After school Joey knew he had to go home, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to face his father, not after he'd been gone for so long. He sighed and decided to bite the bullet.

He opened the door to his house and walked inside. His father wasn't home yet. He sighed, knowing that his father would be home at some point and another night of pain would find him. He went into his room and lay on his bed. Closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his big green pillow.

Joey awoke to the door slamming a few hours later. He tensed when he felt a hand on his head. "Boy, you think you're cute? Running off like that? Well you're wrong. You aren't cute, and you aren't smart. Now tonight you're going to pay," he heard his father say, before his face was buried in his pillow.

He tried to roll away, but to now effect. He felt his lungs burn for air. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Air rushed into his lungs as his father released his head and straddled his back side. His hands were soon bound behind his back, and he could feel his pants beginning to slide off. But they didn't slide far. Just far enough show that his round butt was exposed.

"Don't move boy or what I do to you tonight will only get worse."

A slap across his rear from his father's leather belt told him he was going to be in a lot of pain in the morning. He cried out though as he felt the sting setting in. He waited for the next hit, but it didn't come. Just one hit? he thought. He turned his head to look back at his father.

"Wondering why I haven't hit you again? Because you are going to ask for it. Go on boy, ask me for another one."

Joey didn't know what the hell to say. He was supposed to do what? "You've got to be kidding," escaped Joey's lips, and two seconds after he regretted saying that as the belt flashed across his face. His eyes blurred with tears as he gritted his teeth against the pain.

"No back talking. Now ask."

"Hit me again."

"I'm sorry I don't believe I heard you correctly."

"Please hit me again, sir."

"That's better."

The belt hit him again across the butt, and he bit down on his lip. And again he asked for more, otherwise his father would hurt him more than he already was. This continued on for hours, until Joey couldn't say anything more, so intense was the pain. He was panting and sweat poured off his body in streams as if they were miniature waterfalls.

"Ask again."

Joey said nothing; he couldn't get any words from his mouth. The belt slammed his face again. Joey trembled. He was exhausted.

"Tired huh? Well then, I guess it's time for your medicine."

Medicine? thought Joey.

A moment later his father returned with a familiar needle with the weird fluid inside. I finally dawned on him what that fluid was...heroin. His father was trying to kill him with heroin. Joey somehow found the strength to roll away from his father. At least until a strong hand gripped his hair and forced him back down.

"Nooo..." said Joey as the needle entered his arm and the fluid slowing flowed into his system. Everything began to change.

"Night son."

Joey felt his arms fall free and he curled into a ball under his covers. His body trembled, and he began to cry. This wasn't happening.

Seto couldn't sleep. He kept pacing from one end of his room to the other. He couldn't believe that the Mutt was on the team now. It just didn't make any sense. Why him? He sat on the edge of his bed and shook his head. He thought that he could at least be free from Yugi and his friends in the other dimension and now this had happened. Well there was nothing he could do about it now.

He was about to crawl into bed when a familiar pull in the back of his mind, said he was being summoned. He looked at his clock. It read 1:00 am. What could Keith want at this time of night? Well whatever it was he was about to find out.

Keith waited for Seto to arrive. He had some talking to do with that boy. He looked up from his seat on the couch as Seto walked into the lounge room.

"You summoned," said Seto as he sat down in one of the red chairs in the room.

"Yes, I have a few questions I would like to ask you."

"Well?"

"What is your relationship with Joey?"

"I have no relationship with the Mutt."

"Seto, you can't keep calling him that, we are a team now."

"Fine, but he's still a Mutt in my world."

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you Seto. I need your help. I know you are level headed, but you sure as hell aren't acting like it."

Seto sat there a minute, stunned. Keith was right; he was acting quite childish, even if he didn't like Joey.

"Fine, what's your next question?"

"How much do you know of Joey's home life?"

"Nothing, I don't get into matters that don't concern me."

"Well it's about to."

"How so?"

"Joey's father..."

"His father is what Keith, spit it out."

"His father is forcing him to take heroin, Seto. I need you to get Joey out of that situation before something bad happens. We can't afford to lose another member."

Seto sat there in silence. No wonder Joey tried to act tough at school. He didn't want anyone else hurting him...just like Seto himself. Seto felt a twinge of guilt for a moment about how he had treated Joey, but it soon left as a plan started to form in his mind about what he was going to do about Joey's situation.

"So can you take care of that for me Seto? Can you help him? I'm doing my best to keep Tiran's body alive in our world. It's your job to help Joey. Will you do it?"

"He's part of the team; I don't really have a choice. But yes I'll do it."

"Thank you Seto, I appreciate it."

"Uh huh," was all Seto said as he left. Going back into his own world to get what little rest he could.

Keith returned to his world, which was back in the United States. As soon as he did though, he headed for the hospital.

Upon getting there, he went straight to the elevator, to floor 5. Then to the right to room 58. In there lay a young man, looking as if he were sleeping. Keith sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed that held the man.

"I know you can't hear me Tiran...but I need your advice...I need your help. I need you to pull out of this man. Please."

Keith took hold of one of Tiran's hands and laid his head on the bed, closing his eyes. "Please Tiran; I won't live if I lose you. Just hang on a little longer. I'll save you, I promise."

Keith fell asleep holding Tiran's hand.

'I know you'll save me Keith.' Keith didn't ever hear those words, but he felt them. And that was all he needed.

"Ray, where have you been? It's one in the morning," huffed his mother.

"I was out with some friends mom, jeeze calm down."

"You, young man are grounded."

"But mom..."

"Don't you but mom me, up to your room. You can go straight to it after school for the next week too. Understand."

"Yes ma'am."

Ray just shook his head as he headed upstairs to his room. This was not a good turn of events.

Three days later...

"Hey guys!" said Yugi as he approached his friends, who were waiting in the classroom, "Where's Joey?"

"Everyone please be seated," said the teacher, before Yugi was able to get an answer from his friends.

The class took their seats.

"I think we all have noticed that Mr. Joey Wheeler has not been with us for a few days. There was an incident within his household that has kept him from coming to school. What that is I cannot tell you, but for those of you who wish to visit him, such as friends, he will be at the Hashimoto Hospital."

Yugi looked at his friends; he knew where they would be going after school.

Seto sat there stunned. He hadn't even intervened yet to help Joey. So what had happened? He would just have to find out.

Joey lay on the hospital bed. He stared at the ceiling. He wished he was dead. He'd been so close too. He pushed a button on the side of his bed to call for the nurse, he needed another blanket. He was so cold, and the nurses were doing everything possible to keep him warm.

"Do you need something Joey?" asked the nurse who had responded.

"Blanket please," was all he could manage.

"I'll be right back with one; you just sit back and relax."

Joey couldn't relax though. He couldn't even sleep. He closed his eyes just to attempt it, when he heard footsteps. He opened his eyes and about yelped in surprise to see Kaiba in his room.

"So, I'm sure you don't feel like talking so I'm not going to ask you to. But I will let you know that I am curious as to how you ended up in here. We can't really afford to lose another team member Wheeler. So since I'm sure you don't want to talk out loud we can always ---

--- TALK HERE, IN OUR MINDS?"

Joey's eyes widened. "CAN WE REALLY TALK IN OUR MINDS?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "ONLY THE MEMBERS OF THE MYSTICS CAN."

"OH"

"I BELIEVE I HEAR YOUR FRIENDS COMING, I'LL BE BACK LATER."

With that Seto walked out of the room. He had some things to take care before he came back to visit Joey; things that involved a few friends of his and a lot of researching.