Chapter 19: Ruined
Joey and Duke rushed down the staircases to see the west wing in shambles and fire everywhere.
Joey's heart jumped at the sight. "Oh fuck- Mother! Serenity- where are they?!"
He ran for the fiery hallways, intent on finding them whether he burned to death or not, but was snatched back by a strong arm.
"Joey, you can't go in there!" It was Tristan.
Joey struggled in his grasp, intent on finding his family with every fiber inside him. "Let me go, Tris! I have to get them-"
"Let me handle it. The rest of the guard is on its way- stop resisting Joey! We need everyone out of this building right now," Tristan urged, struggling to keep Joey in his arms.
Joey slumped against him after a couple of beats, defeated, and unable to get out of Tristan's grasp. When had he gotten so strong? He supposed boot camp did that to a person.
"I'll get your father and Yugi, Joey- you make sure that everyone gets out all right!" Duke told him from a few feet away, already running back up the stairs once Joey looked in his direction.
Joey still needed to find his mother and sister, but he knew Tristan would find them. "Okay- I'll get everyone. Just-" he roughly grabbed Tristan's shirt, his eyes wild from body numbing fright. "Find them."
"You know I will," Tristan promised, his eyes fierce, and they released each other to run in opposite directions.
Joey did his absolute best to move as quickly as possible to get every worker out of the palace and far enough away from the burning building. He put forth all of his energy of needing to save his family into saving the people who had seen him grow up- the workers of his palace.
"Joey!"
As he was helping a coughing, old maid out onto the grass by the gates, he turned to see Yugi running for him, a cloth on his mouth and ash all over his face. He looked terrified.
Joey supposed he probably didn't look too different than him at the moment. Joey made sure the maid was okay and with the others, before approaching Yugi.
"Yugi! Are you okay?" He demanded.
"Fine- but Joey your dad he-"
Joey grabbed his heart as if he understood. No. "No- no! He wasn't even by the fire how could-"
Yugi shook his head frantically, tears streaming down his round saddened face. "No, it wasn't the fire Joey. It was- someone stabbed him to death in his bed."
Joey's whole world stopped and his eyes unfocused. That can't be. He had been with him not that long ago. How could someone get up to him that fast? How could this have happened?! "No..." he repeated weakly, his eyes filling with angry, hurt tears.
"I'm sorry Joey! Duke and another guard are trying to get his body out of the palace-" His body. Joey choked on a sob.
"No no no no," Joey grabbed his hair and pulled harshly, not feeling the pain on his scalp. His father couldn't be dead. He just couldn't.
"The king?"
"Oh no, he was murdered."
"It must be who attacked us."
"Oh, the king..."
"And what of the queen and princess? Where are they?"
The questions and whimpers from the others swirled inside of his head and Joey tightened his grip on his head, his fingertips pressed hard on his scalp. What the fuck was going on!?
"Joey...?" Joey barely felt the small hands on his arms, trying to get him to come back to the present but Joey couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
"Joey!" It was Tristan who called his name then and he looked worse than everyone. He was wearing a firefighter uniform and was helping in the chaos. His face was tight, his eyes shadowed but he looked relieved when he saw them. "Thank god you're okay."
Joey dropped his hands from his hair to his wet cheeks. He looked up at him in question "What do you mean?"
Tristan tightened his grip on his jacket and he pressed his lips into a hard line. "Your mother didn't make it and we can't find Serenity. The most I can make out of all of this was that your family was the target. I was hoping you were okay." He said it all so easily.
Joey fell to his knees, his legs unable to support him any longer. Yugi gasped and bent down to him, overly concerned. Joey trembled under Yugi's hands.
"Tristan, Joey's father he is-"
"Yes, I know. I helped Duke. They're transporting the king to the hospital. They at least have his body. The queen was not savable."
Joey couldn't bear to listen any longer. His parents- both gone. His sister was missing. All he could see was the tears blurring his vision. His skin felt hot but numb to the touch. Every beat of his heart was so painful.
