Chapter 9

Familiar Face, New Enemy

Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.

Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.

One morning, Tiki knocked on Yugi's door. "You ready to go?"

Yugi called out, "In a minute! I just need to finish something."

As Tiki opened the door, they heard Solomon call out from outside, "Yugi, Tiki! Tea's here!"

Yugi started to frantically finish what he was doing. "Okay! Coming!"

Tiki sighed and shook her head. "The second you hear it's Tea, you go running." Yugi glared at her as she asked, "So what are you doing?"

She moved to the side and saw what Yugi was looking at in his desktop mirror: the Millennium Puzzle was now on a metal chain. Tiki raised her eyebrow. "What is that?"

Tima appeared next to her host and chuckled. Trying to keep the Puzzle safe?

Appearing as well, Yami "leaned" against Yugi and smirked. "Not half bad, aibou."

Yugi looked up at Yami. "Really? You don't think it's too flashy?"

Yami chuckled. "Actually, I don't think it's flashy enough! Try wearing a bracelet or something."

Yugi was surprised. "That wouldn't suit me at all!"

Tiki teased, "This coming from a guy who wears a leather collar every day."

Blushing at Tiki's tease, Yugi took his backpack and the siblings started to leave the room. Not being able to resist, Yami said, "Go. You know Tea's waiting."

Seeing Yugi freeze, Tima chuckled. Go show her how cool you are.

Yugi blushed. "What are you talking about?"

Tiki giggled and patted her brother's back. "Oh, like you don't think they haven't figured it out."

Wanting to escape, Yugi burst out of his room, almost knocking over his mother. As Tiki came out, their mother said, "Oh, so it was Tiki you were talking to."

Tiki nodded. "Of course, who else would he be talking to?"

Their mother said, "Well, it sounded like you two were talking but there were too many pauses in between to be a real conversation."

Tiki and Yugi knew they could not explain what was going on so they started to leave, saying goodbye. But they paused when Yami said, "Stick with me and I'll have Tea falling for you in no time!"

Tiki burst into a fit of giggles as Yugi said in a flustered tone, "Stop picking me, would ya?!"

Tima smiled. Yami's only trying to help.

Tiki nodded, still giggling. "If nothing else, this is very entertaining to me."

The siblings continued down the stairs, forgetting that their mother saw and heard the siblings' "one-sided" conversation. Once they made it outside, they were greeted by Tea. "Good morning, Yugi. Good morning, Tiki."

Tiki smiled. "Morning, Tea."

Yugi nodded. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Tea then noticed, "A chain?"

Yugi laughed and touched the Puzzle. "This is really important to Yami, my other self, so I want to make sure it doesn't get damaged."

Tiki nodded. "That and it's an excuse to wear something edgy."

Yugi gave Tiki a look before looking at Tea and noticing her looking at them with a puzzled look. "What's wrong, Tea?"

Tea woke up and smiled. "Nothing. Come on, we don't want to be late!"

The siblings nodded and the three headed out. As they walked, Tea asked, "Do you have some free time this Sunday, Yugi?"

Yugi peeked back. "Why?"

Tea smiled. "I don't have anything to do so…if you have time…want to go do something?" She kept walking and, upon hearing silence, looked back. "Is that okay?"

To her surprise, Yugi and Tiki were standing in front of a fortune teller station. Going up to them, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Yugi smiled. "I'm getting my fortune told!"

Tiki nodded and grinned. "He called us over and said he would tell us our future."

While Tea looked annoyed, she said nothing. The fortune teller, a man dressed in a black cloak with two gold chains and an Egyptian eye on the forehead that covered everything but half of his face and hands, started to study his crystal ball. Looking up, he said, "You have something quite magnificent around your neck…both of you."

Yugi and Tiki looked at their treasures. Seeing the Queen's Necklace, Tea scolded, "You know you can't have that showing at school."

Tiki blushed as the fortune teller held out his hand. "May I see them?"

Yugi shook his head. "No way! It's too important!"

Tiki nodded and covered her necklace. "You can study us all you want; just leave these out of this."

The fortune teller gave a very small smile. "It'll only be for a moment." As the siblings started to protest, the fortune teller explained, "I have studied countless rare treasures from around the world. If I were to study those, I may be able to determine what I'm looking for. Please…"

Taking a deep breath, Yugi said, "Only if it's just for a moment."

