Chapter L: Graduation Part II

Hello, true believers! And welcome back to Darkness Falls! Thanks again for all your reviews and for reading as always! It's fun to see what you think and to know that you're still with us!

So the inevitable has happened. The gang graduated together and Yugi was the special speaker. Everyone walked the line in his or her special way, and Jaden faux-flashed the crowd with a Kool-Aid Man t-shirt. And now, we come to a party!

Disclaimer: Do we own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise? We don't think so. We do own our OCs, this storyline… well, you get the idea. We don't own anything we could profit from.

As soon as they were able, the group of close friends pulled together. "We graduated," Jaden whooped again.

"And we made it through our speeches," Annie said happily.

"And no one did any mooning!" Violet added with a grin. She sweat-dropped at some of the looks she got.

"That would've been gross," Axel groaned.

"Yuck," Adrian added.

"You have no idea," Violet, Alexis, and Jesse all muttered at the same time.

Annie flushed. "You guys, too? I think Father Mulcahey nearly had a heart attack when it happened at my eighth grade graduation..." A boy in her class had decided to bare his rear and everyone had been decidedly chagrined.

"Elementary school," Violet stated.

"Soccer game," Alexis sighed.

"Birthday party," Jesse added, cheeks reddening.

As the group groaned, Zane Truesdale made his way through the crowd to his brother. "Hey, Sy," he greeted, smiling.

Syrus grinned, and didn't hesitate to hug the taller boy. "Hey, big bro. Thanks again... for what you said earlier..."

Zane hugged back. "I am proud of you and I love you, little brother. Don't you forget it... and we're going to be in the pros together..."

"Yeah, and we'll be glad to have you as competition," Aster grinned.

Syrus's eyes widened. "Wow... Guys, it's hard to believe we're finally here... We'll be starting the rest of our lives out of school soon..."

"Yeah... wow... we're adults," Chazz stated solemnly. "It's a little scary... I don't feel like one..."

"Do any of us, really?" Jaden wondered. It was the question many young adults ask upon reaching milestones like high school or college graduation. Were they really adults and why didn't they feel like it?

Violet scratched her head. "Now that you mention it... I feel exactly the same."

"Maybe that's how we're supposed to feel," Mindy realized. "I mean, it's not like we've learned everything about being adults. So it's okay. We're still going on to college or the Pro Leagues... and getting jobs... We're just learning to be adults..." It was perhaps the most profound thing Mindy Carrington had ever said, and everyone realized it.

Alexis stared at her friend in surprise. "Wow, Mindy. That... that actually makes a lot of sense."

Mindy herself looked stunned. "I guess it does... Wow, I said something smart."

"Mindy, you are smart. You don't let it out that you are that often, and you should," Chazz stated, putting his arm around his girlfriend.

"Thanks, Chazzy," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

Yusuke trotted over to the gang from what was now referred to as "the lost class." "Hey, guys, congratulations!" he grinned. "Zane, good to see you again, man!"

"We're all back together, Yusuke... man, this is weird," Zane admitted.

Atticus nodded, but grinned. "It's weird, all right. But it's great, too! Together again after years, the trio of Horakhty pros!" he exclaimed happily as he wrapped an arm around each of them.

"Yeah... and get this, guys... Atticus, your mom invited me to stay with you guys over the summer!" Yusuke grinned.

"Oh, no," Zane mock-groaned. "Domino needs to plan for Armageddon... again..."

Atticus pumped a fist into the air excitedly, only to have his ear grabbed and tugged upon by his sister. "Atticus, you are NOT going to wreak havoc upon the city. Understand?" she asked in a commanding tone.

The older boy sweat-dropped. "Uh, yeah, I understand..."

"Do I even want to know?" Chazz wondered.

"Uh... not really," Zane groaned softly. "That prank at Horakhty was legendary..."

"The one where Yusuke hung up your underwear on the flagpole or the one where I painted the dorm like a Hawaiian shirt?" Atticus asked after Alexis had released his ear.

"That's the one," Yusuke answered, laughing. That memory was fresh to him. "Hard to believe it was 5 years ago," he sighed.

