Chapter One: Denial

"You okay there Yug'?"

Yugi gave a jolt, realizing Marik was speaking. Instantly the strange feeling he'd been having for the past days came back and hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Umm.....yeah....what'd I miss Joey?"

"Nothin' much."

Yugi sighed. Thank whatever powers-that-be that no one had discovered him.

"Thanks Joey."

"S'Nothin'."

Lately Yugi had spaced off randomly, although why was a question he couldn't really answer. Yami didn't have an explanation either, so it was safe to say it would stay unanswered.

"All right you geeks-

Unexpectedly, Yugi felt himself being.....pulled away as pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before snaked through his body,and he feel to the ground hyperventilating. Then everything went black....

Slowly, but surely, Yugi opened his eyes.

"Where......are we?"Asked a familiar voice. Téa!

"I.....dunno."He answered. He looked around. It was some sort of bedroom....He wasn't alone in his surveying though. Apparently whatever had dragged him here had also brought Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, Serenity, Mai, Marik, Ryou, Kaiba and Mokuba.

"You are in present-day Ottawa,a city located in Ontario,Canada. The date is Wednesday September 1st 2004 at 12:00 PM in the night or 00:00 AM in the morning."Everyone present jumped as a robed figure came out of the floor.

"Canada?"echoed another familiar voice,this time it was Tristan.

"Yes. The girl you see before you-"The stranger pointed at the bed,which indeed held an occupant."- is Simone Stevens,a young thirteen-year-old girl who is about to go through the toughest days of her life."

They all glanced at the figure,and came to one shocking revelation.

"She's not breathing!"Duke cried.

"That is because I have stopped time dead in it's tracks,as you can see by her clock."The stranger gestured towards a fairly large travel clock,which had indeed stopped.

"You didn't bring us here to tell us some girl's life story,didn't you?"Kaiba said cooly,crossing his arms.

The robed figure laughed,to they're surprise.

"No,I did not. This girl's.....predictiment, interested me greatly, so I have brought you here to keep an eye on her."

"And?"Kaiba was not one to be fooled. He could see there was something the stranger was not telling them.

The stranger chuckled."If she does not discover that you exist in those thirteen days, or she dies, you will be forced to spend an eternity of loneliness, unable to communicate with the world."

Silence.

"Exactly thirteen days?"Yami asked,having switched with Yugi.

"Well.....thirteen days for every year she has existed,nine hours for the months before she was born,and eleven minutes for the days before she was born. Clear?"

Everyone (except Kaiba,of course) nodded.

"this is pathetic. Whatever made you think I'd believe something this ridiculous?"Kaiba laughed.

"You're loss."The stranger disappeared into thin air, and the ticking of the clock was the only thing to be heard apart from the girl's gentle breathing.

"Well.....we'd better come up with something. Quick."Duke said.

"Agreed."Marik nodded.

"Joey,what's happening?"Serenity said, frightened at the trap they'd manage to get caught.

"I......dunno Seren, I'm sure we'll find out soon though."Joey hugged her.

Startling all of them, the figure suddenly sat up and walked across the room, where she proceeded to close her door.

I'm sorry Dad, I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry sis, heck, I'm even sorry for you, Salem.

"Hear that?"Joey asked loudly.

"Yes."Yami replied for all of them. Even Seto Kaiba seemed shocked.

"Where is it coming from?"Mokuba asked.

She was unable to sleep,so she locked the door and grabbed her copy of Treasure Island, and read.

Unfortunately for her,she had insomnia,and everything she did to change that ended in failure...

"My curiosity, in a sense, was stronger than my fear..."Huh. Fits me just perfectly....

So while the YuGiOh gang tried to figure out where the two voices were coming from, she read.

"Well, One voice is obviously her thoughts, but who's-or what's-the other one?"Mai thought out loud.

"Maybe a sort of Narrator?"Serenity suggested, and the mystery of the second voice was solved.

"Sure. Nothing else makes sense, so why should that?"Ryou agreed.

"So, what now?"Téa asked.

"Shh."Tristen whispered. The 'Narrator' had started up again.

And so she read until she finished two chapters. She still wasn't tired, but one glance at the clock (which read 1:56 AM) told her she had to give it a try.

I might as well.....

Kaiba snorted."This girl doesn't know the first thing about curing insomnia. She should clear her mind....."

Clear my mind.....

"..close her eyes...."

..close my eyes....

"....and just let herself fall asleep."

...and just let myself-

her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep.

"I think she heard you Seto...."Mokuba said, dazed by the new discovery they'd made.

"I guess we can project thoughts to her...."Ryou sighed. This was to much to quick.

and so they sat there for the next seven-and-a-half hours, wondering what exactly they had gotten into.

"Simone! Waffles!"Her mother called.

"Mmmn?"Replied the teenager,head buried under her bedcovers and pillows.

