Hello all. 'Tis another one shot for Compy's pairing challenge.
This fic stated out as pure Ardentshipping. But then I got another idea, and the beautiful thing about Ardentshipping is it works in cannon! Thus this fic was born.
The italicized part takes place during the fire in episode 51 (the mysterious duelist part 2), and is a third person first person POV. … If that makes sense. … Then the 'normal' writing is plain narrative that takes place again in episode 51 then in episode 58 (Joey verses Espa Roba part 1).
Anywho, without further ado, I give you;
Hero
The puzzle. He had to finish the puzzle. It was the only thing his mind could focus on. Nothing else registered in his mind. Not the flames, not the smoke, not the heat. The piercing, blistering heat. The choking thick smoke and the bright orange flames that dimmed most things around it. Leaving instead darkness that dominated his sight coupled with an eerie glow. He was coughing and his eyes stinging.
But he didn't notice any of it. His mind completely focused. Dimly he could hear his friends calling out to him, but their voices weren't really registering. Something about needing to get out, about a fire burning around him.
No, he hadn't noticed.
It was amazing what could escape your notice while you are in deep concentration. Time for instance, seemed like nothing. Eight years it had taken him previously to complete this thing, but that thought never entered his mind.
'Just finish it. Just finish it. I have to see the Pharaoh again. Tell him I'm sorry.'
Danger too, seemed to be in search for time as he placed piece by piece into the puzzle. Eight years melted into a scarce few minutes. Few precious minutes that could determine life or death. His hands were burning, and his lungs felt as if they were on fire as each breath had to be fought for. When he had only the last piece in his hand, it was too numb to even realize. The last piece slid in. The puzzle seemed to glow in approval, and if Yami had spoken to him Yugi didn't know. His mind had already been dimming and the edges of his vision were fuzzy. Joey was speaking to him, and something was pulling at him, leaving behind the puzzle.
NO, he thought he shouted, not without the puzzle.
'Can't leave yet, can't leave. I'm sorry. I am! It's my fault. Mine.' The already dim world dimmed more, and soon the building was gone. All he felt now was the heat, and he realized how sick it was making him feel. He fainted.
'Puzzle, gone.'
xxx
Joey was still not completely over the fact they had just saved Bandit Keith. Where on earth had he appeared? He was not obsessing over it though. In front of him was a sight he never expected. His best friend standing in the middle of a burning, collapsing building seemingly calmly fiddling with the puzzle. The only thing that betrayed his true fear was the strain in his voice when he had called out to them that he had to finish the puzzle.
And what did that mean anyway?
Next to him he could feel Tristan. In another time and place that would have been uncomfortable. And in that time and place had it been Mia…
But that was irrelevant. It was not that time or place. The danger was far too great to even think such things!
He ran up to the platform. Quite a feat when you consider the burning debris that was falling.
What on earth was he doing? No matter how hard he tried Joey couldn't get Yugi to budge. And the strangest thing was, Yugi was right. The puzzle was in pieces. And attached to the duel station. Joey didn't even try to think why it was attached to the station, he just ran up to Yugi, after telling Tristan to grab Yugi's deck, and tried to convince him to move. It was far too hot in here. And the smoke was stinging his eyes. Yugi had been in here far too long as it is.
The only answer he got though was that he wouldn't leave without the puzzle. Joey frowned, then tried to pry Yugi away from the chain, but his grip was far too strong.
Where had he gotten such a strong grip anyway?
His next option was to try and rip the puzzle from the wall. But that was in too fast. Neither he nor Tristan could get it too budge. A dull glean caught his eye. Lying adjacent to him where some long metal poles, ideal for smashing. Triumphantly he exclaimed to Tristan to grab a pole and ran too them, not even thinking about how hot they could be. Mercifully for him these pole weren't conductors of heat and were relatively cool. Or at least cool enough not to burn them. Unlike the puzzles chain had been.
