Chapter 34 - The Aftermath

Rose, Joey, Tristan and Duke could only stand back and watch sadly as Yami cried out in despair, smashing his fists onto the ground. None of them had expected anything like this, and it had hit them hard and fast. Yugi was gone. Rose couldn't imagine how much guilt Yami must have been feeling, for it was by his own hand that this happened. He had activated the Seal, and that was what had sent Yugi away.

Yugi was such a delight to be around, too. Everybody in the group valued his simple presence, for he brought cheerfulness and light with him wherever he went. But now his soul had been taken away, and they were all shell shocked at that simple fact. Rose and Joey had lost it, both of them shedding tears as they watched Yami curse and scream at himself for being so selfish. Rose had flinched when Yami said it should have been him to suffer, for he smashed his fist on the ground with more force than she thought he could conjure, and it must have bruised his hand at the least.

Joey had pulled Rose into his arms again and buried his face in the back of her neck, unable to bear the thought of losing his best friend so suddenly. Rose had then patted his arms soothingly where they were wrapped around her waist. Joey was like a brother to her, and for his sake and for Yami's sake she was determined to get Yugi's soul back no matter what the cost. She managed to pull herself together, and she wiped away her tears, before untangling herself from Joey, who had managed to calm down in the past few minutes.

Rose carefully approached Yami as he sat on his hands and knees facing away from her, and she could see the small pool of tears that had formed on the ground in front of him. She couldn't imagine the guilt he must have been feeling, and she knew it would not disappear soon, but she had to do something. She kneeled in front of him, gently putting her hands on his shoulders as his head was dropped, facing the ground. He was trembling, and he didn't move upon noticing her presence, nor did he try to hide the look of utter despair on his face.

Rose wasn't quite sure what to say, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I promise we'll get Yugi back," she said gently. He didn't look up at her, but she continued anyway, "We'll find this Dartz guy, kick his butt all the way back to Atlantis, and then we'll make him return every single soul the Orichalcos took..." Yami seemed to have stopped trembling, and it seemed as if he had paused in his place, listening to Rose's words, but not giving her any sign of acknowledgement. "Look at me," Rose lifted his chin up so that he would finally look at her, holding his face in her hands so that he couldn't look away. "Yugi will be okay," she said reassuringly. "We just have to find him, and bring him back." Yami's face softened, and he put his hand over hers where it rested on his cheek in a thankful gesture. Even though he hadn't said anything, she understood what he meant.

Rose smiled at him, dropping her hands to his shoulders again to give them a reassuring squeeze, "come on, let's get back to Bec and Tea, they're probably worried sick about you," she said, standing up. She saw an unspoken sentence in his eyes that probably said something like, No, it's Yugi they're worried about, but she ignored it, and held her hand out so she could help him up.

Joey, Duke and Tristan were amazed at how quickly she had calmed him down, but decided not to press the matter, for it was progress. It was silent as the gang then set off to head back to the Hawkins caravan. Duke, Tristan and Joey jumped in the car, leading as Rose got back on Mai's bike and Yami sat on Rebecca's horse, his eyes empty and lonely.

They were all completely silent on the trip back, the only sound being the engines in the car and motorbike and the sound of the horse's hooves on the ground as they moved along. Everyone was in a state of despair after losing their friend, but nobody hurt as much as Yami did. He had lost the closest person to him and it was entirely his fault. He never thought he could ever forgive himself for doing this to Yugi, and he wouldn't be surprised if Yugi didn't forgive him either. Rose travelled alongside Yami on the bike, as they slowly made their way back. His head was down, his shoulders slumped, and his bangs were hanging over his eyes, hiding any sign of emotion that he may have been feeling. Rose didn't need to see his eyes to know what he was feeling however, she was sure she had a fair idea, and it broke her heart to see him in such a mess.

He was probably incredibly lonely, too. For as long as he had existed in the 21st century, he had shared a body and mind with Yugi, it must be daunting being all by himself now, especially knowing he was the one that caused it.

They eventually arrived back at the caravan, and Tea and Rebecca came out to greet them, looking happy to see them all finally.

"Yugi, you're back!" Tea said cheerfully, running out of the caravan. "So I guess you won," she smiled as they approached.

"Of course he did!" Rebecca said with her usual high pitched squeak of happiness. "My Yugi always wins!" she ran up and hugged him, but he didn't return it, he simply stood there, staring at his feet, his face hidden in shadows.

"Huh?" Rebecca stepped back, confused as to his behaviour. This certainly wasn't like her Yugi at all.

"Is everything okay?" Tea asked, noticing the off mood that had returned with the gang. Rose took her helmet off with a sigh, and looked over to the three men in the car. The four of them stared at each other, trying to decide who would deliver the news.

"Not quite," Joey eventually said, avoiding their curious eyes. "We got a problem, guys..."

"What do you mean?" Tea asked. Yami continued to look at his feet, it was obvious that he was not going to say anything.

"Yugi didn't win," Duke spilled, still sitting in the car next to Tristan.

Tea and Rebecca both had confusion on their faces. "He's gone," Rose said sadly, getting off of her bike.

"What?" Tea said, not being able to believe them. "If he lost then those creeps would have taken his soul!" she said, her voice rising in pitch with her anxiety.

"So, what's your point?" Joey asked, crossing his arms.

"My point? If he's gone how could he be standing right-" she stopped mid sentence, here eyes wide, "...Behind me." That's when she realised, "Oh no..." she sat down as the weight of the situation hit her.

"Yugi, talk to me," Rebecca pleaded, "What's wrong? Why are you acting so strange?"

"Rebecca," Rose said softly, leaning against Duke's car. "That's not Yugi..."

"What do you mean?" she said, completely oblivious to everything they had just said.

"Rebecca," Yami said finally, "They took Yugi's soul. I know, it's my fault. I'm the one who unleashed the magic that took Yugi away," his voice was strained as he stared at the ground, his jaw locked tightly.

"You knew that card was evil and yet you still played it!" Rebecca yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "A good Pharaoh would never have done something like that to poor Yugi!" she cried, punching into his chest. "It's not fair! It should have been you!" she sobbed.

"Now hold on, Rebecca," Rose said, standing up straight again.

"No, she's right," Yami said, still staring at the ground. Rose knew it would take him a long time to get over this.

"What's done is done," Joey said, wanting to move on from the subject, but Yami continued.

"This whole thing is my fault, I let everyone down, especially Yugi. He warned me not to use the seal, but my rage took over. And he paid for my mistake..."

Joey became angered, "You gotta snap out of this!" He yelled, not wanting to hear any more.

"He's gone, and it's my fault," Yami continued.

Joey grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, "Get a grip, man!" he said, shaking the man violently.

"Joey, calm down," Tea said as Rebecca clung to her. Joey just pushed him back and he fell to the ground.

"Joey!" Rose scolded him, running over to help Yami, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"I'm fine," he said flatly, getting to his feet.

"If we're gonna save Yugi we've gotta move ahead, not look back," Joey said. "So pull yourself together! What we gotta do now, is find out who this Dartz guy is, and where he keeps all these souls."

"I've been suggesting we do that since day one, but nobody listens to me," Duke said sarcastically.

God this took forever, i was literally thinking about how to start this chapter all day. Including while i was sitting in a lecture and meant to be learning (oops). So you better love me! haha

Anyway, i'm not sure if i'll be able to get many (if any at all) chapters out before i move house, and as mentioned im not sure whats happening with the internet situation so bare with me folks, i will be back and updating as soon as possible!

PharaohsThrone :)