Here's the second of the three chapters that I wanted to make sure flowed well together before posting. I hope that you are all enjoying it. I took a bit of creative liberties with some of this chapter, but I had fun writing it.
I hope all of you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it.
Chapter 16
Sere slowly and calmly walked down the street. She still wasn't too sure as to what she could do to help Joey. She couldn't just run back into that warehouse, grab Joey, and expect him to follow her willingly, especially not when Marik has control of his mind. But nothing else was really coming to her. So, she just continued to walk back towards the warehouses, hoping that she would come up with something by the time that she got there.
It took awhile of walking and contemplating and thinking things through before she got near the warehouses again, and only one thing came to mind as to what to do. And that was to go back into the warehouse and search for Joey, but she wasn't going to go in as she was, she was planning to do this as Sailor Moon, that way she would be able to do something in case she had to.
Once she was back at the warehouses, Sere found a hidden place and transformed into Sailor Moon, then she snuck back into the warehouse she had previously fled from, hoping that Joey was still there. As she made her way inside, Sere noticed something was off. She had made it inside way to easily. Where had all the ones searching outside go? There were so many of them outside when she had left, but now there was no one outside, at least, no one that she saw. Now, she was starting to wonder if there was anyone still in the warehouse. A part of her was hoping, in some strange way, that this meant that they were all back inside. But, then that would mean that she would have to be more careful while she searched for Joey inside the warehouse. But, then there was the other idea, maybe they all had left the warehouse behind and moved on. Either way, it didn't matter, she would have to be extra careful while she searched, but she wouldn't leave the warehouse until she knew that Joey or Tea weren't in the warehouse anymore.
The more and more Sere continued to search the warehouse, the more and more it was tempting to let her guard down. The reason being, was that she had yet to run into anyone, and she was almost done with her search of the warehouse. She only had a couple more rooms left to go, and she hadn't found anyone yet, it was starting to make her worry. If they weren't here, then where did they go? Then, where could Joey be now?
As Sere checked the last of the rooms and found no one in the warehouse, a thought came to her. If they weren't here and they all left, then they would've taken Joey with them, and the thought that struck her was where Joey might be. The whole reason that the three of them had been kidnapped in the first place. They were to be used against Yugi, and if she found Yugi, then most likely she would find Joey! And if they were going to use Joey against Yugi, then it would most likely be with a Duel. Now she just had to figure out where this Duel would take place.
Sere was contemplating this as she was making her way out of the warehouse. She didn't have a clue where this Duel might take place, but she figured, just as she walked out of the building, that she might as well start looking at locations nearby, and the closest spot to the warehouses was the docks, she figured she might as well start there. Who knows, she might get lucky and find Joey right off the bat.
And, in a way, she did get lucky. The first few docks she found, there was no sign of anyone, but as Sere was walking down an alley between two buildings to check on the next dock, she started to hear the sounds of a Duel taking place. Sere quickly ran to the end of the alley, while at the same time, trying to stay hidden. The sight that greeted her was not what she was expecting.
The image before her was not what Sere was expecting, at all. Granted, she knew it wouldn't be a friendly Duel in any way, but something like this…she so didn't see coming.
The scene before her was a one on one Duel taking place on the dock, with an anchor hanging, between and above the two Duelists, and they seemed to be chained to it. When Sere took a closer look, she could tell that the two Dueling were Joey and Yugi. But, that wasn't the only thing she wasn't expecting, Sere had also spotted Tea, who appeared to be strapped to a chair, with a crane holding something, obviously heavy, above her. Sere guessed that was to make sure that the two Dueled. But, this also pointed something else out to Sere, and that was that Tea was unable to get away from their captures when they were kidnapped. Sere was starting to beat herself up about that one. Not only did she leave Joey behind, but, she had, unfortunately, also left Tea behind, as well. But, that thought had gotten pushed aside when she had noticed that there were two others watching the Duel, and by the looks of things, these two seemed to be Seto Kaiba and Mokuba. When Sere took another look at the situation before her, she had noticed one more person was there, and this person was standing near the crane, he was dressed similar to the other Rare Hunters and appeared to be holding something in his hand. If Sere had to guess, she would say that whatever that guy was holding probably controlled whatever the crane was holding over Tea. Sere didn't like this setup at all. Now she was starting to worry again, Sere didn't know if there was anything she could do at this point. It would seem that the only thing she could do right now was stay put in her hiding place and watch what was left of the Duel. And with that thought in mind, Sere looked at the Duel that was taking place between Joey and Yugi, and the first thing she wondered was who was winning, but that thought was pushed aside to take in what was happening right now, to take in what was on the field right now. And it appeared that Yugi was the only one with something on the field at the moment. He seemed to only have one monster on the field, a dragon by the looks of things, and there didn't seem to be anything else on the field.
