Author's Note: Okay, first some answers for my WONDERFUL reviewers (thank you)! Star, I wasn't trying to copy Bed of Downs. I had read Creature Comforts before (I loved it!) and thought of the idea before you posted Bed of Downs. Lily22 and Dee Jay, don't worry! Yugi is coming! You'll see in this chapter. I'm afraid I'm not making Dark Magician amazingly intelligent, but hopefully it'll come off more as naive than stupid. Other than that I guess that's it. Please keep reviewing, I'll try to keep putting up chapters, but I'm running out of ideas. So help me out if you can (when you review!).
Escape to Reality
Chapter 3
I woke up early the next morning and levitated over to the other shore. There were a few joggers lurking about, but otherwise, the park was deserted. I took a random piece of paper out of my wallet and rolled it up into a cylinder. I pinched the end to make it pointy. I could turn this into a magical compass that would point to whatever I wanted. And surely there wouldn't be too many 3000 year-old spirits around.
As soon as I finished enchanting the roll of paper, it rotated to point northwest. It was pulling strongly, so that must mean the person I was searching for was fairly close by.
I followed the pull of the paper as well as I could. Occasionally I had to go slightly off-course to avoid buildings or busy streets. I eventually ended up in another, much smaller park. It was nothing more than a few trees, a couple of benches, and a bit of playground equipment. There was a mother watching her child go down the slide over and over. There was also a boy with longish white hair who looked lost in thought. The paper was practically dragging me over to the white-haired boy, so I quickly disenchanted the paper, tossed it in a trash can, and walked over, trying to decide what to say. As I got close, I could feel the presence of the ancient spirit himself.
"Excuse me," I said. The boy jumped slightly and looked up at me. "Umm… You…. You are an ancient Egyptian spirit, aren't you?" He suddenly looked terrified. What had I said to scare him so much?
"Well… no," the boy said nervously. "I… He lives inside of my –" he stopped, looking even more frightened. It reminded me of a person being interrupted by another person, although there seemed to be no one else around.
"Please, I need your – or his – help. I used to be a Duel Monsters card, the Dark Magician. My master died while I was on the field and somehow I was able to enter this world. But now I can't touch anything besides what I have with me. And plants that are still growing. I don't know what to do! Please help," I pleaded.
"What do you mean, you can't touch anything?" the boy asked.
"Look," I said. I pulled out my cards. "Now hand me something."
The boy hesitated for a second and then pulled a coin out of his pocket. He offered it to me. I reached for it, and closed my fingers around it, but just like before, my hand passed right through.
The white-haired boy looked shocked. "What!? How –" he said, but appeared to be cut off again. Then suddenly a round area on his chest started to glow. His hair became spikier and his eyes grew slanted, with no innocence or fear left in them.
"Don't waste time talking to my hikari, he can't help you," he said in a much more confident voice. "I, however, may be able to. Obviously, you can only touch things your master touched before you. You're lucky he touched the ground, because otherwise I'm sure you'd sink into it. And things growing from the ground count as well."
"Please Ancient One, I beg your help," I said, casting my eyes down. He must have been a mighty lord, close to the Pharaoh in life.
"Yes, I can help," he said with a slight smirk. "But you will have to get something for me first. You see, it's a complicated ritual. I need a special item that I'm sure you can get for me, Dark Magician." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a wallet. He opened it and flipped through some pictures before showing one to me. It was a short boy with black, magenta, and yellow hair smiling out at me. He looked very friendly. Around his neck was an oversized golden pyramid.
"You see that thing on his neck?" the spirit asked.
"Yes. With the Sennen Eye on it," I said.
"Exactly," he said, smiling. "Bring it to me and I can help you. He lives with his grandfather, and can often be found in the old man's game shop. It's right down this street. Just keep going, you'll run into it eventually."
"Thank you so much," I said, truly grateful. "Please, what is your name?"
The white-haired spirit's eyes narrowed a bit. "I may tell you when you return. The owner of the Sennen Puzzle is very tricky, and I don't want him to know this has anything to do with me. Understand?"
"Yes, I think so," I said. "Thank you again! I'll return with the puzzle."
