Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters so don't sue me:D
Love And Hate Pt. 1
"I can only imagine what Tea thinks of me now" thought a lone auburn haired woman dressed in navy as she walked down the street while tugging a suitcase with wheels"I wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to me again"
Despite the fact that she had been gone for nearly three months, Amneris was afraid to go home. Why? Because she knew that she was going to have to confront the person whom she had hurt the most with her absence. Amneris could only imagine how upset Tea must have gotten when she discovered the note she left for her. Especially since she didn't even let her know where she was going or how to contact her. To make matters worse, Amneris purposely made the note seem as if though she were going on a fun vacation. In reality this was far from the truth...
"If I were to tell Tea why I keep leaving" thought Amneris as she stepped off the edge of the sidewalk and pulled her suitcase down with her "I'd have to tell her the whole truth about my past...but I can't"
After Amneris left The Society of Assassins, it felt as if though she was living in a dream. She and Odysseus finally got married, they moved into a house, and were very happy. Their happiness grew even bigger when they discovered that a baby was on the way. The day Tea was finally born was also the day Amneris had to take a whole new look at herself. No longer could she ever think that her life had no meaning and that she'd be better off dead. Now she had a loving husband and a baby daughter who loved her and needed her just as much as she needed them. As long as Amneris had Odysseus and Tea, her life would be happy. Unfortunately things didn't stay this way for long. The Viper tore Odysseus from her side and shortly after this, the constant assassination attempts began. So even though she had left her old life behind, Amneris was forced to kill once again. Only now she wasn't killing innocent people, she was killing would be assassins. After all what would happen to her child if she were killed by The Viper's assassins? Amneris had to stay alive at all costs, since her daughter needed her. Tea you're the only other happiness I still have left...
"I've killed at least thirty of those bastards" thought Amneris as she stopped for a moment and gazed up at the full moon "But luckily I haven't had to do it since I started going away"
When Tea was a child, Amneris obviously couldn't leave her behind. This was why she was forced to break her vow, and kill once again. Over the years though, Amneris noted that the assassins only seemed to attack her on the street. They never really showed up at the small apartment that she currently lived in. It could simply be because there were too many witnesses, but Amneris wasn't going to take any chances. As soon as Tea finally reached high school, Amneris started going on her "vacations". In reality she was trying to lure the assassins as far away from her daughter as she could. Unfortunately The Viper sent Claudius to follow her, but she never stayed in one place for to long. As a result of all of this, no assassins had come after her in the past four years. As long as my daughter is safe, then it's worth all the trouble..
"Anyone who tries to take my happiness from me" thought Amneris as she slowly crossed the street with her suitcase "Is going to regret the day that they-"
VROOM!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Screech
Amneris' train of thought was broken when she heard an engine rev and quickly looked up. As soon as she did, she screamed when she realized that a motorcycle was heading right for her. It suddenly came to a screeching halt about six inches away from where she was standing. Even though she wasn't easily scared, this idiot on his red motorcycle had certainly managed to startle her. Meanwhile Amelda was also startled since he hadn't seen the woman until the very last minute. Then again she was wearing a navy blue dress, which was a very difficult color to see in the dark. The woman just stood there for a few seconds looking shocked, but this was more than enough time for Amelda to realize who she was.
"It's her" thought Amelda as he narrowed his grey eyes as he looked at the woman whose look of shock was now turning into one of anger "Angel"
"YOU IDIOT!" screamed Amneris at the top of her lungs as she looked straight at the man even though his face was concealed by his helmet "ARE YOU COMPLETELY BLIND?"
Amneris' temper flared and she began to shout and call Amelda every single name in the book. While she stood there ranting like a lunatic, Amelda simply stared at her in silence. It was hard to believe that this young and attractive looking woman in reality Odysseus' wife and Tea's mother. It was also hard to believe that before she became either of these things, she had been The Viper's top assassin. Even though Amneris may have chosen to forget this life, it seemed that someone wouldn't allow her to do so. After all The Viper probably didn't look too kindly on people who deserted The Society Of Assassins. Her daughter may be in danger because of her...
