Chapter X: Sunbreak
Hi, dear readers! We're sure if Annie was a real person, she would greatly appreciate all of you hoping she'll be okay and Sy would appreciate it too. So thank you for all your reviews and welcome to the new people who are reviewing too! So onto what is going to be a long chapter.
Last time, Jaden, Sy and Zane headed to Camula's shadowy headquarters to save Alexis and Annie from the vampire's evil clutches. Jaden and Syrus dueled Camula, but Annie, knowing that the vampire wouldn't keep her word and free her and Alexis, summoned her strength and took down Camula. What Annie did nearly cost her own life. So what will the morning bring to our heroes? Read on!
Disclaimer: We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or its characters. Seriously, we don't. We just own our OCs, this Yugi-verse and whatever we do in it.
Authors' note: Some familiar faces are making their long-awaited appearance. Enjoy! We also assume that Chazz met Jesse Anderson at some point in his brief tenure at North Academy, so we hope you don't mind. Thanks!
A few hours later, at around nine in the morning, Rosa was the first to wake up. She yawned and looked around, not allowed out of bed quite yet. Rosa noticed that the room was kind of quiet, but quickly realized most of its occupants were waiting for Violet and Alexis to wake up. Luckily, half a minute later Violet did so, but had to remain lying down in her current state. She was about to say something when Alexis's sleeping form caught her eye, and she smiled. "Alexis!" she whispered happily.
Alexis stirred at this, and opened her eyes tiredly. "Just five more minutes, Mom," she mumbled.
"Lex...Babe, how are you feeling?" Jaden asked, his face relieved.
At the sound of Jaden's voice, Alexis roused herself as awake as she could muster at the moment. "Jay..? I'm feeling...tired. Very, very, VERY tired," she replied, a little agitated. Hey, you'd be grumpy too if you'd only gotten sixteen hours of sleep over the course of four days.
"I'm sorry, babe, I was just worried about you," the young man answered contritely.
Alexis sighed, rubbing her pounding forehead. "No, I'm sorry, Jay. It's just...those four days were hard, okay? Really hard..." Alexis remembered forcing her eyes to stay open, fearing Annie would die at every attack, trying to keep her calm and as comfortable as possible.
"You...you did great..." Jaden looked over the bed to Bastion and Tyson for their signal that the other two girls were awake.
Bastion noticed Violet awake. "Violet, darling...good morning, love..." His heart clenched, dreading telling her.
Violet smiled again. "Morning, Bastion-baby. Glad to have you back, Alexis! So, if she's here, where's Annie?" she asked eagerly. Violet guessed something had likely happened to her like it had to them, but had no idea on what scale it was.
"Violet...we need to wait for Rosa...all right?" Bastion hated not being able to just tell her, but knew it would be easier if they all found out at once. Bastion and Jaden, their eyes only for their fiancées, hadn't noticed that Rosa was awake. It didn't help that Tyson was snoring softly, his head on his fiancée's lap.
"Wait for me for what?" Rosa asked, stunning the gang in the room.
Tyson heard his fiancée's voice and woke up. "Rosa darlin'? How are you feelin'? Sorry I dozed off on duty..."
Rosa sweat-dropped. "Ay, no. Do not worry about it, Ty-Ty. Just...tell us what happened with Senorita Annie," she requested, looking around the room.
Zane swallowed. "Girls...Annie isn't doing too well...the last time we heard anything...she was really weak and unconscious. She was in critical condition, but she was stable at least...The doctor wasn't sure what was going to happen..."
Alexis groaned, falling back against the pillows at the news. She remembered how Annie had saved all of them, but probably didn't know she'd be putting herself at risk. Rosa's expression saddened as she placed a hand to her mouth, shocked at the news. Violet, however, took it the worst, just as Bastion had suspected. "No...not Annie," she whispered, tears burning at the back of her eyes.
"Violet..." Bastion took her hand. "She's still fighting...we have to believe in her...She transformed into Sailor Moon to save everyone..." Bastion swallowed, thinking of his surrogate sister and what she'd done. "She took down the vampire. She did something...and she'll be able to tell us about it...she has to be able to..."
She bit her bottom lip, desperately wanted to believe Bastion. It was just so hard to do so, seeing as how things had been going for them. The only ones that she knew would be even more worried were Annie's family and— "What about Sy?"
"Sy's with her," Zane answered. "He won't leave her...he wouldn't..."
Violet frowned. "If only I hadn't decided to throw that stupid party...maybe none of this would have happened," she muttered bitterly. Violet had been thinking on the idea for a while, having quite some time to do so in the trauma center. She felt that if everyone hadn't been gathered together in one place, maybe the villains wouldn't have tried kidnapping them all.
"No...Violet...don't," Jaden said. "That party was so much fun...it wasn't stupid. They would've found a way to get us anyway. And maybe we wouldn't have been able to find a way to get you back until it was too late. Annie loved that party..."
The purple-headed female sighed, guessing he was right and had a point. "I guess you're right...I'm still wondering how they even found out about it," she said.
