She pushes the metal double doors open to be greeted by a dark space. The wooden floor creeks with each passing step that she takes until she stands in the middle. Looking around, she notices broken bleachers, basketball rims hanging off the hinges, and different small craters in the ground. A growl echoes through the room followed by a menacing laugh and her brows furrow. She remembers that voice and growl like it was yesterday.
"No…No…I don't wanna be here!" She runs to the door, but it is locked. Despite this, she tries shaking it and using her body to break it open to no avail. Turning around with her back pressed to the door, she looks up to see the monster right on top of her, its sharp claws coming her way.
"NO!" Her eyes glow pink and she outstretches her hand, making a magical ball form to defend herself. "GET AWAY!"
A nurse bursts into the private waiting room that Atem is sitting in and he lifts his head up. The frantic look from the woman causes him to to jump to his feet, alarmed by her sudden appearance in the room.
"Come with me, immediately!" she exclaims.
"What is it? Did something happen?" he asks as they run down the hall.
The scene inside of Mana's room is complete chaos as a doctor and nurse attempt to hold Mana down. She is in a sitting up position and they hold onto her arms. Her eyes are glowing her usual pink hue when she is in attack mode and her face shows a mixture of terror and determination to strike down what she perceives to be a threat.
"She's in great distress and hallucinating! We need to get her calmed down immediately!" the doctor yells through the beeping monitors that detect her rising heart rate.
"Should we sedate her, sir?" the nurse asks.
"Negative! Not when she's expecting!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shouts. She elbows the nurse that is holding her right arm and forms a ball of energy, preparing to attack the doctor on her left arm. Atem quickly rushes in and wraps his arms firmly around her. Even with the doctor helping, it is a struggle. For someone as petite as her, she sure does hold a lot of strength, even in her weakened state.
"Mana, snap out of it," he says between clenched teeth. She manages to break one arm free and Atem quickly swats her arm in the direction of the open window and a blast of energy shoots from her hand. "I don't know what's going through your mind right now, but it isn't real!"
After some convincing, her body becomes less tense and her eyes return to normal momentarily before they roll to the back of her head and she goes limp in his arms. The doctor sighs in relief and looks at the EKG. She slowly begins to stabilize and Atem slowly lays her back on the hospital bed.
He finds himself back in the private waiting room after assisting the doctors with calming her down. He leans on the wall with his arms folded and his eyes lowered to the floor. Many questions come to him as to how she got in such bad shape to begin with. The fact that she has once again found herself in trouble while also being in critical condition gives him conflicting emotions. He's angry. He's worried. He's upset. He's confused.
The door opens, revealing Yugi and Téa and they both rush in. "How's she doing?" Yugi asks, running up to Atem who continues to look down.
"She's stable."
"What even happened?" That question from Yugi causes a bad feeling in the pit of Téa's stomach. She is very much aware of what happened to Mana. But when they all went their separate ways, she didn't know just how serious Mana's condition was.
"I'm not sure." As his eyes slowly scroll up, he catches sight of a bruise on the side of Téa's right leg. Part of it is covered by her shorts, but the greenish bruise is still very much visible. He finally looks at Yugi who shows a great deal of concern on his face. "One moment we were asleep. And the next, I woke up to her bleeding to death on the floor. It all happened so suddenly."
Yugi notices Téa's body is visibly shaking and he turns his head to her. "Téa, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Mana's whereabouts last night, do you?" The two brothers' eyes are now on her and she places a hand on her beating chest.
"W-Why are you both looking at me?" she asks nervously, sweat beginning to form at her temple.
"You and Mana are best friends. Not to mention you're shaking."
"Téa, this is serious," Item says. "If you know something, then you need to tell me."
"Well…"
"Atem?" A nurse peeks in the room and her eyes widen with surprise at the two extra people in there. "Oh! Why hello."
"How is she?" Atem asks.
The nurse smiles. "She's going to make a full recovery," she replies.