"Oh I'm so sorry Joey," Yugi cried to him, his arms wrapping around the blond as best as he could. He could idly hear the sobs from the workers around them as they processed the news.
Joey heard Tristan take a deep breath as if to steady himself. "I have to go help. I... I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You... you'll need to find places for the workers to stay Joey. And- perhaps you should stay with Yugi for a little bit. Until this, all calms down. You're King now... you'll need to come up with a plan."
Joey couldn't respond, the only thing that came out was a strangled sob and he threw his face into his hands. He was confused, furious, hurting- hurting so badly. Why was this happening to him and his family? And oh god Serenity- where was she? Who had her?
"We'll help you, Joey. I promise. We will help you," Yugi told him over and over, his own sobs taking over him but still wanting to console the prince as best as he could. Joey held onto him for support, wishing he could wake up out of this harrowing nightmare.
Oo0oO
The whole country of Ghaffar was grieving. Their king and queen had been murdered, the princess was missing, and their excuse of a prince was now King.
King was a loose term. Joey had no idea what to do.
Joey had stayed with Yugi and his grandfather for a couple of days as the palace was in ruins and it wasn't safe to go there anyway. He had no home or family. He suspected whoever had killed his parents and took his sister wouldn't find him there.
And even if they did, Joey would murder them with his own two hands.
Joey knew he needed to get his act together to find Serenity. He knew it had to be Pegasus, as he was also the one suspected of attacking Pious just weeks prior, but he couldn't just walk into Kwan without a plan, alone.
Yugi, Duke, and Tristan had vowed to help him and he gratefully appreciated it, but honestly, the only person he needed help from was Seto. He would know what to do.
Joey had tried calling him multiple times but no one had answered the phone. Not even Rolland.
Were they even okay? He hoped that they were still alive. He hadn't seen anything on the news or read about it in the paper, so Pious must still be all right.
Joey figured Seto was just keeping his distance, as he had said he would. It was infuriating but Joey knew that he would have to figure it out himself.
He was now the King of Ghaffar. It was his duty to protect his country.
Just the thought made him feel like he was going to be sick.
His parents' funeral was a horrible day. It was raining and cold, dark - just how Joey felt. The whole country it seemed was there and Joey tightly held onto Duke's arm as he rode in the black carriage traveling through the Main Street of Ghaffar's capital, unwilling to believe any of this was real.
Afterward, Joey held himself up in Yugi's bedroom and tried to devise a plan. Truthfully, Joey wasn't ever good with plans. He was always a hit first, ask questions later kind of person, but this situation was bigger than him.
Serenity and a lot of other lives were at stake. His whole country for that matter depended on him.
Duke and Yugi had been watching him, silently from the floor of the bedroom, as if they were afraid he would break at any second.
Joey sighed and threw himself down onto the floor from the bed that he had been wallowing on to get on their level. It seemed to startle them after a long time without speaking or moving.
"Do you guys think I'm a failure?" He asked them, eyes downcast and mortified of their answer- but he still needed to know. He needed to know if they believed that he was failing just as he thought he was.
"What? Of course not." Yugi was the first to protest, Joey wasn't surprised. The small boy always was optimistic, no matter what the situation.
"Why would we think that?" Duke wondered suspiciously, his voice calm but concerned.
Joey threw an arm over his eyes as he laid flat on his back upon the floor, exhausted. "Because I can't think straight and I'm supposed to be a King. A king is supposed to protect his country but I'm not. I can't even protect my family."
"No one blames you for any of this, Joey. The country is in danger because of a power-hungry dictator. You just lost your family, your home, and before that- your fiancé. Your whole world has been tipped upside down. Anyone would feel the same as you." Duke reminded him gently. "What have you come up with?"
Joey took a deep breath. He supposed Duke was right. Anyone would feel the same way. "To be honest? The only thing I can think of is to go to Pegasus, the bastard, myself, and demand him give my sister back and to leave my damn country alone."
Yugi looked down at his hands in thought while Duke laughed lightly.
