A/N: Hey guys. Just reedited these past three chapters. Hope you like this one.
Chapter Two: Reconstruction
Yugi lay in bed. All he could do was twirl his Spellbook of Judgment card in his hand. To his side lay his the rest of his deck. His mind couldn't comprehend what he had seen back at the plaza. He wished it was all a dream – that he would suddenly wake from some nightmare. But alas, the world was very real. The ban list had affected everyone, including Joey and his six samurai deck. Gateway of the Six: Banned. Yugi's own Spellbook of Judgment: Banned. Kaiba's pre-form dragon rulers: Banned. Yugi was beginning to jump to the conclusion Pegasus was up to something. Why else would the ban list affect their decks so hard while decks such as HERO remained unscathed? More importantly, why did Pegasus restrict all the staple cards? Monster Reborn: Banned. Heavy Storm: Banned. Solemn Judgment: Banned. Bottomless trap hole: Limited. Compulsory Evacuation Device: Limited. It was obvious these cards were "broken," but they were cards everybody used in whichever deck. There's no reason to ban a card that was used by virtually every consumer, was there?
"Yugi, dinner is almost ready," called Solomon.
"I'll be down soon," Yugi replied, tossing his useless Spellbook card across the room. He tried to think about what would happen next. How would he manage to maintain his status as King of Games? Of course he had a month to figure out a new format, but it just seemed so impossible. His deck was the best deck in the game, and the new meta-cards were not coming out until January. Yugi picked up the cards and stared at what remained. His deck felt empty. There was no substance. Of course he had his World of Prophecy, his most powerful monster, and plenty of other 2500 ATK beaters, but all of them were useless without the power to have an endless supply of spell cards in the hand.
Something rattled inside the closet. Yugi jumped and recoiled behind the bed. He stared at the door for a few seconds and warily got up to make his way toward the closet. Cautiously, he opened the door. He concluded what made the noise was a dusty box that had fallen off its shelf. He picked up the box and was about to place it back when he noticed his handwriting on the side of it: old cards.
He carried the heavy box over to the bed and opened it. Staring at him was his favorite card: the Dark Magician. It had been a few years since Yugi had laid eyes on this card. After the discovery of future cards, the older cards became worthless. Even Kaiba had dealt away with his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, especially after they were mass produced by Industrial Illusions. Joey probably lost his Red-Eyes Black Dragon somehow. But here Yugi was staring at what used to be his prime card. He picked it up for the first time since his final duels against evil. It was just as good as new. The holographic background glimmered in the dim light of Yugi's bedroom.
"Sorry if I scared you," said a girl's voice. Yugi wasn't startled. He recognized that voice since he had first met her in a dream. Her voice was like butter. Smooth and soft but still having a certain amount of maturity in it.
"So, if I may ask, what brings you to the real world?" Yugi said turning around to face his favorite sorceress, the Dark Magician Girl.
"I can't stay for long, little Pharaoh," she said.
"Oh please, I'm not a Pharaoh."
"Atem would beg to differ."
"Really? And what makes him think that?"
"Yugi, I'm here to tell you that you and Atem are bound on a journey that will reinvent time itself. You will lead this movement; you will be the ruler of thousands, Yugi. People will know you as Pharaoh for generations to come."
"Ugh, shut up already! I already saved the world – countless times. Atem is gone and so is the puzzle. I can't save the world by myself. Don't you understand? I'm nothing without him. Nothing! I can't even believe I've managed to stay King of Games this long."
"Is that all that matters to you now? Being King of Games?" she asked as she made her way toward him. Her pink short dress fluttered underneath the whirling fan attached to the ceiling. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say your acting a lot like Seto."
Yugi sighed. She was right. This was more than just being the best. Had it only been about that, Pegasus would have probably succeeded in taking over Kaiba Corp. during his first Duelist Kingdom tournament.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I just don't know what to do. With Yami – or Atem – gone. I don't know what to do. I have no direction. I'm losing it."
The sorceress finally made her way to the bed at sat down next to Yugi. Her hair looked strange up close, especially since it went through and around her spellcaster hat. She put her wand next to the Dark Magician card and flung her blond hair back.
"The two of you will be united very soon. I can feel it. But with the reuniting of good, also comes the reuniting of evil. In fact, ever since time has become relative, an old evil has reawakened. But in order to defeat it, you must battle new foes and lead man into a great war."
"Whoa, whoa, you never mentioned anything about war. I can't lead a war."
"You're doubting yourself again, Yugi. You must believe. Just like Yami believes in you."
"Can we agree on a name for the pharaoh? The whole Atem and Yami thing is really confusing me."
The Dark Magician Girl smiled and inched closer to Yugi.
"Just remember this little pharaoh. To defeat an old evil you must reunite with the old good while keeping in mind the assets of modern times."
"Great. Could you stop speaking in riddles now?" They shared a laugh and she grabbed his hand. Their faces were only inches apart. Yugi stroked her hair back.
"I thought you said you couldn't stay for long?"
"I can make an exception."
They were both lying next to each other now and they slowly lessened the space between them. Just as Yugi felt the first touch of her lips against his, the doorknob rattled.
"Yugi! Dinner is on the table. I told you to get ready," Solomon shouted outside the door.
Yugi briefly looked away from the sorceress and turned toward the sound of his grandfather's voice. "Just one more minute."