Mana blinks a few times with a hint of confusion and agitation on her face as the doctor creeps past her bed. Her eyes slowly follow him while he makes his way over to her EKG, taking note of everything. He glances at her, only to be met by her squinted eyes. He flinches, setting his attention back on her charts.
"Why are you acting so strange?" Mana asks with her arms folded.
"W-Well…m-madam…you almost blasted me to smithereens a few hours ago," he replies before gulping and she tilts her head.
"Eh?"
"You were in a hallucinatory state and attempted to attack me and our staff. Your husband was the only one that was able to calm you down." Mana cringes. Now that's she's feeling better, she knows Atem is going to give her an earful. "You ought to be careful Mana. Magicians are capable of using their abilities while pregnant, but not very much of it."
"Of course I had to learn that the hard way. I really didn't think I pushed myself that hard, but clearly I miscalculated," Mana mutters. She gasps when she hears footsteps coming toward her room and a certain spiky head individual walks in. A sigh of relief escapes her lips when she sees that it's Yugi and Téa. But that relief quickly vanishes when Atem walks in and she turns to the doctor. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to knock me out would you? Knock me out right now."
"I'll check back on you later," the doctor replies, tugging at his collar and he slips out of the room.
"Hey Mana, glad to see you're up," Yugi greets with a smile and Mana cracks a smile back. "Are you feeling better?"
"Mhmm," she responds with a slow nod.
"Now that you're both here, you two can explain what exactly happened," Atem says, cutting straight to the chase. Mana and Téa both exchange nervous glances, waiting for the other to respond first. But none of them show any signs of budging. "I'm waiting."
Complete silence.
"Come on you two. Just come clean," Yugi says.
Mana sighs and drops her head. "We snuck into Schroeder Park."
"You what?!" Atem asks, raising his voice.
"Atem, let's try and stay calm and let her finish," Yugi says, sensing the anger boiling inside his brother.
"We were trying to dig up some things on him since it's obvious he has something against Seto. We were getting ready to leave until we ran into some two ton, heavyset security guard who kinda gave us a run for our money. I had all of the intentions not to use my powers, but I had no other choice after he put Kisara out of commission."
"It wasn't all in vain though," Téa chimes in, trying to make light of the situation. "We did find that he altered the photos and footage that he sent to the news stations. He's definitely the one behind the bombs that day."
Atem takes a deep breath, placing a hand up to his forehead to try and contain his anger. But the more he thinks about the danger Mana was in, the more infuriated he becomes. "Even if I keep explaining to you until I'm blue in the face how dangerous your actions are, you still don't seem to understand."
"Take it easy, Atem," Yugi says with a frown. "The important thing is that she's okay."
"Admittedly, it was my idea to go there in the first place," Téa finally reveals to Yugi's and Atem's shock. She rubs the back of her head with guilt and looks down to the floor, feeling Atem's gaze practically burning into her head.
"Seriously Téa?!" Yugi asks in disbelief.
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't think things would turn out the way they did."
"To think that nothing would go down when you're trying to sneak into someone's property is naive," Atem says, his anger beginning to boil over. "And you of all people shouldn't have came up with an idea such as that? How were you planning to defend yourself, Téa?"
"Okay, I deserved that. But please don't be mad at Mana. None of this would've happened had I not made the suggestion in the first place," Téa points out, still trying to come to Mana's defense.
"That doesn't matter," Atem says, his angry gaze now set on Mana who looks the other direction. "She wasn't forced to go, she had a choice! I feel like everything I say to her goes into one ear and comes out the other! What's it going to take for you to understand that your poor decisions can have serious outcomes?! Here we are again years later in the same predicament because you failed to use good judgement!"
"But at least it wasn't a wasted trip. Maybe things will get back to normal once this comes to light," Mana says looking at him, hopeful that he'll see the good side. But that seems to set him off even more.
"Dammit, Mana! Does being pregnant mean nothing to you?! If not yourself, can you at least see the danger you put our unborn child in?!" he snaps. He can fill his eyes threatening to tear up and he quickly shuts them. His shoulders start to tremble and he clenches his fists tightly at his sides.