"We only have a very short time before the bus leaves, Simone."Instantly the Auburn-haired teen jumped out of bed.

"Hey!"Simone passed right through Joey, who had unfortunately stood near the doorway.

"Hey Moan, Hows s'about a duel after breakfest."Her sister asked as Simone flew past.

"Don't call me that, and no."

Simone bounded down the stairs with a sort of raven hop, a habit she'd learned a long time ago.

"Yum! Waffles!"She dug in like a ravenous dog.

"Siii-mooooone! Finish quickly!"

"I don't think that will be to much of a problem."Tristan remarked as she tossed her plate into the sink and ran through Joey ("Hey!") again.

"What's next?"Asked Duke as they followed her upstairs into her room.

She started to pull of her shirt.

"Let's not stick around for this, shall we?"Ryou asked. They all exited the room. Only to go back in and drag out a drooling Joey and Tristan who had been staring at her shirt, which (thankfully) refused to come off.

After a short period of time, She came out dressed in a goldenish-brown T-shirt (with a print of a dove flying towards towards a tree branch, if you want the details), and long black pants which was split slightly at the bottom sides.

None of them really noticed what she was wearing, but they saw she had finished and proceeded to follow her again.

Tristan however, giving her a once-over, noticed she had something circular and shiny around her neck."What's that?"He asked, pointing it out.

"Just something I wear for good luck."She said,almost giving them heart attacks.

Stephanie (her sister's name) raised her eyebrows."Who are you talking to?"

Simone appeared puzzled."You mean you didn't ask me? Oh. Never mind then."

"Well,at least we've proven that we can project thoughts at her."Duke mused.

"Hey, if it works, I'm not questioning it."Tristan replied.

"Hey guys,I think she's on the move again....."Téa cautioned.

"Umm.....so......where are we going?"Simone asked her mom.

"Museum of Nature in Downtown Ottawa."Her mother replied,intent on checking the bag that carried their future snacks.

"Okay."Simone said nervously, then she realized something."Hey! If we're in such a hurry, then why are you taking your time packing?"

Her mother looked her straight in the eye."Correct, the bus will come in an hour and a half. But how else would I have gotten you moving?"Scarily enough, she was right. But Simone wasn't about to admit that.

I could've slept in!

"Ouch. I know how dat feels."Joey said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but if you slept in we'd never be able to wake you up."Téa smiled.

"Got any fives?"Joey asked.

"No. Go fish. Or better yet, stop asking for fives."Mai replied.

They were lounging around on the bus that would take them a block (or something like that, they hadn't really paid attention) away from the museum. But since there was absolutely nothing to do, they were stuck playing a modified version of Go fish with Duel Monster cards.

"I think we're there now guys."Ryou whispered just loud enough for them to hear.

"I wouldn't worry about annoying everyone besides us Ryou, they can't here you after all."Serenity smiled weakly.

Seto Kaiba was having mixed thoughts. This couldn't possibly be real, but he still had a gut feeling it was. But still, if this was a dream,why should he go along?

Well, the best way of ending a dream was to let it play itself out. Trying to fight it wouldn't work, and since he hadn't succeeded in waking himself up, he really had no other choice.

Marik couldn't help but notice that Simone and her family (including her cousin Natasia, who had arrived shortly after her mom had finished packing) were now standing. Gesturing towards them, he and the gang of anime characters followed suite. Except for a certain CEO.

They exited in an almost orderly fashion, which was surprising considering the people in question.

Simone's mom, Marik, Mai, Serenity, Téa and Tristan managed to get off without a hitch,but when it came to be Simone's turn,the doors closed as she was getting off,trapping her between the fiberglass and metal!Now, in movies, something like this would be considered funny. Unfortunately, this was far from being fiction.

Simone cried out in pain as the door tried to force themselves closed. Lucky for her, the bus driver couldn't go yet because there were still people boarding the bus. Unlucky for her,the doors muffled her screams because her head was outside of the bus.

She screamed in pure agony as the door tried to close again,only harder.

Yugi tried pushing at the doors, and Duke moved in to help him, along with Ryou, Mokuba, and Joey, although their frantic efforts weren't enough.

"Seto!! She needs help!"Mokuba cried.

That seemed to awake Kaiba from his trance, because he came over and helped push, finally freeing Simone.

Simone took deep breathes, trying to calm herself. Crying,she hugged her mom, who comforted her. Then they walked until they reached the museum.

"Make no mistake, I still think this isn't real."Kaiba remarked coldly.

"How did we push the doors op'n?"Joey asked, slightly dazed.

"Maybe you have to focus...."Yugi panted, tired.

How did the doors pushed themselves out?

"Jeez, we saved her skin and she doesn't ev'n say thank you!"Joey stormed. No one had the strength to correct him.

I guess I'm just lucky......

Joey made a rude gesture with his hands toward her.