Sere's attention didn't stay there for very long when something happened. It would seem that it was Joey's turn in the Duel. Sere also noticed that Yugi had taken his Puzzle off and had started to make his way over to Joey, as Joey took his turn, and it would seem that either Joey didn't notice or he didn't really care that Yugi was walking over towards him. Sere continued to watch as Joey summoned a monster to the field, still not paying much attention to the fact that Yugi was still trying to make his way over to him. Unfortunately, for Sere, she couldn't exactly hear what was being said, so she could only guess as to what was going on, and she didn't know Joey's and Yugi's decks by heart, so she wouldn't know what each card was by sight, she would need to hear what was being said to really know what monster it was that Joey had summoned.
But, Joey didn't waste any time in playing a Magic Card right after he summoned his monster. But, the activation of the Magic Card didn't detour Yugi at all, as he continued walking over towards Joey. Joey, on the other hand, used his activated Magic Card in combination with his summoned monster to attack Yugi's dragon. Sere continued to watch, as Joey's monster prepared to attack, as it changed its shape, into that of a rocket, then blasted off towards Yugi's dragon. But, this attack didn't seem to have stopped Yugi, especially since, as far as Sere could see, a chunk of the dragon's wing was now missing because of the attack, Yugi continued on his way towards Joey.
Not to long after Joey's monster attacked Yugi's dragon, the dragon seemed to be getting weaker, as it fell to the ground and didn't seem to be doing too well. All Sere could guess, was that after the attack, that Joey's Magic Card must've taken effect, and must've made the dragon weaker. What caught Sere's attention was that Joey seemed to be affected once Yugi's dragon hit the ground, Joey looked to be fighting something, especially when Joey put his hand to his head. And that's when it hit Sere, she hadn't actually been looking for it, and had somewhat forgotten about the simple fact that Yugi was most likely not exactly Dueling Joey, but actually Marik, since, last she knew, Marik had control over Joey's mind. She had somehow, consciously, forgotten about that little detail. Sere started to blame that on the situation she had found before her when she got there. It was at this moment, that it full on hit Sere that it was Marik that had set this all up. A part of her wasn't exactly surprised by that revelation. Sere snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Joey kneel down. Not two seconds later, Yugi was at Joey's side. What happened next surprised Sere; Yugi gave Joey his Puzzle, going as far as to put it around Joey's neck for him. If Sere was able to guess the look on Joey's face correctly, it would seem that Joey was surprised by this action, as well. Sere continued to watch as Yugi didn't stick around for very long, after giving Joey his Puzzle, before heading back to where he was previously standing, though, it would seem that Joey was still in a state of shock, as Yugi walked back to his spot, only having conscious thought enough to stand back up. At least, that's what she hoped was the case.
Not to long after Yugi made it back to where he was previously standing, Joey took off Yugi's Puzzle. Yugi had a look of surprise on his face when he saw that. Sere took that as a hint that this wasn't Joey anymore.
Sere continued to watch as Joey took the Puzzle into his hands and removed a piece of it. And, it was at that precise moment that Sere felt something off, as if something was now missing. Sere didn't notice it before, but it now hit her what it was, the feeling that she got from Yugi from time to time was now gone, it was as if the removal of that one piece made that feeling disappear completely, as if it never existed in the first place.
