~ . . . ~ = Yami's thoughts
+ . . . + = Gary's thoughts
Upon falling asleep, Gary was very disturbed by his dark and terrifying dreams.
* * *
"This is one Shadow Game that you cannot win," said an evil-looking, white-haired person.
"I've never lost Shadow Games against you before, Bakura, and I'm not starting now!" a boy, quite similar-looking to Gary, yelled.
The one named Bakura shook his head. "You may have won before, but that was because you only have ME to deal with, Yugi."
The boy, Yugi, widened his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Another sinister figure emerged from the darkness. "Malik!" Yugi cried.
"Yes, Yugi," Bakura said. "And with our combined powers - nothing will stop us from destroying you once and for all!" He walked around Yugi. "And to stop your protector from foiling our plans . . ."
Malik swung a sharp rod at Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and shattered it to pieces.
And all was blackness.
* * *
Gary woke up in a sweat. "W-What was that?" He stood up from his bed so quickly that he felt dizzy. "Yugi, again?" He shook his head. "That was no ordinary dream. Could it have to do with that Millennium Puzzle voice?" Then, he remembered: In the dream, that Yugi was wearing the same Millennium Puzzle that Gary had!
He went to his book bag and took out the Puzzle. "This was the Millennium Puzzle of the legendary Yugi Moto!" He hung it back on his neck. "If you're still there, Puzzle guy, tell me if you have anything to do with Yugi Moto!"
A pause.
~Yugi was my other self.~
"Other self? Is this his Millennium Puzzle?"
~Mm. And I am its spirit.~ "But - why are you in there? And what are you doing here?"
~I don't know.~
"How could you not know?"
~Yugi and I were on a quest to regain my memories, but . . . we failed.~
Gary's eyes widened. "Failed?"
The pharaoh spirit was solemn. ~He was involved with a Shadow Game . . .~
"Shadow Game? I saw that in my dream! And Yugi was there with two evil guys!"
~Mm. I was never able to see that Shadow Game. This Millennium Puzzle was broken, and because of that, I was unable to emerge and help him.~
Gary nodded, knowing about the broken Puzzle.
~The next thing I knew, I was here, with you.~
"Me?" he gulped. "But I -"
~I will understand if you do not wish to help me.~
"Help you? Help you with what?"
~My memories. I need the god cards . . .~
Gary didn't know what to say. He felt very incapable of helping anyone, especially since he didn't even really know this guy. He only knew a life of showy tricks that he used to impress people - Duel Monsters being one of those things he liked to show off with.
~It's okay, Gary.~
Suddenly, Gary had a flashback of his father calling himself a failure. "No. It's not okay. If I couldn't help my father not feel like a failure, then at least let me try to help you."
~Thank you.~
Gary's mother walked in just then with her sister (his aunt). "What are you doing, talking to yourself like that?"
He quickly picked up a stack of papers. "Talking to myself? Oh, no, not me. Just practicing . . . for a play at school." He grinned widely.
As his mom and aunt were leaving, he overheard his aunt say, "He must still be mourning."
He talked lower now. "What do you need from me?"
The spirit seemed to laugh, for the first time in a millennia. ~You may communicate by thoughts alone, you know.~
+Can you hear me?+
~Loud and clear.~
+I hope I don't think anything stupid . . . So what do I need to know?+
~Well, before the incident, Yugi and I had gained possession of 2 of the 3 god cards - Osiris and Obelisk.~
Gary was unclear about the concept of a god card. He only knew about the Duel Monsters of his time, none of which were considered gods.
~I'm sorry. This must be very confusing for you. I can show you more about my past with Yugi , but . . .~
+But what?+ He was becoming slightly more determined.
~I need the Millennium Tauk (Necklace).~
* * *
Ryou was somehow compelled to the point where he was waiting in a line to purchase airline tickets, without the slightest idea why.
"Coach or First Class?" the cashier asked.
Ryou, not aware of why he was there, found himself pulling a credit card from his pocket. It belonged to his father, but he had borrowed it without asking. Not that he was that kind of person, but he felt as though he was hypnotized or something.
The evil spirit took over. "First class."
* * *
"Dad, why is it that we came all this way to see this?" Kyle asked his father as they were headed for their hotel.
"Why?" his father repeated, chuckling a little. "Because as descendants of Seto Kaiba, I feel it is our duty to honor our family history."
