Miss Me?

Hello again, GX fans! This next story I bring you could be in either the universe 15animefreak15 and I have brought you, or it could be in the canon-verse. Either way, this fic may bring you a different view of Atticus Rhodes. We never saw what went on during the summer after he returned from the shadows. One element of the other universe I have taken is the name for the "abandoned dorm," hereafter referred to as the Horakhty dorm. I feel it's only fitting because Horakhty is the merged form of Obelisk, Slifer and Ra. I hope you enjoy this fic, and as usual, I don't own the actual Yugi-verse; I just play in it and with the characters! Also, Atticus's pet goldfish is named after Lady Gaga. Thank you!

Author's note: I would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Qu-ko, TechnicolorNina and 15animefreak15 for their help with this project. They were my sounding boards and advisors for goldfish names and what might impact Atticus the most. Thank you, guys! And yes, this is the dub-verse, everyone.

How do you say, "Hi, Mom and Dad," after you've been gone for almost two years? You disappear off the face of the earth because you were sent to some God-forsaken place; you return as an agent of evil and scare your sister and her friends. And then you're in the infirmary for a couple of weeks while you come back to yourself. You return to school, but it's not like it was. Your best friend is graduating and you're left behind. Yeah, you still have your little sister and her friends, but it's not the same, especially knowing you lost friends and part of your life. And now, you have to see your parents and make them happy again. But how do you do that when you're really not happy?

Atticus Rhodes had thought about how to talk to his parents when he and his sister reached the docks at Domino City. And now the moment had come. They walked down the gangplank together, arm in arm, right to a man with wheat-blond hair and brown eyes and a woman with bright brown eyes and dark brown hair. Both parents had tears in their eyes at the sight of their strong, healthy, living son with their daughter. And so the young man let them hug him. And then he asked, with his signature grin, "Miss me?"

"Atty, honey… Oh, we thought you were..!" Jean Louise Rhodes, more popularly known as Scout, somehow couldn't manage to say "dead." She had refused to believe that her eldest child was gone, even as the parents of the other members of Horakhty Dorm began having memorial services. And today, her irrational faith in that had been rewarded. "Well, the important thing is, my boy is home and alive!" she said, throwing her arms around her son for the third time this evening.

Atticus grinned sheepishly for the third time, his brown eyes sparkling with happiness. "Mom, I know I'm alive. And I'm glad to be back! Hey, is Goldy Gaga waiting for me?" Goldy Gaga was his pet speckled goldfish that he'd won at a school carnival with Zane Truesdale when they were both eleven years old. He'd taken good care of the fish and regretted not being able to take her to Duel Academy with him three years previously.

Jack Rhodes sighed, laying a hand on his son's shoulder as the family entered their home. "Atticus… Goldy Gaga died just before Alexis left for school last fall. She came into your room the morning before she left to clean Gaga's tank and feed her and the poor thing was floating on the top of the water."

Alexis sighed, brushing a hank of blond hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Atticus. There wasn't anything I could do. She was just… dead…" She spoke matter-of-factly, but even so, her brother could tell that it pained her. "I had this feeling you were going to come back and I was sad I couldn't keep her alive. I'm sorry, big brother…"

The brown-haired young man pulled his sister into a tight hug. "Lexi, it's okay. She was really old for a goldfish. And I'm glad you took care of her. I'll go get a new one this summer. Maybe we can get a big aquarium with a band of goldfish!" The family laughed together and, for the first time in two years, sat down to dinner as a complete family.

"Your room is almost as you left it on your last trip home, sweetheart," Scout said after dinner as she walked her son upstairs to his room. "I did, however, make your bed and pick up your socks. Just take your time and walk around the house. The school nurse called us after you were found and came to that you'd need a lot of familiarity to get better. Alexis is in her room, so knock if you want to come in and see what she's done to it."

"Thanks, Mom," he answered with another smile. He opened his bedroom door and beheld the room for the first time in two years. The first thing he saw was his twin bed with the red-and-black comforter and the pillows that matched. He walked to it and sat down. Next to the bedroom door was his desk, still covered in Red Eyes Black Dragon paraphernalia and information about the singing idol he'd loved, Rodney Arisugawa. Above the headboard of his bed was a vintage poster of the late Farrah Fawcett. The poster had belonged to his father, and of course Atticus had found it in the attic and asked if he could put it up.

