Girls don't like guys; girls like cars and money…

HEY EVERYBODY! Here it is, the one you've all been dreading! And I apologize in advance for all the incredibly dramatic bits that are to come in this story, as well as the possible lack of drop dead humor. I've read this chapter, and you need to be in a really, really weird mood to read this. I suggest reading plenty of angsty Shouju Manga, just to get the feeling of how weird this chapter's gonna be. Definite fluff, definite tear-jerky, sappy kind of moments are on the way. J00 H4V3 B33N W4RN3D!

Another thing, I was afraid that I was going to get slammed with e-mails from people angry that Seto got hurt last chapter, but it turned out that the first day I opened my mailbox, most were people saying how adorable Momiji is. I will never understand the public mind…

Okay, actually, there's a funny mini story (ish) behind this story. It all started three chapters ago when the stupid system admen's decided to have fun and ruin my life…

FLASHBACK MODE

Serenity: We STILL can't load stories?

Ryo: Nope. I still think we should smack the computer with the keyboard.

Joey: I DID IT! (holds out piece of paper) I wrote my letter to Santa!

Serenity: Joey…this is a picture of a house…

Joey: (smiling) Yep!

Seto: (running into the room) OH MY FRICKIN' GAWD! SHE GOT IT!

Serenity: You're kidding.

Ryo: Are you sure? She got it?

Seto: Ryo, if she didn't get it, why would I run screaming into the computer room?

Joey: What's it?

Seto: That, stupid, would be an impersonal pronoun.

Serenity: Yes…and it's Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist Volume Five-

Ryo:-Yugi vs Seto for the five star chips to get into Pegasus' Castle-

Seto:-of which I threaten to commit suicide-

Serenity:-of which is a tie with Ryo's 'spirit duel' as Shri's favorite duels on Yu-Gi-Oh ever.

(Silence)

Serenity: We all know what's coming up next right?

Shri: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG! (Kicks Joey out of her way) WRITING TIME!

(Mad type on the computer)

Seto: I'll be going now…

Serenity: Too late. It's starting.

FLASHBACK MODE CANCELED

Review time!

Funky Egyptian

Hello! WEEEE! It's fun to be insane. Go Yugi! Go Seto!

I'm glad that you thought this chapter was funny! And once again, congratulations on being the first reviewer you get…A NEW CAR! Well, not really, BUT YOU GET AN IMAGINARY ONE!

Great to hear from you again! Enjoy this chapter!

Dark Princess Saz, Momiji Fangirl, and all the Staff of Kitsune Corp

Thank you so much for the reviews! They were extremely funny! And if you have gravity-defying trench coats, I want one too! They don't sell any at Target.

MUA HA HA! SPIKY NORMAN AND PIKACHU! I love scaring Yami. It is now my new hobby.

I am honored to have met Momiji Fangirl, chairperson of Kitsune Corp. I've been meeting such important people lately!

Like I said, all the reviews are incredibly funny, and they rival my insanity! Your company has my highest respect (bows so low she's kissing her knees). THANK YOU VERY MUCH! HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER!

LoneFlyinTigers

HI AGAIN! Glad you enjoyed the last round of insanity!

I'm sorry but…IT TRUE! By the end of the summer, this crazy Fanfiction will…will…END! It's just as hard for me to bear as everyone else.

BUT IT'S NOT OVER YET! We have quite a couple chapters left to go, and they are doomed to be insane ones. Also, I'm getting ready to write another story that I'll start right after this one.

Inflamation of Joey…COOL!

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! Enjoy this truly dark and insane chapter of the story.

L-Chan the Insignificant

You know, Ryu Barabus is a lot like our Yami-Bakura. It is weird…except of course, YB has a little more dignity, and at least has enough sanity not to mess with Serenity.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm getting e-mails about how amazed people are that Serenity kicks butt. I figured since there are so few good stories about her on FF dot net, it was high time somebody wrote one! Mer her…PIKACHU AND MOMIJI! (hugs them all).

You continue to be soooooo nice! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR ALL THE NICE COMPLEMENTS! Help yourself to some Ryo-baked cookies!

Gothangelmyu

HI AGAIN MY GOOD FRIEND!

What happened to the Tooth Fairy? Well…you'll have to wait and find out. BUT as for Pegasus's little game…I'll give you a hint, it's a game quite a couple of my High School Junior friends…are addicted to.

Sorry to freak you out.

As to your question, Cuz is sort of like a massive country/kingdom thing. Rhinestone City is it's capital. When Serenity said they were going to Cuz…that was a typo. Their heading to Rhinestone City. You think that was bad, I kept calling it Oz in my earlier chapters. But then I figured that I actually needed a name for the city, so Rhinestone City it is!

Thank you as usual for the lovely review! YOU ROCK!

ShadowFire2

Now I know! Thank you very much ShadowFire2-san!

I'm still working on that one shot. It should be out next week if all goes well.

And I completely agree…everyone needs to be bi-lingual, especially when it comes to insults. Enjoy this chapter! MUA HA!

