Chapter 4: The Travel

Yami stood, a determined expression on his face as he faced the wall. Around his neck hung the Millennium Puzzle; in his hand was the Millennium Rod. It was the moment of truth. Whether or not he would actually be able to see Yugi again depended on this exact moment. He had been trying for the past week, every attempt ending in a complete failure. Yugi had said that he would get it eventually, but it was obvious for Atem to see exactly how upset Yugi actually was.

The pharaoh took a deep breath, held it for a couple seconds, then exhaled slowly. 'This is it,' he thought. "Millennium Items!" he said loudly. "I command you! Combine your powers together. Allow me to transfer my body and soul to the future!"

The two items glowed brighter than before as Yami spoke. He paused only to think, 'Looking good. Here I go,' then yelled, "Now! Take me to Yugi's side without fail!"

The bright light became even more intense and in the midst of all the white…everything went black…

***

Yugi sat at his desk at school and stared off into space. It was the end of the school day, but he was waiting for Joey and Tristan to finish their cleaning assignment. Téa had already left, saying she had some important things at home to take care of.

Today was the day that Yami was supposed to try to come forward in time…again. The pharaoh had been trying endlessly without success, only barely mustering up the energy at the end of the day to visit Yugi in his dreams. Of course, Yugi knew that there was always the chance it would fail again, but Yami had told him not to give up, and as far as he knew (at least he thought so) "give up" was not in his mental dictionary.

He looked up as Joey walked back into the classroom, followed closely by Tristan. "Hey, Yuge," Joey said. "What are you still doing here?"

Yugi shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry to get home, so I thought I would wait for you guys," he said.

"Wanna go to the arcade?" Tristan asked. "I challenge Joey to a duel!"

Yugi shrugged again, Joey nodded. "Sounds good to me," he blond said. "But I'm gonna cream you like corn!" (get it, creamed corn? Lol)

The three of them left school and headed to the arcade. Joey and Tristan were taking bets on which one of them would win their virtual duel. Yugi walked behind them, his eyes to the ground. Even if Yami was able to make his way back, would he be okay? Yugi remembered how drained his friend had looked when he came to talk to him every night. The effort of trying to maintain the Items at such a distance with such little energy was definitely taking its toll. So what if the strain of trying to maintain the Millennium Items he was using drained him of entirely everything? If that happened…would he wake up? Yugi sighed, causing his friends to look back at him.

What's up, Yuge?" Tristan asked.

Yugi looked up surprised. "Oh, sorry guys."

"Are you okay, little buddy?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yugi told them. "I think I'm going to head home, guys."

"Uh, sure," Tristan said, a little confused.

Joey nodded. "Sure thing, Yuge! See ya tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Yugi said, giving his friends a quick wave before running in the opposite direction.

Tristan turned to Joey. "I thought he wasn't in a hurry to get home."

"He probably had the pharaoh on the mind. Poor guy. Yami was his best friend."

"Well, what are we then? Tristan asked, beginning to walk again. "Chopped liver?"

Joey looked up at the sky. "Give it a rest, Tristan. Whenever something happens to us, Yuge is always there to help us get through. Now it's our turn. We have to be there for Yugi now more than ever. That's what friends do!"

***

Yami moaned and opened his eyes. 'Huh?' he thought. 'Where am I?' "Ow." He held his head as he sat up. For some reason it was spinning and throbbing badly, each pulse stronger than the last. 'What happened?' he wondered. After a couple seconds, everything came back to him. The last thing he remembered was standing in his room with the Millennium Items and calling on them to help him find his way to Yugi…

His thoughts stopped and he gasped in shock. There was no way! 'I'm in Yugi's room!'

His first thought was that it was a dream, but as he looked around, he began to doubt that. The blue walls, the bed on his left, the desk by the window…There was no mistaking it. Yami looked down at himself. He was still in his pharaoh attire, but that was to be expected. After all, changing times didn't magically change your clothes as well. But other than that, everything seemed…normal. And normal meant that he was 100% solid and not a spirit.

"I did it," he whispered.

"Yugi, is that you?" came Solomon Moto's voice. The old man opened the door and stopping in shock. "By the gods!" he exclaimed. "Atem! Is that you?"

Atem sighed in relief. "You can see me?"

"Of course I can! You're standing plain as day in my grandson's bedroom!"

"Thank goodness," Atem sighed. "Where is Yugi?"

"He should be home any minute now," Solomon answered, still slightly amazed.

As if on cue, the door downstairs opened and closed. "Grandpa? Are you home?" came Yugi's voice.

"Up here, Yugi!" Solomon called back.

He and Atem switched glances as they heard Yugi come upstairs. Solomon looked over when Yugi walked over to him. "Welcome home, Yugi."

"Hi, Grandpa," Yugi answered, the faintest hint of confusion in his voice. Yami smiled. When you spent years being as close as they were, you noticed these things more readily.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"Well," Solomon began. "I thought I heard something so I came to see what it was."

"Are you sure you're not imagining things?" Yugi asked, walking into his room.

"I don't think he is, Yugi," Atem said with a small smile.

Yugi swung his eyes from his grandpa and stared speechless. "Ya…mi?"

"You look surprised," Yami told him, amused.

Yugi continued to stare. "You did it..." Yami nodded. "All right!" Yugi jumped forward, dropping his backpack, and tackled Yami so hard that the pharaoh fell backwards and Yugi tumbled down on top of him.

Solomon laughed. "All right, you two. Some of us have a shop to run so I'll see you later." Yugi and Yami said nothing as Solomon turned and left.

The two on the floor hugged each other tightly, neither one really wanting to let go. Finally, Atem released his friend. "All right, Yugi. Time to get off."

Yugi ignored him and tightened his grip.

Yami laughed and gently pushed him away as he sat up. "Come on, Yugi."

Yugi's eyes shone happily. "You did it!" he said again.

"You already said that," Yami pointed out.

Yugi nodded. "I know, but I'm just so excited!"

Yami crossed his legs and smiled. "I told you I would find my way back to you somehow."

"It's just like a lost puppy," Yugi said with a smile.

Yami frowned. "I'm not a puppy, Yugi."

"Lighten up, it's a figure of speech." Yugi hesitantly crawled forward and sat on Yami's lap. The pharaoh didn't even flinch which Yugi took as a good sign, so the younger boy hugged Atem again. "I can't believe you're really here," he whispered.

Atem laid his head on Yugi's shoulder. "I know," he said. "But I am. And right now, that's the only thing in the world that matters to me."