"Well, I'm sure Pegasus would be compliant," the dark-haired man replied sarcastically.
"Joey, I've been thinking the same thing," Yugi admitted and both Joey and Duke turned theirs heads to him.
He colored at the attention but took a deep breath before explaining. "It's the only thing that we really can do at this point. Pegasus is at the advantage. We know that he wants Ghaffar, just as he wants Pious. This was all his plan and if you defend yourself and the country, he may at least consider. Right now, he is probably thinking that if he can break you down, it'll be easier to get you to do what he wants. But, if you make it clear that it will never happen, you'll throw him off. He will have to change tactics."
"You're right, Yugi!" Duke agreed, getting excited all of a sudden but then paused. "We only need something to use against him."
"Like what?" Joey asked, sitting up and crossing his legs, giving them a level stare. "What could we possibly use to defeat Pegasus? We barely know anything about him-"
"I believe I can help."
A foreign female voice had them all jumping to their feet and Joey was shocked to see a woman standing in the doorway of the bedroom. She had black hair with sections tied with beads. Her skin was as tan as Yami's and her eyes were a dark blue.
"Who are you?" Duke demanded, positioning himself in front of Yugi and Joey defensively.
"I mean no harm," she said softly, her hands rising in front of her. "I am only here because I need your help and... I think you could use my help too."
Duke didn't move and Joey put a hand on his shoulder, calming him. "Who are you? You look familiar."
She smiled sadly and dropped her hands to her sides. "My name is Ishizu. You have met my younger brother, Malik, on unfortunate circumstances. I apologize on his behalf, he was severely brainwashed."
Joey immediately remembered the morning when he had found himself tied to a tree and was made to fight with some crazy tanned guys. He had almost forgotten about it until she mentioned it.
Wait-
"Was?" Joey questioned, suspicious of how she had phrased it. "Where is he now? And how do we trust you when it was your brother who attacked me?"
Yugi and Duke looked to Joey then, not understanding. Joey bit his cheek, he would have to tell them the story of his attack later.
"My brother was killed by his counterpart. Up until now, my brother and I have been working with Pegasus. He was holding leverage over us by keeping our other brother Odion from us. Malik fell quickly as he had always wanted to mean something in this world and was mentored by a psychotic man of the name Marik."
Joey recognized both names from the attack in the forest.
"Marik killed Malik, why?" Yugi asked her, his voice wobbly.
Ishizu looked down at him, her face went white. "My king?" She gasped.
Yugi blushed scarlet at the intense look Ishizu gave him. Duke and Joey glanced between the two curiously.
"No... you can't be. But you look just like him!" Her face was in wonderment and awe, Yugi shifted under her gaze and looked away.
"I-I'm just Yugi. Just Yugi," he spluttered.
Ishizu looked so confused but Duke didn't have the patience to stop their conversation of her brother. "Why did Marik kill your brother?"
She cleared her throat, pulling her wide eyes away from the red Yugi, and shifted on her feet. "Malik's moral compass was intervening. He didn't want to murder more people or do any of what has happened. He begged me to take him home and leave Odion, but I refused him. I couldn't leave my brother. Then, when the plan was to murder the King and Queen of Ghaffar-" Joey twitched, "-Malik refused. Marik had had enough and he killed him on the spot."
The boys grew silent, mulling over her words. She patiently let them process what she had said.
Joey frowned after thinking something and got to his voice quicker than the others. "Why are you telling us this?"
Ishizu sighed, sounding pained. "Pegasus has been using my gift. I can see into the future and look into the past. Up until my brother was killed, I had only saving Odion on my mind and so I did everything I could to fulfill Pegasus' wishes. But now... my family has been demolished and I need help taking him down."
Duke scowled, disapproving. "And what about Joey? His whole family has been taken from him too and it's partly your fault."
Ishizu looked down at the floor then, looking extremely guilty and regretful. "Yes, I understand. I know no amount of apologizes will fix what's been done. But I know where the princess is. Pegasus has her and is intending on marrying her, to take Ghaffar."
