Summary: On vacation with the girls, Gamer encounters his Subreverse self.
Playtime
By Nate
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Vacation was an odd concept to Gamer. As Nate's Third Muse, his Inspirations were often shelved away for rainy days, while Yugi's and D's were sucked into their Writer's head almost immediately. Incidentally, this left Gamer with quite a bit of free time. So when Nate declared he was shipping them all to some exotic island getaway, Gamer had not been as thrilled as the girls.
After all, he probably only actually Mused 20% of the time he was around Nate. So being told to leave and not Inspire for a few weeks was hardly any different from any other day. It was, however, extremely boring by the second day.
Since they worked so much harder at being Muses, Yugi and D were enjoying the time off immensely. Deemon was enjoying herself because...well, she was Deemon. That and both Yugi and Gamer had recently acquired new pets for her. Any other fictive might've considered two active, squeaky, bouncy furballs to be strange pets. But Deemon simply adored her Venonat and Karibou, and never went anywhere without them.
For the first day, Gamer had sat and watched the two balls of fluff chase each other around Deemon's feet as she ran up and down the beach. It gradually became harder and harder to tell the purple one from the brown one, and Gamer knew that this would be a long vacation indeed.
* * * * *
In terms of his relations with humanity, Nate was most definitely a solitary person. In terms of his relations with fictives, it was about the same (although replacing "person" with "Writer" was his preference, as it implied at least SOME importance).
And then, of course, there was the fact that Yugi was, quite simply, a goddess in her own right. She would never be mentioned in any notable collections of them, but just mentioning her name in Subreality generally inspired fear (from anyone less powerful), looks of jealousy (from her adoring, if not obsessed fans), and sighs that just seemed to say, "You poor, unfortunate Writer, you" (from anyone who had enough sense to know that the cuteness was only an act).
The strange thing was that in this case, a virtually unknown Writer plus an infamous (and Yugi liked it that way) Muse resulted in a sort of twisted popularity for them both.
Nate, however, was not aware of this until he'd gone out looking for a few assistants to keep things organized while Gamer and the girls were away. After the first mob, he learned rather quickly. They didn't want him, though. Just being associated with a friend of Yugi's meant instant semi-celebrity status. Being able to say you'd worked with her Writer (never mind that Yugi was nowhere near at the time) put you at demi-god.
Finally, he'd just gone to his most recent fic and pulled out one of the neatest characters he'd ever run into...for a robot, anyway. It had nothing to do with the fact that he secretly wanted to be a Medafighter. More like the fact that Brass was SO polite that she called even him "Mr. Nate" without prompting.
* * * * *
"Do you think Gamey will like my tan?" Yugi asked.
D rolled her eyes. "Yugi, he worships the ground you walk on. You know perfectly well that Gamer would like you even if you were bald and smelled funny."
"But do you think he'll like my tan?"
D sighed. "Sure, he'll love it."
"Great!" Yugi reached for her bottle of suntan lotion. "Wake me up when I'm a nice, golden brown."
"Don't tempt me to leave you here until you're charcoal black, Yugi. Because it IS tempting."
Yugi pushed her shades up, grinning wickedly. "Are you still sore about...The Barbie Incident?"
"Shut up."
* * * * *
Deemon stopped running and looked up the beach. She could still see Muse Yugi and Big Sister stretched out on their chairs. Muse Gamer wasn't with them. Curious, Deemon looked in the other direction. No Muse Gamer there, either.
Venonat chattered at her feet, rubbing against her leg.
Deemon frowned. It wasn't like Muse Gamer to disappear without telling anyone. Maybe Something Bad had happened again. Things tended to do that when you knew Muse Yugi, of course, but that didn't mean there was no cause for concern.
Making up her mind, Deemon headed back up the shoreline to tell the Muses that one of them was missing.
* * * * *
Gamer had never really seen a hotel pool before. So it took him a few seconds to realize that the dark, dry tunnel he'd stepped into was not supposed to be there.
"Come to me."
The voice left no room for argument, and anyway, Gamer didn't have anything better to do.
The tunnel stretched out to small chamber of sorts, with nothing more than two golden benches, a table, and someone who looked as if he'd just proclaimed himself Pharaoh of Egypt.
"I've been waiting for you, my brother," he said, smiling eerily. "Do come closer and stop hiding in that Millennium Puzzle of yours."
There was a rush of wind, and the Shadow King sat down. "Who are you?"
"One who has long since forgotten his true name. I am descended from the dark god, Ra, and have no use for mortal titles. Now, brother, let us play your game. Let us play the Shadow Game..."
* * * * *
Yugi woke up to feel hands fondling her leg desperately. True, she had been flirting with the waiter, but she didn't think he'd be THIS forward. At least not with Gamer right up the beach. Well, there was no sense in denying her immortal beauty. Better to let to poor, unfortunate soul down easy. Perhaps she'd blow him a kiss or two.
But it was not an adoring, drooling fan Yugi found upon lifting her shades. It was only Deemon.
