Chapter XIV: Visitors and Vultures
Hello again, dear readers and fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! I am horribly sorry for keeping all of you waiting, but alas, my hard drive died an untimely death. This meant that I had to work with my collaborator on other tales, 15animefreak15, to reconstruct what we lost together. All that said, everything will continue; I can only hope and pray we'll get everything going at a quick pace. So, onto the latest chapter of Whisper!
Last time, Yugi got a set of visitors that forced his possible sister to face her demons. The three young men who once worked for a shadowy organization also revealed that they had dark moments, too. The DOOM boys were able to stay with the group and offer moral support. So what will happen now? Read on!
Disclaimer: Clearly, if I owned the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, things would be different. That said, I don't own it. I just play in the universe and flesh out the characters in different ways. Thank you!
Author's note: I have combined aspects of the sub-verse, dub-verse and manga-verse in this chapter regarding Arkana. Also, this chapter introduces Rex Raptor's past and has him break with Weevil Underwood. I've read Rex as a kid who's been guided down the wrong path as sometimes happens when a friend tries to make you do something you know is wrong. I'd like to give special thanks and late birthday wishes to my friend and co-author on other projects, 15animefreak15, who suggested some things about Rex's past, seeing the boy as trying to please a person he called friend. I hope you don't mind this change, everyone. Thank you!
The test results for Mai, Yugi and Solomon were not ready in the evening, but the lab promised that the results would be ready in the morning. And so the group, now a bit bigger, readied itself for another night in the hospital. "Would you three like some more comfortable clothes to sleep in?" Seto asked Valon, Alister and Rafael.
The three young men looked at each other, still a bit surprised at the generosity the gang was showing them. And then Rafael spoke for himself and his two friends. "Of course. Thank you, Seto." Seto nodded and sent Roland out to the local mall to get some comfortable clothing in their sizes.
When the security man left, Max Pegasus leaned forward a little in his chair. "So have you boys been wandering around ever since Dartz was defeated?"
All three young men nodded. Valon sighed. "I thought I'd just take some time to see the world, and I have. I stayed at the beach house for a while and then decided to go on vacation. One advantage of workin' for Paradius is that you get paid well, and I didn't go through everything. I probably never will," he explained. "So I've been travelin' and I came back here and heard what happened to you, Yugi. I'm not sure what brought me here, but Sister Zita told me that sometimes God sends us places we need to be. I guess this was one of those times."
Kisara nodded in understanding. "Sister Zita was very wise. I think you all needed to know you weren't alone in what you've felt and you found a way to make amends for what happened. And I think you did need to be here. When Roland gets back, you boys can get in something comfortable." And Roland returned very quickly with pairs of very nice sweats. "Thanks, Roland," the young doctor smiled.
"No problem, Kisara," he answered politely. The former members of Paradius got comfortable in their new clothing and sat down.
"So, who else are you going to see, Yugi?" Seto asked curiously.
Yugi looked through the notebook the white-blonde doctor had provided him. "There's so many people… The Roba family… hey, Arkana?!" he yelped, pointing at the picture of a man in a small blue mask covering his face from just below the eyes to the top of the forehead. He was dressed in a simple blue t-shirt and jeans instead of the flamboyant costume Yugi had last seen the illusionist in. And with him was a very pretty petite blonde woman. "That has to be his fiancée! He thought he lost her forever!"
Marik looked entranced by the photograph of his former henchman with a very pretty woman. "He loved her so much, and I almost kept them apart forever. But he was in the psychiatric ward after what happened. And they're planning to get married soon. But they can tell you all of their plans when you see them…"
"I won't keep them waiting!" Yugi grinned. "Kisara? Can they come in?"
"Of course," she answered, as it was only 7 in the evening. And Arkana and his fiancée came to see the King of Games.
Catherine was not only lovely in face and form; she was also a lovely human being. She took time to get to know about all the gang and the young man whom had saved her love. "The truth is I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Arkana again, but when I saw the names of people who participated in Battle City and saw he was in the psych ward, I had to see if he was okay. And when we saw each other again, he begged my forgiveness for pushing me away."
