Halo III.5
Crossroads of the Soul

By: Micah Diablo
(© 2010-2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Author’s Note: All Flashbacks/Past Experiences will be in italics to differentiate between the present and past.

Author's Note:

Okay, so I left you guys hanging at the end of Halo: Marco with that crazy-ass cliffhanger. Is Coy Dead? What happened? What's in store for the future. This one chapter comprises a whole season entitled Halo: Crossroads of The Soul  

Scene A: 

I looked around for the source of the voice.

"He's flat lining," Dr. Whitman yelled out as the doctors rushed to save me.

"But I ... I prayed," Matt said, as he watched the doctors scramble to keep me alive.

"Come on, Coy," Ky said, holding Matt's hand tightly.

Carmen, Josh, Anthony, and Giselle stood around the two of them, watching the doctors do their work.

"Oh, my God," Giselle said, as Matt just fainted back into Josh's arms. "Is he..."

"He just fainted," Carmen said, checking Matt's pulse. "This can't be happening. Coy can't die."

"He's having a seizure," Giselle said covering her mouth.

Matt was coming to, just when they heard the long, drawn-out, monotone beep.

"No," Matt screamed out. "Nooooo!" He tried to rush into the room, but Josh and Carmen stopped him. He fell back into their arms and began to sob. "Oh, my God," Matt said. "He ... he's dead."

Ky buckled under the impact of it all. He fell to the floor.

"KY!" Giselle cried out, rushing toward him, but he pushed her away.

"FUCK! FUCK!" Matt screamed out. "He isn't supposed to die. I fucking prayed! I fucking prayed—DAMN YOU—and YOU took him from me," he continued his outburst, his teary vision piercing the illumined ceiling above. "He isn't supposed to die."

"No; keep trying," Dr. Whitman urged again and again, trying to revive me. "Keep trying."

A nurse placed her hand on his shoulder. He stopped, and took a slow, deep breath.

"Call ... call it," he said, with a grave look on his face.

"Time of death ... 12:15 hours," the nurse said sadly.

Dr. Whitman could hear Matt's hysterical sobs and screams and pleadings. It tore his heart as few others had done in the same situation many times before.

"He was so young," Dr. Whitman said, looking at my non-breathing body. 

Scene B  

"Coy..." a voice whispered out. "Coy ... wake up."

I opened my eyes groggily to see that I was lying on some sort of bed.

"Coy..." the voice said again, as I sat myself up on the bed.

"Who's there?" I asked nervously.

I couldn't feel Marco anywhere in me. That scared me. "Marco?" I yelled out, suddenly feeling empty.

A dazzling white light blinded me for but a moment, and I could feel some kind of energy pulling me to stand up. The white light turned into a person ... into an angel. An angel stood in front of me.

"Oh, you have ... you have wings," I said, afraid. "You're … an angel."

"Yes, Coy, I am an angel," she said with a beautiful smile on her face.

"That means ... that means … I'm ... dead," I said covering my mouth. "Oh, my God. I'm dead! I'm ... Oh, God."

"Well, not exactly," she said to me, grabbing my hand. "Coy, you need to realize that your story is not over. That you have a purpose that is meant to be fulfilled. But ... if you can't find out that you are meant for so much more, then you can just give up and come with me."

"I ... I ... I don't know," I said to her. "I can't beat Marco. Maybe if I die, then ... my friends will be safe from Marco."

She stuck her hand out. "Let me show you some things, first, before you make that choice, Coy. Do you trust me?"

I nodded my head softly and took her hand. "Ok ... let's go."

We walked toward the light.

"No, you aren't about to die," she said, reading my thoughts. "I just want you to see the people you are leaving behind. Things you don't know about the very people who need you."

I looked up at her. She had a beauty about her that was captivating. "What's your name?" I asked her.

"You can call me, Julie," she said and I could feel some euphoric feeling washing over me, as I was engulfed in a white light. 

Scene C 

4 years ago:

"Hey, catch, Bouzakis!" one of Darek's team members yelled to him as someone tossed him the basketball.

Darek caught it and tossed the ball back into the net, scoring the winning basket. His teammates grabbed him in a tight hug, as they cheered loudly.

"Man, you gotta play basketball next year," Harvey White said, as he hi-fived Darek, as they walked over to the park bench.

