~Mokuba's POV~

   I hate hospitals.  I guess it's because I had to go there once when I was really young…four or five years old.  It was because of a fever, I think.  I don't really remember much about the experience; it's all a jumbled blur, like a dream that you forget once you're awake.  What I did remember was enough to give me nightmares for a long, long time.

   Now here I was again.  Except this time it wasn't me—it was Seto.  Seto, my big brother.  Seto who always watched over me.  Seto who fixed me breakfast every morning and tucked me in at night.  Seto who always, always came through for me.  Seto who I looked up to and loved more than anybody else in the world.  Seto.

   I hate doctors even more than I hate the hospital.  Do you know they didn't even want to let me see him?  My own brother!  I begged and pleaded until my voice was hoarse, and even then they only let me in for five minutes.

   I wanted to cry when I saw him.  I really did.  But I forced myself not to.  I knew that he would be upset if he knew I was crying over him.  But it was so hard not to.

   The first thing I noticed was his face.  It was so calm and relaxed it looked as if he was asleep, that he would wake up if I called.  I had to bite my tongue to keep from crying out his name.  That isn't going to work, I reminded myself.  Don't be stupid.

   He was lying on his stomach, making it easy for me to see the bandages that covered his back and shoulders.  I saw a thin IV line pumping fluids into him (Painkillers or something else? I morbidly wondered).  I could hear the machines monitoring his vital signs buzzing and whirring.

   I cleared my throat and whispered, "Hi, Seto."  The room seemed to swallow my voice, making it dull and mute.  Or maybe it sounded that way all on its own.  Either way, it was scary.  Still, I forced myself to keep talking.

            "It's me.  Mokuba.  I…."  My voice hitched and I angrily balled my hands into fists.  Don't cry! I thought.  "I wish you would wake up."  I took a second to take a couple of deep breaths, then went on.

            "They're still looking for the guy that did this to you.  They aren't going to stop until they find him.  I promise."  I tore my eyes away from the half-full IV bag and looked back to his face.

            "Please come back soon, Seto.  Please.  I need you."

   That was all I got to see of him.  The doctors came in and dragged me out of the room.  One of them grunted something about there being a "risk of infection" if I stayed much longer as they closed the door behind me.

   I wandered off toward the waiting room I'd come to call "home".  At least he didn't have a mask over his mouth or a tube down his throat like Jounouchi, I thought as I walked.

   Jounouchi.  I'm ashamed to say I was jealous when he woke up.  Not just jealous, but mad.  Why should Shizuka get to have her brother back? I'd thought.  Even worse, a little piece of me was glad when he fell back into a coma.  Now somebody else feels the way I feel again, a selfish little voice in the back of my head rejoiced when I heard the news.

   I was so caught up with thinking about everything that had happened I didn't notice that somebody was behind me until a huge arm wrapped around my chest, pinning my arms to my sides.  Before I could even yell in surprise (let alone for help) a rag was tightly pressed over my nose and mouth.

   A sick-sweet smell flooded my senses, so strong I could taste it.  I recognized that smell.  When you've been kidnapped twice it's a very familiar smell.  Chloroform! my mind screamed.

   I thrashed and tried to turn my head away from the rag, but already my vision was clouding and my limbs were heavy.  I shuddered and my eyes slid closed.

   A voice growled, "That's right, kid.  Go to sleep."

   Sleep? I thought.  Yeah…sleep…NO!  Can't—gotta get away….

   Struggling wasn't doing me any good; that much I could tell even through the fog that was wrapping around my brain.  So I went limp and prayed that my idea would work before the chloroform knocked me out.

   I didn't dare take another breath until the rag moved, but my lungs were screaming for air.  I swallowed and tried to ignore it.  What's he waiting for…? I groggily wondered.  And then the rag was gone!

   I took a deep breath of clean, chloroform-free air and immediately felt much better.  Then I bucked as hard as I could against my abductor's hold.

   The man who had hold of me wasn't expecting an apparently unconscious hostage to start fighting again.  He jumped and released me in his surprise.  That was all I needed.  I ran down the hall at top speed, my kidnapper right on my heels.

