Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters so don't sue me:D
Mini Note: This chapter is the longest one to date, so it might take more than one sitting to get through it(Sorry!)
Wrath
"Tea..." whispered Yugi as he pressed his hand against the cold glass window in front of him "Why did this have to happen to you?"
While Tuesday mornings tended to be uneventful, that wasn't the case on this particular morning. Instead of waking up and getting ready for the day, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Serenity found themselves at the hospital. After unsucessfully managing to get ahold of Tea on her cellphone, Yugi decided to head to her house. As he ran up the front steps of her apartment building, he ran into a very distraught Amneris. The moment she told him what had happened, Yugi thought it was all a bad dream. The Wheeler siblings and Tristan reacted in a similar way though, but set out to the hospital immediately. Even as they sat there in the waiting room with Amneris sobbing hysterically, the situation didn't seem real. Shortly before midnight though, a doctor came out of the operating room and approached them. She explained that despite a quick blood transfusion, followed by surgery to close the wound, Tea had gone into a coma. Amneris begged to see her daughter, but then the doctor leaned in close and whispered something. Amneris' eyes opened wide in shock for a moment, before nodding and following the doctor. Shortly after this, Tea was brought to a room with a window in order to monitor her condition closely. It was only until her friends saw her lying there hooked up to a respirator, that reality finally sank in...
"She didn't deserve this" sniffled Serenity as she stood between her older brother and Yugi "Why would anyone do this to her?
"Because dey're sick bastards..." said Joey as he gulped hard as if though trying his best to hold back tears and emotions "Dat's why"
"You'd have to be sick to do such a thing" said Tristan as he stood there helplessly watching one of his closest friends fighting for her life "Especially to an innocent person"
"I knew that something wasn't right, but I ignored my feelings" whispered Yugi as his violet eyes began to fill with tears as he looked at Tea "And then this happened..."
Suddenly Yugi fell to his knees and began to cry in a way that he had never done so before. After when he was a lonely little boy, Tea was the first person who befriended him. She had always been there with him through the good times and the bad. He could never forget how a mere smile and a few kind words, was all it took for Tea to get him through the toughest of times. Now that she was facing her darkest moment, there was nothing that Yugi could do. All he could do was stand there helplessly and watch her die. This is all my fault...
"Yugi you can't blame yourself" said Serenity in a very soothing voice as she knelt down besides the agitated young man "This wasn't your fault"
"She's right Yuge..." said Joey as he also knelt down beside Yugi and attempted to comfort him "Dere's no way any of us coulda known dis was gonna happen"
"I just don't want to lose her like this..." said Yugi as his breath grew ragged while the tears continued to flow from his eyes "I want her to live!"
"We all want her to live" said Tristan as he pressed his hand against the glass window seperating them from Tea "But right now there's not much that any of us can do..."
"I just wish I know who did this to her..." said Yugi as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of the dark blue jacket he wore "And ask them why they did it..."
"I also want to know who did this to her" said Tristan as a fiery anger suddenly flashed across his brown eyes "But so I can teach them a lesson!"
"Same here!" shouted Joey as he suddenly jumped up and clenched his fists in anger "I'd like ta get my hands on them and-"
"But we'll probably never know who it is!" said Serenity as she quickly cut her brother off so he wouldn't end up making a scene "It's not like the police are going to release that information so easily"
Click Click Click
"Actually they already did hon" said an all too familiar female voice accompanied by the distinctive clicking sound of high heeled boots "And I've got it right here"
"Huh? Mai?" exclaimed Joey in complete and utter surprise to see his beloved Mai there at the hospital "What're ya doin' here?"
"I just found out about what happened to Tea" said Mai as she looked down at the small group consisting of Tea's closest friends "And I wanted to see how she's doing"
"S-She's..." said Yugi very sadly as he slowly pulled himself off of the ground and pointed to the window "She's in a coma..."
Mai immediately looked in the direction Yugi indicated, and was met with the sight of a comatose Tea. She was deathly pale, hooked to a respirator, and beside her was a nurse who was checking her heart rate. Serenity then asked her if she really knew who had attacked Tea, and she nodded. Mai then unfurled a newspaper she had been carrying whose headline read: "Two People Stabbed In Downtown Domino". While the newspaper didn't give too much detail, it did give the suspect's name: Amelda A. Andress. While the name didn't ring any bells for the others, Mai knew exactly who it was. Even though she already hated the redhead for his tendancy to insult her, seeing Tea in these conditions gave her even more reason to hate him. Although Mai hadn't seen her in years, she still considered Tea a friend. A friend who was now dying thanks to a person who in her opinion, wanted everyone to be as miserable as he was. You make me sick Amelda...
"Unnnh..." groaned Odysseus as he slowly opened his blue eyes, but his vision was completely out of focus "Where on Earth am I?"
Although couldn't really see where he was, Odysseus was certain of one thing: He wasn't in his cell. After all his cell was very dark and the only time he saw light was when the nurse opened up the little slot on the door. The only other time he saw light was at the beginning of the month when Dr. Lestrange came in to drug him. Other than that he lived in darkness, with only his pictures and memories to keep him company. After being in the darkness for so long though, Odysseus' eyes were very sensitive to light. So he quickly shut his eyes once again and tried to figure out why he wasn't in his cell.
"The last thing I remember is having that ghoul come into my cell" thought Odysseus as he lay there make sense of the unusual circumstances "But everything after that is just a random array of images..."