"Yeah, I'm gonna play football and basketball next year," Darek said, with a smile. "I'm pretty much an All-star."

"Pretty much, but remember I'm gonna be All-conference," Dylan said, as they stood by the picnic.

"Why am I here?" I asked Julie, as we stood watching the younger version of Darek interact with his friends. "I hate Darek. I don't need Marco to tell me that. I hated him before Marco even existed."

Julie smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder. "You hate what you don't know," she said softly. "Those you hate, you hate without knowing who they are and what makes them the way they are."

I sighed and folded my arms as I watched Darek, deciding to trust Julie on this one, and just listen. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go, anyway.

"Shit, I gotta go get my cell from my locker," Darek said, as he looked back at the school. "Don't forget, Xbox party at my house tomorrow. NO GIRLS! GUYS NIGHT ONLY! We got Saturday to chill with girls at the skating rink."

Darek said bye and took off running back toward the school gym to get his phone. My hand in Julie's, I followed Darek, as he headed toward the door.

"So fucking hungry," he muttered, as he walked to his locker and got the phone out.

"Do you hear something?" I asked Julie, looking around. "Like grunting and moaning ... or something."

"Wait for it," she said simply.

I let go of her hand and followed behind Darek. Almost as if we were supposed to see it at the same time, a boy with similar features to him was having sex with a man who had to be at least thirty.

Darek dropped his cell on the floor, and the clatter alerted the boy and the man that someone was watching.

"Darek!" the boy called out to him, but Darek ran out, right through me, and I turned to face Julie. But she wasn't there.

"Julie?"

I was no longer in the locker room, but in what looked like an office.

"Um ... okay, Julie; you kinda suck as a tour guide," I said, looking around for her.

Darek sat in a chair with a blank look on his face. I saw the shadow of two men outside and their hushed voices. Darek's blank face contorted into a frown, and he picked up a globe and tossed it in my direction. I ducked and heard it hit the wall.

"Oh, right," I said, regaining my composure. "This has already happened. Can't hurt me."

"That was one of my favorite globes," a familiar voice said, walking into the office.

Reverend Taylor stood right in front of me, talking with Darek. The sight of him just made my blood boil. In the past or not, he was an evil man.

"I'm sorry," Darek said softly. "I'm just confused. I'm just hurt. Sad..."

"Angry?" Reverend Taylor offered, taking a seat at the desk. "Darek, it's an understandable emotion to be angry at your brother. What he was doing was disgusting."

I scoffed. True, having sex with a much older man wasn't exactly legal, and I didn't really agree with it, but the man was far from ugly.

"My dad wants me to come here," Darek said with a sigh. "It's been two weeks since its all happened, and Damien has been grounded ... beat ... Everybody knows, because they'd been caught doing it again, after I saw them, and I had to tell Dad. I thought it was once, but it had been going on for months. People think I'm a fag ... Sorry; can I say that?"

Reverend Taylor nodded. "It's fine," he said with a warm smile. "They're corrupt people. They're trying to hurt others without thinking of the indecency of their actions. It's disgusting and repulsive. Your father brought you here, because he knows I can help you help your brother."

Darek, who had been looking down at his feet, looked up at Reverend Taylor with a hopeful look. "You can? I don't want him to be this way," he said, tearing up. "

"He's sick," Reverend Taylor said with a sad smile. "But with our help, we'll help him. I'd like to tell you a little about the Christian Soldiers..."

The scene changed, and I realized I was back where I'd started.

"Wha...what's..." I stammered. With a curious expression on my face, I looked to see Julie standing there.

"Do you see now?" she asked simply.

My heart and head were hurting. "He victimized people who were not sure of what to do," I said, thinking of Ky. "Just like he preyed on Ky."

"Coy … you've spent a greater part of your life—at least during the past few months—hating Darek, but for every bad thing in life ... there is always a reason ... always an explanation," she said with a soothing voice. "Everything happens for a reason. He was manipulated. Used like a tool. Just like your brother, Ky, was used and manipulated."

"Oh, God," I said sadly.

"Reverend Taylor was so impressed with Darek's mind, and realized how easily he could use him, that he made Darek head of the Christian Soldiers Chapter in your school," Julie said. "Darek isn't a bad person, but he was put in an environment and situation with bad people."

