"My brother, my brother," Serenity repeatedly sobbed.
"It's not fair!" said Tristan for the uncounted time in the past half an hour since Joe was given his own bed in the medical wing.
Joe was in bad shape. The doctors had hooked him up to several machines, all monitoring his vital signs. He wasn't breathing regularly, and his skin was still red from Ra's attack. But the worst part was the fact that he was not responding to anything. Nothing anyone said or did could wake him. In short, he was in virtually the same condition as Mai. The only difference was his brain patterns on the monitor. His were very active, the only thing that was.
"Man…what are we going to do?" asked Kevin, semi-desperately.
"We have to stop Marik, it's the only way," said Yami Yu-Gi.
"I never thought so many bad things could happen," said Lara, looking around the hospital wing.
"Mm-hmm," nodded Drake, hardly listening.
"Drake? You with us?" asked Duke.
"Yeah, sure…" answered Drake.
Lara sweat-dropped. "Are you still thinking about the Winged Dragon of Ra?"
"No, no, of course not!" said Drake, bashfully rubbing the back of his head, being totally caught. This caused everyone else to sweat-drop as well.
"There has to be a way we can snap him out of it," said Tristan, mostly to himself, looking at Joe.
"I can't stand this," sobbed Serenity. "It's too much! First Mai, then Joe…" She broke down again and couldn't say any more.
"Serenity, it's okay, be strong for your brother," coaxed Duke, putting an arm around her.
"Leave her alone, dice-boy," grumbled Tristan, putting his arm around Serenity's other shoulder. "I've known Joe for a long time, and I know he'll come around eventually. So calm down, okay?"
Serenity said nothing to both of them. It was awkwardly silent for a moment, during which time Yami slipped into the hallway, unnoticed by the rest of the group except Téa. He whispered to her that he wanted them to stay with Joe, then left. His right hand was in his pocket, fingering the Millennial Necklace that Ishizu had given him.
"Attention duelists, Yu-Gi Motou and Seto Kaiba are to report to the Duel Tower for their duel," announced the PA.
"I guess that's our cue…where's Yu-Gi?" asked Duke.
"He already left," said Téa. "He said he'd rather have us stay here and keep an eye on Joe."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Tristan. Téa nodded.
"Well, there's no need for all of us to stay," said Drake. "Lara and I will go and keep an eye on the duel." He was already part of the way to the door.
"You just want to see Slifer the Sky Dragon!" groaned Lara. Drake smiled, then disappeared into the corridor. "I think I'm going to need to tie him down…."
"Like a leash?" asked Kevin.
"Yeah…"
"But I thought Joe was the dueling dog," said Kevin, which hardly got any positive response. "Sorry, sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."
"Better catch up with your boyfriend before he does something stupid regarding those dragons," Téa said to Lara.
"Right, right," said Lara. But before she left, she scribbled a number on a pad of paper on the bedside table. "That's my cell phone number, call me if anything changes down here."
"We will," agreed Duke.
"I hope Yu-Gi creams Kaiba and teaches that stuck-up jerk a lesson he'll never forget," muttered Kevin, watching Yami walk to the Duel Tower.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I was afraid something bad like this would happen…" thought Shayla, leaning against the far wall of the open-air passage she was so fond of. "I can't stand it, when people get hurt. I want it all to end…I don't think I can take much more of this. There's too much magic in the air, I can feel it, and it's making me nauseous." She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground with both of her legs curled up under herself.
She took her backpack off of her back and set it in her lap, so that she could lean against the wall more easily. Though she accidentally set it upside-down, and one of the zippers was sliding open.
"Things have changed so much recently. What can I do? I'm not strong enough for this…"
Her Bible slid out of her bag and further into her lap. Absent-mindedly, she opened it and began to skim the pages with her fingertips. This was the book she always turned to when she was highly stressed, confused, or bored. And once more, she was surprised by the answer she found inside.