With little thought he began to smack the pin the held the puzzle to the station. Tristan copied a split second after him. But that was a fruitless as their last attempts had been. In frustration Joey almost dropped down and grabbed the puzzle. As he did, a voice in his head told him to use the poles to thread it through the pin and then pull. The voice left as he let go off the puzzle.
Acting quickly Joey told Tristan to put the pole through the hole and pull. With a skeptic look Tristan obeyed, and pulled along with Joey. A pop signified they were triumphant. The puzzle fell to they floor as Yugi did. He had passed out long ago from the combination of heat and smoke.
Neither of the conscious boys paid any attention to the blistering heat or deadly smoke as Tristan picked Yugi up they ran back out of the building as fast as they could. Which wasn't very, as not only was Tristan carrying Yugi, Joey had to maneuver them out of the building without bumping into any of the fallen debris, or be hit any of the falling.
It was harder then it looks, Joey had almost forgotten where the door was. If he had actually stopped to think where he was going they probably would have gotten lost, but instinct had taken over and the door was in sight in less then a minute. But to the two boys it had taken hours to get from the platform to the door. Thoughtless hours.
xxx
"Just put the pole in the hole and pull!" Joey had frantically called out. In other circumstances, Tristan might have found that amusing. Put the pole in the hole and pull, really hard. Dryly he thought he'd have to remember that one. He shook his head, now was not the time to be sardonic. The gravity of the situation was hovering on the edge of his mind. He wasn't going to acknowledge it; if he did it would consume him. He couldn't let the fear take over. He had heard of men in battle faced with far more challenging situations. If they can survive, so can he.
He had been just as surprised as Joey when they finally opened the door and there was Bandit Keith. Not wanting to believe that Bandit Keith was the only one here he decided to look around, just as Joey was. It didn't take long for him to spot Yugi. He shouted out, just as Joey did and rushed up behind him up to the platform.
Yugi had just finished the puzzle. Which was odd, but they didn't really have time to think about it. Such questions would be asked later, but right now adrenaline was too high to even think about it.
The deck, Joey had shouted. Yugi's deck. It was still up on the platform. Tristan jumped up, ignoring the heat of the metal and carefully grabbed the cards. Sparing a thought for why Yugi was dueling. And forgetting who. He looked around the warehouse. It was hard to find a place that wasn't engulfed by the flames. And there was an ominous creak from the roof. Time was running short. He jumped back down. The smoke was making it hard to breathe.
How had Yugi managed to stay conscious in all of this for this long?
Joey was trying in vain to pull the puzzle free. Impatiently Tristan demanded a turn. Maybe he could pull it free. He had no more luck then Joey. And more of the building was falling around him. The heat form the metal was beginning to hurt his hands. Did Yugi even realize what he was holding on too? The few seconds he and Joey had held on to it was enough to make even them see that holding it was a bad idea. He frowned, what were they to do now? Yugi wouldn't leave. He was muttering something under his breath, but soon stopped. Tristan stopped thinking for a second as the strain on the puzzle was added too as Yugi half fell onto it. Only standing because of its hold.
Poles! Joey shouted.
He sometimes wondered about Joey.
To his credit though, the pop that ensured when they pulled with their might was a relief. Maybe they don't give Joey enough credit. The pin fell to the ground, dragging Yugi with it. Now was the time to get out. Tristan bent down without thinking and picked Yugi up. He was light, and almost as hot as his surroundings were. Tristan didn't stop to think about it though. The haze the smoke created made it hard to see where they were going, but Joey seemed to know where he was going. Tristan still didn't think, not about what would happen if they didn't find the door, or if something fell on them or even if one of them collapsed. Time stood still as they walked through the haze to find their way out. He felt as if they were running nowhere.
Until the open door was in sight.
xxx
The fire crackled and hissed around them. Tristan looked in horror. To think he'd been in there barely a minute ago. In his arms was Yugi, still. The paramedics hadn't arrived yet. He'd heard the firemen say something about not being able to find the place. It wasn't like the smoke was a dead give away.