All of the images Odysseus saw were so unusual that he wasn't sure what to make of them. The first image he recalled was of himself being pushed out of a laundry van, into what appeared to an alley. He then remembered wandering through the alley, but not under his own free will. It felt almost as if though someone were telling him in which direction to go in. The next image that came into his mind was that of a frightened young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. He wasn't sure who she was or why she was frightened, but there was one thing he couldn't help but notice.
"That young woman..." thought Odysseus when he realized the uncanny resemblance the girl had to the person he loved the most "She looks almost exactly like my beloved Amneris"
Odysseus continued thinking and surely enough a few more images surfaced in his mind. The next thing he saw was himself running down the street with a young man following him. The young man had strange brown hair that stood up in an almost unnatural way. The image Odysseus saw next though was an image that filled him with anger unlike anything else. Standing there looking at him from what appeared to be a window, was none other than The Viper. Her green eyes glowed like a demon, and her face had a look of fiendish glee on it. Before Odysseus had time to wallow in his rage, his mind showed yet another unusual image. Once again he was seeing the frightened brown haired girl, but this time he was holding onto her arm for some reason. The girl was desperately clawing at his arm, but he wasn't letting go. Not because he didn't want to, but because something wouldn't let him. It's almost as if though I had no control over my body...
"But is what I'm seeing real?" thought Odysseus who didn't understand what he was seeing "Or is it nothing more than a bad dream"
Before he had time to ponder this, a new and extremely disturbing image came into his mind. There at his feet lay the brown haired girl, but she was crying and clutching a bleeding wound on his stomach. Odysseus then looked at his hand and realized that he was holding a bloody knife. He then took the knife, raised his arm up high, and stabbed himself in the stomach. After that everything was darkness, and he found himself right back where he had started. Suddenly he heard something unusual that sounded almost like a woman sobbing. Wait...I know that sound..
"Odysseus..." sobbed Amneris with her hands buried in her face as she sat in a chair besides Odysseus' bed "I swear I'll make them pay for all of this..."
"Amneris?" asked Odysseus very weakly as he once again struggled against the light and managed to get his eyes open "Is that you?"
"Odysseus?" exclaimed Amneris as she suddenly looked up and found that her husband had woken up "Odysseus!"
Amneris immediately threw herself from the chair, took her husband's hand, and began to sob hysterically. After all because of her, Odysseus had spent the past sixteen years paying for a crime he didn't commit. Seeing how emaciated he had become due to his conditions, only added to the guilt she had been living with for so long. Odysseus on the other hand was completely overjoyed to see his beloved wife after so many years. She looks just as beautiful as the last time I saw her...
"Please forgive me Odysseus..." cried Amneris whose pale green eyes were now red and puffy from so much crying "Please forgive me for everything..."
"My precious angel..." said Odysseus as he gently reached out and stroked her soft auburn hair which was pulled into a ponytail "Just seeing you makes everything better"
"I don't deserve your kindness" wailed Amneris as she suddenly snapped her head back and a stream of tears began to pour down her cheeks "I deserve to burn in Hell!"
"Don't say that Amneris" said Odysseus who honestly never blamed his wife for any of what happened to him "You're not the one responsible for any of what happened to me"
"Yes I am!" screamed Amneris as she suddenly threw herself forward and her entire body began to tremble very violently "I'm responsible for what she did to you and to Tea..."
"Tea?" exclaimed Odysseus as his blue eyes opened wide the moment his wife mentioned their beloved little girl "What about Tea?"
Amneris immediately began to wail hysterically, and wasn't able to speak at all. During this time though, Odysseus began to look around and finally realized that he was in a hospital. While he wasn't sure why he was there, a sudden pain in his stomach offered a clue. He quickly lifted the hospital gown and was surprised to see that his stomach was tightly bandaged up. Before he got a chance to ask about it, Amneris finally calmed down a bit and spoke.
"Y-You were stabbed in the stomach" sobbed Amneris as she suddenly hiccuped and wiped her eyes with a tissue "A-A-And so was Tea..."
"What?" cried Odysseus as he suddenly thrashed, causing the wound to send out another wave of pain "No...It can't be!"
"She was responsible for it..." growled Amneris as she tightened her fists so hard that she nearly managed to draw blood "She sent one of her filthy dogs to attack her!"
Odysseus had a confused look on his face, so Amneris began to refresh his memory. She told him that the attack had taken place in an alley, but the assassin had been caught. Just the mere fact that he had been caught, proved that he had been the lowliest assassin The Viper could find. Just the way he looked was another indication of how insignificant he was. Amneris hatefully described him to her husband, as a girly anorexic looking redhead whose throat she wanted to slit. Even as Amneris continued cursing the redhead to Hell, Odysseus realized something was very wrong. The scene she had described in the alley sounded almost like the strange images he had seen. Without further hesitation he interrupted his wife's rant, and asked if she had a recent picture of Tea. I fear that it wasn't merely a bad dream I had...
"This is the most recent one I have" sniffled Amneris as she pulled a small picture out of her purse and handed it to her husband "I took it at her graduation last June..."
As soon as Odysseus saw the picture, it was as if though someone stabbed him through the heart. The girl in the picture was none other than the frightened girl from the strange images he had seen. Only did he realize that the images weren't a dream. they were actually memories. Suddenly he remembered the last injection Dr. Lestrange had given him, and that's when everything came together. The Viper had indeed been controlling his mind, and she led him to commit the most heinous act of all. She made me harm my only child...
