Chapter 15
"Ugh, my head," I thought to myself. "What happened?" My eyes were still closed, but I could tell by where I was just by the smell. It was a hospital room, I was assuming. I opened my eyes slowly, and sure enough, I was in a little hospital room. I tried to sit up and see where I was, but I could not do it. For some reason, I did not have enough strength to even sit up. What happened to me? I tried to remember what was going on before I passed out, and then I frowned. "That duel," I thought with a pout. "That duel was totally unfair! How was I supposed to know what that Synchro Summoning thing was?! No one even told me about it! Ugh!" I tried to move my head to maybe get a good sense of my surroundings, but I could not do that either. What was going on? Was I tied up and strapped down to a bed?! That duel was rigged!
"I see that you are awake, sweetheart," a familiar voice said to me. I gasped at the sound.
"Nurse N-Natasha?" I called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?" I finally was able to see her out of the corner of my eye, and she laughed.
"What do you think I am doing here?" she chuckled. "I am patching you up after your trip to the ER the other day. You have not woken up in a few days though. But thank goodness we did not have to take you to the ICU. That would have been terrible!"
"How much blood did I lose from my head?" I asked softly.
"Quite a lot, actually," Nurse Natasha admitted with a sigh. "It is strange because the only place that you do have a lot of blood cells is in your head, but you were pretty much out of magic energy when we found you too! I am sure that it was not coincidental when this happened."
"Oh, I think it was! That duel gave me so many emotions, it felt like a rollercoaster ride!" The nurse stared at me and raised her eyebrow.
"A duel?" she said. "You were passed out, and we almost took you to the ICU because of a duel?"
"It has happened a few times already! You were there when I was rushed to the ER after a couple of duels!"
"Yes, but I did not expect to almost have put you in the ICU! What happened to you, Lizzy?" I sighed a little and began to explain what had happened during the duel, and even a bit afterward. The nurse listened intently to what I had to say, and after hearing my story, she frowned. "I see," she said with a sigh. "It has been more difficult than I thought for you to move forward with Oliver in the back of your mind."
"I guess..." Lizzy said softly. "Now that I think about it, I never have gotten over it, have I?"
"That is okay. It takes time to heal all wounds, or at least that is what I heard from a friend."
"I wish that it would be faster though. That guy who reminded me of Olly blocked all of my focus for a few seconds, and then everything just went downhill from there." I then looked at the nurse and asked, "How long will I be here?"
"Who knows?" she said honestly. "With your injuries, it may take a few weeks to get you out of this hospital at least. It may take you a while longer to start walking." Oh, that's just great...This is going to take some time.
"Thanks for getting me out of New Domino City," I said with a smile. "I really appreciate it."
"Oh honey, it was not us that got you out of there!"
"It wasn't? Then, who brought me back to Yuina?"
"It was a few people from New Domino City that brought you here. The problem was that they had no idea how to fix you up like we do. So, they brought you back to us."
"Huh...wise choice."
"It was a wise choice. Otherwise, you would have been dead." My eyes widened at Nurse Natasha's remark. I would have been dead? That duel was the closest I have been to dying?! That made no sense, not in my eyes. If that is the case, then it is going to take me a LONG time to fully recover. "I will leave you to rest, Lizzy," the nurse said, leaving my sights. "Do not do anything wild with your powers while I am gone, ok?"
"I will try not," I replied with a cough. I heard the door open and close, and I was alone. Do not do anything wild with my powers? I could do that. But does it prevent me from seeing my Duel Monster friends? I mean, being in this room was starting to make me lonesome. If there was one thing I knew of for sure, I did not want to be by myself. It was like being in the dark, and I hated pitch-black darkness. You could not escape it. "Now, where are my cards?" I said to myself. I tried to lift my hand, but it did not work. I sighed loudly. I could not even lift a finger. How can I get to my friends now? "Hey guys," I said aloud, "It seems that I am having a little bit of trouble getting to you. Mind if you just come up so that it can make life easier for me?" I waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. I was confused. They usually would come out whenever they wanted to, or if I needed their help. Not hearing from them, it started to make me worry. "Northy?" I called out. "Neo? Cerberus? Are you guys okay?"
"I apologize, Mistress," Neo spoke in my thoughts. "But I am afraid we cannot come out to meet you."
"Why?" I pondered to him. "Is something wrong?"
"You have been severely injured, and your magic energy is deficient. This is the only way we can communicate, for now at least. I am sorry, old friend."
"No, do not be sorry. I blame the duel that got me into this mess, to begin with. Are you guys okay?"
"We are fine, but we are all worried about you."
