I'm back! Did you miss me? Didn't think so :P.

Disclaimer: Do they make us put these things in to make us feel bad that we own nothing?

Warning: Swearing, an odd dream involving sugary cereal

Enjoy!

--

Ring! Ring!

Zane jolted out of a sound sleep, wincing at the brightness of the sun. Apparently, it's morning… he picked up the phone and yawned into it by accident before answering.

"…Hello?"

"Zane? It's Dr. Salin. I was just calling regarding your appointment with me today…" the elder Truesdale blinked in surprise. What appointment? I never made one, and I really doubt that I would forget about something like that.

"Not to be rude, Doctor, but I never made an appointment with you. You must have me confused with someone else." When she spoke next, she sounded just as confused as he.

"Is that right? Well, Syrus phoned me the day before he went back to school and told me that you wanted him to make a meeting to talk to me on your behalf. So I booked you for today. Maybe the wires got crossed somewhere…"

That little monster. He went behind my back. If he was here right now, he'd be in so much trouble. Zane growled under his breath. "Dr. Salin, I believe that Syrus tricked us both. I never intended to arrange any sort of meeting."

She began to laugh. "No problem. I had younger siblings myself, and I know how sneaky they can be. But as long as I have you booked for today, why don't you come to my office and we can have a chat?" This was not going as Zane had planned. Despite being back to normal, he didn't like the concept of discussing his problems to a virtual stranger.

"Er…well…" Why couldn't he just say no?!

"It's a date, then. I'll see you at eleven o'clock sharp at my office." She gave him the address and hung up the phone with a cheerful goodbye.

Zane stared in disbelief at the phone. Great, now I'm going to a shrink. Good thing my agent quit or this would be all over the papers…

--

Syrus was walking out of the counsellor's office, as he had just had his first weekly 'chat' with her. They hadn't said much to each other, just gone over his feelings towards Zane and his parents. It actually irked him a little, because he didn't feel like he needed to talk these things over. Maybe I can beg Zane to let me stop seeing her after another week or two. Argh, no, that won't work…he'd probably use it as an excuse to get me sent home.

The bluenette was so preoccupied that he didn't look up when he was rounding the corner, and so he collided head-on with Alexis.

"Oops, sorry Alexis. I guess I should have been watching where I was going, heh heh." His face flushed red, and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, then proceeded to pick up the rest of the books she had dropped.

"No problem. You must have a lot on your mind right now," she ventured, as they set off down the hall. "How's your head been feeling?" Alexis queried. Now's my chance to gather some info for Zane.

"Um, about the same." Actually, Syrus had had a headache during his morning classes. It had started off small, then built to such a degree that he could barely see straight. "Thanks for asking. It-it's nice that you feel concerned."

"You're like my brother, Syrus. I care about you." She touched his shoulder gently, and they smiled at each other. "Well, I have to run off to gym class. Hope you keep feeling good."

"Sure thing. Bye!" He waved at her as she jogged off down the hall. I feel bad for lying to her, but I want things to go back to normal. He continued walking towards the library. I mean, it's not as if the headaches mean anything, right? Maybe it's a side effect of coming back to school and studying hard. Even in his head, Syrus didn't make a very convincing argument.

--

"It's good to see you, Zane. How are you?"

"Er…fine." The aforementioned Pro Duelist was sitting in the office of his brother's psychiatrist, sitting somewhat rigidly in a bright purple beanbag chair, looking extremely uncomfortable. Dr. Salin smiled a bit apologetically from her seat on a stereotypical shrink couch.

"Sorry about our seating arrangements. I just moved into this office and my furniture hasn't been brought over yet."

"It's no trouble. I'm used to…um…odd situations." Zane still vividly remembered his time as a doll, which hadn't exactly been a picnic. Nor had the Underground matches. Compared to those events, this was a walk in the park. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?"

She laughed. "Most of the time, I'm the one asking that! It's nice to converse to someone so willing."

Zane flushed a little, remembering his reaction to the idea of talking to a psychiatrist. "Yeah. Well, I suppose you know that I let Syrus go back to Duel Academy."

Dr. Salin nodded. "I've heard," she set down her clipboard and leaned back, watching him. "From your body language, Zane, I'm going to assume that you don't think it was a good decision."

He looked surprised, and a little shamefaced. "He said he was ready, and I didn't want to…I don't know. It's stupid, he'll be okay."

"You didn't want to be the bad guy again. Zane, your reaction was perfectly normal. And that's good. It shows you're concerned, and I'd rather see that than a blatant show of ignorance." She was sounding more impassioned by the minute, but broke off, smiling a little. "Sorry. You didn't come here to hear me rant."

