“Not until I am the first person he sees when he wakes up.”
Lord Katz sighed. He should’ve known Seto was just as stubborn as his twin brother. They definitely came from the same bloodline of indignant families. There was no budging Seto from his decision.
It had been almost two weeks since Joey lost his mind from reality and became that stoic state. His pregnancy was almost due within the next two weeks and still he had not recovered from his stupor. He had to depend on nutrient and IV drops because he wouldn’t open his mouth to chew or swallow his food, and the midwives have to help him exercise his limbs daily because he wouldn’t move an inch. He just stayed in bed, lying there like a lifeless doll with no motor skills or reflexes whatsoever. Lord Seth had helped relay the news from his twin brother to the doctors telling about the rape incident with Majah, and they all agreed that it was the cause of his shocked state. So far, medication and outside help was keeping him and the babies alive, but that alone was not enough to straighten him out. Unless Joey was willing to face his demons and snap out of it by his own free will, he would probably never get over it.
The doctors and midwives agreed that if Joey kept remaining like this until the due date, they will have no choice but to perform a Caesarean to help him give birth. Seto would not hear of it. He strongly believed that when the time comes, Joey will wake up and he will be by his side to help him through the birth. But so far, nothing has changed. Joey remained stoic and unresponsive, and no matter how Seto spoke to him and tried to wake him, he did not budge. Even when his other friends came over to visit him and tried their luck (with Tristan being the usual rough style he is), Joey continued to remain lost, his eyes so blank and his face so unreadable, you’d almost think he was dead. And because of Joey, the whole Sending Off ceremony, whereby those who gave birth to Whisperer-dominant babies must give over their babies to their Whisperer mates and send them off, had to be postponed due to the fact that every ‘mother’ must be present and accounted for to do this ceremony.
“Shit! Why did it turn out this way?” Tristan cursed, punching the wall of the ICU with one hand while holding onto his baby with the other. Despite the fact that he was rather glad he could keep his baby a little longer before the Sending Off ceremony, he was still worried about his best friend’s wellbeing. After all, they have been together since childhood before meeting the rest of the gang.
“If only I had enough magic powers like my parents,” Malik said guiltily as he breastfed Night. “I would have busted through that door or that wall and rushed into the room to stop that son of a bitch! They were just a few doors beside me and I…”
“Don’t blame yourself, Malik,” Yugi leaned close to touch his shoulder as he was carrying both Destiny and Hope in his arms. “It’s no one’s fault but that Fallen Ethereal’s, and Seto has already taken care of him. It’s not your burden to bear.”
“Poor Seto,” Ryou said as he looked through the half-closed drapes of the window of the ICU at Seto who was holding Joey’s hand and stroking it. His triplets were being fussed at by his parents and twin sister, so he left them to baby-sit for a moment. “The rape incident must’ve hit hard on Joey. I don’t know what I’d do if this ever happen to me. I think I might end up just like Joey as well.”
“It’s understandable,” Yugi agreed. “It’s almost as if you feel like you are betraying your lover by having sex with another person even though it’s not your intention. Like you’re dirty all over and no longer worthy of your lover’s love. It’s a tough thing to happen. I can understand why Joey wished to escape reality like this.”
“Speaking of the Fallen Ethereals and Bad Seeds, whatever happened to them anyways?” Tristan asked.
Yugi then told the gang about what he heard from his middle men friends Fortuno, Charlie and Bickford and Snipes: Apparently after killing and arresting those involved, they were quickly brought into trial where Maximillion Pegasus, without further ado, charged them of treason, disrupting the peace, attempts to overthrow the Lord of all Outer Beings and attempted murder on the teen ‘mothers’ and their babies, and they were immediately sentenced to death. Marik the Royal Executioner wasted no time in excising his work and did what he did best. All of them died a very slow but violent death through Marik’s dark sadistic torture games, and it was a no-brainer that Marik loved every second of what he did.
