Hey, thanks all you… what, three people who reviewed *tsk*

Anyway, I especially want to thank Ethermental for the faithful reviews ^___^

To save confusion, Yami Bakura is still Bakura, and nice Bakura is called Ryou (Which is actually his last name, but it just seems to sound nicer…)

Millennium Hearts

~* Part 7; Aftermath *~

   Eyes blinked open, there was nothing. He couldn't see anything. Wait! Something… it was big, and it was crushing him. Something… He blinked again, his vision becoming clearer. What had happened Oh yes, now he remembered. Death, green light… shouldn't he be dead Shouldn't everyone be dead He closed his eyes tight. He wished he was dead if everyone else was, he didn't want to be the lucky one. He thought back to his last moments of life… of the green light, of the strange sense moving through him… the fear of dying, and his friends dying.

   His eyes opened. His friends! He had to get up… but he couldn't find the strength. He had had the strength just before everything went. Something.. it wasn't the usual strength though. Inside, he shivered. He closed his eyes and willed himself to forget it all. He had to be strong, had to rescue his friends.

  All thoughts were forgotten when he heard voices… okay, one voice.

~*~*~*~*~

  "Mokuba" Seto Kaiba stared in horror at the site. He was the first to move of the stunned people, and they had ever right to be stunned. It seemed like a normal day, just walking on 8th street to the bus stop, when suddenly a blinding green light appeared out of no where and something crashed, pulling the two buildings between it down with it.

  Seto had run to the entrance of the new found cave and stuck his head it. "Mokuba" He called out louder, fear found itself in his voice. He reeled back and shook his head. No, he was most likely paranoid, why would his brother be caught up in something. Still…

   Seto took in a deep breath and prayed for thee best and he carefully made his way down the hall, calling his little brother's name.

~*~*~*~*~

   "Bakura! What da heck was dat"

  Bakura snarled over in Joey's direction as he ran behind Joey. "How should I know The only reason I'm here is because you said that idiot Pharaoh somehow found a way to be rid of his light." He was silent, as though listening to a voice inside him, when perhaps he was. "Alright, and because Ryou is so worried about the idiot Pharaoh."

  Joey took a deep breath and ran harder. "I think he should be, dat light came from deir direction."

~*~*~*~*~

  "Mok-" Seto stopped dead at the entrance of the room. This was definitely where it happened. There was a few drops of blood spread out, and holes in the walls. The roof was completely caved in. Seto scanned the area. He feared stepping on the rumble before him, what if a live person was underneath all of it and he crushed the person Mind you, he wasn't afraid of killing him, he was just worried it was Mokuba, not that he would let it show to anyone but his own little brother.

  Something caught his eye. Seto let his mouth fall open and tears spring to his eyes. His brother's coat, it was it brother's coat! It was caught underneath a stray piece of wood. "Mokuba…" Seto whispered. There was no way he, or anyone else could have survived this! No way! Seto Kaiba fell to his knees and stared at the coat. Why oh why didn't he pay attention to his brother Why didn't he make sure he didn't go out alone Why his brother For the love of mercy, why not him!

  Seto brought himself to slowly, and carefully walk through the piles of rubble. He looked for any sign of his brother. "Mokuba" Seto cried. There! Who was that Kaiba strolled over to the hand. He pulled of the bored that covered the body's face. He reeled back and made a disgusted face. He was glad it wasn't his brother, some short guy, and from the looks of it, he had a brush forming at the base of his head where there had been some earlier scuffle. But that wasn't the worst part, the board had come down and smashes his while face in, it almost looked indented.

  Kaiba turned away and looked for any other signs of hope. "Moku-"

  Somehing moved to his left. Kaiba quickly ran over to the body completely buried in the mess. "Mokuba"

  "S-Seto…"

  "Mokuba!" Seto quickly went to work with the boards. First, he could recognize a hand, then the shoes and jeans then the blue and yellow striped shirt and finally, the sweet face of his brother. "Mokuba…" Seto gently picked up his little brother and cradled him in his arms, hugging him as close as possible. It took all his strength to hold back the tears of relief, funny how they seemed just as hard to hold back as the tears of grief.

