--A/N: Well, this WOULD'VE been up yesterday, but no. Fanfiction was being screwy. Ah well... Better late then never...--
A/N: These 'I know! Let's write a chapter all in one stretch!' affairs seem to be becoming annoyingly frequent around here. Yup, it's another one written from scratch today. But hey, I had a day off. Well, a week off- half term- but it's been really busy, so I didn't actually write anything despite the fact I wasn't in school. I'm supposed to be on Work Experience for the next two weeks, but I don't have to start till tomorrow, and… well, here I am! So, I have just four things to say:
1. I'm hungry. Random, but true. Luckily, it's almost time for dinner.
2. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
3. I couldn't remember the cards for Joey's deck, so please… just pretend. (Sweatdrop)
4. My back hurts. I need a new chair.
…Man, I'm complaining a bit today. Ah well! I apologise! Here's chapter Four, in which Abaca finally shows!
Four: A Visitor
The seatbelt light flashed red as, at the front of the plane, one of the hostess politely asked the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, as they were about to begin their decent. Abaca, who hadn't taken hers off anyway, checked to make sure it was secure, giving a sigh of relief and trying to calm her heart rate.
"You see?" Midha crowed, next to her. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"We're not down yet." Abaca muttered in reply, her teeth clenched. Midha laughed.
"I never would have guessed you were afraid of flying." She commented, sighing. "I'm glad we're about to land. Eighteen hours of you being so jumpy is enough for anyone. The only time that seatbelt's come off is so you can go and vomit."
"Thanks, Midha, thank you so much for your support…" Abaca spat, sarcastically. "Everyone's afraid of something. And I don't want to talk about it any more."
"Fine. I was thinking, though, if we're going to find this Ryou of yours, we might be better off looking for Yugi Motto. After all, he's a little more well-known, so people should know where he is."
"Sure." Abaca said, trying to ignore the shaking of the descent. She closed her eyes, but that made it worse, so she opened them again. "Just as long as you don't keep getting into duels."
If there had been any other way of getting to Japan that she could afford, Abaca would have taken it. She hated flying, always had done, always would. Part of the reason she had taken up residence in Egypt instead of going back home, besides to look for him, was because she never wanted to get on another plane. She only hoped it was worth all this bother. She was facing her greatest phobia, just to find one Ryou Bakura. She hoped it would be worth it. She hoped it worked out okay.
"We've landed." Midha said, making her jump. "You can relax now."
Abaca breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"
The worst was over. That was something, at least. But there was still a lot more to go.
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Ryou was sleeping better then he had done in a long time, deep and dreamless. He'd finally given in to the allure of his talents, had finally accepted his abilities to control the air as part of himself, and had done what the powers had been longing to do- save people. It felt so right, and that particular hole he'd had inside him was filled. There were a lot of holes in his spirit, so many that sometimes he'd felt like a ghost, like there was no-one and nothing there at all. One had now been filled. Others were getting smaller. He didn't know if he'd ever feel completely whole. But he felt better, and that peace had been enough for him to sleep naturally, in a way he hadn't since he'd first got the Millennium Ring. Unfortunately, a shrieking smoke alarm was not the most gentle way to be woken.
The sound was high-pitched and seemed to garrotte it's way straight through his head. He jerked up right, surprised, and quickly tumbled out of bed; stumbling into the kitchen. Serenity was standing there, looking shocked, surprised, and scared.
"What's happening!" Ryou demanded, wide-eyed after his rude awakening. However, he then spotted the smoke pouring from the toaster. It was, by far, his most moody appliance. He really should have warned Serenity about that one. Wearily, he grabbed a tea towel and waved it at the smoke alarm until it shut up at last.
He looked at Serenity, who seemed a little embarrassed. She was about to say something when the sprinkler system finally kicked in, dousing them both once again.
"…Good morning." Ryou said eventually, wiping rivers of water from his face.
"Morning." Serenity replied, hesitating. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make-"
"It's the toaster." Ryou cut her off, bending down and trying to wrestle the mop from a cupboard that was far too small for it, knowing that the switch to turn the sprinklers off was just behind it. "I need to replace it. Don't worry about it…"
Serenity didn't reply, but she still felt guilty about the entire affair. She hadn't wanted to wake him up. He'd been so nice to her, and all she'd succeeded in doing was messing up his floor. He didn't seem to mind, though, whistling to himself as he began mopping up the water, from the sprinklers which he had only now managed to turn off. Something about it just struck her as comical, and she began to giggle. Ryou looked at her indignantly.
"Do you want to mop?" He asked her. Of course, he didn't think she would say yes, but Serenity gasped.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She cried. "I should have offered! I'll do it…"
Ryou shook his head. "Serenity, I was joking. I didn't mean you needed to."
"No, but I should." Serenity insisted, taking hold of the mop. Ryou, however, didn't give it up that easily.
"It's fine." He assured her. "I can manage."
"I'll do it."
"No, it's okay. I'll do it."
"No, I'll do it!"
"Serenity, I'll do it."
Suddenly, Serenity spluttered into laughter again. "We're arguing about mopping the floor." She informed him.
