Paladin: Oi! I updated! I'm so happy.

Ira: What's up?

Paladin: Where have you been? It's been ages since I saw you! I need my evil inspiration, Ira!

Ira: (shrugs) Around.

Paladin: Well, now you've gone and done it! I've had to write this chapter all by myself. I hate this chapter, and I hate the next one too, but it was all I could come up with, so please forgive the two years I've taken to finally do this and enjoy! I am trying to finish up everything before I start college Aug. 28(wow, has these stories really taken me through high school?)and I've finally started the revising of ASTAE. I'm done with up to ch. 2, but now I'm thinking I have to rewrite the whole thing...well, we'll see!

The rating may go up on this one, yea, in fact, I'm going to up it just in case.

This chapter is really bad, but if you'll hang in there, the ending to this story is really a happy one. I just thought I'd give little Yugi a hard time along the way.

Thanks everybody!

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The Monkey's Paw

Chapter 3:Wish Two: Don't Blurt

"Here, I'll prove it." Yugi said, grabbing the paw out of his yami's hands. "I wish that Yami's feeling for me would go away." This time, the second finger moved downward. Yami gasped, but his time Yugi held on to it. He looked into Yami's eyes, but, instead of the hurt he had seen there earlier changing to something lighter, he watched as his yami's eyes grew cold and hard.

He had time to think -oh, no- before Yami actually backhanded him in the face.

"You dare to look me in the face? You're either really stupid or really brave, Yugi, but either way, you'll still end up with the same fate." He said bitterly as he stood, dragging Yugi up behind him.

"Yami! What are you doing?" Yugi said, eyes watering and tasting blood.

He didn't answer. Instead, he growled low in his throat and pushed him to the floor. Leaning down, he grabbed the front of Yugi's shirt, pulling him up and into his face. "You are nothing but my pathetic hikari, who must follow my every demand, right?" Yugi, not knowing what else to do, nodded painfully. "What?" Yami yelled, giving him a shake and making Yugi whimper.

"Yes, Yami." he whispered. Yami smirked, then without warning, punched his little hikari, sending the side of his head into the hard wood of his bed post, knocking him unconscious.

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Yugi awoke to a dull throb in his head. He groaned, rolling onto his side on the hard floor. His body was stiff and he ached. he lay for a minute just staring at a pool of bright sunshine on the floor in front of his face. He gradually became aware of laying on a hard wood floor. He frowned, his room had carpet, the wall he lay facing was white,his as supposed to be a light blue.

Yugi slowly sat up, looking around. The walls were cracked and dirty, the floor was scuffed, and the small bed sagged with an invisible weight. Yugi crawled into the small bathroom attached to his room. The tiles were old, some were chipped, and there was blood. Not a lot, but some dark stains littered the floor. He pulled himself up sing the sink and peered into the cracked mirror.

His face was a bit swollen and there was a knot on the side of his head. He sighed and hung his head. He seemed to go from bad to worse. Why can't I think these things through before I open my big mouth? -Because you don't think what you're saying is all that bad, obviously.- Now Yami hates me! Next wish I will not speak until I know what I'm saying. -You think that, but you know you won't.-

Suddenly, Yugi realized he was talking to himself, and another little part of his mind was answering him back. Am I going crazy? Yugi sighed when nothing answered him, and looked back up into the mirror, eyes determined. Then they widened dramatically as he remembered...

Where is the paw?

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(Yugi!) Yugi winced, Yami's tone was that of when he was just about to clobber someone in a duel.

((Yes, Yami?)) he asked, falling to his knees on his bedroom floor, looking under the bed.

(Get down here now, I've decided to go to school today.) School?

((But, I--)) Yugi started, but was cut off by Yami. (NOW!) he practically roared, giving Yugi another splitting headache. A little frightened, he walked timidly down the stairs to find an impatient Yami standing in the entrance hall.

"Where have you been!" he screamed, which was obviously not at all like his dark. Yugi opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted once again by a knock on the door.

Yami whirled around and threw the door open. Seto Kaiba and Ryou's yami stood on his doorstep.

"Finally, what took you two so damn long?" He asked as he grabbed Yugi's arm and dragged him outside behind him.

"Business..." Kaiba grinned, glancing at Joey, who tensed, but didn't move.

