Chapter Seventeen-The Meeting

"Victoria........it's so good to see you." Marik told his adopted sister when she entered Bakura's store the next afternoon.

"You too....." Victoria smiled at him a little sheepishly. "I told the Robas I'd be back in an hour."

"I see. Well,sit down, and let us talk about things." Marik gestured to the seat across from him. "You know how Rishid and Ishizu are feeling about you right now."

"Y-yes,I do." Victoria hung her head in shame. "They have every right to be angry with me."

Marik reached out, and touched her shoulder. "You're young,Victoria. It has been my experience that in order to grow, we must all make mistakes and learn from them." He sighed, remembering his own careless ways. "Even I have made mistakes. Costly ones, at that. Fortunately, you have more sense than I did at your age."

"But that doesn't excuse what I did. I made you so mad that you got caught by the rare hunters. I hurt Christien by not telling him the truth. I hurt myself because I was blinded by riches. That's not me, Marik....."

Marik smiled sadly at her. "No,it really isn't." He thought about what he wanted to say next. Really, he wanted to demand answers. He wanted to know why Victoria thought Duke would be better for her, knowing his reputation. He also wanted to know if and when she'd return to his house, to resume living with them. But now, he noticed Victoria was fidgetting. Was she frightened of him? "Victoria....what is it?" He asked quietly.

"I have news, Marik...." She began, but very suddenly her eyes widened, and she shrieked.

Bakura, who was nearby came to see what was going on. "Marik,is she alright?"

"I....I don't know.......Victoria?" Marik got up, and went around the table, kneeling by her side. "What's wrong??"

"Oh,it awful!!" Victoria cried out in reply, her back arching as if she was in physical pain. She gripped the chair she sat in, sobbing.

"Are you in pain?" Bakura asked softly, worried. It had been a long time since he'd seen the young girl. In fact, Victoria had kept her distance from him since Johanna's untimely death. He'd often wondered if the girl blamed him for the death of her best friend.

"Y-yes....but.......i-it's not mine!" Her eyes closed tightly, as she reached for Marik. "M-marik, I.....I didn't know...I didn't understand......"

Marik's eyes narrowed, as he took her hand in his. "She seems to be seeing visions..." He looked at the British boy, stunned beyond belief. "Do you have a couch she may lay on?"

"Of course. In the back office." Bakura helped Marik take Victoria back there, hoping the girl wasn't making his customers feel uncomfortable.

By the time they settled her on the large fluffy couch, Espa was in the doorway, watching with a perplexed look on his face. "Espa, is the store emptied?"

"It is for now." The psychic moved to see to Victoria. "What happened?" Victoria had,by then, collapsed limply on the couch,moaning on occasion. Otherwise, she was completely silent, and motionless,beside the rising and falling of her chest.

"We're not really sure. She just started flipping out." Bakura explained. "The only way we'll really know for sure is if she tells when she wakes up."

Marik sighed, brushing some of Victoria's hair out of her face. "I feel like I did something that caused this...."

"Probably didn't." Espa said. "Victoria's acquired some really interesting gifts." When Marik raised an eyebrow, the elder Roba began to explain that Victoria was psychic. "There are many types of psychic powers. From what Bakura told me, she seems to have had an empathic episode. " Espa then explained what that meant. "She doesn't really know how to control her psychic powers yet. My brothers Jon and Christien are both trying to help her."

"I see...." Marik looked at Victoria. She always wanted to be on equal footing with her psychic friends. I bet she didn't count on it being like this.... "Can these gifts go away?"

"It would take the same amount of trauma to the head that brought them on in the first place." Espa guessed aloud. "But I think Victoria will work with my brothers and I to secure them in place."

"She is lucky to have you five." Marik said with a sincere smile at the Roba. "Even though you didn't get along with her at first, Espa, she still respects you so much."

Espa sighed. He knew that already. It's just that Victoria annoyed him with her stupid actions sometimes. This latest stunt with Duke Devlin had particularly ticked him off because his brother Christien had been hurt by her. A promise she'd made to him had been broken. Yet, he did feel a bit of sympathy now, because he hadn't warned her of the different possibilties that could be happening now that she was psychic. "Will you be taking her home?" Espa wanted to know. He had a feeling Marik would indeed like to take her home.

"I think it would be wiser to take her to Kaiba infirmary. Just to make sure she's alright." Marik decided. "Bakura, may I borrow your phone? I need to call my siblings. My motorcycle won't get us there in her current state."

"Why of course you can." Bakura and Espa left the back office to attend to their store, while Marik made the phone call.

(A/N:This is the last update for a week on this fic. I'm going on vacation. I will update on Sunday,August 8th...or after)