Lord Zorc Necrophades, on the other hand, was powerless against the Outer Beings due to his weak and vulnerable condition. Seto took pleasure in driving Zorc’s spirit out of the body and Yami did the honours of disintegrating it into nothingness, never to be seen again. After executing all the Bad Seeds and Fallen Ethereals, everyone in the Ethereal Clan got together to discuss and come to an agreement of their territorial dispute and finally managed to clear all frustrations and tensions that have been put off for so long as they signed a treaty stating the proper equal distribution of lands for each and every Outer Being in the Ethereal Clan. So, from now on, the aftershocks were officially resolved and everyone has agreed in the Ethereal Clan to live harmoniously and prosperously under one unison.
“Thank goodness that’s resolved,” Ryou sighed in relief. “I wouldn’t want to become another tool for ransom again.”
“Say, Ryou,” Tristan voiced out, “we all know Yugi and Malik’s babies’ names. What did your Bakura named your kids?”
“Well, we had a little disagreement, but after a long thought and suggestions by my parents, we decided to name them Shuu, Tenenbaum and Winchester, all of them names of our first few ancestors who had done the ritual. We thought it’d be right to honour them that way. What about you, Tristan?”
“You’ll laugh. It’s kinda cheesy,” Tristan blushed a little, scratching his chin a little. Seeing that expression from Tristan for the first time sparked their interest and curiosity even more.
“Oh, really? Do pray tell, my friend,” Ryou stroke his chin with a wicked grin.
“I’d rather not.”
“Come on, Trist,” Yugi persuaded. “What can be worst than ours?”
“You’ll laugh. Seriously.”
“Try us,” Malik challenged.
“Well…we…uh…actually it was my parents and Duke who made the final say, like I didn’t exist or something, and I was running out of ideas…” Tristan hesitated.
“Oh, come on, spit it!” Malik groaned impatiently. “Out with it, buddy!”
“TheynamedhimSnow!” Tristan blurted out in one whole breath, feeling rather agitated.
“Snow? Why Snow?” Yugi widened his eyes in disbelief. Tristan replied with a finger pointed towards the ICU’s inside window where snow was falling outside, fogging the glass as it fell.
“Wow! Is it winter already?” Ryou said. “Time sure flies past real fast!”
“Yeah, well, thing is they cheated me out of a chance to decide a name,” Tristan looked away, his face obviously flushed pink. “Since my kid was born a herm, they’d thought of giving him a slightly feminine name, and it just so happened to be snowing outside while I was KO-ed in bed, so they decided to name him ‘Snow’ whether I liked it or not.”
“Aww, that’s so cute!” Malik cooed, sounding almost teasingly sarcastic.
“See?! I knew you’re gonna react that way!” Tristan exclaimed.
“At least we’re not laughing,” Yugi grinned. “But seriously, Trist, it’s quite a nice name. I’d name one of my kids ‘Snow’ if we hadn’t already decided the names.”
“You’re not just being nice, are you?” Tristan raised a skeptical eyebrow, which in turn was replied with a simultaneous shaking of head by his fellow friends. Everyone soon turned their gazes at Seto who was still at Joey’s bed still holding his hand and stroking it against his cheek with a very worried and sympathetic Lord Katz standing beside him. The four of them sighed in unison.
“I know I shouldn’t say this but,” Tristan voiced out, “Jo’s gotta get out of that trance. He’s gotta think about the babies in him! He’s not doing either his babies or himself any good moping around like this! And look at Seto! When was the last time he ate?”
“You’re right,” Ryou agreed. “His babies are the main priority right now. If he didn’t wish to live for himself, he should at least live for his babies.”
“Yeah,” Malik nodded in agreement. “Where’s all the love he had for Seto and the babies gone to?”
“Any suggestions? We’ve pretty much exhausted everything so far. Nothing seems to work,” Yugi asked, concern rang all over his tone.
Almost as soon as Yugi asked that, a simultaneous idea came into their heads. It was as if they were almost as psychic and as telepathic as Fortuno and Snipes. They were the exact definition of “Great minds think alike”.
