Hey! Thanks to all of you who have been reading and reviewing. It's nice to come home from school and read these reviews. I hope you all continue to enjoy this and please go check out my other stories! And thanks for your concern about Bakura, I love'im too!! XD
Chaos crashed to her knees as she reached the spot where Yami had fallen in. To her disgust, the fiend simply ran away; he ran away. And she was letting him. But at the moment, she needed to get Yami out of the icy water from which he was trapped in.
After several moments of desperate pounding on the ice furiously with her fists, she found that it would take all her strength to break the newly formed ice patch. Chaos stood up and furiously and stomped with both feet on the ice. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, it cracked a little. The spirit of the Bracelet stopped and took an uneasy breath. She didn't wish to fall in herself. Chaos began to then stomp with one foot.
Suddenly, the ice gave out and her leg plunged into the icy water. Chaos's other leg dropped to her knee and Chaos had to dig into the ice to keep herself from sliding in. Carefully, the spirit pulled her leg out and looked into the water. There was no sign of the former Pharaoh.
'How can I ever face Yugi?' Chaos thought as she held her head in her hands. 'If only I could have caught up with him!' She pounded her fist of the ice. 'No! He's down there, and he's alive!'
After stripping off her coat, Chaos dove into the frigid waters. Because there was no light, she could only guide herself by the soft, pulsing glow of the Millennium Bracelet. Several minutes later, she went back to the surface to get more air. She took big gulp, then plunged back down. This time, she would not come back up until she found Yami.
Now she was able to get to the bottom of the lake. To her despair, she could find nothing. For some odd reason, her Bracelet couldn't really lead her to Yami either. Chaos mentally growled in frustration.
Just about when she had lost hope, her phoenix pendant's crystal began to glow. She looked down at it curiously and saw that it was pointing to her right. The spirit looked forward and saw a glint of gold a few feet away.
She swam towards where she'd seen the glint and her eyes flashed with horror. Yami was laying at the bottom of the lake, completely lifeless. Chaos swam over to him. The ice above them cut off most light, but gave Yami's face a too pale complexion.
The spirit of the Bracelet clamped an arm around his waist and pushed off to the surface. As she broke through the top of the water, she realized how out of breath she'd been. Chaos put one elbow on the ice, and pulled Yami's head above the surface. When he didn't give any response, Chaos felt panic rise in her throat.
After several moments of struggling, she was able to pull herself, and Yami, out of the water. Not wanting to risk the ice breaking on either of them, Chaos pulled her friend across the lake and onto shore. Once she made it, she laid Yami onto the cold ground blanketed in snow.
Chaos pressed her ear against his chest, faintly, she heard a heartbeat. "Don't you die on me now, Pharaoh!" she whispered. Gently, she pressed both hands upon his chest. Suddenly, water trickled out of his mouth, then he coughed up a quite bit more. When she was sure that all the water was out of his lungs, she pulled him into her lap. With care, she wrapped him in her jacket.
"Yami?" she said softly as she gently shook him. There was no response. "Yami!" Out of fright and aggravation, she smacked him, hoping to startle him awake. When she didn't even receive a flicker of an eyelid, Chaos bit her lip and felt tears come to her eyes. "No . . ." The Egyptian pulled the Pharaoh close to her and felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks.
They were both soaked and freezing cold, and Yami had nearly drowned. Chaos heard raspy breath, but she was still frightened. Yami was always the serious one, the strong one. Nothing had ever really hurt him before. He had seemed almost invincible. She had to get him to shelter, and somewhere safe.
The young woman thought for a moment. The closest place she knew was the Game Shop. Wrapping the jacket tightly around Yami, Chaos got up and tried to pick up her friend. He was the same size as she was, so it wasn't as heavy as she thought, but she felt cold and tired. She then began to half carry, half drag her friend out of the park.
Ryou, Yugi, Seto, Mokuba, and even Tazi were sitting at the dinning table, eating a late breakfast and an early lunch of vegetable soup, when Yugi suddenly shook involuntarily and dropped his spoon.
"Yami!" he cried as he gripped the table. All the others looked at him with wide eyes. Ryou was the first to respond. He took a hold of his friends arm and looked at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Yugi swallowed and blinked a few times.
"I'm . . . I'm not sure . . . Our connection was suddenly back up and I felt pain . . ." Yugi whimpered. The hikaris had learned that their yamis had cut off all mental communications once Chaos had left with the Millennium Puzzle.
