Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series

Parallel

Chapter 060

Song: Babymetal - Benitsuki - Akatsuki

Originally Written: Friday, April 29, 2022 908AM to 959AM

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Returning to Domino wasn't as much of a pain in the butt as it was trying to get out of it. Joey slowly trekked up the stairs on tired, achy legs. Tristan's gun was still strapped to his hip, but he had no more ammunition for it. Arkana picked him up when he got close to the city's clock tower. They rested in a hotel for the night, and Arkana took Tristan's bike to give back to him the next morning.

He fumbled with his keys as he tried to unlock the door. He stepped out to get some breakfast, as there was nothing to eat in his house. His dad was still with Tristan. He'd have to give them both a call later.

Serenity was babbling to him on his cell phone. She seemed sad for some reason, but said she was alright. She wasn't about to tell him what was wrong. Joey figured she'd tell him when she was ready, and left it at that.

While he was out, he noticed a swirling darkness not unlike a shadow game that had engulfed the part of Domino City that Seto lived in. The clouds darkened the sky, and stayed just to that area. He made sure to take the extremely long way around. He couldn't afford to have another run in with any more duel monsters.

He stepped inside, and dropped the remains of his breakfast on the kitchen table. He fell into a quiet conversation with Serenity that was distracting enough he didn't look to his right or take full stock in the security of the apartment. He strolled into the bathroom, where Serenity scolded him for using said bathroom while on the phone with another person. Joey laughed and brushed it off.

Joey stepped out of the bathroom, and headed to his room. He rubbed his arms. "It's cold in here. Dad musta unplugged the heater before he left." Joey murmured. He was really getting tired of being cold.

He backtracked a few steps. A man with long dark hair wearing a dark trench coat sat on the couch. It wasn't his dad, because he was blond, and didn't like trench coats. Joey could tell just from the way the coat wrapped around him, that there was a significant amount of muscle on the man's body. He slowly walked towards the living room. A darkness and chill wafted off the man. Joey wished he went to church more often than he did. Or believed a little bit more. But Christian Gods wouldn't help him here, would they?

'Joey?' Serenity asked, her voice soft and full of concern.

Joey cleared his throat as the man stood. "Yea...I'm 'lright. Tha neighbor's being a pervert again. Just close your damn blinds before you take your shower, man."

Serenity giggled. The man folded his arms behind his back. It was too late for that though. Joey already saw the long thin bone the man was holding. He didn't recognize it as something from any animal he knew. Then again, he didn't go around analyzing animal bones.

"But I gotta call ya back, alright?"

'Okay Joey. Love you.'

"Love you too." Joey hung up the phone. "Who da hell are you? And how did ya get in 'ere?"

The man turned to face Joey. Three claw marks stood out against his face as scars. He finished chewing whatever meat he was eating and swallowed. "Since we are both finished with breakfast, allow us to get down to brass tacks, Joseph Wheeler. Where is the key?"

"What?" Joey frowned in confusion, and choked back his budding nausea. "What key? Tha hell you talkin' 'bout?"

The man seemed to both stare him down and glare as he circled around the couch. "I'm well fed now, so it wouldn't do you well to anger me. Where is the key, Puzzle Wielder?"

Joey slowly backtracked. He wasn't sure how, but suddenly he heard Seto's voice in his head as though the words were his own thoughts.

'It's the nondescript black bag that appeared in your suitcase while you were traveling. I hope you still have it. Don't let him touch it once you have it.'

Joey blinked, took a few more steps, and booked it towards his bedroom. The man chased him, going so fast he slammed into the wall. Joey winced in a mix of a duck and fear as he heard the wall crumble and break behind him. He grabbed the baseball bat by his bed, and swung instinctively. The turn of the swing allowed him to see it smash into the man's head. The man's head snapped back, and he stumbled backwards, slightly dazed.

Joey ignored the fact that the man's face bent his metal baseball bat that had yet to be dented no matter how much he used it for defense. Not a drop of blood dripped from the man's forehead either. He jumped on the bed, crossing over to the other side of the room while putting his cell phone in his jacket pocket. With shaking yet mostly steady hands, he tore open his bag. He didn't know when it appeared during his trip or how, but when he asked both Arkana and Pegasus about it, they told him to hold onto it. Whatever was in it, made the bag particularly heavy for its size.

Joey jumped back, bumping into the small desk he did his homework on. The man crashed into the wall in front of him where he had been standing. Joey tightened his grip on the bag with one hand. He grabbed the small lamp sitting on the table with his other hand, ripped it from the socket and threw it at the man. The ceramic base shattered against the man's head. His mother had given him the lamp as a gift for a birthday. He used to have to hide it, because he knew his dad would want to sell it for alcohol money. He kept it safe all these years, just to smash it against some creep's head. It hadn't even dazed the man like the baseball bat had. Just made the man angry. He ran at Joey ready to tackle him again.

Joey pressed his hand against the tiny table as he ran around it. The table flipped on its side. It crashed to the floor and the man stumbled over it. Joey circled around the bed. He fumbled with his keys in his jacket pocket. Instinct told him however that he would either make it to the door, or get out, but not both. He switched direction and leaped over the couch.

He felt a hand brush his jacket as he climbed through the window. He shielded his face with his arms. He fell three stories and slammed into the closed lid of a large green trash bin. He felt the metal bend under his weight and the impact. Liquid ran down his back as he laid on top of it. He reached a hand back, and touched the back of his neck. He pulled his hand away and looked at the blood on his hand. He looked up at the man from the window. His heart raced. The man looked at him. A clawed hand reached out the window. Joey genuinely couldn't tell if the guy was a human or a duel monster. The man stared at him for a second longer, before pushing away from the window and walking away.

'Pardon me, but get over here, already. Please.' Seto demanded in his head.

A car horn honked. Joey jerked. He didn't think about how he should have a broken bone or two, but felt fine, just sore. He rolled off the trash bin. A horribly beaten up expensive, red, sports car waited for him. Seto Kaiba sat in the driver's seat, looking in the rear view mirror.

"Hi Joey!" Mokuba hung out of the back seat window as he waved. A bandage stuck out from underneath Mokuba's jacket, partially wrapped around his neck.

Joey pushed himself to run to the car, while willing himself to calm his racing heart. He held the heavy black bag close to his chest.