"I'd noticed." Ryou replied, taking advantage of the distraction to prise the mop out of her hand and continue his work.
"But… I want to help." Serenity pouted.
Ryou rolled his eyes. "If it means that much to you, we need to get the water off all the appliances…"
"Alright!" Serenity agreed, glad to be doing something useful.
"Now, excuse me, or I shall end up mopping your feet." Ryou added, calm as ever.
Serenity had just located a cloth and had begun to wipe down the microwave when, to the surprise of both parties, the doorbell went. Ryou looked up in confusion, and then down at himself in dismay. He was now wet, and still in the old clothes he'd worn in bed the night before; tatty and frayed, and trousers that he'd long since grown out of and so were up around his ankles. Still, for someone to call around at this time of the morning, it was probably important…
"I'll just be a second…" He muttered, leaning the mop up against the fridge and heading towards the front door. Opening it revealed the person he'd been half-expecting to see.
"Joey!" He greeted, smiling. At the sound of his name, Serenity came out into the hall, grinning now.
"You're okay!" She declared, happily.
"Of course." Joey replied, stepping inside. "I can handle…" he trailed off. "Why is it that every time I see you two, you're soaking wet?"
Ryou and Serenity glanced at each other, trying not to laugh again.
"…That's a bit of a story." Ryou said, eventually, gesturing for Joey to go through. "But not our fault…"
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The shop bell chimed, and Grandpa looked up from his paper, mildly surprised. He'd only opened five minutes ago, when Yugi had left for school, and normally people didn't come in that quickly. Nor did these two girls seem to be browsing. The younger one, at any rate, should have been on her way to school; although she didn't look like any student he'd seen before, with long dark hair and a hat pulled down on her head despite the late September weather. She, and her older companion headed towards the counter.
"Is this Yugi Motto lives?" The older, dark skinned and dark haired; obviously Egyptian, demanded.
"Midha!" The younger hissed, then turned to the counter, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry, her Japanese isn't perfect, and neither are her manners. But… would you be able to tell us if this is where Yugi Motto lives?"
Grandpa eyed them in suspicion. He knew Yugi constantly had duellists after him, and he wasn't sure if he should tell these girls anything. However, she seemed to pick up on his uncertainty.
"Please, we just want to talk to him." She said, sounding a little desperate.
"Speak for yourself…" The one she'd called Midha muttered, under her breath.
"So, you're looking for a duel, are you?" Grandpa asked, his eyes suddenly sparkling. "Why don't you try me?"
"Who are you?" Midha asked, suspiciously.
"I'm the one who taught Yugi everything he knows!" Grandpa declared. "My name's Solomon Motto, but you can call me Grandpa. Everyone else in this place does…"
A gasp echoed from the other girl, the one who had been adamant that they weren't there to duel.
"Then you must be Dr Motto…" She muttered, bowing again. "It's an… honour to meet you, sir."
Grandpa blinked. "You've heard of me?"
"Of course!" She declared. "Everyone in the archaeology circuit has!"
Grandpa chuckled to himself in delight. "There's not many girls your age interested in old fossils like me…"
"That's what I keep telling her." Midha sighed. "Can we duel now? Please?"
"No, Midha!" The other insisted. "We really have to go… Besides, he'll kick your butt, you know it." She bowed once more to Grandpa before dragging her friend forcibly out of the shop. Once they'd gone, Grandpa let his care-free façade drop a little. He still didn't know who the girls were, or what they wanted. He'd better warn Yugi…
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"As for this morning," Serenity added, bringing their story towards it's conclusion. "Well."
"My toaster is very temperamental." Ryou completed.
"The alarm went off." Serenity elaborated.
"Which set off the sprinklers." Ryou nodded. "Hence, we got wet. Again."
Joey laughed. "Heh." Then he looked at Ryou in suspicion. "Still… something seems a little fishy about you jumping into the canal. No pun intended."
"Oh?" Ryou asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"I thought you didn't know how to swim." Joey accused.
"Oh…" Ryou replied, sheepishly. "Well… The water was only waist-deep." He smiled, seeming a little embarrassed as Serenity stared at him in shock. He preferred not to tell people about that… they usually laughed at him. He decided it was time to excuse himself. For one thing, he was embarrassed. For another, he had to get ready for school. And, for a third, Serenity and Joey probably wouldn't want to talk about their dad while he was there.
Ryou excused himself, needing to go and get ready for school, and so the two were left alone.
"I didn't know he couldn't swim." Serenity stated. "He never said."
Joey shrugged. "Well, Ryou's pretty secretive. Besides, would you admit it?"
"I guess not…And it doesn't really matter…" Serenity said, slowly. "But… why didn't he ever learn?"
Joey couldn't help but laugh a little. "I don't really know. Apparently, he used to be extremely hydrophobic. He's not so bad now- I mean, he came on the boat to Duellist Kingdom and everything no problem- but I think maybe he's a little too old for swimming lessons." He paused slightly. "Either that, or he was scared but came anyway. It wouldn't surprise me…"
Serenity frowned, shaking her head. "Every time I think I know everything about his past, I learn something else. I wish he trusted us enough to tell us everything…"
Joey shrugged again. "I think everyone knows different bits. No-one knows everything about him. And if that's the way he wants it, then I guess we'll have to leave him to it. It's not like we need to know everything, 'Ren. He's never let us down, has he?"
