WARNING:
This is kind of a long chapter, with A LOT of information. Lots of little details that can play a huge role in the overall plot.
I was going to make this two different chapters, but I've been mad busy lately, and I didn't know when I'd be updating next.
So, this is my treat for you. A pretty long chapter to keep you guys entertained for a while.
Hope you enjoy!
Reviews and love is always appreciated!
- Love, Ahron
To no surprise, almost everyone on Jacob and Lola's street was outside looking up at the ashes. All down Rummy Road, the Wheeler's neighbors halted their lives and rang up their relatives while still in hair-curlers and slippers. Mrs. Beale had at least ten kids running around while she yelled into her phone about the "horror" she knew nothing of, telling her relatives the whole play-by-play of watching the smoke in the sky. A few younger kids circled on their bikes, hyping up the story as if they had witnessed the whole thing- something about how they were only upset it wasn't the school that got hit. Surely, the Ngai family that lived next door to them were making up government conspiracies about it already.
It didn't matter how tragic it may or may not have been, something happened that hadn't happened before. And people wanted to talk about it.
Jacob noticed that Joey's truck was not in the driveway as he pulled in. He bit his lip then. Joey must have been out still looking for Lola in all this mess, when really Jake needed him home. He wasn't an adult... yet- if he grows up, that is. Not everyone lives to grow up. And Jacob was sure right then and there that he wasn't one of them. He couldn't take care of all these people in his car! He wasn't even sure if they were all allowed to be his house. Did he have that kind of authority even? He didn't pay any bills. Mom used to get furious when company came over unannounced.
He quickly undid every lock on the door and trafficked everyone into the small condo. The entrance was a small patch of tile not even big enough to squeeze four people onto, littered with shoes and umbrellas. Directly in front of them was the staircase, and taking one small step from the entrance placed them into the quaint, green-themed living room where the TV was already streaming the news loudly.
"Indeed its, Masaru. For your traffic report, there will be major delays for anyone heading into central Dominno. Due to the fire and smoke drift, police are not allowing anyone access to Spade's Street, Mahjong Avenue or Queen's Avenue where Millennium Hall is still burning. Traffic is currently being diverted, but as you can see, it's nearly bumper-to-bumper out here and it is advised that drivers exit onto Baccarat Boulevard instead of taking route nine into central Domino."
Not a word was said. No eye had blinked. Everyone slipped off their shoes softly and came in as if waiting to be ambushed at any moment from anywhere. They looked around at everything so dimly lit but for the grey-haired Grandmother Wheeler asleep in front of the blaring television. The jingle of the five o'clock news beckoned them all further into the living room. Like a ritual. Under the spell of destiny. A rite of passage and the news reporter was the enchanter that would induct them into this enlightened world. A changed life. One by one, in hypnotic sync, they lined themselves in front of the TV with such ghostly presence.
"Today's most breaking story; Firefighters arrive at the horrendous explosion in central Domino's Millennium Hall. Eye witnesses say they heard an unusually loud bang and then suddenly the tip of the pyramid structure collapses straight down into the building. First-responders to an apparent bomb being set off inside Domino's Millennium Hall say the building is highly unstable and that rescue work is now underway. The whole frontal section of the building is now caved in with debris crushing several cars and damaging nearby buildings."
They turned to a clip of an interview. A dusty woman with a slight wheeze to her tone. She'd repeat again what she had seen, what she had heard, how desperate it was that she'd gotten out of the way.
Jake knelt beside his grandmother, gently rocking her awake. The old woman came to with a small jump, about ready to curse at her grandson for the startle. But then she felt the mass of the tension. The enthralling curiosity and dread of the seven teenagers standing all around her, though she hadn't seen them in the shadows. She sat below all the gravity of their stares. She was quiet, feeling chloroformed into it, and squinting deep at the television.
"You can see even some of the charred ancient artifacts now litter the street, while huge chunks of the building lay toppled over parked cars. Sixty are believed to have been killed, including several pedestrians on Spade's Street. Firefighters are still searching for victims in the rubble, but say they have pinpointed the initial blast inside its main hall- the display case of the historic Millennium Items, for which the building is named."
"How horrible..." said Faith, and looking the part of a perfect mourner. A truly heartbroken soul for the lives of those slain. Unlike Lola or Dagan, however, who couldn't quite manage the total embodiment of loss and sympathy. Lola hated it. Hated that bad things happened and that she'd look like the bad guy for just wanting to have a good time. Why did bad things happen? They didn't need to!
Lola made herself at home again like today were just another day. The news reporter was probably going to say "Haha! Just kidding!" and then everyone would just get over it. Tomorrow she'd actually go to school and they'd talk about it; the twins and Faith may be objectionable to the prank, but at least the whole conversation would be hypothetical. The smoke they saw in the sky was just a large bonfire, but firefighters nipped it before anyone could get hurt or killed. Yeah. That's what it was.
She began mixing herself a casual glass of cherry Kool-Aid, seeing as the cabinets were stocked with things like peanut butter, fluffernutter, and tea mixes. But no legitimate snacks that didn't require more than five minutes of preparation. That was even more upsetting than the news she was trying to ignore. She banged and bumped more cabinets, went to the fridge at least four times and stood there with the same pouting expression every time. Maybe she hoped something good would miracle itself into the fridge if she opened it just one more time.
"Lola?" Grandmother Wheeler questioned sharply, nudging her grandson away from her arm chair. "You are home?"
"Yup. It's'a me; Mario." snorted the jesting teen.
As as the old woman stood, everyone knew to look away. They were about to become an even bigger imposition than before. Grandmother Wheeler raised her voice, and it scratched as she clawed at the teenager in the kitchen; "È ingrato figlia! Where have you been? Your father works hard to give you a good home and food in your chubby belly, and you run away from it!"
The curly blonde shot a worried look down to her exposed stomach. She saw her four-pack abs, but maybe she had gained weight since breaking her ribs. Offended once again, she'd shoved her sugary drink away and managed to dribble on the counter in doing so. She'd forgotten how to close her volcanic mouth. If ever she had learned that at all.
"Nonna, don't you have bingo to go to or something?" she whined, slamming her bookbag down on the counter top over the spillage.
"Hey, hey. Lola, Gramgram." Jake interrupted as soothingly as possible, "Let's chill real quick. Yes, nonna, Lola is home. I found her, she good, ain't been triflin'. And daddy gon' whoop her ass when need be. But for now can we seriously not do this? We kinda have peeps over, Grams."
"What?" the old lady spun around, following Jake's gesture towards their guests. Her dimming eyes reached out far as they could to get a glimpse of the crowd waving back shyly from their living room.
"Non, non!" Mrs. Wheeler put her hands on her hips with all her rickety frustration, "Jake, mio nipote. Why didn't you tell me you were inviting people over to the house? Oh, mio Dio. Non, non. This place is a pigsty!"
She picked up Lola's bookbag from the counter top, only to smack her grandchild in the head with it, "Look at you! You have guests! You must serve them a drink before you serve yourself. Go, got them a drink! You run away, scare your father half to death, and when'a you come back, you treat this home like dump. Lola, this house is a mess 'cause you can't clean up after yourself. Pulire. Tutto! Rapidamente, prima di ottenere la cintura."
The others tried not to look at the scene. But striking up a conversation with anyone else in that moment would have been forced. Dagan tapped around mindlessly on his phone, pretending to be interested in scrolling through his facebook feed for the twelfth time, while Howard and Carter would not even sit down without being invited to. Faith was doing her best to keep her head bowed, and Pharah stood off to the side like she'd be hoping no one would approach her. Of which Jacob either didn't understand or didn't care for her bodily hints. Nothing was more awkward than not knowing where to place oneself in another's home while your friend was being yelled at.
As Jake walked into the kitchen, he passed Pharah with a slender, brush of his hand on her back. She didn't feel it, of course, but she did see the meaning of it. She watched his arm go to her almost as though he didn't have to think about it anymore. He wanted her to feel safe. He wanted her calm and curious like always. And he'd be the one to make it that way.
"Now, c'mon, nonna. There's no need for the belt. Look, it's been a rough day for all of us, so please... go sit down, Grandma. Get some rest. I'll get the drinks while Lola cleans, ok?"
"Clean? In front of guests? This'a house should have been spick-and-span before you-
Keys jangled through the keyhole on the front entrance. Though everyone in the house knew who would be walking through the door, they still braced themselves for the uncertainty of his reactions. And sure enough, Joey Wheeler came galloping through the door of his house. Whipping his boots off, snagging his jacket on the hanger, and cellphone in hand with voices pouring out loud through speakers.
The twins knew those voices on the phone. Their mom and dad.
"Dad!" shrieked Lola, bursting past her grandmother and plowing herself into her father's arms. Jake followed in suit, though in a much slower and casual manner. How relieved they were to see him. Their hero, their protector. Joey would know exactly how to make this better.
