Author's Note: Hey guys! How are ya? Here's the fourth chapter to Season 2! Holy shizz...I'm like a cat right now. Meow! I can't stop meowing for some reason! xD
Disclaimer!: Fanfiction, and I do NOT get any money out of it either. Thanks. ^^
Battle City-New Evil Emerges, Old Friends Reunite Chapter 4
Keith sneered mercilessly in my grip as the streams of water fell down from my eyes. His smirk was hanging loosely on his face. "Now you can't help him." he said, snickering. I shoved him away from me.
It's gone...the piece of the Puzzle is gone...and I couldn't do anything to prevent it. I felt like screaming in agony at the top of my lungs until my voice cracked and stopped working. I felt like crying until all the water in my body disappeared. Maybe I'm exaggerating...maybe we'll be able to find it if we looked. But...I still felt horrible for letting it happen. How could I?
I was just about to send a striking punch to Keith's face when he suddenly gripped his head, mid swing in surprise and confusion. He began crying out for mercy again, but this time, much louder.
"Ah! There's someone in my mind!" Keith yelled, thrashing his head around. I took a frightened step back. Yugi bent down next to me.
"What's going on?" he asked from a top his side of the platform.
I shook my head in disbelief. "I think the person who was controlling Keith trying to regain his control on him." I said, trying to explain when I was a little bit confused myself.
"Ah! Somebody help!" Keith cried again, now racing into the middle of the platform. I thought he was going to hurt himself, so I tried going to Keith when someone else stopped me; that same presence I felt halfway into Yugi's duel.
"That's quite enough!" came someone's shout as the person it belonged to came swinging down from the rafters. Using a rope attached to the roof, and with his leg extended, the guys kicked Keith square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him and sending him off the platform unconscious.
"Ryou!" Yugi and I said in surprise. I thought he was supposed to be in school. What was he doing here? (I'm-a use 'Ryou' when it's Ryou and 'Bakura' when it's Bakura; from now on. XD Just letting you know so I won't get confused, and hopefully you won't get confused. xD)
"Hey you two," our white haired friend greeted with his kind, British accent. He hopped off the rope he swung down from and landed on the platform next to us. "Tea told me what happened. I came here as fast as I could."
"Thanks." I said, giving him a small smile, but that slowly faded as I remembered what Keith did. "But...a piece of the Puzzle..it's gone now..."
Yugi came down from his platform and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry." he said, but it sounded like he was reassuring himself more. "We'll get the piece back."
I gave him a silent shake of my head. "But I failed." I whispered to the ground, handing my head, "I shouldn't have let his happen..."
Ryou reached into his pocket and slipped out something gold and solid. "You mean, lose this piece?" he asked, holding it up for us to see. "It's right here."
Fresh tears, this time of pure joy, ran out of my eyes. I carefully took the piece from out of his hand and held it in my own, clenching my fingers around it.
"Oh Ryou. Thank you!" I cried happily, throwing my arms over his shoulder in a hug. Ryou blushed and Yugi sweat dropped.
"It was no problem." he said, once I let go. Then he started for the end of the platform. "I'm going to head on out now, I'll see you two at school."
On the last step off, Ryou tripped and fell on his back, acting like a doofus. We asked him if he was all right and he said he was fine. Once he got up and brushed the dirt of his school uniform, which reminded me that I needed to get my own exchanged, he began heading for the warehouse door. I watched him go before turning to Yugi with my right hand outstretched.
"Here you are," I said, handing him the last piece of the Puzzle.
Yugi smiled. "Thanks Sarah," he said. As he was reaching for the piece, my Locket burned my skin. I blinked.
...what the Hell? Another presence? I had no clue where these warnings came from. Maybe they were hidden. I'd have to look into that more.
Yugi didn't notice my difference as he carefully took the piece and attached it safely back onto the Millennium Puzzle. It glowed a bit before settling down, letting us know the connection was back and that Yami was safe.
I decided not to ponder on the warnings so much. I mean, the first one could have been Ryou, coming into the warehouse to see what the commotion was about. Maybe it was just letting me know that Keith was still here. So I mentally shrugged it off and in reality sighed in relief.
"Now, about the chain..." Yugi looked over the eye bolt the Millennium Puzzle was hanging from. While he pondered over how to open the lock, the blonde brute I was talking about earlier stirred from his spot on the ground. When he opened his eyes, they immediately began going wild again.
