His eyes fluttered open once more and took in his surroundings. It was morning, the room was empty this time. His neck hurt a little where Malik punched some sleeping drugs into one of his main arteries.
A nurse came in and jumped in surprise when she discovered Ryou was awake. She quickly stuck her head outside and called for a doctor. He watched in silence as the doctor soon came into his room.
"Good morning." The man greeted the teen.
"'Morning." Ryou croaked. "Where'd he go?"
The doctor looked at him puzzled and asked puzzled, "Where did who go?"
"Malik, he was here." The teen replied, his voice getting stronger with use.
"Your cousin was here last night and left shortly after…"
Ryou cut him off, "Malik's not my cousin. Where'd you get an idea like that?"
The doctor looked at him in surprise, "Well, from Mr. Ishtar himself. Shortly after you arrived he appeared and filled out your paperwork…Are you sure he's not related? He had a boy with him that looked similar to you."
"Very sure. Keep him away from me." Ryou told the doctor firmly and turned his head aside and pointed at a faint mark on his neck, "I woke up before and he drugged me."
The doctor looked shocked and examined the mark closer. He realized then that Ryou was telling the truth.
"I shall call the police immediately." He told him and went to walk out of the room.
"No! Wait." Ryou cried out. The doctor paused at the door.
"There's a girl. Red hair, duster? Have you seen her?"
"Quite often." The man replied. "She was here last night. Filthy child, don't know why she keeps coming."
"Call the police, post a guard whatever but let her in and only her." Ryou told the doctor. He yawned and began drifting off. "I want to see her. Thank…her."
"I'll see to it personally." The man replied and left the room in a rush.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The shop was unusually busy and almost non-stop the tune of "Hey good looking" played. While Yugi and Grandpa took care of the customers, Joey and Tristan played a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters while Tea watched Tanith tinker with a rubix cube. Finally lunch rolled around and everyone finally had a chance to talk.
"Still at that cube?" Yugi asked as Tanith kept toying with his rubix cube in between bites of French fries.
"Mechanics is what I'm good at, not puzzles."
And here I thought you were a genius, Bakura said. Tanith scowled.
"One of these days I'm going to be able to smack him." She growled as she tinkered with the puzzle at the table. "One of these days."
Inside her mind, Tanith heard him laugh while outside she heard Yugi and his friends chuckle.
"Speaking of which, wonder when Ryou's gonna wake up." Yugi asked. Everyone was silent as Tanith shrugged.
"I saw him last night and he was out like a light. But hey, we can visit him!" she exclaimed then said more subdued, "When the shops not so busy."
"Oh go on," Grandpa said as he ate, "I usually take care of the shop on my own anyway."
All five of the teens cheered and thanked Yugi's grandfather before taking off downstairs.
"First we have to go get a few things from my house." Tanith said as she led them out the door. "The detector, my tooth brush if I'm going to stay with you guys anymore."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Tristan replied.
The shop was filled with techno music blaring from the alarm clock beside the place where Tanith usually slept. Bits of machine parts lay scattered everywhere but strangely didn't make the place appear junky. Lights clicked on automatically as the five teens walked inside.
As the others stood in the doorway, Tanith walked up to her alarm clock and firmly smacked the snooze bar then walked over to her workstand and began to rummage through the parts as the others hovered uncertainly in the doorway.
She quickly found what she was looking for, the beaper-like Rare Hunter detector and placed it in her pocket before walking out the door with her friends.
Meanwhile at the hospital, Malik and his servant Rashid strolled in and made their way to Ryou's room where they found an armed guard sitting in a chair outside the room.
"It appears we're too late, Rashid." Malik said to his servant. "Ryou has awaken and warned the staff about us."
A devious gleam appeared in his eyes as he pulled out the Millennium Rod and sought out the mind of the guard before him. Thoughts of boredom and doughnuts quickly changed to blank nothingness as Malik took over the guard's mind and walked up to him with Rashid beside him.
Inside the room, Ryou was watching T.V when Malik and Rashid walked in. He gasped in surprise and made to get up but there wasn't anywhere to hide from Malik, so he patiently waited for the teen's move.
"You didn't actually think alerting the authorities against me was going to help, did you?" Malik asked him.
"It was worth a try." Ryou replied and Malik sighed.
"Now you made things difficult. Now I'm going to have to speed things up, force my hand and be firmer with our friend Tanith." He told him as he pulled out an identical syringe as last time.