Atticus sighed with him. "Yeah, but hey! Now we can make up for lost time, buddy!"

"Yeah... this is going to be great," Yusuke stated. "And now... WE PARTY!!!!" The young man's periwinkle eyes shone eagerly at the prospect of getting back some of the time he'd lost while trapped in that other world.

"YEAH!" Jaden whooped. "I wonder if Yugi dances?"

Alexis sweat-dropped. "Jaden, everyone dances. It just depends on how well they can dance..."

"Yeah, you're right, babe," he grinned sheepishly. "We've got to see Bastion first, though, guys."

The others nodded in agreement. "Let's go!" Violet exclaimed, excited to see her fiancé.

GXGXGXGXGXGX

The group of friends got out of the auditorium and headed straight down the hall. Dr. Nakamura was waiting for them. "Good news, guys, you don't have to suit up. Bastion's past the contagious period."

"That's a relief," Chazz remarked. "My nose itched behind the mask!"

Violet grinned excitedly. "Now I don't have to change so much when I go to see Bastion!"

"That's right, Violet... But you still can't sleep in the same bed with him yet," Alex Nakamura explained.

"That's what I thought," Violet sighed.

The gang headed into the room eagerly. "Hey, everyone," Bastion greeted weakly.

"Hey, Bastion-baby," Violet greeted, going to his side and gently giving him a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Better since you came... You looked wonderful getting your diploma," he said softly.

She grinned. "And you were great getting yours. I'm glad you heard me in the crowd."

"That I did... Jaden, Annie, you both did splendidly," Bastion stated, holding Violet's hand.

Annie blushed. "I had to leave your Trek line in the final product."

"Yeah... Zefram Cochrane..."

"Who?" Jaden asked for everyone, and then... "Oh, he was the guy the B-Borg were trying to get... right?"

"Right, Jaden," Bastion confirmed.

Nearly everyone looked stunned. "Uh... how do you guys do that?" Chazz wondered.

Annie and Bastion sweat-dropped. "How do we..?" Bastion asked Annie.

"Probably watching that movie about... how many times?"

"Oh... probably about 100 times," he answered.

Violet sighed. "You guys need to explore a little outside of the sci-fi genre for once."

"We do, darling," Bastion protested.

"When was the last time?"

"Sy and I sat through 'Sleepless in Seattle' three weeks ago," Annie answered.

Bastion was lost in thought. "Hmmm... when did I watch a movie last?"

Violet thought back to the last time she and Bastion had watched a movie together... and then realized they hadn't. At least not recently. "You know what? When's the last time we watched a movie together at all??"

"I don't think we've watched a movie since before Christmas," he remembered. "And then we read a lot by the fire..."

She smiled. That was before all of the problems they'd been forced to deal with from Darkness. "Yeah... Like that Dickens novel."

"Yeah... 'The Cricket on the Hearth,' I think it was," he answered. "Oh yeah, the romantic version of 'A Christmas Carol,'" Annie remembered.

"The romantic version?" Syrus asked, confused.

"It was one of Dickens' Christmas stories, but it was about a girl who was being forced to marry a guy who was as cold as Ebenezer Scrooge," Annie explained. "She ended up marrying her true love hours before she'd marry the meanie. But like Scrooge, the guy had a change of heart and let her be with the guy she loved. So it was the romantic version of things."

"I guess we're more into reading together than watching movies together, Bastion," Violet stated, grinning sheepishly.

"Well, that's us, darling," he smiled tiredly.

"Yeah, and books are better than the onscreen adaptations. Remember how much they cut out of the Harry Potter movies?" Annie asked, groaning.

"Oh yeah. That's because otherwise they would have been hours long," Violet answered, nodding.

"The second movie was majorly long," Jaden remembered. "Mom had to have an intermission!" And everyone laughed at that.

Bastion coughed a bit at the end. "Oh, pardon me," he apologized.

"It's okay, Bastion. You're still sick," Alexis reminded.

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Violet asked, looking at him in concern.

"Just a bit tired," he said softly. Bastion wanted so badly to be part of the celebration, but his body was in no condition to allow him. He wouldn't let them know how he felt entirely, though.

