[Terri: You did it again….

KO: "innocently" Did what?

Terri: You started another story with all your others still unfinished. This makes how many in total?

KO: counts quickly Only 13….

Terri: -- "Only," she says.

KO: Be nice!

Terri: I don't do nice!

KO: Besides, I wanted to get this down before the moment passed and I lost the inspiration. Okay, this story was inspired by this really weird dream I had, so…here it is!

Terri: Forgetting something?

KO: Hmm…not that I know. What could I be forgetting?

Terri: How about a certain man in Japan, a certain anime, and certain ownership rights that don't belong to you?

KO: Oh, yeah, the disclaimer! Okay, me no own Yu-Gi-Oh! That honor belongs to Mr. Kazuki Takahashi, sadly, and not me. I guess I'll have to keep dreaming….

Terri: I'd rather you didn't, if that's where this monstrosity comes from.

KO: gives her The Look On the plus side, I do own Terri, Sybil, Iris, and Ianthe, so no stealing without permission!

Terri: Hence the term "stealing."

KO: glares I want to warn you in advance, Iris will be OOC; she's not normally this impatient or fiery-tempered, so you've been warned! One last thing, this is after MPYP ends, so the yamis have already been separated by the Millennium Dagger. And now, on with the fic!]

Friends to the End, or the End of Friends?

Chapter 1 - The Ties That Bind Us…Broken?

"Terri, what is with you lately?!" Iris snapped in frustration.

"Me?!" the other yelled in rage and surprise. "ME?!"

"Hai, you! I don't see anyone else around with hair in three different colors!"

"What about me?"

"Keep out of this, Sybil!"

"Leave her alone!" Terri shouted.

"Why should I? Besides, Sybil, your soul's bonded to hers; technically you're a part of her, so you don't count anyway," she said coldly.

"If you say so."

Holding her back a few feet, Ianthe hissed, "Aren't you going to do anything about this before it comes to blows?"

"Iie. This has been brewing for weeks."

"Weeks? I thought they were friends!"

Solemnly, she said, "They were."

"Were?! Sybil, you can't be serious!"

"Ah, perhaps I spoke in haste," she considered, closing her eyes. "At the moment, hard as it may be to believe, they are still friends. However, unless they vent this out now, they will almost certainly no longer be."

"Sybil, this worries me. Unless you stop them, it may yet come to blows."

"I doubt it. Terri may be short-tempered, but I don't think she would ever hit Iris."

"She hit her before you returned from the Shadow Realm."

The once-queen's eyes widened. "She did?"

"She never told you?"

"Iie, never!"

"Iris had caught her cutting her wrists on several occasions--"

"Hai, I know about that part."

"Apparently she was angry out of concern, so she told Terri that after a year, if you hadn't returned, you likely wouldn't, and that since she threw the Tiara off the pier, she didn't want you to and to get over it. After that, Terri punched her in the stomach and stormed out."

"I-I never knew," she stammered, losing the dignified air she always held about her. "Gomen nasai, Ianthe."

"I don't blame you, but the two of them have been losing their patience with each other more and more often lately."

"ARGH! That's it! I've had it!" Terri screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in Domino City Park.

"You've had it?! You really think I want to deal with a psycho like you any longer?! Maybe I should leave town before you put me in the hospital, too!" Iris shrieked in response.

"Better not; I don't want to run into you on the road! I've got more experience at leaving towns, and besides, we wouldn't want to ruin that charmed life of yours, would we?" she sneered, rolling her eyes and stalking off toward the Kame Game shop. "Sayônara!"

Sybil's eyes widened again as she ran to catch up with her other. "Terri, what are you doing?!" she cried in alarm.

"Sybil, much as I hate to agree with Iris right now, stay out of this; it's not your place to interfere in my affairs."

Circling around and placing both hands on her light's shoulders, she said with a bit of desperation, "Aibou, think about what you're doing!"

"I am thinking, Sybil; if I don't go, I might seriously hurt her. I may be mad, but I do still respect her enough that I don't want to go ballistic on her. You, of all people, should remember the last time that happened!"

"Indeed I do."

Flashback

"What makes you think you've frightened me?"

"I'm not stupid; I can tell fear. I've seen it enough in my own eyes. Time to say bye-bye, Sybil."

Real world

"Then you know how easily I could snap. I haven't been completely stable since that, and Millennia screwin' around with my soul room didn't help, not to mention Meg herself showin' up! Kaiba may have called Jou a whimpering inu in the past, but I'm the one who's running scared."

"Terri, you're just angry."

"That's just it! I'm not just mad, I'm scared of what might happen if I stay around! I really am, Sybil, I'm scared. I have to go. Onegai, you've got to understand. I might be back, and I might not, but don't come after me, onegai." Wrenching away from her dark's grip, she ran to the Game shop, quickly packed her belongings into her old duffel bag, and ran out of town without a word, ignoring Yugi and Yami's questions.

[KO: Wow, this turned out darker than I thought….

Terri: I hate you.

KO: ;; I'M HATED!

Sybil: Do you blame her?

KO: glares Yes….

Terri/Sybil: --

KO: Anyway, at the advice of one of my fellow authoresses, to preserve the suspense, I'm not doing chapter previews in this story.

Translations from Japanese:

Hai - Yes

Iie - No

Gomen nasai - I'm sorry (more sincere than simply "gomen")

Sayônara - Goodbye

Aibou - (I've heard it means "partner," but I can't seem to find a translation to see for myself, so I'm going with that)

Inu - Dog

Onegai - Please

KO: Okay, how 'bout…5 reviews for the next chapter? That's not too much, is it? Nah! Ja ne!]