Disclaimer: …
WookieeBeta: Oh, yeah. ^calls^ Tsukasa, get in here and give the disclaimer!
Tsukasa (from .hack//SIGN): ^blink^
WookieeBeta: ^growls^ Tsukasa…don't make me take your Guardian away…
Guardian: ^attacks WookieeBeta^
WookieeBeta: ^blink^ Okaaaaay…wrong move… Uh, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or .hack//SIGN! ^runs^
Unknown Identity
Chapter Eight: Disappearance
Yami winced as he struggled to his feet, intent on finding a stick long enough to use as a crutch so that he could move around. It would be suicide to remain in one place in this forest for any length of time – if the predators didn't see him as easy pickings, the natives would probably kill him. He waited for the pain to subside a bit before taking a few limping steps toward the riverbank. He had reset the leg during his talk with Yugi, but that didn't help the pain much. He was afraid that walking on it this much during the healing process would cause the leg to heal improperly, and he didn't want Yugi crippled for life. He would have to find a place to hole up and wait until it healed.
Suddenly Yami felt his control begin to slip. His good leg buckled and he fell to the ground, sending a fresh wave of pain through the other leg. He realized that he was weakening, having tried to maintain control too long without the aid of the millennium puzzle, and that if he wanted to survive he would have to give control to Yugi long enough to regain his strength.
Yugi! he called. There was no answer. Yami struggled to regain control, but he knew he was already too weak. He called again, but still the boy did not reply. A burst of energy allowed him to get a slightly better grip on control, but almost instantly he lost it again. He felt his contact with Yugi's mind fading rapidly.
Yugi… he called a final time before the comforting presence of Yugi's young mind faded completely.
"Wah?" Yugi exclaimed as he felt himself suddenly snap back to control. The sharp pain in his leg came into focus, and he gritted his teeth. He was lying a few feet away from the edge of a riverbank. The splint on his leg had changed from the last time he had seen it, and he remembered the spirit mentioning that he had run on it. He assumed that the spirit had splinted it again while they were talking.
The spirit… Where was he? He wouldn't just throw me into control like that, the young man thought. I don't know him that well, but he just doesn't seem the type. After all, he keeps trying to protect me from everything. Something must have happened! A flash of panic ran through his mind as he realized just how much he had grown to like the spirit, even though he still didn't trust him much. At least he was company in this deserted forest.
Yugi… the spirit's voice rang in his head. It was weak, almost inaudible, but the young man knew he had heard it.
"Spirit!" he exclaimed out loud. "Where are you? What happened?" But there was no answer.
Floating a few feet away in his spirit form, Yami was relieved to see Yugi take control smoothly, but the expression of pain on his face as the broken leg made itself known sent a wave of sharp regret through him. He wanted to apologize, but didn't have the strength. Maybe I can re-enter his mind, stay with him until I'm strong enough to look for the puzzle… For now he knew that without the puzzle, he at least would perish, and Yugi probably would as well without his help. The boy was completely innocent and knew nothing of the evils of the world. He would never be able to survive the forest alone. I have to try.
He gathered his remaining strength and once again forced himself into Yugi's mind. He stumbled down the hall toward his soul room, but never quite made it. He lost consciousness partway down the hall and slumped motionless to the floor.
Ignoring the pain in his leg, Yugi climbed up into the relative safety of a tall tree and found a perch where he felt he would be somewhat stable. Something was wrong with the spirit, and he found that he couldn't bear to lose its presence. He had to find out what was wrong. And to do that, he had to let go of his body and get into the spirit's soul room. He settled himself on a large limb and leaned against the trunk, then let go of his brain. He found himself sitting in his soul room again, deck in hand. Setting the deck down, he walked through the door and peered into the dark hallway.
In the faint light, he could just make out the figure of a body lying in the center of the hall, only a few feet from the soul doors. He approached cautiously.
"Who are you?" he demanded. He left the door to his soul room wide open, and the light spilled into the hallway, allowing him a better view of the stranger. He was wearing black leather pants, slightly too small, and had some sort of choker on his neck. His hair was strange, mostly black but blonde in the front and with red highlights. It was styled in large spikes that stuck out in all directions. Yugi shook his head, wondering who would dress like that.
"Who are you?" he demanded again.
"Yu…Yugi?" the figure said weakly.
"Spirit?" Yugi exclaimed in surprise. He had never imagined that the spirit would look like this.
"Yugi, you must find the puzzle," the spirit gasped without moving. "Without it, I cannot maintain control, and our contact will fade." He paused for breath. "I am very weak, Yugi. I cannot help you for now."