"It's okay. I don't really have much I want to talk about, besides Syrus."

She scrutinized him closely. "Actually, Zane. I was hoping that we could talk about you, not your brother."

"Me?" Zane raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

She sighed. "Well, this whole ordeal must be very hard on you. You now have to care for your younger brother while managing a career, and running a household. It's a lot of stress for one person."

He looked down. "Yeah. It is hard sometimes, but I have to get through it. For Syrus. Without some stability, he'd fall to pieces." To his horror, he felt tears in his eyes.

"You feel responsibility because you're older." She handed him a tissue as though it was common place to see an adult crying in her office. It probably was, now that he thought about it.

"Yes. And I feel like I owe him, as well." He looked into her face, his eyes darkened. "Have you heard about me being the Hell Kaiser?"

"And that makes you feel guilty, because you hurt him and everyone else."

"Exactly. I never said I was sorry to Mom and Dad; so now I have to make up for being such an ass to everyone else. I still feel badly about it."

Dr. Salin nodded. "Zane, I know why you feel like you do, and it's normal. But you can't let those feelings rule your life. You did a bad thing, and you've paid for it enough. It's time to leave your past where it belongs." She glanced at her watch. "I'm sorry to kick you out so soon, but I have some other business to attend to."

"It doesn't matter." Zane stood and shook her hand. "I'll keep in mind what you told me."

"Good."

Zane drove home with the window open, letting the warm air whip his hair around. I'm going to call Syrus when I get home and ask him how he is. With any luck, he'll be okay…

--

Zane was on the verge of picking up the phone to call his brother when the doorbell stopped him. Annoyed, he slammed down the receiver. Why can't I just get some time to myself for once today?! This had better be good…he thought ominously as he strode to the door.

Just before he touched it, Zane inadvertently remembered the last time a stranger had come to his door. I can't help but hope that this isn't more bad news…steeling himself, he took hold of the knob and turned it. You are being silly. Nothing else can go wrong. Can it?

"Can I help you?" He looked down at a woman wearing a dark blue suit and a somewhat frosty expression.

"Yes. That is, if you are Zane Truesdale." Her expression set him on edge.

"I am. Won't you come in?" Zane curtly answered and widened the doorway to admit her. She walked in as if she owned the place, irking him further, as did the way she looked around, like she suspected to see torture devices on his walls.

"I'll skip right to the point," she said, as they sat down in the living room. Again, Zane was reminded of the police officer who had sat in the same chair. Stop it! He tersely ordered himself. "You just obtained custody of your younger brother, correct?"

"Yes. What does that have to do with your presence in my home?" His answer apparently displeased her in some way, for her frosty expression became even colder.

"Mr. Truesdale, I am a social worker in the employ of Domino City. My department was contacted by a source who hinted that you may be a less-than-able guardian for your brother. I came to get your side of the story."

Of all things, Zane had never expected this. At first, he was stunned, and then he grew, understandably, quite angry. Who dares insinuate that I'm not able to care for Syrus?! "Look, I don't know where your 'source' got their information, but they are wrong. I love my brother very much, and I am fully capable of taking care of him." she nodded doubtfully, one eyebrow cocked.

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" The social worker obviously didn't set much store by what he was saying.

"It is," Zane could barely keep his temper. "I don't mean to be rude, but as you've heard 'my side', I'd like you to leave." She rose and extended a hand holding a card.

"Here's my card," he took it, not bothering to read it. "This meeting, obviously, does not dispel the information my offices were given." Zane was practically marching her to the door.

"In other words, this isn't over. I get it," he yanked open the door and showed her out. "By the way, may I know who exactly your 'source' is?"

She shot him a cold smile. "I'm afraid our sources must stay anonymous until we can get this…apparent misunderstanding sorted out." She got into her car and drove off, leaving Zane with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

--

Syrus curled up on the middle bunk that was traditionally his, even though he now slept in Ra Yellow most of the time. Jaden had asked him to sleep over, because he had made up a few new strategies and wanted to run them by Syrus. They had done so already, and were killing time before bed.

"Jay, what are you doing?" He watched incredulously as Jaden made motions that suggested he was drawing cards from an invisible duel disk. Happy to get his mind off the headaches that had been plaguing him throughout the classes of the day, Syrus slid out of the bed and landed beside his best friend.

"I'm practising duelling, of course!" The brunette announced this with a grin. "Atticus told me it builds up muscle, too." A light seemed to click on over his head. "Hey, that must be why I saw Chazz doing them! Sometimes the guy reminds me of a twig." This statement made Syrus wonder if his friend's brain was turned up higher in the evening. Sometimes, Jaden acts dumber than a sack of turnips, but other times he acts so un-Jaden that I wonder if he has a dual personality… his eye twitched just thinking about this. One Jaden was plenty, thank you very much.