  "S-Seto" Mokuba opened his eyes to see blackness, but this was a different kind of blackness. Mokuba closed his eyes and sniffed carefully. It smelled of his brother. A smile crept on his face despite the pain. He came! Seto came!

  "Mokuba!" Seto slowly and reluctantly pulled back from Mokuba, but did not let him go. "Does anything hurt"

  Mokuba nodded and winced. "Everything."

  Kaiba frowned. "Can you move."

  Mokuba thought and then moved his left leg. It was okay, it hurt, but he could move it. That was a good sign. He knew his right arm was okay, he was using it to cling to his big brother. But his left arm and right leg was a totally different matter… "My left arm and right leg hurt Seto," he whimpered softly. "It hurts…"

  Seto's tears finally fell. Oh how close he was to… "I know, Mokuba. Don't worry! I'll get you to the best hospital there is! Don't worry!"

  Mokuba gave a weak smile, but then his little eyes widened and he struggled to move. "Mokuba! Don't."

  Mokuba looked up at his brother and said one word. "Yugi…"

  "YUGI! YAMI!"

 Kaiba's head snapped up to see Joey run in with Bakura following close behind. "What are you doing here, mutt"

  Joey looked dumbfounded at Seto. "Me What are you doin' her- Hey! Who you callin' mutt Argh, I ain't got time for you!" Joey stepped around and examined any place he could. "Yugi Yami" he called out. "Come on, answer me!"

  Seto scowled. He didn't want to have to worry about the mutt and his friends, but he did admit that there was a tinge of worry. He didn't admit it to anyone, but Yugi HAD helped him out, once or twice, the kid wasn't THAT bad, I mean, if HE, Seto Kaiba, could stand him, He couldn't' be that bad, right But that was a bad thing, he DIDN'T want to worry.

  Joey was getting worried. There was no sign of life, let alone any sign of Yugi or Yami. As Joey walked around the rubble searching for any sign, any life, he glanced over at Bakura before turning back to his search. "You gonna help"

  Bakura scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Not likely." He was silent and had a far off gaze before scowling (more than usual) and closed his eyes. When his brown eyes opened, the were larger than before and he seemed less calm. "I'll help, Joey." He said softly. He carefully looked around nothing here. He moved to the back of the room. Something yellow… "Joey!" Ryou called. "I think I see Yugi's hair!" Joey wasted to time to race over. Ryou was doing his best to pull the large board covering his friend. Joey pulled with all his might, it was budging only bit by bit. At this rate, it would be too late.

  Seto Kaiba looked down at his brother. Mokuba Kaiba looked up with pleading eyes. No words were said, but a thought passed between the brothers. Kaiba didn't necessarily LIKE Yugi, but he didn't wish for him to die, he wanted to beat him first in a card game – no, that was only half true. He was also the only other person besides Mokuba who he had actually gotten remotely close to himself. Seto muttered something under his breath and carefully laid Mokuba down to the ground and took off his coat, placing it under Mokuba's head. He looked at him lovingly before stepping over to Joey and Ryou. Not a word was spoken as they pulled together to rescue their friend.

~*~*~*~*~

   It was one of THOSE phone calls. Tea could feel at as soon as the phone rang. She dwelt on the thought of not picking it up for a few seconds, but immediately reached out her hand to pick up the phone before her body told her otherwise. "Tea speaking, who's this"

  "Yo, Tea! How're you" Tea let out a sigh of relief. No policeman, just Joey, nothing special there. She smiled as she responded.