"And I asked if we could start over," Arkana explained, a kind, soft smile on his face. "But she said, 'We can pick up where we left off, and I'll stand by you…' The doctors were pleased at my progress after that. I have to keep the mask on, due to the injuries but with more reconstructive surgeries, I may be able to take it off. And Yugi… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Even if you had freed my soul from the Shadow Realm…"
"Yeah," the King of Games answered, shivering, "you would've been dead because the dark energy disks would've… well… sliced you in half…"
"I sort of left out that little detail," Marik groaned. "But it didn't seem important at the time…"
"Well, you did make up for it," Yugi smiled.
"I'm glad you saved him, Yugi. You're such a nice boy," Catherine smiled sweetly, reaching out and ruffling his hair. "So how long are you going to be here?"
"At least a couple of weeks, Catherine. Kisara and Scout… Dr. Hammond and Dr. Rhodes, I mean… don't want me leaving until my hands are okay and the rest of me is okay. I…"
"You aren't alone, Yugi… I thought about it a couple of times in my life," Arkana admitted. "My mother died when I was a teenager and I felt very alone. I thought about it then, but briefly. And then when I pushed Catherine away as I did, I hated myself and wanted to end it. But then Marik found me and I didn't follow through. When I woke up in the psych ward after our duel, Yugi, the doctors and nurses had to stop me from trying again. They put me into counseling and then, one day, Catherine came. I was glad I hadn't succeeded in my attempts," he finished, squeezing his bride-to-be's hand. "Now, my world is better."
Arkana and Catherine stayed for a little bit longer and then left. They were to be the last visitors of the day, but unfortunately, some uninvited guests had other plans. At 9 PM, two men and two women in denim shorts and t-shirts walked into the hospital through a side door. "We'll get paid well for these shots… It'll be a worldwide exclusive!" one of the men, a young guy with hair dyed green grinned.
"Yeah, the King of Games' Final Days! Or The King of Games' Fragile State! We can edit the image to make it look like he's dying!" a young woman with red hair, freckles and green eyes added eagerly. "We'll sell 5 million copies!"
The other two in the group, a small Asian woman and a blonde man with green eyes held cameras. They were ready to sneak in and start snapping shots that would earn them a lot of money. However on this night, they'd have to find other celebrities to photograph. As they came down the hall, Kisara came out of the huge hospital room. "Excuse me," she asked, "do you have clearance to be here?"
"Are you Dr. Hammond?" the young redheaded woman asked clearly.
"Who's asking?" Kisara asked, eyes narrowing. "And why are you here?"
"We're here to see Yugi Muto, and talk to him… So if you'll let us through," the green-haired man tried, moving to go past the doctor. At the same time, the small Asian woman moved to get to Yugi's room. That, perhaps, was an error.
"Security!" Kisara launched herself at the photographer who made a dash for Yugi's room. She was well-versed in self-defense techniques as well as certain martial arts and now used said abilities to deliver a defensive kick to the Asian woman's solar plexus. "Now, are you going to leave quietly?" she asked as the hospital security personnel showed up to grab the paparazzi.
The paparazzi, realizing they were badly outmatched, left without a fight. "Dr. Hammond, are you all right?" Dr. Bailey asked, running up to the teen. "And aren't you supposed to be off-duty?"
"Yes, ma'am, I am off-duty… I just don't want to leave my patients or my new friends," the girl admitted. "Please don't make me leave the premises."
"Kisara, you're worn out," the surgeon stated. "Dr. Rhodes has gone home to be with her family and you are going to take a rest. Now, you can go sleep in the crash room, in the family relief area, or you can head home. But you are getting a good long rest, understood?"
"I'll make sure she gets the rest she needs, Doctor Bailey," Seto Kaiba stated, stepping out from the hospital room, looking serious. "You said something about a family relief area?"
Bailey nodded. "It's down the hall. Follow the signs and make sure she gets to sleep, Mr. Kaiba. She's been awake for too long…"
Seto nodded and took the young doctor by the shoulders, leading her. He followed the signs and soon found himself and Kisara in a large room with couches to sit on. "Is this the place?"
She nodded. "Yeah. There are individual rooms where people can sleep if they're here for long periods of time if they don't want to stay in rooms. I usually can't be here, but you heard Dr. Bailey…"
"I know… and you do look tired, Kisara. You're getting dark around the eyes," he observed, helping her to an unoccupied sleep area. This room had a single full-size bed. "Do you have a nightgown, Kisara..?" And then he couldn't speak for a moment because she had already begun stripping down, revealing herself. It wasn't out of any desire to arouse him, but simply habit of being in the coed physicians' locker room. She had a hospital-provided nightgown out and just wanted to get it on quickly. Seto looked away but his face pinked nicely. He had gotten a nice look at her before he looked away, only because he was stunned and now embarrassed that he'd looked as long as he had.
