Do You Really Love Me?

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh GX. I also do not own Caitlin and Lisa, but I am using them with permission.

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I'm back at school and on top of that I've had a case of writer's block and some other stuff. To be honest I was a little intimidated by this chapter because of the fact that it's so intense (well for me it was intense). Those of you who like long chapters, here you go! - I hope you enjoy! I know there were some of you who were starting to miss a certain character, so I've got good news. He's back!

Chapter 8 – Who's In Danger?

Alexis shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight that was trying to pierce through the tree tops of the woods. Why am I out here? The pretty blonde noticed that not too far ahead was a fork in the forest trail. This particular location seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. As she walked along the path she felt as though she was actually walking bare foot. When she stubbed her toe on a stone in her path she looked down at her feet and saw that she was bare foot. She wasn't even dressed to be outside either for that matter for she was still wearing her white nightgown. The Queen of Obelisk Blue blushed at this realization. Why am I out in the middle of the woods still wearing my nightclothes? She didn't have long to ponder this however.

Out of nowhere a girl with dirty blonde hair wearing red sweat pants and a white t-shirt came running down one of the paths in front of Alexis. For a moment everything seemed to be in slow motion for Alexis. She could see the panic-stricken face of the stranger clearly. Alexis's eyes widened as she realized who the stranger was. She was one of the girls from the Slifer Red Dorm! But what's wrong? Why is she running? Not too far behind the terrified girl was a Celtic Guardian who appeared to be following her in hot pursuit with his sword drawn. Whoa! What is a Celtic Guardian doing chasing her?

A second look at the rest of the Slifer Red girl's pursuers made Alexis do a double take. Not only did she have a Celtic Guardian chasing her but she also had a Blue Eyes White Dragon and a Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, and bringing up the rear was a man dressed in a black ninja outfit and a duel disk.

The Slifer Red girl sped down the other path, away from Alexis, and the monsters and the unknown duelist quickly followed. Alexis started to race after them in hopes of trying to help the girl if she could. The Blue Eyes breathed its white lightning in the girl's direction at the ninja's command. Oh, no! They're not just chasing her, they're attacking her!

After a few minutes of running after her schoolmate and her attackers, Alexis noticed that she couldn't seem to run fast enough to catch up with them. Everything around Alexis started to blur, making everything look like an abstract water-color painting. She heard her schoolmate's cries for help as Alexis frantically searched for her. Suddenly everything went quiet, and then a bright blinding light from somewhere deep in the forest was accompanied by an ear-piercing scream.

Alexis sat straight up in her bed as she woke up from her dream with small beads of cold sweat lining her brow. Oh, no! I've got to warn Caitlin!

The early morning sun's rays were trying to peak through the blinds that hung over the window in Caitlin and Lisa's dorm room, letting Lisa know it was time to get up to go for her morning run. She forced herself out of bed and noticed a note had been slipped under the door. She picked it up and opened it to find it was a note from Bastian saying that he wasn't feeling well this morning so he was going to stay in bed today. Lisa sighed in disappointment as she returned to her bed. She really enjoyed running with Bastian in the mornings. For a split second she thought that maybe he had had enough of her, but then she silently scolded herself for thinking such a thing. If that was the case then he would have showed signs that he was getting bored of me much sooner.

"You're not going for your run this morning with tall, dark, and handsome?" inquired a voice from across the room.

Lisa looked up from Bastian's note and answered her best friend with her disappointment evident in her voice, "No. He's not feeling well this morning."

Caitlin sat up slowly, "Well if you'd like, I'll run with you this morning. I know it's been awhile since the last time we actually spent any time together."

Lisa thought for a minute before responding, "You're right, Caitlin! That's been mostly my fault I'm afraid since I've…"

Her roommate smiled knowingly, "It's just as much my fault as it is yours. It's alright. That's why I'm suggesting that we go ahead and take this opportunity to spend some time together, so we can talk and catch up."

"It sounds great!"

With that the two girls got up and started to get dressed so they would be ready to walk out the door.

A little while later during that same hour Alexis sprinted to the Slifer Red Dorm. I've got to get there before Caitlin decides to go anywhere! After she had waked up from the nightmare she had had earlier she had hurried out of bed and quickly slid on a pair of shoes. A half-asleep Jasmine had tried to stop her on her way out to ask her what was wrong, but Alexis had sped past her nearly knocking her down. I'm sorry, Jasmine, but I can't let what happened to Mindy happen to anyone else.