The surprise on Joey's face was quickly reborn into endearing relief. He took his kids into his embrace, especially Lola who'd been taking in the warmth and smell of her father like it were the makings of dreams.
"Jake, Lola. You guys are ok!" he cheered. Then he looked up to all the eyes watching in his living room. Even though these were the eyes of the young and the new, they were still gleaming like their parents' eyes. His friends' eyes. Faith, Dagan, Howard, Carter, and Pharah were all patient as ever, and a happy audience to this reunion.
"They're all here." Joey spoke into his cellphone. "They're safe."
"Oh, thank God." Tea's sigh whooshed through the receiver. "Please, Joey. My boys. Let me talk to them."
Carter stepped forth to take the phone from Mr. Wheeler, eager to hear his mom and dad's voices. Thankfully dad hadn't been at the Millennium Hall when the explosion happened. On the phone, Tea was somewhere between scolding and worried to hear her babies on the phone after the catastrophe. If there were some suitable punishment for not being at her side during times of danger, she'd certainly be the first one to use it.
Joey gave a thankful pat on his son's shoulder: gratitude for keeping everyone together and safe, even if it meant bringing them here. But for Lola there was an abstruse patch of sentiment bubbling in her father's glance. While his son may have been the hero of the moment, somehow Lola was the villain. The instigator. Like all this worry and running about happened because of her.
"Lola," he held her shoulders, "Lolly-babe, where were you? I was looking everywhere for you, sweetheart. Why... Why didn't you go to school?"
And there it was- the plump, down-turned lips, the wiggling and woeful eyes that she thought would save her a butt whooping. Lola thought cleverly again that if she could simply make light of the situation, there was no way she could get in too much trouble for it. It wasn't even that serious to begin with. Why wouldn't anyone give her a break?
"I'm sorry, dad." she posed delicately, "I know, I know. I messed up. I got us all into this mess by playing hookie and-"
"You have to stop doing this! You can't keep running away from your problems, Lola!"
"I'm not!" she shouted back hastily. Aggressively. Letting her howl reach for him, maybe punch him in the gut. No one seemed to hear her otherwise: she didn't have any problems! She wasn't running scared of nothin'!
"Mr. Wheeler?"
Joey and Lola both turned towards Dagan. He'd had this blush that Lola had never seen before- God, it made him just that much more bangin'! He'd been scratching at his arm lightly to maybe distract their eyes from his.
"Sir, I-I can explain. It's my fault Lola ditched school."
"What?" Lola gasped at the same time as her father.
"I was already ditching school to have this party at the Poker Park Bay, and... well, I invited her. Well, more like pleaded. But the point is... if I hadn't convinced her to play hookie, none of this would have happened. So I apologize."
She gushed. Completely melting out onto the floor in all the flavors of love. Her hero! She knew he cared! Every time he told her to piss off, get away, and stop calling him- it was all an act! Right then and there she began planning how their children would look; his neon green eyes and her golden brown ones would make... a rusty, puky yellow? Ok, never mind about that. She wasn't about the pregnancy life anyways. They'd just adopt them!
Of course, Joey caught a glimpse of the way his daughter was fawning over her knight in shining armor and didn't like it one bit. Even if what Dagan was saying was true, it wasn't as if he'd been holding a knife to her throat and telling her to go with him.
"I see." he nodded. "Well, the honesty goes appreciated, Dagan. However, it doesn't mean either of you are completely off the hook. I want you to call your father too before I do. 'Cause if Duke hears what I gotta say before he hears you, there may be some problems, capiche?"
"Y-You got it!" Dagan dove for his phone in his pocket, trying not to get a butt whooping either.
"And you," Joey looked down to his fangirling child, "Start cleaning. I already talked to Ryou and and Yugi, and they think it's best if Faith and Pharah stay here. Which means you better clean that room of yours."
"Alright! A sleepover! Let's break out the chips!" Lola cheered.
Joey almost cut her short. Told her to silence, sit down. An explosion that killed at least sixty people, frightening the Mutos enough to keep Pharah out of their house in case they were the next targets, was no cause for celebration. But he let her laugh it off again. What else were they to do? Bunker down for WWIII? Mourn all night long in vigil? Lola knew how tragic it was, of course. But she wasn't going to admit it. Not for a long time. A part of that was his fault. He kept allowing this oblivious behavior just because he couldn't bear to see her sad... he himself didn't know how to handle divorce or...
"C'mon, c'mon, Pharah! We're gonna have pizza, and watch movies, and dance, and-" Lola swung Pharah around in frolic. She hadn't seemed to notice how poorly Pharah seemed to keeping up with all her turns and twirls.
"Lola!" Joey spoke harder. "That room! Before you get any more ideas, you better be doing some more work 'round here. Go clean that room, otherwise you're going out back and picking a branch off the tree so I can whoop you with it."
"What? Ugh, dad."
"No, that's not gonna work on me this time. I'm grown, so shush. You're ass is on punishment, don't forget that."
She smacked her lips hard. Harder than the thud of her footsteps rattling the staircase. Grandmother Wheeler snickered approvingly as the child went by. Her son had his faults, but he was a good father. Even when he had to be a little on them. In a time like this, however, nothing else could be expected. Joey was now in charge. He'd had the responsibility as a parent, as a friend, as a responsible adult, to see that all these kids were made safe and be where they should be. In all this chaos, he had to sort everyone out, be the safe house, be as big a supporter and protector as he could be.
"Hey! You got something else to say, Lola?"
"No, dad."
"Alright then. I don't want to hear no more of them feet stomping or slamming doors."
Grandmother Wheeler laughed. "Now you know what I had to put up with when you were little."
"I was not like that. No way." Joey shook his head defensively. Even though his protest was futile at best.
Carter then returned with the phone held tightly in hand. Passing it back to its proper owner, Carter motioned for his twin to follow closely, and then to Pharah.
"What'd she say?" asked Joey.
"Dad's gotta be with the press right now. He's trying to be as cautious as possible with what he says, but there's a Tawfiq in the crowd. Mom says she has a real bad feeling about all this, and wants Pharah to stay here with you. If that's ok. It'll be safer and keep her out of sight since my dad's being hounded by the news again. But Howard and I have to go. We have to help out in the archives."
Pharah tiptoed backwards to Jake. Maybe he'd do that reach again. Maybe he'd hold her steady and give her ailing legs a break.
There was a Tawfiq in the crowd. Still, Om and Baba were looking for her. Still they ached over her absence. They'd wanted her to fearful of that- Yugi, Tea, the twins. They wanted her to be afraid the Tawfiqs would come for her. Like feral, disturbed creatures of hellish lore. She was not allowed to trust them. Pharah tried repeating to herself all that Yugi had told her: that she was dead, that the Tawfiqs stole her, hid her, abused her. Lied to her. They were prompting her to hate the Tawfiqs and run even farther from them. Even if Om's smile was so sweet and her hugs so dear... that was all supposed to be a lie...
Howard and Carter didn't have to help with any archives. No, no. Tea wanted them home so that they could look like the perfect family in case anyone was snooping around. Perfect without her... pretending as they'd never even heard her name. Trying to protect her just seemed to wound her more...
"Yeah, me too." said Dagan. "Well, not about the archives or anything. But my dad wants me home right away. My place isn't too far from here. You can walk with me and then my dad can give you a ride to your place?"
"Sure. Sounds good." The twins nodded assuredly.
Faith piped sheepishly. "And what of me? What shall I do?"
"I already spoke with your father. To get all the way to the upper-east side with all these roads closed is gonna be a real trick. He said you get stay here if you felt comfortable. If not, he'll come and pick you up."
"Oh. I wouldn't want my father to trouble himself like that. I hope I won't be too much of a burden, Mr. Wheeler, since I know this is such short notice."
"It's cool. You can always borrow some of Lola's clothes if you need. We got room."
Pharah watched all her friends be sorted and grouped. Who would leave her, who would stay behind as collateral or the cowardly. Her only wish was that she had spoken up. Said something that would end this all. Didn't anyone see? She wasn't afraid! She didn't have to be protected! If the Tawfiqs wanted her, then they'd have no business harming her friends. And if it truly were the Tawfiqs behind it all, the vile explosion, the crowd panic surrounding Mr. Muto, her even being here as a rotting, rusting, existence... then maybe Faith was right. People just do bad things, even to the best of people because... just because.
Or maybe because it was all her fault. She existed. And that was the problem.
"Wait, wait! Check this one out!" Sa'eed Ishtar smiled wide and ready, reaching for the the scrambled batch of Duel Monster cards on the table. The short-haired auburn sat as his audience during lunch break. With bubbling laughs and an occasional hiccup sound, she delighted in watching card trick after card trick. This time Sa'eed scattered his deck even more, spreading them all out. He picked three, slid them into an awkward pyramid, and then lodged them into a proper dueling grip. He revealed to her all three cards in hand while he could only see the dark swirls of their backsides.
"The three cards I drew are Giant Axe Mummy, Zombie Tiger, and- voila! The Hieratic Dragon of Asar."
