Joey made his was silently to the front door, he was almost out when he tripped over the leg of the table. Muttering under his breath, Joey stood back up again, and started out the door, when Yugi walked into the living room.
"Where are you going, Joey?" Yugi asked, concern showing on his face. Joey didn't want to lie to his friend, but it was the only way he knew that Yugi would let him out of the house. He turned his back on his friend and told him, "I feel pinned in, I'm just going to get a breath of fresh air."
"I'll come with you," Yugi told him. "By the way, who was that on the phone?"
"It was my sis, Serenity." Damn, damn, damn! How was he supposed to get away from Yugi now?
"Yugi, I'd really like to be alone for a bit, please," he allowed himself to use the gentle voice that he only used when he was talking to his sister. Yugi looked at him for a minute, but then nodded his head as if to say that he understood. Before Joey could walk out the door, Yugi told him, "Don't stay out to long, ok."
"I won't," Joey said. There it was. He had lied to his friends again. Joey decided that once his sister was safe, he would never tell another lie to his friends again. Joey took one last look over his shoulder and took off at a run. It was as if Joey wanted to take the quickest path, not caring if he nearly got himself killed. As the sky began to cloud up, he shot across the road, hopefully early enough to make it past the oncoming car. However, he wasn't fast enough. The car would have hit him, were it not for the fact that whoever was driving slammed on the brakes. Joey started cussing himself at his stupidity, when the driver got out of the car.
"What the hell were you thinking Mutt? You almost scratched the paint on my ride," said the angry CEO of Kiaba Corps.
"I don't have time, rich boy," Joey spat back, as he stood still, attempting to catch his breath. "I've got to get to my sister."
There was something in Joey's voice that caught Seto's attention. As a child, Seto was used to having to protect his younger brother. He knew deep in his heart that he would probably die if anything happened to Mokabu. That same desperation shone in Joey's eyes now. Seto decided to do something totally out of character for him.
"Get in the car," he commanded his voice still cold.
"I'm busy right now, Kiaba," Joey snapped back.
"Listen, Wheeler. You want to get to your sister; I can get you there quickly. So for once use your head and get in the damn car. I don't give out favors too often."
"I can't. I have to go alone, or else," Joey said, trying to explain, but not wanting to give everything away. However, Kiaba wasn't stupid. He had heard plenty about Joey's no good father.
"Look, just tell me how to get to wherever the hell we are going, so we can save your sister."
Joey finally gave in, getting into the car. However, the one thing he couldn't do is shut up. "OK, what's the catch," he asked.
"What are you talking about," Seto asked.
"There's got to be a catch, you don't offer favors for no reason."
Seto sighed, wondering how in the hell that Joey could be so stupid. He made a mental note to make Joey's life even more miserable after this whole thing was over. "I'm not the heartless bastard you guys think I am," Seto began.
He was interrupted when Joey told him point blank, "You're a selfish, arrogant, heartless bastard."
Seto glared at him, but continued, "I know what it's like trying to protect someone you love."
Joey looked up at the CEO and realized what he said was true. Time after time, Seto had given so much to rescue Mokabu from all sorts of dangers. Of course Seto would know what he was going through.
"We'll leave the car someplace, and then you can go and get your sister. I'll wait a few minutes, and sneak up there to help you," Kiaba explained.
"Thanks, Seto."
"Just because I'm helping your worthless hide doesn't mean that you get to call me by my first name, you got that Wheeler?"
"Sure, Kiaba, he said, settling in for the drive. Thanks to all of Kiaba's technology, he had absolutely no problem finding the address, without Joey's help. He found a place to hide the car and left orders that his workers were not to question him, and only track him if he didn't return by midnight. Then he watched as Joey made his way up toward the plain white house that belonged to his mother.
Joey took a deep breath before knocking on the front door. He heard his mother's voice start to say something before the door was open. His father stood in front of him, the smell of alcohol on his breath.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Get your ass in here," his father commanded, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the house. Joey looked around at the living room, surprised to see it was completely destroyed, except for the TV and the couch.
Serenity was knelling down on the hard floor, and his mother was nowhere to be seen, at least until he heard movement over toward the kitchen. His mom walked into the living room, carrying a tray of food. She looked worn out, and much older than she was.
"Hello, Joseph," she said, before Joey's father threw his whiskey bottle at her. He barely missed, and the bottle broke against the wall. Serenity rose up from her position, crying out, "Mom, are you ok?"
"Get back in position," her father yelled, slapping her across the face. She let out a sob as she knelt back down, but Joey had seen enough. No one hits his sister, especially that bastard he was forced to call his father. Joey lunged at his father, fire burning in his eyes, just as the door opened. He didn't hear his sister's voice yelling at him to stop, he didn't hear his mother's scream, or Seto's outburst as he stepped into the room. The entire boy heard was a loud sound, like a gun going off. He felt a burning pain in his chest, before he saw absolutely nothing.
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