Sere was broken out of her thoughts when she saw movement from Joey. When she looked, it seemed as if Joey was intending to throw that one piece of the Puzzle into the ocean. Sere found herself wishing and hoping that he wouldn't do it. Sere was starting to get the feeling that that Puzzle was special in some way. And just as he was about to throw the piece of the Puzzle, he stopped in mid-throw, and seemed to be struggling with it, whether if he should throw it or not. That struggling didn't last too long before Joey was back on his knees again. But, this time, Joey didn't stay on his knees for very long, before he was back on his feet again. Sere watched as Joey put that one single piece of the Puzzle back where it belonged, and put the Puzzle back around his neck. And once Joey put the piece of the Puzzle back, that feeling that Sere felt from time to time was now back. Sere found herself feeling relived by this. At that moment, Sere came to the conclusion that there was something truly special about that Puzzle; it was as if it had its own special power.
That's when it hit her, something special with its own special power. Sere looked down at her locket that was on her bow. That's when she realized she was still transformed as Sailor Moon; she hadn't realized that, as she had other things on her mind at the time. But, that little thought didn't stick around for very long, as her mind went back to the first thought she had, which was her locket, or more precisely, what was in the locket, the Silver Crystal. Maybe she could use that to help break Joey of Marik's control. Sere was now hoping that she had, finally, found a way that she could help.
Sere started to ignore the Duel that was going on before her, and started to focus on the feeling that she tended to get from Yugi from time to time. This is when Sere realized that this feeling wasn't coming from Yugi anymore, but was, now, coming from Joey's direction. That's when it hit her, this feeling was actually coming from the Puzzle! Regardless of this revelation, Sere went back to focusing on the feeling she usually got, hoping that it would help her out, as she tried to use the power of the Crystal to aid her in what she was now attempting to do. And that was to enter Joey's mind and to try and free him from Marik's control. After all, it would seem that the Crystal had helped her when Marik tried to control her own mind. And, Sere was hoping that focusing on the power and the feeling that she got from the Puzzle would help guide her to Joey, since, after all, he was now the one wearing the Puzzle.
Sere wasn't too sure for how long she was like that, but the next thing she knew she was in a dark place, there was hardly any light, if there was any light to begin with. Sere, randomly, looked down, and noticed that she was now wearing her princess dress. Sere was pretty sure that if she had a mirror, she would probably look like her past self, the Moon Princess. Sere didn't dwell on this little discovery, nor did she have time to think about how it happened, she, after all, had more important things to be doing at the moment, like getting to Joey and helping him out. Sere didn't get very far in trying to figure that out, when she started to get that feeling again, the one she sometimes got from Yugi…correction, the Puzzle, that feeling came from the Puzzle. Regardless of that correction of thoughts, Sere was getting that feeling now, and if she didn't know better, she would have to say that it was coming from behind her. But, before she could turn around and take a look, a voice spoke out from the darkness.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The voice seemed to demand, almost sounding like it was coming from everywhere all at once. But, Sere noticed that the voice seemed to be coming from behind her the most.
Sere turned around and was surprised by who she saw standing there. If Sere didn't know any better, she would say that Yugi was standing there. But, for some reason, she could tell that it wasn't Yugi, no matter how much he looked like Yugi, but it wasn't Yugi. One of the main reasons Sere was able to tell, was that there were some key differences between Yugi and the one now standing before her. A slight difference was in the hair, the one standing before her had blond streaks in his hair, while Yugi didn't. Not to mention, this guy's stance was completely different from Yugi's, though, it did seem familiar. But, the big difference, but also something else that seemed familiar, was the eyes. If Sere didn't know any better, she would say they seemed, almost, piercing.
"You're not Yugi." Sere said, saying the first thing that had come to mind. "But, at the same time, in a way, you are, aren't you?"
"Who are you?" The one before her repeated the question, the look that was pointed at her became more suspicious then piercing now.
"I'm a friend." Sere simply answered, hoping that would be enough. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him the truth or not, yet.
"That is not an answer." Was the reply that Sere got. That got a bit of a sigh out of her.
"Please…?" Sere said, practically begging him not to have to say the name that he would recognize. There was a silence for a few moments, as he seemed to be coming to a decision.
