To Bring You Back
After the most challenging duel of his life, Yugi Muoto finally experiences defeat at the hands of Seto Kaiba. He has lost not only his God Cards…but has lost his soul. And Yami won't rest until he has been reunited with his best friend…no matter what the cost.
"Yugi, it's time for dinner. Why have you been so quiet all evening?"
Yugi Muoto's grandfather steeped into his grandson's room quietly, though he didn't understand why. To his amazement, the Millennium Puzzle was sitting in the middle of Yugi's bed. "Now, what on earth is that doing away from Yugi? Furthermore, where is Yugi?" he asked himself. That was when he noticed that the Puzzle was giving off an eerie, dark glow. Cautiously, he picked up the Millennium Puzzle and held it gingerly. After a brief moment of pause, the Puzzle began to shine brightly, and Yugi's alter ego, Yami, stood in front of Yugi's grandfather, released from inside. "Where is Yugi?" he demanded, his deep voice booming. "Y-Yugi? I have no idea. I haven't seen him since he came home from school," the elder confessed. The pharaoh gritted his teeth, looking frustrated, and ran out of Yugi's bedroom.
"Yugi? Yugi! Where are you? Why don't you have the Millennium Puzzle with you?" he called, reaching the bottom of the stairs. Gramps ran after him, looking equally as worried. Suddenly, Yami's eyes fell onto the back door, where there was a note taped to the door. Quickly, he yanked it off, and began to read in earnest. He had to read it a second time, this time aloud, before he could make sense of it. "Dear Pharaoh and Gramps," he read, "Seto Kaiba has demanded another duel, only this time, he requests that I come alone. He also insists that I leave the Millennium Puzzle and not bring it with me. You aren't even supposed to know, but I just felt like I had to let you know of my whereabouts. I know that this seems fishy, but I can't back down. If I do, he will hang it over me for the rest of my dueling days. Don't worry; I'll be back by midnight tonight at the very latest. Yugi." A stunned silence fell over the both of them, which seemed to last forever.
Finally, Yami found his voice. "Call Tea!" he ordered, looking at Yugi's grandfather. "Tell her to borrow Tristan's motorcycle. And make sure she knows that this is important." Gramps, still holding the Millennium puzzle, did not argue. Yami ran back up to Yugi's room, just to make sure this wasn't all some bizarre trick. Sure enough, the cards were gone, and so was Yugi's Duel Disk. He raced back downstairs, his heart pounding. "A card match shouldn't mean this much," he told himself. But deep down, right where it counted, his heart was telling him that this was far more dangerous than just a match. "Pharaoh! I've made the call. Tea's on her way," called the elder, tossing Yami the Millennium Puzzle. Putting the chain that held the Puzzle around his neck, he nodded and replied, "Thank you. I will be back as soon as possible, and I'll have Yugi with me."
Gramps merely nodded; perhaps he also felt the genuine danger from this situation. Yami raced outside to await Tea, and after what seemed an eternity, she roared to a stop before him. "Yami! I got the call. Explain to me the whole story; Yugi's grandpa was very vague about the whole thing," was the first thing she said to him. "I don't quite know myself," he admitted as Tea stood up and offered him the motorcycle. He steadied himself, and put on the helmet Tea handed him. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Just tell me all that you know," she insisted as he gunned the motorcycle. "I need an excuse for Tristan as to why I needed his ride so suddenly; he only let me get away with it because I told him it was an absolute emergency." "Seto's challenged Yugi to a card game," he began, racing down the long highway.
"Is that all? Yami, that doesn't seem like the worst thing that could happen to him," she remarked, clearly miffed. "I don't think you understand. Seto insisted that he leave the Millennium puzzle, come alone, and that we weren't even supposed to know about this. It's a recipe for disaster," he explained wryly. Tea's eyes flashed with fear; if they weren't supposed to find out about the duel at all, what did Kaiba have in store for Yugi? She suddenly became deathly afraid, for his sake. "Do you know where they are?" she asked after a pause. "I'm certain that they are at Kaiba's Duel Dome," he replied quickly. After cruising along for another few moments, they found themselves before Kaiba's enormous, sphere-topped building. Yami parked the motorcycle beside it, and he and Tea climbed off. If Yami was right, Yugi and Kaiba were in there, and for all they knew, something much more horrendous than Duel Monsters was going on in there.