As the Slifer dorm came in sight, Alexis prayed that she wasn't too late. She then realized that she didn't know which room was Caitlin's. But I know someone who does! In less than what seemed to be a few seconds, she was pounding on Syrus, Jaden, and Chumley's door once again. This time though Jaden was the one to answer. He rubbed his eyes as he sleepily asked, "What's up, Alexis?"

"Jaden, where's Caitlin's room?"

"It's downstairs, next door to Rachel's. Why?"

Then he noticed that she was in her nightgown once again, "Did you have another nightmare?"

Alexis didn't answer for she had quickly turned on her heel to rush down to Caitlin's room. She pounded on the door for several minutes, but no one answered.

"I don't think she's there, Lex," stated Jaden as he approached her still wearing his pajamas as well.

"Well, don't you two make a lovely pair? Both of you still decked out in you pajamas," said a sarcastic voice that was one floor up which belonged to none other than Chazz Princeton.

"Now how about you two quit making all that racket?" the former Obelisk Blue student asked sharply.

Jaden smiled, "Good morning to you too, sun-shine!"

Rachel's door opened to reveal the red-headed TA with a cup of coffee in hand and a frown on her face that was aimed at her three students. "What seems to be the problem?"

Alexis explained that she was looking for Caitlin and asked if Rachel if she knew where Caitlin could be. Rachel questioned her Obelisk Blue pupil further, "Alexis, is something wrong?"

"I think that Caitlin may be in trouble or that she might be at some point in the near future."

"What makes you think so?"

Alexis told her about the dream she had had, and as she got to the part where she had realized in the dream that she was on one of the forest trails Rachel's facial expression changed to one of concern. A voice with a British accent stated from behind Alexis, "That path you mentioned sounds a lot like the trail that Lisa takes in the morning when she goes for her morning run."

Chazz still standing on the balcony one floor above them scoffed, "In case you weren't listening, Bastian, Alexis said that it was Caitlin that is or will be in trouble, not your girlfriend. Speaking of which, you're off to a late start aren't you? Don't you and Lisa usually run together in the morning?"

The handsome Ra Yellow student nodded, "We do usually, but she sent me this note saying that she was ill this morning, and I came to check up on her."

Rachel furrowed her brow in confusion, "Lisa is fine, Bastian. She and Caitlin both went running together this morning."

"What? Are you sure, Rachel?"

The red-head nodded in response, "I saw them as I was coming back from the cafeteria. I think I even over-heard Lisa saying, 'I can't believe that Bastian is sick.'"

Alexis frowned, "It sounds like both of them may be in trouble. I say we all go look for them."

Jaden nodded in agreement, "Let's go!"

Rachel quickly caught each of the duo by the arm as she firmly stated, "Not in your pajamas, you two! Jaden, go get changed right quick. Alexis, I'll let you borrow an outfit of mine. The rest of you, however, can get started looking for Lisa and Caitlin now. I want you all to split into groups of two at least."

"What? You can't be serious, Rachel? You want us to look for Lisa and Caitlin just because Alexis had a nightmare?

"No, Chazz. I want you to look for them because of this whole thing about Bastian receiving a note from Lisa saying that she's ill when she went running this morning and seemed perfectly healthy. I doubt its Lisa's nature to lie about something like this."

"And not to mention that duelist that attacked Mindy is still out there," added Alexis.

"Alright, fine! The Chazz is on the case!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Chazz's statement as she was about to make a remark, but Jaden nudged her and quietly cut her off, "All we need to do is humor him."

Jaden then exclaimed with a grin on his face, "You heard Chazz, everyone! Let's get this search party started!"

Meanwhile along the forest trail, Lisa and Caitlin were stopping to catch their breath. The two best friends had been running for a little over half an hour already so they were due a break. Lisa wiped her brow as she noticed Caitlin claiming a large rock so she could sit and rest. She gently teased Caitlin, "Shame for shame! You haven't been running every day and now it's catching up with you."

Caitlin shook her head as she smiled, "Yeah, I know. So, tell me how did you and Bastian start running together every morning?"

"Well, he was on a morning walk one day while I was on my morning run. We got to talking…."

"And he asked you to be his girlfriend?"

Lisa blushed, "No. Actually he hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend yet. We agreed to get to know each better as good friends first and then just go from there."

"Really? It looks like you two are already a couple," Caitlin stated in surprise.