"Alright then." He said, seeming to agree, for the time being. "Then tell me, why are you here?"
"I was hoping to help Joey break free of Marik's control." Sere answered, for some reason, she didn't mind telling him that one. "But, I guess I missed, if I found you instead of Joey. I guess that's what I get for focusing more on Yugi's Puzzle instead of Joey." Sere was mostly rambling now.
"How do you know all of this?" This was starting to make him a little bit more suspicious, as well as curious. "Who are you, really?"
Sere just stared at him for a little while before answering. "If I tell you, can it remain just between us?" Sere said, hoping that it could remain between them for the time being.
"Why?" Was the only answer that Sere got. Which Sere somewhat sighed to.
"Because…I don't want the other's to know just yet." Sere answered, slightly looking away from him.
"And what is it that you do not what the other's to know?" He asked, mostly curious now.
"I'll give you a hint." Sere said, still not really wanting to come out and say it directly.
"Oh?" He said, an eyebrow raised slightly. "And what would that be?"
"I remember now." Sere said, hoping that would be enough for him to figure it out on his own. She really didn't want to say any more than that.
"You remember…?" He said, seeming to work it out aloud. Sere just simply watched him as he worked though his thoughts out loud. "Meaning you had lost your memories…" At the word 'memories' he got a look of understanding, it was obvious at that point that he had figured out to who she was. "Sere?" He asked, he almost sounded like he was unsure if he was correct in the idea of who she really was. And, Sere really didn't blame him, she did look somewhat different now, dressed like she was, looking like her past self. Sere just simply nodded her answer to his unsure question. "But…how?"
"'How' what?" Sere asked, wondering what he was specifically referring to. That got a bit of a chuckle out of him before he answered.
"I suppose that could refer to many different things." He admitted, a bit of a smile on his face.
"It can." Sere said, agreeing with that assessment.
"And the 'how' would be referring to all of it." He said, specifying what he had meant.
"I see." Sere said, trying to figure out where to begin first. "As to how I appear like I do…that's a bit of a long story. As for the how did I get here…that's somewhat of a story itself, that ties a bit into the why I look the way I do. But, as for the how did I get my memories back…that one's a short answer, I guess we can thank Marik for that one."
"He tried to control you to, I take it?" Was the main reaction that Sere got from her explanation.
"'Tried' being the keyword." Sere simply said.
"I take it Marik accidently unlocked your memories when he tried to control your mind." He theorized, believing that that had to be the answer.
"I'm not so sure it was because of just him alone." Sere admitted.
"Oh?" That caught his attention. "How so?"
"There were a few things that happened all at once when he tried to control me." Sere explained. "I think my subconscious had something to do with it."
"You have a power of your own." He said, theorizing again, getting what she was hinting at. "You were able to use that power to push Marik out of your mind."
"Pushed him out and right off his feet." Sere said, agreeing with what he had said. "I think that my subconscious and my own power kicked in when I wanted him out of my mind, and when that happened everything just exploded and snapped back into place." Then Sere took a moment to pause, before continuing. "All I really know is that one moment I'm tied to a chair with Marik trying to take over my mind, then the next moment the ropes tying me to the chair were gone and anyone that was standing near me were now lying on the floor a good distance away from me. It took me a little longer to realize that I got my memories back at that moment, as well."
"Let me guess, Marik seemed interested in what you had done." He said, it was no theory this time; it was as if he knew it as a fact.
"I don't know about 'interested', but he at least noticed." Sere answered, not really too sure what exactly happened.
"I take it that you are trying to repeat this to help release Joey from Marik's control?" He asked, now seeing what she was trying to attempt.
"That was the idea." Sere agreed.
"And, you were right." He said, instantly gaining her attention with that statement. "You did miss."
"I thought so, since I ended up here." Sere said, slightly looking around the darkness again. "Even though I don't know exactly where 'here' is."
"You are inside the Puzzle." He answered. Sere wasn't too sure if he sounded a bit amused, or if it was said in a way that the answer should've been an obvious thing. "It is, after all, where I reside."