"Don't you die on me, spirit," Yugi said with sudden determination. "I'll find that puzzle for you."
"It should be across the river. We're almost at the base of the mountain that we were on when Yami Bakura tried to kill you."
"How do you know?" Yugi asked in surprise. "I thought we were lost!"
"We still are," the spirit said, and Yugi could hear the slight smile in his voice. He carefully helped the spirit to sit up, and let him lean against him. "I know where we are in relation to the mountain, yes – I just don't know where the mountain is." He coughed weakly, and his shoulders slumped.
"Yugi, leave me here."
"I can't leave you to die!" Yugi exclaimed. "And that's exactly what you're going to do, weak as you are!"
"There's nothing you can do," Yami said sternly. His tone was undermined by the weakness of his voice and by the fact that he could hardly open his eyes. "Do me one favor, Yugi."
"Anything, spirit," Yugi said. He was surprised to find himself nearly in tears. "Anything."
"Never…give…up…" The spirit's eyes closed, and his body relaxed. Yugi laid him gently on the floor and stood, a determined look in his eyes. He still had no idea who he was, but he knew that he had a very good friend – if only he could find a way to save him. He regained control of his body and carefully climbed down from the tree, wincing as he landed. The broken leg pained him greatly, but it was less than the pain he knew he would feel if he lost the spirit now.
"I found it!" Yugi exclaimed in surprise, scrambling to where a glint of gold showed through the foliage. His hand found a fairly heavy chain and he lifted it up. It was just as the spirit had said – an upside-down pyramid with the Eye of Horus made entirely of gold. It glinted in the bright sunlight.
But wait… He looked at one of the corners on the flat base of the pyramid, what should have been the bottom but actually faced upwards. There was a piece missing. I hope that's not important, Yugi thought desperately. He combed the area, but didn't find anything. Well, I'll just have to hope that won't cause any problems. It's such a little piece, after all… But he still couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that that little piece was going to cause major problems for the spirit.
He raised his eyes to the sky and realized for the first time how hungry he was. He couldn't remember eating anything for the last three days, and beyond there he couldn't remember anything but Duel Monsters anyway. He stood wearily and began searching for something to eat.
He was amazed at how little it bothered him that he couldn't remember anything. It was as if part of him knew that as long he and the spirit were alive, everything would be fine, regardless of whether or not he remembered anything of his past. Or maybe it was just the calm confidence of the spirit rubbing off on him.
Berries! Yugi stuffed a handful of the berries into his mouth, relishing their sharp tang. Though they were not enough, and he knew it, they at least took the edge off of his hunger, and that allowed him to think more clearly. I have to get back to the spirit, Yugi thought. Maybe now that we have the puzzle, he'll be all right. He looked around and spied a nearby tree where he could let his body rest while he took care of the spirit. His leg still hurt, but nowhere near as bad as it had at first, and though he was still careful he was much better at moving around without hurting it more. He slung the chain with the puzzle around his neck, and minutes later he felt confident that it would be all right to release control of his body again.
Spirit? he called before letting go. Spirit, are you there? There was no answer. Shrugging, Yugi let go of his brain once more and found himself in the hallway. It was still dimly lit by the light from his soul room, but the spirit was gone.
"Spirit!" Yugi called in alarm. "Spirit, where are you?" He walked to his soul room, wondering if perhaps the spirit had crawled into it, but he was not there. He was surprised to find that there was now a tree in his room. He shook his head in confusion, but gave no more thought to it. The spirit seemed to think that everything in his soul room was a reflection of certain memories, and the tree could easily be representing the forest. After all, it was one of the precious few memories he had. Turning, he walked to the door to the spirit's soul room.
There was no handle on this door, either. He pushed against the door, thinking that it would open as easily as his had, but he was unpleasantly surprised. The door didn't budge. He pushed harder. Still nothing. Taking a step back, he rammed his shoulder into the door with all his strength, and it slid open a few inches. He wedged his toe into the crack and used every muscle in his body to force it open just enough for him to slip in.
Unlike his well-lit soul room, the spirit's soul room was dark and cold. Yugi could see nothing.
"Spirit?" he called fearfully. His voice echoed through the room. He took a step forward and nearly lost his balance as his foot failed to meet a floor. He managed to throw himself back in time, but only just. Then a strange light began to collect a few feet away. The light slowly resolved itself into a human form, but Yugi still couldn't quite make out what it was. It wasn't until the figure moved closer and extended its long staff to point directly at Yugi's chest that he realized what he was seeing.
