Beep, beep, beep.
The hospital room was silent except for the sound of the heart meter, and Serenity's sobs. The room was crowded with Joey's friends, but no one said a word, no one wanted to break the silence.
Serenity lay her head down on her brother's bed, her hand clutching his, as if to coax him out of the comma he was in. Tea sat by her side, as well as Mai, who had just arrived back in town. The older woman was silently stroking Serenity's hair, while Tea sat, lost in thought. Yugi and Yami stood near the door, occasionally looking into the hallway where a silent CEO was pacing. He would stop from time to time to give his younger brother a comforting hug, before continuing to pace. Tristan stood against the wall, trying to prevent the tears from falling, while a silent Ryou stood there, his mind on the family he had lost as a child. Even Duke had come to check on Joey. But for the last two weeks, there had been no response from the boy.
Joey couldn't open his eyes. He wanted so badly to reach out to his friends, to reassure them that he was alright, but he couldn't. He felt as if his body was weighted down with something too heavy to bear. He heard a machine that was beeping slow down, until nothing was heard. He heard an alarm go off, and his sister's scream as Mai pulled her away from the bed and into her arms. Then Joey saw himself hovering over his own body. He cursed silently, before realizing no one could hear him anyway.
Suddenly he was no longer in the plain white hospital room, but instead on the street. He watched as a younger version of himself chased after the car that was carrying a young Serenity. He watched the boy trip and fall, as the car drove out of sight. Tears streamed down the younger boy's face, as he stood to walk home. It was the first night his father had ever hit him. He hated when he experienced it then, and he hated to watch it happen now. He shut his eyes, hoping he could leave this painful memory behind. He couldn't help but wonder why he was the one with the painful past.
The next thing that crossed his mind was the card, Change of Hearts. On the lighter angel's half was the face of Ryou, while the darker side held the features of Bakura. Joey remembered how he had only just got to know Ryou to call him by his first name. Then, the light side of the card seemed to look toward him as he saw a younger Ryou. The boy was staring at the remains of a car that had crashed in front of the driveway. It was the very car where Ryou's mother and sister had lost their lives. Then as the darker half turned to look at him, Joey found himself in an ancient village. The village was overcome with flames, and he watched as a young Bakura made his way away from the town. It was weird how the two dealt with their grief. Ryou managed to stay young and innocent, while Bakura turned into a dark bitter being who only wanted the revenge he would never get. Joey realize that all Bakura wanted was to fix things, yet the one he wanted to blame was gone. Maybe he wasn't too different from them.
Then he found himself in a more recent Egypt, where a young Marik was having scriptures carved into his skin. The boy screamed in pain as his father performed yet another ritual on the boy. Then he saw Marik grab for the Millennium Rod as Malik take over. That was when Joey realized something. Malik was simply built from all the stored up anger inside of Marik. It was what made him different. He was truly the other half of a boy who went through so much. Malik was built from all of the anger that the lighter half tried so hard to hide, until it consumed him, making him into the bitter person he was today.
He saw Yugi, his best friend in the world. He saw Atem's past as the pharaoh. He saw how he had to seal himself and others into the millennium items, so that he could protect the world.
Then he was in a mansion, where a young Kiaba sat at a table doing work. He had to endure all the abuse in order to protect his younger brother. I saw thru all my friends, it was as if I was seeing into their soul. Part of Joey realized what brought them all together. They all had something in common, something that made them human. Joey realized if it was time for him to die, he wished he could tell the other's what made them so alike to one another.
Joey felt something strong pull at my body, but he didn't want to leave, he wanted to see more, to learn more about his friends, and those he called his enemies. He had so many unanswered questions. However, a small voice caught the blonde's attention. It was faded, as if it was coming from far away.
You promised…always be there…you…leave me…need you big brother.
It was those few words that pulled Joey back down to earth, back into his still body. A part of him was aware of the sound of the heart monitor starting back up again. Why, Joey wondered, had he experienced those things? Was some greater force trying to tell him something? Joey didn't know, but one thing was for certain, Joey would try to get to know Bakura and Malik better. Maybe he could help them out of their bitter stages. If he ever got out of this damn hospital he was sure about it. Joey hated knowing he was the cause of his sister's pain, as well as his other friends. He knew he could end all the pain; all he needed to do was open his eyes, and look around at each of his friends. He needed them to know he was ok, and that didn't plan on leaving them for a long time.
However, his body was too tired. After a short rest he would open his eyes up, and finally awaken from this world of darkness his mind was engulfed in. Satisfied, Joey allowed his mind to drift off. He knew that if he woke up, then everything would be ok, and that if he didn't then his friends would miss him, but also knew they would take care of Serenity. As his mind drifted of, he found himself listening to the beat of his heart monitor.
Beep, beep, beep…
The monitor was still going strong, and Joey could take the rest he needed to be able to join the world of the living.
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