Chapter 4 - Home, reprise

Yuugi's head was throbbing, his eyes beginning to ache. The harsh desert heat made the horizon steam and shimmer—obscuring the silhouette of their distant camp site in a thick layer of angry molten shadows.

Professor Hopkins' frown deepened as he watched Yuugi stumble through the sand. He had gone hours without speaking, without stopping—barely drinking any water. And as steadfast as his heart may have been, his small body was clearly hovering on the brink of collapse.

"Yuugi!" He called. "Yuugi—I'm sorry, but…it—it may be time to call it off for the day."

For a moment he thought that Yuugi had not heard him. He continued starring pointedly into the distance, swaying slightly, frowning. When he did finally reply, his words were nearly small enough to vanish into the emptiness that stretched out around them.

"I'm not going back without him."

Professor Hopkins sighed, approaching him gingerly. "Yuugi…you know I want to find your grandfather just as much as you do, but you can't keep going on like this. You need to rest—and return to school. If something were to happen to you too I would never forgive myself…."

Yuugi shook his head, at first slowly and then furiously. His eyes swelled and his lips trembled. "No—I'm not giving up. Not now." He sank to his hands and knees, tears beginning to mingle with the sweat dripping down his chin. "I know that you're trying to help, b-but you don't understand. I-I can't go back! Not like this…" He buried his hands in the sand and balled them into fists. "I can't…" Not back to a world of brutish faces and broken promises, not back to a world that had fallen apart when he was only just beginning to learn how to piece it together. Not without grandpa.

Professor Hopkins knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Yuugi. But it's for the best this way. We'll send out a proper search party, I promise. I think it's time for you to go back home."

"No." Yuugi sobbed. "He…he is my home."

Yuugi's voice began to crack, and the surface of the earth seemed to break as well. His shoulders shook and the ground began to shake harder.

"W-what's going on?" Yuugi stammered and scrambled to his feet.

"I'm afraid I don't know…"

The two only had time to exchange one frantic, fleeting glance before the earth gave way completely and Yuugi disappeared into a world of utter darkness.

-xxx-

"P-professor Hopkins?" Yuugi rubbed his forehead, stumbled to his feet, and opened his eyes.

His eyes, however, had already been open.

Yuugi was engulfed in suffocating blackness—shadow that seemed to percolate through his skin and smother every kind or hopeful thought.

"Is anyone there? Hello?" His voice bounced off cold, cavernous walls—then crashed down around him like a sheet of ice. He shivered. "Where am I?"

"Somewhere you most certainly do not belong."

Yuugi felt as if a sizzling fist had collided with his stomach. His eardrums throbbed crimson.

"Who's there?"

A low, velvety chuckle. A slick glimmer of gold that made Yuugi feel as though he had been sliced down the center.

"H-hello? Who are you?"

The air sizzled, then erupted in a flash of searing light—revealing a figure bearing sweeping white robes, an entire armory's worth of gold, and a paralyzing—murderous—grin.

"I can assure you that it is in your best interest not to know the answer to that question."

Yuugi's heart clawed at the inside of his ribcage, all the air seeped out of his lungs. But his feet remained rooted to the ground. There was something in this figure—a being who seemed to be stranded halfway between humanity and this demonic world crafted entirely out of nightmares—that struck him as oddly familiar.

"D-Do you know where my grandpa is?"

The spirit paused, somewhat taken aback. "Your what?"

There was a loud gasp behind them, briefly expunging the darkness with the uninhibited lavender sparkle of springtime. A pair of large, twinkling eyes fluttered in the darkness.

"That old man is your grandfather?!"

"Uh…yeah!" Yuugi's eyes darted from one shadowy face to another—one sinister and severe, the other subtle and soft. "Has he…been here? I'm sorry for the inconvenience—I've just been out looking for him and I kind of…well…fell in."

Seth turned to the girl beside him. "And I presume that I have you to blame for this?"