"So either get some damn glasses!" shouted Amneris who had pretty much said everything she had wanted to "Or take the bus from now on!"
With that Amneris grabbed her suitcase, got on the sidewalk, and muttered something under her breath that sounded like "moron". As Amelda looked at her walk off into the distance, he came to a very unusual realization. As unpleasant as it was, he and this woman had something in common. They both seemed to bring nothing but bad luck to the people that they loved. Odysseus was obviously the bigger recipient of Amneris' misfortune, but Tea wasn't exactly home free. After all it couldn't be a mere coincidence that Tea had been attacked by her insane father. Especially since it happened on the day her mother decided to come home. With that he turned onto the main street and headed towards "Von Schroeder's" as quickly as he could.
"Why would he do something so foolish?" said Raphael as he and Varon ran out of the apartment building and out onto the street "He can't be out in the condition he's in!"
"I don't know mate!" said Varon with a desperate look in his sky blue eyes since he was worried about his friend "But wherever he is we gotta find him!"
After Amelda ran out of the apartment, Raphael and Varon had no choice but to chase after him. Normally this would have been difficult since Amelda's slender body made him an extremely fast runner. Now that he was injured though, he was bound to be a bit slower right? Wrong. Despite their best efforts, Amelda easily outran them and made it to the garage first. By the time Raphael and Varon finally arrived, Amelda and his motorcycle were long gone. This left them with no choice but to chase him down and bring him back as quickly as possible. So they immediately ran out of the garage and headed out to where Raphael's black sedan was parked.
"We have to hurry and find him soon Raph!" cried Varon as Raphael unlocked the car and they both got in as quickly as possible"Otherwise he might get hurt even more!"
"But in the meantime there's another thing we have to do" said Raphael as he quickly put the keys in the ignition and started up the car "We have to call the police"
"The police?" said Varon as a dark and slightly nervous tone of voice since he despised anything that reminded him of his time in jail "Why do we have to call them?"
"To let them know we saw Odysseus Gardner earlier today" said Raphael as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and handed it to Varon "Just remember what he did to Tea"
"You're right mate..." said Varon as he opened up the cellphone and began to dial the number to call the local police station "No one's safe as long as that bloke's still out there"
Even though Raphael and Varon hadn't seen in which direction Amelda went, they decided to go downtown. After all it was the biggest and most complex part of Domino City and it had lots of places where a runaway person could try and hide. They were in such a hurry to get downtown though that they had failed to notice a black Mercedes parked behind them. A black Mercedes driven by someone very familiar...
"I thought you were the one in danger Raphael" thought Constantina as she sat in her car with a confused look on her face "But now I'm not so sure..."
After Raphael and Varon left the company a little early, Constantina decided to do the same thing as well. After all she felt more and more certain that The Viper was going to make an attempt against Raphael. If she did then Varon would be in danger as well since The Viper thought nothing of killing innocent people. So Constantina followed them to Apricot St. and patiently waited until Raphael came back out again. During this time though, someone's hysterical shouting got her attention. So she glanced over and noticed a woman yelling at someone on a motorcycle. As soon as she was done though, the woman got on the sidewalk and happened to walk by Constantina's car. Angel?
"Now that I know Angel is here" thought Constantina as she glanced down at the black leather cover on her steering wheel "I think she may be the target"
Even though she hadn't seen her in many years, Constantina never forgot Angel. Even though she now had lots of friends, Angel was the first true friend Constantina ever had. Angel was also the one who helped her escape from the horrible life that she had once led. A life in which she was merely a scared puppet doing the puppeteer's bidding. After leaving all of this behind, Constantina finally had the chance to persue a normal life. So even if Angel had angered The Viper long ago, Constantina still wasn't sure if she was the one marked for death. After all Raphael had unknowingly paid The Viper a visit and there was no way of knowing what went on during this time. If Raphael had indeed angered The Viper somehow, then this might be the day she took revenge. After taking a deep breath, Constantina pulled out onto the street and followed Raphael. Better to be safe than sorry...
