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. And it's still going. And whoa, still going. But it'll be over soon!
Thanks everybody! I was unconscious last time and forgot to give away these gifts *hands out strands of Bakura's hair* Enjoy ^_^
Andross: What Japanese text thingie??? I don't see anything wrong... Is it a formatting thing? A spelling thing? Can someone tell me?
Kimmie: If only I could write so much for assignments... *blink* This sounds like a dumb question, but what's a claimer?
LukeSkywalker'sLady: Calligraphy looks so cool. I wish I could do my letters like that ^_^
MaidenOTM: Yeah, those ones were a bit short, weren't they? I'll try to do better!
Nieni Woodland: *blinks* Me too? But we're not even dating yet ^_^
Sheron: Yes, I am woman, hear me roar.
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 raincoats were harmed in the making of this fic.
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Being Dead Ain't Easy
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Are We There Yet?
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Mokuba gets outta the way pretty fast once he knows just how bad everything is. He scares up a limo for us and even has the street we'll need sealed off so we don't get hit by cars in the middle of the ritual. We all get into our ride and the limo driver hits the gas. If he thinks it's kinda odd to be driving two invisible guys, one kid, and five teens, one of 'em his unconscious boss, to some street in the middle of the night, in pouring rain, he's not sayin' anything. Whadda pro.
"Can't we take Seto to the hospital first?" Mokuba pleads from his spot next to his brother. Tristan's not holding him anymore. "He's really hurt..."
Yami Bakura snorts. "Of course not. We need him."
Yuugi looks at Yami for a second opinion. Yami shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but we can't. We must do something about the draining of his life energy before we can heal his body."
Yuugi sighs. "I'm really sorry, Mokuba. We have to fix Joey first so he's not using your brother's energy anymore."
I'm almost expecting Kaiba to say something about dogs and 'fixing', but no, he just lies there on the seat, not moving. Sorta like what I'm doing, except I'm lying on Yami's lap so I don't fall through the bottom of the car. Man, we must be the sorriest-lookin' guys on the planet.
Mokuba doesn't look happy. "We have to go to the hospital right after." He looks at Yami Bakura. "Please do the ritual really fast, okay?"
"Do not worry, boy, I have every intention of keeping the Priest alive. And his pet ghost more or less intact."
It's quiet for a minute.
"Is... is Joey really here?" Tristan asks.
"Yes, you blind idiot! He's right there!" Yami Bakura points at Yami and me.
Tea, Tristan, and Mokuba all look at the empty seat in the limo.
He smirks. "Oh, my mistake, I think we left them back at the mansion."
Haha, very funny. If you make 'em turn back, I'll... I'll... Damn.
Yami Yuugi growls. "You..." He didn't find it too funny, either.
Yuugi shoots a look at Yami Bakura. "He's just joking, guys. Yami and Joey are here with us." He suddenly looks nervous. "Joey's here, right, Yami?"
Yami rolls his eyes. "Yes, he's here with me, Yuugi. Though not at his best."
Yeah, no kidding. I feel like I'm leaving bits of me in the air, and I can't even scream about it 'cause I can't do anything without killing me or Kaiba. I just have to lie there and take it. I hate this. I really really hate this.
Yami must've seen the look in my eyes, 'cause he sorta fidgets, then pats me on the shoulder. "It will be alright, Joey. If anything goes wrong, I will have Bakura's head."
Thanks. I appreciate the thought, but... ya know what? I think Kaiba's better at this 'comforting' thing than Yami is. Maybe it's 'cause he has a little brother, but when Seto says he's gonna take care of everything, it makes me feel better.
...What am I thinking!? Kaiba's messed up freakiness must be contagious or something! I better stop thinking about him before it spreads to the rest of my brain.
Tristan saves the day. "Joey? Can you hear me, buddy?"
Yeah, I can. I look up at Yami.
Yami looks at me, looks at Yuugi. "Yes, he can."
Yuugi blinks. "Um, Joey says yes."
Yami Bakura's chuckling at us, but we ignore him. Mokuba's listening too, but he just takes care of Seto and tries to give us some privacy.
Tea looks all excited. "So Joey can talk through you, Yuugi? That's great!"
"Um..." Yuugi looks at Yami for help.
"Just say yes," decides Yami. "It'll make them feel better."
"Uh... Yes?"