I placed my head in my hands and took a moment to gather my thoughts. Looking up, I saw that, again, Julie had disappeared.

"You really gotta stop doing that," I said aloud.

The scene spun around causing me to fall to my knees.

'Where to now?' I thought to myself. 

Scene D  

I stood watching a thirteen-year-old Josh sitting on the floor of his bedroom. I remembered the room. Back then, Josh was heavily into rock bands and was kind of a punk rocker, which was surprising, because Josh now was Uber preppy.

"Nicholas! Stop!" Margaret Jackson yelled out.

Josh winced at what sounded like his mom being smacked around again.

"You're a fuckin' slut," Scott Jackson yelled out.

Margaret cried in pain a few more times, and Josh—and now, I—could hear her being hit.

Josh whimpered and rocked as he held his hands over his hears, trying to block the sounds out.

"I saw you looking at the man," Scott yelled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you would've tried to give him your phone number."

"This is where it all began," I said sadly. "Where HIS hell started ... where Josh's hell started."

Josh and I weren't talking during that time. But noticing his style of clothing, it had to be around the same time that I had told him I liked him, and he'd transferred to another school. Even though we'd started talking again, I never knew his life was so bad until it was too late. He began using drugs, and on top of that, he was being abused by his father.

"Nobody was here to save him …" Julie said, appearing out of nowhere; "… to save him from witnessing this on a daily basis. His mom was always being beat on. Eventually, she got tired of being a mother and a wife, and had an affair with a younger man, and then left Josh with his father where Josh, himself, became the victim of his father's abuse."

Josh jumped up and rushed out of the room, dropping something behind him as he left.

I bent down and smiled. He'd been holding a picture of himself, Carmen, Ky, and me ... the last pic we took as a quad, before things had changed.

"He never forgot me," I said happily. "He never forgot our friendship."

"Coy, he was young and insecure and didn't know what it meant when you told him you liked him," Julie said in her ethereal voice. "Did he have to like you back? What would people say if they knew he had a gay friend? He reacted badly, but he never once forgot your friendship."

"Aargh!" I heard Josh cry out from downstairs.

I took off running at the sound of a hurt Josh and flew down the stairs two or three at a time, but as I got closer and saw Josh holding the back of his head and his mother clutching him while his father stood seething with anger ... it was like I wasn't running.  I was floating toward them in slow motion.

"Coy ... you can't change something that's already happened," Julie's voice said softly.

"I ... I have to save him," I said seemingly running in place. "He's my friend. He needs me."

The scene started dissolving when Scott Jackson grabbed Josh by the hair and slung him into the wall and went after Margaret.

"Nooooo!" I screamed out as I realized I was no longer in Josh's house anymore.

Suddenly, everything went black......  

Scene E  

I opened my eyes to see that I was standing in my own house.

"Am I alive?" I asked, but looked down to see that I was still in a hospital gown.

"Kyle, come down for a second," I heard my mother call out from the living room.

The furniture was different from what I remembered. It was at the start of Freshman year ... three years ago Ky rushed down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. I followed behind him.

"Yeah, Mom?" he asked, as he took a seat at the table with our mom, dad, and my freshman self.

"Look," Mom said, sliding him a newspaper.

Ky sighed and looked at her. "Mom, you know I hate reading anything that isn't Playboy."

Mom shot him a disapproving look, which he returned with a wicked smile.

"Kidding, kidding," he said with a laugh and winked at Dad.

"I will save you the trouble of reading, bro," I heard myself saying to him. "I'm going to Italy with a bunch of upperclassmen from other schools throughout the New Jersey area. Remember that Science Fair from a few months ago?"

"Coy, the only Fair I remember, is the one where I hooked up..." Ky began, but noticed Mom looking at him sternly, "…with Carmen, with those free tickets. Gee, Mom … what did you think I was gonna say."

"Well, anyway, they recognize just how amazing your brother is, and they're sending him on an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy for two weeks during Christmas vacation. He gets to bring three people. So …mof course your dad and I are going and..."

"Carmen," My younger self said excitedly. "It's going to be so much fun hanging with my best friend and parents."