  "I'm fine, Joey. What about you"

  "Well, I'M fine…" There was a pause. The sense of dread filled Tea's heart once again. When he didn't continue, the dread seemed to get stronger and cause her hands to shake for some unknown reason. "Joey," She asked softly. "Why did you call me"

  Joey hesitated before answering. Tea wished he never did. "It's a long story Tea. Short version is, Mokuba, Yugi and Yami are in the hospital. Mokuba has one arm and one leg broken and few broken ribs, but with his brother payin' for da best doctor he'll be alright."

  Tea took in a deep breath. "And Yugi"

  "Yugi has a concussion a few broken bones."

  Tea let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't relieved he was hurt of course, but the way Joey sounded, it was though Yugi had died – but there was something missing, something he wasn't telling her. Then, it hit her. "You said something about Yami…"

  "Yea…Yami separated from Yugi…"

  "That's a good thing, right Or, is… he okay"

  "Yami… Yami is the same as Yugi, he hasn't woken up yet either…"

  There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, something bad. "What is it Joey"

  "Yami is in a coma, docs say it ain't good."

  Tea's knees buckled underneath her and she fell to the floor, just barely holding on to the phone.

  "Tea Tea. You okay"

  Tea shook her head in disbelief. It COULDN'T be Yami, not the Yami she knew. Yami was one of those people who never got hurt. He survived 5,000 years! Why should a coma stop him No… "Yes…"

  Joey didn't believe her for a second, but there wasn't much he could do. "Can you come I want you to be here when Yugi wakes up. Ryou is here to, but I can't reach Mai and I'm gonna call Tristan next. I'll see ya here." On that note, he quickly hung up the phone, he didn't care if it was rude or not. Tea wasn't going to answer – if she wasn't out the door already.

  Tea HAD quickly ran out, but her concern for Yami had been over run with her concern for Yugi. How was he going to take it

~*~*~*~*~

  Brown eyes narrowed and waited impatiently for the light to turn green. The radio in his helmet was put up loud so to drown his worried thoughts. 'Come on…' He pleaded with the light. There! Tristan slammed on the gas and continued until he hit the next red light. Curse him being so far away from the hospital. He should move closer with all the many times all four had been there. Yugi and Joey the most, of course, he was getting up there too. The nurses were getting to know them by name. 

   His loud music was interrupted by the 2 minutes news and weather break. 'The house of Grydon road was set on fire the other day, resources say it was from a lit fire match that fell to the ground. One person is dead, two severely injured, and one – ironicly the one suspected of starting it – is unharmed. In major news there was a large explosion of a…green light in the heart of Domino city. There were five bodies found. Two dead, one severely injured, and two will make it out in a week or so. One of the boys awake stated that there was one other, but the body was not found. He also did not give an explanation of what happen with the green light. Perhaps it was some boy's prank, perhaps it was a terrorist attack, or maybe even something we can't exp-" Tristan scowled and hurried down the road to the hospital.

~

  Mokuba sighed contentedly. He was so happy! Okay, so happy wasn't the word, he was…content. He was incredibly sore and he hurt, but it was all okay. His brother hadn't left his side at all. He looked at his computer only when Mokuba was asleep. His brother was finally here!

  "Mokuba," Mokuba snapped out of his happy musings and looked over to Seto. "Yes, big brother"

  Seto smiled and squeezed his hand. "What was it you wanted to show me before"

  Mokuba thought. Yea, good question, what was it… Oh! Mokuba gave a proud grin. He didn't have the test with him, but word of mouth was always good, besides, his brother would understand. "I got a 100 on my history!"

  Seto's face lit up with pride. "Good job Mokuba! I'm proud of you." Mokuba's grin widened even more, if that was possible. Seto also smiled. This is what he missed. He missed his brother's happiness. It was contagious. "So what do you want to do once we get out of here"

   Mokuba didn't hesitate. "Roller blading! And you have to try it with me this time!" Seto blinked. He couldn't imagine himself roller blading, but, there was a first time for everything. He slowly nodded surprising even his brother. "Alright!" Mokuba yawned. "I'm gonna sleep now though, okay"

   Seto nodded and stood up from the chair by his brother's bed. "You make sure you get lots of sleep, okay, kid"

   Mokuba gave his big brother one last smile and closed his eyes and he smile still stayed on his face.

