Joey looked up at his younger sister as she poured her eyes out, "Serenity!" She gasped and whirled around, realizing now that he was conscious. Their eyes met, Serenity's shook as Joey's stood dull and pale. She was shocked that he was even awake, usually at the rare occasions that he was, he was always in a semi-conscious state of delirium. Joey licked his chapped lips and spoke once more, "What are you doing here sis?"

"Oh, Joey." Serenity sniffed, his voice sounded so dry, as if somebody had wrung a pipe cleaner up and down his throat. "I'm so sorry." She embraced him tightly.

"Whoa, sis!" Joey was startled and slightly confused. He pushed her back. "Sorry? For what?"

"This is all my fault." She began to cry again, Joey's eyes narrowed at her. "This is all my fault."

"Will you stop saying that!" Joey cringed, yelling was not the best idea.

Serenity tensed, realizing that, "I'm sorry."

"Sh, stop." Joey looked up at her. "What, if ever anything, do you have to be sorry for?"

"This, all of this, everything is my fault!"

"How can you possibly say that." Joey growled through clenched teeth.

Serenity gasped and for that Joey was sorry, "Joey, this all began with me. I could've prevented this all from happening, don't you realize?"

Joey blank stupidly, "Realize what?" Serenity stared at her brother, it reminded her so much of the first time she saw him in the hospital, incidentally, it was just over a decade ago, and, it was the same moment she was reliving right at this time…

Flashback

It was sometime between Christmas and New Years, notably one of the coldest times of the year, but for the Wheeler family, the chill would be more icy than anywhere else.

"Hey sis come on!" The seven year old Joey laughed as he ran through the snow covered park, he had only reached that lucky age a few months ago.

"Hey wait for me!" His five, soon to be six year old sister cried as she kicked the new soccer ball she got for Christmas.

Joey turned around, "Come on now, you've got to run a lot faster than that if you ever want to be a soccer ace." Serenity laughed as the happy parents watched as they strolled down the winter wonderland scene. "Here, kick it my way!" Serenity kicked the ball, it landed by Joey's toe, he tipped it up and caused the ball to bounce up onto his knee, he bounced it back and forward from each leg. "Now see, this is how you do that."

"Ooh." Serenity watched in wonderment, Joey was so good.

"The best offense is a good defense, try to block the ball from going past you." Joey hit the ball hard off his right fore leg and did a head but, causing the ball to fly towards his younger sister.

"I got it!" Serenity jumped up and grabbed it.

"Whoa, whoa, no! Time out." Joey cried. "No hands, rule one of soccer, no hands!"

"Oh." Serenity blushed. "Sorry."

Joey smirked, "It's ok, you didn't know that. Come on, we'll try again. Kick it my way."

"Ok." Serenity smirked to herself, she was gonna kick the ball so hard that Joey would have to run and get it. "Ah!" She kicked it hard.

"Whoa!" Joey moved to the side to block the ball from flying past him, but it was above ground level, it hit him square hard in the chest.

Serenity stopped laughing, "Ouch, oh are you ok?"

"Yea." Joey put on a tough guy facade despite the pain in his chest. "Soccer players can stop it like that legally, as long as you don't use your hands. You're kicking it too high, try to kick down to keep it ground level." He picked it up and tossed it back to her.

"Ok. Hey wait, you used hands!"

"I'm goalie, the goalie can use his hands to throw the ball back into play."

"Ag!" Serenity pulled on her hair. "This is all too much to remember."

Joey laughed, "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it, now come on, third time's the charm."

Serenity smiled to herself, "Kick it right under his legs, he'll never expect that. He'll have to chase it I kicked it so hard, and that means I win! Hehe." She pulled her leg back and kicked it.

"Whoa." Joey tried to get it but it flew out from under him, he looked under his legs as the ball bounced away. Serenity laughed. Joey smirked, "Oh and I bet you're pretty amused." Serenity clapped. Joey ran after it, "You did that on purpose!"

"Na aw, prove it!" She stuck out her tongue.

Joey laughed as he ran to get the ball, he bent down to pick it up but heard a sound, "Hu, what's that?" He looked around, he seemed to be in a clearing of sorts, trees all around but the level of snow seemed lower, almost as if he were standing… "No, not the pond!" Joey gasped as he saw Serenity frolic over. "No stop sis, stay back!"