Mokuba's Official Glomper

YAY! A PLUSHIE! (hugs) YOU'RE SO NICE TO ME!

I logged onto the site, but I can't read the Japanese. Is there an English translation thingit on there?

I'd totally love to see the fanart though. Do you have any on there? I draw some at home, but it's so bad I don't dare post it online! THANK YOU FOR THE NICE REVIEW! May this chapter scar your mind…

Cute Lil Yami

YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!

And I missed the Goonnylariousness!

Starving tiger of marriage, what could be worse? But it does remind me of a very funny conversation with the chess club captain (I'M A COLOSAL NERD!). He told me what a beautiful day it was, and I commented that it was kind of stormy and gloomy it looked outside. Then, he told me 'Every day is a beautiful day as long as your not married'. I'LL NEVER FORGET YOUR WISDOM MAJOR-SAMA!

Thank you tonsies for the candy! (Gives plushy cat) ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!

Mizz-Serenity-Wheeler

Not another evil incident!

Truly at times, Ryo can be the luckiest man alive. I think it's because he's so nice, nature and greater spiritual powers can't help but intervene to stop his pain. Or something like that.

JOEY CONTINUES TO SCARE ME! How did he manage to set the 'kitty' lose and not get mauled? Tis his secret…

Hooray for sugar! Hooray for you! THANK YOU!

Lefthandedfreak

I MISSED YOU TOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Actually, I don't tend to get caffeine high. I don't drink soda or coffee (I IS WEIRD!). I usually just eat a ton of sugar, and get hyper by watching British Comedy! WHICH IS JUST AS BAD!

But how horrible it must be to be decaffeinated! TERRIBLE!

Peggy takes round one!

I'm glad the friends you convinced to read my story liked it! YAY! You so nice!

Sounds like fun torturing people like Diane Sawyer! NEWS CHANNELS! RUN!

RYO MADE IT OUT OF THAT CHAPTER ALIVE! But will he make it out of this one?

THANK YOU TONZIES FOR NOT COMPLETELY DISAPEARING FROM MY REVIEWER LIST! IT MAKES ME HAPPY!

ONTO THE CRAZINESS!

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

If I Only Had the Big Needle

Many, many incredibly wrong things have taken place in this story so far. We have visited some of the most filthy, unorthodox, cruel, sick, monstrous, unusual, and incredibly taste lacking places on the face of the Earth…but a hospital…oh, that's the worst.

"Name?" said a receptionist.

"Mine or his?" Ryo asked.

"Are you injured?" asked the receptionist.

"But I haven't answered the first question yet!" Ryo cried in panic.

"What is the name of the injured person or persons?" asked the receptionist.

"Oh, um, Seto Kaiba," Ryo said, still kind of on the edge.

"Okay, so I'll put a check under 'female' for sex-" said the receptionist.

"Um, he's a guy…I hope…" Ryo said.

"Age?" asked the receptionist.

"Mine or his?" Ryo asked.

"All of these questions have to do with the injured person," said the receptionist.

"Em…unknown," said Ryo.

"Can you give me a rough guess?" said the receptionist.

"Probably…a teen…I think…and hope…" said Ryo.

"Okay, marital status?" asked the receptionist.

"Well, I know some people find me attractive, but you really shouldn't ask me that question without even knowing my name!" cried Ryo.

"HIS MARITAL STATUS YOU SIMPERING PRAT!" screamed the receptionist.

"Why do we even have that question on there?" Ryo asked. "Not applicable."

The receptionist just gave him a look.

"Really," Ryo said.

"I'll just put a check mark in the 'really needs to make new friends' box," said the receptionist. "Blood type?"

"How would I know that?" Ryo cried.

"Whatever, I'll just put 'O' to be safe," said the receptionist. "Does he have insurance?"

"He's got a fat wad of cash," said Ryo.

"Fat…wad…of…cash," said the receptionist out loud as she wrote it down in the 'other' box. "Is he, or has he ever been…a gold fish?"

"Not to my knol-hey! What does that have to do with all this?" Ryo asked.

"Favorite color?" asked the receptionist.

"What does that have to-" Ryo began.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked the receptionist, holding up four.

"TOO MANY QUESTIONS!" Ryo cried, grabbing his head, completely freaking out.

"RYO! EXHALE!" Serenity commanded, as Ryo did such, and then passed out. "Um, just give me the paperwork, I'll sort it all out."

"Whatever," said the receptionist, taking a shovel, and forking out a wad of papers from a huge pile of them, and dumping them on the counter, much to Serenity's shock.

"'On what year did the first official Super Bowl game begin, which two teams made it to the finals, and which two teams won?'" Serenity read.

"'A train leaves Chicago at four 'o clock going ninety miles an hour, and another train leaves Los Angeles at two 'o clock going one hundred miles an hour'," Ryo read from a sheet that fell on the floor. "'What time will the two trains pass?'"

"'Two points, (5,17) and (10,x), are direct variants'," read Serenity on her sheet. "'Find the missing point for x'."

"Serenity, can you translate Swahili?" Ryo asked.