"Nyah! Make it stop!" he cried, shooting to his feet and clutching his head all over again. Yugi and I looked over at the new/old problem.
"Not this again..." I muttered. Doesn't the controller ever give up?
This time, Keith grabbed a metal pole from a nearby crate. He began swinging it around, thinking he would hit the person trying to control him. Instead, he ended up knocking down a pile of crates and began hitting around mindlessly near the generators.
Thinking he would hurt himself, thought I wouldn't really argue there if it was a whole different situation, and everyone else around him, I jumped off the platform and sprinted to where Keith was standing.
"Keith! Calm down!" I said, trying to grab the pole from his hands. He didn't hear me. He couldn't It was like he was in a mental state. He whacked the pole against my face by mistake and sent me flying to the ground.
"Sarah!" Yugi yelled, running for the edge of the platform to get to me, but the sound of something exploding made him stop in his tracks.
Keith had just smashed the pole into the computers, something I failed to prevent. The machinery short circuited and caused and electrifying explosion, erupting flames and bits of debris everywhere. The flames licked their way to the platform and I immediately regained my senses from the moment of being stunned.
Jumping to my feet, I wiped the trickle of blood leaking out from the corner of my mouth and stood still and calm for a second. I know, why be calm? I had to in order to put my powers into play. Concentrating on my energy for a minute and then probing the barriers of my mind, I was able to pull them down and feel a warm current of power running from my shoulders to the tips of my fingers. I pointed into the flames nearby and released flakes of light, which fell into the fire, making it only a little bit calmer and less nastier.
I turned to Keith, wanting to make him stop, but he disappeared. He might have escaped through one of the doors in the back. I cursed and made my was back to Yugi, who was trying to pull the eye bolt holding the Millennium Puzzle out. It didn't look like he was having much luck.
With the fire now spreading up into the rafters and sending debris to fall all around us, Yugi and I struggled to find a quick way to unhook the Millennium Puzzle. We pulled on its chain, tried bashing the bolt with a pipe, but none of our strategies worked. And I couldn't keep the heat of the fire away from us for long. I mean I only had so much energy in me to keep it back. Soon, our breathing became heavy and Yugi leaned against the platform trying to get his breath back.
"I don't think...we'll make it..." he said between pants. His eyes began drooping, overwhelmed by the heat, but he tried forcing himself to stay conscious. I pushed the flames that were nearing him, away with a mental push from my mind.
Energy draining quickly, I said, "If we both don't make it out together...at least you'll make it out alone..." Using the last bit of my strength, I lightly tapped Yugi on the forehead and the Eye of Ra on the Millennium Puzzle. Both Yugi and the Puzzle glowed white light for a second before a translucent shield covered them from harm. Inside, the air was cooler, and the fire wasn't able to get in. Yugi looked around in confusion until he finally realized what I had done. I fell to my knees, holding onto the Millennium Puzzle in its own shield to keep me from falling.
"Sarah!" Yugi cried, banging his fists onto the shield's surface to break it but it wouldn't fall, "No! Don't do this!"
I gave him a weary smile. I wasn't happy with my decision. If I didn't make it out of here, then that means Yami will have to stay with Yugi without me. I couldn't help him anymore and I hardly even got to know him in this world. But I guess it was for the best. I only had enough energy in me to make two shields; one for the Puzzle, and one for either me or Yugi. Of course I wouldn't pick myself. How could I? Yugi only knew how to harness the power of the Millennium Puzzle and if I picked myself I wouldn't be able to go on without Yugi. At least if Yugi stayed, then he could find his path himself.
As my eyes slowly began to close, the last thing I saw was Yugi shouting my name and a tear escaping his eyes.
"Sarah! No, you have to get up! Please!" Yugi tried breaking the shield around him with his fists again, but it didn't want to falter. Silent tears escaped his eyes as he watched Sarah's fallen form. Even though she was unconscious, her grip on the Millennium Puzzle never loosened. And since she wasn't awake to keep the fire at bay, the flames began closing in. They got especially closer to Sarah, and since she didn't have a force field around herself...
"Somebody! Help!" Yugi called out desperately. A piece of timber fell from the ceiling and landed inches from Sarah. The fire on it began wavering around her arms and Yugi began getting anxious if she seriously couldn't stay alive.
"Yugi!" someone suddenly shouted from a distance. "Sarah! *cough* Are you two in here?"
