Hey! I'm back! ^_^ I hope I haven't been keeping you guys too long with the waiting. Review Replies?

1supergirl4- I'm glad you're glad, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the review! ^_^

Leo112- Shadow Magic? Well, maybe... I don't know... Or do I? Kukuku...

NinjaSheik- Glad you like it! ^_^

Fyasha- I'm glad you like it so much. ^_^

Drachegirl14- Thanks, I'm glad you think that the Characters are IC and that the story's AU without being AU. Mel with Jace/Yusei/someone else? You'll have to wait and see, sorry. Thanks for reviewing though! ^_^

jory014- I'm glad you find it interesting, and as for it being a YuseiOC fic, like I told Drachegirl14, you'll just have to wait and see for the pairing(s). Sorry. Thanks for the review though! ^_^

Thank you for the reviews, I always appreciate them! ^_^ Here's the chappie!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's

"What's going on?"

"…"

"This isn't funny you little brat! What are you doing?"

"…"

"What the hell do you think you're…?"

"Kukuku… It's Game Time."

Chapter 24: The Institute (Part 3)

When There's An Accident…

"You're late." The teacher didn't bother looking up to address Ryuzaki, Alice, Bella and Jace. "Take your seats- they're still open if you recall." The girls moved for their seats, but Jace hesitated. There was a little blonde girl sitting in his old seat; looking around at the class a bit frightened, eyes like a cornered animal.

"I thought I said sit down?" The teacher snapped, looking up and spying Jace for the first time. He gave the teacher a smile.

"I would've done so in the first place Ma'am," He replied sweetly. "But it seems that you have already placed a new student in my old seat." She sighed, and scanned the room quickly, not noticing the blonde girl sinking down into her chair.

"Take a seat behind Allison then." The teacher waved him off. Jace shrugged and made his way to his seat, slouching as he sat down, the teacher picking up the lesson once more.

They were about a half hour into the lesson when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," The teacher called stiffly, and the door knob turned, the door opening.

Jace paled, seeing who had entered, and shrunk down in his seat, knowing full well that Alice couldn't hide him from view. But he didn't want them to ask for him. Not now. Mel would never forgive him if he went now. Just a little longer- just long enough for her to get here!

"Rowena Heartland," Jarvis asked, and Jace let out a sigh. "It's time for your… lesson." The class let out a simultaneous flinch, and the shivering blonde girl that had been in Jace's seat slowly stood up and made her way to the door. She gave the class a mournful look, like saying she would rather be learning this than going for her lesson.

Jace let out a sigh, and Alice turned her head slightly, smirking.

"Close one, huh?" She murmured under her breath, and Jace gave a soundless laugh.

"You have no idea."

X.x.X.x.X

"So, what's your problem with Akiza?" Crow asked, leaning against the outer wall of the hospital. Mel had vehemently refused to go inside the hospital, and Crow had elected to stay outside with her. They didn't have any trouble with the few Security officers that passed by; Mel was part of the Tops and she was allowed to have friends in New Domino City, even if they were from the Satellite as long as she kept an eye on them. Even though, right now, it was more like Crow was keeping an eye on her.

Which he was. Mel had an impulsive streak, and it was obvious that she would rather be making her way to The Institute right now and rescuing Jace rather than be helping Akiza.

"Izayoi?" Mel looked up, startled. She had been completely zoned out, and had apparently only caught the tail end of Crow's question. "What about her?"

"Why don't you like her?" Crow asked once more. "And don't try telling me that you don't, because it's obvious that you don't." Mel shook her head.

"I wasn't going to." Mel gave a faint laugh. "But, look; it's personal." Crow studied Mel for a moment before reaching his own conclusion.

"It has something to do with The Institute, doesn't it?" Crow voiced his guess, and Mel froze. She turned her head down and her body started trembling and Mel clenched her hands into fists to try to stop the shaking; it didn't work.

Just as she started speaking, the doors to the hospital opened and outpoured the crew that had been inside. But Mel took no notice and spoke, letting the whole group hear.

"I was a month or two past my tenth birthday when I had been taken to The Institute." Mel was talking to Crow, seemingly oblivious to the others who had come out and were now listening to the story intently.

"Izayoi arrived a week or so later; the older students thought it so odd… New students either showed up in groups or singles, at the same time." Mel went on. "But never so close… It was a bad sign for us. That meant one of the older kids was going to go, or one of the younger ones."

Mel sighed, and a tear hit the asphalt.

"We were just lucky that it wasn't someone anybody was terribly close too. It was a new girl; she had only been in The Institute for a month." Mel stifled a sob, and fought to keep her voice steady. "We all were so relieved, yet we felt awful. We were happy a girl died just so we could live a little while longer."

There were muted gasps. Died? So the girl died just so Akiza could be in The Institute? That was barbaric! What kind of person would do such a thing?