"Hey—it wasn't me! And besides, everybody knows it's your fault that the old guy fell in in the first place," she giggled. "Master Mahaad told us all about it!"

"So, that's how he chose to tell it," he seethed.

"You know that Master doesn't lie or exaggerate—unlike some people I know…"

"Um…excuse me? I…was—can you tell me where my grandpa is?"

Seth's eyes flickered shut, and when he opened them again they seemed to brim with enough fire and odium to reduce his soul to ash. He cracked his knuckles. "I'm afraid that will not be possible."

"W-what do you mean?" Yuugi's voice was beginning to break again. For a moment he was back on the basketball court, crumpled in a corner, tensing up in anticipation of the blows—boxing his ears to drown out the jeering voices. He was curled up in a ball on the floor of the game shop, furiously pretending that if he tried hard enough he could fit the pieces of his grandpa's card back together and everything would go back to the way it had been before (before what, he wasn't entirely sure). The world was the silence at the bottom of a well, the loneliness that hung in the air at midnight, the fear that flashes through the body right before sleep—the fear of never waking up.

"I—you—I have to find him so we can go home!"

The girl frowned. "Sorry—you're new so you probably don't understand. No one leaves here."

All the blood drained to Yuugi's ankles. He was having trouble breathing. "No one...?"

She shrugged and quirked her head to the side. "Well, no one ever has."

"But—no one—" Everything was sinking, swimming in endless, static, screaming darkness. Yuugi tried to speak several times, but could voice nothing but desperate, splintered sobs.

"Yuugi—is that you?"

"Grandpa!" Yuugi shouted blades and arrows into the shadows, but they only came crashing back down upon him. The girl looked on with pursed lips and a knitted brow. The man crossed his arms and smirked.

"Grandpa! Where are you?!" He collapsed—gasping—to his knees, straining his eyes to see through the darkness until they began to ache.

The air started to burn. Yuugi coughed and clutched his chest, but even as his vision was beginning to blur, he could still glimpse—just barely—the figure of his grandpa floating before him.

"Grandpa!" Yuugi rushed forward—but halted a step from his grandfather's embrace. His expression bore no warmth; his eyes were dark and vacant.

"…Grandpa? C'mon, let's go! We have to get out of here!" Yuugi began to tug at his arm, but recoiled instantly. His skin was cold and stiff.

"Grandpa!" Yuugi screamed and shuddered. "W-what happened?" He turned to the spirits beside him. "What did you do to him!"

"Your grandfather's soul got exactly what it deserved." A voice that could crush coal into diamonds, that could drain all the heat from the center of the earth, that could purge the sky of all its stars. "He should not have trespassed here."

Yuugi had spent years learning to recognize the voice of impending doom. And he had learned that, when faced with the churlish growl of boys with twice his muscle mass and half his empathy, the safest—the smartest—thing to do was turn around and run away as fast as his legs could carry him. But in that moment, trembling in the darkness, his heart beating nothing but cold water, all the lessons he had learned were swept away. Yuugi turned around.

"Let him go—please."

The spirit's voice curled like a billow of smoke. "Your grandfather must pay the price for his impudence. I have no reason to free him until he has learned to respect the sacred ground that he has defiled."

Yuugi shuddered down to his bone marrow. "W-whatever he did I'm sure he didn't mean it! Grandpa would never hurt anyone on purpose."

"He dishonored my sanctuary," a smirk as slick as oil. "And now, so have you. I gave your grandfather the opportunity to win his freedom—and he lost. Maybe you'd like to see if you can succeed where he couldn't—to play a game with me—and try to save his soul?" He chuckled. "That is, if you've got the guts to face me."

Yuugi felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, slowly sliding forward, beckoned by the abrupt and infinite fall. "A…game? What do I have to do?"

The spirit slid closer. Yuugi caught a faint glimmer of his twisted smile, a pair of volcanic eyes. "Just follow directions—and hope that your grandfather's heart is really as pure as you think."

A crack split the air, and Sugoruko crumpled to the floor.

