So what now? I'm back? Seriously? HEY!

So… I came up with this idea and well I hope you guys enjoy it.

It is just a one-shot .. I considered making into a chapter ficlet but that just wasn't going to work.

HUGE Shout out to my good friend Anevay for being an absolute star and editing this! You've been such an amazing help to me by editing this for me! Check her stories out guys, they are awesome!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Enjoy!

X

X

Wondering Spirits

There was a chill in the air. Coupled with the mist, the old mansion had a very eerie feel. The boy walked closer to the mansion. Curiosity had taken him there. It had been abandoned for years; there was an old wives tale surrounding a girl who had been killed there. They said her spirit lingered, desperately seeking revenge on her killer. But that was just a story... right? Well, he was about to find out.

Edging closer to the door, his hand shook as he reached for the handle. His breath came slow and shallow, but he composed himself and pulled. It was pitch black inside. The boy took a couple of steps into the mansion. He was about to take another step, but there was an ear-splitting shriek, and a bright light came soaring towards him. Panic filled him. He turned tail, screaming and sprinted away.

The light stopped at the door way, turning into the shape a girl. She watched the terrified boy sprint away. He was not the one. But she knew he would come and then she would have her vengeance.

Yugi was hunched over his desk, scribbling away on the homework that he should have done already. He'd forgotten all about it, and this wasn't the first time. He was so caught up in what he was doing, he didn't notice a certain someone was approaching his desk until they jumped at him.

"Boo!" they shouted.

Yugi jumped so badly, he actually fell out of his seat and on to the floor. Looking up, he saw Joey roaring with laugher. Tristan and Tea were behind him, also laughing. Yugi scowled at them, sending an internal scowl to the occupant of the Millennium Puzzle, who was obviously aware of the situation – he too was laughing.

"That was just mean and uncalled for," Yugi said, retaking his seat.

"Yeah, but it was worth it," Joey replied. He was still chuckling.

Tristan took his seat, "And don't forget, it's Halloween soon!"

"Are we going to do anything for that?" Tea asked.

"We should go to that haunted mansion!" Joey cried, "It's supposed to be haunted!"

Tea shivered. "I don't like haunted places."

"Don't worry, Tea. The brave men will protect you," Tristan said, trying to assume a strong posture.

"Well that counts you guys out, then." Tea said sarcastically.

Tristan just glared at her in response. Their discussion about the plans for Halloween came to a close when teacher entered and the class began. They didn't get to discuss the plans further until lunch, and the outcome of their conversation was that they would go to the haunted mansion on Halloween, which was a matter of days away.

When Halloween arrived, Joey practically bounced around school all day until it came time for them to make the journey to the mansion. It seemed the weather knew that it was Halloween. There was an eerie chill to the air, and a light fog clung to their skin.

The metal gate creaked as Joey pushed it open and took the lead. The mansion was old; the windows were either broken or boarded up. The paint had once been a magnificent white, but now was grey and cracked. The plants were all dead, though some still held their shrivelled leaves. The rest crunched under their feet.

"I don't like this, guys." Tea said, hugging herself. "It's too creepy."

"Relax Tea, it'll be fine," Joey said, still striding confidently ahead.

The four of them reached the once-grand front door. Joey grinned at them before pushing it open and stepping inside. It was pitch black – they couldn't see a thing. Luckily, Yugi had brought a torch with him, which he gave to Joey. He clicked it on. They were in an entrance hall. There were moth eaten chairs, a side table which was old and cracked. Two fine staircases lined either wall, where they led to the second floor.

"In its day, this place must have been amazing," Yugi commented, staring around.

They were about to move into the next room when there was a terrifying shriek. There was a bright light, which rushed towards them, followed by a female voice, shrieking:

"YOU!"

That was all they heard before all four of them hit the floor.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes, rubbing his head. It ached from its impact with the floor. Slowly, he sat up. The torch was still on, providing minimal light. The others were still on the floor, but it seemed that they too were coming around.

"Everyone alright?" Yugi asked.

"What was that?" Tristan wondered, getting to his feet.

"A ghost," Joey said, retrieving the fallen torch. "Let's go ghost hunting!"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Joey." Yugi said, "I think we should get out of here."

Tea nodded in agreement. It was then that Yugi noticed that something was wrong. He felt alone; there was an absence of the Pharaoh's presence. Sometimes, on the rare occasions that the Pharaoh slept, it would feel as if he wasn't there, but at the same time there was always a sense of his presence. But this was different: he wasn't there.

"Pharaoh!" Yugi cried, his hands clasping the Puzzle.

