FicWad

Shade approached Nex and handed her the object wrapped in black velvet. She took it with both hands, avoiding eye contact with him. She gently slid the cloth away from the thin box and opened it. She picked up the wafer thin piece of metal inside, seeing the chain dangle beneath it. She looked over at Davey and handed it to him. He grasped it with trembling fingers.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It is something our leader used to own," said someone nearby. Nex nodded. Davey studied it carefully. It was a circle formed by three rabbits that seemed to be chasing each other, all in full stride. The entire thing was plated in silver, but the eye on each of the rabbits was a tiny, sparkling crystal. Nex helped fasten it around his neck and pulled the cloak's hood over his head. The second she did, the pendant began to glow.
The light was blinding. Davey tightly closed his eyes until it subsided. When it finally did, he realized he was outside again. It was nighttime yet, with the light of the Ghosts radiating onto the frozen world below. One of them separated from the rest and floated down to him, forming into a white-robed man with a sinister look in his eyes. Davey was glad he had the hood over his head.
"I don't believe it," the man said plainly, shaking his head but never breaking supposed eye contact. "You're supposed to be dead." He glanced off to Davey's right ever so slightly, but that was enough. He vanished suddenly, only to reappear with a struggling, hooded Nex in his arms. His lips pressed into a firm, thin line angrily.
"I thought you said you disposed of them, Stella." Nex knew she should have stopped struggling long before, but her fear was beginning to get the better of her. The hood fell from her face, exposing her pale skin- and her identity- to the cold. The man's eyes widened, then narrowed as he realized what had happened.
"You are not Stella."
"Nex!" shouted Jade in spite of his better judgment. The man's lips curled into a maniacal smirk.
"A friend of yours, Alchior?" Davey did not respond. He had a feeling the man was talking to him, but he couldn't be sure. He had definitely never heard that name before. "As dignified as ever. I guess you won't mind if I take her, then." White, smoky light surrounded both of them, transforming both into their Ghost forms, and they flew up to the sky. Davey stared up after them, completely unsure of what to do. He looked back at Jade and rushed to his side. Jade had fallen to his hands and knees in the snow, just as they had at the start of everything. He grasped at the ice with pale hands, completely lost. Nex was gone, and at the mercy of Stella and her other Ghost friends. He couldn't imagine what kind of sick tortures they would concoct for her to endure.
Davey finally turned around. The entire Despair Faction had disappeared, with the exception of Shade. He was lying in the snow unconscious. Davey stared up at the sky for a moment, feeling the cool, humid night breezes on his face. What was he going to do now that everything had spiraled out of control?
"Come on, Jade," he said grimly, placing a hand on Shade's forehead. The boy was growing cold quickly. "We've got to find Decemberunderground."
-
Davey felt like they were lost all over again. He had no idea how to get back to Decemberunderground. The difference was that this time, he and Jade were carrying the hapless teen inside of fighting for their own lives. He also noticed that he did not feel cold in spite of the harsh weather. He could only think that it was the strange medallion Nex had given him. And he still didn't know who Alchior was.
"Davey, I think he's waking up," Jade said softly. They each had one of his limp arms around their shoulders, his feet dragging uselessly in the snow. He was starting to struggle, so they stopped moving and lay him in the snow carefully. Shade finally opened one eye, but shut it tightly and cried out.
"Shade, what's wrong?" Davey asked him.
"I...have a headache," he managed to say, gritting his teeth against the pain. Jade tentatively placed a hand on his forehead.
"He's warming up, at least. But he's still not safe out here."
"Shade, what happened to everyone?" The boy managed to sit up and brushed the hair out of his face.
"They were in danger of being captured by Ghosts, correct?" he asked, looking to each of them for confirmation. Both of them nodded. "I tried to send them to Miseria, but I don't know if I succeeded."
"Where is that?" Davey asked.
"Miseria was once Alchior's castle. It has likely fallen into ruin by now, but it is the only place completely ignored by the Ghosts. Decemberunderground is no longer safe, and we can never go back. I will miss it dearly." He looked to the ground sadly. A single tear rolled down his cheek and dropped into the snow, freezing completely and disappearing upon impact.
"Shade, don't worry. We're going to find them. We're going to find Nex, and Adam and Hunter, and we will save them. But first we need to find somewhere safe for you." Shade looked up and stared into the distance for a moment, then stood of his own accord and brushed the snow off of himself.
"Follow me." And they did.