Tiki agreed and the siblings took off their treasures, giving them to the fortune teller. Holding both in his hands, he started to study them. "Incredible…these are unlike anything I've ever seen before."

Suddenly the fortune teller kicked the table, knocking the siblings down, and took off into the alley. Tea went to them. "Are you two all right?"

Yugi and Tiki quickly got to their feet and followed the fortune teller. Yugi called out, "Tea, go to school! We're going after him!"

Tea nodded. "I'll get the others!"

Tiki cursed. "I can't believe we fell of that!"

Yugi said, "We'll find him!"

As they turned a corner, they paused: the walls were littered with arrows. Tiki raised her eyebrow. "Well, this is suspicious."

Yugi agreed as they followed the arrows. "Why is he leading us somewhere?"

The siblings agreed that things were suspicious but they had to get the Puzzle and Necklace back so they continued to follow the arrows until they eventually came to an old warehouse. The two pushed the heavy door open and walked in, noticing the warehouse was littered with machinery. Taking a few steps in, Yugi called out, "Anyone here?"

Tiki yelled, "Give us back our Millennium Puzzle and Queen's Necklace!"

Suddenly there was a sharp chuckle. "Mutou Yugi…Mutou Tiki…"

Two lights came on. One showed the Millennium Puzzle's chain latched onto a steel peg, attached to a blue wall. One showed the Queen's Necklace being displayed on a mannequin's head, surrounded by candles and sitting on a one-legged table that was bolted to the floor. Tiki asked, "What is this?"

The voice called out, "You want me to give them back?"

Tiki yelled, "Damn straight!"

Yugi agreed. "Give them back!"

The voice said, "Mutou Tiki, the Queen's Necklace is yours." As Tiki went to get it, the voice continued, "If you want me to give back the Millennium Puzzle, defeat me in a duel."

All the lights turned on, blinding the siblings and revealing that the blue wall was the blue duelist section of a duel ring. Seeing the fortune teller, Yugi demanded, "Who are you?! Why are you forcing me to duel you?"

The fortune teller said, "There's no need for me to answer you. You have two options to choose: you accept the duel or you don't."

Far away, someone was looking through the fortune teller's eyes. Dressed in a similar fashion and holding a golden rod with an Egyptian eye in the center (a Millennium Item), the Egyptian chuckled. "So…that's Mutou Yugi…the one who defeated Pegasus and became the king of Duelist Kingdom. He doesn't look like much." Hardening his purple eyes, he peered through his blond bangs at the Millennium Puzzle and wondered, "Was it the power of the Millennium Puzzle and the 'other Yugi' who defeated Pegasus? Just who is residing in the Millennium Puzzle? Who is the identity of the 'other Yugi'? That I must know; if he is who I think he is …" his eyes turned to the Queen's Necklace, "…she is nearby. So…where are you…my love?"

As Yugi demanded to know why the fortune teller wanted the Millennium Puzzle, Tiki looked at mannequin's head and noticed that it was an exact replica of Tima's head and that the candles were surrounded by rose petals. As she took the necklace, she muttered, "If this was supposed to be romantic, someone failed."

Tima agreed. This is very unsettling.

Putting the necklace back on, she turned to look at the men as the fortune teller teased, "What will you do?"

Yugi sighed. "I get it. But you better keep your promise!"

The fortune teller nodded and turned, pausing at Tiki. "And you…put on the handcuffs."

Tiki raised her eyebrow until she peeked at the rose petals and saw they were covering a pair of handcuffs. "Forget it!"

Grabbing her wrist, the fortune teller started to put on the handcuffs on her, stunning Yugi. "Leave her out of this!"

Wrapping the handcuffs and Tiki's arms around the table's leg, the fortune teller coldly said, "I can't have her running off." He looked at Tiki and murmured, "You're too important to him."

Tiki backed up and told Yugi, "Forget about me! Just focus on the duel!"

Yugi nodded and looked at the Puzzle. Yami. Can you hear me?

Yami's voice sounded. Yugi.

Yugi sighed in relief. Good. I can still call to you.

Yami's voice sounded worried when he said, Don't! This time, you have to duel alone!

Yugi was confused. Alone? But why?

I sense something very strange…like someone is trying to see my true identity.

So you can't lend me your power, can you? When Yami confirmed, Yugi nodded. "All right. I'll fight for you. I'll get back the Millennium Puzzle!"