"Er...I might know," stated Rosa quietly. She glanced around the room nervously, then sighed. "That day, at the museum...I thought I saw someone; someone following us and eavesdropping. I did not know it at first, but...I think it was Jorge. And he must have told the Shadow Riders," she explained, looking guiltily at her hands. If only she'd said something or gotten suspicious about the man following them, maybe they could have stopped him.
"Rosa...Spanish Rose...you couldn't have known," Tyson soothed, hugging her close. "It's gonna be all right..."
Rosa leaned into the hug, then felt her body tense up. "Not now...ay, ay, ay," she groaned as it relaxed again. Rosa cursed these muscle spasms that seemed to happen at the worst of times.
Tyson hugged her to him until the spasm passed. "Shh...it's gonna be okay...he would've tried somethin' later...he was that type of low-down varmint..."
She sighed. "At least the others would not have been hurt. A person from my past is the one to blame," Rosa muttered bitterly. If he hadn't been stalking them, he wouldn't have heard about the party, and wouldn't have been any help to Camula and Taniya.
"Rosa...Camula would've found out anyway...with or without Jorge," Jaden said. "She had freaky powers..."
"Si...you are right," Rosa replied. Now that they'd gotten the girls to stop blaming themselves, the others realized Alexis had fallen back asleep.
Violet blinked. "You think it's okay for her to miss breakfast? I mean, she doesn't exactly look good," she stated.
Scout, sitting in a chair, holding her youngest son, looked at Violet. "Honey, she needs the rest and we'll feed her when she wakes up...We'll get you two girls fed."
Violet shrugged. "Okay, just checking. I know I get pretty upset when I miss breakfast," she replied simply.
"Oh yes, we know from experience," muttered Barbara, sighing. Sometimes she wondered if the fact that a Haverbrook never lost their sense of humor was a bad thing.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the cardiac ward, Syrus Truesdale held Annie Hanson's hand. He hadn't moved since he'd come to the hospital room and his hand stayed clasped around that of his love. Her breathing had become more rhythmic and relaxed in the last hour, which the doctors thought was a good thing. He couldn't stop himself from yawning, bags having started to form under his eyes. "I have to stay awake...so that I'll know when you wake up...have to...stay awake," Syrus mumbled, eyelids drooping.
Annie, meanwhile, was coming back to herself. The last thing she clearly remembered was standing in the dark place and summoning the Silver Imperium Crystal. And then...nothing except looking into Sy's relieved face. She was now in a dark place but could feel a hand clasped around her own. She squeezed it.
Syrus had just allowed his eyes to close when he felt the squeeze, and they instantly snapped open. "A-Annie?! Can you hear me??" he asked, squeezing her hand back.
Annie squeezed again, opened her eyes and tried to talk, but all that came out was a low groan in her throat. Her mouth was very dry, too.
Sy couldn't help but smile at the sound, knowing that Annie was trying to talk. He looked around, but there were no orderlies, nurses, or doctors in sight. "Oh, man. What do I do? What do I do??"
She finally managed a word. "Wa--water..."
Syrus blinked. "Water? Oh, water! Uh..." He looked around again, then remembered that Kathy had brought him a glass about half an hour ago so he wouldn't get dehydrated. Syrus reached over and grabbed it, placing the glass to Annie's lips. "Here, Annie..."
Annie took a sip. "Sy...you're okay," she murmured, relieved.
"That's what I should be saying to you, Annie," he replied, tears of joy brimming his eyes. Syrus was so glad to hear her voice again, to hear her say his name.
"I...couldn't let her," Annie managed and then sank back into her pillows.
"Kill me? I know, Annie...you saved everyone. I just wish it hadn't made you like this..."
"I had to save you...I thought...I was...finished..."
He shook his head. "Annie, I told you...you can't give up. 'The duel's not over until the last card is drawn.' Recognize that?"
Annie nodded weakly. "Yugi said that and Jaden says it...I couldn't let you guys have your last cards be played...and I figured...if my last card was drawn...I'd rather it be drawn on my terms..."
Syrus smiled a little. "Well, it looks like that wasn't your last card, after all. And I'm so glad it wasn't. Annie, I...I'm not sure what I would have done if you'd...." His voice trailed off as he shook a little at the thought.
Annie was very weak still, but not too weak that she didn't notice her fiancé's pain. "Sy...honey, come here..." She held up her arms for a hug.
He hesitated for a moment because of her condition, but really needed this and finally accepted the hug invitation. "I was just...so afraid that I'd never hear your voice again...or hear you say my name...or see that beautiful smile of yours..."
Annie hugged him as best she could. "I was worried...I wouldn't see you one last time when we were in...wherever it is we were. Was...was Alexis okay?"
Syrus nodded against her. "Yeah, she just needs a lot of rest. She was really weak and her leg was numb for a while....Annie, I think we were in the Shadow Realm..."
"We were...I couldn't have transformed into Sailor Moon if we weren't..."
"How did you do that, anyway? I mean...I've never seen anyone become a duel monster before..."
Annie gave him a small smile. "I'm not sure, but Yugi did it..."
Syrus' eyes widened. "H-He did?!"
"Yeah..." she answered. "W-when he was stuck with his friends in the Capsule Monsters world...He merged with the Dark Magician. Professor Stein mentioned it in class."
