Atem smiled softly. He was in his room, lying on his bed with his eyes closed as he hummed the song he and Yugi had sung together not four hours ago. Thinking of Yugi, Atem grinned, feeling elated. Yugi was the one who had saved him in the market place, the one he had fallen in love with despite only knowing him for such a short time. And now they would marry, one he told his father.
"Atem!" Pharaoh Aknamkanon called from the doorway of Atem's chamber
'Speak of the devil and he shall appear.' Atem chuckled at the thought as he rose from his bed to greet his father. "Father, I just had the most wonderful time. I'm so happy."
"You should be, Atem." Aknamkanon replied, speaking in monotone with a vacant look in his eyes. "I have chosen a husband for you."
"What?" Atem asked in confusion.
Why did that happen? That only would happen if Atem had rejected all of the suitors, and he hadn't rejected Yugi. And he never would for that matter.
"You will wed Dartz." Aknamkanon announced blandly.
Dartz stepped into the prince's chambers when Aknamkanon made the declaration, grinning as he watched a hint of fear enter Atem's eyes, the prince not being able to hold back a gasp. Everything was going according to plan.
"You're speechless, I see." Dartz purred seductively as he took Atem's hand in his own. "A fine quality in a spouse."
"I will never marry you." Atem snarled as he regained his composure, yanking his hand out of the head advisor's and turned to the pharaoh. "Father, I choose Prince Yugi. He is the one I want to marry."
"Prince Yugi has left." Dartz replied in 'sadness' for the pharaoh.
Aknamkanon was staring blankly at the world as Atem shook his head. Yugi would never leave. Never. While Atem glared at Dartz, Marik and Malik slipped closer, knowing that this could get ugly, and quick. Things always did with Dartz.
"You'd better check your crystal ball again, Dartz!" Yugi snapped from the entrance of Atem's chambers, soaking wet.
"Prince Yugi!" Atem smiled in relief, knowing that Yugi would have never taken off.
Joey, Seto, Isis, and the rest of the sacred court stood with Yugi. All of them, except Joey, had been shocked when Yugi had ridden up to the gate dripping wet, stating that Dartz had attempted to murder him by drowning. Finding Joey tied up in the garden, and hearing his story, and only spurred them to find the pharaoh, and Dartz, as fast as they could.
Dartz gasped at the sight of Yugi. Oh no, his plan was starting to fall apart.
"How in the he-" Weevil started to say before reverting back to parrot-ese. "Uh, awk!"
"Tell them the truth, Dartz." Yugi growled as he stepped into the room, everyone else filling in behind him. "You tried to have me killed!"
Atem gasped before growling, and crossed over to Yugi, pulling him into his arms. Dartz had gone too far this time. No one threatened the one he cared about and got away with it. And by the look on everyone else's faces, they also agreed.
"What?" Dartz asked with a nervous chuckled as he moved over to Aknamkanon, bringing his snake staff close to the pharaoh's face. "This is ridiculous nonsense, your highness. He is obviously lying."
"Obviously... lying." Aknamkanon agreed, still spaced out.
The entire court gasped. Pharaoh Aknamkanon never declared someone to be lying, not without examining every piece of evidence first. Something was definitely wrong with the pharaoh, but no one knew what.
Except… Yugi noticed the eyes of the snake staff glowing, and it was being held close to the pharaoh's face. Maybe…
"My pharaoh, an accusation of murder is a very serious offence." High Priest Karim tried to reason. "We must hold a trial to see if it is true or not."
"There is no need." Aknamkanon stated. "He is lying."
"Father, what's wrong with you?" Atem demanded as he let go of Yugi and grabbed his family member by the arms.
"I know what's wrong!" Yugi said as he leapt forward.
Turns out, having a life on the street was a good thing at times. It gave you speed and accuracy, two things that Yugi used at that moment. Snatching the staff out of Dartz's hand, Yugi swung it and smashed the item on the floor. The snake head shattered, and everyone flinched at the sudden flashes of light that emitted from the remains.
"Oh, oh, oh my!" Aknamkanon shook himself as he regained control, the spell being broken for good. "What happened?"
"Your highness, Dartz's been controlling you with this!" Yugi replied as he held out the broken staff. "He also attempted to have me killed."