"W-where am I?" He coughed, rubbing his eyes. "What—Yuugi!"

Yuugi rushed to his side. "Grandpa! Are you okay?"

"Yuugi—what are you doing? You shouldn't be here! It's dangerous!"

"But I'm here to save you…"

He shook his head. "Yuugi, you should not have come here…"

Seth sighed. "As touching as this reunion is, shouldn't we proceed with the trial?" His voice boiled with avarice.

"Trial…I thought it was a game?"

"Games can come in many forms. We will play a shadow game—a game of the heart!"

"I don't understand."

He chuckled. "You will. Priestess and Sorcerer—bring in the scale."

They were joined by two stiff and somber-faced spirits—a man and a woman—bearing a large golden scale between them. Yuugi struggled to keep himself from dissolving under the weight of their scrutiny.

"Now, stranger—what do you know about the afterlife?"

Yuugi shuddered. "I don't know—I don't think I know anything…"

"Anything," the spirit huffed. "Then….allow me to enlighten you."

All that had been Yuugi was suddenly lost. The contents of his soul were stripped from his body. Every hope, fear, even his most soft and tender secrets—were ripped out of his bones, sheared off his skin, boiled out of his blood—leaving him scarcely more than a shadow.

Yuugi clutched his chest, biting back tears as the most searing emptiness he had ever felt pounded inside him where his heart had once been.

"W-what's happening?" Yuugi chocked on the silence and sadness that was welling up in his stomach. "Why does it hurt so much?"

The spirit leered down at him. "The heart is the bearer of all of life's actions—each misdeed, every impure thought or action—adds to its weight. In order to judge the virtue of your soul, we must judge the weight of your heart!" He grinned. "You're going to have to hold out better than that—if your heart's really in this game, heh."

The spirit stepped aside, and Yuugi could see that his side of the scale was dripping with blood. His own heart—still raw and red—was quivering on the plate.

"I will judge which one of you is worthy of freedom by weighing your hearts against each other. Whosever's is lighter can leave. The other will be trapped here—indefinitely."

The sound of ripping flesh, and Sugoruko groaned as his heart appeared on the opposite side of the scale.

The balance of the scale oscillated wildly for several moments, making the air sticky with the scent of molten metal. Yuugi could feel his stomach lurch and his vision darken and blur—the heart, after all, can only remain outside of the body for so long until serious medical attention is—if not necessary—highly recommended. And yet, he could not look away—not from his heart glistening in the festering darkness, not from the blazing eyes of the manic spirit.

The scale began to steady and they all crept closer—all except the one that the Pharaoh had called Priestess. She remained behind—alone—and when the eyes of all others were fixed on the thick blood and supple flesh of the two captive hearts, she was watching Yuugi.

Yuugi knew that what little was left of his heart would surely shatter if he allowed himself to believe—even for a moment—that his grandpa would be left to wander this dark and desolate place for eternity. But what could he do? The balance of the scales was out of his control.

Or was it? Yuugi tried to recall what the spirit had said: Each misdeed—every impure thought or action—weighs it down.

The sides of the scale were levelling out. The spirits' eyes were growing larger, sharper. Grandpa was almost completely still, turning to stone on the ground. And Yuugi was seeing—breathing—nothing but black. He shut his eyes, let the darkness overtake him, and began to scream.

"You're nothing but a pathetic loser! You're nothing compared to me! You—why can't you act like a normal kid?! Stop wasting time on these stupid things that don't matter!"

The spirits gawked at him. Yuugi balled his fists tight enough to slice open his palms but didn't stop screaming.

"You're never going to fit in with us! No one even likes you—they all wish that you'd just go away! And no one's ever going to like you! No one—no one's ever going to understand you! And why—why should they bother?! You're pathetic and stupid and useless and you're always going to be alone! Always…no matter what! You're always going to be…alone…"

Yuugi sank with his side of the scale, chocking on his brittle sobs. His own words were coming to skewer him, hungering to burn him alive. And the more he spoke the stronger they became and they were feeding off each other and feeding off him and tearing him apart until he was hollow and hopeless and black.