"Hu?" She gasped and froze in her tracks.

"I'm caught on the pond."

"Oh no!"

"Don't worry I can make it back, just be real quite cause I gotta be careful."

Serenity nodded, "Ok." She gasped and covered her mouth.

Joey held the ball tightly and began to step slowly and carefully, paying attention to the sound the ice under his feet made, so far so good, he was this close to the shore when, "Ah!" The ball flew up into the air as his body fell under the ice.

Serenity let out a scream, "Ah, momma HELP!"

Cher gasped and turned around, "Honey, you hear something?"

Bob turned to her, "Only the heavenly song that is your voice."

She laughed and playfully hit him, "Oh stop it. Seriously, I thought I heard something just now."

"I'm sure it's just the kids playing, you know how loud and rambunctious they are."

"They get it from you."

"Oh? I'm sure!" They laughed.

"Papa!" Serenity cried once again. Her eyes widened as she saw a hand pull up on the bank, Joey's mouth gaped open as he took in a deep breath of oxygen, he panted as he pulled his shivering body out from the ice. "Joey!"

"I'm fine, get mom and dad."

"Ok!" Serenity dropped the ball and ran off. Joey breathed heavily, his vision blurred, he didn't feel so good…

"Do you think it's time we head back now Bob?" Cher asked. (A/N: Ok, so I don't know their real names so I made them up, so sue me! If they do have names, please tell me.)

"Yea, the kids are probably frost bitten after snowball fights and snow angels."

"Mommy, daddy!"

Cher turned around, "Serenity?"

She panted, putting her hands on her knees, "Joey, pond, fell, icy…."

"I don't get it." Bob shrugged. "Charades? A snow fort!"

"What? No. Did Joey fall into the ice pond?"

Serenity nodded, "Yea."

"Oh my god!" Cher ran off.

Bob looked down at Serenity, "Now why would you let something like that happen to your big brother?"

Serenity was slightly taken by his tone, "It wasn't my fault, I kicked the ball too hard and it fell over by the pond, it was frozen, I didn't know!"

Bob frowned, "Sounds like it's your fault to me." He walked off.

Serenity's jaw dropped, whoa, "I'm, sorry daddy…" Tears began to appear at the corners of her eyes. Dada blamed her…

"Joey, Joey wake up!" Cher shook Joey and held him close, tears on her face. Bob jogged over. "Bob, quick, we have to get him home, he's freezing from the ice!"

Bob grabbed his son's wrist, he had a pulse, low, but a pulse, "Don't worry he's fine."

Cher leered at him, "My son is turning blue in the face!"

Bob put a hand on his son's forehead, "Don't worry, he's hot, he can't be that bad."

"He's unconscious and he has a fever, Bob we have to get him to a hospital!"

"You know we don't have the money to pay for that right now."

"Bob!" Cher stood up, holding her son, and looked her husband deep in the eyes. "If I have to harvest my body for organ donors to pay for my son's healthful recovery, I will sell my soul to the devil himself…. Oh wait, I already have." She walked off.

Bob growled, "And what's that supposed to mean hu? You're the devil bitch, if anything you owe me!" He looked down and saw the teary eyed Serenity. He rolled his eyes, "Hear no evil… come on kid, let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along. She turned around to reach for the soccer ball but she was already too far off, it sat idly by next to the shore hole in the frozen pond.

Cher paced back and forward in front of the emergency room, Serenity watched her eagerly, Bob pulled out a cigarette but noticed the 'no smoking' sign. He growled. Cher noticed and placed her hands on her hips, "Your son is in intensive care, and all you can think about is a drag from your nicotine stick?"

"The 80's ended two years ago, get with the times hon." Bob turned the corner and headed to the front door. Cher sighed and shook her head.

Serenity spoke up, "Mother, is Joey gonna be ok?"

Cher smiled down at her and picked her up, "Of course he is, he's strong willed, a fighter. Look, I want you to do something for me, alright?" Serenity nodded 'ok'. Cher pulled something out of her pocket, "This is something called a duel monster card, Joey is seven now, and that's the recommended age on this game, I want you to give it to him. I was going to for Christmas, but the stores were sold out, so I bought it for him after the holiday rush was over. You give this to him, and say it's from you. Ok?"