Téa looks over at Mana who is now staring down at the palm of her hands. "You're…pregnant?"
"Your actions not only affect you, but me as well. I don't want to wake up one day and you're not here! But it seems no matter how many times I try to get that across to you, you don't care!"
Yugi stands in front of Atem, placing his hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. He has never seen him go off like this before. "Let's get some fresh air. Come on, Atem." He leads him out of the room as Téa pulls up a chair and sits at Mana's bedside.
It's not everyday that someone leaves Mana's speechless. She always has some sort of rebuttal and always tends to have the last word. But not this time around. This time she has been left stunned by Atem's outburst.
"Mana…" Téa places a hand on her friend's hand, causing her to finally give eye contact. Tears stream down her cheeks and Téa squeezes her hand tightly. "Mana, I'm so sorry. I didn't know and—"
"No. None of this is your fault," she whimpers. "He's right. I had a choice. I could've said no. I guess I truly haven't learned a thing. I'm so stupid." More tears start to fall and she begins to cry, extremely regretting her decisions. Téa stands up and embraces her tightly as she continues to cry.
"I'm so sorry," Téa keeps apologizing, tears falling out of her eyes as well.
"This whole time I've been doing these things, not even taking Atem into consideration. And when I'm really in a tough spot, he's there all the time, putting his own life in danger because I was being reckless. How selfish of me."
Atem paces back and forth outside in the courtyard, attempting to regain his composure, but failing miserably at the moment. Why is it so hard for Mana to understand where he is coming from? That he doesn't want to see her hurt or worse?
"I'm done. I'm done," he keeps repeating and Yugi stands in front of him to stop him in his tracks.
"You don't mean that. Just calm down."
"I'm tired, Yugi!" he sobs, his voice cracking and the tears freely falling down his cheeks. Yugi can see the hurt in his brother's eyes. This is something him and Mana have been going through for quite some time and it is obviously taking its toll. "I'm tired of waking up and not knowing if she's going to be there because she's gotten herself into more trouble. The anxiety of wondering if she's dead or alive."
"I know…And I understand."
"I love Mana with every ounce of my being. But what's it going to take for her to think of the bigger picture?"
Kisara comes running into the courtyard after receiving a text from Téa regarding Mana's condition and she stops when she sees a visibly upset Atem and Yugi trying to calm him down. She approaches them with caution, not knowing what she is about to walk into.
"Hey…is Mana alright?" she asks softly. She touches Atem's shoulder, but she pulls back when he looks at her with bloodshot eyes.
Yugi sees a few scratches and red marks on Kisara's neck. "Kisara…your neck…are you…?"
She shakes her head. "I'll be fine. But what about—"
"She was in serious condition, but she is stable," Atem answers in a low tone.
Kisara sighs in relief. "Oh, that's good to hear."
"Kisara…what were you three doing there to begin with…? Surely you thought about the potential dangers of doing such a thing. Out of all you, I wouldn't have expected you to go through with something as risky as that."
"I take full responsibility for what went down. I'm the one that pulled the trigger on Téa's plan and texted them to meet up." Kisara says, looking at him apologetically. Atem looks away, letting out a light chuckle with a straight face as he shakes his head. "I know you're upset and you have every right to be."
"You of all people were aware of the situation between Mana and I! You knew how serious things were and you couldn't care less!"
Kisara narrows her eyes. "That's not true! I care about Mana! She is like a sister to me! And you're like a brother to me! I hate seeing you two like this! I want you both to be happy together!"
"How can you say you care when your actions show otherwise?!"
"What you're not going to do is make it seem like I am not Mana's friend! I made a mistake, okay?!" Kisara yells as tears begin to fall. "I know Mana never backs away from certain things, especially when it comes to helping her friends. I know we shouldn't have gone and I hate that things have turned out like this! I'm sorry!"
At this point, both of their eyes are flowing with tears as they glare at each other. "That's enough you two," Yugi says, standing in between them. "At this point, bickering won't change a thing. We have to learn from our mistakes and move on. Thankfully Mana will be just fine."