I never noticed it then, but from the outside looking into my past, I noticed Ky's face crack slightly from that usual cocky demeanor to something rarely seen in Ky. Disappointment.

"Yeah, because I don't WANT to go to Italy," he muttered to himself. "So I get the house to myself while you guys are away?"

Dad laughed. "I would have no problem leaving you here but your mom thinks you can't handle two weeks without Coy, so, since we are going, you're going to Grandma and Grandpa's."

"What?" Ky asked angrily. "They don't have cable. Just five channels and those bunny-ear things. Can't I stay with a friend?"

"Ha, what friend is that, Ky? You drive their parents crazy with your crazy antics," I said to him. "Remember Parker's mom kicked you out for convincing him to start a bonfire that eventually turned into a forest fire. Smokey the bear would not be happy."

"Coy always gets special treatment because HE is smart and never has to do ANYthing like stay with … with SMELLY grandparents," Ky said, folding his arms. "Yet, because I am not as smart as Coy, I don't get praised for the things I do. Football and Basketball, and Lacrosse later in the year ... Hello; I AM a triple threat!"

"Yes, you're an amazing athlete, but this is really important, though," Mom said. "When Coy applies for college and gets scholarships, it would be because of his academics, not because he knew how to handle a ball."

KY sighed, and stomped out of the kitchen as Mom, Dad, and I begin discussing plans for Italy.

I never noticed it before, but our parents had always used me as an example for Ky to live up to. It was funny, because I always looked to Ky for strength, because I felt he was stronger than I was. He always protected me.

I walked behind Ky, as he stood in my room looking around. He noticed my science project and grabbed a lighter and began to set fire to it.

"Oh, shit!" Ky said after he realized what he'd done. He tried looking around for something to put it out with, but when it started blazing and smoke had signaled the alarm, he ran out of the room.

"The whole time I thought it was a malfunction," I said angrily. "It was Ky! He destroyed my project and a lot of my posters. My favorite comforter on my bed. That ass!"

"Coy … I didn't show you this to make you mad," Julie said, scaring me, as she walked behind me.

Mom, Dad, and my younger self ran into the room with Ky, following behind them, pretending to be shocked.

"I brought you here to make you think," she said to me. "What happened after your project was ruined?"

I thought for a minute. I had forgotten all about the incident. I turned and looked at her.

"I won the competition," I said. "But not really ... because it was Ky. Ky enrolled into the competition as me, and remade the project, and I won."

Julie nodded at me. "Have you ever wondered why things always seemed to get broken of yours, or somehow sabotaged, yet they always worked out in the end?"

"Because of Ky?" I asked, confused.

"Ky might be older than you by slightly more than ten minutes, but, Coy … he idolizes you so much, and it bothers him because he never felt competition from anybody else except the one person he shares so much with," Julie explained. "It bothered him that he did so much, and got so little credit and recognition from your parents, and he sabotaged your projects, and somehow, in the end before you realize it ... fixed what he destroyed."

"But ... Reverend Taylor..."

"Reverend Taylor misunderstood Ky's kindness and need to help you, as weakness," Julie said. "That wasn't Ky's fault. He was manipulated. Your brother loves you and idolizes you so much. Even with Marco in control, you've harbored a resentment toward Ky in your heart."

"It was his fault that happened to me," I said angrily. I didn't even realize that I had been angry at Ky, still, after all this time.

"Coy, let it out," Julie said, rubbing my back. "You know Ky would never intentionally do anything to harm you. He thought he was doing the right thing. Are you telling me that you've never done anything that hurt Ky?"

I sighed. "Well, I remember on all my projects I did back then when I was in that science nerd phase, I used to persuade Ky to be the guinea pig. I built a contraption that supposedly could make somebody fly. Like fake wings. Of course I was too chicken to try it out because I knew that it still wasn't perfect and probably wouldn't work. But ... I allowed Ky to do it and he jumped off the roof and broke his arm and missed an entire season of basketball because he hurt his arm and leg."

"See," Julie said. "There've been times that you have hurt Ky and he has hurt you. What else Coy?"