"The Dark Magician!" he gasped in a mixture of fear and amazement. And he doesn't look happy to see me… Yugi scrambled backward against the door, hoping to get to the safety of his own soul room, but before he realized it he had pushed the door completely shut. The weak light coming from his own soul room was shut out, and only the light from the Dark Magician remained.
"Uh-oh," Yugi said quietly. The Dark Magician began to glow more brightly and a brilliant light appeared at the end of his staff.
"No!" Yugi yelled. "Dark Magician, stop! I'm a friend! Stop!" But the Dark Magician paid him no heed. The brilliant light shot toward Yugi –
"Stop!" the voice of the spirit rang forth. Instantly the Dark Magician's attack disappeared, though the Magician himself remained. Yugi could just make out the spirit's thin form making his way down a complicated route in the darkness.
"What are you doing here?" the spirit demanded. "It's dangerous!"
"I – I'm sorry," Yugi stuttered. "I just wanted to see if you were all right…"
"I'm sorry too, Yugi," the spirit said. Yugi noticed that his voice, though stronger, was still pretty weak, and he stumbled as he walked. As he got closer, Yugi realized that the spirit's face was deathly pale. "I should have told you not to come in here without me." He sighed. "I don't understand why my room is so dangerous, but it is. I can't count the number of times I've very nearly been destroyed just trying to find my own secrets."
"Then what were you doing wandering around when you're so weak?" Yugi demanded, understanding just how close he may have come to losing the spirit even after all of his efforts. But the spirit smiled.
"I know the first several miles of passageway well, Yugi," he said, "and like you I cannot stand sitting still in my soul room for a long time."
"I can see why," Yugi said dryly. "I don't see how you can stand having a soul room like this. At least mine's somewhat comfortable, tree and all."
"Tree?" the spirit queried, confused.
"It seems that I now have a rather large tree growing in my soul room," Yugi replied. This seemed to cheer the spirit quite a bit.
"That's good!" he said. "That means you're starting to acquire some enjoyable memories again."
"Wait a second," Yugi said suddenly. "If items in a soul room represent enjoyable memories, then why is yours empty? Haven't you ever had fun?"
"Certainly," the spirit replied, "but all of my memories are stored much farther back. Far enough back, actually, that I haven't figured out how to get to them yet. I think the Dark Magician knows – " here a smile flashed over the Magician's face – "but he's not telling.
"There's a reason he's your favorite card, you know," the spirit mused. "He's mine as well. And here in this personal Hell, he's my bodyguard. Without him constantly warning me of traps, I would have never made it as far back as I have. Unfortunately, he's only allowed to help me for so far, and then even he doesn't know." The spirit looked up at the much taller Magician with a smile. "But no one's perfect."
Yugi could only nod. It scared him that this spirit could be taking on so many of his challenges – rescuing him from the natives, splinting his leg – and still be stressing over his own problems. What would happen if he ever lost him? It didn't seem possible that he could survive without the spirit. But then, he didn't remember ever being without him. Yugi snapped back to reality as the spirit spoke again.
"At any rate, why did you come?"
"I found the millennium puzzle!" Yugi exclaimed excitedly. The spirit smiled.
"Ah, yes…I felt its power when you put it on." He suddenly became very serious. "Yugi, you must be careful not to lose the puzzle until you have found yourself. Once you know who you are, you will no longer need me, but until then I fear for your safety, and without the puzzle I am weak and powerless. Do you understand?" Yami looked deep into Yugi's eyes, and there he found the answer.
Yugi's hand went protectively to the chain around his neck and he gripped it tightly. "I won't let anything happen to it," he said. "But, spirit…" He looked down, unable to meet the spirit's intense gaze.
"What is it, Yugi?" Yami asked concernedly.
"The puzzle's not complete. There's a piece missing. I've searched for it, but it's nowhere to be found." Yami sighed.
"I was afraid of that. It won't matter for a while, a year or two at the least and maybe longer, but eventually it will create problems. Yugi, my strength comes from the puzzle, and without the complete puzzle my time with you will be much shortened."
"Then I'll find the other piece," Yugi said, but Yami just shook his head.
"It's not there. I can sense its presence, far from here. We will try to get to it, of course, but I fear that it may take us too long."
"Where is it?" Yugi asked.
"Domino City, Japan, in a small shop owned and run by Mr. Mouto," Yami said. "Does that ring a bell?"
"No," Yugi said. "Should it?"
A/N: ^finally escapes from the Guardian^ That didn't go so well…maybe I'll just do it myself next time…
Anyways. I realize the title doesn't really fit, but I'm too lazy to go change it now…so it'll just have to make no sense whatsoever ^grin^