Lyric stared a moment at the glistening dragon in his hand. A prized, un-copied masterpiece of a monster. It almost seemed strange that of all places, one of the mysterious eight dragons was in the hands of this goofball. Staring her dead in the face. He and his sister, who held a similar Hieratic beast by the name of Tefnuit. These Ishtars and their rare cards. There was always a shade to them. Always. This dragon, however, shined with wings that glowed like the aurora's jadeite and peridot hues. Gold armor, readying this beast for a battle among the divine lands. To both protect and to slaughter. With two-thousand, six-hundred attack points, this thing could damn well do whatever it pleased.
"Right again." she clapped herself out of the hypnosis. "Ten for ten. You sure you're not cheating?"
"What?" he scoffed dramatically. "You think I'm cheating? Why, I take offense to that!"
A groggier, more ashen voice jabbed at their play then. Sahira's; who just beside her brother and friend was elbow deep into Dan Millman's The Laws of Spirit. She scarcely looked above the brim of text, too wise and virtuous to let herself entertain their foolery with applause.
"Don't be too enthralled by my brother's magic. At the last possible second, he flicks the cards to see the serial code imprinted at the bottom of each. He's memorized all of his, and has sadly been keeping this game up for years."
Lyric shrieked giggles as Sa'eed's face took every wound of sibling betrayal. Uprooted again by his tactical, taciturn, and killjoy sister. Always when he was trying to impress a pretty lady, of course. When the sibling's lavender eyes met, Sahira finally smirked. She'd meant it all in jest, though her humor was far dryer and elevated than her younger brother's. Sahira was not a cruel soul, just a practical one. A demure, dignified, passive woman of few words, and the most observant floral eyes.
Eyes that she used to scour the homeroom for the source of her headache that morning. A growing pulse of skepticism and apprehension tugging beneath her sinuses. Something disturbing dwelled in this school...
"Like, really, Sahi? You just had to cut me! Cut me real deep! Why you always gotta do this to me, sis! We could be so close, but you always gotta cut me down. Leave Britney alone!" Sa'eed whined with desperation, his hands cupped in prayer to her godliness.
She made no reply but for a playful shrug as her gaze turned back to her book. Surely all her joy-killing teases were for his benefit. It was her duty as the elder of the two to watch over him. Prepare him. Despite the fact that he never seemed to be able to even acquire a matching pair of shoes.
It was nearing the end of lunch time. Many of the students who had gone to get sodas or feast in the cafeteria were slowly returning to their lecture rooms. The halls were again clearing as studies began, and the smell of fish and cold beefs was finally dissipating. And Sahira's guard was up now that the masses were returning. Sa'eed's relaxed and nonsensical nature made it easier for him to overlook such things, but Sahira sensed it the moment she awoke from her nightmare that morning. A plague. A horrible, blackening plague. Lurking in the nooks, seeping out of the crannies, wandering about Duel Academy. Something as wrong, and that something was here.
Viveka Wong came toddling down the steps to her seat as usual; neon orange Michael Kors tote bag flapping from her arm, her hips sashaying jarringly with her broken strut. Everyone thought she would fall. Her pop-singing career was famed for her stage tumbling mishaps and clutzy crashes. Valontine was close behind her, keeping grip of Viveka's arm like a dog's leash. Probably for the same reason everyone watched Viveka's every footstep.
Sa'eed tossed his mismatching feet up onto the desk; a beacon for all the pretty ladies to know how "different" he was from all those other guys. A perfectly aimed wink hit the pale Asian like his high-scoring Call of Duty headshots.
"Hey, hey. Vivy-Viveka. Always a pleasure seeing you again, sweet-thang. Are those new earrings, girl? 'Cause your earlobes are lookin' fine today. Mhmm."
"Sa'eed!" she snapped back with a toss of her tote, "For the trillionth time. Until you can figure out what a shower is, I'm not talking to you."
Unfazed- and probably charmed all the more by her snapping sass- he hacked a laugh of fun; "Aye! I get it, bae. Always looking out for me and my hygiene. You're a good girl, Miss Wong. Treat me real good."
Viveka made no attempt to look back at Sa'eed or the lady duo always at his side. Thus, Lyric rolled her eyes becomingly; "Yup. You definitely got her with that one, Sa'eed. You're a real charmer."
"Hey, look," the overwhelmingly pierced Egyptian leaned in close, sending out a voice of jovial sincerity, "I didn't really want to say anything, but she and I are kind of dating. Soo... She's, like, way new to this kind of thing and doesn't want it to interfere with her singing career or anything. So, you know, we keep it on the down-low, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah," humoring his fantasies, Lyric simply hummed along hopelessly, "I'm sure. You two must be madly in love."
Star quality reenactments. Gestures of grandeur and the body language of a Poet God. That was Sa'eed. "Oh. Most ardently. Mine dearest Viveka! The Cleopatra to my Marc-Antony, Elizabeth to my Darcy, Pocahontas to my John Smith, Juliet to my-"
"Yikes, we get it, lover boy. You want her." she laughed.
"One day! I declare it so! One day she shall be mine! 'Cause I found you Miss New Booty! Get it together, and bring it back to me!"
He collapsed heavier than ever into his chair when Sahira rammed a book into his face. Her slightly down-turned eyes were now steely and direct when avoiding contact with any living being in the room. She'd no need to see her brother making a spectacle of himself. Hearing him was bad enough. Poised and proper, she began readjusting her white hijab as if training her brother had been quite the scrap.
"I will not have you speaking of women in such a way, Sa'eed. Secondly, she's clearly not interested. Leave her alone."
He scratched his neck with puppy-ish pouting, "Well, gee. Which of the ten plagues crashed your party? You've been more pessimistic than usual today. I mean, damn! Was it the nightmare that gotcha or is the time of the month when the Nile runs red with blood? 'Cause you need to let my peeps go!"
"Oh, Sa'eed. Really? How inappropriate is that." his sister scoffed.
"Nightmare? Wait, did I miss something? " Lyric tilted her head.
"Yeah. Sahi here said she woke up in a fright. Something 'bout- oh, I don't know- weird shadow people, a rotting chalice-thingy, and the voice of some cranky lady who I guess doesn't like my sister snooping around."
"It was a premonition." said Sahira bluntly, no emphasis whatsoever.
While it was true that Sahira did have a knack for making some pretty coincidental choices, there was no way she was psychic. Lyric just thought she was super perceptive or something. A psychoanalytical brain ninja. It was obvious from the girl's own dueling style. But there wasn't anything magical about it. That kind of stuff wasn't real.
"Ugh. You see this? How come you're allowed to be psychic and I'm not? Are there no serial numbers on the footnotes of dreams that I can tease you about? Hm?"
"I'm serious, brother." and she totally was, as far as either one of them could tell by her feathery, cryptic voice. "Allow yourself to experience this moment in its entirety and you too will feel it. Anyone who is open to the higher thoughts of humanity can sense it. A darkness approaches. Perhaps one very much like the one father, Uncle Odion, and Aunt Ishizu used to speak of."
Lyric and Sa'eed's eyes swept towards another's, both of their faces peeling as though unnerved by sitting next to a biblically rambling junkie on the subway train.
"My dream..." her light eyes folded carefully, dousing her vision in a blur of lashes, "I seemed to have been visiting home again. I was taking a walk around Tahrir Square, but no one walked the streets but I, and these decrepit, silent silhouettes. At the focal fountain, I found a chalice. Rusted and cracked. A black ooze fell out in immovable dumps. It smelled like decay and antiquity. Like the old tombs in the Valley of the Kings before the tourists come to disturb the air within. And I was so parched. So tired from my lonely walk in the summer of Egypt, I was was desperate enough to reach for the chunky, vile beverage. As I did, there came a voice.
'Back away', it said. 'Nosy little brat. You won't find me. You think you can put me out, but I've not yet begun.' She swore and swore. A great waft of black smoke came upon us, and as it went through me, I could hear the sounds of a riled ambulance. It went searing through the empty streets and a tarot card came flying out its ghostly windows. Ten of Swords; a most feared card indeed. Hopelessness, great anguish, despair, even loss... and death. I've yet to understand why, but when I picked it up, I was sad... so sad. Even scared. Then I woke up... but I still felt it, the horrible aftertaste of a dream I couldn't quite convince myself was mere fantasy."
Sa'eed puckered his lips in contemplation. His and Lyric's eyes were both monitoring Sahira for a flinch, a twitch, maybe even a convulsion. Alas, she finished her story with indifferent decorum, placing her hands formally over her lap.
"Ok. So, like, I know you're trying to be all mysterious and everything... but I don't get it." Sa'eed huffed at last.
"Look around you. Something is missing, is it not?"
The two took a turn about the room. Students gabbing incoherently. A paper airplane or two. No ominous forces of darkness to wreak mayhem unto humanity, or oozing sludge of dark terror. But then Lyric shot a look back to Viveka and Valontine. Casually relaxing a few rows down. Viveka with her bright green nail polish in action, and Valontine catching up on a few extra Zs before class started again. Completely at ease. No one to bark at them, beat them into order. And an empty seat right between them that Valontine had commandeered for her foot rest.