Two figures appeared from around the end of the platform. Both had their arms over their browns and mouths. Small blotches of soot and bruises covered their faces.
"Joey!" Yugi cried, feeling relief flood him. "Tristan! Over here!"
The boys quickly made their way through the mess of fallen debris and fast spreading fire. "Yugi! We're helping you out! Hold on!" Joey was just about to pick Yugi up when the shield repelled him backwards. He jumped back, right when the shield fell and the heat began coursing around Yugi again. "What the Hell-"
"We'll talk about it later!" Yugi coughed, the heat taking its toll all over again after being in the shield. "We have to help Sarah and get the Millennium Puzzle free!"
Joey looked over the situation quickly. Then he turned to Yugi. "You go get your deck!" he shouted over the roar of the flames, thinking his pal was [probably in a duel no doubt if there's a platform. He will have to explain when everything's done.
Yugi nodded and ran back to the dueling mat. Joey took Sarah into his arms. "Get a pole and try taking the Millennium Puzzle out!" he said to Tristan, carrying Sarah bridal style. The brunette picked one up from somewhere nearby, thanking the heavens above it wasn't as hot as the fire yet, and poked it through the eye of the bolt. Yugi came back, his breath becoming heavy, with his deck placed safely into his sheathe. Him and Tristan both took one side to the pole and pulled, making the eye bolt snap out. They dropped the leverage away and Yugi was about to take the Millennium Puzzle when he saw Sarah's fingers still clenched around it. He realized that she didn't want to let go.
"Hurry to the exit!" Tristan yelled over the cracking warehouse. Yugi gave Sarah one last look before following the other two to the back doors of the shack. Police and fire engine sirens were wailing outside.
Téa was on the other side of the door but a few hundred yards away, along with firemen trying to put the fire out with the hoses of water. She was telling the men to hurry up when she saw her friends come running through the door. A huge sigh of relief escaped her lips and she came running over.
"Oh god, are you three all right?" she asked, looking them over. Each had scars and bruises but they looked harmless. Then she saw Sarah in Joey's arms and her eyes widened.
"Oh no...Sarah...is she-"
Tristan placed a quick hand onto her neck and shook his head. "No. She's still alive. She's only unconscious. We need to get both Sarah and Yugi to the hospital."
An ambulance arrived at the scene right on cue. Joey laid Sarah down onto a stretcher so she could be put into the back by the two paramedics. When he was about to remove the Millennium Puzzle from her hands, her grip tightened instead of loosening. He looked a little surprised but didn't argue.
At the hospital, Yugi's sitting in bed wearing his sky blue pyjamas with little, yellow stars, his friends were crowded around the two beds set up in the room; the other holding Sarah.
"So Yugi..." Joey said, scratching near the tape on his face which covered a cut he received from the fire. "based on your story, Sarah practically gave up her life to give you and the Puzzle a chance to escape." Yugi looked down, fiddling with his blanket. He told them their story, of the Mystery Duelist being Keith up to when the fire happened.
"I regret letting her." he said, his voice barely audible. "She really was determined to keep us safe; me and the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle."
"But you're both all right now." Téa said. "That's what matters."
Yugi looked to where Sarah was lying in her own bed. Her arms were bandaged because of the piece of wood that landed near her arms. The fire that was on it caused some bad burns but the doctor said she would recover. Everyone was thankful it wasn't worse. Then there was the fact that she was holding the Millennium Puzzle. Not once did her grip falter. Instead, whenever someone tried to take the Puzzle from her hands, she tightens her fingers around it, as if making a barrier with her hands or keeping the wrong person from taking it.
Everyone except Yugi were curious as to why this was. "She hasn't let go of your Puzzle once, Yugi." Tristan was the first to observe. Yugi nodded.
"She's...the Spirit's Guardian." he said finally. The gang looked at Yugi with widened eyes and incredulous looks. "She told me herself after Duelist Kingdom." He remembered that moment. She just told him a big secret, now he wasn't really sure if he should tell everyone or not, but in order for things to be clear, he had to tell them something.
"But she didn't tell us?" Joey asked angrily.
"She'll tell us the whole story when she's ready." Yugi said truthfully. "She only told me that bit too, but I know there's so much more." He remembered the stuff Keith's controller was babbling on about. What did he mean by controlling people's mind, Yami's power, and the Pharaoh being a sensitive subject for Sarah? Did he have a Millennium Item? And how would he know all this? There were so many more questions in his mind now, but it was all a matter of time until Sarah tells us who she is really. When she finds the right time.