"Oh...uh, I think I fell asleep when he went over that," Sy mumbled, sweat-dropping.
"I'm not surprised...Professor Stein is so...boring," she murmured with a weak smile.
"Even his voice is boring..."
Annie managed a weak laugh. "Yeah...he sounds like the teacher in Ferris Bueller, but much worse..."
Suddenly, Syrus realized the importance of Annie being awake. "Oh! I just realized, Annie!! We have to tell the others that you're up! I'd hate to know how worried Violet is right now...and in her condition," he explained, frowning.
"Violet?" Annie's voice shook. "Is...is she...? Sy...tell me..."
Syrus then remembered that none of the girls had known the others were kidnapped as well, and bit his bottom lip. "Well, uh, maybe I should tell you what's happened. You and Alexis weren't the only ones kidnapped. Taniya kidnapped Violet and Rosa's ex-fiancé kidnapped her—he was working with Camula," he began, and told her about the duels. How Rosa had been electrocuted, but was okay and just had involuntary muscle spasms. And then how Violet had gone through a "true Shadow Game" and gotten badly injured. "But she's gonna be okay, Annie. Really," he finished.
"Violet...Bastion took Taniya down..."
He nodded. "Yeah...Bastion was afraid Violet would be upset, but...he told us she said it was okay since if he hadn't done so...neither of them would be here."
"Good," she murmured, the weak smile still on her lips.
And then... "Annie, honey..." Kathy Hanson had been standing outside the door, listening. "Oh, thank God you're awake, sweetheart! We thought for a minute you were going to..." The mother came into the room and hugged Annie gently. "But you're awake...Syrus...are you okay?"
Syrus smiled a little. "Yeah, Kathy...now I am...now that I know Annie's awake..."
"Why don't I go tell everyone Annie's awake? You can stay with Annie that way, all right?"
"Okay...thanks!" he replied, gazing lovingly at Annie.
Kathy kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Daddy and Bobby are down at the cafeteria with the Haverbrooks. I'll run and tell them and then I'll tell your friends."
"Thanks, Mama," Annie said weakly.
"I'll be back," Kathy said, straightening. Then she moved around the bed and gave her future son-in-law a hug. "When it's okay, we'll have you take a nap, Sy..."
At her words, Syrus remembered how tired he was, but kept himself bright and awake for Annie. "All right..."
Annie held Sy's hand and closed her eyes, smiling. "Thank you, Lord," she whispered, glad her friends would be all right and that she'd been allowed to live.
Meanwhile, Kathy moved down the hall to the elevator and rode down to the cafeteria level. She got out and headed into where her husband, son and the Haverbrooks were sitting. "Mom?" Bobby Hanson asked, looking up from his breakfast.
Alex noticed his wife's expression as well. "Kathy, honey, what is it?" he asked. Barbara Haverbrook paused in cutting up Haylee's pancakes, and Bobby Haverbrook stopped to look at Kathy as well.
Alan looked as well. "Kathy?"
"Annie's awake...she's come out of it," Kathy said, the joy and relief visible in her face.
"Mom? She's...awake?" Bobby Hanson fought the urge to jump around and whoop.
A small smile came to Alex's face, his daughter was awake. "Oh, Kathy...that's wonderful!" he replied, standing to pull his wife into a hug.
"Syrus must be so relieved and—oh! Did you tell the other kids yet?" asked Barbara.
"I'm going up to tell them, Barbara," Kathy answered. "Syrus is exhausted but he's so happy...I'll go tell the kids..."
"And then you should get some breakfast, Kathy," Alan said.
"Sissa'll be really happy!" Haylee said.
Bobby grinned. "Let's just hope she doesn't get too excited and end up hurting herself more," he stated.
Barbara sighed. "Hopefully Bastion will stop that from happening."
Alan smiled. "I think Violet's learned some restraint..." Kathy smiled and headed out to the elevator and rode to the third floor. She strode to the room where the kids were and walked in. They all looked up.
The girls who were still awake had just gotten their breakfast, which today consisted of oatmeal and some fruit. "Hey, Kathy. Did...something happen?" asked Atticus since the others had all gone quiet. The Truesdales looked up as well. Zane found himself unable to even ask the question and Will put his arm around his oldest boy. For a second, Kathy couldn't speak.
"Kathy, if something's happened, good or bad, please tell us," stated Darla quietly.
Kathy smiled, tears coming in relief. "She's awake...Annie's awake. She's come out of it..."
Instantly, the entire room relaxed. Some let out sighs of relief while others couldn't help but whoop with joy. Atticus and Violet were one of these people, even though Violet's was visibly weaker. "ANNIE'S OKAY!!!" she exclaimed happily. Violet pumped her good arm into the air, sending her spoon flying to bounce off of Rosa's head and smack Tyson in the forehead.
Tyson, one of the whoopers, laughed, pulling the spoon off his forehead. "If this were the Ra Yellow mess hall, we'd be havin' a food fight!"
"Tyson Schwarzkopf Hassleberry...what is your major malfunction?" his father asked, Dean and Lily having flown in from Texas Monday and arrived at the girls' hospital room while Annie was waking up.
