Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
*Rated M for Mature
Chapter 11 – Wednesday
"Do you have a problem with them dating?" Joey asked as he walked with Seto and Jaden through the school.
"Well…no, but…aren't they a bit too young for this sort of thing?" responded the troubled brunet.
"A bit. Their dates will probably seem more like going out with friends for the time being, though. They're far too shy to do anything else other than play video games and watch movies," said Joey upon reaching their classroom.
Seto sighed, still unsure of how he felt about the situation, even though his Puppy had covered every facet of the impending relationship between their siblings.
"All right, little man. I'll see you fourth period," said Seto giving Jaden a final hug. But when he pulled away, Jaden wouldn't let go.
"Stay," Jaden whined.
"I can't stay with you right now. I have to go to class."
"No!" the small boy protested. "You have to stay!"
Seto looked up at Joey, nonverbally asking him for help. The blond stepped in right away, taking Jaden away from Seto.
"Jaden, I'll be here," Joey said comfortingly. "And Papa will be back soon."
"Daddy's right, you know. I will be back." Seto turned and walked away, but for some reason, he really felt like he shouldn't.
After Seto left, Joey took Jaden into the classroom and set him on the floor, shutting the door behind them.
"Why didn't you want Papa to leave?" Joey asked the now timid Jaden.
"Because now the monster's gonna come."
"What monster? I don't know what you're talking about, Jaden." Joey really didn't like the sound of that.
"When Papa leaves, Aoi goes with him, and that means the monster will come get me," explained Jaden.
"But…aren't Yubel, Akai, and…Winged Kuriboh here to protect you?" The blond figured that this was the only way to get information from Jaden. He hoped it would work.
The small boy shook his head violently. "No. The monster's a dark monster. Yubel and Akai are dark, too, so they can't make him go away. And Winged Kuriboh's not strong enough to make him leave."
Joey felt like his breathing had become shallow. "Do you see this monster now?"
"No. But he's coming."
"What about his name? Do you know that?"
Jaden nodded. "It's Brron."
Bakura felt uneasy. And that was unusual, even for him.
"Are you all right, Bakura?" Ryou asked, noticing the strange expression on his lover's face.
"Fine," he replied. There was no reason to worry Ryou. Not now, anyway. But he couldn't help but think that something was coming…something dark.
Joey frowned when his laptop suddenly went out. Had it died? It had been fully charged, hadn't it?
"Jaden, do you mind if I put you down for a minute?"
Ever since Seto had left, Jaden had all but glued himself to the blond's person.
"No," came the muffled reply.
Sighing, Joey stood with Jaden so that he could plug his laptop in, but just as he was about to do so, the lights flickered…then went out.
Joey tightened his grip on Jaden when the small boy let out a whimper. It was starting to get really cold. The blond's instincts were telling him to get out of the room as soon as possible. He had to get to Seto!
Racing over to the door with Jaden in his arms, Joey turned the knob. But it wouldn't open! It was like it was locked! He couldn't get the door open!
Sinking to the floor, Joey pulled out his cell phone. He needed to call Seto! But as he opened it, he noticed that it was dead, too.
Bakura shot up from his seat in the middle of class and just…stood there.
"What are you doing, Bakura? Sit down!" hissed Ryou. The class was looking at them.
Soon, Marik stood along with Bakura, but a little more slowly. "Did you feel that?" he asked.
"Yes," Bakura replied shortly.
Seto looked over at them and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Just what the hell—
The lights flickered…and the energy in the room seemed to change. It was darker somehow.
"We need to get to Joey and Jaden, now!" ordered Bakura, bolting from the room. Seto and the others weren't far behind.
Joey didn't know what to do. He knew he needed to protect Jaden, but he didn't know how!
Both of them were scared out of their minds. The room had gotten darker, as if it had just hit midnight. The blond couldn't see a thing! But he could feel something's presence!
Sliding across the floor with Jaden in his arms, he moved more toward the center of the room. The pressure seemed to intensify the more he moved.
"Jaden," Joey whispered, holding the small boy firmly. He wouldn't let go. No matter what.
"What's going on, Bakura?" Seto snapped as they ran down the hall.
"Don't know. But we need to hurry," the former thief replied. "I think Joey and Jaden might be in trouble."
The brunet didn't have to hear that twice. He bolted past them, leaving Bakura, Ryou, Marik, Malik, Yugi, and Yami in his dust.
"Wait for us!" Yugi called out.
A witch-like cackle sounded in the room. It was so loud that Jaden covered his ears.
"Give me the boy," demanded a high-pitched voice.
"No!" Joey shouted into the darkness.
"If you won't give him to me willingly, then I'll take him by force!" the voice screamed.
Seto reached the door just in time to hear something similar to an explosion. It sounded like all the glass had just detonated.
"Joey?" Seto called as he twisted the doorknob. It wouldn't open. "Shit! Joey? Jaden? Answer me!"
"What happened?" panted Yami.
"I can't get the damn door open. Stand back!" Seto commanded. When they did so, he rammed himself into the door.
By the time he did it a third time, it burst open. And when it did, a flash of light seemed to flood the room as well, dispelling all of the darkness that had been there.
When everyone could see clearly again, they saw Joey lying in a heap on the floor, Jaden held firmly in his arms, and glass spewed all around them. All of the windows in the room had shattered.
Seto felt his heart constrict painfully. "Joey! Jaden!" he gasped. He sprinted across the room and knelt beside them. His hand shook as he stroked the blond's face.
Joey groaned and gradually opened his eyes. "Seto?"
"Puppy, you're okay!" Seto exclaimed, happy tears in his eyes.
"Papa?"
"Come here, Jaden," said Seto, opening his arms to him. But Joey wouldn't let him go.
"Puppy, let me take Jaden and then we'll get the two of you out of here, okay? It's not safe."
"I'm not letting him go," Joey stated firmly.
"What happened in here?" cried Yugi. The others had finally gone into the room.
"Daddy, Papa can take me. Aoi made the monster go away," said Jaden.
Joey looked down at Jaden, feeling quite helpless. He couldn't protect him. It hurt knowing that he couldn't protect him. The blond reluctantly handed Jaden to Seto.
"What monster? What is he talking about?" Seto questioned.
"A dark Duel Spirit is after Jaden," answered Joey as he tried standing up. He felt dizzy. "His name is Brron."
"What? Why is something coming after Jaden?" the brunet implored.
"I don't know," replied the blond. He placed a hand to his head. It felt like he was getting dizzier.
"Puppy!" Seto cried as Joey started to collapse. He caught him before he fell, but just barely. His Puppy was out cold.
Bakura and Marik ran over and relieved Seto of Joey. The former thief then lifted the blond, saying, "You should take them home. We'll sort everything out later."
Seto nodded and pulled out his cell phone to call his driver.
Twenty minutes later, he loaded Jaden and Joey into the limo. The blond had yet to wake up.
"Kaiba, I just want to let you know that we're going to do all that we can to figure out what's going on," stated Yami. "We'll call you if we find anything."
"Thank you," replied Seto before slipping into the limo. He pulled Jaden into his lap and rested Joey's head on his leg.
"Is Daddy gonna be okay?" asked Jaden worriedly.
"I hope so, Jaden. I hope so." But the brunet was extremely puzzled. This incident had happened so suddenly! And he couldn't help but think that it was all going to get a lot worse.
End Chapter