"Please let me make it home safely" thought Tea as she exited the main entrance at "Von Schroeder's" and stepped outside onto the street "Oh it's freezing cold out here!"
When Tea arrived at her job accompanied by Raphael and Varon, nobody dared to scold her. After all wasn't every day a salesgirl showed up to work accompanied by a CEO. After being at work for a few hours, Tea was still feeling extremely nervous about what had happened. It was so noticeable though that her coworkers asked her what was wrong. As soon as Tea told them the truth, none of them could believe it at all. In fact they all thought that it was probably better for Tea to go home. Luckily the temporary head of the cosmetics department agreed and let her leave three hours earlier than scheduled.
"It feels like I just stepped into a freezer" thought Tea as the cold air began to numb the skin on her face and hands almost immediately "It's way too early for this kind of weather"
Even though winter was still a few weeks away, Tea could swear that it had already arrived. The abscence of snow and holiday decorations was the only thing that proved that it wasn't really winter yet. As Tea began to take a few steps, she immediately regretting not bringing a coat. After all the dress jacket, skirt, silk scarf, and pantyhose that made up her uniform were hardly enough to keep anyone warm. She decided that maybe she should walk quickly too see if it would help warm her up a bit. This wouldn't be too difficult though since the streets were practically empty which meant she'd be home within twenty minutes. As she rushed down the street, she looked up and noticed the full moon in the sky.
"It looks so beautiful" thought Tea as she turned around a corner and noticed a light of some sort coming down the road at full speed "But I think I'd rather admire it from the safety of my apartment"
"Just one more block and I'll be there" thought Amelda as he sped down the street going at least forty miles over the speed limit "I just wish I knew exactly what part of the store she works in"
"I'd better try to walk under the streetlights" thought Tea as she moved towards the edge of the sidewalk in order to get closer to the lights "That way I can avoid more unpleasant incidents"
"Hey there's a woman up ahead" thought Amelda as he noticed a woman dressed completely in black with a pink scarf around her neck "And I think she works at the same place as Tea "
While Amelda was determined to find Tea, he honestly didn't know where to look. After all "Von Schroeder's" was located in a massive building filled with all sorts of departments that catered to the needs and wants of Domino's upper class. Unfortunately this also meant that Tea could be anywhere and it might take hours to locate her. Now that Amelda had spotted a "Von Schroeder's" female employee, then maybe there was hope. After all this woman might know Tea and would be able to tell him where he could find her. Meanwhile Tea was still walking and wondering why people on motorcycles always drove as if though they had a deathwish. Suddenly the red motorcycle made an insane U-turn and came to a sudden stop right in front of her on the sidewalk.
"I can't believe this!" thought Amelda as he glanced over and couldn't believe that the woman he had spotted happened to be Tea "Talk about luck"
"Oh God..." thought Tea as she nervously took a step back as she saw this man wearing a black helmet with a visor so dark that she couldn't see his face "Not again..."
Tea didn't know who this guy was and what he wanted, but she didn't care to find out. She immediately started running and had no intention of stopping until she reached home. Suddenly she heard rapid footsteps behind her and before long someone grabbed her arm.
"No let me go!" cried Tea at the top of her lungs since she had an immediate flashback to what had happened earlier "LET ME GO!"
"Wait calm down Tea it's me!" cried Amelda who as he quickly spun her around so she could see who it was "Amelda"
"Amelda?" said Tea as she glanced up at him and was immediately relieved to see that it wasn't a crazy person "For a moment I-"
The moment Tea saw the condition Amelda was in, a look of shock came across her face. His handsome face was now marred by several large bruises, most notably on his cheek and jaw. The bruises appeared to be a deep purple color on Amelda's unusually fair skin. His usually neatly styled hair was now in complete disarray, but this allowed Tea to notice another thing. On the side of his forehead was a white dressing which obviously indicated that he had some sort of laceration under there. Could he have gotten into an accident on that motorcycle?