"1 Corinthians 10:13...God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it," she read. She paused, nearly dropping the book in the process. "Does this mean…that I'm here, because I can handle it?" (NIV)
That thought brought up the memory of another verse she had read, so she quickly flipped to it. "James 1: 2-4… Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance, must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Again, Shayla paused in stunned thought.
"So, that's why this is happening…I can handle it, and its supposed to make me stronger," she said to herself, very hesitantly. "That has to be it. God doesn't make mistakes, people do, God doesn't. Gosh…He has more faith in me than I do…He thinks…knows I can handle this…I guess that means…I should too." Though she did not get up at all. Instead, she kept turning that thought over and over in her mind. But the written Word was True. She could not deny it, though it was a struggle to cope with it.
After a few minutes, another thought occurred to her. "I made a promise to Mai never to leave her alone. I need to keep it." Her right hand slipped into her pack and she gripped her scales. "It's also time to keep my promise to myself and face my fears." That was when she stood up and started to the hospital wing.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I don't see any of the god cards yet," commented Duke, watching the Duel Tower out the window.
"Well, at least neither of them is going to summon the Shadow Realm," said Téa.
"You know this duel is going to be a clash between the god cards," said Tristan.
"Sound dangerous," commented Kevin.
"Yeah…" replied Téa, biting her lip. "I hope Yu-Gi is okay. He has to win this! He just has to!"
"I agree, I can't wait to see Kaiba's face when he gets his butt kicked," agreed Kevin.
Shayla slipped in while they were all busy looking out the window and took Serenity's usual seat besides Mai. Joe's bed was closest to the window, so everyone was clustered there. Serenity was sitting, trying to compose herself and not start sobbing again. Téa was beside her, and the guys were by the window. Shayla pulled out her scales and set them on the edge of Mai's bed.
Before she started, she took a moment to listen to the conversation around her. "I never should have gone off on Joe like I did before his duel…Great, now I have guilt. I need to apologize to him for that. I shouldn't be venting on people like I have been. … I even vented on Kaiba, right when we got back from the virtual world. I owe him an apology too."
Shayla started to concentrate on her Millennial Scales.
"Shayla?" asked someone, presumably, noticing her, but she was already absorbed into the magic current.
"I see Slifer!" exclaimed Tristan. "Yes! Yu-Gi got his god card on the field first!"
"What's that blue one?" asked Kevin a few moments later.
"Obelisk the Tormentor!" gasped Duke.
"Here we go…" said Tristan.
"Mai…please…" was all Shayla could think, blocking out their conversation.
Shayla placed her hands around her Millennial Item's base, and began to tap into the flow of magic that hung, saturating the very air around them, which most people didn't notice. She could feel how it flowed to some people more—Yu-Gi and Marik, namely. But she could also sense a single flow deep within her own scales. She focused on that, trying to bring it out and disrupt the flow of the Millennial Rod around Mai.
xDreamx
Shayla once again felt herself watching a life that was not her own through eyes that were not hers. Not that there was much to see. Her head was tilted down, and she was focusing intently on her hands, which were folded in her lap. A tense conversation was going on over her head. It took her a moment, but after that she was able to recognize all of the speakers' voices. The first she picked out was Seto Kaiba's, then Ishizu's. There was a man's voice that took her a moment, but somehow she knew it was her father's. At least, her father from the visions she had been having. There was also a constant thumping noise coming from above them. Shayla was once again surprised when she somehow knew what it was. Her brothers seemed to be in a fight in the upper level.
"We must insist!" Seto's voice said. "The pharaoh has ordered that the girl come to the palace with us."
"I'm not convinced," said a new voice, one Shayla placed as her oldest brother's, Reuben.
"We cannot help you," stated her father.
"It is her destiny, you must understand," protested Ishizu.
Shayla tensed up in surprise when it finally occurred to her that the conversation was about her! That made her more anxious to see what was going on, but her head would not move, it stayed focused on her hands in her lap.
"Please leave us," said her father.
There was the sound of clothing shuffling, causing Shayla to realize that someone was standing directly behind her. Judging from the silence on that person's part, Shayla assumed it was her mother.