Tazi looked away. She hadn't felt anything from Chaos, but that didn't mean something wasn't wrong with her. 'Please be all right,' she thought. The teen was sure that she would have felt something, but it still scared her.
Yugi got out of the chair and ran for the door. "Yugi!" all of the them called. Seto was the first to catch the boy. He ended up tackling him and taking him to the floor.
"I have to get to Yami!" Yugi screamed as he struggled to get out of Seto's sure and firm grip. "Let go, Kaiba!"
"It's not safe, Yugi!" Ryou exclaimed. He ran over and knelt next to the struggling teen. Yugi tried to kick Kaiba, but he held the smaller boy tightly.
"I don't care! Yami needs my help!" Yugi exclaimed as he tried to push Seto's arm away.
Tazi and Mokuba were still over at the table. Mokuba was watching worriedly, but Tazi just looked at her lap. She tried to connect with her yami, but she couldn't even feel her. The wall was blank, and Tazi was locked in her soul room. Finally, she looked up and saw what was happening. Almost silently, she stood up and walked over to the small group.
Both of Ryou and Seto were a little surprised when Tazi walked over with her head bowed. She sat on her knees in front of Yugi and then looked at the smaller teen. "You wouldn't be able to help him," she said softly. "No matter how much you want to." Yugi stopped struggling for a moment and looked at Tazi with teary eyes.
"But I have to! He needs me!" he cried. Tazi bit her lip and her brows knitted together.
"I'm worried about Chaos too," she whispered. "But I know I can do nothing; except, do what she told me to, and that was to stay here and be safe. I know Yami wouldn't want you to be in danger." Ryou looked at her with understanding.
"She's right, Yugi," he said gently. Yugi's lip quavered and a few tears slid down his cheeks.
"I know . . ." he said as he tried to wipe away his tears. "I know she is . . . But Yami . . ."
Seto loosened his grip on Yugi and sat back. "I'm sure where ever he is, he's all right. Chaos is probably with him, and as long as she's able, she won't let anything happen to him," Seto said as he let go of Yugi.
Ryou came over and hugged Yugi comfortingly. Kaiba stood up and patted Tazi on the shoulder as he walked back to the dinning table. For a moment, Tazi just stayed where she was at and thought about what Seto had said. He was right, and she knew it. She just hoped Chaos really was all right.
Chaos dragged Yami around another corner. She collapsed again and cried some more. No one was around, no would help her. Chaos felt tired, cold, and hungry. She hugged Yami close to her body, offering whatever warmth she had to him.
Her sobs were pitiful cries. She was so tired, but she couldn't stop. The yami just sat in the middle of the sidewalk and cried with her motionless friend in her arms. Her arms were sore from carrying his upper body across about two miles. Her chest ached from her crying, and she really couldn't feel her hands.
Her wet hair clung to her soaked sweater and to her face. Hot tears left trails across her frozen cheeks. Chaos still had a couple blocks to go.
It was impossible to believe that there was no one around. Although it was working hours and only half an hour before lunch breaks. She hoped to get to the Game Shop before then. Chaos had probably been going for half an hour already.
The spirit of the Bracelet looked down at Yami's face. He was pure white, even his lips. His golden bands clung to his face and he wasn't even shaking from the cold. If it hadn't been for raspy breaths, he would have been believed to be dead.
Then, there was Bakura who had been left back at the hospital. Chaos had last seen him bleeding from new wounds, and almost dead from being suffocated. Why did this fiend want them dead? She was used to it by now, but they had never encountered something like this. More sobs past her lips.
She gathered her bearings from the most part, and got back up to take Yami to shelter. The thought of him possibly dieing, frightened her. She teased and harassed him most of the time, but he was her friend. Chaos also couldn't bear the thought of facing sweet, little Yugi. What could she say to him? "I'm sorry, I tried my best, but it wasn't good enough."?
Chaos went through one alley, and down four different sets of sidewalks, across one street, and collapsed twice more. Finally, she could see the Game Shop. 'Please be okay,' Chaos thought as she pulled Yami along, his boots scraping against the cement.
When she reached the door, she pushed her back against it and pulled Yami in. The bell above the door ironically jingled cheerfully. As soon as Yami's feet were in and the door closed behind them. Chaos collapsed onto the floor.
"MR. MUTOU!" she screamed hoarsely at the top of her lungs with sobs intertwining. She faintly heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Yami Tazi Chaos Tashanazi," Mr. Mutou began as he entered the room. "You're making enough noise to . . . Oh, no . . ." he breathed as he saw Yami laying motionless in the pools of water. "What on Earth happened?" Chaos couldn't respond, she was sobbing too hard from her weariness. She held Yami close to her, still believing she had to do what she could to keep him warm.