"Amelda..." said Tea as her dark blue eyes filled with a look of concern as she gazed up at him "What happened to you?"
"Oh..uh.. just a little mishap" said Amelda who felt a little bad about making her worry about the condition he was in "But how are you feeling?"
"How do I feel?" said Tea who at that moment honestly had no clue why Amelda was even there in the first place "I think I should be the one asking you that"
"Well Raphael and Varon told me what happened earlier..." said Amelda who felt his face immediately turning red as he looked down into her eyes "And I was worried which is why I decided to come see you..."
As soon as Amelda got the words out, he quickly diverted his glance to Tea's purse. He ended staring at a Kuriboh keychain that she had put on the zipper, but it's not like he was really paying attention to it. At that moment the only thing going on in Amelda's mind was complete disbelief at the fact that he actually had the courage to tell her why he was there. After all something about Tea made him feel and act just like an awkward boy who was in love for the first time.
"Oh yeah real smooth Amelda" thought Amelda who was feeling so flustered that he was completely unaware of how cold the night air was "Blushing like an idiot is really going to impress her..."
"He was actually worried about me?" thought Tea who couldn't believe the words that had just come out of Amelda's mouth "And the reason he's here is because he wanted to see me?"
The moment Tea heard this, she was overwhelmed with a sudden feeling of guilt. She remembered how she had once believed that Amelda was very cold, rude, and extremely unfriendly. This was just a mask though which he used to conceal his innermost feelings. Tea knew very little about the man behind the mask, but she seemed to learn a bit more day by day. Now she knew that he was actually a good person who genuinely cared about others in his own way. So as Tea looked up at Amelda, she had no choice but to accept the fact that he had been sincerely worried about her. Without further thinking she gave a smile, opened her arms, and embraced him as tightly as she could. I feel so much better now...
"You don't have to worry about me so much" said Tea as she felt the warmth of Amelda's body against her own at that moment "What happened was just an isolated incident"
"Tea...I don't think it was an isolated incident" said Amelda almost hesitently since he knew that he was going to have to tell Tea the entire truth "I think you may have been targeted"
"What?" said Tea as her blue eyes opened as wide as they could and a look of surprise came across her face "What do you mean I was targeted?"
"Did the man who attacked you, seem familiar to you?" asked Amelda who honestly feared what Tea's reaction to this news was going to be "Like someone you might have seen in a picture perhaps?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" said Tea as she abruptly pulled away from Amelda and looked up at him with a look of confusion "Why on Earth would he look familiar?"
"Tea I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly" said Amelda when he noticed just how uncomfortable Tea had become with his question "What do you know about your father?"
The moment Amelda said this, Tea spun around and tried to walk away. He realized that he had just touched a sensitive subject which meant that perhaps she did know the truth. Either that or she thought that he was a lunatic and didn't want to listen to him any longer. Amelda couldn't take any chances though, so he ran forward and stopped her. It was only then that he noticed that her dark blue eyes were filling with tears. What have I done?
"I never wanted to hurt her like this" thought Amelda who felt pain when he realized what his question had done to Tea "But I think she deserves to know the truth"
"I-I don't know anything about my father since he died when I was only two.." sniffled Tea as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her blazer "All I know is that his name was Laertes"
"Well...what what if I told you that he's alive?" said Amelda as he took a very deep breath and prepared for the worst "And that you met him this afternoon?"
"WHAT?" screamed Tea at the top of her lungs as a look of pure shock and rage came across her face "IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE?"
"It's not a joke" said Amelda as he realized just how insane his words must have sounded to Tea "Your father really is alive!"