"I..." They were worried about me? I frowned a little at his statement. I do not want them to be worried about me. I am sure that I will be okay and I will be back to normal. I will, won't I? This thought led to many others. What if I do not recover? What if I am doomed to be stuck here, with no ability to get out?! So, to calm my Duel Monster friends' nerves, I told them a lie. "Tell the others that I will be okay," I said aloud. "That I will only be here for a little while. I think I am just here to recover from the other day's events." I did not hear Neo's voice for a little while, and then I heard,
"Very well, my Mistress. I will inform the others that...you...are...okay."
"Neo, what is going on?" I thought in a panic. "What is happening?"
"I...apologize...your...magic...is...low...we...cannot...communicate...anymore...farewell...for..." Then I did not hear him anymore.
"Neo!" I yelled in my thoughts. "Neo?! Come back, buddy! Do not leave me here all alone!" I started sweating in panic. What did he say about my magic being low? Why can't I communicate with him anymore? Why is this happening to me?! Is there a way that I can bring him back to me? My thoughts wandered again, this time to the duel that got me into this hospital room. I was angry now, cursing in my thoughts. "Why did you do this to me?" I thought with bitter tears. "Why would you torment me like this, Yusei?! How could you have done this to me?!" I gritted my teeth and let out a scream, before passing out again.
When I woke up again, I managed to have the strength to sit up. "How long was I out for this time?" I thought with a groan, rubbing my eyes. I felt something on my arm as I rubbed my eyes, and I saw an IV stuck below my left elbow. "Well, that's new," I said to myself. I looked around a little and sighed. "Am I ever going to get out of this place?"
"You are not a fan of hospitals, are you?"
I yelped at the voice, and my hands glowed yellow as I turned to who said that. However, it was just Nurse Natasha with another IV bag. I sighed in relief as my magic faded away from my hands. "I thought you were someone else for a few seconds," I admitted. "What are you here for?"
"What do you think?" Natasha said with a chuckle. She held up the bag in her hand. "There is not much fluid left in your IV bag, so I came to refill it. I am surprised that you are awake."
"Me too. How long was I out for?"
"For about two days, but it looks like you are recovering pretty quickly. The blood that you lost must have returned to your head by now." I smiled a little as I commented,
"Well, that is a good sign." I then gasped with a realization in mind. I glanced around the room and grabbed my Duel Monster cards. "Can you guys come out now?" A light formed from some of my cards, and Northwemko, Neo, and Cerberus came out of their cards. "Hooray, my magic works now!" I exclaimed happily.
"Goodness, could you have waited until after I replaced the fluid in your IV bag before bringing out your little friends?" Nurse Natasha laughed, petting Cerberus a little. She has seen my magic powers work before, so I could quickly bring out my friends without any worries.
"I could not wait any longer!" I said happily. I turned to my card friends and grinned. "I am glad that you guys are okay."
"We are glad that you are okay too," Northwemko replied with a soft smile. Cerberus quickly came up to my hospital bed and began to lick me. However, he was too big to lay down on my bed, so his two front legs were just on the bed.
"Cerberus, stop!" I laughed. "You are on the side of the bed where the nice nurse has to put more fluids in my IV bag."
"The nice nurse?" Natasha said, raising her eyebrow as Cerberus got off the bed and headed over to lick both Neo and Northwemko.
"Well yeah, you are a nice nurse. You are also very quirky and sassy, but I do appreciate it."
"Now, you are just too sweet." The nurse placed the IV bag on a chair and pinched my cheeks with a smile.
"Ow!" I reacted with another laugh. "You probably should get that bag before Cerberus decides to play with it."
"Good idea." Nurse Natasha proceeded to get the IV bag and replace it with the near-empty one, making sure the fluids get into my system properly. I glanced over at my friends, and they were trying to stop Cerberus from licking them to death. I smiled in content, not caring about the anger I had earlier before I passed out. "Now, you be sure to get some rest, sweetheart," the nurse said before leaving my hospital room. "I know that you just woke up, but I am sure that you are still a little tired."
"But I am not tired!" I protested, resisting the urge to yawn. "My magic is good to go now!"
"Uh-huh...that magic body of yours is quite interesting when you begin to recover from something big. Just because you can summon out your friends, does not mean that you are well. Now, get some sleep before I instill anesthesia on you."
"Aww, okay...but I am not doing it just because you threatened me too! I will do it for the good of my well-being!" The nurse laughed before leaving the room and told my friends that they had to go back to their cards.
"Sorry guys, but I got to follow the nurse's orders," I said with a soft sigh. "We can talk later though, okay?"