"I suppose that's what I get for mainly focusing on the Puzzle." Sere said, mainly to herself. Then she turned her attention back to the one before her. "I do have a question for you, though."
"Oh?" He simply asked, he seemed a bit curious.
"What is it that Yugi calls you?" Sere asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her.
"There are two names that he calls me." He simply answered, then continued. "Though, I suppose, one is more a title than a name." He paused for a moment, making sure that he still had her attention before he continued. "One is Pharaoh."
"The tablets…" Sere absently said, interrupting him.
"So, you have seen them." The Pharaoh said, a bit surprised by her admission.
"Yes." Sere simply answered, before getting back to the topic at hand. "And the other?"
"The other one is Yami." The Pharaoh answered.
"Makes sense, I guess." Sere said, looking around the darkness again.
"It is mainly because I cannot remember my own name." Yami admitted, gaining her attention again.
"I'm confident that you will remember what it is." Sere said, trying to be reassuring and hoping to cheer him up. "In fact, I know you will find out. I may not know when that may be, but one day you will have your name and memories back."
"I know." Yami said, with a bit of a smile on his face. "Yugi and his friends have been trying to help me to regain my memories."
"And so have I." Sere said, reminding him of that little fact. Sere paused for a moment, as another thought came to her. "After all, we are somewhat similar, you and I." That comment gained Yami's attention.
"How so?" Yami said, rather curious to what she might be referring to.
"There are a few similarities I can think of, but we don't really have the time to talk about it." Sere answered, but she wanted to get back to the reason she had ended up there in the first place. "I would love to continue to talk with you, but I need to get back to trying to help Joey."
"Of course. I believe I might be able to help you with that." Yami said, now realizing what he could do to help. "But, could you at least tell me what the main similarity is?"
"Of course I can." Sere said, with a bit of a smile on her face. "You and I, we are both from the past."
"Both of us?" Yami questioned, not really knowing what she was getting at. He knew that he was from a time long since passed, being a spirit and all, but she was still alive.
"My mother ruled the entire Solar System, a peaceful era known as the Silver Millennium." Sere explained. "But, that came to an end a thousand years ago."
"Let me guess…" Yami started, theorizing why it had come to an end. "A great evil?"
"More like, one jealous woman and her army." Sere simply explained, not really wanting to go into it.
"She must have been strong." Yami theorized, trying to guess at what had happened.
"We weren't ready for something like that." Sere argued the point.
"Right…peaceful era." Yami said, as if reminding himself of this simple little fact.
There was silence for a moment, until Sere broke it. "I do hope that you regain your memories soon, as well as your name." Sere said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "And I hope that you have more memories of you past, than I do." Sere saw his look of confusion at her admission, and tried to explain it to him. "The most prominent memory I have from a thousand years ago is the end of it."
"If that is the case, then I too hope I remember something more than that." Yami agreed with her reasoning. Then he got back to the real topic at hand. "As for helping you get to Joey, I think I might have a way of helping you get there."
"How?" Sere asked, wishing to know how she could get to Joey from here.
"Joey is the one wearing the Puzzle now, correct?" Yami asked, trying to make sure he had all his facts straight first.
"Yes." Sere answered, wondering what that had to do with anything.
"Then I should, at least, be able to guide you." Yami stated, voicing his thoughts aloud. "And only guide you from here; I will not be able to follow. You will, essentially, be on your own."
"It's more than I could ask for." Sere said, with a small smile. "Thank you."
"I am glad I could be of help to you." Yami said, returning the smile. "And, good luck."
With that said, Yami began to guide her, the best he could on his own, to Joey, by using the Puzzle that Joey was now wearing. Sere didn't bother to ask how he was able to do this. She really didn't care at know the answer right now…ok, so maybe she did, but she had more important things to worry about right now. If she still cared to know the answer when this was over with, that's when she'd ask him about it. But, right now, she had to focus solely on Joey.
The next thing Sere knew, she was in a different place now. She just had to smile at that fact, she couldn't exactly help herself. She was just happy that it had seemed to work. Now to figure out if this was truly Joey's mind. Sere really hoped that she was in the right place this time, now she just had to find Joey.
