Chapter VII: Am I Dead?

Have you guys used enough Kleenex yet? Hello again to you Yu-Gi-Oh GX fans and thanks again for your reviews! I'm sorry if my writing has caused you to use a great deal of facial tissue, but I'm glad if you're enjoying my story. Anyway, this fic has been quite a sad one to this point, hasn't it? Well, perhaps things are about to change…

Recap: Kisara had to inform Syrus's parents, Zane, Jaden and everyone else that she could do nothing to help the injured boy. Zane contemplated suicide until Kisara reminded him that his brother wanted him to live. Professor Bonaparte and Marcel made up, Dr. Crowler apologized, we found out Chazz has a slight fear of hospital rooms and that Jaden's mom, Sy and Zane's mom, Alexis and Atticus's mom and Bastian's dad work or worked together. Dark Magician Girl, fearful that Sy wouldn't make it, came from the Dominion of the Beasts to urge him to survive. Jaden and Zane decided to stay in the room with Sy, while everyone else slept in the outer room of the infirmary… And as the chapter closes, a set of small fingers began to move…So what happens next?

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX. I just apparently write fictions that make people cry… On with the story…

Author's note: This part of the story begins just before Sy collapses...

Syrus Aidan Truesdale looked as his brother fell on his butt as Zane's life points dropped to zero after Usagi made her final assault. I did it, he thought, and then felt himself start to sink. He felt a pair of thin but wiry arms go around him and looked up into the face of Jaden Kiyo Yuki, his best friend and, if truth be told, the young man he thought of as his brother by heart. "I did it, Jay," he whispered. "Where's Zane?"

"He's over there, Sy…" Jaden was worried and Sy could feel himself fading.

"Tell him… I love him…" Sy felt the blackness overtaking his vision and could barely hear Jaden calling for help, and then the bliss of oblivion took him. He drifted in this darkness for some time before becoming aware of himself again. He was floating in a soft warm place. "Where am I?"

"It's all right, Syrus. You're in a safe place right now," said a strong, yet somehow familiar warm voice. The small blue-haired teen boy turned in the soft place into what looked like a warmly lit hallway with marble floors. He looked down at himself to see that he was dressed in the Slifer Red uniform he'd worn during his first year at the academy. He looked toward the voice and saw what looked like Yugi Muto, dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh.

"Yugi? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not Yugi. My name is Atem." Then Syrus realized something…

"You're the legendary pharaoh that sealed the Shadow Games, right?"

"That's right."

"So that means… you died 5000 years ago."

"Yes…"

Syrus was really getting scared now. "Um…Your Highness?"

The teen king rolled his eyes, smiling. "You don't have to call me that, young one. My name is Atem and I'd like you to call me that. You look frightened."

Sy's eyes were wide in fright. "Um…" It probably didn't help the situation that what looked like Seto Kaiba in ancient Egyptian garb walked over to Atem.

"Hello, Cousin. Who is this?" Syrus turned very white and fell over. "Is he all right?"

"This is Syrus Truesdale, Seto. He attends Duel Academy Central."

Sy sat up, his poor head spinning. "Are you all right, Syrus?" Guardian Seto asked.

"Oh, man… Am I dead? Because you guys have been dead for a really long time and that's the only way I could be talking to you… Oh, man! I must be dead! I'M DEAD!" he howled much like Dash Parr had in "The Incredibles" and cried anime-style! At this pronouncement, Atem and Seto exchanged bemused glances. And another person came running down the hallway.

"Atem, is everything all right?" Sy looked up, hearing what he thought was the voice of Dark Magician Girl. However, he saw a young woman dressed in a white outfit, and she had brown hair and bright blue eyes. Syrus thought she kind of looked like Yugi's wife, Teá.

"You sound kind of like Dark Magician Girl," the boy said, ceasing his crying. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mana. Dark Magician Girl was my first monster. She was my friend in battle on the day I lost a lot of friends…" She knelt down to his level, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I think I'm dead, because how could I be talking to you if you died centuries ago? That's what's wrong…" He looked up at the three of them, sad, but noticed they were smiling. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but… I didn't want to die this early…"

"Syrus," Atem said, kneeling at the small boy's level, "you aren't dead, but your condition is very serious. Come take a look…" The former pharaoh, his cousin and his girlfriend helped the boy to his feet and walked him to a room that looked like an in-home theater. Atem pressed a button and the screen at the front of the room activated. Syrus saw himself unconscious in Jaden's arms and Zane looking on in horror. And then he saw Jaden performing CPR on him.

