CK: Okay, folks, I'm back once again!!!! Thankee muchly for all the reviews...I think I'm gonna start *gasp* actually responding to them in my chapters. Here goes:

To Kaiba-fan: Hehe...well, erm, I guess you got your wish! New chappie ho!

To Yggdrasil's 3rd Root: About the Edgar Allen Poe thing that you mentioned last chappie: Yeah, isn't that really really creepy/cool? I had to watch this video about him last year in school, and it turns out that he lost his wife/cousin (O.O) at a pretty young age too. So it kinda makes sense that he's a lot like Pegsy....

(Okay, I know, I really really suck at responses.......)

Okay, so that's really it.............um, by the way, if this chapter's talky to anyone, then I am reeeeeeeeally sorry, I really did try to cut back so it wouldn't be so bad this time.......unlike Chapter 6. *turns red* Hehe.........anyway, I'm starting to show signs of babbling, so I'm just gonna get started with the good 'ol ficcie now..............

Disclaimer: Yes, I DO own Yugioh!!!!!!!!!! All this time, I have been posing on a teenage girl, when I am REALLY Kazuki Takahashi in disguise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have waited so LONG to reveal myself to the fanfiction community!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *realizes that people are staring at her funny* Okay, SHEESH, I'm NOT. You guys actually FELL for that?????

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Chapter 10: Dreamers

As Pegasus's dream ended, the world surrounding him changed. It seemed as though it were melting away, into a different place completely.

(A/N: Déjà vu, anyone?)

The room seemed like a parlor of sorts............it was very dark, and dank, unlike most that Pegasus had seen in his lifetime. The wallpaper was a deep, dark shade of indigo, and dead flowers were held in crumbling vases around the room. Paintings were sprawled everywhere on the walls, hanging crooked, and depicting scenes of pain and mourning..... And against the wall, in the center of it all, was an open coffin...........Pegasus observed a little more of his surroundings before he moved on to it......he saw dust and spider-webs lurking almost everywhere.......like no one had touched this place for a very long time.........Pegasus also got a very deep sense of claustrophobia, because there was no light, nor windows, nor doors..............................finally Pegasus stepped forward to peer into the coffin....
He stepped backwards in shock once he saw.......it was Cecilia......lying in the coffin, her eyes wide......she was dead, but her eyes seemed to be following him wherever he moved........... A chill ran down Pegasus's spine...................................... A heavily accented voice sounded from behind him. "You might wish to leave this part of the room.....it only will bring back memories that you do not wish to see......"

Pegasus turned around immediately.
Shadi's face was passive, but you could detect a hint of extreme seriousness in his tone of voice as he spoke. "Welcome, Mr. Pegasus.....to your own mind..........."

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Yugi slipped into the hospital room quietly, hoping he wouldn't startle Cecilia. In all honesty, he couldn't believe he'd agreed to Mai's scheme. After all, Cecilia had been a nice enough person......so why was it so necessary to deceive her? He felt like he was using her........

But then Yugi remembered Tea....and a he would immediately feel a pang of pain in his heart. He knew the only reason that any of his friends were there was because they needed to know why Tea had to die........ Why she had to suffer like that.............. Yugi tried to push his grief aside. As much as it hurt now, maybe the pain would lessen once he understood what had happened......what was the phrase they used on all those talk-shows? Oh, yeah, once he had a 'sense of closure'. "Excuse me.....Yugi, what are you doing here?"