There was the sound of a chair scrapping across the dirt floor followed quickly by the sound of a fist slamming the table. Shayla correctly assumed it was Kaiba, or whoever he was who was so similar to the CEO she knew.
His outburst was halted by a knock on the door. Shayla's eyes flickered towards the door for only a brief moment, not nearly enough to let her take in everything she wanted to. All she could see was a sandy colored door, which her oldest brother was walking to.
Reuben answered the door and a few brief pleasantries were exchanged before the newest guests entered. There were two of them, Egyptians, both guys judging from the voices. Shayla had no idea who they were. No strange knowledge surfaced about them, so they were complete strangers. She heard a faint gasp from Ishizu, but nothing else.
"How can I help you two?" asked her father. There was tension in his voice. To Shayla, it was clear he was merely being polite.
"I bring a message straight from the pharaoh concerning the matter which brought these two here," stated one of them. Shayla listened closer, though the girl whose eyes she was using didn't seem to notice what she did. Shayla could have sworn that that voice sounded familiar, now that she thought about it, but she could not place it.
She could hear the message being passed from the newcomer to her father. Her broke the seal on it, then fell into his chair, stunned as he read the scroll. Shayla felt herself dare to look up, taking in briefly her father's surprised look.
"Father?" asked Reuben, cautiously.
There was a long silence. Shayla could pick up on the tension in the air. She shifted restlessly in her chair at the same time the girl she was watching this through did. It didn't help Shayla feel more comfortable.
"Daughter…you must go with them…" said her father, at length, very slowly.
"W-what?" she asked, looking up finally. Her eyes meet his, pleading. Her mother wrapped her arms around her, and for a fleeting minute Shayla felt that same feeling of safety and security like the last time.
"Father, you cannot be serious," protested Reuben.
"We cannot overrule this order," he sighed.
"No…" Shayla felt herself say.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The scene changed so fast Shayla didn't even know it had happened. The first thing that gave it away was that she was suddenly screaming. It took her a moment to orient herself, but when she did, Shayla was blown away by what was going on.
She was in a complete panic. Large stones and sand was falling all around her. She was running as fast as she could, trying to stay ahead of the debris. She was also screaming. Shayla quickly realized, again somehow knowing, she was in the palace, but it was collapsing around her. The elegant walls, ceiling, and statues were falling in on themselves, though she had no idea why. Only one thought flashed through her mind; have to get out.
Another scream made her realize she was not alone. There was someone else running with her, though from her angle, she could not see who. Shayla was under the impression the person was a friend.
She stopped so suddenly Shayla was surprised she didn't give herself whiplash. The hallway in front of them had just caved in, trapping them on the one side. Behind them the caving in ceiling was catching up.
Shayla felt herself throw her arms around her friend and brace for the worse. In doing so, she gave Shayla a look at her companion. The other person was a girl about her age. She had long hair devoid of any color and blue eyes that reminded her of Seto Kaiba's. She wore a plain white gown, very similar to the one she was wearing.
The collapse caught up with them. Both she and her friend started screaming as sand, small pebbles, and then large debris started to fall all around them.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Once again the scene changed, leaving Shayla's mind whirling. She was running again this time, but the feeling of panic was gone. In its place was a sinking feeling, one closer to sadness or dread than fear.
She was outside, and the long shadows denoted that the sun was about to set. She tried not to stumble in the loose sand as she made her way to her destination. Something deep was pushing her to go quicker, and that was pressing hard within her. Something was deeply bothering her, thought Shayla had no idea what it was. No new knowledge surface to clarify the situation.
Shayla hurried into the city, taking some darkening streets to a location she was very familiar with; the Temple of Isis. She headed behind it, aiming for the back entrance.
A thought pattern foreign to Shayla surfaced. "Have to…Have to tell Ishizu. It was him all along, he was the threat… But…why?"
She raced through the back door, hardly slowing as she opened it. The back corridors were dark, hardly any of the torches inside were lit. But she knew the passages and hurried down them, focused on what she needed to do. She noticed nothing else around her. However, Shayla did. She sensed the guard she raced passed, though the girl she was watching didn't.