"I'd slice through his jugular very slowly" cried Amneris who had continued ranting about what she wanted to do to the redhead "And then I'd-"
"Amneris...he didn't do it" said Odysseus as he began to breathe heavily and his hands began to tremble "I've never even seen a person who matches that description"
"What?" exclaimed Amneris who couldn't believe that her husband thought the redhead was innocent "How can you say-"
"I'm the one who did it" said Odysseus as a look of torment suddenly filled his dark blue eyes "I stabbed Tea and myself while under that woman's mind control..."
The moment he said this, Amneris immediately fell backwards into the chair. While Odysseus' claims did sound like the rantings of a madman, they made perfect sense to her. After all if The Viper used mind control serums on her minions, why wouldn't she use it on an innocent person? Especially when it was for the purpose of getting revenge on an enemy? Although everything fit, there was one thing Amneris couldn't understand. If that redhead is innocent though...how does he know about my past?
Several Hours Later
"How could they have printed this?" thought Raphael as he skimmed through the front page of the newspaper in his hands "Especially when the attorneys are still negotiating?"
Although Raphael and Varon didn't get any sleep the previous night, they both still went to work. Sleep was the last thing on their minds though, since Mr. Anderson had gone down to the police department for the negotiations. After all if everything went well, then Amelda would be able to get out on bail. Although what Raphael and Varon wanted was for their friend to be cleared of all charges. Especially when they realized that the "Domino Times" had published an article about the incident. While they were both shocked to discover who one of the victims was, they also felt complete outrage. After all not only had the article revealed Amelda's identity, it made him seem like some kind of bloodthirsty lunatic. These lowlives should get their facts straight before publishing anything...
"This makes me sick..." muttered Raphael as he suddenly crumpled the newspaper up in his hands and tossed it in a nearby waste basket "Don't these people care whose life they ruin?"
"Not really mate" said Varon who was standing beside the window, staring at the buildings in the distance "All they care about is getting some damn story..."
"It's almost 10am already" thought Raphael as he looked at his watch and then at the front door of his office "That means the Mr. Anderson should be coming in very soon"
No sooner had Raphael thought this, a knock was heard on the door. Varon quickly ran to open the door, and sure enough there stood Mr. Anderson with his briefcase in hand. The first thing Varon noticed was the serious look on the older man's face. So does he have good news or bad news?
"What happened Mr. Anderson?" blurted Varon who couldn't take the suspense and wanted to know what had happened "Tell us!"
"How did things work out during the negotiation?" asked Raphael as he stood up from his chair and walked over to where Mr. Anderson was "Did they set an amount for bail?"
"Well for starters..." said Mr. Anderson as he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose "Something very unexpected happened about three hours ago"
"What happened?" cried Varon who wanted him to just get to the point and tell them whether or not Amelda was out on bail "Is it good?"
"Not only did Odysseus Gardner wake up" said Mr. Anderson as he set his briefcase down on Amelda's empty desk and opened it up "But he claimed that he stabbed himself and his daughter Tea"
When Mr. Anderson said this, Raphael and Varon appeared to go into a temporary state of shock. While the article they had read earlier mentioned the name Odysseus Gardner, it didn't really include much about it. The only thing it spoke about was the fact that he was an insane and extremely violent convict. This was nothing new to them though, since they had seen his violent nature when he attacked Tea the previous day. It was for this reason that they overlooked the fact that both victims had the same surname. So to discover that this man was in reality Tea's father was absolutely shocking. If he was capable of attacking his daughter, he's definitely capable of this...
"So he admits that he did he it?" asked Varon who was still in disbelief at how unusual the entire situation was "So that's good news right?"
"Unfortunately due to Mr. Gardner's mental health history" said Mr. Anderson who felt a strong pang of pain when he saw the hopeful look in Varon's eyes "His claims aren't being taken seriously and Amelda is still the main suspect"
"WHAT?"
"Also due to Ms. Gardner's rapidly declining health" said Mr. Anderson who quickly looked down since he couldn't bear to see the look on his face "Amelda will most likely face one count of murder..."
"NO THEY CAN'T DO THAT!" shouted Varon as he suddenly ran forward and grabbed Mr. Anderson by the blazer "HE'S INNOCENT!"
"I tried to get him out on bail..." gasped Mr. Anderson as Raphael quickly came forward and pulled the hysterical teenager off of him "But they want to keep him in custody until the start of his trial"
"Where is he now?" asked Raphael who felt a mixture of rage and disbelief at the fact that his friend was being held unjustly "Is he still down at the police station?"
"No..." said Mr. Anderson with a noticeable tone of regret in his voice as he looked straight at Raphael and Varon "He's been transferred to Domino Maximum Security Penitentiary..."
A look of devastation immediately came across Raphael and Varon's faces. Suddenly without any warning, Varon ran straight out of the office and towards the stairs. Despite the childish bickering and reprimands that took place almost daily, Mr. Anderson could see that Raphael, Amelda and Varon were very close. They were friends and at times almost acted as if though they were brothers. Raphael was like the older brother who always watched out for his younger brothers. Amelda was like the quiet and often misunderstood middle brother. Finally Varon was like the little brother who would constantly be in trouble if it wasn't for his older brothers. So now that one "brother" was suffering, the other two were suffering as well. I'd almost swear The Viper is behind all of this...
