Chapter 18: - Wounded
Oh God it hurt…
Joey had never realised before how much the Duel Monsters he sent into battle were hurt by the attacks that were thrown at them, but now he was getting a first hand lesson.
"Joey! Stay strong!" He heard Tea call. Saw his friends on the side lines, cheering him on.
"Aiiii." Kaida sang, swimming through the air around him, encircling him with both her body and a green barrier, Safeguard Jamie had called it, the dragon having sent herself out when Joey had screamed the first time from the agony of the feedback from his monster and been shielding him from the worst of the physical attacks since.
Kaida nuzzled Joey, who paused before drawing to pet her head, knowing he'd be in a much worse state, without her help, then he was now. The only thing he didn't understand was why it wasn't counted as cheating for her to be protecting him and not Marik, surely it was an unfair advantage…
It wasn't that he cared about Marik, as far as he was concerned the freak could rot for all he cared, he just knew what Yugi had told him about cheating here of all places.
Still the Shadows weren't complaining, so he wouldn't either.
Marik was amused that Joey was still on his feet, attributing the teen's resilience to the creature with him, who could do little about the feedback damage, but was proving to be shielding Wheeler not only from things like the heat of the Lava Golem, but the drain imposed on both sides by the Shadows, which Marik was protecting himself from using the powers of the Millennium Rod.
Joey considered his options. Currently there weren't many. He was still in Lava Golem's damn cage and he was still losing cards from his hand, one at a time and already a few of his best magic and trap cards had been taken. It was supposed to be random, but it was always good cards that were taken.
A thought crossed Joey's mind briefly. Perhaps that was the payment for Kaida's help, or Marik was somehow guiding his monster.
At least that damn Plasma Eel wasn't attached to his Panther Warrior anymore, even if he couldn't get to Marik's life points because it was sat there in defence mode in front of Marik.
"That's me done. For now. I'll get you next turn." Joey snorted.
700 life points slid away, in time with the lava that dripped from the golem sliding down the outside of the green shield covering him.
Marik drew and smirked, a look Joey was getting very bored of. "I activate Machine Duplication, turning my one Plasma Eel into three."
"Crap." Joey growled, knowing what was coming and no looking forward to it.
"Go Plasma Eels, drain his monsters of points."
Joey screamed from the pain of the feedback from his monsters, as two of the three Eels attached themselves to his monsters, electricity feeding down the chain attached to Lava Golem and, thankfully, though he wouldn't appreciate it until the assault was over, arching around and climbing the green bubble.
"Even with your Pokémon's help, it's not going to be long before you're too weak to move, yet alone duel!" Marik crowed, watching as the assault ended and, for the seventh time since the Duel had started the green bubble fell.
"Arceus…" Jamie breathed.
"He'll be ok, Jamie." Duke, of all people, tried to reassure her. "After all, he's got Kaida."
"That's what I'm worried about." She said, watching the Dragonair, who wasn't floating as high off the ground as she had been and had bigger gaps between her Safeguard attacks. "I don't know how much longer Kaida can keep this up, she's tiring and if she goes, Joey's going to be defenceless."
"Is that all you've got Marik?" Joey demanded, holding onto on of the bars and scowling at the rogue Tomb Keeper. "C'mon, this is nothing! It's gunna take more then that to keep us down, right Kaida?" Joey asked.
"Aiiiii." Kaida nodded, glaring at Marik, seeming fine, but no one missed the fact Joey had needed to keep himself upright for a moment there. This Duel was taking more of a toll on him then Joey was going to admit.
"Then I shall play one card face down and let you go." Marik snorted, amused by Joey's bravado.
"Come on, Joey! Come on Kaida!" Jamie called, knowing support from the stands from her family had gotten her through the finals in Sinnoh and not knowing what else she could do. "You can do it!"
"Yeah, go Joey!" Tristan shouted too.
He drew.
"I play Graceful Dice!" Joey said, "It's a card that's going to change my luck."
"How so?" Marik asked, disbelieving.
"I can use it to raise the attack of any monster I choose, and I choose your Plasma Eel. Once I do that, your Machine Duplication goes bye bye and so do your other two eels."
Marik growled.
"Excellent duelling strategy, Joey!" Yami grinned.
"All I need is a two and my plan works."
The little fairy like thing rolled the dice.
It landed on a six.
"Oh, yeah!" Joey crowed, as the Plasma Eel grew to 3000 and Machine Duplication exploded, freeing up his Rocket Warrior and the Lava Golem, leaving him with three monsters on the field ready to attack.
"I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon my Gilford the Lightening!" The warrior appeared with a battle cry, "How does it feel to be staring into the face of defeat?"
Marik started laughing.
"I missed the joke." Joey scowled.
"Thanks to your magic card my Plasma Eel is now stronger then your Gilford the Lightening. Looks like your plan backfired, little Joey." Marik sniggered.
"Wrong!" Joey snapped, "Do you really think I'd be dumb enough to let that happen?"
"Yes!" Marik snapped back.
"I don't get it." Jamie turned to one of the others, confused.
"Gilford the Lightening has a special effect." Yami explained, "When he's special summoned using three monsters, he can destroy all the monsters on the opponent's side of the field."
"It's over! Gilford, wipe out his eel with your lightening sword!"
Gilford attacked, the Eel died and the satisfying (to some people at least) sound of Marik's pained cry filled the arena.
"But how?" The Millennium Rod wielder demanded.
"Someone's not paying attention. Let me say it in small words. Gilford has a special ability that destroys all of your monsters." Joey grinned, "That's what you get for not paying attention in class, Marik. Gilford, teach him a lesson the hard way! Attack Marik's life points directly!"
"I don't think so, activate Nightmare Mirror!"
Joey yelped as his monster attacked him instead of Marik by piercing the mirror.
"Now you're 1000 points weaker and all I have to do is discard one card from my hand." The Tomb Keeper sent the only card in his hand to the Graveyard, "Did you honestly think you could take control of this duel away from me?" Marik smirked, "This is a Shadow Game, you fool, which means I make all the rules."
"Not all of them." Joey snorted, unphased, he'd been on much less then 1200 points before. "Or Kaida wouldn't be able to help me. I end my turn."
Marik drew and started laughing maniacally.
"That doesn't sound good." Jamie bit her lower lip.
"Enough with the laughing already, just play the card and let's move on." Joey demanded, weirded out and slightly worried.
"You'll regret those words, you fool, for I'm about to eliminate you from this Duel with Ra!"
"Mew!" Jamie hissed and she was the only one who cursed, Tristan and Duke came out with much much worse. "He's going to do to Joey what he did to Bakura!" Jamie's eyes widened. "Bringing it back from the Graveyard!"
"Back from the Graveyard?" Tristan demanded.
Marik played Monster Reborn and the God monster appeared before them.
"But Marik's monster has zero attack points, what kind of strategy is this?"
"A dangerous one." Jamie squeaked, having seen this before, "Joey, be careful!"
The God monster changed into its Phoenix mode.
"My Winged Dragon has taken on the form of Egyptian God Phoenix. In this form it's unstoppable! Now my beast is ready, ready to feed you to the Shadows!"
