Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Past Behind Us

Whiteness. Blinding whiteness. A dark spot. A dark spot getting bigger. Taking form.

Maddy blinked. A black-haired young lady with hazel eyes looked back at her. She was wearing a grey top with some sort of insignia on it, and black pants with combat boots.

"Your eyes. They were green." Maddy pointed out.

"Yes. They were. Not anymore though. Usually they're either hazel or red now." Tate Markington smiled wistfully back.

"Am I dead?" Maddy asked.

"Doubt it. Knowing Webby he probably got you out of there as soon as you got hurt. You'll be fine." Tate smiled.

"He misses you so much." Maddy sighed.

"He needs to let go. We all need to let go." Tate let one tear roll down her cheek.

—

"She's awake!"

"Maddison!"

Maddy slowly opened her eyes to more whiteness, which eventually faded into the forms of the Masters and Begly families.

"Webster?" Maddy asked groggily.

"He's currently trying to drown himself in alcohol." Betty Begly looked disgusted.

"Tate?" Maddy tried to sit up. She felt Lara Masters help her up, and put a cup of water to her lips.

"Tate is right here sweetheart." She stroked the younger womans cheek.

Maddy held her daughter, but in her mind she was thinking about the dead woman from her dream. Obsession killed her. Would it kill Webster too?

—

Charlie, Daniel, TJ and Sam sat at the pub, watching their fellow Noble Knight of the Last Order get completely plastered. He didn't know they were there, sitting in a booth keeping an eye on him.

"This is embarrassing to watch." Sam sipped on his soda water while Webster started drunkenly slurring a story to the bartender.

"If it were any other situation it'd be funny." Daniel replied, beer in hand. TJ frowned at him.

"If you saw the number of domestic disputes I had to go to as a cop that were fuelled by alcohol you'd never touch the stuff again." He snapped, clutching his lemonade.

"Easy there tiger, one beer won't hurt. It's self-medicating like Webster is doing that's the problem." Charlie took a swig of his own beer.

"Complacent." TJ scowled.

"It was my fault!" Webster suddenly cried loudly. "Everyone I love gets hurt or killed because I'm such a bloody coward!"

"Easy mate, I think you've had enough." The bartender tried to calm him down.

"DON'T YOU PATRONIZE ME!" Webster yelled, prompting his friends into action.

"Time to go home Webster." Daniel took one of his arms.

"NO!" Webster tried to fight him off, but Charlie had his other arm. Between the two brutes they had the situation pretty much under control.

"I'd really hate to be on the wrong side of those two." TJ mused. While he and Sam definitely weren't small, they paled in comparision to their bigger friends.

"I could take 'em easily!" Sam bragged.

"Yeah, right."

"I could!"

"Tell him he's dreaming." Daniel called back. "And get over here, one of you two has to drive us back home, we can't leave him in the back seat by himself!"

"Your car." TJ smirked as they headed out to the carpark. Sam grimmaced and went to the drivers door, while TJ held the rear passenger door open for Daniel, Charlie and the invalid.

Suddenly Webster lurched and gagged, which was followed by a large amount of vomit landing on TJ.

I don't think Sam's laughed so much in his life.

—

Webster sighed. His headache had subsided after the bender from the previous night, but the guilt still lingered.

He had to see Maddy again. He knew that. He had to make things right again. He loved Maddy, with all of his heart.

So why was Tate still on his mind?

He rolled over in his bed and drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.

"Really Webby?"

He spun around in suprise. Standing behind him was Tate Markington.

"You ditched me, remember?" Tate folded her arms. "You chose her over me."

"Tate, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was too worried about what everyone else thought of me, that I couldn't care for you the way I should have." Webster felt tears stinging his eyes.

"That's not Maddys problem. You have to learn to live with that, not her." Tate frowned.

"I know. I just…" Webster looked away.

"Don't worry about me Webby. You're my best friend, and you always will be. I know that now." Tate smiled at him.

"We were quite a pair, weren't we Tater? You'd love baby Tate." Webster smiled back. "You would have been a great Aunt."

"I wish I could have been. But still, I'm in a better place now. Somewhere where I can fix my faults without the scorn or ridicule." Tate replied.

"Yeah. You never had that chance before." Webster sighed. "I wish I could have helped you more."

"We both screwed up. Anyway, I gotta go. They're waiting for me." Tate turned to go back into that bright whiteness. Webster could make out six other figures behind her.

He smiled, and turned to head back too.

—

It was nothing short of a disaster. TJ was clutching his head, Daniels ankle was twisted, Sunny had a sprained wrist, the twins had a black eye apiece and Petunia was nursing a sore jaw. The only two who had any fight left in them was Belle and Charlie, and THEY were still going at it hammer and tongs (or Lucky Seven Gun and Lions Claw Blade, they're interchangeable).

"THAT WAS WIDER THAN MY AUNT MAUD!" Charlie roared in fury, swinging at Belle, who dodged.

"IT WOULD HAVE HIT THE STUMPS IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR YOUR FAT FOOT!" Belle ducked under his arm and kicked him in the knee, which he barely felt through his rage.

"You know, maybe we should give up on our cricket games." Petunia said to TJ as they watched the pair fight.

"I think that'd be wise." TJ groaned, his head throbbing from where she'd smacked him with her first-aid kit.

"You weren't kidding when you said this lot were immature Webster, I can't believe what I'm seeing!"

The six Knights spun around. A pale Maddy was walking slowly towards them, supported by Webster and the young Tate.

"Maddy! You're out of hospital!" Belle and Charlie quickly forgot their quarrel and bolted over to see Maddy.

"Yup, and almost as good as new." Maddy smiled at them.

"Wait, you two are talking again?" Sam asked, earning him a clip over the back of the head from Petunia and an elbow in the ribs from Tammy.
Webster laughed, his clear green eyes full of merriment.

"We had a long, long talk. We've decided that we're going to move back to Brisvegas permanently." He told them. "We're going to try and bring outside attention to plight of Pleasantville, and hopefully mount a stronger case for people to start to change their ways."

"Well, we hope it goes well for you both." Daniel smiled ruefully. "Although that means we'll be down a Knight."

"I'm sure you'll…manage." Webster frowned at the current condition of the Noble Knights of the Last Order.

"I think we should all head home and get cleaned up." Sunny looked sheepishly at her friends.

"Besides, Patrick will be home with Melody soon and I need to have dinner ready."

"Where were they?" Belle asked.

"Doctors. I can't stand needles and I couldn't bear to watch Melody get her vaccinations." Sunny shivered, making Petunia roll her eyes.

The troop headed home (Melody LOVED her needles, much to the horror of Sunny and amusement of Patrick) and two weeks later they farewelled Sir Hedgehog from the Noble Knights of the Last Order forever.