A soft moan was heard out of the silence everyone had suddenly made. The group looked up to find Sarah stirring, keeping the Millennium Puzzle balanced in her lap with her hands around it securely. She opened her scarlet eyes to find a white ceiling above her.
"Where am I?" she croaked hoarsely to no one in particular. Hearing her voice made everyone forget about the current worries. They smiled at her recovery.
"You're at the hospital." Téa said, walking up to her side and taking a careful seat next to her legs. Sarah sat up slowly and leaned back against the headboard. She gave her friends a glance before she looked around the room. Then her eyes fell on top of the bandages covering her arms.
"Wh-what happened?" she asked, hesitantly examining the cloth wounded her limbs.
Tristan eyed her carefully. "That warehouse..." he said, "and the fire. Don't you remember?"
She blinked in confusion at the brunette before her eyes widened a little. "I remember." she said. Then she began looking around her in haste. "Where's Yugi? Is he all right?"
Even in the middle of waking up from such a hazardous situation, she still asks how everyone else is before she gets her own story straight.
Yugi waved his hand in reassurance. "I'm fine." he said.
A huge sigh of relief was released through Sarah's lips. "Thank gods." she smiled. "You're safe."
Yugi sat up a bit straighter. "So are you, though." he said. "Without your help...I-"
She smiled again. "But you're fine right?" she asked. "Not a burn on you or a bad cut or anything."
"But only because you risked your life for my safety!" he protested. "Because of that, you're the one with the burns."
Sarah looked to her arms then back to Yugi. "All worth it." she said. Yugi looked down.
Joey put an arm around her shoulders with a stern face on. "You gave us a scare." he said. "That was not cool."
Sarah's face flushed. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down, her gaze falling onto the Millennium Puzzle, "but I couldn't let Yugi get hurt."
Joey was about to ask something about what Yugi told them, but the glares Tea and Tristan suddenly gave him, made him think twice about whether or not he should ask or not. Instead he thought better of it. Yugi was right. Sarah would tell him and everyone else everything when she finds the time right. Then he felt something brush against his cheek and he looked down to find Sarah's hand stroking the side of his face curiously.
"Why are you hurt?" she asked, noticing the tapes running along his jaw line. Then she saw Tristan's too and she began getting really anxious. "What have you two been doing?"
Joey decided to change the mood of the room, because of his nature. He also couldn't take the way everyone's eyes were now on him and Sarah had her hands on his face. He almost began blushing slightly.
He huffed and crossed his arms with a pout on his face. "We helped get you and Yug' out." he said. Tristan sweat dropped.
Sarah blinked, probably catching on to his act. "Oh yeah? Then you probably think you're all macho now, eh?" she asked cockily, crossing her arms too.
Joey glared.
Tristan laughed fullheartedly at the sight of us squabbling. "Yeah." he retorted chuckling. "Get a pole and try talking the Millennium Puzzle out, classic." Joey glared even more.
"Please guys, don't fight in the hospital." Sarah pleaded, not wanting to go that far intentionally.
Yugi nodded. "Or I won't share my hospital food with you."Sarah couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.
A little while later, Tea walked out of the room, telling everyone she needed a moment. Poor Tea. Sarah felt so bad for letting her worry about her and Yugi. They almost...didn't make it.
When she came back, Sarah finally remembered the Millennium Puzzle still sitting in her lap. Pushing the tray of food a nurse brought in for her away, she picked up the Puzzle and carefully showed it to Yugi, who was just watching Joey, Tristan, and Tea argue about something.
"Hey man," I said, grabbing his attention. Yugi turned to look at me, excusing himself from the gang's drama. Apparently, Joey and Tristan were arguing about who's the smartest but Tea tried setting them straight.
"Yes Sarah?" answered Yugi.
She held up the Millennium Puzzle with it's shield still around it. The force field didn't falter when I touched it. It will only fall when another person touches it. Yugi hesitated, but took the Millennium Puzzle into his own hands.
"Thanks." he said, watching the shield disappear. Then he put it back around his neck. The chain rattled. "Thanks so much Sarah. For everything.'
Sarah smiled. "It was nothing." she said. She was so glad everyone was all right. The gang was back together again. But with that bloody mind controller around, for how much longer?
Author's Note:
Oh man, that was intense! I had fun writing this part! Hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated! Thanks everyone! ^^