"I FOUND A PENNY!" Joey screamed, running up to Serenity and Ryo.

"Was it face down?" Serenity asked.

"YEP!" said Joey, and he got squashed by a Gorilla.

"Well, at least Seto's in a room," Serenity said. "We're lucky you can do a good puppy eyes Ryo."

"Thank you!" Ryo said.

---ooo---

Point of view flashback mode activated…Subject: Kaiba, Seto…rewind four hours, fourteen minutes…stop…

There he is. He did it. He won. I lost.

I can see and I can hear, but that's it. I'm numb. I don't know why, I just am. This couldn't have been fair. I know it. This is wrong. Too wrong. I'm trying to get up. I can't. I've lost all feeling in my limbs. My blood's frozen. I suppose I'm bleeding. I suppose I'm hurt. I suppose this is the end.

He's turning this way. I know he cheated. Just looking at him. I can see his eyes, accusing, triumphant, arrogant, hurt, to many emotions to count. Wretched man. Don't look at me. You don't enjoy this. I know you don't. Turn away. Turn away and leave me here.

I lost.

He's not going. He's unhooking himself. He's coming this way. He killed me twice, and he's coming back to do it again. How can he stand it? How can he stand looking at me like that? It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Why can't you go away? Leave me. I don't need anymore of this. I've lost my heart. Forever. I've lost it all. Have you no shame?

I lost.

He's saying something. "Perhaps it was too much." Whatever he did…it was too high a dosage…but does he even care? He won. Go away! You've taken away everything now! I have nothing! Nothing! Go away…go away…let me go…where are you taking me? Let me stay here, I don't want to walk another step.

I won't say a word. He can't make me say anything. I won't let him make me. I hope I pass out. I hope I disappear. I hope this is the end.

But you aren't that merciful are you?

No.

I lost…everything…this is my retribution…leave me here…

Don't let them see me.

---ooo---

"There is no way any mortal can level this much paperwork!" Serenity cried, as she had a small pile of papers that were done, and a huge pile of those that weren't. "It's impossible!"

"Aw man, I got writers cramp," said Ryo, trying to answer all the questions in his pile. "Oh well."

Joey hadn't finished a single paper in his pile, and in fact, he was chewing on one of them, tying his best to eat it.

"Joey, give me that," said Serenity, pulling it out of his mouth, and reading the drool covered piece of paper. "Huh. It says here that we only need to do the first page and the others…are…optional…"

Akward silence.

"Well, I'll hand this in," said Serenity.

"And I'll take a nap," said Ryo. "I feel like I haven't slept on anything nice in years."

"WOOT! HOT NURSES!" Joey said, pointing to a cluster of nurses.

"Joey, those are male nurses," said Ryo, collapsing on a roll on stretcher in exhaustion.

"Hellooooooooo ladies!" said Joey, skipping over to them.

"This sure won't end…very well…" said Ryo. "I'll stop him…I just…need…to close my eyes…just for a bit…"

Before he knew it, he was sound asleep the second he hit the pillow, completely exhausted. The moment he did, a doctor walked over to the stretcher he was on.

"Hey Glades, is this the dead guy?" he asked a receptionist.

"Sure, whatever," said the careless receptionist, as the doctor wheeled Ryo off.

---ooo---

Serenity hated the hospital. H-A-T-E-D hated it. Everything about it. The smell, the uncomfortable chairs, the elevator music that played that makes you want to tear your ears out, and the fact that the headline on the latest Time magazine screamed 'KENNEDY ASSASSINATED'. Plus, what happened a mouth ago…

"Miss Sur…Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur…suuuuuuuuuuuuur…surii suriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiih…surriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiineeeeeeeeeeeeer……" stumbled a black haired, middle aged doctor that was right over her, trying to read something from the clip board he was holding.

"Miss Serenity?" Serenity suggested.

"AH! WHERE? WHERE? SHE'S FINALLY COME FOR ME!" screamed the doctor, looking in all directions. "NOOOOOOOOO-"

"No! Calm down! I'm Serenity!" said Serenity, trying to ease the panic of the doctor.

"Oh…yes…I knew that…darn frazzin' handwriting," said the doctor. "Ah yes, I believe you are one of the people who brought the Tooth Fairy into this facility-"

"No, that was them," said Serenity, pointing over her shoulder to a group of people who were frantically fanning a tall, slender blonde with huge pixie wings and a magic sparkly wand. "Anyway, me and my friends-"

"Before we get into any details, allow me to introduce myself!" said the doctor almost heroically, flexing his biceps so much that his sleeves completely tore off. "I am…DOCTOR ROB!"

"But your name tag says Doctor Klaus Freudler," said Serenity, pointing to his name tag.

"LIES!" screamed the doctor, covering up his name tag.

"Okay, I'm going on a wild guess by assuming that you were the only person in the entire hospital who was stupid and/or new enough to be tricked into taking care of Seto," said Serenity.

"In a word, yes," said Doctor Rob. "On that subject matter, I have what some would call…bad news."

"Oh no," Serenity said. "By some random twist of fate, he thinks he's Tom Jones now, doesn't he?"