"What? Dartz?" Aknamkanon could hardly believe it, but when he took the staff in his hand, he remembered every little thing that had happened while he was under the spell of his head advisor. "You traitor!"
Pharaoh Aknamkanon did not get angry easily, but when he did, you'd better hope you were not on the receiving end. The last time Aknamkanon got this angry was before Atem was born, when some idiot accused his beloved wife of cheating on him and that the child she carried wasn't his. The man had been lying and ended up getting bitten by venomous snakes whose poison took a long time to take effect while continuously torturing its victims, and then fed to the hungry crocodiles.
"Your majesty, all of this can be explained." Dartz chuckled nervously as the entire court advanced on him.
"Guards!" Aknamkanon yelled, his face red with anger.
"That's it, we're dead." Weevil groaned quietly so only Dartz could hear him. "Just dig a grave for both of us. We're dead."
Dartz growled, ready to throw Weevil into the wall, but a glint caught his eye. The top of the bag that Prince Yugi always wore at his side was slightly opened, and inside was the lamp. Eyes wide, Dartz reached for it.
"Arrest Dartz at once!" Aknamkanon demanded.
The pharaoh's voice brought Dartz out of his trance as Marik, Malik, Joey, and Seto grabbed the man. As they began to drag him out of the room, Weevil quickly took flight and disappeared out the doors. Dartz snarled as he reached into his vest and pulled out a vial.
"This is not done yet, boy!" Dartz promised as he glared at Yugi.
Yugi's eyes widened. That voice was the same one as the old man who had led him and Joey to the Cave of Wonders. Dartz knew who he was and he wasn't going down without a fight. Jerking his arm free, Dartz threw the vial to the floor, where it exploded in a cloud of red haze.
Everyone in the room doubled over coughing at the fumes. When the smoke cleared, Dartz was nowhere to be found. He had vanished.
"Find him, search everywhere!" Aknamkanon ordered, and the sacred court left the room.
"Yugi, are you all right?" Atem asked as he supported the still coughing boy.
"Yes." Yugi gasped out between coughs. "Nearly drowning isn't good for your lungs. The smoke just aggravated them."
"I'm glad you're okay." Atem sighed as he held Yugi close.
"Dartz, my most trusted counselor, plotting against me all this time? Just horrible. How will I ever-?" Aknamkanon groaned as he paced the room, and then stopped as he looked to his son. "Can it be true? My son has finally chosen a suitor?"
"I have father." Atem nodded with a grin.
"Praise Ra!" Aknamkanon laughed as he pulled Yugi out of Atem's arms and gave him a hug. "You brilliant boy, I had just given up hope Atem would find someone. How did you do it, convincing that stubborn prince to marry you?"
"Magic carpet ride and some time to talk alone." Yugi replied as the pharaoh let him go.
"Well, you two will be wed at once!" Aknamkanon proclaimed as plans for a wedding started to form in his mind. "Yes, yes. And you'll be happy and prosperous, and then you will be the ruler of Egypt with my son! The queen, if you will."
"The queen?" Yugi blushed.
He had always been small for his age and didn't look like most other males, but was that really a reason to give him by a girl's title once he got married? With Joey around, he was never going to hear the end of it.
"Yes, a fine upstanding youth like yourself, a person of your unimpeachable moral character is exactly what this kingdom needs!" Aknamkanon nodded.
Yugi nodded back as he leaned into Atem's embrace. He didn't know anything about ruling a kingdom, despite his wish. And Dartz, the man knew his secret and could easily blab at any time. That thought alone concerned him.
Dartz panted slightly as he entered his secret chambers. He hadn't had to run like that in years, and he found it slightly exhilarating. What was this feeling called again? Oh yeah, and adrenaline rush. Weevil, however, was having a panic attack.
"We've got to get out of here! We got to get out!" Weevil called from his cage, where he was throwing odds and ends into some traveling bags. "I got to start packing, your highness. Only the essentials. We travel light! Bring the guns, the weapons, the knives, and how about this picture? I don't know. I think I'm making a weird face in it."
Dartz had shut the door, honestly not hearing a word Weevil had said. Suddenly, he found the entire situation… funny. The failed marriage plan, 'Prince' Yugi, him having a bounty on his head, it just made the man crack up. Pounding the door, Dartz laughed wildly, not able to contain himself any longer.