Joey's whole body ran cold. Marry her?
"However, I know something that no one else does that can stop all of this," Ishizu continued passively.
"What's that?" Yugi demanded, no longer blushing and instead had a determined look on his face.
Ishizu leveled her eyes to him, seeing something none of the boys could. "Before Pegasus, Kwan had another ruler and he had a son. Pegasus worked for the King and envied his power. The King subsequently died and the son went missing. No one to this day knows where he is or if he is alive, except me. I withheld this information from Pegasus because I knew that if he ever were to find out then the son would be removed."
"So the son is still alive?" Joey inquired thoughtfully, his fingers sliding over his jaw.
Ishizu nodded, her eyes lifting to him. "Correct. If we can find him and restore him to the throne, Pegasus will have to step down and Kwan will no longer be in the shadows. My country has been sucked dry of everything good because of him and he needs to be brought to justice."
"How are we supposed to find him?" Joey suddenly asked, grabbing at his hair stressfully. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack. We don't even know his name or what he looks like."
Ishizu glanced at Yugi and the small boy seemed to abruptly realize something. "Yes, we do, " he told them with conviction, taking the other boys off guard.
Joey and Duke turned to him. "Hunh?" Joey asked dumbly.
Yugi looked to Ishizu, looking a little unsure. "I look like him don't I?"
She nodded with a small smile. "Yes, but you are not him."
"Right, but there's someone who looks almost just like me in Pious and doesn't have memories of his past. It's a hunch but- I think it could be Yami."
Joey's jaw dropped as he turned his body to face Yugi fully. "Y-Yami? You sure, Yug?"
Duke frowned in confusion and crossed his arms. "Who the hell is Yami?"
Yugi colored and looked down at the floor. "He... well I-" He seemed to be struggling for words and eyes flitted around the floor.
"He is Yugi's boyfriend," Joey smirked, unable to stop himself from his growing amusement. Duke's eyes went wide with his jaw-dropping, as Yugi spun around to face the wall, unable to look at them any longer.
"Boyfriend?!" Solomon Muto's shout from the hallway made them all jump.
Oo0oO
Joey, Duke, Yugi, and Ishizu, met at a rather large car parked outside Yugi's house. He had called for one from Pious, knowing they would need it to travel.
At the thought of Pious, the blond wondered if Seto even cared about any of what was happening, but he quickly dismissed it. He needed to focus. Seto was still refusing his calls and Joey knew he would have to give up on him.
The plan was simple, they go to Pious. Get Yami. Tell him who he was. Bring him to Kwan and stop the whole fucking mess that Pegasus had created.
He just hoped Yami would cooperate. Joey hoped that his small friend could convince him. If anyone could, he knew in affirmation, it was Yugi.
The hardest part for Joey would be the fact that he would probably have to see Seto again. After everything had happened, what would be left of them? Joey wasn't angry anymore, just sorely confused. Seto had told him that the reason for him returning to his country was to keep Ghaffar safe.
With his country in shambles and his sister missing, what was Seto's next move? Joey wondered if the king was still surveying the country. Surely he knew what had all happened.
As they were piling into the car after saying goodbye to Solomon, Tristan's sudden appearance stopped Joey. They hadn't seen him in a few days and he had been wondering how he was doing.
"I'm coming with you." Tristan's eyes glanced at Duke with uneasiness before settling on Joey in a hard, determined stare.
"Why all of a sudden?" The blond questioned suspiciously.
Tristan grabbed a hold of the car door as if to make certain they wouldn't leave without him. "Because it's my duty as your guard to protect the King at all cost and- well Joey for fuck sake, I'm your friend." His hard demeanor faltered at that and Tristan gave him a small tired smile.
Joey grinned, his heart jumping with happiness at having one of his best pals with him, and clapped him on the back. "Glad to have you, buddy!"
Duke patted the guy on the shoulder with a casual laugh. "Yeah, we could use your muscles."