Kisara storms away, walking into the hospital while Atem takes one hand and wipes it down his face to dry his tears. He sits down on a nearby bench, burying his head in his hands and Yugi sits beside him.
"I don't know what I'm going to do…" Atem says.
"Just give it some time. If you need some time away, you can always crash at my place for as long as you like. I know this is a lot for you. But please don't decide anything while you're in this emotional state. I love you and Mana both. And now…to find out you have a baby on the way…I really just want you two to make things work." He places a hand on his shoulder. "You two were made for each other. This is just a rough patch right now. But I know you and Mana will come out stronger in the end."
Atem sighs. "I hope you're right."
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
— Two Months Later —
Kisara looks at her backside in the tall mirror as a seamstress alternates her light blue wedding dress. Her wedding is right around the corner and there is still much to be done. In the background, Mana and Téa watch television. They are in one of many spare bedrooms in the house and Kisara has designated the room as a place where she can try on her dress as well as her bridesmaids. Seto isn't allowed to enter at any time.
"Mana, we're gonna have to keep an eye out on your…growth," Kisara says with a smile. "Just in case more alterations to your dress need to be made." She is amused at the fact that she and Téa were right about Mana being the first to turn up pregnant between the three of them. But when she initially found out, she felt horrible for obvious reasons.
"So are salty chips your craving at the moment?" Téa asks, watching Mana put another one into her mouth.
"It helps with the nausea and it's super tasty!" Mana replies, sitting crossed legged on the floor.
Since sneaking into Schroeder Park, the original footage of the incident at KaibaLand has been leaked. Ziegfried has denied any involvement despite his logo being on the bomb. He claimed to be framed and insisted he wishes Kaiba nothing but the beset. However, stories of Kaiba and Ziegfired's rocky past have recirculated, painting Ziegfried in a bad light and many see him as being jealous of Kaiba's massive success. Because of this, attendance at KaibaLand has skyrocketed while Schroeder Park has suffered. So far, Ziegfried has remained silent.
After putting on her regular clothes, Kisara joins the two women on the floor. "How are things between you and Atem?"
"He's still staying at Yugi's." Mana replies. "Definitely didn't expect things to turn out like this, especially being pregnant."
Téa sighs with a frown. "I'm so sorry Mana. I really do hope things get better."
"Speaking of pregnancy, how is that going?"
"My OB has been monitoring things very closely since the incident and the baby is growing nicely. And despite the fact that we're not on good terms at the moment, Atem still comes to my appointments."
"Well that's good at least," Kisara says. "I don't see Atem not being involved in something like that."
Mana chuckles lightly. "Yeah, not at all."
"I know we've said this before, but he'll come around," Téa says optimistically. "I feel bad that we even got you into such a predicament."
"It's fine you guys. At the end of the day, it was my decision to tag along. I have to live with those consequences. And though I had to learn it the hard way, I know I need to really make some significant changes not only for our sake, but for my baby as well."
Kisara smirks. "This pregnancy has got you talking really mature, Mana. I'm impressed," she jokes to which Mana gives her a playful shove.
YGOYGOYGOYGO
Atem stands at the sink in the bathroom, splashing water in his face before looking at his reflection. His decision to stay at Yugi's house was a difficult one. When he said he wanted a baby, he didn't imagine things to be like this. He imagined them going to the appointments on good terms, shopping for clothes together and coming up with ideas for the nursery. Instead, they're living apart.
He goes to her appointments and still checks up on her to make sure she is doing okay, but anything outside of the baby in terms of speaking is nonexistent. His hope is that this time away will get Mana to see the severity of her actions. How her actions not only affect her, but him as well. And now their unborn child has been thrown into the mix. He has hope that she will finally change her ways once and for all.
If this time away doesn't work, then he has decided that they will ultimately have to go their separate ways. For good.
An outcome that he does not want.
YGOYGOYGOYGO
That's really tough. Will it work out? Stay tuned!
For now, leave a review!