"No one else is like this! Why can't you just be normal?! You're so weak—so worthless! Why can't you just fit in with everyone else?! Why is it so hard for you to just belong?! No one else makes it so hard! This is all your fault! Just be like them. Don't act like such a baby. You're—you're such a disappointment…"

His heart hit the floor.

A familiar warm liquid surged through his chest; the old weight returned. Yuugi gasped, savoring the air that rushed into his lungs, the blood, the supple warmth of his soul. He had given up trying to keep from crying, but he savored the tears now, too—proof that he was—remarkably—still alive.

He knelt at grandpa's side, shaking his shoulder. "Grandpa…grandpa!"

Sugoruko's eyes fluttered open. He groaned and kneaded the ache in his chest. "Yuugi—what happened?"

"Your grandson won you your freedom—and made himself my prisoner. Priest, return him."

There was a blast of light and sound. The scale vanished and—just as Yuugi was reaching to embrace him—grandpa disappeared as well.

"G-grandpa!" Yuugi screamed, clawing at the vacant air. "W-where did he go? What did you do to him?" He turned to the spirits—trying to make his eyes flash crimson and lightning.

"I've returned him to the presence of his companion. I was under the impression that that was what you wanted."

"It is, but…" Yuugi clutched his knees to his chest. "You—I-I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. And—and now I'm never going to see him again…Why-how can you be so cruel?"

"Quite easily."

Yuugi shivered. "And I'm going to be here…forever?" He looked from face to unfamiliar face, trying not to feel so cold—so alone.

Only the day before he had roamed through a world of puzzles and imagination and color, a world that glistened with precious memories and tender promises of a bright and sunny future. And what did he have now? His future was nothing but a starless night, a never-ending ache.

"Forever—or until I decide to kill you." Seth's grin reminded Yuugi of the point of a knife. "If you value your life, I suggest staying out of my way."

Mahaad rolled his eyes. "It would do you well not to take anything Seth says too seriously. He speaks entirely in hot air and empty threats."

Seth glared at him. "You don't find my threats nearly so empty once you are on the receiving end of one of them…"

"I capitulate to your childish demands only in a desperate attempt to evade your famous tantrums. Only the Gods know the number of headaches I've had to endure on your account…"

Mana tapped Yuugi on the shoulder, making him jump. "Whoops—sorry! Just ignore these guys. They'll never pick on you too hard so long as they have each other to argue with. C'mon—I'll show you around!"

"Uh—thanks…" Yuugi staggered to his feet and trailed after her down the hall.

"They're really not so bad once you get to know them. They just like to argue—I guess because there's nothing else to do. It does get pretty boring around here. But hey, maybe that'll change now that you'll here! And at least the Pharaoh didn't set you on fire. He, uh, likes to do that—a lot."

Yuugi grimaced. "Yeah, there's always that…"

Mana halted and spun around, eyes sparkling. "I know—we'll teach you magic!"

"Wh—magic?"

"Yeah! We can all do magic! Well—" her shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm still learning, but Master Mahaad is a great teacher and he says I'll be great someday! Here—look!" She flourished her staff with a grin—a grin which fell quickly when a large tiger salamander erupted out of the end and scampered into the shadows.

"Oh! That's pretty cool."

Mana sighed and shrugged. "It was supposed to be a real tiger. Ah well—at least it wasn't another flock of flamingos. Priest Seth hated those. I guess there's nothing to do but practice more. Not like I don't have plenty of time to figure it out." She turned back to him. "That sure was weird what you did back there. I thought for sure that your heart would be lighter—but then you started yelling like that…"

"Yeah, well—"

"Wait!" She leaned closer to him. "What's that stuff on your face?"

"Wh—"

She dabbed a fingertip against his cheek. "Your eyes are leaking?"