"We wish we could bring you to the party, Bastion," Jasmine said regretfully. "You should be part of this..."

But to everyone's surprise, Bastion kept a smile on his face. "I'll dance with Violet at our wedding..."

The smile on Violet's own face was indescribable by expression. "Oh, Bastion..." She leaned down to hug him tightly. "I can't wait..."

"We'll get lots of pictures, bro," Jaden promised.

"And we'll bring you cake," Annie added.

"Thank you," the sick young man stated tiredly in his love's embrace.

Part of Violet wanted to stay with Bastion so that he wouldn't feel left out. But she knew that would only make him feel guilty, that he was keeping her from having fun at the party. So she pulled out of the hug as they got ready to leave. "I'll see you when we get back..." Bastion gripped her hand as the others left the room, a signal he wanted to say something for her ears alone. Violet waited, and the rest of the gang seemed to get the hint as well and left the couple alone. "Bastion?"

"Don't worry... I want you to have the time of your life, Violet, love. I want to see pictures of you happy and having fun," he explained gently. "I wish I could be with you out there, but since I can't be, I want you to have twice the fun... Please, darling. Do that for me."

She blinked in surprise, but then grinned and squeezed his hand. "Of course I will, Bastion-baby. I'll have so much fun, that when I get back you'll be able to feel it too!"

Bastion smiled back. "I look forward to it, darling... Go out there and show them what random geniuses can do." He'd known she would feel guilty about leaving him in the infirmary with his parents and Dr. Nakamura, and he wanted her to be happy and free on this day of celebration. Besides, this evening, they'd have a quiet dinner together.

"Will do, Bastion-baby!" Violet gave him a quick peck on the cheek and a grinning wave, then left to catch up with the others. She was looking forward to their dinner later on, but right now she had a promise to fulfill.

Katai, Hiro and Alex stepped back into the room. "Honey, are you sure you're all right?" Katai asked gently, brushing his hair with a non-gloved hand for the first time in a few days.

"Yes, Mum... She needs to be happy and have fun, even if I can't be there..."

Hiro smiled. "She will have fun, my boy. And I know for certain that she's looking forward to tonight."

"Yes, she is... And you'll enjoy the dinner, Bastion. I made sure it's something you can both enjoy," Alex smiled.

"Oh, good," the boy said before his eyes began to close. "I'm glad..."

As he fell asleep again, Alex reassured the worried parents. "Sleep's a good curative. His body's working to fight it off..."

"But we still have the low point coming, don't we?" Hiro asked with a frown. They hadn't forgotten what the doctor had told them.

"Yes we do... I'm watching him carefully. We've got the machine ready too," Alex explained. "If this were a less severe case, he'd be improving a lot quicker. But even though this is a non-resistant strain, it's hit him hard. I can hear it in his lungs, and the point where his lungs are going to nearly shut down will be soon."

Hiro wrapped an arm around his wife. "Do you have any idea of how long we have until it happens?"

"Judging by the way he's breathing, we have maybe a day. There's damage to his lungs and all the measures I've done should lessen the resulting damage."

"Damage?" Katai asked, brown eyes wide with a mother's fear.

"The little parts of his lungs are being damaged by the stuff in his lungs, Katai. He's been coughing a lot up, but not as much as he should be, and that stuff is clogging and harming his lungs. Among other things, that could cause pulmonary fibrosis. But since we're on top of this, I think we'll avoid it..."

Hiro let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness..." The possibility of avoiding more problems always came as relief to a parent.

"Hiro... we're going to beat this... Your boy's tough... Everybody talked about what happened when your daughter-in-law was brought in and how hard we heard he fought."

"I know... Katai and I are so proud of how strong he's become. Both mentally and physically. And he'll get through this as he has all the other obstacles he's come across..."

Alex nodded. "The mental and his friends around him may make all the difference..."

GXGXGXGXGXGX

And as the parents and doctor sat with the young sick graduate, his friends and beloved headed to the school gym where the party was in full swing. Yusuke snickered as he walked next to Zane and Atticus in the hallway toward the second level. "Did you do as we planned, Atticus?" he asked softly, as Zane raised his eyebrows.