"In a word, no, despite what we were hoping," said Doctor Rob. "However, we can kick him out, ahem, I mean release him as early as tomorrow."

"Knowing nothing in this story has been easy so far, I'm going to wait for the other shoe to drop," said Serenity.

"There's one thing…" the doctor said uneasily, "your friend Sally-"

"Seto," Serenity said.

"-Jennifer seems to be a bit…on the stubborn side," said Doctor Rob.

"The shoe landed right on my face, the spike heel gorging my eyes, the flat end breaking my nose," said Serenity.

"Anyway, as all of us doctors know, medication is half of our work, half of the patients will to take it, and half of it is if the biggest, fattest powderpuff pixie smiles, and fortune will finally lift the horrible plague upon our houses!"

"…yeah…" Serenity said.

"So, basically, there's no hope! YAY!" said the doctor. "Oh boy! Am I glad I transferred to Cornell University from Joey Joes school for good-for-nothing mindless lunatics! I'M AN IDIOT! WHEEEEEEEEEE!"

As the Doctor started bouncing off, Serenity made a solemn vow never to get sick again, and if she did, she would visit a local witch doctor instead of a med school graduate.

Boy, has Cornell been going downhill lately.

---ooo---

"I do not care what everyone thinks, and I don't care if you are the one lacking a heart instead of a brain," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins, full drawn claws out right in front of Seto's face, who was in a hospital bed. "You, by far an away, and everything in between, acted like a first class Joey back with Pegasus."

Seto didn't say anything. He just weakly stared back at her.

"And don't give me your smart-arse silent treatment either," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins, retracting all of her claws except her elongated pointer. "There's only one way I like to deal with that, and that will just get Serenity and the others more problems cleaning up your mess than you've already left them. I can't believe you. It's like you enjoy making me, your friends, and about ten billion fangirls get sick with worry over you."

Seto rolled over, turning away.

"As to answer your non verbal question 'why didn't she just get another temp to bail out my sorry behind', do you know how lucky I was to find ASV? Haven't you figured out the temp agency is still a screaming mess?" said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "But despite everything you've been through and everything I've tried to teach you, you still max out your 'stubborn loner' visa card. Why didn't you tell Serenity, Joey, and Ryo about that message? Why didn't you tell me, the one who's job it is to make sure that you live life with as little pain as PO-SI-BEL?"

No response.

"Jeez, you act like I like being the big bad no-fun plush," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins.

No response.

"Well, I'm glad I got my 'mean conscience lecture' out of the way" sighed Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "You are one of the most complicated cases I have ever had. But after what I've seen happen so far, after what happened to you, and after how you've been going about everything, I figure I really can't blame you for feeling so bad at this point in the game. You've really charged head long into the biggest rock in the rapids. And these points in life are really the things that make or break your clients."

Seto still didn't say anything, but he did turn a little bit.

"I've had a lot of fun with you, so don't think I'm mad at you or hate you or any anything like that," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "At this point, all I want is for you not to beat yourself up. You're going to get back up on your feet again. I promise. Until then, I just want you to take as much time as you want to get better. Don't do anything dramatic or hard or anything like that. All I want now is for you to get better. And I think that's really what you want to."

We will now interrupt this touching and dramatic one with one that is just plain random.

"Ih-is there anyone else in here?" asked a timid, almost quivering voice from the doorway. A nervous, young looking blonde nurse poked her head through the doorway, eye twitching a little bit, like she either had too much or too little coffee this morning. She looked like she should be a patient, not a caregiver.

"Oh, good no ones…here, oh, hello," she said when she saw Seto, giving him a quick, twitching, nervous smile, "I was hoping…no one was here you'll be fine…I guess I was kinda…hoping…for someone a little smaller but…it…looks like you wont put up much of a fight this…shouldn't hurt at all…for me I-"

From behind her back, she pulled out the biggest hypodermic needle known to man, which had a circumference of three feet and was four feet long.

"-really wanted to try out the big needle…" she said, "people say I can't…use the big needle because it's big and…needley and…ILLEGAL but…I really need to try out the big needle don't…get scared or anything, it will…all be over in a second you…won't…feel a thing in a minute…"

Before Seto could stop gapping at her with eyes the size of picture windows, Ms. Fuzzy-Kins was on her face in her plush body slam and face cover signature attack. The nurse turned around in furry, throwing off Ms. Fuzzy into a wall, and she jumped up in the air over Seto's bed while holding the needle down in a fearsome aerial attack, when a huge lasso sprang out of nowhere, grabbing the nurse and dragging her back towards the door.

"Sorry about that!" said Doctor Rob, dragging her over, while she snarled and lashed and tried to escape. "I tell you! These crazy interns! You never really know what's on their mind! One minute you know what their doing and bam! Oh well, I won't bug you then!"

Seto just stared at the closed door.

"I know what you're thinking," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "I hate this place too."