"Dad," Mike chimed in. "Does Yugi Moto have a museum?"
Their father stopped in his tracks. "I wouldn't know. Any nemesis of Seto Kaiba is a nemesis of ours."
"But Dad . . ." Kyle protested.
"It's part of our family honor. Just because we live in America, doesn't mean that we should forget the honor that comes from our true home land," his father said seriously.
"But . . ."
Kyle's father's temper flared. "If you want to find out about Yugi instead of part of our own blood, then so be it!" He walked faster, grabbing Mike by the wrist. "Once you're done seeing how foolish you are being, you can come back to our hotel and ask for your brother and me!" He and Mike walked on, until they disappeared into the distant waves of the afternoon sun.
Kyle was silent for a while. Finally, he began to head back to the Kaiba Museum. "Blood or no blood, Kaiba's Blue Eyes cards are wherever Yugi Moto is. But . . . if they were rivals, then why would Kaiba trust Yugi with his best cards???"
* * *
Ryou was startled when he realized that he was on a plane headed to Japan.
"It must be some kind of crazy dream," he said to himself. He felt his left arm throbbing. "Ow."
* * *
The pharaoh spirit was silent for a long time. He was thinking about Yugi. He remembered when Yugi did not trust him, holding him back in a duel against a three-headed dragon. He remembered how much power he felt when he and Yugi were summoning the legendary Black Luster Soldier. He remembered when Yugi fainted in the Shadow Realm, in a duel for his loved- ones' souls. It would never be that way again. Never again could he see his good friends, Joey, Tristan, and Téa. And he still didn't have his memories.
+What Tauk?+
The spirit, drowning in depression, did not say a word.
Gary was thinking about the Millennium Tauk and figured that it probably had that same weird eye as his Millennium Puzzle. He began to search through his house for it.
The spirit of the Puzzle kept thinking about the last memory that he had of little Yugi - when he, Malik, and Bakura were about to begin that fateful Shadow Game. He kept wondering if there was any chance that Yugi had survived the assault, but he knew that he'd never know. Even if he did, Yugi was not with him now, and this was something that the spirit had to accept. Only with Gary's help could he move on . . .
(To be continued.)
Upon falling asleep, Gary was very disturbed by his dark and terrifying dreams.
* * *
"This is one Shadow Game that you cannot win," said an evil-looking, white-haired person.
"I've never lost Shadow Games against you before, Bakura, and I'm not starting now!" a boy, quite similar-looking to Gary, yelled.
The one named Bakura shook his head. "You may have won before, but that was because you only have ME to deal with, Yugi."
The boy, Yugi, widened his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Another sinister figure emerged from the darkness. "Malik!" Yugi cried.
"Yes, Yugi," Bakura said. "And with our combined powers - nothing will stop us from destroying you once and for all!" He walked around Yugi. "And to stop your protector from foiling our plans . . ."
Malik swung a sharp rod at Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and shattered it to pieces.
And all was blackness.
* * *
Gary woke up in a sweat. "W-What was that?" He stood up from his bed so quickly that he felt dizzy. "Yugi, again?" He shook his head. "That was no ordinary dream. Could it have to do with that Millennium Puzzle voice?" Then, he remembered: In the dream, that Yugi was wearing the same Millennium Puzzle that Gary had!
He went to his book bag and took out the Puzzle. "This was the Millennium Puzzle of the legendary Yugi Moto!" He hung it back on his neck. "If you're still there, Puzzle guy, tell me if you have anything to do with Yugi Moto!"
A pause.
~Yugi was my other self.~
"Other self? Is this his Millennium Puzzle?"
~Mm. And I am its spirit.~ "But - why are you in there? And what are you doing here?"
~I don't know.~
"How could you not know?"
~Yugi and I were on a quest to regain my memories, but . . . we failed.~
Gary's eyes widened. "Failed?"
The pharaoh spirit was solemn. ~He was involved with a Shadow Game . . .~
"Shadow Game? I saw that in my dream! And Yugi was there with two evil guys!"
~Mm. I was never able to see that Shadow Game. This Millennium Puzzle was broken, and because of that, I was unable to emerge and help him.~
Gary nodded, knowing about the broken Puzzle.
~The next thing I knew, I was here, with you.~
"Me?" he gulped. "But I -"
~I will understand if you do not wish to help me.~
"Help you? Help you with what?"