"Why did this have to happen to her?" thought Alex as he sat alone at the workstation he usually shared with his chemistry partner "And how did he get involved?"
After the unusual vision that he had the previous night, Alex decided that maybe he should go to bed. Within minutes he was fast asleep, but it wouldn't stay this way for long. The same image kept repeating itself over and over in Alex's dream, which caused him to keep waking up every few minutes. So when morning rolled around, he was so tired that he fell asleep during breakfast. It was only until he felt his father pound his fist on the table, that Alex realized he was lying facedown on his French toast. Dr. DeWinters was holding a newspaper in his hand and had a surprised look on his face. Even as he peeled the syrupy bread off the side of his face, Alex decided to ask what the big fuss was about.
"What's going on Dad?" echoed Alex's sleepy voice in his own memory as he looked over at his father "Why do you look so surprised?"
"I just can't believe he could do such a thing.." echoed Dr. DeWinter's voice in Alex's memory "Especially in the conditions he was in"
"Huh?" echoed Alex's voice since he didn't understand what his father was talking about "Who are you talking about?"
"That young man Amelda was arrested last night" echoed Dr. DeWinter's voice as he shook his head in disbelief "He attempted to murder two people"
"What?" echoed Alex's voice as his grey eyes opened wide in pure surprise "Are you serious Dad?"
"See for yourself" echoed Dr. DeWinters voice as he handed the newspaper over to his son "I honestly can't believe it myself"
Pretty soon Alex realized that his father hadn't been joking, and Amelda really had been arrested. As he continued reading the article though, he was soon learned who the victims were. While Alex was naturally upset that one of his friends was one of the victims, he was also confused. In his mind it was honestly a little hard to believe that Amelda was the culprit. For one thing he had barely been able to move after the beating he recieved from Stan and Arielle. So how could he possibly have the strength and mobility to go out and attack someone? Also despite the fact that Alex didn't know the other redhead very well, something told him that he was a good person. Then again even if Amelda wasn't responsible, it didn't change the fact that two people were currently hospitalized...
"Tea can't die yet" thought Alex as he felt his grey eyes beginning to get watery at the thought of losing his friend "She still has her whole life ahead of her"
Although Alex was almost always in a good mood, today wasn't one of those days. He felt very sad, confused, and he honestly didn't care if the whole world knew it. While his other classmates left him alone with his thoughts, there was one person who felt the need to bother him. After all Stan had known Alex since the sixth grade, and knew just how vulnerable the younger man could be when upset. So he casually walked over to Alex's workstation with a devilish sneer on his handsome face. Time to kick this little twerp while he's down...
"She's the first friend I ever made in college" thought Alex as he rubbed one his eyes as a single tear came down his cheek "I don't want to lose her"
"Hey Princess Alex" said Stan in a very loud voice so everyone in chemistry lab would turn around and look at him "Aren't you a little too old to be crying like a little sissy girl?"
"Go away Stan" said Alex with a dark expression on his face even as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his track jacket "I'm not in the mood..."
"Go away Stan I'm not in the mood!" said Stan mockingly in a girly voice as he brought his hand up and pretended to cry "Don't you know it's my time of the month?"
"SHUT THE HELL UP CONSTANTINE!" screamed Alex as he suddenly jumped up and caused everyone to turn around and stare at him "FOR YOUR INFORMATION MY FRIEND TEA IS DYING AS WE SPEAK!"
"What the Hell did you just say?" asked Stan as his green eyes suddenly widened in disbelief, before suddenly grabbing Alex by the collar "Repeat it!"
Not only did Alex repeat what he had said, but he added that she had been stabbed and mortally wounded. Several of the people in the class gasped since they knew Tea from their other classes. Stan on the other hand simply let go of Alex and stood there for a few seconds with a dazed look on his face. Suddenly his expression turned into one of rage, and he immediately stormed out of the classroom. I know exactly who's responsible for this...
"What do we have here?" thought Dr. Lestrange as he stepped into his office and found a metal briefcase sitting on his desk "It's from Madame..."
In the years that Dr. Lestrange had served The Viper, he had learned that one could never be too careful. While Madame Cervantes could be very generous to her loyal minions, she could also be their worst nightmare. After all Dr. Lestrange could never forget what had happened to her top five chemists. Even though the men served her faithfully, she thought nothing of killing them in order to frame Odysseus. So as Dr. Lestrange cautiously opened the suitcase, he could only wonder if it was the last thing he would ever do. Much to his surprise(and relief) the suitcase was filled entirely with money, as well as a note commending him on a task well done. She must still be in a good mood after last night's events...
"All of these years of torturing that fool Odysseus certainly paid off" thought Dr. Lestrange as took out a bundle of money and began to count it "Although I have to admit that I enjoyed every second of it"
Knock Knock Knock
"Dr. Lestrange?" asked the nurse who assisted Dr. Lestrange in the maximum security psychiatric ward "Are you in there?"
"What is it?" snapped Dr. Lestrange as he quickly put the money back in the briefcase and shoved it under his desk "I'm extremely busy right now!"
"Well the guards just brought up a new inmate" said the nurse who could tell that the doctor was extremely annoyed "And he's here for his psychiatric evaluation"
Dr. Lestrange mentally groaned and slowly walked over and opened up the door to his office. Surely enough there stood two guards as well as a handcuffed redhead male who was clad in a blue prison uniform. The nurse handed Dr. Lestrange some papers, while the guards pushed Amelda into the doctor's office and closed the door. After all it was well known that the doctor preferred to conduct his evaluations without guards or anyone else present. In the event that an inmate decided to get out of control, Dr. Lestrange wasn't worried. After all it was nothing that the tranquilizer gun hidden behind his desk couldn't handle.