In attempting to be so quiet as to not startle Cecilia, she had startled HIM. Inwardly, Yugi reprimanded himself for being so girly.........
"I-I'm sorry....I just thought that you might be lonely all by yourself so I thought I could come and keep you company......"
Okay, not a bad cover-up....but, wait, isn't that the sort of line a guy gives a girl when he's flirting with her in a movie???? Then again, what am I saying? Note to self: kill Mai for this later......Well, I don't think Cecilia will think I'm flirting with me......after all, if she's the same age as Pegasus then she should be 16 years older than me......well, actually, 6 years older than me....you can't exactly age after you die......
Yugi reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hoped that Yami wasn't listening to all this. Cecilia, unaware of what Yugi was thinking to himself, simply nodded and motioned to another chair that was next to the one she was sitting on. "Please, have a seat."
Yugi did just that, and then turned and got a good glimpse of Pegasus. Back when he and the others had been rescuing him and Kaiba from the tunnels, he hadn't really gotten a good look at what had happened to him. But now that he had, he was taken completely aback.
Pegasus was as a sickly pale white, and the bandages on his forehead were coated with blood where the gash was. Odd scars covered one of Pegasus's arms, and lines were visible on Pegasus's face, making him look much older than he really was........A heart monitor blipped over in one corner, and a breathing monitor did the same. An IV filled with fluids was connected to Pegasus's arm......perhaps worst of all was the contorted look of pain that Yugi could see on Pegasus's face.......
Yugi had seen lots of movies where characters had been in the hospital, but Yugi knew automatically that they weren't able to show what it was truly like to see someone in a condition like that......after all, this man was supposed to be one of Yugi's worst enemies, but the sight of all this still sickened him. He let out an involuntary gasp.
Cecilia heard him and nodded. "It's terrible, isn't it........? I never knew that people could look like they were so close to death and still be alive............"

"Yeah.....it's hard.....my grandpa's had to go to the hospital twice, and it's been hard each time....."

Cecilia stiffened slightly. Yugi realized immediately that Pegasus had been the one to send his granpa to the hospital the second time....it was probably a sensitive for her..... "S-sorry...I-I didn't mean....."

"No, it's alright............it's not your fault what Max did............you shouldn't have to apologize for him hurting you so badly......"

Yugi turned a deep scarlet. In a strange contrast, Cecilia had turned somewhat paler...... Yugi tried to desperately change the topic to something more neutral....he wasn't going to be able to help his friends figure out anything if he kept this up......... "So have the doctors said anything about what's going to happen to him?"

"They've said very little......but they did say that he'll live, thank God........"

Cecilia turned her face towards Yugi. "It's strange.......there are so many TV shows and movies and books out there that talk about hospitals and the people in them.......but they must have absolutely no idea what it's like to have someone you care about locked away in one of these places........."

Cecilia sighed. "Except for when my sister was born, I've never been into one of these places.........so I never expected it to be so terrifying....well...." Cecilia smiled in a way that showed neither amusement nor laughter. "I have been to one of these places once before......but I can't exactly say that I woke up to realize it............."

She let out a nervous giggle that was sharp and raspy, and devoid of all merriment. Yugi winced when he heard it.
Yugi racked his brain for something to say, but Cecilia began to speak first..... "Funny that the snow's falling.......I always liked the snow, it always seemed to be that snow would mean that things were going to get better soon..........don't ask me why........"

(A/N: I originally wrote this in December!!! Don't kill me!!!!!!!!!!!)

Yugi knew that he needed to start asking Cecilia questions soon, or else he wouldn't find out anything....but how the heck could he ask her anything?

Gee, Cecilia, I think your husband just murdered someone. Could you please help me out and tell me you saw him do it?

Yugi finally asked Cecilia: "Do...do you know why Pegasus has been starving himself? Like...like the doctor said?" Yugi applauded himself silently for finally figuring out something that didn't sound completely idiotic.

(A/N: Meanwhile, the author does the same...YAY!!!!!!!!! ^u^)

Cecilai shook her head slightly...... "I really wish I knew.....but I know about as much as you do about what's going on......the thing is that for the last week I haven't been able to....."

"HEY!!!!!"

Yugi and Cecilia whirled around to the voice that had just yelled at them. A nurse stood near them, bristling at the mere sight of Yugi. "Excuse me, sir, but are you a close relative of Mr. Pegasus's.....?" The nurse4 asked this in a way that implied that she already knew that he wasn't. "Erm....well, not exactly...."

"Well, I'm afraid that in this hospital, only close family members are allowed to stay in the hospital rooms of patients, so I'm afraid you'll just have to leave."

And with that, she unceremoniously picked him up by his jacket collar and kicked Yugi out.