"Ha!" she flicked her hair. "Nothing of importance is missing, you mean."
Sa'eed still didn't seem to catch on, but Sahira had no time to explain it all to him. She'd given Lyric a most warning, scolding stare ever. Viveka was no weakling. Valontine was no pushover. And Minako, their missing shepherd, was no one to be crossed off anyone's list. If Sahira could will her instincts and visions unto Lyric, she would not have been merrily ready to be Minako's enemy.
"Lyric," she reprimanded monotonously, "Be wary. Today should be a day of caution and reserve. Something is terribly wrong, don't you see?"
There must have been some dark, secretive cue. Sahira must have planned it all, or at least anticipated it. For the arrival of said devil was too awful a fluke. In came Minako Kaiba like a demon beckoned forth by all their talk of the occult and nightmares. But not as gloriously omnipotent as usual. No red carpet rolled out to make way for her greatness. She wobbled a tad, with as much swagger and dignity of a morning hangover. Little wrinkles began appearing around her eyes. Crow's feet at fifteen? Even a sallowness showed under the halogen lights.
This was just too easy for Lyric. The Princess of Duel Monsters now looking like Cinderella before the fairy Godmother.
"Well of course something is wrong. The world's most tight assed bitch just walked through the door."
By the way Viveka and Valontine looked back protectively, Lyric knew Minnie's ears could not have been much farther away. Naturally, the crownless brunette heard her, but could not simply be bothered to reply. Lots of people insulted her here. Lots more did back home; every outfit she wore, every card she swiped, every step she made.
Sahira pulled on Lyric again, "Lyric! I will not tell you again. Do not try anything. Any other day, I'd let you boil and banter with Minnie to your devilish heart's content. But today I implore you. Stay away from her."
Little note was made of Sahira's warning. Lyric was feeling mighty. Minnie was disheveled. Beaten. And right after Chazz Princeton rejected her? What a baby. Can't handle rejection. Lyric stood then, flaunting her dancer body and celestial eyes. Minako had better understood why Chazz picked this over that.
"What's a matter, princess? You're looking a little more off than usual? Did something get those royal golden panties in a bunch again?"
Minako really had no intentions in quarreling at all that day. She was already sitting, hearing every word her harasser had to say. She'd had enough. The dreams, the sleepless nights, all those thoughts of seductive suicide at sunset's balcony. And that voice. She was back again- the voice from Minako's childhood. Back in the wisps of her hair, her ears, her head! Don't trust her, My Minako. Don't do that, My Minako. My aw-ey! Aw-ey baket! See this. Touch that. Hurt them, hurt them, hurt them! No. Minako could not allow herself to believe it. She wouldn't.
The Lady In Blue wasn't real! The voice she kept hearing was just some childhood story she'd come up with and needed out of her head for good!
Languor and from the sores of her throat, she'd not bothered to send a single look Lyric's way as she chimed. "Is calling me 'royalty' supposed to be insulting? Or is that just envy I hear?"
Leverage gifted the red head her smile. "Oh, sure, Min. Sure. Ya know, in all things considered, you're taking this fairly well. I'm actually surprised. Or maybe you just don't know because your intelligence network isn't all its cracked up to be." she smirked, looking to the minions Viveka and Valontine, "That's all right. Even you slip sometimes."
Even as Lyric kicked her feet up to the deck, lounging in a very Jaden like manner, Minako still sat dour and refined. She'd not say another word. Valontine and Viveka knew an insult when the heard one, but even they were motioned to sit still and be quiet by their solemn boss.
"Then again, its not very often that just anybody gets to go the annual Holiday Ball with an alumni of Duel Academy like Chazz Princeton. Especially a student. Then again, most people would expect that student to be you. Hm, go figure."
"You must got some roos loose in ya paddock there, lass!" snorted Valontine, "Just what're ya trying to say, huh? Spit it out already!
'"I'm trying to say that as Minnie's flunkies- sorry- I mean friends, neither of you has done a very good job informing her about that fact I'm the one going with Chazz to the yule tournament. Ya know, since we stayed connected after he was a proctor, so to speak, for my entrance exams. We're pretty tight actually. We talk all the time. Especially since Minnie's been...well...preoccupied with her amazing life. So it's not like it should even be a big deal to her anyway!"
At that point, the whole classroom was holding their breath. Viveka and Valontine shook a smidgen. Any more and Minako was sure to implode with everyone in here as collateral damage. While they had all known of the dragon temper that made Minako as mythical and feared a beast as her father's Blue Eyes, they also knew Lyric Strevopolous had the serrated tongue of sadist. Minako's crush on Chazz Princeton was as much a mystery as the earth revolving around the sun. And here Lyric was, waving the rejection and betrayal around like a majorette's ribboned baton. Chazz... left her. Replaced her. Moved on... left her for Lyric?
"I told you, my Aw-ey Baket! You can not trust Princeton Charming. Liars, liar. Hed-ef! Hed-ef! Aw-ey, my Aw-ey! He left you, left you! They all will... sooner or later, you'll see, Aw-ey. Like nanny, like cat, like mommy too... Hesek aw-ey baket!"
Minako rolled her shoulder back, craning her head to stretch away that awful voice in her head. Again it kept shrieking, pleading that Minako not trust anyone but it's grim existence. She was sickened by it. Visibly too. Curling, bile flavored lips that were so repulsed by the idea she may be turning schizophrenic again. She could have sworn she grew out of this faze when she was five!
"What's the matter, Min? You don't have anything to say?" Lyric was challenging the princess. Seeking retribution for how she'd treated her sister and everyone else and push her off her pedestal, "Stoic, glamorous, put together Minako for once doesn't have a thing to say? Well I'll be damned. Hm, it certainly hasn't been the same for Chazz. Poor guy, you'd never think someone so proud would need some one to vent to, but I've been like some kind of counselor since you, ya know, put him on the back burner. He's told me lots of things. Even a few about you, Princess."
Minnie's eyes slowly walked toward her opponent. Only her eyes. No, the rest of her was frozen. Locked to and by herself to stop the dark urges from within. Chazz wouldn't squeal any of her secrets, would he? He wouldn't! Couldn't! No, he cared about her! He said he did! He had to! He really had to!
"Hey! You address my girl as Minnie and nothing else, or you got something coming for you. You got that? " Viveka spouted.
Sahira and Sa'eed stood as well to even the numbers. Everything was caving in for the rest of the classroom. A bating strum of uneasiness separating the bystanders into two sides; Team Lyric or Team Minako. Many of whom, on either side, were greatly anticipating the secrets Lyric's connections had given her. What juicy, naughty, or maybe embarrassing thing did Chazz know about this celebrity? What would one of the most reclusive, self-absorbed celebrities tell someone she trusted in a moment of absolute intimacy?
"Why should I call her Minnie? Why should I call her anything? No really; Princess, Minnie, Minako Kaiba...who the hell are you, and why the hell should I bow down to you, when you can't do a damn thing to me. You don't even know who you are. One minute you're a high and mighty pre-teen celebrity stomping around this school like you own shit. Next you're small town Queen Bee with followers that have nothing better to do with their boring lives at Domino High. And now you're back here as a duel reject and a media whore who finally met her match because she had nothing else to offer! You don't step on anymore- you're broken. So, no. Minako, I think I'm going to step over you this time. I hope you like the taste of some one else's stilletto heel for once.
See, I know your weaknesses, Miss Kaiba. And all thanks to your little boo-thang, Chazz Princeton. That's right! I know all about your romantic meeting at the Slifer dorms- in the middle of the night!" she began fanning herself tragically, "'Oh, Chazzy-Wazzy. I'm so scared. My kitty cat ran away when I was a wittle girl and sometimes I think about him at night. All alone in the dark. Boo-hoo-hoo. Kitty left me, just like my mommy, and now my babysitter Kiara. Sorry I'm crying all over your cards, Chazzy. I'm the biggest bitch in the world, but then I wonder why no one loves me. But you do, right? Chazz, oh Chazz! Kiss me, kiss me!'"
She and a few others laughed. And not because it was particularly funny. No. But the sort of laugh one hears at the summoning of victory. To win at the expense of another was not supposed to be met with cheer, or else it would mar the good name of all those merry. So instead there came laughter- which could, at any time, be an expression twistable and deceiving. Righteous, and yet sinful. Happy, amused, even masking. But not blissful.
"And by the way, you're a horrible kisser according to Chazz. Drool, much? But don't worry. I taught him how to do things the right way."
Minako's eyes were wide. Wide and shaking.
"Punish them!" said the voice in her head again.
Chazz told. Chazz told Lyric about the night of their first and only kiss. How awful it had been. She was a wreck. Nervous. She'd never kissed a boy until then, while Lyric probably had all the experience in the world.
