Chapter 51

Taking a quick glance down at her right wrist, Catilin couldn't help but smile at the disappearance of the circular tattoo. She had powers again, okay so they were Yugi's powers, but that didn't really matter right now. What mattered was that she was right and now she just had to hope it was enough.

'Cleaver trick,' Téa's lips curled into a cruel smile, 'but just because you have power doesn't mean you can use it. Those powers don't belong to you, remember?'

Aiming the axe towards Catilin, she fired another beam. In response to this, Catilin flicked the energy ball she was holding in the direction of the oncoming blast. But rather than use it to neutralise the other attack, she willed the ball to expand into a wall of light, creating a protective shield for the group.

'Yay,' Catilin clapped her hands together, 'I wasn't sure if I could do it but I did.'

'One blocked attack and you think you have reason to celebrate?' Téa rolled her eyes. 'You really are the most annoying creature I've ever met.'

'You're the one who said I couldn't control it, but I did. And you're wrong, these powers are mine. I am Yugi, remember? Maybe I don't think I am him right now, but these are his powers and I really am him so that means they're my powers and I can control them.'

'Must you talk in such an insanely confusing way, you pathetic creature.'

'The only pathetic creature here right now is you,' Joey pulled himself to his feet and flick summoned an energy ball into his own hands.

Without hesitation he lobbed the energy ball at Téa. With lightning reflexes Téa lifted the axe and deflected the attack back towards the group. With her instincts working overtime, Catilin managed to erect another shield to protect them.

'Careful Catilin,' Yugi shot her a look, 'there's a reason the Face of Friendship doesn't use shields like that very often. Although it neutralises attacks, she still takes damage every time one's hit.'

'Uh... okay,' she nodded, 'but you should really use my powers now.'

'Right,' he took a deep breath in and flicked an energy ball into his hand. 'I don't want to hurt Téa, but I don't want her to hurt us either. If I have to attack her then I will, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.'

'You think any of us are happy about this,' Joey gritted his teeth and flicked another energy ball into his own hand. 'Just stayed focused on the fact that's Téa's onchasen and not the real Téa; now I'm not saying we don't still have to be careful with our attacks, but at least the repercussion for them will be easier to control.'

'Oh would you listen to you, all worried about consequences. Do you really think you have as much control over this situation as that?'

'We have more control over this situation than you do right now,' he glared at her. 'See you may think your current state allows you to be free of consequences, but that's not true. No one is free of consequences when it comes to that weapon. No one but my son that is. Can't you see how the Axe has been slowly corrupting you, warping you into the kind of person who'd use a weapon of that magnitude against her friends? But its not too late Téa, you can still pull back from this.'

'What if I don't want to turn back from this?' Téa aimed the axe at Joey. 'What if I like the power and control this allows me?'

'It's not worth it Téa,' Yugi took half a step towards her, 'nothing's worth this.'

'Oh tell that to the girl unconscious on a hospital bed.'

'No, I'm telling it to you,' the energy ball in his hand dissipated as he slowly took several more steps in her direction. 'Nothing's worth the trouble that Axe creates. Trust me.'

'Why should I?'

'Because it's the truth,' Catilin's voice was strangely light, 'he's telling the truth. He only wants what's best for you. He wants to see you happy and awake and with everyone again. He only wants you.'

'Please,' Yugi hesitantly reached a hand towards her, 'you know it's the right thing to do. It's the only way to save yourself from the hatred and hurt that weapon creates,' his face filled with a sorrowful look. 'Please, put the Axe down and wake up.'

'Oh come on, you can't expect me to listen to this goody goody drivel,' Téa gave a laugh somewhere between fear and arrogance. 'How can you expect me to go back to how things were when all you ever go on about is how everyone has changed? Well maybe I've changed.'

'We'll accept you no matter what, just like we know deep down you've accepted all of us for the people we've changed into,' Yugi's voice was light and soothing. 'I know you're afraid of being left behind Téa, but none of us were trying to leave you behind, I promise. And if you just put the Axe down then we can all start getting to know each other again, changes and all. All of us. Everyone. The whole group. Because that's what friends do Téa. They stick together no matter what.'