Atticus grinned and gave a thumbs-up... the thumb covered in the remnants of red paint. "Of course I did! Didn't think I'd forget something so genius, did you?"

"Atticus... what did you two do?" Zane asked in alarm.

"Oh... we made a modification to the graduation banner," Yusuke answered snarkily.

"Oh, lord," the Pro League duelist groaned.

Atticus snickered. "You'll see, Zane! Yusuke's the one who came up with the idea... I just did the last minute painting." And then on the ground floor, Professor Bonaparte pulled the string attached to a huge banner that was supposed to say "Welcome Graduates!" Instead it said, "Loe Grades!" Everyone laughed.

Alexis's brow twitched as she stood beside her fiancé. "My 'Atticus is behind this' senses are tingling..."

"I think we all figured that, Lex," Jaden groaned softly, laughing a little. "His lettering was pretty good..."

Alexis sighed. "I just hope he doesn't pull anything else during the party..."

"Knowing Atticus and the fact that he has his two best guy buddies together with him again... he probably does..."

"Well, as long as it's nothing really bad, then I don't mind. I mean, what else could they have planned?" Violet stated.

"Violet, do we really want the answer to that?" Annie sighed.

But everyone resolved to enjoy the party. And as the teachers pulled down the... modified banner, Yugi offered his hand to his wife. "Shall we, Teá?"

Teá smiled and took the offered hand. "Of course, Yugi. Lead the way."

The King of Games led his queen out onto the dance floor. He cued the DJ, having picked a song for his wife earlier. The song was a Neil Diamond piece called "You are the Best Part of Me." "I thought this fit us," he said as they began to spin, glad he'd gained a little more height.

"Oh, Yugi... I love this song. And you're right… it does fit us," she replied softly. Dancing was still a little bit awkward between them since he was shorter than her, but they got around that problem. She let him lead like always, her blue eyes staring into his amethyst ones. Teá had taught Yugi a few moves over the years, since dancing was her passion.

He had indeed picked up what she'd taught him, and twirled her effortlessly. "Think we could do a lift?" he asked.

Their lifts ended in one of two ways; he lifted her beautifully or he was crushed under her taller stature and heavier weight. So they only tried the move every so often. But Yugi had been working out a little.... "We can try," she answered, grinning.

"Let's do it, Teá... We can do this," he said, preparing himself.

She nodded, gripping his shoulders. She would help him as much as she could when he lifted her, but it was all up to him once he was in the air. "All right, Yugi. Let's do it."

He picked her up as the music swelled, raising her above him. Several cameras in the room snapped as the King of Games held his lovely wife above him. And then, his arms started to wobble. "Teá... I'm losing..." And then his arms gave out.

"Yu-GI!!" Teá's question turned into a yelp as she found herself falling, crashing down onto her shorter husband. It wasn't the first time, but every time it managed to catch her off-guard.

Sophie, Little Yugi, Temmy and Lily raced out onto the dance floor to help their parents. "Mommy, Daddy, are you okay?" the twin boys asked at the same time.

Yugi was crashed onto the floor, looking stunned. "Ouch," he groaned.

"Mommy fell on Daddy again," Sophie stated.

Lily crouched down beside her parents. "Mommy and Daddy get boo-boos?" she asked.

Teá groaned, most of the wind knocked out of her since she'd landed on her stomach. She quickly moved off of Yugi, not wanting to crush him more. "I'm… okay. Yugi?"

Yugi sat up, still a little dazed. "Yeah... honey, I think I need more practice and workouts at the Kaiba Corp Gym..."

Teá sweat-dropped. "Well, you did hold me for a good few seconds there. You're getting better..."

"Yeah..."

The couple and their children then got off the stage to a heavy round of applause from the graduates. "Okay, so are we doing our routine now?" Jasmine asked curiously.

"If we're ready," Annie answered. "Violet, this song rocks!"

Violet grinned excitedly. "I know! It's the perfect song for us to dance to!"

Alexis sighed. "I just hope my brother doesn't try anything while we're dancing..."

As the girls chuckled at that, three figures took position above the dance floor. "Guys... if we're caught..."

"Hey, at least I can't get expelled... Besides, Crowler adored me..."