"Punish them!"
He told her Minnie's secrets. About the missing cat, Saint-Laurent, who had run away from her grasp at the age of six. Her first ever friend outside of her head, and the fluffy Birman abandoned her in the woods one night. It used to keep her up so late at night, pondering the fate of the innocent little life.
"I-Aw-ey Baket! Punish them!"
Minnie trusted him. Loved him? No, not quite. What even is love? Chazz told Lyric- who the hell even is Lyric, anyways?- about that night. Her heaving sobs, the loss of Kiara White, the misfortune of her mother's suicide...
"Hed-es! Pen pedhjew!"
Ah, the spoils of victory. Lyric was the queen of the Colosseum. Assassin of the corrupt, and slayer of emperors. She turned around, blowing on her metallic gold nails as if she'd dirtied her talons in the slaughter. Alas, it was not the faces of glory and freedom that awaited her. It was ducking heads and classmates jumping into the other rows even if it meant climbing over the desks.
No time to move. No time to react. A chair came screeching across the floor with all Minako's assault and rammed like a landslide into Lyric's back. The metal framework clashed like thunder onto her hips, sent her body crumbling, beating down onto the tile floor harder than a catapulted boulder. Her elbows struck the floor with bony, brash, pain. Then Minako took another chair, right out from under Viveka, and kicked that one too into the match. This one took one smack against Lyric's downed ankles and fell over on top of her, the seat's edge biting down between her shoulder blades.
"Someone go get Crowler! Bonaparte! The Disciplinary Action Squad! Anyone!" someone squawked from the witnesses.
A gentle soul by the name of Karuri lead the search party. She'd looked so frightened by the sudden violence, the uproar of sinister tempers. She'd needed an any excuse to leave the classroom. Finding a peace keeper in all this mess was the perfect way indeed.
"He doesn't even love you." dual voices, stained with haughty vice, cackled happily as Minako approached the wreckage. It looked like a mangled car accident in the middle of the classroom. Knotting metal caging around a helpless, bruised victim. Lyric's moans while trying to get the chairs off of her and turn over onto her side only made Minako and her alter ego laugh louder. More dangerously.
Minako stepped on Lyric's right elbow with her heeled academy boot. Placed a great weight of herself there while reaching for a textbook on Dueling Etiquette left open on the table. Almost a slow, graceful motion to it; every falling wisp of hair premeditated, every tendon and stretch all plotted out from years and years ago. Lyric knew she had to move. Fight back. Get off the floor. Kick Minnie with her free leg. And yet, she did not. The witch had cast her spell of beauty, even if it came from the gripping twists in her elbow or the metal-echoing pains hollowing out her bones. Something about Minako nearly made her want to watch herself be destroyed.
Those blue eyes... blue, blue eyes. Too blue to be real. Too blue even for Minako. Almost alive and glowing like a light blue fire. Looking cold and focused, but knowing how unforgivably the flames did burn.
Smack after smack after smack. Palpitating, reddening flesh. Combating sinuses. Minako again and again, slapped the textbook across Lyric's face. Each time with a jolly, jarring growl. Pimp-handing Lyric with a 900 paged hard-cover on proper Duel Monster behavior and history.
"He doesn't love you!" she howled again. "He doesn't love you! He doesn't love you! No one loves you! Worthless meat! Mesedj-i etj! Mesedj-i etj! Mesedj-i etj!"
Some of the class chattered and cheered, orbiting around the violence with their Duel Academy communicators out. Others tried to stay as far away as possible from the blood now vomiting from Lyric's nostrils and ears. Sahira was doing her best to get everyone out of the way, even if it meant shoving people's cameras down to the floor. Violence should not be this fawned over! Paraded about when clearly the two girls were more than distraught!
Sa'eed couldn't seem to tear Minnie from her prey. She was the back-arching hunter that had to defend its kill from all the other thieves and scavengers. So he jumped over Lyric, trying to shield her with his own body. Minako didn't quite care. She'd hit him as well. Strike him hard and vicious with the textbook and a few good knee-kick to his gut.
The Chairman then kicked through the classroom door with timid Karuri returning by her side. The Chairman was the head of the Disciplinary Action Squad: Duel Academy's elite security team. A no beating around the bush type woman, honoring her uniform very much like a Green Beret. Her and her little foot soldiers wasted little time stomping through the students to reach the quarrel. Two armored men, perfectly suited to run onto the screen of a rogue-cop action flick, grabbed at Minako effortlessly. Though she chuffed and fumbled, she wasn't fighting back.
Just laughing. Giddy and shrill as ever. Laughing.
Suddenly, the gender equilibrium of the Wheeler home was overthrown. The great armies of estrogen that had invaded his home made Joey contemplate where he should place himself. Jacob was long gone upstairs, carrying as much soda and food preserves as he could into his man-cave. Joey was now left to keep an eye on them and maybe provide snacks? Entertain? Mai had always been in charge of that. Sleepovers fell unto her parental duties, not his. He tried to remember how close in proximity she would stand to the gossiping gathering of girls without setting off the bomb or tripping the laser field.
What if he heard something he didn't like? What if he overheard the most deadly, vile secrets of a teenage girl's life? His own baby girl… what sort of treachery did she unleash once in the fortressed cocoon of high school? Like the Godfather's lair, where every plot and pigtail was devised. Maybe Lola herself was The Don of this chick-clique. Not that he'd be too disappointed by that. But how should he react? How not to embarrass her in front of her friends? She'd never forgive him!
He looked at the girls again over the kitchen counter. They were huddled around the coffee table in the living room. Just giggling. Sometimes loudly. With a game of Duel Monsters spread out and a bit of Major Lazor music bumping in the background. He could handle this, right? He was the man of the house! But, even so, this was now female territory, and quite the foreigner he was. If Lola had a friend over or two, Mai always just knew what to buy and what to say. She'd have chips and dip already out by the first ring of the door bell. But now it was up to him. And he wasn't so sure what that really meant, but he was going to do it.
Faith Bakura and Pharah Ishtar-Muto accompanied Lola in her pajamas. The three teens took turns gabbing between plays or had someone braid their hair even when contemplating their next move. Lola had been dancing with every direct attack; which was her very own signature in the world of Duel Monsters, having several internet trends famed because of her. Even in the comfort of their pajamas, a pressing, powerful duel was not beyond them. It was as important an event on their sleepover to-do list as truth-or-dare or horror movies. And Lola and Faith were already elbow deep into one by the time the pizza delivery man had arrived.
"What? Are you kidding me right now?"
"Sorry." Faith giggled. "But when Madolche Chateau is activated, every Madolche monster that you sent to my graveyard is shuffled back into my deck. And for those Madolches that are already on the field, they gain five-hundred attack points."
"Yo." squealed Lola. "She dubbed my shit for real."
"Well, 'Madolche Cruffsant'? Time to take out Lola's 'Naturia Cherries'!"
Lola stared blankly a moment at the playmat set up over the coffee table. Her mouth may have even fallen open in her dread. And, at last, Lola's face smacked into the table; for a facepalm would just not do justice enough.
Faith Bakura, who had sat across from her in the most lady-like of ways, smiled just so cheerfully and serene as if she had not just turned her opponent's entire strategy upside down. Pharah had been ogling the whole duel like a child watching her parents at work. Her eyes, with the same effect a frog's tongue had in capturing flies, latched onto every play and set.
"Wow. Faith's monsters just don't wanna stay down, do they?" Joey chuckled. He came into the living room bearing peace offerings in the form of pretzels and pizza. And by the way hands shot immediately up to reach for it, he assumed he was now welcomed into the collective. So, casually, he placed him down onto the sofa for the position of referee. He leaned over himself, staring pensive and amused at the game he'd been playing all his life.
Joey didn't duel as often as he used to. When there were bills to pay and mouths to feed, and unnecessary clothes or electronics to be suckered into buying, Duel Monsters had become something that had to be planned ahead of time for. Gradually, his own deck had been quarried and bartered away. Mostly to his own children. When they earned it. When they were ready. When he knew a card could help them overcome their adversities. Joey had passed down portions of his deck to his children. And he didn't regret it one bit, not after seeing how strong they were. Jacob used to win nationals, and even Lola went on to battle the best at Worlds a few times. It was relaxing, if anything, to see the younger generations have their own adventures and play the game he had once been so much a part of. No matter how changed it was with all the new duel disks and formats and ban-lists.
"Not helping, dad."
"Ha. I'm just sayin'."
Lola grumbled a few words, slowly walking her eyes back to her hand. Dueling against Faith's Madolche deck was like fighting the zombie apocalypse. Even if you took down a monster, it would just rise up again from the dead. Her deck was recyclable; with nearly all her monsters bearing some special ability, alongside those magic and trap cards that allowed her to bring monsters from the graveyard back to her hand over and over again. And it had done it's job of depleting Lola's resources by making her destroy the same monster several times.
She was giving up. There were no initial tell-tale signs, not physically at least, but Joey could still see it.
