Celebwen Telcontar: This chapter deals with a glitch in one of Serenity's new cards. It also has a surprise near the end!
Balrog: A card glitch should be interesting to see. (Munches on pumice popcorn) Especially if it's a devastating glitch. Like if it causes mass hysteria or a global blackout… that would be awesome!
Celebwen Telcontar: This is a Yu-Gi-Oh fic, not a Revolution fic.
Balrog: Oh. It would still be cool, though.
Celebwen Telcontar: (rolls eyes at Balrog) Please review, people!
Serenity looked at her hand. She had Ryuran, Doppelgänger, Jigen Bakudan, De-Spell, and Red Archery Girl. Rex Raptor, her opponent, had his Two Headed King Rex armed with Dragon Nails on the field, and one facedown card that could be a trap.
"I play the magic card Doppelgänger," she announced, slipping the card face up into the reader. The Phooka like monster appeared, grinned at her, and assumed the shape of Rex' Serpent Night Dragon, since-destroyed by her Cosmo Queen, and attacked the Two Headed King Rex.
"Ha!" Rex cried out as his facedown card flipped up, revealing Bottomless Trap Hole. The Doppelgänger let go its costume of the Serpent Night Dragon, and was sucked into a vortex originating from below it. Serenity took the Doppelgänger card from the card reader, slipping it into her pocket as the Bottomless Trap Hole removed a card from play, and didn't send it to the Graveyard. She drew, and held in a smile. This game was about to end! "I play Sword Arm of Dragon, and inflict Direct Damage to your lifepoints!"
"I play Smothering Darkness," Serenity returned, slipping the magic card into the slot. A black miasma rose from the four holographic projectors, slowly encroaching on Rex' Two Headed King Rex and Sword Arm of Dragon. When it reached them, it wound about their ankles, creeping up until the entire field was awash with the black mist. The temperature plummeted as the mist spread to include the two Duelists. A feeling of hopelessness and loneliness washed over Serenity, and she barely kept herself from breaking down right there. She felt like she was going blind again, and could barely hear anyone outside of the black fog. Rex Raptor was screaming with the sounds of a madman. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and the mist started feeling even colder. A deep depression crawled into her chest, and she felt like crying. Cold seeped in past both clothes and skin, to feel like her very bones were freezing. She couldn't move, couldn't even breathe. It was horrible.
"Mommy, make it stop!" Rex screamed in a panic. A smell of sulfur and rot reached her nose, and her stomach heaved, offended by the foul stench. Eyes opened from the darkness, and she felt like she was being stared at by thousands of people. Rex kept hollering for his mother, and Serenity felt her knees hit the pavement. Slowly, every sensation left. She couldn't even feel the cold anymore, and was locked in a block of solid black ice.
Time ceased to have meaning. She floated in the icy blackness, not sure if a second had gone by, or a century. Rex' cries dimmed and faded. The eyes remained focused on her, never letting up. She felt her breath slowly come to a halt, and couldn't bring herself to even care.
Suddenly, there was light again. Warmth rushed back into her body. She could see, hear, and smell. The acrid scent of exhaust was a welcome relief. There, standing near her, that horrible Smothering Darkness card in one hand, was her father. His golden-brown eyes were worried, and her duel disk was on the ground. Someone was helping Rex up, and he looked as horrid as she felt. His deck fell to the ground and scattered, and he didn't seem to notice.
"Make sure he gets warm. Warm foods, warm drinks, warm blankets. Make him warm, let him know he's not alone, get his family and friends, general remedies for depression and hypothermia," Pegasus called to those helping the dinosaur enthusiast.
"Right," someone called back.
"Whhhhhh?" Serenity managed to groan, looking up into her father's face. He gently picked her up, Croquet opening the door to the limo. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Yugi, Mai, Mokuba Kaiba, and Solomon Motou were around them.
"Something went wrong with the Smothering Darkness card," her father explained. "It pulled both you and the boy to a pocket of the Shadow Realm."
"A wha'?" Serenity asked, still unable to form words properly.
"She was in the Shadow Realm?!" Mokuba Kaiba cried out. "You did that to your own daughter?!"
"It never happened in the tests and prototypes!" Pegasus snarled back. "It always just blanketed the field with black and the cards on the field were destroyed! It was up to the players to discard their hands and the first five cards of their decks!" Pegasus protested, holding Serenity close and wrapping his coat around her. He looked around at the crowd and seemed to make a decision. "All of you, in the car. You can help Serenity."
It was rather crowded in the limo, and Pegasus cranked up the temperature and handed Serenity a mug of hot cocoa. She sipped it, feeling the sweet liquid return heat to her body. She began shivering, nearly spilling her drink. Her father held the cup for her, gently helping her sip until it was gone. He tucked his coat more firmly around her, following that with Joey's coat and a large plush blanket. Her brother gently stroked a lock of hair from her face.
"Is she going to be okay?" Yugi asked.
"I don't know."
"We were fine," Mokuba put in.
"Your Ba, or soul, was not in your body at the time. Hers was. It… nearly killed her." Pegasus' voice broke for an instant. "If I had gotten here much later, they would have been gone. The Shadow Realm would have brutally stripped their souls of their bodies, shredded their souls, and their bodies would have died."
"Our souls were stripped from our bodies," Solomon Motou said.
"Not really. Your souls were separated from your bodies, like a cake is gently removed from a mold. That card would have destroyed their souls as well as their bodies."
"Why did you say Ba?" Mai asked.