Jaden let loose a yawn that almost sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Since it was a Slifer room, there wasn't a lot of space (and so, little oxygen), but it was still impressive. "Let's go to bed now. I need to be fresh for my duel tomorrow."

"What duel?" The news that Jaden was duelling the next day surprised Syrus.

"I dunno. But I might end up duelling tomorrow so it never hurts to be prepared." He leapt into his bunk. "Night, Sy."

Syrus just shook his head at his friend's logic. If only he prepared himself for tests like that… "Goodnight, Jay." He removed his glasses and pulled the blankets up to his chin. A thought struck him as he was falling asleep. I never called Zane. Oh, well, I'll do it first thing tomorrow. He'll understand…at least, I hope he will. Night, big bro. He added the last bit on a whim. Even if Zane couldn't hear him, it made him feel better to say that.

--About three hours later--

The wind outside the dorm was a gentle breeze, but like events about to occur, the element turned foul. The gentle breeze became a howling tempest, disturbing the cool darkness of the night air.

Syrus woke up panting as an excruciating headache took over. It was the worst one he had had so far, and that was saying a lot. The feeling was akin to someone pounding red-hot nails into his head and eyeballs. He couldn't even sit up for the pain.

Not wanting to wake up Jaden, Syrus pressed his lips together to keep in the screams of pain. Ahhhh! What's wrong with me?! Please, God, make it stop! Please! He pressed his forehead to the cool pillow, trying to relieve the pain, but it didn't help. For all his best efforts, mewls of pain escaped his clamped lips.

"…uh…Syrus? Somethin' the matter?" Jaden raised his head slightly off his pillow, not really awake, but not totally asleep.

"It's…it's…ahhh…" Syrus couldn't even make himself say it was nothing. He couldn't talk for the pain.

"Sy?!" Jaden pulled himself up to Syrus's bunk and grabbed his shoulder. "What's wrong? Is it your head?"

"Y-yes…it's a…headache," A tiny bit of the pain ebbed away as Syrus sucked in air as quickly as his lungs would allow. "It…hurts, Jaden. So bad."

Jaden grabbed his friend's hand and briefly squeezed it tightly, trying to convey his strength to Syrus. "Hang in there, Sy, I'm phoning the nurse."

Jumping down from the bunk and grabbing his PDA, Jaden flipped it open and began hunting through the directory, fighting down his feelings of panic. Stay calm; you need to keep a clear head if you want to help. He was about to dial the number, but a hand clamped onto his wrist.

"Don't," Syrus ground the word out from in between his clenched teeth. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine! Two seconds ago you couldn't even speak. I'm calling her." Syrus's headache was beginning to fade, but he still felt dizzy. Even so, the bluenette was determined not to cause anyone more trouble. I keep messing up people's lives. Well, no more. I can deal with this; it's just pain, and it's leaving.

"Seriously, Jaden. I'm okay now…see?" Syrus stood up straight and gave his friend a small smile, trying not to wince at the stabbing sensation that flew through his eyes. "The headache's pretty much gone." It was the truth; the pain had pretty much melted away in the last few seconds. That was really, weird, but it's good if the pain doesn't stay long, right?

Jaden narrowed his eyes, contemplating this. Okay, that's just creepy. He looks like Zane when he does that. "Well…that sounded really bad. Maybe you should go see her, just to be safe…"

"I will! First thing tomorrow! Just don't call her out in the middle of the night; she'll be really annoyed, and there's nothing wrong." Somewhere inside his head, Syrus could hear Zane scolding him.

You are so irresponsible! You promised me that you'd play it safe, Syrus, and what are you doing? Breaking your word. If I was there right now, I'd drag you straight home!

"If you really think you're okay now…" his best friend eyed him. "I guess we can let it slide for tonight. But I worry about you, Syrus. What if something's actually wrong?"

"If there is something wrong with me, the nurse will catch it tomorrow. Let's go back to sleep now." With that, Syrus crawled back under his sheets and closed his eyes. "Thanks for being concerned about me."

"You're my best friend in the world. Of course I worry about you. Goodnight, Sy."

"Night."

--Inside Syrus's dream--

Syrus was sitting in his bed at home (his parents' home, not Zane's), eating a bowl of Fruit Loops (1) while looking out the window at the bright, sunny day. His smile turned into a small frown as dark clouds rolled in, completely smothering all the colour that had previously been there.