"That sounds fine with me," Neo said, forming into a light that went straight back to his card.
"Get some rest, Mistress Fi," Northwemko smiled, doing the same thing as Neo did. Cerberus followed, with their two faces laughing at me. I waved at each of the monsters before they left into their cards and as soon as they did, I laid down on my bed and fell asleep.
I am happy that the memory-dream ended on a happy note. I was able to contact my Duel Monster friends again and had a few, good laughs with Nurse Natasha. But in the middle of the dream, I was outraged. It reminded me of what James and Jarod told me the other day, that for a while I was upset about what happened in that duel. The memory-dream, however, took place almost immediately after the duel. Although, I can say that it happened a few days later. I cannot believe that I lost so much blood and magic energy that I could not even move my head or sit up on the hospital bed. I remembered that it happened to me recently when I got my amnesia. I guess that was the reason why I was so calm when I woke up from the accident.
That moment when I could not communicate with my Duel Monster friends...that really freaked me out. It must have been because I was in contact with them since I was small. I had no idea what I would do without them. They were my constant companions! But if that is the case, then why did I stop dueling? Was it because of that one duel that changed me, one singular duel? Hmm, now that I have had that previous dream with the duel in it, I guess that makes a lot of sense. Have I dueled ever since then? Also, what is with that fear of the dark that I have? That is pretty random.
Lizzy's phone rang, and it halted her from continuing to write. The girl answered her phone and asked, "Hello?"
"Hi, Lizzy!" the voice on the other side of the phone replied.
"Oh hi, Keiza! What's up?"
"Did you already finish the homework for history class? I need some help with it."
"Yeah, I finished it. I shall assist you!" Lizzy grabbed her history book and paper from her desk and helped her friend out with some of the questions that they had to do. Lizzy found it surprising that she got her homework done so early, but then again, she loved to read. What some of her friends told her was that the girl would read books during class time and be able to be done with the homework in an hour or two after school ended for the day. That, to Lizzy, was fascinating because she can absorb whatever she reads and know it by memory. After a little while, Lizzy helped Keiza get done with all of the homework.
"Thanks, Liz!" Keiza said to her on the phone. "I owe you one."
"You are welcome," Lizzy smiled. She then thought for a moment and asked, "Hey, could I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Do I have an actual fear of the dark?" Lizzy heard her friend chuckle as she replied,
"Yes, you do! You said one time that it was because of your magic power. Since your powers had to do with light energy, it is only natural for you to fear the dark."
"Huh, I guess that makes sense. I just had a memory dream about me in the hospital."
"Which memory was that?" Lizzy gulped. The fact that she may have been in the hospital more than what she remembered was kind of scaring her.
"It was right after a duel I had," Lizzy explained. "It was with this one guy named Yusei."
"Oh yeah, you did mention his name to me," Keiza replied.
"How many times did I mention it?"
"A LOT. You seemed very obsessed with this dude." Lizzy pouted at her buddy's comment.
"I am not obsessed!" Lizzy protested. "I was furious at the time, so I may have said his name a few times."
"Girl, say all you want to," Keiza said with a giggle. "I was just teasing."
"That is what everyone says but then they are just joking!" Lizzy's friend laughed even more at the comment.
"Oh, come on, you know that I love to tease you, Lizzy."
"I know, I know. How was I after the incident?"
"Well...you did not duel as much as you used to. You did not join in any tournaments anymore, but at least the island competitions stopped and not the sector ones. That can keep many duelists busy to get to the top of their sector."
"That is good, I guess. Did I still play a lot of music?"
"Oh yeah, totally! You were teaching a freshmen violinist at the start of our junior year in high school. You called her your protégé."
"Ah, I did not know that I had a protégé! What is her name?"
"Her name is Reneeka." Lizzy gasped happily and exclaimed,
"What a pretty name! Will I be seeing her anytime soon?"
"I honestly do not know," Keiza said bluntly. "But I am sure that when it is time, she and her boyfriend would be happy to see you. Hey, I have to go. Summer wants me to help with her metal bending."
"Ooh, she's back at it again! I cannot wait to see what she comes up with...and I hope that I do not have to give her any of my healing potions."
"Same here, Lizzy. See you tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow? For what?"
"We got to go to school tomorrow! It is Friday!"
"Oh, I forgot! See you tomorrow, buddy!" Lizzy hung up the phone and laid down on her bed, taking a deep breath in the process. "I am glad that I can see my Duel Monster friends and that I am able to remember my past," Lizzy said aloud. "But what will I do at the end of it all? Will I be the same person as I was before I got amnesia, or will I be different?"