"Well, I was jealous that nobody wanted to date me, but they'd date Ky when we were in the eighth grade, so I kind of spread vicious rumors about my brother, and it cost him a girl he liked at that time," I said as I began reminiscing. "I had everyone thinking Ky had gonorrhea, because I was jealous and I wanted to experience my first relationship, and I felt Ky had too many and wasn't a good boyfriend. I kind of destroyed his reputation."

"Yet weren't you two always close, no matter what?" she asked me.

"When we were younger, Ky and I fought all the time, and it was like a silent competition, but no matter what, I remember he was my best friend ... my twin ... There were so many times people used to pick on me for being smart, and Ky would fight them all because I wouldn't fight them," I said, as I realized I was crying. "This whole time, I've hated my brother. I never stopped and truly remembered that he was my brother. That he always protected me and forgave me, and I never protected him and forgave him. I should've tried harder, especially with the Reverend Taylor situation. It wasn't Ky's fault. It was mine, because I was so weak, and I'd rather hold onto anger than look for a way to change it."

"It was nobody's fault," Julie said to me as she wrapped her arm around me. "Coy, I didn't bring you here to remind you of the bad that Ky did and how he always did something good to make up for it. But he is carrying the weight around, and the guilt for trusting somebody like Reverend Taylor. Yes, he is your twin ... he can sense inside you that you resent and hate him. Let it go. Don't hurt your brother because he hurt you because of your hating him. Let it go."

I sighed to myself and looked up at her, then back at Ky, who was standing, as my younger self and our parents stood over my ruined project.

"It's funny that Ky even added some kick to it and made the project better than what I had originally made it into," I said with a laugh. "He might not be the smartest guy, but he has a sense of smartness that I don't. Creativity and vivid imagination are abilities that I don't possess. Ha, God! I was such a nerd."

I noticed Ky's sad face, and I smiled and walked over to my brother. I couldn't touch him and he couldn't see me. But I leaned into his ear.

"I forgive you..." I said softly. "Can you forgive me?" 

Scene F  

I stood back in the room where I had met Julie earlier, and I buckled slightly.

"I don't feel good, Julie," I said as I squatted down, trying not to focus on the dizzy feeling.

"We don't have much time, Coy," she said as I stood to regain my balance, but I almost lost it again. "Coy, the time is here that you have to make a decision. You can either fight Marco, or you can go into the light."

I looked at her weakly. "I don't think I can fight Marco, Julie. He's too strong."

Going down memory lane, I realized I forgot all about Marco, but I knew that if I were here, Marco couldn't be too far away.

"The weakness that you're feeling is because you're dying, now," she said to me. "You are dying ... slowly. The doctors are struggling to keep you alive for longer than a few moments."

"Julie, I don't think I can do it," I said to her. "I just feel powerless. I feel weak when it comes to him."

"Then let me show you the very thing that made you feel strong," she said to me, and I felt that familiar pull and rush, as I realized she was sending me somewhere else.

I was outside Nick and Anthony's house. I could hear loud music and laughter coming from inside the back yard where the pool was.

"Is this..." I began, but stopped when I noticed that Matt and I were walking out of the party.

"I guess I should thank you," I said to him with a sigh. "So thank..." I was interrupted by a kiss.

After a few seconds, he pulled away and flashed me a sheepish grin. "Now, I consider that a proper thank you," he said to me.

"But ... you're not ... are you?" I asked, still reeling from the kiss. He knew how to kiss even though it was only for a few seconds.

"Yeah," he said to me. "I am. You sprung it on me so fast that I didn't know exactly what to say. That's why I was speechless. I'm just ... I got a lot of issues with it to work out, but I want to try and work it out with you."

I smiled as I watched my first kiss with Matt. The one time where I could feel like I was wanted and not going to be hurt, I felt safe and strong with him.

The scene dissolved and changed as I realized I was in school. I saw myself talking to Daniel, and a broadcast came up on the television screen.

"Please tell me Ky isn't behind this," I said, as I saw Matt come on the screen.

"You won't talk to me so I figured this is the only way I can get you to understand me," he said into the camera. "Coy ... I know I screwed up royally, and that you deserve somebody who would never let you down. I don't want to let you down anymore. I want to love you. Spend the rest of my life with you ... I love you, and I don't care who knows. Because I'm tired of hiding. I love you, Coy James, and I'm asking you for a second chance..."