"No." Serenity replied, absently. She didn't notice her brother was looking at her in open confusion, wondering why she was suddenly so bothered about Ryou's mysterious ways. She couldn't help but wonder if she was the only one who actually knew about his family. Everyone knows different bits, Joey had said. But his sister wasn't really a little thing like a childish phobia. She couldn't really understand why he wasn't more open about her. His sister wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. But maybe he just didn't want the pity.
Joey, meanwhile, watched her think. He knew she walked home with Ryou, and he knew she enjoyed it. He didn't really want to think about anyone getting… involved with his little sister, but it seemed to be inevitable. If she wasn't careful, Serenity probably would end up with a crush on Ryou. As much as he hated to think about it, Joey knew that if she did Ryou would probably remain oblivious to it. It wasn't that he disliked Ryou, not at all; he just didn't want Serenity ending up in some kind of bizarre unrequited love situation. But he didn't know what to do about it. He'd just have to hope she didn't end up falling for him. He comforted himself with the fact that they were both soft hearted people- they treated everyone like this. So it was just his imagination.
"Joey?" She called, shaking him out of his thoughts. "I think Ryou left so you could tell me what happened after we left…"
"Not much." Joey sighed. "I pushed him back indoors, he punched down a kitchen cabinet, and then he calmed down and crashed on the sofa. I put the cupboard back up, and that didn't even wake him up…"
"I thought…" Serenity sighed miserably. "That he was getting better."
"He was." Joey said, downcast. "I know he was never at home, but he wasn't at the pub. He was back at work, and then one of the women at work… Well, instead of going to the pub, he'd go out with her. She'd stop him. He still drank when he got home, he said he needed it, but…"
"Oh." Serenity said, awkwardly. Ever since the divorce, she'd known that her parents would eventually find someone else; but after all these years she didn't think it would actually happen. Especially given the state they were in…
"He was even talking about joining one of those support groups." Joey laughed bitterly. "Guess that's all gone down the pan now. He still hadn't woken up when I left. He's going to be late for work. If he even goes in."
"It might be okay…" Serenity tried. "I mean, if he's been doing so well up to now, it might have just been a lapse. Someone's birthday, or something. And he might wake up feeling so awful it'll only strengthen his resolve!"
"That's right." Joey smiled. "It'll all be fine."
Serenity smiled to, and hugged him. She'd missed him so much when she'd been living so far away from him, she hadn't been able to stand it. She had promised Ryou she'd go back to her mom, but… right now, she hated to think of it. She didn't care about what her dad was like, and her mom was just as bad- in a different way, but just as bad. The only stable one in her family right now seemed to be Joey, and so she wanted to stay here, where he was; and where Ryou and Téa and Yugi and all her other friends were. One day she'd go back.
But not yet.
"Now, then." Joey said, pulling away, not used to displays of affection. "Has Ryou told you what Penelope's problem with him is? He dumped her, right?"
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Later, just as they were reaching the school gates, Joey turned to Ryou.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"It's no problem." Ryou replied, smiling as always. He really did seem happy today; not just a façade of happiness, but like something had been resolved. "I quite enjoyed having a guest for once."
"You still jumped into a body of water to help her out." Joey stated. "And I suspect that was a bigger deal then you made it out to be. You won't even walk through puddles…"
Ryou swallowed. He didn't realise anyone had noticed that… "Well," He said, sheepishly. "There's no better way to deal with your fears then to confront them, right? I honestly didn't think about it." He began to lead the way into the school, not noticing Joey's expression. Joey, meanwhile, wasn't quite sure what to make of all this. Once again convincing himself that it was just his slightly paranoid imagination- after all, Ryou was hardly likely to behave like Duke and Tristan- he pushed the thoughts away, and once again found himself wondering what Ryou had done to make Penelope hate him. A mystery was a mystery, and Joey loved them. He wouldn't rest until he'd patched all the clues together, painstakingly solved the puzzle, and knew the full truth. Alternatively, he could just ask…
"Ryou? Why does Penelope hate you?" He asked, bluntly. "Did you dump her?"
Ryou stopped short of the doors. Inside the building, the bell rang. They now had five minutes to get to form, or there would be trouble.
"Are you still obsessing over that?" Ryou sighed. "No. I didn't dump her. We… were just friends."
"What happened?" Joey asked, sensing that this was probably a bad question to ask, but unable to stop himself.
"We played Monster World." Ryou answered, shortly, knowing he couldn't evade the questions much longer. "Her brother ended up in a coma. I don't know what happened after that. Judging by the fact he's not here, I'd say he…" Ryou trailed off, shrugging. "Well. You can guess."
He swung the door open, and headed away, towards their classroom before he got his first ever late mark. Joey followed him, stunned. He felt a slight shifting of guilt squirm inside him. It had been slightly more serious then just him dumping her, then. Another fragment of Ryou's past had just been uncovered.
