CHAPTER 18 FINALLY. LOL. Anyway, sorry for the lateness of this chapter; I have two POV's in this to make things better... and I made it long for you, to make up for that lateness… and, since I have finals next week, and had the EOC this week, I hope that the length of this chapter fills in for that. I wanted you to know that next week will be the last week of school for me, so I will definitely update more frequently, and hopefully finish this story over summer vacation. Thanks for sticking with me this far! :D
Yugi's POV
Yugi couldn't say he was very pleased with his current situation. Ever since he had that vision, which could technically qualify as a flashback, he'd been so afraid to actually come back to reality.
What was with Sora? She wasn't really… evil was she?
Yugi honestly couldn't believe that Sora was truly evil; she didn't act like it, at least. But… In his flashback, Sora really did have the intention of killing that girl. What was her name? Kali…? Yeah, that sounded right.
Now that this flashback was done, he had some time to think about previous events. Events beforehe had first passed out. What had happened?
Right, Bakura and Marik. Ryou and Mariku. Seto Kaiba and all the others; they were imprisoned. And what of Marik? Had he been out for so long that Marik had actually come to meet him and discovered he was missing? Last time he saw everyone, they were all in a cage; but… he had seen Marik and his family doing laundry before. So, they had free reign, it seemed, during the day.
It seemed that the more Yugi thought about past events, the more his head started pounding. Maybe thinking back is a good idea; it may bring me back to reality! He thought. Yugi wasn't sure why it might work, he just had the feeling it would. Yugi then tried to think even further back. Past when all of this began. The first time he had met Tea, Tristan and Joey. It was hard to remember how exactly they became friends; it had been so long ago, and Yugi knew that it was thanks to the Millennium Puzzle that he had friends at all. Thinking of his friends now made him want to cry a little. They weren't with him now, they were in the past-er, present-er… his time.
Yugi sighed, he had to admit, it was very difficult without them being there… In fact, Yami wasn't there either. Right now, he was all alone. He had no one.
He trembled a little. He was still in the darkness that had taken over when the last vision faded. He couldn't tell if he had his eyes closed, or if they were open. It seemed so long since he'd been awake. Was he even awake now? He couldn't tell. He was confusing himself too much. He felt like giving up. But wait, what would his friends say to that? What would Yami say to that?
He felt determination course through him, and before he knew it, out of nowhere, a beam of blinding, white light shot at him from the darkness. He had to squint in order to not be blinded. So his eyes were open after all. He tried to turn away, but he felt himself shield his eyes with his hand. So… was he in the real world? No… he had to realize that even in his dreams he had a body. So… a dream then? Or… the real world? It was still so frustrating for him. He hoped that something good would come out of this beam of light; otherwise he might just go crazy.
Something good indeed; the light raised him in the air, and like a black hole, sucked him in. He was so happy that he was finally free of the darkness that he didn't notice that there were people standing over him now. The only thing he could take in was his surroundings.
He burst into joyous tears because, finally, he was awake in the real world. Granted he was in the future, but it was the real world nonetheless.
"Is he alright?" a voice sounded above his teary laughter.
"I'm not sure…" a woman replied.
"I can't tell if he's upset or happy," a soft male voice spoke, to which a similar, but harsher, voice replied, "I didn't really care in the first place…"
"He's probably both." The first voice sounded again.
When Yugi finally calmed himself down, he focused on the people around him. They were all people he didn't recognize, to which he felt a little uneasy. The only thing that concerned him heavily was his location.
"W-where am I?" he managed to speak. There were a few small collective gasps, and a few shuffling feet. The people who were looking down at him moved aside for a few other people to appear.
Ryou, Ishizu, Bakura, Marik and Seto Kaiba all gathered around where his head was lying.
"An answer to your question," Kaiba began, "I haven't the slightest clue," Ryou bumped him lightly in the shoulder, and Marik stepped forward instead.
"Actually," he began, giving a small glare at Kaiba, "Ishizu, Ryou and I brought you here: The Infirmary."
Yugi looked around to confirm, even though he didn't need to. "The… Infirmary…?" Yugi voiced. It sure didn't seem like one. To put it simply, it looked like the inside of a tomb without the symbols. Not to mention the only light being used was from people carrying torches.
"I wouldn't call it the infirmary. I'd call it a joke," was Bakura's snide remark.
"Bakura…" Ryou said warningly, and Bakura huffed and turned his head.