He sighed. After all his preaching and praise, Lola still wasn't ready to get back into the game. Wheelers never quit. Not him- never!- and not Jake! Maybe Lola got her lack of dueling endurance from her mother, because it'd been two years since Lola held a duel disk of her own. Even now in a casual, friendly game of Duel Monsters, he could see his daughter shrug and fade just the same as the day she said she'd quit.
The day The Princess of Duel Monsters took Lady Red Eyes away from Lola.
"Lols," he said dearly, "C'mon. You can do this. Just step back and consider all your options. Believe in yourself. Your deck. I know we all do."
The other girls nodded. Nothing was competitive here, Even Faith hoped for a come-around from Lola to keep the duel going. Pharah scooted closer to the blonde, her giant Scapegoat slippers making warm, fuzzy noises against the carpet. She'd root for her no matter what. After all, it was Lola's encouragement that helped her win her duel against Minako. And Jake's smile that helped her keep her head up when she felt shut down. She could trust and believe in the Wheelers.
"Yes, yes, Lola!" Pharah chirped. "You must believe in the cards' hearts!"
This time the Italian looked harder to her hand. Maybe if they saw how hard she'd seemed to be trying, they'd take pity on her and just leave her alone. She sucked at dueling now. She didn't have a reason to win. Minnie said so herself! Well, not that she ever really listened to that two-faced thottie, but if there was one thing Minako Kaiba was allowed to be right about, it was Duel Monsters.
"Well, ok. Let me see... since you destroyed my Naturia Cherries, I'm allowed to summon two more from my deck in defense mode. And then... then I think I'll summon this slice of pizza in attack mode and have it attack my mouth directly. The end."
"What?" Faith and Pharah gasped.
Lola set down her entire hand in forfeit to gobble down a crispy piece of bacon-greased pizza. Not a care in the world came to her once the oozing cheese and meaty bits graced her tastebuds. Yup. She'd just quit- again- in a leisurely duel between friends simply because she got stuck. And those memories, those thorny little cretins, had gotten the better of her once again.
That was Minako's fault too somehow. She didn't know how, but Lola would certainly find a reason why it was her fault. Naturally.
Even Joey didn't know what to say. He'd probably already said it all now that her forfeits were becoming a regular thing. She had all this talent, all this spunk and spirit. And she wasted it. Joey rolled a hand through his blonde, greying hair. How on earth did it get to be like this? Why didn't he stop it?
"Aye-o. You wanna pass me the Ramune soda, Phar-Phar?"
And that was how much of the night continued. No one saying what needed to be said. No asking any more questions about building explosions or the Tawfiqs, and certainly not anything personal about Lola, who would only bury her face in more pizza or soda if anyone got close to it. Joey eventually went to bed, warning Lola of her still due punishment if she let things get out of hand just before he tucked himself away in his own dream world. Lola ended up suckering Faith and Pharah into watching several movies, taking them on movie mood swing ride that would probably trick their cycles into syncing. First came Frozen- which Pharah enjoyed immensely while the others harmonized poorly with every tune. Then A Cabin In The Woods, and then Fired Up.
They all later crept into Lola's room when their stomachs were filled and their movies were done. Lola gave Pharah and Faith her bed, while plopped down onto the newly cleaned floor just as is. No need to make a bed when she was under the influence of the "itis".
Faith was the first to fall asleep. Gently snoring, her snowy hair wrapping around her head like an extra pillow. The night was calm, even for being by a main road where activity usually lasted all hours of the day. So different than before, when everything was buzzing and billowing with worry and commotion. The clouds of the day had finally stretched far enough to allow some moonlight through. A pure white stream of ghostly nuance that was just enough to compete the dirty yellow glow of the streets lights just outside Lola's window.
It was late into the night when Pharah had mounted herself on the chest beneath the window sill. She sat propped up, praying gently with just the gleam of her eyes. Watching. Peering into the endless dark at that one beam of moonlight. The Wheeler girl had returned from her bathroom break and kitchen raids carrying several waffles in her mouth and a bag of marshmallows. She gently shut the door of her room, snickering after her victory and plopping down beside Pharah on the window sill.
"Hella nice night, huh?"
"Um... yes." Pharah stumbled over the word 'hella'. That must have meant 'very' or 'splendid'.
"Hey, wanna see something cool?" Lola chuckled through her chews. She didn't quite wait to see whether Pharah actually did or didn't, and started undoing the locks on her window. A small, creaky shove later, a breeze came through. The night's chill air scented with frost and the unfamiliar. Lola sat on the window's edge, her feet dangling against the side of the house and over the front lawn. With a small pat, she welcomed Pharah at her side.
"See there?" she'd been pointing across the street to another apartment complex, into someone's living room with the television glowing. "They leave their TV on all night. Sometimes if I cant't sleep and I ain't finna wake my pops up by going downstairs, I just sit here and watch what they have going on. Most of the time it's loud enough for me to hear."
"Do you think they need it to keep the nightmares away from their sleep?" Pharah questioned, with quite the seriousness it seemed.
"Nah. They just old as hell. Probs forgot how to even turn the thing off." she practiced her best old woman impersonation, "'Hubert? Hubert, you seen the clicker for the tele? There's a button that says power but I'm not sure how to use it. We should get a manual or something, I can't figure this out, Hubert.'"
Pharah hymned a small laugh, "You sound very much like your grandmother."
"Oy vey. Now that's a scary thought. You seen her today, right? She almost beat my bum with a belt! Nah-uh. Not again. Not today. No thank you."
Om. Om used to do that too. Om would find the thickest belt, the hardest cane, the most splintered spatula or spoon and whack at her wrists if Pharah did something Om found displeasing. And sometimes just because. Namely, after drinking the Happy Juice that would just taste awful. Like fire and space debris pummeling her throat. But Om used to smack the belts hard against her wrists or ankles, asking if and when Pharah could feel anything. If she felt pain, she was a good girl. That's why the Happy Juice worked. If she didn't, she'd have to drink more and go back in the sewing room for her skin.
"You can tell her 'no'?" she peeped genuinely.
Lola arched her brows. The hell? "Uh... yeah. She's my grandma, and yeah I love her, but no one has the right to hurt you. I mean, I get it. Parents can to an extent, but if I can fight it, I will. At least, because she hella old too, grandma's whoopings ain't hurt as much as..."
"As...?"
A smirk came across the Italian's plump, tanned lips. She turned to Pharah with a nudge on the shoulder, playful as ever. "Haha! You ain't ask me 'truth or dare.' So I ain't gotta tell you nothin'."
Pharah recoiled a moment. What now? Another strange custom these outsiders had? A passcode like everyone had on their phones and music pod things?
"Truth... or dare?"
"Yeah! What, they ain't have that in Egypt?"
Again, Pharah shrugged ignorantly.
"Ok, ok. So basically it's a game. Normally gotta play with more people to make it real interesting. But Faith's knocked the hell out cold, so we won't bother her none. The rules are this: we go back and forth asking each other truth or dare. If I pick truth, I have to answer honestly any question you ask me. It can be anything. Silly, stupid, crazy- whatevs. But if I pick dare, then you can tell me to do something and I gots to do it. Just nothin' too sexual and shit. I ain't 'bout that life." she paused to catch the abstruse tilt in Pharah's head. The wee thing probably didn't have a clue what that was either. But that was a story for another day.
"But, if ya chicken out of a dare and won't do it, then the person who did the daring gets to prank the scaredy-cat. Can't tell ya when, where, or how. But a prank will be coming. Capeche?"
"...Yeah. Ok. Sounds fun."
"Alright. Ill go first. Pharah-banara... your time of fate has come. So choose wisely: truth or dare?"
Pharah looked to be truly mulling it over. Placing a gentle hand over her dry lips and gazing towards the moon for divine guidance.
"I choose to tell the truth, for it is more virtuous."
"Okey-a then. Pharah... what's going on between you and my brother?"
The Egyptian sat back a little. "What? Do I lose for not comprehending the matter?"
"No, no. It's just... well, God damn, girl. Don't think I don't see. You always lookin' at him like he a bag of money. You're not trying to hook up with him, are you? 'Cause, let me just say, he act like a gentleman upfront when he see some cute poontang. But, on the real, he grimy as hell. He smells funny, looks funny, pretty sure he hasn't changed his undies in years. And he can be a real jerk sometimes, like I can't even."
"I'll be frank," Pharah's cold hand touched Lola's peaceably, "I don't quite follow what you're saying. But I believe I understand the general idea. And... as for my answer... I do like Jake. He is a good friend to me. The moment I met him... I felt like I've known him before. You as well, of course. But then he smiled at me at dinner the night your family came over. When everyone else was too distraught or discomforted to hear of my love for the Tawfiqs... he smiled. Like, maybe he truly did care for me even though we'd only just met. He'd listen if I ever had the chance to tell him how much I learned in Egypt, even if it were from the Tawfiqs. And he took me out to see the city, to see the snow... I had never seen snow before then. Jacob cared enough to show me a bit of your world, teach me what he could...