He turned back to face the sorceress, but not surprisingly she had vanished and all that was left was his incomplete deck, a box of his old cards and the Dark Magician card which stared deep into his soul. He now knew what he had to do.
Downstairs, Joey sat down with an invited Tristan and Téa. Mai had not so accidentally left them stranded shortly after the ban list's release in the plaza. Rebecca had gone home in a taxi after the rest of the gang arrived at Solomon's game shop – by foot. Joey had been telling the others of the new ban list released by Industrial Illusions that was to take effect on September 1st.
"No way, dude. Monster Reborn?" Tristan said. "They can't ban that. It was already limited. It's the best staple card in the game."
"And just when I thought Pegasus would actually turn out to be on the good side for once. He's up to something fishy. I smell a rat, guys."
Tristan looked perplexed. "How can you say this is 'fishy', but yet you 'smell a rat?'"
"Okay, enough with the technicalities. Jeez."
"How's Yugi taking it, Joey?" Téa said.
"Not too well. He's been locked up in his room the entire day. My guess is he's trying to make his deck tournament legal for September," Joey said.
"Poor Yugi. How could Pegasus do this?"
"For me, Téa, it's the money. The new meta-game is coming out soon. Pegasus is banning all the best cards so that wannabe duelists will spend their money trying to be just like Yugi or Kaiba," Tristan said.
"I don't know, Tristan," Joey said. "There's something bigger going on here."
"Joey's right. Pegasus is planning something devious," Téa said.
"I'm not even sure if it's Pegasus. In fact he may not even have anything to do with whatever conspiracy is trying to get covered up." Joey said.
"Will you three stop talking about conspiracies?" Solomon hollered from the kitchen. He rushed from behind the door with four fresh burgers and four cokes.
"Thanks, Gramps," said Joey.
As soon as the food was put on the table, all was forgotten except for who could finish their food first. Yugi came down the stairs still wearing his blue jeans from earlier and his black undershirt. His hair was a bit out of whack since he had lied on his bed for so long. He quietly sat beside Téa and across from Joey, readjusted his choker and started eating with the rest of the gang. Nobody said a word. The only audible sound was Solomon cleaning pots and pans in the kitchen, the chewing of food and the gulping of drinks. When everyone was finally done eating, Joey spoke up.
"So Yug, did you figure out a new format for your deck?"
"Not exactly. But I have an idea. I'm thinking of putting Dark Magician back in my deck."
Joey, who was still chugging down his last bit of Coke almost nearly spit it back out but he managed to hold it in and swallow it down.
"You wah?" Joey managed to say, still choking on his Coke.
"I know it sounds crazy, but something in my heart is telling me it's time to put it back in my deck."
"Yugi, the Dark Magician beat down is not nearly as fast as the modern archetypes. What are you thinking?"
"I never said I was going to make a Dark Magician beat down deck. I just said I'm going to add Dark Magician to the deck."
There was a brief and uneasy silence between the two. Téa took control over the conversation.
"Well, I kinda miss Dark Magician." She said.
"Same here," Tristan agreed.
"Well I'm not gonna deny it, Yug, I miss seeing you play Dark Magician, but I don't think it'll serve you any good," Joey said. "Heck I even took out my Red-Eyes a few years back. I don't even know where it is now."
Yugi looked down at his finished plate. Téa noticed Yugi's look of despair. Something was bothering him. It wasn't Yami this time. She was sure of it. It had something to do with the ban list – something that had to do with Dark Magician.
"Your deck wasn't hit too bad, Joey," Yugi said.
"Are you kidding me? They took out my ace card!"
"That may be, but your deck is not devastated. I have a feeling this ban list was meant to target my deck the most. And whether or not Pegasus is behind this or not, I'm going to get some answers."
"Well-said Yug," said Joey.
"Oh yeah! Time to send Pegasus' ass back to Duelist Kingdom once and for all," Tristan remarked.
Yugi nodded and turned to Téa, who had been staying silent for most of the conversation. Téa stared back. It was times like these she had no idea what to say to Yugi. She just cramped up and let the feeling of butterflies in her stomach intensify. She deeply cared for Yugi – more than just a friend would. But what was stopping her was doubt. Constantly she questioned herself.
Do I care for him? Would I care for him if it weren't for Yami? Do I even like him or do I just like Yami?
Similar questions would ramble on inside her head constantly. He was all she could think about. It was apparent however at least to her Yugi was only interested in a friendship with her. The thought made her want to cry, but she couldn't start a breakdown in front of everyone.
She broke eye contact with Yugi and turned to Tristan.
"Tristan, it's getting late. We should get home," she said. He looked at her and noticed the tension in her body and easily concluded the reason, but kept quiet.
"Ye Tristan, can I get a ride with you too?" Joey asked. "My ride kinda left me on the side of the road."
"Dude, I swear you're gonna need a new girlfriend," Tristan said. "Anyhow, see ya Yugi."
"Bye Yug," said Joey. "Thanks for the food Gramps."
"Oh anytime, Joey," replied Solomon.
Tristan, Joey and Téa headed out the door. As Téa was about to close the door, Yugi called to her.
"Good night, Téa."
Téa turned around and smiled "Good night, Yugi."
She shut the door and Yugi watched her leave from the window. Before she entered into Tristan's car, a single tear rolled down her face.
I love you, Yugi.
A/N: What you guys think? Anybody get the feels for a second there at the end? I can only hope! Please review, follow, favorite and subscribe! Love you guys.
- Triton101