"Hold on, last I checked this Duel was still on and my Gilford has more then enough attack points to stop your oversized chicken!" Joey snarled.
"It won't help…" Jamie whispered.
"Even your dragon cannot protect you from the devastation of Ra's attack." Marik crowed, "I pay Marik 1000 life points. Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy his monster!"
The fire bird shot forward, Kaida threw up another Safeguard and then all on the platform were consumed by flames.
"JOEY!" Jamie screeched.
"Hold on, Joey!" Yami called to his friend, the fear in his tone not just overspill from Yugi.
Joey's agonised screams were audible over the sound of the flames.
Flames were replaced by thick smoke and silence fell, other then Marik's laughter.
"Please, Joey…" Jamie couldn't look away, "Be ok…"
The smoke cleared.
Joey was still standing. Just. But the attack had been too much for Kaida, who had collapsed in a ring around her Trainer and looked unconscious.
"He's still standing! How? No one can survive the devastating attack of an Egyptian God monster!" Marik snarled.
"Th… thank you Kaida." Joey stammered, having trouble seeing straight, yet alone thinking, but knowing what his Dragon had just done for him.
With the end of Marik's turn, Ra returned to the graveyard.
"Alright… it's… my turn now… and you're wide open…" Joey struggled, drawing, "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
With 1800 attack points, it had enough to finish Marik.
"Hurry, call your attack!"
"A…" Joey got the first letter out, but then he started falling forward.
"JOEY!" Serenity, who had reached the top of the steps just seconds ago, screamed, scared for her brother.
Kaida opened her eyes and shot up, wrapping herself around her Trainer, holding him up, nuzzling him and crooning to try and get some sort of response.
"Come on, Joey! Wake up!" Tristan bellowed up to the teen, who was limp in Kaida's grasp.
"Joey, please!"
"K…Kaida?" Everyone held their breath as Joey half opened his eyes.
"Aiii." The Dragonair nodded towards the Duel.
Joey blinked, looked from Gearfried to Marik to Kaida, then nodded, and standing up, but relying heavily on Kaida's support, Joey looked at Marik. "Marik," His voice was weak, but audible, "It's over. Gearfried, attack!"
"THIS CAN'T BE!" Marik bellowed.
Gearfried's attack struck home and Marik's life points were blown away.
The Shadows vanished.
"The winner of this Duel is Joey Wheeler!" Roland announced to the shocked spectators.
Kaida collapsed, falling to the ground, and took Joey with her.
Jamie and Yami vaulted onto the platform, Yami darting to Joey's side and Jamie caring for Kaida.
"Is… she ok?" Joey asked, as Serenity latched onto her brother's side. "Jamie? Tell me… Kaida's okay right?"
Jamie did all the checks she could do without a Pokémon Centre. "I think so. I think she's just tired. She doesn't look injured…" Jamie tried to be reassuring, but she didn't know what kind of strain those attacks had put the Pokémon under.
"That's good." Joey nodded, forcing himself to his feet and turning to scowl at Marik, "Free everyone you're trapped in the Shadow Realm and give me Ra." He demanded.
Marik snarled something inarticulate back at him, glowering. The Millennium Rod glowing brightly and Yami moved between Joey and the crazed teen, his own Puzzle glowing in response.
"If I can't have the power of the Pharaoh," Marik snarled, drawing the dagger out of its sheaf, "No one can!"
He launched an attack on Yami, trying to stab the Pharaoh in the stomach.
Yami backed up to try to defend himself, but was shoved aside roughly, sending him toppling to the floor. Before he had a chance to get back to his feet, Joey had cried out, Serenity had screamed, a gunshot had gone off and Marik had hit the floor.
"Joey!" He turned to his friend to see the dagger lying on the floor, coated in blood, and Joey holding his side, his t-shirt torn, blood seeping through his fingers.
"Yuge…" Joey smiled slightly, trying to be reassuring, then his eyes slipped closed and Tristan caught him as he tried to join his Dragonair on the ground.
"We need a doctor, now!" Mokuba demanded, as he scrambled up onto the platform, ignoring the fact Roland had a gun and had shot a competitor, in favour of discovering how wounded Joey was.
Tristan applied pressure to the wound and Mokuba started barking orders into his radio.
Then the gang was at Joey's side, Serenity panicking, Jamie trying to be reassuring, Duke nervously hovering, Tea scared out of her mind…
'Jamie,' Bakura called, 'Is Marik still breathing?'
Jamie looked, he was unconscious but his chest was rising and falling, "Yes."
'Then it's not over. Marik could try again and there's no guarantee he's released anyone.' Bakura growled. Jamie didn't respond to his comment, just turned back to Joey.
The doctors arrived and took Joey away as fast as they could, being careful of the wound. Another lot carried Marik away after handcuffing him to the stretcher.
"Yugi, you still have to fight me." Kaiba warned as Yami headed towards the lifts to follow them.
Yami snapped. "I'm not duelling anyone until I know Joey's going to be alright." He snarled, wheeling around and glowering at Kaiba.
Kaiba's eyes held a hint of understanding, only a hint but it was there, for just a moment anyway, then "If you're not here in an hour, you'll lose by default and your Egyptian God card will belong to me."
Tristan muttered something about taking Obelisk the Tormentor and shoving it somewhere unpleasant, and Jamie, after giving Kaiba an incredibly disgusted look, sent out Iblis and mounted, pulling Serenity up behind her, the three of them dropping off of the side and swooping down, levelling out thirty foot from the ground and escorting the doctors to the infirmary.
"Kaiba, if Joey is stable within the hour, I will return." Yami said with a rather forced calm, though his eyes betrayed his emotions, waving his friends ahead of him, glad Jamie had thought to take Serenity down on her Charizard, "But only if Joey is stable. I won't leave my friend while he's injured, just because you want to pacify your over inflated ego."
"I'll see you in one hour." Was Kaiba's only response.
Yami turned and left before his temper could get the better of him.
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"Mai, you're alright?" Yami's eyes lit up with relief as he joined the others who were hovering outside the infirmary, waiting on news.
"I'm free. Thanks to Joey…" Mai smiled slightly, though there was a haunted look in her eyes, then she glanced at the door and looked down.
Tristan was pacing the floor, Tea, Mai and Serenity were sat together in a group by the door and Jamie was fiddling with her Pokedex, while Duke counted ceiling tiles.
"He'll be ok, I mean, it's Joey." Tea murmured, trying to be reassuring.
"I'll be back." Jamie said, unable to stand the atmosphere any longer and needing to do something, putting her Pokedex away and picking up her bag.
"Where did they take Marik?" Yami asked as she turned away.
"Wouldn't tell me." Jamie answered, glowering at the door, "One team of Doctors stayed here with Joey and the other lot went with Marik. I did try and follow, but…" She sighed, "I sent Haunter looking, but it'll take a while. There are a lot of rooms on this blimp."
"Thank you." Yami nodded.
"You're welcome." She nodded back, "I'm going to see if Ryou's back too. I have something that belongs to him." She indicated the Ring and left.