"Oh, boy, he's gone nuts. He's cracked." Weevil groaned and flew down to the ex-head advisor, knocking the man's noggin. "Dartz? Dartz? Get a grip!"
Dartz stopped laughing as his hand reached out and grabbed Weevil around his neck. The humor of the situation was gone, and it was now replaced with anger, and scheming.
"Good grip!" Weevil gasped out.
"Prince Yugi is nothing more than that ragged street urchin Yugi." Dartz growled as he relaxed his grip around the bird a tad. "He has the lamp, Weevil."
"Why that miserable-" Weevil yelled in anger, not believing they had missed what they had been searching for and had considered lost.
"But you are going to relieve him of it." Dartz smirked as a plan formed in his mind.
"Me?" Weevil asked in confusion. "How am I going to do that? Green parrots aren't exactly common in Egypt."
"I have it all figured out." Dartz leered at the poor bird.
Yugi stood outside the rooms he had been given, looking at the gardens. If anyone had passed by at that moment, they would have seen a stressed out teenager.
"Queen of Egypt?" Yugi muttered to himself, running a hand down his face as he turned to go inside. "They want me to be the queen?"
"There's the conquering hero!" Joey grinned as soon as Yugi set foot in the bedchambers. "You get to marry the guy of your dreams now!"
Yugi smiled weakly before continuing his walk with a hung head. Joey tilted his head and scratched at his hair. He had only seen Yugi that down after he hadn't eaten in over a week, so what was the issue?
"Hey shrimp, now that you've just won the heart of the prince, what are you going to do next?" Bakura asked as he perched on a nearby chair with Ryou.
Yugi didn't reply. He glanced at the enslaved man with sadness before going over to his bed. Tossing his crown onto one of the pillows, Yugi flopped down and sighed unhappily. Bakura frowned at the display, got up, and plopped down next to him.
"You're supposed to say, 'I'm going to free Bakura'." Bakura said somewhat impatiently. "Anytime now would be good."
"Bakura... I can't." Yugi groaned as he buried his face in his arms.
"What?" Bakura growled, his temper starting to rise. "You what?"
"I can't." Yugi whispered.
"You can." Bakura snarled as he seized Yugi by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "You just say, 'Bakura, I wish you were free'. It's not that hard!"
"I'm sorry! I really am." Yugi burst out as he tugged his arm out of Bakura's grip. "But they want to make me the Queen of Egypt! No, they want to make Prince Yugi the queen of Egypt. Without you, I'm just poor little street rat Yugi."
"Pipsqueak, you won!" Bakura snapped, trying to get Yugi to see reason.
"Because of you!" Yugi shot back. "The only reason anyone thinks I'm anything is because of you. Does your magic end when I wish you free? If I do, will I lose all of the knowledge on how to be a royal that came with this wish?"
"I don't know." Bakura admitted with a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Exactly my point." Yugi groaned. "What do I know of ruling a kingdom? And what if they find out I'm not really a prince? I'll lose Atem. I'm sorry Bakura… I can't wish you free."
"Hey, I understand." Bakura sneered, sarcasm dripping off each word. "After all, you've lied to everyone else. I was beginning to feel left out. Now, if you'll excuse me, master."
Giving the cracked teen a look of disgust, Bakura vanished back into the lamp. Yugi hung his head as tears started rolling down his face. Joey and Ryou glanced at each other, both feeling sorry for both the boy and the genie.
"I'm sorry Bakura." Yugi whispered, a tongue coming out of the lamp spout and splits at him as a reply, snapping any self-control he had. "Then just stay in there! Forever for all I care!"
Yugi slammed a pillow down on top of the lamp, breathing hard. Joey and Ryou cringed, but the blond was the only one who moved to help his friend. Taking Yugi under the arms, he pulled the young man to his feet.
"We all need some time to cool down." Joey instructed firmly. "Go sit out in the garden for a little while, I'll be there shortly."
"Okay." Yugi whispered and headed back outside, sitting down heavily under a tree. "What am I doing?"
"I'd say you're sitting under a tree." Atem said from a few paces away, making Yugi jump in fright.
"Atem, you scared me." Yugi gasped as he got his heart rate back under control.
"Sorry." Atem smiled weakly, his crimson eyes betraying amusement. "You seem down Little One. What's wrong?"
