He was running. Always running...he could feel the dark figure behind him closing in, could feel his hate and his wrath. The pain twisted around him...

He turned to face the figure, finally tired of running. The dark figure loomed over him and then suddenly dropped, forming a fat ugly figure with a beer bottle clutched in his pudgy hand.

Fear crept through him and he turned away from the figure.

Running. Always running.

***

"Joey!" a voice shrieked. A short girl with long brown hair leapt forward only to be caught by a doctor.

"You are not allowed in there, ma'am."

The girl turned her pleading eyes on the man. "Please that's my brother." She stared past him into the window. "What happened to him? Will he be okay?"

The doctor sighed. "I don't know. No one knows anything right now. He's just come out of surgery. A patient was kind enough to donate blood to him."

"But will be be okay?" Serenity whispered. "He'll be okay won't he?"

The doctor shook his head. "I don't know."

From aorund the corner, a tall boy with brown hair watched as the grey-eyed girl broke down crying for her brother.

***

Yugi shivered as they waited in the waiting room. His clothes were still wet, even though he'd been out of the water for almost an three hours.

"Yugi," Téa whipered. "You really shoould go home and get changed."

//Yes// Yani agreed. //You should listen to her.//

"No," the boy shook his head. "I can't."

/I can't Yami. What if he wakes up? More importantly, what if he doesn't wake up. I...I want to be here./

//At least call you grandfather and ask him to bring you some clothes, okay?//

/Yes Yami./

He stood and told his friends where he was going before walking slowly down the hallway, still dazed.

[Water...all around him...he was going to drown....going to die even before he'd begun to live. But he couldn't...couldn't die...couldn't let Joey down...couldn't let Kaiba down...or Serenity...had too....So much...water...lungs...exploding...]

The boy shivered. /Yami?/

//Of course little one.//

/But I want to talk to Grandpa okay?/

//Anything you want.//

With a flash, the ancient Pharaoh appeared and hurried down the hall to a pay phone.

***

Téa looked up to see a sobbing girl enter the waiting room. She looked vaguely familiar...

"Serenity?" Tristan asked. The girl looked up, grey eyes full of sorrow. In a second, the brown haired boy was up and moving quickly towards her. She collapsed into his arms and began to sob again.

The brown haired girl came quickly to stand by the two.

"Serenity?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"

"It's Joey," the girl wailed. "He's so--so dead looking and he's hooked up to all of these machines and---"

"You saw him?" Tristan asked pulling the girl away from his chest and staring into her eyes. "When? How? Where?"

"I sn--uck in becau--se I j-just had to see what he l--looked like. And he's s--o so---!" The girl clutched her fists angrily against Tristan's chest and began to sob. The taller boy moved to the couch and sat down, Serenity falling into her lap and curling up tightly.

Téa sighed and sat down to the left of Tristan and turned her eyes to the clock.

***

"Grandpa?"

"Yugi! Where are you? I have been so----"

Grandpa I need a change of cloths at the hospital okay? Can you bring them as soon as you can?"

"Why? What's wrong?" the old man cried. "Is Serenity okay? Has Kaiba gotton sick again? Did Téa fall---"

"No Grandpa, it's Joey." Tears came to the boy's purple eyes as he said those words. "His father...he....he--" The boy was about to loose control so quickly, Yami took over the boy's body again. "He beat Joey to a inch of his life and then hurled him into the ocean."

"Yami?" Solomon asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes. Yugi needed some time in his soul room."

"Is Joey alright?"

"I don't know. He hasn't yet awoken if that is what your asking." Yami turned his eyes to see Serenity crying and hugging Tristan in the waiting room. "We must go now, but if you could please bring some clothes..."

In the Game Shop Solomon nodded. "Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you."

***

"Help!" The figure was bearing down on him, eyes glowing a deep red. The blonde boy cowered beneath the figure. "Someone please help me!" he cried.

"Don't worry Joey!" a voice called. Two boys leapt from the shadows and attacked the huge figure.

"Yugi?" Joey whispered. "Tristan?"

He watched in horoor, unable to move as the figure threw off Yugi's small form. The boy was flung against the ground. Tristan managed to hang on a little longer but was eventually thrown off as well and, as Yugi, lay still.

"Noooooooooooo!" Desperately the blonde duelist tried to move, tried to save his friends. But he couldn't. Tears streaming from his eyes, he watched as they disappeared. "Nooo!"

Hungrily, the figure turned back to him.

***

He pulled the lomg white jacket hastily over his hospital gown and pulled it tightly around him. Then he started down the halll way confidently, all too aware that his brown hair was very messy and that he wasn't wearing any shoes, neither problems something he could solve at the moment.

Seto adverted his blue eyes as another doctor passed by him and then moved towards the Nurse's Station. Sighing, he shoved a pair of glasses onto his face and hoped that the nurse on duty would be an old woman and not someone who might recognize him as Teen Magazine's Hottest Smart Guy.

He was in luck.

"I need the room number for patient Joey Wheeler," he said gruffly, deepening his voice.

The nurse barely looked up at him. "Room 113."

Seto nodded and moved shakily down the hall and into the right direction. Soon, he came upon the door and looked quickly around to make sure that no one was around. Luckily it was late at night. Quickly he slipped into the room and closed all of the curtains before pulling off the glasses that he'd found in the doctor's lounge. However, he kept the jacket on, still too conscious of the fact that he was wearing a hospital gown.

Sighing he looked down at the blonde boy laying before him and pulled up a chair to the bed. He stared at all of the tubes snaking in and out of him. He wondered if he was feeling what Joey was feeling when he was in the same position. Such pain...such helplessness....

Seto smiled. "Well Joey, I guess its my turn...."

A/N: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Sorry for taking so loong! THe next one will come out quicker I promise!!! R&R please!!! I'll gove you a moogle sticker and a cookie if you do! ^_^