Tea moved over a bit, to make room for Yami, but he shook his head and leant against the wall, Yugi, in spirit form and not willing to talk to anyone, sat down by his feet, with his knees tucked up and his head low, blaming himself for Joey's injuries, and nothing Yami could say or do helped.
All they could do was wait.
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"Ryou."
Ryou, who was stuffing himself stupid with food in one of the kitchens, turned to look at the Pokémon Trainer in the doorway.
"I guess you want to return that." Ryou indicated the Ring.
"It was never mine." Jamie shrugged. "I've just been keeping it safe."
The teen snorted. "I should say no, I don't want it back, considering all the trouble it's caused me, but it's mine and I feel weird without out it so…" He put his hand out for it.
'Jamie, before you give the Ring back to Ryou. I want to say something.'
Jamie held up a hand, "Sorry Ryou, one moment." She tilted her head, listening carefully to what Bakura could possibly have to say, "Go on, Bakura."
'Once the Ring is returned to Ryou, I want you to forget any attempts of hurting the Pharaoh for what his men did to my village.'
"But…"
'I have caused you enough pain already.' Bakura continued, cutting Jamie off, 'I cannot stop you being my friend, but I do not want you drawn into my battle. Only I should pursue vengeance for my village. You do not believe in making the sons pay for the mistakes of the father.'
"Then it wasn't Yami who ordered the destruction, but his father?" Jamie's eyes widened in real life, making Ryou wonder what was going on.
'That's right.'
"And you were going to tell me when?"
'Before you left.'
"You overheard that…" Jamie paused, biting her lower lip, "I'll come back to visit, you know that right?"
'I know, but I want you to be able to focus on the real purpose for your journey. Not the feeble excuse you gave Kaiba, not the focus that you were gaining because of my past, your own goal. Let me focus on the Pharaoh and you go off and do your own thing.'
"But if he didn't issue the order…?"
'It's too late; I've gone too far to stop now. But I can keep you out of it. In some ways I'm glad you're leaving, it means I can't drag you down any longer.'
"Bakura, I still care for you, even with everything that's happened, you haven't dragged me down at all."
Bakura sighed. She had no clue about what the Ring had done to her. Removing the Millennium Ring would do little now, except prevent her darker side from having access to magic. 'Just promise me you'll forget about harming the Pharaoh. I don't want you turning into another Marik.'
"Me? Like Marik? I'd need a Millennium Item for that, besides, I'm not stupid, I know I can't beat Yugi or Joey in a Duel." Jamie chuckled.
'Trainer's honour.'
"All right, all right." Jamie scowled, "If you really need it, I, Jamie Francis of Littleroot Town, swear on Trainer's honour not to attack the Pharaoh unless he does something monumentally stupid and deserves it. Okay?"
'Good.' Bakura sounded relieved. 'Now you'd better give the Ring back to Ryou. He thinks' you've gone nuts.'
"Of course I'm nuts. I befriended you, didn't I?" Jamie chuckled.
Bakura snorted, 'Just be careful, alright?'
"I will if you do." It was an old promise now, one they'd been using for months and it signalled the end of the conversation. Jamie took the Ring off and handed it to Ryou who held it with a mixture of relief and disgust.
"Thanks, Jamie." Ryou nodded.
"No problem." Jamie nodded. "Be careful, okay? Marik's in custody, but he could escape, so watch yourself." She handed back Flygon's Pokeball. "I'll send Haunter to you once he's found the nut job and reported back to me."
Ryou took the Pokeball from her. "Alright, you be careful too."
Jamie couldn't help smiling slightly as she turned to leave. "Don't worry, I will."
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Mokuba was worried.
After speaking with the infirmary and with the Doctors in with Marik, whose Millennium Rod had been confiscated, he knew that both Joey and Marik were stable but needed much better facilities then they could provide aboard the blimp.
Unfortunately he'd spoken with his brother just after he'd gotten the information from the doctors, and Seto had said that they would be returning to Domino soon enough and that their medical faculties were good enough for the time being.
The problem was the blimp's engines.
They were trashed. Escaping from the explosion at Noa's aquatic base had burnt them out. They'd just about managed to limp here and once they'd been shut down, they just refused to start up again. There was no way they were going to be able to use the blimp to get off of the island.
He made a decision.
His brother wasn't going to like it and he would, most likely get into trouble for it, but he'd do it anyway.
He picked up the radio. "This is Kaiba craft three, can anyone hear me?" Mokuba asked, hoping for a response. "Is anyone out there?"
"We seem to be suffering temporary transmission interference due to our distance from the mainland." The pilot offered. To the frustrated child.
"Oh man…" Mokuba grumbled, "Come in, anyone, we need rescue copters, immediately."
The radio hissed and spluttered and then. "Come in Kaiba Craft three. This is Kaiba Corp."
"This is Kaiba Craft three." Mokuba sounded relieved.
"We read you, Mr Kaiba. How many injured?" The man on the other end asked, having easily recognised Mokuba's voice.
"Two. One gunshot wound, one stab injury. They cannot be taken in the same helicopter."
"Understood. Condition?"
"Stable but in urgent need of medical treatment."
"I'll get two choppers sent immediately."
"Thank you." Mokuba sighed, relieved.
"They should be there within an hour."
Seto would still be duelling then, if previous matches with Yugi were anything to go by.
"I need you to send an Engineer with the copters." Mokuba added. "Our engines are down and we can't leave the island."
"Understood." The man Mokuba was speaking to barked out a bunch of orders and then returned to the conversation, "Anything else, Mr Kaiba?"
"No, thank you."
"They're prepping the helicopters now." The contact on the other end said, "Estimated time to arrival, one hour two minutes."
"Thanks." When there was no reply, Mokuba sat back and let out a sigh of relief.
Seto wouldn't like it, but Mokuba hadn't just been able to stand by while Yugi and his friends needed help, they owed too much to the group and Seto had taught him to always repay his debts. That was, after all, the reason Seto had saved Tea during the Death Duel.
"Call me if there's another problem." Mokuba told the pilot as he headed out the door, "I'll be back before the choppers get here."
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They sat or stood there, in complete silence for a long time, the only sounds, Tristan's footsteps, mumbling from the infirmary… when Jamie rejoined them, minus the Millennium Ring, Yami tilted his head at her, questioningly, and she shrugged as she took a seat, but still silence…
"HAUNTER!"
Mai and Serenity screamed, Tea yelled, Yami jumped a mile, Yugi's head shot up, Tristan wheeled around and Jamie had sent out Aisu before she was even aware of what the noise had actually been.
"Haunter!" Jamie snarled, "Did you have to… never mind, of course you did." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Any luck?"
"Haunter! Haunt!" The ghost/poison Pokémon gestured down the corridor to the left and floated on ahead, turning around to see if anyone was following.
Jamie checked her Pokegear and looked at Yami, "It's twenty to."
"I'm not going unless I have news about Joey." Yami shook his head.
"I'm going to check which room they've got Marik in." Jamie nodded, understanding and heading after the ghost.
