Yami may not have been in any fight to the death lately, (excluding the previous night's little debacle involving Joey and the last cookie) but sixth sense isn't something that just turns off. He knew something was going to happen. He just didn't know what. He never could have predicted that it would come in the form of an animated American film made for children.
Yyyyy
"You guys will never guess what I got!" Joey exclaimed, barging through the front door of Kame Game.
"Let me guess." Tea put down the monopoly piece she had in her hand and counted out the correct amount of colored paper to hand to Tristan. "A coupon to that all-you-can-eat place by the mall?"
"Nope."
Tristan rolled the dice and frowned as he landed on 'Go Directly to Jail'. He moved his piece and glanced up at his friend's wide and expectant smile. "A visit from those time travelers who were fans of yours?"
"As awesome as that would be, no. Not even close." Joey turned to Yami and Yugi, who had yet to guess.
"Just tell us, Joey." Yugi reached for the dice to take his turn.
"Okay. So, I know you have the first movie, but I was at the library and-, what's that look for, Tristan?"
"You? At the library?" Tristan mocked lightly.
"I read. And that new Ghost Detective book just came out last week."
"Ghost Detective? Isn't that that series that gives you nightmares?" Tristan rolled the dice and landed on a Chance square. Eagerly, he drew a card, only to sigh when it directed him to go back to jail.
"Well, yeah. Kinda." Joey blushed. "But it's really exciting. And a bit addicting." He shook his head and removed a small string backpack from his back. "That's beside the point, though. While I was there, I happened to see the section for movies. And take a look at what was there." With a flourish, Joey withdrew two DVD cases showing brightly colored characters. Across the tops were 'Toy Story 2' and 'Toy Story 3'. "What say we have a movie night?"
Yyyyy
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Yugi, but Disney is a company that makes movies for children, right?" Yami whispered as Tea was setting up the first movie.
"Oh boy. You've never seen a Disney movie before? You're in for a surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"They're officially for kids, but teens and adults love them. The last time a new one was released, I overheard several of our classmates openly admitting to shoving little kids out of the way because the theater was crowded and they wanted to see it."
" . . . I don't know how to respond to that." Yami's expression was concerned but he grabbed the case Tea handed him to read the plot of what he was about to see. From what he saw, it was a story about toys. How that was worth shoving children, he guessed he was just going to have to see.
"Lights going off, and movie going on." Tristan narrated as the room darkened.
The screen lit up with a wandering view of a child's room, and a potato with an eye patch apparently holding some other toys hostage. His friends, having already seen (and grown up with) this movie, began to cheer when a cloth cowboy doll made an entrance and had a fight with the potato: One-Eyed Bart.
Just a little ways into the movie, Yami was able to determine the hierarchy of the toys. Woody was the leader, Bo was his 'special friend', and Slinky, Rex, Potato head, and Hamm were the rest of his close friends. Buzz, however, thought that he was real, which ended up being a big problem for Woody.
Yami found himself, surprisingly, enjoying the movie. It was fun and the characters were easy to empathize with. Woody felt threatened and had never before had his position as leader and favorite challenged. Buzz had no idea what was actually going on, but knew he had a mission to complete. All the other toys were old classics and had never met an action hero as famous and equipped as the 'space ranger'. To them, he was a celebrity.
Throughout the movie, his friends had been chiming in, quoting remembered lines as they came up. It was around the scene where Woody and Buzz were in the claw machine and Woody was attempting to beat off the horde of aliens when he glanced over and realized that Tea had a small, stuffed dog in her arms. He recognized it from Yugi's room. It was one of those things that had always been there, but he'd just never really taken any real notice before.
When Scud the dog was given the alien, she clutched the toy tighter and Yugi leaned over slightly to lay his hand over its eyes. Yami smiled slightly, suddenly remembering that the two had been friends for years before he, or even Joey and Tristan, had come into the picture.
The rocket scene had Joey and Tristan arguing about whether they could pull the stunt off themselves. It ended when Grandpa, coming down for a glass of water, offered to strap explosives to them himself if they didn't let him sleep.
The next movie started and Yami realized too late why his friends all winced and looked away from the screen. A second later, though, Woody's arm was dangling by a few threads. It made him remember a toy he'd played with as a young child. A scribe had given it to him; a small, handmade doll, built of dried papyrus. He'd played with it constantly for a year or two, until it began falling apart and his father made him get rid of it.
"Aaand I just realized what I forgot to do today." Tristan broke him out of his thoughts. "Sachi tore a hole in Sheep this morning. I was going to sew him up, but got distracted. My parents are going to kill me when I get back."