"Anyway…" Ishizu started, "What's most important at the moment is to tell you about what had first occurred to you before you had passed out."
"You sure it's ok to bring it up now Ishizu?" Ryou asked nervously.
"He'll be fine." Kaiba said bluntly.
Ishizu and Marik looked to be a little nervous, and this raised Yugi's anxiety level. What happened before he had blacked out?
"Yugi… we… well, we had a bit of trouble," Ryou started, "We didn't think that… well, we thought-"
"I'm going to stop you there, Ryou," Bakura interrupted. "Quite frankly, you're annoying. Not to mention confusing. I'm going to explain."
Ryou hung his head at this, and everyone had fallen silent.
"To be frank, Yugi," Bakura began, turning to stare down at Yugi's face. "When you exited the Wayther cell room, we all had heard banging and crashing noises. Mariku and I found a way out of the cell to see what went wrong.
"Unfortunately, you were already unconscious, but at the time, we didn't know that. But, besides that, we saw…" Bakura paused, his breath faltered momentarily. It seemed Bakura was actually… scared. And for a criminal-type of his caliber, serious shit must have gone down.
"We saw two of you." Someone from the crowd said.
The crowd moved aside for a second time to reveal another familiar face. Though, one he had wished he had never met in the first place.
"Mariku," Yugi addressed.
Mariku smirked, then walked over to Bakura. It seemed that they had developed a twisted sort of friendship, because when they saw each other, they both gave a devil's smirk in the other's direction. If Yugi didn't feel a little intimidated by the two of them, he would have seen the tremble in their steps and a horrified glint in their eyes.
Yugi did notice, however, Mariku's uneasy shuffle. He didn't forget. He couldn't forget. The time he had spent running around and dueling Marik… What he couldn't get past was the fact that Marik's evil half, Mariku, could seem so… sane when he had his own body. Then again, if Yugi was stuck as a spirit and crammed into someone's mind, he'd probably go crazy too. So, all in all, having a body of your own must be the best feeling in the world. Even knowing this though, Yugi couldn't deny that Bakura and Mariku were more powerful now that they both had control of where they went and what they did during the day. Marik must feel the same way. But, now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen the Pharaoh in real life, either. He'd only ever seen him when one of them was in spirit form, or when they communicated through his mind; he'd never been able to touch him either. He hadn't been hugged when he was upset, or gotten a high-five, or a pat on the back in congratulation.
He wondered what it would be like; granted it would be odd, but it wasn't like he couldn't get used to it.
"Yugi?"
Ryou's voice snapped Yugi to the present.
"You don't seem too shocked…"
Yugi blinked up at Ryou. What had been said to make him shocked?
"Uh… Shocked about what?" He voiced.
Ryou stared down at him, "Yugi… we told you five seconds ago… are you feeling alright?" Ryou asked, then placed a hand on his forehead just to make sure.
Yugi tried to move away from his hand, but Ryou still had his hand on his head. Yugi then decided to slap his hand away. Surprisingly, he wasn't able to lift his arms or legs, only wiggle.
"Ryou, you can stop now. He's irritated," Mariku said, bumping his hip into Ryou's side. This caused his hand to fall away, and he whimpered. Yugi would too, if it was Mariku touching him. He was pretty scary, not to mention a psychopath.
"I'm not irritated," Yugi braved.
"Oh?"
"Listen, I just… want to know something."
"What is it?" Ishizu asked.
"Why are my arms and legs strapped down to the table?"
The room fell silent. Even the people that were standing back fell silent. No one moved, no one coughed; No one dared even to blink.
"Yugi…" Ryou said, a tremor of sadness escaping him as he said his name.
Yugi swiveled his head to look at Ryou. Ryou took a breath, "Well… we still weren't sure if you were the real Yugi…"
"Real me?" Yugi echoed confusedly.
"Yes," Ishizu chipped in, "You see, Yugi, when we found you, there was more than one you."
Yugi blinked; he let what Ishizu said sink in. That's right, he thought I was first knocked unconscious by another me I ran into in the hallway.
The more Yugi thought about what happened, the more he began to think about his visions. Now, he had a strange feeling that this 'other him' was somehow connected to what had happened in his vision. He only wished he knew this person's name though; he didn't like referring to him as 'his other self', because that obviously wasn't true by the way he had acted. Anyway, there was nothing really to suggest that his other self had even appeared in his vision, unless… The mirror! It had to be the mirror! I knew there was something wrong with it!