"Jamie…" Yami called, Jamie turned to look at him, midnight blue eyes watching him carefully. "Be careful."
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on fighting him, I just want to know where he is." She replied and disappeared around the corner.
"Attention Duellists," The ship's tannoy went off just moments after she disappeared from sight, "Please report to the top floor of the tower for the next duel of the Semi Final. Yugi Muto will face off against Mr Kaiba, the winner will continue on to the final round."
They all looked at Yami, who, much to their surprise didn't move from his spot against the wall.
"Yugi?" Tea asked, knowing how important this tournament was to the Pharaoh.
"I'm not leaving until I have news about Joey." Yami replied shortly.
"You'll lose if you don't go." Duke warned him.
Yami was aware of this and he wasn't happy about it, but he knew neither he nor Yugi would forgive him if he went to duel and something else happened while they were gone. "It doesn't matter."
Tristan, who was at the turning point of his pacing, growled, stalked over to Yami and proceeded to put him in a head lock.
"Get off." Yami growled, trying to wriggle out of it.
"Tristan!" Tea protested.
"Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once." Tristan growled back, "Go and duel Kaiba."
"What?" Yami's surprised question echoed down the corridor.
"Standing around here and losing by default is pointless. The Doctors can phone the Duel Tower with any information and Joey wouldn't want you to miss an opportunity to put Kaiba in his place. Now get going." Tristan let go and shoved Yami towards the exit.
Still Yami hesitated, though this time it was because Yugi had uncurled himself and stood up, but was looking at the door as if torn in two.
Of course Yugi knew how important this Tournament was to Yami. Marik had been defeated, and Ra no longer belonged to the deranged Tomb Keeper, but that hadn't been the whole reason Yami had entered. The mysteries of his past were supposed to be revealed if Yami won.
But at the same time it was Joey in there, his best friend, and he didn't want to leave until they knew something. He knew Joey would feel the same way about leaving him in some hospital…
"Yugi." Tristan growled, his tone making Yugi look at him, though Tristan was talking to Yami, "Get going now or you'll lose and everything you and Joey went through in Battle City will be pointless."
'Yugi?' Yami asked, turning away from the infirmary.
He sensed Yugi's regret, and then Yugi vanished, re-entering the soul rooms. "Let's go."
"I'll try and make it quick." Yami promised.
"Take as long as you need, just don't lose." Tristan snorted back at him.
They left.
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"Here?" Jamie asked Haunter, who floated up and down. "You're sure?"
The ghost Pokémon looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Sorry." She apologised, "Thank you Haunter. If you want to return to Bakura now, I won't stop you."
The ghost Pokémon disappeared through a wall to a chorus of screeches, leaving Jamie to go to Yugi's room to check on Kaida on her own and go through everything in her head.
The silence had been oppressive. Even if she hadn't been worried for Joey, she hadn't realised how used she'd gotten to noise and chaos around her. She could see it was going to be a problem when she left.
She snorted, looking towards the infirmary. She hadn't told them yet. They didn't know she was going on a journey, both for work reasons and her own.
She had already come up with a plan for the Day Care. She and Mr Kaiba had come up with it earlier and, other then Aisu, who would go with her, and Iblis, who would stay with Joey, the other Pokémon were going to be guardians of the Centre while she went travelling to find other Pokémon and Trainers who had been displaced like she had been.
She wasn't looking forward to it. Not really.
She slipped into Yugi's room, where Kaida was sleeping peacefully on the bed, some of her health restored, via a ladleful of berries she'd been growing in the Dare Care Centre from the last of her supplies, but still exhausted.
Jamie knew what the Shadow Realm could do to a person, she was just glad that Kaida had been able to help Joey. She just hoped that both Trainer and Pokémon would come out of this experience with no permanent harm done.
"Aiiia?" Kaida asked, sleepily opening her eyes and looking at the Trainer as she sank into the sofa with a bit of a thud.
"It's alright Kaida, go back to sleep. Marik's done, Joey defeated him." Jamie moved over to the bed, stroking the scales along the dragon Pokémon's back. "Joey's being looked after now, by the Doctors. You don't mind if I play Nurse Joy for a while, do you?"
"Draaaiii." Kaida nuzzled her gently and went back to sleep.
Jamie smiled, slightly surprised at the loyalty Joey inspired in the creature he had taken in just a couple of weeks ago. "I reckon your going to evolve while I'm away." She muttered to the sleeping Pokémon, sinking into the sofa again, "If the strength show today is any sign of how strong you've become."
The Dragonair, of course, didn't answer.
"And that's what I've got to do too. Become stronger." She continued, more talking to herself now, rather then talking at Kaida. "If Shadow Magic is so powerful, then there has to be a power out there that can stop Palkia and get me home. There has to be. And Aisu and I, we're going to find it."
She sighed as she realised what she was doing, "Ryou's right, I have gone nuts, but I need to take this chance. I need to see if there's any possibility I can save my world."
She looked out the window, towards the tower where, if she was right, Kaiba was still waiting for Yugi to arrive for his duel, "I need to tell them." She sighed, standing up.
"I just don't know how."
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"You made it then, Yugi." Kaiba snorted as Yami finally reached the top of the Duelling tower, just a minute and a half from the designated start time as sunset started to fall over the tower.
"Of course." Yami snorted, not really in the mood for this, but wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.
"You do realise that, as all the other semi-finalists are now unable to Duel, this is the Final battle of Battle City?" Kaiba smirked, "I'm surprised you don't have your fan club with you."
"Joey earned his place in the Battle City finals!" Yami snapped, "You have no right to take that from him!"
"Wheeler is a third rate hack who got lucky. I'll be taking the Winged Dragon of Ra from him soon enough." Kaiba snorted.
Yami's hands balled into fists. He'd had to walk away earlier because he'd wanted to punch Kaiba and now he had to duel him? This wouldn't end well.
"Calm down." Yugi sent down the link, "Kaiba's trying to bait us. He wants us worked up. He thinks it'll give him an edge."
Yami wasn't so certain, he wasn't sure that this wasn't just Kaiba being Kaiba. "I think you'll find that Joey's a much better Duellist then the last time you fought him, Kaiba. And he certainly has more friends then you ever had."
Seto snorted, having already heard Yami's friendship speeches. "Spare me the melodrama, Yugi. Are you here to Duel or not?"
"I'll duel." Yami growled, "And once I've defeated you, I'll be fighting Joey in the finals, once he's recovered. I will not let you steal everything he's worked so hard to achieve out from under him, just because..."
"Because he was saving you," Kaiba snorted, activating his Duel Disk and shuffling his deck. "Well, now's the time to see if it was worth it, if you truly value the sacrifice Wheeler made for you, then come and get me, but you'll see that in the end, friendship doesn't matter, only money and power."
"I'll prove you wrong, Kaiba." Yami snapped, activating his Duel Disk before shuffling his deck and putting it in the deck slot. "You'll see. All the money in the world won't stop me defeating you."
The two drew their first five cards in sync, checked their hands in sync and at exactly the same moment, the voices of the two, who had been rivals since the time of the Egyptians, called out.
