Okay, this one was requested, but it may have been a little too rushed. I bet none of you saw this coming!

As far as new stories are concerned, it looks like 'Image in the Mirror' won. So, I'll get started on that right away.

Sorry for the two-week wait for an update. I've been off of school, and the 12-day-long heat wave kept me in bed throughout the vacation. Well, the heat wave is over, and so is the holiday. Back at school with four hours behind a computer. Well, anyway, here's the next chapter! I tried to explain it. I've done TONS of research on this subject over the years, so DON'T TELL ME SOMETHING IS WRONG B/C I PROBABLY KNOW MORE ABOUT IT THAN YOU DO! With that, enjoy.

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Atem gathered Yugi while Solomon called the hospital to let them know that they were coming and that Yugi was very sick. Atem had Yugi sit on the couch while he started the car. As Yugi sat there, his breathing was getting even worse. He coughed roughly, which just made his asthma even worse. Now he could hardly get enough air to pass for more than two seconds. It felt as if he was breathing through a very narrow straw. He took in short, wheezy breaths.

Solomon came down and stood by Yugi, trying to comfort his sick grandson. Soon, Atem came running back in.

"Alright, I have the car running."

"We have to get him to the hospital quickly." Atem nodded. He knew that Yugi wanted to say something, but he could not form the words since he was taking so many breaths.

The drive to the hospital was not a pleasant one. Besides the fact that Yugi could not breath, he had to endure traffic while Atem swore at other drivers and Grandpa was yelling out all kinds of hazards, turning him into the world's worst back-seat driver. Yugi's eyes rolled up.

As he looked at the ceiling, he thought about what could be wrong with him. As an asthmatic, he was very vulnerable to any types of diseases that attack the repertory system such as: Influenza and Pneumonia. It had to be one or the other. Both would make him bed-ridden for at least a week and a half. Yugi had never had either of them. He was surprised because he was very vulnerable to both of them. Yugi let out a very hoarse cough. There was a feeling in his chest that made him realize just how little air he was getting. It was worse than he thought.

'Hurry …' Yugi thought as he sent that thought down the telepathic link he shared with his dark. He wanted to vocally express the word, but without enough air getting into his lungs, he could not draw in a good breath to make it.

"Don't worry, Yugi; we're almost there."

Just as Atem predicted, no more than five minutes later the car pulled up in front of the emergency room entrance. Atem hurried Yugi in and ordered the first available doctor he saw to get Yugi tested. When seeing just how sick the boy actually looked, the doctor agreed.

Yugi felt so weak that it took him ten minutes just to get the hospital gown on. Once that task was finally taken care of, they put an oxygen mask on him and gave him a breathing treatment through an IV. As Yugi began to relax, he felt as if he were leaving his own body. It must have been the medicine they were giving him. He could hear the doctors and nurses talking to each other about stats, but all Yugi could hear was mumbling. To him, nothing existed. He was floating on a cloud while everyone else worked. He felt at peace; he had never felt this relaxed before, and he never wanted to leave.

In the outside world, the heart monitor the doctors had hooked Yugi up to had started beeping out of control.

"We're losing him!" Someone said.

"He's not getting enough oxygen!" A nurse pierced into Yugi esophagus and inserted a tube for the oxygen to reach Yugi's lungs faster. That seemed to help a little, but Yugi's heart rate was still too high. They had to do some tests on him.

Meanwhile, Atem and Solomon were waiting in the waiting room for the latest news on Yugi's condition. Atem had called Tea to tell her about Yugi, but they were just starting school. She said that she would tell Joey and Tristan and they would be there after school let out. That fact made Atem feel a little better, but not too much. Solomon kept himself busy by reading one of the magazines that the ER waiting room provided while Atem found the clock to be very interesting.

The ancient one was never one to stay put. Even as Pharaoh, he could never keep still for too long; it was a habit that had developed in his childhood. Atem finally fell victim to this habit and began to pace around. Not only did he pace, but he kept sighing every ten seconds. Normally, the Moto patriarch would be able to block Atem's bad habits out, but the situation at hand was getting the best of him.

"Atem, will you please sit down? You need to stop worrying so much." Atem sighed again, making Solomon cringe in irritation.

"How long does it take to run a couple of tests? He's been in there for over three hours!" Solomon cleared his throat and stood in front of Atem with his arms folded.

"Are you a medical expert?" Atem raised a brow.

"No."

"Have you ever run tests like this before?"

"No, but"---

"Then you have no right to demand a time frame! Things like this take time, Atem. We may not get results for another day or so." Atem sighed again. "And stop sighing!"

"I'm sorry! But I'm going crazy here with nothing to do! I have to be next to Yugi!"

"Then go take a walk. You can't help Yugi unless your head is clear." Atem hung his head. He knew that the elder was right.

"What about you?" He asked softly. Solomon placed a hand on Atem's shoulder.

"I have dealt with this kind of scenario before. I think I can deal with this better than you can right now. You need to clear your head, so go clear it and then we can talk." Atem was about to sigh but stopped. He nodded and went to go walk around.

