Chapter 181: Panic & Sickness

When Malachi finally awoke, he only had a second to realize that he was lying in bed before his head was filled with those same horrible useless signals from before.

The dull headache he felt was back in full force and it made him want to fall back into his peacefully oblivious coma.

Suddenly, he felt a small weight sit upon his chest and opened one eye to see Anna's beloved cat sitting on top of him.

"Meow." (You made Anna worry about you, bitch boy.)

"Good to see you too, you furry bitch. How long have I been out?"

"Meow." (Two days. The most peaceful ones of my short life.)

"Why the fuck are you acting like I'm such a loud person?"

"Meow, meow meow!" (You defile my sweet Anna like a beast and I have to listen to you guys go at it all night! My ears are sensitive!)

"That's a problem I will never be able to fix."

"Meow!" (Lay back down and die!)

As Malachi and Marcelline continued their useless argument, a storm of footsteps could suddenly be heard from outside of his bedroom.

Recognizing them immediately, Malachi moved the chocolate brown cat aside so that she wouldn't get hurt.

Bang!

The door came flying open out of the blue, and four women came sailing into the bed atop the recently awakened Malachi.

"You're up!"

"We were all really worried!"

"Are you hurting anywhere?"

Malachi smiled underneath the weight of the women he loved and tried to wrap his arms around them as best he could.

"Slight headache is all, but nothing that staying like this for a while won't cure."

One by one, the girls stole his lips and reaffirmed his earlier statement even further.

"Do you feel like making room for any extras on that bed?"

Malachi pulled his lips away from Anna's and glanced at the doorway where he found some unexpected yet familiar faces.

Nadine, Joanne, and even Serana were smiling at him reassuringly.

Serana: "Please don't lump us in with you, Nadine. You're the only one who's even remotely interested in jumping into his bed."

Joanne: "R-Right..."

Nadine: "Oh? More for me then."

Normally Malachi would have been a bit meaner to Nadine when she flirted with him, but after she had helped Luna regain her ability to have a child, he was significantly less inclined to do so.

"It's good to see you, Nadine. I haven't gotten the chance to thank you yet for all of your help... I really appreciate what you've done for Luna."

Perhaps because Malachi had never actually been nice to her before, Nadine had no real idea how to process it.

Her cheeks gradually reddened, and she started fumbling around with her speech as she desperately looked for some words to say.

"I-It wasn't... much to... I-I... I need to go to the bathroom!"

A gust of wind blew Serana and Joanne's hair into their faces as the bewitching blonde vampire disappeared from the room.

"Girls... just calm down for a moment, yea?"

He looked down at a slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable Joanne and he pulled her out into the living room alone.

Once they were free to talk privately, Malachi held out his wrists in a show of submission.

"What are you doing...?" Joanne asked.

"You're somebody who has my total trust and confidence. And I'm just... tired, Jo. So if you think that going with you is really the right thing for me to do, I'll let you take me."

Joanne looked at Malachi's tired eyes and she felt her heart breaking into two.

Even though he was only twenty, he looked as exhausted as a fifty year old man.

Briefly, she thought about just what would likely be in store for Malachi if she took him to see the president.

As optimistic as she wanted to be... she was unenthusiastic about the possibility of them treating Malachi humanely.

Though he wasn't by any means the kind of person who she needed to worry about, she couldn't help but want to do her part to protect him.

Gently, she placed her hand on top of his wrists and lowered them back down to his sides.

Even as exhausted as he was, Malachi couldn't help but smile at her actions.

"Hey... it's nice to know you have something of a sweet side."

"Shut up... You probably knew that I wouldn't risk my life by taking you away from those crazy women in there."

"Nah, I didn't know what you would do. I was leaving the decision totally up to you."

"You really trust me that much...?"

"Is that surprising? I consider you a really close friend, so of course you have my total confidence."

Joanne couldn't say exactly what was wrong with Malachi's last words, but she felt more than a little pissed.

"Your friend, huh...?"

"Ye-"

"Bastard, now I'm regretting not taking you in."

'...Why though..?' Mal wondered.

Joanne walked away irritability and paused just before she hit the elevator. "I don't think I have to tell you this but...stay out of public eye as much as possible and... go see your sister while you're at it."

Once Aubrey's name was mentioned, Malachi felt his already weary heart drop to the bottom of his feet.

-

A short but firm knock on the door prompted Aisha to open her eyes sleepily.

Climbing off the couch, she moved to answer it and was relatively surprised by who she found waiting outside.

Her best friend was standing directly in front of her, with Anna, Sei, Bianca and Luna waiting behind him silently.

When Aisha saw the sad look in her friend's eyes, she couldn't help but embrace him despite their two decades long promise of : 'none of that mushy shit.'

Finally, she led the group into her living quarters and opened the door to the back room.

There, the group found Aubrey sleeping in bed somewhat restlessly.

A thick blanket of sweat encompassed her body, and her formerly cute and unblemished face was now marred with black veins that were visible from beneath her skin.