The young man then caught sight of Goldy Gaga's empty fishbowl. The tank had been meticulously scrubbed out and the neon green plant and guitar-shaped hidey spot stood inside it. He smiled, remembering his pet and how she would swim to the tank to greet him as he came near his bookshelf. He got up and went to the tank, still remembering. "I'll see you around, Goldy Gaga," he murmured. He got his pajamas on, went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and went to bed. What will the world bring me tomorrow, he thought as sleep claimed him.

The next morning, Atticus awoke with the distinct feeling that he'd had some sort of nightmare. He couldn't describe what he'd seen; even if he'd been able to, none of the images would've made sense. The only image that might have made sense was of a mask that he knew all too well. But since he couldn't remember, he gamely got up and headed for the bathroom. On the way down the hall, he chanced to look in his sister's bedroom.

He knocked on the open door, called for Alexis and then stepped into the room when he realized she wasn't there. It had been two years since he last saw this room which was in possession of a 13-year-old girl, and now he would get a glimpse of the young woman she had become in his absence. When Atticus had left, Alexis's bedroom was a tribute to the time between childhood and full-blown adolescence. Stuffed toys had covered a corner of her bedroom while posters of the current dueling elite and a boy band hung on her walls and her closet door. The room's upper walls were painted in periwinkle blue, and then divided by chair railing, the lower walls painted a darker blue. Her twin bed was covered in a quilt that their great-grandmother had given to her when she was four years old and had moved to the big girl bed for the first time.

The quilt was still on the bed and the bedroom was still in blue, Atticus noticed. The posters of the dueling elite had not changed, though the boy band poster was gone. Most of the stuffed toys were gone, with the exception of Alexis's favorite plush Petite Angel. Atticus remembered giving her that plush toy on her eighth birthday and was pleased to see that she hadn't given it up. Wait… It was on a shelf next to a photograph of him. A faded white rose sat next to the picture. Now, Atticus Rhodes might not be the brightest person on the face of the planet, but he knew the meaning of a white rose. She hadn't given up, even after so many others had. The white rose was a symbol of hope.

On Alexis's desk were pictures of her friends, some from elementary and middle school and now pictures of her friends from Duel Academy. Also on the desk was her journal. She'd kept a journal since she was very small and yes, Atticus had read it from time to time. The last time he'd seen her journal, it was blue with stickers of Petite Angel and Shining Friendship all over it. Now, the journal had a silver cover with a picture of Cyber Blader on it. She's really grown up, he thought. His hand drifted toward the journal, but then he pulled back. Not yet… Maybe later… He tiptoed out of the room and resumed his examination of the house.

In the two years since Atticus had last been home, his parents had changed very little within. Most of the furniture was the same. The carpeting was too. And so he headed out to the backyard through the sliding door in the dining room. The yard was almost exactly as he'd remembered it, except…

"MOM!" he shouted. "DAD! WHERE'S MY FORT?!"

Jack raced out from the house, having heard the shout. "Atticus?! I was in my office. Is everything all right?"

The young man pointed at a place between two trees where what had been basically a huge box on stilts. Jack and Atticus had built the fort when the boy was five years old. It had been there when he left for school. "Dad, what happened to the fort?" he asked, stunned.

Jack sighed sadly. "Atty, it started rotting and last spring, I had to take it down. I was out here doing some yard work with your mother and she bumped one of the support legs. It shook and almost came down. So I had to take it down that day. I'm sorry, son…"

Atticus nodded, understanding. But he felt an even stronger sense of grief and regret at the time lost to him forever. What else had changed in the past two years?

After breakfast, Atticus took a walk around his neighborhood. The street was the same and the houses were painted in the same beige and white colors. But what about the people? He looked over at the house where Mr. and Mrs. Kinjo lived. Wait a minute… There was a basketball hoop over the garage door and a small pink bike with ribbon streamers on the handles in the driveway. Mr. and Mrs. Kinjo were an elderly couple. Their kids and grandkids lived in Florida, Washington and Utah.