Soon, Yugi knocked the ICU door, entered and waved for Lord Katz to come over.
--:--
Almost everyone in the hospital crowded outside the ICU to catch a glimpse their VIP guest, wondering why he was doing here and not tending to other important matters in the Ethereal Clan.
“Do not worry, mortal friends. I am always here to help the needy. I am honoured that you have recognized my talents.”
There was no other way around it. The four had to brave themselves to ask the impossible from Lord Katz: to send in Maximillion Pegasus, who has the highest power and authority of the Outer Beings to help snap Joey out of his endless reverie. Lord Katz was hesitant at first, but knowing that his mate Lord Seth could not and would not consent into meddling with human affairs aside from the ritual, and knew that any other Ethereal Clan would be nonchalant and apathetic about Joey’s situation, he had no choice but to comply with the four’s wishes. He made the secret trip with Marik, accompanied by Yami, Duke and Bakura, to go meet up with Maximillion Pegasus to help Seto and Joey heal their current situation. Maximillion Pegasus, after much consideration and consultancy from his Royal Advisors, agreed to make the trip down to Domino Motherhood Institution to try his luck on waking Joey up.
“Y…Your Majesty…! What brings you here?” Seto stood up immediately at the sight of Maximillion Pegasus and was prepared to bow before him but was halted by the Ruler.
“I came here on the account of compassion, dear Royal Advisor,” Maximillion Pegasus smiled as he came close to the unresponsive Joey, with Seto’s four Whisperer friends, Lord Katz and Joey’s four friends following behind his wake. Mr. and Mrs Wheeler, after receiving the call from Yugi and the gang about their attempt, had already driven at top speed to the hospital and were also part of the group inside the ICU watching Maximillion Pegasus do his magic. He made a gesture and the door turned the lock and the drapes were drawn by itself, blocking out all the disappointed spectators.
“I’m sorry we had to resort to this, Your Majesty,” Lord Katz spoke apologetically.
“Oh, I do not mind one bit, Lord Katz, though I do have concerns of your royal bairns’ health by making that long trip to see me.”
“I had trustworthy companions, Your Majesty.”
“I must say, Seto, you have such great companions. They were willing to risk protocol to call for me to help your human counterpart. I sure hope my visit here does not go in vain.”
“I humbly apologize in advance,” Seto looked down humbly and stepped aside to allow Maximillion Pegasus do his work.
“In under no circumstances should I be disturbed in this process,” Maximillion Pegasus said as he had one hand hovering over Joey’s forehead. “It would be advisable if you all step aside for this.”
Everyone nodded and moved a respectable distance away from Joey’s bed. After making sure that the surrounding was quiet and that everyone was far from him, he laid the hand onto Joey’s forehead and closed his eyes as he began to concentrate, delving deeper into Joey’s subconscious mind…
--:--
Joey opened his eyes at the soft call of his name. He found himself lying on a bed of thorns as usual. The pain, the stabbing, the sheer sting of it all was the only way to make sure that he was alive, yet trapped in this void world where he would always punish himself for allowing himself to be taken by someone other than his beloved.
“Joseph Wheeler? Can you hear me?”
“Who…Who are ya…?” Joey asked as he saw a man with long silver-lavender hair looking down at him. He seemed to only have one eye, for the other eye was made of gold, like an eye-patch the shape of an eye that covered all the way to his eyebrow. He noticed him staring at it and jerked his head so that his long bangs would cover it.
“I am Maximillion Pegasus, the man responsible for all the Ethereal Clans of the Outer Beings, and the man responsible for your pregnant predicament.”
“Ah, so yer da head honcho behind da ritual. Pleasure tuh meet ya,” Joey smiled weakly. “Forgive me fer not salutin’ ya n all, bad back, ya know.”