"Syrus?" Zane came in the door, holding a duel disk and a box of cereal. "Do you want some more Fruit Loops?"

"No, I have lots."

"What are you talking about? No, you don't; take a look at the bowl."

Syrus looked down to see an empty bowl. "What happened to them? I haven't eaten in days!"

"I ate them!" Atticus bounced through, wearing a blue tuxedo, and leapt through a mirror. For some reason, this made total sense to Syrus.

"Are you doing anything right now?" Zane sat next to him, setting the duel disk between them. The box of cereal had mysteriously vanished, no doubt swiped by the dream Atticus.

"Are we going to duel?" Normally, the prospect of duelling his brother would have made Syrus quake in nervousness, but he felt very calm. His brother shook his head, a neutral expression on his face.

"You can't duel. See?" He held the deck out to Syrus, who took it and shuffled through the cards. Every card was pitch black, with no indication of what cards they had been.

"What's wrong with them?! Why can't I see my cards?" Zane didn't answer, but looked at the floor. Syrus followed his gaze, and couldn't hold back a gasp of shock. The entire room had dissolved into shadow around them. "Zane? Big brother, what's happening?"

"Don't be scared," Zane was smiling at him now, but his tall, lean body and handsome features seemed to be turning transparent right in front of Syrus. "I'll still be here."

"Where is everything?!" Syrus turned in all directions, but everything, including his brother, was gone. He was alone in the blackness. "HELP!"

--End dream--

Syrus sat up so quickly that he whacked his head on the top bunk. "Ow!" Turning his head this way and that, he determined that it was the middle of the night, since everything was dark beyond belief. His ears detected the sounds of Jaden moving around in the open space beside their beds. "Jaden, what are you doing up? It's the middle of the night!"

"Uh…no, it's not, Sy. It's 9 in the morning. Do you have sleep in your eyes or something?"

This statement made Syrus pause, an odd feeling coming over him. "What time is it?"

"9 AM. It's a beautiful day; no clouds, the sun is shining brightly…"

Oh, no. No, no, no. This isn't real, it's not my life. "Jaden…I…I can't see anything but black."

"Excuse me?" Jaden's voice was right next to Syrus's ear. "What are you saying?!"

"I think," Syrus swallowed. "I think…I'm b-b-blind, Jaden." His heart was pounding, and there was a lump in his throat, preventing him from talking properly. "It's a-all black."

"No! You're not! You can't be!" Air was fanned into the bluenette's sweaty face as Jaden presumably waved his hand in front of it. "Can you see my hand?"

"No. Please…" Syrus's voice faltered. "Call…" he swallowed back the tears that were threatening to choke him.

"Call the nurse? I'm on it! Don't move a muscle!" Jaden cursed himself for not calling last night. Could I have prevented this if we'd just told her about the headache earlier? If we could've, I'll never forgive myself! "Syrus needs help! He can't see!" Jaden shouted at the unfortunate person on the other end. "Send an ambulance to the Slifer dorm. Something's really wrong!"

"…my brother." Syrus whispered, then fell into a dead faint. Jaden, too busy yelling at the nurse to come quickly, didn't hear his last words.

--Back on the mainland--

Zane pulled on a blue t-shirt and went into the kitchen, intending to create some new strategies for his upcoming duels. However, even as he sat at the kitchen table and carefully laid out his cards, he couldn't fill his head with effects, attack and defense points, and tactics as he usually could. His mind wouldn't allow itself to be completely wrapped up in Duel Monsters.

Something feels off about this morning, he thought. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something, somewhere, was very, very wrong. I sense a disturbance in the Force. Zane realized what he had just thought, and laughed at himself. "I've been watching too much TV," he addressed his Cyber Dragons. "Now I'm talking to my cards! What's wrong with m―"

Then, for reasons he would never be able to explain, the bluenette put the cards he had been holding down on the table, abruptly crossed the kitchen and picked up the phone from its base, although it wasn't ringing. As he stared at it, the phone began to ring. How did I know that was going to happen?

Tapping the talk button, he wedged it between his shoulder and his ear so that he could take some dishes out of the washer and put them away while he talked. "Yes?"

CRASH!

The person on the other end had the opportunity to relay the first part of their message, which was more than enough to shock Zane. He dropped a frying pan, and stared at the wall in a mixture of disbelief and horror.

"What?!"

--

1. I stuck the Fruit Loops in Syrus's dream to lighten the mood a little before the big climax, and because I was eating Fruit Loops while writing it.

My longest chapter yet! Almost 3700 words. No wonder it took two weeks to write ^^.

So after many chapters its all come down to this. What's going to happen next? Keep reading! R&R.