Yami ended the conversation with, I'm counting on you, aibou.

Hearing Yugi, Tiki assumed that Yami was not going to duel this time. Getting an idea, she contacted Tima. Hey. Are you feeling anything? Something must be wrong if Yami's not coming out.

Tima said, I feel scared…kind of like that girl on your show last night.

As Yugi and the fortune teller took their places, Tiki thought back: last night, she watched her favorite American crime drama, a show that focused on sexual-type crimes. Remembering the episode was about a stalker, she asked, You feel like someone's watching you?

Tima shuddered. Yes…

Feeling her uncomfortableness, Tiki focused on the duel, hoping that would help her hide. The fortune teller chuckled. "Good. You're ready."

The duel ring activated and the duel began. Yugi went first, playing Celtic Guardian (ATK 1400). In response, the fortune teller played a monster face down in defense mode. Looking at the fortune teller, Yugi said to himself, "I know I've heard that voice somewhere…"

The fortune teller calmly but firmly said, "Hey…it's your turn."

Yugi drew a card and saw the Celtic Guardian attack the defense monster. But as the monster was about to attack, the fortune teller smirked. "Well done."

The monster turned out to be a Cyper Pod (DEF 900). It activated its special ability, destroying itself and the Celtic Guardian. Another special ability Cyber Pot had was that each player had to draw five new cards from the top of their decks and summon any and all monsters that were level four or lower in attack mode. Yugi peeked at his new hand before summoning Silver Fang face down (DEF 800). The fortune teller summoned Mechanical Chaser (ATK 1850) and Ground Attacker Bugroth (ATK 1500). Seeing the monsters, Tiki scrunched her eyes. "Wait a minute…"

Yugi noticed the same thing: the deck was a machine deck and there was only one duelist he knew who used such a deck. "You're not…are you Bandit Keith?"

The fortune teller took off his hood, revealing himself to be Bandit Keith. Tiki shuddered, remembering how Keith acted towards her at Duelist Kingdom. "Sadly, the handcuffs now make sense."

Tima looked at Keith, noticing his glazed eyes. No…something isn't right.

After getting over his shock, Yugi demanded, "Why are you here?"

Keith smirked. "It's true that this man is called 'Bandit Keith.'" Yugi and Tiki's eyes widened as "Keith" continued. "After he brandished a gun at Pegasus, Keith was thrown into the sea…where he was found."

Yugi was confused. 'Why is he talking like he's another person? And why is he after me?'

"Keith" sneered. "It's no surprise he has a grudge against you. If it weren't for you, Keith would have become rich while gaining back the 'Number One U.S. Champion Duelist.'"

Suddenly he let out a "Goddamn, Yugi!" before starting "his" turn. Seeing that, Tiki asked, "You think that was the real Keith?"

Tima nodded. Maybe.

"Keith" summoned Machine King (ATK 2200) and its ATK rose to 2500 because of the two machine monsters on the field and Cyber Pot in the graveyard. With its new power, it destroyed Silver Fang. Having nothing to combat Machine King, Yugi put another monster in face down defense mode. "Keith" chuckled. "Looks like you're scared of my machine army. Allow me to scare you even more."

"He" played Megasonic Eye (ATK 1500), raising Machine King's ATK to 2600. With another power boost, Machine King reduced Yugi's defense monster (Giant Soldier of Stone) to dust. "Keith" sneered, "Your monsters have been annihilated…one by one…" Seeing Yugi's glare, "he" asked, "What's wrong? Why don't you call out your other self like you always did at Duelist Kingdom?" "He" then peered at Tiki. "You'll have to call out your other self too…something I'm looking forward to."

Tiki hid behind the table as best she could. Yugi was more surprised that Keith knew about Yami and Tima; Keith never knew about them on the island.

Looking at Yugi through Keith's eyes, the Egyptian chuckled. "Yugi…reach for the Millennium Puzzle…and call out the soul within. And Tiki…call out Tima…let me see her…"

Yugi shook his head. "You won't have things your way!"

Tiki nodded. "Keith or not, you're not going to see them!"