"Don't call me 'Little One'." Yugi glared before collapsing with a sigh. "And just about everything. Atem, I know nothing about ruling a kingdom. Anything I know about the royal life is because of my wish."
"You know the needs of the common people." Atem pointed out as he sat down next to his love. "Most deny it, but without the commoners, there would be no kingdom. They are the most important part of being a good ruler. And you can understand them better than anyone since you've been one."
"True." Yugi sighed. "But that's not going to prevent me from making a fool out of myself in front of visiting dignitaries."
"Then I'll help you." Atem promised. "You helped me, saved my life, and now I'm going to help you. I'll teach you everything you need to know, and more."
"Really?" Yugi whispered, his eyes betraying a glimmer of hope.
"Yes." Atem sealed the promise with a kiss.
"My prince!" a boy with green hair and blue eyes ran up. "The pharaoh wishes to see you and your fiancé immediately. He's waiting for you both in the throne room."
"Thank you." Atem nodded as he and Yugi stood, Joey and Ryou coming out of Yugi's rooms. "We'll leave at once."
The boy bowed as they left, and then chuckled as soon as they were gone.
"This is too easy." Weevil snickered.
Dartz had found a spell that gave the bird a human form for the task he had been assigned. Weevil had intercepted the real messenger on the way to find the prince, and offered to relay it for him. The boy had accepted, and that made Weevil's task of finding the lamp hidden under one of the pillows with 'Prince' Yugi and his guard out of the way, all the more easy.
"Dartz is going to be happy to see you!" Weevil grinned as he held up the lamp.
"Good work, Weevil!" Weevil imitated Dartz's voice.
"Ah, go on." Weevil replied in his normal tone.
"No, really." Weevil answered in Dartz's voice again. "On a scale of one to ten, you are an eleven!"
"Ah, Dartz, you're too kind." Weevil cooed as the spell for his human form faded, and the green bird flew out the window with the lamp in claw. "I'm embarrassed, I'm blushing."
When Atem and Yugi arrived in the throne room, High Priestess Isis immediately began to brush off any dirt and straighten out any wrinkles in their clothing. Confused by her actions, Atem dodged around while trying to ask what was happening, and where his father was. But he didn't get an answer as the two were dragged along towards the palace entrance.
"What's going on?" Yugi finally asked in exasperation as his crown was re-straightened for the umpteenth time.
"The whole kingdom has turned up for the pharaoh's announcement." High Priest Mahad explained. "People have been waiting for Prince Atem to choose a suitor for nearly 2 years."
"People of Domino, my son has finally chosen a suitor!" Aknamkanon's voice came from the other side of some curtains that made a podium on top of the gates.
"Good luck." Atem whispered to Yugi.
"...Prince Yugi Mouto!" Aknamkanon introduced Yugi.
The boy turned to reply to his new fiancé, but was pushed out onto the platform with the Aknamkanon. High Priest Mahad hadn't been kidding when he said that everyone had turned up for the announcement.
"Oh boy." Yugi gulped as he remembered to politely wave to the crowd, grateful when Atem joined him in the platform.
"Look at them, cheering on that little pipsqueak." Weevil said from upon Dartz's shoulder. "It's disgusting."
Dartz's blue eyes narrowed at the sight of Yugi and Atem celebrating their so-called 'engagement'. It was a phony, and he was certain that the Atem knew that 'Prince' Yugi was nothing but a commoner.
"Let them cheer." Dartz sneered, as he clutched the stolen lamp in his hands. "It won't do them any good to do so anymore, now that I've got the ultimate power in my hands."
Selene was sitting upon the window, her hands tied behind her back with a black gag over her mouth. Her ocean blue eyes full of anger.
"You won't get away with this Dartz!" Selene screamed, even though her voice was muffled the sorcerer could clearly hear what she was saying.
"My dear little apprentice." Dartz gave an evil smirk. "First you disobey me by siding with the enemy, and now you're saying I won't get away with this? When I am Pharaoh I marry Atem, and you will serve by my side as little bride number two, the producer of my heirs."
"Like hell!" Selene spat, her glare intensifying.
"And if you refuse then say goodbye to your little boyfriend." Dartz replied, holding up the mirror which contained Marcus. "If I break this, then he's gone forever."
"Let her go you evil snake!" Marcus glared at Dartz in anger as Selene's blue eyes traveled towards the glassware. "She has nothing to do with this!"