"Uh...it's what happens with the troops, Dad..."
Jaden, sitting by Alexis, was smiling. "She's okay...Annie's okay..."
Rosa sweat-dropped and sighed. "It is like desayuno at mi casa," she muttered in a blend of Spanish and English, rubbing her head.
Violet grinned sheepishly. "Sorry guys! I'm just so...so...HAPPY!!" she exclaimed again.
Alexis groaned and opened her eyes, sending a glare at the side of Violet's head. "Jay...what's with all the cheering and loud noise?" she mumbled tiredly.
"Babe...Annie's awake," he said, relief visible in his features.
Alexis' eyes snapped open, and she gave him a shocked look. "S-She is?!"
"Y-yeah...that's what her mom says..."
Kathy came over to Alexis's bed. "Alexis?"
The blonde young woman sat up to face the brown-haired woman, eyes wide. "Yeah?"
"Thank you for keeping Annie alive...you must've been so scared..."
Alexis turned her gaze to the sheets, frowning a little. "I was just doing what any friend would do...."
"You still kept her alive...and I think without you, she wouldn't have made it home..."
Alexis sighed. "I'm just glad she's okay..."
"And I'm glad you are, too...You get feeling better, honey..."
"I will. And I think I'll get back to doing that right now," Alexis said through a yawn, falling back onto the bed tiredly.
Jaden brushed his fiancée's bangs. "She's really okay, Kathy?" he asked, eyes haunted.
"She's awake, Jaden...that's a big improvement, honey. And you helped too...You did well," Kathy explained. "She's still got a way to go to be okay, but she's improved."
"It would've been better if Annie hadn't had to..."
"That's not your fault..."
Jaden sighed. "Can...we maybe see them later?"
Kathy looked over at Kisara. "Yeah, Jay...later," the white-blonde doctor answered, "but now, I think your best friend could use a little private time with his fiancée..." Jaden nodded in understanding.
"Chancellor Shepherd!" called a familiar voice.
"Dr. Crowler, excellent!" Shepherd said, standing from his seat and moving to the faculty member. "Are they with you?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" Crowler said cheerfully, entering the room.
"Who's with him??" asked Violet curiously. The other teens also held curious looks.
"Our new transfer students...Boys, come on in," Shepherd invited.
Four teens came into the room, looking determined and eager. They were an African-American with gray beads in his hair and a duel disk that looked a bit like a gun; a teen with a crocodile on his back and wearing a cowboy hat; a young man with spiky red hair, gray eyes and glasses wearing desert garb and a teen with blue hair and green eyes, wearing what looked like a modified Obelisk Blue uniform.
"Oh, no," Chazz groaned when he saw the bluenette. "Not you, Anderson..."
The young man with the blue hair and green eyes grinned and waved. "Hey, Chazz! Long time no see!!" he greeted happily.
Atticus looked from his brother to "Anderson" and back to his brother again. "Uh, bro? How do you know him??" he asked.
"He was at North Academy...and I went there to escape Jaden, not to meet his twin," Chazz groaned again.
"My twin?" Jaden asked, looking at the North Academy student.
"The name's Jesse Anderson. You must be Jaden Yuki! Chazz told me all about you at the academy," Jesse explained excitedly. By now the group from Duel Academy Central noticed he had a rather thick Southern accent.
While this exchange was going on, Violet had been staring at the student with the cowboy hat with wide eyes. He blinked. "Er, something wrong, Sheila?"
Violet blinked, then pointed. "Did you know you have a giant crocodile on your back?" she asked.
He sweat-dropped, grinning as he patted the crocodile. "'Course I did! I'm Jim Cook, and this here's Shirley," he greeted in a thick Australian accent. "Shirley" grunted her own greeting, and Violet couldn't help but giggle.
The African-American young man stepped forward, introducing himself. "Axel Brody, West Academy."
"Wait a minute, son...Are you any relationship to Martin Brody?" Dean Hassleberry asked.
"Yes, sir...and...you're General Hassleberry!" Axel saluted.
"No rank here, son...but your father was a good man," Dean said gently, remembering that Martin had been killed in action a few years previously.
"Thank you, sir," Axel said gratefully.
"Another Army brat, huh? Glad to meet you!" Tyson said, getting up and clapping the other teen on the shoulder. "Welcome to the platoon."
The boy with the desert garb moved forward. "I'm Adrian Gecko. I'm from East Academy," he said casually. Like the others, he shook hands and had an easy smile, but the group could tell he hid a keen intellect.
The four transfer boys had been told some of what had happened to the group of teens, but not everything. Of course, Jesse's curiosity was as profound as Jaden's. "Hey, so what happened to you three? Ya kinda look like you went through a tornado," he asked.
"Yeah...or a war," Axel added. "We were told something happened, but what did?"
Jaden sighed. "You guys might want to sit down...it's a long story..."
Fortunately there were a lot of seats and there was a lot of space in the room. So the new boys sat down. "Hold on, where are my manners! Jesse boy, I hope you've been enjoying your new friends?" Max Pegasus asked Jesse. The Industrial Illusions CEO had barely left the hospital since early Monday morning.