   Run, run, run!  Get to the waiting room!  I felt a hand brush through my hair and put on an extra burst of speed.  Run!  Run!  Go!  I ducked around a corner and felt his fingertips on my back.  No!  I could hear him muttering crazily behind me, cussing and talking to himself.  I could practically smell his breath.  He's going to catch me….

   I heard a dull thud and the man screamed a word that I won't repeat.  I risked one glance back and saw him scooping up a limp body.  Oh my God…Shizuka, I thought, recognizing who it was he was throwing over his shoulder.  For one terrifying moment I thought he had killed her, and then I understood: she wasn't dead…she was unconscious.

   Part of me was screaming, Go back!  Go help her!  Don't let him kidnap her!  But a calmer, more rational side of me was whispering, You have to save yourself before you can save anybody else.

   I listened to that calmer voice as I ran through the halls until I finally reached the elevators.  Even though there was no sign of the man who had tried to abduct me moments ago, I didn't feel safe until the doors of the elevator slid closed behind me with a cheery ding.

~Ryou's POV~

   I like to consider myself a somewhat easygoing person.  I rarely lose my temper and generally, I try to avoid conflict if I can.  Most people I have met seem to think that I'm shy and soft spoken, and (for the most part) I am.  However, after nearly an hour of walking through wild forest, being scratched by thorns, bitten by God knows how many mosquitoes and listening to Jounouchi rant on and on about how he "really had gone home", my patience was wearing thin.

            "Come on, guys, ya gotta believe me!" he pleaded, as he had for our entire trek to the Ruler's fortress.  "I ain't lyin' about dis.  I really did go home; honest!"

            "Jounouchi," I said, straining to keep from letting my exasperation show.  "Please stop trying to convince us that what you dreamt was true.  It's too bizarre to believe."

   He looked at me, shock written all over his face.  "What the…?" he trailed.  He paused for a moment before questioning, "Is it any more 'bizarre' than wakin' up a thousand years in da future?"  I said nothing and he went on, "I swear I went home and it wasn't a dream.  We were all in da hospital, and it was real!"

   Yuugi raised his eyebrows and inquired, "We were in the hospital?"

   Jounouchi turned to him, smiling, apparently relieved that somebody finally seemed to believe his story.  "Yeah," he replied.  "We were all in comas, or somethin' like dat.  I dunno.  It's all got somethin' ta do with what happened at Hill House."

            "And what exactly did happen out in that godforsaken place?" Kaiba demanded, voice laden with sarcasm.  "If you know so much about it, why don't you enlighten us, mutt?"

   Jounouchi narrowed his eyes, but let the insult go.  "If I was you, Kaiba, I'd be takin' this a lot more seriously.  You're da one with third-degree burns all ova' your back.  And Ryou.  Man, you hit your head.  You've got a concussion."

   I shuddered and tried to push the images that began rolling through my memory out of my head.  Hill House…explosion…heat…flying through the air…scream…CRASH!…one instant of blinding, skull-shattering pain…and darkness….  Jounouchi was still talking, but I didn't hear what he was saying.  I did hit my head, I thought.  How did he know that?

   I looked at first Yuugi then Kaiba and saw that they both wore expressions of varying degrees of belief.  Perhaps if Jounouchi would have had the chance to continue, he would have had us believing his story.  But that was when Jezebel let out a scream of frustration.

            "Look, robot boy, if I hear one more word about this crazy fantasy you had while you were out of it, I will rip you apart!  You got that?" she snapped, extending her claws as proof of her statement.  Jounouchi gave her a nasty look, and she added, "You know, we could have just left you back there to rust away into nothing.  But no, we fixed you and you don't even have the decency to say thank you!"

            "Well maybe I was better off 'broken'!  Did ya ever consider that?" Jounouchi growled.

   Jezebel raised an eyebrow.  "Really?  That can be arranged.  Right now, as a matter of fact!"  She pushed Kaiba out of her way, plowed Yuugi into a fern and barreled toward Jounouchi, ready to strike.

   Jounouchi started back in surprise; an action that saved him from losing an eye.  Jezebel's claws raked past him, millimeters away.

            "Stand still, damn it!" she snarled.  She swiped at him again and caught him on the cheek.

            "Jezebel, stop!" Yuugi shouted, disentangling himself from the ferns.