"Please take a seat...Amelda" said Dr. Lestrange as he began to read over the information that the nurse had given him "I'd like to ask you some questions"
"I'm not insane so you're just wasting your time..." said Amelda flatly as he looked down at the gleaming silver handcuffs currently on his wrists
"Says every single person that steps in here here" said Dr. Lestrange sarcastically as he continued eyeing the papers "Now cut the crap and lets get started!"
"I'm innocent" said Amelda as he looked up at the psychiatrist with a fiery look of anger in his steel grey eyes "So you're wasting both our time..."
Although though Amelda wasn't the first person who refused to cooperate with him, Dr. Lestrange still felt the urge to strangle him. The way the redhead sat there glaring at him was almost as if though he were inconvenienced by the situation...the nerve! If anyone was inconvenienced at that moment, then it was definitely Dr. Lestrange. After all he had an entire briefcase of money under his desk that was just begging to be counting. Unfortunately redhead's unwillingless to cooperate meant that it would take longer than normal to get through the psychiatric evaluation. This didn't make Dr. Lestrange happy, but suddenly something in Amelda's information caught his eye. So this insolent fool is the one that's being accused of last night's incident...
"So you claim to be innocent do you?" asked Dr. Lestrange mockingly now that he knew the redhead was indeed innocent "Funny thing coming from a man who stabbed two people"
"I didn't do it!" shouted Amelda who hated being reminded of the fact that he was being accused of such a horrible act "I didn't stab them!"
"Oh really?" asked Dr. Lestrange with an arrogant smile since he was having fun toying with the redhead "Then who may I ask did it?"
"The Viper's responsible for this!" shouted Amelda as his eyes filled with a look of rage unlike anything that Dr. Lestrange had ever seen before "She's the one who tried to kill them!"
The moment he shouted this, the smile on Dr. Lestrange's face was replaced with one of shock. How on the Hell did this redhead know that The Viper was actually responsible? In fact, how did he know that she was in reality a woman? Dr. Lestrange and a handful of other high ranking minions were the only ones aware of the truth. So if this outsider knew such a well kept secret, there was no telling what else he might know. Dr. Lestrange knew that he had to tell his master right away, but at that moment his cellphone began to ring. The moment he looked at the caller ID, he realized that he had been beaten to the punch.
"Madame" said Dr. Lestrange as answered the phone in a hushed voice and quickly turned his chair away from Amelda "I was just about to call you and-"
"I'm well aware of the little problem on our hands" said Madame Cervantes in a rather annoyed tone of voice "Or do you forget that I have eyes and ears all over this city?"
"No Madame..." whispered Dr. Lestrange in order ensure that the redhead didn't hear a single word "But what would you like me to do with him?"
"There's something strange about this man" thought Amelda as he attempted to eavesdrop on the conversation "What's he hiding?"
Despite his best efforts though, Amelda wasn't really able to hear much of what was being said. So far he had only managed to hear the words "insolent", "fool", and "concidence". While these words were nothing more than nonsense, the next two words that came out Dr. Lestrange's mouth were anything but...
"Angel...or possibly Victoria" whispered Dr. Lestrange who was unaware that his attempts at a private conversation were pointless "They could have been the ones to reveal the truth"
"Angel? Victoria?" thought Amelda as his grey eyes opened wide upon hearing those two names in the same sentence "Wait...does this mean?"
Amelda knew that something was strange about the doctor, and now he knew what it was. Aside from being a psychiatrist who resembled the grim reaper, Dr. Lestrange was one of The Viper's lackeys. In fact he was almost completely certain that the person on the other end was The Viper herself. After a minute or so, Dr. Lestrange ended his conversation. He then reached into one of the drawers in his desk, before turning around to face Amelda once again. The only difference was that the doctor now had an eerie looking grin plastered across his gaunt ghoulish face. You bastard...
"You're one of them aren't you?" hissed Amelda as he narrowed his eyes and looked straight into the doctor's eyes "You're a part of The Society!"
"And you're someone who needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut" said Dr. Lestrange as he suddenly stood up and revealed that he was holding a green syringe "But this should do the trick"
"What the Hell?" exclaimed Amelda as the doctor walked around the desk and towards him with the syringe pointed at him "What is-AHHHH!"
Dr. Lestrange roughly shoved the needle into Amelda's neck causing him to cry out in pain. While he intended to give him the entire contents of the syringe, a suddenly blow to the groin put a stop to the doctor's plans. As Dr. Lestrange fell to the ground doubling over in pain, Amelda quickly yanked the syringe out of his neck...but it was too late. His entire body suddenly went completely limp and he fell to the floor, but this was only the beginning...
"What's happening to me?" thought Amelda as he lay there facedown on the cold tiled ground "Why can't I move my body?"
"You mangy bastard..." growled Dr. Lestrange as he painfully gripped the side of his desk and pulled himself off of the floor "Now you'll pay for what you did to me!"