Yugi must have had a horrified look on his face, which is exactly what he felt when he thought about the mirror, because he was being shaken.
What surprised him though, was that Mariku and Bakura were the ones shaking him. When Bakura and Mariku both decided that Yugi was effectively snapped out of his thoughts, they let go of his shoulders.
"Yugi, don't space out like that. It's a hassle to get you back." Mariku murmured.
"S-sorry…" Yugi stuttered; he probably wouldn't ever get used to having Mariku, the psychopath, being in such a concerned and caring mood.
He then turned back to Ishizu, Marik and Ryou. It had only just dawned on him that Seto Kaiba was no longer there.
"Where's Kaiba?" He asked.
A small sigh escaped Ryou, and Yugi looked at him with interest. "While you were spacing out, Kaiba was called out for work." He said sadly.
"Called out for work?" Yugi asked.
"Do you know what a Wayther even is?"
"Yes," Yugi answered, "Sora explained what a Wayther was to me when I was with her…"
There was an uneasy silence that followed his words.
"Yugi…" Ishizu and Marik said in unison.
"…What?" Yugi asked warily.
"Sora… and Mira… They're the reasons we're here." Bakura spoke up.
Yugi's eyes widened, but then softened again with sorrow. "I had a feeling when I saw her in my vision…" Yugi murmured softly, "It's still so hard to believe since she was also so nice tom e."
When Yugi sighed, Ryou spoke up, sounding a little shocked in the process.
"She was… nice to you?"
"Yes…" He answered.
"Yugi, when she's with you, what does she look like?" Mariku interrupted. "What do you mean?" he answered, and his head swiveled over towards the spiky-haired Egyptian.
"I mean…" He thought a moment, "Did she look older, or younger when you're around her?"
"Oh…" now that Yugi thought about it, the Sora in his vision did seem older, but when he was with her before, she was young looking.
"She's young," Yugi answered.
Yugi was startled when relief seemed to wash over everyone's faces. "W-what is it?" he stuttered.
"Ishizu stepped forward then, eyes glowing with hope, "You may be our only way out of here, Yugi."
When Yugi held a puzzled expression, she elaborated.
"Marik, Odion, Mariku, and myself have been here longer than anyone else we know," She began, "We all are treated as Waythers here, and so when you came, I was curious as to why you weren't put with us and labeled as a Wayther.
"Marik, Odion and I were curious and did some asking around; what we gathered was really helpful.
"When Mira and Sora were babies, powerful and vengeful spirits were sealed away in them. These powerful spirits were ancient; even more ancient than Bakura, the Pharaoh, and even Mariku."
Yugi couldn't help but listen intently. Ryou was unbuckling the straps that held Yugi down; once he was released, he sat up and moved so his legs were dangling over the side of the table he was previously lying on. He turned his gaze back to Ishizu, telling her to continue.
She sat on the table next to Yugi and turned to face him before she continued her explanation.
"The spirits in which were sealed within Mira and Sora were thought to be silenced forever; however, the spirits were found to be able to manipulate their bodies and actions.
Like Mariku, if their host dies, they wouldn't be able to exist, so we suspect that their goal is to get bodies of their own or gain immortality in the host they're in."
Yugi pondered this a moment, "So, if they wanted to gain immortality, that would mean that their host won't ever die." He concluded.
"Exactly," Ishizu confirmed.
"But, how do we tell which one is which?" Yugi asked curiously.
"We can tell if it's the spirit easily, actually." Marik said happily, "It's just a matter of noticing before it's too late,"
"Oh…Kay…" Yugi started, "But, what you were saying before… about me…?"
"Oh," Ryou answered, "Well… since Sora seems young only around you, it's safe to say you're the only one she can be around as herself."
"Woah, woah, woah, woah… wait," Yugi crossed his arms in an 'X', "What do you mean 'young'?"
"That's how we tell between her and the spirit, "Mariku stated.
"Oh, well that makes… sense, I guess." Yugi said, a puzzling look still plain on his face.
"Listen," Bakura spoke up for the first time since seeing Mariku, "All you need to know is that you're safe. Sora and Mira's spirits won't be able to physically touch you, not if they want to be in control of their host's body, at least."
Yugi blinked, what Bakura said actually made a strange amount of sense. But… it still didn't quite fit when he was back in that vision. He'd been unconscious and in the same room when that girl… he couldn't think of that now. What was that girl's name, anyway? Kali… yeah, that was it. But… what had changed since that time?