            "No!  He wants to be broken, fine.  I'll put him back the way he was, the ungrateful little bastard!  I'll—oh no you don't!" she broke off as Jounouchi turned and began to run.  "Come back here!"  Within seconds, they had both disappeared into the dense forest.

   There was a moment of stunned silence before Yuugi cried, "Jou!  Jezebel!  Wait!"  Before Kaiba or I could make a move to stop him, he had also vanished.

            "Yuugi!" I called, and sprinted after him.  Behind me I heard Kaiba curse under his breath before following.

   I hope I can catch up with them before we're all separated, I thought.  Oh, which way did they go?  I scanned the dense vegetation for a sign of my friends and saw a tri-colored head disappear behind a stand of mossy trees.  There!  That way!

   I altered my course to follow Yuugi and was relieved to be able to clearly see where he was going.  He led me weaving around trees and blackberry brambles and stumbling through a patch of mud before pushing his way through a tangle of creeper vines.  He abruptly stopped his dash through the woods once he made it through the vines, and I smashed into him, surprised by his sudden halt.

   Yuugi yelled, surprised and we both went sprawling onto the ground.  Jezebel scolded us with a vicious "Shh!"

   Ah.  We've found Jezebel and Jounouchi, I thought as I began to get back to my feet.  Of course, the moment I had gotten up of the ground, Kaiba burst through the vines and slammed into me and I fell to the ground again, knocking Yuugi down with me for a second time.  He yelped with, and this time it was Jounouchi who said, "Quiet, guys!"

   What's going on? I wondered as I got up.  Why are they so—"Oh," I whispered aloud.  Apparently, we had arrived at the Ruler's fortress.  And what a fortress it was.  Enormous, made entirely out of smooth, seamless stone with tiny, narrow slits for windows, it was the ultimate defensive structure.  It was huge, hulking, gargantuan.  It was ugly and cold and impenetrable.  And oddly enough, there was no protective wall.

            "Wow," whispered Yuugi.  Jounouchi gave a low whistle.  Even Kaiba appeared to be taken aback by its sheer size.

            "Well, let's get going," Jezebel quietly stated.  "The sooner we get this over with the sooner I get my pay."

   I nodded and wordlessly followed as she led us to the fortress' door.  No lock? I incredulously thought as she easily swung the door open and stepped inside.  I don't think I like that…something's not right.  It can't be this easy to get inside, even if the defense system is down.

            I took a deep breath and said, "I have a bad feeling about—"

   FLASH!

   A loud, angry buzz invaded my ears, drowning out all else.  A strange, prickling sensation spread over my entire body, like feathers brushing at my skin or…or legs.  Thousands and thousands of insect legs.

   I opened my eyes and gasped with horror.  Bees.  Bees crawling all over me, creeping, buzzing, stinging…stinging!  I screamed as the pain flooded my senses and gagged as more of the vile, winged creatures crowded into my mouth.

   There were under my shirt, crawling under my jeans, tangled in my hair, wriggling up my nose and in my ears.  I swatted and scratched, clawed and kicked, wanting desperately to kill them, to get them off.

   I could not kill them all, no matter what I did and I moaned as the stinging continued.  Oh, it hurt, it hurt, it HURT!

            "Ryou!" A stinging pain across my face, but not that of the bees.  A slap?  "Come on, snap out of it!"

   FLASH!

   I screamed and batted wildly at my arms, legs, face and chest.  "Get them off of me!" I shrieked, ripping at my hair to get the demonic insects out.

            "Ryou!  Hey, Ryou!  Settle down, buddy!"

   Somebody grabbed my arms and forced them to the ground and I sobbed as the last dreadful remnants of the vision faded away.

            "Are you all right, Ryou?" Yuugi asked as my heart slowed back to its normal pace.

   I shakily nodded and Jounouchi let go of my arms.  "What in da hell just happened?" he queried as I sat up.

            "Th—there were bees," I whispered.  "They were…they were all over me….  It was so real…."

   Jezebel cursed heartily before saying, "I guess that explains why the Ruler decided to put all those restrictions on magic use then."

            "What are you talking about?" Kaiba demanded of her.