'You're lying,' she shook her head, 'you're trying to trick me into dropping my guard. Well it won't work. I will beat you. All of you. And then none of you will ever leave me.'

'None of us want to leave you Téa,' Joey met her gaze, 'we never have.'

'Then why were you all leaving me behind?'

'We didn't mean to.'

'We weren't trying to,' Yugi took over, 'none of us were trying to leave you behind. None of us wanted to leave you behind. It wasn't our intention. But we were all so swept up in what was happening to us personally we didn't notice how it was affecting you. We should have seen how it was affecting you; we should have known you were acting the way you were because you were afraid, but we didn't. I'm sorry.'

'No,' Téa aimed the Axe at him, 'no, you're lying. None of you care about me. All of you want to leave me.'

'Téa please,' Yugi reached her side and placed his hands on the blade of the Axe, 'don't do this, this isn't you.'

'Stop it,' she attempted to pull the Axe away from him, but his grip held firm, 'you're supposed to be fighting me. You're supposed to be attacking me. You're supposed to be begging for your freedom. Let go.'

'No,' his face filled with a strange smile, 'if I do that, I'll be allowing you to give into this rage which is controlling you right now and I can't stand by and watch you go through what I went through Téa; it would be too painful for me.'

'You a good person Téa,' Catilin bounced on her heels a little, 'hiet braysta used to talk all the time about how you where the group's heart. He was so happy when he could start seeing you all again because he missed hanging out with everyone. It made him sad that everyone was changing so much, but it made him happy because you were all still friends at heart.'

'Tristan doesn't think so,' Téa gritted her teeth, 'he hates me and he's been slowly making all of you hate me too. He's the one who started it. He's the one who made change into such a bad thing.'

'Tristan was sad for other reasons,' Catilin's voice took on more sombre tones, 'his head was all mixed up and he didn't know how to behave. I know what that's like, because I've been through that too. It's hard. It's really hard having other people tell you what to think when things are so confusing. It made him angry a lot and it made me angry sometimes too. But Tristan doesn't hate you Téa, he just wanted you to see him for the him he was becoming when the confusion cleared, instead of the him he was before the confusion started. He wanted you to like the new him as much as you liked the old him.'

'How the hell can you know something like that?' She glared.

'She knows because we all know,' Duke gave a nervous cough. 'It's kind of obvious when you really think about it. I mean, if Tristan found us all so intolerable, why'd he keep bothering to hang around with us at all? You can see it in him, you know; he doesn't want to be angry and frustrated all the time and he's not angry and frustrated all the time. He just wants to be accepted and...'

'And that's what me and my brother give him,' Mokuba took over. 'Sure he still loses his temper and acts like a total stubborn jerk sometimes, but nowhere near as much as he used to because... because we accept him for who he is. Seriously, he's only a jerk around us now with good reason.'

'Now that you mention it, I think I can pretty much say the same,' Joey tilted his head to one side. 'I may not like everything he does, but I accept him so he's only off with me because I've done something to deserve it.'

'It's the way he is now with all of us,' Duke shrugged.

'Except for me,' Téa jutted her chin out defiantly, 'he's not reasonable when it comes to me.'

'Because you wouldn't accept him,' Mokuba's voice was low, 'you wouldn't accept the fact he had changed; you didn't want to.'

'I didn't want everybody to leave me on my own. Everybody was changing so quickly and I was getting left behind. You were all leaving me behind.'

'We didn't mean too,' Yugi shook his head, 'I told you...'

'I don't want to listen to this anymore,' Téa glared at him. 'I don't want to hear anymore of your lies and excuses. I will beat you, all of you and then none of you will ever be able to leave me again.'

'None of us want to leave you now, don't you understand that,' Yugi gave a heavy sigh, before fishing his soul card out of his pocket. 'Here, take this.'

'What?' She blinked at him.

'Take it and do what you like with it; I don't care. I'd do whatever it takes to make you see the truth here, even if it means giving you my soul. Because if you have my soul I can never leave you, right?'

'I...'

'Take it,' he cut her off, 'it's yours.'