"No! Please don't kill him!" Selene begged. "I'll do what you want, just don't hurt him!"
"Now you're seeing things my way." Dartz laughed.
Turning his attention to the lamp, Dartz rubbed the side of it eagerly. A thick white smoke began to form out of the spout as Bakura emerged from the lamp, his tan arms crossed and with a foul mood to boot.
"You know Shrimp, I'm getting really-" Bakura started before turning to see Dartz standing beside him. "Iiiiiiieee… don't think you're him."
Bakura fished out a playbill and began flipping through it, trying to find the right page. Once he did, he read the info, glanced up to Dartz, back to the info, and then Dartz again.
"And tonight the part of Yugi will be played by a dark, sinister, and ugly man with no taste in clothes." Bakura muttered, sneering at the man's taste in fashion.
Dartz used all of his strength and threw the genie of the once most feared thief in Egypt to the ground. Making sure he would stay, Dartz put his golden sandal upon the poor man's face.
"I'm your master now you fool, and you will do as I say." Dartz snapped. "Do I make myself clear?"
"I was afraid of that." Bakura groaned with his face half-mushed under a smelly sandal. "All right master, what is your first wish?"
"I wish to be the Pharaoh so that I can rule over the people." Dartz replied, smiling in satisfaction that he was now coming into his dues.
Back outside, dark clouds began to swirl above the palace, and the wind picked up suddenly and violently. An old tree was torn up from its roots and smashed into the podium, where Yugi, Atem, and Aknamkanon still stood.
"Whoa!" Yugi gasped as Atem flattened him down to avoid any flying debris, Aknamkanon ducking on his own.
"Are you okay?" Atem asked when he let them back up.
"Yes." Yugi panted. "What's going on? Is this normal?"
"Not at all." Aknamkanon replied gravely.
And then something unusual started happening. A bolt of magic took the pharaoh's crown off of his head. Aknamkanon reached up and slammed it back down on his head, but it was useless. More magic swirled around him, stripping him of all his clothing.
"Father!" Atem gasped in horror as the magic started to fade.
Yugi quickly took off his knee length crimson cape and passed it to the pharaoh to spare him any embarrassment. Evil laughter reached their ear, and they turned to see the pharaoh's clothing reappear on Dartz.
"Dartz, you vile betrayer." Aknamkanon snarled as he fastened the cloak Yugi had given him around his waist.
"That's Pharaoh Vile Betrayer to you." Weevil squawked back, his own little fancy pink hat on his head.
"That dumb bird can actually talk?" Atem groaned, knowing he always had a reason for hating that green bird.
"Dumb bird?!" Weevil screeched and dived bombed at the prince. "Take this."
Atem didn't reply. He just held up… a cracker.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Weevil screamed as he hid behind Dartz.
"Dumb bird indeed." Dartz frowned.
While all that was going on, Yugi reached into his pouch to grab the lamp, thankful he had saved his last wish. But his hand met empty air. Yugi's eyes widened as he realized he had left the lamp in his room, with no one to guard it. Dartz noticed the motions, and smirked.
"Finders-keepers, No-no." Dartz grinned as he held the lamp and pointed.
The clouds swirled around before surrounding the entire palace. Yugi saw familiar magic run through the clouds, and realized what was happening. As the palace was lifted completely out of the ground, Yugi gave a sharp whistle, and Ryou came as fast as he could. Flying into the cloud, Ryou easily located Bakura, who was controlling the magic.
"Bakura!" Yugi yelled to make himself heard. "No!"
"Sorry shrimp, I've got a new master now." Bakura said sadly as he placed the palace on top of a magic-made mountain.
"No." Yugi whispered, regretting not freeing Bakura like he promised.
"Dartz, I order you to stop!" Aknamkanon snapped to the long turquoise haired man.
"But there's a new order now." Dartz grinned madly. "My order! Finally, you will bow to me!"
"We'll never bow to you!" Atem hissed in anger, he and his father remaining standing.
"Why am I not surprised?" Weevil 'wondered' out loud.
"If you will not bow before a pharaoh, then you will cower before a sorcerer!" Dartz roared in anger, and then turned to Bakura, who had finished his laps and was trying to remain out of sight in a tree in the courtyard. "Genie, my second wish. I wish to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world!"