            "The Ruler's using magic to protect himself.  What your friend just experienced was a waking nightmare of sorts.  Nasty things, those, but mild compared to…well, other things that could have been used."

            "So how in da hell do we avoid it?" Jounouchi questioned.

   Jezebel gave him a serious look and replied, "As long as you're expecting it, the nightmares can't hurt you.  But I think we've got to get to this tower's keep and kill that bastard fast.  Come on, let's go."

   Yuugi stared at my face, wide-eyed as he helped me to my feet.  I furrowed my brow and brought my free hand to my cheek to find it wet with blood.  I…I did that to myself, I realized as I followed behind Jezebel, Kaiba and Jounouchi.

   We hadn't been walking for very long at all when Kaiba gasped and doubled over, hacking and coughing.  I winced as his coughs turned to gags and his back began to heave with the force of his coughing.

            "Kaiba…?" Yuugi tentatively questioned.

   He turned around and I saw his face was drenched with cold sweat and his eyes were glazed with fever.  "I'm fine," he gasped once the coughing subsided enough for him to speak.  He wiped at his mouth to remove the flecks of blood that had gathered there before adding, "I'll be fine."

   We walked on, pausing only when the effects of the magically induced illness forced Kaiba into another round of coughing.  It was at one of these intervals that Jounouchi fell to the ground, screaming and thrashing.

   I watched him shiver and moan nonsensical phrases and felt a sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach.  Is that how I looked when it happened to me? I wondered.  Jounouchi soon re-awoke and we all silently accepted his request not to talk about his ordeal.

   By the time we reached the keep, none of us were in good shape.  Jezebel was unusually quiet and her hands were shaking.  Yuugi, although having suffered no magical attacks himself, was very pale.  He had not said a word since my nightmare vision.  Jounouchi was nervous and jumpy, and his eyes were haunted with the memory of whatever form of magical torture he'd endured.  Kaiba's breath was coming in short rasps and his wings drooped with fatigue.  And I had blood dripping down my face and into my eyes.

   Jezebel looked around our sorry, tired little group and whispered, "This is it.  Showtime."

~Mai's POV~

   We didn't leave the hospital for hours after Jounouchi went back into his coma.  Shizuka was so distraught that none of us felt safe leaving her alone until she'd calmed down.  By the time we walked out the doors, the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky a deep red.

   We walked across the parking lot in heavy silence.  It wasn't until we had all piled into Honda's car and he was pulling out of the parking lot that any of us said anything.

            "It's not fair," Anzu whispered.  "It's so unfair!"  She sniffed and wiped away the tears that began to trace down her cheeks.  Her cell phone began to ring, but she just leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

            "Anzu, your phone's ringing," Honda stated as he pulled to a stop at a red light.

            "I don't care anymore," she muttered.  "I just don't care."

   I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Mind if I answer it for you?"

            "Be my guest," she replied, tossing me the beeping phone.

   I flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

   A gravelly, harsh voice growled back, "I told you that you'd pay, you bitch!  I told you!  Now you're gonna wish you'd listened to me and kept your goddamn snot nose out of other people's business."

   I dropped the phone with a clunk.  I knew that voice all too well.  That's the man who tried to kill me!

   Honda gave me a quizzical look and picked up the phone.  "Hello?" he said as the light turned green.  He stepped on the gas pedal and fell silent, listening to what my would-be killer had to say.

            "You…what?" he suddenly hollered, stomping on the brake and sending us to a bone-jarring halt.  There was a loud honk as the truck behind us swerved to avoid taking out the back of Honda's car.  "All right, listen up, you bastard, if you hurt her I swear I'll kill you with my own hands!  Do you understand me, you ass?"  Pause.  "I DON'T CARE!" he roared.  Pause.  "You'd better…if she has one scratch on her…just one, I will rip out your lungs through your mouth!"

   He clicked off the cell phone and hurled it against the dashboard where it broke apart.  "That psycho has Shizuka," he said.

Author's Notes: Yes, I am evil.  Aren't cliffhangers great?  Well, cheers until next update!  *Deranged, possibly psychotic laughter*

   Thanks to AmunRa, Sunrise and Sunset, Ms. Zeal, dragonlady1220, BlackFireDragonK and rikki-the-fox for reviewing!