Your brother's soul is genuine, I feel. Whether he changes his undergarments annually or not. In many ways, I rely on him to show me the way. Just like he did on our tour. Of course, I feel I do the same for all of you. Howard and Carter know much about who I am and who I should be, you know much about fun and freedom, Faith knows a great deal about people and has fine instincts. And Jacob... Jacob has given me a sense of belonging I've long since felt. A great sense of friendship, loyalty, selflessness. I apologize if the way I look at him or anyone of you is offensive. I don't mean it as such."
A sniffle came to Lola, and it wasn't from the cold air. Her nose was getting pinker by the minute- perhaps from the little blush she had blooming. Lola took the floral comforter around her and Pharah then, still fake-squealing over her friend's speech.
"That was actually pretty touching." she said, to which Pharah only smiled a cheery smile.
"I believe it is my turn to question you now. So, Lola, I ask you this; the truth or the dare?"
"Well," she began, "I normally choose dare 'cause it's kind of easier for me. And way fun. But... that was pretty cool what you said so... I think I owe ya. I pick truth."
She wished she could say she'd been planning for that. Wishful, true, but Pharah had far too many "truths" that need be answered, that she became too distracted by letting them all play in her memory. She hummed her thoughts, bobbing her head one way and than another until at last... she had done it. She knew what truth needed to be answered...
"Why did you quit?" she asked purely.
"What?"
"The duel."
"Aw, man. Really? That's what you wanna ask me? Of all the- fine. Whatevs." Lola's deflecting little chuckle didn't seem to work this time. She laughed, made a joke, and yet Pharah's eyes weren't going away. These unblinking magenta-hued discs took all the moonlight in and shot them back out as two doting, searching spotlights.
Lola pulled the comforter around her tighter.
"Well, Faith's just a really boss duelist. I was getting my booty beat. Heh, and you know... I just heard the hunger in my stomach louder than the heart of the cards."
"It is against the rules to withhold the truth, is it not?"
"What? Girl, you trippin'. I ain't withholding shit, like, da-"
"I saw your cards." Pharah pressed, her eyes leaving for the urban skyline where the city lights and those "sky scraping buildings" had more twinkling stars than the cloudy heavens. "The Hungry Burger, Mystik Wok, Inmato, and Chain Disappearance. I know I'm no expert, but you could have won if you used Chain Disappearance. By the card's effect, you could choose a monster to banish. Then Faith would have had to banish all monsters of the same name."
"You read my hand?"
"You placed them on the table in forfeit, remember?"
"Ah. Right." Lola blushed. "Well, ok. So yeah. I know what the card does. I've used it before. But so what? I just didn't feel like dueling anymore, ok? I got bored."
"No. You stopped because your father came near. You were stuck in a rough patch and your father was watching then. You quit out of fear." Pharah nodded affirmatively. She had known. She had felt the waves of Lola's shadow pumping like a rabbit's heart beneath the coffee table. Lola was afraid of failing him again. And she'd never let herself move past that.
"Pharah! What the hell?"
"These are the rules of the game. You are my friend, and I know you're not speaking the whole truth. I need to know, Lola. I need to."
The Egyptian shook her head then. She knew Lola detested the pleading, begging, and whimpering unless for play. And so Pharah did her best to sound her most earnest and collected. This was why she asked the question. Not just for Lola's betterment, but her own.
"The day I duel Minnie Kaiba was a day of trial. A day of awakening for me. I didn't know how or why I knew those monsters the way I did, but I do know this.. I'd not have won if it were not for you and the others. You all taught me to believe in myself. Trust in my deck. Hear the call of the cards. You inspired me to fight- for your honor, for Jake's, for my father and yours. I would not let a confused bully run your lives. But because of that day... everything changed. I feel like that was the day The Fates knew I was here. That I'm more than just a pawn for destiny, because I can make a difference in this world. But that must mean the same for you, because it was you that changed me. Taught me to stand up and fight. So to see you quit... give up like what you did for me on that day was nothing... it makes me wonder if it all... was nothing."
This night was getting too heavy for Lola. All these sappy confessions, deadly explosions, hookie and pending butt whoopings by disappointed parents. Maybe she should have just pretended to be asleep the way she used to when she snuggled in Jacob's bed and didn't want her parents questioning. Everyone's concern riding on her. Everyone thinking something was up when she just wanted to be alone.
Lola sighed. She looked down at her feet hanging out of the window, the yard below her and all the crumbs she'd been tossing of her unwanted waffles.
"It meant everything. The duel I mean. With Minnie. Both of them..."
Pharah's eyes lit up.
"I guess... you're kind of new, so... it's not fair that everybody knows and not you just 'cause you wasn't 'round yet. Look, Pharah, I'm'ma keep one-hunnit with you. I'm not all that great at getting all this mushy so yeah... ok. Here I go."
"We used to be friends, believe it or not. Or, ok. Not like you and me where we mad chill, can tell each other whatever, just be real. But me and rich bitch? We was actually pretty tight. Yeah, yeah, we hated each other. But, at the same time, it was fun. We didn't know any other way to treat each other after watching how our daddies interacted. It just felt like that's how things were supposed to be. No matter how much we said 'oh, girl you grimy' or 'you trifling hoe', we built each other up by tearing each other down. Note to self; that's how all of Miss Kaiba's relationships work. And I loved it. Why?
Because I was a great duelist. Don't let her fool you, but she knew it too. That's why she wanted to take me down so badly. If I wasn't something, she wouldn't bother. Hell to the no. But, deadass, I was so good at Duel Monsters, I had agents and companies ringin' up my dad's phone like 24/7 on the real. All these big guys in their fancy suits and deep-ass pockets wanted me- me!- to represent them. Yup. I was on the fast track to the Pro-League at seven years old. Holla!
Since you're so new, you probably ain't know 'em... but just in case. You ever seen duelists flippin up they face-downs and sayin' 'blow it up' with this little swag-monster dance? I started that shit.
Or what about the song 'Headshot, Baby, Boom!' by the Ojama-Mama's? No? Well, there's like mad trap remixes of it and shit- way more my style- but, again, point is... that's mine too. When I attacked someone's life points directly, I used to do my little dougie, maybe thrown in some stanky leg and Cat Daddy moves, and say 'Headshot, headshot! Bay-bay, BOOM!'
Now it's like a pump up song for duelists 'cause some DJ remixed my TV highlights. I'm a starter of internet trends! Sweet, huh?
But yeah. I was on top. In the big leagues. Kickin' it with some of my heroes like Zane Truesdale- oh, baby, he could get it. Mmmm! Jesse Anderson, Aster Phoenix, Linden Pegasus. And my favorite duelist ever, Alexis Rhodes.
And of course, my least favorite, Minako Kaiba.
Oh, damn, my daddy was so proud of me. So proud! I was gettin' some good money from all the air time and prize money! Soaking it all up! Literally, people paid me to ask me questions for magazines and stuff. I wasn't as famous as everybody else, but I was on my way. I was called the underdog myself 'cause all these big-timers had all the cool cards. Decks made of steel, I swear! And I was always teased for my "Billy Deck". Which is basically a deck that kids make for shits and giggles, and not really to compete with. My deck is and always has been made up of cards having to with food. People ain't take me seriously until I started rising in victories...
Which, brings me to worlds.
Worlds is like the Olympics of Duel Monsters. The Superbowl of card games. FIFA, baby! Winning this was like being crowned Miss Universe, better than American Idol, huger than huge. This was the biggest, baddest Duel Monsters tournament around. Competition is so tight, when your life points go down, a part of your pride in being a human existence goes too. I kid you not, son. The best of the best even had to fight their way onto the roster. You were scored on a Duel Point chart; a ten being the best, and a one meaning you probably should go home and rethink your life. Duel Points take into account your loss to win ratio, the speed of your duels, OTKs, your versatility as a duelist, and rebounds. Ballin'! You had to be at least a seven to get into Worlds, and this time… this time I was gonna do it.
Yup. You heard. What's good, what's gucci? Ya girl Lola Serenity Wheeler, representin' the seven-one-eight. And the first Wheeler to be bringing it at Worlds 2017. I stayed slayin' 'em.
I made it to a seven just before sign-ups 'cause of my duel with the West Coast title holder Esther Roba, and then her cousin Hesther Roba in the preliminaries. Got 'em! I know, I know. Cuttin' it kind of close to deadlines, but you know how it be. I ain't never said I was one to pounce. Last minute is always a good time for me. Of course, even making it to Worlds didn't stop the hate. All my dueling career, that's all I got from peeps. Bunch of haters runnin' they mouths, not knowing nothing 'bout my skills. I keep it trill. But I got my fam and that's all I needed to make it this far. If it weren't for my dad especially, I wouldn't have been runnin' that town. He's always believed in me. In my cards. My skills. Them dudes at sign-ups were hesitant to let me on the roster, but then my daddy showed them what's good.