Kisara had gotten undressed and in her gown before she noticed the young man in the room with pink cheeks. "Oh my gosh! I… Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized, blue eyes wide with horror. "I didn't mean to… I mean… I'm in coed locker rooms!" she stammered.
Seto realized and smiled slightly, the equivalent of a sheepish grin to anyone else. "It's all right. Don't worry about it. You obviously weren't paying attention. Uh…" He wasn't sure how to say what he was honestly thinking about what he'd seen, but his emotions came through to her. He liked what he saw, but he also liked the young woman he was getting to know. "Why don't you get in bed and rest a while?" he asked, opening the twin bed for her.
She lay down sleepily and he gently tucked her in. "Thanks, Seto," she murmured. "You're so sweet…"
"Sweet dreams, Kisara," he answered as she drifted off. "Just sleep now… things'll be okay… And I'll up security around the hospital." He tiptoed out of the room, dialing his mobile phone as he walked back to Yugi and Joey's room.
"Is she sleeping, Seto?" Mokuba asked when his brother returned.
"Yeah, kid. She's just worn out," the elder Kaiba brother explained to the younger. "Now I see why you've gotten so ticked off at me when I work late."
Yugi grinned softly. "He tells you that you work too hard, Seto?"
The teen multibillionaire shrugged, tousling his brother's raven locks. "Yeah. Who else would tell me?"
The group talked for quite a while about nothing in particular and then Scout Rhodes came in to check on the patients. "Hmmm… Joey, you can get out of here tomorrow… We'll need to be sure where you're staying, but you're okay to get out of here," she smiled as she looked at the blonde young man's chart. And then she moved over to Yugi. "Hmmm… flex your fingers for me, Yugi, okay?"
Yugi tried and winced a little. "It hurts a bit, Dr. Rhodes…"
The dark-haired plump doctor gently inspected the young man's wrists, checking carefully for signs of infection or any other potential complications. "Hmmm… there's going to be some tenderness, Yugi, but it'll be okay. But can you feel my touch better today?"
"Yeah… that's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yes it is… that means your nerves are going to be okay, Yugi. You'll be able to duel fine again when you want to…" Everyone was happy about that, and soon it was time for bed.
"Liz," Seto whispered after Joey and Serenity had fallen asleep with most of the group, "did you say you wanted to have Joey live with you?"
"Yes, I did, Seto," she answered. "I've probably lost my job anyway. I've been gone too much from it this year with Serenity's surgery and everything… And I can't ask Joey to uproot from this city… And I can't leave him like this, either. He's eighteen, but he needs me…"
"Then… let me make it possible for you three to stay together," he offered. "I won't give you a handout, but I can give you a decent job with good benefits for you, Joey and Serenity. You'll have a nice place to live and the money to keep it up. You'll also have good retirement benefits, and Joey and Serenity will want for nothing. If anything… I'm also making up for how I treated Joey the past few years. He's a good guy and I treated him like dirt. I know he says it's okay now, but… I still need to make up for it."
Liz smiled in the low light of the room. "Seto… Joey told me a lot about you when Serenity was in surgery. And he was angry with you, but he did tell me he understood some things about you. Like why you were so angry and maybe why you took it out on him. He got angry with you because you shoved everyone away and they would've been glad to help you and Mokuba."
Seto considered that. 'All this time,' he thought, 'I did push all of them away. But they would've helped us… And they have… Even when I didn't deserve that compassion…' Out loud, he whispered, "We had a lot more in common than I realized. And… I think part of me was jealous. Joey had family and friends around him that he could trust without reservation. Knowing what I know now, I feel even worse that I treated him so badly."
"Sweetie," the older woman murmured, being the mother of this young man's friend instead of a subordinate, "he's forgiven you. And he's not angry with you anymore. He'll appreciate you doing this, but it's not necessary to make up to him with that." She moved over and put a motherly arm around the teen CEO. "You're friends now, and that's what matters."