"If I hadn't overheard you and Syrus talking yesterday when we were heading back to the dorm, then I would have thought the same thing about you two," said Lisa with a mischievous grin spreading from ear to ear.

It was Caitlin's turn to blush. She smiled at the memory of her and Syrus talking the day before. "So what do you think Syrus wants to talk to you about at your rendezvous later on?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you think that he wants to ask you to be his girlfriend?"

Caitlin's blush went from pink to almost crimson as she managed to say, "I….don't know,"

"But?"

"But I hope he does," finished Caitlin quietly.

Lisa placed a gentle reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder as she offered a few words of comfort, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. He's crazy about you. Every time he's around you, I can see his admiration for you written on his face."

"Do you really think he likes me?"

Lisa nodded.

For a few minutes the two were silent. Then Lisa playfully shouted, "I'll race you back to the dorm, Caitlin! Ready, get set, go!"

With that Lisa took off while Caitlin rose from her seat and exclaimed, "Lisa, wait a minute!"

She sighed as rushed to catch up with her friend, but Lisa was too fast for her. She knows I don't know the path that well! Pretty soon Lisa was out of her sight, and not before too long she came to a fork in the trail. This is great! This is another reason to go running everyday: so I can get to know the trails better. For several minutes she stood at the fork wondering which way led back to the dorm. There was a sign that was supposed to tell her which way to go, but the painted letters were so faded and chipped, that she couldn't make out what it said. Well I guess I'll just have to try process of elimination. With her mind made up she decided to take the path that veered right. But for now I'm just going to walk. I'm tired enough as it is.

Jaden rushed back upstairs in what seemed like a flash. He went through his closet quickly in search of some decent clothes. Finally he settled on a gray pair of shorts and a red t-shirt. As he was finishing getting dressed Syrus and Chumley walked in through the door. Syrus smiled as he said, "Jay, they're still serving breakfast in the cafeteria if you're…."

"There's no time, Sy," Jaden replied.

"What's the big rush?" Chumley inquired.

Jaden looked up from the task of putting his socks and shoes on as he stated, "I'll have to explain on the way. You're definitely not going to like it, Sy."

"Huh? What do you mean, Jay?"

Caitlin searched anxiously for a sign or anything that would give her a clue as to where she was. The part of the forest she found herself in had a thick, green canopy overhead that allowed very little sunshine through. There were no birds singing or any other animals about anywhere. The only sound to be heard for miles was Caitlin's footsteps on the dirt path. As she continued to walk on, a ghostly white mist slowly started to engulf her. Before she realized it, the mist completely surrounded her. It became so thick that she could barely see what lay before her. The thought that she could easily walk off a cliff and not even notice it until it was too late, made her stomach churn. What should I do? I never thought this would happen on a morning run. Should I yell for help?

Suddenly, the frightened girl heard what sounded like a twig snap behind her. Instantly, she froze, stopping dead in her tracks straining her ears to listen for any other sounds of movement around her. For a few minutes she didn't hear anything. She breathed a deep sigh of relief. Maybe I should turn back…

As Caitlin was about to turn around, she felt a cold, metallic hand grab her by the arm.

Syrus, Jaden, Alexis, Rachel, and Chumley followed Bastian and Chazz as the two led the way down the path that Bastian knew to be the path that Lisa and Caitlin most likely took. Jaden and Alexis quickly filled Syrus and Chumley in on what was going on. As soon as Syrus realized that the two missing girls were in possible danger, he quickened his steps and frantically looked around for any possible signs of where Caitlin and Lisa could possibly have gone. Chumley, Bastian, and Chazz started calling out the two girls' names. Pretty soon Syrus joined in. Oh, man! I feel so helpless! Caitlin and Lisa could be anywhere. They could be lost or…seriously hurt!

Syrus's last thought made his stomach do a swan dive. He tried to put the thought out of his mind, but it refused to quit eating away slowly at his composure. Jaden turned to his best friend upon noticing Syrus's anxiety, "Don't worry, Sy. I'm sure Caitlin is fine. Mindy didn't have anyone with her when she was attacked, but Caitlin does. As long as Lisa and Caitlin are together they'll be fine."

Syrus nodded quietly, "That's true. There is strength in numbers."

Alexis added trying to sound as positive as Jaden, "That's right! Just think, Syrus, when we find Lisa, we'll find Caitlin too."

Upon hearing these words the blue-haired boy smiled a small smile and relaxed a little, "Thanks, guys."