"And I'm already graduated! So they can't touch me!" Atticus stated with a broad grin.

"So I guess I'm screwed if we get caught," Yusuke groaned.

"Nah," Zane answered, nonchalant as usual. "You were gone for four years. You'll be fine."

Atticus nodded, holding a large box like the other two boys. "And besides, we're NOT gonna get caught!"

"Your sister is going to kill us, you know," Zane said drily. "She'll know it's us..."

Atticus sweat-dropped. "I know... BUT IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT!!"

Fortunately, no one but the co-conspirators heard the recently graduated young man's exclamation. And so the six Obelisk young women strode out onto the floor in different styles of brightly colored dresses. Alexis was wearing a strapless sky blue gown, while Mindy and Jasmine were clad in gowns with single sleeves in yellow and green, respectively. Annie wore an amethyst-shaded gown with short sleeves, while Violet wore a raspberry pink halter-top gown. And then Rosa was wearing a long-sleeved red gown with a long skirt slit halfway up the right mid-thigh. Tyson's jaw dropped. "Sam Hill, she's gorgeous..."

Rosa grinned when she saw Tyson staring at her and winked. She had said that he'd never seen her in the dress she would be wearing. Syrus would have teased Tyson, but he was way too busy staring at his own fiancée. "Wow... she's beautiful..."

The other guys were equally stunned. "You sure you want to do that to Jasmine, Atticus?" Zane asked from their position. "She'll understand it's a prank, but...she might think you don't like her dress..."

Atticus closed his gaping mouth and quickly pulled out a pen and piece of paper. "I thought this might happen, so I came prepared," he answered as he wrote something, then folded the paper into an airplane. "I'll just send her this as we make our getaway."

"Oh, brother," Yusuke sighed again. And then the girls signaled the DJ and the first notes of "Waking Up in Vegas" began to play. The girls began to twirl and jump. They shimmied, shook and spun, dancing, hands clasped in a circle. And then they got in line, adding hand motions as if they were playing poker, the slot machines and roulette. The young women pulled together at the end of the song, and posed like they were cowgirls with guns. And then disaster struck.

Water balloons rained down upon them, some hitting the floor while others hit the girls directly. At the same time, water balloons were thrown into the crowds to hit other people as well. Several screams rang out, and everyone was looking around, wondering who could've done this horribly wet prank. "Three guesses as to who did this," Annie growled, her temper coming up as a balloon had hit her directly.

"I don't need three guesses; I'm going to go and tear off THREE HEADS." Alexis growled in a dangerously low tone of voice, fists clenched. She had been hit directly by not one, but THREE water balloons. Needless to say, one could see the steam shooting out of her ears. And then something else flew down from above, but it wasn't another water balloon. It was a paper airplane.

Jasmine caught it. She opened it, and read the carefully worded apology. "He is so DEAD!!!" she shouted.

Yusuke had chanced to look down at the now furious young women. Consequently, he made a grave conclusion. "Dude, you're gonna die..."

Atticus's head dropped. "I know... but, like I said: TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!"

"WORTH IT?!" Jasmine's shriek rang out.

"YOU GUYS ARE TOAST!" Mindy added angrily.

Atticus's pupils shrank. "Crap. They heard me. I'M SORRY, JAZZY!!!"

"OH, YOU'LL BE SORRY WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!" Alexis yelled, eyes burning hot enough that her fiancé dared not intervene. And she wasn't the only one. Rosa let loose a string of Spanish that sounded threatening even to those who didn't know a word of the foreign language.

And Annie, in a rare display of temper, shouted, "On behalf of the Moon, I'm going to kick your butt!!!" Her eyes were flashing and there were anger marks on the usually placid girl's face.

"Just you wait until I get my bazooka, you three!!" Violet added angrily, stomping her foot.

Yusuke was puzzled. "Uh... bazooka? Aren't those banned?"

"Not a potato gun... RUN!" Zane shouted as the girls advanced on them.

"Should we intervene?" Dr. Crowler asked, being one of the chaperones for the event.

"No... let them enjoy the chase. They won't do anything serious," Andrew Shepherd answered.

