jaden smiled a little. "I won't tell anyone, Chazz," he said. "Thanks."

Chazz grunted. "Whatever," he said.

The two of them fell silent for a moment, then: "So what are you going to do when you get back to Japan?" Jaden asked.

Chazz shrugged. "My brothers didn't even bother on contacting me when they left the hospital, so I dunno. I'll probably just rent a hotel room 'till school starts. I've got enough money left to do that," he said.

"You can stay with us," Jaden offered. "I can talk to Mom and Dad about it. We've definitely got enough room."

"I don't need charity," Chazz said shortly.

"It's not charity, Chazz. We're family, aren't we?"

Chazz was silent for a long moment. "Yeah, we are," he said quietly.

Jaden smiled. "So what do you say?"

The other boy shrugged. "I guess," he said.

"Great. I'll go talk to Dad," Jaden said. He paused and added, "After I apologize to Kasumi for snapping at her." He left the room.

Chazz watched his foster brother go and smiled a little.

He knew that what happened this summer was not something that they will be able to overcome right away, especially not Jaden, and they would likely never forget it. But Chazz had gained something from all of this; he had gained a new family, someone who was willing to care for him as a brother rather than as a pawn. He didn't know if this would have happened had Kaage Naka not come into the picture, but it had. He knew there was no point in thinking about 'what ifs'.

Jaden poked his head back into the room. "Are you coming, Chazz?" he asked.

Chazz nodded and followed his foster brother out of the hotel room.

The past was the past and, while no one would ever forget what happened, they could overcome it. Chazz, his friends, and his new family had gone through hell and back in their struggle to survive against Kaage Naka's ruthless vengeance and it had left its scars on everyone.

But it also chained them together as friends and as family.

. . .

To Be Continued

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: WOOHOO! I have finally finished CHAINED! YAY!

Bakura: gah! What is with your screaming?

Blaze: (hands Bakura a see-through wall gun from Perfect Dark) oh go blast Viper. And I don't own Perfect Dark by the way

Bakura: (takes gun) gladly

Viper: (takes off running)

Yami Marik: wait! I'm joining you (takes other see-through wall gun and joins Bakura)

Ryou: (sweatdrops) why do you encourage his violent tendencies?

Blaze: it keeps him happy

Jesse: so we're going on to White Radiance now?

Blaze: yup. White Radiance will be posted within a few minutes of this chapter being posted so keep an eye out for it. I hope that you enjoyed this conclusion to this story and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.