"I died…"

"Just keep watching, young one…" Atem said softly. And Sy watched as his body started breathing again and then as it was placed on the gurney and raced into Duel Academy's infirmary. He saw his friends worrying and then scared as he went into cardiac arrest again. And then he saw the duel between Jaden and Sartorius and how Jaden had gone utterly furious.

"Wow… Jay never cusses and he never fights like that…I've never seen him that upset before…" And then Sy got a glimpse of the rest of his family… "Mommy…Daddy…I'll find a way back…" And then… "Dark Magician Girl?! I've got to live!" Sy almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Dark Magician Girl had come to plead with him to stay alive, and then came the teachers and his friends and family. "Dr. Crowler sent me that letter? And he's sorry? Wow…"

"Do you forgive him?" Atem asked curiously.

"Of course I do. We didn't get kicked out of the academy and he turned to be nice anyway," Syrus answered, and noticed that the pharaoh's lips curved into a smile. "What is it?"

"You remind me a lot of Yugi…the way he was when I knew him…"

"You knew..? Then it's true! The stuff I've heard about the Millennium Puzzle was true! Jay thought it wasn't early last year. So you did fight alongside Yugi! Wow…" Syrus suddenly absorbed what Atem had said about him being like Yugi and asked, "Why do I remind you of Yugi, Atem?"

Atem smiled at this, as did Guardian Seto and Mana. "Well, for one thing, you're about the size he was when I knew him. You also are much braver than you think. Yugi was timid and shy when I first met him, but he became braver and like you did earlier this year, fought those who would bully him with his dueling deck. He did very well and conquered his fears."

Syrus couldn't help but smile… "I'm like the King of Games…wow…So, do I get to go back?"

"You get to go back," Mana answered. "You probably won't wake up for a bit longer, but you're going to be fine."

"Syrus, before you go back, I would like to give you a message to give to Yugi for me. He'll be at the school soon and you can give him the message," Atem said.

"Okay, Atem. What is it?"

"Tell him… I'm all right and that I'm here if he ever needs me again…"

Sy threw his arms around the pharaoh and his two friends. "Thanks, guys. Hold on, Jay and Zane! I'm coming back!" The three Egyptians smiled at this outburst from the small blue-haired boy, and then let him down. Atem directed Sy toward a door which opened, and the small teen stepped through. Again Syrus found himself in the warm, soft place and he lay there for what seemed like several hours. It was dark in that place, but it got lighter. Finally, he experimentally moved his fingers and then heard soft footsteps.

He felt a soft small hand brush his forehead, and a soft voice whisper, "Syrus…come on, angel. Come on back, now. Your heartbeat's back to normal and your family and friends want you back…" The small boy struggled for a second and managed to open his gray eyes. He had to blink a couple of times so he could see somewhat clearly. "Go slowly," the voice whispered, and then he felt a strong arm behind his back, sitting him up and propping pillows behind him. He saw a flash of white-blond hair, but he couldn't see the face just yet. One hand came back to his face with his specs so he could see clearly. His vision came into focus and the first thing he saw was Jaden and Zane sleeping soundly at the foot of his bed. And then, someone sat down next to him. "Welcome back, sweetie," she said, and he beheld the face of, in his opinion, an angel. She gave him a squeeze bottle and helped him take a drink (his mouth was sort of dry). "Take it slow," she advised.

"Hi," he said when he'd drunk his fill. "Were you taking care of me?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "My name's Kisara Kaiba. Chancellor Shepherd called me here yesterday. You were a very sick boy, Syrus…"

"You're Seto Kaiba's wife. I've seen you before… You're a doctor…"

"Yes, I am, Sy. Everyone was really worried about you…"

He looked up at her. "I know. What time is it, Doctor Kaiba?"

"Syrus, you can call me Kisara, all right? Everyone else can…"

"Okay… what time is it?"