As Yugi began thinking, he couldn't pull himself out of it. He felt like he was on a thought trail that could get him, and everyone else, out of this mess. The mess that he created. In fact, when all of this was over, he'd come clean with everyone and tell them the truth. That they were all involved in this because of him.
But, besides that, he thought, why am I able to control Mira and Sora's spirits instead of in the vision? What was different then?
There must be something that he had control over… If he could figure out what power he held that pushed the spirits away, he could use that to his advantage! He might be able to purposely shove the spirits away for good, and save Mira and Sora! And if Mira and Sora are saved, then everyone else, including the Millennium Items, will go back to where they belong- in his era. The only thing that remained now was a much needed plan. A plan that would work without fail.
"I think… I need to sleep." Yugi said, whilst rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands.
"That might be a good idea," Ryou replied. "But, I'd come stay with us. You can't be in her over night; it's used…" he trailed off.
Ryou was the only one left in the room now, besides him. It was getting really late, and only Ryou had insisted on staying to wait for Yugi.
"Ryou, are you saying you want me to go to that cell room with you?" Yugi questioned.
"Well… I'd honestly rather you not go anywhere else… especially when there's another you running around. And, to be honest, I can't really trust some people out there if something were to happen to you…"
Yugi let a yawn escape his mouth, "Alright, Ryou. Lead the way."
As Ryou helped him down from the bed, he'd realized that he hadn't been on his feet for quite a while; he swayed momentarily, and Ryou had his hands on Yugi's shoulders in order to keep him steady.
He was exhausted; he didn't expect to be thinking and zoning out like he did, but in a way, he was thankful no one disturbed his thought train.
Ryou led Yugi into the quiet little cell room; he entered in a different way then when he had first discovered the room. It was through a door in which was connected to the room he had woken up in hours before.
"Ryou, will I be able to lay down somewhere?" Yugi asked as Ryou grabbed the handle to the entrance of the cage.
"Yes, you'd be surprised at how big it actually is compared to the outside."
"Oh…" was all Yugi could say, before he was guided into the cell.
Ryou was right though, it was bigger on the inside. From his perspective, half the room wasn't part of the cell; that was the part he had walked in on, the first time. The other half of the room, which he was in now, was obviously the cell half. When you neared the middle of the room, cell bars blocked the path, and concrete flooring was put down. As you went further into the cell, however, the room expanded and plain grey carpet was laid down; there was also a cold draft coming from the walls. There were many beds in the cell room, but they were all scattered and pressed up against each other, much like it was all crammed into one place… which it was. But, it was plain to see that all the Waythers were well cared for. Clean blankets and pillows were scattered on the beds. At least Yugi knew that it slavery wasn't too bad; in fact, it much looked like work, only all the workers slept all together in one place.
Since it was night time now, every one of the Waythers were curled in their beds, blankets upon blankets covered them. The room was cold, and most of the Waythers were wearing coats and gloves under the snug blankets in order to keep them warm.
"This way, there's another bed next to mine that is empty; its less cold over there, so you should be plenty warm with blankets." Ryou said, and he guided Yugi down the rows of beds nearest to the cell bars. It seemed they had entered the cell from a back entrance.
As Ryou and Yugi reached the two neatly made beds, Ryou let one hand pull the covers back on one of the beds while he helped Yugi lay down again.
"You should be ok in the morning without help," Ryou whispered as Yugi settled in his bed. Yugi nodded and immediately fell into a deep sleep just as Ryou settled in his own bed and rolled over.
Yugi didn't exactly have pleasant dreams throughout the night. He tried his best to dream of peaceful things, but a nightmare took control. What he saw was his other self. Yugi didn't talk to him; his other self was just standing there. Not long after, though, a room appeared around them both, and Yugi's other self came to life. It was strange though, the room they were in, looked like one of the rooms from the palace. Yugi's other self started talking then, but at nothing. Unless talking to the wall counted.
"I need power to survive," his other self said, and then he swiveled around. "No, power is important, but I need energy to survive… your energy." He said, venom in his words.
Who's energy? Yugi thought; then, a bolt of fear shot through him. This was his look alike. This other self was created by him. So, it would only be natural to get energy from the linking source…
As Yugi was thinking this, Yugi's look-alike spun slowly around again, and looked directly at him. When Yugi noticed this, his thoughts halted right there; he couldn't move and he could no longer think. He could only stare into those cold, violet-purple eyes. It was like he could see him, even though he knew he was invisible; he couldn't even see his own hands.