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None of them were nearly as light-hearted going home to school as they had been going into it, which was a strange inversion of average events. Everyone seemed to have something on their minds- mainly Yugi's troubling news. On the way to school that day, his grandfather had caught him up telling him that there had been people in the shop looking for him. Since then, student after student had come to Yugi reporting being waylaid on the way to school by people asking about him. Luckily, most of them had had the good sense not to tell them where he was, but he didn't know how long it would be till they found him. He was always being challenged to duels in the street, that was the way of things, but he'd never been stalked like this before. Why were they so desperate to meet him…?
"I just don't get it…" He said, pensively. "No-one's wanted to duel me this badly since…"
"Since Kaiba." Téa completed. "And all those creeps. Pegasus, Marik, Dartz and…" She trailed off to, glancing at Ryou.
"And that old 'friend' of mine." Ryou completed, showing no outward signs of the chill he felt inside.
"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "But don't forget all those other people. All ones that became our friends."
"That's true." Yugi nodded. "Leon, and Duke, and Rebecca…"
"Man." Tristan smiled in reminisce. "Now that I think about it, you've duelled a lot of people in your time. More then Joey, at least. But then, I guess you're just a better duellist all round." He smirked, waiting for Joey to rise to the bait. Then he realised the usually omni-present blond wasn't with them. "Hey… Where is he?"
"He said he had something to take care of." Téa shrugged. Ryou, however, went slightly pale.
"As do I." He said, hastily. "I have to go… I'm really sorry. If anything happens with those girls, then… well, you know, phone me. I'm sure you'll beat them. You beat everyone else, after all." He was already backed several steps away. "Goodbye!"
"…Strange guy." Tristan commented, as Ryou ran off into the horizon. "Who wants to follow them?"
The other two nodded. There was something very strange going on around here…
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"Penelope."
She turned, surprised to see Joey behind her. She was even more surprised that she hadn't heard him following her- they were some distance away from the school now, passing over the railway bridge, and it wasn't like he was particularly quiet.
"Hi, Joey…" She said, confused. He didn't usually walk this way.
"I need to talk to you." Joey said, confirming her suspicions. Why he couldn't have done it in school was quite beyond her. "About Ryou."
Penelope turned away, beginning to walk off in anger. "I don't want to talk about Ryou." She answered, bluntly. "And it's really none of your business."
"Please…" Joey said, quietly, catching hold of her shoulder. "Listen to me!"
"I said," Penelope replied, angry now, pulling away. "That's it's none of your business! I'm not going to tell you what happened!"
"Ryou already told me." Joey informed her. "But there's something you ought to know…" Penelope didn't answer, so he took that as invitation enough to continue. "You played Monster World with Ryou, didn't you? And your brother."
She nodded, slowly, gripping her bag tighter.
"So did we." Joey revealed slowly.
"Then…"
Joey nodded. "Yup. We all ended up sealed into the statues."
Penelope's face clouded in confusion, and she looked at him as if he was an idiot. "What?"
Joey blinked. "Oh, man… you don't know, do you? You think it was Ryou! You don't know what happened! Oh… that explains everything…" He started to smile. Penelope's frown deepened.
"What don't I know?" She demanded.
"When you played Monster World that time," Joey began cautiously. "Was he wearing the Millennium Ring?"
"The tacky gold thing? I think so…" Penelope didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want to remember. But there was something, something deep inside that was whispering that maybe, just maybe, that friendship she'd had with the Bakura twins could be salvaged. She did miss them both so much, as much as she tried to convince herself she didn't…
"That was the cause of it all." Joey said, with an air of revelation. The rest all came out in a tumble. "The Ring… it was cursed, if you like. It had an evil spirit in it, who had this nasty habit of sealing souls into inanimate objects." Penelope was watching him with a strange expression. But then, she probably had never suspected anything like this. "He possessed Ryou. When he twigged what was happening, Ryou did his best to fight him but… He had Ryou fully under his control. And when you played Monster World with him, if you rolled a fumble, you'd be sealed inside the figure. And you have-"
"To stay forever in Monster World, with no escape, and no way back to friends, or family, or life as you know it… Trapped." Penelope completed, in a whisper. Joey nodded.
"So, you see, it really wasn't Ryou's fault. I mean, we defeated Monster World, so your brother should have woken up with the rest, but… Ryou couldn't help it. Please, can't you just stop hating him…?"
Penelope looked at him, enraged. "You… liar." She hissed. "Did Ryou ask you to cook up this little story?"
"No, it's true." Joey insisted. "Hard to believe, but true."
Penelope shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "That's just sick. Making up some far-fetched… story? And he couldn't even tell me himself? This is just what he used to do when he was the Dark Master. Weave a web of lies using the NPCs around him." She paused slightly, drawing sobbing breaths. "Why would I believe that? Do you want to know what really happened! We were playing Monster World. And then he cursed Jay. I don't know how he did it, but he told him he would be trapped… trapped in Monster World, and that he wouldn't be able to talk to us… I don't know what he did exactly, or how. But to try and convince me he was possessed…"
"You said yourself you didn't know how to explain it!" Joey protested.
