Sage, what are you doing?

Sage: Eeeh! DarkHeart, you're back! I-I was not selling your things on eBay. No sir! I was being a good girl!...So, where'd you go?

Oh that's a funny story actually, you see—

Sage: Wait! Wait a minute…I seemed to have stopped caring.

But it's an awesome story!

Sage: Nope. I'm done caring.

…Okay readers! Good news! I'd done with this story! So that means a new chapter every day until it's all posted. Thanks for being so patient with me.

-0-0-0-0-

All was silent for a short moment as Joey stood there, staring at the woman. He had heard the words she spoke, but it took a moment for them to register in his head, and when they finally did, he snapped.

"No." He hissed, taking a step towards Regina. "You're not going to take him away from me!"

Regina stood her ground, and did not even flinch at Joey's outburst. "Mister Wheeler, this is Yugi's second time in Intensive Care in one year, is it not?"

Joey gritted his teeth, but felt his body tense up. "Yeah, but…"

"Mister Wheeler, I have looked over Yugi's file, and I can say I am not pleased. He's a high school dropout, no GED. He's been orphaned since the age of four, but his grandfather died when he was fourteen. You are his guardian and I must say whatever judge granted you that, needs to have his legal license revoked at once! You are in no condition to be looking after him!"

"That's a load of bull!" Joey retorted. "I'm doing a good job!"

"Take a look around, Mister Wheeler. If you were doing a good job, would we be in the hospital?"

"That's out of my control!" Joey pleaded.

Regina scrunched her nose and a look of disgust came across her face. "Do I smell alcohol on your breath?"

Joey froze and took a step back from Regina. He had forgotten all about going to the bar earlier with Yami. And now this lady could smell it on his breath. He gulped, knowing he had just dug his own grave.

"Underage drinking is a crime, Mister Wheeler." She drug out her sentences, and began to scowl at Joey. "And is certainly not something a responsible guardian would partake in."

"Look lady," Joey growled, "yes, I had some drinks, but it has nothing to do with my ability to take care of Yugi!"

"I find that hard to believe. Were you out drinking while Yugi was out wandering the city by himself, in the middle of the night?"

Joey said nothing. She was right, and was only bringing up a point Joey had berated himself with a hundred times already. If he hadn't gone out, then Yugi wouldn't have gone out after Jack. They all would be sleeping back in the apartment, and wouldn't be going through this hell. Joey wouldn't be fighting back tears right now. He wasn't going to cry in front of this lady. He wasn't going to give her anymore reason to try and take Yugi away.

"When Yugi is well enough to leave, he shall not be going home with you. I shall escort him to the Tokyo Orphanage."

"You can't do that!" Joey said. "He's almost eighteen. Isn't there a statute of limitations on this sort of thing?"

Regina gave him a sympathetic smile. "Children shouldn't be raising children, Mister Wheeler. I'm sorry."

The doctor coughed, interrupting them. It was obvious he felt awkward about standing right behind them and hearing the entire conversation. He felt partly guilty. He had called Regina out here by hospital protocol. It was hard to believe that his patient being in the ICU twice in just the span of one year was merely coincidence.

He didn't have any opinion on Joey's skills as a guardian. He was sure the boy was trying as hard as he could. But, he was still young and wasn't mature enough to handle the responsibilities. He was intoxicated at the moment anyways.

But, it wasn't any of his business what happened to his patient once he recovered. It would be something the courts worked out, not him.

"Sir?" He said, gaining Joey's attention. "You can see your friend if you want." He looked up at the trio to see nothing but sadness and sorrow. "You all can; but we ask you only go in one at a time. Hospital rules, I'm afraid."

Joey snorted and shook his head. "Fuck this. I'm going home." He pushed past the doctor and stormed towards the exit doors, earning confused gazes from Anzu and Yami.

"Joey, wait!" Anzu squealed, going after him. Yami got up from his chair and too began to follow the blonde through the halls. He had no idea what to think of what had just transpired; he had heard every word, but didn't know what to think.

He wouldn't let Yugi be taken away, though. He would do everything in his power to keep Yugi with his friends, where he belonged. He silently promised Joey this as he ran after him. He promised Joey that Yugi wasn't going anywhere. He hadn't seen which way Anzu went, but he followed his own institution, going to way his feet moved.