Yugi's grandfather quickly came over and pulled Yami from her arms. "I'll get him upstairs," he said softly. "We have to get him warm." Even though he was older, he had a little easier time dragging Yami up the stairs than she had had dragging him down the sidewalk.
For several minutes, Chaos just sat crumbled on the floor, crying her eyes out. It had been held in for a day or two now. But she couldn't keep it in any longer. She cried for everything that had happened, because she was cold and tired, and that Yami had almost died. Chaos just sat in the pool of water for nearly five minutes.
The tears were never ending. Any other time, someone, most likely Bakura, would have rushed to her and held her, but he couldn't, no one could. She was all alone.
Chaos saw her reflection in the puddle on the floor. She was a mess. Her hair was barely dry, and that made it curl a little. Hot tears slid down her now lukewarm skin. She drew one knee up and pressed her cheek against it and sniffled. Her throat was tight and her chest ached.
A few moments later, Gramps came back down the steps. "How is he?" she asked hoarsely as she looked up and saw the bleary old man. He smiled down at her tiredly.
"He's laying in his bed, he should be fine. I do not believe there are any signs of hypothermia," he said softly as he walked over to her. He put a blanket around her shoulders and helped her stand. She was a bit wobbly, but he was able to lead her to the stairs. "But you . . . You need to get out of those wet clothes. You probably have more of a chance of catching a cold than he does."
"I'll be fine," Chaos sniffled as she almost tripped over one of the steps. "I need . . . Need to get back to the hospital . . ."
"Nonsense!" Gramps exclaimed. "You need to take care of yourself. You brought Yami here, the least I can do is get you dry." He took her up to the bathroom and turned on the hot shower. "I'll dry your clothes for you while you relax."
Chaos looked at the shower longingly, but she bent down and turned off the shower. "If you could just give me a set of dry clothes," she whispered. "I'll be on my way."
Gramps looked at up her with concern. He reached up and wiped away some tears. "I think Yami has some clothes that will fit you. Just leave your wet things in here and I'll get them dry by the time you come back. Now wait here." Chaos sat on the edge of the tub while Gramps went into Yami's room.
A few minutes later, he came back with a pair of jeans and an orange hooded sweatshirt. He handed them to her along with a towel. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?" he asked kindly. Chaos shook her head slowly.
"Thank you," she said softly as she took the clothes. Gramps just nodded and went out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Chaos then began to strip the wet clothing from her body.
She rang out her undergarments and put them back on, and rubbed herself down with the towel. She then put on the heavy orange sweatshirt. Then, as she picked up the jeans, she laughed hollowly. 'I didn't know Yami had anything other than leather and school uniform pants,' she thought as she pulled them on.
The spirit of the Bracelet squeezed the water out of her hair, then sort of dried it with the towel. She also had found a dry pair of socks folded between the jeans and sweatshirt, so she pulled them on. After she put her boots back on, she laid her wet clothes over the edge of the tub and did the same with the towel.
When she came out of the bathroom, she looked down the hall where she knew Yami's room was, but then turned the other way and went down the stairs. In the kitchen, Mr. Mutou was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He looked up as he heard her come down.
"Do you want anything?" he asked as he stood up. Chaos bit her bottom lip.
"No thank you," she answered. "You've done quite enough. I must be going."
Mr. Mutou nodded sadly. "Will you be coming back soon?" Chaos shuffled her feet and looked at the floor.
"I'm not sure," she whispered. "But I don't think I'll be gone too long. I will want to know if Yami's all right."
"He will be," Gramps said. Chaos nodded, then went through the door to the Game Shop, and walked out.
An icy wind met her and she turned away as her now loose hair blew into her face. She stuck her hands in the front pocket of the sweatshirt and began to trudge down the street.
Seto rode in his limo and looked out the window. He had told Yugi and Tazi that he would keep an eye out for either of their yamis as he went to the office. The CEO had been half tempted to go in his own car and purposely drive around to look for either of the two. But he had work that couldn't wait very long. It was like that when you ran a multi-million dollar corporation.
The limo drove along and Kaiba saw someone walking down the sidewalk. At first, she looked like any other pedestrian, but as they drove nearer, he saw that it was Chaos. He told the driver to pull over and Seto opened his car door.