Bastian shouted Lisa's name once again and then Caitlin's. The Ra Yellow student called out Lisa's name once again a little louder than the last time.

"Bastian! I'm right here! No need to shout!" exclaimed a familiar voice as the owner fought her way through a few bushes behind the group. Everyone turned to see Lisa with wind blown hair and few stray twigs clinging to her t-shirt and her bangs.

Bastian rushed towards her and drew her into a tight embrace as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her friends gathered around her asking her a whole bunch of questions. As Lisa reluctantly released her crush she felt Syrus's hand grasp her shoulder as he asked her, "Where's Caitlin?"

The others fell silent as they awaited her answer. Lisa questioningly raised an eyebrow as she replied, "I don't know. The last time I saw her we were racing back to the dorm. I thought she was following me, but when I got back to the dorm I turned and looked back and realized that she wasn't behind me… Bastian? I thought … You sent me a note this morning telling me you were sick…."

Bastian pulled a folded piece of paper out of his blazer pocket as he handed it to her, "I thought you had sent me a note telling me that you were ill."

Lisa opened the note and looked it over carefully. She furrowed her brow as she shook her head, "I didn't write this."

Rachel asked, "Does the hand-writing in Bastian's note look similar to the hand-writing in the note you received?"

Lisa looked closely at the beautifully written words on the page once again and then nodded, "They do."

Syrus swallowed as he realized what this meant, "You two were set up. Someone wanted Lisa to go running by herself this morning."

Lisa's heartbeat started to quicken as Syrus's words sunk in, "Oh, my… Caitlin!"

Caitlin ran down the path not daring to look back. Looking back at this point would be pointless. She could hear her pursuers chasing her down the forest trail. The mist still made it hard for her to see, but she couldn't afford to slow down and be cautious. Tree branches scratched her face as she weaved through denser part of the woods. Stones and fallen sticks caused her to stumble a few times, but she managed to catch herself and press on. She had what appeared to be a knight on horse back, a Celtic warrior, something that closely matched the description of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and a man dressed in a white ninja outfit chasing her. If she had just seen these guys at a distance earlier and the Celtic warrior hadn't grabbed her by the arm she would have thought her eyes had been playing tricks on her. She would have thought that she was having a dream …or a nightmare where a Celtic Guardian, a Blue Eyes White Dragon, a Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, and…whatever Duel Monster the ninja was supposed to be, were fighting her. Whether they're real or not, I'm not stopping to find to out! As far as Caitlin was concerned the weapons that ninja and the other warriors carried looked real enough. As Caitlin came to a fork in the trail she took the path that veered right hoping that she would be able to loose her pursuers. Taking the path would make it easier for them to catch her since there were little to no obstacles. The mist started to thin out, but as the mist disappeared, Caitlin found herself staring up into the face of a wall of what appeared to be sandstone that rose at least ten to fifteen feet above her. The frightened girl realized that she had nowhere to go. She was trapped!

Caitlin turned to see her hunters had come for her. Gaia appeared on his horse on her left, Celtic Guardian on her right, and the Blue Eyes carried the ninja on its back. Both warriors drew their weapons while the ninja dismounted the dragon. He addressed her in an emotionless voice, "You must duel me for your freedom if you wish to see your friends again."

Caitlin tried to appear brave or at least braver than what she felt, "And if I don't?"

The masked stranger drew close to her. When he was arm's-length away from her, he grabbed her chin and raised her face so that her eyes were level with his, "You're in way over your head. Don't try to be brave, Missy."

Caitlin quickly freed her chin by turning her face away from him abruptly. He claimed her chin once more with a firmer grasp, "You have a lot more spirit than that classmate of yours I defeated the other night. This will be a very interesting duel."

With that he shoved a duel disk into her hands as he turned away from her. Seeing this as her opportunity, Caitlin raised the duel disk high over head and forcefully brought it down on her challenger's head.

Professor Banner stepped out of the helicopter as he shouted his thanks to the pilot and hurried off heading towards the Slifer Red dorm. As he made his way off the landing area he found Zane Truesdale heading for the Slifer dorm as well. "Zane, wait up!"

His pupil turned to see who was addressing him. "Professor Banner, you're back a little early aren't you?"

"Rachel called me and told what had happened to Mindy."

Zane nodded in understanding, "Yeah, everyone has been worried about her. I just left the clinic and according to the nurse there are no signs of improvement yet."