---ooo---

Point of View Flashback Mode Activated…Subject: Wheeler, Serenity…rewind one month, sixteen days…stop…

I'm sitting alone in the waiting room. Mom and the doctor are talking. I already got the news. My sight finally caught up to me. My sight is on borrowed time. They don't know when it's going to run out. It could be in a month or two, it could be tomorrow. They don't know when I'll just…stop seeing.

It's kind of hard to grasp it. I suppose I should have seen it coming. I always had bad vision, nothing glasses could fix. There's this radical new surgery I think, one that will give me a fifty-fifty chance of seeing again, but it's supposed to be really expensive…much more than anyone in my family could afford. And it could just be all for nothing.

But…just for a chance…if only one chance…

I wonder what it's like to be blind. I wonder if it's completely black, like always having your eyes closed. I wonder if it's white, like a blank canvas, doomed forever to have nothing on it, no painters brush from some entity unknown to fill it's empty void. I wonder if it's all kinds of colors that swirl and twist in random patterns with no shape and meaning, or the fuzz of a broken television screen.

I wonder what the color of nothing is.

I bet it's the same color as glass. Or water. Or air. Or something that you can feel, but can't see.

I don't want to be blind. Mom…I'm sorry. I don't want to cause all of these problems for you. Everything you've been through has something to do with me. All this is…this is the last straw, I guess. You must be so tired of always taking care of me. And after all of this, I'll be utterly worthless to you. I'm glad you took me instead of dad, even though I miss Joey. I wonder if he turned out okay.

I'm sorry I can't be normal Mom. I'd do anything so you won't have to keep going out of your way for me.

Anything.

---ooo---

"Oh man, I hate this job," said one morgue attendant in the hospital, wheeling some dead body to the others. "This tops it. This is the worst summer job ever."

"Jeez, if the pay wasn't six bucks an hour…" said the other. "Boy, yesterday when you were out, they wheeled in this guy who died three days previously, and he had a spit-covered, three day old bean burrito in his pocket!"

"Ew…" said the other guy.

Unfortunately for the two morgue attendants, they were about to have have the snot scared out of them by Ryo, who was slowly waking up from his unfortunately timed afternoon nap.

"That was a…nice nap," he said dizzily, sitting up on the stretcher. "Huh, where…OH NO! JOEY AND THE MALE NURSES!"

At that moment, the eyes of Ryo and the eyes of the two morgue attendants met in horror.

"OH GOD! IT'S THE LIVING DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" screamed one of them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M IN A MORGUE!" screamed Ryo, who's eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"HE'S RISEN TO SEEK REVENGE ON HIS MURDERERS, AN ASSASIAN NAMED JOEY AND A BAND OF MALE NURSES!" screamed the other attendant, who obviously watched too many soap operas.

"I'M NOT DEAD! I'M NOT DEAD! I'M NOT DEAD!" Ryo screamed hysterically, stunned in place in the midst of a thousand dead bodies, also freaked out that there was a shoe on his one foot and a toe tag on the other.

"RUN!" screamed the two attendants, fleeing the morgue.

"DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" screamed Ryo, jumping out of the stretcher and chasing after the attendants.

"BEGONE SPIRIT!" screamed one of the attendants, throwing a very convenient portable cross at Ryo's forehead over his shoulder.

"OW! THAT HURT!" Ryo said, tears in his eyes.

---ooo---

"Oh…dear I'm afraid….I'll need to go back I can't…let him find tell everyone about the big needle I'll…just kill him now and get it…over…with it will be…easy I nearly got him before…"

Nurse Sharon took the needle, and tucked it safely under her arm, as she crept to Seto's room, and was just about to open the door when-"

"GANGWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" screamed the two morgue attendants and Ryo, as they all ran down the hall, screaming at the top of their lungs, trampled Nurse Sharon, the needle nurse, into the dust, getting nasty foot prints all over her white nurses' uniform.

---ooo---

"Okay , this is quite possibly the most advanced surgery I've ever done," said one surgeon to his attendants. "If we succeed, this man will walk again. But if there's one tiny flaw in this operation, he could be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his natural life. I will need complete silence for the sake of consen-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A combination of Ryo's sobs, the two frantic morgue attendant's screams, and the maddening sound of a bunch of bottles, tins, tubes, and tubs crashed in the hallway as they all crashed into a supply cart caused all the doctors in the room to spasmodically flinch in shock.

Afterwards, as the calm sound of various items rolled down the hall, the surgeon and all of his attendant sat around their patient in silence.

"There goes our Christmas bonus," said one.

---ooo---

INTERMISION!

---ooo---

"Hey babe," said Joey to a male nurse, "you're a nice lookin' lady. Row, I bet all of those bad-boy doctors were just beggin' to have you for their lady."

"I'm a male nurse stupid," said the male nurse.

"Oh you horrible tease," said Joey. "I'd get sick any day of the week if you were my nurse baby!"

"JOEY! GET OVER HERE!" Serenity said, walking up to him and dragging him away by the back collar away from the poor male nurse.

"Um, he's not…well…" the male nurse said awkwardly.

"No, he's just an idiot," said Serenity.