Tea was crying. She hadn't expected to see Yugi, especially not in the shape he is in now. Already painful burns were forming on him. Or had. His hands looked the worst of it, and his wrist. Tristan didn't look, and while they had been inside he couldn't have. A terrific crash sounded behind them. None of them could bear to look at the building, but the all knew what that meant. It was just like how they couldn't look at Keith, who had been caught by the firefighters on their way here. He was shouting behind them. But no one was paying any attention to what he was saying. Leave that to the professionals. The fake smile on Joey's face had worn off, but he still sounded cheerful as he comforted Tea.
Right now Tristan was trying not to think about what would have happened if he and Joey hadn't of decided to go into the burning building.
'It's not like we had to look around,' he thought grimly looking at the person in his arms. 'And Yugi is still out cold. Though, that might be a good thing right now. Tea had said something like that hadn't she?'
The stillness around the group was suddenly pierced. The sound of a siren entered the vicinity. It had to be the ambulance.
xxx
The paramedics were a lot more understanding then the group had initially thought. They took one look at Yugi and promptly assisted him. A second group came up to the remaining three.
"How long were you two in their for?" one had asked in the routine of questions. Was it hard to remain nonchalant in the face of the scared and crying group? But as they thought later, the nonchalant manner they had helped to calm them. Or at least that's what Tristan thought.
"Ah," was Joey's blank response to that question.
"About ten minutes," Tea replied. 'Was that all?' Tristan thought.
"And the other one?" another paramedic asked. They shrugged.
"A lot longer?" Joey answered unsure of the exact amount. Tea couldn't take it any more.
"Will he be ok?" she burst, looking fearful at the coming response.
"We can't be sure of the exact extent of his injuries right now I'm sorry. After he's been looked at we can be sure. Right now I need you two," he pointed at the two boys, "to come with me. I need to make sure you don't need to be hospitalized either. " The group walked over.
There's nothing really wrong with either of them the paramedic thought as he attended to the minor burns both of them had sustained. They didn't really need to be looked at but he over heard their conversation. They were worried about their friend. And two of them had just pulled said kid out of a burning building. The paramedic paused. Clearly these kids were close, and scared. He silently sighed. Sure it was against the rules, but exceptions passed all the time in this business.
" You two can go in the back, there are a couple of seats there. I'll continue to check over you as we get to the hospital," he said to the boys indicating where to go. He turned to Tea. "If you want you can go up the front there with Bob and we'll take you up too. If you want." Bob nodded and solemnly waved Tea over. Essentially, the paramedic didn't have the heart to separate them anymore then they were.
xxx
'The one who thought that waiting rooms was a good idea should be shot!' Tristan mused while the gang, minus Yugi plus Solomon, sat in moderate silence. Sure there was the background noise that always accompanied crowds of waiting people in a room full of phones, but that was all it was, background noise. None of them said a word. Which was why waiting rooms were a bad idea. All they did was feed your fear in a dish of silence. Awkward, fearful silence. It was eating him away. He couldn't take it much longer.
"I'm gonna, get something, to eat," Tristan said unnecessarily. Joey, who was pacing looked at him.
"I'll come with ya," he added after a pause, equally unnecessarily. Tea watched them go, but Solomon didn't even register what they said.
'It's probably hardest on him,' Tristan thought as they walked along the halls.
Another bad thing about waiting rooms, most aren't close enough to the cafeteria. If news were to come now, they would miss it. Or something really bad could happen and they would never know. Yugi hadn't been so good when they came in here.
"I hope the foods better where Serenity is getting her operation," Joey said distracted. Tristan looked up. In front of him was a plate. Since when had they gotten food already? Without another thought he began to eat.
"Oh yeah, when is that happening?" he asked passively. Any distraction was a welcome distraction.
"In about two weeks. I can't believe I actually got the money. I really owe Yugi," Joey said cheerfully, but trailed off in the end. Both of them looked down. Yugi was the reason they were here. Not wanting to think about it, Tristan broke the silence.
