Chapter 21

The guy had appeared a short while before and the dusty blonde had been filtering in and out all morning, but the ash blonde hadn't appeared once. There was something about it which made Joey's heart feel strangely heavy. Several times he thought about getting up and looking for her, but every single time he ended up talking himself into staying in place. On the fourth or fifth time of this mental back and forth he realised it wasn't so much he didn't want to get up and look for her, it was that he couldn't. In a way he didn't completely understand, he'd become their prisoner.

Joey found himself studying the guy and the dusty blonde as they silently set up the Huntay. There was something so innocent and child-like about them, yet at the same time he knew the gears in their minds were tuned to a higher intelligence. He could also get a good idea about their motives from what he'd seen of them both now and the night before. They weren't keeping Joey here out of malice or ill intent. They needed him for something and their inability to communicate made it impossible for them to explain why.

Without warning an alarmed look flashed across the guy's face. He shot a look in the dusty blonde's direction and she simply nodded back at him. With that he vanished, leaving her on her own to finish setting up the Huntay. Once she'd finished she moved herself back towards the pedestal in order to admire her work.

'You know you're going to need to speak in order to activate that thing, right?'

She nodded, before pointing at him.

'You also know you're going to need to tell me what it is you want me to do at some point, right?' Joey rested his head back against the tree behind him. 'I have no problem with helping you out, but I can't do anything if I don't know what it is you want me to do.'

The dusty blonde tilted her head to one side as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

'Is there anything you can do to help me understand you?'

The girl hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

'Okay, good, I'd like to be able to understand you. I want to help.'

The dusty blonde nodded again, more enthusiastically this time, before disappearing and leaving Joey on his own.

'Uh...' he blinked and stared at the spot she'd formally occupied, 'was it something I said?'

Kaiba had managed to dodge several attacks as he looked for somewhere safe to put Tristan down in order to defend them both properly. Unfortunately he was now backed into a corner and there didn't seem to be any way for him to get out of the situation without one or both of them getting hurt. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, praying that somehow the magic in his arm would erect some kind of shield around them to protect them before the attack connected. For a few long moments he just stood there holding his breath waiting. And then there was... nothing. No pain. No impact. Just nothing.

His eyes lifted towards where he knew Yugi was standing. Stood between him and his attacker was the youth. Not sure quite what to feel, Kaiba glanced past the youth towards Yugi. It was clear he was now completely paralysed. After a few long seconds Yugi's body began to move like some badly wound up toy, lowering the Axe to the ground and stepping away from it. Once Yugi was clear of the Axe, the youth turned towards Kaiba. There was something about his waxy smile and the glint in his visible eye which showed some kind of pride over his heroism. There was still something creepy and weird about him, but at the same time...

'Thanks,' Kaiba's voice was low.

The youth seemed genuinely pleased by the gratitude. He then gave a simple nod, before making his way towards Yugi. Once he reached Yugi, he placed a hand on his shoulder before lifting his single visible eye towards Kaiba. There was something wistfully lingering about the look on his face, but before Kaiba had the chance to get annoyed about it, the youth and Yugi disappeared.

'Well at least one good thing came out of that freak's obsession,' Kaiba gave a strange sigh of relief, before turning his attention towards his companion. 'You'd better wake up soon Tristan, because I'm really not sure how much more of this I can take.'

Duke had spent most of the morning lazing around in bed. It wasn't so much a case of being tired; he'd just not had any reason to get up until now. He'd literally only just finished getting dressed when the girl appeared before him. She had tatty, waist length dusty blonde hair, some of which completely covered the left hand side of her face. Her visible brown eye was bright and curious and glinted at him in a way which was almost hypnotic. The smile on her face had a fixed, waxy feel to it, but despite this it was clear in her own way this girl was beautiful.

She took a few steps towards him, causing her long black dress to rustle neatly around him. There was something about her movements which were light, playful and almost dance like. And there was something about her which made Duke's heart beat hard in his chest.

'Hi,' Duke broke the silence, 'um... who are you?'

The blonde made no reply. Instead she titled her head slightly and continued to stare at him with that same waxy smile fixed across her face. He was about to repeat his question, when he felt something weird shiver through his brain. The sensation was so real and so sudden it caused him to gasp. His alarm caused the girl to take a step back and the sensation subsided.