"Though I still feel slight pity for what those three are going to be put through," Ben Stein stated, pushing up his glasses. "As the saying goes, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's wrath'..."

"That's very true," Thelonius Viper sighed. "Good thing I never got married..."

GXGXGXGXGXGX

Fortunately for the three young men, they were only taken to the school pool and shoved in. Everyone wet went and changed clothes and the party continued without further disruption. In the evening, Violet returned to the infirmary, a big piece of the graduation cake with her to share with everyone. "Hello, love," Bastion said as she entered the room. "Did you have fun?" he asked hoarsely.

She grinned and nodded. "Yup! Well, aside from the part when we got soaked..."

"Got soaked?" he asked curiously, eyebrows raising. "How did that happen?" She sat down in a chair beside the bed and told him about the water balloons. Bastion started to laugh. "How did I know they'd pull... something?" The laugh turned to a cough again, but nothing came up.

Violet patted his back, taking his hand. "Are you okay, Bastion?"

He panted a minute, trying to catch his breath. Finally, he nodded. "I'm okay... just worn out..."

She frowned a little. "Do you want to rest?"

"For a moment," he answered, smiling. "Did you bring pictures?"

Her grin returned. "Yeah!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a large stack.

Bastion sat and looked at all the pictures and again laughed seeing Violet and Annie viciously shoving Zane into the pool. "You were rather angry, there..."

Violet sweat-dropped. "Oh, you should have seen Alexis and Rosa... now THAT was scary..."

Bastion looked at said pictures, sweat-dropping at the image of Atticus doing a comical belly-flop into the pool after his sister and her friend virtually threw him in. "Oh, goodness... Poor Atticus... But... he should've known..."

She nodded. "He had it coming. I'm pretty sure he's the one who came up with the prank, anyway."

"Undoubtedly," the young man answered. "Now... shall we have dinner?"

"Sounds good. But are you sure you're up to it?" Violet was worried that he should be resting instead.

He nodded. "We'll have it in here together, darling. We need to celebrate this night..." He reached and brushed a bang out of her soft, sweet face.

She smiled and leaned into his touch, heart melting. "All right. Let's celebrate together."

"Glad to hear you're ready, Bastion. We'll bring in the dinner, kids," Katai smiled as Miss Fontaine also entered the room with a hotel style room service cart. "Professor Sartyr made a fairly light but filling supper for you two... Lobster chowder, some bread and a nice Caesar salad."

"And for dessert, he can have some of the cake I brought, can't he?" Violet asked, a begging look in her eyes.

"Of course," Fonda answered, smiling.

"Hooray!" Violet cheered happily.

The couple ate their well-prepared and delicious dinner and just as they finished the cake, Bastion could barely keep his eyes open. "This filled me up," he smiled sleepily.

Violet sighed contentedly, cuddling as best as she could with him from her chair. "Me too... Are you as tired as I am?"

"I think I am, love," he answered, eyes closing. "Just stay with me for a bit..."

"Will do," she muttered, her own eyes closing.

It was a few minutes before Miss Fontaine, Katai, Alex and Hiro tiptoed into the room. "They're both so tired," Katai murmured, gently lifting Violet over to her cot.

Hiro sighed. "They both had a long day, even Bastion though he stayed in bed. At least they enjoyed themselves."

As Katai and Miss Fontaine got Violet into her pajamas, Alex examined Bastion's latest blood sample readouts and the young man's hands and lips. The genius's hands and lips were paling, but not yet the bluish tone that indicated cyanosis. "His oxygen level is starting to really drop now."

"So then... it's going to happen soon, isn't it?" the father asked gravely.

Katai looked up from Violet's bed in fear. "How soon?"

"It's hours now... I'm not sure how many, exactly," Alex answered seriously. "But by tomorrow, he'll be on the respirator..."

Hiro frowned deeply and went to his wife. "Then... we'll be ready, when it happens."

Well, the gang graduated, partied, and no one died. In the Yugi-verse, that's some kind of miracle that they get through a milestone without death and destruction by some sort of huge monster or evil force trying to take over the world. And it seems Bastion is still in danger. Next time, please join us for "Breathe 2 AM." Thank you and see you next time!