"You're sister is pretty cute. Maybe I should go and visit her," he said, absentmindedly and half to himself. Joey didn't react, and Tristan didn't notice. He had met Serenity before, when she had came down to visit Joey once before all the madness had started. Which in retrospect it had only been a couple of weeks since they first heard of Duelist Kingdom. She was a little reserved, but had a certain quality about her that he was attracted too. He wasn't quite sure what, but it was there.
Joey looked up. "What did you say about my sister?" he fumed. Tristan looked sheepish for a second.
"Ah, nothing. Nothing. I was saying that she might be lonely all by herself, we should go visit her," it wasn't a good shave, but a shave nonetheless. Apparently not wanting to fight in the hospital Joey settled down. The cheerful chatter around them registered this time.
"So how is your sister?" Tristan asked calmly. Joey looked a little skeptic at the question.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"She's about to have an operation, what do you think I mean?" Tristan answered. The cafeteria was nice; he had almost forgotten why they were here.
"I don't know, I haven't really spoken to her. My Mum," he said, leaving his sentence hanging. Tristan nodded. There was no need to say anymore, he knew that Joey's Mum had this problem with him. What, he didn't really know, but sure enough she did. For the next few minutes they sat once more in silence before they decided that it was time to get back.
Bad thing number four, waiting rooms are too close to the cafeteria. It brought you back to the gravity of the situation far too quickly.
xxx
He was awake. Sort of. At least as awake as he could be considering the amount of pain he would be in, or the drugs they gave him. Solomon sighed in relative relief.
"So what is wrong then?" Solomon asked. The doctor looked at his notes.
"Serious two degree burns over ten percent of his body, mainly on his hands and wrists and he has a fever," the doctor said while looking down at his notes. "You can go in if you like," he added, looking up. Solomon nodded. The rest of the gang had to go home soon; apparently their parents wanted them. Luckily for them the doctor had come up to speak to them.
It was a little hard to comprehend that only this morning they were all fine, not even an hour ago three of them were in a burning building and barely ten minutes ago they had entered the hospital.
"Though, you kids will have to wait until later on,' the doctor added to Joey, Tristan and Tea as they rushed forward. For a moment no one said anything. It was Tristan who spoke first.
"I guess we really should get home," he said almost begrudgingly. He glanced at the clock. School would have just finished.
"I guess you had better go and shower too," Tea said thickly. But that much was true, the boys hadn't gone home yet.
"You can come back tonight if you wish though," the doctor said before turning around and walking back into the corridor. Solomon looked apologetically at them before following suit.
xxx
Yugi sat against the hospital bed. Darkness had already descended, so looking out the window was pointless. The person who invented pain medication should be given the most prestigious prize they have. His whole body was protesting loudly about the treatment it had received. Apparently refusing to leave a burning building until you passed out is a bad thing.
Who would have thought?
Yami hadn't finished lecturing him once he found out what happened, but he hadn't really been listening. He was still feverish. But then again, burning about half your body in various degrees does that to you.
It wasn't only Yami who had taken to lecturing him. No matter how subtle nearly everyone one who spoke to him found something wrong with his actions.
Yes, staying in a burning building trying to fix a puzzle wasn't one of his smartest moves, but it wasn't like he started the fire! Nor would he choose to be in that situation ever again.
At least no one's blaming him. That much he was thankful for. But he did feel guilty for dragging Joey and Tristan into it too, at least they weren't hurt badly though. He hadn't thanked them yet, and really, he thought, it was because of them he was still here. And the puzzle.
It's funny how a hunk of gold can cause so much trouble.
But also bring so much hope.
Yugi sighed. If it hadn't been for the puzzle, his Grandpa's soul wouldn't have been stolen. He wouldn't have had to go to Duelist Kingdom. He wouldn't have had to fight his best friend, or enter the Shadow Realm. But on the flip side if he hadn't of gone to Duelist Kingdom, the money wouldn't have been won for Serenity's operation.
Every cloud has a silver lining huh.