Bakura groaned as he felt the magic that bound him force him to obey. Raising a hand, his magic flowed and gathered in his hand, lighting up his facial features and revealing who he was to Atem, Aknamkanon, and the sacred court. Yugi flew over and grabbed Bakura's wrist, trying to stop him.
"Bakura, stop!" Yugi yelled as he tugged as hard as he could.
But the magic exploded in the form of a lightning bolt, and struck Dartz. Yugi was thrown back onto Ryou, who flew a safe distance away while the electrical magic coated Dartz from head to toe.
"Ladies and gentlemen, a warm Domino welcome for Sorcerer Dartz!" Weevil introduced the man as his clothes reverted back to what he had worn prior to his brief time as 'pharaoh', except this time he had his snake staff.
"Now where were we?" Dartz asked and soon spotted the pharaoh and his son. "Ah, yes abject humiliation!"
A zap of magic raced out of the mouth of his staff, touching Atem and Aknamkanon. Both groaned as the magic forced them to their knees, and then their faces, making them bow low to the false ruler.
Dartz chuckled and whirled around at the sound of running. Malik was running at him with is sword drawn, and Marik was one bad tiger on a rampage.
"Down, boy!" Dartz commanded, another zap of magic striking Marik.
The giant tiger was changed to a tiger cub. Marik meowed in confusion. He didn't understand why part of his brain was telling him to run his claws into the turquoise haired man, and the other part was telling him to play with the staff he had.
"Marik!" Malik gasped, and stopped running to pick up the baby tiger cub that could not change back into a human.
"You to." Dartz grinned as his magic forced Malik to bow to him as well, before turning his powers onto the entire sacred court and made them bow as well, and then moved to Atem. "Oh, Prince Atem… there's someone I'm dying to introduce you to."
"Leave him alone!" Yugi yelled, worried for Atem.
Yugi hadn't missed the looks Dartz had given Atem upon his arrival and during the accusations in the prince's bedchambers. Dartz wanted Atem in every physical way possible with no emotional attachments involved. Yugi knew that something like that could very well break Atem's spirit, and he wasn't going to let that happen.
"Ah, Prince Yugi." Dartz grinned as he zapped Yugi, freezing the boy where he stood while Ryou flew away to find a hiding spot. "Just the one I was looking for. Time for your charade to be over!"
Yugi's eyes widened as a strong rush of magic slammed into him. It hurt, badly. Yugi couldn't stop the scream as the magic tore across his body, not noticing his clothing becoming tattered and ragged, or that his crown had disappeared, and that his hair had come undone from the braids he had been wearing for the past 24 hours.
"Everyone, say hello to Prince Yugi." Dartz grinned as he cut the magic on Yugi, and the magic surrounding Atem.
"Or should we say: the pathetic Domino street rat?" Weevil grinned at the shocked look on everyone's faces.
"Yugi, can you hear me?" Atem whispered as he gently supported Yugi against his chest. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I can hear you." Yugi winced at the pain still coursing through his body. "And no, I'm not okay. That hurt, a lot."
"So our most favorable suitor turns out to be a peasant." Dartz tsked. "That reason enough for me."
"Reason enough for what?" Atem growled as he held Yugi close.
"Reason enough to do this!" Dartz grinned as he zapped the two with magic, forcing them apart.
Atem was rebound and placed next to his father, while Yugi was held in a black cloud of magic. Joey tried to rescue his friend, but was swiftly changed from an elephant back to a golden monkey, and joined Yugi in the black cloud.
"You two are getting a one-way trip to the ends of the earth." Dartz grinned and sent the two into a nearby pillar via high window.
The bottom of the tower rumbled, and Ryou bolted out of hiding and into the window Yugi and Joey had just been sent through. Swinging his staff, Dartz sent the pillar flying away.
"Good bye, see ya!" Weevil waved.
"So long, ex-Prince Yugi!" Dartz called as the pillar sailed into the sky.
"Yugi!" Atem screamed despite the binding spell.
It was then Aknamkanon and the rest of the people there knew. Only very few things could break such a powerful spell, even if it was only for a few seconds. Forgiveness was one, and another was true love. Atem truly loved Yugi, even if he was a commoner, and Yugi obviously loved him back.
And now, he was gone. And they were at the mercy of a mad king.