After a while, Douxie woke up from the accident and looked around, only to see Makayla sitting next to him, on her phone. She seemed to be texting someone.

"Light-Bulb. . ." Douxie spoke softly.

Makayla gasped as she looked over to see that Douxie had woken up.

"Oh my god, Douxie!" Makayla said, giving her wizard bro a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"H-Hey. . . take it easy." Douxie said. "I'm in pain."

"Sorry. . ." Makayla said, blushing as she let go of Douxie.

"Wait, am I. . . in the hospital?" Douxie asked. "What happened?"

"Jake explained everything to me." Makayla said. "Apparently, he must've accidentally hit you with a blast of his powers."

"I knew it. That damn idiot. . ." Douxie said. "I knew he was unstable. He nearly killed me!"

"Even on the brink of death, you still curse Jake's name." Makayla said, shaking her head in disappointment. "I thought you guys could get along. But. . . I was mistaken."

"Where is Jake, anyway?" Douxie asked. "I want to have a word with that freak."

"He's not here." Makayla said. "He left as soon as the ambulance came."

"Serves him right." Douxie said. "He should know that running away form his problems never works out."

Makayla scoffed. "Says you." She said.

"Okay, why are you so hostile now?" Douxie asked.

"You pushed Jake too far, Douxie." Makayla said. "He told me what you said. And I can't believe that you'd act so childish."

"What. . ." Douxie said.

"You're lucky I'm even staying by your side right now." Makayla said. "But someone has to."

"Nora. . . I'm sorry." Douxie said.

"No. . . I can't accept that." Makayla said. "I'm not the one you wronged."

"Then, where's Jake?" Douxie asked.

"He's still back in town." Makayla said. "He said he needed to take some time to himself. But it's been a few hours and not a single response to my messages."

"Wait. . . what time is it?" Douxie asked.

"It's almost midnight." Makayla said. "I wonder what he's doing. I'm worried. . ."

_______________

Up on a rooftop, Jake was staring out into the night. He was still thinking about what had happened to Douxie and how he could've ended his life right there. And even though they may hate each other, Jake was still upset about losing his temper. He didn't mean for any of this to happen.

"I can't believe this happened" Jake said to himself. "I never would've hurt him this badly. He's the one who pushed my buttons!"

Jake then thought back to their conversation earlier.

_________

"Because I have other things to say." Douxie said. "I may have apologized, but. . . I still want to get one thing straight."

"Oh yeah?" Jake asked. "And what's that?"

"What are you?" Douxie asked.

"Come again?" Jake said.

"Cause you're not human." Douxie said. "I've been sensing some strange energy from you for a while now. And I need answers."

"Well. . . I don't know." Jake said. "But one thing is for sure. . . I think I might have some strange powers."

"Non-human powers." Douxie added.

"Right. . . yeah." Jake said. "But I'm not too sure if I understand it yet."
_________

"I need to understand these abilities." Jake said, seriously. "Maybe there's something that can-"

"You're power is beyond anything that can be comprehended. . ." A voice said.

"Huh?" Jake looked behind him and all around him. But he didn't see anyone who's voice that could've been. "That's wierd. Who just-?"

"It's me. . ." The voice said again. "I'm in your mind. . ."

"What the actual hell?!" Jake said, stepping back for a moment.

"Don't be alarmed." The voice said again. "I'm just your inner-self. . . waiting to be free."

"I. . . I don't understand." Jake said. "Your my. . . self-conscious or something?"

"I go by many things." The voice said. "But for now. . . you can call me. . . Night Shade."

"Night Shade. . ." Jake said softly to himself. "Like the plant?"

"Sure. . ." The voice, now called Night Shade, said.

"But. . . why am I hearing you now?" Jake asked.

"I have been dormant for a long time." Night Shade said. "But you. . . you have awakened me. Or better yet. . . you've awakened my power!"

"Your power?" Jake asked. "You mean the purple lightning?"

"There are many stages to my power." Night Shade said. "First, was the light blue lightning. Next, purple lightning. And finally. . . the most powerful form of energy I have. . . black lightning."

"You say this all so casually." Jake said.

"It's because I was always here." Night Shade said. "Since you were born even."

"Hold on. . . I've had this power since I was born!?" Jake asked in shock by what he just heard.

"Duh. . . no one told you?" Night Shade asked. "Not even your father?"

"No. . . I never knew my birth father." Jake said. "But what does he have to do with it?"

"You'll find out in time." Night Shade said. "Just trust me when I say. . . you'll never be normal again. Once that video is posted up for everyone to see. . . you'll be an outcast!"

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Jake asked.

"Just because I'm a voice in your head without a physical form, doesn't mean I can't see or hear around me." Night Shade said. "We are one and the same. Whatever you experience, I know how it affects you deep down."

"So you know where I came from then." Jake said.

"Precisely." Night Shade said. "But that's for you to figure out yourself. I'm not a spiller of spoilers."

"But how am I supposed to find anything out?" Jake asked. "It's not like I can search the web for anything useful."

"The Dark Grinmoire." Night Shade said. "It has all of the information about the past."

"So. . . where do I find that?" Jake asked.

"It's in your brother's possession." Night Shade said.

"Douxie?" Jake said. "He has The Dark Grinmoire?"

"There's some secrets hidden inside of it that me definitely missed." Night Shade said. "Only one with dark vision can access those secrets."

"Dark vision?" Jake asked.

"It's a type of ability that lets you see in blacklight." Night Shade said. "Find the book, go into a dark room, and flip the pages. And boom, bam, presto! Secrets revealed!"

"Secrets, huh?" Jake said.

"And don't ask me if I know them." Night Shade. "I'm just a being with limited knowledge. All I know is that the book was written by Count Cassius Moon himself."

"Cassius Moon?" Jake said.

"He was the second vampire king next to Lord Dracula himself." Night Shade said. "I knew him once. Back when I was alive."

"Wait, hang on a second." Jake said, still feeling confused. "What do you-"

"Aaaahhhhhh!" A loud scream echoed through the city and hit Jake's ears.

"A scream?" Jake said. "Someone's in trouble!"

"Please. . . somebody. . . HELP ME!" The voice cried again.

Jake gasped as he recognized the voice all the tot well. "Oh no. . . that sounds like April!" He said, panicked.

"We'll pick this up later." Night Shade said, before seemingly fading into the back of Jake's mind.

Jake formed a serious look on his face as he turned back and headed towards the direction of the screams.

'I have a bad feeling about this. . .' Jake thought to himself as he imagined the absolute worst possible thing at that moment. 'Hang on, April. . . I'm coming!'

To be continued. . .

Jake Moon and Night Shade belong to me

Makayla Light belongs to makaylaLight435

Tales of Arcadia belongs to DreamWorks

All rights reserved