"CALL ME!" Joey called as he was dragged back to the waiting room, by Serenity, once again bailing his sorry butt out of trouble.

"Joey, just sit down and…you can't read anything can you?" Serenity said.

"WOOT! A choo-choo train!" said Joey pulling out the wooden train from the bin of toys for little kids. "I'm the engineer! WOO WOO! Chuga chuga, chuga chuga-"

"Hey mista, it was my tuwn to pway wit da choo-choo twain," said a little five year old boy, pointing to da twain, ahem, the train.

"Pfft, yeah right!" said Joey. "I know how you snot-nosed brats worked! Walking around saying it's my turn, and not giving up the goods until-"

"MAAAAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

And then, crashing toward the waiting room in a furious, stomping march came a woman who was a solid seven feet tall, extremely buff, had a 'Mom' tattoo, yellow teeth, and a huge purse that had huge, spiky buttons all over it.

"You're mad aren't you?" Joey said sweetly, as the woman raised up her purse.

"JOEY! NO!" screamed Serenity, diving into the fray that was a whirlwind of dust, and the frightened shrieks of Joey, who was getting wailed by the huge, spiky purse that slammed into very uncomfortably places, especially around his face and posterior.

"Miss, tell that young man not to splatter himself all over the Waiting Room, would you?" called a receptionist to Serenity, who had somehow managed to drag Joey's limp and beaten up body out of the fight scene. She was just in time to see an exhausted Ryo drag himself back to the others, dragging the shoe he lost by one long lace behind him.

"Are you okay Ryo?" Serenity asked. "Did the leprechauns come back?"

"No…" Ryo muttered drowsily. "Weirdest thing. Someone mistook me for a dead person."

"As opposed to Joey, who is often mistaken for a brain dead person," said Serenity. "Jeez, I wonder how Seto's copping."

"Can't we see him?" Ryo asked.

"Nope, visiting hours ended an hour ago," Serenity said.

"Hmm…" thought Ryo.

---ooo---

"You have to see him because why?" asked the nurse.

"Because he is possessed by a great and terrible demon," said Serenity solemnly. "You see, he is a descendant of a family of grave robbers. Once, thousands of years ago, they defied the tomb of a great oriental king, and with it came a terrible curse. You see, he is now possessed by a spirit monster, with one purpose…kill every man, woman, and child on the entire planet, and feast on their flesh. And he appears every-"

She looked at the receptionist's lunar calendar on her desk.

"-two days after the moon's first quarter!" said Serenity.

"The only way we can stop it is if we can this unholy ghost is if we offer him the head of a brainless moron," said Ryo. "After a long search, we found one. Joey here."

"OH BOY! I'M AND AIRPLANE!" said Joey.

The receptionist just looked at them for a minute. Then, she pulled out her diary.

"Dear Diary," she said while writing, "I know it's impossible to believe, but today, I heard an excuse to get into the waiting room that was stupider than the people claiming their daughter would be abducted by aliens if they didn't see her-"

"Fine, I see we're going to need to get desperate," said Serenity, pulling out the pink boom box with pretty flowers from Chapter Eight. With that, she pushed the play button. "If we can't get in, I'll just have to stun you with the unholy jargon of Tom Jones music! COVER YOUR EARS RYO!"

Ryo frantically covered his ears, as the voice of Tom Jones started to sing 'She's a Lady', the receptionist's eyes suddenly bugged out, and she just stared at the boom box as it played, slack jawed and drooling.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ryo yelled.

"SHE'S BEEN MIND WARPED!" yelled Serenity, so Ryo could hear her through his covered ears. "Come on! We only have an hour and twelve minutes before the tape stops and she snaps out of it!"

"Awesome!" Joey said, listening to the music.

"JOEY'S MIND CAN'T GET WARPED, BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE ONE, RIGHT?" Ryo asked.

"EXACTLY! AND I'VE BUILT UP AN IMUNITY! NOW LET'S GO!" Serenity said.

---ooo---

"Now we're going to figure out the perfect colors for your new living room Mr. and Mrs. Sillypants," said Martha Stewart. "Now, I was thinking of a nice olive for most of your furniture, and then some green blue, almost a teal and aqua mix for your trim-"

"Martha! It's terrible!" screamed one of her attendants. "All of our upholstery material just went missing in the mail! We don't know where it is!"

"Oh dear…" said Martha. "IT MUST BE THE WORK OF THE UPHOLSTERY BANDITS! Jeff, saddle my horse!"

"Alright!" said Jeff.

"And so," said the narrator, "Martha and Jeff, astride their noble steeds, set forth to vanquish the dreaded Upholstery Bandits, and save the innocent towns from the eternal torment of having to suffer through their iron fist of dictatorship-"

"I love this show!" said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "Hooray for HGTV Theatre!"

Seto just glared at her.

"Look, when are you going to stop with this stupid dramatic silence?" said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins. "If you don't stop, you're going to turn into an angsty Shouju Manga character. And you don't want that, do you?"

"TOOTH FAIRY! OH TOOTH FAIRY! ARE YOU IN THERE? AREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHEREAREYOUINTHERE-" screamed Joey, pounding on the door to Seto's room.

