Summary: Tragedy strikes. Joey Wheeler is gone forever. Or is he? Joey POV. Post Duelist Kingdom AU. Will eventually be Seto/Joey shounen-ai.
Author's Notes: Well, I thought I'd try writing a YuGiOh fic. I've never posted at fanfiction.net before, so we'll see how it goes, shall we?
Warnings: Character death (sort of), language, angst, eventual Seto/Joey.
Disclaimers: I don't own YuGiOh or any other brand names you might come across. No lights at the end of the tunnel were harmed in the making of this fic.
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Being Dead Ain't Easy
Chapter Two: It Just Gets Worse and Worse
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Huh, I wonder where I am? The last thing I remember is… is what? It doesn't bother me. I guess it's not important.
I'm surrounded by blackness. Oh, wait, no I'm not.
Where'd that tunnel come from? It's so bright it hurts my eyes. Turn it down a little, you guys. Show some consideration. Jeez, people these days.
There must be some kinda vacuum suction thing goin' on 'cause I'm being drawn to it. It's sorta pretty. If I squint, I can see some white swirly things in the light.
I walk towards it. Everything around me is black except for that light. Weird. The first step is hard, but the further I go, the easier it gets. One step, two steps, three step-
And I trip over something. I look down.
My shoelaces are untied. I stuff 'em into my shoe and look back up and just like that, the light's gone.
Wha?
Oh well, guess there's no point in walkin' that way anymore.
I look back down to tie my laces and instead of the blackness that was there before, it's a bird's-eye view of Domino City.
…Domino City!? I'm floatin' above Domino City!?
"What the hell's goin' on here!?" I yell. I've got no idea why I wasn't freaked out before, but I sure am now! People just don't go around floating in the air!
It's all comin' back to me like someone's smacked me in the face with a brick.
Rain, limo, fire, blood, pain, gunman, KaibaKaibaKaiba…
"Joey, NO!"
The 'ground' disappears from beneath my feet and I drop to the city below.
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I land in a cemetery.
Well, not exactly 'land', more like 'float'. While I was fallin' from wherever the hell I was before, I found out I could sorta control the speed of descent by concentrating real hard. And screaming. Couldn't steer, though.
Hey, look! The gang's all here! There's Yuugi and Yuugi's grandpa and Tristan and Tea and Bakura and Mai, my little sis Serenity, Mom, Dad…
And Mokuba. And Seto Kaiba. And a buncha other people, too. Nobody's noticed me yet.
Man, they look awful. I wonder why?
"Cheer up, guys! You all look like your dog died!"
I think about it for a sec and smack my forehead. I'm lucky they aren't yellin' at me for sayin' something so stupid. Of course they look awful! They're in a friggin' cemetery. Somebody died. Must've been somebody popular, what with all these people mourning him. Either that, or they hated him so much they wanted to make sure he was dead. I wonder who the poor guy was. And wouldn't cha know it, there's a plaque right there, so let's take a look:
Joseph Wheeler
January 25th, 1985 – March 28th, 2003
A great guy, and the best friend in the world.
We'll miss you.
…I'm dead.
Me. Dead.
I CAN'T BE DEAD. I'M STILL HERE!
I spin 'round. "Hey guys! I'm right here!" I wave to the gang. "Guys? Sorry for disappearin' like that, I almost got sucked into a giant light bulb or somethin'." I chuckle. They must be wondering what I've been smokin'. "Sounds freaky, right? But I'm back now, so everything's cool, right? Right?"
Why's everyone walkin' away!?
Heh heh, it's a joke, right? They're pissed 'cause I went away and now they're kidding around wit' me, right? Yeah, hahaha, very funny, guys. See, I'm laughin'. Real funny.
HAHAHA.
Okay, comedy hour's over now, time to turn around and say it's just a joke.
I'm waiting.
"…Guys? This ain't FUNNY no more! It's not funny! …Come on, I'm right here! I'm not dead! I'M NOT DEAD!"
I grab Yuugi and shake him, but his body's not movin'. It's like he can't feel it at all. I wave my hand in front of his face and he doesn't even blink. He just turns around and walks away.
They're all ignoring me. Drivin' away in cars and leaving me all alone. Just like that.
Gone.
I guess I caught the tail end of the funeral or memorial service or whatever the hell it was.
The tail end of my funeral or my memorial service.
I remember I was late for some class one day, and the teacher said to me, "Joey Wheeler, you'd be late for your own funeral."
That's… funny.
So funny I could just cry.
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