"Yugi, only one of us can exist in this world and harness the power you hold; and I shall be that one to survive."
Yugi felt such a rush of panic that he could feel his legs shaking, but it was like his feet were rooted to that spot.
When his evil side turned away, the nightmare seemed to fade away, but Yugi couldn't stop shaking. He couldn't get that hungry look of power held in those eyes. Yugi thought he was still shaking due to the fright he had received, but the tug on his heart was warning him of something. He pushed it to the side though. He felt… drained; and when he woke up shivering, he still couldn't shake the other's face from his thoughts.
"Are you alright?" Ryou asked, leaning over Yugi's bed.
Yugi's thought came to a halt, and he looked over at Ryou. He felt bone-tired, and he just wanted to sleep. He could already feel his eyelids drooping, and Yugi didn't even have the strength to roll over.
His exhaustion must have shown on his face, because Ryou seemed to react badly to it. From what Yugi could see, but mostly hear, Ryou was running around, shouting. Ryou didn't wander too far from him though.
"Marik! Bakura! Mariku! Ishizu!" Ryou had shouted, "Please! We need to get Yugi some help!"
There were several fast paced stomps of feet-almost like people were running. Surely he wasn't in that bad of shape, was he?
"What's wrong!?" Ishizu's worried voice came. Yugi had wanted to sigh, but he didn't have the strength. He let his eyes slip closed, and he willed himself to get some sleep. There were shuffling of feet, and he was being poked and prodded, but Yugi didn't care. He wanted to sleep.
"He definitely doesn't look too good…" Mariku commented.
"I agree… I wonder if we should keep him here." Marik answered.
As much as Yugi tried, he couldn't fall into unconsciousness. Even his exhaustion wasn't enough. Maybe it was just because everyone was standing over him.
"Maybe we should-" Bakura's sarcastic remark was cut off by a sudden series of tremors that raced through his body. His eyes flew open, and Yugi saw worried faces; however that didn't last long before his eyes began to roll into the back of his head.
"Call for help!" Ishizu yelled, bumping Bakura. Bakura only nodded and ran out of the room.
Yugi felt all the tremors speed through his body with tremens force; he could literally feel his body shaking on his bed.
Then, it dawned on him as to what was happening. He was in serious trouble… having a seizure wasn't a good sign. How he was feeling so calm and not panicked, he wasn't sure.
Mariku and Ryou grabbed his legs and held him down while Ishizu did her best to hold his head still.
"Kaiba! Odion!" she eventually called, "Grab his arms!"
Two more feel shuffled on either side of him, and grabbed hold of his arms. Everything was happening so fast and he couldn't even think straight. His mind had only just barely registered that Bakura had already returned with a bunch of equipment, nurses, and a doctor.
What fully registered in his mind though, even with the shaking of his body, was the fact that he was being picked up and set on a portable bed- a stretcher.
Yugi didn't know what would happen after that though.
"Stabilize him!" shouted one doctor, but to Yugi, his words echoed in his ears; and a strange buzzing noise began. To be honest with himself, his thoughts grew wild.
This is it, he thought, I'm going to die right here, right now.
His eyes slid shut, and he began to have flashes of times not long ago. Tea, Tristan, Joey, what would they do? And Yami… poor Yami. Yami needed him to help find out who he really was three thousand years ago. What would Yami do? Think, even?
And Seto Kaiba, he may not see his brother again if he never gets out of this future era. Miki and Shiro too, their sister Kali was dead thanks to Sora and Mira. What would happen if he died? Would they still meet up with Yami like he had said?
There was also Ryou, Bakura, Mariku, and the Ishtar family. All of them would be trapped. He only wished he could have helped somehow before he died.
He felt another sharp pain race through his body, but this time, it was mostly centered around his heart area. Was he dying? Was this what it felt like to die? Was this how Yami felt when he died so long ago? Especially one that hurt so much…
Yet another pain squeezed his heart, and he couldn't help but wince internally. It seemed that he was truly a gonner… until he realized one possibility. The reason he was this way.