"We were in an attic!" Penelope screamed. "And Jason had allergies! Anything could have set it off! Besides, it was Ryou's game, and his story- if there was anything dangerous he should have known about it! Jason certainly didn't. He collapsed. And even then, Ryou just wanted to continue the game…! Amane told him to get an ambulance, but he wanted to finish the game! He didn't even care! And then he just… ran away."
"He did care." Joey said, softly. "He's been beating himself up about it since you got here."
"Then why is he lying to me…?" Penelope whispered. "Do you know what Jason does now, Joey, because of him? He sits in a wheelchair, and stares at a wall. All day, everyday. He just stares at a wall. He doesn't even speak to me, doesn't even look at me. Do you have any idea how much that's hurt my family? Hurt me? I can't forgive Ryou. I'll never forgive him." The tears spilt out of her eyes, but she was unashamed, refusing to wipe them away. "What kind of… sicko do you have to be to go and tell someone stories about their sick brother? He couldn't even do it himself… Just… go away, Joey."
She began walking off. Joey called out to her, but she didn't stop, didn't look back. Joey didn't bother to go after her. Somehow, he didn't think that had helped an awful amount. He sighed deeply. Ryou had done him a favour, and if there was one thing Joey hated, it was being in someone's debt. He'd thought he could sort this thing between Penelope and Ryou out, not make things worse. Of course, he hadn't expected it to be easy, but he thought his explanation would have made some sort of sense to her, that he would have been able to convince her. It wasn't like she had any better ideas- ranting random things about allergies- even she didn't seem to know what she was saying. However, it seemed all he had done was make things worse…
"Excuse me," Someone said, startling him. "Um… You're Joey Wheeler, aren't you?"
Joey turned to see two girls, one older then him, one about the same age. She was the one who had spoken, and, just as Yugi's Grandpa had apparently described her, she had long, dark hair that occasionally stuck out at odd angles. Beneath the hat she wore, her eyes were brown and seemed a little apprehensive. Her complexion was a little lighter than her companion's, bronzed brown by the sun. The other girl had a darker, more natural looking colour, that reminded him of Ishzu; her hair also black, but hers was short, hanging about her ears. She was smiling brightly at him.
"That's right." Joey said, cautiously. A lot of the people who went after Yugi weren't people you wanted to mess with- but these girls didn't seem too threatening.
"I thought you duelled very well at Duellist Kingdom and Battle City." The one with the bob commented. "But your performance in the Grand Championship was a little disappointing."
"Oh, was it?" Joey demanded, irritated. "I bet I could still duel circles around you…"
"Yes! Let's duel!" She replied, excitedly. "I've always wanted to play a real duellist…"
That wasn't quite the reaction he'd been expecting, to say the least.
"No, no!" Her companion was saying desperately. "We're not here to duel! I just need to talk to Yugi! Do you know where he is? Or perhaps you could te-"
"If you want to 'talk' to Yugi," Joey was saying slowly, with a hint of threat. "You have to go through me."
"You don't understand!" She protested. "We're not looking for a fight!"
"Well, you've found one." Joey replied. "And, we'll have it down there!"
"On the train tracks…?" She said, in dismay.
"Whoo!" His opponent whooped. "This is going to be fun!"
The other girl sighed something to herself in a foreign language.
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When Serenity came out of school, there had been no sign of Ryou. She'd waited, probably longer then she should have done, but then gave up and began to walk home. It was strange, but it seemed a lot longer when she was alone. When she got back to the flat, it was deserted. Her father wasn't home, which wasn't unusual, but neither was Joey. A slight fear unrolled itself in her stomach. First Ryou, and now Joey. Neither of them had let her down before. There must be something wrong now. She was all set to go back out and look for them, but then, to her relief, the answering machine let out a plaintive bleep. Someone had left a message. When she hit play, it was Téa's voice that came out.
"Hi, Serenity? It's Téa. Look, get down to the train station just as soon as you get this. Joey's got it into his head to have a duel on the freakin' tracks. These girls have been looking for Yugi all day, and it seems Joey got in their way…" She paused, and she could just hear her conversing with Ryou. "Ryou's apologising for not meeting you." She sighed in exasperation a moment later. "Whatever. Just get here as soon as you can!"
Serenity was already half way out of the door, having started on the words 'train station'. She had hung around to hear the end of the message, though, and couldn't help but feel her heart had lifted slightly at Ryou's apology. Not that it mattered- it was an ample excuse enough. She raced down the few streets to the station, reaching the bridge. Looking down, she could see Joey in mid-duel with an Egyptian girl. But neither seemed to be paying attention. Nor did any of the others. All the attention seemed to be fixed on Ryou and a girl she didn't recognise locked in a tight embrace.
Her heart sank slightly again, although her head couldn't work out why.
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Ryou knew which way Joey had gone. A sinking instinct in his heart told him he had gone after Penelope. He had to stop him, didn't he know he'd only make things worse!