Yugi agreed and played Curse of Dragon (ATK 2000) and Gaia the Fierce Knight (ATK 2300) before combining them to create Gaia the Dragon Champion (ATK 2600). The first target was the Mecha Hunter; once it was destroyed, Machine King's ATK dropped 100 and "Keith's" life points decreased to 1250. To protect the rest of "his" life points, "Keith" changed Megasonic Eye and Ground Attacker Bugroth to defense mode. "He" also played Machine Conversion Factory, increasing all the machines ATK and DEF by 300 (Machine King became ATK 2800 and DEF 2300, Megasonic Eye became ATK 1800 and DEF 2000, and Ground Attacker Bugroth became ATK 1800 and DEF 1300). Now more powerful than Gaia the Dragon Champion, Machine King quickly destroyed Yugi's monster, lowering Yugi's life points to 1800. "Keith" asked, "What's wrong? Are you really content to just sit and watch yourself lose? If you really want to keep your Duelist Kingdom title…?"

The Egyptian continued, "…or did another man defeat Pegasus? Be serious like you usually are!" While he spoke, he reached up with his free hand and gripped a locket necklace that had an ankh on it.

Yugi put himself in Yami's shoes. 'Let's see…if I were Yami, I would analyze my enemy and try to find a weakness.'

He looked at the machine army and tried to figure out their weakness. As he thought, he drew Summoned Skull. He then remembered a move Yami did in Duelist Kingdom and realized that it would work here as well. "Even machines have weaknesses! Let me show you!"

Tiki smiled. "That's my brother! Always finding a way to turn things around!"

Yugi played Makiu, the Magical Mist. As the mist surrounded the field, the three machines became rusty and lost ATK (Machine King became 2500 and Megasonic Eye and Ground Attacker Bugroth returned to 1500). Yugi then summoned Summoned Skull (ATK 2500, 3250 thanks to Makiu). Tiki cheered as Machine King was destroyed, lowering "Keith's" life points to 500.

The Egyptian studied Yugi. "He's better than I thought. I've been holding back, hoping to see the other soul in the Millennium Puzzle and Tima, but no more! It's time to get serious! I'll use our replica cards to attack and force out the other soul!"

"Keith" played Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. However, what Yugi and Tiki could not see was that "he" had a hidden mechanism up his arm that gave "him" three cards. With "his" new cards, "he" exclaimed, "Zera Ritual!"

A throne with a hooded figure sitting in it appeared on the field. Yugi blinked in surprise. "Zera Ritual?"

Tiki looked at Yugi. "What card is that?"

Yugi explained, "It can allow the player to summon Zera the Mant if a sacrifice of monsters equaling 8 stars or more are made."

"Keith" nodded. "Exactly. Zera is the strongest demon-fiend monster."

Yugi protested, "But this is impossible! There are only three cards in existence! Even I've never seen it! It's THE ultra-rare cards of all ultra-rare cards! That's what Grandpa himself told me!"

Yugi was shocked when "Keith" held up "his" Zera the Mant card. Seeing it, Tiki paled. "How the hell did you get one?"

"Keith" did not answer and sacrificed Megasonic Eye and Ground Attacker Bugroth to summon Zera the Mant (ATK 2800). A large blue demon with black stripes and wearing a purple cape, Zera ripped apart Summoned Skull (its ATK went back to 2500 after Maiku disappeared). Yugi backed up a little, barely noticing that his life points were now 1500. "The ultra-rare card…I can't beat it!"

The Egyptian growled impatiently. "What's wrong with you? Just reach out your hand to your other self in the Millennium Puzzle. I must know his true form and see if she is all right!"

"Keith" stated, "You have nothing left. Where is the invincible Yugi everyone knew from Duelist Kingdom?"

Yugi looked down at the Puzzle. 'At this rate, I won't get it back! What do I do?'

Looking at her brother, Tiki said, "Don't give up, Yugi! You've been in tougher jams than this!"

Hearing that, Yugi closed his eyes. 'Calm down…don't forget that Keith's acting strange…especially with all these rare cards that have nothing to do with a machine deck.'

Refocusing on his tactics, he drew and placed the monster in face-down defense mode.

The Egyptian chuckled. "Go ahead…I'll continue to torture you with my rare cards and back you into a corner. If I do, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle will surely come out." His grip on his locket tightened.