"Oh, it's you," Yugi said, sounding very disappointed. "What is it?"
"Muse Yugi, Muse Gamer is gone!"
Yugi glanced both ways. "Hmm...so he is."
"Shouldn't we go look for him?"
"Gamer's a big boy, Deemon. I'm sure he's fine. Anyway, he wouldn't stray too far from me."
Deemon pouted. "But I'm worried..."
"Don't look at me like that. I MADE that look just so I could get Nate to do what I want. Stop it!"
"Pleeeeeeeease, Muse Yugi?"
Yugi sighed and nudged her partner Muse. "D, get up. Gamer's gone missing."
"What, again? You've got to learn to keep up with your toys, Yugi."
"It's not MY fault male toys are so curious! They're like...cats, I swear!"
D sighed. "Sure. But we wouldn't have to keep looking for them if you just gave them back their minds and let them go free, would we?"
Yugi rolled her eyes. "Look, we both know that's not happening. "Let's just find Gamey before he realizes he's without me and suffers a nervous breakdown."
* * * * *
The Shadow King gasped as the game ended, clutching at his weary heart.
"You played honorably," the Son of Ra noted. "Yet you lost."
"So I did," the Shadow King agreed. "Is that why you brought me here?"
"Yes," said the Son of Ra. A year from this day, you will return, and we will play again. And we will continue to play until you can defeat me."
"And if I do win...can we still play again?"
The Son of Ra smiled. "No. Because then there would be no need."
The chamber suddenly vanished, and Gamer found himself standing waist-deep in a sandhill. "That was...different."
"THERE you are!"
Gamer twisted his head around to see Yugi approaching, followed closely by D & Deemon.
"Where have you been, Gamer? We've been all over the island looking for you!"
"I was...in the pool?"
"Oh. Well...don't wander off so much. And if you're gonna, at least take the shrimp and the furballs with you so they doesn't bug us about it."
"Sorry." Gamer glanced down at his waist suggestively. "A little help here? Please?"
With a sigh, Yugi waved her hand, and Gamer was instantly uprooted.
"Thanks."
"Uh huh. But you're on your own getting the sand out of your shorts."
Gamer paused. "How do you know there's sand in-"
"BEACH WEDGIE!!!" D shouted, grabbing his shorts and pouring an entire pail of sand into them.
Not that he could really tell the difference with all the sand that was already there. Although it was noticeably a bit harder to chase after D.
Gamer sighed and shook his head. "I REALLY need a vacation from THIS vacation..."
---------
Disclaimer: Subreality, Subreversity, and anything else she wants, belong to the Scribe.
Playtime
By Nate
---------
Vacation was an odd concept to Gamer. As Nate's Third Muse, his Inspirations were often shelved away for rainy days, while Yugi's and D's were sucked into their Writer's head almost immediately. Incidentally, this left Gamer with quite a bit of free time. So when Nate declared he was shipping them all to some exotic island getaway, Gamer had not been as thrilled as the girls.
After all, he probably only actually Mused 20% of the time he was around Nate. So being told to leave and not Inspire for a few weeks was hardly any different from any other day. It was, however, extremely boring by the second day.
Since they worked so much harder at being Muses, Yugi and D were enjoying the time off immensely. Deemon was enjoying herself because...well, she was Deemon. That and both Yugi and Gamer had recently acquired new pets for her. Any other fictive might've considered two active, squeaky, bouncy furballs to be strange pets. But Deemon simply adored her Venonat and Karibou, and never went anywhere without them.
For the first day, Gamer had sat and watched the two balls of fluff chase each other around Deemon's feet as she ran up and down the beach. It gradually became harder and harder to tell the purple one from the brown one, and Gamer knew that this would be a long vacation indeed.
* * * * *
In terms of his relations with humanity, Nate was most definitely a solitary person. In terms of his relations with fictives, it was about the same (although replacing "person" with "Writer" was his preference, as it implied at least SOME importance).
And then, of course, there was the fact that Yugi was, quite simply, a goddess in her own right. She would never be mentioned in any notable collections of them, but just mentioning her name in Subreality generally inspired fear (from anyone less powerful), looks of jealousy (from her adoring, if not obsessed fans), and sighs that just seemed to say, "You poor, unfortunate Writer, you" (from anyone who had enough sense to know that the cuteness was only an act).
The strange thing was that in this case, a virtually unknown Writer plus an infamous (and Yugi liked it that way) Muse resulted in a sort of twisted popularity for them both.
Nate, however, was not aware of this until he'd gone out looking for a few assistants to keep things organized while Gamer and the girls were away. After the first mob, he learned rather quickly. They didn't want him, though. Just being associated with a friend of Yugi's meant instant semi-celebrity status. Being able to say you'd worked with her Writer (never mind that Yugi was nowhere near at the time) put you at demi-god.
Finally, he'd just gone to his most recent fic and pulled out one of the neatest characters he'd ever run into...for a robot, anyway. It had nothing to do with the fact that he secretly wanted to be a Medafighter. More like the fact that Brass was SO polite that she called even him "Mr. Nate" without prompting.