My other self! He thought, why didn't I realize this sooner? What did he say? That only one of us would survive? Didn't he also say that he needed my life energy? If that was true, then Yugi needed some way to fight back. If it was true that his other self could drain him of his energy, was it also true that he could do the same thing to him? If this was true, then how could he use that to his advantage? How could he come back? If he died, and then came back to life, he sure would get a lot of questions, especially from the doctors, and he didn't have time to dawdle. He needed to spring into action as soon as possible.
Maybe if he concentrated on his dark side, maybe, just maybe, if he thought about energy racing through his body, and feeling renewed, he could take back all of his life force energy as well as his energy. If he succeeded in taking his other self's energy, then that would solve that problem. He would no longer have to worry about problems like that. But, he had to wonder, if his dark side had free reign in the first place, what would he even do? Where would he go? There had to be something that his dark half wanted to achieve.
His thoughts were cut off when yet another agonizing jolt raced past his chest; he waited for it to pass before he could concentrate again. It came again though, and again… and again… and again. Wait! Yugi thought, Maybe this pulse of energy can help me pull my energy back! This could be the chance I've been waiting for! Concentrate!
Ryou's POV
"Get him on the stretcher!" the doctor yelled to his nurses. The doctor was an older looking man with grey hair, and he looked to be about sixty-five. All doctors had a name on a badge they had pinned on to their white coats. This doctor's name just so happened to be Vix, Ryou's favorite doctor whom had been gentle with him when he had gotten sick the second day he had arrived in this future era.
When the nurses complied, the Vix ordered them to hold Yugi's arms and legs down. His eyes were still open, but only the whites of his eyes were showing- his eyes had already rolled into the back of his head only moments before the doctors had arrived.
"Stabilize him!" Vix then ordered. One of the nurses looked up in panic, "Vix, we can't stabilize him here! We need to get him to the Emergency Ward."
Vix nodded, "Go, then!"
The nurses nodded, and Vix ran alongside them. Ryou and the others raced after them; Ryou was glad that Vix did well under pressure. To Ryou, Vix was the nicest person he had ever met that wasn't associated with any magic. In fact, If this had been the present time, he'd stick around this hospital all the time. Ryou bet that Vix could have even raised him when he was littler while balancing his job, though he wouldn't wish that kind of stress upon him. Still, he liked the idea of Vix as a father. It suited him well.
As Ryou exited the room, he found himself running alongside Bakura and Mariku. The others were running behind him. Ryou still couldn't figure out why Bakura and Mariku were being so helpful lately; for criminals who wanted to murder or get revenge on the Pharaoh, they sure seemed compliant when saving Yami's host from death.
Ryou pressed on down a long, narrow hallway; Vix and the others seemed to speed faster down the hallway. What made it so complicated to catch up was the fact that there were many twists and turns in order to get to the Emergency Ward. Bakura sure didn't go to the Emergency Ward to get Vix though; Ryou knew there was more than one hospital place, but Bakura must have gone straight to Vix's office. Well, it was the smartest thing to do though, because Vix's office was closer to the Wayther's room than anywhere else. The nurses though… they must have been in his office with him too, working on stuff, because there was no way they could have made it to the Wayther's room in the time that they did.
Ryou was suddenly snapped from his thoughts when he heard a yell from behind. Ryou turned to see what it was whilst he was running. He looked past Ishizu's shoulder to see a figure running towards them. Ryou was shoved away momentarily, and he turned again to see that Bakura had steered him around a turn, which he was grateful for.
"Oni*! My little Oni, what happened!?" the shout came again, only this time it was closer than it was before. Ryou chanced a glance back again, and a shiver ran through his body. He made his legs move faster; Bakura seemed to notice this action as well, and kept his pace with him.
The person that was behind them was wearing a dark blue, silk dress that flowed down her figure, and trailed out behind her a little; this contrasted with her hair. Her shiny, light blue hair, that fell around her shoulders. Her shoes were white heels that made a clicking sound on the granite flooring in the hallway. She was also wearing earrings; she was undoubtedly beautiful… and older looking. The figure was gaining on them, with a worried expression on her face.
"Bakura…" Ryou whispered while he ran around a corner, "Sora…" He bumped Bakura, and Bakura looked behind him. When his gaze turned back to Ryou, it was a calm collected expression, just like he had expected. "Don't worry about it, Ryou. Just run,"
With a nod from Ryou, they both sped on after the doctors. Ryou couldn't help thinking though, about what Sora had called out. Oni… Was it a nickname? If the spirit of Sora's body was looking for anyone, it would probably be Yugi's evil side… So he has a name then. Oni. He'd have to tell the others when everything was over. For now, he had to concentrate on keeping up with the doctors however; it wasn't long before they arrived at the Emergency Ward.