The broadcast was cut off in mid-sentence. I looked over at Daniel with a confused look.

"I think you should go find him," he said to me as the buzzer blasted forth, signaling the end of the day.

"Text or call me tonight," I said to him, as I rushed out of the center. 

I walked out to see eyes on me just like before. But people weren't looking at me with hatred. It was almost like they were truly accepting me.

"Go get him, Coy," a girl yelled out and people cheered, signaling their support. I smiled brightly until I saw Anthony standing at my locker.

It was the look in his eyes that told me … told me there was no chance to start something with him because I hadn't finished my story with Matt.

"I'm sorry," I mouthed to him. he smiled back at me and pointed at me … or rather, behind me. I turned to see Matt standing there.

"Hey," he said nervously. "I hope I didn't embarrass you..."

I grabbed him and kissed him. Something I had been dying to do for so long. I didn't care anymore. It was a new beginning.

Tony was finally gone, and I realized then, that Matt was finally the boyfriend I needed him to be.

I heard cheers around us as we kissed. Even teachers were cheering. I noticed Ky looked happy, but there was a look of fear on his face as he stood with Darek and the rest of those people. I was going to have to figure out how to help him.

"I got something to say to your face," Matt said as we walked toward his car.

"Which is?"

"I love you," he said, and I realized that was the first time he'd said it and actually meant it.

"I love you, too," I said with a smile.

It was then I realized I didn't want to give up. I didn't want to let Marco win ... I could take Marco on. Because I had so much to live for … an amazing brother, and amazing friends who needed me. I had love, and I realized that ever since Matt came into my life ... I was stronger than I ever had been.

"I'm ready," I said aloud as I closed myself.

I could feel myself being pulled, and I realized it was now or never.

Marco versus Coy.... 

Scene G  

I winced as I could feel the fear and pain that I had felt when Tony had raped me the first time at Freedom.

"I don't wanna die," I said to myself. "No.  I . don't . want . to die."

"Well, I'm afraid that you WILL be dead in the next few minutes," Marco's voice echoed, as he walked toward me. I saw thousands and thousands of Tony's behind him, circling around me. He was using Tony to kill me. He knew that I wasn't able to fight off and block-out any of that pain that I felt ... the fear of Tony, and what he did to me.

"Even in your dreams, I'm . still . here," the Tony's chorused, and I clutched my head, as I could hear their echoes, and it was nearly killing me. "Remember the way I fucked you. You screamed like a bitch. But took it like a G."

"No ... Stop," I cried out.

Marco laughed as he watched me on the floor, as I began to spasm uncontrollably.

"That right there, Coy ... That's you dying, and me winning," he said with a laugh. The echoes of all the Tony's laughing was like multiplying the pain of the rape by fifty thousand.

'I don't want to die,' I thought to myself. 'I'm NOT going to die.'

Marco made a move to kick me, but I grabbed his foot.

"Wha..." He began, but I cut him off as I slung him in the opposite direction and stood up. Confident ... Refreshed ... Strong.

I looked at all the Tony's and laughed. I was no longer afraid. Tony couldn't hurt me anymore unless I allowed him. One by one, they all began disappearing. Then the one became hundreds ... and the hundreds became thousands, until finally ... all the Tony's were gone.

"How the hell did you do that?" Marco asked me, as he stood up with a shocked look on his face. "Tony is your nightmare."

"My only nightmare is giving up, when I have so much fight in me," I said to him.

"Fight? I'm stronger than you," he said with a laugh. "I fucking controlled you for six months."

I laughed at him. "That's because I let you," I said simply. "But, your reign of terror and discord is over."

I spun around and kicked Marco hard in the chest and saw him fly backward.

"Thanks Julie," I whispered. 

Scene H  

"He's flat lining," Dr. Whitman yelled out as the doctors rushed to save me.

"But I ... I prayed," Matt said, as he watched the doctors scramble to keep me alive.

"Come on, Coy," Ky said, holding Matt's hand tightly.

Carmen, Josh, Anthony, and Giselle stood around the two of them, watching the doctors do their work.

"Oh, my God," Giselle said, as Matt just fainted back into Josh's arms. "Is he..."

"He just fainted," Carmen said, checking Matt's pulse. "This can't be happening. Coy can't die."