He heard the others call to him, but he was conducting a mental search of the Millennium Puzzle. Even if the Pharaoh was asleep, if he did this he would always feel his mind's presence. But there was nothing. The Pharaoh was gone.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked up at his friends. "The Pharaoh's gone! He's gone!"

"What do you mean, he's gone? He can't leave the puzzle, can he?" Joey asked.

"We have to find him, guys!"

"But how?" Tea asked, "We don't know how he left."

They all thought for a moment. Yugi tried in vain to stop his tears.

"What if this has something to do with that voice?" Tristan said at last, "Maybe that had something to do with it?"

"But how do we find it?" Yugi said desperately.

Silence. None of them knew how to track down a ghost, they were not even one hundred percent sure that thing was real. What were they going to do?

The Pharaoh stirred. He didn't know what had happened. The last thing he remembered was Yugi and the others entering a house. Then suddenly, there was a loud voice and then nothing. Reaching out with his mind, he tried to contact Yugi to ask him what was going on. But Yugi wasn't there.

His eyes snapped open. He was in a dark room. The walls had paint peeling off them. Slowly, he got to his feet. Where was he? Where was Yugi? The Pharaoh glanced at his hand; it was still transparent. He was still a spirit, but how had he left the Puzzle? There was no possible way for him to leave the puzzle; his spirit was bound to it.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt another presence in the room. Turning, he saw a girl. She could not have been older then sixteen. She wore a long, flowing dress and her hair was tied in messy bun, as if she had been pulled by the hair. There was a large, dark mark on her dress over her heart, suggesting that she had been murdered. She too was transparent. She too was a spirit.

"Who are you?" the Pharaoh asked.

"My name is Jane," the girl replied, "This place was my home so many years ago. I am looking for my killer."

The Pharaoh hadn't really expected to be told, but that marked one question off the list. "And you think I am that killer?"

Jane considered. "Perhaps. You are a spirit, after all."

The Pharaoh frowned. "I can assure you that I am not."

"Oh? And how do you know that?"

"I lived many years before you, so I am not your killer."

Jane frowned and approached him.

"Guilty spirits hang around in this world, and some return to the place where they made their greatest mistakes." She was right in front of him now, "And here you are. You killed me. Now you will pay."

Although he had no memories, he was certain that he had not killed this girl. He could tell from how she was dressed that she had existed years after he had.

"I am not your killer."

"You are a spirit, a guilt-stricken spirit! You come to cleanse your spirit!"

"Yes… I mean, no. I lived a long time before you did. I am from Ancient Egypt. I believe I was a Pharaoh, but I cannot be sure. I have no memories of my past."

Jane pointed a finger at him, "You cannot remember! That is an admission of your guilt! MURDERER!"

There was a flash of light and the Pharaoh collided with the back wall, falling to the ground. He was not entirely sure how that had hurt, as he had no physical body of his own.

"Just because you are a spirit does not mean I can't hurt you. Only spirits can hurt spirits." Jane taunted, as if she had read his mind.

The Pharaoh got back on his feet, "I am not the one you seek. I can help you, though. Let us solve this together."

Jane folded her arms, "No, I have found my killer. It is you. You will be begging for forgiveness by the time I am finished with you."

XxX

The four teenagers had moved into a large drawing room. The furniture was showing its age; cracks were engraved deeply into the wood. Some pieces were on the verge of breaking apart. The teens were searching, looking for anything that might help them to locate the spirit which, they believed, had in some way attacked them earlier.

"This is hopeless, guys. We are not going to find him," Yugi said miserably.

"Stay calm. Yugi," Joey replied, confident. "If we can track down whatever attacked us, then I'm sure we can find him."

"But how do you know! He might be gone forever, for all we know!" Yugi cried.

There was silence, as this was a very valid point. They did not know what would have happened to the once-king when he left the puzzle. They knew that his existence was tied to it. They had no idea what might have happened to force him to leave it.

They continued their search in silence. Tea broke it. "Guys! Look, I've found something."

Tea had found a newspaper from 1798. The paper was well-preserved, despite its age. The story on the front was about a young girl who had been found murdered in this very house. The article spoke about how the authorities were searching for a suspect, but as of yet, none had been found. Tea also found another newspaper, which seemed to be a few weeks older than the previous, and this one spoke about how family of the deceased girl had gone mad, convinced that the ghost of their daughter was roaming the house. It also said that the killer had not been found.

"The thing that attacked us must have been her!" Tristan said.

"Pool girl, she must be looking for her killer," Tea said, a tear in her eye.

"But what would this girl want with the Pharaoh?" Joey asked.

Again, that was another good question. They knew the Pharaoh had lived thousands of years before the girl had, so if it was she who had somehow taken the former King, then the question was… why?

"Look, right here. This is where you did it, and you left the weapon behind."