The guard jumped out of the shadows, grabbing her from behind in a tight chokehold.
"Let me go!" she shrieked, struggling frantically.
"I don't think so, you're the one our high priest wants," he replied, sinisterly.
"NO! Don't make me remember this!" that voice screamed so loudly in Shayla's head she tried to cover her ears, though she could not move freely. It was so forceful that it pushed her out of the stream of magic in the Millennial Scales.
"What don't I want to remember? What have I forgotten?" Shayla wondered as she was pulled out. But no answer came. Instead she was suddenly hit with a massive weight of fatigue.
xEnd Dreamx
"What was that?!" exclaimed Duke.
"That light was so bright!" agreed Tristan.
They had all be watching the duel still. Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon had fought and their colossal powers exploded everywhere, showering the entire island with some of the brightest light ever seen. It lingered, and just now had faded.
"I hope Yu-Gi is okay," said Téa, anxiously.
"That makes two of us," agreed Duke.
CLATTER! They all turned around. Shayla had blacked out. Her scales had slid off of the bed and fallen to the floor. Her head was now on the bed.
"Shayla?!" exclaimed Téa, hurrying over to her.
"What happened?" asked Tristan.
"Please not again…" moaned Serenity.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," smiled Kevin, getting unnecessarily close to her, thus getting glared at by both Duke and Tristan.
"Shayla?" asked Téa, shaking her gently.
"Hmm…?" moaned Shayla, groggily.
"Can you stand?" asked Téa, helping her to her feet.
"Uh-huh," answered Shayla, only half conscious, but following Téa's guiding hands.
"You've stressed yourself out way too much, its time you get some rest," said Téa, leading her from the hospital wing.
"But…wait…" Shayla protested feebly, still disoriented.
She didn't put up much more of a fight as Téa lead her back to her room, gave her words of advice, and left. Shayla sat in the armchair in her room, still trying to piece together reality. The last visions she had had were the most intense yet, and she had no idea what to make of them. For a few moments, she was under the impression that the visions were real and nothing else was. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but she knew it had to be a while.
"What is happening with me?" Shayla wondered. "Am I really starting to lose it? What is going on here? Things are happening so fast, and they're so different from anything that can be labeled normal. But what does it all mean?" She tumbled that thought over and over in her mind, but no answer would present itself. As she thought, she absent-mindedly toyed with her Millennial Scales.
"I still don't know how to use these…I didn't help Mai at all…" she thought, very glumly. She clenched her scales. "I need to figure out what is going on here before it gets any worse." She stood up, throwing her item into her backpack and headed to the door. "I hope Ishizu knows…I can't make sense of all these weird dreams, I hope she can." With that, she left her room and started towards Ishizu's.
She was about halfway across the airship when the PA came on.
"The winner of the duel is Yu-Gi Motou, he will advance to the final round and duel Marik Ishtar," announced Rollin.
(AN/ xBursts into tearsx)
"It's over?" thought Shayla. "Where did the time go…?" She actually stopped walking when the next thought hit. "Before, back in the Duelist Kingdom, I could hardly wait to be present for a Yu-Gi and Kaiba rematch. How things have changed, I do not care any more. Well, hopefully this will stop Kaiba from talking about how he's going to win this thing. Still, I am sure it was a good duel."
Shayla continued walking, though she took a wrong turn at one point in time which ended up being a longer detour than she thought. She paused once she had doubled back close to the entrance/exit of the airship because she thought she heard footsteps behind her. But she heard nothing after she stopped, so she continued.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her and pulled her into a doorway, placing one hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream. Shayla struggled, briefly remembering the last scene in her prior vision. But the arms were strong and she could not pull free.
"Shh, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," the other person said. He had messy forest green hair and eyes that glimmer mischievously. He wore black jeans and a white T-Shirt with a black leather vest over it. He let go of the grip he had over her mouth.
"Rudy?!" Shayla practically shrieked.
(AN/ Master of Dimension's OC, not mine.)
"Shh!" he hushed her, once more covering her mouth. He dropped his voice a bit more. "It's not safe."