"My—oh!" Yuugi turned away. "I guess I must have been crying…"

Mana wrinkled her nose. "Crying? That means that…you're sad…right?"

"Well, yeah…" Yuugi gazed up at her cautiously. "Do you….not know what crying is?"

Mana examined the tear glistening on her finger. "I guess I forgot."

"You don't remember ever being sad?"

"I don't think so…"

Yuugi sighed. "Well, you're not missing much. It's not very pleasant."

Mana shrugged. "I guess. But then again—I don't really remember what it feels like to be happy, either. It's all kind of—foggy."

Yuugi frowned. "I still don't understand—where exactly where am I? And who are you?"

"Oh!" Mana started. "I guess we never did get around to telling you. We're the Pharaoh's court—or—what's left of it anyway. I'm Mana. The guys you met earlier were Master Mahaad and Priest Seth, and Priestess Isis. And the big scary one is the Pharaoh. We, uh, don't remember what his name is…"

A faint point of light suddenly appeared in the back of Yuugi's mind, illuminating a distant memory. "The Nameless Pharaoh…the one who lost his memories…"

Mana grinned. "That's the one! But…how do you know about him?"

"Grandpa told me the story. He came looking for the pharaoh's puzzle."

Mana's lips twisted as a new thought began to turn in her mind. She smiled. It was a little delicate, a little dangerous—but altogether far too perfect and precise to be anything but the absolute truth. "You—you must be the one!" She leapt towards him, eyes and smile sparkling. "You're here to solve the puzzle! To break the spell! This is amazing!"

"I—I'm not sure…"

"But of course you are!" She twirled and hopped around Yuugi too quickly for him to follow. Mana moved like a babbling brook—as if her body were rendered in soft summer breezes and shooting stars instead of flesh and bone. "Just wait till I tell everyone! They'll be so excited!"

"Uh…" Yuugi blushed. "I'm not even that good at solving puzzles. I'd hate to let anybody down…"

She shook her head. "Nah, don't worry about it! I might not be as good at magic as the others, but…" She grinned and poked Yuugi on the nose. "I have a good feeling about you. Hey, what's your name anyway?"

"Yuugi."

"Well, Yuugi—I know you don't really want to be here, but I hope—I hope that we can be friends."

Yuugi smiled. How funny it was that it was in this tragic and dying place that he felt—for the first time—a faint glimmer of something warmer and more alive and more complete than he had ever felt above the ground.

-xxx-

"Once you two have completed your bickering, you may wish to take a moment to consider the significance of what has just transpired before you."

Seth and Mahaad turned to Isis, mouths hanging open. The Pharaoh eyed her sharply. No one could remember the last time they had heard her speak.

"What do you mean, Priestess?"

"Does anyone know how that boy managed to break through our defenses?"

Seth and Mahaad pointed accusing fingers at each other, but Isis closed her eyes and shook her head. "Can none of you recall the series of enchantments we performed to seal off the entrance?"

They furrowed their brows and chewed their lips.

"Something about—"

"—only someone who is pure of heart—"

"—is capable of entering."

She nodded. "And do you not notice the contradiction: that the heart of the one capable of breaking through our enchantments is judged too dark to earn him his freedom?"

Mahaad's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying?"

"That he cheated." Seth huffed.

"Indeed. The boy intentionally weighed down his heart, so that his grandfather might be freed."

The Pharaoh, who had been scowling into the darkness, turned to her sharply. "Has your necklace given you any insight into this?"

She shook her head, looked away. "I have not dared to consult the Millennium Necklace in several thousands of years. I have had no vision pertaining to this boy—only my own feelings."

"Do you—"

"—might he be—"

"The one to break the spell?"

The four exchanged a wide-eyed glance, all shivering slightly as a wave of unfamiliar emotion—hope—rushed over them. They glanced down the hall, just in time to hear Yuugi let out a shriek as a trumpeting elephant erupted from the end of Mana's staff and began to chase him across the chamber.