“No offence taken, young mortal friend,” Maximillion Pegasus said as he sat in midair, hovering above Joey in his thorn garden. “You have a rather… interesting abode here. Although I must say in human terms, the ‘fashion statement’ here needs a little uplifting.”
“Ya dun need much stuff wen ya wanna torture yerself.”
“Yes, about that,” Maximillion Pegasus began to touch on the topic, “I’m here because of a personal request by someone.”
“I ain’t goin’ back if dat’s wat ya tryin’ tuh tell me.”
“And pray tell, why not?”
“Ya know wat happened. Ya da head honcho n all.”
“Yes, but I would like to hear it from your own lips.”
“I…was raped…” Joey said hesitantly. “Some guy named Majah sorta confessed tuh me while fuckin’ mah brains out n wants me tuh be his bitch. I told him I dinna wanna, n he was pissed n all, but I can’t stop feelin’ dirty n all dat shit. I feel guilty, so I’m ‘ere punishin’ mahself. Happy?”
“Funny. I don’t see a shred of dirt on you anywhere,” Maximillion Pegasus chided in a nonchalant way. “Aside from the fact that you’re bleeding from head to toe because of all those thorns on you.”
“Ya know exactly wat I mean. Dun play around wif me.”
Maximillion Pegasus noticed that whenever Joey spoke and got a little emotional or agitated, more thorn vines would slowly slither from the ground and wrap around Joey’s already bound body, making him wince as the thorns dug deeper into his skin, drawing blood. He could tell that the trauma of being raped had left him very emotionally scarred, and he could understand why he felt he was betraying his Whisperer mate.
“You do know that it’s beyond tradition to fall in love with your Whisperer mate.”
“Yeah.”
“Yet you still love him.”
“Yeah.”
“Enough to allow yourself to be tortured like this everyday for the rest of your life?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you ever thought about your friends? Your family? They’re really worried about you.”
“At least they got their lovers to luv ‘em. They’re not dirty like I am right now.”
“And your child? What of them?”
“They got doctors tuh cut me open n git ‘em out. Imma fine wif dat.”
“And your Whisperer mate? Have you ever thought about him?”
“He’s…better of withou’ me.”
“What makes you so sure?” Maximillion Pegasus probed some more, folding his arms across his chest.
“I was raped, fer cryin’ loud!” Joey snapped, the vines grew even more, not only all over his body, but all over the place as well, building itself into some sort of defensive fence around him. “I was taken by dat son of a bitch n freakin’ fucked like I was some ho! He wanted me tuh luv him instead of mah Seto! He wanted me tuh betray Seto! He made me a fuckin’ ho n made me betray Seto by fuckin’ me!
“How would ya feel if ya taken away from yer lover n git raped while ya carryin’ ya lover’s babies?! How would ya feel if ya bein’ touched ev’rywhere n licked in places only ya n ya lover r suppose tuh share togetha?! How would ya feel if ya bein’ tempted by some bastard n was actually drawn into a lil’ bit coz his deal wuz a once-in-a-lifetime deal?! How would ya feel if ya body canna stop feelin’ the dirty touches n the icky kisses as ya bin violated ova n ova again?! How would ya feel if ya insides wuz totally filled wif yer rapist’s cum?! How would ya feel wen ya wake up ev’ry mornin’ thinkin’ how dirty ya was n how yer cheatin’ pussy had bin screwed by someone else other than ‘im?! How would ya know?! Ya dunno shit bout me!”
Maximillion Pegasus could tell by the tone, the emotion and the amount of vines increasing that Joey was in a lot of pain, and was blaming a lot on himself. If he didn’t do something, soon he would be buried by the vines and shut out of his mind, and he would never get to speak with Joey again. It’s now or never.
“And you believe that you are being self-righteous by allowing yourself to suffer like this?”
“What?” Joey was surprised at that question.