"That's Rachel told me that most of the students, especially the Obelisks, have been greatly distressed."

As the Slifer dorm came in site, Zane added, "Rachel asked me to check on Mindy this morning and to stop by her room to let her know how she's doing. I think out of all those on staff Rachel has worried the most. She's been encouraging students to not go anywhere without at least one other person companying them."

Professor Banner smiled slightly, "That's my… Yes, that is Rachel for you."

If Zane had heard Banner almost call his T.A. "my Rachel," then he didn't show it. He let out a small sigh, and continued on the path, "I need to stop by Rachel's room too and relieve her of Pharaoh."

At the mention of Pharaoh, Zane smiled and nodded. For a minute it seemed like he was trying to suppress a chuckle. "Is there something about Pharaoh, I need to know about?"

Zane shook his head, "I think your T.A. will gladly let you in on what happened. Don't worry… or at least not now."

A few seconds later the two found themselves at Rachel's door. Banner knocked loudly once. When no one answered he knocked again even louder. Then a voice coming from the second floor landing said, "Rachel's not here Professor Banner."

The professor looked up to see that the owner of the voice was Eric, one of his other Slifer Red pupils, as he asked, "Where is she?"

The search party had followed Lisa back to the last spot where Caitlin had been seen. From there they continued to follow the trail to see if there were any other paths that the missing Slifer could have taken. When they finally came to a fork in the road, Alexis gasped as she realized where they were. Jaden heard her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"This is the place in my dream…"

Alexis rushed ahead of the group and then stopped in the center of the fork and studied the path. Sure enough there were fresh footprints both human and those belonging to a horse! She turned and motioned for her friends to follow, "This way!"

As they hurried down the path that Alexis knew to be the one where Caitlin's pursuers had chased her, Syrus asked, "Where are we going, Alexis?"

Lisa chimed in, "Yeah, what's the hurry?"

Caitlin fought her captives like a rabid lioness. She used her nails, fists, and the few crude weapons from the earth that were at her disposal such as rocks. She was pretty sure that she had already broken the ninja's nose, so for now he was standing beside the Blue Eyes and Gaia's horse holding covering his nose with one hand and shouting commands at the Celtic Guardian and a dismounted Gaia. Since she didn't have a shield, she had to dodge blades by physically moving out of the way. She was already sporting various bruises from where the ninja had struck her. Gaia and the Celtic Guardian had managed to give her a few wounds with their weapons, but how bad they were she couldn't tell. All she knew at that moment was that she had to keep fighting.

Finally Gaia managed to pin her to the sandstone wall, while the Celtic took a step back waiting for his master's orders. The ninja inquired sharply, "Are you going to be a good girl now and duel me?"

Caitlin narrowed her gaze at him as she shook her head. He approached her with anger radiating from him like heat from a furnace. As he passed the Celtic Guardian, the ninja took the warrior's sword from him and raised the weapon over his head as he prepared to strike.

Alexis treaded down the path in great haste as her companions followed. Syrus felt his stomach churning nervously. Jaden had told him about the dream that Alexis had had. Does she know precisely what's going to happen to Caitlin? Is she going to end up like Mindy, or even die? He shook his head as he tried to banish the horrible thought from his mind.

A moment later an ear-piercing scream rang out through the forest. Alexis broke into a sprint as she cried, "Caitlin!"

Syrus and the others followed in hot pursuit. Time seemed to drag on for Syrus, so there was no telling how long it took them to finally find Caitlin. When they did find her, the shortest member of the group felt his heart almost stop. He ran to her and knelt down by her side as he frantically shook her. "Caitlin, can you hear me? Please wake up!"

He gathered her into his arms as Bastian and Lisa approached and knelt down to examine her wounds. On the left side of her brow there was a gnash about an inch and a half long. A few drops of blood fell from her nose onto her lip making it hard to tell if her lip was bleeding as well or not. The only other noticeable wound was the one on her right side. The wound itself wasn't visible, but her clothing over her side was damp with blood.

Bastian nudged Syrus as he stated, "We need to get her to the clinic fast. Come on we don't have to time to waste!"

Syrus lifted Caitlin and followed the others as they hurried to the clinic. A tears fell blurred his vision as the horrible thought that he might actually loose the girl who had come to mean more to him than any other girl on the face of the earth returned to haunt him. Please don't die, Caitlin! Please live!

A/N: Let me know if something doesn't make sense. Thank you, Raymanly73, again for all your help!