"Oh jeez," said Ms. Fuzzy-Kins, flicking off the TV.

"The doors unlocked Joey," said Ryo's voice outside the door as Joey continued to pound on the door and scream.

With a small grind on the tile floors, Serenity opened the door as Joey began to scream, and walk over to the opened up door to pound on it some more.

"Is Joey's brain on screen saver again?" Ryo asked. "Oh! Hi Seto! Are you feeling better?"

Seto just stared at him.

"Is something wrong? You look really, really pale," said Serenity.

"How bad did Pegasus hurt you? What happened? Did he kidnap you? Did he trap you?" asked Ryo.

"What did he do?" Serenity asked. "Did he beat you up? Did he torture you? Is there anything we can do to make you feel better? Will you feel better? Do you need us to-"

"SILENCE FOOLS!" screamed Joey, leaping up onto the foot of Seto's bed and stood on it, freaking Seto out and nearly knocking the whole thing down. "Stop with your senseless, insufferable questions! Can you not see? Pegasus obviously captured the Tooth Fairy so that he not only could he beat him until he told him what he does with the teeth he collects, but also to shake him down for the quarters! WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE? STUPID!"

Seto reached under his mattress and pulled out an aluminum baseball bat, and tossed the end of it up and down for dramatic effect.

"Wow!" Joey said. "That looks like it would hurt me if you-"

BAM!

Joey was no longer on Seto's bed, or talking. Problem solved.

Three second silence.

"I have a little brother," Seto said finally.

"YOU HAVE A WHAT?" Serenity and Ryo screamed.

"I gots no brain…" Joey said trying to stand up, as Seto clocked him on the head with his aluminum bat again.

"A little brother. Mokuba. He's five years younger than me." Seto said. "Pegasus kidnapped him…he's my only blood relative left…the only one left I care about anyway. It's a long story."

"Wow that's…different…" said Serenity.

"You're only family?" said Ryo. "You don't have a Mom or Dad?"

"They died…a long time ago," said Seto, slamming Joey again, who was trying to struggle up again. "We got adopted…to a man…who truly didn't have a heart. To put it the kindest sense, it rubbed off on me."

"Oh…" Serenity and Ryo said, both quietly and simultaneously.

"He'll never show his face again…anyway, he was very wealthy, so that made us wealthy too," Seto said.

"So that's why you have so much money!" said Ryo. "AND IT EXPLAINS THE POKEMON CARDS!"

"No it doesn't," said Serenity.

"Oh yeah," said Ryo.

"I get it. So Pegasus stole your money, and he wants you to hand over all your money and stuff, or you'll never get Mokuba back?" asked Serenity.

"That's pretty much it…" Seto said. "I was never going to tell you…but I did. I don't know what else to say."

"Do you need a hug?" Ryo asked cheerfully, spreading out his arms.

"ASK ME THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU PANSY!" said Seto evily, holding the bat end right up to Ryo's face, as Ryo 'eeped' in shock.

"I was just trying to help!" Ryo sobbed.

Seto just sighed, and let his bat fall down to the ground with a small thunk.

"I went to Pegasus myself to get him back. That's what I tried to do from the start. I didn't want anyone to get in my way. But you three did anyway," Seto said. "I played him in a deadly game of…I can't say it, it would make you all sick. But now I lost…and there's no way I can get Mokuba back. He'll never accept a rematch from me…"

Seto didn't say anything else for a minute.

"I have nowhere to go…not even home…Pegasus won everything from me…" said Seto. "I just have to live the rest of my life…from here on out, I really don't expect anything to happen…I don't know what to do anymore…I'm just a misfit in an army of misfits…"

There was absolute silence.

"HEY!" said Serenity. "I just remembered! Life is like and inside out sweater!"

The other three looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm serious!" she said. "Look, you know how a sweater, when turned inside out, has a bunch of snarls and knots and all that kind of junk stuck in it?"

The other three nodded, Ryo the hardest, since he owned one.

"Well, that's how life is like at times," said Serenity. "Sometimes, life is nothing but a huge snarl in front of you, and all you can see is those twisted snarls and knots. And sometimes you get so tangled up in them, and hit so far rock bottom, that it really seems like there's nothing but snarls and knots in life. But that's not true…"

She sighed.

"I have a confession…" she said. "I'm going blind…not here…I came from somewhere far away, possibly in another dimension, another universe, but there…within a month, I'll go completely blind."

"WHAT?" screamed Ryo.

"No way!" yelled Joey.

"What the…" Seto said.

"Yeah, I know…" said Serenity. "And the day before I came here, I had a really bad day, and my mom told me that life was like an inside-out sweater. I didn't really get the full jist of everything…but when I met you three, it was different. Because I made a wish on some star that I'd go to a place where I could see and find friends. And so if I never was going to go blind, I would have never made that wish, and I would have never met the three of you..."

Ryo was all out crying, and Joey was on his way.

