Chapter VI: Wilt

Hello again, Roseshippers and thank you again for your patience. It has taken me a long time to figure out how I wanted this tale to take a turn for the worse, but I finally have it. And so I bring you the beginning of the end. I thank a great many websites, including the Centers for Disease Control, for helping me find a quick-moving yet not horribly obvious disease that you could catch on a two-week tour of South America.

Legal disclaimers: As usual, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I'm just playing around in the sandbox, making my own perhaps unholy version blending the sub and dub-verses. Special thanks to Vampiric Dragonrider who didn't mind looking over this chapter and thanks to all of my friends who tolerated being my sounding boards!

The large tourist boat moved lazily down the Amazon River as the afternoon breeze ruffled the hair of the boat's passengers. One young man, however, had pulled his silvery blonde hair back in a ponytail. One slim hand held a sketchbook while the other held an artist's pencil. His subject was not the jungle, but a lovely young woman smiling out at it. Her blonde hair fluttered in the breeze and her eyes sparkled like the blue water around them.

"Max, honey, are you done yet? I want to get some more pictures taken," Cecelia said, teasing her new husband. "As much as I've loved this trip, I'd like to remember more of the places my husband and I visited than how gorgeous he thought I looked. I want some great pictures to show our kids and grandkids!"

Max Pegasus erased and re-sketched her smile. The new couple had been on a trip around South America for almost two weeks since their wedding. It was true that the camera had been somewhat underutilized, but still the new couple had at least seven rolls of film to develop when they returned home. Also, Max had about two sketchbooks full now of his Cecelia. There were some pictures in there that would not be painted for a few years, he decided.

"Cece, I'll make sure to use the last six rolls in the next day or two!" His chuckle made her look back directly at him. The chuckle became an outright guffaw as he saw her rather odd smirk. He snatched up the camera he had in his pocket and snapped the picture. "Starting with this one!"

Y

By the time the Pegasuses boarded their plane home two days later, they had indeed used the remaining rolls of film. Max grinned as the image of Cecelia in the jungle came to his mind. She had found a shallow pool surrounded by the loveliest tropical flowers. A fallen vine had served as an impromptu crown and Max had taken a picture of his jungle princess. He vowed privately to paint the image later.

Cecelia sank into the first-class seat next to the window and stared out at Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport tarmac. "Almost too bad we have to go back to real life, huh, Max?"

The young man nodded, smiling. "It's been a lovely time, but we've both got to get home, darling. I have so many pictures of you I can't wait to paint. Cecelia, someday I'll be famous for my paintings and you will be forever my immortal beloved. Everyone will know your face…"

"Max, all that I care about is that you remember me!" the young woman laughed. "When we're both old and in a retirement home and forget that our kids call every day, I hope we remember this trip!"

What his wife said made Max start to laugh. He had a sudden image of himself some fifty years into the future wearing his Grandpa Cody's hideous plaid pants up to his armpits and that horrid polyester golf shirt! Max quickly got his sketchbook out of his carryon bag and drew his mental image for her. She giggled. "Max, please never wear that!"

"Cece, as long as I have you, you'll make sure I don't," he answered, eyes sparkling.

An hour later, the couple was flying over Peru's famous Nazca lines. "Those are amazing, even from here," Cecelia observed.

Max looked over her at the Nazca Lines formation known as the Lizard. "They are, but don't you think the Lizard is unhappy that its tail is being run over?"

"It might be, honey, but hopefully it doesn't have supernatural powers that eventually try to take over the world," she said, perfectly straight faced.

"Well, I hope… You're joking, aren't you?" he asked, starting to laugh. She kept the stone-faced expression for about twenty seconds before cracking up too.

Y

Scratch, scratch. Somewhere over Panama, Max awoke. "Mmm… Cece?" He glanced over to see her slightly red wrist. "Are you all right, Cecelia?"

"Oh yeah, Max, I think a mosquito got me the other day. A little calamine lotion and I'll be okay," she said, getting a bottle of the stuff out of her carryon and putting it on the bite. "I'm glad I've never had problems with bug bites. Remember that time we went camping in El Sereno?"

Max chuckled. "Wasn't I coated from head to foot in calamine by the end?"

She nodded. "You looked like you'd covered yourself with pink paint. And I thought you needed the ER."

They laughed together at that memory and heard the familiar squeak of cart wheels. "Guess it's lunchtime," he said, savoring the fragrance of red wine being uncorked.

Y

"Max, do you think this is really necessary?" Cecelia asked as she and her husband strode through a rather nice outdoor mall in San Jose a week later. "It's not like we have reason to be here yet, anyway. And the local news will talk!"