They were standing in a large bedroom. There was a stain on the wooden floor, and beside it was a short, rusted knife. The Pharaoh looked from the large stain to the girl. He had tried in vain to persuade her that he had not been involved with her murder. That had been unsuccessful, so the Pharaoh had followed her to this room.

"Nothing to say."

"I cannot say anything about a situation I was not involved in."

"Why do you deny it!"

Before he knew it, the Pharaoh had once again collided with the wall. He really didn't know how Jane was able to do that. He didn't have a physical form, so he couldn't understand how she was able to hurt him. His back ached slightly from the contact, but he ignored it and got back to his feet.

"I am not the one you seek."

"Again with that!" Jane screamed, "Just admit it and perhaps we can both move on!"

The Pharaoh was really starting to get tired of the meeting the walls of this house. If he had a body, he was sure that he would have broken the aged wall by now. He did not get up for a moment as a thought crossed his mind. Jane had mentioned something about moving on. Accepting what had happened to her could enable her spirit to rest. But whilst she continued to pursue the course of trying to find her killer, her spirit could not rest.

"Why don't you admit it!" Jane screamed.

The Pharaoh sighed, "Is it hard? Accepting what has happened to you?"

Jane started. She stared at the boy, who remained on the floor. What was he trying to do?

He looked down. "I have asked myself so many questions. It is hard to accept that I know nothing about my past, and I barely understand why I am here. What caused me to lock my spirit away? I will admit that I find it hard to accept what has happened to me. So, can you accept it?" The Pharaoh looked up at Jane, "Can you accept what has happened to you?"

She just looked at him, staring deep into his eyes. They were innocent and held sadness in them. So, it was true. What the boy said was true. Maybe she had gotten this all wrong.

Jane looked away, out the window. She could see the stone bench were she'd sat with her mother, after she had fallen and scraped her knee. She remembered how her mother had held her until she'd calmed down. Oh, how she missed her mother.

Jane sighed and turned back to the boy. He had still not looked up, his eyes closed.

"How can I accept something when I have no answers?" she said in a low voice, "I just want to know. Why did this happen? Who would do this?"

The Pharaoh looked up at her. "There are some somethings that we may never find out. You just have to accept it."

"But if someone killed you. Wouldn't you want to know?" Jane snapped.

"Yes, I would. But for all I know I might have been killed. Perhaps that is how I ended up in the Puzzle. I don't know how my life ended. You do."

Jane fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why don't you know?"

"I have no memories. No recollection of my past."

"Don't you remember your parents?"

The Pharaoh shook his head. Jane stared at the boy. She felt sorrow for him. She could remember the faces of her mother and father - she remembered the happy days they had spent together. She could not imagine being unable to remember her parents. Jane looked back at the boy; she thought she saw a single tear trickle down his face.

"What's your name?" Jane asked.

"I don't even know that."

An awkward silence followed. Jane didn't know what to say, and the Pharaoh didn't want to speak any more about the subject. The silence continued for several long minutes before Jane asked the boy to accompany her outside.

The back garden was long neglected. Overgrown, there were dead bushes and flowers which would have once been stunning, but now were lifeless and unsightly. The fountain was cracked, empty of water and covered in moss. Jane put her hand on the fountain before turning to look at the Pharaoh.

"Do... do you think that it is okay not to know who killed me?"

"I can appreciate that you may wish to know, but there are somethings that we may never find out."

Another silence followed. As Jane continued to explore the garden and lose herself in her memories, the Pharaoh felt an odd sensation. He felt a crushing pressure on his chest, like his very soul was been ripped apart. He knew what was happening. He knew that there was a consequence to his separation from the Puzzle. He could not survive. He needed to get back to the Puzzle, but he didn't know where Yugi was. He also had a suspicion that Jane was the only person who could return him, as it was she who took him in the first place.

"Perhaps I will never know," Jane was saying.

"Jane."

She turned. The Pharaoh was staring at her with an odd look in his eyes.

"Can you help me? I need to find the people I arrived with. My spirit cannot last here like yours can."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, frowning.

"There is a boy who came here with three others. He has a golden necklace, and that object enables me to survive. I am bound to it. You separated me, so now my spirit is being destroyed. But if you release me back to the boy, I can survive."

Jane did not know what to say. She didn't understand what he was saying.

"I will let you go. But not yet. I need you. I need you to help me understand why this happened to me."

"Jane, please?"

"No!"

Jane walked away, turning her back on the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh just watched her. He had to find Yugi. The pressure in his chest was building; he didn't have long. If he did not reconnect with Yugi, his spirit would be destroyed and he would not be able to complete his destiny. He tried to call to Jane to ask her to help him, but she was past listening. She ignored him.