"Let's Duel!"
Joey had never realised before how much the Duel Monsters he sent into battle were hurt by the attacks that were thrown at them, but now he was getting a first hand lesson.
"Joey! Stay strong!" He heard Tea call. Saw his friends on the side lines, cheering him on.
"Aiiii." Kaida sang, swimming through the air around him, encircling him with both her body and a green barrier, Safeguard Jamie had called it, the dragon having sent herself out when Joey had screamed the first time from the agony of the feedback from his monster and been shielding him from the worst of the physical attacks since.
Kaida nuzzled Joey, who paused before drawing to pet her head, knowing he'd be in a much worse state, without her help, then he was now. The only thing he didn't understand was why it wasn't counted as cheating for her to be protecting him and not Marik, surely it was an unfair advantage…
It wasn't that he cared about Marik, as far as he was concerned the freak could rot for all he cared, he just knew what Yugi had told him about cheating here of all places.
Still the Shadows weren't complaining, so he wouldn't either.
Marik was amused that Joey was still on his feet, attributing the teen's resilience to the creature with him, who could do little about the feedback damage, but was proving to be shielding Wheeler not only from things like the heat of the Lava Golem, but the drain imposed on both sides by the Shadows, which Marik was protecting himself from using the powers of the Millennium Rod.
Joey considered his options. Currently there weren't many. He was still in Lava Golem's damn cage and he was still losing cards from his hand, one at a time and already a few of his best magic and trap cards had been taken. It was supposed to be random, but it was always good cards that were taken.
A thought crossed Joey's mind briefly. Perhaps that was the payment for Kaida's help, or Marik was somehow guiding his monster.
At least that damn Plasma Eel wasn't attached to his Panther Warrior anymore, even if he couldn't get to Marik's life points because it was sat there in defence mode in front of Marik.
"That's me done. For now. I'll get you next turn." Joey snorted.
700 life points slid away, in time with the lava that dripped from the golem sliding down the outside of the green shield covering him.
Marik drew and smirked, a look Joey was getting very bored of. "I activate Machine Duplication, turning my one Plasma Eel into three."
"Crap." Joey growled, knowing what was coming and no looking forward to it.
"Go Plasma Eels, drain his monsters of points."
Joey screamed from the pain of the feedback from his monsters, as two of the three Eels attached themselves to his monsters, electricity feeding down the chain attached to Lava Golem and, thankfully, though he wouldn't appreciate it until the assault was over, arching around and climbing the green bubble.
"Even with your Pokémon's help, it's not going to be long before you're too weak to move, yet alone duel!" Marik crowed, watching as the assault ended and, for the seventh time since the Duel had started the green bubble fell.
"Arceus…" Jamie breathed.
"He'll be ok, Jamie." Duke, of all people, tried to reassure her. "After all, he's got Kaida."
"That's what I'm worried about." She said, watching the Dragonair, who wasn't floating as high off the ground as she had been and had bigger gaps between her Safeguard attacks. "I don't know how much longer Kaida can keep this up, she's tiring and if she goes, Joey's going to be defenceless."
"Is that all you've got Marik?" Joey demanded, holding onto on of the bars and scowling at the rogue Tomb Keeper. "C'mon, this is nothing! It's gunna take more then that to keep us down, right Kaida?" Joey asked.
"Aiiiii." Kaida nodded, glaring at Marik, seeming fine, but no one missed the fact Joey had needed to keep himself upright for a moment there. This Duel was taking more of a toll on him then Joey was going to admit.
"Then I shall play one card face down and let you go." Marik snorted, amused by Joey's bravado.
"Come on, Joey! Come on Kaida!" Jamie called, knowing support from the stands from her family had gotten her through the finals in Sinnoh and not knowing what else she could do. "You can do it!"
"Yeah, go Joey!" Tristan shouted too.
He drew.
"I play Graceful Dice!" Joey said, "It's a card that's going to change my luck."
"How so?" Marik asked, disbelieving.
"I can use it to raise the attack of any monster I choose, and I choose your Plasma Eel. Once I do that, your Machine Duplication goes bye bye and so do your other two eels."
Marik growled.
"Excellent duelling strategy, Joey!" Yami grinned.
"All I need is a two and my plan works."
The little fairy like thing rolled the dice.
It landed on a six.
"Oh, yeah!" Joey crowed, as the Plasma Eel grew to 3000 and Machine Duplication exploded, freeing up his Rocket Warrior and the Lava Golem, leaving him with three monsters on the field ready to attack.
"I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon my Gilford the Lightening!" The warrior appeared with a battle cry, "How does it feel to be staring into the face of defeat?"
Marik started laughing.
"I missed the joke." Joey scowled.
"Thanks to your magic card my Plasma Eel is now stronger then your Gilford the Lightening. Looks like your plan backfired, little Joey." Marik sniggered.
"Wrong!" Joey snapped, "Do you really think I'd be dumb enough to let that happen?"
"Yes!" Marik snapped back.
"I don't get it." Jamie turned to one of the others, confused.
"Gilford the Lightening has a special effect." Yami explained, "When he's special summoned using three monsters, he can destroy all the monsters on the opponent's side of the field."
"It's over! Gilford, wipe out his eel with your lightening sword!"
Gilford attacked, the Eel died and the satisfying (to some people at least) sound of Marik's pained cry filled the arena.
"But how?" The Millennium Rod wielder demanded.
"Someone's not paying attention. Let me say it in small words. Gilford has a special ability that destroys all of your monsters." Joey grinned, "That's what you get for not paying attention in class, Marik. Gilford, teach him a lesson the hard way! Attack Marik's life points directly!"
"I don't think so, activate Nightmare Mirror!"
Joey yelped as his monster attacked him instead of Marik by piercing the mirror.
"Now you're 1000 points weaker and all I have to do is discard one card from my hand." The Tomb Keeper sent the only card in his hand to the Graveyard, "Did you honestly think you could take control of this duel away from me?" Marik smirked, "This is a Shadow Game, you fool, which means I make all the rules."
"Not all of them." Joey snorted, unphased, he'd been on much less then 1200 points before. "Or Kaida wouldn't be able to help me. I end my turn."
Marik drew and started laughing maniacally.
"That doesn't sound good." Jamie bit her lower lip.
"Enough with the laughing already, just play the card and let's move on." Joey demanded, weirded out and slightly worried.
"You'll regret those words, you fool, for I'm about to eliminate you from this Duel with Ra!"
"Mew!" Jamie hissed and she was the only one who cursed, Tristan and Duke came out with much much worse. "He's going to do to Joey what he did to Bakura!" Jamie's eyes widened. "Bringing it back from the Graveyard!"
"Back from the Graveyard?" Tristan demanded.
Marik played Monster Reborn and the God monster appeared before them.
"But Marik's monster has zero attack points, what kind of strategy is this?"
"A dangerous one." Jamie squeaked, having seen this before, "Joey, be careful!"
The God monster changed into its Phoenix mode.
"My Winged Dragon has taken on the form of Egyptian God Phoenix. In this form it's unstoppable! Now my beast is ready, ready to feed you to the Shadows!"
