Chapter 55

'Well this is certainly unusual,' Jay cocked an eyebrow, as he stared down at the circular tattoo on the underside of his right wrist.

'I don't think powers should be blocked completely, I also don't think having them permanently limited does anyone any good either,' Duke's voice was level and controlled. 'Plus if I'm being honest here, I can't afford to leave my Mother powerless or vulnerable in any way, not whilst I'm still so dependent on her. And since all three of you committed the same crime, all three of you should receive the same punishment. That's what I believe.'

'You're less than a year old,' Joey gave an impatient sigh, 'you're not even supposed to have opinions yet.'

'You really need to stop underestimating me Father,' the baby in the bubble floated towards him, 'or else I may never feel the need to call you Dad.'

'Really? Really you're going to try and hold your affection hostage like that?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him.

'If that's what I have to do to get a little respect out of you.'

'It's not that I don't respect you Crovell, it's just... I want to feel like I'm your Dad and when you act all mature like this it makes it very hard for me.'

'I know. So do you want me to explain their punishment or not?'

'Sure, go ahead.'

'Okay, well like I said permanently blocking or limiting their powers doesn't work for me, so I've come up with a system to remotely control just how much power they have access to,' Duke's voice was bright and enthusiastic. 'The tattoos on their wrists will indicate exactly how much power they have available to them at any one time. The shape and size of it will alter a bit like a moon going through various stages in its cycle. A full moon means no power; a total eclipse means full power. Anything in between means some, but limited power. Clever, huh?'

'Yeah, it really is,' Kaiba shot an impressed look in Crovell's direction. 'You're definitely the First's son, because you didn't get an intellect like that from Wheeler.'

'Shut up Kaiba,' Joey glared at him.

'So does this mean I have to go back to keeping an eye on Jay then?' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'Yes and no,' Duke's voice was more than a little thoughtful. 'The idea is that the tattoo itself will kick in to prevent him from misusing his powers in anyway, but that doesn't mean he won't plot anything. So it's probably best you keep an eye on him, but not too close an eye.'

'Great, more excuses for SK to make me his default number one suspect,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'just what I always wanted.'

'I would like to remind you that you are being punished here Jay,' Kaiba glared at him, 'so I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you.'

'So are there any other rules?' Ahna sucked a sharp breath in. 'Like are we banned from seeing each other or... anything?'

'No,' Duke shook his head again, 'again I see no benefit to that. If anything it would be more of a hindrance to this group as an efficient whole if you couldn't interact. But being around each other will automatically drop your power levels to zero.'

'Okay, now they're sorted, I need to know what you're doing about Kaiba and Tristan,' Joey jumped on the split-second of silence before anyone else could say anything.

'They asked for the powers to be blocked because the lines between themselves and the higher beings had become too blurred,' Duke's voice was thoughtful, 'but it doesn't benefit me for them to be without their powers. And besides, they not only know their own minds a lot better now, but from here on out it's my decision if and when the order of things should change, not theirs. So I see no reason to continue blocking their powers.'

'But...'

'They're not a threat to you or anyone,' Duke cut him off, 'and... they need their powers back for certain... events to occur.'

'What kind of events?' Joey frowned.

'Possibilities which were foreseen but still may not happen. Having access to their powers may not guarantee these... events happening, but it will increase the chances and... well I'm very interested in a future where those things are possible. It benefits me.'

'You keep saying that as though things need to benefit you,' Joey pouted.

'That's because they do.'

'Is it my turn yet,' Win moved from the wall he was leant against, in to the centre of the group.

'Yeah, about that,' Joey turned his attention towards his son, 'are you going to put your sister's Id back where she belongs when you separate the Voices back out?'

'Nope,' Duke's voice was almost childish.

'Why not?'

'Because I can only reset things to how they were before they formed Win, I can't change anything which affected them prior to that. And unfortunately that includes anything their Egos were afflicted with too, like Tristan's memory problems.'

'Tristan has memory problems?' Joey jumped on the words.

'His soul card was damaged.'

'What...?'

'How do you know about that?' Kaiba cut Joey off.

'Oh come on, I might have only been a month old, but I was there remember. I saw what happened,' Duke smiled knowingly at him.

'Great,' he gritted his teeth, 'and let me guess; now Duke knows everything too?'

'Everything?' Joey turned towards Kaiba. 'What happened exactly? What did you do?'

'Who said he did anything?' Duke's voice was light, but firm. 'And no Kaiba, Duke won't be able to remember a thing.'

'Good,' Kaiba sighed in relief.

'Why? What happened? What aren't you telling us?' Joey narrowed his gaze on him.

'Crovell's already told you everything you need to know,' Kaiba turned away. 'Tristan has memory problems because his soul card was damaged, what more do you need?'

'A how the hell that happened would be nice.'

'Look, Joey, I know you're just worried about your friend, but trust me, you don't need to know,' Win placed his hands on his hips impatiently. 'So why don't we just get everyone's Id back where they belong, before we lose their Egos to permanent comas.'

'Err... right... sorry.'

'So does this mean I'm getting my powers back now?' SK gave a nervous cough as his tongue skated across his lips.

'You'll have to sort that one out with Crovell, he'll be the one doing it after all,' Win shrugged. 'Although if I were you kid, I'd tune the power levels back down to what I had it at,' he glanced towards Crovell, 'he has a lot of potential, but he's a long way off being ready yet.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' SK stared at him.

'It means you're getting your powers back the way they were when I took them.'

'Good,' he licked his lips again, 'because I really miss them.'

'Huh, that's funny; I could have sworn I heard you say you wouldn't.'

Yugi had been too consumed in his own grief to pay any attention to what was going on around him. The pain and guilt he was feeling remained turned up to full volume for what felt like an eternity. All he could do was cry until the tears dried up and his body hurt from his relentless sorrow. Eventually, however, he just reached a point where he felt completely and utterly numb. As he did he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder and gently shake him.

'Come on Yuug, we've got to go.'

'Go where?' His voice sounded dull and listless even to him.

'To the hospital. I've got to get Heart back into Mai and I don't think you should be left on your own in the state you're in.'

'But that's what I deserve. After everything I've done, I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again.'

'Don't be stupid, you're my friend Yugi; all that stuff wasn't really you. It was Re. But Re's gone for good now and you're you again.'

'Don't be nice to me,' he shook his head as his body somehow found more tears to shed, 'Téa's in the hospital because of me, because of what I did to her. I don't know if she's ever going to wake up and even if she does, she's never going to forgive me.'

'Of... of course she will. She will because... because I'll explain to her what happened and I just know she'll understand.'

'And what if she never wakes up?'

'Don't think like that, of course she will.'

'Oh god,' he cringed in on himself, 'what if she doesn't? What if she never wakes up? It'll be all my fault.'

'Yuug…'

'Oh Téa,' he wailed miserably, 'Téa!'