After a minute or so, Amelda's entire body began to twitch violently and he began to scream hysterically. Dr. Lestrange immediately called in the guards, who were shocked to find the redhead in such a state. Dr. Lestrange shook his head and told them that redhead was a deeply disturbed individual. Therefore it was necessary to keep him under close observation and away from others. Luckily Odysseus' cell was now empty, so it would be the perfect place to keep him. The guards quickly nodded, grabbed the seemingly insane redhead, and dragged him towards the maximum security ward. Amelda desperately struggled to regain control of his body and shout the truth, but it was no use. Somebody help me...
"I can't believe this happened to ya mate" thought Varon miserably as he trudged down a snow covered sidewalk "Even now that, that Gardner bloke confessed his crime"
After running out of Raphael's office in such an unexpected fashion, Varon ended up roaming the streets of Domino. He didn't really care where he was going, nor did he care about the cold air nipping at his face. Then again his mind was preoccupied with the fact that Amelda had been unfairly sent to prison. Having been unjustly imprisoned himself, he knew exactly what awaited his friend. Every day was a struggle for survival while locked in a place full of murderers, rapists, and other sick twisted individuals. It's something I'm still tryin to forget...
"Ya don't deserve to be in there" thought Varon as he kicked a rolled up newspaper that someone had dropped in the snow "Even with all the things that happened in our past"
Varon couldn't ignore the fact that there had been a time in which Amelda had wanted nothing more than to destroy Seto Kaiba. In fact he had been willing to kill himself, as long as he could take Kaiba down with him. Then again that was during the time in which Amelda, Raphael, and Varon believed in the lies that Dartz had told them. Lies, which along with the Orichalcos stones, were tools the Atlantean used to darken the hearts and souls of his minions. But everything changed after the Pharoah defeated that bastard...
"We weren't completely filled with hatred anymore" thought Varon as he stopped and looked up at the sun in the wintery sky "And we finally got to see the good in the world"
After the Doom Organization disbanded, life changed drastically for the three swordsmen. Even though they went their seperate ways for about a year or so, they ended up together once again. While each of them had changed to a certain extent, they had managed to keep some traits. So even though Amelda was no longer consumed with thoughts of revenge, he was still moody, difficult, and sometimes weird. He was still a good person though and even if he did dislike Tea, there was no way he'd purposely harm her.
"I just hope Tea wakes up and gets better soon" thought Varon as he reached the end of the street and prepared to cross it "But I still can't believe that crazy bloke is really her dad"
"Valon!"
"Huh...?"
"VALON!"
Even though someone kept shouting out his pseudonym, Varon didn't really pay much attention to it. After all Serenity was the only one who referred to him as "Valon", but he knew it couldn't be her. For one thing it was Tuesday morning, which meant that she was currently at school. It was only until he felt a sudden tug on his sleeve, that Varon finally turned around and looked. Much to his surprise, there stood Serenity wearing a pink jacket, white pants, and white boots. Even though she looked very nice in her current outfit, Varon didn't really seem to notice. The only thing he noticed was the sad and exhausted look on Serenity's pretty face. A look that was almost identical to the one currently on his own face...
"Serenity... what's wrong?" asked Varon as he examined just how red and puffy the girl's eyes currently were "Why do ya look so sad?"
After being at the hospital for so many hours, Serenity and the others were exhausted. Despite this though, none of them really wanted to leave Tea's side. In the end it was Amneris who convinced them to go home and rest. It was no easy task though, and she only accomplished it by promising to call them if there was any change in Tea's health. At that point Yugi, Tristan, Joey, and Serenity were so tired, that Mai decided to take them all home. It was as they stood outside waiting for her, that Serenity noticed Varon at the end of the street. The others were so sleepy at that point though, that they didn't even notice when she wandered off.
"I think I should ask you the same thing" said Serenity who couldn't help but notice the dark circles under Varon's eyes "What's wrong?"
"My friend..." said Varon as he lowered his head and looked down at the sidewalk as he spoke "Last night he was arrested and accused of a crime he didn't commit..."
"Oh that's terrible..." said Serenity as her soft innocent brown eyes opened wide and were filled with genuine concern "How is he?"
"I dunno..." said Varon with a sad sigh as he raised his head back up and looked at Serenity once again "They already took him down to the maximum security jail..."
"I hope he gets out soon" said Serenity who had never heard of anyone being arrested for a crime they hadn't committed "Especially if he's innocent"
"I hope so too" said Varon who gave a little smile since he knew that her words were well meaning and completely sincere "So...why are ya so sad?"
"I'm sad because..." sniffed Serenity whose eyes began to fill with tears when she remembered why she was there "One of my friends is dying..."
Before Varon knew what was happening, Serenity threw herself into his arms and began to sob. Even though she had left the hospital, the image of Tea lying there in a coma still haunted her. She was a good friend and it was difficult to accept that she could die at any moment. As Serenity cried, Varon wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. After all he couldn't even imagine what it would be like if one of his friends were dying. And I hope I never have to find out...
"Da only thing I want right now is ta catch some z's"said Joey as he rubbed his eyes and struggled to keep from falling asleep on the spot "Right guys?"
Apparently everyone agreed with Joey, since the only response he recieved was a loud snore and some mumbling. When he looked over he noticed that Tristan and Yugi were sleeping as they leaned against a mailbox. After all Mai was taking such a long time getting her car that despite their best efforts, both young men couldn't stay awake any longer. Joey yawned and was extremely tempted to join them, but then he suddenly realized something...
"Serenity?" asked Joey as he sleepily looked around and noticed that his little sister wasn't there "Hey where'd she go?"