"Oh, hey Mr. Pegasus! Yeah, they're really great." Jesse replied, grinning. As if on cue, a small blue fox with four ears, red eyes, and a large Ruby on its tail appeared on his shoulder. Multiple eyes blinked in surprise.
"Hey, it's a duel spirit!" stated Violet, her Watapon appearing.
"Whoa! You have a duel spirit, too!" Jaden said as Winged Kuriboh appeared.
"Uh," Kathy said, trying to change gears.
"So...what happened?" Axel asked, trying to get the conversation back to what happened.
Bastion stepped in. "All right...I suppose I'd better fill you gents in..." And he did. "So, the girls have been tortured...And thank God Annie is awake...if she had slipped into a coma...it might have finished her..."
"But they always wake up in the movies," Jaden said.
"In real life, Jaden...it's a great deal different..."
Jesse's eyes were wide with surprise. "Wow...that's just terrible! To think there are people like that," he stated.
Jim sighed. "Unfortunately, Jesse, there are. But you blokes did a great job getting back at them! Good on ya!!" Violet couldn't help but giggle again.
"Thank you," Bastion answered. "Fortunately, there are now three less people like that in the world..."
"Yeah...you guys should've seen Annie and her duel spirit!" Jaden said.
"I wasn't there to see it, but her duel spirit is Usagi...y'know, Sailor Moon?" added Violet.
Jesse blinked in surprise. "I didn't know there were cards like that!"
Max looked up. "So she has the Moon Kingdom deck?"
Bastion looked up. "You know...oh, of course you'd know, Mr. Pegasus...she told us about her deck early on..."
"I figured there would be someone who would get the Moon Kingdom deck...When I got the rights to use the Sailor Moon characters, I figured someone would make a complete deck of it...she went looking for those cards, didn't she, Kathy?" he asked Annie's mother.
"Yeah. We went all over just to get those cards, and she loves them. She always did love Sailor Moon. And those cards are her friends..."
Violet grinned. "That's how all decks are! Even if you can't see duel spirits, the monsters are your friends because you put your heart into your deck. Isn't that what Yugi used to say?"
"He still says it...repeatedly," Kisara said drily.
Jesse's eyes went wide. "You...know Yugi Muto???"
Kisara and the kids nodded. "Holy..." Axel said.
"Whoa..." Adrian added.
"Well, you sure are lucky then," added Jim, grinning.
Suddenly, Violet abruptly changed the subject, like she always ended up doing. "Hey, I was wondering, who's that duel spirit that appeared before?" she asked Jesse.
He smiled as the small fox creature reappeared. "Oh, this is Ruby. She's one of the Crystal Beast monsters in my deck! What about you two?" Jesse asked Jaden and Violet.
It was her turn to smile as the Watapon appeared on her lap. "This is my Watapon!"
"Wow!" Jaden said. "This is Winged Kuriboh, and he's one of my duel spirits..."
"Hi, Jesse!" the Ojama brothers greeted, appearing.
"You remember me!" Ojama Yellow said cheerfully.
"Oh, great," Chazz groaned.
Jesse grinned. "'Course I remember you little guys! You been takin' care of Chazz like I asked you to, Ojama Yellow?" he replied.
"YUP!" the three chorused.
"See, I got my brothers back, Jesse!" Ojama Yellow grinned. "Chazz found 'em in the Graveyard..."
"Well, that's great. Glad you three are back together again," Jesse grinned happily.
The group talked, getting to know the four new students and then an hour later..."Kisara?" Yugi was standing in the doorway of the room along with Joey and Seto.
"Hey, guys," the young doctor greeted happily.
"Hey, babe," Seto said, giving his wife a kiss.
"Yugi! Hi!" Jaden said.
The teens greeted their heroes and friends happily. "Kisara told us what happened. You're not blaming yourself now, are you, Jaden?" Yugi asked in warning.
"No, sir...I won't...And I won't anymore," Jaden said with a determined look on his face.
The transfer students had been staring at the trio in awe, which Violet noticed and laughed. "Oh, these are some new friends of ours! Jesse Anderson, Jim Cook, Axel Brody, and Adrian Gecko!!" she explained, seeing their faces.
Joey grinned. "Hey! What's up?" he greeted easily.
"You're Joey," Axel said, sounding just a bit star struck. "You're tough."
Joey's grin broadened, and he puffed out his chest a bit. "Thanks, kid. But, my buddy Yugi's tough, too," he replied, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"I can't believe I'm actually in the same room with Yugi Muto!" stated Jesse, eyes filling with stars.
"You're Jesse, right? Pegasus has told me about you and your Crystal Beasts," Yugi said. It was at this moment that Kuriboh made an appearance. Kuriboh waved a happy green paw at his winged counterpart and each of them looked at Ruby Carbuncle.
"Bii!" greeted Ruby happily.
Jesse grinned. "Yep, Jesse Anderson. This here's Ruby! That's pretty neat how you both have a Kuriboh..."
"Yes, the Kuriboh seem to like us both, right, Jaden?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah...Winged Kuriboh's a good friend," Jaden grinned.
"I have to wear ear plugs because of my duel spirits," Chazz sighed. "They're annoying..."