Tristan flinched at the touch and Joey frowned at it. What was his problem? Duke noticed it too and awkwardly took his hand back then got into the car without another word.
Tristan refused to meet Joey's questioning eyes and so the blond decided to let it for now. He was uncomfortable.
"Let's go," Joey told them all and after he and Tristan joined the others in the car, they headed out for Pious.
As they drove, Joey became more and more nervous. He prayed that it would all work in their favor without a hitch and that he possibly wouldn't have to talk to or even see Seto.
"Yugi, you for sure think you can convince Yami right?" He wondered to the boy to his left, the anxiety he felt coming out in his words.
Yugi nodded, seeming confident. "I'm sure. He will believe me. All we have to do is have Ishizu tell him what she told us and I think he will have no choice but to come with us. He has been wanting to know his past for a long time. He told me before, you know? That he didn't remember anything."
"Whatever Pegasus did to him, it erased his memories. Perhaps we will need to jog his memory," Ishizu suggested.
"But how?" Duke asked, sounding doubtful.
"I'm hoping the story will help," she told him. "If not then, well, we will have to think of something else."
The rest of the drive held idle chatter and Joey's leg began to bounce as he saw the familiar buildings of Pious. He spotted a camera upon one of them and gritted his teeth. Seto had to know they were here, right?
"Are you going to be okay, Joey? I know how hard this is for you to be here." Yugi looked up at him with wide, concerned eyes. His small hand dropped to Joey's bouncing leg to still it, making him realize that his nerves were obvious to everyone.
Joey caught the stares of them all in the car and he blushed darkly, turning his gaze to the window. "I'm fine. I just want this whole fucking thing to be over with and my sister to be home safe."
"Agreed," Tristan gave a quick nod, all business-like. "We will get her, Joey. I promise."
Joey trembled as he saw the Kaiba palace come into view. The car stopped at the gate.
"This is far as I can go," the driver informed them regretfully.
"Joey we are gonna need your help," Duke advised. "I know it's not ideal but..."
"But how did you get in before without anyone knowing?" Joey asked him, trying to get out of having to speak with the king.
"The gates were open," Duke replied simply.
Joey stifled his groan. So he would have to see the king. He nodded and swung open the car door. "Yeah of course."
"You can do it, Joey," Yugi encouraged and Joey stepped out on shaky legs.
He walked up to the gate and saw a buzzer. Taking a deep breath and not at all ready to talk the sullen king of Pious, he pressed the button.
After a moment, he heard Rolland over the intercom. "King Wheeler- what a surprise." He did sound surprised, but not pleased.
King Wheeler. So they knew. That angered Joey.
"Can you let me in, Rolland? I need to speak to your king."
"I would but he is not here, I'm afraid. May I take a message?"
Joey scowled, not believing it. "What do you mean that bastard's not here? Where the fuck is he?"
"King Wheeler watch your language-"
"Joey?! Is that you?!" An exciting young voice spoke over Rolland.
It was Mokuba. Joey's spirits soared. "Mokuba! Hey- can you let us in? We need to speak to Yami!"
"Yami? But you just said-"
"I know but we need to speak to Yami. Is he there?"
"Oh yeah, he is. Here-"
The gates slowly swung open with a loud creak and Joey sighed in relief. "Thanks, Mokuba. I owe you."
"Yeah, you do. You left without even saying goodbye!" He complained, sounding miffed.
Joey nervously scratched at his neck with a laugh. "Yeah, I do buddy. Sorry about that."
"It's fine! I guess I'll forgive you. Doors unlocked!" Mokuba sounded as if he was beaming from ear to ear.
Joey laughed despite himself and headed back to the car, feeling lighter after talking with the younger boy.
"Seto's not home. Mokuba is though, he will let us talk to Yami," he told the others and shut the door after himself.
"Oh thank goodness," Duke sighed in relief as the car continued into the palace driveway. "All right, Yugi. The rest is all you."
Yugi nodded with determination and Joey patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
"You got this."