* * * * *
"Do you think Gamey will like my tan?" Yugi asked.
D rolled her eyes. "Yugi, he worships the ground you walk on. You know perfectly well that Gamer would like you even if you were bald and smelled funny."
"But do you think he'll like my tan?"
D sighed. "Sure, he'll love it."
"Great!" Yugi reached for her bottle of suntan lotion. "Wake me up when I'm a nice, golden brown."
"Don't tempt me to leave you here until you're charcoal black, Yugi. Because it IS tempting."
Yugi pushed her shades up, grinning wickedly. "Are you still sore about...The Barbie Incident?"
"Shut up."
* * * * *
Deemon stopped running and looked up the beach. She could still see Muse Yugi and Big Sister stretched out on their chairs. Muse Gamer wasn't with them. Curious, Deemon looked in the other direction. No Muse Gamer there, either.
Venonat chattered at her feet, rubbing against her leg.
Deemon frowned. It wasn't like Muse Gamer to disappear without telling anyone. Maybe Something Bad had happened again. Things tended to do that when you knew Muse Yugi, of course, but that didn't mean there was no cause for concern.
Making up her mind, Deemon headed back up the shoreline to tell the Muses that one of them was missing.
* * * * *
Gamer had never really seen a hotel pool before. So it took him a few seconds to realize that the dark, dry tunnel he'd stepped into was not supposed to be there.
"Come to me."
The voice left no room for argument, and anyway, Gamer didn't have anything better to do.
The tunnel stretched out to small chamber of sorts, with nothing more than two golden benches, a table, and someone who looked as if he'd just proclaimed himself Pharaoh of Egypt.
"I've been waiting for you, my brother," he said, smiling eerily. "Do come closer and stop hiding in that Millennium Puzzle of yours."
There was a rush of wind, and the Shadow King sat down. "Who are you?"
"One who has long since forgotten his true name. I am descended from the dark god, Ra, and have no use for mortal titles. Now, brother, let us play your game. Let us play the Shadow Game..."
* * * * *
Yugi woke up to feel hands fondling her leg desperately. True, she had been flirting with the waiter, but she didn't think he'd be THIS forward. At least not with Gamer right up the beach. Well, there was no sense in denying her immortal beauty. Better to let to poor, unfortunate soul down easy. Perhaps she'd blow him a kiss or two.
But it was not an adoring, drooling fan Yugi found upon lifting her shades. It was only Deemon.
"Oh, it's you," Yugi said, sounding very disappointed. "What is it?"
"Muse Yugi, Muse Gamer is gone!"
Yugi glanced both ways. "Hmm...so he is."
"Shouldn't we go look for him?"
"Gamer's a big boy, Deemon. I'm sure he's fine. Anyway, he wouldn't stray too far from me."
Deemon pouted. "But I'm worried..."
"Don't look at me like that. I MADE that look just so I could get Nate to do what I want. Stop it!"
"Pleeeeeeeease, Muse Yugi?"
Yugi sighed and nudged her partner Muse. "D, get up. Gamer's gone missing."
"What, again? You've got to learn to keep up with your toys, Yugi."
"It's not MY fault male toys are so curious! They're like...cats, I swear!"
D sighed. "Sure. But we wouldn't have to keep looking for them if you just gave them back their minds and let them go free, would we?"
Yugi rolled her eyes. "Look, we both know that's not happening. "Let's just find Gamey before he realizes he's without me and suffers a nervous breakdown."
* * * * *
The Shadow King gasped as the game ended, clutching at his weary heart.
"You played honorably," the Son of Ra noted. "Yet you lost."
"So I did," the Shadow King agreed. "Is that why you brought me here?"
"Yes," said the Son of Ra. A year from this day, you will return, and we will play again. And we will continue to play until you can defeat me."
"And if I do win...can we still play again?"
The Son of Ra smiled. "No. Because then there would be no need."
The chamber suddenly vanished, and Gamer found himself standing waist-deep in a sandhill. "That was...different."
"THERE you are!"
Gamer twisted his head around to see Yugi approaching, followed closely by D & Deemon.
"Where have you been, Gamer? We've been all over the island looking for you!"
"I was...in the pool?"
"Oh. Well...don't wander off so much. And if you're gonna, at least take the shrimp and the furballs with you so they doesn't bug us about it."
"Sorry." Gamer glanced down at his waist suggestively. "A little help here? Please?"
With a sigh, Yugi waved her hand, and Gamer was instantly uprooted.
"Thanks."
"Uh huh. But you're on your own getting the sand out of your shorts."
Gamer paused. "How do you know there's sand in-"
"BEACH WEDGIE!!!" D shouted, grabbing his shorts and pouring an entire pail of sand into them.
Not that he could really tell the difference with all the sand that was already there. Although it was noticeably a bit harder to chase after D.
Gamer sighed and shook his head. "I REALLY need a vacation from THIS vacation..."
---------
Disclaimer: Subreality, Subreversity, and anything else she wants, belong to the Scribe.