"You know you love us, boss," the Ojamas said.
"Shut up," he growled back at them.
"Do they have issues?" Adrian wondered, knowing about duel spirits but not having seen his.
"They have something of a love-hate relationship, Adrian," Bastion explained.
"Yeah?"
"It's complicated..."
"My fire monsters and I are friends," Axel said. "I like them..."
"They should meet Private Annie's Guardian of Mars...she likes fire," Tyson offered.
"Or Jaden's Burstinatrix!" added Violet.
Atticus and Joey grinned. "Or my Red Eyes!!" they said in unison. They both blinked in surprise and looked at each other.
"You have a Red Eyes Black Dragon?!" asked Joey.
"Yeah...guess I forgot you had one, too," Atticus answered, grinning sheepishly.
"My goodness..." Kathy said. "I thought Annie just had a lot of imaginary friends when she was little. I guess I didn't realize she had a special talent..."
"So...how is everyone? You went through a true Shadow Duel, Bastion?" Seto asked.
Bastion nodded. "But Violet was the one dealt damage..."
Violet grinned sheepishly, waving her good arm. Well, it wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't broken like her left one. "Just for the record, I never want to see or be in another shadow game ever again if I can help it. They hurt...a lot."
Yugi cringed. He still remembered Battle City. "They definitely do..."
Joey nodded in agreement, also remembering Battle City. "But at least Bastion won. That's what really counts."
"Yeah," Seto added.
Max shifted guiltily, having played the Shadow Games for his own reasons. "That is what counts and that he fought for the right reasons. Each of you boys did, and if I may say...you girls are awfully lucky..."
Rosa grinned and hugged her fiancé. "I know," she replied.
Violet, unable to do the same, simply took her own fiancé's hand. "Wouldn't want anyone else," she added. Alexis, unfortunately, was still sleeping.
Jaden had a soft sort of smile on his face. "She's worth it...Darn it...Sy should be here with Annie..."
"Maybe you should go check on him, honey," Jayda said.
"But...I don't want to leave Lex," Jaden said softly.
Yugi looked at him. "It's okay...you need to check on him, too...she'll be fine for a few minutes..." Jaden nodded.
"Tell him 'hi' from all of us, Jay! And Annie, too!!" stated Violet, grinning.
Jaden nodded. "Thanks, guys..."
"Jaden, would you like an escort there?" Chancellor Shepherd asked. He was worried about the boy as was everyone else and hoped Jaden might open up to one of the new kids.
"I'll go with ya, Jay. Unless you wanted to go alone." Jesse offered, standing from his chair.
Jaden regarded Jesse for a moment. He felt a kinship with this other boy for some odd reason. "Sure...why not?" he answered.
"Great!" Jesse replied.
The two boys left, and Atticus grinned at his brother. "I can see why you thought they were twins, bro."
"Don't remind me," Chazz sighed, laughing a little.
Meanwhile, Jaden and Jesse walked toward the elevator. "So you're from North Academy?" Jaden asked.
"Yup! And let me tell ya, it's a lot colder up there than it is here." Jesse explained, grinning sheepishly.
"You don't sound like you're from up north, though," Jaden observed.
"Yeah, that's what everyone says. See, I was born and raised in Mississippi. But when I was ten, my dad was promoted at his job and we had to move all the way up north to Nova Scotia. So, I went to North Academy, but the accent still sticks," Jesse explained, smiling.
"So...wow! You went to Canada! Cool! What about your Crystal Beasts? Did Pegasus give them to you? Ruby's awfully cute!"
Ruby appeared at the compliment, rubbing against Jaden's cheek affectionately. Jesse grinned. "Looks like she likes ya, Jay. I was dueling in a tournament that Pegasus was attendin', and after I won he came up to me in secret. He had the Crystal Beasts with him, and said they reacted to me. Pegasus thought they wanted to be with me, so he gave 'em to me. The only one I don't have is Rainbow Dragon...it's my dream to add that card to my deck..."
Jaden grinned. "That's a cool dream! I think you'll get that card someday..."
"I sure hope so. Do you have a dream, Jaden?" the bluenette asked curiously.
Jaden thought a minute. "I want to be the next King of Games...but that's not all of it. Part of my dream is down the hall in that hospital room," he said as they waited for the elevator.
Jesse grinned as they finally got on the elevator. "Those are great dreams, too, Jay! I hope I can find the right girl someday, too..."
Jaden hit the button for the fourth floor. "Yeah...otherwise Mary Sue might get you..." he shuddered.
Jesse blinked. "Mary who??"
"You don't want to know...you really don't want to know...Lex, Violet and Rosa beat her up for...well...it's a long story," he said as the elevator opened onto the fourth floor.
"Well, you'll have to tell me that story later then, Jay. Maybe over dinner," Jesse replied as they walked down the hallway.
They headed down to the room and entered. "That'd be great, Jess. Maybe we'll all get pizza. Hey, Sy...Sy?" Jaden asked in a softer tone, seeing the smaller teen's head resting on Annie's bed.
Syrus had tried staying up to keep Annie company, but after an hour had dozed off and then fallen into a deep sleep. His head was using one arm as a pillow, free hand still holding Annie's. "Looks like the poor little guy was exhausted," whispered Jesse.