"Keith" summoned Seiyaryu (ATK 2500) and placed a magic card face-down (after "he" switched it with another card with "his" arm mechanism). "He" then ended "his" turn by playing Stop Defense, forcing Yugi's Koumori Dragon to attack mode (ATK 1500) and making it an easy target for Zera the Mant. With his last line of defense gone and only 400 life points left, Yugi gripped the playing field to stay steady on his feet as "Keith" stared at him.

The Egyptian gripped his Millennium Rod tighter. "Come out, other Yugi! Are you the man I believe you to be? Tima…show yourself…prove to me you are more beautiful than your picture."

Yugi peeked at the Millennium Puzzle. 'Don't come out! I'll be fine!'

Grateful this Stop Defense was not permanent, Yugi played another monster face down in defense mode, which was quickly destroyed by Seiyaryu. "Keith" completed "his" turn by playing two cards face down for later and switching Zera the Man to defense mode (DEF 2300). "Your turn…even if you don't have any monsters on your side!"

Yugi ignored "his" taunts before putting one card face down, summoned Dark Magician (DEF 2100), and hid him under one of the four Magical Hats. "Keith" chuckled. "A waste of a turn."

"He" played Magic Jammer, a card that destroyed the Magical Hats after "Keith" discarded one card. Tiki tried to sit up but was stuck thanks to the handcuffs. "How is it possible that he has so many rare cards?"

"Keith" finally played Curse of Fiend, switching Zera the Mant and Dark Magician to attack mode and Seiyaryu to defense mode. "He" had Zera attack the Dark Magician, making Tiki look away. Yugi activated Mirror Force but it was all for naught: "Keith" played Solemn Judgment, stunning Yugi. "No way! That's another ultra-rare card!"

At the expense of half of "Keith's" life points, Mirror Force was destroyed and so was Dark Magician by Zera's attack. "Keith" chuckled at Yugi's stunned face. "It's true: I only have 250 life points left. But you have only 100…and are barely able to stand!"

Tiki growled and went forward, ignoring the handcuffs digging into her wrists. "Don't listen to him, Yugi! You've had tougher opponents than him!"

Hearing that, Yugi gritted his teeth. 'I made a promise to Yami…I would get the Millennium Puzzle back! This isn't over yet!"

As Yugi drew, Tiki prayed, "Please, God…give my brother the miracle he needs."

Yugi drew and smiled before putting a card face down and another monster face down in defense position.

Looking through Keith's eyes, the Egyptian wondered, "Is he really planning to continue fighting me? Just come out, you bastard hiding in the Millennium Puzzle! You'll come out once I play this!"

"Keith" pulled a magic card from "his" sleeve, Tribute to the Doomed. Yugi's eyes widened. "Another ultra-rare card?!"

Tiki groaned. "This is getting old! There's no way one deck can have that many ultra-rare cards!"

Activating the card by discarding one from "his" hand, "Keith" played the card, summoning a mummy who shot its wrappings at Yugi's defense monster. But Yugi glared. "I don't think so!"

Tiki looked up as Yugi played Living Arrow, shooting it at Zera the Mant and turning Tribute to the Doomed on Zera, destroying it. Just as "Keith" was getting over "his" shock at losing "his" monster, he suddenly opened his eyes wider.

Almost losing his Millennium Rod, the Egyptian glared. "What the hell was that shock?! Power of darkness…! Tima's vessel doesn't have that power! Who else is here?!"

Hyperventilating, Keith hunched over his playing field. "What…what the hell am I doing here?!"

Not hearing Keith's words, Yugi declared, "That's what you get for not believing in your own deck and relying solely on the ultra-rare cards! You can't stop me now!"

Keith looked up in shock. "Yugi?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Suddenly he screamed, scaring Tiki and worrying Yugi. "What's wrong, Keith?!"

The Egyptian was trying to get Keith back with his Millennium Item. "Keith! Return to me! I command you to continue dueling Yugi until the Yugi inside the Millennium Puzzle comes out!"

Keith whispered, "Millennium Puzzle…?" Gripping his head, he thrashed around and demanded, "Who's there?! Who the hell is trying to order me around?! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Tiki whimpered. "This is like a horror movie!"

Yugi nodded. "This must be what Yami was talking about!"

Tiki nodded as well. "Tima sensed something too. Someone's controlling Keith!"

The Egyptian continued to try and get back Keith. "You are my slave! I have complete control over you!" Ignoring Keith's cries of pain, the Egyptian demanded, "I must know who is hiding in the Millennium Puzzle! I demand you continue until I see him!"