However, despite the speed he walked at, he saw neither Joey nor Penelope. Perhaps he'd been wrong. He came to rest half way across the railway bridge, leaning against the wall and sighing. If Joey had spoken to her, it was too late to do anything about it now. Besides, he could see no sign of the guy, so perhaps he'd been wrong. He stood again suddenly, realising that Serenity had probably been waiting for him while he'd been embarking on this wild goose chase. He was such an idiot… sighing deeply, he turned to go.
As he did so, he spotted Joey, standing on one of the runners in the middle of the tracks.
"What the…?"
"Ryou?" Téa's voice came from behind him, sounding concerned. "What's the matter?"
Ryou glanced up to see the others. He didn't bother questioning why they'd followed him for the moment, merely pointing at the predicament unfolding below them.
"Joey!" Yugi yelled in surprise. "He's duelling one of those girls my grandpa told me about!"
"We'd better get down there…" Téa muttered, and they began to head down to the platform. However, when they passed through what used to be the ticket office, Ryou caught hold of her arm.
"Do you know the telephone number for their flat?" He asked.
"You mean Joey's?" Téa blinked. "Yeah, I know it. Why?"
"I think we ought to tell Serenity to get down here…"
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Joey hadn't been expecting his opponent to accept the terms of duelling on the train tracks. In fact, he'd been trying to avoid a fight by scaring her out of it. But no, the girl- woman, really- had been more then willing to risk her neck. And Joey wasn't one to back down from a challenge.
Luckily for them, the station was disused and abandoned- the trains still rattled through, but they didn't stop anymore. As a result, no-one was around as he and his enemy dropped off the platform and onto the tracks, her friend watching anxiously. Joey snorted. If they wanted to cause trouble for Yugi, they'd have to go through him first. As a general rule, people who 'just wanted to talk' were never a good thing. He'd stop them here and now. He activated his duel disk. The Battle City tournament may have been over, but these things were still useful…
"I just brought mine today." The girl admitted, activating her own. Joey gave a mental smile. Apparently she wasn't all that experienced. "You can't get them in Egypt…"
"Then why don't you move first?" Joey offered, lifting a finger. "But first, the terms. If you win, I'll tell you where to find Yugi and anything else you want to know. But if I win, you leave him, and me, and all of us alone."
"Midha!" Her friend screamed from the platform. "You can't accept that! Please!"
"Chill, Abaca." Midha winked back. "I'm going to win!" She turned back to Joey. "I accept! And to start things off, I'll play these two magic cards, and this- Mermaid Knight, attack mode!" The knight appeared on the field, and she gave a small squeal of delight. "These holograms are fantastic! That Kaiba's a genius…"
"Hmmph…" Joey sighed, deciding this girl talked too much as he drew his first card. "I've been waiting to break in this new deck of mine! So I'll start with this- Kojikocy! And one card face down…"
"It's no use." Midha shot back. "It's equal in attack to my Mermaid Knight."
"That's alright." Joey replied, easily. "That's just there to defend me. You can't defeat it either, remember? Your move."
Midha smiled. "I can defeat it. I play this- A Legendary Ocean!"
Joey didn't need to ask what it did as, around them, water started to swirl, flooding the tracks. Thank goodness it was just a hologram, or they'd have to pay some serious damages to the council…
"Now my Knight has a 200 point attack boost!" Midha cried happily. "Go, Knight! Destroy his Kojikocy!"
"Reverse Trap!" Joey declared, activating his face down card. "This may be an old card, but the way it reverses attack point boosts can come in pretty handy, don't you think?" He smirked, as Midha's life points decreased by the 200 points.
"Because A Legendary Ocean is on the field, my knight can attack twice." Midha scowled. "But that's useless… until next turn. In the meantime, I'll play this, defence mode!" With a great flourish, she slammed another monster card down onto the field. However, it wasn't the great leviathan Joey had been expecting as a little frog hopped out, bouncing in excitement. "I end my turn."
"I'm supposed to fight that…?" Joey wondered, as the frog jumped up and down. He tried to ignore it- after all, next turn the Mermaid Knight would not only have it's field power bonus back but would be able to attack twice- but that little frog constantly going up and down and up and down and up and down was awfully distracting… Eventually, out of frustration, he yelled: "That's it! Kojikocy! I feel like some frog's legs! Go get that thing!"
As Kojikocy's sword pierced it, the frog let out a little whine, but nothing more. Midha, however, smiled.
"You just destroyed my Poison Draw Frog." She grinned. "Now I get to draw a card…"
"Big whoop." Joey sighed, as she took her card.
"Oh, I'd say it's a very big whoop indeed…" Midha muttered. "Are you done yet?"
"'Course not!" Joey smiled. "I'll equip Kojikocy with the Axe of Despair! Try getting past him now he's got an extra one thousand attack points!"
"Fine, I will." Midha replied, activating one of her magic cards. "I play Big Wave, Small Wave! By taking Mermaid Knight from the field, I can play a new monster from my hand! And I choose Gogiga Gagagigo!"
"You summon what now…?" Joey wondered, as the hideous vaguely chicken-like sea monster arose.