"And in a way, if we all didn't have some kind of trouble with our lives, wouldn't we all have never met each other?" said Serenity. "So, with all our snarls, we managed to make perfect stitches on the other side of the sweater. And in a way, even if were all misfits, don't you think we all gave each other something? Didn't Joey's courage make up for Ryo's lack of it? Don't you think Seto's intelligence made up for Joey's lack of it? Don't you think Ryo's heart made of for Seto's lack of it? So in a way, does all of us being misfits somehow make us all, when put together, the ultimate team?"

"Whoa…" Joey said.

"When I do go back to my home, my real one…if I really do go blind…I know I'll be sad sometimes…but you all gave me something to take home with me. I'll never regret coming here at all. Never. I really do believe that somewhere out in space, far away from her, is a side of the sweater that has no snarls," said Serenity. "And if Pegasus won't except a rematch from Seto…I'll shall play this horrific game thingit for Seto's little brother back instead.

"THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!" screamed Ryo in tears.

"In a disgustingly sweet sort of way," said Seto, but he didn't hit Joey when he got up and jumped over the bed to get to Serenity.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" screamed the receptionist from outside the doorway.

"I guess the Tom Jones CD is over," said Ryo.

1:42 AM

"Serenity, I can't sleep," said Joey, hugging a pink teddy bear from the toy chest, while cuddling on his pillow. He, Serenity, and Ryo all got a pillow to sleep on in the waiting room of the hospital, since they had no where else to go.

"We know Joey," said Serenity. "You've been reminding us for the past two hours."

"I hope Seto get's better by tomorrow so we can get to Rhinestone City," said Ryo. "Tomorrow, I'll have all the courage in the world!"

"And I'll get the Knowledge of Intelligent Smartness!" said Joey.

"And I'll be back home with my Mom!" said Serenity.

"Hey Serenity…remember when you were telling us about the sweater?" said Joey.

"You didn't mention anything that you had that helped us," said Ryo.

"Well…I don't really know what I have that you don't have…other than the second X chromosome," said Serenity.

"Maybe…it's that weird little something that's impossible to describe, but is kinda…special…" said Joey. "THAT'S IT! I know what Serenity gave us! She gave us something completely different!"

"You know Joey…I don't think I could have put it any better," said Ryo.

"Thank you…" Serenity said.

"Are you really glad you met me and Ryo and the Tooth Fairy?" Joey asked.

"Of course I am…" Serenity said.

---ooo---

"WOW! THIS IS AMAZING!" screamed Doctor Rob. "Oh, Doctor Rob is very pleased! Doctor Rob wants to sing a little song! WOO HOO! I ROCK! I ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!

"Yeah, whatever, just sign my release papers before I beat you within an inch of Joey's life," said Seto.

"No problem!" said Doctor Rob, scribbling a very fancy signature on the release papers in the waiting room in front of the gang. "Oh, I probably should tell you one more thing."

"Yes?" asked Serenity.

"I'm not a doctor," said Doctor Rob.

"…what?" Serenity asked.

"Nope, not a doctor," said Doctor Rob, smiling sweetly, then running away in fear as hew was chased by two cops that came out of nowhere.

"Can we please go now?" asked Ryo.

"I know I don't want to come back here again," said Serenity. "We're off to see the Wizard!

"WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD!" screamed Joey.

"We're off to see the wizard!" Ryo chirped cheerfully.

"This is so stupid," said Seto.

And so, reunited at last, and for perhaps the first time, our heroes set off to find their dreams, side by side-

---ooo---

Shri: (talking while typing)-ready…to…face…everything…and…anything …ahead…together…period. (Presses 'Enter') I did it! I did it! I finally wrote the incredibly dramatic chapter! I DID IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

Dad: Awesome! Let's celebrate by listening to Tom Jones! (Starts Dancing to 'Sex Bomb')

Shri: MY EYES! THEY BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

---ooo---

Rant time!

First of all, may I say YAY! I finally finished the extreme drama chapter! Second, I can't believe it that it's more thanseven thousand words! That's usually enough to make a solid two chapters from me. And third, WAAAAAH! THAT MEANS THAT THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT SEVEN CHAPTERS LEFT OF THIS STORY!

Anyway, I'm really proud of this chapter. I really think I managed to wed good humor with solid dramatic bits. I'm very content. And I hope all of you like it to, assuming you managed to read it all.

One last thing. The next update may be a week late. It depends how fast I can write the next chapter. I'm a little behind.

Okay, thank you so much for reading again! Here's a look at our next chapter! PH34R TH3 R3TURN 0F T34!

---ooo---

"Well jeez! Can't you read?" Tea asked our four friends.

"No…" Joey said.

"Read what?" asked Serenity.

"This sign!" said Tea, holding out a sign that said 'The bell's out of order you losers. KNOCK DANGIT!'.

"Oh…" said Serenity, knocking.

"Much better," said Tea. "Welcome to Rhinestone City, the Capital of Cuz be CUZ it's cool!"

Silence in the wake of a bad joke.

"I HATE MY JOB!" screamed Tea, pressing the huge red button that opened the door.

---ooo---

And now 'til next time, adios muchachos.