---

Meanwhile, after hearing that Yugi was in the hospital, Tea could not concentrate on her classes. The beginning of the day seemed to pass by in a blur. She had to tell Joey and Tristan about Yugi … but how? How was she supposed to tell them that their best friend's illness was worse that originally thought? This was probably one of the rare times she regretted not having a lot of classes with those two clowns.

As her psychology teacher droned on about Freud's 'penis envy' theory, which Tea thought was complete bull; if anything she was happy to not have to stand up when she pees, she slipped her phone out under the table of her desk and texted Atem about Yugi's condition. Oh how she loathed having to sit here in class while one of her best friends was in the hospital. Hospitals were never her favorite topic. Everything about them creeped her out. A shiver went down her spine just thinking about it.

"…quiz." Tea looked up. It was a reflex, perhaps to all high school students, that when either the words 'test' or 'quiz' was mentioned by a teacher automatically caught her attention.

"Oh sh--" This was not what she needed right now. Suddenly, her phone buzzed twice, letting her know that she had a message. She opened it. It was from Atem.

They are doing tests now.

Was what the text said. Tea shook her head with a smile. Typical Atem; he was raised to speak grammatically correct, which he always did; he even texted grammatically correctly. Looking up, her teacher was coming around with the quizzes so she had to put the phone away for right now. She hoped that she would do well on this quiz, since she had not been listening for the whole hour.

---

Back at the hospital, Atem kept pacing. Not getting any results from all those tests was really starting to drive at his nerves. He never was famous for his patience, or lack there of. Several different scenarios ran through his mind. One where the doctor came out and actually told them that they lost Yugi. Atem swore that if that happened, he would never forgive himself. Whatever this illness of Yugi's was, it had made him sick enough to come to the hospital, which was never a good sign.

The ancient one looked to Solomon Moto, who had taken to sitting in a chair and reading a magazine. Atem could not understand how he could be so calm when his only grandson was fighting for his life just beyond those doors. He felt so useless; as stated before, Yugi was fighting for his life and Atem was just a few yards away and could not help him.

Suddenly, after so long, the doors opened to reveal the doctor that was assigned to Yugi's case. Solomon quickly put the magazine down and stood next to the dark one.

"Well, we did our tests and the blood test came back positive …" Atem was beginning to despise these doctors for not finishing his sentences.

"For what?" He asked.

"…for the Plague." Atem gasped. He was all too familiar with the Plague; that was the disease that had claimed the life of his father. From the references he read, the virus spread quickly throughout Europe way after his time, but it was still active. He had also read that throughout time it dissipated. His thoughts were interrupted by Solomon's voice.

"That's quite strange …" The old man commented, stroking his beard.

"How is that possible in this day and age?!" Atem eagerly asked. The doctor escorted them over to a more private area before explaining Yugi's condition.

"Well, the first few tests that were done suggested that he had had a form of pneumonia. He was able to contract the virus while his immune system was weak and fighting that off." Atem nodded his head, not really interested in what Yugi had but instead what he has.

"But that still does not explain how Yugi contracted the Plague! And, even if he does have it, shouldn't he be covered in … I don't know, growths, or welts, or something?" The doctor put his hand up, signaling to Atem that he would answer one question at a time.

"There are three different types of the Plague: one, the one you're thinking of, the bubonic plague, which is the most commonly known type and is usually carried by fleas, rodents, and so forth." Atem nodded; that had been what had killed his father. Hopefully Yugi did not come down with that. The doctor took in a deep breath.

"The second is septicemic Plague. This can be contracted through the air from someone who is infected with the bacteria that causes the virus.

And finally, there is the pneumonic Plague. This is a very serious viral infection that is spread through the air from person to person. It attacks the immune and respiratory systems, which caused Yugi's asthma to flare up so badly." Atem ran his hand down his face. The doctor was not answering the overall question.

"How did Yugi get the virus?!" He enunciated slowly, as if the doctor was too dumb to understand the question.

"Well, it's not a virus that fleas carry. Unfortunately, some household pets can carry the virus as well, such as long-haired dogs or cats"---

"Cats?!" Both Atem and Solomon exclaimed in unison.

"Yes … does Yugi have a cat?" The two nodded. Atem never liked that cat, and he knew there was something wrong with it.

"But how could Ezzy contract the virus?" Solomon asked. The doctor shrugged.

"Perhaps she ate a mouse that was contaminated. Different animals respond differently to it." Atem's mind was flooding with emotions; anger at the cat for getting Yugi sick, and worry for Yugi's health. Before he could ask another question, the doctor continued. "If the cat is a carrier for the virus, it needs to be quarantined and tested."

"Doctor, what type does Yugi have?" The elder Moto asked. After a long silence, the doctor answered.

"Pneumonic; the pneumonic type occurs when the septicemic plague spreads through the lungs and into the bloodstream." Atem ran his fingers through his hair.

"What is the mortality rate?"

"Uh … well, it depends on the type and what country you're in, and"---

"What. Is. It?" The doctor sighed.

"Not good if not treated within the first twenty-four hours." Atem swallowed. He should have taken Yugi straight to the hospital as soon as his fever spiked past 102. "And, we're going to have to have you two tested as well, so that we can see if you've been infected too."

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End of Chapter