"He's having a seizure," Giselle said covering her mouth.

Matt was coming to, just when they heard the long, drawn-out, monotone beep.

"No," Matt screamed out. "Nooooo!" He tried to rush into the room, but Josh and Carmen stopped him. He fell back into their arms and began to sob. "Oh, my God," Matt said. "He ... he's dead."

Everyone grew silent and looked on in despair.

"Wait..." Ky said, as he heard something. "No, he's not."

Matt turned and looked in the operating room. He heard the steady beeps coming from the heart monitor machine.

"He's alive," Matt said happily. He grabbed everybody into a hug. "He's alive!"

"Okay, injured boy, here," Ky said pushing Matt away with a happy laugh.

Dr. Whitman walked out of the room and faced the group of them with a tired but pleased look.

"Coy's a fighter," he said happily. "He really is a fighter."

"Can we see him?" Matt asked excitedly.

"I don't want to overwhelm him," Dr. Whitman said to Matt. "I can allow one of you to see him once we move him back to a private room."

"MATT," Giselle, Carmen, Josh, and Ky said in unison.

He smiled at them appreciatively.

"Thank you, God," Matt said to himself. "You brought my angel back to me." 

Scene I  

I opened my eyes to see Matt sitting beside my bed, his head resting on the mattress. He looked so tired, as if he were afraid to sleep and would miss something happening.

I rubbed his hair softly, and I thought about all the good things Matt and I had experienced together. All the good things we COULD experience together in the future.

Matt stirred and looked at me with a nervous look on his face.

"Hey, sleepyhead," I said with a smile.

"Kiss me," he said.

"Morning breath," I said.

He laughed at me. "Yeah, I know it's you this time. Only Coy would say that."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, because Coy hates the smell and taste of morning breath," I said. "No matter how hot Matt is to kiss."

He grabbed my hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel amazing," I said with a smile. "I feel perfectly fine, as long as you're here with me."

"I feel perfectly fine as long as you're here with me, too," he echoed back to me. "I love you, Coy."

"I love you, Matty G," I said happily. "So much. It was you who brought me back, ya know. Because, without you, I truly AM weak."

"No you are not," he said. "You are the strongest person I know. And even the strong can fall. But what makes them strong is the fact they always get back up, even when they wanna stay down. They always get back up. You got back up."

I smiled at him and rolled my eyes. "Come here."

I kissed him softly on the lips, and then smiled. "Wasn't that bad," I said, laughing.

He laughed back at me. "Still prefer the minty fresh gum you always chew."

I looked him in the eyes, and he looked back at me. We needed no words to say. He didn't need to ask me out again. He didn't need to say sorry for Emily. I didn't need to say anything.

We knew...

We knew that we were meant to be together. No matter how hard life together was .... We were meant to be together.

A nurse walked into the room and smiled at us. "Sorry. Don't mean to interrupt you guys. I just wanted to give this to you, Mr. Gleisner."

She handed Matt a folded envelope and exited quietly out of the room.

"Looks like a love letter," I joked back at him.

Matt rolled his eyes and opened the envelope. He read the letter aloud.

Dear Matthew, Thank you for showing me what I wanted to see before I died. You helped me, and I hope I'm able to return the favor to you someday and help you. You're an amazing person with an amazing spirit. Julie.

"Julie?" I echoed as I snatched the envelope from him.

A picture was inside of the envelope and I gasped aloud. "She ... She was ... I saw her before,…In my dream or whatever that was," I said in shock. "She helped me realize what all this was for. What I needed to do. She must have been like my…Guardian Angel or something."

I looked at Matt and we both looked at the picture in silence.

"Thank you," we said in unison.

We sat in silence as we both thought about the blessing brought our way from Julie. She had helped Matt in the last moments of her life, and even in death, she reached out and helped me.

Matt looked at me and smiled.

"I can see your halo, baby," he said softly.

"I can feel your halo," I said, echoing my favorite song lyrics. "Burning through my darkest night, You're the only one I want..."

"Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace..."

"Baby, I can see your halo," we said in unison. 

Halo Season 3.5: Crossroads of the soul is now complete.

It looks like we have our Coy back and Marco is Gone. This was a way to bridge the gap between Halo: Marco and introduce Halo: Resurrection.