Keith looked up and saw the Puzzle. Ignoring the Duel Monsters, he bolted across the field and grabbed the Puzzle. "Is it this thing that makes me…?!"

Tiki tried to stand up, almost breaking her wrists in the process. "Stop!"

Yugi tried to reach for the Puzzle. "Don't do it, Keith!"

It was too late: Keith shattered the Puzzle against the duelist stand, making the Mutou siblings scream.

The Egyptian grinned. "Keith!"

Gripping his head, Keith screamed in pain and thrashed around. Suddenly Ryou and Rose flew down via two pulleys and knocked Keith away. The American stumbled backwards until he fell off the duel ring, knocking himself out. Seeing Tiki, Rose went to her while Yugi jumped down to Ryou. Turning, Ryou explained, "Tea told us what happened."

Rose nodded and took out a bobby-pin from her hair. "We had to make sure you were okay and it's a good thing we came."

Tiki watched as Rose started to pick the lock of the right handcuff. "Where did you learn to do this?"

Concentrating, Rose said, "Father had Ryou and I take self-defense classes in England."

Ryou looked at his sister. "That wasn't part of the class; you learned that on your own."

Rose smirked as she unlocked the handcuff. Massaging her wrists, Tiki went to the duel ring, more worried about the Puzzle than the dangling handcuff on her left wrist. Ryou helped Yugi pick up the pieces until they collected them all. "Well…looks like you'll have to put this back together again."

Rose nodded. "I'm sure that's what the Puzzle would want."

Yugi nodded and took the pieces that Ryou had. "Thank you. But…who knows how long it'll take me to put it together again. It took me eight years the first time." He looked at the Puzzle's base that was still attached to the chain. "Who knows…when I'll see you again."

Tiki waved it off. "Your muscles will remember what you did and it'll be faster. Besides, I know you: even if it takes you ten years, you'll still complete it!"

Yugi nodded with a smile. Ryou stepped forward. "You forgot a piece."

Yugi smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

Tiki giggled. "A puzzle is not complete if even one piece is missing!"

Rose nodded. "That's true."

Ryou suddenly realized, "We should get going or we'll be late for school!"

As the Bakura siblings started to climb down, Yugi and Tiki said at the same time, "Thank you!"

Rose landed on her feet but Ryou ungracefully landed on his rear. Blinking in surprise, Yugi asked, "Are you okay?"

Rose shook her head in amusement. "Smooth, Ryou."

Ryou chuckled and stood up, embarrassed. "Yeah. We'll be going on ahead."

Tiki nodded as the Bakura siblings started to walk away. "All right. We'll be right there."

Yugi added, "After we get the piece of the Puzzle that's still attached!" As he started to try and reach the lock that kept the chain on the peg, he asked, "How will you explain the handcuffs, Tiki?"

Tiki dangled them in front of her face. "Maybe Joey will know how to get out of them."

Yugi looked at her. "Bad joke."

Tiki shrugged but smiled. As they looked at the lock, they suddenly heard Keith call out, "Who are you? Who the hell are you?!" Grabbing a nearby pipe, he started to swing it around wildly. "Get out of my head!"

The siblings ignored him until he cried out. Looking, the blood drained from their faces: Keith's wild thrashing hit the controls and ripped a power cord onto gas cylinders, starting a fire. Yugi grabbed the Puzzle. "We need to hurry!"

Tiki nodded and tried to pull the Puzzle off the peg with Yugi. Tiki shook her head. "It's no use! It won't budge!"

As the fire raged on, Yugi panicked. "If I don't do something, the Puzzle will…!" He looked at the shattered Puzzle. "Yami! What should I do?! Tell me!"

Tiki wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It's no use…"

Yugi's eyes were glued on the Puzzle, his mind racing. Making a decision, he said, "Tiki, save yourself! I'm going to solve the Puzzle!"

Tiki shook her head. "No way! I'm helping you!"

Yugi shook his head. "I can't lose you too!"

Tiki glared at Yugi, trying to ignore the heat. "The longer you argue, the less time you'll have on the Puzzle. Now get to it!"

Seeing that Tiki's mind was made up, Yugi nodded and got to work putting the Puzzle together. As he worked, he tried to reach Yami. "I'm sorry. Your soul is broken because of me!"