Even though Joey had been awake the entire time, he didn't notice when Serenity snuck off. Therefore he had no idea how long she had been gone, or where she had headed. Joey guessed that Serenity hadn't gone too far, since she knew that they were waiting for their ride home. Then again seeing how sleepy they all were, it was possible that she could have gotten disoriented. So despite the urge to fall asleep like his friends, Joey got up and decided to look for Serenity. It's my duty ta look out for my little sis no matter how tired I am...
"I just hope she's not stuck in da bathroom..." muttered Joey sleepily as he began to take a few steps down the sidewalk "Cause if she is den dere's nothin' dat I can do..."
As Joey began his search for Serenity, he noticed that there weren't really that many people outside. After there was still some snow outside, so naturally everyone would be indoors. So far the only people he could see were a nurse, a man in a labcoat, and a young couple. As Joey walked along he passed by the nurse, who gave him a little smile and a nod. He then passed the man in the labcoat who turned out to be a doctor since his coat had the name "Dr. Langdon" embroidered on it. The doctor was quickly trying to guzzle down a cup of coffee since he was late for work. The only two people left were the young couple who were currently hugging, but they were all the way at the end of the street. One was a young man with wild brown hair who was wearing an untucked blue shirt and a pair of dark slacks. He was facing in the opposite direction though, so Joey wasn't able to see his face. As he got closer though, Joey realized exactly who the girl in the guy's arms was...
"HUH?" exclaimed Joey who snapped out of his sleep deprived state upon seeing his little sister in such a situation "SERENITY?"
"Valon"said Serenity who was completely oblivious to the fact that her older brother was only a few feet away "I'm glad I ran into you today"
"I feel the same way sheila" said Varon as he brought a hand up and began to stroke her long shiny auburn hair "Seeing you makes me feel-"
"WHAT DA HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" shouted Joey as he immediately pulled the young couple apart "Who da Hell do ya think-YOU?"
"Huh?" exclaimed Varon as his sky blue eyes opened wide in disbelief when he realized who was standing in front of him "Wheeler?"
As Varon's eyes locked with Joey's, a swirl of memories came to his mind. He was taken back to that fateful duel in which neither one was willing to back down. They both fought with everything they, but in the end Joey was the victor. While Varon had eventually accepted this fact, but seeing the blonde again awakened old feelings of jealousy. After all Mai had picked him, which had made Varon feel completely worthless. Then again fate was kind to spiky haired brunette, since it put Serenity in his path. So what on Earth was Joey's reason for being angry and interrupting them in such a way? Meanwhile Joey was trying to make sense of the situation, but then it finally hit him. Valon...
"Wait...you two know each other?" asked Serenity as she looked up at Varon and then at her older brother "Oh this is really-"
"I shoulda known it was you!" shouted Joey as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Varon's shirt as roughly as he could "I'm not gonna let ya get away with dis!"
"Get your hands offa me Wheeler!" shouted Varon as he pulled Joey's hands off of his shirt and pushed him back "I don't even know what you're talkin' about!"
"Don't play dumb with me Aussie!" screamed Joey as his entire face began to turn red from the rage he was feeling "Ya know damn well what I'm talkin about!"
"What's your problem mate?" said Varon who still had absolutely no idea why Joey was acting in such an irrational way "Did ya lose your mind or somethin'?"
"Joey!" cried Serenity who couldn't understand why her older brother was acting in such a strange way "Why are you doing this?"
"Serenity..." said Joey in as calm a voice as he could muster at such a heated moment "Do ya have any idea who dis guy is?"
"Of course I do!" said Serenity who began to wonder whether the lack of sleep was responsible for Joey's behavior "This is Valon!"
"Ya know if ya were gonna use a fake name" said Joey with a slight chuckle and a weak nod before he looked directly into Varon's eyes "Ya shoulda picked a better one"
"Fake name?" asked Serenity as she suddenly looked up at her older brother with a confused look in her eyes "What are you talking about?"
"Stay out of this Wheeler!" snapped Varon who had had all he could take of Joey's insane behavior "None of this concerns you!"
"Everythin' dat has ta do with my little sis concerns me!" shouted Joey whose brown eyes were filled with a look of fiery rage
"What?" exclaimed Varon as his eyes suddenly opened wide in disbelief and he quickly looked at Serenity "So you two are-"
POW
No longer able to contain his anger over the situation, Joey ran forward and punched Varon in the face. This only served to infuriate the brunette, who wasted no time in retaliating. Within seconds both Joey and Varon were rolling around on the ground brutally kicking and punching each other. Once again they found themselves fighting over a woman, but for entirely different reasons though...
"Ya dirty creep!" growled Joey who had some blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth "I'm gonna make ya pay for comin' near my sis!"
"I didn't know she was your sister.." hissed Varon who now had a black eye along with several other injuries "Besides I haven't done anything wrong!"
"YA LYIN' SCUM!" shouted Joey who wanted to tear Varon limb from limb at hearing such a pathetic lie "I'm gonna-"
"PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!" cried Serenity as she ran forward and stood between Joey and Varon "I can't take this anymore..."
The realization that she had yet once again managed to cause yet another fight was too much for Serenity. Especially since this fight was between her beloved older brother and her current love interest. Seeing the injuries they had inflicted on each other, made everything even more painful for Serenity. Her eyes immediately began to fill with tears, and before long she was crying. The sight Serenity in tears over their fight, was enough to make Joey and Varon stop momentarily. What have we done?