There ain't no tournament without a Wheeler in it. So suck on that!
But when I was there competing, it was so crazy. Duelists have limited time to see their friends and families in between duels. In fact, we had limited everything. This tournament was legit. Limited breaks, limited interaction with other duelists, limited switches between your main deck and side deck. Dinner is at a certain time, and lights in the hotel better be out by nine. Like damn. Even every duel is timed, and if someone don't win in fifteen minutes or less, the person with the most life points at the sound of the clock moves on to the next match. And every match you move up, your time goes down. Fifteen, ten, five, you're done. It was two weeks of hardcore, no joke dueling. Like a boot camp with a trophy and the prestige of kings.
That year it was held in Dubai; rich people capital city. In the big UAE. Believe me when I say that to a motherfucker like me, that shit ain't cheap. As a contender, all my travel, hotel, and food expenses were paid. But my ma, pops, and brother… shit. Y'all buggin'.
And I missed them. Man, like… I really did. It hurts to even think about it. They couldn't come, but they said they'd be watching from home, there for me every step of the way. I could picture them; Joey, Mai, my big bro Jake, even nonna, Aunt Serenity, Uncle Tristan, and little Rowan. Maybe they'd even invite the Mutos over too. Yugi, Tea, the twins. They'd all be sitting 'round the TV in the living room with mad snacks. You'd be thinkin' it's Thanksgiving. The potluck of royalty! And everyone would be cheering me on or booing my opponent. When the cameras were on me, I wondered if my fam at home could see my cards. Maybe they'd be coming up with strategies themselves, praying that I'm smart enough to use 'em or hear that shit telepho- telepath- telepefithepalipally? Screw it! You know what I mean!
I just didn't think I could bear disappointing them. Dad especially. I can not tell you how many times someone has looked down upon him, how many fuckers take one look at the name 'Joey Wheeler' and think 'That guy? He ain't good enough to duel here.' The underdog. The joke. Well, motherfuckers, Joey Wheeler is my daddy, and everything I know about Duel Monsters is from that man! That's why I was standing on top of the world at the baddest tournament y'all fuckers ever did see. That's why I was determined to win this shit. I may be the daughter of the underdog, but I'm the daughter of a champion too. Say it with me now: Champ-i-on. You know… a winner! And with genes like that, from the enduring Jumpin' Joey Wheeler who is ready for any challenge, and the fierce Harpie Queen herself- Mai Valentine- I hit the jackpot!
Ah, but mom. Mommy-mom-mother-ma.
I'm'ma keep it real you with now. I ain't never been too close with my ma. There are huge chunks of my childhood that I don't remember her ever being there for. She used to walk out a lot, and then come back saying how sorry she was, how she ain't finna do it again. Mhm. Yeah. Sure. Again, and again, and again, and again! Ain't nobody need that many vacations for that long, mom!
So when I found out that my mother was trying to kick it with- wait for it, wait for it... Seto freaking Kaiba, it kind of got me feeling a type of way. A part of me thinks she did that to spite my daddy. Like she was mad that he got her pregnant, it was his fault that he ain't as rich as them Kaibas and can't always buy her none of them fancy clothes she always wants. My mother was so bored of us, her own kids, that she be wanting to flirt around? And, no, not just with Money Bags. But with lots of guys. Guys at her job, guys at the tournaments she said she was going to support me in!
And I had to find this all out at Worlds from Haru Kaiba, Mokuba's son who was playing with my kid cousin Rowan.
Which is why it really, really, really sucked that my opponent in round six was Minako Kaiba herself. Dun-dun-dunn. Up until then, I was on fire. Taking names like Tyranno Hassleberry, Finn Tsunami, Sa'eed Ishtar, Arachnia Underwood, and Linden Pegasus. Ooh, kill 'em! Ooh, kill 'em! Fire in the hole, sucka!
Oh, and she knew. She knew what was going on. Something always struck me as creepy when you saw the way Minnie would literally fawn over her daddy. Um... gross. That's type GTFO. So, obviously daddy's little girl was none too happy 'bout seeing another lady- moreover, my mom- trying to come into Mr. Kaiba's life. She was pissed. Pissed the fuck off like I ain't never did see. Ever.
Now. Let me tell you something 'bout Miss Minako Kaiba. It was at that point that our relationship when from 'sup bitch' to I'd like to c-c-c-combo break her neck. You feel me? If I had to describe her in one sentence, it'd be this: bitch motherfuckin' bitch-ass, punk-ass, versace-wearing-ass, hoe-ass, homewreckin' squally-ass, thottie, purse-swayin', stupid-ass, big-headed rich-ass, chicken-headed, no nipple-having ass bitch! Ugh!
But I digress.
In the world of Duel Monsters, she was princess. All the way on top in the highest tower, with dragons and impenetrable fortresses to protect her. Literally. It was almost a rule that no one beat miss MinMin. But, you know me and rules. Fuck the po-lice!
We were about three minutes in. The trash talkin' had started long before the first card was even played, but it was on now. We held nothin' back. I had just ritual summoned The Hungry Burger; which, considering the leeway Miss Kaiba was giving, was a lot more work than usual. And alongside my Bistro Butcher and Jerry Beans Man, I was feeling pretty bossed up. Her Mr. Volcano wasn't standing any chance. Of course, smarty pants, she wanted me to be all types of gassed up just so she could pull the pride right out from under me.
A wager was made right then and there, just before her turn. Her rarest card, The Lady Blue Eyes, for my rarest card, The Lady Red Eyes. Remember, I told you I was gettin' pretty famous. So famous that, just like he did for Minnie, Linden Pegasus convinced his father to paint me my very own card. Literally- made for me! A feisty next generation monster of my daddy's Red Eyes Black Dragon. And it meant the world to me. That was me, who I wanted to be. I was the Lady Red Eyes. I was the spirit of my deck. Powerful and feared. Ass-kicking and speedy. And not to mention good looking.
And I should've known that she made that bet right when she did because she knew she was gonna win. A part of me thinks I did. But you don't understand. I would've done anything to win that duel. A Wheeler beating a Kaiba? Well, hello! That would show my mom that we were better! She'd want to come back to us Wheelers and forget all about those Kaibas after I left their heiress in the dust! I had to! I had to! And I...
After sending her monster to the graveyard, she whips out this sucker called Spirit Flame Ignis, which allowed her to inflict a hundred points of direct damage unto moi for every pyro monster in her graveyard. Now ain't that a bitch. 'Cause I had sent eight of them there, thinkin' this duel was easy-peasy-pumpkin-squeezy. Psych!
So, yeah. I kinda, sorta, maybe, somewhat, lost. In probably one of the most important duels of my life thus far, with my duel-famous parents Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine watchin', and my favorite card and friend on the line.
She has my card now. To this very day, I know she still has Lady Red Eyes somewhere in that fortress of hers. And she ain't even use it! She just keeps it like a serial killer keepin' fingers and toes with the rest of her collection of defeated opponent's rare cards! And I've wanted to get it back for years now... but... I just couldn't duel anymore. I didn't have it me.
Because mom still kept leaving and I... I couldn't win a duel that might've, should've kept their marriage together. And now she's gone. Now she's divorcing my daddy and it's all my fault! Because I didn't have the strength, the focus, the skill... Minnie was right. I am a failure... I duel for fun and games, but then when it comes down to power, to dealing with pressure of life and death, she said, ... I crumble. I'm not like her... that's why.
And then even when Jake tried to make it better by striking a deal with her, she just took him away too. Sent him to prison. Betrayed his feelings for her. I couldn't fix it...
But then there's you. You came along and suddenly I knew things were gonna change. It's just like what you said about me; I knew, the instant I saw you, you were a drop of destiny among my storm cloud. Like I've known you my whole life. Waiting for that day of redemption when you'd finally stand up to Miss Kaiba and take the power I knew you had all along.
That moment when she made the wager again. Just before her final turn, she offered you The Lady Blue Eyes... and I flashbacked to that day in Dubai. To Worlds. For a sec, I got scared. Like it was happening all over again. She had that same look, that same stance of victory. But then I... I knew you'd win. I felt it! You were meant to win! I couldn't help myself getting hyped, for that was the day of great change!
That was the day you became a pusher of destiny. My world's changed, my brother's has changed. Howard, Carter, Faith... especially Minnie's. You made that one day no one will ever forget."
End Chapter
Thank You Reading!
I know, lots of information. Just let that all sink in, and I'll get back to you guys when I can.
If you need to contact me, please try my email of cell, honestly. You can message Jayce'sWhisperedPromises for that information.
Also, in this chappie... I must say thank you to my fanfic wifey Tasia'sEndlessDreams who helped with her OC's (Lyric Strevopolous) dialogue.
And also the small cameo of another OC from my friend Light Melody. The character is Karuri Takumi and will be featured in the prequel story "The Healing of Self Harm", as well as a cameo again later on in this story.
Thank you all!
Love ya and stay golden!