"Hold on, last I checked this Duel was still on and my Gilford has more then enough attack points to stop your oversized chicken!" Joey snarled.
"It won't help…" Jamie whispered.
"Even your dragon cannot protect you from the devastation of Ra's attack." Marik crowed, "I pay Marik 1000 life points. Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy his monster!"
The fire bird shot forward, Kaida threw up another Safeguard and then all on the platform were consumed by flames.
"JOEY!" Jamie screeched.
"Hold on, Joey!" Yami called to his friend, the fear in his tone not just overspill from Yugi.
Joey's agonised screams were audible over the sound of the flames.
Flames were replaced by thick smoke and silence fell, other then Marik's laughter.
"Please, Joey…" Jamie couldn't look away, "Be ok…"
The smoke cleared.
Joey was still standing. Just. But the attack had been too much for Kaida, who had collapsed in a ring around her Trainer and looked unconscious.
"He's still standing! How? No one can survive the devastating attack of an Egyptian God monster!" Marik snarled.
"Th… thank you Kaida." Joey stammered, having trouble seeing straight, yet alone thinking, but knowing what his Dragon had just done for him.
With the end of Marik's turn, Ra returned to the graveyard.
"Alright… it's… my turn now… and you're wide open…" Joey struggled, drawing, "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
With 1800 attack points, it had enough to finish Marik.
"Hurry, call your attack!"
"A…" Joey got the first letter out, but then he started falling forward.
"JOEY!" Serenity, who had reached the top of the steps just seconds ago, screamed, scared for her brother.
Kaida opened her eyes and shot up, wrapping herself around her Trainer, holding him up, nuzzling him and crooning to try and get some sort of response.
"Come on, Joey! Wake up!" Tristan bellowed up to the teen, who was limp in Kaida's grasp.
"Joey, please!"
"K…Kaida?" Everyone held their breath as Joey half opened his eyes.
"Aiii." The Dragonair nodded towards the Duel.
Joey blinked, looked from Gearfried to Marik to Kaida, then nodded, and standing up, but relying heavily on Kaida's support, Joey looked at Marik. "Marik," His voice was weak, but audible, "It's over. Gearfried, attack!"
"THIS CAN'T BE!" Marik bellowed.
Gearfried's attack struck home and Marik's life points were blown away.
The Shadows vanished.
"The winner of this Duel is Joey Wheeler!" Roland announced to the shocked spectators.
Kaida collapsed, falling to the ground, and took Joey with her.
Jamie and Yami vaulted onto the platform, Yami darting to Joey's side and Jamie caring for Kaida.
"Is… she ok?" Joey asked, as Serenity latched onto her brother's side. "Jamie? Tell me… Kaida's okay right?"
Jamie did all the checks she could do without a Pokémon Centre. "I think so. I think she's just tired. She doesn't look injured…" Jamie tried to be reassuring, but she didn't know what kind of strain those attacks had put the Pokémon under.
"That's good." Joey nodded, forcing himself to his feet and turning to scowl at Marik, "Free everyone you're trapped in the Shadow Realm and give me Ra." He demanded.
Marik snarled something inarticulate back at him, glowering. The Millennium Rod glowing brightly and Yami moved between Joey and the crazed teen, his own Puzzle glowing in response.
"If I can't have the power of the Pharaoh," Marik snarled, drawing the dagger out of its sheaf, "No one can!"
He launched an attack on Yami, trying to stab the Pharaoh in the stomach.
Yami backed up to try to defend himself, but was shoved aside roughly, sending him toppling to the floor. Before he had a chance to get back to his feet, Joey had cried out, Serenity had screamed, a gunshot had gone off and Marik had hit the floor.
"Joey!" He turned to his friend to see the dagger lying on the floor, coated in blood, and Joey holding his side, his t-shirt torn, blood seeping through his fingers.
"Yuge…" Joey smiled slightly, trying to be reassuring, then his eyes slipped closed and Tristan caught him as he tried to join his Dragonair on the ground.
"We need a doctor, now!" Mokuba demanded, as he scrambled up onto the platform, ignoring the fact Roland had a gun and had shot a competitor, in favour of discovering how wounded Joey was.
Tristan applied pressure to the wound and Mokuba started barking orders into his radio.
Then the gang was at Joey's side, Serenity panicking, Jamie trying to be reassuring, Duke nervously hovering, Tea scared out of her mind…
'Jamie,' Bakura called, 'Is Marik still breathing?'
Jamie looked, he was unconscious but his chest was rising and falling, "Yes."
'Then it's not over. Marik could try again and there's no guarantee he's released anyone.' Bakura growled. Jamie didn't respond to his comment, just turned back to Joey.
The doctors arrived and took Joey away as fast as they could, being careful of the wound. Another lot carried Marik away after handcuffing him to the stretcher.
"Yugi, you still have to fight me." Kaiba warned as Yami headed towards the lifts to follow them.
Yami snapped. "I'm not duelling anyone until I know Joey's going to be alright." He snarled, wheeling around and glowering at Kaiba.
Kaiba's eyes held a hint of understanding, only a hint but it was there, for just a moment anyway, then "If you're not here in an hour, you'll lose by default and your Egyptian God card will belong to me."
Tristan muttered something about taking Obelisk the Tormentor and shoving it somewhere unpleasant, and Jamie, after giving Kaiba an incredibly disgusted look, sent out Iblis and mounted, pulling Serenity up behind her, the three of them dropping off of the side and swooping down, levelling out thirty foot from the ground and escorting the doctors to the infirmary.
"Kaiba, if Joey is stable within the hour, I will return." Yami said with a rather forced calm, though his eyes betrayed his emotions, waving his friends ahead of him, glad Jamie had thought to take Serenity down on her Charizard, "But only if Joey is stable. I won't leave my friend while he's injured, just because you want to pacify your over inflated ego."
"I'll see you in one hour." Was Kaiba's only response.
Yami turned and left before his temper could get the better of him.
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"Mai, you're alright?" Yami's eyes lit up with relief as he joined the others who were hovering outside the infirmary, waiting on news.
"I'm free. Thanks to Joey…" Mai smiled slightly, though there was a haunted look in her eyes, then she glanced at the door and looked down.
Tristan was pacing the floor, Tea, Mai and Serenity were sat together in a group by the door and Jamie was fiddling with her Pokedex, while Duke counted ceiling tiles.
"He'll be ok, I mean, it's Joey." Tea murmured, trying to be reassuring.
"I'll be back." Jamie said, unable to stand the atmosphere any longer and needing to do something, putting her Pokedex away and picking up her bag.
"Where did they take Marik?" Yami asked as she turned away.
"Wouldn't tell me." Jamie answered, glowering at the door, "One team of Doctors stayed here with Joey and the other lot went with Marik. I did try and follow, but…" She sighed, "I sent Haunter looking, but it'll take a while. There are a lot of rooms on this blimp."
"Thank you." Yami nodded.
"You're welcome." She nodded back, "I'm going to see if Ryou's back too. I have something that belongs to him." She indicated the Ring and left.