"I've been looking for you," he said in a semi-playful voice. Chaos stopped walking and lifted her eyes from the ground. Seto saw that they were filled with pain and sorrow. "Where are you headed?"
"The hospital," she replied in a whisper. Seto scooted over.
"Get in," he ordered. Chaos looked around for a moment, then climbed into the limo as she was told. The teen told the driver to head to the hospital and he complied.
For a few moments, they drove in silence. Seto then thought back to earlier that afternoon at his home. Seeing that Chaos was alone, he was sure that something had indeed happened to the former Pharaoh.
"Where's Yami?" he asked. Chaos looked away from him. Her shoulders shook a little, and she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying again. "Well?"
"The man who had stabbed Bakura," she began, while still looking away. "He came back, and we chased him to the park . . . Yami got ahead of me and chased him across the lake. He . . . He shot at Yami and hit the ice, and Yami fell through . . ." A few tears escaped her tightly shut eyes. "I had to break the ice open again, and I found him at the bottom . . . And I had to drag him to the Game Shop because he wouldn't wake up . . ." A sob escaped her lips and she hugged herself tightly.
Kaiba looked over at her with concern. "Chaos?" he said quietly. She suddenly whipped around and looked at him with teary eyes.
"What?!" she asked as she choked.
Seto just pulled her into an embrace and she began to cry again. All he felt he could do was hold her. Chaos buried her face in his chest and her tears soaked a spot on his trench coat.
"That's it," he whispered. "Just cry it out. I'm here for you."
"I don't want him to die," Chaos cried.
"Who? Yami?"
"Him or Bakura!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine," Seto said as he smoothed out her hair. He then noticed something. "Where's your gun?"
For a moment, Chaos stopped crying and looked up at him with wide eyes and thought for a moment. "I think I lost it," she said quietly. "In the park."
"Driver," Seto called. "Go to the park real quick."
For the second time, the driver changed his course and went to the park. As they pulled up to the curb, Seto could see where Chaos had tripped and fallen into the snow. "Wait here," he told her.
The CEO got out of the limo and walked out into the park. He bent down once and picked up a silver object, then kept walking. After a few more minutes, he bent down and picked up another object. Seto then ran back to the limo to get out of the cold. When he got back in the limo, Chaos saw two guns. "Here you are," he said as he held them out to her. "Try not to lose them again."
Chaos took them and put one behind her back in the waist of her jeans, and the other in the front pocket of her sweatshirt. She took a shaky breath. "Why can't I be strong like you?" she asked suddenly. "All I can do is sit here and cry!" A few more tears trickled down her face.
Seto reached up and to wipe away the tears, but Chaos shoved his hand away. "No! Someone is always wiping my tears away for me!" she wiped her sleeve across her eyes. "If I'm going to be strong, I have to be able not to cry!" Kaiba shook his head.
"Crying doesn't make you weak, crying shows that you care, and that you're human," he said softly. "Even I cry sometimes." Chaos looked down at the floor of the car.
"Not in public you don't," she whispered. "I just go out and cry on the street."
"Oh, Chaos . . ." Seto sighed as he hugged her again. "You don't realize your own strength."
They reached the hospital and Chaos opened the door and stuck one foot out. "Thanks for the ride," she said.
"Any time," Kaiba said with a crooked smile. "I'll tell them that you are safe, and so is Yami."
"See ya," Chaos said as she got and closed the car door. The limo drove away and Chaos found herself alone once again. She then walked to the building.
Once inside, she realized how cold she still was. Chaos went to the elevator, and found that it opened much quicker than last time. Slowly, she walked in and closed it behind her, not really wanting anyone to ride up with her. She pressed the button for the fifth floor and closed her eyes as she descended upward.
After what seemed eternity, the elevator chimed and the door slid open. Chaos slinked her way down the hall and finally reached Bakura's door. 'Please let him be all right,' she thought as she put her hand around the knob that was as cold as her hand. After taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.
Bakura laid on the bed with his eyes closed. The monitors were still beeping at a normal rate, so for the most part, all seemed well. Chaos wasn't actually sure how long she had been gone, but it looked as if all had been taken care of. The window had even been replaced.
The spirit walked over to the bed and looked down at her friend. He looked peaceful enough. Chaos ran her fingers down his arm, down to the needle for the IV. Bakura made a face of distaste. "Your hands are cold," he mumbled. Chaos pulled her hand away.
"Sorry," she whispered. Bakura's eyes flickered open and it took him a moment to focus on Chaos. He then looked around.
