Disclaimer: Yes, it's back! *cheesy horror music* NOOO! *ahem* Anyway, Galactica belongs...to whoever made Galactica. o^.^o;; I only played the game the few times my mumsie took me to the Laundromat, I didn't take the time to find out who made it.
Author's Notes: Err...I kinda...forgot about Yami, Meada-0...thank you for reminding me about 'im, though! I thought of something interesting....I love it when reviewers give me ideas. (Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more. o^.~o) On with the fic! Beginning and ending words are, again, things I usually say. I say interesting things...
New Break!
(*~~~*)
Flashback
Bed of Downs
Chapter Three: Everybody, Meet Everybody!
"GRANDPA! YAMI! WE'RE BACK!" Yugi called out when they returned.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'WE'?" Yami replied from upstairs. A great and powerful pharaoh should NOT have to clean the bathroom as a Saturday afternoon chore...
/Yami, you HAVE to come here! I want you to meet a new friend of mine!/
//And what would this friends name be?//
/You have to come down here to meet him first./
//Oh, so it's a 'him'?//
/Just get down here, Yami!/
//...A pharaoh should not have to be ordered around...//
/Stuff it and get your ancient Egyptian ass down here!/
//Yugi! I never thought you would say such a thing!//
/Actually I heard something like that from Joey the other day./
//...Remind me to invite him over for a little 'game' later.//
/Yami!/
//Alright, I'll leave him alone, just don't whine.../ He could just imagine the puppy eyes...
Yami finally appeared at the bottom of the stairs and looked with much surprise at Seth.
"Do I...know you from somewhere...?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly and narrowing his crimson eyes.
"Well, you might..." Seth smirked and removed his glasses.
"You! You're the Dark Magician!"
"Call me Seth. You're Yami, am I right?"
"Yes...I want to thank you for what you did for Yugi a year ago. He seems much happier since he met you."
"It was nothing. You've done so much more for him than I have. He likes you a lot and he admires you greatly."
"Hm. He told me you were good at flattery."
The bespectacled young man's face immediately flooded with color and he laughed softly.
"I'll take that as a compliment!"
Through all this, Yugi had been blushing slightly and fidgeting. This was the kind of talk teachers had with parents! Well, except one didn't blush when the other said that they were good at flattery.
"Um, how about we take Seth to meet everyone else, Yami..." he murmured to change the subject. Yami nodded in agreement and Seth smiled.
"I would like to meet them. They sound like wonderful friends..." he looked away, something clouding his bright blue eyes for a moment. Yugi smiled and led the way to the arcade. Joey was probably there, and wherever Joey was, Tristan was, and Bakura and Téa usually followed them to make sure they didn't fight. Too much, anyway.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"C'mon, c'mon! No! No! Left! C'mon, LEFT! Waitwait, RIGHT! STARBOARD! STARBOARD, DAMMIT!! NOOOO!!" Joey wailed, pounding his fist on the Galactica video game machine. He'd almost beaten his highest score! "Stupid space bugs..."
"Well, that's why they make these games, Joey, so you can blast the stupid space bugs."
"Shyaddap, Tristan."
"Jeez, I'm sorry...just tryin' to make you feel better. C'mon, I'll get you s'more quarters."
"Hmph...damn space bugs..."
"Were you playing Galactica again?"
The blonde boy jumped at the new voice.
"Jeez, Yug', ya scared me!"
"I scared you, Joey? The un-scare-able Joseph Wheeler?"
"Well, not scared, more like startled—hey, it's that guy ya banged into earlier! And ya brought Yami, too, that's great! Finished cleanin' the toilet, O Mighty Pharaoh?"
"Joey, if you say one more word, I'll—"
"Yami, go wait outside! Anyway, Joey, this is—"
"Seth Hartford. Pleased to meet you, Joey." The blue-eyed man extended his hand and Joey took it.
"Great ta meet you, too. Ah, this is gonna sound a little weird, but d'ya go by any other names? I mean, other than Seth?"
"You're much more intelligent than you're given credit for. I do, actually. The Dark Magician."
Joey blushed a little at the compliment and grinned widely.
"I knew it! The buckle gave it all away! Well, and the hair, and the eyes, and the tendency ta wear purple..."
Seth chuckled and resisted the urge to ruffle Joey's hair. He was a very amusing person. And adorable, too.