He stopped, suddenly, seeing Joey. He was standing in front of a wall, his head down and bangs shielding his face. Then, he let out a roar of raw pain and punched the wall in front of him, sending vibrations all the way down. Then, he fell to his knees and pressed his forehead against the wall, taking his other hand and covering his face with it. He began to sob.

Yami exhaled and began to approach Joey slowly, his footsteps echoing in the quiet halls of the hospital. He came behind Joey and gently placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder. Joey didn't even flinch. Yami looked down to see his tears dripping onto the tiled floor. It was a hard sight to take in, but he understood the teenager's pain.

"Hey," Yami said, in the most comforting voice he could muster. He hadn't spoken in hours, and thought he had lost his voice. But, he found It coming back to him as he tried to comfort his friend. "It'll be okay; Yugi's alive." Yami couldn't help but smile as he spoke the fact. He hadn't expected his small love to survive. He hated thinking that, but he was so sure that the young teen would've died. But, he was alive. And Yami was thrilled at that fact.

"Yugi's alive." Yami repeated. "He's going to be okay. He's going to be okay."

Joey took his hand away from his face, but didn't face Yami. "You know where I was the last time I cried?" His voice was low and dry, no emotion evident in it.

Yami said nothing.

"I was right here. This exact spot. The doctors told me that Yugi was going to die. They said the odds of him recovering were astronomical."

"But we know what happened." Yami said. "Yugi beat the odds, and he's going to beat the odds again."

"They offered me the option of pulling the plug."

Yami froze when he heard those words.

"And…I almost went through with it."

Yami felt his tongue becoming fat in his mouth and his throat grew dry. Had he heard that right? Joey almost took Yugi off life support? He couldn't see Joey doing that; the love he had for Yugi was so strong; the care he had for the younger teen. How could he possibly even have thought of pulling the plug?

"I hate myself for saying it, and you probably hate me now too. But…I felt like I didn't have much of a choice. Yugi was going to die either way, they said. There was no way he could completely recover from such an injury. So, for three days I sat by his bed while he laid in a coma, and I thought to myself, 'What the hell am I going to do?'. If I take him off life support, I would've killed my best friend. But, I also would've been saving him from a life time of pain and misery. But, would I have been? What if life got better for him after this? What if he did recover? If he did wake up, would he even want to live?

"Yugi always saw the bright side of things and every time the World pushed him down he got right back up on his feet again…but I didn't think that he would be able to recover from what happened. The physical wounds were bad, but the emotional…"

Joey turned around and looked at Yami, his eyes red and puffy. Yami felt his heart go out for the younger man. Nobody should have to go through so much emotional torment. No one should have that choice, the choice of allowing your friend to live or die, placed upon them.

"In the end…I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. And," a broken sob, "it was a good thing too. Because he woke up. He woke up, he beat the odds, by God he was going to be okay. He was healing and he did his best to try and get over all that happened, he did his best to recover from the wounds…I thought I had made the right call. And look where we are now. Back in the same bloody hospital, with the same bloody circumstances…" He took a pause. "I'm going to lose my best friend."

Yami tightened his grip on Joey's shoulder. "Don't talk like that. Nothing is going to happen. Yugi's not going anywhere. I promise."

He hoisted Joey up to his feet. "Now come on. Let's go see him."

Joey shook his head. "No." He said.

Yami paused again. "What do you mean 'no'? Don't you want to see him?"

"I-I do. But…there's something else that needs to be done. Something important."

"What could be more important than seeing your best friend?"

Joey's eyes darkened at that moment and a murderous glint shone in them. "Nothing, but….You'll see. Come on, let's go back to the apartment…I can't bear to see him…not yet."

Yami nodded and he helped the blonde up to his feet. Yugi was under the anesthetic. He would be fine for a while. But Joey was a mess. He looked how Yami felt. In the end, Yami decided that Joey was a bigger priority at the moment. He would take him home and let him sleep. They would figure everything out in the morning. They went in search of Anzu and then they went back home.

-0-0-0-0-

Yami sat on the couch. The couch he should have been sleeping on. But no, he had to go out and have some drinks while Yugi almost got himself killed. He sighed and buried his head in his hands. Anzu had gone home. She was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Yami could tell she was upset and needed to be alone to grieve and come to terms with everything that had happened.