~*~*~*~*~

  ~ Black ~

 ~ Green ~

  "Get your lazy butt over here!"

  "O-Okay…"

  "OKAY SIR!"

  *SLAP*

  ~ Green ~

  "Please don't hurt me."

  "Oh, gee, let me think about this…NO!"

  "LET HIM GO!"

 ~ Green ~

  "He's…dead…"

  "…Yes…"

  "He's not coming back"

  "No."

  "…Good."

 ~ Green ~

~*~*~*~*~

…Yugi…

Huh

…Yugi…

Yami

…Yugi, it's time to get up…

Yami Is that you

…get up Yugi…

Yami Answer me!

"Yugi! Please come back!"

 "He'll wake up, don worry!"

…Go Yugi…

"Yami!"

  Yugi's eyes shot open. His eyes darted around the room to see all the surprised, but happy faces. Joey was the first to speak. "Yug! It's great to see ya finally awake!"

  Tea nodded to confirm and stood to hug Yugi. She pulled back and winked at him. Ryou smiled politely and nodded. "I'm glad your finally up Yugi. You had us all worried."

   Yugi smiled. "Thanks guys." He looked around. "Where's everyone else" Yugi noticed Tea look over at Joey nervously. Joey ignored her and answered, 'Seto is with his brother Mokuba and Tristan went out to get some real food for us."

   Yugi looked around. Okay, but someone was missing. "Where's Yami"

  Joey looked down and Tea's eyes shook. "Yugi…"

 "I'm sorry Yugi," Everyone turned to Ryou who was back in the corner, shaking, "I can't hold him off any longer." Ryou closed his eyes only for a second, but his eyes had changed. "Tell me how you and your Pharaoh separated." Bakura demanded.

  Joey scowled and stood up. "Hold on der a second, Bakura! Yugi just woke up, we don't need you to go botherin' him!"

  "I will stop bothering him as soon as he tells me how to be rid of my light."

  "How about you go stick –"

 "JOEY!" Joey turned and saw Yugi's big, purple eyes, staring at him with such emotion, his anger died down. "Joey," he said more softly, "Where is Yami"

   Joey's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. How could he tell him Bakura scoffed and answered for him. "He's in a coma, idiot, so only you can tell me."

   Joey growled and raised his fist. A soft hand on his arm stopped him. Tea shook her head slowly and moved her head so that he knew she wanted to take care of Yugi. He slowly pulled down his arm. He gave one last glare in Bakura's direction before sitting beside Yugi's bed. "Yug I'm sorry Yug, I didn't want you to find out like dis." He looked into Yugi's eyes, once lifelike and happy, now full of despair and emptiness. Joey looked over at Tea with sad eyes. She gave the same pitying look. She ignored the scowling Bakura and sat down on the other side of Yugi. "Yugi Can you hear me I know it's tough, but please don't give up on him…"

~*~*~*~*~

"Yami" Yugi had withdrawn into his soul room and quickly raced out into the hallway and now stood before his Yami's room. "Yami" He called out again, this time stronger. He put a hand on his door. He was scared. He was scared he would find Yami dead on the ground, or just as bad, no where at all. He gathered up his courage and shoved open the door. He cautiously looked around the room. It was dark. The usual torches seemed duller than usual.

   Yugi took a slow step forward into the blackness. "Yami" he called out. "Yami, please answer me."

   Silence

   Yugi took another step in and shivered. He looked around as he wrapped his arms around his boy. It was so cold. He took another step in, and another, calling for his special friend.

Hooray for me! A longer one! A still have about 3 or 4 more chapter written out, and it's still going, I just have a writers block ^_^;; So this is when we are all thankful that I have these written out before hand to give me time to catch up, but the whole point of me telling you this is so that you will hopefully give me ideas for later, later…please Or maybe a review would inspire me or something…