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
The next morning, Kisara, well rested, came back into Yugi and Joey's room with a simple manila envelope. "Morning, everybody," she said cheerfully. "Solomon, Yugi, Mai, the results are ready. Do you want them read privately?"
The three violet-eyed individuals looked at each other and then shook their heads. "Everyone in this room is our family," Solomon stated gently. "So please, read the results, Kisara."
The young woman nodded and opened the envelope. She scanned the papers inside carefully and then took a deep breath. "According to this, it is 99.9 ad infinitum- likely that Solomon Muto is the paternal grandfather of Yugi Muto and Mai Valentine. Mai, Yugi, you are, according to these tests, related, and the evidence points to you being brother and sister."
Mai looked very stunned for a moment. While she had been expecting that the test would confirm her parentage, it was still a shock. But then she smiled. "I… actually have a grandpa and a little brother… I don't know what to say…"
Yugi threw his arms around her. "Welcome to the family, big sister. And again… sorry," he smiled and then groaned.
"Hey, we didn't do anything," the 21-year-old reminded her brother, tousling his spiky hair. "Um… Grandpa? You're okay with me dating Joey, right?"
Solomon looked happily at his granddaughter. "Of course I am, honey… You chose a good young man in Joey. And I know he won't disappoint you…"
Valon, sitting in one chair, was smiling too. "You got what you needed, Mai… You've got a real family now…"
Joey got up from his bed and strode over to the blue-eyed spiky-haired young man who'd been his rival for Mai's affections. "Well," he said, clapping a hand on Valon's shoulder, "you guys do too. Look, Raf's a decent guy, Alister was messed up and you were too. Somethin' tells me that if we'd met without the fighting, we might've been friends at the start. You and me are actually a lot alike…"
Valon nodded, smiling, remembering what Elizabeth had mentioned yesterday. "Yeah, I guess we are. So are you sayin'..?"
"You're part of the gang," Joey said with a smile. "And that means you're part of the family…"
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
The day wore on and Joey was discharged from the hospital as a patient. And Seto told the Wheelers that they were welcome to stay at the Kaiba mansion until such time as they were able to move into a decent house. And Yugi continued to receive visitors. He met the Roba brothers, and was pleased to hear that the family of boys was doing very well together. Mako Tsunami also was on the visitors' list, and was pleased to inform the group that in addition to fishing, he was also dating the pretty orca whale trainer he'd met at Ocean World.
But perhaps the most surprising visitor of the day was a young man with brown hair and lavender bangs, wearing a bright red beanie cap. "Hi, everybody," Rex Raptor greeted, seeming a bit unsure of himself. "Hi, Yugi…"
"Hey, Rex," Yugi greeted.
"C'mon and take a load off," Joey offered, pulling a chair for the small duelist.
Rex stood about as tall as Yugi and had been a champion in the game of Duel Monsters. He had lost a title or two and found himself rather alone in the world, except for another duelist named Weevil Underwood. The two boys had been inseparable, so to see one without the other now caused several raised eyebrows. "I guess you're all wondering why Weevil isn't here," he stated after the greetings were done. "We've parted ways…"
"But aren't you guys friends?" Téa asked, blue eyes wide with astonishment. "I mean… we've seen you guys together since before Duelist Kingdom."
"Well, that's changed," Rex admitted. "He was out there and wanted to get in here… He wanted to get at your deck, Yugi… And that's when I really had enough…"
Yugi, already sitting up, leaned slightly forward in surprise. "Rex? I don't understand… Why did you guys stop being friends?"
Rex sighed. "You really want to know?" he asked.
Joey, the last person in the group to duel the dinosaur duelist, nodded. "Yeah… Rex, listen, you seem like a decent guy. You've always played fair in your duels with me… We'd all like to know what went on…"
The dinosaur duelist sighed again. "Okay… it's a long story, but maybe it's time I told it. It doesn't start with Weevil; it really starts with my family…" And so Rex began his tale…
"Some of you are probably wondering what's made me the way I was and why I ended up following Weevil to the gates of Hell. There's no excuse for what I did, and I understand now why so many of my fans ditched me. I knew that stealing was wrong, and yet I went along with it. I knew hurting people was wrong, and yet I went along with that. Weevil said we could get power if we became top duelists again, and then with that Orichalcos card, and again with the Egyptian god cards. I went along with it, even though I knew it was wrong.