"Serenity please don't cry..." said Joey as his brown eyes softened as he looked down at his little sister "I don't wanna see ya like dis"
"I never wanted to hurt ya like this sheila..." said Varon as his sky blue eyes softened while looking down at the auburn haired girl "I'm sorry..."
"But then why are you two even fighting?" said Serenity between muffled sobs as she looked up at both of them "And what was that whole thing about a fake name?"
There was a long awkward silence, but suddenly Varon took a deep breath and spoke. Everything he had told Serenity up to that point was true, except for his name. He honestly liked her though, so felt that it was necessary to clear everything up. He looked deep into her eyes and admitted that "Valon" was actually a pseudonym, and that his real name was Varon. The moment Serenity heard this name her eyes widened in disbelief and she looked over at her brother. Joey just gave a little sigh before nodding his head slightly.
"So you're the same person who tried to take my brother's soul?" said Serenity whose eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and disbelief "How could you?"
"Serenity please-" said Varon as he reached out and gently took both of her hands in his own "It was a different time and I just wasn't seein' things as they really were"
"Don't touch me!" cried Serenity as she immediately pulled her hands away from him "Everything you told me was a lie wasn't it?"
"No!" said Varon who desperately wanted her to realize that it had simply started off as a misunderstanding "I've been completely honest with ya!"
"If you wouldn't even tell me your real name" said Serenity as she moved away from the spiky haired brunette "Then there's no way I can believe you'd tell me the truth!"
"No I swear I've been honest!" cried Varon as he quickly reached out and took a hold of her arm once again "Just let me explain!"
"Get away from me!" cried Serenity whose eyes began to get watery as she pulled her arm away from Varon "I don't ever want to see you again!"
Serenity then spun around and began to run down the street as fast as her legs could carry her. Varon cried out her name and tried to chase her, but was immediately tackled by Joey. He threatened to kill the brunette if he ever came around Serenity again, but it this didn't deter Varon. He roughly shoved the blonde off himself and continued to chase after Serenity. I'm not about to lose the greatest thing that's ever happened to me...
"Excellent job class!" said Miss Esmeralda as clapped after her students finished their dance routine "You've all come a long way this semester!"
"Thank you Miss Esmeralda!"
"There was one person though who a little off today" said Miss Esmeralda as she walked over and placed her hand on the barre "But I won't say who"
Even though Miss Esmeralda hadn't named anyone, all eyes in the class shot over to Arielle. Although she was the class primadonna with a penchant for catty remarks, that hadn't been the case on this day. She walked into class with a dazed look on her face, and didn't say a word to anyone. Then when Miss Esmeralda asked them to perform, she appeared completely distracted. There was definitely something unusual about Arielle's behavior, but nobody really cared. After all most of the class was still gossiping about how she had unfairly gotten Tea kicked out of the class.
"Alright I think it's time for a new routine" said Miss Esmeralda as she gracefully twirled around in front of the class "After all I can see that you're definitely ready for one"
Suddenly a loud crashing sound was heard from the door, and everyone quickly spun around to look. The moment they did, they were surprised to see none other than Constantine Von Furstenburg. Several of the girls giggled excitedly since they couldn't believe just how handsome he was. Miss Esmeralda on the other hand was absolutely furious at having someone interrupt her class in such a way.
"What on Earth is wrong with you?" cried Miss Esmeralda as she quickly spun around upon hearing the thunderous crash "Can't you see we're having a class in here?"
"Where is she?" shouted Stan as his green eyes scanned the class full of girls wearing black leotards, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes "WHERE'S ARIELLE?"
"Stan?" said Arielle as she suddenly snapped out of her dazed state upon realizing that her best friend was there "What are you doing-AHHHHHHHH!"
"YOU BITCH!" screamed Stan as he suddenly ran forward and grabbed Arielle by the neck "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE!"
Arielle tried to cry out, but Stan immediately tightened his grip and began to choke her as hard as he could. While all of the girls were in too much shock to even move, Miss Esmeralda couldn't just stand there and watch. She immediately grabbed a folded metal chair, and hit Stan as hard as she could. This caused him to let go of Arielle, who fell to the ground desperately gasping for air.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" screamed Miss Esmeralda who still had the chair in hand just in case "GET OUT OF HERE!"
"Not until everyone in this room knows the kind of person she is!" shouted Stan as his fiery green eyes homed in on the blonde girl on the ground
"A-Are you crazy?" cried Arielle in a strange raspy voice as she coughed and wheezed "W-What are you talking about?"
Stan wasted no time in telling the class what he had found out about Tea. All of the girls and even Miss Esmeralda were visibly shocked by the news. Arielle was perhaps the most shocked looking of all, but Stan just wasn't buying it. He then looked over at the girls and Miss Esmeralda, before telling them that Arielle had hired the person who attacked her. Everyone gasped in horror when they realized that Stan's accusation made sense. After all none of them could forget just how furious Arielle had been when Tea slapped now. Arielle cried out and tried to defend herself, but nobody seemed to believe her. Not caring that he had just betrayed his oldest friend, Stan turned around and walked out of the classroom. Oh well...no big loss
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! You guys are the greatest! I'm sure that if you read this chapter in one sitting though, you must have a headache by now. As for Amelda's last name, I picked it because I wanted his first, middle, and last name to start with the same letter. I'm sure that sounds weird huh? Anyways thanks once again! Hugs and kisses people! (tosses chocolates) :)