Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 9

Attack

"My name is Jesse, Your Highness" the boy says, smiling at me despite the puzzled look on my face. "It's sure good to have you back."

I nod once, unable to reply, and the boy frowns.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

This time, I can only shake my head, because I don't remember him.

Or do I? It's true that I cannot ever recall meeting him or even hearing his name, but there's something about those eyes that does somehow seem familiar. In my mind, I can see them, like in the way you can see a memory in your head. The angle of them is odd in my mind, however, almost as if he is above me, looking down at me, and very close. I wonder just how close we were once.

He nods back at me in acknowledgement before saying "the great thing about those old times, Your Highness, is that you can start fresh now."

I don't know how to reply because this one seems ... well, different to the rest of them. He talks to me as if I was actually a friend rather than a king, and I wonder if I knew him very well, better than any of the others, back when I used to truly be the ruler of this world.

"Sorry, but how did I know you?" I ask him plainly, sure by now that he'll answer – the people here seem almost afraid not to.

There is a pause and a worried expression on his face before he tells me, in so quiet a voice that I can barely hear him, that we were once everything to each other.

Instantaneously there is a lump in my throat and I look away from him, keeping my eyes on the floor, because I know what this means – we were together in some personal way, though I don't know exactly how, and for the moment I don't even want to know. We could have been best friends, brothers, lovers, anything...

I am about to excuse myself and head back to my private chambers – for although he seems friendly and kind, Jesse makes me uneasy and highly uncomfortable – but before I can say as much, there is an almighty crash from somewhere above us and the entire castle seems to shake with the force of it. It hardly takes a genius – and trust me, a genius I am not – to realise that something has hit the castle, and hit it hard.

The room around us shakes and the three of us stumble, trying to keep our footing; we manage. From above us, I can hear people yelling and screaming and the thunderous clatter of running footsteps. I turn to Chazz and ask him what the hell just happened and he turns to me with an expression of hatred and fury.

"It's the rebel army!" he shouts, needing to raise his voice to be heard above the noise. "Another of their attacks!"

"We have to get up there and see what's going on!" Jesse shouts, and the three of us all run out – I can't help but note that the two move protectively either side of me, and whenever we turn a corner they try valiantly to put themselves between me and the potential danger lurking. We don't run into anyone, however, until we reach what I assume is one of the main halls. In this room there are various people gathered, some of whom I recognise from earlier and some of whom are clearly servants.

"Is the king alright?" Bastian asks, to which I nod before anyone else can answer for me.

"What's going on?" I demand, reasoning that, if they see me as a king, they'll answer me; I am right.

"We were hit by the rebel army's canons. They've destroyed part of the back wall and the whole of the third meeting room's gone, but Hasselberry's got them on the retreat" Jim tells me.

"Wait, who are the rebel army?" I ask, not really understanding. "What do they want?"

I am so confused. We have been attacked by a rebel army that I have never heard of and I still remember nothing more than a glimpse of green eyes above me, and that isn't helpful at this time.

"They're part of the rebels organised under the runaway rebellion. The rebellion is out to end your rule, Your Highness, and take over Dark World" Jim explains. "They won't run it like you did, though – they'll abuse the people and kill thousands."

"But why are they attacking now?" Bastian demands – well, at least I'm not the only one wondering what's going on.

Jim opens his mouth to begin explaining but a voice interrupts: "They must know that the king's back."

We all turn to look at the person who has just entered the room – it takes me a minute to put a name to the face, but I eventually remember that his name is Aster. Behind him is his companion, whose name, I think, is Zane.

"If they've figured out that he's back, it's likely they'll attack before he remembers anything" Aster tells us. "If they can get him before he can fight back, we don't stand a chance."

"Why are they after me?" I gasp.

"Because you're the king of this world. You're the only one powerful enough to stop the rebellion. If you're gone, they can take over."

Me, powerful enough to crush an entire rebellion? I truly think they've got the wrong guy. But all this has been so overwhelming that, combined with the force of another hit to the castle which topples me to the ground, I can't take any more. I've had too much information in one day, too many new faces and now an attack on top of that, and although I am still desperate to remember everything, the small memory of those green eyes above me is somehow physically fatiguing.

My mind has been pushed to and beyond its limits, and my body can't handle the mental stress.

I hear the shouts of those around me as I faint, my eyes closing and slipping me into the blissful, quiet world of unconsciousness.

Please R&R