Serenity held the card and stared at it with her big eyes, "Flame Swordsman…"

Cher looked up as an RN opened the door, "You can come see him now, his condition has stabilized but we aren't going to run a diagnostic or administer any medication until your insurance clears."

"Oh." Cher sighed, "We don't have any insurance."

The RN's eyes narrowed, "Oh, I see."

Bob looked up as the front door opened, Cher pleaded between sobs, "I beg of you, please, help him, there must be something I can do!"

The RN shook her head, "I'm sorry, I would like to, but without money, I'm afraid the clinic has no doctor for your healthful needs." She shut the door.

"No, please." Cher fell to her knees and began to cry.

Bob put out his cigarette, "Come on, let's go." Cher looked up with pleading eyes. Bob turned to her and sighed, "To the free clinic, where else?" Cher smiled and stood up.

Luckily at the free clinic, Joey was able to receive help. He was soon in a hospital bed receiving the treatment he needed. Bob and Cher were sitting in the two chairs in the room as Serenity continued to stare at the duel monster card. Flame Swordsman.

"Ma, poppa?"

"Joey?" Cher stood up and raced over to the bed, Serenity followed quickly. "How are you, are you alright?"

"Ah, I can't breathe." Joey felt the oxygen tube in front of his nostrils. "I'm scared."

"Honey, the doctor said you have an ammonia."

"A, what?"

"Joey." Cher and Joey looked down to see Serenity's nose peeking up over the bed. Cher grabbed her and put her up onto the mattress by her brother. Joey sat up to see something held in her hand. "I wanted to give this to you for Christmas, it's a duel monster card."

Joey took it from her in awe, "Flame Swordsman."

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you, this is all my fault."

"What?"

"If I hadn't kicked the ball so hard into the ice, you never would've fallen into the pond and ended up here like this. I'm the most horrible little sister in the world, and I'll understand if you hate me now and never wanna play with me again."

Joey's eyes shook, "Sis…"

Cher looked down at her daughter, "And what makes you think such a think sweetie?"

"Father told me."

Cher's eyes narrowed in the direction of her husband, "Oh."

Bob grumbled and stood up, "Come on kid." He picked Joey up, he cringed painfully.

"Hey wait!" Cher tried to stop him. "What are you doing!?"

"The clinic may be free, but the hospital sure aint. Come on, he's fine now, he can rest for free at home, we've got oxygen there."

Cher put her hands on her hips, "Not with your chain smoking and liquor fumes."

Bob growled, "You gotta problem? I'm leaving whether you're in the car or not."

Bob stared his wife down before leaving, Cher watched him go and then picked up Serenity, "Sometimes I wonder why I married that man."

Serenity looked up, "Because you loved him?"

"Yea, loved, is right."

End Flashback

"Sis, just cause pops said that, doesn't make it true." Joey said. "Trust me."

"No, but for once Joey he was right." Serenity shook her head. "Looking at you reminded me so much of that day, and that's when I realized that it was all my fault, something so small and stupid like that."

"This is my fault, not anybody else, and especially not yours."

"They got a divorce a month later…" Serenity remembered. "Mother took me, and father took you. It was horrible, I wish that day never had to come! That stupid soccer ball, I never did become a soccer ace." Joey smirked to himself but it turned to a frown as she continued. "All of this, my whole life, it's made me feel like I've just got to get away, go, and keep on running and never stop to come back. You know? And start over, with a new beginning, a new life…" She looked up at him.

"Well." Joey sighed and closed his eyes. "If that's really how you feel."

A frown tugged at her lips, "Well, I didn't expect you to understand."

Joey raised his head, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You got away easily, you got to live with dad."

A growl escaped his clenched teeth, "You have no right to say that, you're the one who got off easy, mom took you away!"

Serenity stood up as the tears feel from her eyes, "And what gives you the right to say that you hypocrite? You have no idea what life with mama was like!"

Joey froze as he found his younger sister now weeping, "Mh, Serenity…" He sighed as he bit his lip and looked away. Some strong willed warrior, making a girl cry, his own little sister at that no less... He looked on the table by his bed and saw his belt, on it was his duel deck, and on top face up, facing him, was his first card.

2. Flame Swordsman