~My memories. I need the god cards . . .~
Gary didn't know what to say. He felt very incapable of helping anyone, especially since he didn't even really know this guy. He only knew a life of showy tricks that he used to impress people - Duel Monsters being one of those things he liked to show off with.
~It's okay, Gary.~
Suddenly, Gary had a flashback of his father calling himself a failure. "No. It's not okay. If I couldn't help my father not feel like a failure, then at least let me try to help you."
~Thank you.~
Gary's mother walked in just then with her sister (his aunt). "What are you doing, talking to yourself like that?"
He quickly picked up a stack of papers. "Talking to myself? Oh, no, not me. Just practicing . . . for a play at school." He grinned widely.
As his mom and aunt were leaving, he overheard his aunt say, "He must still be mourning."
He talked lower now. "What do you need from me?"
The spirit seemed to laugh, for the first time in a millennia. ~You may communicate by thoughts alone, you know.~
+Can you hear me?+
~Loud and clear.~
+I hope I don't think anything stupid . . . So what do I need to know?+
~Well, before the incident, Yugi and I had gained possession of 2 of the 3 god cards - Osiris and Obelisk.~
Gary was unclear about the concept of a god card. He only knew about the Duel Monsters of his time, none of which were considered gods.
~I'm sorry. This must be very confusing for you. I can show you more about my past with Yugi , but . . .~
+But what?+ He was becoming slightly more determined.
~I need the Millennium Tauk (Necklace).~
* * *
Ryou was somehow compelled to the point where he was waiting in a line to purchase airline tickets, without the slightest idea why.
"Coach or First Class?" the cashier asked.
Ryou, not aware of why he was there, found himself pulling a credit card from his pocket. It belonged to his father, but he had borrowed it without asking. Not that he was that kind of person, but he felt as though he was hypnotized or something.
The evil spirit took over. "First class."
* * *
"Dad, why is it that we came all this way to see this?" Kyle asked his father as they were headed for their hotel.
"Why?" his father repeated, chuckling a little. "Because as descendants of Seto Kaiba, I feel it is our duty to honor our family history."
"Dad," Mike chimed in. "Does Yugi Moto have a museum?"
Their father stopped in his tracks. "I wouldn't know. Any nemesis of Seto Kaiba is a nemesis of ours."
"But Dad . . ." Kyle protested.
"It's part of our family honor. Just because we live in America, doesn't mean that we should forget the honor that comes from our true home land," his father said seriously.
"But . . ."
Kyle's father's temper flared. "If you want to find out about Yugi instead of part of our own blood, then so be it!" He walked faster, grabbing Mike by the wrist. "Once you're done seeing how foolish you are being, you can come back to our hotel and ask for your brother and me!" He and Mike walked on, until they disappeared into the distant waves of the afternoon sun.
Kyle was silent for a while. Finally, he began to head back to the Kaiba Museum. "Blood or no blood, Kaiba's Blue Eyes cards are wherever Yugi Moto is. But . . . if they were rivals, then why would Kaiba trust Yugi with his best cards???"
* * *
Ryou was startled when he realized that he was on a plane headed to Japan.
"It must be some kind of crazy dream," he said to himself. He felt his left arm throbbing. "Ow."
* * *
The pharaoh spirit was silent for a long time. He was thinking about Yugi. He remembered when Yugi did not trust him, holding him back in a duel against a three-headed dragon. He remembered how much power he felt when he and Yugi were summoning the legendary Black Luster Soldier. He remembered when Yugi fainted in the Shadow Realm, in a duel for his loved- ones' souls. It would never be that way again. Never again could he see his good friends, Joey, Tristan, and Téa. And he still didn't have his memories.
+What Tauk?+
The spirit, drowning in depression, did not say a word.
Gary was thinking about the Millennium Tauk and figured that it probably had that same weird eye as his Millennium Puzzle. He began to search through his house for it.
The spirit of the Puzzle kept thinking about the last memory that he had of little Yugi - when he, Malik, and Bakura were about to begin that fateful Shadow Game. He kept wondering if there was any chance that Yugi had survived the assault, but he knew that he'd never know. Even if he did, Yugi was not with him now, and this was something that the spirit had to accept. Only with Gary's help could he move on . . .
(To be continued.)