"Looks like she's going to have to go through another night without him, then." Yugi stated flatly.
"Are you still upset that I forgot to tell you about him when she stayed over?" The look Tristan got from both Motou boys was answer enough.
"Woody is now partially dismembered, and has been kidnapped by a guy who dresses in a giant animal costume for work. Are you still trying to tell me that this is a child's movie?" Yugi asked Yami a bit later.
"Point taken and previous statement retracted."
"You're getting the hang of sarcasm, I see." Joey laughed. That was when Yami noticed his toy; an action figure with faded paint, chipped armor, and a large sword. It was seated right on the blonde's shoulder, facing the screen.
Yami ended up liking the second movie just as much as the first. Until, that is, Jessie was told to jump back into the storage box and began panicking. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the maze of corridors and doors that he'd been locked in for far too long. Just bricks and darkness. The problem with closing his eyes, though, was that the room was dark except for the television, so he just felt even more trapped and closed in.
Yugi noticed his brother tense and looked up at him in concern. His breathing had sped up and his expression was one of stress and fear. "Yami? Come on. Let's go get everyone some drinks, alright?" he coaxed, grabbing his hand. Yami opened his eyes but his heart was still racing. Silently, he let Yugi lead him out of the room. As soon as they were in the kitchen, the smaller turned to face him, not letting go of his hand. "Are you alright?"
" . . . Yeah." Yami muttered, not looking anywhere but the ground.
"Are you sure? What's wrong?" Yugi pressed.
"I just, I don't know. I spent so much time in the puzzle I just . . ." he broke off with a short, humorless laugh. A vein attempt to convince Yugi, or maybe himself, that he was fine. "The animated toy," he enunciated, "made me remember what it was like. I didn't know how long I'd been in there, or if I was ever going to see sunlight again." He hung his head, not wanting the other to see how vulnerable he was.
"But you did get out. And you're even human again. You're not going back there. I promise." Yugi put his hands on his brother's shoulders and made him look up. "And I can also tell you that Jessie comes out of that box."
Yami stared at him for a second, then sighed and smiled. "Thanks."
The rest of the second movie passed without incident, but the third, which had only been already seen by Tea and Yugi, began with a sad twist; Andy was grown and moving off to college. He was currently in the process of packing up and deciding what he should keep, donate, or throw out. After some mishaps, the gang (those that remained) ended up getting themselves donated to a daycare center that was not as sunny as it seemed. The argument about whether to stay or leave which resulted in Woody walking off made Yami glance worriedly at his friends.
Tristan had swiped Joey's action figure, but, as Joey didn't want to let it go, they had set it on the floor between them. Tea had set the stuffed dog on her shoulder and Yugi was leaning against him, half-asleep. They were all almost grown and would be finding their own ways in the world soon. Tea was going to leave the country, while Tristan planned to enlist in the military. Joey, as dueling had improved his math, and saving the world had taught him not to give up when the going got rough, was already sorting through what colleges he would like to attend. Yugi always wanted to take over his family's store, but Yami had no idea what he was going to do. Were there jobs for people who had once ruled a country? Maybe the Ishtars would have an opening at the museum.
The third movie was certainly darker than the other two, so when the gang ended up the garbage, heading towards the giant flame, Yami, Joey, and Tristan were all set to believe that help wasn't going to come. The last-minute save, though, triggered a large, synchronized, sigh from the three. They headed off to their happy ending back at Andy's house, but that wasn't to be either. Yami felt a stab of worry when he realized that Andy still was heading off to college. He planned on taking Woody, but the rest would be left in the attic. Storage. Forgotten and covered in dust for however long humanity decided to forget about their existence. Wait.
Woody set things in motion and the toys ended up at the home of the little girl Woody had stayed with. Andy pulled out his toys one by one and introduced them. It was when he got to Woody, though, that Yami found it hard to swallow. Tea quickly got up and left the room, making some excuse about refilling her tea. As Andy drove away, leaving everyone behind, Yami attempted to nonchalantly rub at his eyes. Glancing over, he saw that Yugi was asleep, but Joey had hid his face in his arms, feigning sleep, while Tristan was a bit too quick to turn the screen off, plunging the room into complete darkness.
"I'll be back in a second." Yami muttered hoarsely. He knew that no matter where they were, they could still remain friends, but he still had something he needed to add to the list.
Yyyyy
Rule 38: Disney movies need to come with warnings.
Yyyyy
Apologies for being so late with this, but life has been crazy and I hit a bit of writer's speed bump with this chapter. I hope you all liked it! Don't forget to leave a review before you go! Also, if anyone decides to make some art for House Rules, I would love to see it. :3