Greetings Readers! Thanks to those who reviewed the first part of this. I had three votes for Joey, one for Tristan, and one for Téa, so this is Joey's point of view. It takes place right after the Ceremonial Duel. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters. I just like getting into their heads.
My heart pounding in my ears, I sprinted after the others as the Pharaoh's tomb began collapsing around us. Our feet thundered across the rubble-covered floor, but could not be heard over our yells and the crashes as the stone walls fell upon themselves. We rushed back out into the daylight just in time to turn around and see the tomb fall into complete ruins. And then everything went quiet.
It was too quiet.
I stood alongside the others, waiting for something, anything, to happen as I knew it had to. When something big happened in this group, it was always followed by an even bigger emergency or adventure. But as the stillness continued its hold over us, I realized that nothing more was going to happen – there would only be the silence.
Tristan spoke up. "So this is the end? Feels weird."
Kaiba let out a derisive snort, "What were you geeks expecting?"
"Fireworks, sappy music, something." Usually I would have taken Kaiba's block off for what he said, but I was too occupied in waiting. I looked at Yugi. "At least give us one of your little wrap-up speeches, Yug."
Yugi smiled up at me. "Well, sometimes the end of one adventure is just the beginning of another!"
"Ah, much better." I let out a relieved sigh – it was good to know that some things never changed.
"So…now what?" Téa ventured after the silence had overwhelmed us again.
Ishizu readjusted her bangles. "You are most welcome to join us for a meal before you journey home. It's not much, but it should sustain you for your long trip."
"It's the least we can do," Marik added, "you did so much for us, and our duty as the Tombkeepers is complete thanks to Yugi."
"What will you do now?" Solomon asked.
"I'm not sure at the moment. I have no doubt that the right opportunity will reveal itself in due time." Ishizu turned. "Would you care to follow me?"
We all started moving, all expect Yugi, whom I noticed was still standing in the same spot. "You comin', Yug?"
He turned and grinned at me. "Yeah. Just give me a minute, okay? I'll catch up."
"Very well, Yugi." Ishizu gave him a slight bow and then began leading the others away. I tried to follow, but found that I couldn't leave.
"I'll catch up with you guys, too."
Tristan, Téa, and Duke gave me strange looks. "Is Joey Wheeler actually turning down food?" Téa asked as she raised an eyebrow.
Duke clapped a hand to his forehead, acting as though he were about to faint from shock. "That's it – the world's coming to an end."
I scowled. "Knock it off, pretty boy. I'll be there in a minute – just make sure you don't eat it all."
Tristan laughed, "No, that's your job."
Téa grabbed both of the guys by their ears and yanked them around. "Leave him alone, guys." She turned her neck to look over her shoulder. "See you soon, Joey. Yugi." And then they were gone. I walked over to where Yugi was standing.
Yugi's face was curiously set as he stared at the ruins, as though he was trying to make what had just happened seem more real. I could sympathize – it didn't feel real at all. But the Pharaoh was gone, and he wasn't coming back. Even now, Yugi was composed and earlier he'd only cried a few tears. I had no idea how he was doing it. I'd been able to put on a tough face when telling the Pharaoh goodbye, but I could feel traitorous tears prickling at the corners of my eyes as it finally began to sink in – the Pharaoh was gone. How could Yugi be so tough?
It was odd to think now that, when we'd first met each other, all I'd tried to do was make Yug more tough. At least, that's how I liked to whitewash it in my own head – really, I knew that I had bullied him with little mercy. I'd wanted to toughen him up, but I went about it in the completely wrong way. Yugi being himself had forgiven me almost instantly for the way Tristan and I used to treat him, but I hadn't really ever forgiven myself. I didn't think much about that anymore, but when I did the thoughts sent pangs of guilt and shame through me so strong that it made me sick. We'd thought he needed to be more manly, stronger – but he was able to stand up for us, his tormenters, against the most violent guy in the entire school. That took a kind of strength that I could barely begin to understand.
Maybe he'd learned that from the Pharaoh. Even before we'd discovered that the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle was an ancient Egyptian king, there'd been a regal forcefulness in his manner and his expression that had been hard to miss. I'm still not sure how it took us so long to realize the Pharaoh's presence – completely ignoring the change in height when the Pharaoh took over, the stern, forceful voice should have been a dead giveaway. The Pharaoh had fearlessly fought and lead us through some of the craziest parts of our lives. And he'd possessed unbelievable power, controlling the almighty God cards with respect but also with great confidence. Heck, his name by itself was powerful enough to defeat possibly the most evil being in the universe. Having the Pharaoh within his mind for all of those years must have made Yugi strong.
But…Yugi hadn't met the Pharaoh until after he stood up for me and Tristan. He wouldn't have been able to even solve the puzzle until I returned the final piece after I'd thrown into the lake. Seeing that little guy who hated fighting stand up for us had impressed me so much that I felt like I owed him something – besides, it was my fault that the piece had gotten 'lost' anyway. It was worth the hours of searching and the cold I picked up while in the water to see the joy on Yugi's face when he'd finished the puzzle – and when I'd told him we were friends.