“What makes you so certain that your friends would care whether you have been defiled or not? What makes you so certain that your friends are not looking out for your safety and judging you of your past experiences?” Maximillion Pegasus asked. The hesitation on Joey’s face and the slow but steady shrinking vines gave him the cue to continue, “Why would you assume that they would think of you any lesser than you are? For what purpose have they brought me here to speak to you if not out of concern for your wellbeing?”
“Well…I…I neva asked fer their pity…”
“But they wish to give it anyway, whether you ask of it or not. And what makes you so sure that your Whisperer mate had not forgiven you or had not put a single blame on you? Have you considered the trouble and effort it took for him to go all the way to where you were held captive to rescue you? Have you ever wondered why he is still by your side even though he knew you have been defiled by the Fallen Ethereal? Have you considered that?”
“B…But…I…”
“And have you ever considered what will your state do to the pups in you? Have you ever wondered what if the human doctors have performed an unsuccessful surgery, or whether because of your refusal to eat or drink or sleep it may cause harm to your pups? The pups you and your beloved Whisperer mate have created? Do you wish for the death of your pups as well because of your selfishness, especially when they are almost due any time soon?”
“No! No, I would neva let mah babies die! I would neva…”
“Then what are you doing here lying down on this bed of thorns wallow in self-pity and misery when your mate and your pups need you?”
“I…But…I’m dirty…I betrayed mah Seto’s luv…I dun deserve tuh…”
“It is not for you to choose one-sidedly whether or not you are worthy for someone. Although other people have no right to judge you, you, too, have no right to deny yourself some inkling of self-worth. What other people truly view you may surprise you.”
“I…I dunno…”
“It is your choice, my young mortal friend, whether or not you wish to release yourself from your own self-made prison and embrace whatever past, may it be dark and murky, or bright and shiny, and learn from it rather than grieve for it. Think wisely, Joseph Wheeler.”
Maximillion Pegasus’ blinding disappearance was the last thing he saw before he found himself staring back at all the vines that covered around him like a half-shell roof and the blood-red sky hovering above…
--:--
“He holds much contempt about himself. The prison he encased himself in is hard and painful, indicating how much self-loathing he had on himself for the rape incident he experienced in the Lair,” Maximillion Pegasus relayed whatever he deduced from Joey’s state of mind to the crowd. “He strongly believes that he would be judged by the people for his experience and wishes nothing more than to shoulder all the burden of his lustful sin and avoid the hatred you may harbour against him, especially you, Seto.”
“I would never blame him for what happened!” Seto exclaimed. “It’s not his fault! He is not the one to blame! It’s that bastard Fallen Ethereal’s fault! My Puppy was never in the wrong!”
“Good God, Your Majesty, we would never blame or judge him for what happened to him!” Ryou exclaimed as well, shocked to hear the Ruler’s words about Joey.
“Yeah! Moreover, I blame myself for this! I should’ve seen that coming and saved him no matter what! I’m the one to blame!” Malik cried, his heart panged in pain at the thought Joey blaming himself over all this.
“We are all to blame here! He can’t just think it’s all his fault and shoulder everything! If we had tried harder to stop that guy from taking him and Malik away…” Tristan couldn’t continue; he was too choked up about it.
“You have to help him, Your Majesty! He can’t do this to himself!” Yugi was already in tears.
“Please, Your Majesty,” Mr. Wheeler pleaded as he hugged his sobbing wife.
“I have spoken to him, and I have tried the best I can to convince him that he was not in the wrong,” Maximillion Pegasus sighed as he draped his cape across his shoulders. “But I cannot force him to make a speedy decision. The mind is a very fragile matter. It will be up to him to decide. Good day, everyone. I wish the best.”
With that, he left the ICU, his personal bodyguards who were waiting for him outside the room following behind his wake. As usual, Seto sat beside Joey and held his hand while the rest left the ICU to let them be alone together, ignoring the questions showered at them by the curious doctors, midwives and young ‘mothers’ and their parents. As Yugi reached to close the door of the ICU, Seto purred and kissed Joey’s forehead.
“I’ll be here waiting for you, no matter how long it takes for you.”
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