"Cece, you know I love planning in advance," Max chuckled, stopping at the window of a paint shop. The bright cans of paint in the window brought images of a large wall, covered in a fairytale scene. "Hmmm, fairytales would work for both, wouldn't they?"

"I think they would," she answered, immediately figuring out his fantasy. "Again, it's a bit early to be around here, though. I mean, someday, yes, but…"

"Well, I just want to look and plan," he answered, pouting a bit as they moved away from the paint shop window and to their destination. They stepped in and quietly moved to the cribs. "What do you think of round cribs, darling?"

Cecelia had been wearing a slight frown since they entered the baby shop, but her husband's enthusiasm was infectious. She laughed when he picked up a teddy bear. "And who is this?" she asked with a smile.

"This is Mr. Fuzzy Paws," Max intoned in a rather hysterical falsetto. "Hello, Cecelia! I'm Mr. Fuzzy Paws and I'd like to go home with you and Max! And someday, I want to play with your children! Can I come home with you?" Mr. Fuzzy Paws' right arm rested on the blonde woman's shoulder.

"All right," she laughed. "You can come home with us, Mr. Fuzzy Paws, but it might be a couple of years before you have a child to play with!"

"All right," Max's normal voice returned, taking the bear's arm off his beloved's shoulder. "A couple of years, though?" he asked, staring longingly at the round crib and imagining a healthy baby with her blonde hair and blue eyes holding up its arms to its daddy.

"Yeah. I want to get a job in one of those new computer companies that are sprouting up here. And I can't do that if I'm expecting right out of the gate. What if I get a position in management?" she pointed out.

"But you can have a job in my company, remember?"

They strode up to the counter and paid for the teddy bear, Max insisting on carrying it out under one arm. "Max, I don't want to get a job in a company where you're the head, even if I'm qualified for it. I'd rather do it on my own."

Max frowned thoughtfully. She doesn't want to… oh, I understand! "It's like my painting. I'd rather not have my pieces displayed at Dad's art galleries if they're the first place I can display them as an adult. I want to have my art recognized by people other than him."

"Something like that, Max," she nodded. "So let's wait on kids. We've got plenty of time."

"All right, but don't make me wait too long," Max said, Mr. Fuzzy Paws in front of his face.

Y

"Cecelia, are you feeling all right?" Max asked one evening almost two weeks after they arrived home. "You've been awfully quiet the past two days."

She slowly shook her head, wincing. "I have a horrible headache and… Max, I feel terrible."

Max felt her forehead, frowning. "Darling, let's get you into bed right away. I think you're right. Anything else?"

She stood, swaying slightly. "I… Max…" He raced to her side and caught her before she fell. He got her from the dining room to the living room couch and raced to the phone. His trembling fingers barely managed to dial the emergency number. He robotically answered the dispatcher's questions, all the while keeping an eye on his unconscious wife. Though it was only about five minutes before help arrived, it was an eternity for the young man.

The paramedics swarmed over the young woman and quickly got her onto a gurney. Max wouldn't be able, in later years, to explain how surreal it was, sitting there watching the paramedics try to figure out what was wrong with his beloved. All he could clearly recall was how pale she was and the odd beeps of the different equipment.

It seemed an eternity before the ambulance stopped and the doors opened, but finally they arrived. Cecelia was already awake, fortunately, and was seen to immediately. The emergency room doctor asked several questions and had the young woman sent to a private room. "We'll keep her here for observation," the redheaded man said, gently placing a hand on Max's shoulder as his beloved was wheeled away. "She doesn't show any exotic symptoms, but since you were in South America, we need to be sure she hasn't contracted anything particularly nasty. Did she get bitten by anything?"

Max frowned. "I honestly can't recall, Doctor. It's been busy since we got back, so I may have forgotten. Maybe she remembers."

"We'll ask her in the morning," the other man said. "Right now, we'll focus on rehydrating her and getting her fever under control. Since your trip was about two weeks ago, I wouldn't worry too much. She might've just caught something on the plane, but we'll run some tests just in case it's something exotic."

Max nodded and thanked the doctor. He strode to Cecelia's room, tiptoeing in when he saw his beloved sleeping. "I'll stay by you, my love," he whispered as he sat down, stroking a lock of blonde hair out of her pale face. A light smile appeared on her lips, but she did not wake.

And so the end begins, though Max does not yet know it. Stay tuned for the next chapter, "Scattering Petals." Until then, please read and review.