He also was strong enough to face Marik alone when he'd had me under mind control. Thinking about that fight still sent a chill down my spine. It was hard to tell which was worse – feeling completely helpless and unaware of what was happening, or being aware of Yugi's fear and pain but being unable to do anything about it. I'd had to fight with everything I had before I finally broke free, and it had almost been too late. I'd risked my life, but Yugi had done the same for me and there was no way I'd betray our trust and friendship by letting him die – even if he did make the decision. That made me begin to understand just how important Yug was in the bonds of our friendship – and the way we'd all nearly fallen apart when his soul was taken away by Dartz's goons drove the point home.
It had given us all a shock – but no one suffered quite as much as the Pharaoh. I knew Yug depended on him a lot, but none of us realized how much we'd depended on him or that the Pharaoh needed him just as much. Like the Pharaoh taught Yugi to be brave, Yugi had taught the Pharaoh how to be a friend. He'd learned quickly – in time, we'd almost forgotten that he was this all-powerful spirit from some ancient puzzle with magical powers. Instead, he was our friend, someone who would do anything for us no matter the risk, no matter the physical pain. He hadn't hesitated, during Battle City to shield Mai and me from Marik's attack when we were about to be barbequed. I'd been sure we were going to be goners, when I'd heard the Pharaoh yell in pain and looked back to see his eyes wide and his teeth gritted as he took the blow for us. Watching him fall made the blood boil in my veins from anger, and I knew that I'd be dead before I let his sacrifice be for nothing. That kind of sacrifice made him seem untouchable, invincible – and then Yug had been taken from us and the Pharaoh had fallen completely apart.
They were both my friends, and I would die for my friends – but the two of them had a bond that was difficult for me to understand. When Yugi had been taken away, I'd tried to shake the Pharaoh out of his depression – but I'd known even at the time that it wasn't going to work. It was like trying to knock Yugi back to his senses after he forfeited the duel with Kaiba on Pegasus' island; force wasn't going to work. They'd had to come to terms with what they were going through on their own, and it made their bond even stronger.
Maybe that's what had made Yugi so tough during the Ceremonial Duel. Sure, I realized how important the duel was, but watching the two of them – the top duelists in the world – duel each other gave me a thrill. My best friend was dueling my other best friend in the duel of the century. Of course, I was rooting for Yug, but I was captivated by watching the Pharaoh duel as well. He was my idol, my role model, and he'd taught me everything about dueling. Yugi had helped me with my cards, but the way the Pharaoh though showed me how to use them. I was in awe as I watched them duel up until the last attack, and then I saw Yugi's shoulders shake and I realized what his victory really meant. The Pharaoh was leaving for good.
I'd always prided myself on being strong, but the Pharaoh's leaving hurt more than I thought possible. How was Yugi handling it like he did? I'd always felt strong, but when I faced their combined strength, I felt like a complete weakling.
"Joey? Earth to Joey! Are you okay?"
I shook myself and noticed that Yugi had walked over to me and was tapping my shoulder. "I guess so, Yug. It's just a lot to take in."
"Yeah, it is." He looked at me quizzically. "Something else is bothering you."
I sighed, "I just hate being weak."
Yugi's eyebrows furrowed. "Weak? Why do you think you're weak?"
"Why am I taking this so hard, then?"
"You think that being sad makes you weak?" Yugi shook his head, "It doesn't, Joey – it makes you a better person. Besides, you're one of the least weak people I know."
"You're just tryin' to make me feel better."
"No, I'm not. Think about it: you worked hard to save Serenity and get her the money she needed for her operation by dueling when you didn't know anything about it. You risked your life to save my cards when I was gullible enough to give them to Weevil. You put yourself in harm's way to save Mai even when you had been arguing. And you managed to fight off Marik's mind control in time to save me from drowning."
I winced, "Only after you managed to break me out of it."
"Which I wouldn't have been able to if you hadn't been fighting it from the inside. You were strong enough to break free – our friendship was strong enough." He cleared his throat, and his voice was strained as he continued, "Thanks, Joey."
I look down at him, confused. "For what?"
Yugi was still smiling, but for the first time I could see the tears of grief beginning to pool in his eyes. "For what you said to the Pharaoh. I was just about to lose it when I heard you say that everything he'd given us would remain in our hearts. I needed to hear that. Thanks for being my friend and sticking with me through everything. I don't know what I would have done without our friendship to keep me strong."
Strong. My friendship made him strong. I paused to wipe some sand out of my eye. Yugi smiled and turned away to let me do it. He understood.
"You ready to catch up now?" He asked when I had finished.
"Yeah, better get there before they eat it all."
Yugi laughed, "Come on, let's go."
We began sprinting towards the others.
Our friendship was strong enough to get us through everything that we'd been through, now it would have to be strong enough to continue on without the Pharaoh. We could do it.
When we were together, anything was possible.
A/N: I was really nervous about this one. I hope it sounded like Joey - I figured that the strength of the friendship between him and Yugi would help him say goodbye to the Pharaoh...here's hoping it sounded right!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please press that little button at the bottom and review. I want to hear what you think, and I want to know which perspective you'd like to hear next! Again, Yugi and Yami are saved for the end, but the order of the other characters are up for grabs.
Please review! :)