Everyone, including Vix and the nurses, burst through the main entrance, and ran over to yet another door, but this one was made of metal. Two of the nurses ran ahead; one opened the heavy metal door, and the other brushed the curtains aside. Vix and the nurses raced through, but Vix had said a quick thank you to the nurse holding the door. Once Vix was through, the nurses waited for the rest of the group to go through before they quickly followed behind them.
"Oni!" Sora screamed again; it was so loud that even Ryou's near deaf ears could hear her voice from behind the metal door.
Ryou didn't want to know how close Sora was already; she already seemed deadly close when they were running to the main entrance to the Emergency Ward. Ryou shook his head, and ignored the tiny burn in his lungs from running, and pushed onward, following Vix as he reached one of the beds and gently placed Yugi's still shaking form on the bed.
When Ryou and Bakura reached the bed, Ryou immediately noticed that Yugi's violent shakes looked weaker-like one of a person struggling to stay alive after being poisoned. One of the nurses lightly pushed Ryou and Bakura to the foot of the bed, where they could watch, but still be out of the way. Mariku, Kaiba, Odion, and the others were pushed away from the bed completely. This was probably due to the lack of space with so many people crowding around the small area around the bed.
"Hook him up to the machines, Hizanna," Vix said urgently.
"Yeah, Vix. I gotcha."
Then, just as the nurse named 'Hizanna' finished putting in an IV for Yugi, light foot falls appeared from behind where the metal door was. He turned around only to see Sora. And boy, was she furious. "Dammit! The wrong one!" She shouted; but unbeknownst to Sora, as well as Ryou, Bakura had snuck up behind Sora, and gave her a shove, causing her to fall forwards, towards Yugi.
The rage in her eyes melted away into a sorrowful and relieved expression. She stood up again, and turned around, facing Bakura. She gave an appreciative nod in his direction. He didn't acknowledge her gesture though, he merely walked back to where he was standing before, at the foot of Yugi's bed, standing right next to Ryou. It was only thanks to Yugi's presence, and Bakura's shove, that Sora was harmless at the moment.
"Yugi…" Sora said softly, as she saw Vix and the nurses placing an oxygen mask on his face. In turn, however, Vix and everyone else turned in shock at the sound of Sora's voice. Apparently they had been so engrossed with Yugi's condition to notice what had transpired moments ago. Ryou's friends were the only ones who took offensive stances-even Mariku and Bakura, surprisingly. With a pang, Ryou then realized why Bakura and Mariku were being so supportive and helpful. He'd been trying to figure out why earlier, and now that he knew, it seemed painfully obvious. They just wanted to get back to the present, to Domino City, with all the Millennium Items intact.
Ryou then noticed the sudden stillness on the bed. Yugi had stopped moving completely.
"Quick! The Defibrillator!" Vix shouted at the nurses.
Ryou could see Sora's hand shoot to her mouth, and a gasp escaped her.
At the doctors shout, a crowd seemed to slowly gather around, boxing Ryou, Sora, Vix, the nurses, and everyone else in; everyone who had gathered seemed to want to take a peek at what was happening.
"Clear!" Vix shouted.
A thump sounded. A few milliseconds passed before the nurse said, "No BP, no pulse,"
"Again," Vix said; the nurses moved away for a second and Vix shouted "Clear!" then Yugi's chest jerked upwards, and the nurses moved over to him again.
Same result, "No BP, no pulse,"
Ryou started to get teary; he'd never witnessed any deaths, well, not in person. In a hospital. Watching them die.
It was too much; out of habit he couldn't help but cling to Bakura's front, sobs building up. Usually, in his body, Bakura didn't want anything to happen to his host's body, so, as to prevent Ryou from doing something stupid, he comforted the boy.
Bakura patted Ryou's back awkwardly- he'd never had any physical contact with the boy whilst comforting him before. Ryou could tell, but he didn't care. He just needed comfort, and Bakura was the closest, and the most likely to do so.
"No!" Sora had screamed.
Ryou's head whipped around to look at her; he saw her drop to her knees and hug herself as Vix and the nurses continued their ministrations. Sora was crying, just like Ryou was, but not as full blown out and end-of-the-worldish.
Vix paid her no attention, still demanding shocks to Yugi's non-beating heart.