"Next time, be on time." Yami said, narrowing his eyes. Yugi walked with Joey and Ryou. Joey looked bad enough with his pale skin and feverish eyes, but Ryou looked like death warmed over. His skin was almost as white as his hair and there was dark marks under his eyes. He kept his gaze on the ground. Joey, every now and then, would look up, glaring at Kaiba's back with some of the fire Yugi remembered him to have, then, as if he realized what he was doing, would lower his gaze quickly, looking submissive once more. Yugi was confused by all of this. How could his wish for Yami not to feel for him anymore affect everyone?

Yugi looked around him at the city they passed. It was devastated. Yugi stared open-mouthed at the crumbling buildings and people scurrying around as if they were afraid someone was going to jump at them and yell. Some teenagers stood grouped around the corner of the street. They caught sight of the group coming towards them and quickly (though casually) crossed the street, earning a smirk from Bakura.

The dark sky suddenly opened and it started to drizzle. The puzzle around Yami's neck started to glow softly, and the rain stopped. They reached the school building as Yugi was still trying to understand how he did that.

"Yami, lets switch for the night." Bakura said.

Yugi didn't know what he was talking about, but fear stabbed into him when Yami shrugged and entered the building.

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Yugi really didn't like where he was. It was dark. Very dark. He couldn't see anything and was finding it hard to breathe as claustrophobia took over. He sat on the floor, leaning next to the wall, concentrating on slowing his breathing. He could hear Joey stumbling on something across the room, then there was a 'swish' and the room suddenly changed from pitch black to gray. Joey had opened a blind that hid the window.

"Thanks, Joey." Yugi said, immediately finding it easier to breathe.

"Welcome. Are you okay now?"

"Yes." Silence ruled for a while. Yugi studied what he could see of Joey. He looked sick. It might be a trick of the light, but Yugi doubted it. Then, Yugi remembered the paw.

"Joey." he said, causing his friend to look at him. "This is going to sound strange, but have you seen an old artifact that belonged to my grandfather? It looks like an old dried out paw."

"Why would you want something that belonged to your grandfather? You hated him." Yugi opened his mouth to argue, but realized he could have in this...time...dimension...whatever it was, and closed it again. he waited for Joey to continue and when he didn't asked again. "Please, Joey, this is important to me."

"Yugi--" he felt his way across the room to where Yugi sat, grabbing his shoulders in an almost painful grip and forcing him to look him in the eye. "--please, don't lose it! You're the only thing that is keeping me sane right now. I don't know exactly what they did to him, but they've already broken Ryou, please don't let them get to you too!" he begged. Yugi didn't have to ask who 'they' were.

"Joey, I'm not losing it - I just really need to know where this thing is!" Joey sighed, releasing his shoulders and making his way back over under the window.

"I haven't seen it, Yugi."

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Yugi shifted uncomfortably. The floor and wall were getting cold. Joey slept across from him on the floor, his back to his friend. Yugi had worried himself into depression, the gloom around him not helping any. He squinted when the door flew open and Ryou stumbled in. He lay where he fell, not making a sound, not moving.

Yugi crawled over to his fallen friend. He touched the back of his neck gently, whispering his name. Ryou didn't respond. He gathered him up, brushing his silver hair back from his pale face. He half whimpered, his brown eyes flew open, saw it was Yugi that held him and leaned into him. He was so cold.

"Ryou, are you alright?" It was obvious he wasn't, but he asked anyway. "N..no."

"Tell me." Ryou shook his head. Yugi sighed slightly, beginning to rub small circles in Ryou's back.

Soon Yugi felt the tension melt out of his body, his eyes were closed. He was about to fall asleep. Yugi put his mouth to his ear, and, feeling incredibly selfish, whispered, "Ryou." Ryou stirred but didn't reply. "Have you seen a monkey's paw anywhere?"

Silence met him, Ryou lay still. Yugi had just decided he had fallen asleep when Ryou replied. "Monkey's paw? Yeah...I guess I have."

"Where? Ryou, this is very important."

"At my house, this morning. I think I saw it in Bakura's room..." Yugi relaxed a lot, but then another thought caused him to stop short. Ryou fell asleep as Yugi voiced his question.

"How am I supposed to get there?"

"They are switching us for the night." Yugi jumped as Joey's voice cut through the quiet.

"What do you mean?"

"They switched us for a night. Bakura always ends up with you, Yugi." Yugi frowned. His way out of here lay in the most dangerous place...

Ryou moaned and Yugi tightened his grip on him. You have to set things right, if that means facing Bakura, so be it.

All his courage swiftly abandoned him, however, when the door opened again.

Paladin: Well, there it is. I hate it, but oh well.

Ira: It's not that bad...not really.

Paladin: (bursts into tears) I hate it!

Ira: (sighs) Please review and thank you for reading!