At that moment, a pleasant-faced man about 35 years old stepped out of the front door. "Hello, there!" he called out, smiling. "I haven't seen you around here before!"

Atticus walked across the street to the man, smiling as well. "I'm Atticus Rhodes; I live across the street. I just got home from school."

"I'm Will Takanawa. My family and I moved here about a year ago."

"Do you have any idea what happened to the old couple that lived in this house? I was friends with them, but… Well, I lost contact," the teen explained.

Mr. Takanawa nodded sadly. "Well, about a year and a half ago, Mrs. Kinjo was diagnosed with stage 5 Alzheimer's and at the same Mr. Kinjo had a mild heart attack. They couldn't be alone in the house, so they decided to move to an assisted living facility in Washington which was close to their daughter."

Atticus sighed. "I wish I could've said goodbye to them. Do you have an address so I can get in contact with them?" Fortunately, Mr. Takanawa did. The boy thanked him and headed on his way. As he walked, he noticed that the names on mailboxes had changed. Other families had moved from the neighborhood and new ones had taken their place. He left his block and headed toward the Truesdales' home, thinking that Zane might want to hang out. But then he remembered… Zane had already caught a plane to Chicago to play in a Pro-League tournament. His best friend had moved on. Atticus turned around and headed back home.

"How was your walk, Atticus?" Scout called from the kitchen as her son walked in the door. "Did you meet some of the new neighbors?"

"Yeah, Mom!" he called back as he headed into the kitchen. His mother was stirring something up in a bowl and it smelled like cookies. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just some chocolate chip cookies, sweetie. They'll be ready in about half an hour." She looked up and caught something in his face that she couldn't quite explain. However, it made her worry. "Honey, is everything okay?"

Atticus just gave his mother his usual smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just getting used to stuff again and that the neighborhood's changed."

Something told Scout that he was hiding something, but she knew pressing the point wouldn't get him to open up. "Okay, Atty. Would you like to help me put the dough on the cookie sheets?"

"Sure!"

Over the next two days, Atticus continued to find out about the world he'd been separated from. He hadn't admitted it to his parents or his sister, but it had truly been a devastating blow to the 18-year-old. On the third night he was home, he went upstairs right after dinner, took a shower, brushed his teeth and settled into bed. He listened to some music and drifted off to sleep.

At two in the morning, Alexis Rhodes awoke with a start. She couldn't say exactly what woke her up, but it was enough to make her get out of bed and get her slippers and robe on. The sound of a sharply taken in break reached her ears. She forced herself to remain silent as she tiptoed quietly to her open bedroom door. The sound grew stronger. It was… Someone's crying, she realized. She moved out of the room and down the hall toward the sound. Her brother's bedroom door was open and the room was full of moonlight.

Atticus was sitting up in bed, head in his hands and his shoulders bobbing. It was a sight that Alexis could only recall seeing once or twice. The first time was when he had been frightened about possibly losing their grandfather. The second time she believed she had seen it was when he had visited the Horakhty dorms at the end of the school year. He missed all of his friends from those days and still couldn't believe they weren't with him. When she'd gone to try and comfort him, he'd turned around with his signature smile, reassuring her that he was fine. But tonight, there was no mistaking his state.

"Atticus?" she called softly.

He looked up, startled. "Lexi? I… I just…" He tried in vain to hide it, but the tears came down his cheeks.

She raced in, putting her arms around him. "It's okay, Atticus… Big brother, it's going to be okay…"

"Lexi…" He hung onto her, and the soft crying became full-blown sobs. And that noise was enough to wake their parents. Jack and Scout moved quickly into their eldest child's room, enveloping both of their children in a strong hug. Atticus cried for a long time. He cried for so many things he'd lost in those two years. But as he cried, he was also aware of the three people holding him tightly. There was one thing that he hadn't lost in those two years; he hadn't lost them. He knew he would cry in their arms tonight, and he knew they would be there as he laughed and cried through the rest of the summer.

THE END