"Go-gi-ga Ga-ga-gi-go." She repeated, slowly. Joey couldn't help but snort. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you." Midha warned. "With A Legendary Ocean on the field, he has a very nice 3150 attack points!"
"You what?" Joey blinked.
"Haven't you got it yet?" Midha laughed, enjoying herself to no end. "Then we'll show you! Go, Gogiga Gagagigo! Destroy Kojikocy!"
"This isn't good…" Joey muttered, as he lost 650 life points. At least the Axe of Despair had saved him some life points…
"Your go!" Midha shouted, smiling. She didn't seem to be taking this particularly seriously.
Yeah… Joey thought But how am I going to get rid of something with that much attack in just one move? I've got to buy some time…
"Gravity Bind!" He yelled, placing the trap card down. "Now all monsters above Level Four can't attack!"
"Wow!" Midha laughed. "I use those cards to!"
"Good for you." Joey answered, annoyed she didn't seem more bothered. "I'm done, I guess."
"Okay." She shrugged. "I'll play… The Amphibious Bugroth, MK-3. And as long as A Legendary Ocean is on the field, he can attack Life Points directly!"
"Not with Gravity Bind in play!"
"Did I mention A Legendary Ocean downgrades all water monsters by one level? Sorry…"
"Now she tells me." Joey muttered, as 1500 more of his life points went down the drain. He looked again at his hand. He was getting worried now- there didn't seem to be anything he could do at all, not with the cards he had now.
Wait a minute. Unless he could-
"Joey, you idiot!" Someone yelled. Joey looked up to see his friends arrive, Tristan looking annoyed.
"Hey, if you gave me another minute I could have gotten myself out of this!" Joey yelled back as his friends ran down the ramp onto the platform.
"You just have to pick fights, don't you, Joey!"
"I said this will only take a minute!" Joey yelled, annoyed. This was what he got for trying to help Yugi out. It seemed Tristan didn't get that.
"You don't have another minute!" Another voice called. "The train passes through here in three! Get off the tracks, now!"
Abaca started. She hadn't taken the time to look at the new arrivals, having been off in her own little world, but at that voice- his voice- she did. And there he was. Ryou. Ryou, the one she'd thought to be dead, was standing there before her, barely a metre away. She'd known he was alive from that glimpse of him on the television, but had hardly dared to believe it. Hardly dared to believe she would find him. But there he was, frowning slightly at his impulsive friend. It appeared he hadn't noticed her in the urgency of the situation. Or perhaps he just didn't recognise her. She had to get his attention. But the words had dried up in her throat. Suddenly, she was nervous, more nervous then she'd been on the plane, more frightened then Ryou was of water. The words were gone. Shakily, she reached out, touching him lightly on the arm.
Ryou jumped on the contact, turning to face her. For a moment, there was confusion, and she felt extreme sadness that he hadn't recognised her. Then it was replaced by a different look. Slowly, he went to remove her hat. She allowed him to do so. His hands were shaking to, just as hers were. The hat came away, and light fell on her face again, on the shape of her features, on the colour of her eyes. Ryou looked at them, shock showing in his own. He mouthed a few things, but nothing would come out for some time.
"It's me." She whispered, taking hold of his hands. "It's me. I found you."
"But…" He replied, equally quietly. "You can't have done. I… I mean, you're dead!"
"I could say the same to you." She muttered, in mock indigence. "But apparently not."
"Apparently not…" He agreed, at a loss for words. "But… I don't understand… Where…?"
"Oh, shut up." She muttered, grabbing hold of him, hugging him hard. He hugged her back, the feel of her body assuring him she was really there. It wasn't just his imagination, like in the early days, and he wasn't mad. Some how, some way, she was alive, and she was here. She'd got a tan and her hair was black, but she was here. He wanted to cry. He wasn't sure if it was out of happiness or sadness or just confusion, but he didn't. Due to the detached feeling coming from his brain, he guessed he'd gone into some sort of shock. But that didn't matter at that moment, because another hole had been filled.
He was a twin again.
"Amane…" He whispered. She hugged her brother more tightly.
"It's been so long since anyone called me that…"
"You…" He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say. "You dyed your hair."
"Yes."
In the drama of the moment, no-one remembered or noticed the imminent arrival of Serenity.
In the drama of the moment, everyone had forgotten the imminent arrival of the train.
But they couldn't fail to notice it.
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Seto's office was his sanctuary, away from the idiots he wasn't entirely sure why he employed anyway. It was a place where he could work in peace. No-one dared disturb him when he was in his office. Except Mokuba. But then again, Mokuba disturbed him no matter what he was doing. It was rare that anyone else went in, and Seto wanted to keep it that way.
So he wasn't happy to see him in his office.
"What are you doing here?" He sighed, not questioning how he'd got in. It didn't matter how good security was, they had no defence against him.
Not yet, at least.
"You've brought this upon yourself." He said, spreading his hands wide in a combination of a shrug and a pleading gesture. "You're being so… uncooperative."
"Yes, and I intend to continue being so." Seto answered, firmly. "I do not work for you. Now get out."
The guy laughed. "What are you going to do? Throw me out the window? Toss the desk at me? Come on, Seto, I need a favour… Remember everything we did for you? At the orphanage?"