Ryou's eyes widened watching paralyzed with fear and something else as Malik strolled over and injected him with another dose of sedative. His eyes began to droop and he began to hear things as if they were at a distance.
"Too bad you're going to miss all the fun." Malik told him, his voice echoing in the incoming darkness. "I shall have to enjoy it for the three of us."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tanith led the way into the eerily quiet and empty hospital corridors. Her eyes cut toward every door, her movements poised and ready for action. She led them past sleeping security guards and nurses' backs straight to Ryou's dim room. She paused outside it and held the others back behind her.
Do you sense it? Tanith asked her yami.
Something's not right. Bakura replied.
"What's the hold up?" Joey whispered in Tanith's ear.
"You notice how weird everything is." She asked her eyes straight ahead staring at Ryou's room. "How the nurses turned at the right moment to sneak pass. How there's nobody awake that's around."
Yami took over for Yugi and nodded. Tea nodded as well as Tristan looked a bit puzzled along with Joey.
"So we caught them at a bad time." Tristan whispered back.
"No, Tristan. We're being expected, shall we keep our host waiting?" Tanith replied and began walking toward Ryou's room followed by Yami, Tea and then Joey and Tristan.
The TV volume was turned down to a discrete murmur. The lights were turned down low sending the room into shadows but not dark enough for Tanith to miss seeing Malik sitting before their game and her empty chair.
"I was wondering when you would return." He said to her and looked up spying Yami and the others. "And I see you've brought guests."
The detector in Tanith's pocket began to buzz faintly adding it's faint noise to the quiet surroundings.
"I sense you're bringing guests as well." She replied with a smirk and sat down in front of him while the others rushed to Ryou's side.
Malik smiled, "You would be correct." His lashes lowered over his eyes as he added, "I believe it's your move."
Tanith peered at the chessboard contemplating her next move all the while Yami and his friends looked over Ryou.
He looked a bit paler than usual, Yami noted. His gaze slid to Ryou's neck where he noticed two faint marks. Upon closer inspection, Yami saw they were needle marks where someone…probably Malik since the doctors would use one of the IV drips attached to Ryou…injected him with some foreign substance.
"Tanith." Yami said interrupting her game. When she looked up and turned to him, he continued, "Ryou's been drugged."
"Okay spill the beans, Ishtar." Tanith snapped turning a fierce glare upon Malik, "What have you done."
He smiled faintly just as ten Rare Hunters entered and secured the room. "Let's just say I've been keeping this game of ours going."
Tanith jumped to her feet sending the game scattering as Joey, Yami and Tristan took up defensive positions in front of Ryou, Tea and her.
"He's awoke, hasn't he." She snapped at Malik, "That's why there were guards all over the place."
Malik nodded as his Rare Hunters began to advance. Tanith spared a glance at her friends behind her.
"Joey, grab Ryou and prepare." She ordered. Joey slowly backed to the bed and hauled Ryou upon his back, IV's and all.
Tanith closed her eyes and pictured the room as she last seen it. Rare Hunters slowly moving toward and trapping her friends. She breathed in deep, opened her eyes and focused. Immediately the effects were seen.
The room began to shake, sending Malik's forces to the ground and then it was as if a wall fell on them. They lay flattened on the floor, unable to move as Yami led Tea, Tristan and Joey with Ryou on his back ran past them all. At the door Tristan paused at the door.
"Tanith come on!" he cried. She slid off the Millennium Ring and tossed it to him.
"Go!" she commanded as blood began to run down her face like crimson tears. With a final look, Tristan ran and took the Ring with him.
As she watched her friend run to safety then released control, collapsing to the floor with a groan.
"Psychokinesis." Malik said slowly clapping his hands, each slap sending hammers down upon anvils inside Tanith's head. She squinted up at him as he walked up to her.
"A most impressive power." He told her then frowned, "But so taxing isn't it?"
Then he bent down and took Tanith into his arms, "You're weak as a baby now. Feeling lots of pain aren't you."
She tried shooting him daggers but instead the daggers were rebounding and shooting at her. He walked over to the window with her and watched as Yami and the others appeared below.
"How far do you think this is, Tanith?" Malik asked her. "Two stories equals what, Tanith."
Again she attempted a dirty look but hissed in pain and he chuckled.
"Why don't you tell me?"
Suddenly Tanith was flying in the air, crashing through the window and falling out into the blue yonder. She screamed as she fell.