'What was that?' He breathed.

Again the girl didn't reply. She tilted her head the other way and took a step back towards him. The strange shivering feeling returned stronger than before; at once invasive and yet strangely pleasurable. The closest thing he could describe to how it felt was like someone lightly running their fingers through his brain. He closed his eyes and allowed the sensation to wash over him. An eternity slowly melted away around them as he became more and more aware of the fact the sensation in his head was manipulating him mind somehow. But the longer it went on the less it bothered him. He liked the sensation; the way it felt so wrong and yet so right at the same time. It didn't matter if she was just using it to control him. Hell it wouldn't even matter if she was trying to kill him so long as it felt like this.

'Who are you?' The words came out of his mouth in a low murmur.

For a few long moments there was silence, then, finally, a voice answered him.

'I am Mind.'

On her own once again, Mai gave a heavy sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't know if the idea of Joey being possessed was any more comforting than the thought of him cheating on her, but at least this way she knew, deep down, he still loved her. Her eyes turned towards her roommate. The curtain was still hiding her face, increasing Mai's curiosity as to her identity. Mai wasn't sure if she should feel bad or not that her curiosity was a welcome distraction. It felt almost mean to be getting anything positive out of someone else's pain.

'I see you're on your own again love, how you feeling?' The sound of the nurse's voice made her jump.

'Completely and utterly exhausted and at the same time really wide awake,' Mai shot her a weak smile.

'Well you should try getting some rest; even if you don't sleep, maybe half an hour with your eyes shut'll do you some good.'

'You know I'd rest a little better if I had some kind of diagnosis. I haven't seen a doctor yet today and it's getting me a little bit worried.'

'I wouldn't worry too much love, if it was anything serious they'd have been in to see you by now. So stop worrying your pretty little head about it and get some sleep.'

'I'll try,' Mai sighed, before turning her attention back to her roommate. 'Do they know who she is yet?'

'Well if they do, nobody's told me,' the nurse shook her head. 'Such a shame too, real pretty little thing she is, well under all the bruising. Still, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, I mean, her parents must be worried sick about her by now.'

'I know I'm being noisy here, but could you push back the curtain a little more so I can see her face. It's kind of weird sharing a room with someone when I don't know what they look like.'

'Well, since you asked so nicely,' the nurse smirked slightly as she pulled the curtain back further.

The sight of the girl's face was enough to send shivers up and down Mai's spine. Not because of the extensive bruising, but because the face was so familiar to her. With a sudden rush of energy Mai pulled herself out of bed and moved towards her roommate, not wanting to believe it was true, but having to absolutely confirm the identity.

'I know who she is,' Mai's voice sounded as dry as her mouth felt, 'she's a friend of mine. Her name's Téa. Téa Gardener. What happened to her? Who did this to her?'

'Are you sure that's who she is love?' The Nurse stared placed a hand on Mai's arm, forcing her to meet her gaze. 'I mean, are you absolutely sure?'

'Completely.'

'Do you have any contact details for her family?'

'No, but I know people who do.'

'Okay, I'll be right back.'

With that the Nurse left the room. Mai's gaze returned to Téa as she tried to figure out who or what would do something like this to her. Knowing the luck their group tended to have, she doubted this was some chance attack. In fact the likelihood of Téa just being in the wrong place at the wrong time was pretty much inconceivable, especially with everything else going on. Mai felt her heart lurch sickly as she realised everything else specifically meant Joey. But as the realisation hit her, so did a wave of light headed dizziness.

She leant against the side of Téa's bed as dots began to dance in her vision. Somewhere nearby she could hear the concerned voice of the nurse, but her mind wasn't able to focus enough on anything to make out what she was saying. Within seconds everything around her took on a fuzzy grey tint and her focus grew dimmer and dimmer until she was left staring into a swarming fuzzy mess. She barely felt the weight of the Nurse's arm around her, as she gently led her back to her own bed. Nothing seemed real. Nothing seemed right.

The fuzz of grey darkened. Her eyes felt heavy. Sleep came quickly and she was plunged into nothingness.