(Continued from "The Egyptian Adventure")
Juliana blinked and slowly sat up, staring at the group. "Who...who are you?"
The four friends gasped and looked at her. "What do you mean 'who are you'?! This isn't funny!"
"I...I can't remember anything...what happened to me? Who am I?" She looked all around her arms and felt the inside of her pockets. Feeling something, she reached into one and pulled up a tan colored envelope, sealed in red with the senri eye. "Hm? Any of you named Yugi?"
"I am, Juliana."
"This is addressed to you..."
She handed Yugi the enveloped and he stared at it for a while, then slowly opened it, taking out the letter inside that read:
Good day to you. I'm sure by now you have realized my little surprise for you. I figured if the Pharaoh's little subjects cared about him so much, they should suffer the same fate as he did all those years ago. So I have wiped the memory of everyone connected to the Pharaoh, just as he lost his memory with the shattered Millennium Pendent. I hope you enjoy this gift.
Joey punched a nearby nightstand hard and took the letter from Yugi. "I can't believe this! It must've been Heishin, the jerk!"
"Or it could be someone else. We don't know how many enemies the Pharaoh really has, especially since he can't remember anything!" Tristan walked over to Juliana and looked at her. "What do you remember?"
"I..." She looked down, trying to recall what she could. "I remember...a tall man in black. He said something to me...I can't remember, I'm sorry. Then there was darkness and I woke up here."
"Well something definitely ain't right. Don't worry, Juliana, we'll get your memory back in no time!" Joey said, placing a hand on Juliana's shoulder.
"Hold on there, Joey," Yugi said. He held up the letter to Joey. "It says here he wiped the memory of everyone connected to the Pharaoh. I don't think it's just Juliana, there could be others with no memory of the past."
"Are you people done here, yet? I don't have all day to babysit you and listen to this hocus-pocus junk." Kaiba walked into the room, glaring at Yugi.
He nodded. "Yes, we're done here, Kaiba. But could you watch her while we try to solve this? I don't have anywhere she can stay."
"Hmph...fine."
"So what's the plan, Yuge? Battle a couple of dudes then get to the big bad boss, defeat all of them, save the world and all?" Joey said as they all started walking out.
Yugi smiled. "You got it! But we can't forget we also have Marik to worry about with his Egyptian God card. We've got a lot to do guys, and we have to stay sharp! Who knows what's lurking out there in the shadows...."
Roads to Destiny
By: Jules
Chapter 1: Plan of Action
Yugi and the gang walked out of the Kaiba Corporation building with their heads full of questions. Just one problem after another seems to appear before them. For the moment, Juliana will stay in the safety and security of the Kaiba's as the others went to solve the mystery of the letter.
"Did Juliana ever mention there being anyone but her being friends with the Pharaoh?" Tea asked to break the silence.
Yugi shook his head. "Not that I can remember."
"Well how are we gonna figure this out? This city is huge! We don't even know how many people lost their memories. Not like they're gonna just walk up to us and say 'hey do you know me?' Not gonna be that easy, you know?" said Joey.
"So what do we do?" Tea said as she looked down at Yugi.
He only shrugged. "It's been a long day. How about we take a break for today and come up with a plan tomorrow at school?"
"Baah...school." Tristan slouched and he spoke. "Why don't they just cancel school during this crazy tournament?"
"They like to torture us." said Joey, copying Tristan's slouch.
Tea hit both of them on the back of their heads. "Quit complaining, you too. School is more important than some little card game."
Yugi laughed and turned toward them. "Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Alright, take care man!" With that Yugi ran off back to his grandfather's old gaming store and to his room.
As he closed the door to his room, he took the letter out of his pocket and sat on his bed, staring at it. "What should we do? Joey's right. We have no idea and no clues on where to even start."
Yami appeared as an apparition sitting next to Yugi, also looking at the letter. "Well," he said. "With our luck, everything will reveal itself when all is ready."
"This is too much. Not only do we have to worry about Heishin, but Marik and his band of Rare Hunters. They won't give us a break, will they?"
"It just means we'll have to be more prepared, Yugi. Stay on guard, even at school. I'm sure Marik will try to attack us when we are most vulnerable. Know your limits."
"Yeah..."
The next day began like any other normal day. Yugi got all of his school things together, said goodbye to his grandfather, and left for high school. Once he arrived, he went straight to his homeroom where he met up with Joey, Tristan and Tea in a corner of the room. They all sat in a circle and looked at him.
"So, any ideas, guys?" asked Joey.
"The Pharaoh thinks we should just wait."
"Wait?" said the three in unison.
Yugi nodded. "Well we've got nothing right now, right? So, we might as well wait for something to come to us instead of running around in the dark."
"That's all well and good, but what about AFTER we find these people with no memory of their past? How do we help them get it back?" asked Tea.
"I guess we'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now we take it one step at a time."
The bell rang for class to begin, thus signifying the end of the conversation. The group returned the desks to their original positions and moved to their classroom seats. As they got up, nearby a girl with light-blue hair and bright blue eyes looked up from her book and followed them to their seats. When the school day ended, the four friends left the campus grounds and began walking downtown.
"Ok wait, I have one question. Why don't we just...leave Juliana the way she is?" Tristan said with his arms crossed.
"You still don't trust her? She's not the only one without memories, Tristan. Don't you get that?"
"Hey, last I heard, you didn't like her at all, Tea."
"I..uh..uh..."
As the group argued, little did they know a black cloaked figure followed close behind in the shadows. Once they were far enough from regular civilians, the figure jumped out and pointed a finger at them. "Stop right there, Yugi Motou! It's time you surrendered your Egyptian God Card and Millennium Puzzle to the Rare Hunters!"
At once, they all turned around. "A Rare Hunter?!" Tea said, getting ready for a fight.
"Huh?" Joey leans in forward toward the hunter and raises an eyebrow. "Are your robes made out of a shower curtain?"
Tristan leaned in as well. "And that eye on the hood is painted on with finger paint! You're not a Rare Hunter!"
The hunter's eye twitched, annoyance running across his face. "I am too! I'll show you AND Master Marik!" He pointed his finger at Yugi. "Give me your item and no one gets hurt!"
Yugi scratched his head. "What should I do guys?"
"Just beat this guy in one hit, Yuge. This kid ain't worth your time. He's not even a real Rare Hunter, just a wannabe."
"Grr. I'll show you!" The Rare Hunter began to run but was grabbed from the ear by the blue-haired girl from school. "Ow! Let go!"
"Get over yourself, Phillip. You're just embarrassing yourself. Now go home before I tell your mother." She said.
"No! I WILL be a Rare Hunter!"
She girl pulled the robed boy away and kicked him in the butt. Frustrated, he ran off without taking a look back at them. The girl sighed and turned toward them and smiled, scratching her head. "Sorry about him. My neighbor's kid... don't know where he gets such strange ideas."
"Hey, I know you! Aren't you in our class?" said Tea.
Joey nodded. "Yeah that...foreign exchange student, right?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yup! My name's Nele."
Yugi stepped forward. "Were you following us?"
"Eh heh...kinda." She took off her backpack and reached in, removing a golden hourglass with the Senri eye on it. "I was wondering if you could help me..."