"Why are you lying like this to me?" cried Tea who felt as if though she had just been slapped across the face "WHY?"
"Tea listen to me! Your father's name is Odysseus Gardner and he's been in prison for the past sixteen years!" cried Amelda as he reached out and grabbed Tea's arm as she attempted to run off once again "He's the same man you ran into earlier today!"
The moment he said this,Tea immediately began to scream and tried her hardest to break free. After all she believed that Amelda was just a cruel lunatic who had been playing with her the entire time. Unfortunately his grip was extremely firm and she had no hopes of breaking away from him. The only thing she could do now was call him every name in the book while fighting back tears of rage. At that moment Amelda's eyes were filled with a hurt look since he knew he had caused her so much pain. He had only wanted her to know the truth, but it had gone very badly. Suddenly he remembered the pictures that were in his pocket and held them up. If his dream had been accurate, then Tea's mother had an identical set of pictures. Judging by Tea's reaction though, it was as if though she hadn't ever seen them...
"W-Where did you get these?" asked Tea as her eyes opened wide and her body suddenly went limp "Where did you get these pictures?"
"They belong to your father" said Amelda as he handed the three pictures to Tea so she could see them for herself "He dropped them as he ran away"
Amelda's assumption had been correct, since two of these pictures were nothing new to Tea. After all Amneris neatly framed the picture of herself with her newborn and put it on the living room wall. She also did the same with the picture of little Tea, except she kept it on her nightstand. There was one picture though that Tea could find no explanation for at all. It was a wedding picture and her mother happened to be the bride in it. The groom was also someone Tea had seen before, but only in her dreams...
"Oh my God..." said Tea who had never felt so lost and so confused as she was feeling at that moment "This man is Odysseus the chemist..."
"Your father worked as a chemist over at Obsidian Inc" said Amelda looked at Tea desperately scanning the pictures over and over "I know that all of this is unexpected for you..."
"This can't be real!" thought Tea as her arms began to tremble as she continued staring at the wedding picture in this hand "This can't be my father!"
"It's not safe out here right now" said Amelda as he reached out and attempted to take hold of one of Tea's arms "We'd better head back to our street"
"First you tell me all of this and then you just expect me to go with you?" cried Tea as she slapped Amelda's hand away as roughly as she could "Why are you doing this?"
"I don't want you to get hurt again" said Amelda as he ignored the stinging feeling on his hand and wished she could understand his true motives "I want to protect you and make sure you get home safely"
"Protect me? By telling me all these lies?" cried Tea as she immediately stepped back and prepared to flee "What the Hell is wrong with-"
No longer could Amelda hold back his feelings, so he pulled Tea into his arms and kissed her as passionately as he could. He loved her more than he ever could have imagined, and for this same reason he had to protect her and make sure nothing happened to her. After all if anything happened to yet another person he loved, he wouldn't be able to take it.
"I love you" thought Amelda as he continued kissing Tea, even though she was desperately trying to get away "I love you and I don't want to lose you
After a few seconds of struggling, Tea eventually relaxed and decided to return the kiss. This kiss quickly became far more passionate than the first one they had ever exchanged. Everything about that moment was absolutely perfect. Not only had Amelda found Tea in time, but now he'd be able to get her to a safe place. Yes it was absolutely perfect and nothing could possibly ruin it. Suddenly something hit him full force right in the stomach and caused him excruciating pain. It was only until he fell to onto his knees that he realized exactly what had happened: Tea had kicked him.
"You're crazy!" screamed Tea who was infuriated, scared, and completely confused at that moment confused "You're completely crazy!"
"I-I'm not lying to you..." gasped Amelda as he tried his best to stand up but the pain was too severe "Odysseus Gardner really is your father!"
All of this was too much for Tea to handle and the only thing she could do was run away as quickly as possible. She was in so much turmoil, that she failed to notice that a few snowflakes were beginning to fall from the sky. Amelda cried out her name and tried to run after her, but was in too much pain to do so. So he quickly staggered towards his motorcycle and immediately headed after her. I have to get her to safety...