Meanwhile, inside, Yugi fell to his knees, his spirit broken, tears running down his face. Seto was laughing triumphantly, and boasted, "It's over, Muoto. It hurts to lose, doesn't it?" Yugi didn't respond; he was far too hurt, both physically and emotionally, to reply. "I don't believe it," he whispered as his tears fell gently to the ground. "At last, I've been able to defeat you. I told you that without your God Cards, there was no way you could defeat me," Kaiba reminded him smugly. "Kaiba! This wasn't fair! You cheated somehow, I just know it! I didn't have my full deck, along with my God Cards!" cried Yugi, pointing at his rival accusingly. "Now, now, Yugi. There's no point in crying about it. It's not my fault you came unprepared. Besides, why would I want your precious little God Cards?" Kaiba replied sarcastically before belting out a loud laugh. Yugi's eyes widened, and he suddenly made a fast dash for one of the windows. He could feel Yami's presence; he needed to see him, right then and there. His heart sank with grief as he noticed not only the pharaoh, but another one of his closest friends as they were parking Tristan's motorcycle against the Duel Dome. "Tea…Yami…" he whispered, his eyes overflowing with tears.
Kaiba gasped; no one was to be acknowledged of this duel. "Mokuba! Lock the front entrance!" he called to his little brother, who was sitting in the control room. "No, Kaiba!" yelled Yugi, his eyes bright with tears of defeat. "Before we go along with our deal, I need to see them. After that…I promise to hold my end of the bargain," Yugi begged. Kaiba relented and called, "Mokuba, open all the entrances, now!" "You got it!" replied his brother, flipping a row of switches on his control panel. One by one, all the blockades were uplifted, and Yami and Tea easily found there way to the top floor of the Dome.
"Yami, do you think that Yugi's going to be alright?" asked the brunette as she and Yami rode the elevator to the top floor. "One can only hope," replied the pharaoh grimly as they steeped off the platform. They dashed through the hallway that led to the duel room, calling out for Yugi. Tea kicked open the door and scanned the room. "Yugi!" she cried, running to him with open arms, while Yami followed close behind. She embraced Yugi warmly, and ran her hands through his blond locks, avoiding his black and purple spikes of hair. She spotted Kaiba then, and glared. "Kaiba! What are you so smiley about?" she demanded, letting go of her friend. Suddenly, a look of panic surged across her face, as her gaze shifted from Kaiba's all too triumphant face, to Yugi's sad, disappointed one. "Yugi…" Yami spoke up, resting his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I lost," Yugi whispered, his eyes shadowed and hidden. Tea gasped, and Kaiba walked up to them, his cape whipping behind him.
With a wicked smile, he added, "And he didn't just lose the match. Tell them, Yugi." The pharaoh stared at Yugi, horrified. "Yugi, you didn't wager the Millennium Puzzle, did you?" he asked fiercely. After trying to swallow the lump in his throat, Yugi managed to choke out, "No, I didn't." "Why would I want your stupid Puzzle, anyway?" Seto cut in. "I only asked for what I truly wanted. And since I've won, I expect to receive them very shortly." Tea found her voice and guessed, "You bet the God Cards, didn't you, Yugi?" A nod, followed by an overflow of salty tears from Yugi. "And I bet…something else, too," he whispered.
"What, Yugi? What did you bet?" asked Yami impatiently. Yugi looked up at him, his eyes even larger than before. "I bet…I bet…" He burst into tears before he could finish his sentence. The pharaoh grabbed him and forced Yugi to look him straight in the eye. "What did you bet, Yugi?" he exclaimed, his etiquette overcome by the anger of Yugi's loss. Yugi took a deep breath, and several moments of silence followed, before Yugi could bear up the courage to admit his foolish move.
"I bet the God Cards, and I bet my soul."
I thought that this was okay. I mean, I might be new here, but seriously. Again, I might not have all the aspects of the rules, phrases, and aspects of the game or the series, but since this is a Fan Fiction, I think it's okay to bend the rules just a smidge. If it seems rushed, then I apologize wholeheartedly. Reviews are welcome, but please, no flames, and don't be too hard on me. Chapter 2 is currently in progress. Ciao!