A billion questions threatened to pour out of her, but with his hand over her mouth, she could not ask them. Who was he? Why was he following her? What was he doing here? What was the danger? How did he keep appearing and disappearing? The sound of approaching footsteps cut her thoughts short. She could feel Rudy tense up beside her.
The third person got close, right around the corner from the doorway they were hiding in. He stood there a while, making both Shayla and Rudy nervous.
"I knew I saw her come this way," he grumbled. Yami Marik. Shayla tried not to gasp while Rudy had his eyes locked on Yami Marik's shadow, waiting for him to move. "That weak bearer of the scales would be the perfect target for a warm-up duel against the pharaoh. By crushing her I would not only crush his spirit, but also gain another Millennial Item. But where could she have gone?" He started walking again, not bothering to turn down their hallway.
"That was too close," said Rudy, release his grip on her. "You need to be more careful Shayla, you seem to attract trouble."
"How…what…why?" Shayla started to ask, all of her questions jumbling together.
"Don't worry about all of that," Rudy said. "All you need to know is that I'm here to protect you. When you're in trouble, I'll be there." He stepped out of the doorway and walked away.
"Wait!" protested Shayla, but he vanished. She let out an exasperated sigh and added the 'Rudy Mystery' to her list of things to figure out. She straightened up, taking a moment to remember what she had been doing in the first place. Shayla was going to talk herself into calming down but then realized she was calm. She could now feel the safety and security around her, the same feeling she had when she had a vision about the Israelite family. It had crept up on her while she had been with Rudy. Another piece of the mystery.
"Who were you talking to?" a familiar voice asked, coming from behind her. Seto Kaiba.
"Rudy," Shayla answered, not being able to lie even if she had wanted to. She could hear the edge in his tone. Kaiba was tense about something, and Shayla would bet it was losing the duel.
"Who?" he asked.
"I wish I knew…"
"You mean some stranger is on this ship?"
"…well, yeah…I guess so…that's one way of putting it."
"Grr, I won't tolerate stowaways during my tournament," Kaiba growled, hurrying down the corridor in the direction he thought Rudy had gone.
"Weirder and weirder…" muttered Shayla.
"Shayla! I thought I told you to get some rest!" called Téa, approaching her with several other people.
"Téa?" said Shayla. "I guess they're all returning from the duel."
"Ha! Kaiba lost!" said Kevin for the uncounted time since the duel ended.
"He soooo had that coming!" agreed Joe. "I'm only sorry I'm not the one to kick his sorry butt."
"Joe?!" gasped Shayla, stunned by hearing his voice.
"In person," replied Joe, flashing a pseudo-celebrity smile.
"But…how…?"
"He finally snapped out of it," answered Tristan. "Good thing, he was in bad shape up until a minute ago."
"Nah-uh," protested Joe. "Twenty minutes ago."
"You had us really worried you know," said Téa. "Mokuba radioed an emergency helicopter and everything."
"Things are definitely happening way t0o fast," thought Shayla, shaking her head.
"I know, I know," muttered Joe. "And it's a pain keeping all of the doctors off of my case."
"What about Mai?" asked Shayla.
It went suddenly somber.
"Nothing, nothing at all…." answered Duke, awkwardly.
"Er…That reminds me," stammered Shayla. "Joe, I'm sorry for getting on your case about why Mai got hurt."
"Eh, it's forgotten already," said Joe. "Everyone's been tense lately, don't think anything of it." Shayla nodded. "I just wish I could do something to snap her out of it."
"I wish I could do something to snap Drake out of it," said Lara, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Mmm, Slifer," said Drake, dreamily.
"He really is hopeless," sweat-dropped Lara.
"Come on guys, let's go check on Mai and Serenity. I don't like the idea of my sister being alone around here as long as Marik is lose," said Joe.
"Right," agreed Tristan and Duke, instantly.
"There has to be something we can do for her…" said Téa.
"It all comes down to the last duel," said Lara.
"Don't worry," said Yami Yu-Gi. "Marik will not win."
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