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Pegasus stared incredulously at Shadi. "Shadi....? W-what are you doing here....? "Nothing, really, Mr. Pegasus....why don't you step into this part of the room? I'm afraid that this part of the room is much cheerier than the one you are standing in." Sure enough, when Pegasus walked over to the half of the room that Shadi stood in, he instantly felt much warmer than he had been in the last room, and much more light filled the room.
This half of the room was very unlike the other half. It seemed like a sort of living room, with a large fireplace in the center of the opposite wall, and some an armchair sitting near the fireplace. Against the wall there were various things...a desk, filled to the brim with Duel Monster cards.......a few bookcases, seeming to be loaded with comic books...........and a nightstand, with what seemed to be a large photo album. Only if you opened the book and peered inside would you see that it held the memories Pegasus had of his times with Cecilia. On the mantle of the fireplace, leaning against the wall, was a humongous portrait of Cecilia.
Shadi continued to speak to Pegasus. "I just needed to tell you one last thing before you return........so I came to the one place I could be sure I could find you......" Shadi spoke calmly, but Pegasus detected some anger in his voice.

"What do you need to tell me?"

".......the same thing that I told you the first day I met you: give up your quest for your wife...."

"You mean...but I can't, I...."

"I did not come here to listen, Mr. Pegasus, merely to tell. You have already harmed so many people......but just because things have been neatly rearranged so that it seems like you never were involved, this does not mean that you can keep on trying......." Pegasus said nothing, and expressed no emotion to Shadi........ Shadi turned to face the large painting that lay on top of the fireplace. "That painting you see there appears to be hope, Mr. Pegasus..........but you cannot see its true nature...."

Shadi walked up to it and seemed to be trying to touch the painting.....instead, his hand passed straight through it...... "Can you understand yet? This painting offers your mind the false hope that you can restore things to the way they were before, without any consequences............but it is a deceiver, Mr. Pegasus....."

Pegasus had been silent for a while, but finally he spoke up....

"I'm not going to make the same mistakes as last time....I can promise you that much...................."

Shadi nodded, then inhaled deeply. "There are so many troubles in this world......wars that kill for no reason.........small children dying because their parents are dead or cannot pay for food.........illnesses that kill slowly and without mercy.....so why is your pain so special? Why should the world help you instead of them...? You have been lucky to have even had her to begin with.....do not continue like you have done before..." The anger in Shadi's voice began to resonate.

When Pegasus refused to respond, Shadi spoke again. "I think it is time you returned, Mr. Pegasus."

And he snapped his fingers, and Pegasus saw only blackness.....

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Pegasus lay in his hospital bed, and he opened his eyelids so that a sliver of vision met his eyes. He opened them fully, but closed them again..........
Cecilia's chair was facing the hospital window, as she watched the snowflakes fall outside. She sighed. Her mind was so deep in thought that she did not notice her husband.
Pegasus thought to himself: Shadi's taunting me, isn't he.......he's sent me one of his illusions to make it seem like Cecilia is here.......wherever I am. Well, I'm not that gullible.....I'm not going to fall for one of his tricks......
Cecilia's daze seemed to have ended and she turned to Pegasus. She stroked his face with the back of her finger for a minute.... "Max...."

Pegasus heard her voice......even if it was an illusion.........he could play along with it for a while......couldn't he....?

It couldn't hurt........ And it would be so nice if it were true..............
Pegasus finally dared to open his eyes. Cecilia blinked. "Max.....?" She held one of his hands with her own and whispered his name again....

Pegasus heard her...and hoping desperately that this wasn't a dream, he turned to her. "Cecilia....? Is that....you...?"

Tears of joy swept over Cecilia's face. She kissed Pegasus and cried happily. "Yes, Max, it's me...........I'm back......."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CK: Okay....I have FINALLY finished another chapter!!!! And to the Kaiba- fans out there: GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have finally, FINALLY found a song that I can use in a songfic for him, and that I know doesn't suck!!! So a songfic on him should be up in no time!!! Also, to the Pegasus-loving people: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY IDEA I GAVE YOU TWO CHAPPIES AGO????? I need some sort of response, positive or negative, whatever, just TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I'm done ranting now. Read and review!!! Ja ne!!!!!!!!!!!!