Tristan grabs Yuugi by the shoulders. "Joey, I'm so, so sorry!" he apologizes to Yuugi, uh, me. "I know I messed everything up when I hit Kaiba, but I... I wasn't thinking. I'm really sorry."
It's okay, pal. Kaiba's just too much sometimes. If I was solid, I'd beat him up myself. Or try to, anyway. You punched him for me, and that's kinda cool. You just picked a really bad time to do it, that's all.
Yuugi's got a 'what should I say?' look on his face.
Yami looks into my eyes and tries to figure out what I want to say. "Uh... Joey says he forgives him?" Eh, close enough.
Yuugi blinks, translates. "Um... Joey says it's okay because he would've done the same thing if he could."
Tristan relaxes and looks like he feels a little better. "So... it's okay? Everything's cool?"
Yuugi smiles. "Everything's cool." He tries to say it the way I would. Yuugi, you're the best.
He gives Yuugi a big hug, pretending the little guy's me. It's a bit of a problem, 'cause Yuugi's not me and he's getting crushed. And that puzzle must be really digging into him. Yami looks like he wants to go help him, but he's too busy holding me.
Tea coughs. "Tristan, Yuugi can't breathe."
He lets Yuugi go and laughs a little. "Sorry." He looks at Tea. "Do you want to say something to Joey?"
She thinks about it. "Yeah. Just a little thing." She looks at Yuugi. "Joey, I want you to know that, no matter what happens, you'll always be in our hearts. We'll always be with you, and you'll always be with us. No matter what." She looks away. "That's it."
...Thanks, Tea. I'll remember that.
Tristan nods. "I feel the same way, Joey."
Yuugi looks at where he thinks I am. He gets it right. "You're the greatest friend in the world, Joey!" And he smiles. "The best."
"And I feel the same way," finishes Yami.
I... Thanks. I love you guys.
Yami Bakura looks like he wants to break a window and leap out. I guess he doesn't like how close we all are.
The limo slows, stops. "Mr. Kaiba, we're here."
Mr. Kaiba? Is Kaiba... no, he's still out cold. The driver's talking to Mokuba. It's hard to think of Mokuba as a 'Mr. Kaiba', though. I hear 'Kaiba', and I think 'jerk'. Kaiba, jerk. Jerk, Kaiba. See? Wait, that sounds kinda wrong, but you know what I mean, right?
We all get outta the limo and into the rain. Yami's carrying me and Tristan's carrying Kaiba again. Yami Bakura's still got his supplies.
He takes a look around. There aren't any houses, and the stores are all closed. Ya know, Yami Bakura looks kinda funny with his hair wet. "Brat, where exactly did Wheeler die? Do you remember?"
"I'm not a brat!" argues Mokuba. "Stop calling me that!"
"Boy, then!"
Mokuba glares at him, but then he looks around. He walks over to the newest looking lamppost, remembering. "We crashed here."
I remember too...
I start runnin' after the limo. Doesn't take too long to catch up 'cause it suddenly starts zigzagging all over the street, crashes into a lamppost, and explodes. Whole thing's covered in flames
He slowly walks a few steps away from it. "When I woke up, I was... here."
Kaiba rolls outta the ex-limo with his brother in his arms. He staggers a bit. He's in bad shape. Mokuba's passed out, but he's not hurt too bad
His big brother got him out. And then...
He walks two more steps. "Big brother and Joey were... here," he whispers.
Ya know, it's kinda nice havin' him hold me like this. He's soakin' wet and I am, too, but he's… warm. I must be goin' into shock or something
I died here.
Mokuba shakes a little. "I..." He takes a few deep breaths. "I'm okay now." He looks at Yami Bakura with wide kiddie eyes. "Can we do the ritual? Please?"
Our Master of Rituals nods. "Brat, get that driver to move the vehicle down another block. I don't want it in the way." Mokuba sighs and talks to the limo driver. Yami Bakura looks at us. "Everyone gather where the boy was standing."
We all sorta stand around that spot. Mokuba comes back and stands with us. Okay, now what?
Yami Bakura puts his stuff on the ground and pulls a card outta his deck. I have no idea what it is, but it makes a giant dome around us. Wow.
Everybody's startled, but Yami gets over it first. "What are you up to now!?" growls Yami Yuugi.
The other guy blinks. "This way the candles won't get wet."
And we can't get away, either. Handy.
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