"It's a Monday night" said Amneris as she walked out of Tea's bedroom with a puzzled look on her face "So where could Tea possibly be?"
Even though Tea always figured Amneris didn't notice what she was up to, she was completely wrong. Even though Amneris wasn't a talkative mom, she was a very observant one. She knew that Tea was a very responsible girl who would always do what was necessary without anyone having to tell her. So this is why Amneris found the fact that Tea was gone on a Monday night very unusual. After all Monday was a school night and Tea never really went anywhere on school nights.
"She's as serious about school as Odysseus used to be" said Amneris as she went into the living room and sat down on the couch "Maybe she just stepped out for a moment"
As Amneris reached over to pick up the remote control from the coffee table, she noticed it was a new table. It was completely identical to the old one, except for the fact that the glass was unscratched.
"Why would Tea buy a new coffee table?" said Amneris as she pointed the remote at the television "I guess I'll ask her when she gets back"
When she finally turned on the television, Amneris gave a content little sigh. After all tv was the only thing that allowed her to temporarily forget the troubles she had faced for the past sixteen years. After quickly flipping through all of the channels, Amneris finally settled on a reality show that was barely starting. Before the opening credits finished rolling though, the program was interrupted...
"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program" said the anchorman on the television as he started directly at the camera "To bring you a last minute update on the story we've been following all evening"
"Oh great..." said Amneris sarcastically and rolled her eyes since she hated it when the shows she was watching were interrupted "Did a cat get stuck up a tree or something?"
"At this hour police are closing off several streets in the business district" said the anchorman who spoke very quickly and hardly blinked "After two eye witnesses spotted escaped convict Odysseus Laertes Gardner in that area"
"WHAT?" shouted Amneris as her eyes opened wide as she leapt from the couch and ran towards the television "It can't be!"
She immediately turned the volume up as high as she could and sat there as the anchorman gave a quick recap of everything. Even though she was hearing everything, Amneris was still in denial. Perhaps it was all a mistake and it was actually another man named Odysseus Laertes Gardner. The moment the picture of Odysseus came up, Amneris gave a cry of angish. It really is him...
"Odysseus..." gasped Amneris as she suddenly backed up and ended up slamming right into the coffee table "Oh my God...Tea!"
For years Amneris told Tea just how kind, sweet, and loving her father had been before he was taken from them. Beyond this, Amneris kept absolutely everything about her husband a secret. After all she couldn't risk having Tea find out that her father was actually in prison. Especially since Odysseus was completely insane and unable to recieve any visitors. So in order to protect the image Tea had of her father, Amneris took extreme measures. She hid all of her husband's pictures and always referred to him by his middle name. Unfortunately now it seemed that the truth had been revealed, and it was only a matter of time before Tea found out. How I've feared this day...
"I have to call her and find out where she is!" cried Amneris as she ran towards the phone,but then noticed a folded paper next to it "Wait...what's this?"
Upon unfolding the paper, Amneris immediately recognized it as a work schedule from "Von Schroeder's". The surprising thing though was that according to the schedule, Tea was currently employed at the store. It also helped solved the mystery of where she was since according to it, Tea was working the 3pm to 9pm shift that evening. Without further hesitation Amneris jumped up, grabbed her purse, and headed out towards "Von Schroeder's" as quickly as she could. I have to let Tea know that her father truly was a loving man...
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Thank you so much to all you guys guys who reviewed the last chapter! Oh and thanks for the medal (puts it on) :). Phew I know this chapter is long but guess what? The chapter ran so long that I had no choice but to split it in half. blushes I'm kind of embarassed but I hope you'll enjoy the next part a bit more than this(it'll be awhile before it goes up though). Anyways you guys rock, so as usual: Hugs and kisses! (tosses heart shaped chocolates) :D