Tea moved over a bit, to make room for Yami, but he shook his head and leant against the wall, Yugi, in spirit form and not willing to talk to anyone, sat down by his feet, with his knees tucked up and his head low, blaming himself for Joey's injuries, and nothing Yami could say or do helped.
All they could do was wait.
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"Ryou."
Ryou, who was stuffing himself stupid with food in one of the kitchens, turned to look at the Pokémon Trainer in the doorway.
"I guess you want to return that." Ryou indicated the Ring.
"It was never mine." Jamie shrugged. "I've just been keeping it safe."
The teen snorted. "I should say no, I don't want it back, considering all the trouble it's caused me, but it's mine and I feel weird without out it so…" He put his hand out for it.
'Jamie, before you give the Ring back to Ryou. I want to say something.'
Jamie held up a hand, "Sorry Ryou, one moment." She tilted her head, listening carefully to what Bakura could possibly have to say, "Go on, Bakura."
'Once the Ring is returned to Ryou, I want you to forget any attempts of hurting the Pharaoh for what his men did to my village.'
"But…"
'I have caused you enough pain already.' Bakura continued, cutting Jamie off, 'I cannot stop you being my friend, but I do not want you drawn into my battle. Only I should pursue vengeance for my village. You do not believe in making the sons pay for the mistakes of the father.'
"Then it wasn't Yami who ordered the destruction, but his father?" Jamie's eyes widened in real life, making Ryou wonder what was going on.
'That's right.'
"And you were going to tell me when?"
'Before you left.'
"You overheard that…" Jamie paused, biting her lower lip, "I'll come back to visit, you know that right?"
'I know, but I want you to be able to focus on the real purpose for your journey. Not the feeble excuse you gave Kaiba, not the focus that you were gaining because of my past, your own goal. Let me focus on the Pharaoh and you go off and do your own thing.'
"But if he didn't issue the order…?"
'It's too late; I've gone too far to stop now. But I can keep you out of it. In some ways I'm glad you're leaving, it means I can't drag you down any longer.'
"Bakura, I still care for you, even with everything that's happened, you haven't dragged me down at all."
Bakura sighed. She had no clue about what the Ring had done to her. Removing the Millennium Ring would do little now, except prevent her darker side from having access to magic. 'Just promise me you'll forget about harming the Pharaoh. I don't want you turning into another Marik.'
"Me? Like Marik? I'd need a Millennium Item for that, besides, I'm not stupid, I know I can't beat Yugi or Joey in a Duel." Jamie chuckled.
'Trainer's honour.'
"All right, all right." Jamie scowled, "If you really need it, I, Jamie Francis of Littleroot Town, swear on Trainer's honour not to attack the Pharaoh unless he does something monumentally stupid and deserves it. Okay?"
'Good.' Bakura sounded relieved. 'Now you'd better give the Ring back to Ryou. He thinks' you've gone nuts.'
"Of course I'm nuts. I befriended you, didn't I?" Jamie chuckled.
Bakura snorted, 'Just be careful, alright?'
"I will if you do." It was an old promise now, one they'd been using for months and it signalled the end of the conversation. Jamie took the Ring off and handed it to Ryou who held it with a mixture of relief and disgust.
"Thanks, Jamie." Ryou nodded.
"No problem." Jamie nodded. "Be careful, okay? Marik's in custody, but he could escape, so watch yourself." She handed back Flygon's Pokeball. "I'll send Haunter to you once he's found the nut job and reported back to me."
Ryou took the Pokeball from her. "Alright, you be careful too."
Jamie couldn't help smiling slightly as she turned to leave. "Don't worry, I will."
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Mokuba was worried.
After speaking with the infirmary and with the Doctors in with Marik, whose Millennium Rod had been confiscated, he knew that both Joey and Marik were stable but needed much better facilities then they could provide aboard the blimp.
Unfortunately he'd spoken with his brother just after he'd gotten the information from the doctors, and Seto had said that they would be returning to Domino soon enough and that their medical faculties were good enough for the time being.
The problem was the blimp's engines.
They were trashed. Escaping from the explosion at Noa's aquatic base had burnt them out. They'd just about managed to limp here and once they'd been shut down, they just refused to start up again. There was no way they were going to be able to use the blimp to get off of the island.
He made a decision.
His brother wasn't going to like it and he would, most likely get into trouble for it, but he'd do it anyway.
He picked up the radio. "This is Kaiba craft three, can anyone hear me?" Mokuba asked, hoping for a response. "Is anyone out there?"
"We seem to be suffering temporary transmission interference due to our distance from the mainland." The pilot offered. To the frustrated child.
"Oh man…" Mokuba grumbled, "Come in, anyone, we need rescue copters, immediately."
The radio hissed and spluttered and then. "Come in Kaiba Craft three. This is Kaiba Corp."
"This is Kaiba Craft three." Mokuba sounded relieved.
"We read you, Mr Kaiba. How many injured?" The man on the other end asked, having easily recognised Mokuba's voice.
"Two. One gunshot wound, one stab injury. They cannot be taken in the same helicopter."
"Understood. Condition?"
"Stable but in urgent need of medical treatment."
"I'll get two choppers sent immediately."
"Thank you." Mokuba sighed, relieved.
"They should be there within an hour."
Seto would still be duelling then, if previous matches with Yugi were anything to go by.
"I need you to send an Engineer with the copters." Mokuba added. "Our engines are down and we can't leave the island."
"Understood." The man Mokuba was speaking to barked out a bunch of orders and then returned to the conversation, "Anything else, Mr Kaiba?"
"No, thank you."
"They're prepping the helicopters now." The contact on the other end said, "Estimated time to arrival, one hour two minutes."
"Thanks." When there was no reply, Mokuba sat back and let out a sigh of relief.
Seto wouldn't like it, but Mokuba hadn't just been able to stand by while Yugi and his friends needed help, they owed too much to the group and Seto had taught him to always repay his debts. That was, after all, the reason Seto had saved Tea during the Death Duel.
"Call me if there's another problem." Mokuba told the pilot as he headed out the door, "I'll be back before the choppers get here."
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They sat or stood there, in complete silence for a long time, the only sounds, Tristan's footsteps, mumbling from the infirmary… when Jamie rejoined them, minus the Millennium Ring, Yami tilted his head at her, questioningly, and she shrugged as she took a seat, but still silence…
"HAUNTER!"
Mai and Serenity screamed, Tea yelled, Yami jumped a mile, Yugi's head shot up, Tristan wheeled around and Jamie had sent out Aisu before she was even aware of what the noise had actually been.
"Haunter!" Jamie snarled, "Did you have to… never mind, of course you did." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Any luck?"
"Haunter! Haunt!" The ghost/poison Pokémon gestured down the corridor to the left and floated on ahead, turning around to see if anyone was following.
Jamie checked her Pokegear and looked at Yami, "It's twenty to."
"I'm not going unless I have news about Joey." Yami shook his head.
"I'm going to check which room they've got Marik in." Jamie nodded, understanding and heading after the ghost.