Sora got on her hands and knees and crawled over to Yugi's bedside; Vix and the nurses moved around for her. It seemed she was a special case, as they let her continue to kneel there.
She sat up on her knees again, and reached up to grip one of Yugi's motionless hands.
"Please," she whispered, "Don't die. I need you… And besides, I couldn't live with myself if you were to die. You are the only friend I ever had, and you mean so much to me…"
One more thump sounded as Sora's head hit the side of Yugi's bed, and she rubbed her forehead against the sheets whilst she cried.
Then the nurse shouted something she least expected, "Pulse! I have a pulse!"
Immediately Ryou and Sora stopped crying
"Alright!" Vix shouted; it seemed the old man wasn't as old as he looked, because he gave a little bounce of joy before walking over. The crowd melted away, and Vix, with the help of the nurses, finished up their work on making Yugi as comfortable as can be in order to make it the rest of the day and night.
Sora wiped at her tear-stained face with one hand, while the other hand still gripped Yugi's hand. She stood up then, not letting go.
"I'm so glad you're ok," She whispered to him. "Please stay that way." The ten-year-old then leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Yugi's cheek.
Ryou smiled, it seemed that Sora had a pretty big bond with Yugi already; while he thought about this though, he realized there was still something that he hadn't done that he had the chance to do. He had to talk to the others about what had happened earlier, right when Sora had appeared. The bit of information that only he had noticed when Sora was in hearing range.
Making sure that Sora was efficiently distracted, he pulled Bakura away from the foot of Yugi's bed, and over to the others. Mariku, the Ishtar family, and Kaiba were by three empty beds. They were talking about Yugi, and his near death experience. The topic then reached a 'what would happen if he actually did die' stage when Bakura was lead over.
He was surprised at the easiness of pulling Bakura; he didn't give much resistance at all. When Ryou tapped on Ishizu, the main source of the talking, he stopped her mid sentence, and everyone fell quiet.
"Guys," Ryou began; when he was sure everyone wasn't joking around, like Mariku was, he continued. "I think Yugi's other self has a name."
Ishizu and Marik exchanged glances, but Bakura and Mariku just laughed really hard.
"Everyone has a name, Ryou!" Mariku said between laughing fits.
Ryou frowned, "Well… I just feel uneasy about this one…"
Mariku and Bakura stopped laughing then, and leaned in, interested.
"Well? What was the name, Ryou?" Mariku urged. By now, Ishizu, Odion, Marik and Kaiba had leaned in too.
"Well," Ryou began, "Sora called for him while we were out in the hallway, before this all happened. I don't think you were paying attention to what she was saying when she was chasing us down the hall…" he trailed off then, wondering how to put into words what he was thinking.
"Get on with it!" Kaiba snapped; Ryou jumped, but complied. "She called him Oni…"
There was a sudden silence among the group. Then, a sudden, and uncharacteristic, intake of breath had been heard from Mariku. Everyone had swiveled their heads in surprise. Mariku didn't normally act surprised about anything, he usually didn't give a damn about anything. Not unless it was important to him, anyway.
"What is it, Mariku?" Bakura asked warily. Apparently Bakura hadn't seen Mariku act like this either, so he was interested in what Mariku was going to say. There was a silence that followed Bakura's words, and the more the silence drew on, the more Mariku's face became horrified. Then, when Ryou was about to speak up again, Mariku said something that Ryou, nor anyone in the group would have ever thought he'd say.
"Oni…" He began, "I know him. He's from my past, and the reason I'm here today."
:O Mariku's past?! No freaking way! I thought you might like that little twist at the end there. I noticed that both the abridged AND original series of Yu-Gi-Oh! Didn't really explain about Mariku, or how he really fit into the picture. Only that he was just a spirit inhabiting Marik's body.
Oh, did you like Sora's meltdown? LOL.
****Oni means Demon in Japanese ^^***
Anyway, hoped this cleared up a lot of confusion you may have had. I think Ishizu explains a lot of it; please tell me if this chapter was helpful and good! Also, don't forget about my Poll on my profile! I need some answers :3
Please, don't forget to PM me any ideas you might have, they are always greatly appreciated, and I'll make sure to give you credit for the idea. They help me a lot when I'm writing each chapter.
Questions to think about:
-What are Mira and Sora's spirits up to? Who are they?
-What will become of Oni after the events that transpired?
-What will Yami's next actions be?