"Yeah...he barely slept when she was kidnapped...Kisara had to make him sleep at one point..." Jaden walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a blanket. "It's a good thing my mom works at this hospital...I know where stuff is," he whispered, placing it over his best friend's shoulders. The boys grabbed chairs and sat down. "You don't mind staying here for a bit, do you, Jesse? I don't want to leave Sy..."
"Nah, that's okay, Jay. I'm glad to keep you some company. So...what does your ma do?" he asked curiously.
"My mom's a kids' cancer doctor. How about yours?"
"My ma? Well, she's actually a housewife. Pa 'brings home the bacon'. He works at a manufacturin' company."
"Cool! My mom would say your mom's job is about as tough as hers..."
"Well, with three kids, I'm not surprised. I have a big brother, Joe, and a little sis, Milly. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Wow! Three? Cool...I'm an only child...I think Mom and Dad wanted more kids, but when I was little...something happened with Mom," Jaden shivered slightly. He remembered how sick his mother had gotten and how frightened he and his dad had been.
Jesse frowned in understanding. "I know what you mean. Ma and pa wanted more, too. But something happened to Ma when she had Milly. We almost lost my sis..."
Jaden looked at the other boy. "Was Milly okay?"
"She's a little thin and weaker than most kids, but she's gettin' better. Gonna turn seven next month!"
"Wow...And your mom's okay?"
"Yup. She came out of it fine, 'cept for the part about not havin' any more kids."
"I'm sorry that couldn't happen for your mom, but I'm glad she made it..." Then the brunette reached out and brushed Sy's fluffy blue hair. "It's okay, Sy..."
He stirred a little, but remained asleep. Jesse smiled. "You guys are really close, aren't you?"
"Yeah...he's like the little brother I never had. The day we met, we were friends right away. Bastion noticed..."
"Does he have any brothers or sisters?"
"Yeah...Zane Truesdale." Jaden looked at Jesse. "He's been in the pros..."
Jesse's eyes widened. "You mean THE Zane Truesdale?!"
"Yeah, that's him..."
"Wow...he sure is lucky to have such a great duelist as a brother. I'll bet Zane taught him a lot..."
Jaden swallowed. "Well...uh..."
Jesse frowned at Jaden's expression. "What?"
"They...kind of had trouble when they were kids. But they've really made up," Jaden explained. "It's complicated."
Jesse blinked, and was about to ask more when Syrus stirred again. He yawned and opened his eyes slightly, then quickly sat up when he realized that he'd been asleep. "Oh no, I fell asleep!"
"Sy, it's okay, you were tired," Jaden soothed. "We came down to check on you and Annie. Syrus Truesdale, Jesse Anderson. Jesse, Sy."
Syrus looked from Jaden to Jesse in surprise, but then smiled a little. "Oh, uh, hi," he greeted, shaking Jesse's hand.
"Hi! It's nice to meet ya, Syrus," the North Academy student replied happily.
"It's okay, Sy...Dr. Crowler brought him and three other guys from the other academies," Jaden explained.
"Really? Well, I can't wait to meet them. I think Kisara's gonna make me rest in a little while," Syrus explained, sighing.
"You could use some, Syrus," Jesse replied pointedly.
"Yeah...Sy, you look exhausted," Jaden said.
He might've said more, but Annie stirred. "Mmm..."
Syrus' attention instantly returned to her, as he took her hand again. "Annie, are you awake?" he asked.
Her blue eyes opened. "Hey, Sy..."
"Welcome back, Annie," Jaden said. "How are you feeling? We were all worried...No one more than Sy..."
Annie smiled at that. "I feel like you just attacked me with one of the Neo-Spacians...but I think I'm okay...Hey...who are you?" she asked, noticing the new visitor.
"Annie, his name's Jesse Anderson. He's one of four guys Dr. Crowler brought from the other four academies," Syrus explained.
Jesse waved. "Nice to meet ya, Annie. Glad you're feelin' better. Your friends told me about what happened..."
Annie held out her hand for him to shake. "Nice to meet you, Jesse...You sound like you're a southern boy...and who's this?" Ruby had jumped up on Annie's bed. "Is this your duel spirit?" she asked, petting the little creature.
"Bibi!" Ruby cheered happily.
Jesse grinned. "Yeah, her name's Ruby. Your duel spirit is Usagi, right?"
Usagi appeared at Annie's bedside. "Hello, Jesse...Yeah, I'm Usagi."
"Wow...that's cool, Annie! Hey, Sy, can you see duel spirits?" Jesse asked curiously.
Syrus nodded. "But I have to take off my glasses to see them clearly..."
Annie petted Ruby. "She's pretty...Sy, see if you can get one of your Roids to say hi."
"Yeah, Sy," Jaden added eagerly.
"You have Roids? I'd love to see one!" added Jesse.
Syrus blushed a little, this being only his second time. "Uh, Gyroid? Someone wants to meet you," he stated, pulling off his glasses.
"HI!" Gyroid said, making his appearance.
"Hi, Gyroid," Annie said.