"Where's the Pharaoh?" he asked. Chaos took a breath. Bakura looked up at Chaos. "What happened?"
"We had chased him down to the park, and I was still trying to catch up. Yami got caught on the lake and fell through the ice. That fiend cast a spell to refreeze the water. By the time I got to him in the lake, he was unconscious. I got him to the Game Shop, but he was still out cold when I left."
Bakura thought for a moment, then nodded. "I see," was all he said. "Are you all right?"
"For the most part," she said quietly. Bakura studied her face, and saw the dark circles under her eyes.
"Go home, Chaos," he suddenly said. Chaos looked at him with wide eyes.
"What?" she asked incredulously.
"Go home," he repeated. "You need to sleep. You're doing yourself no good staying around here."
"But what if "
"I'll be fine," Bakura interrupted. "You don't look like you will be though. Sure, I lost some blood back there, but I'm on the road to recovery. You still need to make the U-turn." Chaos gave a bittersweet smile.
"That was the dumbest metaphor I've ever heard," she said. Bakura rolled his eyes.
"Maybe I'm not the most elaborate speaker, but I think I made my point," he said as he folded his arms across his chest. Chaos stuck her tongue out at him. Bakura then became a little more serious. "I mean it, Chaos," he said. "Go home."
"Alright," she said. "I'll go, but I think I'll go check on Yami." Bakura sighed.
"Chaos . . ." he whined. She held up a finger.
"Then, I'll go home." Bakura raised an eyebrow.
"You'd better," he said. "The last think I need is you getting sick on me. Ryou was a big enough handful."
"Fine, I see I'm not wanted," Chaos pouted. She turned to leave. "I'll see you later."
"No sooner than tomorrow!" he called. "Sleep, Chaos! You have to sometime!"
Chaos just waved it away and left the room, feeling a little more light hearted than when she had came. She closed the door behind her and heard the soft click. As she walked down the hall, she saw Dr. Hikura walk past her. Chaos grinned slightly as he quickly looked around for Yami.
But as she saw him go into Bakura's room, her heart fell again. If only Yami could have been there. She wondered how he was doing. Was he even conscious? It was best not to think about it, but that was hard.
The spirit of the Bracelet finally made her way out to the parking lot and pulled the car keys out of her pocket. Chaos unlocked the car door, and climbed into the soft seat. For a moment, she just sat in the car and thought. The world around her was going without any problems, but even closer to her, it was a disaster. The blond young woman forced herself to close the car door and put the keys in the ignition.
The CD player came on and the music from the fantasy film of all time filled the car. Chaos laughed to herself. Fantasy, that's what most people would call the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games. It made her wonder if 'Lord of the Rings' was real as well. Chaos shook her head and pulled the car out of the parking lot.
As she drove down the road, she only gave half of her attention to the road. The closer she got to the Game Shop, the more worried she became. Her chest seemed to tighten and her throat became restricted. Chaos wasn't sure if she could stand to see Yami lying deathly cold on his bed.
The honking of a horn brought her back to reality. Chaos looked in the rearview mirror and saw the person behind her, shaking his fist and yelling something. She muttered in Egyptian and put her foot back on the gas. After several minutes, she just pulled over next to the curb.
Too many things were happening. Chaos rested her forehead on the steering wheel and just listened to the music playing. She almost fell asleep, but then there was the clashing of cymbals and she was startled awake. Bakura was right, she needed to sleep. But she couldn't until she knew that Yami was going to be all right. But she was not prepared to see him if he was not. Chaos let out a heavy sigh.
Her lip was getting sore from her teeth furiously pressing down on it. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was two in the afternoon. Another heavy sigh was released. Too many things indeed.
Finally she slammed her fist on the car horn. It wasn't right! Chaos didn't care who this fiend was, he couldn't go around hurting her friends! The girl screamed out of frustration. They knew nothing about him, and he was powerful with Shadow Magic. Just for the record, she screamed again.
Chaos leaned back in the seat and breathed heavily. To her surprise, she actually felt better. She still had that awful dreading about Yami, but all in all, she felt better. Well enough to drive again, that is.
Once she was back on the road, she was able to pay attention. There were no more encounters with angry drivers and she kept everything by the book. But as the Game Shop came up, that dread grew.
Chaos parked at the curb and slowly got out of the car. She knew she had to go in if there was ever any hope of her resting like she had promised Bakura she would. Taking it one step at a time, she advanced toward the shop doors.