Sere continued to wonder around, looking around, hoping to find Joey. But, something made her stop in her tracks; she thought she had heard something. Hence, why she stopped, in order to, hopefully, hear it better. As she listened, it started to sound like a voice, a voice that sounded somewhat familiar to her, but she couldn't exactly place it, so she continued to listen, trying to make out who it was that was talking, and what this person was saying.
"You have no past!" The voice shouted. To Sere it, almost, sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. One thing was for sure, that was not Joey's voice. That's when Sere realized who the voice belonged to, it had to be Marik! "Now destroy him! Destroy Little Yugi! Your feeble brain is no match for me!" Now, with that comment, Sere knew that Joey has been trying to fight Marik's control for him. That comment only confirmed it. "So, play Meteor of Destruction, now! You belong to me, understand?!" Now that one made Sere start moving again, she so didn't like the sound of that, and the search for where Joey could be within his own mind began again. "I command you to vanquish Yugi!" That just made Sere pick up her pace. "Obey me now or face the consequences!" To Sere, that was a good sign, it meant that Joey was still trying to fight Marik's control.
"That's it, Joey, keep on fighting against Marik." Sere said, as she came to a stop, feeling as if she was aimlessly running around, as if it were for no reason. "Keep on fighting Marik, Joey. I know you can do it, I know you are strong enough to kick him out of your mind! After all, this is your mind, no one can tell you what to do here! In your own mind, you rule it! This is a battle of wills, Joey. Prove to me…to your friends just how strong you truly are! Kick him out of your mind!" For some reason, Sere felt as if Joey could hear her.
"Everyone can be controlled!" Sere heard Marik's outburst, after a quite bit of silence. Though, Sere wasn't so sure if that was meant for her or someone else. After all, she seemed a bit surprised that he hadn't noticed she was there, but, she was counting herself lucky that Marik hadn't noticed that she was there. Sere was starting to think that Marik's attention was, mostly, focused elsewhere. "Silence! No one can resist my Millennium Rod! Behold, the full potential of its ancient powers!" Sere wasn't too sure she liked the sound of that, but it also meant that Joey was still fighting Marik's control. She just hoped that Joey was able to hold on until he was able to get Marik out of his mind. "Joey Wheeler no longer exists!" Now, that she really didn't like. It made her wonder what Marik was going to try now.
It wasn't too much longer after that that Sere felt something shift, something had changed, and not for the better. It would seem that Marik had gotten so frustrated and angry that Joey was able to fight him, that Marik had decided to take things to the extreme, by completely taking over Joey's mind, leaving no room for Joey to do anything. With that thought in mind, Sere felt the need to start looking around again, as if Joey was going to show up in his own mind at any second. It didn't take too much in looking around, when she noticed Joey off to her left, but he didn't look to well. Sere had finally found Joey, but he was just sitting there, with his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, with a blank expression on his face. Sere didn't need to think twice before making her way over to him.
"You dare to disrespect my power?!" Sere heard Marik again, and from the tone he was using, Sere would have to say that she was right; saying that he wasn't at all pleased would have been an understatement. Sere didn't like the sound of it at all. One thought passed Sere's mind at what Marik had said, that was what is happening to Joey, right now, must have been punished for fighting against him. Sere immediately turned her attention back to Joey.
"Joey, please, don't give up now, you need to keep fighting." Sere said, getting down in front of Joey, putting her hands on his arms, hoping that that would get his attention. It didn't, technically, get his attention, but it did make him move ever so slightly, almost as if he had twitched. Sere took that as a positive sign. "You are strong enough for this, Joey. But, if you wish it, I should be able to help you. The only catch is that you have to want it. This is your mind, what you say goes, you are the one that controls this place, not Marik!" That's when Joey's eyes actually looked at her, instead of staring at nothing, they held a bit of confusion to them now, but Sere somehow just knew what it was that he wanted to know, and that was who she was. After all, like with Yami, she looked like her past self. "You don't need to worry, I'm a friend. And I can help, but only if you allow it."