He could feel whatever they had given him taking affect again. Before he drifted off to sleep he wondered, 'When was that operation again?'
xxx
Two weeks later
The train pulled to a stop. Tristan looked around, realizing that he didn't actually know where the hospital was. His idle muses in the hospital two weeks ago had given birth to this great idea, go and visit Serenity while she's alone (but with no directions on how to get there.)
'Maybe I didn't think this one through,' he thought as he wondered around the platform.
"Excuse me dear, but are you lost?" a kindly old voice asked. Tristan looked up to see an old lady running a station side store looking at him. Apparently he looked lost.
"Yeah actually, um, do you know where the hospital is? I'm visiting a friend there," he said, while thinking this was the last time he was going anywhere without knowing where he was going first. … Or at least next time drag someone else with him. (Unless next time he was visiting Serenity again).
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Will your friend be ok?" she asked before continuing. "Well dearie just go out the Spencer Street exit, turn left, then at the next intercept turn right. From there you really can't miss it!" She said with a smile. Tristan nodded and thanked her. Seven minutes later he was at the hospital, the directions were as she said.
While at the receptionist's desk he began to think about what he was doing. It was an awkward situation to say the least. On one hand she was his best friends sister. Little, over protected sister. On the other she was totally hot and sweet. A little like Miho now that he thought about it. He had been devastated when she had moved, and being typical Miho, she never really wrote. Tea, being the most organized of the group had the most contact, but she was nothing more then a memory now really. And it was the second hospital he was entering in less then two weeks. That was a little unnerving.
'Yugi came out ok though, and this is totally different,' he thought.
Up in room 205 Serenity sat alone. Her Mother had left half an hour ago and while the children's room was said to be excellent, equipped with a TV and everything, she couldn't quite get there could she. She sighed. She almost wished the nurse would come in and do one of the routine tests, just to relieve her boredom.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened.
"Hey Serenity. I thought you might need some company," Tristan greeted in a rush, a grin on his face.
"Hello. Who's that? I recognize your voice," Serenity said, a little confused.
"Tristan. You know," he paused. "Joey's friend. I brought a laptop, so we can see how Joey is going in his duels," he said, again in a rush. Serenity just sat there for a moment.
"That's going to be a little hard," she answered in a soft voice that didn't hold any contempt.
"Yes, well. That's why I'm going to give you the play-by-play," he answered cheerfully. Thankful that he at least he had had the foresight to tell her he was coming. "But the duels don't start for a while. … So, has Joey told you about what happened duel-wise before Duelist Kingdom?"
xxx
Joey called. To say he was surprised to hear Tristan was here, and telling Serenity some elaborate stories, was an understatement.
Tristan put the phone down
"Why did Joey sound surprised at that?" she asked. Looking sheepish, Tristan shrugged, before remembering she couldn't see it.
"Well, he doesn't like to admit he was so bad," he offered as an explanation. She seemed satisfied with that.
"So, tell me something else. You've all done some amazing things! Joey didn't tell me some of these things," she said, awe in her voice. "Of course he may not have remembered." Tristan looked up and at her. For once he was in the spotlight.
"Did Joey tell you about the warehouse?" almost reluctantly he began.
"No, he didn't," she said. That was understandable, it was just before her operation and by the time they were ready to tell anyone, she was preparing for her own hospital stay.
"Well," he started and told her a much-abridged version of the story. He certainly didn't want Joey after him. She sat there, almost completely silent and still during the whole tale, which in itself was a bit unnerving.
"So that means you saved his life right?" she asked breathlessly when he finished. He could almost see the wonder in her eyes. He had never thought of it that way before.
"You're a hero," she added as an afterthought. " You all are. I owe you, and Yugi, and especially Joey so much! To name a few Yugi helped Joey at Duelist Kingdom. And you've come all this way just to see me." She was tearful now. "I guess I just want to say, thanks." Tristan looked at her.
If the nurse hadn't walked in at that moment, who could have said what would have happened next. But as it is, nothing did, and wouldn't for quite a while, if at all.