"Get out." Seto repeated, dangerously.
"Well, I could…" The guy drawled, leaning on the desk casually. "But, of course, you'd set security on me. Still, they didn't get me on the way in, so I might be able to sneak out. But they're so well trained! There's no way I could have got in… Unless, say, I teleported or something."
Seto said nothing.
"And if I could teleport into here," he continued, as if this was a leisurely chat. "I could get in anywhere. Like a bank. Or… your house. I bet, if I tried, I could go right into your brothers room…"
"Perhaps." Seto smirked, refusing to rise to the empty threats. "But then you'd loose something very valuable to you. And besides," He added, his smirk turning slightly malicious. "I don't believe in Superheroes, remember?"
"Well… that's a pity, isn't it…? I guess we'll have to talk again later." The man sighed theatrically, before slowly fading out of view.
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Family is one of those funny words. It's definition has become something entirely different to what it means. That is, it's literal meaning- a group of blood relations- seems to have taken a back seat to what it implies. Loyalty, and love, and trust, and all the rest.
Blood is such a fragile thing. I mean, my family was torn away from me- I still don't know if my dad is alive or dead. And Serenity's family- she seems to hate her mom, and her parents hate each other, and if Joey's capable of hating anyone he certainly hates their dad. The Kaiba brothers, to- Seto may be fiercely protective of Mokuba, but people seem determined to get in the way of that as they keep kidnapping the poor boy. And yet, the family, that, as far as the literal meaning of the word goes, does not exist, is all the stronger. If you look at our group of friends… we argue sometimes, but I think our group is everything a family should be.
Saying this makes me a hypocrite. I've always appreciated my friends here, I'm lucky to have them- but I know, deep down, they're no substitute. As much as they give, there's just something missing. Another hole in my soul.
I was never alone, not with my friends here. But now I'm really not alone anymore. Amane is alive.
I have a family again. In Amane, and in my friends. That's all I need. That's all I've ever wanted.
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A/N: Nyhaha… Our first cliffie, I think. But Amane is back! At freakin' last, that's all I can say. I'm so sick of typing 'Abaca'. Still, don't worry, full explanations should be in the next chapter; provided they don't get smushed by the train. It was a bit of a dumb idea to have it on the train tracks really, wasn't it:P Still, please, tell me if you saw that one coming! Because I think it was very, very obvious; but then, I had a biased perspective. I mean, I still think you'd have got it- I've been dropping hints all over everywhere, after all. Still- tell me what you thought! That 'reuniting' scene was awful to write… I kept having interruptions. (Sigh)
Now, then. Before I do our traditional rhetorical questions- I forgot last chapter, can you believe it!- I promised I'd do some absolutely shameless plugging. So here we are. If you don't like absolutely shameless plugging, feel free to skip down to the end. Because, let's face it, they're like the ad breaks on television. It just gets in the way. (Ahem) Anyways, to commence the plugging, one of my friends FINALLY (And I really do mean FINALLY) got an account, and has begun posting her fic. Despite much adversity, which I am now having, but I divulge. And you should all go read it, 'cause I'm the star. Well, sort of. Well, okay, I'm not. But I'm in it! Well, okay, I'm not. Actually, it started as me, and now is altered to suit Scooby2408's evil motives and has some dodgy name which I can't pronounce, spell or remember. (Ahem once again) This probably isn't the best plugging ever. Let's try again. Okay, so, two or three years ago, she began telling me about her idea for a self-insertion- or rather, the YGO series, only with us and others we know replacing the cast. Over the years, I've sat through hours and hours of nights and evenings and afternoons and registrations and history and B-tec lessons and lunch hours and so have a… pretty in depth idea of how it's developed from a mere re-write type self-insertion (THE EVIL! Let's face it, no-one can do it better the PacketofPocky or someone already has) to a more independent fic that follows the basic storyline with something a little more sinister going on beneath it. But I can't tell you what that is. Nu-uh, no way. 'Tis secret. Wow, this is one of the longest shameless plugging sessions I've ever witnessed; I'm such a disgrace. Seriously, though. Go and read it. She's sat through all my fics, after all. Besides, if you don't, I'll never hear the end of it. ((Whispers) But don't give her more reviews then me, because then I'd be jealous).
There. That's Scooby2408's Flight of Dreams, everyone. The prologue is about the same length as that plugging, though- under-exaggeration, yes, but you get the point- so it won't take long. Surely you can spare the time… (Puppy eyes)
There we are. You can lower the gun now, Scooby. Loosening the ropes on this chair might be nice, to. It kinda makes it hard to type…
(Ahem)
And so, to conclude this depressingly long A/N:- How did Amane survive the fire? How will things change between Ryou and Serenity, and will her brother be crushed under a train wheel? And what will Seto do now? Join me next time in A Superhero Story Chapter Five- A Mask, in which there will actually be some Superhero-ing.
I promise.
--A/N: Good news, my two readers! Looking on my stats, there are 3 or 4 others hanging around. Mweee...Feel free to come and say 'Hi', people...--