"I know this probably sounds clichéd, but I guess it starts off with how things were when I was a little kid. I got teased a lot and never had friends. And I wasn't the sort of son my dad wanted. I was… well, look at me! I'm not athletic, I'm just average in school, and I wasn't popular with anybody. I started playing Duel Monsters when I was 10 and then I got into tournaments. Suddenly, people started to know my name. I was a somebody. But even with that, I wasn't good enough for my dad. I still was too puny.
"'You're such a little runt and a weirdo,' he'd say. 'How do you expect to amount to anything playing a stupid card game?!' And I strived to prove him wrong. I know you're wondering where my mom was in all of this, but she's a corporate lawyer and her firm always has cases going on. Dad, though, works for the city as a garbage man. He makes good money, but Mom makes a lot more than him. I think he resents that Mom has the better job and maybe that's why he wanted me to be… better, I guess. But I kept dueling and getting fans…
"But even with my fans, I still had no friends. I was still lonely and laughed at. I was the Dino Dork. But that changed the day I met Weevil Underwood. We both were kids who'd never really had friends and after a really tough duel, we decided to talk. His parents are entomologists… They study bugs. I guess they didn't have a lot of time for him either, but they always made sure he was happy and gave him whatever he wanted. And they always told him he was a great kid, and if he got in trouble, they always fought the teacher until she gave in. So when I met him, I guess he hadn't heard the word no much…
"We got to be friends and I hung out with him a lot. We won duels together, played together and did a lot of stuff together. But there were times when we'd do stuff and I didn't want to do it. One of the dumbest things we ever did was get in that stupid bag and get on that chartered plane…"
Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Joey exchanged glances. "Wait a sec… were you guys in that big bag that none of us had?!" Joey yelped in shock. The three senior members of the former Paradius group also exchanged shocked glances but remained silent.
"Yeah," the dinosaur duelist groaned. "We thought it would be a couple of hours because you guys were only flying to San Francisco."
"Pegasus was worried, I guess, that something would happen to us, so he had the plane fly all the way up to Anchorage and land. We had an eight-hour layover and weren't allowed off the plane, and then we took off again at midnight Anchorage time, so we got to San Francisco about 6:30 the next morning," Yugi explained. "And then you guys found Duke, right?"
"Yeah and he saved our undeserving butts when a guy stole our wallets and his buddies were going to beat us up. Weevil asked me the same question my dad did when I was nervous about doing something… 'You're not a wimpy baby, are you?' And like I always did, I said, 'no way!' And then I went along with what Weevil wanted… All the way to the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship and then to trying to steal the god cards from you, Yugi. We grabbed the wrong bag, I guess and Bakura, you found us, I guess. It's kind of fuzzy, what happened after that," Rex said, clearly puzzled. "But after that, we kept hanging around and we met up outside the hospital the other day. He said, 'let's go into the hospital and try and Yugi's deck while he can't do anything.' And I guess that was my breaking point. I said no, and he got mad and called me a few names…
"But," Rex sighed, matter-of-factly, "this time, I told him I wasn't going to do anything. It's not right to kick a guy when he's down. So that's why I've done what I've done… And I've been a jerk and a disgrace to dueling… not because I lost, but because I did wrong when I knew full well it was wrong. Yugi, Joey… I learned from both of you and… I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did."
"Well, Rex-boy, sometimes the hardest thing is admitting that you did a bad thing, and you've done that," Max Pegasus stated kindly.
"And you don't expect us to forgive you, do you?" Tristan asked. When Rex confirmed that, the hazel-eyed boy grinned. "Well, we are forgiving you… and we'll be your friends, if that's all right."
And then Mai took a deep breath. "Rex… I owe you an apology for Duelist Kingdom. I was wrong on the boat and I was really wrong to use you like I did against Joey. I should've fought him myself. Can you forgive me?" she asked, moving over to him, holding out her hand.
He took it. "Of course…"
And then Seto looked up at the clock. "Hmmm… it's lunchtime… Rex, would you like to join us?" Rex liked it very much.
Well, so Yugi has a sister, and he has no doubt now he's made a difference in people's lives. And Rex and Arkana are putting their lives back together. So what will happen in our next chapter? Stay tuned, and hopefully the wait won't be as long this time! Thank you for reading, and until then, please read, review and stay tuned!