Tiki leaned against the duelist's stand, moaning from the heat. Tima…can you sense Yami?

Tima said nothing, very worried. Yugi stated, "Don't worry. I will complete the puzzle! When I do, we'll meet again!"

Tiki nodded. "You can apologize then. Just keep going…"

Yugi kept working, trying his best to ignore the heat and destruction around him. Tiki lowered down to the ground and passed out from the heat. Yugi could feel his mind fading but he pushed through. "Almost there…just a little more…and I can see you again…"

He was so focused on completing the Puzzle, he did not hear Joey and Tristan bust through the door. Seeing him, Tristan called out, "What the hell are you doing, Yugi?! We gotta get out of here!"

Yugi looked up. "I have to finish the Millennium Puzzle! It was shattered!"

Tristan shook his head. "What's that idiot talking about?!"

As the two started to go towards the siblings, Yugi finished the Puzzle. "Yes…I did it…"

He passed out, still clutching the Puzzle. He thought he felt someone tug him but he continued to clutch the Puzzle, mumbling, "Not…without…the Puzzle…" He hen passed out completely.


An hour later, Yugi and Tiki woke up to find themselves in a hospital room. They were dressed in their pajamas and their wounds were treated (Yugi had a few bandage on his face and Tiki's wrists were wrapped). Looking around, Yugi saw the Millennium Puzzle on a nearby table and grabbed it, glad it was complete. Taking a sip of water, Tiki grumbled, "You almost got us killed in there…"

Yugi looked up at Tiki, a little hurt. "You would have done the same thing."

Tiki thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah…it's just…we almost died…forgive me for being scared."

Yugi nodded as he put on the Millennium Puzzle. "I understand."

Just then, a nurse came in. Seeing them awake, she scolded, "Do you kids realize how lucky you are that you got out of there alive?! If it weren't for your friends, we would be using dental records to identify your bodies!"

Yugi winced and apologized as Tiki asked, "What do you mean, our friends?"

The nurse made some notes on their charts. "The blond punk and the guy with the spiked hair. They said they used a pole to remove a peg that necklace, a necklace your brother was clutching. You, young man, need to have more respect for your life and your sister's!"

Yugi winced again and nodded. As the nurse left, muttering about how irresponsible teenagers were with their lives, Tiki looked at Yugi. "Our friends saved our lives…"

Yugi nodded with a smile. Tima whispered to Tiki, Thank Yami too. He's the one who gave Joey the idea of how to free the Puzzle.

Tiki looked at Yugi, who was smiling at the Puzzle, and saw Yami standing behind him. He caught Tiki's eye, who mouthed "Thank you," and smiled with a nod.


Later that day, their friends visited them. Yugi looked at the Puzzle and sighed. "The first time, it took me eight years to put the Millennium Puzzle together."

Tiki giggled. "To do it in five minutes…that must be some kind of record!"

Tea gave Tiki a look. "This is not the time to be encouraging him."

Merina patted Tiki's back. "Save that for when you're out of the hospital."

Yugi nodded and added, "This time, it was almost like Yami was helping me put the puzzle together."

Seeing everyone's confused look, Tiki explained, "Yami is what we call Yugi's other self."

Now understanding, Joey nodded. "I know what you mean.

Merina asked, "What do you mean?"

Joey looked up. "Back there, I heard Yami's voice telling me what to do."

Tristan scoffed in a teasing way. "I know you couldn't come up with a plan like that on your own!"

Joey grabbed Tristan's shirt. "Excuse me?!"

Tristan yelled back, "It's true and you know it!"

Joey growled, "What the hell, dude?!"

Yugi told them, "You shouldn't fight in a hospital."

Tiki agreed. "Besides, if you behave, I'll let you have my ice cream."

Hearing both, Joey and Tristan calmed down and apologized. But Tristan did add, "Still, I thought we were goners."

Yugi smiled. "Thank you, guys!"

Tiki nodded. "You saved our lives!"

Joey waved it off. "It was nothing. Anyone could have done it."

Merina smirked. "Seeing you two so humble…it's a weird look."

Joey and Tristan growled at her, making her and the siblings laugh. Just then, Tea announced, "I'm going to get everyone something to drink."

As she left, Merina said, "All joking aside, we're glad that you two are all right."

Yugi and Tiki nodded; while they were glad to be alive, they were also glad that Yami and Tima were safe as well.