Yami was amazed at how well the two teenagers were handling this. They were angry and upset and just genuinely pissed off at the world. Yet when they spoke they were quiet and quick to the point. They wanted just to get this over with as quickly as possible. Yami wasn't what to do. He knew Joey was anxious and stressed at the idea that Yugi could be taken away from him, but what could they do? It seemed everything was out of their control. Yami remembered Joey murmuring to himself on the way home, saying, 'I should have emancipated him'.

But they couldn't emancipate him now. It would be obvious why they were doing it, and no judge would grant that leisure to Yugi. Yami couldn't think of anything he could do. He couldn't tell them he was in a relationship with Yugi—he was nearly five years older. Normally it wouldn't make a difference, but with Yugi still being a minor…it was technically pedophilia. That would only put Joey in a deeper grave, and Yami would potentially face jail time. Everything was just messed up and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. It was looking like they might not be able to do anything from CPS taking Yugi away.

Yami didn't know what he would do if he couldn't see Yugi. And he could only imagine what that pain would be like for Joey. The two were brothers. They both had dealt with so much together. Yami didn't think it possibly that the two could survive without each other.

Suddenly, Joey appeared beside Yami with an empty look in his eyes. "Come with me." He said, looking over his shoulder. "I have something to show you."

Yami followed Joey into his bedroom. He stood by the door while Joey got on his knees and reached for something under the bed. He pulled out an old shoebox that had been covered in dust. Joey treated it with caution, handling it very delicately. He gently blew on it, spraying the dust everywhere. Then he sat up on the bed and opened it.

Yami walked closer to see what it was. And when Joey pulled it out, he had to suppress a gasp. Joey was holding a silver pistol and he was staring at it with such an empty gaze. He glanced up at Yami and saw the older man's reaction.

"I told you I had a gun." He said softly.

"Yes…but why?"

Joey's grip on the weapon tightened and he seemed to glare. "To protect my family. Yugi, Anzu…They're my family. I've been doing a shitty job lately, but I'm going to make things right."

"H-how?" Yami sputtered out, flabbergasted at the dark look that was coming in Joey's eyes.

"Remember when I said I would torture Jack until he killed himself?"

Yami nodded numbly.

"I'm going to have to forget that plan. I'm going to send that bastard straight to hell where he belongs." Joey stood up and placed the gun in his jacket pocket, and Yami was surprised to see how well hidden it was. The pockets didn't look that big…

"But-but how? You don't know where he is!"

"I'll find him. If I have to turn over every stone, look behind every building, ask every worthless low life on the street, I will do whatever it takes to find him. Besides…I think I have a good idea of where to start."

"You do?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah…are you going to come with me?"

"You want me to help you kill a man?"

"A man who deserves no less."

"That may be…but what about what happens after that? You'll go to jail! You could be sentenced to death! Joey, think this through. If you know where he is, just call the police. Don't put yourself in danger. Don't risk throwing your life away for this asshole."

Joey looked directly at Yami, and the older man felt as though Joey was looking into his very soul.

"That asshole tried to kill my brother not once, but twice. That asshole beat him, and kept such an emotional hold on him, he still thinks he's not worth the gum on my shoes. That asshole kept him prisoner! And tonight, that asshole's going to pay. I don't care what happens to me as long as Yugi is avenged and Jack pays the price. So I'm going to ask you again: Are. You. Coming?"

The seriousness in Joey's voice brought goose bumps to Yami's skin. The drawl in it made the older man know how sure Joey was of his decision. He knew Jack deserved death. He wanted to kill the man too after all he had done to Yugi…but could he actually do it? Imagining something and really doing it were two different things. Completely, totally, and utterly different.

He was scared. He didn't want to go after a man who had killed two girls and almost killed his love. But he knew he couldn't let Jack continue to walk on this Earth. He would only hurt more people, and would more than likely continue to go after Yugi until he did kill him.

Yami loved Yugi too much to put his life in danger like. He was scared as hell, but he knew that this had to be done. He looked at Joey and stiffly nodded.

He inhaled deeply. "Let's do this." He barely managed to whisper.

-0-0-0-0-

So…doesn't anyone want to know where I've been?

Sage: Not really.

Yami: It's none of my business.

Joey: You were gone?

But…but! It involves hitchhikers and kick-boxing granddad's and a chinchilla!

Sage: Sounds boring.

Yami: Sounds like something out of a Pulp Fiction movie.

Joey: You were gone?

…..I hate all of you.