Once again, Syrus nearly fell off his seat in surprise, but managed to stay on it. Jesse grinned. "Hi there, Gyroid! I'm Jesse and that there's Ruby," he greeted.
Ruby hopped back onto Jesse's shoulder and smiled at Gyroid. "Biii!"
"Nice to meet you, Jesse! And Ruby...wow, a Crystal Beast!" Gyroid said cheerfully. "Hi, Usagi!"
"Hi, Gyroid..." Usagi looked Jesse and Jaden over carefully. "You two seem very much alike..."
Jesse blinked and glanced at Jaden, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "That's what Chazz said, too," he muttered.
"Well, I think you guys are alike, too," agreed Syrus.
Jaden sighed, laughing a little as the larger duel spirits disappeared, leaving Ruby and Winged Kuriboh. "That's fun...You guys should've been at the academy, though...we just can't leave for school yet."
"Well, Chancellor Shepherd thought we might be able to cheer you guys up. Or...somethin' like that," Jesse replied, placing a hand to his chin in thought, mirroring a mannerism of Jaden's.
Syrus sighed inwardly. 'Yup. Just like twins,' he thought.
Jaden smiled. "Well, we're glad you're here...and heck...maybe we'll all duel each other! Sy, think you'd like to duel Jess?"
Syrus nodded. "Yeah, it'd be pretty cool. But I think if you two dueled it'd be even cooler!" he replied.
Jesse looked at Jaden again. "Really?" he asked.
"The Neo-Spacians versus the Crystal Beasts...that'd be fun!" Jaden grinned. "And then you should duel Annie...She beat Zane..."
"Jay...that was a fluke," Annie sighed.
"No it wasn't..."
"Yeah, it was...you creamed me, remember?"
Syrus sweat-dropped at the exchange. "Hey, guys, we'll all be here a while. There's plenty of time for Jesse to duel whoever he wants to. Not to mention duels with the other guys," he reminded them.
"Yeah, that'll be great," Jaden answered, regaining some of his usual spunk. "Annie...you could duel me and win..."
"Thanks, Jaden," Annie was getting sleepy again.
Syrus stifled a yawn, heavy bags still visible under his eyes. Jesse turned to Jaden. "If you two want to get some sleep, we can go..."
"Actually, I was just coming to get Sy," Kisara said, surprising the boys.
"Hi, Kisara," Jaden greeted. "Hey, guys," she greeted.
Behind her was Doctor Crowler. "I've come as reinforcements," he said in his usual stern tone.
"Uh...no need, teach!" Jaden said with a glance at Annie who had drifted off quickly. "So do we all go?"
"Actually, if you two boys wanted to spell Sy for a bit, that'd be great. Annie's parents and brother are going to freshen up and then they'll be in here about an hour. But Sy, you need some rest, honey..."
Then Annie woke abruptly. "Oh...Sy, I forgot something..."
Syrus turned back to her. "What is it, Annie??" he asked.
"Get my deck, okay?"
"Oh, okay. Uh...where is it?"
Kisara saw it on the nightstand. "Here it is. I told the nurses duelists need their decks with them at all times. Here, Annie."
Annie quickly got two cards from her deck. "Sy, take care of these cards for right now...Hand them back later...they're on loan," she said softly.
Syrus blinked in surprise. "But, why, Annie?"
"Gut feeling that you might need them, Sy..."
"Okay...I'll take good care of them, Annie!" Sy replied, smiling. He slid the cards into his deck for safe-keeping.
Annie finally fell asleep. "Poor girl...She'll be all right?" Dr. Crowler asked softly.
Kisara nodded. "As long as nothing else happens, she should be okay...She's going to have surgery, but she has to get stronger first."
"Syrus...how are you doing?" Dr. Crowler asked kindly.
The small bluenette turned to his professor, smiling a little but obviously in need of some sleep. "I'm doing okay, Dr. Crowler. Thanks for asking..."
"You fought well from what your brother tells me. Fighting a Shadow duel is no small feat..."
"Maybe, but...Jaden did all the damage to their Life Points and Annie was the one who saved us all..."
"But you fought and lived to tell the tale...you just didn't have the opportunity to do much dueling, did you?"
"Well...no...I guess not..." Syrus had only gotten in one turn.
"Then don't beat yourself up," Crowler said easily.
"Okay...you need rest, Sy," Kisara said. "Jaden, Jesse, you two can stay here and keep an eye on Annie if you'd like," she added as she helped Sy down from his chair.
Syrus frowned. "But," he started.
Jesse grinned. "Hey, don't worry, Sy! We'll watch her for you!!"
"Yeah...Sy...you can't help Annie if you get sick, okay?" Jaden soothed again.
Syrus sighed. "Okay," he muttered.
"Sy...just give yourself at least an hour..." Kisara said gently. "I know you want to be in there...but you're pushing too hard...Just go rest."
"He'll be back soon, Annie," Jaden said softly as Kisara led Sy away. Little did Jaden and the rest of the group in the hospital realize that the worst was yet to come.
Rather ominous note to end it on, right? But for now, Annie and the other girls are feeling some improvement and the boys are getting a little rest. So next time, join us for "Monster Hospital." So please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!