It took awhile before Joey answered. It was as if he had to fight just to say something, much less, actually move. "Help…me!" It was said somewhat quietly, but Sere heard it loud and clear.
"And I will, but you have to remember that I need your help to do anything, I can't do this one my own." Sere said, trying to make sure that he understood what he had to do. "Understand?" And the look that she got in return, was all the answer that she needed. A look telling her that he was willing to do anything that he had to do to get Marik out of his head. "When ever you're ready…" She could only do this with him leading the way; he was the one that had to get things started. And Sere didn't have to wait to be told when he was ready, she felt it. And, boy, was he ever ready. That's when Sere closed her eyes and started to concentrate on the task at hand, and trying to duplicate what she had done before. In essence, mainly concentrating on the Crystal and using her own power to try and free Joey from Marik's control. And, with Joey's help, Sere felt that they succeeded in doing just that.
Sere left his mind not to long after. She felt him push everything and everyone out of his mind, rather forcefully. She couldn't have stayed, even if she wanted to, it had that much force to it.
The next thing Sere knew, she was back in the ally again, still transformed as Sailor Moon, but the only difference this time was that she was now lying on the ground. It made her wonder if the force that Joey used to throw everyone out of his mind was really that strong to knock her off her feet. Sere wasn't really given that long to contemplate the thought, when what was going on around her came crashing back to her. Sere didn't even get the chance to get up, when a hand appeared in front of her face. Sere followed it to see who it was, and was surprised to see it was Darien. Though, she probably shouldn't have been that surprised, considering she had told him where she was heading.
"Are you alright?" Darien asked, as Sere accepted the hand and the help up.
"I'm fine." Sere answered, then turned her attention back to where the Duel, last she knew, was taking place.
Sere had turned her attention back to the Duel just in time to watch Yugi stop the attack that was aimed at him. But, the only problem, was that the attack was still there, caught on the face of a mirror, if Sere guessed right, a mirror that a winged monster was holding. If Sere had to guess, Yugi now had to choose who got hit with the attack. Sere could also tell that Darien wanted to know what was going on, but was holding back. He could probably tell that she wasn't going to say anything right now, not until she was ready to, anyway.
Sere continued to watch, now that Joey was himself again, and Joey seemed to be surprised that he was wearing Yugi's Puzzle, as he held it in his hands. Nothing seemed to be happening with the Duel now. It was either they were talking or they were waiting for something. Sere wanted to guess that it was that they were talking. It didn't take too much longer for something to happen, as a helicopter came from out of nowhere and then rammed straight into the top of the crane, effectively knocking it over and into the water, and getting Tea out of danger, even though she was still strapped to the chair, at least she didn't have that heavy looking crate hanging over her head. Not too long after the crane sank into the water, there was an explosion underwater. Sere was a bit surprised by that, she wasn't expecting that to happen. Sere then saw a group of people run over towards Tea, now that the danger was gone. And it was now that Sere noticed that Tristan had shown up with some others she didn't know. A small part of her wondered when they had gotten here, but she pushed that thought aside to focus back to what was going on before her. It didn't take them very long to free Tea from her chair, as they made their way back to where they were standing before. And as they made their way back, it would seem that the Duel was getting back underway.
And what happened next, Sere so did not expect to happen. One thing was for sure, Sere had been right, Yugi did get to choose who was going to get hit by that attack, and Yugi's choice, Sere didn't see coming. Though, if she had to think about it, she probably would've done the same thing if she were in Yugi's position. What Yugi had done was decide that he, himself, would get hit with the attack and had directed the monster holding the mirror, that was holding the attack at bay, to let the blast hit himself. The reason Sere was surprised by this, was because it confused her. She had thought Yugi had played the card he did so he wouldn't get hit by the attack. Then it hit her as to why he did it, it was to delay the inevitable, to by some time with Joey before sacrificing himself, so that Joey would be safe.
As the attack ended, Sere almost couldn't contain herself…almost, but at the last second she was able to force herself to stay put, as she watched Yugi fall to the ground, he seemed as if he were unconscious. Sere wanted to say that the Duel was over, but Yugi's dragon was still on the field. There must be something more that needed to happen for the Duel to officially come to an end.