"Jamie…" Yami called, Jamie turned to look at him, midnight blue eyes watching him carefully. "Be careful."
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on fighting him, I just want to know where he is." She replied and disappeared around the corner.
"Attention Duellists," The ship's tannoy went off just moments after she disappeared from sight, "Please report to the top floor of the tower for the next duel of the Semi Final. Yugi Muto will face off against Mr Kaiba, the winner will continue on to the final round."
They all looked at Yami, who, much to their surprise didn't move from his spot against the wall.
"Yugi?" Tea asked, knowing how important this tournament was to the Pharaoh.
"I'm not leaving until I have news about Joey." Yami replied shortly.
"You'll lose if you don't go." Duke warned him.
Yami was aware of this and he wasn't happy about it, but he knew neither he nor Yugi would forgive him if he went to duel and something else happened while they were gone. "It doesn't matter."
Tristan, who was at the turning point of his pacing, growled, stalked over to Yami and proceeded to put him in a head lock.
"Get off." Yami growled, trying to wriggle out of it.
"Tristan!" Tea protested.
"Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once." Tristan growled back, "Go and duel Kaiba."
"What?" Yami's surprised question echoed down the corridor.
"Standing around here and losing by default is pointless. The Doctors can phone the Duel Tower with any information and Joey wouldn't want you to miss an opportunity to put Kaiba in his place. Now get going." Tristan let go and shoved Yami towards the exit.
Still Yami hesitated, though this time it was because Yugi had uncurled himself and stood up, but was looking at the door as if torn in two.
Of course Yugi knew how important this Tournament was to Yami. Marik had been defeated, and Ra no longer belonged to the deranged Tomb Keeper, but that hadn't been the whole reason Yami had entered. The mysteries of his past were supposed to be revealed if Yami won.
But at the same time it was Joey in there, his best friend, and he didn't want to leave until they knew something. He knew Joey would feel the same way about leaving him in some hospital…
"Yugi." Tristan growled, his tone making Yugi look at him, though Tristan was talking to Yami, "Get going now or you'll lose and everything you and Joey went through in Battle City will be pointless."
'Yugi?' Yami asked, turning away from the infirmary.
He sensed Yugi's regret, and then Yugi vanished, re-entering the soul rooms. "Let's go."
"I'll try and make it quick." Yami promised.
"Take as long as you need, just don't lose." Tristan snorted back at him.
They left.
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"Here?" Jamie asked Haunter, who floated up and down. "You're sure?"
The ghost Pokémon looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Sorry." She apologised, "Thank you Haunter. If you want to return to Bakura now, I won't stop you."
The ghost Pokémon disappeared through a wall to a chorus of screeches, leaving Jamie to go to Yugi's room to check on Kaida on her own and go through everything in her head.
The silence had been oppressive. Even if she hadn't been worried for Joey, she hadn't realised how used she'd gotten to noise and chaos around her. She could see it was going to be a problem when she left.
She snorted, looking towards the infirmary. She hadn't told them yet. They didn't know she was going on a journey, both for work reasons and her own.
She had already come up with a plan for the Day Care. She and Mr Kaiba had come up with it earlier and, other then Aisu, who would go with her, and Iblis, who would stay with Joey, the other Pokémon were going to be guardians of the Centre while she went travelling to find other Pokémon and Trainers who had been displaced like she had been.
She wasn't looking forward to it. Not really.
She slipped into Yugi's room, where Kaida was sleeping peacefully on the bed, some of her health restored, via a ladleful of berries she'd been growing in the Dare Care Centre from the last of her supplies, but still exhausted.
Jamie knew what the Shadow Realm could do to a person, she was just glad that Kaida had been able to help Joey. She just hoped that both Trainer and Pokémon would come out of this experience with no permanent harm done.
"Aiiia?" Kaida asked, sleepily opening her eyes and looking at the Trainer as she sank into the sofa with a bit of a thud.
"It's alright Kaida, go back to sleep. Marik's done, Joey defeated him." Jamie moved over to the bed, stroking the scales along the dragon Pokémon's back. "Joey's being looked after now, by the Doctors. You don't mind if I play Nurse Joy for a while, do you?"
"Draaaiii." Kaida nuzzled her gently and went back to sleep.
Jamie smiled, slightly surprised at the loyalty Joey inspired in the creature he had taken in just a couple of weeks ago. "I reckon your going to evolve while I'm away." She muttered to the sleeping Pokémon, sinking into the sofa again, "If the strength show today is any sign of how strong you've become."
The Dragonair, of course, didn't answer.
"And that's what I've got to do too. Become stronger." She continued, more talking to herself now, rather then talking at Kaida. "If Shadow Magic is so powerful, then there has to be a power out there that can stop Palkia and get me home. There has to be. And Aisu and I, we're going to find it."
She sighed as she realised what she was doing, "Ryou's right, I have gone nuts, but I need to take this chance. I need to see if there's any possibility I can save my world."
She looked out the window, towards the tower where, if she was right, Kaiba was still waiting for Yugi to arrive for his duel, "I need to tell them." She sighed, standing up.
"I just don't know how."
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"You made it then, Yugi." Kaiba snorted as Yami finally reached the top of the Duelling tower, just a minute and a half from the designated start time as sunset started to fall over the tower.
"Of course." Yami snorted, not really in the mood for this, but wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.
"You do realise that, as all the other semi-finalists are now unable to Duel, this is the Final battle of Battle City?" Kaiba smirked, "I'm surprised you don't have your fan club with you."
"Joey earned his place in the Battle City finals!" Yami snapped, "You have no right to take that from him!"
"Wheeler is a third rate hack who got lucky. I'll be taking the Winged Dragon of Ra from him soon enough." Kaiba snorted.
Yami's hands balled into fists. He'd had to walk away earlier because he'd wanted to punch Kaiba and now he had to duel him? This wouldn't end well.
"Calm down." Yugi sent down the link, "Kaiba's trying to bait us. He wants us worked up. He thinks it'll give him an edge."
Yami wasn't so certain, he wasn't sure that this wasn't just Kaiba being Kaiba. "I think you'll find that Joey's a much better Duellist then the last time you fought him, Kaiba. And he certainly has more friends then you ever had."
Seto snorted, having already heard Yami's friendship speeches. "Spare me the melodrama, Yugi. Are you here to Duel or not?"
"I'll duel." Yami growled, "And once I've defeated you, I'll be fighting Joey in the finals, once he's recovered. I will not let you steal everything he's worked so hard to achieve out from under him, just because..."
"Because he was saving you," Kaiba snorted, activating his Duel Disk and shuffling his deck. "Well, now's the time to see if it was worth it, if you truly value the sacrifice Wheeler made for you, then come and get me, but you'll see that in the end, friendship doesn't matter, only money and power."
"I'll prove you wrong, Kaiba." Yami snapped, activating his Duel Disk before shuffling his deck and putting it in the deck slot. "You'll see. All the money in the world won't stop me defeating you."
The two drew their first five cards in sync, checked their hands in sync and at exactly the same moment, the voices of the two, who had been rivals since the time of the Egyptians, called out.
"Let's Duel!"