"Joey, I got the quart—what the heck? Uh, who are you?" Tristan blinked and tilted his head to the side slightly. The indigo-haired youth smiled and introduced himself.
"Seth Hartford. I'm a friend of Yugi's. You are?"
"Tristan Taylor."
"So you're Tristan. He told me about you."
"I told you about everyone."
"Well, ah..." Seth blushed and fidgeted nervously before laughing a little and tugging a strand of Yugi's wild hair. "Quiet, you. I'm trying to make a good first impression."
Yugi giggled a little and batted his hand away.
"Not the hair! Anything but the hair!"
"Apparently you're a very good friend of Yugi's."
"I met him a year ago, actually. Just after a mistake was made."
Tristan paused and studied the slightly taller figure before him. Indigo hair, cerulean blue eyes, thin, tall, knows Yugi from a year ago just after—
"You're the Dark Magician!" he yelped, olivine eyes wide.
"Yes, but keep it down! I don't want to end up a science project!" Seth hissed. A slight blush graced his cheeks and his blue eyes gained a nervous look.
"Eh, sorry..." the brunette apologized softly.
"How about we go somewhere not so crowded?" Yugi suggested and the other two boys agreed. Seth let out a relieved sigh. Yugi remembered something just as they reached the door. "Were Téa and Bakura with you?"
Joey and Tristan looked at each other.
"Oops." they chorused.
"We left 'em at the vending machines. Said we'd come back with quartehs but..."
"...He got stuck playing Galactica."
"Guys?"
"Yeah?"
"You know that Téa has a nasty temper and Bakura has a not very nice dark side, right?"
They both paused for a moment.
"We're gonna die."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"And just WHERE were you two?! We've been waiting here for half an hour!"
"You had better have a bloody good reason for leaving us here starving and thirsty!"
"Eh..."
"Well..."
"Joey got sidetracked playing Galactica and Tristan was cheering him on."
"YUGI! Are ya TRYIN' ta kill us?! This is twice now, ya know!"
That comment hit sharp but Yugi didn't show it.
"Joey! You left us here for half and hour to play Galactica?!"
"You didn't stop him, Tristan?!"
"Well, he was doin' really good..."
"I don't care if he was beating Yugi's bloody score! I'm starving and you two play video games!"
They continued fussing while Seth watched from behind one of the game machines.
'Just like...when I...'
(*~~~~~*)
"How could you?! How could you go staring at a stream for over an hour and leave us here hungry?!"
"I-I'm sorry, Cel..."
"Don't you 'Cel', me! You know you could have CAUGHT something in that stream while you were staring at it!"
"I—"
"Just forget it. I'll find us something. By the gods, you're the most incompetent magician I've ever met..."
(*~~~~~*)
Tears welled in Seth's blue eyes. The normally bright and clear cerulean was clouded with sadness and painful memories. Slowly he fell to his knees, forcing his tears away. His breath was shaky and his chest was painfully tight.
'I'm sorry, Cel...'
"Seth? Are you okay?"
The once magician looked up to see a worried Yugi.
"I...I'm fine. Just...a little dizzy."
"Are you sure? Do you need to sit down or something?"
"No, I'm fine..."
"Alright, if you're sure..." the teen helped him to his feet and turned to his friends.
"Well, guys, this is Seth. Seth—"
"Seth Hartford. Pleased to meet you." he held out his had, pushing the memories to the back of his mind. So much for first impressions. Téa shook his hand, as did Bakura, and both introduced themselves. They immediately recognized him as the Dark Magician.
"We have more brains than these two lunkheads." Téa shot a glare at the two boys. "They now have to by us lunch, their treat."
Seth smiled. They could forgive and forget. He had never made it up to his friends...
"I'd like that. All I've had to day is a little bit of melted ice cream."
"That was my treat, if I remember."
"Is it my fault I forgot about currency here?"
"Yes!"
Seth pouted; a look that was much too cute to be legal. If it was, it should be under severe restriction.
"Okay, it's not your fault...if I had known you could do the sad puppy eyes..."
Past is Past,
Present is Now,
and Pink Bunnies Go Well With Sporks!
Oooh, Seth past. We liiike Seth past, don't we? @.o;; Pink bunnies and sporks...*thud*