Sere continued to watch, no matter how much she wished to jump in and help, but she managed to stay put, with some, obvious, effort. Sere just now seemed to notice that the group had stopped in their tracks after the attack, almost as if they were in some kind of shock. Just after she noticed that, she had to release a sigh of relief, a breath she didn't realize she was holding, when she saw Yugi move. It would seem that he moved only enough to lift his head to look at Joey. That seemed to last a little while, until Yugi moved again, but only enough to remove his Duel Disk and set it aside and out of the way. Then he went back to just lying there, looking as if he were unconscious, or maybe he was just resigning to his fate and waiting for it to come.
Sere wasn't given that much time to contemplate if Yugi was alright or not, when Yugi's dragon shot off an attack at Joey, then not to long after that, Yugi's dragon disappeared. Sere figured that signaled the official end of the Duel, and maybe that was the something more that needed to happen, that she was thinking of before. Not too long after that, Joey took off his Duel Disk and the Puzzle and set them down on the dock. Joey then grabbed onto the chain that he was chained to and used it to swing over to the other side of the dock, over to where Yugi was.
Just as Joey made it over to the other side of the dock, many things happened all at once. Joey was able to reach into a box that was sitting, open, just in front of Yugi, and pulled something out from inside. But, just as he got whatever it was that was in the box, he was violently pulled backwards. It was glaringly obvious as to why that was, as the anchor that both, Yugi and Joey, were chained to, gave way and plunged into the water, pulling both, Yugi and Joey, down with it. When the others saw this, Tristan ran forward, trying to grab onto Joey, but got there too late, and had just missed grabbing him by a couple of inches. Both Yugi and Joey had, effectively, been pulled into the water by the anchor they were attached to. If Sere didn't know any better, she would have to say that time started to slow down when Yugi and Joey got pulled under the water.
It seemed to take forever, before something happened. It may have seemed to take forever for Sere, but really, it wasn't that long. The next thing to happen was when Tristan dived into the water. When Tristan came back to the dock, Sere sighed a breath of relief, a breath, again, she didn't realize she was holding. When Tristan came back to the dock, and brought someone with him, Tea helped get them up on the dock, Sere noticed that it was Yugi, and that's when Sere released her sigh of relief. Yugi was safe, but that left the question, what about Joey? Sere, nor anyone else, were given much time to think of anything else, as someone else, by the looks of this, Sere would have to say a girl, dived into the water now, most likely, going after Joey. One thing was for sure, Sere didn't know who she was. Again, time seemed to slow down, as Sere, once again, waited to see what would happen next. Things seemed to take longer this time, but, eventually, Joey and the girl, that dived in after him, made their way up onto the dock as well, and Sere found herself releasing another sigh of relief. Both Yugi and Joey were safe. All was good again, at least, as far as Sere was concerned right now.
Sere continued to watch, as everything seemed to go back to normal. That's when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sere looked to see who it was, and wasn't surprised to see Darien, she had almost forgotten that he was there. Sere noticed the look that he was giving her. She knew what that look meant, it was time to go. Sere nodded her head, showing that she understood. Sere took one more long look at the group, before, somewhat reluctantly, leaving with Darien.
Sere and Darien silently walked down the alley, with Sere, sort of, unconsciously, changing back to herself from being Sailor Moon. It seemed to take awhile, and Sere didn't mind, she really needed the time to think anyway. As they reached the ally, they found Darien's motorcycle waiting for them. When Darien handed her his spare helmet, did Sere come out of her thoughts, and realize where they were. She silently accepted the helmet and put it on. With that done, the two got on his motorcycle and took off.
I hope all of you didn't mind the way I had Sere meet Yami for the first time. I always knew I wanted her to officially meet him as he is, and not while he was in control of Yugi's body, that always struck me as unofficial. So, I figured this was an interesting way to do so. I hope all of you didn't mind that meeting, or the way I had Sere help Joey out. I thought I was being rather original doing that. Hope I succeeded in doing so.
I hope that everyone enjoyed the chapter; I had great fun writing it.