"It's seven in the morning…" Just then, Jaden began to stir, as did Zane. The young doctor smiled softly, and Sy gripped her hand, smiling back. "They were here all night, sweetie…"

Jaden and Zane opened their eyes at the same time and sat up from their positions (faces lying against their arms). Both boys blinked, rubbing their eyes, stretched, and then noticed Kisara and…

"SYRUS!" they both shouted happily.

"Guys, shush!" Kisara whispered. "Don't wake everybody yet. I want them to come in here slowly."

"Hey, little bro--…" Zane began, and found himself choked up.

"Sy…bro…" Jaden added, then found himself unable to speak. The two older boys settled for hugging the younger one. Sy himself was weak but able to put his arms around the brother of his blood and the brother of his heart.

"I'm okay…Hey, what's Mr. Fuzzy Bear doing here?" Sy asked, realizing his teddy bear was squished between him and the other two boys.

"Chumley brought him for you," Jaden explained, "and take a look at what he's wearing…"

"A GX medal… Did you guys..?"

"No, it was Chazz," Jaden said. "I'm as surprised as you are, bro. And he gave me the rest. And…everybody's asleep out there."

"I know… Zane?"

"Yeah, Syrus?"

"What Kisara told you…that's exactly what I wanted…I wanted you back…"

"What? Syrus, how would you know what she told me?"

"Or what you told Sartorius to go do with himself, Jay?" Sy asked with a naughty smile.

Jaden had the same expression on his face when he'd found out that Blair Flannigan was just eight years old. "How...? Sy, buddy, you're scaring me…But how did you know? Did you hear us?"

"Well, you see…" And Sy told his brothers and Kisara about his near-death experience. "I saw you guys and I knew I had to come back. And the pharaoh said I was like Yugi! Oh… Kisara? Is there a way I could get a message to Yugi? I mean, we were in Domino a few weeks ago and his grandpa said…"

"It's okay… Solomon knows where Yugi is; he just has to keep it quiet. But if you'd like to give your message to Yugi in person, that can be arranged, sweetie."

"Okay…Can my mom and dad come in here, too?" the blue-haired boy asked as his brothers gently released him from the hug and let him sink back into his pillows.

"I can arrange that, Sy. Is it okay if you have a steady stream of visitors for a while?"

"Um…yeah. That'd be okay, I guess. Why?"

"Sy," Jaden answered, "there are a lot of people out there who stayed here… We were all worried." Sy smiled at this, realizing that people loved him, and he smiled also because he knew he had his blood brother back…

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

About 20 minutes after Syrus approved visitors, Darla Truesdale raced into the hospital cubicle, trailed by her husband. She looked at her youngest child as if she saw a ghost. Then Jaden and Zane moved away from the bed as the mother moved close to her youngest child. She sat down and wordlessly enveloped him in a tight hug. Kisara smiled, watching the mother and son who looked so much alike embracing. It reminded the white-blonde woman of when she held her eldest son in her own arms (though Noah had his father's chestnut hair) and it made the young doctor misty eyed. It'll be all right now, she thought.

For the next hour or so, Syrus had a lot of visitors. After his parents and brothers came Chazz Princeton. "Hey, Syrus… Um…Jaden missed you…everybody did."

"I know, Chazz," Sy answered, knowing that Chazz missed him too, but would never admit it. "Thanks for the medal…"

Chazz gave the small boy a hint of a smile. "No problem…squirt." For Sy, Chazz saying that was as good as admitting they were friends and that he'd have missed the blue-haired boy.

"Syrus! Welcome back to the land of the living," Bastian said as he came into the room. "We all thought for a moment you were going to be with Louis Pasteur and Albert Einstein…"

"Hi, Bastian…Well, I did talk to a couple of ancient Egyptians," Sy responded, getting a hug from the bigger boy. Bastian's right eyebrow raised. "It's a long story, Bastian…"

"And I'd be glad to hear it…"

And so others came into the room as well and Syrus got a lot of hugs and really realized how many friends and people who cared about him there were. He'd often wondered about that, since he didn't get very much attention. But today, he knew for sure that people did care. Most importantly, he had both of his brothers at his side…

Shall I have an epilogue, everyone? I think this story might just need one… What say you? Read and review!

PS… To my dear Dysfunctional Sibling, syrusfanatic12…honey, you need to re-enable your ability to receive private messages!