She did not let it show, but she still believed that he was her killer. She'd been stringing the boy along the whole time. She smirked. It was all going according to plan.

The pressure was becoming excruciating; the Pharaoh could feel his spirit being destroyed. He fell to his knees. There was nothing to do now. He barely registered the sounds of running footsteps and the cry of a very familiar voice.

"Pharaoh! Pharaoh!"

Yugi stared at the Pharaoh, who was on all four. What had happened? The Pharaoh was transparent, but he seemed to be growing fainter. There was also a girl standing not too far away from them, and she too was transparent, but not as faint as the Pharaoh.

"Hey, you!" Joey snapped, "What did you do to our buddy?"

Jane turned. She was taken aback by the new arrivals, as she had not heard them approach. Her eyes immediately fell on Yugi.

"Curious. You look just like him," she said.

"What have you done to him?" Yugi cried, tears in his eyes.

Jane pointed a finger at the fallen Pharaoh. "He is responsible for my murder and my vengeance is complete. I knew that the guilt stricken spirit of my killer would return someday, and I would destroy his spirit. Now I have."

"He had nothing to do with your murder!"

"He did. I know he did."

"How?" Yugi spat, "Did you see him?"

"No."

"Did you hear his voice."

A pause. "No."

"So how do you know it was him?"

"I just do."

Yugi glared at Jane in a very un-Yugi-like fashion. He had to save his closest friend and it seemed for the moment that that girl was the only answer. The Pharaoh was so faint now, it was near impossible to spot him and with every passing second he grew fainter. Time was running out. Jane saw this and smirked.

"My vengeance is done, I can rest now."

Jane held her hands out as if waiting for something to happen. Nothing did.

"You will never rest," a weak voice said. "Your angry has blinded you. Your spirit can never rest whilst you continue to seek vengeance."

Jane glared at the other weakened spirit, let out a shriek of anger, and vanished.

Yugi looked down at the Pharaoh. He was almost completely gone; something had to be done. He ran a hand through his hair, panicking. Something had to be done and done now. There was no time to waste, if he did not do something then the Pharaoh would be destroyed and he would have failed in his mission as the Pharaoh's vessel. Yugi's hand brushed the Puzzle and an idea hit him. If he could use the power of the Puzzle, he might be able to save the Pharaoh. He closed his eyes, concentrating. He felt the Puzzle's power growing.

There was a flash of light, and Yugi felt the familiar presence of the former Pharaoh in the back of his mind. It had worked. He had saved the Pharaoh. A rush of relief swept through him and Yugi let out a sigh of relief. The others, however, did not what had happened and therefore they were still panicking.

"Yugi? The Pharaoh vanished!" Joey cried.

Yugi straightened, beaming at them, "It's alright. He's back where he should be."

Yugi collapsed on his bed. It had been a long, stressful day. He hadn't heard from the Pharaoh since he'd rescued him. Closing his eyes and sank into the Puzzle. He appeared in his soul room, where he wasted no time in clambering over the numerous toys and entered the Pharaoh's room.

It was quiet. the Pharaoh was nowhere to be seen. But Yugi had an idea where he might be. He jogged up two flights of stairs, took a left and then three right turns, reaching the door.

He cautiously opened it; the Pharaoh was lying on the small bed in the corner of the room. At a distance, Yugi could not be sure whether he was awake on not. But drawing closer, Yugi could see that the once King was awake, barely.

"Pharaoh? You okay?"

"Yes, I'm alright," came the quiet, tried response, "Being separated from the puzzle for that long has really worn me out."

"Okay…" Yugi paused, he had a question, but wondered whether the Pharaoh was too tired to answer it at the moment.

"Go on you can ask your question." The Pharaoh had obviously been listening to his thoughts.

"Do... do you think we will see that girl again?"

"I doubt it. I'm not sure really. But I would recommend not returning to that house."

Yugi nodded, "Yeah, there's no way we'll go back there."

Yugi could see how exhausted the Pharaoh was. His spirit had almost been destroyed, so it seemed as though the Pharaoh would need time to recover his strength.

"I'll let you rest, Pharaoh, but let me know if you need anything."

A quiet 'Thank you' was the only response. Yugi quietly left the Puzzle. He stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. His mind turned back to that girl. She was a wandering spirit, and it made him wonder... how many other wandering spirits were there in this world?

X

X

So… how was it? :S

I hope it was good!

Leave a review if you want to – I will respond to my reviews.. bear with me as I'm very slow at doing things but I shall respond to all of you!

I hope you enjoy my stories; I shall try to get some more out if you guys want me to write more!

Stay Awesome Guys!

~RedRosePetal