"It's the ancient Egyptian term for the soul," Solomon Motou replied before Pegasus could.
"You're going straight to bed and getting warm," the Dueling magnate said.
"Th-th-thanks, Fa-father," Serenity stuttered. She felt him wrap his arm around her and press a kiss to her forehead.
"Croquet," Pegasus called through the intercom.
"Sir?" a voice asked.
"When we get to the Wheeler's house, make sure Jacob stays out of the way."
"Yes, Sir," the driver replied crisply. There almost seemed a note of satisfaction in the voice.
"Joseph, when we get in, can you heat some of this chicken broth for her?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Pegasus. Anyt'in' fer my little sis."
"You're a good young man. I'm glad she has a brother like you."
"Well…" Joey said, getting red. He was obviously embarrassed. Serenity closed her eyes for a moment, but it must have been longer, as the next thing she knew the car was stopping.
"No way," Mokuba said firmly. "You live here?" Serenity saw Joey nod with embarrassment. "Uh-uh. You can stay at my place."
"I'll arrange for a nice house for you and Joseph to live in before I leave. You'll be ready to move in as soon as you can get your belongings," her father agreed. Mokuba used the intercom, which he seemed to have familiarity with, to direct Croquet to the Kaiba mansion before flipping open his cell phone.
"Seto," he said into the receiver.
"What is it, Mokuba?" the CEO's voice came over the line.
"There's been an accident. One of my friends has been hurt, and can't go to her place. I'm taking her home."
"Who is it?"
"Her name is Serenity. She's a good friend of mine, and I trust her."
"Alright. Make sure you stay with her. I'll be home in a few hours."
"Thanks, big brother." He hung up the phone.
"I don't think Tristan and Mai are comfortable going to the Kaiba mansion," Tea said. Mai looked relieved, and Tristan looked torn. He obviously wanted to stay with Serenity so he could spend time with her, no matter that she found the brunette's constant flirting rather irritating.
"I'll get out with them," Yugi said. "Joey's Serenity's brother, but I don't need to be there. Besides, she's going to be fine."
"I agree," Tea said. Solomon nodded. Mokuba hit the intercom again, and Croquet stopped the limo so that Tristan, Tea, Yugi, Solomon and Mai could get out, Tristan loudly proclaiming that the outside air was much better than the furnace in the car.
"Joey, you should go duel. You can't do anything for me here, and I know you want to get back in the tournament."
"Sis…"
"Joey, please. Besides, if what I heard about you and Seto Kaiba is true, then he'd have an apoplexy if you were in his house."
"What's an apocalypsy?"
"Apoplexy, not apocalypsy. It's a stroke."
"Yeah, he would. Well, I'm gonna get out an' duel. I'll be thinkin' of ye, Sis." He kissed her cheek and left the limo.
"Seto Kaiba would be rather unhappy if I were in his house as well," Pegasus said. "As soon as you are in bed and warm, I'm going to go find a new house for you and Joseph to live in."
"Pegasus, can I talk ta ye?" Joey asked. "Privately?"
"Certainly." The white-haired Dueling magnate got out of the car and closed the door to keep in the heat for Serenity. She leaned back in the car and closed her eyes, glad her father had turned on the heated seats.
"Pegasus, I'm worried 'bout Seren. My old man, he gets drunk. An' when he gets drunk, he gets mean. I'm worried that he's gonna slap her 'round if he gets drunk an' she's in th' room wit' 'im."
"I understand," Pegasus said, his face darkening. "Has he struck you?"
"Er… yeah." Pegasus recalled how Joey seemed to try and protect his ribs when he was walking, as though they pained him, and seemed to be unconscious of the fact. If he knew he was telegraphing some type of pain, he would probably try to stop doing so. Pegasus came to a snap decision.
"I will have my private physician look over both of you as soon as I can."
"Tha's really not needed…"
"Serenity is my daughter. You are Serenity's brother. That makes you my de facto son."
"I… wha?" Joey asked, eyes widening.
"You are currently fourteen, correct?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"As soon as I can arrange it, if you wish, I will adopt you. You will not have to spend one minute longer in Jacob Wheeler's presence. Do you understand me?"
"Uh… I guess? I'm your son? You're my dad?"
"Legally, as soon as I can get the paperwork through. I know this is a lot to process. If you want a few days to think it over, you can."
"I'll… have to talk it over wit' Yug' an' the rest o' th' gang…" Joey said, sounding preoccupied.
"Go ahead. I'm going to get Serenity into a warm bed and make sure she's well. Here's my cell number if you need to contact me." Pegasus wrote a series of digits on the back of a business card, and handed it to the young blonde, then got back into the car.
"How do you feel?" Pegasus asked his daughter.
"Better, but still cold," Serenity replied.
"I'll have the servants bring up some hot broth and cocoa when we get home," Mokuba said. Croquet began to drive off, Joey still standing outside, looking poleaxed.
"I offered to adopt Joseph," the dueling magnate said. Serenity looked at him for a moment.
"Thanks. Jacob Wheeler isn't the best of people. Joey was injured, and didn't want me to know. I'm glad he's getting out the house."
"You're adopting Joey?" Mokuba asked, looking poleaxed.
"Yes. He lives with an abusive father, and, as he is Serenity's sister, it's the least I can do to protect him."
"Wow... jsut wait until Seto hears about this..." Pegasus smiled at the boy indulgently.
Celebwen Telcontar: Who expected that to happen?
Balrog: I'm speechless. I didn't expect that.
Celebwen Telcontar: I don't think the readers did, either. Please review, people!