"We were there for a few months." Mel continued, her voice shaking a little. "I made friends. I met Jace. Moriah. Others in The Institute that could stand me. Izayoi… We were friends at a time to. We made our own little family. A family that stuck together." The last words were a growl.

"Something changed?" Crow inquired; it appeared he hadn't noticed the group yet either. A few more tears fell from Mel's cheeks, and one was sliding down her nose.

"It was the eighth month we were at The Institute." Mel said. "Apparently the Arcadia Movement likes to come around and take kids from The Institute. It is the kids' choice on whether or not we go, but a lot of us choose to stay in The Institute rather than go with Arcadia. The little makeshift family that we had always stuck together as well. It had been at The Institute for a little while before I got there. Family doesn't leave anybody behind, family sticks together. But apparently somebody didn't know that."

"It was safer with Arcadia than The Institute." Akiza spoke up from behind the pair. Crow jumped, but Mel merely swiped a hand over her face and turned to face the group. "I thought you would be jumping to be safe." Mel glared.

"Divine's an ass." Mel responded. "At least at The Institute I had the comfort of knowing that they wouldn't be getting rid of me, as unique as I was. Unlike you, who they had others like." The two girls were glaring at each other.

"At least I wasn't stupid enough to get so attached to kids who may die the next day." Akiza shot back. "As it is, it seems as if Jace is going to be the next to go, isn't he?"

Mel lunged for Akiza, but Crow snagged her arms and yanked her back. She fell to her knees, sobbing, and Crow looked at her with disgust. Before anybody could say anything, the sound of a motorcycle roaring up burst into existence.

It was Moriah.

"Mel?" She slid off the blue Duel Runner, looking at her sobbing friend and her eyes laid on Akiza.

"Akiza." Her tone was neither friendly nor rude. "How pleasant." Akiza scoffed, and Moriah turned her attention to the rest of the group.

"So I take it you know about The Institute." It wasn't a question, nor was it meant to be taken as one. The only real sound coming from between the group and Moriah was Mel's subsiding hiccups.

After a few moments, Mel had calmed herself enough and stood, Crow keeping a hand on her shoulder. Whether it was to steady her, or of fear of Mel attacking Akiza, they didn't know. Instead of sad chocolate eyes, they were all faced with furious ones, that seemed to be demanding retribution.

"What did you want Moriah?" Mel asked, her tone relatively calm for someone who looked like they were ready to rip someone's throat out.

"I came to tell you that we have to go now." Moriah's tone was serious. "We only have a few hours before they get tired of waiting and get rid of Jaclynn." There was no elaborating on who 'they' were. It was obvious.

"Let's go then." Mel said, making her way to stand by Moriah, shrugging off Crow's hand.

"Hey, I'm going with you!" Crow protested, making his way with the two girls.

"I'm going as well." Yusei announced, and Jack shrugged.

"I guess I will too," He sighed.

"I wanna go to!" Leo was bouncing up and down on his feet. Mel looked at Leo, and his twin sister, Luna. After a moment's hesitation, she made her decision.

"No." She determined. "You'll stay here with Yanagi and Tanner. We don't want anybody there to get their hands on you." The twins' faces faltered, but they didn't protest.

"I'm going as well." Akiza announced, and everybody turned and looked at her with varying looks of surprise, shock, and/or disgust.

Mel glared at Akiza and made to open her mouth, but Moriah beat her to it.

"Why should we trust you?" Moriah asked. "After all, unless my… skills are faulty, aren't you the one that made the snide comment about Jaclynn?" Akiza seemed to recoil, but Moriah took no heed as she continued.

"I can give you some leeway though." Moriah continued. "Let's duel. If you win, we'll take you with us. If I win, you stay behind with the twins."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the 'we' Moriah was talking about was her and Mel.

"Alright," Akiza consented. "However, no tricks." Moriah gave an innocent smile.

"Whoever said there are going to be tricks?" Innocence rolled off Moriah's tongue as she pulled her own deck out of her holster and accepted Luna's duel disk to use.

"Duel!"

X.x.X.x.X

Tension was building throughout The Institute. Rumors were being gossiped by everybody, and one strain was floating through them all. No one knew who started it, but one rumor was that the Seers had.

Yet, despite all that, they all knew one thing was coming. The one thing that they had been waiting, weeks, if not months or years for. The time…

The time for them to all go home.

The time that was coming…

…

…

…

It's Game Time.

X.x.X.x.X

And we have some refrences from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! *Spazzes Out* Sorry. I've been reading alot of original Yu-Gi-Oh stuff lately.

Next Chapter will be an interlude for Moriah and Akiza's duel, and the Chapter after that will be (hopefully...) the answer to the end of this chapter. ^_^

Kukuku... Read and Review...

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~