The spirit snickered. "I look forward to that time," he said. Then his hair fell down a bit and his eyes became rounder again. Ah, the hikari was back. He looked absolutely miserable. He looked as if he wanted to tell me something, but when I gave him a questioning look he just shook his head and looked down. So I shrugged slightly and set off walking toward the game shop.
Escape to Reality
Chapter 3
I woke up early the next morning and levitated over to the other shore. There were a few joggers lurking about, but otherwise, the park was deserted. I took a random piece of paper out of my wallet and rolled it up into a cylinder. I pinched the end to make it pointy. I could turn this into a magical compass that would point to whatever I wanted. And surely there wouldn't be too many 3000 year-old spirits around.
As soon as I finished enchanting the roll of paper, it rotated to point northwest. It was pulling strongly, so that must mean the person I was searching for was fairly close by.
I followed the pull of the paper as well as I could. Occasionally I had to go slightly off-course to avoid buildings or busy streets. I eventually ended up in another, much smaller park. It was nothing more than a few trees, a couple of benches, and a bit of playground equipment. There was a mother watching her child go down the slide over and over. There was also a boy with longish white hair who looked lost in thought. The paper was practically dragging me over to the white-haired boy, so I quickly disenchanted the paper, tossed it in a trash can, and walked over, trying to decide what to say. As I got close, I could feel the presence of the ancient spirit himself.
"Excuse me," I said. The boy jumped slightly and looked up at me. "Umm… You…. You are an ancient Egyptian spirit, aren't you?" He suddenly looked terrified. What had I said to scare him so much?
"Well… no," the boy said nervously. "I… He lives inside of my –" he stopped, looking even more frightened. It reminded me of a person being interrupted by another person, although there seemed to be no one else around.
"Please, I need your – or his – help. I used to be a Duel Monsters card, the Dark Magician. My master died while I was on the field and somehow I was able to enter this world. But now I can't touch anything besides what I have with me. And plants that are still growing. I don't know what to do! Please help," I pleaded.
"What do you mean, you can't touch anything?" the boy asked.
"Look," I said. I pulled out my cards. "Now hand me something."
The boy hesitated for a second and then pulled a coin out of his pocket. He offered it to me. I reached for it, and closed my fingers around it, but just like before, my hand passed right through.
The white-haired boy looked shocked. "What!? How –" he said, but appeared to be cut off again. Then suddenly a round area on his chest started to glow. His hair became spikier and his eyes grew slanted, with no innocence or fear left in them.
"Don't waste time talking to my hikari, he can't help you," he said in a much more confident voice. "I, however, may be able to. Obviously, you can only touch things your master touched before you. You're lucky he touched the ground, because otherwise I'm sure you'd sink into it. And things growing from the ground count as well."
"Please Ancient One, I beg your help," I said, casting my eyes down. He must have been a mighty lord, close to the Pharaoh in life.
"Yes, I can help," he said with a slight smirk. "But you will have to get something for me first. You see, it's a complicated ritual. I need a special item that I'm sure you can get for me, Dark Magician." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a wallet. He opened it and flipped through some pictures before showing one to me. It was a short boy with black, magenta, and yellow hair smiling out at me. He looked very friendly. Around his neck was an oversized golden pyramid.
"You see that thing on his neck?" the spirit asked.
"Yes. With the Sennen Eye on it," I said.
"Exactly," he said, smiling. "Bring it to me and I can help you. He lives with his grandfather, and can often be found in the old man's game shop. It's right down this street. Just keep going, you'll run into it eventually."
"Thank you so much," I said, truly grateful. "Please, what is your name?"
The white-haired spirit's eyes narrowed a bit. "I may tell you when you return. The owner of the Sennen Puzzle is very tricky, and I don't want him to know this has anything to do with me. Understand?"
"Yes, I think so," I said. "Thank you again! I'll return with the puzzle."
The spirit snickered. "I look forward to that time," he said. Then his hair fell down a bit and his eyes became rounder again. Ah, the hikari was back. He looked absolutely miserable. He looked as if he wanted to tell me something, but when I gave him a questioning look he just shook his head and looked down. So I shrugged slightly and set off walking toward the game shop.